Edge always used to bang on about how amazing the FM Towns was. Did anyone ever try importing one of those? The FM Towns Marty, maybe?

davyK wrote:

Re @retroking1981 and his lists.

Can't see anyone disagreeing with the top and bottom categories.

It's always in the middle you will get variance but I'm in agreement. Neo Geo CD though- was that not hobbled by truly horrendous loadtimes?

It was. I just couple it with the OG HW as it was just the same thing but more affordable because of the CD format. Had a pad too, instead of the stick. Other than that I know sod all about it tbh.

Brought the smini back with me for Xmas, seems like the perfect festive gaming solution tbh, no lugging a big console, nostalgia right in the feels, 2p goodness for me and me bro. We got out Snes one Xmas with starwing so it's a real throwback to our childhood.

Loving Kirby dream golf thing atm, great laid back fun with ample pauses for beer and bud.

Blue Swirl wrote:

tidbit

To 101s with you!

Tidbit's commonly thought to be (or actually is) an American puritanism for titbit.

JonB wrote:

Neo Geo was too late and too expensive. In the late 80s, having arcade games in the home seemed like the Holy Grail. But the MD and SNES showed that dedicated console gaming could offer so much more and they delivered solid arcade ports.

That's what it was. I still loved going to the arcades for their powerhouse cabs, but Street Fighter II was almost as good on the consoles, and there was nothing like A Link to the Past or multiplayer Mario Kart in the arcades.

The MD and SNES were the first generation where gameplay won over graphics. For me, at least. Because the majority of arcade games were short by nature, while their graphics were no longer a decade ahead.

You may now leave the 101s thread, thank you for your cooperation

Steam it with a kettle. Works a treat just make sure you've removed the inlay !

What did you get? Anything exciting?

Thanks guys, I'll try Eric's method first then dive's if there's residue left.

Eric wrote:

What did you get? Anything exciting?

Not terribly. UEFA Dream Soccer, 90 Minutes: Sega Championship Football, and KISS Psycho Circus. £22 the lot. Just a nice number of ticks on the complete Dreamcast release list.

Good haul Swirl especially with Kiss in there too.

Just came across this on Polygon:

https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/12/15958318/the-5000-decision-to-get-rid-of-my-past

It's a great read about game collecting attachment. Love the final sentence.

Random question, just wondering what you guys think.

My brother went to Japan recently, and sent me a picture of a games console he couldn't identify. Turns out it was a Sharp Twin Famicom, specifically the red variant. It got me thinking - what happened to licensed clones? Up to the 32 bit generation it seems it was still "a thing", as the Saturn saw machines produced by Hitachi and JVC. I think the last one was probably the Panasonic Q.

So, what happened? Why isn't there a, I dunno, Samsung Xbox One? Or a Toshiba PlayStation 4? Video killed the radio star - what killed the licensed clone?

I think it was a rare thing to begin with, you've probably cited more than 50% of them in that list at a guess.

They are all to do with partnerships of the time as well afaik.

Panasonic helped develop the GCN discs.
Sharp manufactured the GB screens and made TVs with built in FCs and SFCs.

Not sure on the Saturn ones tbh.

These days I guess the partners of the respective console manufacturers are just makers of parts instead of electronics giants who could make their own versions.

nvidia For example don't make products in the vein of JVC or Panasonic in the 90s.

Sorry for the shocking use of better terminology there, I'm a tad drunk.

The reason they don't exist is also the reason why the 3DO was a failure.

Manufacturers need to make a profit per unit, hence the exorbitant prices of such items.

Consoles for the most part are famously sold at a loss with the company raking in the profits via the software.

Speaking of the 3DO there's a decent little retrospective here:

https://youtu.be/BzKF3h1Uc70

I always found the 3DO one of the more interesting consoles of that early/mid 90s boom. I think it came quite close to changing the face of gaming and was well ahead of its time in many respects.

He also does one on the Jaguar that's quite interesting.

I think those two could have fared better than they did with a few changes, it was a fascinating period in gaming.

Blue Swirl wrote:

retroking1981 wrote:

Manufacturers need to make a profit per unit, hence the exorbitant prices of such items. Consoles for the most part are famously sold at a loss with the company raking in the profits via the software.

Yeah, my brother pointed that out - but if that's true, why did licensed clones exist in the past? Surely the loss-leader argument would have applied then, too?

Like I said, they were all partners of Nintendo/Sega at the time, so they probably had the rights to release their own versions in the contracts. If they're not sold at a loss there's no risk for them, they were all premium products which were probably produced in small quantities.

They probably made little to no money and thus the licensed clone died.