Analogue Interactive's Analog NT - $500 NES/Famicom Console

[Christoph]

Composite and S-video is the default included cable because it is the most basic cable that is guaranteed to be compatible out of the box with every TV. It's a basic. Everybody hooks up differently. The reason every cable is available for sale individually is because in my experience, many people like to purchase multiple different cables and yes, even duplicates. Unfortunately though, yes, custom cables are expensive to produce. Even in sizable quantities. We will be updating the form, but in the meantime, marking in the notes section is an available option.

Yes, the Analogue Nt uses the NESRGB.

[Christoph]

I think the choice of palette is kind of a giveaway that it's an NESRGB, but on that point, what kind of video signal is coming out of that DSUB port? RGBHV? RGBs? Other? Are component, composite video, and s-video signals also being routed through that? (I didn't see any other video out ports on the other pics.) Could you add a pin-out to the website?

There's language on the website that the HDMI adapter is "specifically designed" for this console. What's special about the video output and the adapter, considering that the FAQ states that an XRGB can be used instead?

The Nt outputs every single NESRGB output.

Yes, the HDMI adapter is an RGB > HDMI upscaler developed exclusively for the Nt. It's special because of its quality and features at $49. It has a scanline generator too. We'll have video and comparisons up soon. I've spoken with Fudoh and I'll be sending him our upscaler to evaluate. The XRGB was pointed out because it is a worthy solution as well.

[Lemony Vengeance]

Yes, the Analogue Nt uses the NESRGB.

So that's why tim was out of stock round christmas time..

This is not making you look any better, man. Seriously.

[broken harbour]

Yes, the Analogue Nt uses the NESRGB.

So that's why tim was out of stock round christmas time..

This is not making you look any better, man. Seriously.

Why is using the NESRGB a bad thing?

Jeebus.

[Chacranajxy]

Yes, the Analogue Nt uses the NESRGB.

So that's why tim was out of stock round christmas time..

This is not making you look any better, man. Seriously.

Yeah, fuck this guy for giving him business.

Totally.

[shadowkn55]

Yes, the Analogue Nt uses the NESRGB.

So that's why tim was out of stock round christmas time..

This is not making you look any better, man. Seriously.

Why is using the NESRGB a bad thing?

Jeebus.

It deprives everyone else that wanted one from getting one. It's not like Tim has a hard time selling out batches when they are available to the general public. At full price mind you. There is not a doubt in my mind that Christoph is getting a wholesale discount. Another thing, pallet after pallet of soulless famicom shells won't be hitting the landfill. Hopefully 20-30 years from now, there won't be a quest to hunt down empty famicom shells like there was with 2600 ET.

[darcagn]

So that's why tim was out of stock round christmas time..

This is not making you look any better, man. Seriously.

Why is using the NESRGB a bad thing?

Jeebus.

It deprives everyone else that wanted one from getting one. It's not like Tim has a hard time selling out batches when they are available to the general public. At full price mind you. There is not a doubt in my mind that Christoph is getting a wholesale discount. Another thing, pallet after pallet of soulless famicom shells won't be hitting the landfill. Hopefully 20-30 years from now, there won't be a quest to hunt down empty famicom shells like there was with 2600 ET.

As critical as I have been of this, I really can't criticize them for that. They're a customer like anyone else and they have the right to buy a shitton of them if they want.

Although it bums me out that they're using the NESRGB. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that, but I was hoping we'd see some kind of new method, like one integrated into a newly manufactured motherboard. Knowing that that part of the guts is what I already have anyway is uninspiring.

[Chacranajxy]

As critical as I have been of this, I really can't criticize them for that. They're a customer like anyone else and they have the right to buy a shitton of them if they want.

Although it bums me out that they're using the NESRGB. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that, but I was hoping we'd see some kind of new method, like one integrated into a newly manufactured motherboard. Knowing that that part of the guts is what I already have anyway is uninspiring.

That's why I think the audio section of this is going to be the most interesting. Hopefully, they've put some pretty impressive kit in this thing.

[mickcris]

As critical as I have been of this, I really can't criticize them for that. They're a customer like anyone else and they have the right to buy a shitton of them if they want.

Although it bums me out that they're using the NESRGB. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that, but I was hoping we'd see some kind of new method, like one integrated into a newly manufactured motherboard. Knowing that that part of the guts is what I already have anyway is uninspiring.

That's why I think the audio section of this is going to be the most interesting. Hopefully, they've put some pretty impressive kit in this thing.

Probably the audio from the nesrgb

[Lemony Vengeance]

Yes, the Analogue Nt uses the NESRGB.

So that's why tim was out of stock round christmas time..

This is not making you look any better, man. Seriously.

Why is using the NESRGB a bad thing?

Jeebus.

cost of NES: $40 ish
Cost of NESRGB: $90
Cost of sundry parts needed to complete mod (inc SCART/RGB Cable): $10 (MAX)

Total cost of NES RGB mod: $140

Cost to have someone mod it for you: $100 (If you can't do it yourself)

Total cost to have one modded: $240

VERSUS

comparable AI.NT: $650+ before shipping

One thing is sure, I AI.NT getting one of these.

[robivy64]

The only issue I have with all of this is the "Famicaust"

[Christoph]

It doesn't deprive anyone from getting them. As I've said before, we don't have anything to do with their unavailability. We manufacture them ourselves. I'm sure you could ask Tim about why they are unavailable. He's probably just very busy.

@darcagn it is integrated into a newly manufactured motherboard.

@shadowkn55 @Lemony Vengeance I think there might be a misunderstanding of the availability and desirability of HVC-001 units. Cross posting from Racketboy as I answered this question there:

What is important to understand is that there are an enormous amount of these systems sitting unsold all over the world. If you know where to look, they are extremely available. Furthermore, we all know that unlike the NES, finding good, clean condition HVC-001 units is difficult. Additionally, the Famicom, unlike the NES, only output RF. These days, it makes them much less desirable. What this all translates to: there are a TON of these units that resellers can't even get rid of.

We were able to find a sizable lot of these unsellable units. Who knows how long they have been sitting there, but I imagine a very long time. The units we are using would never have seen the light of day. We were barely able to salvage a select amount of the controllers from them. Also, remember, combined, the NES and Famicom sold almost 60 million units. Regardless of anything, I would not be worried about not being able to find NES / Famicoms...they are going to be around and readily available for as long as their electronics allow them to continue functioning.

MV1Cs were produced in far less quantities compared to HVC-001's. Even these are sitting on the shelves all over the world, collecting dust. The reality is that the amount of playtime and love given to any of this hardware that is repurposed, by anyone who builds them, is beyond what would be given to them otherwise.

Either way, I respect each opinion on the subject - I just wanted to make the details a littler more clear. And no, we have zero plans to do this with any other system.

If anyone has any further questions feel free to reach out directly here as it's much more efficient to answer any questions.

[broken harbour]

cost of NES: $40 ish
Cost of NESRGB: $90
Cost of sundry parts needed to complete mod (inc SCART/RGB Cable): $10 (MAX)

Total cost of NES RGB mod: $140

Cost to have someone mod it for you: $100 (If you can't do it yourself)

Total cost to have one modded: $240

VERSUS

comparable AI.NT: $650+ before shipping

One thing is sure, I AI.NT getting one of these.

Oh brother, the AI NT is NOT for those people. It's for guys that just want a cool looking NES/Famicom combo that can output HDMI out of the box.

My god man, people will just take a dump on anything. I think it's great that AI is making this thing, it's not for everyone, but it was never supposed to be. Guys like you just want to crap all over it because you didn't think of doing this yourself, and you have this idea that AI will be diving into a swimming pool of $1000 bills straight away. The $500 price tag is actually quite realistic for something like this, and I highly doubt there's more than $100 profit in each system built once you factor labour in, that's not exorbitant.

And if I'm wrong, at it costs them 5 cents to build it... well, good for them for making money and doing something that I wasn't smart enough to think up first.

[Lemony Vengeance]

cost of NES: $40 ish
Cost of NESRGB: $90
Cost of sundry parts needed to complete mod (inc SCART/RGB Cable): $10 (MAX)

Total cost of NES RGB mod: $140

Cost to have someone mod it for you: $100 (If you can't do it yourself)

Total cost to have one modded: $240

VERSUS

comparable AI.NT: $650+ before shipping

One thing is sure, I AI.NT getting one of these.

Oh brother, the AI NT is NOT for those people. It's for guys that just want a cool looking NES/Famicom combo that can output HDMI out of the box.

My god man, people will just take a dump on anything. I think it's great that AI is making this thing, it's not for everyone, but it was never supposed to be. Guys like you just want to crap all over it because you didn't think of doing this yourself, and you have this idea that AI will be diving into a swimming pool of $1000 bills straight away. The $500 price tag is actually quite realistic for something like this, and I highly doubt there's more than $100 profit in each system built once you factor labour in, that's not exorbitant.

And if I'm wrong, at it costs them 5 cents to build it... well, good for them for making money and doing something that I wasn't smart enough to think up first.

[robivy64]

The Famicoms you procured certainly won't see the light of day without a CPU or PPU.

[Lemony Vengeance]

The Famicoms you procured certainly won't see the light of day without a CPU or PPU.

[broken harbour]

Wow, just wow.

I've never seen so much hate for absolutely no reason.

Good job taking a crap all over someone who doesn't deserve it, I hope you feel better about yourself.

[Lemony Vengeance]

Wow, just wow.

I've never seen so much hate for absolutely no reason.

Good job taking a crap all over someone who doesn't deserve it, I hope you feel better about yourself.

I'm sure that somewhere in the world, Patrick Bateman is placing his AI.NT next to his high end Audio Equipment.

[evil_ash_xero]

Wow, that's nuts.

I don't really like the idea of old systems being gutted, but all these pics are just...overboard.

[airs]

Agreed, people are going too far.

I won't be getting one since I already have a NESRGB modded front loader, but I would probably order one if I didn't because:
1.) Looks cool and unique (imo)
2.) Four player
3.) RGB video and upgraded audio without any effort
4.) Supports both types of cartridges

What I wish we were getting for $500 (this would prompt me to sell my NESRGB system and get an Analogue nt):
1.) AV composite cable AND choice of second cable (HDMI/SCART/JP21/etc)
2.) Anodized color choice
3.) One controller (knockoff would have been fine, OEM upgrade/addon for additional cost)
4.) HDMI scaler/output inside the chassis
--The last two aren't a big deal to me, since I have a Mini and some NES controllers already, but I imagine they would go a long way with other folks.

Some things I'm wondering are:
1.) How good are the connectors for the cartridges? My front loading NES has a new 72pin but its still pretty finicky.
2.) What do the anodized colors look like? Some high rez pics would be awesome.
3.) What is the warranty period/support? For $500+ I would hope it's a year or more.

[Ed Oscuro]

The obvious thing to say at this point is that a picture of some of these unsellable consoles (not just one, not after it's been thrown down a flight of stairs...just a collection of them) could help allay concerns.

[airs]

The obvious thing to say at this point is that a picture of some of these unsellable consoles (not just one, not after it's been thrown down a flight of stairs...just a collection of them) could help allay concerns.

I don't understand the concern with using CPU/PPUs from old systems. I really don't. Those systems weren't being played and there is a market for them to be sold inside Analogue nt systems - where they will be played..

[airs]

cost of NES: $40 ish
Cost of NESRGB: $90
Cost of sundry parts needed to complete mod (inc SCART/RGB Cable): $10 (MAX)
Total cost of NES RGB mod: $140
Cost to have someone mod it for you: $100 (If you can't do it yourself)
Total cost to have one modded: $240
VERSUS
comparable AI.NT: $650+ before shipping

$40 is too low for a NES in decent shape with a new 72 pin and AC adapter. I would put the cost at $65-$70. Many people opt for a multiout connector as well, which I believe is somewhere around $15 depending on your source. Add in time and shipping to send the console out to be modded. I think a realistic cost is somewhere around $300.

Not sure where you are getting $650 for the Analogue nt:

Console: $500
RGB cable: apparently this is free if you forego the av composite cable

Looks like we're paying $200 more for a nice case, four player, upgraded audio, famicom/NES cartridge compatibility and some period of warranty support.

[robivy64]

The obvious thing to say at this point is that a picture of some of these unsellable consoles (not just one, not after it's been thrown down a flight of stairs...just a collection of them) could help allay concerns.

I don't understand the concern with using CPU/PPUs from old systems. I really don't. Those systems weren't being played and there is a market for them to be sold inside Analogue nt systems - where they will be played..

I'm glad you have the ability to forecast if a Famicom will be enjoyed in the future or not.

One thing I can guarantee: a Famicom with no CPU and PPU will not be played or enjoyed.

[ms06fz]

I'm glad you have the ability to forecast if a Famicom will be enjoyed in the future or not.

Yes, it is entirely possible that buying up ratty-looking old Famicoms will suddenly become hugely popular and that all the D-grade systems will suddenly fly off the shelves.

Seriously, it's true no one can know for sure. But of the various possibilities, I'd bet a lot of these systems are ultimately bound for the junk heap. If you don't want that to happen, buy 'em up yourself.

(EDIT): Going back to the controller thing... and apart from the various "this thing should include a controller" comments - I think this system should have a matching controller, kind of as an aesthetic issue. Although NES games are mostly played with the D-pad, a joystick would be a good option... Though I'm sure it would be an expensive addition if it were done.

[airs]

The obvious thing to say at this point is that a picture of some of these unsellable consoles (not just one, not after it's been thrown down a flight of stairs...just a collection of them) could help allay concerns.

I don't understand the concern with using CPU/PPUs from old systems. I really don't. Those systems weren't being played and there is a market for them to be sold inside Analogue nt systems - where they will be played..

I'm glad you have the ability to forecast if a Famicom will be enjoyed in the future or not.

One thing I can guarantee: a Famicom with no CPU and PPU will not be played or enjoyed.

I didn't say that I have the ability to forecast the future. I said they weren't being played...weren't...as in, you know, the past. That being said, I do think its much more likely that a poor condition Famicom already in a warehouse will sit in that warehouse versus a Analogue nt system sitting in one.

In my opinion this doesn't matter anyway - it's not like it takes two ratty famicoms to make one Analogue nt. It's one to one - the end result is the same number of playable systems (or more if the Famicom was damaged in some way).

[trap15]

Yes, but it's a loss in the number of real Famicom systems that don't look hideous and cost 500 dollars.

[Chacranajxy]

I don't understand this mentality of "this isn't a proper use of a Famicom, because it means someone doesn't get to enjoy that system."


1) Somebody does get to enjoy the system. Namely, whoever shells out $500 for this. In fact, they'll enjoy it more than they would a normal system, because they get halfway decent video options.

2) There are people like me who would not buy a beat-up system. Why would I want that? As far as I'm concerned, it's garbage. I will, however, buy one of these.

3) I don't think it makes sense to complain about using Famicom guts for a project like this when there are probably millions of Famicoms stuffed away in people's closets that are beat up and will realistically never be used again. It's hardly the most inappropriate use of a game system, and it's not like we're trying to conserve a valuable resource here.

[Lemony Vengeance]

$40 is too low for a NES in decent shape with a new 72 pin and AC adapter. I would put the cost at $65-$70. Many people opt for a multiout connector as well, which I believe is somewhere around $15 depending on your source. Add in time and shipping to send the console out to be modded. I think a realistic cost is somewhere around $300.

Not sure where you are getting $650 for the Analogue nt:

Console: $500
RGB cable: apparently this is free if you forego the av composite cable

Looks like we're paying $200 more for a nice case, four player, upgraded audio, famicom/NES cartridge compatibility and some period of warranty support.

Lets be honest here. If you're considering buying the AINT, you would pay more for an original NES than I would. YOU may not be able to find an acceptible one for $40, but I certainly could, and have.

Prices? Here ya go (quoted from a previous post, italics added by me):

Analogue Nt - $500
Two controllers - $60 (refurbished NES, + an additional $40 for two brand new OEM controllers)
HDMI adapter - $50
HDMI cable - $20 (+$10 if you want an RGB [scart/bnc]. component, or composite/svideo cable)

Total: $630-$680
BEFORE SHIPPING

yeah, minus the console and the power adapter:


You're paying much more than $200, choncho.

Then again, I'm talking to people in a forum that will not bat an eye at $2K+ for Cave Shmups sooo

[airs]

Can you explain why you're including two controllers, the HDMI upscaler and HDMI cable in your cost comparison? You wouldn't magically get those for free with the NESRGB solution.