JB

Which is lame in itself. "This game is 110% shit! I demand a refund!" "I'm sorry, we don't refund open games." "Why not?!?!?!" "Too many people returned them because they were shit."

XBox version I take it? Congratulations! You win: The DECENT special character! Heihachi loses because he's bare-handed in a weapon fighter. Link sucks because his projectile weapons give him an unfair advantage(at least against everyone but Ivy).

All 4 controller ports light up all the time. The LCD is like the front display on your average CD/DVD player And the remote is packaged in with the Q, but not strictly needed. It has the standard buttons on the top panel. Though I suspect the remote is needed to access the special features and such, as menu navigation buttons are lacking(like most stand-alone DVD players).

Or that just like headphones? And will it be togglable? You know, in case the stereo effect tunrns out to suck?

Buy a Panasonic Q. It's a 'Cube that also plays DVDs, as well as looking sexier. YOU give me $400 and I will. And no, I won't pay you back. Just give me $400. If I had 400$, I'D buy a Q. Actually, I'd save another 50-100 up, and order a modded one form Lik-Sang. All-region DVD, and all -region GC. My POV: A 50$ settop DVD player works better. Now you're thinking like Nintendo. I'm speaking for all the gamers out there who complained about it and you reply with Nintendo-speak. I'm speaking as someone that saw all the horror stories about PS2 compatability, and is blessed with the ability to do simple arithmetic(even if I can't spell it). But who in their right mind would buy a Gamecube for ONLINE play? Leave the Cube to game playing. I have my Xbox for online. I don't know. That's just the new "problem" with the 'Cube.

you mean the ones I got rid of? Why do that? I never get rid of games unless I absolutely hate them.

*chuckles* You could always buy wood-grain contact paper and press it onto the front. I know there was a company that sold stick-on covers for the original GBA, but I think you're on your own for the SP. *engage over-elaborate mode* Or a real pot knob that attaches to the GameLink port and hooks ove rhte front of the console!!!!

Well, compared to the PS, they're doing rather well given how long it's been since they were available in the US.. The first 2 or 3 models had VERY SEVERE overheating problems. As in, leaving them plugged in while they were turned off could damage them. All of them have had problems with the laser track being cheap plastic. It wears out really easily, resulting in decks that only work upside down or on their side, or similar. Mine has a CD door that doesn't latch. The open button doesn't pop back up all the way anymore,a nd it usually doesn't get high enough to latch unless I wiggle it around a bit.. It's often easier to set a book on it. Protect that cat!

Yep, but, besides games like Drummania and similar 2Ds, if 3D games were run in "PS1 mode" that would be pretty clear to find out graphically! Do you have some candidate? Ciao! Rasty.- *shakes head*I saw a few names listed, but forgot them. I may be spreading a rumor as dumb as the "disk spins backwards" or "uses a blue laser" stories.

When you're right, you're correct. I never thought to check, but yes, the GC discs do spin clockwise like other disc based systems.. I forget where I got that info, must have been someone online just spouting what they want to believe. It's a rather popular story, spouted about every disk-based system since CD-Rs came out. The reason it's never true: any half-determined pirate could just reverse the wires on their computer CD-ROM/DVD-ROM's motor. BAM! Instant reverse-spin drive! It's easier to defeat then the woefully inadequate copy-protection schemes they DO implement. Buy a Panasonic Q. It's a 'Cube that also plays DVDs, as well as looking sexier. I listened to CDs in the PS for a while, just because my model has the light show thing. Anyone that wants to give me a JagCD so I can see the original version of the concept, feel free. Heh. Yes. Damn Sega for not using a new technology that was too expensive when they made their system. My POV: A 50$ settop DVD player works better. Back when the 'Cube hit, the price diffrence between the 'Cube and PS2 meant you could buy a 'Cube and a game and still have cash left over to get a DVD player, VS buying a PS2 and no game, and having to check your movies against a compatability list. As of GC launch: PS2 = 300, GC = 150, cheap DVD player = 100 As of now: PS2 = 200(180 if you can find one without a network adapter bundled in), GC = 150 with free game, DVD Player = 50. The situation is a tad diffrent now, because the PS2's DVD software works better and you get online capability out of the box, whereas the adapter has to be bought seperately for the 'Cube. DVD compatability is still a non-issue, and in my experience is typically only brandished about by Sony fanboys seeking to bash other systems without resorting to a logical argument.

Only some. I'm the proud owner of a still-gray SNES. ... Of course, the case is butt-ugly anyways. Non-issue. DVDs, actually. And this is bad because 2 gig ROM carts are SO affordable, right? As much as I like ROM, the fact of the matter is it just can't compete with disks any more. Forgot non-standard video connector, and serious problems with failure, especially on early systems. Also of note is that almost every system I've ever played has too many bad games. The PS' ratio isn't THAT bad. And most systems that release an updated controller the old games don't recognize it. You might not NOTICE it because there's standard controller emulation internally(see Atari trackballs), but it's there. PS pads take the rather sensible approach of just shutting off the pots when emulating the standard pads(I hate my 3rd party pads that emulate the d-pad on the thumbsticks, because I occasionally bump the thumbstick, resulting in a spurious motion). Again, proprietary video. Again, non-issue. And again, proprietary video. Huge and klunky? I always thought it looked damn nice. Let's see... I know there's some architecture problems that serve to severely limit the performance you can squeeze out of the dual processors. The hardware was also fairly expensive, at least compared to the PlayStation, which really hurt Sega when they started trying to match the PS's price. Problem with all systems: raging psychotic fanboys.

Remember that hte PS2's biggest selling point was backwards-compatibility. It was built with the express purpose of running 99.9% of PS1 games. From what I've heard, it was a very minor bit of added code to make the games check for PS2 hardware before they booted.

Yep. Model 1 was the one with headphone jack, it actually had a little volume switch on it (though I only got it recently, I always thought this one looked coolest). Then there was Model 2, which is by far the most common one, then there was Model 3, which was a mini version of the Genesis. I think it lacked some fearures and didn't playh certain games, but since I don't have one, I don't know The Model 3 lacks the Z80(as I understand it), expansion bus, and external processor support. This breaks about 3 games(and if my goofing around with GENS is any indication, causes sound glitches in many more), the SegaCD, the 32x, and the Power Base Converter. It also looks like a festering boil. ... Side note found while digging info up... Majesco was planning to re-release the Saturn!?!?!? Why didn't the sons of daughters do it?!?!?!?!?! (yeah, yeah, expensive hardware...)

Absolutely nothing. Boy, I love easy questions. How about the proprietary AV connector on later models?Or the fact that you have to use the headphone jack to get stereo on early models? There's something wrong with everything. You just have to look for it.

PS1! Mwahahahahaha!!! ... Kidding! Put down the gun! I rather like the japanese Master System's "no cartridge" screen, actually. Actual splash screens almost invariably annoy me. They're usually just too long(see: PlayStation). It was really bland. Nasty dark green screen with colored blocks in a stripe on the top and Mattel Electronics Pressents Game Title in the middle. And a copyright date. Like this: Yah. Nice and simple, while at the same time looking good.All it needs is a dash of sound(similar to Sega's famous 2-note chime).

Well, the board that CPUWIZ and Lee Krueger saw was a beta prototype meant to test layout induced RFI. It passes, so now I'll finalize the feature set, source the parts, and build a production proto. I'm looking at a month or so for that. I'm including a current screen grab for everyone's amusement. Currently, I have my 7800 hooked up, so I plugged the beta board into that just to see how Pitfall II looked...not bad. Here's my set up: ...a 2600 Pitfall II cart ...a 7800 whose TIA chip has been replaced with the 2600 S-Video beta board ...a PC using a ATI Radeon AIW 7500 for direct S-Video screen capture I'm not sure what he meant by this. But Ithink he's referring to the fact that the board just plugs into a socket on the 2600 motherboard. Care to clarify, CPUWIZ? FYI, not all 2600 video chips are factory socketed. For those machines, installation requires desoldering the TIA chip and replacing it with this video card. Not for the faint of heart, but it's really not that difficult. Ahhhhh... So you lift TIA, place the video board in TIA's socket, and then put TIA into the board? Or does the board come with a TIA in it already?

Probably because it's silly.The most damage a CD can do to your system is ... zip. ... Well, unless there's malicious code in there and some flash ROMs on the board or something. Then it can flash the flash ROMs. But that's a very remote possibility.

THROW THE GYRO ROB! SAVE OTHER ROB! HURRY!

Saturn used standard CD-ROMs. Nintendo actually buys standard DVD-ROM drives from Panasonic, then puts in a new BIOS that doesn't choke on their disk format. Proof: Panasonic's Q, which is a GameCube that can play DVD movies. If it didn't use a standard DVD-ROM, it couldn't read DVDs. And the backwards disk stuff is 100% bull. As in, if you start the system then open the door, you can see the disk spinning the "right" way before it stops. And since they use standard DVD-ROM drives, I seriously doubt similar rumors about tighter track spacing and outside-in reading. Not to mention an illegible disk is rejected by the drive. It doesn't hang the computer.untill it's ejected, as I've been told GC disks do. Making a disk format that computers can't read is easier than you think. Anyone remember the copy-protected CDs that crashed PCs when inserted, and flashed the BIOS on Macs, necessitating you send them back to Apple for repair? And was defeated by a simple Sharpie marker line along the non-audio track?

I'm sure hte PS2 CAN be pushed farther than we've seen. Same for the DC. But as it is now, the ease of programming on the DC made for far superior games than anything I've seen on the PS2. Still amazing that Soul Calibur was a launch title. ... Though to be fair when comparing titles, there's a quite common rumor that a lot of the PS2's early titles were actually PS1 titles that were configured to only run on the PS2, creating the illusion of a larger library. Obviously, that would affect the apparent game quality.

If you're a Soul Calibur II fan, you might want to try to get your hands on one of these bad boys. I'm not a die-hard Soul Calibur fan, but I'll probably end up getting this game eventually as well. The stick itself will work on all three systems (Didn't see mention of PC... I'd love to have this for MAME), and looks fairly high-quality. PS-USB adapter. Problem solved. Can of spray paint. Problem solved.

Yes. Too bad the only 3rd party light gun I found sucks.

It means that 2 of the 7800 carts had a POKEY in them and the MESS people can't document things worth beans. ... Sorry. I have a severe dislike for MESS.

The SH4 IS the processor. I believe the variant in the DC is a 64-bit chip, though 32-bit variants of the SH-4 also exist.

The SH4 isn't a 128-bit processor.