We've been keeping a keen eye on the Analogue Nt since it was first announced as we're massive fans of the Analogue Interactive CMVS systems released in the past. By the sound of things this highly-refined NES system has been a real hit with fans, as the first production run is totally sold out.
However, the company isn't done teasing your wallet yet. It has just announced two limited edition variants, both retailing for $599 each.
Gold LE
The Gold LE features a gold anodized enclosure with white controller ports. Every unit sports a transparent polycarbonate baseplate, so you can see exactly how beautiful your Analogue Nt is inside.
Famicom LE
Inspired by the Nintendo Famicom, the Famicom LE has a red anodized body, gold anodized dust flaps and white controller ports. Every unit sports a transparent polycarbonate baseplate, so you can see exactly how beautiful your Analogue Nt is inside.
Analogue Interactive has also confirmed that the second production run of the standard Analogue Nt - which costs $499 - will be the final one, as core components are now becoming difficult to source. This second run will be limited to just 300 units, and like the limited edition consoles detailed above, will come with a transparent polycarbonate baseplate and dual output composite video with HDMI upgrade.
[source analogueinteractive.com]
Comments 30
Reminds me a bit of some guy that made a video on YouTube that built a Gameboy advance that plays N64 games
Too much IMO. I'm still waiting on the AVS from RetroUSB.
Im searching from years ago the RetroN editions where you can play cartridges from NES to GBA, even Master System and Genesis in one system. I hope i can buy it someday.
What's the point? With emulators available now this stuff is just redundant.
@Folderoll Some would like to play their stuff with nostalgia while others don't. Besides, you don't get the feeling of playing games on emulators like how you would on a console. That is assuming you're playing roms on pc and not the ones that are emulated on consoles.
@Artwark Feel, ha. The people marketing these for $500 have got you too then.
So expensive for what they are.
For most people I think they'd be better off just playing these games on an emulator with a decent controller, or maybe even a RetroN 5.
Personally, I think the experience you get on a decent emulator is actually pretty great, and as long as you have a quality controller with a good d-pad, I don't really see any genuine advantage of getting some expensive retro console box just to play these old classics. Unless you already have the physical carts anyway and it's really just about getting that slightly more up to date experience of playing them sitting on your couch in front of your TV and all that jazz.
Sorry, but I don't think an NES is worth $600, $150 maybe, $120 perhaps, $99 bring it on. I don't care how shiny, durable, or beautiful a console design is or what feature it had, you just can't sell a revive NES/Famicom console for that much.
Yes, these things are expensive and yes, you can emulate for nothing or pick up a RetroN 5 for a lot less, and get the same kind of experience.
However, just like music fans will invest in hifi equipment which costs thousands of dollars / pounds to get the sound they want, this kind of bespoke gaming hardware is aimed at those who take things really seriously. This console is never going to drop in value so it's an investment, and while the price tag is high, the workmanship that goes into these systems is incredible. I've owned Analogue Interactive's CMVS consoles and they're absolutely fantastic, and leagues above the quality of clone consoles, which are usually made quite cheaply and have high failure rates.
Guess it depends how serious you want to be about playing NES / Famicom games!
There are gamers and there are SERIOUS gamers. These products are aimed at the higher end of the market, exactly as @Damo has said. It's like comparing a music fan who'll spend upwards of £1000 on a decent record player to someone who streams music. Different strokes for different folks.
@retro_player_22 - oh yes they can. The fact they sold out the first batch is proof of that.
What @Damo says. If I had the money I would easily invest in this console. This is both an investment and a good way to play the original carts on modern tv's.
So, if they are already sold out... how can our bank accounts weep?
I've never been too much for limited edition consoles. Handhelds yes. But consoles just sit under the tv and collect dust. Not really much to look at XD
@ikki5 The initial production run is sold out. A new batch as well as these limited edition units will be available for order soon.
Wouldn't the ultimate collector's authentic NES experience be to play on an actual NES, though? A quality reproduction console to enjoy playing your old games on, sure, that's reasonable, if niche. But a "limited edition" of a reproduction console just seems fantastically pointless.
@MarvinTheMartian Everything get sold out the first time they go to market, it's a brand new product so paid advertisers (like ClassicGameRoom) would want to get it and review it. The actual consumers; however, are not going to bother with this.
If they ever do this for the SNES, I would buy one in a heartbeat!
If I had the money, I would get one for my game room. But I don't so I can't. I agree that this is the sort of thing that is comparable to a high end record player over just streaming music over your phone or computer. One is not better than the other, it's just a different experience and different priorities.
Heh, I guess I can see a niche for this, but I don't think I'd ever be the type of guy that would spend $600 on a famiclone, even if its a really good famiclone.
I once saw a clone system at a nearby Hastings that plays NES games for $13. There's no HDMI support and it's probably not got great quality, but it just kinda proves how few people would be bothered to get something like this.
@Yorumi If you really want to know, check out their site. The short version: the Analogue NT is made from refurbished parts and authentic, newly made chip sets on new motherboards (so no emulation but more like newly duplicated/cloned hardware) that are compatible with
literallynearly every PAL or NTSC cartridge (hence the dual slots), which also makes it interesting for collectors that want to collect and play region free games.Besides that, there's a range of options included both in sound and video connections, such as HDMI and the signal is processed in such a way by the hardware, that it will look its best even on large, modern tv's.
My Wii is filled to the brim with every emulator you can think of, but these all use software tricks to generate that old picture feel or a better image than the original.
Still great fun, but not the same as playing on real hardware, which obviously also supports the real controllers.
Here's the info page:
http://www.analogueinteractive.com/products/analogue-nt-information
and here the faq page:
http://www.analogueinteractive.com/pages/faq
Well, call me the stupid one here but I have the Limited Edition Gold model preordered. I'll post on here in March when I receive it.
I'm not sure what the point is really. You can get the real systems and have them modded for HDMI or RGB for less. BTW, anyone looking to have that done should visit GametechUS. He does fantastic work.
@Hordak Allow me to congratulate you instead. And color me jealous... Right now I'm nowhere near having the funds to order one myself and seeing it's a limited run, I'll probably miss out altogether. AGAIN...
@evosteevo That doesn't even compare: it's not just RGB/HDMI, it's so much more. And this is the real system: the hardware is newer yet still similar to the original (using the same chip sets even), with a new motherboard and aluminum casing, so the durability of the system is much higher than having an HDMI module added to an old NES/Famicom.
Besides that it also has the dual slots for both PAL and NTSC games, giving you access to a whole range of games you may have never played before. And then there's the sound quality, which is much higher than the original. In short, this is the Rolls Royce (or Ferrari, if you will) among the NES/Famicom family. Because of its price this is obviously not for everybody, but a select audience or the die-hard collector with a healthy purse will surely want one.
If you would like to know more about what the difference is between this and simply adding an HDMI module to your existing NES/Famicom, then check the links I posted in comment #23.
@Yorumi This is both an all-in-one, luxury machine as well as a collector piece, not that I care about that aspect of things. As was already mentioned, these are not emulation or famicom-on-a-chip systems. This is using original processors on a new, custom PCB. It integrates the NES and Famicom into a single unit, plus it adds a multitap and RGB output. These things add up. Getting an NES modified to do RGB has always been rather expensive, from what I've seen.
Aside from that, they're definitely targeting collectors who want something fancy that few people will have. I'm not into that. There are easier and less expensive ways to play the NES/Famicom. This isn't meant to be mass-market. I do think it's cool that they combined the NES and Famicom, and added the multitap and RGB out into one box.
@TheRealThanos That's freakin' hilarious! The HDMI upgrade is the exact same kit that I was referring too! It's the kit Kevtris recently made. He's got some videos on Youtube of the process. He must of made a deal with these guys and supplied the upgrade. I agree though, the new hardware is quite tempting. It would be nice to have an all in one package for Nintendo 8-bit gaming to free up entertainment space and power outlets. Congrads to the people who got theirs!
@evosteevo Well, they do say that there is no such thing as coincidence...
It is interesting though, that it is the same unit, and to me it speaks volumes about the quality of said HDMI module, if the guys behind the Analogue NT wanted it in their system. Before this console, they made a re-imagined Neo Geo console (if you're curious: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/05/hardware_review_analogue_interactives_wooden_neo_geo_mvs) which was also of extremely high quality and this is just another great example, but money-wise a bit too rich for my blood, though. Most people that play imported games will probably also stick to their cartridge adapters, or maybe they own both a PAL and an NTSC console. Modern TV's should have no problem with that...
@evosteevo And they made another one. Just stumbled upon it minutes ago. Forgot about that one:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/12/hardware_review_analogue_interactive_cmvs_slim_and_arcade_stick
Didn't know about the guy that made the HDMI unit, though. Never too old to learn, I guess...
@TheRealThanos That's pretty amazing! Thanks for the link. I wish I would have known about these guys sooner, I would have saved the cash for one of these systems. I hear about so many knock off consoles I didn't think anyone took this stuff seriously. Heck, it might be better just to ignore the HDMI upgrade and stick with SCART RGB, although that HDMI upgrade does have some interesting features like a scan line generator and sound output configurations. Guess it might just boil down to if you use it with a CRT or not.
@evosteevo Yeah they look pretty good, but these prices... And always in limited quantities but that is obviously because of them using existing components and these are bound to run out at some point, so although it is a shame that a lot of people will never get their hands on any of Analogue's re-imagined retro consoles, the reasons behind it are understandable.
As for them taking it seriously: I wouldn't be surprised at all if several of the people at Analogue were modders themselves at one time and then decided to form a company to take it to the next level and get a professional team around them for the manufacturing and distributing process.
They are probably already designing the next retro console. I can't wait to see what they come up with. Maybe a PC Engine or perhaps they are now looking into the 16 bit machines from Sega or Nintendo.
I wonder how far they will go if they are still in business after a decade or so. Maybe a wooden N64 or even disc-based systems...
@CrazyRiverOtter I heard that it's not a famiclone, it's basically just a Famicom / NES guts inside an expensive shell with some of the features of both retro and modern consoles. It's made for those rich folks who just got to have everything of eye-candy and collectors who collect stuff but hardly ever play them. The only thing I don't like about this is that a cheap affordable NES / Famicom system was sacrifice to produce this expensive pile of turd. If you want to get an NES, buy it before these people bought it, dissect it, and turn it into this for $500.
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