Nintendo-Scene

Raph at raphnet.net has been working on a project to use all classic Nintendo controllers on a Wii. It isn’t as easy as just rewiring some key points, you need a programmed microcontroller to get things working. Luckily, for us, he provides schematics and code to allow anyone to copy his methods.

Nintendo’s idea of implementing support for NES, SNES and N64 games in their new console, the Wii, is in my opinion one of their greatest ideas. As soon as I learned that it would be possible to use Gamecube controllers to play those games, I started thinking about designing an Snes/Nes controllers to Gamecube adapter which would be compatible with the Wii.

As soon as I got access to a Wii (I still dont have mine), I started testing my code which I had prepared in advance. I started by doing the NES and SNES adapter. Later, since a friend kept insisting that I should also design a N64 to Gamecube/Wii adapter, I implemented such an adapter.

Because of the complexity of the Gamecube’s controller protocol, it’s not possible to build a simple conversion circuit without using programmable components. For this project, I used an atmel Atmega8 microcontroller. Maybe it’s a little overkill, but using this chip allowed me to use my Multiuse tiny 1 PCB. Given the small size of this circuit, it’s possible to fit it inside an original controller.

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Today, November 19th, marks the 1 year anniversary of the Wii’s first launch. So much has happened in the Nintendo world since then it’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year. Amazingly the Wii’s are still a difficult item to find even a year after it’s launch, and there are no signs of that changing any time soon either.

This also means your 1-year warranty on the Wii is expired, so you have no more excuses not to open up and mod your console! That means this is also the last day of Nintendo-Scene and Sickmods.net @$#&! The Warranty Sweepstakes. That’s Right! We’re giving you 1 extra day to¬† get your pictures in. Just post a picture of your modified Nintendo console, or have a friend post a picture of theirs and you could win one of five PulseVU 2s from Sickmods.net The thread will be locked at midnight EST and the winners will be announced tomorrow!.

To celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the Wii and the end of the Sweepstakes, Sickmods.net is also offering 10% off all purchase now until Midnight on “Black Friday” (November 23rd). Just use voucher code: 093171516 when checking out. So even if you don’t win a PulseVU 2 you’ll be able to buy one at a nice discount so you can deck your console for the holidays.

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LIGHTNING ROUND!

The @$#&! The Warranty Sweepstakes presented by Nintendo-Scene and SickMods.net ends in 1 week. To spice things up in the last week we’re ADDING A NEW RULE!

From now until the the end of the competition we want you to get as many people involved as possible. If you tell a friend about the sweepstakes and they enter and write your Nintendo-Scene forum username as the referrer*… you will get an extra chance to win a PulseVU 2 from SickMods.net!

There is no limit to the number of people you can get involved: get 10 friends to enter and you’ll get 10 extra chances, get 20 friends to enter and you’ll get 20 extra chances, etc.

So spread the word and improve your chances to win!

* Only 1 referrer per new entrant. Only the first will be counted if multiple names are listed. Only correct and complete usernames will count.

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After nearly a quarter of a century, Nintendo has announced that they will be dropping support and repair services for the NES and SNES consoles (known as Famicom and Super Famicom in some locations) according to Agence France-Presse.

From the report:

Nintendo has decided to stop repairing the Famicom, the console that wowed the world with “Super Mario Brothers” and “Dragon Quest”, because stocks of spare parts are running out, company spokesman Ken Toyoda said. …

“Some say it’s sad Famicom is leaving and players are nostalgic, but Nintendo’s saga has not ended. We want people to enjoy the Wii now,” said the spokesman for the Kyoto-based firm, which began in 1889 making playing cards.

Editors Note: I think it’s actually more surprising that Nintendo was still offering support for these consoles at all.

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Just a reminder to everyone there is only 1 month left to enter the @$#&! The Warranty Sweepstakes and win a PulseVU 2 from Sickmods.net!

We’ve seen some great entries so far but we know you can do better. Spread the word, tell your friends and check out all the great mods from those that have entered already.

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Alex Mauer has released several music sets of Classic gaming systems, including the NES. The interesting thing is, these sets are released on the actual cartridges used in the console, not on CD.

alex mauer’s music - discography

here lies the full discography of alex mauer’s released music from 2000 to 2007 - featuring my original 8-bit nintendo chiptunes, 16-bit arcade machine FM synth tracks, conceptual synthesizer music, and more

my space blog - closest thing to news about me you will find

chips i’ve composed for: 2a03 APU - nintendo entertainment system/famicom

SID (MOS6581) - commodore 64

PSG (TI76489) - sega master system

OPL2 (YM3812) - adlib/sound blaster soundcard

OPP (YM2164) - yamaha fb-01 sound module

OPM (YM2151) - yamaha dx-21 (also in atari’s marble madness arcade machine)

TI TMS5110/5220 speech synthesizer - lpc10 decoder - simulated

chips i want to compose for next:

(*= i dont have the hardware) (**= i dont have the software or hardware)

**OPN2 (YM2612) - sega genesis/megadrive

* pAPU - nintendo gameboy

* OPL3 (YMF262) - sound blaster 16

* POKEY (C012294) - atari 600xl (also found in arcade machines)

**SPC700 - super nintendo/super famicom

*HuC6280 - nec turbo grafx 16

i need more info on the virtual boy soundchip, atari jaguar, atari lynx, etc

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Mark Feldman has released his method for making the old NES controller wireless.

The NES version of this hack is very similar to the SNES version and I recommend reading that article first to get a general idea of how these controllers are assembled. The first item you’ll need of course is an original NES controller, which you can usually pick up from EBay or a swap-meet.

His guide, posted at www.ppl-pilot.com, includes pics and step-by-step instructions.  According to his parts list, expect the cost of this project to be around $50 US.  See the whole tutorial at www.ppl-pilot.com.

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Rapha?´l wanted to practice Super Mario Bros VS (VS is the arcade version) for competitions at work. Rather then just playing on an emulator he dusted off a NES and hacked it to run the arcade roms. Not only is this a very impressive hack but the writeup includes oodles of detailed information about how he did it and why it works the way it does. From the writeup:

At work, we did a high scores competition at Super Mario Bros, arcade version (Unisystem VS). My score was not high enough so I decided to train using the NES version at home. After playing a few minutes, I discovered that there was many differences between the NES and Arcade version of Super Mario Bros…

Instead of practising using the Mame emulator, I decided to mod a NES console to make arcade roms playable on it. I could also have built a cartridge but modding the console was more fun and I learned a bit more. I wonder what’s more fun: Playing the game or modding the console? …

The result: A dedicated Super Mario Bros VS. console, without a cartridge (no bad contacts) with switches on the front panel to tweak some aspects of the game (A user friendly version of dip switches found on the arcade motherboard).

It’s nice to see classics like the NES still getting some attention from the hackers now and again.

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