Looking to get an NES and SNES. Any tips?

Basically, I feel that Virtual Console is dead and the chances of the service getting some of the games I loved as a kid (Batman, Little Nemo, Rescue Rangers, Ducktales, Secret of Evermore, Illusion of Gaia) are somewhere between slim and none.

So, I think it's time I hit the retro gaming shops, Amazon, and eBay to grab the carts. I have a question, though: I think I found the NES/SNES thing the Giant Bomb guys used for their SNES playthroughs on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Retro-Bit-System-NES-Silver-Super-6306300/dp/B001VDZN3O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349460923&sr=8-1&keywords=NES+snes

Is this a good console for playing these games? If not, is there a better one you can recommend? I don't really want the hassle of two additional consoles in front of my already-crowded TV and the plugs in the back of the TV are getting scarce, as well.

Also, is there anything I need to be aware of as far as maintaining the games to keep them working? Any special storage or cleaning tips?

Your help in this matter is most appreciated. Mainly, what I'm looking for is personal experiences and suggestions based upon that.

For what it's worth, a new batch of games to be soon released on the Virtual Console was just announced.

I bought my SNES a few months ago, from a thrift store.

It came with the power and video cables, and 1 controller, for 14 dollars.

While I was there, I found a copy of Star Fox for 4 dollars.

Check your local thrift store / goodwill.

Emulator? Or are you against the notion of emulation? You could just play the games you want that aren't on the VC on an emulator, and the games that are on the VC that you want to play could be played on a Wii.

@psylah said:

I bought my SNES a few months ago, from a thrift store.

It came with the power and video cables, and 1 controller, for 14 dollars.

While I was there, I found a copy of Star Fox for 4 dollars.

Check your local thrift store / goodwill.

all these people who find stuff like that at thrift stores are freaking lucky. The only thing they have around here are dirty clothes,Spanish Christmas Carols on records and a busted ass lamp.

I picked up an FC Triple a while back for convenience. It is just like the Retro Duo, except it plays Genesis games. I would recommend picking one of those up. The price was a bit higher than the Retro Duo, I think I paid like $60.

@believer258 said:

Emulator? Or are you against the notion of emulation? You could just play the games you want that aren't on the VC on an emulator, and the games that are on the VC that you want to play could be played on a Wii.

Yeah you could probably download the entire library for both consoles in one go. probably.

Any tips? Prepare for the awesomeness!

@Jams said:

@psylah said:

I bought my SNES a few months ago, from a thrift store.

It came with the power and video cables, and 1 controller, for 14 dollars.

While I was there, I found a copy of Star Fox for 4 dollars.

Check your local thrift store / goodwill.

all these people who find stuff like that at thrift stores are freaking lucky. The only thing they have around here are dirty clothes,Spanish Christmas Carols on records and a busted ass lamp.

There are stacks of PS ones, gamecubes, and Xbox 1s there.

The older systems are rarer, but I saw an original gameboy and picked up a Genesis. I've been looking for an NES or Atari 2600 with no luck so far, but every time I go in there I am compelled to buy whatever nerf guns they have that I don't.

I have a problem. I love nerf guns.

I would be wary of a compiled system like the one you linked because I bought one for a ridiculous amount and it screws up the NES games when ever i barely touch the system, and that you have to play NES games with a SNES controller which is not ideal to me. Hope this helps.

@Benny said:

@believer258 said:

Emulator? Or are you against the notion of emulation? You could just play the games you want that aren't on the VC on an emulator, and the games that are on the VC that you want to play could be played on a Wii.

Yeah you could probably download the entire library for both consoles in one go. probably.

When I modified my original Xbox, I found some sort of gigantic emulator disk that included all of the ROM's for systems between the older Atari and the SNES that all fit on one 4.7GB DVD. There were some omissions here and there in the form of different versions and editions of games, but that doesn't change the fact that every single game for those systems and the means to play them fit onto one DVD!

If I were to give a ballpark estimate on how long it would take to download a full library of NES and SNES games in one torrent or something, I'd say 45 minutes on an average internet connection. And that's generous, it could be far less.

This crazy ass piece has a sega genesis in it also.

@Keavy_Rain: This is what I did if your not against emus

Pentium 4 PC VGA to TV. or a PC with HDMI so the sound and video come out at once.

genesis, Snes, nes emulators with a ton of games.

Maximus arcade Front end

2 Official SNES controllers with a SNES to USB adapter

Pretty much the best thing ever.

I think you should consider emulation.

I know its not the same, but unless the system was never used, it will inevitably have some issues due to deterioration. The same with games... the batteries might expire soon or some component might be broken (in my case, I have a Star Fox copy with the FX chip busted, so its just a black screen with all sounds effects as background).

In other words, you have to be willing to use emulation or be willing to open it if/when something breaks.

I'm not opposed to emulation, but I'd prefer not to emulate because I like the tactile feel of the cartridge and I like owning physical items. I have a VCR on top of my Blu-ray player and own a substantial VHS collection for this reason.

As for a computer, I have a MacMini hooked up to my TV and a Macbook Air, so I can run Windows 7 and an emulator if I have no other options, but would prefer to actually have the console and games.

My local game store wants $55 for a SNES. That's without the original box and mario paint bundled in, killing part of the nostalgia for me. Plus, I don't think USA SNES systems could do better than RCA cables, while super famicoms could do RGB (scart, basically VGA with different plugs) I think... Which would be even better than component video out. Games like mario world, without so much as the little plastic shell to protect the slot of the cartridge, cost about $15 each, or near $40 for mint condition with box, manuals, health warnings, Nintendo power offers, etc.

So in spite of imperfect emulation (they got the damn over world theme song from world 1 of SMW wrong) and missing sports, movie tie in, and games like goldeneye, I chose to buy wii vc games instead. For the price of a yellow SNES and one or two near mint games, I could get about 12 virtual console ones.

Dude just get an emulator. A SNES will look like shit on a modern TV anyway.

Buy your NES with the pins restored (unless you want to do it yourself) it's totally worth it. Significantly less cartridge blowing.

@Jams said:

Spanish Christmas Carols on records

That sounds like something I need. Desperately.

You might want to just go the emulation route. A lot of the cartridges are past the end of their battery life, and while some of the games are absolutely sweet to play you may not be able to get the full experience, as you'll be perpetually starting a new game.

If you do though, get an old-ass TV. Like a $10 from Goodwill.

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Mario-World-Nintendo/dp/B00002STXQ/ref=pd_sim_vg_1/185-6372069-3426534

$800 !?!?

Holy shit!