Son Of General Retro Discussion

Myrddin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Uh oh, I've a major problem here. After my splurge in NYC and some recent ebay items I'm quite literally out of room to house my unfinished games I think it's time to drop the RPGs and play some 6-8 hour action fest because I've a delivery of 10 NES games coming next week.

I'll hold any excess games/carts you have for a minimal fee

safetyboy

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/500587227/gamedock-for-iphone-ipad-and-ipod-touch-devices

rubadub

EnterNow wrote: »

Nintendo is a business, the objective of a business is to maximise profits, this is all about higher profit per unit. If it wasn't, the charger would be included as not everyone has one.

Not sure what you are getting at here. Every business is about maximising profits, so following your logic no companies/"profit-maximisers" should supply chargers with products.(?)

Nintendo are including the charger in north america. I doubt they took either decision lightly and spent time researching it. I can see good reasons behind doing either, just like the decisions we made in our company.

Myrddin

rubadub wrote: »

Not sure what you are getting at here. Every business is about maximising profits, so following your logic no companies/"profit-maximisers" should supply chargers with products.(?)

I never said I didn't agree it makes business sense, I just feel as a consumer its a fairly ****ty thing to not include a charger for a ~€200 device.

Nintendo are including the charger in north america. I doubt they took either decision lightly and spent time researching it. I can see good reasons behind doing either, just like the decisions we made in our company.

Why is it included in the US & not anywhere else actually?

rubadub

EnterNow wrote: »

I just feel as a consumer its a fairly ****ty thing to not include a charger for a ~€200 device.

Fair enough, I would be in 2 minds about it, in this case I am glad to see I am not being supplied with something I do not need and no doubt going to be charged for it. I always went for OEM/un-fancily-boxed versions of hard drives & cd writers as it was cheaper and I had the IDE cables etc already. I get for the spice refills in supermarkets rather than fork out for new jars each time.

I can definitely see both sides of it, and no doubt they did research.

EnterNow wrote: »

Why is it included in the US & not anywhere else actually?

Maybe they did get loads of complaints and/or problems with 3rd party PSUs. Its something that really annoys me, people saying "oh hindsight is great" when the sh!t hits the fan due to some commercial decision, in mind it is terrible to even mention hindsight, to me it means you most probably had no foresight.

We were selling machines for €4000 and I developed a really cheap add-on part which would be very beneficial, and very valuable to users, it was not essential to make it safer or anything. I was hoping it would be supplied free and thought it would be more profitable in the long run -i.e. goodwill, people saying "that crowd are great, I got a freebie a year later when they were under no obligation, I'll buy from them again and recommend them". But I remember money hungry managers wondering what the max they could charge was. Short sighted profits, which is all many salesmen are interested in due to poorly thought out commission structures.

ironictoaster

Hi lads,

Just wondering does anyone know of a car boot sale that stocks retro gear? Looking for a N64 or a Snes!

Retr0gamer

EnterNow wrote: »

Why is it included in the US & not anywhere else actually?

Exactly and we are paying much more than the US for the same console, nearly twice as much.

The answer: Nintendo loves to give the finger to Europe. They gave us Pandora's Tower so had to give a big **** you to us to balance it out again.

a5y

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Exactly and we are paying much more than the US for the same console, nearly twice as much.

Pah. I'll sooner buy a wonky N-Gage before I buy one.

The answer: Nintendo loves to give the finger to Europe. They gave us Pandora's Tower so had to give a big **** you to us to balance it out again.

I think Europe is in a position of weakness because neither Microsoft, nor Sony, nor Nintendo originate from the region. Microsoft couldn't try similar kinds of antics in Japan without fearing it'd increasing the locals love for Sony or Nintendo, and damage their brand long term. Similar with Sony and Nintendo treating the US, at least in recent times.

But since Europe hasn't say Commodore or whatever any more the execs all think "let's milk Europe" and so here we are.

CiDeRmAn

Once again, with regard to the charger, no other company, aside from Apple, have sold an electronic device with NO means of powering it.
The 3DS:XL will have a battery with, if lucky, an hour of charge on it.
You don't buy a tablet, a phone, a camera or any other rechargeable device without a charger.
And here we have Nintendo, recently creating a market out of the casual or even non-gamer, selling a device with the notion that people already have a DSi or 3DS charger in their possession.
Bull, pure bull, it's just a way to create more revenue.
But, instead of using Memory cards to generate extra income, given that Nintendo won't see a cent as they use generic micro SD cards, they have elected to leave out the charger, ensuring that you must buy their product.
At least, without a mem card, you can still play games on the device, this 3DS:XL will be incapable of playing games within an hour of unboxing, and no more fun will you have til you source a charger.
The hope now is, that in Gamestop anyway, they bundle a spurious charger of their own with it, and market it that way.
I have lost some respect for Nintendo with this announcement, and I'm as close to a Ninty fanboy as I can comfortably admit.

And, Rubadub, you are not comparing like with like.
An OEM PC components business are nothing like the consumer electronics the 3DS belongs to.
When you get components or peripherals for a PC/Mac you expect to be screwed on the cables, but when you get a handheld electronic device you expect the machine to come with everything you need to use it.
This is a cheap and cynical move by Nintendo.
Instead of their footing the bill for the production, packaging, storage and freight of a combined 3DS:XL they have cut the packaging in half and are charging us for the privilege, cutting their expenses and increasing our own.

The Last Bandit

Powered on the PS2 this evening for the first time in 12 months to see with all the Ibara/Homura fuss was about.. laser dead

Thank god for winhip & hdloader

Preferred Homura btw...

Dr Bob

valleyoftheunos wrote: »

Because Nintendo purchasers are all rabid fan boys who buy everthing teh company puts out?

Or least thats what Nintendo think?

I'd say the truth of it is that its just an attempt to bring the SRP down as low as possible but it definitely irks me.

I'll still be buying one obvs.

PS aparently the box is clearly marked no AC adapter included and every GS and HMV employee will have been told to go for the upsell or be whipped so I'd say the possibilty of any 3DSXL purchaser not knowing about it will be minimal.

Jap one will come with subsidized gold plated,ruby encrusted PSU

US one will have no psu , but a coupon(Q pon) for a big discount on one

EU one will come with no PSU, also the PSU port on the 3ds will be sealed up.

Dr Bob

Also it'll cost twice as much as the Jap and US ones..

Dr Bob

...and smell faintly of shít.

Pyongyang

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Powered on the PS2 this evening for the first time in 12 months to see with all the Ibara/Homura fuss was about...Preferred Homura btw...

Mr.Saturn

a5y wrote: »

I think Europe is in a position of weakness because neither Microsoft, nor Sony, nor Nintendo originate from the region. Microsoft couldn't try similar kinds of antics in Japan without fearing it'd increasing the locals love for Sony or Nintendo, and damage their brand long term.

Bill Gates could've single-handedly cooled the reactors in Fukushima and the 360 would still only be on less than 2million sales since launch. Japan just isn't interested in an 'American' console.

ghostchant

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Once again, with regard to the charger, no other company, aside from Apple, have sold an electronic device with NO means of powering it.
The 3DS:XL will have a battery with, if lucky, an hour of charge on it.
You don't buy a tablet, a phone, a camera or any other rechargeable device without a charger.

Bringing up a point I already made earlier but it's still relevant: I bought a cheap, no frills phone for my dad the other day, made by Nokia, with no charger. Had a USB cable but unless you already have a plug adaptor, a computer or a strategic arrangement of fruit and galvanised nails, you'll be stuck for power pretty quick. You might consider it a fair assumption that the customer would have one of these to hand but if my gran was buying it she'd have been completely stuck for a means of charging the device.

CiDeRmAn

Yeah, but at least it came with a means to charge it, even if it was just a USB cable.
All electrical/electronic devices come with a means to power them, be it a space for batteries, a charger, a mains cable, a USB cable, every single one.... except the 3DS:XL.
It's the only device I can think of that comes with no means of powering it, aside from the minimal charge residing in the new battery.
Please, someone name a device, a consumer electronic device, that is not a component of some other device, that comes without the means to power it, to operate it.

megaten

http://society6.com/iwilding/Super-Metroid-Lbp_Print

Pyongyang

I read somewhere today that the WiiU is going to be sold in build-it-yourself kit form.

Retr0gamer

Pyongyang wrote: »

I read somewhere today that the WiiU is going to be sold in build-it-yourself kit form.

Ah just like the ZX80!

Pyongyang

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Ah just like the ZX80!

Wasn't that yoke after it a DIY speccy as well? The QNB (Qatar National Bank?) Spectrum or something like that anyway.

Either way it was a dismal failure. Quite collectible now though no?

CiDeRmAn

Yup, the ZX81 was available in kit form, and was cheap as well.

Here's an active forum for ZX80/81 users! linky dink!
The ZX82, or the Spectrum was only available assembled, assembled out of the cheapest parts the British pound could buy!

Pyongyang

Aye, but what about that other diddlybob? The wossname with the doodah. QNB or whatever it was called?

It was a pile of stale, creased spare pants.

ghostchant

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Yeah, but at least it came with a means to charge it, even if it was just a USB cable.
All electrical/electronic devices come with a means to power them, be it a space for batteries, a charger, a mains cable, a USB cable, every single one.... except the 3DS:XL.
It's the only device I can think of that comes with no means of powering it, aside from the minimal charge residing in the new battery.
Please, someone name a device, a consumer electronic device, that is not a component of some other device, that comes without the means to power it, to operate it.

If I'm sitting in a room with a power socket, a device and a basic USB cable that came with it, I cannot charge my device. I need to make an additional purchase.

CiDeRmAn

But it still comes with a means to charge it.
It comes with a USB cable for that express purpose.
If you read the box and what it's contents are, you can go home, unbox it and, using the USB cable, charge it.
If you don't have a PC, well then it was the wrong purchase.
It still comes with a means to charge it.
The 3DS:XL comes with NO MEANS TO CHARGE IT.
None, not a one.
You have to buy a charger for another 10 to 15 euro.

Your example could as easily be, "If I'm sitting in a room with a USB socket, a device and a basic charger cable that came with it, I cannot charge my device".
Doesn't matter, you would just take the charging option included in the box and plug it in somewhere, as you would with the USB cable.
A charging option for that phone is given to you, the in box manual will show the action of plugging it into a USB port on a PC or Mac to charge it, it will also describe the optional use of a wall socket phone charger, as an alternative.

The 3DS:XL has one method of charging, via a wall socket, via a Nintendo charger, the very thing not included with the system, demanding the user to go and buy one, unless they own either a DSi or 3DS.
If they are amongst the millions of still playing DSlite owners then they are right out of luck and have to dig deep.

CiDeRmAn

Pyongyang wrote: »

Aye, but what about that other diddlybob? The wossname with the doodah. QNB or whatever it was called?

It was a pile of stale, creased spare pants.

There was the Sinclair QL, aimed at business owners, but they would have been stupid business owners!
Oh, the computer business market was still wide open then, and aside from the IBM computers looking to capture the market you also had Commodore with the Amiga, Atari with the ST, Acorn with the Archimedes, a very fluid situation back in the 80's.
The QL was pants, pure pants, I think the "microdrive" storage format, a closed loop tape device, was prone to failure too.

ghostchant

I was angling my point based on the notion of selling a product 'not fit for purpose'. Being able to plug a USB cable into a computer is not any different to me then being able to plug a 3DS-XL 'into' a DSi/3DS charger. If you have a PC/charger then you're ok. If you don't then you're in the exact same position in each instance - out of luck until you make another purchase.

I'm not supporting or attacking Nintendo/Nokia/Apple et al., it's just the way it is. I'm a bit of a Ninty fanboy myself but for the first time in years I'm going to give the XL a miss...mainly because my yearly gaming budget will be spent on Famicom games next month

Dr Bob

ironictoaster wrote: »

Hi lads,

Just wondering does anyone know of a car boot sale that stocks retro gear? Looking for a N64 or a Snes!

Car boot sales tend to be pretty random .
Adverts.ie isnt bad (although the cheap stuff either gets snapped up asap, or tends to be a "I live in Cavan , collection only" type sale).Best thing is to set up an email notifier for keywords like Snes/N64 etc and have a smartphone with push mail ready to go.
Failing that RAGE in fade st , near georges st arcade will sort you out for one for an ok price.

OwaynOTT

Dr Bob wrote: »

Car boot sales tend to be pretty random .
Adverts.ie isnt bad (although the cheap stuff either gets snapped up asap, or tends to be a "I live in Cavan , collection only" type sale).Best thing is to set up an email notifier for keywords like Snes/N64 etc and have a smartphone with push mail ready to go.
Failing that RAGE in fade st , near georges st arcade will sort you out for one for an ok price.

Ignore that! You'll never find anything of worth on adverts, nothing at all to see there. Just try the rage don't use adverts at all and most definitely don't set up saved searches on your smartphone.
In fact you'd be better off forgetting about collecting at all, it's too much hassle and just send on whatever you have now to be and be secure in the knowledge that you will never have to worry about missing out on an auction ending or forgetting to say offer asking.

Retr0gamer

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

The ZX82, or the Spectrum was only available assembled, assembled out of the cheapest parts the British pound could buy!

Including zombie flesh for the keyboard!