New Plug n' Play system actually has GOOD classic games!

[TwinChargers]

Avoid the "coleco" one at all costs. I can't believe that was put to market. It was a glorified LCD game.

 

Yeah that Coleco one was absolute trash. It was inexpensive, but there wasn't even enough charm to merit keeping it so it got an immediate return. I was shocked that it was so poor. At first I thought it might be broken, but that was unfortunately how it played.

[FlightSuit]

Isn't it a clone of Coleco's first home console, which was a dedicated, Pong-like system with built-in sports games? If so, I'd guess the games are probably pretty representative of the actual capabilities of that first system.

 

Or is it actually a TV videogame adaptation of Coleco's LCD handhelds? I shudder with horror to think how bad that would be!

[Retro Rogue]

Isn't it a clone of Coleco's first home console, which was a dedicated, Pong-like system with built-in sports games? If so, I'd guess the games are probably pretty representative of the actual capabilities of that first system.

 

Or is it actually a TV videogame adaptation of Coleco's LCD handhelds? I shudder with horror to think how bad that would be!

 

It was a poor adaption of the LED handhelds.

[onmode-ky]

Has anyone actually contacted either Walgreens or Senario about this system with the pirated games?

 

Also, while the bootlegs/pirates are still NOACs (cheap, readily available, game library already exists), the plug-n-play systems from "real" companies have been off NOACs for about 5 years now. At least, Jakks Pacific has been; I would cite other companies, but I don't think there is anyone else who hasn't abandoned the field yet.

 

onmode-ky

[S1500]

Has anyone actually contacted either Walgreens or Senario about this system with the pirated games?

 

No. What would we talk with them about? Maybe a few on here contacted Walgreens asking if they have them in stock at their particular store.

[TwinChargers]

Has anyone actually contacted either Walgreens or Senario about this system with the pirated games?

 

No. What would we talk with them about? Maybe a few on here contacted Walgreens asking if they have them in stock at their particular store.

 

I'm pretty sure that the people at Senario know darn well that what they are doing is illegal. What would you say to them that they don't already know? As for contacting Walgreens, you'd have to call one of the pretty high ups before you'd get to someone who even knows what your talking about. Once you get to them, what do you expect them to do? They'd probably need a threatening call from Nintendo before they'd pull the items off the shelves.

[FlightSuit]

Has anyone actually contacted either Walgreens or Senario about this system with the pirated games?

 

Also, while the bootlegs/pirates are still NOACs (cheap, readily available, game library already exists), the plug-n-play systems from "real" companies have been off NOACs for about 5 years now. At least, Jakks Pacific has been; I would cite other companies, but I don't think there is anyone else who hasn't abandoned the field yet.

 

onmode-ky

 

 

How interesting. What sort of hardware is Jakks Pacific using? For that matter, what games do they have? Off the top of my head, I can't recall.

[wccw mark]

even though i already have most/all these games on a famicom bootleg cart i put in a nes gyromite cart a few years ago,i went ahead and pick up this plug n play at one of my local walgreens the other day.i have to say its a good buy for $10.i like cheap plug n plays that have good games on them.i have a plastic bin full of them(most i got from thrift stores for a couple bucks each)when i go to in-laws house for some family event i usually take one and hook it up.kills some time plus i dont care if all the kids play em with their gunky hands and abusive behavior.

[CARTRIDGE STEALER]

if the cops arent going to arrest anyone at the stores for selling them, no one really cares. thats the bottom line. plus, you will have to provide proof if anything, to show thier counterfeit.

[onmode-ky]

Well, I thought someone would just e-mail the customer service addresses for either company and say something like, "Are you aware that this product you sell violates intellectual property copyright laws?" I think Walgreens corporate may not be aware and should know. As for Senario, there is a fairly good chance they do not know, because they are a small company who has a history of selling generic junk OEM'd from China. It's entirely possible that they just went to their factory contacts and said, "We need new product fast, that is cheap but has a high margin. What do you have?" If the answer was just, "We have another version of those plug-n-play game systems you've sold before," that might have been all they needed to hear to place an order and draw up some packaging. As for proof, I don't have any (I haven't even seen a Walgreens in months), but I figured that one of you guys that has the proof might make the contact.

 

If no one contacts them, then they never find out from their customers that people care about this stuff. If they never find out (and it's not like there would ever be an active move from the company, a survey asking whether their customers approve of the sale of illegal goods; someone from the customer base would have to speak up), then they'll just keep on doing this. I had thought that we as a community found such bootlegs to be interesting curiosities but only that, and that bootlegging in principle should not be encouraged. If we have evidence in hand of bootlegs being sold in a national retail chain, but we do nothing, aren't we just condoning the activity? It's not as if speaking up risks personal safety in this case.

 

I'm not making the contact because a) I'm really not well versed enough in retro gaming properties to know what I'm talking about, and b) I have no proof anyway. All I have is a bunch of stuff I read in an online forum. But surely there are others here who are qualified to make this contact.

 

Has anyone actually contacted either Walgreens or Senario about this system with the pirated games?

 

Also, while the bootlegs/pirates are still NOACs (cheap, readily available, game library already exists), the plug-n-play systems from "real" companies have been off NOACs for about 5 years now. At least, Jakks Pacific has been; I would cite other companies, but I don't think there is anyone else who hasn't abandoned the field yet.

 

onmode-ky

 

 

How interesting. What sort of hardware is Jakks Pacific using? For that matter, what games do they have? Off the top of my head, I can't recall.

 

I can't claim for sure that the original (2001-2003) TV Games were NOACs, but the technology they started using in 2004 was different, leading to the rewrite of their rendition of Pac-Man so that it was more arcade-accurate; notably, the sound is more correct. There is a post I saw in a forum where someone claimed that the original TV Games were based on 68516-based architectures from Winbond, while the 2004 TV Games were Sunplus tech. In any case, the TV Games which have been released in more recent years are much more advanced and are based on chips from one or both of Winbond and Sunplus. A resume for Jacob Aalfs, who was "Senior Manager, Interactive Technology" at Jakks for a few years, is available on the Web, and in it, it says: "Researched and evaluated new 32-bit gaming platforms from Sunplus and Winbond for next generation of Plug It In & Play TV Games" (note: that's the full brand name for TV Games). The Sunplus chips used in plug-n-play systems (not necessarily limited to Jakks Pacific) are the SPG series; in particular, I'm aware of SPG-200 (maybe this is just the series' name?), SPG-220, SPG-240, SPG-260, and SPG-290 models. The IDE for the SPG platform is called "µ'nSP IDE" (that's a Greek mu in the first character position; I have no idea how you're supposed to read that word, though I'm pretty sure the mu is for the "micro" in "microcontroller"), which is sometimes written as "unSP IDE." Actually, after some poking around on the Web, I'm not sure that µ'nSP is what I thought it was. There is a Sunplus product page that describes it as a 16-bit processor. Anyway, my guess is that the SPG IDE is just based on the IDE for this other Sunplus chip.

 

Here is a Sunplus press release which mentions the SPG series. Also, here is the user's guide for version 3.0 of µ'nSP IDE (for Windows), from 2006, by the looks of it.

 

Regarding what games Jakks Pacific makes, check out the most recent file attached to my Comprehensive Plug-and-Play Listing thread here at AtariAge. Note that for some reason, even though each attachment filename is datestamped in the same way, the newest file (the August 2009 one) somehow did not sort to the bottom of the list. I'm still puzzled how "200908" ended up above "200905" there. However, I should note that my list has names of products, not names of what specific games are in each product. Of course, since most of Jakks' releases these days are new games and not remakes, the titles wouldn't be meaningful to you anyway. Also, this file does not track the newest form of Jakks' TV Games, the motion-controller ones; when I started my list way back, I decided not to include anything that wasn't button- or light gun-based, mostly due to the fact that many dedicated systems based on body motion, notably from Radica Games, had been released prior to that time, and I could not track a history for all of those. I've continued not including any such systems for years, though I do keep track somewhat in a separate file. That one, though, is very incomplete and "loose," so I keep it to myself.

 

onmode-ky

[GameGirl420]

Oooooo sounds like something I'd like to get at Walgreen's next time I go there I bought a generic pinball handheld from Walgreen's and it's okay. The one you describe sounds way cooler tho. I love looking at the toys section in Walgreen's lol...my only complaint is that they don't sell board games like they used to.

[jeremysart]

As a collector of games, I want nothing but the best of games for my systems, and the best quality of those games. I would NEVER willingly buy a bootleg game.

Now the fact that there are millions of bootleg gameboy/advance games out there does not bother me so much, as the games still work fine.. however, eBay has become FLOODED with bootlegged NDS games.

 

The thing about these Bootleg Nintendo DS games, is that they DO NOT work in the DSi, so im sure hundreds of unsuspecting folk are buying games for themselves or their kids, who now own the DSi, that dont understand that these are copied games from Hong Kong, just to receive a game that wont work in their system. This is an outrage!

 

And what further disgusts me, is even when I filter my search results through advanced search, I STILL get shit from Hong Kong, see this. Read how deceptive it is:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Super-Mario-Bros-Nintendo-DS-Game-FREE-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ250512654227QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVideo_Games_Games?hash=item3a53b7bf93

 

US vendors are buying shit games from Hong Kong, and reselling, or distributing for them.

OK, so bootleg has become a problem, and this stretches MUCH farther than selling those "10-in-1 TV game" systems.

 

You cannot trust buying games off the internet, from anywhere, because even the person selling the product may not know that they are selling the knock off. Its ridiculous.

 

Next time you are on eBay, take down information, report auctions, and notify Nintendo of particular sellers. Enough complaints from pissed of buyers and concerned consumers should at least put pressure on some of these vendors and at best reduce the amount of garbage on the market.

[CARTRIDGE STEALER]

Doesnt walgreens sell knockoff perfumes?

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

For those of you that may be checking out your local Walgreens to find this thing, I recommend looking above on the risers. I didn't find mine in the toy aisle, but in another aisle altogether up on a riser. It was in a display tray. I probably could have done this at the first three Walgreens and wouldn't have resorted going to the 4th one.

 

Thanks for the clue! I'll have to check my local Walgreens again. I looked a week ago, and couldn't find it. This could be why.

[FlightSuit]

We have a brand new Walgreens store here in Pacifica, CA. I just went in there today for the first time. They've got plenty of the crappy 50 in One units for $13.99, and plenty of the good 101 in Ones for just $9.99. I must say, actually holding it in my hand, that 101 in One looks like a pretty neat little product!

[Blues_Bloody]

Doesnt walgreens sell knockoff perfumes?

 

I know they have sold knock off Transformer toys (especially the Constructicons) for years. Walgreens selling unlicensed products is nothing new.

[FlightSuit]

There's a difference between "knock-off" and "unlicensed." In the case of the transforming robot-toys, they are knock-offs in that they're clearly cheap imitations designed to cash in on the popularity of the Transformers franchise. They are not, however, unlicensed bootlegs, because their packaging does not contain the word "Transformers" or a Transformers logo, and the toys themselves have enough small differences in their designs that if the manufacturer were taken to court for copyright infringement, they'd at least have a chance of beating the case.

 

I suspect the same holds true for any smell-alike fragrances Walgreens may be selling.

[S1500]

I actually made several trips to Walgreens to collect the Constructicon knock-offs. Now I have my very own colorful Pride parade ready Devastator.

[Video]

I actually made several trips to Walgreens to collect the Constructicon knock-offs. Now I have my very own colorful Pride parade ready Devastator.

 

I remember Constructicons, first season of Transformers, limegrean if I remember. That was the first time I think that several transformers joined together to make a big robot. To bad they were basically destroyed in the same episode....construction equipment transformers sounded cool to me (at least back in the 80's )

 

As for knockoffs and bootlegs whatever....well, unless they are blatently selling something that say says "nintendo" on it (and it's NOT nintendo) then really, the only one who can say much anything would be Nintendo themselves, and only if the games or names are close enough that it's an obvious ripoff. (for 8 bit, I doubt it'll happen, Nintendo seems more interested in online stuff than IRL stuff for some weird reason)

[Blues_Bloody]

There's a difference between "knock-off" and "unlicensed." In the case of the transforming robot-toys, they are knock-offs in that they're clearly cheap imitations designed to cash in on the popularity of the Transformers franchise. They are not, however, unlicensed bootlegs, because their packaging does not contain the word "Transformers" or a Transformers logo, and the toys themselves have enough small differences in their designs that if the manufacturer were taken to court for copyright infringement, they'd at least have a chance of beating the case.

 

I suspect the same holds true for any smell-alike fragrances Walgreens may be selling.

 

No, I'm talking about toys that copy the exact same molding as the official toys with cheaper plastics and sometimes different color schemes and stickers. The "Pride parade ready Devastator" that S1500 is referring to is exactly what I am talking about. I have also seen combiner gift sets with Devastator in his original colors and other combiner teams for sale there as well. These ARE unlicensed bootlegs with no differences in their designs at all. I haven't seen any in stock lately but my point was Walgreens apparently hasn't had a problem with selling knock offs before.

[FlightSuit]

Yeah, that would meet my definition of "unlicensed bootleg."

[Murph74]

Nice selection of games on here for $10-- but the controller is mushy and god awful! I'm gonna have to hack this thing up to use a real joystick.

 

And incidentally, it wasn't in my toy aisle either-- only the DreamGear one was for $12.99. Found it over bu the magazines up high for $9.99 as mentioned earlier.

[DrLove0378]

I kinda like it. A lot of the Famiclones I've seen had their games totally hacked to hell, in an attempt to capitalize on other popular franchises. One example was Bomberman -- they renamed it "Toy Story", and hacked the player sprite to make him look like Woody. The particular Famiclone it was on, though (in the shape of a Dreamcast controller), was actually better than average -- it had an unobtrusive top-loading Famicom cart slot (unlike the N64 versions) in which a game will fit SECURELY, and actually featured wireless RF broadcasting (I don't know how well it worked, as I never tried it.) It even played an 8-bit rendition of "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" in the game select menu.

 

But this one we're talking about appears to have pretty much everything intact (save for the copyright information, of course.) I think I'll pick one up tomorrow after work -- there's a Walgreens right across the street. If the controls are as bad as you all say, I might just hack it and put everything in a new enclosure, with some decent controls.

[Inky]

saw onme today and picked it up. Have yet to try it tho

[yuppicide]

For $10 bucks this is a good deal. The joysticks are usually crappy, though. It would be nice to hack one of these with a real pad.. hmm I've got a NES Advantage sitting around here collecting dust.