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Reincarnating the NES
IGN has a piece on a modern NES clone, the NEX. Well constructed and designed to recapture a gamer's enthusiasm for the 80's gaming juggernaut, they have a rundown on the deck's features and extras. From the article: "Though there have been some rather weak attempts to remake the NES/Famicom prior to the NEX, Messiah really put some work into the production to make the NEX feel deserving of the love its users no doubt feel for the original. The device itself is small, cute, and very reminiscent of its forefathers with a front-loading NES cartridge slot and a top loading Famicom slot. The controller jacks are the same as the original NES, meaning you are welcome to use your original controllers if you still have some. Even the packaging is attractive, and the Generation NEX kit includes a cartridge-shaped manual in a slip case, packed with instructions written and illustrated in action-comic-book style and a mini rarity guide developed by Digital Press."
It's about time this happend, playing new zealand story on the taito classics for XBOX just wasn't any fun. And it gives us something to tide us through until the Revolutions' released. Bring on the Nostalgia and beer I say!!
Just for once I'd like to not walk the dodgy path of life
Here's the compatibility chart they've compiled.
They weren't able to get Maniac Mansion working, but it looks like it may have been a problem with the cartridge.
I so want one of these.
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I think products like this are extremely cool. Unfortunately, I can't really see a use. I love my old NES games, and I have a sizable collection of carts. Problem is, between the NES, SNES, Atari, Intellivision, and so forth, it's impossible to pile them all up around the TV. Not to mention the huge PITA involved in keeping all the old carts readily available for play.
Thus, emulators. Instead of a dozen consoles, I have one Gamecube and one PC, the PC running every emulator you can imagine. I physically OWN the cartridges, yet I prefer playing the games themselves on the PC: improved graphics, better controllers, and best of all, no blowing furiously into carts trying to make them work.
Thus, my collection of physical games sits in myriad boxes for posterity's sake (excepting my gold Zelda cart, which rests lovingly on display) while I actually -play- the games on a PC.
GeekNights!
Late Night Radio for Geeks!
I've heard that this is nothing more than a usual inaccurate famiclone.
...it can use ROM files. I don't even know where any of my old NES carts are. Chances are my mom threw them away years ago when I moved out.
I was quoted out of context in my autobiography...
One of the greatest gaming uses I've discovered for my laptop is a couple of emulators and this device from lik-sang.com. It allows you to use one of the best controllers of all time to play your favorite NES SNES and MAME games. It works flawlessly, is cheap (if you have the PC already), and doesn't require the complicated process of blowing/erasing the connections on aging game carts.
only one everything
Given that I've got NES emulators on my PC, phone, iPaq, DS, PSP and GBA and I've got a Gold Famicom style GBA and a Famicom Style GB Micro I don't really feel the need to revisit the Famicom/NES again.
What I would pay good money for is a revisit to the SNES, one of my all time favourite consoles. A Generation NEX-type SNES with wireless controllers would certainly suit the bill for me, I think this might be impossible though. IIRC the SNES had lots of custom chips which might not be possible to duplicate. The NES was a pretty simple system with mostly off the shelf parts which I think is why they are so easily cloned.
"I think products like this are extremely cool. Unfortunately, I can't really see a use. I love my old NES games, and I have a sizable collection of carts. Problem is, between the NES, SNES, Atari, Intellivision, and so forth, it's impossible to pile them all up around the TV. "
Buy a cheap used XBOX and a good modchip.
I put a cheap 80gig hard drive on there and with a few easy to find emulators it currently has every NES, SNES, Atari, Sega Genesis, and Gameboy game ever made. Since both the Xbox and the 360 play DVD's I only have 4 boxes around my TV (Digital cable box and home theater receiver are the others).
Seriously. This thing is cheaper than a toploader, and it plays famicon games. Tell me where and I'll hand over my credit card now.
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I read this article the other day and still wonder how it's possible to release this system without any flak from Nintendo. This is considered legal? It's being sold at gamestop and other big chains so it seems to be just fine. Doesn't Nintendo hold some IP that disallows the use of making an NES clone?
...but this is the same thing two-bit Asian electronics companies have been pushing for a while now. It's just in prettier packaging. The one I have now (that I bought at the mall after talking the guy down from $50 to $15) looks a bit silly with it's cartridge slot being almost flush with the top of the unit, but I'll bet underneath the same ship makes both tick.
Lots of interesting comments about the NEX over at AtariAge.
I preordered mine the moment I heard of it, and got mine in the first batch. I'm very pleased with it. I play it more then my Gamecube. It's worth it (and cheap) to track down old titles that I've only played in emualtion before. Dragon Warrior and Faxanadu are very good games that are still fun that I happend to have missed. Call it "Maximizing your gameing dollar".
Plus, the redesigned controller they shipped with the NEX is awesome. It doesn't leave marks like the old one did, and it has some new touches that help (pause, turbo, and SHOULDER BUTTONS that mirror A, B, easy to reach start, select). 'Love to get the wireless controlers too. It also looks sexy and came with a cool poster.
My only complaint would be that there are two game that I'd like that don't work with it. Those being Castlevainia 3 and Gauntlet. That said, all the other Castlevainias and Gauntlet 2 work fine. Still, I thank Messiah for bringing teh retro back.
What's up with that?
= %22don't+say+the+p+word%22+%22max+headroom
Max Headroom: And, and, remember folks: Don't say the P word.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q
You MOVED OUT! You should have just moved into the basement, then all your stuff would still be close at hand. And you get mom's cooking.
The days of the digital watch are numbered.
Maybe I'm getting too stodgey, but someone should've consulted a Latin dictionary first.
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
Yet another Hong Kong Famiclone. Yay.
I have a well-maintained front-loader, a top-loader, and an A/V Famicom. Why would I be interested in this? I can stick in my Final Fantasy III cartridge, but will it let me play the game in English? No? Then I'll wait for the Kevtendo.
Heck, can this Famiclone even get all the sound right? They mentioned TMNT II, how was the percussion in that game? Did April's digitized scream come through?
Hell, I had a Tristar once, which did everything this thing does (played both NES and Famicom carts) while pretending to be an add-on to my SNES. That saved even more shelf space than having one of these would. What advantage does this have over a Tristar?
I hope like hell this shuts up my roommate and her incessant whining about not having any games in the current generation line-ups that are fun and easy to play (excepting Katamari and Super Monkey Ball, which she won't put down...).
"How like you to drag your keyboard to a gun fight." - Aaron Bedard (BANE)
mmmmmmmm...
I have been following this device and its creators for some time now, and they had been stating a Christmas release and at least online they have hit their mark (more than can be said of a number of others). While the novelty and the retro gamers will love it I believe it is ill-fated for a couple major reasons.
1.) Poor timing with the upcoming Revolution release and the backwards compatability.
2.) The NES is one of the hardest consoles to program for EVER. It is a major pain in the ass, I've worked on two NES titles and they are not fun. Without an active community of developers it will not really have a niche.
The DC was a cake-walk in comparison and that is why there are still commercial releases coming out for it.
Nevertheless, I wish them the best and I hope that these little buggers sell like crazy... me, my original 1st run NES still runs as great as the day I bought it and is still hooked up and operational.
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
Death. http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE339.html
"You could even write a nice menu system to run on boot to choose between emulators and games, making the machine seem more like a remade console."
What you are describing is exactly what has been done with emulation on the Xbox. Modded Xboxes use a menu interface such as Evolution X which makes it easy to select emulators, homebrew games or media center apps while sitting on the couch.
The emulator interfaces are easy to use menus. Most of the emulators are ports of ones you have used on Windows, just with a new interface that is more suited to a TV screen. No need to select roms from a mouse driven GUI.
The other nice thing about Xbox emulation is that all the emulators will use the full controller features. So for example, dual joystick play in Robotron or Battlezone works without any controller configuration.
And although big for a console, the Xbox is small for a PC. And cheap as well.
The only REAL disadvantage is if you are interested in emulating mid to late '90s arcade games or consoles. There just isn't enough CPU power. Although some of the N64 games that do work are quite playable. And of course for systems that had keyboards or keypads, there isn't one available (i.e. Intellivision, Colecovision, 8 bit computers).
The selection of emulators is pretty much just as impressive as on the PC - Atari (from 2600 to ST), Coleco, Intellivision, Odyssey, Spectrum, NES, SNES, N64, GBA, Sega Master System, Genesis, NeoGeo, Arcade, Commodore 64, Apple 2, Amiga, Turbographix even a Playstation emulator.
This page: Xport hasn't been updated in a long time but shows a good amount of whats out there.
Sometimes my arms bend back.
While this device looks great, I fear that it's functionality will leave a lot to be desired.
This Joystiq article from over a year ago new-nes-console-knockoff-is-a-lemon seems to indicate that the NEX is not all it's cracked up to be.
It has already been said above, but for those that didn't see it there here it is again. I have one of these, I pre-ordered early on. It is very pretty and is packaged well, but the compatibility sucks, the cart slot is tight as can be and there is a sticker, yes a paper sticker, on the back that says not to remove it to reduce risk of fire and electrocution if you don't have the right hookups for it. I'm totally behind the idea that the GenNEX seems to to have come from, I really wanted to be happy with what I bought, but it doesn't deliver on its promise. You are MUCH better off buying a reconditioned NES toaster model off of eBay or reputable people that service NESs.
~Necromutant
From what I've seen IGN is the only site giving this positive reviews. Everyone else says the console is crap. I guess IGN has sold their advertising services in the form of a review, yet again.
s /6
You can find a less biased review here:
http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archive
And these guys aren't the only ones saying the system is terrible.
Basically it's nothing more than one of those cheap, Chinese Nintendo clones with a NES-type shell. The creators of this system claim this thing has a custom IC with care put into it's design to ensure maximum compatibility. Then it turns out the thing isn't compatible with many games and doesn't quite run others properly.
What I find funny is the IGN site mentioning how innaccurate emulators supposedly are, especially in light of how bad this thing is.
My recommendation is to go out and find the original NES for $20. Either that or find the original Chinese clone. It might have an ugly looking shell, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than this thing.
The IGN article is nothing more than a sales pitch presented in the form of a review. Read here for more details
Do not judge a book by its cover. The NEX is nothing more than yet another Famicom/NES clone. There have been 100s before it, and they all pretty much suck. It uses the same NES-on-a-chip (NOAC) used in many other Famicom and NES clones. These NOACs have inaccurate audio, video, glitches, and are completely incompatible with roughly 40 NES games (Castlevania III, Gauntlet, etc) and even more Famicom games! Even free emulators for your PC or Xbox (Nestopia, Nintendulator, FCE Ultra) do better than the NEX in both accuracy of audio/video, as well as game compatibility! The NEX also does not have a Famicom extension port, so it can't use the Family Basic Keyboard and other Famicom peripherials that use the port. Here is real review.
The Messiah wireless controllers are great except for the D-pad, which is useless for many NES games, such as any game that requires you to double-tap a direction. Double Dragon is an example. The D-pad just doesn't respond fast enough. It is also tough to play even games like Super Mario Bros using the D-pad because you will accidentally hit the diagonals when running, instead of hitting forward. This causes Mario to stop running entirely. The wireless part of the controller is great. I just wish they used a standard cross shaped D-pad. I should add that the NEX does not come with a wireless controller, and you have to buy one separately. Furthermore, since the controllers come with a wireless receiver, they can be used with the original NES too. So yes the NEX can use these controllers, but so can a real NES.
In summary, anything that the NEX can do, a refurbished original NES can do and do it better. Read here for more details. In the end, it is up to you how you want to spend your money. But consider the fact that a refurbished original NES costs roughly $30, and the NEX is basically the same clone on the inside as the USA version Neo Fami, which can be had for even less than $30. The NEX, however, costs $60.
This thing is cheaper than a toploader, and it plays famicon games.
If you want to play famicom games, get a cheap famiclone. That's what the Generation NEX seems to be. In many places, you can buy one at the mall and throw the included pirate multicart away.
I get a flashing pink screen when I play it on my NES.
How to Clean an NES Game Pak
Adapted from a procedure in the official NES cleaning kit's manual
Did the people at IGN even put a NEX side-by-side with an original NES?! I bought a NEX. It's a gorgeous system, it just happens not to work very well. Colors are off, sound is off, and quite a number of games don't work at all. Within short order I'd shelved it and reconnected my original NES (with a newly replaced 72-pin connector). Great wireless controllers though.