Nintendo Japan Plans To Stop Repairing Its Classic Edition Consoles (theverge.com) 13
An anonymous reader shares a report: Somehow, Nintendo's NES Classic Edition console is already almost eight years old, while the Super Nintendo Classic Edition is about to turn seven. That's apparently old enough for Nintendo to announce that the Japanese versions of the consoles -- the Nintendo Classic Mini Family Computer and the Nintendo Classic Mini Super Famicom -- will no longer be eligible for repair once Nintendo Japan's current stock of parts runs out.
That doesn't mean that if you wake up tomorrow morning with a mini Famicom that won't boot you're out of luck. Nintendo Japan will continue to accept repairs but is warning users that it doesn't have a definitive timeline for how long that will be the case.
That doesn't mean that if you wake up tomorrow morning with a mini Famicom that won't boot you're out of luck. Nintendo Japan will continue to accept repairs but is warning users that it doesn't have a definitive timeline for how long that will be the case.
Presumably they'd still give documentation. (Score:2)
One does not simply (Score:2)
Re:One does not simply (Score:4, Insightful)
They are an ARM SoC running an emulator, but not a Pi. Chances are the SoC is at EOL so once they run out of spares, that's it.
Repairing stuff like this is fairly common in Japan. Same goes for most household appliances. The original Famicom (NES) repair service was going until 2007, when they ran out of parts.
Re: One does not simply (Score:3)
Basically that's the case, an Allwinner R16 running software emulation (Kachikachi).
Re: (Score:2)
I would be shocked if they were able to get enough Raspberry Pi units during that era. They are building in enough bulk that a custom board is no effort at all. The CPU used in the NES was discontinued in 2003. Looks like both the SNES and NES Classic are the same hardware inside and are emulating with an in-house emulator (using the same code as their VC games for 3DS, Wii, etc).
Downside of emulation is that it's really not accurate without enough horsepower. Newer games can be translated at a higher l
Re: (Score:3)
SoC: Allwinner R16 (4x Cortex A7, Mali400MP2 GPU)
RAM: SKHynix (256MB DDR3)
Flash: Spansion 512MB SLC NAND flash, TSOP48
PMU: AXP223
There is also a community written program to to flash more games onto them. Actually a nice bit of kit if a little overpriced.
N64 Classic! (Score:2)
Honestly I don't see much to discuss, here. It's been a long time and parts aren't infinite. But.. eight years... wow. That kind makes me sad. A lot of us were excited at the idea of getting a Game Boy Classic and an N64 Classic and a GBA Classic, etc. Alternatively why didn't they do a release a Game and Watch Metroid? Or a Super Mario All Stars version? Hell, get on the phone with Square and give me a Final Fantasy handheld with like 200 hours of game play!
Siggghhhhh. I'm begging to be mil
Re: (Score:2)
There are vintage computer guys on youtube regularly repairing stuff like game boy classics, old PCs, and much older stuff like C64s. If you have the schematics it can be fixed. In the old days schematics were just part of what the documentation that came with devices. Sucks to day that such things are withheld. What a waste. Except for things like capacitors, most electronics should last decades normally, barring issues like over voltage and thermal damage.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh... I'm sorry, I meant classic with an uppercase C and a trademark symbol. Nintendo $CONSOLE Classic (TM). Picture a first-run Gameboy case, shrunk about 30%, with an awesome modern LCD screen, rechargeable battery, and a relatively modern proc/chipset running a few games on emulation. It wouldn't actually have a cartridge slot. Not only were these fun ways to get the games running (I ran mine on a cheapy projector with its USB port powering the NES) but they make great hand-me-down gifts for scho
Re: (Score:3)
Picture a first-run Gameboy case, shrunk about 30%, with an awesome modern LCD screen, rechargeable battery, and a relatively modern proc/chipset running a few games on emulation.
You're in luck! You can buy countless variations of that, even one that uses an FPGA. For the most part, these are unusually high quality Chinese knockoffs and so come preloaded with a bunch of roms (the number on the box means nothing) though most of them also have an SD card slot you can use to load your own. A few even have a cartridge slot, if that's your thing. Just do a search for "gameboy emulator handheld" and take your pick.
If it's for younger kids, there are a bunch of NES-on-a-chip things for
Nintendo wants you to pay for Switch online (Score:2)
Re: Nintendo wants you to pay for Switch online (Score:3)
After Nintendo wiped out or Wii store purchases, I have zero interest in paying again. Piracy is the only ethical way to enjoy an old game.
That's nice of them (Score:2)
It's nice that they're being honest about offering repair depending on parts availability. It seems they are offering the repair services for the benefit of the customer, not for the benefit of Nintendo. And that's a good thing.