What is the facination with Famiclones?

[Achika]

I've gotten about 5 emails in the past 2 days asking about SuperJoys & Famiclones and countless emails over the past few months from people asking where to buy or demanding to know the price of mine (nice to know some people don't read. :roll: )

Plus, I get the complaints from people when theirs don't work, asking for contact information "why doesn't it work" and "why do the games repeat?" "mine didn't come with a cartridge, but yours did, why?"

For $30 and 100 games sold in flea markets and mall center kiosks, what did you expect? It's the cheapest crap that I have in my collection and I regret spending $30 on them (personally no more than $15 should be put towards them IMO, as they are about as quality as $1 store toys) The Polystation III I bought doesn't even work and from what I've heard, sometimes the wires aren't even soldered in the right place sometimes, no suprise I guess.

WHY? WHAT is the fascination with these?

[Sylentwulf]

Mine works better than my NES toaster, and looks a lot cooler.
Beleive it's a polystation 1 or 2, and didn't come with a multicart.

IMO They're a step up from toasters, and WAY beneath a front loader. For the price, especially with ANY type of multicart, they're worth it.

[Flack]

I think the fascination is because:

1) It's a non-authorized item. It makes it seem kind of dangerous, rare, or unique to the average gamer/collector.

2) For those with a malfunctioning front loader, it's not a bad replacement.

3) It reminds me of all those PC case modding people -- it's the same guts, but it looks different than everybody elses.

That being said, people should be aware of what they're paying for. At least one of the buttons on mine doesn't work, and the cart reader doesn't seem to work either.

[TRM]

I think the fascination is because:

1) It's a non-authorized item. It makes it seem kind of dangerous, rare, or unique to the average gamer/collector.


I agree with this. It makes the system seem a bit exotic, so to speak.

[pango]

famiclones are funny and fun to collect. thats about it. i love them because they are so damn strange sometimes. look at polystations.

[MarioAllStar2600]

I love them cause of there casing. I think they look cool and unique. I realize on the insides they are pieces of crap, but there unique. Its like saying what is tha fascination with rarity 10 games if they suck so bad? Unique, and cool.

[suppafly]

Mexico is flooded with famiclones in all the flea markets...i´ve never owned any....they look so cheap! :o

[GrandAmChandler]

I have one. And all I can say is...

MEH.

I never play it.

[Sotenga]

My collector's spirit is nearly non-existant, so I'm speaking strictly from a gamer's point of view: SUCK THEM. Go spend that money on Radiant Silvergun... hardly worth the cash, Famiclones are. Bah.

[Lady Jaye]

Give me my 2 front-loaders anytime. I don't care much for the famiclones. Then again, I don't even care about whether I have a front-loader or a top-loader, as long as it works fine.

[christianscott27]

i got bit by the famiclone bug for a time, its passed now but heres what lured me to them

the Q-boy was just so cool looking, and i actually did take it to a relatives house on vacation.

the mega joy (N64 controller) i wanted a famicom system cheap, it was around $20

Dr.Boy- looks like a gameboy color, its one of those "so bad its cool" systems

the pelican (clear blue DC controller)- this features a unique line up of all the color dreams games and a totally annoying rumble feature. theres also a wisdom tree version out there that i want really badly!

unknown famicom look alike, came with a multicart, bought from ebay for $3, i was the only bidder

all black russian made famiclone- another cheap ebay item, has wireless TV connection and a cool multi-cart, plus a realistic pistol light gun, its boxed and unused

somewhat related, i also have a TV-boy II with loads of atari oddities and a pirate 2600 jr. clone with 64 built in games. these two items i stand by, they're cool and rare :)

[oesiii]

I have a couple but no way would I ever pay more than $10-15 for a famiclone, they are the cheapest hunks of plastic and wires around. The Polystation I have is a purple and red Xbox looking thing with standard 9pin joypads that can be swapped with Atari sticks and it lets me play 60pin famicom games on it. The 76,000 in 1 multicart is always good for a laugh, so all that was worth $10 :)