Sleek Metal NES Analogue Nt Now Available for Preorder

I don't really get the appeal but if someone wants it I can still kinda see why. I personally will just stick with the original console that you can get for a lot cheaper.

@SuperKMx But with an actual NES, you're never guaranteed that it would actually work. Same goes for the CRT.

@ChrisT99
It's not difficult at all to find both a working NES and CRT. In fact, if you go to any retro store or flea market I'm sure you can get them to plug in the system/TV and verify that it's working. Clean the pins off with some rubbing alcohol and the NES will work for a long time, especially if you grab a top-loader. I'm with those that look at something like this as designed for the well-heeled consumer who wants the bragging rights that come with spending $500 on a retro console.

Personally, emulated consoles like the Retron 5 are just fine for me. And though I grew up playing these consoles, it's really hard to tell the difference unless you place the units side by side. Affordability trumps authenticity in my book.

Blinking NES's are easy to fix, either replace the 72 pin connector entirely or just tweak the pins back into place. Problem solved.

The Retron 5 doesn't seem like it's ever going to actually ship, so...

Wow. I can understand the appeal of playing "native" games in full HD resolutions. I can also appreciate the ingenuity, sleek design and workability of new hardware. But holy hell, $500!? I don't even know where to start in my list of ways to do the same thing for a fraction of the cost!

...is this legal?

I think I'll stick with my NES instead of buying this outrageously priced piece of hardware (and the choice for other colors should be free). And why the aircraft grade aluminum? I don't really plan on flying a NES emulator.

One good thing is, is that it looks cool.

That console looks a lot more professional than your average clone system. So are the website and the offers. Since RetroN 5 is launching soon with the price of around $139.99, Analogue Nt is exorbitantly overpriced for a console that plays nothing but NES and Famicom games.

That is way too much money... You can get a new-in-box NES for that much and a clone with many more options as @JCnator mentioned for a fraction of the price.
HD doesn't even matter when the graphics are pixelated.

NES games should be played in SD to get the most out of it. Seems odd to play games that were designed for full screen in a widescreen format.

Also kind of odd that they added two extra controller ports that only about 3% of the library can take advantage of...

Why would anyone buy this over a Retron 5?

...an extra $50 for HDMI on top of the ridiculous $500 price point? Buzz off, you pretentious Seattle hipster scam artists.

A cool Famiclone system, definitely not worth the $500 though imo.

Certainly cool, but I never thought I'd see the day when an NES cost more than a NEO-GEO.

Some of the comments here make me wonder if others actually read the entire article.

That aside. That's rather spendy for a device that only plays NES and Famicom games. If it were a multi system that also played SMS, Genesis/32x games with possibly Neo Geo AES hardware, it would be much more appealing.

As it stands right now. I don't see many sales happening unless you already have a massive NES library and money to burn.

-------— Buyer Beware!

Here is a copy/paste of the "review" of this system from IGN

IGN

"...the perfect way to fully appreciate the Neo’s vast catalogue of fighters, shooters and arcade action titles.....one hell of a collector's piece...a hearty thumbs-up

---------------—

Spot anything wrong here?

Looks nice....but $500?

Im not a tech guy so can someone explain to me and/or link to an example showing how 1080p is beneficial to blocky nes games. Wouldnt the game have to have been programmed to take advantage of the technology. It's not like nes graphics are goi ng to magically change to wii u graphics. Why does this matter??

@LetsGoRetro it would only show the minute benefit of playing a Wii game on a HDTV vs. playing that same game on "Wii Mode" on the Wii U

Simply a sharper direct digital picture which would look awful for such a low resolution source. Classic NES and a CRT would be ideal if you have the space. Most of my retro gaming is done on on my classic Wii via component. (one of two on my Sony LED flat panel) A bit artificial looking but still emulated perfectly on the Virtual Console.

Know what this story is missing? A WTF tag.

@SahashraLA like my laptop, it can use the entire enclosure as a heat sink but with one major difference. It's not trying to cool a 2.4Ghz processor. The hottest running part in the original NES was a modulator with a metal heat sink just under the vented portion of the plastic shell.

I have doubts of this system actually existing though. Some fake review clippings (one for a Neo Geo rebuild) and it was said that the original NES 001 system boards are used. That leaves me with the question. How does the Famicom cart slot work? Unless the RF shielding is cut and some sort of custom 30 pin and Famicom cart connector is fitted to these boards which also the controller ports are attached to the main system board.

Something just doesn't add up.

Don't forget to mention that if you reserve one. You are charged the full amount of your order in hopes it arrives.

Sounds rather fishy to me.

@AirElephant

Although I usually advocate original hardware over things like the Retron5, in this case I admit the Retron5 is a far better investment than this. Don't get me wrong, this thing looks amazing and I would love to have one, but once you see that it nickles and dimes you (charging extra for an HDMI cable? If I'm paying upwards to 500$ on the thing, you can't include an HDMI cable on your own?) and overcharges you for something that doesn't do anything more than a regular NES does, it becomes tough to justify. If someone really wants to spend that kind of money, they're better off investing in something like a Top Loader NES or an actual Famicom+Disk System. At least those have collectors value and the appeal of being original hardware. This just strikes me as the same thing as people who trick out their cars. They pump thousands into tricking it out, only to realize later it did nothing for the value of the car itself.

@Kodeen Well that's the thing, it's built from old parts. I figured using parts from a piece of hardware you did not build yourself could be considered illegal. Also, just because "people do it all the time" does not make it legal.

I don't really see the point in upscaling. It's not like it can actually add additional pixels into the graphics, and what TV doesn't have a 4:3 aspect ratio setting?

@SahashraLA I was giving a simple example just for the sake of keeping things simple.

Since you must be one of those "I must be right types" here's the small/big picture.

Assuming you didn't pay the premium for the external upscaler from a analog RGB source. It's very close to what I explained. A sharper image. Simple and straight to the point.

Using the external upscaler, sure you will get a arcade cabinet sharp picture with simulated scan lines for that extra bit of nostalgia. Otherwise it would look like a NES emulator. Much bigger pixels with less to zero processing lag (vital for Punch-out!!) between your equipment. The pixels will be large depending on the size of your TV, but for the up charge on potential vaporware, it's up to the consumer to decide if it's worth buying as you only can at the time of purchase. Seeing some spotty errors on the website already has me questioning if this thing is really legit.

@Kodeen
If it's not officially made or license by Nintendo, then it's a clone system whether it is custom made and used parts and pieces from the actual system or not.

@Kodeen a techie like me wants to see what's under the hood and how some features are being used.

If it's the original NES-001 internals as said on the site, I'd like to know if a true NES Four Play is used or are ports 1&2 cloned on both sides just for aesthetics or are they truly functional? Also how the Famicom cart slot is grafted on there.

I have my doubts as a review on the site wasn't even for this product!

{IGN

"...the perfect way to fully appreciate the Neo’s vast catalogue of fighters, shooters and arcade action titles.....one hell of a collector's piece...a hearty thumbs-up}

that's clearly not this product which is why I have my doubts.

what a expensive system for hdmi treatments lol

I'd love a system that does true HD for the NES, but 500+ is absurd.

Would rather take that $500 and use them on the Wii U, Wii & 3DS VC.

This is brilliant! I want one!

@ungibbed
@sahashraLA

Thank you both for yout explanation. So, like I expected, this product's about 400 too much and hoping to break into the "if its really expensive, it must be incredible and im just not seeing it" market

Dust off your zapper? Will that even work if your playing on anything that isn't crt?

@Thats-what-she The Neo Geo's from them are 800$. (And presumably contain the one variant of the MVS that is most console like and pretty expensive - i.e 200€ New and Sealed). You can get the common types of Neo Geo MVS for 40€. Or an AES for £200. (Sorry about differences in currency but it just based on where I know to buy them from).

@LetsGoRetro It has the equivalent of an XRGB which is the right way to do it. And them saying it uses entirely Nintendo hardware might mean it has the RGB output from the Arcade board version of it (Those are not cheap). I suspect the price is doubled from the costs which I think is fair enough. (Less markup than say custom furniture).

@retro_player_22 Well if you want to use a real NES well on a modern TV. You need the VDP from the Playchoice Arcade Board (To output RGB) to mod that into the console and an XRGB to deal with getting it onto the TV. This is a similar sort of mod not a clone. (And not emulated which is even more of a waste of time).

The light gun wont work

light guns use photo diodes to detect were the gun is pointing at the screen. when the trigger of the gun is pulled, the screen is blanked out to black, and the diode begins reception. All or part of the screen is painted white in a way that allows the computer to judge where the gun is pointing, based on when the diode detects light.

When the trigger is pressed, the game causes the entire screen to become black for one frame. Then, on the next frame, the target area is drawn in all white as the rest of the screen remains black. The Zapper detects this change from low light to bright light, as well as the duration of the "flash", as the different targets on screen will flash for different durations. This is how the game detects if a target been hit, timing is crucial here, and why lcd plasma monitors wont work with the image possessing overhead and lag to produce the picture means this method of detection will not work.

your paying a excessive amount for something that could easily be done with $10 class FPGA

The NES may have been my first true console, but it wasn't really till the SNES that I started to truly be wowed and the good memories piled up. If they end up making a SNES equivalent machine I may buy it.

I simply don't have a place to plonk a sizeable CRT in my den, so that option's out. Also, the ability to play carts from all three regions is a plus.

@ungibbed if that blurb(written by this own site's Damo) you provided that is referring to their Neo Geo is from Analogue's "Press & Reviews" section, then there is no reason for concern. That section defaults to showing quotes for all their products, which is only their Neo Geo CMVS right now. You can choose to filter that, above the IGN logo, to CMVS or Analogue Nt which currently has no press featured.

I've heard nothing but good things about Analogue and their products. Their reputation is good. People loved their wooden-cased Neo Geo CMVS, which appears to no longer be available. If that is what caused your confusion, I can see why, but it's nothing shady.

My NES still works fine. Although I will be getting a Retron5 whenever it becomes available.

Brian of RetroUSB has an FPGA based NES with 1280x720p HDMI output in the works. Don't buy this overpriced crap with recycled vintage hardware and aluminum casing. The HDMI NES supports NES and Famicom, and should be in the $150 ballpark when it's eventually released. It boasts 100% compatability with everything (except lightguns which won't work on HD displays), comes with the NES expansion audio built in, famicom 15-pin accessory header, built in four score, a settings menu, scanlines setting, and perfect integer aspect ratios of 3x3, 3x4, and 3x5 output pixels per native NES pixel.

More info:
http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=92557

@LetsGoRetro I don't know if you've ever plugged an old system into a modern TV, but the results are often very poor unless said TV has quality upscaling hardware built in, which I don't think is common. I've been able to test my Genesis and SNES and my television butchers the image, especially for the SNES. I'm lucky I have a good upscaler box from years ago which does a far better job of processing the image than my TV can. The end result is the games look like they're supposed to, as opposed to being made worse and extra blocky by the TV.

As for the price, it's not 400 too much. There's a lot of work, customization and premium materials involved. Such a product is made in small numbers and is aimed at people interested in custom hardware, such as painted NES systems sometimes shown here. There are far more economical ways to play NES. This product is not aimed at the people who just want to play.

@sdelfin I just find it odd that despite the AES conversion kit that's no longer made but for the layman who looks at this as I pointed out are no reviews indicative of the Analogue NES.

I'd also would like to see "under the hood" so to speak as the site claims that the source are not PlayChoice boards but your standard NES-001 innards. Part of the beauty is the real hardware inside even if it's never seen.

@ungibbed there are no reviews because they just revealed it. I suspect they will arrange to have major sites review it soon before its projected Summer release, as they did with the CMVS. I understand the confusion seeing Neo Geo reviews at their site, since the old product is apparently no longer available, but they are not "fake reviews" as you said, only reviews of their previous work. You expressed doubts about it being legit and I wanted to make it clear to you or anyone else that Analogue has a good track record and there is no reason to believe that this is not a real thing.

I agree with what you said that this is for collectors and people who already have large NES libraries. Also, I think it would be cool to know more about the internal parts and layout as you do. I did find their FAQ way down at the bottom of the page in which they state they're using HVC-001 Famicom systems as the source.

While this is VERY cool, it's also just ridiculously over priced & targeted straight at hardcore collectors. Why not make something more affordable for the masses? Retro gaming is so popular right now in the U.S. but at that price only a few will get to enjoy it's benefits.

I don't recall the reviews being fakes, it's just a bit of "yellow journalism" to promote potential customer confidence.

Personally, I feel when the hardware is complete, and it makes the rounds (hopefully at NintendoLife) then add a review page. The previous hardware was slick and if I didn't already have a SNK MVS 6 slot cabinet, I would have bought one as being a former arcade machine operator as my own business, I have piles of MVS carts.

Long ago, I also had an AES Gold system that included Baseball Stars Professional. I bought addational games along the way but sadly had to part with it. My car had fired it's last heartbeat and at the worst possible time when money was getting rather tight. It would have cost me more to fix my car than it was worth so I had to make a few sacrifices selling a couple Pinball tables and my Neo Geo AES console for a good down payment on a much newer car.

Back on topic, I was really interested in some of the fine details of this hardware. It looks very Apple inspired as shown matching my MacBook Pro. I don't have any Famicom carts but wonder if the dust cover on the cart slots may cause label damage or finish damage with the gold LoZ carts. Hopefully a rounded edge is in thought of this design and I'd love to see how the Famicom carts work since a lot of work would be needed to solder pins to a custom 30 pin connection to the original NES mainboard.

Other curious bits are the power and reset buttons and possible NES Four Score built-in hence the four control ports. There's a lot of curiosity that I have and possibly investing in a game store that caters only to the collector's (don't come looking for the latest CoD disc only version).

What I'd love to see is a revived N64 in the same style. Just imagine the beauty despite many games not aging very well and SNES hardware. The sky is the limit but so is the cost.

Isn't this thing violating copyright laws? I mean, I think copyright laws protect intellectual properties for at least 50 years rights? I can't wait for Nintendo to file a cease-and-desist motion.

l guess im the "sucker" on this, but mine is already pre-ordered. I own an NES-1 & 2, one being an unopened set from 1988. I use the NES 2 to game, but the jail bars due to seldom seen poor Nintendo engineering are a real hassle. However, I got it due to the missing region lockout, enabling you to play Famicom games with an adapter. I also love the dog bone joystick.

Why did I buy this given what I already own? The full array of outputs (vs NES 2 RF only output), the fact that it can play all NES & Famicom add ons, including the Famicom disk system (!!!!) and I quite frankly find it real cool in design. I've worked hard all my life, make good money, so this is not a big expense for me either. The HDMI scale up will be great as well. I also prefer gaming with the original joysticks, which you can't do via the VC. The wiimotes are simply NOT the same. I love pulling out my NES Advantage (God's joystick!) or NES Max for that full retro experience.

I view it as a real cool collectors item. I grew up in the 80s & discovering Nintendo was an immense pleasure as a kid. As an adult, the NES brings me back to a time of less stress & fun I had as a kid. It reminds me of what made my childhood so fun. It brings floods of memories back. Now that I can afford it, it's great to relive these memories via this very cool system, in spite of already owning 2 other NES. It's also great to rediscover the system, today, via 1st time use of the Famicom stuff. I can't wait to try it the famicom disc drive!

Yeah it's expensive, but $500 for me simply isn't that much to spend...I see it as a much better value than a PS4 or Xbone (I already own a Wii U).

We all buy stuff that's over priced at one point or another, simply because it makes us happy. Wether that's a Rolex, nice purse, shoes, whatever. In this case, it's well worth it for me. This 37 year old Private Equity finance worker is thrilled and giddy like a little school boy. I seriously dreamed about this console last night! To me, that is priceless. I will let you all know how it is when I get it this summer. I have a feeling my 360 is getting the boot from the living room to make room for the"new kid" in town...the Reborn NES!

@sdelfin
Well said.

@BulbasaurusRex There definitely is a point to upscaling. My Genesis and SNES look terrible connected directly to my television due to its poor upscaling. A lot of TVs do an awful job displaying images from the older systems and ruin the graphics. A good upscaler, like an XRGB, will output a clean image ready for modern TVs to use without the need for further processing. The graphics will look like they should. My SNES and Genesis look excellent going through the XRGB I have. Also, my understanding is that many TVs do not allow picture resizing of HDMI sources.

@Agent721 congratulations to you! A lot of people here and in comments on other sites don't understand what this is about and who it is for. It's not hard to find a used NES to play. I know where mine is and it's in good shape. This thing isn't for just gaming. This is for collectors, gamers who are also really into design and people for whom the NES/Famicom is very meaningful. This isn't much different from those custom-painted NES systems. They're not meant to be practical or mass market. They're meant to be special.

Aside from the rarity and custom enclosure, the fact that it outputs RGB is no small thing. The part needed to do an RGB mod can get pricey too. The $500 price tag of this thing isn't as outrageous as so many people think it is. Of course, Analogue also needs to make money from it.

You make a great point. Sometimes, it's nice to splurge on something that's really high quality, whether it's practical, like an expensive appliance, or impractical, like a Nintendo encased in a block of aluminum. Some indulgences, such as the Rolex watch you mentioned, can be very expensive. Traveling is highly impractical and expensive with nothing tangible to show for it. Five hundred for a high-quality custom Nintendo isn't a lot of money, especially if you have the money to spend. I have a feeling the thing will exceed your expectations. I hope the wait isn't too painful. Congrats again.

Thanks man & cheers to you!

@Dark-Link73
They won't & this wasn't the first non Nintendo NES. Nintendo isn't losing anything from this, but rather, gains from it. This is an homage to Nintendo more than anything & speaks of the high regard Nintendo raised kids still view Nintendo as of today. I still own a Wii U & just bought an external hard drive for it, showing you how much I plan on gaming on it. This doesn't lessen my passion, but actually increases it.

@Agent721 True. However, Nintendo is both, losing AND gaining from this. Nintendo is gaining from this because it is getting for publicity and exposure for their brand as a whole. But it is losing because, since they're no longer producing NES games, this is incurring in their VC business by giving a second life to the physical copies that can only be obtain via used market, this possibly hurting future VC sales of the same games.

No thanks, I'll get a Retron5 before I get one of these.

Don't think you can compare an Analogue NT to a Retron 5. It's like comparing a Masamune katana to a Swiss army knife.

I like the idea. And it looks amazing but unless they lower the price by about $400 I won't go near it. I mean come on $500 is way too much for a glorified NES. And plus I don't even own any NES cartridges anymore. And not many people do.

I'll stick with the original.

@sdelfin Ever thought of just getting a cheap CRT set for your non-HD gaming systems? That's what I did.

@BulbasaurusRex I have thought about it. I wasn't doing much gaming at all for a while then kind of rediscovered my older systems. My CRTs are long gone and don't really have the space for one at the moment. I was lucky in that I already had an XRGB2-Plus from years ago. It does an excellent job and the bonus is that I get to use RGB for systems that support it.

An old CRT set from years ago is what I use (aside from Virtual Console) for my classic gaming needs, so that's always a good investment. They're a little hard to find these days though, especially a decent one. Luckily mine still holds up and is fairly nice. I have my gaming collection split into a retro and modern gaming room, with a CRT for retro and an HD for modern. It works well but I understand not a lot of people have the space, time, or money for that sort of thing.

I still somewhat want one of these things but it's a bit too expensive for me.