With Christmas on the way, lots of folks will be tempted to pick up something like the AtGames' Bandai Namco Flashback Blast for their loved ones who enjoy retro gaming. At only $20 with classic Namco arcade titles packed on to a retro style 6 button joypad with an HDMI dongle, this seems like a bargain too good to be true.

For the price, YouTuber John Hancock praised the Bandai Namco Flashback Blast when he received his press unit last month. The games included were actual arcade versions, so people buying this would get a pretty decent version of Pac-Man and other classic games for their money. You can check out John's verdict here:

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However, from the time the press units were sent out, something appears to have been lost in translation as angry consumers are finding that the Bandai Namco Flashback Blast is now actually stuffed with NES ROMs of these games, rather than the superior arcade versions.

Here's what John had to say in his follow-up video:

Wow, just wow. The Atgames Bandai Namco Blast that I was given to review a month ago ended up not being the one that Atgames sent to stores. Both standard and Walmart units are using the NES roms of classic arcade games (confirmed with talking to ATgames). This version of the product is BAD. I do not support this business practice whatsoever and please avoid this product.

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Needless to say, AtGames does not have the best reputation in the retro games arena right now. When its name got attached to the upcoming SEGA Genesis Mini, the product was delayed and it appears that SEGA has gone back to the drawing board to try and figure out how to make a mini console which is of a similar quality to the Super Nintendo Mini.

By sending superior review units to media outlets and YouTubers, it certainly does seem quite deceptive. However, it would seem that in this case, the company's hand has been forced - perhaps it never had the rights to the arcade ROMs in the first place?

Let us know what you make of all this with a comment below.