The Spam Thread!

[cpd2009]

Well that's kinda' bizarre. Reminds me of those bootleg conversions of SNES and Genesis games from the likes of Super Game where the developer logo simply appears regardless of whether you beat the game or ended with a game over.

In other news, I've just received an email from Nabi stating that they'd be pulling the plug on their online services starting this March 2019, effectively killing off the children's tablet line for good. It seemed as though Mattel's acquisition of the company in 2016 only served as life support for what is basically a dead company walking. Which is quite a bummer as far as preservation goes, as a number of apps were released exclusively for the device or at the very least, didn't see a Google Play release. And knowing Mattel's dubious track record when it comes to electronics, this doesn't come as a surprise as neither the Intellivision nor the Hyperscan bode well with their target market. And I better download the kernel source tarballs as well.

I read that too. It's what really irks me about an all-digital future. Once the service is gone, your content goes with it as well. I still remember a time when the Nabi was very popular, even scoring TV and internet ads featuring the EarWorm good morning song. The Nabi fell out of popularity when other companies like Amazon released their own kids tablets.

As for Mattel's poor track record with electronics, it's mostly true. The Intellivision could have succeeded if the entire game market didn't crash in 1983. It was released at the wrong time, I'm afraid. Too many game systems and too much low quality shovelware, though the Intellivision's library is mostly well regarded to this day by fans. The Intellivision still has a cult following, and even scored one of those AtGames classic console re-releases in 2014.

I never even heard of the Hyperscan until years after it was discontinued. With it's slow CD-ROM drive, cumbersome RFID card scanner and 2D sprite graphics, it couldn't compete with the likes of the Wii, which came out the same year the Hyperscan did! Strangely, Nintendo would take that RFID card concept and come up with amiibo cards for things like Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer.

[huckleberrypie]

The problem with the HyperScan was that, besides audience mindshare being biased towards the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, it was dead on arrival due to it being running off a very, very weak Sunplus processor which nobody cares about.

Nabi suffered from reliability issues from what I've heard. The SE I have is quite laggy and had abysmal battery life. On top of that, there are times where the touch screen would go kaput, or worse, your battery goes asplode according to news reports in the States.

[cpd2009]

I'm really starting to get addicted to Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon. There is a lot of text and grinding, but I'm becoming interested in the story and I'm starting to get the hang of the battle system.

It appears 2019 will be the year I'll finally delve into the Pokemon universe. Now the question is what mainline game should I go for first?

Also... my IRS tax refund was deposited yesterday. I got my eyes on a $60 Silver GameCube bundle at a local thrift store. But you ask why don't I just get a Wii with GCN compatibility or hack my Wii U? It's another one of those things I missed out on during my high school years. I could have easily asked for a GameCube for Christmas or my birthday, but I really wasn't into game consoles then, preferring PC games. Once I got my hands on a used Sega Genesis in 2004, I was on my way to embracing console games.

Another plus about the GameCube is the Game Boy Player, a neat little add on that lets you play GB/GBC games on the TV, similar to the Super Game Boy from the SNES era.

[huckleberrypie]

Not to mention that it's a game... ...on a cube.

Seriously though, have you thought about homebrewing your Wii U so you could do fair-use backups of your Nintendo optical disc games and emulate them for the lulz?

[cpd2009]

Picked out the 3DS Pokemon game I'll start with... Pokemon Moon.

Why Moon and not the updated Ultra Moon? Moon was a few bucks cheaper on "clearance". I could have gone with the new Pokemon game for Switch, but I would want to try a 3DS game to see if I can get hooked.

I also purchased another Genesis clone that's hardware based as well as a few other games. I'm holding off on getting the more popular titles until after I pay bills and whatnot.

[huckleberrypie]

Is the Genesis clone by chance a TCT-based Sega on a chip? Most of those Genesis clones these days use that to cut costs, though at the expense of dropping Sega CD and 32X compatibility.

[cpd2009]

Not to mention that it's a game... ...on a cube.

Seriously though, have you thought about homebrewing your Wii U so you could do fair-use backups of your Nintendo optical disc games and emulate them for the lulz?

No. I don't feel like homebrewing my Wii U at the moment. As for an original Wii, that's another story. If I ever want to truly back up my Wii Shop library, homebrew will be necessary at some point.

Truth be told, I'm still on the fence regarding soft-mods for game consoles. It's true soft-mods can open up a whole new world of games and indie development, but another part of me still wants to "play by the book" so to speak. I'm between a rock and a hard place at the moment and with my limited funds, I'm limited as to how fast I can acquire hardware I'm willing to soft-mod. The tax refund income won't last forever, so I'll have to pick and choose my purchases carefully, or at the very least, attempt to.

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Is the Genesis clone by chance a TCT-based Sega on a chip? Most of those Genesis clones these days use that to cut costs, though at the expense of dropping Sega CD and 32X compatibility.

It is. It's a new-old-stock Yobo "GN Twin". I already have a GN Twin, but for some reason, games with save chips don't function properly. I had an even older GN Twin back in my college days and it was able to play battery-backed games fine AFAIK.

[huckleberrypie]

No. I don't feel like homebrewing my Wii U at the moment. As for an original Wii, that's another story. If I ever want to truly back up my Wii Shop library, homebrew will be necessary at some point.

Truth be told, I'm still on the fence regarding soft-mods for game consoles. It's true soft-mods can open up a whole new world of games and indie development, but another part of me still wants to "play by the book" so to speak. I'm between a rock and a hard place at the moment and with my limited funds, I'm limited as to how fast I can acquire hardware I'm willing to soft-mod. The tax refund income won't last forever, so I'll have to pick and choose my purchases carefully, or at the very least, attempt to.


It is. It's a new-old-stock Yobo "GN Twin". I already have a GN Twin, but for some reason, games with save chips don't function properly. I had an even older GN Twin back in my college days and it was able to play battery-backed games fine AFAIK.

I see. It's your call after all anyway. If I ever get my hands on a used Nintendo console I'd most likely homebrew it or use a flash cart because I'd like to try out various games on them.

I remember watching an excerpt from Bad Influence about a Genesis clone sold under the Scorpion 16 moniker. It worked with the Sega CD afaik as there's an expansion port present, but not the 32X.

[cpd2009]

David has one of those Genesis clones, though I doubt he uses it much these days. Hard to tell since he avoids the forums. With MLP:FIM coming to an end at Season 9, maybe he'll turn around?

The GN Twin isn't the best GOAC-based clone. The sound mixing is a bit off, but it's far more accurate than an AtGames clone. Early versions of the console were known to play games other Genesis clones can't such as Virtua Racing. VR contains a SVP co-processor, sort of like a SuperFX chip, enabling basic 3D polygon graphics. 

I also really like the pack in controllers. The D-Pad is very nice for a clone and much better than the AtGames crap. I'm keeping the ones from my faulty clone for use on the newer one as spares.



I started Pokemon Moon today. Only about one hour into the game and I'm already liking it very much. It's time to end my HypeAversion towards Pokemon. Ever since childhood, I knew what Pokemon was, but I just knew it had a little yellow Pokemon called Pikachu and an anime cartoon on TV. Hell, I even got a GBC for Christmas in 2000 and I could have jumped on the Pokemon train then. But at the time I wasn't into RPGs and more into Mario games. My gaming tastes have evolved considerably since then.

As for collecting the associated Pokemon games, it's going to be yet another expensive quest. Used copies of the more recent DS editions start at $20+ for CIB which isn't too hard. The side games can go for a lot more. I was looking at a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game, Explorers of Sky, and CIB sets go for $45 and up. This is on eBay BTW.

On YouTube, there are so-called "game hunting" videos where people record their experiences at yard sales, flea markets, and retro game shops to see if they can find great deals on popular video games. I'm going to have to go "game hunting" myself I guess if I ever want to try and avoid eBay pricing. If you look hard enough, you'll come across a seller or shop that priced an otherwise expensive title at a bargain price because they didn't bother to check the eBay price or simply don't care.

[cpd2009]

As a birthday gift to myself, I went ahead and bought the AtGames Legends Flashback from Dollar General today.

I bash AtGames a lot, but really, some of their stuff can be decent if the emulation is done well. With the Legends Flashback, that is mostly the case. It's a small plug-and-play HDMI console with 50 built in retro games from the likes of Capcom, Data East, BandaiNamco, and other big name devs, and range from arcade to home console ports. The system is literally molded from their old Genesis clones with the cartridge slot being removed and only displaying with HDMI output. The system comes with two controllers that look like third-party Genesis pads, and they respond very well. I wish the cord length was a bit longer.

I have played Commando and 1942, and the games play rather good. There are some very minor sound issues, but for me, it doesn't really affect gameplay or enjoyment. I do intend on getting the firmware update off AtGames' website. You have to register your console before you can do so, unfortunately.

Oh yeah... you know how Nintendo liked to skimp on including an AC adapter with their classic consoles? Well, with the AtGames Legends, you do get the microUSB power adapter. What's missing is the HDMI cable. They don't include one for some reason.

What is it with these game companies trying to pinch pennies by leaving out the necessary items to actually play the darn thing?