So many NES/SNES/Famicom/Genesis clones why nothing for the 2600/7800?

[courtesi1]

Basically it's like this ...

I sold everything when the crap hit the fan a few years ago and now I'm looking to get back into the video game hobby.

This time however I only plan to purchase what I will play. This means for some consoles I may only own 1 or 2 games.

The prices for the 2600/7800 consoles seem excessive to me especially those resellers who a/v or s-video mod but don't even include an ac adapter or joystick!

Since there are so many console clones out there why hasn't anyone comeout with something for the 2600/7800? Is it due to chips that are no longer replaceable?

I'd like to buy some homebrews for both the 2600/7800 but the consoles seem a bit costly if you want upgraded video. Is it that difficult to add?

[Greg2600]

Just not enough of a market.

[treismac]

Just not enough of a market.

There has to be something of a market with the Atari Flashback series reaching its fourth version, right?

[Rickstilwell1]

When I could only get $10 back + spend $30 for shipping on complete in box Atari stuff I paid at least $130 for 2 years ago, I would say the demand for Atari stuff has fallen through the center of the earth and decintegrated or whatever that word is.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The problem is the global market for 2600 and especially 7800 clones is far too small.

While gamers in North America may fondly remember their Ataris, most of Europe and other PAL countries couldn't have cared less as they focused on their micro computers, and Japan and the Asia Pacific region had the Famicom.

The reason there are so many Famiclones, Super Famiclones and Genesis clones is because the all had global market appeal.

Your question "why nothing for the 7800" is like asking why there aren't ZX Spectrum clones, or SG-1000 clones. The simple fact is that the potential market is far too small.

This is also why Hyperkin isn't adding in PC Engine or Atari support into their forthcoming Retorn5, even though it could easily do so. The market just isn't there.

[Steve W]

There were ZX Spectrum clones, mainly behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. And there was also an SG-1000 clone too! It was by Bit Corporation (they seemed big on cloning systems back in the '80s) and would not only play SG-1000 games for Eastern appeal, it'd also play Colecovision games for Western appeal. Since Telegames had the rights to the Colecovision after Coleco went bankrupt, they licensed the system and brought it to the US as the Telegames DINA 2-in-1. It's pretty hard to find nowadays, especially considering the low quality of the cloned hardware means that if you found one in the wild, there's no guarantee it'd work.

[tom]

There's quite a few Atari VCS clones, starting with official ones from the late 70s, Sears Video Arcade (3 versions), the unofficial ones (Coleco Add-on module number 2 and the Coleco Gemini), just look here for a little round-up for Atari VCS clones:
http://atariage.com/2600/archives/consoles.html
This lsiting is not even halfway complete.

Later (90s) we had the TV Boy 1 - 4 and Asian VCS units:
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=194790&g2_serialNumber=2
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=202693&g2_serialNumber=2

And now since mid-2000 the Flashbacks (1 - 4 so far with more to come), VCSs in joysticks or paddles and more.

But remember, Atari Inc didn't allow unofficial VCS/Flashback clones during the the Infogrames years.

VCS is well catered for with clones


.

[Daltone]

There were ZX Spectrum clones, mainly behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.

Now this I would like to see!

I'd love a BBC Micro or Vic 20 clone too.

[jammajup]

This is my opinion from a retro gamer in UK .
Of course the NES and Megadrive were globally popular but it may be that the hardware was easy to copy due to the components been readily available at the time,another reason why there are not so many clones with other systems not because of lack of interest but for the reason it is just simpler to play the games on an emulator,this does apply to Atari 2600 (Stella) and the ZX Spectrum.I am one of the many people still making games in some form or other for the Speccy which has the biggest homebrew scene out there - (100+ games made in 2011,80+ in 2012) and most of this people use emulators because of other software they need-title page paint programs,format converters and game building editors,with a homebrew scene that big obviously the Speccy still has a large following in Europe and a few other places-(UK,Italy,Spain,Brazil,Poland and Russia) but in my opinion the A2600 has one of the biggest followings out there globally of any machine,for those who have not already you need to visit Atari Age . So I think there is interest in most systems -what you have to realize is retro gamers like myself also have an interest in consoles and computers that they never owned back in the day that may have been popular abroad and so we seek them out, as i am a member of 16 retro gaming and arcade collecting forums i think i can safely say i see a lot of interest in almost all systems globally.
For the record the ZX Spectrum clone in Russia was the Pentagon and can be emulated on some ZX Emulators such as ZXSPIN.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_(computer)

[Daltone]

For the record the ZX Spectrum clone in Russia was the Pentagon and can be emulated on some ZX Emulators such as ZXSPIN.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_(computer)

Why thank you!

[Steve W]

http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=202693&g2_serialNumber=2



Ah, the TV Boy II. I regret that I didn't buy one when I came across it in a markdown bin in a weird little toy and action figure store in a nearby mall a decade or so ago. I wasn't sure what it was, and I had to wait until payday, by which time it had totally slipped my mind. A month later I stopped in again, and it was gone. :(

[SOL BADGUY]

Ive seen one 2600 clone for $40 and it came with a lot of games. But you might as well just buy all the arcade collection disks like the big collections for the PS2. There are a whooooole lot of collection disks on the market from SNES to PS2. Id rather buy those ( well, I downloaded them for my emulators) than some reproduction machine.

Actual consoles may be expensive, but the games are $2 each without a box or manual, so compared to buying for say the Dreamcast or N64, youll get a better deal if you want a huge library of games. Id buy a 7800 for variety if I was you and wanted the "true" experience. And one day two guys came into the store I go to and they had gotten a 2600 and games for $10 at a garage sale. Craigs List may be a great bet too for deals, a guy I was talking to about maybe buying a Dreamcast off of had a ton of 70's and 80's non NES consoles, so theyre definitely out there waiting for people to snatch them up.

Ooh, and I just remembered the Colecovision 2600 expansion pack, dont know how much it costs, but then you could play Donkey Kong too.

[Jorpho]

the unofficial ones (Coleco Add-on module number 2 and the Coleco Gemini)That was Module #1. Module 2 was the steering wheel.