Zero KO Board Section 1: A Note from Bit Bang Gaming
Section 1: A Note from Bit Bang Gaming
Hello! Thanks so much for purchasing (or at least opening this manual) for the Zero KO
Board!
We have been extremely ambitious on working to create an arcade controller board that
will do every retro and modern system out there. This effort began in full swing January
2021. Since then, we have learned quite a lot! We have spent many hours trying to make
to the perfect board. Unfortunately, there have been great hurdles around modern console
emulation. However, this “everything” project named the Double KO Board, is not without
its rewards. The work that we put in led to the possibility of simpler boards such as the
one in this manual and the Nostalgia Board (a future release). These boards were born for
several reasons, such as chip shortage issues (which gave us more time to dabble in
R&D), requests from retailers, and diversifying our product offerings.
The Zero KO Board is the result from a labor of love, and we believe we squeezed nearly
all we could from the chip we chose to drive its features. Worldwide chip shortages did
hurt us, as part costs have risen and has increased the retail price (not to mention
availability), but it also forced us to innovate. It forced us to cram as many features and
controller protocols as we could so that you get the most bang for your buck. And of
course, since firmware updates are possible, there are more features to come.
As a small company, with extremely limited resources, it’s very hard to keep up with top
tier competitors in the same space that have a dedicated engineering staff with years of
experience making these devices and stable funds for R&D. But for those of you who
decided to support us despite the odds, a huge THANK YOU! We can go on and on how
we did “X” and how we are qualified for “Y”, but the reality is, we are just lucky. I
personally am very lucky that I found this niche where I can be creative and create a small
business and offer cool products to people like you. I am lucky that I became an electrical
engineer and dabbled with firmware to give this project legs to stand on. I am lucky that
the FGC maker community is so friendly, helpful, and supportive to help a newcomer like
us understand the niche better. There are many qualified and talented people out there in
the world that can do the same as us, but we are the ones who got lucky and can try our
hand at it.
Bit Bang Gaming LLC will continue to try its best to innovate and push competing
products on the market. The Zero KO Board is a testament to that. We know the Double
KO project is possible. Eventually, we think we will get over the modern console
challenges. But for now, we hope you enjoy the Zero KO Board and its features. Thank
you for reading and your support!
Sincerely,
Joe
Bit Bang Gaming LLC
