Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console • Hacker News Board

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#161

Post by bsilvereagle » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:11 PM UTC

ashark wrote: post #95

_b8r0 wrote: post #59

I'm amazed noone here has mentioned RetroPie[1]. A model B Raspberry Pi or even a Zero (if you can get one) should play NES games perfectly fine. You can get USB NES controller adapters pretty cheap or some knock-off USB NES controllers instead. I have a SNES-USB adapter for my setup that takes two SNES controllers. [1] - https://retropie.org.uk/

I'd personally recommend Lakka[1] (Kodi's distro modded to boot straight to Retroarch) over it, having used both. Worth it for fewer problems with controller mappings, if nothing else. Boots to a usable GUI in ~3-4s on a Pi2, which is nice. If you're using a Pi it's easy to try both before deciding, so may as well check it out. Anyone in the market for hardware, I've found that the abilities of various devices tend t…

> (Kodi's distro modded to boot straight to Retroarch)

A little pedantic, but Lakka is based on OpenELEC (and may have switched to LibreELEC by now). OpenELEC/LibreELEC are buildroot based OSs that boot straight into Kodi. Neither are affiliated with the Kodi project - but the devs get along and communicate.

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#162

Post by vanadium » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:14 PM UTC

mrob wrote: post #108

chongli wrote: post #19

HDMI out? I wonder if they're going to simulate NTSC TV artifacts such as colour bleed and dot crawl. These artifacts are important for correctly rendering NES games according to their original design [0]. [0] http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KylePittman/20150420/241442/C...

Those video flaws are not important, as proven by the existence of the PlayChoice-10, an arcade machine which played NES games with high quality RGB video. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayChoice-10

Or the NESRGB project, for that matter (which I'm installing into my Famicom Twin): http://etim.net.au/nesrgb/installation-famicomtwin/

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#163

Post by rasz_pl » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:15 PM UTC

RIP Hi-Def NES http://retrorgb.com/hidefnes.html

Dude spend two years developing this product and literary launched last week http://www.game-tech.us/blog/2nd-day-of-packaging-hi-def-kit...

price was somewhere around $150

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#164

Post by rasz_pl » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:17 PM UTC

joeblau wrote: post #114

It seems to be missing some critical features of the original. - Can't start a game and have the game loading screen distorted until the 7-8th attempt. - Can't blow in the cartridge until it whistles before playing - Can't stick 2 games in on top of each other Getting the game to work was half of the fun.

you do realize blowing on the cartridge works just as good as not walking under the ladder and avoiding black cats? As a matter of a fact it contributes to connector oxidation (moisture in your breath).

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#165

Post by fredleblanc » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:17 PM UTC

Vexs wrote: post #80

danso wrote: post #37

I'm amazed at the ridiculous pricing for these games. On Wii U, all of these classic games would cost $5 each . $60 for a physical device and 30 games is extremely generous by Nintendo standards. Edit: if only it had River City Ransom...

TBH 5$ is pretty fair pricing- average user is only going to buy one, maybe two NES ports, and serious retro buy-all-700 games people already have it all. It's only overpriced by maybe a dollar or two. But yeah, 60$ for the kit? Crike that's cheap.

I've always found the virtual console a place where Nintendo could do better. I want to buy a license to a game and have it follow me as I upgrade to new (Nintendo-made) hardware.

For example, I have Kid Icarus via the Wii Virtual Console, and Mega Man on the 3DS Virtual Console. Why can't I play those in both places? Why do I have to pay _another_ $5 to play Mega Man on the Wii U? Especially now that Nintendo's online account stuff has shaped up to be pretty good. I'm not even sure if I can play the Wii-purchased Kid Icarus through my Wii U… or do I have to load up the Wii virtual console and then download it onto there? (That I haven't checked.)

I don't need all 700 games to be happy, but for $5 per game — for something that we know is basically just an emulator/ROM, I feel like I shouldn't get penalized for continuing up the upgrade path within the company.

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#166

Post by rasz_pl » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:22 PM UTC

jabbernotty wrote: post #107

Jyaif wrote: post #86

I hope they didn't just bundle the games and called it a day. They have such a big catalog of games they could do things like "Complete game X and Y, and unlock game Z". Things like that are super cheap to do, but add a lot of value to the product.

I am not sure how actively limiting access to part of the game catalog would be added value.

Let me introduce you to the wonderful world of launch day DLC.

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#167

Post by ataylor284_ » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:26 PM UTC

rangibaby wrote: post #158

Bahamut wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably have an emulator already built, given that they sell NES Virtual Console games & have quite a history having ported their games to various platforms (goes as far back as the Game Boy Color I believe with having ported Super Mario Bros. - that is over 16 years ago).

id Software's Keen series was a result of them porting Mario for PC but being denied a license by Nintendo.

Reimplemented, not ported. They wrote it from scratch, using innovative techniques to get the smooth side scrolling that was supported by hardware in consoles.

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#168

Post by ilitirit » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:28 PM UTC

As someone that just shelled out $200 for a PVM CRT monitor to support retro-gaming, this device doesn't appeal to me at all. I'd wager I'd get a better gaming experience via a low-lag emulator with the appropriate shader plugins.

IMO, they should create a cheaper version of something similar to the Analogue NT[1], with built-in network connectivity that you can use to purchase and download legal roms.

[1] http://www.analogue.co/products/analogue-nt-information

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#169

Post by bydo » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:29 PM UTC

rangibaby wrote: post #158

Bahamut wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably have an emulator already built, given that they sell NES Virtual Console games & have quite a history having ported their games to various platforms (goes as far back as the Game Boy Color I believe with having ported Super Mario Bros. - that is over 16 years ago).

id Software's Keen series was a result of them porting Mario for PC but being denied a license by Nintendo.

Romero discusses this briefly here: https://vimeo.com/148909578

Re: Nintendo re-releases NES as mini console

#170

Post by ilitirit » Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:31 PM UTC

scott_s wrote: post #154

For kinda the opposite of this - super expensive, plays all NES games as carts - check out the Analogue NT: http://www.analogue.co/products/analogue-nt-information It's apparently sold out now, but it was a $500 NES built using clones of hardware, and with modern video and audio output. Jeremy Parish has a writeup over at USGamer: http://www.usgamer.net/articles/analogue-nt-review-for-the-r...

There's also the Retron 5 that plays NES, SNES and Genesis carts.

Also the Retro Freak: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-cyber-...

Each of these devices have their own issues though.