JB

I know all that. I have a Genesis Justifier, and I've seen teh Menacer and Super Scope. The SNES could only use one controller port for light guns, though. Hence, a 2-gun game needed a way to plug 2 guns into one port. The phone-jack Justifier was the solution. I don't know if Konami just wanted to use the same guns on the Genesis or if the Genesis had a similar restriction, though.

Well, the VCS, 5200, and NES could probably share a CPU, as they're all 6502-based(though the VCS used a crippled variant). Other than that there's no component overlap. It's just a bunch of unrelated systems shoved in a common case.

I hope they work now... YAY! ... That a DB-9? I'm inclined to say 3rd-party SMS or Genesis. But given the many alterations used by clone manufacturers(my favorite is an NES with Genesis pads in a 7800 case) , it pr'ly is an NES gun. Looks sweet either way.

The pink one was mail-order only.And it was platform-independant. It worked on Genesis and SNES guns both as far as I know. Hence the non-standard connection. I don't know about the Genesis, but the SNES could only accept a light gun on one controller port. The necessary signals weren't on the other port(alas, I've forgottenn which port it was, as I never owned an SNES lightgun).

Awww... no one else gets to see? ... That a DB-9? I'm inclined to say 3rd-party SMS or Genesis. But given the behavior of clone manufacturers(my favorite is an NES with Genesis pads in a 7800 case) , it pr'ly is an NES gone.

Hmmm... Smaller. Same case, just smaller. The joystick... Increased reliability on the circuit trace. Plastic fire buttons. The rubber ones ARE mushy. To center or not to center... Such a touchy issue. Loved and loathed, at the same time... I say put LIGHT tension on the stick. Not much, though. Too much and your fingers'll get tired. Just enough to guide it back to center. If we're doing a major overhaul, I demand Atari carry forward with developing the original VCS replacement that got axed due to programmer complaints. The 5200 was something of a panic measure, and it suffered somewhat because of it.

Yah. I usually have a screwdriver within easy reach, so it's not as much of an issue. I AM THOR, GOD OF THUNDER! ... Who changed my computer out for a hammer?!? Hmmmm, anyone made a Duck Hunt clone for it yet? Well, I WAS reaching. It was a trivial example. Tried simulating that by holding fast draw before. I tend to pop off the perimeter too easily while moving around. Didn't spring to mind immediatly. On the flip side, 5200 Star Raiders scares me. If ever a game needed a keyboard... AtariHQ claims it was a commercial port. I had lots of fun with the 5200 version. I admit I hadn't played the arcade game yet, and that really helped, since it pales in comparison to a high-end vector game like the original. I can't imagine playing it with a digital stick, though. That must REALLY suck. ... Interestingly enough, I think the analog stick also works really well for Missile Command, authentic or not. *chuckles again* Actually, I use my middle finger. I've found it no harder than hitting it on a modern system's gamepad. I also tend to slouch back in my seat when I can, which makes lunging for the keyboard a fair bit harder That is one of the 5200's bigger problems. Parts aren't very common.VCS-type sticks are a dime a dozen, and standard switchboxes are hard NOT to find. I've got 5 or 6, and I don't even WANT but 1. Regardless of whether there is an overly large "dead zone" it still affects playability, and that is where it counts. Yah. But it's really more of a software issue. Darn right! Why couldn't it run on brainwaves? That's what the MindLink was for, right? Aye, that you did.Dragging un-nominated systems in... ... Get a Dreamcast and emulate the 5200 and 7800 both! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Look... we both know that of course you can see the original GBA screen otherwise they wouldn't have sold it And we wouldn't have played it all that time since it's release. Well, knowing Nintendo I have my doubts. They failed to notice that the Virtual Boy gave people headaches(50 Hz refresh, BTW). I love the GBO. Sure the screen was crap, but it was comfortable. Wait... Glare gets WORSE with brighter lights. It's also been a problem on every handheld game system I've ever used. Hell, I have glare problems on my Vectrex. It's in just the wrong place to catch light from the ceiling fan and throw it back in my eyes. An internal light's never really helpd that in my experience(see: my laptop, my TV occasionally). The initial complaints with the GBA were the screen was too DARK. Those complaints also seemed tied to people singing about how fun Circle of the Moon was. The glare complaints came about after people realized the screen WASN'T that dark if you changed the cartridge. I KNOW that was a Circle of the Moon example. I think they actually admitted that later. And yes, that particular game IS that bad. Black on black on really dark gray is just STUPID for a GBA game. Most games use lighter colors to avoid that problem. ... I'm worried that as the SP becomes more popular, dark games will become common, since people'll quit worrying about the unlit screen of the original. Circle of the Moon is a showcase game for the SP, as well as a shining example of why you should try a game on actual hardware in real-world conditions before you release it. Most of those initial brightness complaints could've been avoided had someone at Konami loaded it onto a real GBA instead of a dev kit with 12 diffrent ways to interface to a CRT, powered it up, and gone "Holy crap, I can't see this!"

As a sidenote, DVE comes with all the commercial ROM images. Legally, no less. ... Gods, I love the Vectrex.

*awaits an evils of breath moisture lecture*

Getting used to it didn't help the fact that the GameBoy Color was too small for my hands to rest comfortgably on it. Now if the GBASP is SMALLER than the GBC, it stanads to reason that it is ALSO too small for me to comfortably use, regardless of whether I give myself time to adjust. That's just bull. The screen is perfectly visible 99% of the time. *gets an idea* *checks* Nope, no one's coded a VCS emu for GBA yet. On the other hand, there ARE VCS emus for the GP32(a korean handheld system).

JOHNNY 5 ALIVE! ... Err, anyways... Yah. The head's closer, but also not quite right for a real one.

A ROB-styled fan. That's pretty spiffy. And thank Althena there's not a headless ROB out there somewhere that was sacrificed to make it. ... BTW, the last ROB appearance I know of was in StarFox64, though there's supposed to be a ROB trophy in Smash Brothers Melee.

Yeah, I'll give you that! The stock 7800 sticks just plain hurt after a few minutes. Once your hand gets a little sweaty, that thing is impossible to hold. The CX-40 is such a great design... why didn't they just improve on that? -Bry That would've been interesting if they'd made an analog stick for sytems using VCS controllers. 2 axes, 5 buttons.

Most game systems don't look like toys. That was actually a major concern in the FamiCom when it came to America as the NES. The FamiCom looked too toy-like, so they redesigned it completely to look like a slick piece of high-tech hardware. Well, slick and high-tech from a mid-80s standpoint, anyways. I was, umm, joking.

As a side note, the Saturhn has choma/luma signals on it's AV connector. http://www.gamesx.com/avpinouts/saturnav.htm

'S odd. Maybe I just lucked out and got some easy-to-assemble sticks. Like I said, my sticking point is the actual stick and the pots below it. Keeping it vertical and centered has occasionally proven problematic for me. ... Just remembered. The 5200 sticks with bevelled start bars are a lot easier to pop apart than the ones without them. I've got both styles, and I hate the non-bevelled ones. They look like crap AND are a pain to get off. I never saw anything fixable in a VCS stick without buying new parts. May I ask what one does? 'S a shame. 5200's a sweet system, aside from the suicide sticks.

I feel your analysis is spot-on.The SP is too damn small. A comparision: Original has crappy d-pad. SP has what feels like microswitches. YAY FOR THE SP! Alas, this is the only unconditional plus I can give it. SP has lights, original does not. Non-issue IMNSHO. Only game I've seen it matter on is Circle of the Moon. Original has no AC adapter jack. SP does. It's a proprietary plug, but still better than nothing. Original is wide, SP is narrow. Gods, I hate the SP. Words cannot describe how happy I was that the GBA had brokent the vertical format of older Gameboys. Especially after the Pocket and Color, which were so much smaller than the GBO. The SP is back at GBP/C width, and less deep to boot. Original uses 2 AAs, SP uses a proprietary rechargable battery pack. Despite Nintendo's wishes, the battery IS changable, with the use of a 3rd-party battery pack. It's a lot easier to walk into the nearest store and grab a pair of AAs, IMNSHO. Though if you have a few charged batteries and a screwdriver on you, it doesn't matter. Original has a headphone jack. SP does not. Both have a horribly crappy speaker, as is the handheld way. Headphones are a necessity. Being able to use headphones without buying a 5$ part off Nintendo's website or from an import game company is a VERY large plus for the original.

*chuckles* I haven't really gotten into old computers much. The only game I have for my 800XL is River Raid, and I really haven't spent a lot of(read: any) time looking for any others.

Y're joking, right? It ain't exactly rocket science. The ONLY possible sticking point I see is getting the stick aligned with the pots. The XEGS stick isn't the same as the VCS sticks? I know. It shouldn't happen, but somehow people do it anyways. Heh. The 800 XL also has a nice manly look. ... But the 5200 is dman sexy, oversized or not.. And the 5200 can be fixed PERMANENTLY with no effects on any other functions. And there goes my previous statement. Y're no fun. The XEGS still looks fruity.

5200 sticks are easy to fix. 5 minutes with a phillips screwdriver and a pencil eraser is all you need. Though I DO acknowledge it's a nusiance, it's proven to be JUST a nuisance. And XEGS VS Atari 800: 2 controller ports VS 4 controller ports. Translator disk required VS no translator disk required. Losable keyboard VS integrated keyboard. Gee, this is fun. *dedicates his life to bashing the XEGS for no real reason* Fruity pastel buttons on white VS a manly shade of brown.

Now be fair... If you're gonna cite the 3 games that don't work on a 2-port 5200 as a failing with the 5200, then how about citing the 5200 games that don't work right with the digital sticks on the XEGS? From half-compatibilities like the Galaxian ship only moving at high speed to flat-out busted ones like Star Wars: Arcade? Or the games that demand 2 fire buttons, like Qix? I don't feel the computer adaptation's solution is adequate, though I do acknowledge it's the best they could do given their input limitations. Pressing space to pause is a BAD THING, since it requires you to remove a hand from your joystick, whereas the 5200 pause can be stabbed by a finger while keeping both hands on the stick. There's no point to listing the trackball as a pro on the XEGS since the 5200 also had one. Trackball only belongs in cons under 7800, unless you want to put "trackball only works with Missile Command" under XEGS cons. The 5200 switchbox is only used on the 4-port. 2-port models used a "normal" switch. Honestly, I view the 4-port switch as a plus. You don't have to get behind the TV to flip a switch. And lastly... Non-centering 5200 sticks have proven a non-issue for me. My problem has come from games with an overly large "dead zone" programmed in, which can interefere with quick actions.

I can't prove it, but I think Radio Shack's selling the Soyo ones, which were rather bad. They had noticable lag between when you moved a control and when the system registered it. In other words, yes, it really is better to pay more.

Because while it has no wood, it DOES have a woodgrain look. I guess thats why then, Althought I wish it was REAL wood, maybe someday, something might replace Plastic, I wouldnt miss plastic. Hey, don't knock the plastic. Recent systems are heavy enough WITHOUT being made of wood.