Kotaku: snes

Would You Pay $700 For A SNES In Your Pocket?

AJ Glasser — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:00:00 MST

Spotted on eBay via Technabob. The creator says at full charge it runs about two hours and s/he omitted the L and R buttons because "they are rarely, if ever, used."

Virtual Console: Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Pilotwings, All Coming

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:30:00 MST

Has a year of uninspiring selections all but made you forget the Wii's Virtual Console even existed? Understandable. Might want to buckle up, though, because three of the most-requested games for the service are finally making an appearance.

This coming Monday - November 23 - sees the release of the original SNES Mario Kart, for 800 Points. Good news. Better news is to come, though, as "sometime this holiday season" Nintendo will also release the original SNES Pilotwings and the original N64 Smash Bros. Exact release dates and pricing to come on those two.

Leaving just one game on my Virtual Console wish list. Jurassic Park. Chop chop, Nintendo.

Super Mario Kart drifts onto Wii VC [GameSpot]

Phalanx Making A Triumphant Return

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:00:00 MST

Phalanx is a strange game. Few of you will remember the game, even fewer probably ever played it. But most of you will remember, or at least recognise, the game's famous box art.

Sadly, that art won't be needed for the game's impending re-release, with original developers Zoom Inc handling a port of the original Sharp X68000 - not the later SNES - version of the game for Nintendo's Wii.

It'll be made available via WiiWare, not the Virtual Console, and will go for 500 Nintendo Points. Phalanx is currently due for re-release only in Japan.

Phalanx Gets WiiWare Port, Banjo Not Included [GamerBytes]

That's One Way to Honor Grandma

Owen Good — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:00:00 MDT

As seen at F*ck Yeah, Tattoos!, which has an explanation.

SNES Portable Case Mod Does Not Stop At Case Mod

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:00:00 MDT

There's also a custom box creation. French modder darthchris13 whipped up the creation and then compared it size-wise to a SEGA GameGear.

The SNES Portable sports a 2.5 inch screen, and according to darthchris13, the tricky part was getting all the SNES wiring into such a small casing. Nice work.

Une magnifique Nintendo SNES Portable et son emballage [Nowhere Else]

The Stuff Super Nintendo Nightmares Are Made Of

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:30:00 MDT

While most case mods are designed to improve the appearance of a games console - or at least tailor it to suit the whims of a more fickle owner - we don't see many that will make small children cry.

But, man, if I was four years old and saw this thing, it'd disturb me. And that's just during the day. At night, it glows green and bellows smoke like a the very gates of hell.

Oh, and despite it's horrific appearance, the "Game Over" Super Nintendo still works just fine.

!GAME OVER PROJECT! [Retrotaku, via technabob]

How Nintendo Has Described Itself From '87 To '09

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:20:00 MDT

Over the years, Nintendo, like most companies, has had to explain what in the world it is at the bottom of the press releases it issues. That description has changed. A lot.

1987 Nintendo financial earnings report...

Nintendo of America Inc. is the U.S. marketing and sales arm of Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo Co. Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of electronic games.

1990 Press release announcing EA becoming a Nintendo-licensed developer...
(Note: "electronic games" has become "video games"... hooray!)

Nintendo of America Inc. is based in Redmond, Wash., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo Co. Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of video games.

1995 Killer Instinct press release...

Nintendo Co. Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, is the leader in the worldwide $ 15 billion retail video game industry. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American homes own a Nintendo system.

2000 Press Release Announcing Pokemon Gold and Silver Strategy Guides
(Note: PlayStation has passed Nintendo in the market at this point, just as Nintendo becomes much more descriptive of what it has accomplished.):

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than one billion video games worldwide, has created such industry icons as Mario and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems, including the Nintendo 64, Game Boy and Game Boy Color - the world's best selling handheld video game systems. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in North America.

2005 Press Release Hyping Animal Crossing Wild World
(Note: Nintendo puts its home console as third-fiddle to its two handheld platforms and adds Metroid to the list of characters it name-checks. Nintendo also dubs itself an "innovator.")...

The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy Advance SP, DS and Nintendo GameCube systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 2 billion video games and more than 360 million hardware units globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario and Donkey Kong and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid, Zelda and Pokemon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

2009 Press Release Announcing New Starfy Game
(Note: Now Nintendo is a "pioneer," one proud to name-check all of its major systems except the ~~NES and~~ Virtual Boy.)...

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo has sold more than 2.9 billion video games and more than 496 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, as well as the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Super NES, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokémon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

I could now ask you readers how you would describe Nintendo, but that might be asking for trouble.

Modder Builds USB Adapter for SNES Carts

Owen Good — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:00:00 MDT

The SNES is old enough that any hankering to play Super Mario World can be satisfied entirely by emulator. Still, here's a USB hack that lets you plug old carts to a PC.

Hackaday reader Matthias rigged up this solution, which makes the cart show up on a PC as an external drive with the ROM file inside. From there, it's playable on one's choice of emulator.

Admittedly, the number of cases in which one has a working cart but no working console, and a working emulator but no working ROM, are probably quite low. But I remember Dad asking me what was the point - when free WiFi is so plentiful - of jailbreaking my iPhone and rigging it to serve as a dialup modem for my laptop. "Self esteem," I said.

In other words, whatever this thing does for you isn't important; the thing you made it do, however, is. Good work, Matthias.

USB Reader for SNES Game Carts [hackaday]

Use Your N64, NES & SNES Pads On The Wii

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:30:00 MDT

Not the first time this has been done, granted, but Komodo's Retro Adapter is certainly the most elegant way of using all your old Nintendo pads on the Wii.

Due to come in at around $20 when it ships in July, the Retro Adapter works like a controller hub, allowing you to use NES, SNES and N64 pads. What's more, the hub is styled to look like an N64 (though we think it looks as much like a 3DO).

Innex Retro Adapter updates your old controllers for active Wii duty [Offworld]

Game Controllers That Clean Your Filthy Hands

Mike Fahey — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:20:00 MDT

You know those shaped soaps at your mother's house that no one is allowed to actually use? Here's our version, courtesy of Etsy seller Digitalsoaps.

Digitalsoaps offers our favorite video game weapons, lovingly recreated in the form of scented soap products. Take the green Xbox 360 controller above. Scented with Mountain Dew, it's the most extreme gaming soap ever created by the hands of man. The store also produces NES controllers, PlayStation controllers, Wii remotes, and a rather lovely Super Nintendo model, all present in the gallery below.

I love the contrast between the real item and the recreation. Game controllers are probably some of the dirtiest things in any gamer's household, and soap generally isn't found. Kidding! I am of course referring to the contrast between ultimate dirty and the embodiment of cleanliness that is soap or something like that.

The only problems I have with soap shaped like game controllers is that I could never bring myself to use them to clean myself, and if I got drunk enough I would totally try to eat them. To address that second concern there's the Digitalchocolates store.

Digitalsoaps Etsy Page [Etsy.com - Thanks Jwu!]

Well, That's One Way to Sell a Super Nintendo

Owen Good — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:00:00 MDT

Etsy is an excellent place to find video game themed crafts, but it doesn't look like this seller put much work into the "Super Nintendo Necklace." He's hoping you won't notice. You probably don't.

The necklace costs $25 seller, who maintains the classic Nintendo blog "The 72 Pin" handmade this from the following materials:

• Sisal
• Packaging Tape
• Paper Flower
• Fully functioning Super Nintendo

Bewbs are display only.

Not interested? Perhaps you would be interested in his GameBoy Advance necklace. $20. (Bottom) Again, Bewbs are not included, for display purposes only. (Of course they are.)

The 72 Pin's Etsy shop is, clearly a front for used video game sales. How long it lasts, who knows.

Fully Functional Super Nintendo Necklace [Etsy, thanks EgyptianRuin]

The Mario Paint Strategy Guide Is So 1992 It Hurts

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:30:00 MDT

These days, strategy guides are big business, but it hasn't always been this way. In the early 90s, for example, magazines and cheat lines ruled, leaving strategy guides to, well. Do their own thing.

Not that this was a bad thing. Indeed, in this case, it's an awesome thing, because we're talking about the 1993 strategy guide for Mario Paint on the SNES. This guide, as recounted to us by 1UP, was not a walkthrough. Mario Paint wasn't that kind of game. Instead, it was an album, a collection of templates that kids could copy to have their artwork looking sweet.

And at the end of this album? Something wonderful. A feature on Steve Miller, the winner of the Mario Paint 1992 Animation Contest. Yeah. Animation. Meaning that, long before digital cameras, Steve would painstakingly "paint" a picture, then film it (on tape), then paint another, stop-motion-style. The results, shown in highlight form above, are like 1992 frozen in carbonite.

Strategy Guide Hall of Fame: Mario Paint Player's Guide [1UP]

Buy A Wii Controller That Looks Like A SNES Pad

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:30:00 MST

Last year, Club Nintendo members in Japan were treated something special. They could get a Wii controller that looked like a SNES pad. Well, thanks to the wonders of global commerce, now you can too!

Yes, what was once the domain of Japanese fanboys and cashed-up import fiends is now yours to enjoy for the "modest" price of $75, courtesy of online retailer Play-Asia. Which may sound like a lot, but remember. This is a Wii Classic Controller that looks exactly like a SNES pad.

Super Famicom Classic Controller [Club Nintendo Limited Edition] [Play-Asia]

$50,000 Gets You This Rare Super Nintendo

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:40:00 MST

The more casual console collectors in the audience may scoff at the asking price for this PowerFest '94 Competition Super Nintendo, but if you've got an extra fifty-thousand dollar bill lying around, you really can't go wrong with this little stocking stuffer. Built for the Nintendo World Championships II competition, this one of a kind survivor — only 32 were made, they say — from the early '90s is a hidden bargain.

Why? According to the seller, it features level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, five laps of the first track from Super Mario Kart and the home run derby from Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. That's practically a hundredth of a full game, right there!

For further details on this high priced item, hit up the eBay auction.

SNES Super Nintendo Powerfest '94 Competition NWC II [eBay via VGPC - thanks, Tony!]

SNES Gets 8-Player MP, 10 Years Too Late

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:30:00 MDT

You kids today, taking your 32-player online networked internet games for granted. Once was a time two players in the same game was exciting, and four was just crazy. Take the SNES, for example. The good old SNES. Most players it could ever support was five. Which is why German programmer Matthias Nagler took it upon himself to code a game for the console that supports eight players. His creation - brawler N-Warp Daisakusen - allows you to plug two multitaps into the one SNES, and while it looks pretty rough, it's the thought that counts. Those feeling brave can download the game from Matthias' site and craft themselves a cart. Those feeling less brave (or just lazy) can get the ROM and run it through an emulator.

8-player SNES game? Load up on spells, bring your friends [Opposable Thumbs]

At Last — a 4-foot SNES Controller that Works!

Owen Good — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:00:00 MDT

You know, how many times have you been sitting there, thinking to yourself, "Self, not only do I wish I had a working SNES controller, but I wish it was four feet wide so that I had to hug it like a six-year-old on a swimming pool raft." Well, Gizmodo found this yesterday, an outfit called SCAD Inc., which has heard your cries and responded. Perhaps inspired by the coffee-table NES controller these guys have spent the past two months building a super-size Super Nintendo controller, with a comprehensive photographic record of their progress. As of last update, the project was in its final QA stages — detail painting, wiring, etc. Now I want to see a chaise longue made out of an Intellivision controller.

Wicked Sweet Projects by SCAD Inc [SCAD, via Gizmodo]

NES Turned Into Retro Gaming Uberbox

Stuart Houghton — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:30:00 MDT

True, this mod could have been done with pretty much any small plastic box, but choosing a Nintendo Entertainment System to house a retro gaming PC is the kind of crowd pleasing coup-de-modding that is difficult to surpass, save by hollowing out a Vectrex or performing electronic taxidermy on an actual anthropomorphic hedgehog.

The beast contains a Windows XP PC loaded with the GameEx emulator front-end and a metric shedload of NES, SNES and N64 games - all of which, I am certain, are fully licensed and were purchased alongside their original packaging.

NES Console Modded as Retro Gaming PC, With Video [Slashgamer]

This Hands-Free Super Mario World Level Plays Sweet, Sweet Music

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:40:00 MDT

By now, you must have seen the custom made Super Mario World levels that require no player, no controller to pass. They simply let Mario and Yoshi do their thing, as buttons, switches and blocks boost them through each level. None of those user created levels are as impressive as this 11-minute monster, which uses the sound effects from those switch-hits and Koopa Troopa stomps to make beautiful music. My untrained ears can pick out but a few recognizable tunes—Mega Man 2 and Super Mario World, I don't know from Haruhi and Lucky Star—but song list help in the comments is more than welcome. Thanks to Spann for pointing us in its direction.

Chocolate Rain on Mario Paint

ogood — Sat, 03 May 2008 18:00:00 MDT

And nine other songs, including a RickRoll (although, it's not really a RickRoll if you know its coming). Thanks to reader Mrjuandrfl for spotting an anthology of classic songs composed on Mario Paint.

It takes talent and patience to lay down these tracks with that kind of interface, is all I can say. I'm trying to imagine someone working on the percussion for "Never Gonna Give You Up." and can't believe they lasted more than six runs through that opening drum roll without quitting in disgust. Guess that means they got it right on the fifth try.

(And I can't believe I made it through a post about Chocolate Rain without the obligatory move away/breathe in joke.)

We've linked the YouTube video of the Zelda theme and Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" after the jump. The rest can be found at the link.

Theme from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!
Chocolate Rain
Rick Astley: "Never Gonna Give You Up"
Theme from Sonic the Hedgehog
The Beach Boys: "I Get Around"
Theme from Super Mario Bros. 3
Genesis: "Land of Confusion"
Queen: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

The 10 Most Creative Mario Paint Compilations

Journey: "Don't Stop Believing"

Theme from The Legend of Zelda

Super Mario Kart Is All I Need (With Expensive Simulator)

Mark Wilson — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:40:00 MDT

WARNING: DO NOT STEP BEYOND THE WAIST HIGH FENCE WHILE MARIO KART IS IN MOTION.

Luke can have his Mario Kart Wii and his fancy wireless motion controls from the future. I'll enjoy the classic, SNES version and a humble motion simulator by Force Dynamics. Constructed from various flavors of steel, this simulator features 500lbs of peak thrust, five channels of surround sound and one wicked disclaimer:

The [unit] can move suddenly, and severely injure someone who is within the working envelope. A waist high fence located at least 4 feet away from the machine is strongly suggested.

OK, technically the disclaimer is for a more premium unit. But I had a need to post that bit about the "waist high fence." For your safety.
[via UberGizmo]