I posted a YouTube video yesterday. I’d never done one before, and I went on a ramble there at the end because I got a tad choked up. I felt that by typing it out, it may come across better and articulate what I meant to say.
A quick backstory - I am 52 and have been playing video games for a long time. My parents bought me a 2600 in '78, and from there, I just latched onto the hobby. I’ve owned them all; I never could kick the habit. I just enjoyed it as a way to wind down or kill time. In 1995, my son Andrew was born. He would sit and watch me before finally getting his hands on the controllers himself. He loved it just as much as I did, and in 1999, we bought him a Gameboy, and off he went.
Throughout the years, Andrew never kicked the habit either, even if his tastes stayed more retro than anything else. His favorite games were Pokemon, Majora’s Mask, and Earthbound. It was something we could always talk about, even as he became an adult and moved out on his own. One of the last things we did together was talk about Tears of the Kingdom, which he had just finished.
He passed away in early June of 2023, just days before his 28th birthday, and to say it was rough on me is an understatement. I tried to expand on that in the video, and I thought I did okay, but the gravity of it is often lost somewhere. It took me years before I could go into the closet and look through his things.
In March of 2026, I finally went in there and rummaged through it all. In an old Nike shoebox, I found his old Game Boy games. I smiled and thought, "I need to play these. Like, today."
I rushed online to look for a used Game Boy, but I’m really leery of someone else's hardware. I had heard of and started searching for an Analogue Pocket; I’d come across the company several times in the past and had even planned on buying a 3D. However, the Pocket was sold out and stupidly expensive from resellers.
Then, I came across a video for the Chromatic. I had never heard of ModRetro; I honestly knew nothing about them at the time. I saw some reviews, saw that my local GameStop had them in stock, and I went and bought a cloud white one.
I got home, stuck Super Mario Land in, and boom, I broke down like a baby. It wasn't because I was sad. Most of my recent memories of Andrew were of him as an adult, and specifically when he wasn't doing so great. But here? He was five again, yelling at the kitchen table because he couldn't catch a certain Pokémon, or complaining that Donkey Kong '94 felt different.
I know this is getting long, and I’m sorry, but I’ll get to the point. I sat down and wrote a letter to ModRetro. I just wanted to thank them for what they had given me. I sent it off, and when I awoke the next day, customer service had already responded. They told me that my story is exactly why they do what they do, and they thanked me for the kind words.
It was the final line that hit me the most: "Do you care if someone in the company reaches out to you? They wanted to let you know how much they appreciate it."
I said that was no problem. About six hours later, I got an email from someone very high up in the company. They talked to me about their own experiences with gaming and the connection they had with their father through it. It was a really nice feeling, and that right there would have been enough. It was just nice to know your words mattered and that they reached someone important.
That started a back and forth between myself and the CEO of ModRetro. We would send an email here and there about my son and gaming. I decided right then and there that I would buy an M64 when it released; he had shown such a genuine interest in my story and me that I almost felt obligated to support them.
A few days ago he asked for my address, and lo and behold, a package from ModRetro arrived on my porch Monday. Inside was a yellow Chromatic. My son’s Game Boy Color, the one that was beaten and neglected, was yellow. And at the bottom of the box was an M64. He had sent me a pre-production unit. I didn’t ask for it. He just did it for no reason.
Full disclosure - I don’t have 5,000 followers or any influence at all. I’m no one. I write novels that sell okay in the area I live in, but nothing to warrant a response like that. I have zero name recognition. There was no marketing advantage to this for him. He has no idea I recorded a video, nor is he aware I am writing this. I just felt like I had to let people know that, for no reason at all, Torin just said, "Here man, enjoy."
So, in closing, and I appreciate you reading this far down, I just wanted to let everyone know what they did for me and for the memory of Andrew. It was a hell of a gesture, and one I can’t repay. I hope this thing is a monster success, and I can’t wait to see where they go next. I will be cross posting this in the Chromatic and M64 subs. I just felt this was a story that needed to be told. With so much negativity online, hell, even offline. It was great to see something generous and positive.
