Out of context Spectrum games

[Juan F. Ramirez]

[MatGubbins]

A little handheld that I found in a charity shop. Nothing special, just those stripes look familiar..........

innards for those that want to know.




It has 153 games on it, powered by 3 AAA batteries, 3.5 inches x 2 inches, sounds great.

[zup]

A little handheld that I found in a charity shop. Nothing special, just those stripes look familiar..........

Crappy, crappy, crappy.

I bought one of those for my kid... bad games, with slow gameplay. It seems that the CPU is very underpowered.

I bought a (cheaper) chinese NES clone that has 400(ish) games and looks like a gameboy... and the games runs at a good speed. And they pirated the good NES ones, instead of putting crappy games.

[TMD2003]

Crappy, crappy, crappy.

I bought one of those for my kid... bad games, with slow gameplay. It seems that the CPU is very underpowered.

I bought a (cheaper) chinese NES clone that has 400(ish) games and looks like a gameboy... and the games runs at a good speed. And they pirated the good NES ones, instead of putting crappy games.

Call me a grumpy old git if you must, but those are the kind of things that I genuinely thought the experience with Corona-Chan would have seen consigned to the dustbin of history. For all the pros and cons of house arrest - and I say this as someone who was firmly against it despite being more equipped than most to deal with it - suddenly, we all had a chance to focus on what we actually needed, rather than what we might just want on a whim. It should have been the end of highly-processed convenience foods with tons of plastic packaging - things like Cheestrings and Rustlers' microwave burgers - and should also have been the end of cheap and very nasty disposable electronic tat that's designed to be used once, if at all, and thrown away. They really only exist for two reasons - one, to keep a factory in China open and producing something - and two, to keep Stuart Ashen's YouTube channel stocked with content. But I'd quite happily have said "find something better to do with your channel, Stu" and stop the torrent of plastic waste that both types of insta-trash generate. And just this once, if I sound like St. Greta of Stockholm soapboxing, I'll concede that she and her ilk have a point. Just this once, I said.

Maybe these NES-on-a-chip handhelds aren't so terrible, but the ones that were little more than a Game & Watch need to die, if they haven't already. I'd have been quite content with "that thing beginning with V" if it had actually turned out the way it was supposed to.

[Daveysloan]

[worcestersource]

Brilliant!

[Matt_B]

To be honest, I'd say that the NES on a chip ones have had their day too now.

Look instead to the likes of the Miyoo Mini, Retroid Pocket 3+, AYN Odin and whatever Anbernic have put out this week for what the Chinese handheld market has to offer.

[zup]

The advantages of NES on a Chip are:
- Good games, if you get one with pirated games. The crappy handhelds and some others that had "new" games usually have bad games.
- They run at full speed. Every game on that handheld shown feels slow.
- They are cheap, very cheap. I bought mine for 12€ in a local store, but buying from chinese sites may be even cheaper.
- Most modern NES on a Chip are portable.

The disadvantages:
- You can not put your own games.
- The hardware may not be as good / durable (LCD screen, battery).

Compared to other cheap handhelds, it's funnier to play with; compared to "higher-end" retro consoles based on emulation, it is way cheaper. But, IMHO, if you want some kind of emulation based device with good specs, you may go the Raspberry Pi way (unless you need it to be portable).

[Juan F. Ramirez]

[Lee Bee]

[flatduckrecords]

I can hear this image.

[TMD2003]

I can hear this image.

It's exactly 1 kHz, plus or minus a bit of tape wobble.

[MatGubbins]

[MatGubbins]

It's a bag-for-life from France, something to do with sportswear goods. No Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson or Daley Thompson to you matey, no lucozade or running shoes to be seen here.

[PeteProdge]

It's a bag-for-life from France, something to do with sportswear goods. No Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson or Daley Thompson to you matey, no lucozade or running shoes to be seen here.

It's a chain of sportswear shops across Europe, parent company is in France, loads of stores here in the UK. I'm quite evangelical about them, they're like the cool alternative to SportsDirect if you have 1) a bit more money to spend and 2) despise Mike Ashley's shifty work practices.

Once I work out a way to make a decent joystick-waggler/button-masher, Pete Prodge On A Saturday Morning Simulator will be released to the world.

[+3code]

It's a chain of sportswear shops across Europe, parent company is in France, loads of stores here in the UK. I'm quite evangelical about them, they're like the cool alternative to SportsDirect if you have 1) a bit more money to spend and 2) despise Mike Ashley's shifty work practices.

Yeah, a lot of them too in Spain.

[Lee Bee]

I saw this image (in an article about the "shuffle button") and my brain instinctively thought it was a Speccy screenshot. Just me?

[Mpk]

I saw this image (in an article about the "shuffle button") and my brain instinctively thought it was a Speccy screenshot. Just me?

Reminded me of Lee Bee's avatar.

[Joefish]

It's a chain of sportswear shops across Europe, parent company is in France, loads of stores here in the UK. I'm quite evangelical about them, they're like the cool alternative to SportsDirect if you have 1) a bit more money to spend and 2) despise Mike Ashley's shifty work practices.

There's one in Farnborough, next to a similarly expanding Smyth's Toys. It's more than just another chav-wear outlet, they stock proper sports gear too; you'll find riding helmets, paddleboards, yoga balls, darts, archery targets and fishing gear in there. Don't try to tell me that anyone who goes into sports Direct is seriously involved in any sport!

Decathlon make some really good tents and other camping gear. Their inflatable pillow is a bit pricey but works so much better than the cheapo ones that are just a mini flocked air-bed. And I like their water shoes (three price range choices, each a bit more quality you pay for). And microfibre towels, and pretty good sunglasses. Their walking shoes don't last long though. At least they're not trying to flog you a giant mug to just let your tea go cold.

Once I work out a way to make a decent joystick-waggler/button-masher, Pete Prodge On A Saturday Morning Simulator will be released to the world.

Err. Not sure where this is going. We all like a lie-in but this sounds like too much information!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Seen on Mastodon:

[Juan F. Ramirez]

[zup]

That movie seems as good as the game

[Matt_B]

Seen on Mastodon:

I prefer Alcatraz Debbie Harry?

[R-Tape]

It's not quite on topic, but this is very definitely an out of context Sinclair.



I was wandering the streets of Haworth today, and saw this rather incongruous zeddy in the window of a chocolate shop! Had a crack with the owner who cut his teeth on it as a youngster, and who recognised me as a fellow computer nerd as I gawped at it. Doesn't muck about either - he's got velcro on the back rather than blu-tac for the RAMpack!

[PeteProdge]

I don't think this can be written off as a coincidence...









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