This is just a quick FAQ file to answer the questions I get extremely often in the mail, and also to serve as an introduction to those just getting into the NES (again or otherwise). If you think something should be covered here that isn't, send me some mail.
If you're new to NES collecting, I think you should check out a couple of nice resources:
Q: What can you tell me about Nintendo as a company?
A: Ok, Nintendo Co. Ltd (or, if you insist, Nintendo Kabushikigaisha) was formed
around 1889 as a maker of Japanese playing cards (they still
sell them, by the way). From the beginning it was owned and ran by the Yamauchi
family, and is currently headed by Hiroshi Yamauchi, a really hard-line dude who's been
running the joint since 1949 and whose
"vision" and stuff is mostly responsible for Nintendo's position today.
Under Hiroshi, Nintendo started doing all kinds of shit, including selling instant rice and running love hotels. In 1970 they released the Ultra Hand (one of those funny hand-extension-things) as their first toy. After that they once again made all kinds of toy-related shit, including an indoor shooting-range game, wacky-ass "Laser Clay Ranges", and so on. In 1977 it started selling Pong consoles, and a couple years later the first Game and Watches were released.
To make a long story short, the Family Computer was released in 1983, and it was a huge hit and gave Nintendo a mega huge strangle hold on the video game industry, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Q: But, Nintendo's got the N64 and stuff! the NES is a
relic! Why do you still play it?
A: Because..
Q: Hey, do you know where I can find (insert a NES game here)?
A: I get many requests for certain carts, and as a result I really can't spend my time acting as a cart locator. However, there are lots of ways to get whatever NES game you want
for very cheap prices.
Also worth noting is that Funcoland currently has most of their NES games at total blowout prices (except for the ones they actually can sell, like the Dragon Warriors, Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man and so on). The headquarters are already out of most of the games I actually want, so it'd pay to clean out the Funcoland nearest you before the NES games disappear totally.
Other places exist too (VGE, which closed down around here within two months of opening; a lot of non-national places); it pays to visit as many as you can to find what you're looking for.
2) WWW-based places
I link to several WWW-based used game dealers on my links
page. Some of these places are ok, but again, they have a tendency to kill you
with their goofy shipping rates, and just because they list a game doesn't at all mean
that they actually have that game in stock.
3) Game Time Inc. / Game Trader Inc.
Who is this? This is a company that (a) buys used NES, Genesis, SNES, etc.
games from video game shops across the country, (b) reshrinkwraps 'em with
a slip of paper containing quick dox and a warranty and (c) resells them to
places like K-Mart and Babbages. The NES games usually go for 10,ドル and I
see them in every K-Mart I've been to from Pennsylvania to Illinois.
Occaisonally you see great stuff (like tengen tetris) but usually the
games are not at all worth 10ドル loose. Once you get used to paying 2ドル or 3ドル a game
you'll never come back...
4) Garage sales, flea markets, thrift shoppes, pawn shoppes, etc
I like going to these places a lot, not just for NES games but for
whatever cool stuff I can find there.. videos, books, and so on.. plus,
if you do find NES stuff, it's usually extremely cheap. Right now most
of what you'll find here are even older game stuff (atari 2600,
intellivision, and so on) but as time goes on, NES stuff will become more
and more common. Pawn shoppes seem to have NES stuff pretty often, as a
matter of fact.
5) Emulation
In the last year or so, emulators have been released for most all computers. These
programs imitate the inner hardware of a NES, allowing you to play the games on your
PC without needing carts or hardware. Playing games that you don't own is software
piracy and therefore illegal, but most people don't let that stop them and emulation is
one of the more exciting things happening in the underground scene these days. One
of the places to catch up on the latest emulation events is Zophar's Domain.
Q: I just got an "old" (toaster-style) NES at a garage sale, and when I try
it out, all I get is a flashing on-and-off screen, and the power light
flashes on and off as well. Any suggestions?
A: This is an extremely common problem with old NESes you find at garage
sales and stuff. It's caused by dirty contacts on the unit and/or bent contacts.
A bit of history: Before the NES got released in the USA, the videogame industry in the US was in a shambles. Atari, the leader during the early 80's, was in serious financial trouble, along with Coleco and Mattel's game division, both of which left the business. When NOA was selling the NES concept to toy stores, the buyers didn't want to buy any video game system at all, since they thought video games were permanently dead. As a result, NOA designed the NES to be as far disassociated from previous game consoles as possible. It's not a video game system, it's an "entertainment system". It uses "game paks," not carts, and the NES was designed so that you couldn't actually see the cart while you were playing.
Unfortunately, this design doesn't really hold up to the ravages of use over a long period of time. If you have a NES that you can't get to work, here's a list of things you should try in order, along with the relative price of each:
83-3785 NES 72-pin Connector 7.99 83-3150 SNES 62-pin Connector 9.59 83-2285 Gameboy 32-pin Connector 3.59
Putting it on isn't hard. It involves taking off the NES case, but since the warranty on the NES is probably expired by now, I wouldn't worry about it. If this strikes you as too much work..
Q: How can I get stickers, grease pen, etc. off of my carts?
A: Many NES games, especially if they are retired video store rentals, are (a) extremely
dirty and (b) have stickers, video store security seals, tape, etc. covering the game label.
These can be quite a bitch to get off if you use the infamous "pick at it with your fingernail"
method, but there is fortunately a much better method:
First off, do NOT use Goo Gone on your carts like this; you'll put too much on and it'll get all over the label and probably stain the edges. Just squirt some Goo Gone on a paper towel and scrub the offending area. Repeat as desired and suddenly all of your NES carts will look brand new! Citrus Power!
Q: Do you have any technical info on the NES?
A: Here are the basics:
Back to start.