WTB: Famiclone

[Awesome Panda]

I've recently come to the realisation that the Famiclones I own are either poor-quality or don't have a cartridge slot for Famicom games. I'd like to purchase one that is NTSC, has good picture quality (as in, the colours aren't screwed-up) and has a cartridge slot for Famicom (or NES, as I have a 60/72-pin adapter) games. If anyone is willing to sell me a Famiclone or direct me to a site selling then, then I'd be grateful.

[taizou]

I think volumerates' famiclones are NTSC, I have no idea what the quality is like though.

something like an old Micro Genius would probably be your best bet if you could find one, or one of the other old ones that actually clone the Famicom chips rather than just sticking a low quality NOAC in a mostly empty case. Of course finding one that's NTSC is another matter, I think these things were PAL more often than not.  Taiwan and NTSC Latin American countries (Mexico and Chile that I know of) were probably the biggest market for NTSC famiclones in the early 90's when the decent ones were made, i guess it'd be quite hard to actually get a famiclone shipped from one of those countries to the UK though.

[Awesome Panda]

I would get an old Famiclone if I could find anyone that was selling any, but I think those are hard to come by. As for Volumerates, I ordered a PVP 2 off there a few weeks ago and they still haven't shipped it yet. <_<

Edit: Oh wait, they shipped it this morning.

Edit 2: I managed to find a Micro Genius on TaoBao with a couple of carts. Let's just hope it hasn't already been sold.

[taizou]

If it's on Taobao it's probably PAL though, China is PAL.

[Awesome Panda]

Well according to the seller it's apparently from Japan, I somehow doubt it though. Also, isn't China both PAL and NTSC?

[taizou]

I think there's a *bit* of NTSC use but stuff is mostly PAL. I bought a Micro Genius from Taobao myself and it's PAL. But I guess maybe if it's "from Japan" (ha) it might be an NTSC model.

[Awesome Panda]

Well according to the seller, they bought it from Japan (I doubt it, as I'm pretty sure the Micro Genius is a lot more common in places like Taiwan and the Phillipines).

BTW, I forgot to point this out but the carts it comes with are a 9-in-1, Street Fighter III (according to the label) and what appears to be a PCB without a cart shell.

[taizou]

I suppose it might have been imported to Japan from Taiwan or something... I didn't think many Famiclones were released in Japan before the Famicom's patents expired, so I guess if it was sold there it was probably kinda underground through market stalls and stuff.

from my experience I think if it says "Micro Genius" on it in English it's likely to be PAL, if it's all in Chinese it's probably NTSC from Taiwan (even Chinese PAL models seem to have English text. I guess they might have exported some NTSC models with English text on them too though).

[Awesome Panda]

Well it has the name "Micro Genius" in English on the front, along with the company logo. Also, I can't read the number on the photo but I think it's an IQ-501 model.

[taizou]

Sounds PAL then. I guess it might have been an export NTSC though.. but if you're using an agent you could probably get them to ask the seller.

[Awesome Panda]

taizou

Aug 6 2011, 01:13:23 PM

Sounds PAL then. I guess it might have been an export NTSC though.. but if you're using an agent you could probably get them to ask the seller.[/quote]I'll do that.

[Awesome Panda]

Update: I have cancelled the purchase from TaoBao as the seller didn't seem to be responding for whatever reason. Basically, if anyone wants to sell me a Famiclone then go ahead.

[Matias]

Hi there! I'm new in the forum and I think I could be a nice contributor. I'm from Argentina and I could help you with your Famiclone searching.

Cheers!

Matias

[taizou]

I think I'll be selling a bunch of famiclones soon too, I'm moving and I don't really have the room to take all these things with me. If you're looking for NTSC i've got a couple of newer decent (I think) ones.

[Awesome Panda]

I would, but I'm having to cut down on my spending at the moment. :\