Do you own any broken consoles? State here!

[Jasper061992]

Just curious if any of you own broken consoles and if so, what ones? And if possible, how did they break?

Me:

I own one broken PSOne (the smaller one i got) How i broke it? Well, i lost the original grey transformer for it and grabbed one of those universal voltage ones. I setted it to the correct voltage and correct polarity to test it. It powered up, but the spindle didn't work. So i turned it off and stupidly (thinking it would fix it lol) reversed the polarity over and tried it again. Fried it and didn't power up, not even when putting it back into the correct polarity, still wouldn't power up. :bang:


I also own an Amstrad 464 with the monitor that works, but the tape drive is broken. When the play button is pushed down, it won't turn. So reading tapes is out of the picture.


Gameboy Pocket. Powers on, but the screen is jumbled up. Thick black bars onscreen when powered up.

Sega Mega CD Model 1. I own 2 of these, but one of them never decides to power up after trying to dismantle it to clean the contacts. Possibly a blown cap. Thought the same was happening to my working one.


So i think thats about it. What broken consoles do you own?

[Mr. Ksoft]

Well, I don't have any totally broken consoles to the point of complete unusability, but I have ones that have technical problems where you could still call them broken.

TurboExpress: No sound except from headphones and stuck turbo switches. The sound is from blown caps-- quite fixable, but I'm not good enough at this kind of stuff yet to do it.
Game Boy Color: No sound except from headphones as well. Probably a blown cap, like the TurboExpress?
Gamepark GP2X: The control stick snapped out of place while my brother was playing Dynamite Headdy on it, and now it rolls around limp in its assembly. I can't control the system at all. This is a common thing and it will usually click into place again, but I can't get mine to do it so I think it's really broken. If I can get a USB board for this, I can at least use a USB controller to control it and use it as a home system, but they're hard to get these days.
Atari 7800: It *might* be broken. If you play it for more than about 20 minutes at a time, it'll just shut off. However, it may be as simple as an AC adapter replacement. I received it in this condition-- I figure that it's acting funny because it was sitting in my uncle's attic for at least a decade, probably closer to 15 years.

Oh, and if computers are gaming related, I've got a couple completely dead laptops that I can't revive.

[Honey the Cat]

XBox - still powers on, but disc tray is unresponsive, and I cannot get into it since I do not have the right kind of screwdriver. Probably gonna sell all my XBox games since my controllers were already converted for computer use and my XBox is a worthless piece of shit now. I'm giving up my XBox scene and just stick with finding out a way to convince my mom to get me a DSi flashcard so I can finally play Doom on my DSi.

[omp]

A few stuffed Game Gears, screens with thick black lines or no pixels. Was keeping these for video out to TV. Done that so I should have a clean out.

A couple of Mega Drive 1's and 2's stuffed boards (corrosion, other issues etc) keep for parts, should clean these out too.

A stuffed SNES board, kept that for tracing purposes, helped me work out how to do all-region, switch free modification. Done that, might keep that one just in case for something else.

2 SMS1's might be able to get one of these going from the 2, They start up fine then slow down to a stop and game freezes, could just be cap replacement?

I think thats about it, I do have 2 spare XBOX drives (samsung) and a xpare XBOX360 DVD drive for some reason.

[tz101]

Only one I've got is my original Sears Tele-Games VCS console. I got the wise idea that I could possibly remove the cartridge pin connector from the mainboard for cleaning, much like replacing the 72-pin connector on the NES. BAD IDEA. Never try that stunt at home, kids. The VCS pins are basically made to stay inside the plastic housing that surrounds them. Oh well.

[NeoVamp]

I have..

a dead famicom pirate console. (guy that showed it to me used the wrong voltage)
he then gave it to me for free, i figured one day I'll put a GBA in it or something.

a dead N64, which i got from my sister who says it wont boot games anymore.
(i tried it and only Mario 64 would briefly turn on but then it would show a green screen)
Keeping this for parts i guess..

A Gameboy Advance first model, well its not broken but with the horrible original screen it might as well be.

A Pal Sega 32X, which is kinda broken.. I had my dad mod 50/60hz switches and Jap/Eng switches in it,
but something went wrong and a trace is now gone, still works but only works on 50hz.
(FYI my dad has modded/fixed quite a lot of my consoles all with success)

MSX Monitor - Turns on for 2 minutes before giving me a black screen,
could be caps related.

[SketchTurner94]

I want to get a broken Nomad to possibly get it fixed. Other than that, nothing.

[gamevet]

I have a SNES that has issues with Mode-7. It works fine with games like Street Fighter II, but the moment the game goes into Mode-7, I get large black bars across the screen. Mario Kart is a total mess.

[Iron Lizard]

I have about 3 Genesis 2s that I can't sell. Two have dead controller ports and another has a finicky ac port. I could fix but I don't want don't sell anything like that.I just picked a Sega Cd that is a messed up. I had to fix the fuse, then the stupid cd open switch, and now I am trying to get it to actually read discs( any help would be nice). i have a dead Saturn and about 4 Nes that need to be "rebuilt". I am sure there is more but I don't want to think about it.

[TmEE]

I have 2x Saturns with non working CD drives and dead PSUs, and 3x Dreamcasts with non working CD drives and one of them with dead PSU, then I have few dead Famiclones, one dead MD clone and 3 dead GGs and a dead Xbox too

[JRedmond3]

Broke PS2 I accidentally broke when that stupid silver strip they put in came out. Never got around to buying another strip.

Broken Sega Genesis 1, I'm going to tinker around with it but I need an adapter for it.

[GriskaGyoran]

I had one Nomad which died due to one of those Summer power surges, you know what I'm talking about. I also have an Atari 5200 Model 2 which I dredged out of the fleamarket, it just plain doesn't work. It displays video, but I think the pins might be screwed up.

[omp]

People with Saturns that have dead PSU's, check the socket where you plug the power cord into. Where the plug goes into, the socket isn't supported very well (only by the "back wall") and the pins that go through the board are very thin and snap if the lead is pulled in and out. That's what happened to mine and another I fixed for someone. You can't really tell until you take the socket off the board as it had a plastic lug that goes through the board (for all the good it does).

[TmEE]

Those dead Saturn PSU's I've got have blown TOP202 PWM generators

[kool kitty89]

I thought my Sega CD was broken (bad caps), but recently realized the Genesis was the problem. (again, probably bad caps) Though the Genesis works fien otherwise. (other than rainbow banded video and RF audio that some TVs output as very noisy/staticy)

I have a VCS (light sixer) which is missing all 3 main chips (probably all dead regardless, we removed them and apparently lost them). Long story short, universal power adaptor probably got set to the wrong polarity which burned things up real quick. (killed the voltage reg too) At least 2 chips shoewd physical damage from overheating, 1 with a nice chunk of insulation blown off the middle, and another one with a crack in a similar spot iirc. So RIOT, TIA, and the 6507 got removed, and we swapped in the chips from my grandpa's heavy sixer and it worked fine.
So all it needs is a new RIOT (MOS 6532), TIA, and MOS 6507, and it's good to go. :roll: (all socketed BTW) I'd immagine the best option would be finding a cheap/free dead VCS and canabalize that. (though for later models, I think the chips were soldered in, so that would be a bit more work)

I use that heavy sixer now anyway though. What annoys me more is that my uncle gave away his light sixer and a good chunk of games plus paddles, sticks, racing wheels, and keypads a couple years ago (along with one of my joysticks and paddles apparently...). And he'd onyl bought the stuff around 200/01 too. (said a bunch of the games "stopped working" ...)

At least he still thinks he's got a SMS II packed away somewhere, and a loose 32x with it as I recall. (I had no idea what a 32x was last time I saw it 7-8 years ago)

[Speedle]

i've got a broken DC that blew shortly after i region modded it, the case is mint so i use it for spare parts now.

Ive also got a model 1 geny thats power light is always on when the scart is plugged in but the power is not... very weird... still plays games though

oh and a dead SNES that died from to much action replay usage... never worked out why it stopped working just did

[TmEE]

You have the SCARt going to some switchbox or splitter ? In any case, your MD is subject to death since the line in SCART cable that is used to autoswitch the TV to RGB in is feeding power to your MD through that pin.... some devices use 12V on that line and this can lead to spectacular(with smoke and possibly fire) death of that MD...

[Speedle]

You have the SCARt going to some switchbox or splitter ? In any case, your MD is subject to death since the line in SCART cable that is used to autoswitch the TV to RGB in is feeding power to your MD through that pin.... some devices use 12V on that line and this can lead to spectacular(with smoke and possibly fire) death of that MD...

really? oh dear :P

yeah im using a scart splitter so i'll make sure i dont use that with it anymore ;)

cheers chap!

[Dant]

I have a SNES that had a power supply burn-out just recently... it was the same one I had since I was a kid. I also have a NES that really needs a new 72-pin connector, all nothing major.

[Jasper061992]

Good replies people. :D

Forgot to add.

I own 3 broken Gamegears with the 4th one which is best working one with the screen on it's way out. Of the 3 broken ones, 1 has no sound and a large black line on the screen which is also dim, and 2 others with no sound and dim screen. One of them has a flaky power socket.

[FoxHound]

My Game Gear lost its sound and a Saturn with a badly chewed up Av Out port from previous owner trying to use a Genesis RF switch with it... still works.

[Ace]

Got a fair bit:

-Atari 2600 Light Sixer: has a dying TIA chip and broken switches.
-Genesis Model 1(x3): one has a dead controller port(VA7), the second never worked(High Definition Graphics VA6), the third has no more video encoder(it broke).
-Genesis Model 2(too many): all are completely dead due to either a damaged ASIC or broken video encoders(and the traces are damaged).
-Genesis Model 3: ASIC is ruined(failed Virtua Racing compatibility fix), been using it for spare parts(mainly capacitors).
-Super NES(x2): dead PPUs.
-PlayStation(gray model x3): one is missing its video encoder(it's a 5501, which has a CXA1645), another has a dead power supply, but all have one common problem: dead or broken lasers(torn ribbon cables, broken spindle motor, broken spindle).
-PSone(the smaller white PlayStation): broken crystal(no joke; it's sectioned clean in half LENGTHWISE... what the hell??? I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement crystal of 17.734MHz).
-NES: will not power on(now used for spare parts).
-Fat PlayStation 2(x2): one won't turn on(probably a blown fuse), the other reads a disc, boots it past the PlayStation 2 logo, then crashes or returns to the Memory Card/disc menu(if a PlayStation game is put in, it won't even recognize it and give a Red Screen), and I can't figure out why that happens.
-SuperJoy X(one of those Famicom-in-a-controller things): dead on-board controller.
-FC Twin: this one is half-dead; the Super NES side is fine, but the NES side has a damaged sound circuit, and every time I try to fix it, it works for a bit, then the sound either cuts out completely or starts to pop as if it wants to cut out.
-GN Twin: NES side won't respond to Player 1's inputs, Genesis side has no more Player 2 inputs(and is currently sitting in my Genesis 3).
-GEN-X: Completely dead; Genesis side had broken traces, NES side won't read anything or output video.

[Jasper061992]

Oh yeah. I also got those Pirate NES-on-a-chip controller clones.

-Super Joy III. While playing it, something inside it blew and that nice burning smell of cheap plastic fumes spewed out. The video output did always have an abnormally bright contrast to it. It rapidly got worse to the moment it packed in. Must be the encoder caps that went along with it. Dismantled the thing and chucked it in the attic lol.

-Power Player. Same as above. Something blew and that same plastic smell. Never worked again since. (was my first Famiclone).

-Gun Boy. This was still working, but lost the battery case and dismantled the thing until a few delicate wires inside the thing snapped out of the glue that held them together.

Not to worry. I own yet another famiclone called the Power Joy. Wonder how long that one will last. :?

[gamegenie]

nope, all my game systems fully work.

[17daysolderthannes]

badly chewed up Av Out port from previous owner trying to use a Genesis RF switch with it... still works.

what? how?

"hmmm, round plug should go in the thin slot, right?"

[FoxHound]

what? how?

"hmmm, round plug should go in the thin slot, right?"

Sorry I meant the port still works with a Saturn type cable even after they damaged it trying to use the Genny RF which was in the lot I purchased it with.

[17daysolderthannes]

Sorry I meant the port still works with a Saturn type cable even after they damaged it trying to use the Genny RF which was in the lot I purchased it with.

whoops, I confused the Saturn with the DC, the Saturn is alot more similar to the Genesis.

[mick_aka]

At least 10 broken saturns (power board and laser issues) about the same in broken dreamcasts (laser issues mostly).

Apart from that all my consoles are in perfect working order.

If I add computers then it's a whole different story...

[King Of Chaos]

I've got a dead NES and a dead Saturn, both I'm about to fix. I've also got a semi-dead Virtual Boy, which I'm planning on fixing too within the next month or so.

[WarmSignal]

Hmm... my cat once dumped a glass of tea on my Saturn, thought it was over. But nope, everything I have works.

[King Of Chaos]

Problem I have with my Saturn is the laser sometimes clicks when seeking. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.

[kool kitty89]

I've got a dead NES and a dead Saturn, both I'm about to fix. I've also got a semi-dead Virtual Boy, which I'm planning on fixing too within the next month or so.
Common bad cart connector in the NES? (planning on some aggressive cleaning+polishing+pin resetting or outright replacement?)

[Ace]

Oh yeah. I also got those Pirate NES-on-a-chip controller clones.

-Super Joy III. While playing it, something inside it blew and that nice burning smell of cheap plastic fumes spewed out. The video output did always have an abnormally bright contrast to it. It rapidly got worse to the moment it packed in. Must be the encoder caps that went along with it. Dismantled the thing and chucked it in the attic lol.

-Power Player. Same as above. Something blew and that same plastic smell. Never worked again since. (was my first Famiclone).

-Gun Boy. This was still working, but lost the battery case and dismantled the thing until a few delicate wires inside the thing snapped out of the glue that held them together.

Not to worry. I own yet another famiclone called the Power Joy. Wonder how long that one will last. :?

Wow, you've had some pretty poorly-built clones! There is only one reason why my FC Twin, GN Twin and GEN-X are dead: failed mods(mainly new sound circuits). I only ever came across 2 Famiclones that had problems: the SuperJoy X I previously mentioned, and one of today's modern Famiclones, the RetroBit Retro Entertainment System(it's like the Yobo FC Game Console Version 2). That one has a stupidly-designed regulator circuit; it works off a direct 6V(which NOACs can tolerate), but the original FC Game Console works off 9V brought down to 5V by a 7805 regulator. On the RES and the newer FC Game Console with a red power LED, the 7805 is replaced by... a transitor. WTF???:confused: That transistor blew in my RES(I was given the system for free, so I figured: hey, I wanted Yobo's FC Game Console since 2006, here's one I can try to fix up, even if it's RetroBit's version, not Yobo's), and I mean literally, as there was a hole in the transitor, so I swapped it out with a 7805. Works wonders; and it's A HELL OF A LOT BETTER than the original Yobo FC Game Console; that one has line noise in the video, saturated video, and the oh-so-common "reversed sound channel duties" problem that are common on Famiclones(believe it or not, those sound problems originate from when Famiclones first started being made. I have a MicroGenius IQ-501, which is so old, it uses a full motherboard rather than an NOAC, and it has the same "reversed sound channel duties" problem as today's NOACs! Famiclone tech really didn't evolve much).

[Honey the Cat]

[dumb-ass joke]
I totally gave my GoldenEye cartridge a blowjob and slammed it into my N64 as hard as I could and for some reason my N64 does not work anymore NINTENDO FUCKING SUCKS!!!1!!!!1111!!1
[/dumb-ass joke]

[Chris]

I have Three.
Original Nintendo: Flashing screen.
Turbo Express: Almost no sound.
Turbo Grafx 16: Poor video quality.

[Ace]

Here's how to fix each problem:


Original Nintendo: Flashing screen.

Tighten and clean the cartridge slot.


Turbo Express: Almost no sound.

Replace all the capacitors.


Turbo Grafx 16: Poor video quality.

Are you using RF on your TurboGrafx or Composite via either a TurboBooster or TurboGrafx CD interface unit? If you're using RF, odds are the board inside the modulator in the TurboGrafx is cracked. Resolder the connections where the board is cracked. If you're using your TurboGrafx via Composite, you may need to replace the capacitors either in the TurboGrafx, TurboBooster or TurboGrafx CD interface unit depending on what you have.

[Chris]

Thanks Ace, I'm using RF on my Turbo Grafx 16 and it's been that way since I got it in 1999.

[Allan]

I have a GBA:SP that turns off as soon as it is turned on, be it on AC power or not.
A Game Gear. Enough said.

[ApolloBoy]

I've got a Game Gear that works fine other than the fact that it won't work with Game Gear games for some odd reason (SMS games, oddly enough, work fine).

[ooXxXoo]

I've got a Game Gear that works fine other than the fact that it won't work with Game Gear games for some odd reason (SMS games, oddly enough, work fine).

A cartridge connection issue perhaps?...I have a MD2 that worked great with SMS games, but didn't played Genesis/MD games at all...Finally checked pin by pin of the cartridge connector, it had one trace corroded (an address pin) that wasn't doing a proper contact because of it.....Works great now...
....
...

[ApolloBoy]

A cartridge connection issue perhaps?...I have a MD2 that worked great with SMS games, but didn't played Genesis/MD games at all...Finally checked pin by pin of the cartridge connector, it had one trace corroded (an address pin) that wasn't doing a proper contact because of it.....Works great now...
....
...
Probably. Perhaps I could send it to you? Everything about it works fine (I actually replaced the audio caps a few weeks ago) other than the fact that GG games don't work.

[Caveman_Games]

I have two ps1 systems that were in boxes and I finally got around to testing them last week or so. Neither one works. They turn on but do not spin games. I have replaced them with working systems, but in the mean time I can not find it in me to throw them away>? PM me if you want them...just pay shipping type of a thing.

[Markss]

just 1 broken xbox 360

[Nunzio]

Sega CD Model 1. Hooked it up to an AC adapter. It caught on fire. I never forgave myself.

[gamevet]

I have a GBA:SP that turns off as soon as it is turned on, be it on AC power or not.
A Game Gear. Enough said.

Is the power light amber or green?

If the light is amber, it's possible that the battery is shot. I don't know if the GBA will stay on with the power cord, if the battery is dead.

[Smii]

I have quite a collection of Game Gears with problems (including, but probably not limited to: dead screen, no sound, dead pixels, lines, entire deadness.) I'm sure they're easy to fix, but I have neither the skill*, nor the parts, nor the inclination.

Also have one dead model 1 Mega CD. Never powered up at all.

Two dodgy Saturns now - one has a broken lid, most likely due to the idiot I bought it from packing it really badly (control pad stuffed into the box, etc), has to be prized open with scissors. The second just doesn't like to load many discs, and restarts itself sometimes. I expect it to die soon, which is a shame - it's the first Saturn I got :(

Also have a dead famiclone of some kind - it's shaped like a famicom, has been rgb modded but was dead since I acquired it. And a few broken mega joy / power joy / super happy pirate nes time things, but they don't really count.
______________________
*I had 3 electronics "lessons" at school. All I became good at was making little balls of solder and flicking them at people without them knowing it was me.

[Da_Shocker]

Just a standard Dreamcast right now.

[Flygon]

It's a technicality, but my DSi's L and R buttons appear to be busted, which ruins what I used it primarily for.

Drawing in Colors! DS.

[gamevet]

I can add a broken 360 controller to the list. I didn't even throw it that hard.

I pretty much flipped it onto a carpeted floor and the left analog stick cracked inside the controller. Those controllers and the old S-controller are pretty cheaply built, considering my old Xbox controller got tossed once and died as well.

I can at least say that the PS2 controllers were pretty tough, but I'm not about to find out if the DS3 is the same way. $50 for a controller is too much to pay, for a little frustration.

[omp]

Oh $50 for a PS3 controller that's lovely....

In Australia they are $95, so it is noted, don't throw a PS3 controller ;)

[Caveman_Games]

Broken X360 on the list, Go Figure!

[Jasper061992]

I have quite a collection of Game Gears with problems (including, but probably not limited to: dead screen, no sound, dead pixels, lines, entire deadness.) I'm sure they're easy to fix, but I have neither the skill*, nor the parts, nor the inclination.

See, THIS is why i want them Atgames people to come up with a gamegear clone. I mean, why the hell waste time making tonnes upon tonnes of different Mega Drive clone designs like RetroGEN, MobileGEN, MegaGEN, etc and etc!!! (Oh noez, they will surely see the MegaGEN name i made up and will just market yet another design just for that name alone :sweat:)

Anyways, i definitely see a market for GG clones and they definitly see one too, but how big a market is the question. The day they release one, is the day i will open my wallet for one.

[The Sports Guy]

My Game Gear has that brightness problem where you have to tip it on an angle if you want to see anything, and my Atari 2600 RF switch (I think it is the RF switch, at least) doesn't work right and makes the picture all fuzzy (kind of like showtime back in the day).

[TmEE]

My Game Gear has that brightness problem where you have to tip it on an angle if you want to see anything

capacitor problem, as soon as its done, the better, otherwise you may get irreversible damage from corrosion from the leakage from the dead caps....

[omp]

What would be lovely is a MD & SMS machine. To me a NES, MD machine doesn't make sense.

[Jesse813]

my model 1 SCD is broke and thats it.

[djshok]

I just inherited a broken Game Gear, friend of my wife's gave it to us with a bunch of GG and SMS games (including 2 SMS adapters for it) all the games seem to work great but the poor system is fried, depsite being in aesthetically perfect condition. It's either the capacitors or the screen that are gone on it, I might be able to fix it. We'll see.

[A Black Falcon]

Broken systems? I have some broken systems. I don't throw them away just because they don't work... :) I've got:

Game Boy Color (Atomic Purple color) with a dead screen. Games play fine and the sound and buttons work, but there's no picture. It was left out in the sun at the beach too long one day, and the screen didn't make it. :( Oh, There's a big black splotch on the screen, like part of the screen is always black while the rest is off.

Game Boy Advance with a failing d-pad. You can't use two of the directions on the dpad most of the time. System works otherwise, but without a working dpad it's kind of pointless.

Sega Genesis (model 1, not "High Definition Graphics" but with the good-audio early model design) which powers on -- the red light turns on -- but does nothing else other than produce static on the headphones/television.

Nintendo Gamecube with a dead laser. It's a black launch model that I got the day after Thanksgiving in 2001. It started to give me constant DREs in mid 2006, and I got a new (used) GC at the end of the year. I've heard that launch GCs are somewhat prone to this problem...

Nintendo 64 which mostly works, but erases all save data when certain games are put in it. Put Super Smash Bros. in this system and it'll erase all data on the cart every time you turn it on. With Zelda: Majora's Mask, the files appear as empty, broken, corrupted files, and trying to create a file gives you some very weird characters from what I remember from the one time I tried, but take the cart out and put it in a good N64 and your original files are there and fine. The system does seem to not have any problems with games that save to controller pak though, and some on-cart save titles like Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire are also okay. This one's really weird...

TurboGrafx-CD -- The TG16 and base unit are fine, but the CD drive's laser is dead (no, not the irreplaceable gear fortunately, just the laser). I got it this way, because it was cheaper than a working one, but haven't gotten around to getting a replacement laser and trying to see if I can properly install it yet.

For minor problems that I ignore but might be worth mentioning, a couple of horizontal lines near the bottom of my original Game Boy's screen are dead, and my DS's L (and sometimes R) button(s) often don't respond. The DS stylus's tip is also broken off, and finding replacements for original DS styluses is hard. I just deal without it... and try to avoid stuff that needs lots of use of L... though the button does work fine sometimes. It's kind of weird.

For broken cartridge games, I also have four non-working Genesis carts and one non-working Game Boy Color cart. CDs of course, plenty of those fail so I won't list all of those.

[Ace]

Nintendo Gamecube with a dead laser. It's a black launch model that I got the day after Thanksgiving in 2001. It started to give me constant DREs in mid 2006, and I got a new (used) GC at the end of the year. I've heard that launch GCs are somewhat prone to this problem...

Hmm... that's odd. I've got a launch-model indigo GameCube, and its laser still hasn't failed on me. How long does a GameCube's laser typically last?

[Oerg866]

I own a dead Genesis and a PSOne with a broken drive motor.

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

We are onto our third x-box 360, and I have two dead dreamcasts. All my other systems run fine.

[Jasper061992]

For broken cartridge games, I also have four non-working Genesis carts and one non-working Game Boy Color cart. CDs of course, plenty of those fail so I won't list all of those.

Which reminds me. I also have a copy of the Tec Toy Sonic Blast game that i think is kind of dying on me. Got it fresh new in 05 from ebay and from last year most of the time, it refuses to boot. And when it does boot, it just crashes and reboots when you see the Chaos emeralds intro Cleaned the contacts countless times, removed the case to check the PCB. One cap on there. Maybe its the cap.

Other than that, i never had a cart based game that completly b0rked on me.

[green.eyes]

Broken Consoles
2 dead snes
1 snes picture but no sound
1 game gear wont power on

[Smii]

Anyways, i definitely see a market for GG clones and they definitly see one too, but how big a market is the question. The day they release one, is the day i will open my wallet for one.

I'd buy one too. Doesn't seem like there's much of a market for GG games themselves atm - I can't decide whether it's just because people are frustrated by the shitty failing hardware, or a genuine lack of interest in the games available. Maybe both. :p

[NeoVamp]

We are onto our third x-box 360

Why do people keep buying them?? why i ask? ;_;

They are notoriously badly designed, stop buying them!!

[A Black Falcon]

Hmm... that's odd. I've got a launch-model indigo GameCube, and its laser still hasn't failed on me. How long does a GameCube's laser typically last?

Sorry, I don't know. I know that like many DRE issues you can temporarily 'fix' it by opening up the system and adjusting the drive's adjustment wheel thing (I forget what it's called offhand), but that requires a bunch of specialized tools of course, to get the system open and such, and won't fix it forever.

If your system's still working though, don't worry about it for now... and also, when I got that second system, it's also one with the digital out port so it's not a late model, and it's still working fine several years later. And just because the launch systems are more prone to DREs doesn't mean they ALL will DRE, just that more of them will than later systems.

[A Black Falcon]

I'd buy one too. Doesn't seem like there's much of a market for GG games themselves atm - I can't decide whether it's just because people are frustrated by the shitty failing hardware, or a genuine lack of interest in the games available. Maybe both. :p

I have a Majesco GG so I don't have to worry about the audio and video failing on me (and I like the color better too), but it's still huge, and the battery life is still abysmal, so it's not perfect... it'd be great if there was a smaller system with much better battery life, that's for sure.

[Jasper061992]

I have a Majesco GG so I don't have to worry about the audio and video failing on me (and I like the color better too), but it's still huge, and the battery life is still abysmal, so it's not perfect... it'd be great if there was a smaller system with much better battery life, that's for sure.

They only released those Majesco GGs in USA didn't they? Would have loved have seen a Europe release too, specially due to their young age still.

[doomguy]

I have a saturn which came to me broken and i knocked my dreamcast off my tv yesterday and broke it thats about it. Although i have a few consoles on the brink. speaking of game gears i have had The same one since i was a little child. the screen is blurry and the speaker went qiet last week. But this system has been thrown down stairs and at walls in rage. It has been for a swim and when i found it last year it was filled with sand. All i did was scratch clean the screen shook some sand out and it still works well today.

[A Black Falcon]

They only released those Majesco GGs in USA didn't they? Would have loved have seen a Europe release too, specially due to their young age still.

Yeah, US only, unfortunately. Majesco re-released some games as well, actually; I have two, one complete in box (they were the two games that came with the system, when I got it last year, Sonic Spinball and complete Pac-Man). I didn't notice it at first, but later I noticed that they have the same dark black cartridge shell case color as the Majesco Game Gear itself, as opposed to the grey color of the Sega GG and carts. It's easy to tell the difference when you hold a Sega and Majesco cart back-to-back.

Supposedly the Majesco GG also has a less blurry screen, too... and it doesn't blur much, though I don't have a Sega one to directly compare it to.

Majesco GGs aren't too expensive on US EBay though, though you do usually have to identify them yourself (look for GGs with white instead of red, blue, and green in the logo ovals, that's easier to tell than the darker system color and different power button color), but I know lots of US EBay auctions aren't exactly overseas-friendly, so that's probably not too helpful... and the Majesco GG is evidently incompatible with the TV Tuner, for anyone who wants to use that. But overall I'd definitely recommend people who like the system pick one up. It is the better model overall, really.

Still though, thanks to the fact that its battery life is the same as the original model (the system came with the manual, it says "7 hours on 6 AAs"), as I said I'd love for there to be a clone system which actually got decent battery life. That battery life is just so awful, I pretty much only use my system on AC power, hooked up to a Genesis 2 power supply... which, given that it's supposedly a "portable" system, is obviously somewhat against the point.