Hyperkin Reveals HDMI SNES Clone, The Supa RetroN HD

Interesting but their nes HD console has video quality issues. If they use the same HDMI board in this it won't go well either.

Retro RGB has a good review of the HDMI retron nes showing just how bad the composite to HDMI board is...

Any money spent could have been spent on an everdrive. If it's hardware emulation you're after that's a better choice since the SNES can output RGB over scart too.

But hey these retron consoles are cheap. Just a little too cheap for my personal liking.

I'm sorry, but this thing has no chance against the SNES Classic. One is made by Nintendo and the other is by a smaller, lesser-known company. People would rather buy the official thing.

EDIT: I'm not saying it is a bad alternative to the SNES Mini, I was simply referring to the subtitle Nintendolife made for this article: "The SNES Mini could have competition"

HMDI, eh?

Hardware instead of software emulation huh? So Different than the Retron 5 or Supaboy cuz those are software right?

I'm intrigued by hardware style clones for my Super Famicom carts if it allows translation patches so I can play legit copies of the game.

Wish there was something like a game genie where I could plug a game into my actual Snes through it and apply a patch.

Someone should write an article on the new Pokemon distribution.

I see a matching SNES mouse. I wonder if that will be bundled in?

I've been very impressed with the SNES side of the Retro Duo. It's highly accurate and plays everything I throw at it. If this has decent build quality and a scaling chip able to do a halfway decent job of scaling RGB signals (These clones like the Retro Duo can be modded for RGB, so I hope they're not just upscaling composite out), I'm interested.

@HFish12 I'm sorry, but this thing has no chance against the SNES Classic. One is made by Nintendo and the other is by a smaller, lesser-known company. People would rather buy the official thing.

But there will be no stock of the official thing because all the SNES minis will be bought by scalpers. So this will be the only alternative.

My SNES still works so the only real reason I'm hoping to get the Classic Edition is for Starfox 2. I'm playing $80 for a 20 year old SNES game. Kind of sad.

@Zadaris But for the consumers that aren't hugely dedicated Nintendo fans, they'll only hear of the official SNES Classic. I can see Hyperkin's model putting up fair numbers for the hardcore fan base, but outside of that I don't see any mass appeal for it.

I guess this is the people's response to the SNES being low on stock everywhere.

@HFish12 I'd certainly agree with that.

@GoneFishin there's no way retron will use a decent scaler since the only ones currently being manufactured are the xrgb from Japan and the ossc from Finland actually a line doubler and tripler, which is still being developed but very good. This will very likely be a very cheap composite to HDMI board or the entire thing would cost hundreds of dollars. Yes im speculating but go look at this review and make up your own mind... http://retrorgb.com/retron1hd.html .

The ossc is the world's first analogue to digital line doubler. This will simply not compete with the quality of the ossc don't be fooled. A SNES with an s-video lead into an LCD tv that interprets the 240p output as 480i will likely still produce a better picture than this thing.

@HFish12 Nintendo themselves couldn't get the emulation right on NES mini, probably not the SNES mini either. In other words, some minor lag. Good nostalgia though and definitely great for ebay sellers.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would you want to be able to toggle between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios?

Some monsters actually enjoy playing retro consoles in 16:9 just so they can fill the whole screen

@Damo I'm curious on this hardware emulation. Do we know anything more about it? Is it reverse engineered chips? FPGA?

@bolt05 While it's true good scalers are horribly expensive (Sad to say, I bought an XRGB mini for my retro game room), that doesn't necessarily need to be the case for this. If it really is an FPGA system/reverse engineered chips, it could have native digital output. Of course, that would make the unit more expensive - maybe on par with the AVS - but not necessarily ridiculously priced like the Analogue NT. Though, I guess Hyperkin isn't exactly known for premium products, so the odds of this being something like that are probably quite low.

@Damo You might want to update the headline as @Discostew mentioned. Not sure I've ever heard of HMDI.

@FiveDigitLP @Discostew
Yeah. High Multi-Definition Interface. It's better than 4K.

@roadrunner343 I am very doubtful given the terrible quality of their nes retron HD ... Seems likely they will simply apply the same dodgey composite to HDMI converter.

Even $50 spent on poor quality box here could have gone towards something better. Eg the ossc currently available for 135 euros. Heck a Japanese super Famicom on eBay for $50 with s video leads is likely to be money better spent.

@thesilverbrick Dude, I blew nearly that much for Cybernator new at Wal-Mart when it came out. Sounds about right!

Nintendo should just re-released the NES and SNES and be done with it.

Wonder if they are still on track with their Gameboy clone. It's supposed to come out this month

But does it play Star Fox 2? If not then there's no real competition here.

What's HMDI pray, tell?

Nintendo has HMDI also. "Hundreds More Dissapointments Incoming" when a SNES mini can't be found anywhere by real consumers. It should be TMDI for "thousands", but it didn't feel right since there are only a few hundred SNES minis that they are sending out. Don't feel bad my fine patrons because each store you visit looking for a SNES mini will have an ample stock of Animal Crossing Amiibo waiting for you to take them home.

HDMI or not, if it still can't play Super Mario RPG and Kirby Superstar then this thing is crap.

This isn't designed to be a rival to the snes mini as the products are completely different ! This looks cool but I'm more interested in the snes mini as I want the official product and I'm not interested in buying something that can accept real carts. Had this combined both aspects built in games and a cartridge slot I may have been tempted !

I'll always choose original hardware, Everdrives/SD2SNESs, RGB and CRTs for retro gaming. All the way up to GC/Wii. More expensive for sure, and CRTs are a hassle, but you don't have to worry about things like input lag and video quality because you're just playing them like they were meant to be played. You can get on with enjoying the games. I think I'll look at a framemeister type solution when CRTs fully die.

I've never completely understood these types of solutions for retro gaming, as you need the original carts to benefit from them, but most people with a large number of original carts will have the money to not skimp on how they play them. Just my two pennies' worth anyway.

To those that are paying $80 for SNES mini to get StarFox 2, Nintendo have stated before that the quality of their games are such that they still hold their value 😂

I just wish I had pre-ordered when I had the chance, still have my SNES as my 1st home console but I want it. This Hyperkin sounds good on paper but no substitute for the real thing.

It sounds good, but it doesn't play NES or Genesis games like the Retro Trio does. I'm happy with that functionality over HD graphics that don't make much of a difference for these retro games anyway.

@HFish12 What? This isn't going to compete with the SNES Classic. Different products. This is made to play SNES games, like the actual cartridges. And it's not even aimed at the casual market.

@Kriven Because it plays actual cartridges rather than illegal ROMs. Besides, hardware emulation is more accurate than any PC software emulation, anyway.

Totally different beast and target demographic.

@InternetBowser I followed that article and Krikzz's response about a day later.

Krikzz responded to those claims in the article and the issue is well and truly overblown. The latest iterations of everdrives all have improvements in this area. Also, its anecdotal evidence because nobody has ever burnt out a SNES or other console with an everdrive yet, including the people responsible for that article... So its an academic issue at best. Krikzz has conducted thousands of hours of bench testing and has never produced a voltage regulation issue as claimed by those articles. Sure, this isn't independent verification per-se, but his customers, thousands all over the world, have not had any issues either.

The worst things you can use are cheap chinese reproductions from aliexpress. All parties seem to agree to this.

Further, the SD2SNES, the Mega Everdrive X5 , NES N8 and a few others have very good voltage regulation systems (as discussed in the NL article and by Krikzz) and will not likely harm your SNES/SFC. I'm going to email Krikzz and ask about the X7 Mega Everdrive as the article glossed oer it and I would have thought he improved the regulation on that board too, since its newer than the x5.

You need to fact check everything these days, don't believe reporters, especially not on this site... Use it for basic info like any news source but follow up and get all of the information before you make a big claim like "everdrives will fry your snes" because that is simply false.

This seems exactly what I've been looking for!
I want a hardware-based SNES clone with HDMI for my SFC carts. Is this the only choice so far or are there other alternatives? Hardware-based that is. I don't want emulation.

@NicolausCamp Look at this before you buy...

http://retrorgb.com/retron1hd.html

Scroll down to the screenshots... You may think differently.

@bolt05 Yeah, okay, that looks pretty bad.
Wish Analogue would make an "NT Mini" for the SNES. Guess I'll wait for reviews and alternatives...

Get ya's a good tube tv and y'all good. Nothing better than the phosphors

Again, as I asked when a similar article was posted about the NES mini, how is this competition? One has games included, the other requires you to bring your own. These two units are for two different crowds.

I'm a CRT TV hoarder. I snatch them up whenever I can on the cheap. Many have been free for the hauling. I have them wrapped in plastic and sitting on pallets lining my (totally dry) crawl space. I probably have enough to supply my kid's kids. My wife thinks I'm insane. She has a point. The only interest I have in a product like this is the ability to download language patches to play Japanese imports. It's a strong interest, but I have yet to pull the trigger on a purchase.

@Riff-the-Don What are you talking about? You do still have the chance to pre-order the system. Pre-ordered for the SNES Mini won't happen until late August according to Nintendo (and not Wal-Mart).
https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/1/16076482/nintendo-snes-classic-preorder-late-august

@HFish12 i agree that the SNES mini will do better. but, i do like that this company is letting us using retail cartridges.
still SNES Classic beats this. since were getting star fox 2. (afaik nintendo hasn't announced any retail or eshop version of SF2)

@retro_player_22
That's helpful thanks. Although as a U.K. gamer this part of the article applies to me

'Preorders have already opened up (and sold out) internationally.'

I'm sure I'll get one, just not paying the current pre-order pricing of £150-200 for one.

@HFish12

I'm sorry, but since Nintendo Refuses to make enough of the official thing, so that the general populace can easily buy it, people will of course, want alternatives.

@JohnBlackstar

XD

@Octane I was referring to the subtitle for the article: "the SNES Mini could have competition"

Gonna still hold out and back the PolyMega kickstarter. My Sega CD collection is just too large . . . . . .

@Tempestryke Oh yeah, definitely. Hyperkin's model seems like a good choice for those hardcore Nintendo fans out there who couldn't get their hands on the SNES Mini. I wish Nintendo would stop having all of these stock shortages because it's really frustrating.

@bolt05 I agree with you, it is unlikely. But then again, if this was going to be another cheap $50 box, I would expect the standard crappy software emulation. It's the mention of hardware emulation that is throwing me off a bit.

@HFish12 In that case my comment applies to this article as a whole. There won't be any competition.

I have an original SNES and the Jr but I'm sure I'll pick one of these up. A backup system is always nice to have. I just hope they check the colors of the HDMI output unlike what they shipped for the Retron 1 HD. I like the Retron 1 HD but just wish the colors could have been more accurate. Composite output is fine though. Which works good if you have a CRT.

You're seriously suggesting that this is viable competition for the SNES mini? Yeah, and the Sega Saturn gave the PS1 a run for its money.

@bolt05 If you're expecting a high-end product, of course you'll be disappointed. That's not what Hyperkin is going after.

Come on man look up what it means to emulate in computer software. There is no such thing as hardware emulation vs software emulation in the context you mean to use those phrases. Emulation is where software is used to interpret the instructions of one platform so another can reproduce the same behavior. This requires an interpreter to emulate that hardware behavior.

Now when hardware is doing this it ceases to be emulation. If the hardware is executing those instructions it becomes native. If it has to replicate a speed or other behavior on the hardware level it is simulation. So this is compatibility through simulation not emulation. This is not hardware emulation, because that means you're saying the same thing twice. I swear one journalist messes something up you all do. Right up there with calling backward compatibility, backwards compatibility. The latter is incorrect.

It's not by Nintendo so it won't be a part of the craze. Might be something people who couldn't buy the SNES Mini buy instead though.

@Damo Technically I'd say there's 3 groups; Group A would want the SNES mini because they have no interest in collecting old carts and want to play the games in HD.
Group B would want the Hyperkin because they have the carts and want to play them in HD.
Group C has carts, but wants the SNES mini as a collectible.

I don't see them as competing against each other at all really, because one is software, one is cart based. Both feed on nostalgia, but one requires you to have additional hardware. If you want to count the people from Group C, which would probably be less than a percent, that wants to pick between one or the other, i guess you could.

One thing that makes this slightly more attractive (even with its potential issues) is the extremely limited selection on the SNES Mini. For better or worse, Nintendo knows who will actually get their hands on one, and fine-tuned its lineup accordingly: it's a speculator box.

A SNES RetroN HD might inevitably have hardware issues but it's much cheaper if you have carts on hand, and with what scalpers will inevitably ask for the SNES Mini, it stands to be cheaper even if you do buy a few carts (better deal if the move to hardware emulation means it can run all-in-one flashcarts).

Damn, this thing is ugly.

@bimmy-lee I have a small CRT collection with the various sizes and configurations from TV/VCR combo to a cute 8" Trinitron to a full 16:9 480i tube. I wish I could save them all from the garbage where they are headed by the truckloads these days

No save support though, so good luck, everyone, hope you know all how to solder on new batteries!

@Kriven How is that any cheaper or better?

@GoneFishin I'm not expecting a high end product. I also don't think many people will enjoy this when they see the results. It's a cheap toy at best.

@Damo I disagree. People who want the SNES mini don't have the cartridges. Different market but yes trying to ride the snes hype train.

@HFish12 This has one advantage over the SNES Classic. With the SNES Classic, you only get a limited number of games picked out by Nintendo. With this, any SNES game you got can be played.

I like the sound of this system but I'll refrain from getting my hopes up until I hear some more info. Despite the low quality, I think I'm interested in Hyperkin's retron 1 HD, for $40 it's a fair bit cheaper than buying a used NES with a controller.

What I really would like, is the opportunity to buy some of Nintendo's own products, they seem to always have stock issues on a fair few of their products, most of their special edition games, as well as their Amiibo, but it hits especially hard when an entire system is almost impossible to get a hold of like the NES mini or the SNES mini.

Obviously, I can't know for sure the reason behind these issues, it could be anything, a conservative business model, parts shortages, a strategic marketing plan or even something less on the ethical side and more on the insidious side.

I think Nintendo as a company has two main responsibilities: creating quality hardware and software, as well as getting that hardware and software into as many hands as possible so they can make money for the shareholders.
It's sad to see so many empty hands in the aftermath of such a cool product, this situation repeating itself has begun breeding contempt in me for this company.
I have loved Nintendo all my life, I grew up with a Nintendo 64 and I've owned every Nintendo console since, however, I now feel that the actual people behind the creation of those games and systems are the Nintendo I care about, the businessmen and women can go screw right off.

Obviously they're a corporation that needs an upward trend in profit, but if you lose sight of the business model that made you great in the first place, what's the point? Regardless of how these issues have been created, I know that they have been bad for the consumer and that is only the fault of the suits running the company.

We've all heard the late Satoru Iwata's quote about who he is.
In my heart I'm a gamer too, the gamers and creators are why I support this company and always will, not the fat cats.

I apologize for the negative post, I suppose I just needed to vent. However, I hope that Nintendo's recent business model can revert back to something more wholesome and positive, as the last thing I would ever want to see is the artists and creators at Nintendo screwed over by their bosses.

@bngrybt On the original OLED Vita I play PS1 Classics stretched to fill the whole screen to avoid burn in. It's tolerable.

@Damo The two different crowds are those who have (or plan to buy) a bunch of original cartridges to play and/or want a way to play licensed games, and those who don't and/or just want an easy to use compilation (or really want "Star Fox 2"). Although there is some overlap, these are indeed two different market segments.

@NinChocolate - That's great, hold on to them. I have the same issue, it makes me sick to think about them being dumped in a landfill. I adore the TV/VCR combos. I'm a sucker for outdated tech. I've yet to come across an 8", but I would love to get one. The smaller the better in my opinion. I have my NES, SNES and Genesis all hooked up to 13" screens because I grew up playing them on a 13" Panasonic with a remote the size of a brick, and nostalgia is a powerful feeling (emotion?). Cheers friend!

@Kriven ROMs still aren't legal, and we'll have to wait and see how good Hyperkin's hardware simulation is. Retro-bit's hardware simulation on its Super RetroTrio (my retro clone of choice) is indeed more accurate than any software emulation.

You could go that route with an actual SNES for those who have one, but one major point of these clone systems in the first place is that the original systems are getting harder to find and more and more likely to wear out.

@BulbasaurusRex I think there's quite a bit more overlap than you are acknowledging - those that want to play on original hardware and have a bunch of SNES carts (Myself included) are also likely to be collectors or just superfans of the SNES in general - meaning they will also likely pick up the SNES classic anyway. Also, the Super Retro Trio may have adapters for physical carts/controllers, but it is just a software based emulation device - it does not have any sort of simulated, reverse engineered, or FPGA hardware that I am aware of.

@Damo Sure - so I could be wrong but you represent a minority of collectors and enthusiasts (granted I dont know if your mates are too), I reckon lots of people who played nintendo as kids have not got their console anymore, or maybe their brother or sister has it now (like my family) So they would possibly want a snes mini. But why would you go and buy a Retron el-cheapo console then? Which brings us back to the point of my argument and your article. SNES carts are hundreds of dollars each (for the decent games on ebay nowadays...) you almost cant buy them anywhere in Australia anymore in terms of bricks and mortar stores. A retron snes is not really going to compete with the mini or a real SNES in my opinion, due to its shocking quality composite to hdmi converter, which the inclusion of composite outputs alludes to, and the fact the games (carts) are now so rare and expensive.

The NES retron HD's were being cleared for less than $30 USD by DKoldies this week. Head over to retro rgb and look at the quality of the composite to hdmi output, you cannot tell me that anyone buying this would think its great compared to any emulator already out there... for free. The SNES mini will not suffer competition, and how can it anyway given the SNES mini is limited in release and has already sold out in every region it currently (was) available for pre-order?

The SNES mini's major competition is a real SNES, SFC, or freely and widely available roms and emulators. In fact, I think its main competitor is actually the Rpi 3 - and that even plays other console games.

@Damo The point I was trying to make (on reflection, in a poor way) is that you've got a choice between two consoles; one of those clearly has relatively larger appeal than the other, though in this instance both would likely never be considered mainstream. I think that everyone knows which of the Supa Retron HD and the SNES Classic Mini will prove to be more popular, so the point remains that referring to this as "competition" for the SNES Classic Mini is unrealistic.

I imagine this is great for people who have carts already.

For those who aren't fortunate enough to have collected HUNDREDS of dollars worth of SNES carts over the last decade, the $80 SNES Classic sounds like a good deal.

Oh wait, an unreleased StarFox game? Count all the cart collectors back in too!

After the crap they pulled by passing off stolen code as their own and then "correcting" it later with the Retron5...it'll be very hard to trust this company again. I'm sure the hardware emulation is going to be as good as it was on the Retron HD/NES.

Oh wait.

@Ogre
Nothing quite like playing an Snes game whose battery has died out and having to buy a battery replacement kit, screwdriver and a soldering iron, right?

It'll likely look better than the NES Retron HD, mostly because SNES on a chip systems tend to look and sound more accurate than NES on a chip ones, and that's what this will be. Mostly because China doesn't care so long as it "works" and that's where the components are coming from.

@Zadaris the mini snes will NOT be able to accept carts. This is a stand alone console without games internally.

@bolt05 I agree with most of your points, but the carts that go for +$100 are few and far between. There are plenty of outstanding games that can be found for around $20. Some games are crazy expensive, like Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, or FFVI, but there are a lot of gems to be had for relatively cheap.

@Kriven Well, you should care about legality. SNES cartridges may be starting to wear out (but most of them are still good), but it's the only way you should be playing those licensed games that aren't available on any of the digital services. Then again, the legality is ambiguous over playing ROMs when you do own the games, so gamers can just switch to emulation when/if their cartridges do wear out. Besides, most of those people out there with significant cartridge collections aren't going to waste money buying the games again while their collections are still perfectly usable.

As for the RetroTrio, it does indeed use hardware simulation, and the quality is top notch, just not in HD. As far as I know, it has near perfect software compatibility with the NES, SNES, and Genesis game libraries, and some of those exceptions are just the Japanese versions of the games. If you want evidence, look at http://www.funstockretro.co.uk/news/super-retro-trio-frequently-asked-questions/

@roadrunner343 People like you either really want "Star Fox 2" (as I mentioned) or have more money than sense. Most gamers aren't going to spend extra money rebuying the same games all over again just to have them in a plug and play format.

Personally, I have no interest in the SNES Mini, because I don't care about "Star Fox 2" and have already bought the games I do want on either the Wii or Wii U Virtual Console (or the GBA remake in the case of "Super Mario World"), or I plan to eventually grab the DS remakes in the case of "Final Fantasy VI" and "Chrono Trigger."

@bolt05 You know, except for "Star Fox 2," every single game on the SNES Mini has been available on the Virtual Console for years now. That's the SNES Mini's real competition. The people who go for solutions that play cartridges mainly want a legal way to play licensed or other games that never saw a release on any digital service, something that the SNES Mini can't help them with, either.

That's a big COULD.
Hyperkin's not known for quality consoles.
The SNES module for retroblox is where my HD SNES cash'll go.

@BulbasaurusRex good point for sure. I discount VC because the picture quality is not great either. Again retro RGB goes over this in detail. The Wii u emulation is very dark. They did fix this on the nes mini though. While on the topic, It's also widely accepted that the emulation on the nes mini is pretty poor too. The SNES mini will be interesting to see if they have improved upon the 3ds and Wii u emulation at all but Nintendo is not well regarded compared to Higan/bsnes and the SNES mini will certainly not be able to run that well at its price point.

@BulbasaurusRex That's a pretty silly and presumptuous response. So if someone already has an original SNES, yet they still want a SNES Classic, they have more money than sense? Give me a break. As I mentioned in my previous post, the NES and SNES Classic are both great collector items too. Everyone has a hobby they spend money on. Obviously there's a limit as to what I would spend - I don't have a NES classic because I'm not willing to spend $200-$300 on one - but if I could have found one at $60, I certainly would have jumped on it just for collection purposes.

Finally, on your Retro Trio "Hardware Simulation" comments - the article you linked to says nothing of the sort. Also, it could very easily just be another term for emulation, as that's what emulation accomplishes - it simulates the hardware in software. Although I don't have any specific articles to the contrary, there is almost 0% that there is any sort of hardware (FPGA, reverse engineered original chips, etc..) that is doing the emulation/processing. Especially not for multiple systems and at the $50 price point. It's your typical, run of the mill software emulation box.

EDIT: On my first comment regarding the SNES Classic - let's not forget that it's also a MAJOR pain in the but to get an NES/SNES hooked up to a modern TV and looking nice. While I do have a retro gaming setup, many people don't, and the NES/SNES classic's give them a simple, pain free way to play those games. I would likely end up hooking mine up to another TV, or using it as my son's first console, despite not "needing" one. And while I do agree the VC is a great option for many, there are plenty of relapsed Nintendo fans that haven't owned a Nintendo console in decades that would be interested in these. Though, I think that was more true when the NES retailed for $60 - $80 is getting pretty expensive for an impulse buy.

@mikegamer - Replacing a battery in a cart is a very simple task. I'm still playing my original LOZ cart with the original battery, and I probably know 10 more gamers doing the same. I'm not saying batteries don't/won't die, but they last a very long time, and, again, the fix is simple.

@RedMageLanakyn What about Group D: All of the millions of people who will never ever so much as lay eyes on a real SNES Mini in their lifetime? I'd say that's a pretty damn big group for companies like Hyperkin to be focused on... Even though Damo has a point in theory, in reality, it's difficult to be a direct competitor of a product that will scarcely exist on this mortal plane.

@mikegamer I've been playing through Harvest Moon on the SNES recently. (I'm a masochist, I know.) After all these years of existence, the battery is still alive. The only games I've seen the coin battery die for are the Pokémon GB/C/A titles. Maybe my FF1 and Zelda 1 NES cart batteries have died by now, though? It's hard to tell, having to hold reset while turning the power off is finicky.

@bimmy-lee Well, look at it this way- if the nukes ever come down and reap human civilization off the face of the Earth, all the lead in those CRT's will help them survive, so aliens can eventually excavate classic video games as our major past time.

"Well, they were dumb enough to wipe themselves out, but at least one of them was smart enough to hoard a whole bunch of their primitive display devices, so we can learn about these interesting games."

Or if you do survive and can find some working solar panels, at least you'll still have something to play your SNES on while fending off the gaming hungry zombie hordes.

I reckon there won't be much competition. The SNES Classic Edition is smaller, cuter, made by Nintendo, more convenient (just select a game from a menu), more portable (cartridges take up a lot of space), most likely hackable, and plus it's not like you can walk into Goodwill and find all the cartridges for a buck each.

@PlywoodStick Group D isn't going to run out and spend hundreds on SNES carts though. They're going to use emulators on their phones or PCs, or wait for the Switch VC.

@PlywoodStick - At this point, I just expect you to swoop in, cut through my BS, and get right to the heart of the matter. Yes, my TV hoard is a multi pronged attempt to survive the pending doom. While it's true I occasionally use them to play old consoles, my main goal is to use them to build a fortified zombie compound in my basement, fully stocked with Twinkies and Crystal Pepsi. If they just so happen to buy me favor and/or sympathy with our alien overlords, then so be it. Also, if I happen to stumble across the TV from The Video Dead and can somehow prevent that particular apocalyptic zombie scenario, then we all win. So... you're welcome.

@bimmy-lee But paying for the batteries, the soldering kit, materials, etc isn't ideal or super cheap, so... And replacing batteries for many games adds up.

@mikegamer - I see your point, but the hobby of playing/collecting isn't cheap, and I just lump an expense like that into the overall cost of collecting. I have a friend who preemptively changes batteries when he buys a cart with one inside, and that's who taught me to do it. If the battery in my LOZ cart died tomorrow (which I fully expect now that I've bragged about it still working), I'd replace it and consider myself still well ahead after 30 years of use.