Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 0 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
Famiclone AI simulator
(@Famiclone_simulator)
Hub AI
Famiclone AI simulator
(@Famiclone_simulator)
Famiclone
In video game parlance, a famiclone is a hardware clone of the Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System. They are designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the Famicom and NES. Hundreds of unauthorized clones and unlicensed game copies have been made available since the height of the NES popularity in the late 1980s.[citation needed] The technology employed in such clones has evolved over the years: while the earliest clones feature a printed circuit board containing custom or third party integrated circuits (ICs), more recent (post-1996) clones utilize single-chip designs, with a custom ASIC which simulates the functionality of the original hardware,[citation needed] and often includes one or more on-board games. Most devices originate in China and Taiwan, and less commonly South Korea. Outside China and Taiwan, they are mostly widespread across emerging markets of developing countries.
In some locales, such as former Eastern Bloc, former Soviet countries (especially Russia), South America, Middle East, several Asian countries and Africa such systems could occasionally be found side by side with official Nintendo hardware, but clones were cheaper and had wider availability of software so such clones were the easiest available console gaming systems. Elsewhere, these systems often prompted swift legal action. Many of these early systems were similar to the NES or Famicom not only in functionality, but also in appearance, often featuring little more than a new name and logo in place of Nintendo's branding. In contrast, in the former Yugoslavia NES clones often visually resembled the Mega Drive, complete with the Sega logo.
Few of these systems were openly marketed as "NES compatible". Some of the packaging features screenshots from more recent and more powerful systems, which are adorned with misleading, or even outright false, quotes such as "ultimate videogame technlology" [sic] or "crystal clear digital sound, multiple colors and advanced 3D graphics".[citation needed] Some manufacturers opt for a less misleading approach, describing the system generically as a "TV game", "8-bit console", "multi-game system", or "Plug & Play", but even these examples generally say nothing to suggest any compatibility with NES hardware. They would often be distributed along pirate multicarts.
Because NES clones are not officially licensed, they vary in areas such as hardware quality, available games and overall performance. Most clones are produced extremely cheaply, while a few are comparable to first-party hardware in their manufacture quality. In terms of appearance and basic build, there are four general types of clones:
Many clones are designed to resemble the original Famicom, but others have been produced to look like almost all other consoles from the NES, SNES, and Mega Drive/Genesis to the Xbox and PlayStation 3, and others simply in a generic console shape. Usually, it is easy to tell a famiclone from the real hardware it imitates by the presence of either alternate coloring, brand names that do not match the real console's, or weak construction. Console-type clones almost always utilize cartridges, and they are usually compatible with real Famicom (60-pin) or NES (72-pin) games, as well as custom-made carts (especially multi-carts, unauthorized game cartridges which hold a multitude of games as opposed to just one, which are often included with console-type clones). Console famiclones are most popular in Asia, parts of Europe and Latin America, with few actively sold in North America due to stronger enforcement of the copyrights in the games typically packaged with a famiclone and of the design patents in the imitated consoles.
Consoles such as the Retron 3 include multiple consoles in one clone.
These types of systems contain a built-in LCD screen and are usually powered by batteries, therefore acting as a completely portable handheld system.
One of the first handheld clones is the Top Guy, although only a small number are known to exist. More widely distributed was Redant's Game Axe, which was manufactured in several revisions through the 1990s. Game Theory Admiral featured an improved TFT screen and closely resembled the Game Boy Advance or Wintech GOOD BOY - not to be confused with a Famicom clone also called Good Boy - designed to look like a Game Boy Color.[clarification needed] However, this smaller design included a smaller cartridge port; it was supplied with an adapter to allow the use of standard Famicom cartridges with the system. One of the more recent handheld clones is Gametech's PocketFami, the first to be actively marketed as a portable Famicom by its manufacturers, and one of the most widely distributed thanks to the new legitimate status of Famicom clone products.
Famiclone
In video game parlance, a famiclone is a hardware clone of the Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System. They are designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the Famicom and NES. Hundreds of unauthorized clones and unlicensed game copies have been made available since the height of the NES popularity in the late 1980s.[citation needed] The technology employed in such clones has evolved over the years: while the earliest clones feature a printed circuit board containing custom or third party integrated circuits (ICs), more recent (post-1996) clones utilize single-chip designs, with a custom ASIC which simulates the functionality of the original hardware,[citation needed] and often includes one or more on-board games. Most devices originate in China and Taiwan, and less commonly South Korea. Outside China and Taiwan, they are mostly widespread across emerging markets of developing countries.
In some locales, such as former Eastern Bloc, former Soviet countries (especially Russia), South America, Middle East, several Asian countries and Africa such systems could occasionally be found side by side with official Nintendo hardware, but clones were cheaper and had wider availability of software so such clones were the easiest available console gaming systems. Elsewhere, these systems often prompted swift legal action. Many of these early systems were similar to the NES or Famicom not only in functionality, but also in appearance, often featuring little more than a new name and logo in place of Nintendo's branding. In contrast, in the former Yugoslavia NES clones often visually resembled the Mega Drive, complete with the Sega logo.
Few of these systems were openly marketed as "NES compatible". Some of the packaging features screenshots from more recent and more powerful systems, which are adorned with misleading, or even outright false, quotes such as "ultimate videogame technlology" [sic] or "crystal clear digital sound, multiple colors and advanced 3D graphics".[citation needed] Some manufacturers opt for a less misleading approach, describing the system generically as a "TV game", "8-bit console", "multi-game system", or "Plug & Play", but even these examples generally say nothing to suggest any compatibility with NES hardware. They would often be distributed along pirate multicarts.
Because NES clones are not officially licensed, they vary in areas such as hardware quality, available games and overall performance. Most clones are produced extremely cheaply, while a few are comparable to first-party hardware in their manufacture quality. In terms of appearance and basic build, there are four general types of clones:
Many clones are designed to resemble the original Famicom, but others have been produced to look like almost all other consoles from the NES, SNES, and Mega Drive/Genesis to the Xbox and PlayStation 3, and others simply in a generic console shape. Usually, it is easy to tell a famiclone from the real hardware it imitates by the presence of either alternate coloring, brand names that do not match the real console's, or weak construction. Console-type clones almost always utilize cartridges, and they are usually compatible with real Famicom (60-pin) or NES (72-pin) games, as well as custom-made carts (especially multi-carts, unauthorized game cartridges which hold a multitude of games as opposed to just one, which are often included with console-type clones). Console famiclones are most popular in Asia, parts of Europe and Latin America, with few actively sold in North America due to stronger enforcement of the copyrights in the games typically packaged with a famiclone and of the design patents in the imitated consoles.
Consoles such as the Retron 3 include multiple consoles in one clone.
These types of systems contain a built-in LCD screen and are usually powered by batteries, therefore acting as a completely portable handheld system.
One of the first handheld clones is the Top Guy, although only a small number are known to exist. More widely distributed was Redant's Game Axe, which was manufactured in several revisions through the 1990s. Game Theory Admiral featured an improved TFT screen and closely resembled the Game Boy Advance or Wintech GOOD BOY - not to be confused with a Famicom clone also called Good Boy - designed to look like a Game Boy Color.[clarification needed] However, this smaller design included a smaller cartridge port; it was supplied with an adapter to allow the use of standard Famicom cartridges with the system. One of the more recent handheld clones is Gametech's PocketFami, the first to be actively marketed as a portable Famicom by its manufacturers, and one of the most widely distributed thanks to the new legitimate status of Famicom clone products.