A couple of questions (re: modded snes)

[LupusCanis]

Essentially, I'd like to obtain a modded SNES (expanded cart slot, 50/60 switch, modchip) - I'm in the UK (I'd like to be able to get stuff never released here, but not EXCLUSIVELY US carts) - what kind of price is decent for this, including a commonish game (Mario or KI) and all the leads necessary.

I have someone offering it to me for £50, but this seems very steep given that ordinary SNES's are worth next to nothing.

Does modding really add that much to the cost? If it's overpriced, how much should I pay? How much skill would be required to do this myself, and what equipment would I need?

Thanks.

Also, I shouldn't be asking this on a retro gaming forum, but is there any way to disable region locking without opening up the system for a PS2 (if it makes it more retro, it's for a PSX game, rather than a PS2 one)? Thanks again.

[omnedon]

It takes OSG about 2 hours labour to fully mod, invoice, and prepare to ship an SNES like you describe. Plus it takes about $5 in parts.

Then of course the value of the SNES, cables and game.

In this neck of the woods nice looking plain jane SNES's fetch $60CDN without a game.

50 GBP is $105 CDN dollars, so I say if it looks good and works as described, it's a fair deal. :) Not a steal to be sure.

My 0.02 cents

[chaoticjelly]

Essentially, I'd like to obtain a modded SNES (expanded cart slot, 50/60 switch, modchip) - I'm in the UK (I'd like to be able to get stuff never released here, but not EXCLUSIVELY US carts) - what kind of price is decent for this, including a commonish game (Mario or KI) and all the leads necessary.

I have someone offering it to me for £50, but this seems very steep given that ordinary SNES's are worth next to nothing.

Does modding really add that much to the cost? If it's overpriced, how much should I pay? How much skill would be required to do this myself, and what equipment would I need?

Thanks.

Also, I shouldn't be asking this on a retro gaming forum, but is there any way to disable region locking without opening up the system for a PS2 (if it makes it more retro, it's for a PSX game, rather than a PS2 one)? Thanks again.

£50 does seem a bit steep.

Recently I have been selling my SNES' £40 with 2 pads, console, RF cable, psu and mario kart, £9-£10 for a loose console.

If your interested in a fully modded and professionally done SNES, with 50/60hz switch, lockout enable/disable switch and widened cart slot, plus a common game and all the cables etc let me know I'll do you a deal..

You need a fair bit of skill, if you've not modded anything before I wouldnt recommend modding a SNES as your starting point :/

[Lord_Magus]

You need a fair bit of skill, if you've not modded anything before I wouldnt recommend modding a SNES as your starting point :/

Sorry, but I strongly disagree.

Around a year ago I modded my first SNES and added lockout and 50\60Hz switches, and before that I had never even held a soldering iron in my life. Hell, a few months later, I was actually making SNESs (like the one pictured below) and selling them on ebay for a living. If I remember correctly, I was selling them for around AU$160 myself (around 50-60GBP) plus postage.

Used SNESs on the other hand are relatively cheap, so I would highly recommend you buy one and mod it yourself. Nothing beats the satisfaction of firing up Final Fantasy III in 60Hz on your own modded PAL SNES for the first time :) Just be sure to take it slowly and don't rush, and you shouldn't have a problem. Also, if you haven't had any previous experience with soldering before, maybe experiment a bit on an old network card or something else (which you don't need obviously :P). Try removing a few pins and soldering wires to them, and when you're confident enough you can finally operate on the SNES.

Also, be sure to check out these helpful links:
http://www.gamesx.com/
http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/index.htm

Below is a picture of my own modded SNES aka My pride and joy :)

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/589/picture019od6.jpg

[CosmicMonkey]

If you're gonna mod a SNES, I'd recommend an NTSC unit.

There is no true way to have a 100% universal SNES: some games check for a functioning SNES lockout chip. Mario RPG is one example of this. You're not playing that on a PAL SNES with the lockout-chip mod.

There's more US/Japanese games you'll want that check for a functioning lockout chip than PAL ones. So yeah, get an NTSC unit and mod that with 50/60Hz and Lockout enable/disable switches.

[Lord_Magus]

If you're gonna mod a SNES, I'd recommend an NTSC unit.

There is no true way to have a 100% universal SNES: some games check for a functioning SNES lockout chip. Mario RPG is one example of this. You're not playing that on a PAL SNES with the lockout-chip mod.

There's more US/Japanese games you'll want that check for a functioning lockout chip than PAL ones. So yeah, get an NTSC unit and mod that with 50/60Hz and Lockout enable/disable switches.

This man speaks the truth. Realistically though, the amount of games which won't work on a modded PAL SNES are very few to my knowledge, and the only noteworthy ones I am aware of are Mario RPG (doesn't play) and Street Fighter Alpha 2 (has some major graphical glitches). Other than those two, I've never had any incompatibility issues with my modded PAL SNES.

The ultimate solution would be to seek out a japanese Super Famicom - that way, you'd have the best of both worlds (NTSC compatibilty and the nicer, sleeker design ;)). However, last time I checked they were slightly pricier than the PAL\US consoles, so you might want to factor that into our decision as well...