If you fancy buying an old console for the price of an Xbox One then retro hardware manufacturer, Analogue Interactive, has something for you. The company is known for releasing expensive editions of old consoles having released a wooden Neo Geo system in the past for $649. Now the company is back with an aluminium, modern looking NES and Famicom console called the Analogue NT.
The Analogue NT is a modern take on old hardware with some added features such as extra controller ports and support for 720p/1080p displays with an HDMI output. The manufacturer notes that the HDMI is a “true upscaler (no stretching) and that it outputs 1080p or 720p preserving the original aspect ratio. It even has a built in scan-line generator for that retro CRT feel.”
The reason this NES costs so much is due to the fact that it's “precision fabricated from a single, solid block of 6061 aluminium and engineered with an uncompromising attitude to quality.”
You can choose several colour options including black and red but these will cost you an extra $49, you can also add controllers and leads to your order which vary in price from $19 all the way up to $49. However, if you're a retro enthusiast, don't go spending that $500 just yet as there may be some compatibility issues with certain PAL titles: “while the Analogue Nt is region free and uses the original Nintendo CPU and PPU – it uses the NTSC 60 Hz PPU versus the PAL 50 Hz PPU. Compatibility issues with certain PAL titles may exist.”
The console is currently available for pre-order with shipments expected to go out at some point in the Summer.
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KitGuru Says: Do any of you guys collect retro games or consoles? $500 seems like too much money for a console that's so old but the design is quite nice.
Source: Eurogamer
Looks nice,but for that money I would rather put it towards a pristine condition boxed set. and using the change left over you could possibly buy an AV receiver that upscales to 720/1080.
It also doesnt have any design features that would link it to the older consoles, a famicom paint job would even be a welcome feature.
One major flaw with this revamped console is the wired controllers. Most of the old controllers have a really short cord length so that means you will have to either sit in front of your big ass TV and attempt to play it (you just paid for HD NES graphics, so I assume you are going to want to go big) or drag the machine to the middle of the floor. Maybe some sort of wireless controller dock would have been better?
Might as well just use an emulator