From Kotaku: Generation NEX verdict - SUX

[boatofcar]

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/emulato...sux-135179.php

Red Wolf at VintageComputing got his hands on this NES clones for an in-depth review. He writes that his initial impressions were good, because the packaging was pretty nice. But once, he opened the clear plastic box and plugged the machine in, things got a little ugly. Everything thing about he machine blows monkey chunks. To get an idea of how rotten the machine is, Red Wolf lists “don’t explode when you turn it on” as a good feature. Who’s to blame? Those self-proclaimed saviors of gaming, Messiah Entertainment. Seems the Anti-Christ is alive and well, making crappy Nintendo emulators.

----
Boy, am I glad I didn't fall for its good looks.


EDIT: Forgot the link to the actual review.

http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/6


Yeah, I know it's been discussed to death on DP, but it's nice to hear someone from outside the boards saying the same things.

[Graham Mitchell]

Yipes. They really need to get those compatibility issues ironed out. That's just plain unacceptable. Who really cares about the wireless controller or the manual shaped like a NES cart? If the thing doesn't play like a NES or a Famicom, then there's no point in it.

[njiska]

Talk about a colussal disappointment. I was looking forward to the NEX and given Messiahs past i thought it'd be great. Sadly something went horribly wrong.

[suppafly]

wow im glad I didnt order one of these. Thanks for the information!

[Simply Dave]

Same here, I'm glad I waited to see what people thought of it first before putting in a order.

[Crush Crawfish]

Ugh. I'm really glad I didn't jump the gun and preorder one of these. What good is an NES that can't play River City Ransom correctly? I'll just stick with my top loader.

[Niku-Sama]

this acually makes me want to get one more but only to open it up and see if i can fix it my self....i was checking the compatability list and i noticed alot of them saaid not working due to a "game connector issue, try a different copy of the game"....who screwed up and ordered the wrong connector there? its common sence to get a quality connector int he first place so its not like a toaster in the next 5 years and you are blowing your guts out trying to get the game to work.

thats is if the "game connector" is a real problem and not something entirely else...


has any one else had compatability problems with a YoBo NOAC or the NOAC's in the 5 gazillion in 1 controllers and a converter?

[Damaramu]

If you want to a glimpse into why the NEX has so many problems, check out this thread as provided by Jagasian:

http://nesdev.parodius.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=698

It would seem the hardware was outsourced to some company in Asia; they did a less than stellar job in it's design.

[Niku-Sama]

i noticed that from al the beta-fix-it wires....still though, i like poking and proding to see if i can fix things....some times i stumble across something

[Nesmaster]

I too, am glad I didn't jump the gun. Too bad though, as I had high interest in the NEX. Could've been an awesome product, but alas..

[Melf]

Who’s to blame? Those self-proclaimed saviors of gaming, Messiah Entertainment. Seems the Anti-Christ is alive and well, making crappy Nintendo emulators.

Lol, that's just too rich.

[Jagasian]

still though, i like poking and proding to see if i can fix things....some times i stumble across something

The guys at NES Dev have already discussed possible ways to improve the wiring of the cartridge connectors. Correctly wiring the NOAC will put the compatibility on par with other Famiclones such as the NeoFami. So it wouldn't be an impressive improvement, but it would make the system's compatibility as good as the NeoFami's.

[Rev. Link]

I don't see why everyone's so down on the NEX. I have had very little trouble at all with mine. Aside from the few compatibility issues (which I'll get to in a second) I've only had two very minor problems. Sometimes when I start a game the controller buttons won't respond. This is rare, and turning it off and on again always fixes it. The only other problem I've had with it is that it's kind of quiet. I just turn up the TV, no big deal.

As for the compatibility; yeah, that kind of sucks. But hey, I still have my toaster to play those few games on. If I can play the rest of the games on a system that actually starts up the first time virtually everytime, and plays Famicom games, where's the problem?

[Lothars]

As for the compatibility; yeah, that kind of sucks. But hey, I still have my toaster to play those few games on. If I can play the rest of the games on a system that actually starts up the first time virtually everytime, and plays Famicom games, where's the problem?

Good point I am still thinking of getting one even thugh there is the problem

[CosmicMonkey]

Well, this whole NEX business is turning into a bit of a saga isn't it. All these lies and excuses to cover up what's really going on.

Messiah said it was a newly produced PPU clone and was the baddest thing going. Turns out it's just a dodgy Famiclone with incorrect wiring!!, leading to crap compatability.

And this has infuriated many people.

But this also shows that there are enough people interested in a decent Famiclone to make it worthwhile redoing the PPU. The actual design of the NEX with the two cart ports is quite nice. It seems to me that the guys over on NESdev really know their stuff. Get a bunch of them together (including that Kevtris chap) in a room with all the required equipment and I'm sure they could come-up with a new 99% compatable acurate PPU/CPU clone.

And this is why people are so gutted, NEX claimed to be this, and it wasn't. Make a Famiclone that has a decent acurate cloned PPU/CPU, with RGB/S-VHS/Composite & stereo output, Famicom and NES cart sockets and proper NES pad sockets and you're on to a winner.

[poloplayr]

Why oh why won't Nintendo just issue a 20th Anniversary NES system at a nice price??? I'm SURE it would sell like hotcakes.

[n8littlefield]

Why oh why won't Nintendo just issue a 20th Anniversary NES system at a nice price??? I'm SURE it would sell like hotcakes.

I think their answer would be the Revolutions "Virtual Console" thing allowing NES games to be playable.

[Mianrtcv]

I for one, in good conscience will not get one. I do not like to support hardware that could have been better produced. Yes consoles all have issues. This is different. This is a re-make of existing technology. It doesn't have dvd or other issues. It has a basic compatibility issue. Even if it is few, I have many NES consoles (so many people I know just gave them to me when they upgraded). If you have a decent old NES, I see no reason to "upgrade" to a unit that actually plays fewer games.

I was looking forward to this machine too. Oh well.
Then again, they can re-release a multitude of things and I'd be looking forward to most of them. Only now I'm a little more selective where my disposable income gets placed.

[Jagasian]

Why oh why won't Nintendo just issue a 20th Anniversary NES system at a nice price??? I'm SURE it would sell like hotcakes.

I think their answer would be the Revolutions "Virtual Console" thing allowing NES games to be playable.

It should be noted that the Revolution will most likely support even fewer games and peripherials than the NEX, simply because you will be restricted to games that Nintendo or licensed 3rd parties agree to re-release on the Revolution. Similarly, NES and Famicom peripherials will most likely NOT be supported. Dare I say that the Revolution is very over-hyped? Now if Nintendo said that they were going to sell a cart adapter and controller adapters so that you could play your actual carts and peripherials on the Revolution, then we'd be talking about something big!

But we are not. The Revolution is just NES software emulation running on a modern console. This has been done before with the Dreamcast, GBA, and Xbox. The Xbox NES emulator is actually quite good, and since it is unofficial, it doesn't restrict you to running games that Nintendo or 3rd parties decided to re-release. You can rip your own games and play them at will. However, there is no peripherial support, and the emulation isn't 100% perfectly accurate and compatible. Though it is better than the NEX, but then again, that isn't saying much if you know your emulators.

Nintendo could easily make a 100% compatible and accurate re-release of the NES, using modern fabrication technologies. It would cost very little to manufacture for them, and they could include their multi-out A/V connector seen on the SNES, N64, etc, so the system could have RCA composite, S-video, and even RGB!

Most of us don't want a new gaming system. We just want a better NES :/

[Ed Oscuro]

It would seem the hardware was outsourced to some company in Asia; they did a less than stellar job in it's design.

Christ. Pony up and hire some hardware enthusaists to do it!