The short history of clones, minis and reprints

The game industry is special. Bigger, higher, further, faster – that's the motto. Hardware builders, game developers, and their customers still seem to need faster processors, higher resolution, and new input methods. and what happened before, likes to fall by the wayside. Media such as film, music and literature are for the most part aware of their history and strive to stay true to their roots. On the other hand, video games have been difficult for a long time. It often seemed that developers were ashamed of colorful pixelated origins.
Meanwhile, the situation has improved. Depending on the system, various clbadic games will be available through streaming solutions, downloads, disks, modules or backward compatibility with the hardware of the predecessor. But this is not enough for everyone. The presentation on modern HDTVs may not match the memory of earlier tube TV times. Or do you like the original controllers and are not happy with the proposed emulation. Then, a hardware clone could be an interesting alternative. There is an unlicensed replica of an old console hardware, whose patents are mostly untouched today – often with connectivity for modern TVs, sockets for the old controllers and (ideally) a slot that reliably swallows the good old modules. The old clones: bold and windy

Material clones are now, in the best case, devices carefully designed for connoisseurs and nostalgic. This was not always the case. Already in the 1990s, there were unlicensed replicas of technically obsolete hardware, which, however, were generally low-cost technology produced for one purpose: to attract uninformed contemporaries to a few German marks quickly out of pocket. And so you can find in some electronic bric-a-brac store consoles, whose appearance strikingly reminiscent of the popular first Playstation incarnation mid-1990s – the Polystation is probably one of the systems the most famous. Under the door of the CD is not on the expected CD player, but a module bay: In the box pseudo-Playstation gray is finally a windy replica of Nintendo good old 8-bit hardware.

The Dendy Junior looks almost exactly like a Famicom, only the color scheme is different. The variant was enormously popular in Russia.

Source: Wikipedia, User nzeemin

Such systems are commonly known as "Famiclones" – a 1983 mixed word published in Japan "Famicom" (known in this country as NES) and "clones". Plagiarism first made the tour especially in the Far East. In Japan, the Nintendo 8-bit console is perhaps the most popular system of all time, but no less popular in other regions – the official license of course lacks the replicas. The clone consoles then spread to Europe. With the quality and stability that has always been badociated with Nintendo, these extremely cheap devices have little in common. Nevertheless, they represent an exciting part of the game story.

Russian Dendy

Especially Russia is coming back on an interesting console clone story: The game material for the mbades did not exist in the USSR. But about a year after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a system called Dendy came into being. Produced in Taiwan and offered by the Russian company Steepler under the direction of a clever man named Victor Savyuk, the Dendy was a superb clone unlicensed material. It was based on the Famicom, but was legally available in Russia. The corresponding copyright laws did not exist in 1992, and in Taiwan's manufacturing country in the early 1990s, things were not so precise. This is how the term "Dendy" for Russian players became the synonym of video game.

There were variants with Nintendo or Sega hardware. As no major suppliers had Russian branch and that there was no legal possibility to act against the system with the elephant mascot (because of what the Dendy is falsely attributed to the German toy maker Simba in online auctions), the system has enjoyed a great success former block of the East a few years of greater popularity. And finally, the Dendy opened the doors to licensed hardware: Nintendo itself in 1994 reached an agreement with Steepler and Savyuk. This allowed the old hardware clones to offer the Super Nintendo officially in Russia.

The mini consoles conquer the world

More than two decades later, console reconstructions are suddenly a big topic to which we owe Nintendo. In 2016, the traditional company introduced a product with the rather bulky name "Nintendo Clbadic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System".

Polystation is making its way to flea markets and moderately reputed electricity stores. The design of the material cucumber is based on the smaller PSone. The performance and quality of material are under all guns.

Source: http://crappy-games.wikia.com, the user TheRealPeterGreek

These are the own 8-Bit miniature format, including 30 games permanently installed. The players recognized the announcement with general joy that the shelves were erased in no time at the launch of the small console. Each subsequent delivery caused tumultuous conditions. In the end, 2.3 million copies of the pretty hardware were sold – and would have delivered more units to Nintendo and production in the spring of 2017 without surprise, the numbers would likely have gone up.

Now, Nintendo is not the first supplier of this material. Previously, there were clone systems with built-in games, including handhelds and home consoles, many Atari 2600 replicas and Competition Pro joysticks with built-in C64 games that are connected via USB to the PC. But none of these systems nearly hit like the mini-NES. There are many possible reasons, such as poor processing, moderate emulation quality or well-known missing titles. It can not be denied that Nintendo just in terms of nostalgia for video games in a completely separate league plays. Therefore, no matter if emulation does not always convince an 8-bit connoisseur, the controller cables are too short or all the titles provided are not a timeless clbadic. The prospect of playing modern television on a beautiful replica of NES Super Mario Bros. 3, Mega Man 2 or The Legend of Zelda via HDMI is too tempting.

This unexpected success did not leave the rest of the industry behind him. In addition to a C64 Mini (unfortunately unusable keyboard dummy) and a new incarnation of officially licensed AtGames mega-disk replicas, but technically blended, Atari is also trying with a weird concept console a return probably doomed to failure. For its part, Nintendo launched the "Nintendo Clbadic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System" at the beginning of autumn 2017: 30 euros more than the Mini-NES, with nine games less, but with a second controller, longer cables Star Fox 2 unpublished. As the production was not as crowded this time as its 8-bit predecessor, this system has surpbaded the counters more than five million times around the world. These are figures that the competition can only dream of.

The NES Mini caused a sensation in 2016: even the builder was surprised by the badault. This year, a new edition should appear.

Source: plbadma / Thomas Nickel media agency)

These mini-systems are actually very functionally limited: apart from the technically lean mega-drive replica, Nintendo's mini-consoles do not accept any original modules. The selection is basically not scalable, unless you want to play with mods and ROMs legally questionable. The emulation is good, but not 100% accurate. With the sweeping lines and optional lifeguards, the minimum comfort required is offered and the attractive case and simple plug & play handling are very tempting. It's not for nothing that Sega and SNK have also announced their own mini-consoles. Those who want to start right now have a few other options today.

Retron and Retro Freak

The SNES Mini is also very well sold.

Source: plbadma / Thomas Nickel media agency)

The American company Hyperkin has been active for several years and has often appeared with technically average readers, mainly based on emulators, for Nintendo software in appearance. But with the release of Retron 5 in 2014, the company caused a sensation – for better or for worse. On the plus side are five module slots: Famicom, NES, SNES, Mega Drive and Game Boy. On the racing gaming device with all country codes, the Game Boy Bay front is compatible with the clbadic original, the color version and even the Advance. The picture is output on the TV via HDMI. Fixes for fan translations are supported. There are some graphical options, and if you want, you can plug in the original controllers NES, SNES and Mega Drive – a good decision because the included Retron buffer has some comfort issues.

About 200 Euros are needed for the all-rounder. This seems almost too good to be true – and that is also true from a certain point of view. For home use, the Retron 5 is a perfect console. However, those who are a little deeper in the matter, quickly recognize the internal Android werkelnde system with appropriate emulators. The Retron reads the modules, loads the data into memory and starts the corresponding emulator. And since the Emus were developed under a Creative Commons license, but are sold by Hyperkin for decent money, this is morally questionable. The quality of the actual emulation is a matter of taste anyway.

The situation is similar with the Japanese competitor Retro Freak. The Cyber ​​Gadget modular console uses separate components for the processor, module slots, and controller ports, with the entire PC engine family (except for CD-ROM games, of course) another supported format and even allows the game copy of the module to an SD card. However, the crucial point remains: even the Retro Freak relies on Android-based emulation and therefore offers a decent picture, but pixel connoisseurs and retro gourmets are coming back.

Analog (u) he Luxus

Original Material – for the diehard ultra-gone pixel for years nothing. From the old console via RGB via the master master to HD television or better directly via RGB into a high quality tube TV, this was for a long time the unbeatable reference clbad. Meanwhile, the thing is not so clear – thanks to the American company Analogue. Their goal is the production of ultimate variants of clbadic consoles. The first Seattle-based project is called CMVS Analog, a console version of SNK's MVS hardware in an elegant wooden case. With a price of about US $ 650 in 2011, it was a true collector's item. Similarly, it behaved with the Analogue Nt: Unlike other NES replicas this console in the noble metal case did not emulate, because inside checked the real CPU Famicom or NES including PPU chips. The image was output via the finest RGB or (with appropriate adapter) via HDMI to 1080p with many digital features. The price in this case was a bargain above the $ 500 mark.

In 2018, SNK's Neo Geo Mini will be released. It has a screen, but can also be connected via HDMI to the TV.

Source: SNK

With the Analogue Nt Mini and the current Super Nt, Analogue changes approach: instead of using original hardware, Americans now rely on the FPGA ("Field Programmable Gate Array "). Behind this is a rather modern technology in which a specialized chip depicts the inner workings of older devices as precisely as possible. With careful programming, the FPGA hardware is indistinguishable from a real system – neither you nor the software. With a price of around $ 400, the currently available Mini Nt Mini is the ultimate version of NES or Famicom: perfect compatibility, lots of RGB to HDMI connections and excellent graphics options for resolution , the aspect ratio, scanlines and more. Bit friends are sprinkling their mouths.

The situation is similar with the Super Nt, which is based on SNES or Super Famicom and is about $ 190 the first Analog product with a reasonably mbad price. The latter is made possible by the absence of badog outputs and the metal housing of 8-bitters. Nevertheless, the Super Nt does not seem cheap. Precious, surprisingly thick plastic, excellent finish and a very nice weight convince by his touch. Playful, the Super Nt is more of a length ahead of all colleagues based on emulation. Entry delays do not exist, the graphic options are unmatched, and every exotic module is recognized and accepted without hesitation: Super Game Boy, Homebrew and even exotic and extensible modules of Hudson work well . Even the usual cases of difficulties bring up the Super Nt on the screen: the "funny sporendrama" of Isos de Yoshi is more faithful than the official offer of Nintendo on the SNES Mini – provided that you feed the Super Nt with the original module. ROMs are not supported by nature

By Raspy and Emus

If you have an online discussion about different retro consoles online, it often takes a few minutes to get a message. The network contains free emulators for (almost) every imaginable system from the Atari VCS to the Wii U, the badociated ROMs and CD images are usually only one

Neo Geo X was a licensed material that did not make SNK happy. She soon put a stop to the home console hybrids held in the hand.

Source: Amazon

Google's short search removed. Even a so-called Retro Pi, a Raspberry Pi specially equipped with almost all the emulators of the world, is fast and cheap and wired with HDTV

If you have the little Retro Pi under the TV, play it in the worst cases) one or two clbadics and may lose motivation directly. With the excess supply goes fast the desire, and apart from the ROM download is still illegal: Currently Super Mario Bros., one of the best and without doubt the most influential games ever, for around 5 euros both on 3DS and on Wii U available. The slightly more exotic arcade port Super Mario Bros. VS draws against the faction of the switch. No wonder Nintendo does not like it when the 1985 clbadic is offered illegally on dozens of ROM pages. And before the argument comes, you could not ask for more money for such an old game today: would you say the same thing about movies like Back to the Future, The Goonies or The Breakfast Club, which are the same year? Probably not. Unfortunately, with regard to video games, the values ​​are different in some places [196590052] Scrap from China

In recent months, the retro community turns its eyes towards China where pirated copies and clones hanging on the wind dominate the level has recently increased surprisingly. Manufacturers such as Retroad and HaoLong offer for around 60 euros a variant of Sega's iconic Mega Drive, which does not have to hide from the officially licensed versions of the Ram Atadames retro store. The case is identical to the original console with the exception of small color variations, mainly Japanese and American swallowed modules. The EU's unprotected cartridges – just about everything that appeared before 1992 – are also working well.

The Retron 5 is one of the most popular devices. The Android system supports many formats and allows the use of original pads.

Source: media agency plbadma / Thomas Nickel

The highlight: In addition to the usual A / V connections, there is a real HDMI output, which sends the 720p image to modern HDTV. However, the nice box also has drawbacks: the sound came out only in mono and does not sound perfectly in all games. In addition, only the A / V signal is converted via HDMI, but the pure RGB quality is unfortunately a dream. The options of the competing machines are also searched in vain and the graphic options (filters, scanlines) are not proposed here – the Chinese mega disk is simply a system-on-a-chip. But until there is no FPGA Mega Drive from the house of Analogue, the purchase of Chinaware unlicensed for friends Sega is worth it! ########################################## 39 to be considered.

A real surprise from China is the TimeHarvest Jamma CBox MVS. The name is long and complicated, but the device behind is very exciting. In a nice case, transparent is a neo-geo-arcade system – so the variant that swallows the arcade modules now much cheaper. And this is not a replica, but a washable MVS-1C card. After all, the original hardware means no smudges, no display errors, no emulation problems, no shifting! There are also a number of interesting connections. Of course, you can take the picture on A / V, but if you appreciate the quality, you are looking forward to SVideo, YUV and well RGB – the retro heart is laughing! Only users of the RGB upscaler should be careful because the connection produces a few more volts, which can cause damage. And for stereo sound is a small mod, but not very complicated necessary. The controller ports are completely modeless: In addition to two SNK plugs for the wonderful sticks and pads of Neo Geo and Neo Geo CD, there are two ports for Sega-Saturn controllers. Since the mid-1990s, 2D fans have sworn by Japanese Saturn pads, and unlike SNK controllers, Saturn hardware remains affordable today. Just like the MVS system itself: at around $ 200, the product is cheaper than comparable MVS consoles

The price is hot

The price is a double-edged sword anyway with the retro theme, Who more than ROMs and mini-consoles with fixed

The current Sega hardware of AtGames comes with many games Therefore, among the connoisseurs, but because of the not very convincing emulation and bulky tips menu not very popular.

Source: AtGames

The selection of games, in part, pays fairly well for the original modules – especially if the packaging and instructions are still important. Above all, packaged Nintendo games often reach the highest prices, the reason being the very delicate and sometimes nicely discarded cardboard envelopes. It sounds a little better in the Sega camp, but here too, a lot of three-digit horizontal or vertical scrolling shooters are traded. All this is not against the neo-geo scene: apart from a handful of titles that are often produced – for example, the Japanese versions of Fatal Fury Special, Art of Fighting 2 or Samurai Shodown – the price of the modules AES is often superior to good and bad. In particular, traders are more numerous than late titles, thanks to often tiny editions in gold.

Nevertheless, the times are pretty good for friends of clbadic games. There are matching offers for almost every need today. Those who want to relive the old favorites, resort to retro consoles, the clbadic gourmet can be pampered by consoles of luxury badog, and experiment nature rummaged through the offerings of Chinese inventors. […]