I will begin taking applications for hardware beta testers in the next couple days, as soon as I can get a page setup to collect applicant data.
I will accept a limited number of beta testers, based on PPC model diversity, PS controller model diversity, and games / emulators played.
Beta testers will have to pay for their hardware up-front. However they will purchase at some discount compared to the price for the finalized product (I would love to provide free hardware for beta testers, but I do not have the resources). They will also get a guarantee for free ROM software upgrades if any bugs are found in the embedded software. Of course all driver upgrades will be free.
Based on my recent research into purchasing materials, the cost of the adapter will be around $30 USD. I cannot go any lower because I cannot manufacture my own components, nor can I purchase in vast enough quantities to reduce the price.
Sometime during the beta testing process I will begin accepting pre-orders. It will be important for as many people to pre-order as possible, as opposed to waiting for the day the product is actually released to buy. This is because I am a start-up company, and require the pre-orders to purchase parts, as well as determine how many devices to manufacture for the first run. I obviously cannot make half a million devices and let them lie around for years until they are all sold.
So the volume I produce initially will be determined heavily by pre-orders. As an example, say 50 people pre-order, so I manufacture 100 devices. The week after the devices go on sale 100 more people purchase. The last 50 to purchase will be on back-order, and will have to wait until I can acquire another batch of parts an manufacture more devices (ie, they become pre-orders for the second batch of adapters). This situation can be avoided by pre-ordering in the first place.
Dan East
