Releasing it on Steam (through DOSBox or something) would probably be a way to actually get the game in the hands of a more serious quantity of players who watch these videos casually but don't have the hardware. And that method of sales would have no hardware, logistics, or time costs, while simultaneously having a far larger potential customer base. Consider a Steam release!

Unfortunately labors of love often don't make much money. Your work is amazing and you've added so much to so many retro PC communities. Thank you for your work.

Honestly dude, I would not mind paying $10-15 more per copy if you make a little more. I think the quality and community collaboration you are doing is awesome. You keep this community alive, and I can't thank you enough for it.

RIP Scott Robison. On his obit, it states "collaborating with other programmers with projects such as the Penske Robots Game for the Commodore 360"

Thank you for all you do for the retrocomputing community.

It's honestly sad to hear Scott Robinson passed away. The commodore 128 is one of, if not my favorite 8 bit machine, and he was the one who brought a dedicated version of petscii robots to the system. I will never forget how he fulfilled my dream of seeing petscii robots actually being used in the native commodore 128 mode. God bless him.

David, please know that you need never apologize for anything. You have enriched all of our lives so much with your videos!

I'm impressed that you got your material costs down to 25 dollars. When I was looking into doing something similar, my materials cost not including the cost of shipping or labor was almost 40. Kudos to you.

I completely understand what you’re saying about the merchandise sales. I am really excited to see more historical documentaries in the future!

7:34: Treating the CGA colours as semi-greyscale is a REALLY wise choice. It's also what used to happen back in the day. A LOT of CGA owners did not have colour monitors, and you're right: Sometimes greyscale looked better.

Having purchased games from you, I knew you were selling them to cheap. I would have gladly paid two times what you sold it for, maybe three. Don't sell your self short. As others have said, thank you for all you do!

Long time viewer, first time commenter here. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for everything you do, David. Your videos have helped me get through a lot of difficult spots. I don't know how many times I have watched the entire Commodore history series to calm me down after a difficult workday. Your creations have enriched my life, and I'm sure the lives of countless others. Don't let the negativity so common here online get you down. If these changes will help you live a better life, then that's what is really important. And while it saddens me that your merch sales are ending, the prospect that it means more videos sounds like a win-win for everyone. All glory to the -Hypnotoad- 8-Bit Guy!

I always wondered if merch was worthwhile for the bigger KZfaqrs. Glad to hear you're reinvesting in your documentaries, which are great and the reason I started watching many years ago.

I'm always impressed with how productive you are and the breadth of your talents. I don't blame you for wanting to refocus your efforts on making videos, which I never miss.

I bought the MS-DOS download version last week and I love your game! I started to follow your channel pretty much around the time of your first Petscii Robots video and was really excited when I saw this port finally available on your website. Thank you for all the amazing things you do on your channel, both on and off camera! Greetings from Germany.

Great job as always. And you deserve all the kudos in the world for open sourcing things and allowing others to run with it (like producing NES cartridges). It really shows how much you care about the community

David, please let me be honest with you. I think 'burn-out' is a common feeling right now. Don't apologise. Move on to the next project, by all means.

Thanks for all the hard work and effort you put into this project

Dude, a showcase of your genius and the skills and passion of the retro gaming community. With multiple Slurm's McKenzie references and a clip?! What could be better?? Thanks for the great video! Hats off to you sir!

LOVE to hear that more documentaries on the way! Don't forget about the Solar and Home Networking stuff as well, those are really fun projects to see you update us on. Glad to see you refocus your passions rather than completely burning out completely like other KZfaqrs. I always consider my patreon money well spent on your channel.

I definitely appreciate being open about not having interest in physical asset sales and the PETSCII series as a whole anymore. Seeing how much stuff you do behind the scenes as shown in your videos, I was worried that your time is essentially split between videos, programming, getting purchases together and sleep. I’m glad you’re making this announcement/change to help make your life a bit easier and focus more on things you have an active passion for. Keep it up iBookGuy!

I am so sorry to hear about your friend. And your videos have been both entertaining and informative, and I've learned quite a bit from them --- they certainly filled in a gap about something I wanted to learn about when I was a teenager and a young adult when I saw all those computers from the late 70s through the whole 80s, but I never really could because my family (and later on I) couldn't afford a computer back then. So I thank you for all the work you've put into making them.

I took a break from retro games for 2 years and it is amazing to come back to your channel. Now I must buy your games!

I think it only makes sense now to move on from the Planets and the Petsciis and focus solely on the Commander X16 so that it can thrive. You've done an amazing job for the community.

What you have done for the community (speaking for retro gaming in general) has been absolutely astounding. There is nothing but achievements to look at there, and you'll be there awhile doing just that. It's ok to admit you enjoyed the journey but are now ready to close this chapter and move on to the next. Nothing lasts forever and the impact you have created more than speaks for itself. Just look at all the inspiration and enthusiasm you have generated over the years, even from people who don't even own any of this stuff but just enjoy your videos. It's sad to see this era of Retro gaming end, but look at how many times it ended before only to pop up again. No one thought there would be games released for ANY of these machines in 2023, you have defied all odds and should no guilt about whatever decisions you need to make now. You've give me years of enjoyment just watching your videos and the progression of the passion this community has.

1:22 - I can honestly say that I’ve never heard “alumni” pronounced that way before.

Petscii Robots was a great project. Hope to see new games from you in the future. However, an idea of you making more videos makes me even happier. Keep it up!

Don't let this make you fed up, mate. I've been in the gaming business for years and it is a hard one. You are amazingly talented and driven and your channel is VERY loved!

I 100% love you being totally serious about the financials. It brings your whole project to a new light. I very much respect all of your hard work that is not financially bringing a return

This was an extremely interesting series of videos, to see the process behind such a project. Even when sales are stopped the value provided by this KZfaq series remains. Thanks!

Seeing how passionate you are with your work is inspiring and keeps pushing me through all the self-defeating thoughts hindering my personal goals in vintage hardware enthusiasm/revitalization! Thank you for your quality content, man!

When the 8bit guy says its going to be a long video, i get excited and prepare a pot of tea

Even though I haven't purchased the game, I see this whole game series as a win in the modern times for retro computers and gaming systems. Also, it's regrettable to hear that Scott passed away, but I hope his work lives on, and it inspires others to pursue the passion.

Thank you for all your work, and I'm glad you're gonna be back to making more videos, that's what most of us enjoy from your content.

Thanks for the update video. I makes sense to reduce stress and refocus on what you enjoy. You have done a lot for the retro gaming and computing community.

Glad to see you're not going to bother with all of the physical sales and ports anymore if they were dragging you down. I came to your channel originally for the documentaries so I'd love to see more of those. I'm interested to see where the commander x16 goes as well.

You could also add a KZfaq thanks button. That way we could support you in a very easy way as well.

Hey! We love what you do for the retro gaming community! It's understandable being overwhelmed at some point. Some ups and downs on this episode. However it's always awesome to witness what you achieved and that you are straightforward about stuff. Thank you for all your work!

Ive been watching and following your projects for years David, I know how hard it is to devote so much time to not only programming these games, but the logistics of actually making them a reality. I for one sincerely appreciate what youve done for the retro computing community and look forward to the Commander X16 launch and all other future endeavors.

Your efforts were monumental and your passion is awe inspiring. Keep on keeping on however you see fit 👍

Thank you for the video and the game! I love these long videos, they are so well made, times goes fast watching them. You did an amazing job with Petscii Robots, the fact that there are that many ports shows how people are attracted and interested by it. I do understand that you can get tired of the project, mainly after spending that much time on it, thank you for releasing it in open-source too! Do you plan on releasing the source code for one of the Z80 platform? Regarding your will to do historical/documentary videos like before, I admit I really liked them, I would love to see new ones in the future!

Thank you for the in depth update. Enjoy your time refocusing on what you love. We appreciate you

Greetings from Plano! Seeing your videos always reminds me of the first computer I ever used, which was a Tandy CoCo 2 that I found in my grandmother's storage room. Tried programming BASIC on it for hours with a black and white TV at the age of 8. Such fun times. If only I had games for it or knew more. Thank you for continuing to provide amazing content on the early computers!

The sad irony is if these games came out in the era the computers they ran on were popular, they'd have been worth millions. D:

Might be selfish of me to say, but if that means you'll be making more videos again, I'm happy to hear this.

It seems there were quite a few things that needed being said, and I certainly like the idea of you refocusing on your channel and projects like the X16. Thank you ! 🙂

Happy to support your efforts, great to see there's a market for creators and hobbyists in this sector. Can definitely see the care and effort that goes into these products

I'm excited to hear that there may be more computer history videos coming up. I hope some of those will include restoration videos.

There certainly was a lot unpacked in this video, and you certainly have my respect in how much enthusiasm and dedication you've had for the retro computing/gaming community for years. I understand that there is a point where it gets a bit much, but I am glad you've managed to make such great projects come alive at all. Please do focus on what you feel is most important in your life. :) I happily own physical copies of Planet X2 and Planet X3 along with PETSCII Robots for the Sega Genesis. I've literally just placed an order for MS-DOS, Commodore 64, and the Super Nintendo because I think the game is great, I like multiple versions of a game on multiple systems I own, and to help give you my support. The NES port would certainly have been awesome, but I get where you're coming from and I certainly wish you the best!

This is such a great video David! I loved the commentary about your operating / manufacturing costs at the end.

I love the honesty, and the peek behind the curtain is a really valuable resource for people who might choose a similar path. But it's also a nice human reminder that it's a job that required work, someone has to do it, and it wasn't free. I'm glad you updated your shipping though!

If I buy the game and also want to donate your work fairly, how much would I have to pay? I live in Germany. I couldn't live with the fact that you are taking a loss for your great work. People like you are infinitely important to the retro computing scene. Keep it up and may the 8-bit gods be with you!

Watched this video with a smile on my face. I'm probably never going to play it but hearing your dorky ramblings on it, and seeing that random people would just take your game and lovingly ported it is heartwarming. I loved this saga.

Hey David, I have been following your channel for some time and I enjoyed almost every video about retro computers and of course the petscii robots game development. I totally agree with you and the phasing out of the merchandising. You have accomplished design, development, and porting to different systems.. this is really an unique experience and I would like to thank you for sharing the secrets behind the scenes from the hard work and dedication of doing it. Cheer up and move on to something that motivates you.

I think the correct move is to make sure whatever you're doing remains fun. Enjoyment is the wellspring from which all this content flows. So props for making some tough choices!

I can't wait to hear more about the Commander X16. It's a crying shame you didn't make as much of a success off of Petscii Robots and its various ports as you did Planet X2 and X3, but I'm reminded that for every success an indie developer has, they're expected to have a failure or two to balance it out. I'm planning by my next paycheck to buy a digital copy of the Robots Genesis port to show my thanks and support, but I do want to thank you for giving such an ambitious game dev project a sporting try. As far as I'm concerned you've succeeded in my heart, dude.

I have been following you for so long now, and have always said you are the most genuine person I've seen online please keep up the good work and I look forward to all your future projects 😁

Awesome! I really enjoy playing Planet X3 on my DOS machine. Look forward to playing Petscii Robots! Surprising to learn of your margins. You could sell this for much more. Most of us in the retro game scene are willing to spend some dough on this hobby.

Good call prioritizing your mental health and time by phasing out merchandise. Box sets are incredibly time-consuming and I’m amazed you’ve been able to do as many releases as you have!

The idea that floppy disks are about to be dead and lost to history... that's sad. Such fond memories.

David, thank you so much for all your videos. I think it’s awesome All the work that you’ve put into your video games. Sounds like you’re making the right decision focusing your attention on more history KZfaq videos. It’s not an overstatement to say is it your KZfaq channel has contributed to a spark of a revolution in the retro video gaming community. you’ve inspired me to take on computer projects of my own, I can confidently say yours is my favorite KZfaq channel. Please keep up the good work and high quality videos.😊👍

I subscribe to roughly 50 or so different channels and this is by far my favorite one. While I understand there is a lot of work that goes into these videos, I wish you could release them more often than you do today.

I will just add my voice to the chorus of people thanking you for everything you do.

Don't go to the burn out, David! You're not the 8 bit guy, you're the Amazing 8 bit guy! All the creation stuff you've done and doing is simply incredible!

You've been one of my favorite creators for such a long time (and neighbor, since I'm also in the Dallas area), and I look forward to seeing what you do in the future.

What an inspiring journey and giving so much insight to us who have such fond memories from our childhood. I am so grateful.

Oh my god, I had no idea you were making so little profit on physical game sales! Your dedication to the craft is admirable. I'll admit I'm an Australian who bought physicals to support you. I absolutely agree with charging us whatever it costs you for shipping, though I'm confused how it costs so much. I've said it before, but I reckon you should outsource production & shipping of the physical games. Though with shipping from the US being so expensive, maybe it'd be good to do it in China - shipping from there is ridiculously cheap (I heard the Chinese government subsidises it?), and labour is cheap too. I'd also suggest providing a price breakdown on each product listing in the store to show buyers how little of the price is profit and how much labour is required. And add a name your price / extra donation option for those who are buying primarily to support you.

I had a Gravis Gamepad as a kid. It came with a little arcade stick you could screw in to the D-pad. Not a bad PC gamepad for that time.

Been watching your channel for years and I just want to say that I appreciate what you've done!

I seem to like this game from its look! Well done, David! Also, I have to admit that I am in love with the PETSCII Robots soundtrack! Well done, Anders!

Super excited for the X16 video!!! honestly I think Petscii Robots has been quite unfairly criticized from the community. From complaints about it being brought up to much in videos to people just being rude. I think you did the best job that could be asked and since burnout didn't seem to strike real hard until years later, its obvious how much love has been put into it. I don't own any of the systems it can be played on but I love the videos of development. Makes me feel like I witnessed a game development cycle that hasn't been done since the 80's, like witnessing a bit of history which is super cool. Good luck with these endeavors fellow Texan!

Sorry to hear you weren't reaping the rewards of your hard work. I would've happily paid more if I knew this was the case, though I know some others would be unable to.

Thank you very much for your honesty. You have all my respect for that. With your games, your videos and your work in general... You managed to be remembered by many as a massive positive impact. Thank you very much. Greetings from germany

This video scared the CRAP out of me. From 12:20 to 12:26 there is a shadow over the image that moves across the screen. I'm watching at home alone at night, and it looked just like it was a shadow on my OWN monitor of someone moving behind me LOL. On a more serious note - what a great service you have provided to the community with your wonderful talents. Great job with all of it, congrats, and best wishes.

The work that you have done with your projects are insane David. The amount of dedication and love are noticible. The comunity owe you a lot !

For what you're actually getting, $35 is peanuts for such an awesome package. Good on you, man. You rule.

Thanks for doing what you have done. I enjoyed Petscii robots. No worries I'm sure you'll find the enthusiasm again on some other project.

As someone that lives in New Zealand and picked up both games to play on my collection of PC hoarders paradise, thanks for selling it internationally! I had no idea that you were selling the products out of your pocket. And hope that some of that comes back to you over time! Also good to hear your going to focus on some other stuff, go and have some fun!

SNES version is stunning! Great work man, great work.

Love how transparent you are with everything. Great content like always.

I had a feeling it was a bit of a loss making exercise so when I ordered mine, I made sure to pay a bit more and get the signed version and bought a few in the same box. I hope it helped a little bit. Try not to be blown over by the negatives you're experiencing David. You've made some insanely great games for these old systems. I've got X2, X3 and Petscii robots sitting right beside me just now and am planning on having a play this afternoon on my amiga :)

You are so busy. I thank you for all you have done and the great video you make. It makes my day when I see a new video from you!

Love how much you do for the community. Now that I've got my C64 up and running, I'll be purchasing a copy of Petscii robots and x2 for the c64 (I'm in the US, so hopefully you'll make some money :)) I also can't wait to get an X16! Very interested in the video on the manufacturing process.

There's no shame in ending a project; you accomplished much and gave the retro community something new to stare and click on. Cheers.

Always interesting to hear more details on this amazing project. I had no idea it's been ported to SSOOOOO many systems! Fully understandable to be kinda burnt out on this one now. Still, great work and dedication. Truly a labor of love and much appreciated.

David, you've done a fantastic job with Petscii Robots, and I'm happy to be able to follow the development along through these videos that you have released, AND I must say I very much look forward for Planet X16 which looks absolutely amazing. And to the X16 computer as well, can't wait to see more about that.

Waiting for Billy Mitchell to send in speed runs... please don't sue me, Billy...

This is very minor, but I can’t help but notice a few of the EGA palette assignments were made based on trying to get “close enough” to a colour in isolation, when substituting the overall function may have worked better. That probably needs a bit of application of colour theory though. Eg the sky blue could have probably been mapped to one of the turquoises, and darker shades are often less fussed about their specific hue (a dark blue can often be better substituted with a dark grey or even a dark red than a lighter blue). I also find the dark turquoise being “medium grey” looks strange when there’s an unused lighter grey in the diagram, in that context the lack of hue may have been more important than the shade. Of course this is all just speculation from the video, there’s always a balance to be struck. And I assume you tested other palette mappings before settling on this one. I noticed some of the other ports like the SNES version were slightly more liberal with their palette map to make it work and I did think that looked a bit more cohesive. Eg the guy’s shirt is cyan instead of royal blue, so he’s not the same colour as the floor tiles. Anyway, I reiterate my opening sentiment - this is very minor. It’s definitely not worth the extra labour to change given what you said in the rest of the video, but I feel as a colour nerd it’s gotta be said anyway. Depending on how it’s programmed (I’m guessing a 16-value table from palette number x to palette number y) maybe that’s a thing someone can do with the open source if they care.

Love the update!! Glad to see your projects succeeding

I am amazed of your patience with selling all this different ports and boxes, even at a loss.

Knowing when to say "when" with labors of love can be the most challenging part. I know the numbers might not feel the part, but as a game developer I totally feel ya and salute you for what you and the various contributors you've worked with have accomplished on the game. Love my Genesis copy, and I guess I'm all the more glad I was privileged enough to purchase it directly from you in person!

I'm sorry to hear that all the ports took the fun out of the project for you. Thanks for all the work you put in ❤

I loved your history videos you did with the tech from Texas series, please do more of those, definitely some of my favorite videos :)

No issues, Mr. Murray. Thank you for bringing them as far along as you have.

@ James's petsky robot shaped arcade machine: What a lovely example for the dedication of your channel's community! Its a pleasure to behold!

Never feel embarrassed about making money on something, that you deserve to do! You definitely deserve to get a paycheck for all you have done! ❤

Thanks for all these great videos and especially because you do it because your a true fan of retro tech. Took note of your observations here, was sure to get the "Autographed" version this time to avoid doubt ;) (last time I figure I'd prefer an unobscured box art, but I dislike the idea I might have cost you 10 dollars on previous purchases). I have a suggestion for you though! Add a "tip" or "donation" option to your checkout screen? We all love that your making these videos AND great and collectable game gems (a fun game to boot) and feel certain none of us want you getting a decent reward for your works. All the best! Hope you will keep enjoying making content for a long time to come. Oh, real condolences on the unexpected loss of a friend, very sad. Though, a little less sad knowing the project he worked on is will be well loved by many and a great legacy :).

Thank you for all you have done. Even though i never bought the game, i apreciate yor work very much. Greetings from Krautland (Germany), Chris

I appreciate your honesty, you work you butt off and are really fair considering you're chipping in to send happiness to people.

So sorry to hear about your loss. :( Thanks so much for this video. I can’t imagine how difficult it was to make. You’ll always be an inspiration to us and your creations will always offer us hours and hours of enjoyment. Much love ❤