Here is our answer: The Spectrum Next - an updated and enhanced version of the ZX Spectrum totally compatible with the original, featuring the major hardware developments of the past many years packed inside a simple (and beautiful) design by the original designer, Rick Dickinson, inspired by his seminal work at Sinclair Research.
The Next Kickstarter campaign was launched as a machine that was "totally compatible with the original" and "fully compatible" with software. As this thread is showing, the Next isn't "totally compatible" with the original, there are many games that don't work. Maybe those issue will be fixed, but it was pointed out that the base hardware had been released for 2 years before the cased Next was released, I'm surprised those issues weren't identified or fixed because they should have been part of the basic design specification.Spectrum Next is an expanded and updated version of the ZX Spectrum, fully compatible (software and hardware) with the original. You can play any games, demos, use original hardware, you name it. And it also runs new software created more recently to make use of expanded hardware, including new graphics modes and faster processor speeds.
My issue is that post launch it's now being said that was never meant to be compatible, especially over HDMI, but I backed it and I imagine many people did, fully believing they were getting a machine that supported old and new software. The Kickstarter campaign page even has this:
But now we're finding out that the Next doesn't actually support a lot of new games and demos, especially over HDMI. Again, hopefully this will be fixed.The Spectrum Next is much more than just a renewed trip down the memory lane: there’s a world of new software out there that requires upgraded hardware to run -- from games to music and video players, from operational systems to ultra demos -- stuff that has been made for specific expanded hardware that most ZX Spectrum lovers never tried before, and can be quite difficult to find or install.
Hopefully by listing games that are not compatible or behaving as normal, we can see fixes being implemented in the Next. Saying that the Next was never meant to be compatible with the original Spectrum is wrong, as is clearly stated on the Kickstarter page and it shouldn't be given as an excuse.