$500 "Audiophile Quality" NES console release

[jasc15]

People who are serious about audio tend to be serious about their audio equipment. Audiophiles can easily spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on precisely tuned and protected record players, cables, amplifiers, receivers, and speakers to make sure the sound of those classic vinyl LPs comes out sounding just right.

Diehard retro game fans have fewer serious options for getting an authentic yet high-end experience out of their old cartridges. Original consoles can run into problems with everything from the power supply to the cartridge connector pins as they age, and they don't have modern audio and video outputs for today's home theaters. The "Famiclones" and other copycat hardware out there are usually based on imitation chips that can have serious issues with compatibility and authenticity to the real hardware's output. Emulation-based solutions can offer a wide degree of customization and flexibility, but they also come with their own problems with compatibility and authenticity (unless you go to somewhat extreme lengths).

Christopher Taber didn't want to settle for these kinds of compromises in building his own updated version of the classic NES/Famicom. To that end, he's created what appears to be the most ambitious mass market retro console modification the world has yet seen. The Analogue Nt, which starts taking pre-orders today, is an aluminum-encased love letter to the original Nintendo hardware, with authentic processors from the original hardware driving modern, high-end output and design features. The system was designed and produced with what Taber tells Ars is the "same philosophy of designing a piece of hi-fi equipment" out of "a desire to explore this massive, beautiful part of video game history properly."

Oh, and did we mention the system starts at $500? No one said quality comes cheap.

Taber says he was inspired to create "a product with an unbelievable degree of quality" to fill a market niche that, to this point, hasn't really existed (outside of Analogue's own Walnut Neo Geo, that is). "As far as I know, other than maybe one-off unique items, there aren't any high-end commercial products in video games. I mean, it's not that there aren't quality products, but for example, a Leica of video games? That doesn't exist. I want every single product that we produce to be designed and built at a remarkable quality. I don't think I'm interested in anything else."

Unlike the cheap Famiclones that have flooded the market in recent years, Taber says the guts of the Analogue Nt are based on the actual CPU and PPU chips found in the original Famicom. (A total of 60 million or so systems were produced, but fewer are sitting unloved in second-hand shops all over the world.) "We were able to procure a large quantity of HVC-001 Famicom systems that were in cosmetically undesirable/unsellable condition," he told Ars. "The plastic enclosures of the HVC-001 systems are notoriously yellowed, brittle, and damaged. While the poor enclosure quality left these systems undesirable and sitting on a shelf, fortunately the CPU and PPU inside remain untouched and fully functional.... In other words: no emulation."

Aside from those core chips, which ensure perfect compatibility with the entirety of the NES and Famicom libraries, Taber says the system has been designed from the ground up to provide all sorts of modern, aftermarket upgrades to the retro gaming experience. That means composite, component, and S-Video outputs, with an optional $50 HDMI adapter for high-def systems (with optional scanline support). It also means brand new cartridge slots supporting both NES and Famicom cartridges, as well as expansions like the Famicom Disk System (and its expanded audio capabilities). It means four brand new off-the-shelf controller ports built in for games that would usually require an adapter, and a color palette switch that lets you change to modern colors or the improved "PlayChoice 10" arcade colors. It means amplified, shielded, split-channel stereophonic sound to improve the mono signal coming out of the hardware ("Seriously, it sounds so good... teary-eyed, blissfully good," Taber enthused).
That also means, most conspicuously, the casing. It's made from "a single, solid block of 6061 aluminum," created by designer Ernest Dorazio, manufactured in China, and assembled in the US. Taber doesn't claim this high-end housing improves the actual signal quality or gameplay experience at all (unlike some high-end audio knob manufacturers), but he says the high-end enclosure reflects a general focus on quality craftsmanship over price-consciousness.

"Yes, aluminum is more expensive than plastic—but that isn't the only reason it is at this [$500] price point," he said. "The components and general fine production details are what quickly adds up. The question is usually what compromises you want to make. We don't want to make any compromises. It's not at this price point solely because of an aluminum enclosure, it's at this price point because the quality of everything inside and out is integrated. I love the quote from Benjamin Franklin, 'The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.'"

It's hard to imagine that there will be a huge market for a 30-year-old console that costs more than a brand new PlayStation 4 with a game included. Still, for the retro gaming equivalent of the big-spending, quality-obsessed audiophile, $500 for a top-notch product that will last might be a good value. We know we can't wait to get our hands on one for some in-person testing.

"I admire the philosophy 'buy less, but more quality,'" Taber said. "I'd rather save up and buy something that's really nice, that's gonna last for virtually my entire life. Something to cherish forever. The Analogue Nt was developed in this light."

[Chino]

That's pretty cool, but my emulator, 750+roms, and retro controller cost me a grand total of $14

[rumborak]

Reminds me of that $600 revamped Commodore 64 which ... probably 5 people bought.

[El Barto]

That's pretty cool, but my emulator, 750+roms, and retro controller cost me a grand total of $14

This is the way to do it, though:

Probably a generational thing between us, though. My nostalgia is for arcade games. The NES is probably more your fancy.

[BlobVanDam]

That's pretty cool, but my emulator, 750+roms, and retro controller cost me a grand total of $14

Yeah, I'm fine with this solution too. And even though it's being emulated rather than run on the original chip, the equipment it's being run on is more "audiophile quality" than what they're going to be producing.

[black_biff_stadler]

I'm holding out for the quadrophonic Fabergé 3DO.

[Bolsters]

But do you still have to blow in the cartridges?

[Cable]

Saw this months ago, was mildly interested due to claims of 100% re-creation of hardware, stability and connections (no RF or mono RCA). That is until I saw the price. 

The thing about emulators is there is a delay in motion, and at worst issues with re-creating the game 100%. My example is Punchout/Mike Tyson's Punchout. I had no problem beating Tyson/Dream on original hardware on a CRT TV. Without save stating, tried it on emulator = fail. Wii + CRT = fail, Original hardware + plasma = fail. A similar issue arose with Battletoads stage 11 (clinger wingers).

Sure emulators are reliable, and easier to use. And without practicing the three final bosses on Ninja Gaiden on an emu, I would have needed to film myself. But original or faithful hardware makes a difference with some games playability wise.

[Chino]

Saw this months ago, was mildly interested due to claims of 100% re-creation of hardware, stability and connections (no RF or mono RCA). That is until I saw the price. 

Nintendo's patents for these cartridges have expired. You can find devices all over the place that can play your NES adn SNES games. FYE Games has one that plays NES, SNES, and Sega Genisis. It only costs like $90.

[El Barto]

The thing about emulators is there is a delay in motion, and at worst issues with re-creating the game 100%. My example is Punchout/Mike Tyson's Punchout. I had no problem beating Tyson/Dream on original hardware on a CRT TV. Without save stating, tried it on emulator = fail. Wii + CRT = fail, Original hardware + plasma = fail. A similar issue arose with Battletoads stage 11 (clinger wingers).

The point of an emulator is that it uses the original ROMs from the games. It's the same software so there is no re-recreating. As for lag, I never noticed any playing arcade games. I do know that the more modern consoles are more resource intensive, so it requires more computer overhead to run the emulator on top of the game which can introduce issues (that's why there's no 360 emulator). Still, I can't imagine that an original NES requires much power to emulate the hardware.

There's only one game that I ever cared about from Nintendo, but maybe I'll see about DL'ing an emulator and the ROM. Curious how SNES emulates on modern hardware.

[rumborak]

My generation's game console was the Commodore 64, and there's a ton of emulators out there for it. At this point they're so fast and accurate, I can't detect a difference.
Funny though that CableX mentioned not being able to finish games. A few years back I played Impossible Mission on an emulator, and I played the whole thing through in one attempt.

[Cool Chris]

Curious how SNES emulates on modern hardware.

Haven't played mine in years but recall it being top notch.

And I've heard that about NES games and flat-screen vs CRT TVs, even with Mike Tyson as the example.

[Cable]

The thing about emulators is there is a delay in motion, and at worst issues with re-creating the game 100%. My example is Punchout/Mike Tyson's Punchout. I had no problem beating Tyson/Dream on original hardware on a CRT TV. Without save stating, tried it on emulator = fail. Wii + CRT = fail, Original hardware + plasma = fail. A similar issue arose with Battletoads stage 11 (clinger wingers).

The point of an emulator is that it uses the original ROMs from the games. It's the same software so there is no re-recreating. As for lag, I never noticed any playing arcade games. I do know that the more modern consoles are more resource intensive, so it requires more computer overhead to run the emulator on top of the game which can introduce issues (that's why there's no 360 emulator). Still, I can't imagine that an original NES requires much power to emulate the hardware.

There's only one game that I ever cared about from Nintendo, but maybe I'll see about DL'ing an emulator and the ROM. Curious how SNES emulates on modern hardware.

Trust me, there is lag that is tiny fractions of second that make a difference on the games I mentioned. I have tried all sorts of emulators, that are true to the system or whatever. I cannot win without saving states unless I'm on a CRT TV with original hardware.

[El Barto]

Just installed ZSNES and played a bit of F-Zero with no problems whatsoever (except that I'm no longer a badass at it). Interestingly, the emu and the ROM aren't even 1mb combined. Showed about 15% CPU usage across one core and launched, loaded and ran smooth as glass. Hell, if anything it was a bit too fast and responsive (but that's probably just the old man in me and a lack of THC slowing down my perception).

The awful part is that now I'm going to have to start going through boxes to find my SNES so I can write down all of my records.

[cramx3]

Sorry to just off road this thread, but can any of you give me some info on finding good emulators and games?  My laptop is pretty good, but not capable of playing any graphic intense games that are out now, Id love to play some old school, NES, Sega, N64, or PS2 games. 

As to a $500 NES, regardless of how good the audio or anything is, $500 for NES is too expensive.

[El Barto]

Sorry to just off road this thread, but can any of you give me some info on finding good emulators and games?  My laptop is pretty good, but not capable of playing any graphic intense games that are out now, Id love to play some old school, NES, Sega, N64, or PS2 games. 

As to a $500 NES, regardless of how good the audio or anything is, $500 for NES is too expensive.

Emulators are perfectly legal and easy to come by. The ones that'll play SNES games are availbable for Android, apparently, so older games shouldn't be a problem for your laptop. There are a few websites that will offer up the recommended emulators for each platform. I know MAME is what I used for arcade games, and ZSNES for F-Zero earlier today.

ROMs fall into a more nebulous category. Some original manufactures let the copyrights go up in smoke once they discontinued the game. Others still care. All I can say is that it took me all of five minutes to find a game I was looking for earlier today.

[BlobVanDam]

Emulators these days will process faster than the original consoles, so there is no lag there. The only lag will be the modern LCD (which depending on the size of the screen can be up to 2-3 frames at 60fps), which isn't the fault of the emulator. Most people will be playing through an LCD regardless of whether it's the console or emulated. My PC is still rocking an old 17" CRT, so no problem there for me!

I have every Atari 2600 & Lynx, Master System, and N64 game, and hundreds of NES, SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive, Gameboy/Advance, Amiga 500 games, and the emulated nature of them has never stopped me playing a game, except when my computer simply wasn't fast enough (not even an issue now, I can play Wii games at full 60fps without dropping a frame).
In fact, emulators often run faster than the console, making the game easier to play, unless the emulator accurately limits the processing speed to that of the console.

I do know that the more modern consoles are more resource intensive, so it requires more computer overhead to run the emulator on top of the game which can introduce issues (that's why there's no 360 emulator). Still, I can't imagine that an original NES requires much power to emulate the hardware.

That and the fact that modern console manufacturers are more aware of emulation, and will kick your ass for attempting to emulate their modern hardware. They now basically patent the hardware so that you're breaking the law for even emulating the hardware.
A NES isn't even a blip on modern hardware. My old P133 was running those full speed.

[Grizz]

This guy stole my idea! 
Kidding, but I've always wanted to try this.
Hmm, perhaps the SNES provides some nice options, particularly because it has a discrete sound chip.

[cramx3]

Would the games need to be re-audio engineered for the better hardware to advantage of it? That's disregarding the fact that the sound in these games doesn't have a whole lot to it anyway.

[Grizz]

Would the games need to be re-audio engineered for the better hardware to advantage? That's disregarding the fact that the sound in these games doesn't have a whole lot to it anyway.

Nah, the NES's CPU has sound circuitry that uses a concept similar to MIDI, where the chip is instructed to generate two square waves (with 12.5%, 25%, 50%, and -25% duty cycles available), a triangle wave, white noise, or PCM. Additionally, there is support for the cart to output audio directly on Japanese systems (it was moved to the bottom in America for the unreleased disk drive).

If the internal chip is replaced with one that can do the exact same thing except with a digital output, bam, audiophile NES.