CatPix

Generations are artificial anyway... It's a convenience to define what games systems are the actual ones. The 128 bits era and the coming ones are clear enough, but the earliest ones are blurred. For me, technically wise, the Atari 2600 and 5200 are different generations, as well as the Colecovision. The Sega SG1000 is supposed to be in the same gen than the Nes and Master System, yet it feels more like a Colecovision-gen system. Same with the Jaguar and 3DO; they are 32/64 bits gen, yet I feel like the Jaguar is the last of the 16 bits era in mind and realisation, and the 3DO is the first of the 32 bits era.

As I said, End labels are useless. Just keep the BOXES. That's all. I always wondered when I was young why there was the name on the end of the NES carts... except to see what game is inside your system, what is the point? Especially when logic dictate that to protect them from dust, you gotta store your loose carts vertically, so unless you store your cart in a drawer, you see the side of the cart, not the end!

I received my copy today, of the NTSC version. Played for testing purpose up to the first castle. On PAL unit. Colors are a bit lavish (is the castle level supposed to have a purple background?) but otherwise I didn't encountered any problems yet. Sounds promising; now I gotta practice to get further than the first boss

I know, but what I meant is that you can't stack things on TOP of it. But for stacking things underneath, you could have redesigned the lower half without modyfiying the upper half.

From what I heard, the design was changed because the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo (we got the Jap design in Europe, so you can call it Super Nintendo ) looked too toyish. This explain the change from the green/blue/yellow/red buttons of the pad to the purple/lavander, too. Also, the Super Famicom was designed rounded, both system and cartridges, to prevent stacking things on the SFC, and stacking the carts. Also there is no end labels because most Japanese and a good share of European gamers considered the box being part of the game, so you don't need end label when your game is sitting into the box, isn't it? The US carts have been changed to match the design and allow the end label since most US gamers were found to throw the box away and using the end label. Note that the original Famicom carts doesn't have end labels as well.

Atari Flashback and clones aren't "next gen" since they just copy older hardware. That would be like saying the Atari 2600 is 4th gen because it was still sold after the release of the Megadrive and Super Nintendo. They are next gen because they are separate from the current gen by 6 years, a leap in technology and/or (for the Wii U) new way of thinking about gameplay.

On glossy labels, white gas is an excellent cleaner; you can also use it to remove old glue from shop stamps, scotch tape, etc.. on boxes and systems. It works too on non glossy labels, but you may remove a bit of paper and ink in the process, depending on how you clean it. Strangely, it seems that only in France you can find it in large quantities everywhere, for cleaning clothes and other stuff. And , yeah, it's lighter gas.

Maybe, but I don't think so. The "HD gen" (I call it like that, even if the Wii isn't HD and that some PS2 and Xbox games are able to output HD) stretched more than the previous generations (think about that... from 2006 to 2012, that's 6 years without any new home system. That's the longest time in video game history without a new home system being made) so a 1 year leap between the Wii U and the PS4/Xbone doesn't make it fall back in the "HD gen". Would the Wii U be released sooner, like in 2009, I would make it part of the current gen. But the Wii U is definitevely next gen.

Remember that 149$ from 1983 doesn't equal 149$ from 2013. This graph shows the prices at launch, ajusted according to inflation (as in, how much financial effort/working time would you need to spend to get one now ) : The launch price for the Vextrex here was 200$, but even if you cut 25% off, that's still a whopping 360 (actual 2013) $ you have to pull out of your pocket, NOT 150 actual us$

Since Cosmik Ark use a bug to display the starfield, I can only assume that your TIA chip is faulty. I might be wrong, but it does look like it.

Well I grew with computer joysticks... And I can't tell how happy I got when Amstrad made a game PAD. (sheesh, talk about bland design.. Almost as bland as the Atari 7800 pad, with even less class) Except for some plane simulation games, computer joystick are horrible. How can you play any platform game, any adventure game...in fact, anything but a plane simulation game or a racing game with a joystick? Especially those cheap crappy stuff we had as joystick in the 80's.

If the sound chip hasn't been changed, it's probably ALSO hardware limitation, since the Arcadia 2001 is nothing but a Radofin 1292 AVPS with a better graphic chip. From the videos I found, I think that the sound part wasn't updated, or only slightly. For 1976, that soundchip was quite impressive, slightly better than the standard Atari VCS/Odyssey2 (but far away from the Bally Arcade), but for 1980, that's too limited.

Yep. The problem with SECAM L, unlike what most people think, is not SECAM itself, but the L norm. Basically, all RF norms use AM radio signal for the monochrome video, AM for the color signal, and FM for sound. French L norm use AM for monochrome, FM for color and AM for sound. Plus, the AM signal is usually "negative" while L norm use "positive" video. This means than even a black and white TV set will not display video neither render audio. (A French TV set will not work outside France, and no TV from outside France will catch French analog broadcast. Tho since the mid 80's, most TVs sold in Europe are multistandard and this isn't a big issue anymore... Especially nowaday, all European countries have moved or are simulcasting Digital TV in the same norm). All other norms are fine, so for example, during the Cold war, West Germany could receive East German TV on their PAL B/G sets, in black and white; and more importantly, East Germans would receive the West TV broadcast on their SECAM B/G TV... in B&W. This is what a SECAM L Pong display on a TV set to PAL G :

The G7400+ have both RF and RGB output (at least mine have both). I think the G7401 is RGB only. Beware of where you buy it tho, if you get a French model you'll get a SECAM L model. I think you can also mod it to tap the composite video before the RF box to you'll get ride of the VCR step

From what I remember, the Videopac+ RGB plug only does, well, RGB, no composite. I'll try to test mine to see if I get some signal, but most RGB machines of the time only have sync signal, or just the monochrome signal (no color, neither in PAL or SECAM formats). This is true for the Colecovision, The Yeno Super cassette vision, the Master System 1, the Megadrive 1, and the Amstrad CPC (video but monochrome.

(Edit : can't delete a message?)

The idea is good, but the realisation is poor. - BLUE Leds. This look so cheap, and the color is so unnatural. - the spot effect could work only if your beam was wider. Here you have one shiny blue circle in the middle, and the rest of the system in the dark. - uncentered spots. I know the balance between aesthetic and functionnal is hard to achieve, but in your case, clearly, what is important are the systems. Yeah, the spots will not be aligned vertically? Who cares? it's not what people will care about. If I have one suggestion to make, it would be to use 12V Halogen lightbulbs (or 220V ones if you're more inclined net to mess with AC converter; tho it may require a more durable setting). They make that spot effect, and the light is more natural and strong.

Nintendo Power was available only in America Also, I don't think there is any relationship of any sort between an official magazine by Nintendo and what looks like your standard Taiwanese Famiclone.

Quite an hard question. First, did any of the voters heve tried all the systems listed? Second... it's quite US centered, isn't it? Even if it's not, why are the C64 and TI99 listed, but not the Spectrum nor the Amstrad CPC? both were available in the USA, and both were huge sellers in Europe. And the TI99 was shortlived everywhere pretty much the same than the Spectrum was in the USA. Even if obscure, the 1292 AVPS/interton VC4000 bring some memories in Europe, and not good ones most of the time (but, man.... Interton had kickass box art). Also, why only the Lynx? I would have added the Microvision as an handheld system. It did pretty bad, even if I don't consider it as a bad VGS really, but more like a failed experiment, or a kind of prototype/proof of concept that made it to the public too early.

This attitude still exist. I think TVtropes or another kind of website made a comparison between US releases and their original counterparts. Truely, most Japanese covers carry a cartoonish and kawaii feeling. But there was also some European covers given as examples. And even European originated titles were given a more "violent" aspect when going to the US market. Also many games receive a specific European artwork that is closer to the Japanese one than the US one, and more and more, European editors tend to keep the original Japanese art. On the other hand, some foreign box art can carry a different message. Which one let you think you gonna sweat for hours in a rather harcore game? Of course, being that this game is based on European medieval legendes, it's a certain cultural bias to prefer a more Western-like style for it. Amusingly enough, this work in the other way too : Aren't the Turtles so much more cute in their PAL version?

Depends of the law in Japan. Also, for what whe know, this sticker could be complete bullshit and this clone being made in Taiwan.

Looks like a clone. Tho the 1990 date and "made in Japan" surprize me. If it's really a clone from 1990, it means that it's based on copied hardware rather than emulation via a NOAC, so it can have up to 99% compatibility with Famicom games and accessories. Tho I woudn't confirm that for sure. But there is a bazillions of NES clones since the 90's, and except for the more famous ones it's hard to know them all

I don't have much rare items... but I have some uncommon ones; and some I like because I think they are nice : The first that come to my mind is certain my Nordmende Teleplay. It's an European version of the Fairchild Channel F, way more uncommon that the Saba Videoplay. And it's quite better looking : Looks like a mix of "record eater" and tape player. Also unlike the Saba Videoplay, the sound come from the TV. The second is probably my SMB3 Nes pack. Not only it's really a complete set, including the game, and even all the plastic bags inside; but more importantly, it's really the first retro thing I bought with and idea of collection in mind, rather that just an idea of playing games. It was back in 1999 I think, and at the time, really I had no idea people would collect video games, and really I would never though people would pay so much for this set years later. The third is my Grundig Super Play Computer 4000. This specific model of Interton VC 4000 was available only in Germany, and it got a very specific setting that made me bought it : Instead of the usual RF output and power brick (which is on the Interton, a weird setting of AC 7,8 and 10,5V) it got a thick wire with a huge cart-like plug that was to put into a specific line of Grunding high-end sets. What make this system interesting is that the video out of this cart is nothing but RGB, SCART compatible RGB, and the system is modified to run on 12VDC. So I modded it. (testing picture, it is now refined, with the proper plug shell and a female DC in plug) Fourth one is my C7060 multicart. Nothing special, except having all the Videopac/Odyssey2 games, plus homebrews and test programs, is awesome. Of course it's all better with a Videopac+ and the Voice! add-on. Last but not least... It's something only a bit videogame related, but I still like it : My retro video center. A multistandard TV made in Italy! somewhere around 1982 and 1984, compatible with SECAM L, PAL G and PAL I on RF, PAL and SECAM on composite, RVB compatible and 60 htz compatible (which mean I can play with an US or Japanese sytem on it with colours as long as it output RVB). Below lies one of the first front loading VHS VCR, made around 1980 by Thomson. I have older VCR but they doesn't work, and more important, they are top loading ones, so I couldn't put this very early DVB-T set-top-box (2005, the very first test of digital TV in France) on it. And below, a DVD player that I found being existing at least in 1999; knowing that DVD was introduced in Europe in 1998, it make it one early model.

I have repeats only of the cheapest systems; in my case, Videopac, NES and SNES from the time they were lying in bins, Atari 2600, Megadrive (one model 1 and one model 2), Playstation (two of them found in a dumpster. Yep. and working. As they are loose, they are so cheap I can't even sell them) and Playstation 2.

Except there is no Euro version of the Astrocade PSU :3 And looking at this : and looking at shematics, it's unclear but it seems that the Bally need two different current to work. Tho, nothing that need a huge-ass PSU like on the Colecovision. The second version really make it sounds like it delivers only 12V, which means either they modified the line filter in the system to use 12V, or it's able to work on 12V from the beginning.