jeremysart Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I have never been a big fan of those plug n' plays, as most of them have either a small library of games I already have, or a huge library of pirates with tons of repeats and variations. But today I was at Walgreen's waiting on a prescription, so I was browsing through the toys (of course ) and a plug n' play titled "101 in 1" caught my attention when I seen Arkanoid on the cover. I looked desperately for a list, but there was none, just a couple pictures, including Arkanoid, Antarctic Adventure and Excite Bike. Knowing that a lot of these system come from China, and usually have pictures of games that are NOT included, I took the risk and bought it for $10.00 To my surprise, it actually has a LOT of great games on it! To name a few: -Arkanoid -Pooyan -Mario Bros -Bomber-Man I & II -Lode Runner I & II -Antarctic Adventure & Slalom -Clu Clu Land -Binary Land -Mappy -BurgerTime -Donkey Kong I II & III -Excite Bike -Tetris -Pac Man -Karateka -Kung Fu There are NO doubles! Its a great mix from the NES/Arcade/Colecovision/7800/Dyna era. I dont know how they got away with this, as its clearly pirate, even the instruction manual does not list some of the games, and renames Mario Bros "Mac-Bros", and Bomber Man "Bomb-Dude". http://video.aol.com/video-detail/senario-101-games-in-1-tv-game/2414143492/?icid=VIDURVENT08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Walgreens huh? What does this one look like? They have several different ones sometimes. Got a pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Those things are indeed pirate units, and unfortunately, they can be found all over the place in all shapes and sizes. I saw one that had a plain-text menu on power-up, and had all kinds of duplicate entries that didn't correspond to the actual games; for example, "Burger Time0" which opened a funky ripoff of Space Invaders, "Rifleman" which opened a modified version of Contra with nasty colors, and so forth. Devices like this ruin the market for legitimate (meaning licensed and supported) releases of these titles. My question is, how do these clearly illegal pirate units end up being sold openly in shopping malls and at big-name establishments like Walgreen's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremysart Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Those things are indeed pirate units, and unfortunately, they can be found all over the place in all shapes and sizes. I saw one that had a plain-text menu on power-up, and had all kinds of duplicate entries that didn't correspond to the actual games; for example, "Burger Time0" which opened a funky ripoff of Space Invaders, "Rifleman" which opened a modified version of Contra with nasty colors, and so forth. Devices like this ruin the market for legitimate (meaning licensed and supported) releases of these titles. My question is, how do these clearly illegal pirate units end up being sold openly in shopping malls and at big-name establishments like Walgreen's? I posted this particular one because it is not one of the ones with duplicate entries or messed up versions of other games or wrong titles. Its legit, it actually has 101 games, all different, actual names, correct sounds and graphics, plus the selection of games is actually good, ranging from actual hit arcade titles, to obsure colecovision titles, and some of the best NES games. The ones at the malls that look like an N64 controller are mostly junk. But this one was worth the $10 I spent on it I will upload a picture of it tomorrow. There is a link in my post to a video showing some of the games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) I posted this particular one because it is not one of the ones with duplicate entries or messed up versions of other games or wrong titles. Its legit, it actually has 101 games, all different, actual names, correct sounds and graphics, plus the selection of games is actually good, ranging from actual hit arcade titles, to obsure colecovision titles, and some of the best NES games. Understood. My questions pertained to pirate game units in general, not just the crummy ones with duplicate or defective games. The unit you bought clearly contains pirate copies of old NES games; the "arcade" and "ColecoVision" titles you mention are in fact NES ports, if my guess is correct. No legitimately licensed product could offer so many games from so many publishers for only $10. My question is how the producers of something so blatantly illegal have the balls to bring it into an established, legitimate store; one would think they would limit themselves to selling them out of the trunks of their cars in the parking lot. Perhaps nobody is really interested in going after these guys; if that's the case, I don't think we should be supporting them by buying their products, even if they look like a good deal. It only makes the market more difficult for the "good guys" (such as Curt and Legacy Engineering), who play by the rules and properly license the games they sell in products like the Flashbacks. Edited September 23, 2009 by jaybird3rd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MS-DOS Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) Does it have a cartridge slot? I have one of those N64 units and it has a slot. Nice find by the way. I love collection pirate material. Edited September 23, 2009 by MS-DOS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 There ought to be a pirate game museum, especially for these TV plug-in things; they're all really interesting, how many little differences you can point out to original hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdement Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I posted this particular one because it is not one of the ones with duplicate entries or messed up versions of other games or wrong titles. Its legit, it actually has 101 games, all different, actual names, correct sounds and graphics, plus the selection of games is actually good, ranging from actual hit arcade titles, to obsure colecovision titles, and some of the best NES games. Understood. My questions pertained to pirate game units in general, not just the crummy ones with duplicate or defective games. The unit you bought clearly contains pirate copies of old NES games; the "arcade" and "ColecoVision" titles you mention are in fact NES ports, if my guess is correct. No legitimately licensed product could offer so many games from so many publishers for only $10. My question is how the producers of something so blatantly illegal have the balls to bring it into an established, legitimate store; one would think they would limit themselves to selling them out of the trunks of their cars in the parking lot. Perhaps nobody is really interested in going after these guys; if that's the case, I don't think we should be supporting them by buying their products, even if they look like a good deal. It only makes the market more difficult for the "good guys" (such as Curt and Legacy Engineering), who play by the rules and properly license the games they sell in products like the Flashbacks. Agreed. I was amazed when I saw pirate devices being sold in a major mall, but that was still just a fly-by-night kiosk, not a major store. I'm even more amazed now that stuff like this is at Walgreens. I emailed Nintendo, to the piracy email they set aside for this purpose, regarding that kiosk at the mall. But it was still there through the whole Christmas shopping season and months afterward. If Nintendo actually cares about these things then they sure don't act like it. I probably could have also emailed Konami, Capcom, etc. (whose games were being pirated) but I didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I posted this particular one because it is not one of the ones with duplicate entries or messed up versions of other games or wrong titles. Its legit, it actually has 101 games, all different, actual names, correct sounds and graphics, plus the selection of games is actually good, ranging from actual hit arcade titles, to obsure colecovision titles, and some of the best NES games. That thing has nothing to do with ColecoVision, those are all just NES games/ports. It's just another pirate NOAC system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I emailed Nintendo, to the piracy email they set aside for this purpose, regarding that kiosk at the mall. But it was still there through the whole Christmas shopping season and months afterward. If Nintendo actually cares about these things then they sure don't act like it. I probably could have also emailed Konami, Capcom, etc. (whose games were being pirated) but I didn't. http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/39168/nintendo-cracks-down-on-bootleggers/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARTRIDGE STEALER Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) I posted this particular one because it is not one of the ones with duplicate entries or messed up versions of other games or wrong titles. Its legit, it actually has 101 games, all different, actual names, correct sounds and graphics, plus the selection of games is actually good, ranging from actual hit arcade titles, to obsure colecovision titles, and some of the best NES games. That thing has nothing to do with ColecoVision, those are all just NES games/ports. It's just another pirate NOAC system. I never saw FRONTLINE, ANARTIC ADVENTURE or PAC LAND on the NES. Edited September 23, 2009 by CARTRIDGE STEALER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I never saw FRONTLINE, ANARTIC ADVENTURE or PAC LAND on the NES. Frontline Antarctic Adventure Pac-Land Apparently the first two were canceled/unreleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Agreed. I was amazed when I saw pirate devices being sold in a major mall, but that was still just a fly-by-night kiosk, not a major store. I'm even more amazed now that stuff like this is at Walgreens. I emailed Nintendo, to the piracy email they set aside for this purpose, regarding that kiosk at the mall. But it was still there through the whole Christmas shopping season and months afterward. If Nintendo actually cares about these things then they sure don't act like it. I probably could have also emailed Konami, Capcom, etc. (whose games were being pirated) but I didn't. From the story Marty linked to, they apparently get hundreds of tips, and they simply might not have the available personnel to give you an individual response. I think you (and others) should continue writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I never saw FRONTLINE, ANARTIC ADVENTURE or PAC LAND on the NES. They were - the Famicom. All of these pirate systems (also known as Famiclones) come out of Asia, and usually contain pirate Famicom games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARTRIDGE STEALER Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I never saw FRONTLINE, ANARTIC ADVENTURE or PAC LAND on the NES. Frontline Antarctic Adventure Pac-Land Apparently the first two were canceled/unreleased. So, the original poster was correct in stating they were COLECOVISION games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARTRIDGE STEALER Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I never saw FRONTLINE, ANARTIC ADVENTURE or PAC LAND on the NES. They were - the Famicom. All of these pirate systems (also known as Famiclones) come out of Asia, and usually contain pirate Famicom games. well, we know pirates arent official so we cant include them in the official NES library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 So, the original poster was correct in stating they were COLECOVISION games. Huh? Just because there were ColecoVision ports of these games does not make them "ColecoVision games," any more than "Donkey Kong" is a "ColecoVision game." The ColecoVision had a version, yes, but so did many other systems. Besides, the versions you're playing on these pirate handhelds are not the ColecoVision ports, but the NES/Famicom ports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) I never saw FRONTLINE, ANARTIC ADVENTURE or PAC LAND on the NES. They were - the Famicom. All of these pirate systems (also known as Famiclones) come out of Asia, and usually contain pirate Famicom games. well, we know pirates arent official so we cant include them in the official NES library. Not sure what you're talking about. They were officially released Famicom games. Famicom is the NES. This unit and all the games in it is what is pirated. Edited September 23, 2009 by wgungfu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I never saw FRONTLINE, ANARTIC ADVENTURE or PAC LAND on the NES. Frontline Antarctic Adventure Pac-Land Apparently the first two were canceled/unreleased. So, the original poster was correct in stating they were COLECOVISION games. No, those were officially released through Nintendo for the Famicom. What was cancelled was the US port for the NES. Once again, NES = Famicom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisbid Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) this is another example of how the US is devolving into a third world country pirated material sold in a nation-wide drug store chain? really? flea markets and fly-by-night kiosks, i can see, but that is pretty bold for a producer of these things to sell them to stores or for a store buyer to think nothing of purchasing illegal knockoffs Edited September 23, 2009 by chrisbid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinChargers Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) After doing a bit of research, I'm guessing that its the one made by a company called Senario. There is one on Ebay right now. They are a comany based in Illinios, so I'm just taking a guess it isn't just a cheap Asia rip-off. Here is there website, but unfortunately it is under construction. I too am intrigued by pirates and clones, it does seem quite odd that they have made there way into a reputable store such as Walgreens. I'll definately have to look more into this. (If those of you are truely really wound up about this, you'll notice on the bottom of there website there is a phone number, perhaps someone will call and voice there concern.) Edited September 23, 2009 by TwinChargers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) After doing a bit of research, I'm guessing that its the one made by a company called Senario. There is one on Ebay right now. They are a comany based in Illinios, so I'm just taking a guess it isn't just a cheap Asia rip-off. Here is there website, but unfortunately it is under construction. Most likely it's an OEM'd cheap Asia rip-off. That's where this stuff is manufactured. I'd be very surprised to hear of a US company that took the time to get licenses of games only released on the Famicom, and I'd be even more surprised to hear of Nintendo giving licenses to some of it's own produced titles like Mario Bros., Excite Bike, etc. They just don't do that and would rather charge a premium for them on the Wii VC. Edited September 23, 2009 by wgungfu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Most likely it's an OEM'd cheap Asia rip-off. That's where this stuff is manufactured. I'd be very surprised to hear of a US company that took the time to get licenses of games only released on the Famicom, and I'd be even more surprised to hear of Nintendo giving licenses to some of it's own produced titles like Mario Bros., Excite Bike, etc. They just don't do that and would rather charge a premium for them on the Wii VC. Well, Senario LLC seems to be importing product from Hong Kong, so I'm sure you're correct. I don't know anything about the logistics of overseas manufacturing and importing, but I imagine it wouldn't be difficult for even a small US-based company to arrange this; Asian manufacturers have been making NOAC-based knockoffs for years. Also, a quick check of the Wayback Machine seems to show that their website has been "under construction" for quite a long time, so I'm suspicious of this company. I appreciate TwinChargers's work in finding them, but I don't know how much good it will do to contact them directly to complain; they must already be well aware that what they're doing is illegal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinChargers Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 You'd think Nintendo would make a harder push to stop these Asian manufacturers. I know in the past Nintendo has gone after the people selling these bootleg systems, and actually had some type of shakedown at the Mall of America where the Kiosk guy was sued and sent away if I can remember corectly. I would imagine if they could shut these guys down at the source instead of the distributers (cause I can't imagine Walgreens knows whats going on here), there would be a lot less piracy going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) You'd think Nintendo would make a harder push to stop these Asian manufacturers. I know in the past Nintendo has gone after the people selling these bootleg systems, and actually had some type of shakedown at the Mall of America where the Kiosk guy was sued and sent away if I can remember corectly. I would imagine if they could shut these guys down at the source instead of the distributers (cause I can't imagine Walgreens knows whats going on here), there would be a lot less piracy going on. It's difficult to gauge Nintendo's efforts in this regard without knowing more about what they're up against. Who is making these pirate compilations, and how? I doubt that the NOAC chips themselves are illegal, since legitimate companies such as Atari and Jakks have used them extensively without legal repercussions from Nintendo. I don't know if this is true, but I've heard second-hand that Nintendo's NES/Famicom hardware patents have expired, which might be the reason. But bundling them with unlicensed Nintendo ROMs clearly is illegal, and it must be easier to do this than most of us realize. Consider the example I mentioned earlier, with the misspelled/misidentified titles and duplicate games. There was probably one guy somewhere in Asia cobbling that collection together, probably with the help of some kind of automated utility, using ROMs he downloaded from other pirates on the Internet. What's more interesting is that these things are apparently being mass-produced, too: I can't imagine that the kind of high-precision, surface-mounted technology one sees inside these units can be economically assembled by hand, certainly not in large quantities. The big-name distributors apparently aren't trying very hard to determine whether these products are legal or not, and they're probably not high-margin items (especially for places like Walgreen's). If enough people press them on this, they may decide that carrying these products isn't worth the controversy, and the manufacturers would begin to lose their major distribution channels. Then they would be back to their shady mall kiosks, and the mall owners are just as eager to avoid trouble. I complained once to a manager of a shopping mall when I saw a vendor selling similar pirated products; the next time I visited that mall, the vendor was gone. Edited September 23, 2009 by jaybird3rd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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