MiSTer Multisystem²

The situation

Heber makes all-in-one FPGA consoles based on the MiSTer platform. Their Multisystem² is a £210 console that plays games from dozens of classic systems with cycle-accurate emulation.

There are a lot of MiSTer-based products on the market now. Heber wanted something that would make theirs stand out.

What happened

When designing the Multisystem², Heber built an NFC card slot into the top of the case and left mounting space inside for a reader board. They don’t sell the reader themselves. They direct customers to the Zaparoo shop or compatible generic boards. About 25% of buyers go ahead and add one. Some people still aren’t aware it’s an option, so that number may well increase over time.

Customers have bought the Multisystem² specifically because it supports Zaparoo. Heber gets direct comments, emails and questions about it, usually after someone sees it in a video or tries it at the museums.

Support burden

Minimal. Heber links to the Zaparoo website and documentation for setup assistance. The open-source community handles most questions, and the software works with their hardware out of the box.

Heber focuses on selling hardware. Zaparoo handles the software.

Skeptics

We have had quite a few people dismiss it without using it, then we show them how it works and the experience they get from the simple card setup. This usually turns even the most hardened physical media lover around.

— Richard Horne, Commercial Director

Zaparoo is in use at The Retro Collective, two hands-on retro gaming museums at Belvedere Mill in Stroud, where Heber is also based. Visitors tap cards to launch games on a Neo Geo cabinet. Richard says it’s “so much easier than having to put a real Neo Geo cartridge into our slot systems.” People who see it working tend to get it immediately.

The takeaway

Heber didn’t have to build anything on the software side. They made space in the case, pointed customers to our docs, and a quarter of their buyers added NFC. Some bought the console because of it.