If you though Gameboy is the longest supported console...

[CrazyImpmon]

...then you're off by a few years. There's a brand spankin' new Sega Master System out recently. It looks like SMS 2 console but it's WHITE!, sports a total of 74 built in games (including a 20 in 1), and can play any other game carts. SMS never had any region lockout so you're still able to play any other games.

www.pontofrio.com.br
and
www.casaevideo.com.br

Tec Toy site: (with list of games but it doesn't expand what's on 20 in 1) Tec Toy

The price seems to be about $70-$80 USD

Let see... from '86 until '03... that's 17 years of continued Sega Master System production! and Tec Toys shows no sign of stopping!

Compare with other long supported consoles:
Gameboy from '89 to current, 14 years
Atari from '76 to '92?, 16 years. The discontinued year is still questionable, could be '91 or '93, although you can argue that Atari 7800 should count because it was compatible with 2600 but I don't know when 7800 died either.
Intellivision from '81 to early 90's, anyone know for sure when INTV quit?

I'd love to get that white console. If the basic internal is the same, it should be easy to add 50/60HZ switch or permantly convert to NTSC console (It's PAL-M BTW)

[buttasuperb]

Don't forget about the Neo Geo, its been around for almost 12 years now, and still going strong.

[Gunstarhero]

This isn't 17 Consecutive years of support though. Thats the key, there have been some years between 86 and '03 that saw absolutely no support for the SMS.

For longest supported consoles in terms of consecutive years of support, the battle has to be between the Gameboy and the Neo Geo. Gameboy '89-present, and Neo Geo '90-present. Will there even be any actual Gameboy games produced anymore? I mean there is a difference between Gameboy and even Gameboy Color, when was the last Gameboy game made? Neo Geo could very well swipe the honors away from the little portable here very soon, since it has games scheduled for release this year.

[Captain Wrong]

By supported, I'd take that to mean new games. I'm assuming there aren't any in this console.

And if you want to go by that kind of thinking, the Activision Handheld thingy that came out last year is basically a 2600, so wouldn't the 2600 take the crown?

Still, interesting info. Thanks.

[icest0rm]

Does anybody know WHY the SMS is still popular in Brazil (or South America)?

[NoahsMyBro]

Well, if we're going down the path of nailing down rules and requirements to establish some sort of criteria for the 'title' of longest-supported console, then I don't know if it would qualify, but I'd say the Jaguar might deserve some sort of honorable mention. It's lasted far longer than anybody would have suspected or guessed, with new games popping up occasionally for it.

For that matter, new 2600 titles are beginning to be cranked out almost like the system is in it's heyday lately, thanks to the various homebrewers out there.

Just the other night I realized I have something like 17 homebrew games (not including the Songbird, Telegames, or 4Play/Scatalogic Jaguar games), most of them 2600, and I've passed up countless others just because I don't have enough money or time to get everyone I want.

[ubersaurus]

I'll disagree on the game boy being the longest supported system... The original game boy was phased out about the time that Pokemon gold/silver came out, in favor of the game boy color (which although similar, has games that cannot run on the older gb, thereby setting it apart in my eyes). Although there were games compatible with the original game boy on the color, they stopped coming out after a while. Now the GBA is out, and the color is the one nearly dead.

[samuraiX]

Until the GameBoy is not able to play the current games out then it is still supported. I know that there were a few games that came out that worked for both the color and the b&w last year. And I assume that there will be a few more that come out this year. But after that I have doubts that it will continue to be supported.

Go Neo Geo woot!

[Raccoon Lad]

That "20 em 1" cart has been dumped and available online for a while now. The games on the cart are similar to early games written in basic. And by early, I mean '78-'81 era. Basiclly, the 20 in 1 sucks.

[Cheese]

I am emailing by Brazilian friends right now.

[Britboy]

For Christmas, Britgirl got me a joystick through AVON of all places, it has batteries and hooks to the TV and plays Adventure, Missile Command, Gravitar, Realsports Volletball, Asteroids, Centipede, Pong, Breakout, Yar's Revenge, and Circus Atari. pretty cool, and is copyright 2002, so there ya go.

[gamingguy]

My own personal rule is that the HARDWARE must be manufactured every year to qualify for that year. Therefore late-life software would be irrelevant if the hardware is no longer available for purchase. Also, I'd limit it to North American availability. Reason: I'm not interested in a Chinese console that is not obtainable (or readable for that matter). So that means:

ATARI 2600 1977-92 = 15 years is longest.
Neo Geo 1990-03 = 13 years
Gameboy 1989-99 = 10 years (no GBA doesn't count.. it's an upgraded piece of hardware... just like the 7800)

Commodore=64 1982-92 = 10 years
Playstation 1986-03 = 7 years
Sega MS [1986-92 = 6 years] [N.America market]


Like I said, this is my own personal rule (hardware only). You guys may have different views. The reason I limit myself to hardware is because homebrew software will keep these consoles alive near forever. I can't imagine a day when I can't buy Atari 2600 software. So rather than say, "The Atari never died," which is obviously nonsense, I feel it's better to focus on the HARDWARE availability for North America to provide a *definitive end-of-life* date.

[oesiii]

By supported, I'd take that to mean new games. I'm assuming there aren't any in this console.

And if you want to go by that kind of thinking, the Activision Handheld thingy that came out last year is basically a 2600, so wouldn't the 2600 take the crown?

Still, interesting info. Thanks.

Someone from Brazil said it was because of economics. Poor country for the most part, while the rest of the world was getting the Genesis and Dreamcast in the 90's, the SMS was made very cheaply and distributed widely. I think a lot of the pirate or semi-pirate systems down there come with dozens of games included in the system rom.

[Griking]

So how much does this new SMS cost in US dollars? Will it work on US televisions? And if so does anyone know where I can pick one up for delivery to the USA? I unfortunately can't read either of those two Brazialian sites.

[Raccoon Lad]

Those TecToy SMS's produce a funky PAL-M signal. I doubt the average US TV could accept that signal.

[Wavelflack]

I have trouble believing that 2600s were still being manufactured in 1992. Could be wrong, though..

[CrazyImpmon]

Sega MS 1986-91/03 = 6 years

So I guess SMS III and the portable SMS doesn't count? The portable SMS (forgot its name) is not like game gear, it depends on TV but there's no wire at all to hook up. It would probably never get past FCC :P

I'm pretty sure Tec Toys kept making and reinventing SMS throughout the latter 90's.

[slapdash]

Those TecToy SMS's produce a funky PAL-M signal. I doubt the average US TV could accept that signal.

Actually, PAL-M is fairly close to NTSC in a lot of ways; it might actually show up on a US TV reasonably well (probably colors off, or only in black & white).

[CrazyImpmon]

Those TecToy SMS's produce a funky PAL-M signal. I doubt the average US TV could accept that signal.

Actually, PAL-M is fairly close to NTSC in a lot of ways; it might actually show up on a US TV reasonably well (probably colors off, or only in black & white).

Actuallyt not to worry, if it has AV output then you can hook it up just fine in most cases. RF out may be tricky to use as different countries uses different frequency for channels.

If the internal's the same as other SMS you can easily fix it to be 60Hz. Adjusting the color carrier frequency would take some time but making Brazilian SMS work fine on NTSC shouldn't be hard.

[Anonymous]

FYI on the gameboy, the last gameboy game that supported the B&W GB was released late last year. I don't know the name, but if enough people are interested, I can look up the title and release month.