jamon1567

I think it was a pretty stupid idea to not release them together to begin with, so hopefully this is part of it.

The other baffling thing is that they've standardized their hardware now too, so there is really no reason that they shouldn't have these things in stock, or at least do regular batches of them.

I don't think it's much of a secret right now. I noticed they just posted a Game Boy gif now too, so at the very least we'll be getting some Pocket news, but likely a pre-order/order IMO. Why they aren't keeping their products in stock though, I can't figure on that....

Correction: at LEAST they have announced an announcement. I think it's pretty fair to say though that they'll be doing pre-orders.

That was a few months after the initial announcement, so I guess they changed their mind, or clarified anyway. I think we all expected it to be released by now though (when initially announced) from prior timelines. I don't expect them to go on sale (no pre-order) next Monday, but I wouldn't be shocked if they did.

They did say originally they wouldn't be doing pre-orders (or so I seem to remember anyway....), so I wonder if they're gonna actually be ready to go right out the gate. I do find it interesting that Kev, who no doubt has been working on the Pocket for quite some time, had time to also rewrite the NES core for the Noir....here's hoping!

Not that it would be a terribly elegant solution, but couldn't you just use one of these with that adapter and call it a day?

Kev, question about the Noir if you're able to answer. Will it act like the old Mini in that it stays in a kind of standby mode to power the controller port so you can start it with a controller, or will it function like the Super Nt and Mega Sg and require a physical power on? Hoping for the latter, but wanted to know nonetheless.

Awesome, thank you! That's a nice but easily overlooked feature since it affects so few people, so really happy to see it! Edit: I'd also ask that if you ever do get a chance to revisit the current Nt Mini firmware to port back any of these new changes/fixes (of the ones that can be anyway), please consider adding this to your list. I was planning on retiring my current Nt Mini to my CRT room, so this would be a big bonus!

Question for Kev. I noticed while I was watching the video Analogue put out that outlined the new features on the Noir and noticed there was an option to enable dejitter. The current Nt Mini and the Super Nt through the DAC both have the jitter issue on my Ikegami HTM monitor(their multiformat line, but I also think this may be an issue on some of the multiformat JVC monitors as well), so this is a welcome feature. However, I was wondering if this fix was going to find it's way into the Super Nt firmware as well since it too suffers from this problem if using the DAC?

BTW, that part about Kev rewriting it because he got better is just a typical Kev thing to do lol. Also part of the reason I pre-ordered the Noir even though I have a Mini. It isn't surprising at all that he just couldn't help himself

Is it something that is going to be enabled by default then? I guess I kinda just assumed this was how the original Mini worked if using OEM controllers, so wasn't sure what this would change.

Yup, just got done reading, thanks!

So moving past all the speculation and controversy, I'm not really sure what some of these improvements actually mean from the end user perspective. A few questions I have below if anyone can answer. NES 2.0 ROM support. What will that allow that the previous Mini didn't? 300 mappers supported. How many were there for the original? Are these additional mappers new ones that are used in indy games and homebrew, or was there missing support for certain games in the original Mini? FDS audio core and N163 audio core. Wasn't support for the FDS on the original Mini that you could actually plug one in and use the original hardware? If so, why would there have even been an audio core for the FDS? Does the enhanced audio core suggest that FDS will work fully through the jailbreak now? And just what is N163? Never heard of it.... What is controller pass-through and why would I want it? What was optimized on the composite output?

It's due to the virus, they explained it on Twitter. And no, they didn't send out any emails....something that you would expect, but....well....this is Analogue, and they have their own way of doing things....

Yup, I'm int he same boat. So I really feel like they did another run because either A) this is truly the last time they plan on revisiting the NES, or B) it's just a Taber vanity project and/or a misguided marketing effort to appeal to collectors before they release the Analogue 8. Now I know people will probably point to the "100% rewritten" core as proof that there will be a future Analogue 8 (or whatever it will go by), but until I see some further details, I really just think it's typical Analogue marketing. If they were going to put it on the new FPGA platform they're using, it was going to have to be rewritten regardless. That doesn't necessarily mean Kev went back and started from scratch, it just means it needed to be translated to the new hardware. And this may have even been a necessity if the old hardware could no longer be sourced, or they got a better price on the newer FPGA etc. If anyone has any further info on this from Discord or otherwise I'd be interested to hear it, but that's what I'm suspecting.

There was obviously demand for the Mini, but I think the far larger demand is for the cheaper version. Every time the Mini is even mentioned it's just a bunch of people bitching about "CHEAPER VESION PLZ!!!" Maybe that's just Twitter being Twitter, but it's the same thing here and on YouTube as well. It's not just the aluminum housing either, but also the analog audio/video components that add to complexity and cost. Now I have no way of knowing this, but I doubt that they're making much more if any additional profit off of the Mini than they could/would from the 8 and it's cheaper less complex design. So again, why waste the time going through all of that if you plan on releasing the 8 down the road anyway? It just adds more headaches on your part and you have to deal with everyone bitching about it for one reason or another. Just release the 8 and get on with it. Edit: I would also add that the decision to re-release the Mini and all the headaches that go along with it has also now led us to where we are today. An additional 4 month delay because of manufacturing, and a bunch of unhappy people. If their plan was what you outlined, they're probably regretting it right about now.

Just because people are willing to pay more doesn't mean that it's more profitable for Analogue. As for the effort involved, I'm pretty sure they've said on multiple occasions that it was difficult to source the aluminum shells. Couple that with covid throwing a wrench into even the most basic things, re-releasing the Mini was probably the most difficult thing for them to do. Which is what leads me to believe that it was a last second decision because covid also destroyed their plans for the Pocket (similarly to the Mini's aluminum shell, the Pocket was going to rely on a very hard to source screen which is no doubt now much harder to source) and they didn't have a ready made design for a cheaper Mini, aka Analogue 8. Either that or the Noir is just a Taber vanity project, which I suppose is possible as well....

Because the demand was for a cheaper version, it's a PITA for them to have the Nt Mini shells built, it was gonna piss people off (either the current frustration, or if they release a cheaper version, the people that are inevitably gonna be pissed they spent $300 more than they "needed to") and it's just all around wasted effort to both if they were planning on the cheaper version anyway.

Since you brought this up, it does kind of make the case for them NOT doing a cheaper version. It likely would have been much easier for them to just release something in the mold of the Super Nt and Mega Sg, yet they didn't. On top of that, a cheaper Nt Mini is actually what most people were clamoring for, so I'm not really sure what to think anymore. Maybe they just knew the Pocket wasn't gonna be happening any time soon due to covid or whatever else, and they made a last second decision to just do another run of the Nt Mini in the interim since they already had the design.

I'm ok with everything, just pointing out anyone can find a reason to be upset. Granted it is pretty easy to do so the way Analogue operates, and I've pointed out my share of their inadequacies as well, but nobody is ever gonna be happy so they may as well just keep doing what they're doing I guess.

And when/if they release a cheaper version, people will cry about that too. Not that I don't disagree that this was pretty shitty on Analogues part, but whatever they do, people will find a way to be upset. I mean, as an owner of the original Nt Mini, I should be mad they're even making this again since it will (for sure now that the new one has better features) kill the value of my original. Taber even said at some point that they weren't revisiting the NES, so WTF?! I might be even more upset if/when they release a pared down version of the NES because at least the original Nt Mini would have been unique with it's analogue output built in, but doing another release of the upgraded Mini just makes the original a flawed version of itself. Honestly, now that I think about it a lil more, I am kinda upset

Maybe everyone who's upset about this should just start another petition to have them reopen pre-orders. Perhaps it'll work a second time around, and will be more constructive than bitching about it on a message board anyway. Edit: It would at least be interesting to see how they respond. I think some people thought the petition was a ruse to begin with, so I'd be very curious to see what happens if a similar petition was started and received a similar amount of signatures. I pre-ordered one myself (even though I own an original Mini) because I thought there was a good chance we would get a few added bonuses, but I'd still sign it. I can see why people are upset about it and I'd like to see them have a chance at one now that the news is out.

My assumption (without reading anything Kev said on Discord) is that the core needed to be rewritten to work on the new hardware. Which would also require whatever fixes were implemented (and not just for the NES core, but all the jailbreaks as well) to also be rewritten to back port to the original Mini. It's still disappointing that won't happen, but not surprising.

I have a GDEMU (clone) modded, custom smoke shell Dreamcast w/Noctua fan and new battery that I would like to trade for a working Virtual Boy in good condition. If you are interested or would like pics etc, please reach out. Thanks!