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[Trenton_net]

Hey,

Just wondering but are SNES clones any better than the run of the mill famicom clones? I assume probably not. I ask because I wonder if regular copiers will work with clones, or if the clones somehow aren't compatable.

[cd_vision]

The only SNES clone I've seen out there was based on the 2nd generation SNES, which had slightly cheaper parts overall. I can't comment on the quality though, I didn't get a chance to play it.

[madman]

I'd imagine they are compatible based on the SFC Game Station that Bung put out not too long ago. It was basically a clone SFC w/a built-in SF7 and CD-ROM. I guess there's only one way to be sure, but I would think so.

[kyuusaku]

Gamestation is not by Bung but actually by XGA who are the makers of the SNES2 clone. There is only one set of clone ASICs and it's by XGA, all SNES clone products use them. The quality of these ASICs *IS* poor however the feat is pretty amazing. Unsurprisingly both audio and video is off similarly to the Famiclones although I don't think there are as many issues where "special" games don't work. Yes copiers and at least every normal game works, your output (A/V) mileage will vary however due to imprecise cloning. If you can stand slightly off A/V, I believe all you have to worry about is games which interface with the "B" bus (ones which use the "expansion" pins)

[Trenton_net]

General -> I've heard from a friend that they have multi-consoles that are getting popular in China now. Apparently those clones have both SNES and NES hardware integrated together, and you can choose the “mode” you want to boot in by selecting it on the console. Famicom is actually still quite popular in China since its so cheap and afordable for familys. I was thinking about getting one, but it sounds like a waist of money, not to mention how well it would work with any kind of copier.

kyuusaku -> Does XGA even produce the super Famicom components anymore? The last time I checked (Which was a long time ago), they stopped producing the Game Station specifically because the availability of sourcing a particular IC was becoming very difficult. I assume because they had no stock of that component, they stopped production. At least that’s what I got from talking with an employee. He didn't go into further details, but basically even if you wanted to put in a large order, they wouldn’t be able to fill it since physically they couldn’t source all the components.

[kyuusaku]

I have no idea, probably the component he's talking about was the Bung GDSF7 ASIC.

If this is the multi-console: http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/cheese93007/DSC00074.jpg

(pic not mine, lifted from another forum)

It has the cloned SNES2 ASICs (no RGB/Svid) and a FC on a chip.

[Trenton_net]

That looks about par for the course. I assume all of the multi-consoles follow the same design internally, but choose to implement different case mods depending on the style.

Regarding the SNES2 ASIC, what major deficiencies does it have compared to a regular SNES? I’ve never seen one in action personally (or at least outside of a store anyways), but I assume they are big enough that even a casual player can recognize that its present?

[kyuusaku]

For most people the deficiencies are negligible.