NES Flash Cartridge released

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 15th June 2007
Comments (11) Stumble
The NES flash cartridge for homebrew developers is a bit late, but can be yours for just $135. Wow.

The NES flash cartridge for homebrew developers is a bit late, but can be yours for just $135. Wow.

You and I may be mortal, but I think you'll find that NES never dies. Or so the makers of the new flash cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System are hoping.

It's a decade or two late, but the PowerPak has finally arrived on the homebrew scene for bedroom-based retro developers, and it looks to be fairly interesting. Basically a flash drive, players can copy games on to the PowerPak and then run them on the original NES hardware without having to use any sort of emulation software.

"When you start your NES you get a file browser to choose your game. Then you can save and load battery ram so all your saved games stay saved. Save files can also be transferred to and from your computer for use on emulators. Built in Game Genie code support lets you use cheat codes. Even better than the original Game Genie, the PowerPak has support for 5 codes at once."

Or so says the blurb at the products homepage, which also claims games can be loaded in around seven seconds and that the PowerPak is entirely updateable for the future.

The website also gives detailed support information for homebrew developers and ROM downloaders, so that they can be sure to get the most out of their new expensive piece of retro kit.

Expensive? Did we not mention? The PowerPak is retailing from the site for a hefty $135, so it probably won't be the cheapest way to play old versions of Super Mario Bros.

Still, decades later it's nice to see that some retro scenes are alive and kicking, even if it is a little heavy-handed wallet-wise.

Do you do homebrew? What's your favourite retro console? Let us know in the forums and trade ideas about what to do with old pieces of classic console hardware.
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Quote DXR_13KE 15th June 2007, 11:49
to late, to expensive and not for me.
but a good initiative.
Quote Krikkit 15th June 2007, 12:05
That looks awesome. Alright it's late, but that's tough tbh, better late than never! :D
Quote riggs 15th June 2007, 12:14
Pretty cool, but too expensive imo. Give it a while and you'll probably be able to pick up a cheaper 'clone'...

I mean, ffs, you can pick up GBA/DS flash carts for <$50...this is older tech, so why is it more expensive?
Quote LVMike 15th June 2007, 16:56
i would play ball at the 90$ range but, it is to late i donated my NES to GoodWill yesterday.
Quote devdevil85 15th June 2007, 17:59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Article
Basically a flash drive, players can copy games on to the PowerPak and then run them on the original NES hardware without having to use any sort of emulation software.
I have every NES game created (ROMS of course) and when I use emulation it looks almost twice as good as what it would on the original NES console through AA and buffering techniques AND it fits my entire projection screen when I bump up the resolution. Why would anyone want this at the price it is? Why wouldn't you just use emulation? cause it's free.
Quote DXR_13KE 15th June 2007, 22:42
Quote:
Originally Posted by devdevil85
cause it's free.
and illegal...... most of the time.
Quote completemadness 15th June 2007, 22:46
Quote:
Originally Posted by DXR_13KE
and illegal...... most of the time.
emulation is illegal ??? since when ?
Quote Bauul 16th June 2007, 15:45
Quote:
Originally Posted by completemadness
emulation is illegal ??? since when ?

Well, emulation itself isn't, it's the roms you run on it that are usually illegal. Basically you have to own an original copy of the game, then you may download one copy alone of a ROM, as part of the "it's legal to make a single backup of any owned media" law. But most people don't own the original cartridages, hence the problem.
Quote completemadness 16th June 2007, 16:03
but in the original context
Quote:
Why would anyone want this at the price it is? Why wouldn't you just use emulation? cause it's free.
He is saying that using an emulator is free, rather then paying $135 or whatever for this silly cartridge (which will still leave you in the same ROM related legal issues)
Quote mattthegamer463 16th June 2007, 17:56
Why would anyone need this? If you download ROMs your supposed to have a legitimate copy, so if you do, why do you need a flash cart when you have the original one? I just say play it on your PC, it looks so much better and you can mod a NES controller to play them with if you want to get that retro-experience.
Quote SNIPERMikeUK 17th June 2007, 11:44
It's like one of these really good ideas u have but never get round to doing for years.....and at that price point, me thinks u could get a lot of NES for your money or SNES it was far superior and can even be modded to 60hz.
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