Nintendo Classic Mini announced

[0078265317]

I thought it also had something to do with the mapper.

[Keatah]

Probably the most appealing part is the simplicity and instant access to some 30 games.

 

When I present my emulation PC to guests and speak of the technical accomplishments, all the nuances and developer work, how the main microprocessor is doing translating and simulating and all that goes on, roms, options, controller configs, and stuff.. No one is interested.

 

When I present my emulation PC as a black box that can play everything-in-one, by magic, everyone is suddenly interested and fascinated.

[0078265317]

Plus this is official. No more downloading roms and getting viruses from other websites. And no worry from nintendo suing you or finding out. Legal is the best.

[godslabrat]

Probably the most appealing part is the simplicity and instant access to some 30 games.

 

When I present my emulation PC to guests and speak of the technical accomplishments, all the nuances and developer work, how the main microprocessor is doing translating and simulating and all that goes on, roms, options, controller configs, and stuff.. No one is interested.

 

When I present my emulation PC as a black box that can play everything-in-one, by magic, everyone is suddenly interested and fascinated.

You can't overstate the importance of being an uncomplicated purchase. Even taking cost out of the equation, a lot of people glaze over when I try to explain flashcarts or emulation PCs. There's just a huge chunk of the population that won't bother with anything they have to tweak. And with technology as advanced as it is, that's not an unreasonable mindset.

[Keatah]

They are not merely competing with Atgames. They will knock them clear out of the arena. Nintendo is infinitely more popular than Atari, and I think it's a brilliant strategy. I plan on buying one for myself and a couple friends/family members. There has been a demand for Nintendo/Famicom plug-n-plays for at least ten years now. Remember all those shady dealers selling their shitty little pirate fami-clones in shopping malls and flea markets? Well Nintendo shut them down but they kept crawling back.

 

This is the console for casual gamers who don't want to buy an expensive console with expensive games, connect to the internet to install updates, etc. Just plug and play. No carts with dirty connectors. No SRAM batteries that no longer retain data. No fighting with modern displays to get decent picture (Atgames is woefully behind with the times still using composite). Turn it on and it works, with the modern convenience of saving your progress at any point in the game.

 

Yes. As an unbiased and impartial observer who buys these these mini consoles as door prizes and stuffers I can agree that N will far outsell ATGames' offerings.

 

As far as Composite vs. HDMI choices..? The best interface is what closest matches the current infrastructure. And that would be HDMI-equipped flat panel sets.

 

Consider, no one buys or desires CRT anymore. Not that they're available to begin with.. But the HDMI interface essentially connects the frame buffer of the game system to the pixels on the panel. 1 for 1, or whatever the programmer desires and determines looks good. With composite you don't have that. The designer has to guess and anticipate about a billion factors of the target display. And the target display has to understand and interpret a wide range of signals that hopefully conform to a standard.

 

There's too much gray area in Analog. Too many variables.

With HDMI there is no ambiguity. No muss. No fuss.

[Keatah]

Except no Castlevania 3. I mean there is 1 and 2. Why not 3? Maybe 3 uses special chips like sound and stuff this can't emulate.

 

Can't please everyone!

[Keatah]

I am in the same boat. I had so many HD TVs break down on me that I switched back to CRT TVs a few years ago. I even had a friend offer to buy me a brand new 50" HD television free of charge. I told him no thank you and that I am currently content using the old stuff.

I am in the same boat. I had so many CRT TVs drift out of spec on me that I decided to stay with LCD TVs a few years ago. I even had a friend offer to buy me a couple of nice 12"-15" CRT monitors free of charge. I told him no thank you and that I am currently content using the new stuff.

[Keatah]

You can't overstate the importance of being an uncomplicated purchase. Even taking cost out of the equation, a lot of people glaze over when I try to explain flashcarts or emulation PCs. There's just a huge chunk of the population that won't bother with anything they have to tweak. And with technology as advanced as it is, that's not an unreasonable mindset.

 

This is something a lot of my software choices (over the years) have in common. They work right out of the box, but allow for near infinite adjusting and tweaking later.

 

The out of box experience is a powerful thing. And that's something these mini-consoles tend to excel at and where traditional on-a-PC emulation falls short. I'm certainly most happy I don't have to go through the learning curve of traditional emulation systems at this point in time. I can tweak them pretty good rather quickly - because of years of experience. But I don't expect newcomers and causal gamers to do so. And that is a bane of emulation. All the setup stuff and preliminaries. There's a lot of assumptions. You might even have to play with a command line!

 

It also helps, when I show off my rig, to downplay that it is comprised of standard and unexciting PC parts. It is why I built it as a set-top-box as opposed to a beige 486-like tower! People of the general populace do indeed glaze over when PC & Windows is mentioned. So I maintain the "magic" and say everything is modified.

 

PC & Windows is the ultimate interest killer, bar none!

[0078265317]

Sadly I just tried on my wii and wireless is no good. I thought with a freedom connect I could get wireless to work. But no good. The adapter I have works with the gamecube ports on top and allows nes and snes classic controllers to work on virtual console games. But if I add a freeddom connect it does not work and make it wireless how odd.

Edited July 18, 2016 by 0078265317

[0078265317]

http://www.polygon.com/2016/7/14/12193472/mini-nes-classic-edition-faq-nintendo

[thadsilverfox]

I am in the same boat. I had so many CRT TVs drift out of spec on me that I decided to stay with LCD TVs a few years ago. I even had a friend offer to buy me a couple of nice 12"-15" CRT monitors free of charge. I told him no thank you and that I am currently content using the new stuff.

You mean that you are in the opposite boat. Congrats on finding a TV that has actually outlasted any HD TV that I have ever owned. However, I'll put money on it that all of my 16 to 24 year old CRTs that I am currently using will still be around long after your LCD TV has died.

Edited July 18, 2016 by thadsilverfox

[0078265317]

I have a 20 inch RCA I got at bestbuy in 1990 and it still works today.

[RevEng]

You mean that you are in the opposite boat. Congrats on finding a TV that has actually outlasted any HD TV that I have ever owned. However, I'll put money on it that all of my 16 to 24 year old CRTs that I am currently using will still be around long after your LCD TV has died.

In my experience, when LCD TVs die it's almost always due to power supply capacitors blowing. I've fixed a number of TVs and monitors by popping them open, checking for the telltale signs, and replacing the caps. I suspect that companies intentionally cheap out on the caps to ensure the TVs don't last too long.

 

Once you've installed decently overrated caps, an LCD TV might have just as long a run as CRT. If the CRT is used a lot, the LCD may even last longer, since tubes naturally degrade and grow dimmer over time.

[maxdrive]

I like the game selection a lot of iconic games for the system. I wonder if they are rims or something else

[thadsilverfox]

In my experience, when LCD TVs die it's almost always due to power supply capacitors blowing. I've fixed a number of TVs and monitors by popping them open, checking for the telltale signs, and replacing the caps. I suspect that companies intentionally cheap out on the caps to ensure the TVs don't last too long.

 

Once you've installed decently overrated caps, an LCD TV might have just as long a run as CRT. If the CRT is used a lot, the LCD may even last longer, since tubes naturally degrade and grow dimmer over time.

None of my CRT TVs have grown dimmer over time and they are used daily for hours on end, and never had to have anything replaced or fixed on any of them. Companies that have a policy of planned obsolescence are normally fly-by night outfits and not industry leaders. Ask American car makers how planned obsolescence worked out for them in the 60s and 70s.

[RevEng]

None of my CRT TVs have grown dimmer over time and they are used daily for hours on end, and never had to have anything replaced or fixed on any of them.

Awesome. But like caps, the tube does degrade over time with normal usage. The emissive layer on the cathode wears down.

[Keatah]

It is possible for LCD electronics to last as long as what's in a CRT set. Provided the same grade of materials is used.

 

Having said that, LCD matrices themselves, the fluidic part, can and do develop uneven mottling after 8 or so years. It's very subtle, but in 20-25 years it'll become more noticeable. First visible at an angle when all pixels set to display a dark grey.

[Keatah]

Awesome. But like caps, the tube does degrade over time with normal usage. The emissive layer on the cathode wears down.

 

I once heard of a high reliability CRT that had a spare cathode. One goes bad, or wears out, power up the second!

[thadsilverfox]

Awesome. But like caps, the tube does degrade over time with normal usage. The emissive layer on the cathode wears down.

I understand CRT TVs won't last forever. However, they have outlasted any modern television I have ever purchased.

[thadsilverfox]

It is possible for LCD electronics to last as long as what's in a CRT set. Provided the same grade of materials is used.

I'm sure it is possible sometime down the road. Hell, it may be possible right now but you would never know it by looking at my closet shelf full of broken modern TVs.

[Keatah]

Most of the stuff manufactured today is all about cost cutting. Increasing longevity and durability is not good for the producing company.

[thadsilverfox]

Most of the stuff manufactured today is all about cost cutting. Increasing longevity and durability is not good for the producing company.

These types of manufacturers that sacrifice quality in order to save costs will in the long run not only lose customers but allow their competitors to become the industry leaders. There is a fine line on how much quality can be sacrificed for a lower price point before losing customers to a competitor's superior product on the market with the same price point.

Edited July 18, 2016 by thadsilverfox

[0078265317]

OK, oddly enough I verified a real gamecube console (not wii) works with wireless. My freedom connect works with the gameboy player. It only works withe the freedom conect receiver without the wires. The one with the 2 connectors builtin. The one with the 2 separate wires does not work. How weird. And the other one with the 2 bultin connectors on the box only works in right side P2 connector. Once it worked with P1. But mostly P2. And on WII still no go however. Except once Super Mario Brothers 1 jumped to player 2 as if I hit select but I never did. How odd. No matter how I positioned the receivers it never worked. But it works on gamecube how odd. So its a hit or miss if it will work on the this MINI FB they are making. But even on the Gamecube it worked only if I sat the receiver right next to each other or one on top of the other. So its not really wireless if I have to sit it right next to each other. Hopefully a mayflash wiimote to nes and some other wireless brands work. Or the raphnet I got off ebay which is gamecube to wiimote. And then the Gamecube to nes or snes. But if not wired is good enough for now. Or a wiimote to PSX adapter. Got some wireless Playstation original controllers I would like to try. Not by sony but third party. But it doesn't matter. Beacuase according to the faq I linked to its useless because if you use 2 controllers one has to be the classic controller it comes with. Not sure if it has to be P1 or not. But still if that is true how stupid either way. So no go. Looks wired for now.

[Andromeda Stardust]

OK, oddly enough I verified a real gamecube console (not wii) works with wireless. My freedom connect works with the gameboy player. It only works withe the freedom conect receiver without the wires. The one with the 2 connectors builtin. The one with the 2 separate wires does not work. How weird. And the other one with the 2 bultin connectors on the box only works in right side P2 connector. Once it worked with P1. But mostly P2. And on WII still no go however. Except once Super Mario Brothers 1 jumped to player 2 as if I hit select but I never did. How odd. No matter how I positioned the receivers it never worked. But it works on gamecube how odd. So its a hit or miss if it will work on the this MINI FB they are making. But even on the Gamecube it worked only if I sat the receiver right next to each other or one on top of the other. So its not really wireless if I have to sit it right next to each other. Hopefully a mayflash wiimote to nes and some other wireless brands work. Or the raphnet I got off ebay which is gamecube to wiimote. And then the Gamecube to nes or snes. But if not wired is good enough for now. Or a wiimote to PSX adapter. Got some wireless Playstation original controllers I would like to try. Not by sony but third party. But it doesn't matter. Beacuase according to the faq I linked to its useless because if you use 2 controllers one has to be the classic controller it comes with. Not sure if it has to be P1 or not. But still if that is true how stupid either way. So no go. Looks wired for now.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the NES Classic Mini uses Wiimote plugs, NOT Game Cube ports. They are NOT the same interface. Anything that plugs into a Game Cube port will not physically fit a Wiimote plug and visa-versa.

 

Unless you plan on daisy-chaining a Wiimote CC -> Game Cube adapter to whatever else you plan on hooking up. Accessing Select/Home/Start using a single button on the Game Cube controller substituting for a Classic Controller is a PITA. And if you daisy chain that to a GC -> retro adapter (the Discontinued RetroUSB Game Cube to SNES adapter is perfect for playing GB Player games btw), Start and Select on the NES/SNES controller will not map correctly because Select on the Nintendo controller goes to Z on the Game Cube whch maps to ZR on the Wiimote port.

 

You will need an adapter to directly convert an NES or SNES controller to Classic Controller / Wiimote plug. These do exist. Then you plug an 8bitdo wireless NES adapter into the Wii-mote -> NES adapter and play wirelessly with the NES30 or FC30.

http://www.8bitdo.com/retro-receiver-nes/

 

However, I would like to add in general it is a bad idea to daisy chain two or more controller adapters together. You are asking for trouble and possibly just adding lag by doing so. My advice to you is to stick with the wired NES style CC controller. Knowing the care Nintendo puts into their hardware, I bet it will feel exactly like the original rectangular controller we all know and love.

[atarilovesyou]

 

Except no Castlevania 3. I mean there is 1 and 2. Why not 3? Maybe 3 uses special chips like sound and stuff this can't emulate.

 

Here's the actual answer: because for some reason it made no financial sense to Nintendo to include that particular game, either monetary or legal. I don't like that they didn't include Contra. But that's just the way it is. Some things will never change.