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Sounds interesting, a 3rd party clone to run my old NES cartridges.

If that's the kind of thing you're looking for, the Generation NEX may be up your alley. I've heard that it's fidelity to the original system isn't quite 100% accurate, but it has a number of bells & whistles that help make up for its shortcomings.

It's also 100% legal: it was not released until Nintendo's patents had expired, and no copyrighted ROM code is distributed with it.

For your flashback fix, you can get one of these. Or, if your old cartridges are lying around, try a Generation NEX.

There's also rumors of a "virtual console" in the Revolution, which would allow play of NES (and other Nintendo console) games via download (subscription or per-title fee expected).

Last week my Nintendo officially bit it. I gave it the mid-eighties electronics equivalent of mouth to mouth for about an hour. I tried other cartridges to see if maybe they would work (repeating the blowing for each and every one). When I was out of games, I sat for ten minutes trying to figure out what to do next. I had 5 other systems in my living room, but all I wanted to play was Zelda. My NES is still sitting where it last fell, like the last little chunk of my childhood I can't bring myself to get rid of. Sure, I could go and find another system, but I wouldn't be mine. Wouldn't have those familiar scratches across the front. Woudn't still have the residue from my sister's stupid My Little Pony stickers on it. Wouldn't be right. However, it would be about time for me to get one of those redone thingies with the wireless controllers from http://www.playmessiah.com/

"In any case, doesn't that make it already legal to made knock-off NES consoles since the system was out in '86?"

Yes it does.

The people that make the Generation NEX make wireless SNES controllers. No Generation SNEX yet, but I wouldn't think it'd be far off.

Doh. link.

The only thing I can think of to differentiate yourself from the majors right now is to stock imports and the means to play them. In this way you will have things that the big chains mostly don't have. When I was contracting in Virginia I loved to drive out to this one non-chain store that carried imports. Ideas can be had from NCS and Lik Sang. Get a few Messiah NEX systems, and some old NES games for them to appeal to the nostalgic market.

There was one rap group that used a Beats of Rage mod to advertise themselves, though I have no idea how that worked out for them.

The biggest problem though is getting people actually to the store. If you could get people to come once a week, for some kind of competitive game night, they might buy or at least come back.

I thought this article about Animenation was interesting:

Right hobby, right time

Of course, they built their online business first and the retail store came later.

I realize that your solution is far more economical than this, but have you seen NEX ? You can even get wireless controllers for it!!!

Maybe not, but they can do one for 59.99$ that supports wireless controllers and can also play Famicom games. Would have been nice if they'd packed in a wireless controller though.

Gamestop doesn't seem to think that it's gonna be a problem...

Messiah Generation NEX System

Saw it on the christmas list in egm. Their website is: playmessiah

Out of curiosity, what would be the legal ramifications behind selling repairs of old consoles? And how far can you go and consider it still a repair and not a new console? If the controller ports are busted and you replace them with your own components? The logic board, the power supply? All of the electronics, but keeping the external frame? Why can't you replace the external frame with your own design? Wouldn't selling refurbished things like this be legal? I mean, how much can you replace and still consider it a repair or a refurbishing? Everything that is broken, right? And what's wrong with adding your own modifications, such as wireless controllers and updated video out? How is that different than what Messiah is doing, other than they probably didn't start out with one dead NES for their new ones?