• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

ArsTechnica: Hackers unlock NES Classic, upload new games via USB cable

Neat!

If I could add 10 more games I'd add....

Castlevania 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade
Mega Man 3
Contra
Ducktales!
Batman
Battletoads
Tetris
Blades of Steel
Bionic Commando
 

RM8

Member
why "lol"? You can already do this in good PCs with good screens. Also, before someone says "lol @ thinking casuals will learn how to emulate", you really think they're going to take the time to learn how to hack a NES Classic (assuming it's not braindead easy)?
You really don't think it's neat and convenient to have a tiny, official HDMI NES replica? Do you seriously think your PC is just as convenient? This is coming from a PC gamer, and I own an Alienware Alpha so my PC is more portable and convenient than pretty much any other desktop. I'm actually the one who doesn't understand what's so hard to grasp about this being appealing.
 

FSLink

Banned
How? People read my post the wrong way and I explained it better. That's not being defensive, it's trying to reach an understanding.



Same, at least for the time being, particularly since it probably doesn't have a backup image to restore from.
People weren't born yesterday and can read the obvious concern trolling.



Anyway I wonder if the 60 game limit can be broken since the source code for the build of Linux Nintendo used for this is out there.
 

AgeEighty

Member
People weren't born yesterday and can read the obvious concern trolling.

Read whatever you want to. I wasn't trying to piss people off; I saw an avenue that's likely to promote piracy (NOT the people posting here) and I commented on it. That's all. The kneejerk reaction is bewildering to me.
 

modsbox

Member
This is cool. Most of the games I'll keep, but contra needs to be on there, as does mike tysons punch out.

My dream mod for this method? Hacking in key chord to hit reset without having to hit the physical button. Like the 8bitdo controllers already support for the classic. That mod would be awesome.
 

VARIA

Member
This is awesome news. I have a RetroPie but the NESmini has a better UI with less apparent loading and input lag. It's awesome that this new hack allows for the games to look as if they're part of the official collection. Very cool.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
So we know you can add 30 more, but can you remove games you don't like?

Just confirmed, was able to delete Tecmo Bowl

This is gonna be great. Now the hardest part is figuring out which 60 games I want on my NES Classic.
 
I don't understand the point of this.

More games.

Nintendo should've done something to ensure that we would get more than just 30 NES games installed, such as upgrades/updates that would allow us to buy & download more NES games, such as is the case within Virtual Console for both Wii U & 3DS. There's a whole library of them out there.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
You could replace Tecmo Bowl with Tecmo Super Bowl and latest roster update.

Personally, I'm planning on replacing Mr Dream with Mike Tyson

But yes
 
You really don't think it's neat and convenient to have a tiny, official HDMI NES replica? Do you seriously think your PC is just as convenient? This is coming from a PC gamer, and I own an Alienware Alpha so my PC is more portable and convenient than pretty much any other desktop. I'm actually the one who doesn't understand what's so hard to grasp about this being appealing.

Not really. You're still limited with the amount of games you can carry, and you play in a very small and uncomfortable wired controller. I'd much rather have the convenience of being able to compile a larger database of NES games, have the option of playing on keyboard or with controllers. PC stands out as much more convenient than hacking a NES Classic.
 

nded

Member
Not really. You're still limited with the amount of games you can carry, and you play in a very small and uncomfortable wired controller. I'd much rather have the convenience of being able to compile a larger database of NES games, have the option of playing on keyboard or with controllers. PC stands out as much more convenient than hacking a NES Classic.

As a PC guy, I can still see the appeal of a box that only plays 60 of my favorite NES games and will do that reliably and with a UI where people won't accidentally break things while fiddling with options. I enjoy my RetroPie setup, but there's far too much access to the backend for me to feel comfortable letting other people use it.
 

Dr Thor

Neo Member
Not really. You're still limited with the amount of games you can carry, and you play in a very small and uncomfortable wired controller. I'd much rather have the convenience of being able to compile a larger database of NES games, have the option of playing on keyboard or with controllers. PC stands out as much more convenient than hacking a NES Classic.

And other people have no interest in playing NES games on a keyboard, or don't feel they need the whole NES library (most of which is garbage, like with any console), or prefer the real NES controller, etc. etc. Or maybe it's just a fun challenge, because hacking things is interesting. Or maybe the form factor and it being an actual Nintendo-manufactured product is nice for some people. Or a million other reasons. Convenience is not the most important factor for everyone.

Personally I'm really excited about this development, because the device and UI are great and I enjoy using it, and if I could add Castlevania 3 and the rest of the Mega Mans I'd be pretty hyped. It'd be my perfect little NEStalgia box at that point.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Tested copying multiple games at once, worked flawlessly

wko4fNF.png

If anyone needs me, I'll be in my underground bunker for a few months
 

FSLink

Banned
Anybody know if the Famicom Classic has FDS versions of the games? I have a Famicom Classic but it's not currently hooked up and maybe I could use this to patch some of the games in English and add some additional FDS games.
 

RM8

Member
Not really. You're still limited with the amount of games you can carry, and you play in a very small and uncomfortable wired controller. I'd much rather have the convenience of being able to compile a larger database of NES games, have the option of playing on keyboard or with controllers. PC stands out as much more convenient than hacking a NES Classic.
It's absolutely not more convenient if you consider portability, form factor, and ease of use. Like it's been mentioned, I don't even know how I'd teach my mother to access my emulators on my PC, while she could operate a NES Mini easily. Please note that no one is saying this makes PC emulators obsolete, lol, I do emulation on my PC as well. But yes, it's weird that you can't see why this is perceived as cool and convenient. Heck, the NES Mini itself is clearly highly desirable, it's a simple, neat way of playing NES games.
 

Cess007

Member
Just confirmed, was able to delete Tecmo Bowl

This is gonna be great. Now the hardest part is figuring out which 60 games I want on my NES Classic.

This is only an acceptable thing to do, if you plan to add Tecmo Super Bowl instead. If not, it's really a crime, man!
 

deim0s

Member
Anybody know if the Famicom Classic has FDS versions of the games? I have a Famicom Classic but it's not currently hooked up and maybe I could use this to patch some of the games in English and add some additional FDS games.
There's a japanese homebrew dev that posted something for the famicom classic, its not really confirmed if this method works for the JP version.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
It's more why bother doing that to an NES Classic when you can just use an emulator.

The answer is because you can, of course. Though I'm wondering if all th ebenefits of the Classic's emulation system also affect the added games.

Why would you bother buying NES Classic by your logic?

I'm with you. They're just doing it to "do it", I think. Kind of like putting Doom on everything.

For the price of a NES Classic (at retail), you could build a RecalBox out of a Pi and have all SNES, Genesis, etc games on it as well. And output via HDMI the exact same way, and use whatever USB controller you wanted. Including knock off NES pads.

No Fun Allowed.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
So is Nintendo making more NES Classics or are they just done with that whole business?


Pretty god damned annoying.

In a time when their products are selling poorly you would think they would want to make some money off of a console that people want.
 
How much are they going for on ebay/Kijiji? I had a spare and had no takers so I sold it at cost to a friend assuming stock would be plentiful around Xmas
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Wait, you can customize stuff like boxart too? Well, damn, I've been waiting for this! Time to get one of these.
 

Chucker

Member
I didn't want to sleep tonight anyway. Gotta add Dragon Warrior 1-4, the rest of the Mega Man's, Ninja Gaiden 2,3, Castlevania 3... yeah.
60 is more than enough for games that I'll actually play.
 

Toparaman

Banned
Great news.

Well, I mean, if you're going to use a USB to install games on this thing, why bother getting it to begin with? Why not just stick with an emulator?

I've yet to grasp why people would want this thing to begin with, knock yourselves out though.

I'm guessing you're both being purposefully obtuse since the device doesn't appeal to you personally, but maybe you actually don't get it. So here you go:

1. Real, brand-new NES controller.
2. Minimal setup even with the softmod hack.
3. Excellently presented UI.
4. Looks like a real, brand-new NES, but cuter.
5. Generally high quality, accurate emulation without having to dick around with any settings or configuration. (This point is a subject of controversy, given some people reporting lag, and others reporting none.)
6. HDMI video output with no fuss.
7. 3 easy-to-understand display modes that will suit 99% of people's needs, instead of the 50 different scalars, filters, and display modes that you're inundated with in most emulators.
8. Being developed by Nintendo lends a certain air of authenticity to the product compared to the homebrew hobbyist vibe the other solutions give off, whether deserved or not.
 

ubiblu

Member
Read whatever you want to. I wasn't trying to piss people off; I saw an avenue that's likely to promote piracy (NOT the people posting here) and I commented on it. That's all. The kneejerk reaction is bewildering to me.

You are a terrible poster, and can't be older than 13. Go away and never return.

On the topic, I cannot wait to see where these hacks go. There is something very exciting about official Nintendo hardware and their untapped potential.
 
Oh man, was waiting for this. Being able to put on 30 more games is going to be an amazing. Other than maybe rom hacks though, not sure I can think of that many games to add (personally for me), let's see...

Mega Man 1 and 3-6
DuckTales
Dragon Warrior (Quest) I-IV
Tetris
Batman
Code Name VIPER
Willow

And yeah, that's all I got. Maybe when I get that Famicom/NES compendium I'll see more games worth adding.
 

Chucker

Member
So I'm using the provided tool(hakchi2), I've dumped my kernel, I've got 30 more to add...
I've added art/dates/etc.
I should be good to go yeah?
 

eFKac

Member
Good, that thing is desparately missing some of the better titles from it's library, might do this myself if it's easy enough.
 

samred

Member
I decided to give this a shot, was really wanting to see if it could handle something like Dragon Quest Warrior IV.

Sam from Ars here. Nice. I'd be curious to hear how performance in Castlevania III, Battletoads, Tengen Ms. Pac-Man, and Micro Machines is on this. (Those are slightly tougher to emulate, but the NES doesn't throw up as many emulation complications as other systems, so I imagine it'll render those just fine.)
 

TriAceJP

Member
I have my 1000+1 ways to play NES games on my TV with whatever controller, but I kind of want to pick one of these up just to toy with.

I mean, that's why I have a raspberry pi to begin with.
 
Top Bottom