Top 10 worst knock-off consoles

[mbd30]

Including a hilariously awful DS ripoff with a fake screen and buttons, and the "Chintendo Vii".

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwC3V05uh7w

[jhd]

I have a Super Joy III and a marginally less copyright infringing version of the "Chintendo Vii". I bought them both used, so I have no idea what sort of retail distribution that they originally had. The Vii packaging is all in English; the Super Joy did not come in a box.

[+save2600]

"Chintendo"?

 

I saw this horrible Wii ripoff with built in games at a Big Lots once. Seems like I remember seeing it at Wal-greens too. Thing was $50-$80 IIRC. SNES style graphics with all the motion bells and whistles.

[0078265317]

3 minutes and 13 seconds. I have that. The bottom looks the same. But the label is different. Mine is mega Joy II. And the buttons are red and green and green dpad. And no thumbstick at the bottom.

[+save2600]

"Game Theory Admiral"? One of the dumbest sounding systems eva!

 

"Second players can even enjoy the copyright infringement fun"... with the Superjoy. LOL! This video is hilarious. BTW: The Superjoy series is actually one of the better clone or rip-off's I've played.

Edited August 1, 2013 by save2600

[Eltigro]

I don't know, some of these don't look too bad. (Disclaimer: I have not had any hands on experience with any of the systems in the video.)

[StoneAgeGamer]

Personally I would not call the Generation NEX a knock-off. I know you could argue that there is very little difference between a knock off and a clone, but I think its unfair to lump the Generation NEX in with these other systems.

[mkiker2089]

I'd like to know why the nex is on the list anyway. It's the best clone, knockoff or not, by far. The cheap junk that is prevalent now is far worse.

[+Gemintronic]

I can't really agree with any of the opinions in that video. You'd have to be a complete dumbass to expect the same experience as what these clones vaguely resemble. The Polystation has pretty damn good video output. The Genesis clone in the gamepad is reliable and battery operated. I'm actually now interested in the Vii as I never knew it had a cart slot and took batteries.

 

UPDATE: I'd rather hear from real collectors. My worst clone was the "Datavision MD-8066" handheld Megadrive. It tried to look like the PSP but was cheaply constructed. You could actually warp the screen and lock your game by pressing on the case too hard. If you tried to load games too big it would PERMANENTLY brick the machine!!! Basically, it loaded games from the SD to some on-board eeprom. It never did any bounds checking so you could literally start flashing over the firmware. I was crushed because the concept was so cool. Genesis on the go with just 3 x AAA batteries..

[+GoldenWheels]

Yeah I can't agree with the NEX being on there either, at all, whether you consider it a clone or a knock off. The biggest complaint (and really my only complaint) with the thing is how tightly it holds the NES carts in its iron deathgrip once inserted. It has no more graphical or sound glitches than any other NES clone to my knowledge (I've had several of the usual suspects).

 

It plays Famicom games, you can use the original controllers or get wireless ones, and it gives a nod to the original NES in design while not looking like it was put together by a guy missing an eye but with an ample supply of super glue (hello retron 3). Even the packaging and instructions, etc, were top notch as well.

 

I agree with mkiker, it's actually one of the BEST "whatever you want to call it"s IMO.

[S1500]

I have a Chintendo Vii. Sadly, I didn't look at the box when I bought it, and ended up with the pink one.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Yeah I can't agree with the NEX being on there either, at all, whether you consider it a clone or a knock off. The biggest complaint (and really my only complaint) with the thing is how tightly it holds the NES carts in its iron deathgrip once inserted. It has no more graphical or sound glitches than any other NES clone to my knowledge (I've had several of the usual suspects).

 

It plays Famicom games, you can use the original controllers or get wireless ones, and it gives a nod to the original NES in design while not looking like it was put together by a guy missing an eye but with an ample supply of super glue (hello retron 3). Even the packaging and instructions, etc, were top notch as well.

 

I agree with mkiker, it's actually one of the BEST "whatever you want to call it"s IMO.

 

The NEX does have a pretty bad NOAC, however for the time it was pretty typical. Most clones today have a better NOAC, but looks-wise and built quality-wise the NEX was probably the best clone I have seen. Its a shame Messiah went out of business.

[+GoldenWheels]

The NEX does have a pretty bad NOAC, however for the time it was pretty typical. Most clones today have a better NOAC, but looks-wise and built quality-wise the NEX was probably the best clone I have seen. Its a shame Messiah went out of business.

 

I know you've probably disassembled the thing or know the tech intimately, all I can say from my seat-of-the-pants experience with it was that it never did anything so out of whack that it made me go "hey my retron3/fc twin doesn't do that wtf!".

 

Because of it's good looks and nice design (and famicom ability) it is the only clone system I allow to grace my videogame cabinet. I just wish i didn't have to hold the system itself in one hand while I wrestled the NES games out with another. Those things are IN THERE!

 

it is a shame they went out of biz!

[mkiker2089]

The NEX does have a pretty bad NOAC, however for the time it was pretty typical. Most clones today have a better NOAC, but looks-wise and built quality-wise the NEX was probably the best clone I have seen. Its a shame Messiah went out of business.

 

Unless you know something I don't that's not the case anymore. The best clone I ever had was a Retro Bit unit from 2-3 years ago. When it died I went through the whole lot; Retro Bit, Retron 1, YB, etc.. They all have the same newer chip which puts out garbled overly sharp video and have problems with Tengen games that worked well on the older Retro Bit. I was sorely disapointed that Hyperkin uses the same chip since they pretend to be enthusiasts yet are really selling the same thing that the no name Chinese clones have.

[dendawg]

The ONLY good clone is a 100% compatible one, IMHO, and they don't exist yet.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Unless you know something I don't that's not the case anymore. The best clone I ever had was a Retro Bit unit from 2-3 years ago. When it died I went through the whole lot; Retro Bit, Retron 1, YB, etc.. They all have the same newer chip which puts out garbled overly sharp video and have problems with Tengen games that worked well on the older Retro Bit. I was sorely disapointed that Hyperkin uses the same chip since they pretend to be enthusiasts yet are really selling the same thing that the no name Chinese clones have.

 

I am not sure what you mean. I didn't say newer clones were super awesome or anything. I just said that they have better compatibility than the Generation NEX which came out like 6 or 7 years ago. That's a bit different than a 2 or 3 year old Retro Duo.

[mkiker2089]

I just wanted to mention that clones have gone down hill fast. 2-3 years ago they were awesome. Today, based on my wasted money, the NEX is better than the newest ones since they all seem to be the same inside. The older Retro Bit was excellent if you used it's included controller but what killed it was using Nintendo brand controllers which somehow shorted out the player 1 controller port over the course of a few weeks.

 

That said I decided to stop throwing good money after bad. I've had Sean here put composite outputs on my top loader NES. No more clones for me.

 

I tried to contact Hyperkin but their customer service on a consumer level is just as bad as their products. Enthusiasts my butt, they are just out to scam the hobby.

 

edit-- I see you sell the Retron. A good cart to test it with is Rolling Thunder. It works well in the NEX and in the superior even to the NEX old style Retro-Bit. The new NOAC won't play Rolling Thunder and will display an oversharp image with jailbars on most LCD screens. Can you get an answer from Hyperkin about why they changed the hardware?

Edited August 2, 2013 by mkiker2089

[mkiker2089]

The ONLY good clone is a 100% compatible one, IMHO, and they don't exist yet.

 

I'd like to see someone just make the actual hardware. Why do it on a chip. Yes I know it's cheaper but if people will buy the clone they will pay more for a better one. The NEX wasn't cheap after all.

 

I'm sticking with original consoles for now. If I could get cart readers I might build a game rig but until then it's original equipment only.

[Osgeld]

The Genesis clone in the gamepad is reliable and battery operated. Genesis on the go with just 3 x AAA batteries..

 

unless you got a screen in that thing you are paying for the power

 

I got a dozen 6 volt 1 amp supplies for like a buck each on sale retail, now add in the low drop out regulator and the shockley diode so devices can run 5 volts with like 200mv head room and your talking ~ about 3 dollars worth of effort total over a grand total of 10 units, now scale that cost to 1,000,000 units ... your talking cents

 

now how many quads of AA batteries have you shoved into that thing that has to be plugged into something anyway?

 

my thinking is that, if the stupid thing has a cord, they are screwing you out of battery money, cause its that darn cheap for them to do it right

 

the option is nice, the super joy III is a good example, runs off batteries, and has a single cable going out which breaks off to connectors, one being a power jack

[Andromeda Stardust]

now how many quads of AA batteries have you shoved into that thing that has to be plugged into something anyway?

 

my thinking is that, if the stupid thing has a cord, they are screwing you out of battery money, cause its that darn cheap for them to do it right

Ever heard of Nickle-Metal-Hydride rechargeable batteries? I use those in my Wii-Motes, among other things.

[+GoldenWheels]

I am not sure what you mean. I didn't say newer clones were super awesome or anything. I just said that they have better compatibility than the Generation NEX which came out like 6 or 7 years ago. That's a bit different than a 2 or 3 year old Retro Duo.

 

My NEX can only NOT play the same list of games that, I believe, all the clones fail on?

 

Granted I Haven't done across the board testing...I did strangely throw Castlevania 3 in every once in a while on some odd hope it would work the 5th or 6th time.

[CatPix]

The ONLY good clone is a 100% compatible one, IMHO, and they don't exist yet.

They do.

What about all the Atari 2600 clones? Even the Flashback II is a clone and it takes all games (unless I'm wrong, but I didn't heard yet of compatibilities issues).

 

For the NES, in 1990, Micro Genius released a Famiclone, that is an exact material clone of the Famicom. As is, it use the same board design, the same chips kind (the chips are clones).

It was even sold in Russia an Eastern Europe as the Dendy; this version had a SECAM output and was playing Famicom games at the right speed with a PAL/SECAM 50Htz output (making you wonder why such a feature was found in a cheap clone and never made it into the Megadrive and Super nintendo and so on.)

 

Now, the compatibility isn't 100% but it's one of the few clones that can play Castlevania III.

Compatibility issue come from the lack of microphone on the pad, and some games that use a lot of video display tricks doesn't render well because of the 60 to 50htz stepdown.

[brojamfootball]

The Flashback 2 is incompatible with a ton of games.

Look it up.

[mkiker2089]

Flashback 2 isn't 100%. However the Sears Arcade 2 and Colecovision would count as clones and they are 100%. The 7800 is near 100 as well.

 

However I don't think the argument was rather it's possible or not. It's rather a NES clone does it, which so far is no. Perhaps the Retron 5 will be good. I don't know. I'll probably end up with one because I like the ideas and the MSRP of <$100.

 

I apologize if I strayed the topic. I just wanted to warn people about my experience with clones. I loved the idea of new hardware because to me new meant "not worn out" but in practice it just doesn't work.

[StoneAgeGamer]

My NEX can only NOT play the same list of games that, I believe, all the clones fail on?

 

Granted I Haven't done across the board testing...I did strangely throw Castlevania 3 in every once in a while on some odd hope it would work the 5th or 6th time.

 

Some clones (at least at a point in time) could play CV3. I believe a version of the FC Mobile 2 could. Is that still the case? I don't no, I don't sit around testing clone compatibility all day.