Nes pirated consoles with actual Nes ports...what is next?

[swlovinist]

I have recently been noticing alot of pirated Nes consoles with actual Nes ports, actually made for the US market. This is awsome, although I already have a Top Loader, I think now is a great time to get a "Backup Nes" for my top loader. My question is why is Nintendo not making something like this? The other question is, are there currently(as being made now) any other pirate systems being made to mimic other systems? With retrogames having a loyal following, why have not other "retro consoles" come out?

P.S. I dont count the Atari Flashback as it does not play the original carts. Is there any hope for a "retro atari" or any other console in the future?

[Captain Wrong]

My question is why is Nintendo not making something like this?

Because they are making a much greater profit selling the games individually as $20 GBA carts. It's the same reason you'll never see a Nintendo retro comp (unless they get really despirate for sales.)

I'm pretty sure there was a thread ages ago on why Nintendo doesn't reissue the NES (or something like it) and the short version is because they are in the business to make money and something like that would be a sure loser. The pirates can make a profit because Famiclones are made as cheaply as possible. Even then, they're selling to a very small audience. Plus they've been cranking out Familclones in Asia for so long, it's not that big a deal to retool them for US consumption.

As for other consoles, there have been Atari VCS clones back in the day, but the fact of the matter is, pretty much any retro console you'd want is just an eBay away. What would be the point of reissuing them? The same can be said for the NES. Really, is it that hard to find an original?

[swlovinist]

While I agree to a certain point, many of the older systems do not even support AV out. Even the US Top Loader did not. While the system are readily available, I think more peple would buy them if they were made with more modern hookups. I also think alot of standard gamers think that the old systems may not work right anymore. I heard that the Atari Flashback was somewhat successful. It also appears that Jack TV plug-ins seem to be doing very well. I dont think the market is as small as you think. What is stopping Nintendo from marketing a retro console along with multicart software to go along it?" I think that there is a market, I just dont think that they listen...as usual.

[unbroken]

i am pretty sure that the retro collectors out there make up a SMALL percentage of overall gamers, if nintendo did do a reissue, they probably would'nt sell shit.

[Flack]

I don't even like the NES that much and I have four or five of them lying around -- not to mention the fact that I have NES emulators on both my laptop and my Xbox (and now that I think about it, for the PS2 and Dreamcast as well).

Consoles cost more to make than games. Most companies lose money on console sales and make money on games. That's not a great business model if you're planning on releasing a console that plays games you can find for a buck at any thrift store or pawn shop.

[James]

I have recently been noticing alot of pirated Nes consoles with actual Nes ports, actually made for the US market. This is awsome, although I already have a Top Loader, I think now is a great time to get a "Backup Nes" for my top loader. My question is why is Nintendo not making something like this? The other question is, are there currently(as being made now) any other pirate systems being made to mimic other systems? With retrogames having a loyal following, why have not other "retro consoles" come out?

Some of the Famiclones as they’re called are actually licensed by Nintendo, but not endorsed. As for actually NES systems and needing a backup, well I've had a NES for 16 years and it still works great, I've only cleaned it twice. I also have an even older NES I recently picked up with a new pin-header that grabs the cartridges really tightly so they won't come loose and activate the lock-out chip while playing which was really annoying back in the day. I don't have a NES 2 or an original Famicom but AV Famicom's are pretty cheap and I plan on picking one up. If any part of your NES breaks for some reason, Nintendo will still repair them for you. As for Nintendo still selling NES's and Famicom's I don't think it's very profitable for them as was mentioned earlier. No other system seems to have been copied as far as I know.

[jdc]

They have a bunch of clones at a local shop that play both NES and SNES carts.....on the SAME machine!! They look exactly like a SNES toploader, but they're a very dark grey with dark purple trim. Maybe it's time to pick one up since I have a NES but not a SNES.

[Vroomfunkel]

Consoles cost more to make than games. Most companies lose money on console sales and make money on games. That's not a great business model if you're planning on releasing a console that plays games you can find for a buck at any thrift store or pawn shop.

This is a common misconception.

Companies lose money on NEW consoles, that are made with newest and best available technology. They have to do this as the market demands that they provide the best available technology to compete, and there is no way that the average consumer would pay the full price upfront for the technology.

However, NES, Megadrive etc. are not new technology any more, by a long shot - and you could easily put one of these together these days for next to nothing - as demonstrated by the numerous Famiclone makers ... because you can be sure that they are not doing it at a loss, as they don't have the games to make up the margin with!

Vroomfunkel

[swlovinist]

I still think that there is a market for retro consoles, maybe just time will tell if one is ever made. As for people finding Nes systems still working, YOU ARE VERY LUCKY. For every one nes I have gotten to work(without ordering parts), I can show you two that dont finding them in the wild. As for people wanting to buy that Nes Famiclone on ebay, you may want to check out my other post on it, as a well done review on Atari Age pointed out some things that the Famiclone does that you may want to look at.


Aside from Nes, which is the most pirated system ever, Who here would buy an Atari with AV out if they made one?

[Captain Wrong]

Some of the Famiclones as they’re called are actually licensed by Nintendo, but not endorsed.

Really? I'd never heard that before. Which ones?

Oh and I don't think enough people care about AV outs to make that a selling point. Again, most people are just happy to have a retro comp or emulation. The number of people that actually want to fool with the real hardware is much smaller.

[TEXASGAMEPLAYER]

If nintendo still fixes them and you can still order parts, doesn't it stand to reason you could order all the parts and assemble a brand new one? This sounds like an idea I would like to look into, as I HATE used items. Any opinions as to why it would or would not work,
and does anyone here have the expertice to do it?

[Necromutant]

I found a pretty slick Famiclone a while ago, I think it is a newer one and it probably one of the licensed ones as well:

http://www.cybergadget.co.jp/product/retro/003417.html

Would love to get ahold of one of those that was set up for US games without a converter and ports for regular NES controllers.

Anyone have a link to pics of the one that does have the standard controller ports?

[Captain Wrong]

Hmm...don't see anything that would lead me to believe this is licensed.

I don't understand why Nintendo would license Familclones seeing as they guard their IP pretty cloesly. I know Sega has licensed some funky Sega-clones, but I'm really curious about the Nintendo thing.

[Necromutant]

By the looks of the site (I can't read Japanese so I could be way off) it looks like the CyberGadget company are the ones manufacturing it to me, and it looks really nice compared to the others I have seen, but maybe that is just the fact hat it looks similar to a Famicom in color and design. Still, by far the nicest looking one I have seen, most of the ones I have seen look like complete crap.