Help for the Ultimate Multi-Console Gaming Setup? 119
punkrockgeekboy asks: "In our recreation room we have an NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, and a PS2. In the next few months I plan to replace the PS2 with a PS3, and also add a WII, and an Xbox360. Most of my consoles just gather dust because it's too much of a hassle to hook them up when I just want a quick Mario fix. How do people manage all of these console? In a perfect world there would be some nice, attractive rack system with 10 shelves that has clean wire management, and some sort of a built-in console switcher, so I can just power one on, hit the 'shelf 2' button, turn on my tv & surround sound, and start mashing buttons. Does anything like this exist?"
Here's something. (Score:2, Informative)
Erm... (Score:5, Funny)
When I think of Ultimate (with capital U) DIY Gamer's Cabinet, I think of neon-lights, plasma flow around the cabinet, totally useless smoke coming out from behind the cabinet in at least 4 different colors, actuators that move the cabinet around when you're playing a game - just for the fun of it ! - , smoke-glass that changes state electrically so while gaming, you can light up the console you're playing with (ofcourse with light in the cabinet to accentuate them).
But this ? This is just IKEA's idea of a gamer's cabinet (with the blue fans as only discerning feature) !
Re: (Score:3)
Sounds like Wurlitzer needs to start making game cabinets...
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
My TV (SD) has one coax, one S-video/composite, and one component/composite input. It also has audio out which I plug into my surround sound. The component s
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
In my experience, both are FUD, but YMMV.
I've been using my PS2 as my exclusive dvd player, on end, for 4 years now. Never had a problem. Not one.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd estimate that was about 4 years ago now? About 8 months after they repaired it, it started doing the dreaded DRE again and I was able to use the laser voltage potentiometer trick to spark it back to life. As it stands currently, the unit *will not* play any DVD video, will barely
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
There is! (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Unintelligible, overwrought, and pointless? Yes.
Re: (Score:1)
Ever heard of an arcade?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Wii (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
It won't replace all your games. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
True. You merely have to worry about having Bubba as a cellmate.
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Wii Retrogames look better than Original... (Score:2)
Unless he has some obscure 'I'll Bet they won't re-release these' games then the Wii is attractive from the standpoint of simplicity, ease of use, lack of clutter, and yes some games are improved. Improved, not in better sprites or textures, but in better framerates and if you have the component cables, progressive scan. Mario 64 despite being emulated still looks cleaner and crisper on the Wii than the original N64.
I actu
In a perfect world there would be (Score:2)
emulators (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
One nice thing about emulation though is there are lots of up sizing algorithms that work well for video games and you can make old NES games look smooth on large HD tvs.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Three:Wii, PS3, X360 (Score:1, Offtopic)
The Wii replaces your NES, SNES, 64, and GC (full backward compatible with GC, virtual console for the rest).
Now that you only have three you have to deal with the wires of, it will be easy to buy a switcher box (even auto-switcher if you like) at a radio shack or somewhere that can handle all three, along with your satellite or cable box.
Re:Three:Wii, PS3, X360 (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Three:Wii, PS3, X360 (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
The action replay is sorta like a game genie for modern game systems, it plugs into the memory card slot.
The full instructions I havn't been able to find, but lots of confirmation that "it works".
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Three:Wii, PS3, X360 (Score:4, Insightful)
I wasn't going to say anything but you're not the only person claiming the Wii can fill in for all the old systems; you're just the highest rated at the time I hit "reply".
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Three:Wii, PS3, X360 (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a good thing this isn't a home forum.
Q: Help, my heating bill is enormous! How can I best winterize and save energy?
A: You should sell your house and move into a one bedroom apartment.
I have a collection of old consoles as well. If I just wanted to play the games I'd have an emulator set up (although I do as well). The point is that people who collect old consoles like the old consoles. People aren't keeping old consoles in their living room because they think there's no other way to play Mario. We're not idiots, we're all very familar with emulators.
Re: (Score:2)
Welcome to Slashdot, newcomer!
Re: (Score:2)
With respect to the GameCube compatibility, where on the Wii shall I plug in my Game Boy Player?
Re: (Score:2)
"You only need three consoles, the three from the new generation: the Wii, the PS3, and the Xbox 360."
If I want to play GBA games on my television, I'll need more than that.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I bought VC games I already own (Score:2)
Two things:
First, as somebody else has already said, you are wrong with regards to the Cube. You can in fact put Metroid Prime into your Wii and play it. You won't have to buy it again.
Second, I bought games I already own on the virtual console. The reason is simple: It's convenient and not too expensive. If I take my Wii to a friend's place, I have all the games I want with me. Wanna play Bomberman? Sure, it's already in the console, no cartridges to take along, no console to dig up, no cables to change,
Re: (Score:2)
I will probably put the Wii in the GameCube's place BECAUSE I CAN DIRECTLY INSERT AND PLAY Metroid Prime WITHOUT HAVING TO PURCHASE IT AGAIN.
I'm not saying that there aren't benefits to re-buying games through the VC, but this idea that you only need the Wii to play old Nintendo games just isn't accurate. You cannot plug old
agree (Score:2)
Yeah, I misread the part about the Cube. Sorry about it.
I agree with what you said about the VC.
My setup (Score:2)
- A Samsung 244T 24" TFT
- 4 port KVM into the DVI port of the above which I have my computers plugged into
- XBox 360 in the 15 pin analog VGA port (can play XBox games)
- Wii in the composite in (can play my old Gamecube games)
One of my machines on the KVM is on 24/7 and I put audio into the line in of this machine and have 5.1 sur
XBox has very limited backwards suppport (Score:2)
AV Control Center (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.joytech.net/1/products/av/9/AV-Equipme
I use the European version of the AVCC2, and I like it!
As for a rack, all 3 of the new consoles will stand vertically, which may save you some space. The Wii will replace your GC, and the older Nintendos if you can stand to pay for them yet again.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
THE YOSHI BOX!!! (Score:1)
Not really that hard (Score:5, Informative)
As for actual physical layout, well, if you want it to look nice, you'll really just have to get a custom install, though you can get away with messy with a false wall, or just buy something that looks good, wire up really well in the back, and never move the systems.
I have an Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, GCN, Dreamcast, Saturn, SNES and Genesis + Sega CD (tray loading) + 32x, and it's all set up very cleanly on a generic shelving unit in the corner, next to a smoked cabinet for all the actual audio/video components... but god help me if I ever move one of the systems.
Re: (Score:2)
My recommendation is to stay far, far away from HDMI. I'm not one of those guys who's paranoid about HDCP and DRM, but I am not a big fan of buying a $600 piece of A/V equipment and having it not work perfectly. The HDMI upconversion in these units is a disaster of picture artifacts and incompatibilities.
I know because I recently bought several upconverting receivers in a quest to find a decent one (two Onkyo tx-sr674
Re: (Score:2)
just hook up a video switcher? (Score:2)
big receiver? (Score:1, Redundant)
I guess some kind of receiver with lots of inputs would work well. I'm not sure how many you can get on one receiver, but most of them work on those RCA deals. As far a
Re:Wii is not a replacement! (Score:2)
First, the Wii will play Gamecube games, but it does not have the ports to be able to use the network adapter (for the 6 games that support it) or the Gameboy Player.
Also, the Virtual Console, while nice, is not a replacement for an existing NES/SNES/N64/TG16/Genesis collection. First, you have to purchase *every* game seperately at a cost of $5 to $10. Also, as you mentioned, you will have to deal with Nintendo's slow release schedule. Plus you can only have so many games on the list at on
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Emulation explanation (Score:2)
The Wii hardware was designed to be a faster Gamecube which allows those games and APIs to run by simply slowing down the system timing.
Running the Virtual Console games is pure emulation. I'm assuming that it would be very similar to the emulation used in The Legend of Zelda collection and Metroid Prime but cleaned up and a few features like save state added. I just can't bring myself to spend money on games that I've already purchased once.
Re: (Score:1)
Receiver (Score:1)
Alternative option. They do make stand-alone RCA switches. The only one I could find past 5 or 6 ports was this: Pelican System Selector HD, which holds 10 devices.
I have such a setup (Score:1)
Before we all go saying... (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
use an xbox to run emulators (Score:1)
Get a good receiver or A/V switchbox (Score:2)
Recommended auto-sensing component switcher (Score:5, Informative)
I finally purchased a component switcher recently, the Audio Authority 1154A [audioauthority.com]. It's powered, which keeps the quality very high, and even better, will automatically sense which console is on and send that signal to the TV. No more messing with extra remote controls or having to press a button on the unit to switch. It's very nice feature, especially since the next-gen systems should allow you to wireless turn on the console (well, I know the 360 does at least).
That said, I've heard some people may have problems with auto-sensing units in general. I'm not sure if it's a problem with their TV or the other units they plug into the siwtcher (certain DVD players, etc. I imagine). I do know, though, that the PS2 and 360 play along very well.
Re: (Score:2)
Have you had this happen to you? Does it shut off/switch immediately, or does it wait a few seconds to be sure?
Re: (Score:1)
I use an AA1154a component video switch as mentioned by the OP and have never had this problem. I'm currently running an Xbox, Xbox 360 (was my DVD player before I got an Xbox 360 and HDMI-based upconverting DVD player), PS2, and Wii (was Gamecube before I got my Wii and component cables) and it works flawlessly. If you plan to have multiple items on at the same time you do need to think a li
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I hate to sound like a paid advertisement, but it too
Re: (Score:2)
Oddly, even my cheapest solutions didn't have any signal problems... Just the switch-off on a black screen.
Their site lists the unit for $220, and I'm going to just buy it from them. I don't mind paying for quality.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Can do it on the cheap (Score:2)
So I have at most two things to hit to select a console: the TV input selection if it's on a different input, and the switch box if the console is on the manual one.
subj. (Score:2)
auto selecting A/V switchers (Score:1)
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g= 15270&I=158SBV55A [crutchfield.com]
Since I don't have a HDTV, I just have my Tivo, DVD, etc all going into them. Whichever I turn on gets auto-switched to, be it the Tivo receiver, dvd player, or gamecube. They due great for me as far as ease of use. I have an older TV and I've found that these do a better job of downgrading S-video to Composite then my DVD players' internal
The A/V switch is my greatest hurdle. (Score:1)
These are in a rack next to the 32" Olevia I use for my PC's monitor:
Atari 2600
Odyssey 2
NES
SNES
N64
Genesis/32X/Sega CD
Saturn
Dreamcast
3DO
PS1
PS2
XBOX
In addition, I have the Wii hooked up to the main 57" in the living room. I also have a bookshelf that holds the Virtual Boy, Game Boy, GBA SP, DS, PSP, Game Gear, and Lynx. I have two very packed shelves dedicated to holding the games.
I expect that for Christmas, I would be receiving at least one more console system
Re: (Score:2)
Best games for "The Voice":
Nimble Numbers Ned
Sid the Spellbinder
All-around best game for the O2:
Pick Axe Pete
Uh, a receiver? (Score:1)
Thats strange... (Score:2)
Receiver (Score:1)
Im lazy (Score:2)
Ok, i did search, they have 2 listed on amazon [amazon.com], but neither are in stock and neither have a brand name listed...
SNES to Gamecube Av cables (Score:1)
Joytech (Score:2)
Really nice of kit that just do what they say on the tin. Bit that I like is that as well as SCART or composite switching, they'll switch a TOS link as well (TV might have many inputs, but decoders are sometimes a bit more limited).
Click one button on the little remote and you can flick between your consoles at will. If you get a d
Re: (Score:2)
If the PS3's backwards compatibility is anything like the PS2's it will be quite good, but there's a good chance it won't eliminate the need for the PS2/PS1. There are quite a few [playstation.com] games that aren't backwards compatible (even some PS2 games have issues on the slim PS2).
the Xbox360 can play most Xbox games
If by "most" you mean 27% of the top 300 games [cheapassgamer.com], then sure.
Where are the HTPC games? (Score:2)
join the free world
I would, but there are too few PC games designed specifically for home theater PCs. When I have friends and/or family over, I want to be able to play a multiplayer game with them without having to buy extra PCs. Unfortunately, most multiplayer PC games do not take into account the possibility of HTPC gaming with four USB gamepads and thus require one PC per player. (There are exceptions, such as Serious Sam.)
Affordable cartridge copiers? (Score:2)
But how does a fellow copy his NES, Sega Genesis, Super NES, and Nintendo 64 cartridges to the Xbox console's hard drive or to a CD? Tototek sells copiers for some (not all) of the above, but they're more expensive than the console.
UMG v. MP3.com (Score:1)
At $750 to $30,000 a piece [bitlaw.com]. The fact that you own a copy is no defense [wikipedia.org]. Only using a copier yourself is the lawful way to get commercial games into a PC based emulator.
Re: (Score:1)
Or reading Slashdot for that matter.