Cheaper Versions of the Nomad

[TMNTSPYVSSPY]

Does anyone know of something portable that plays Genesis games other than the Nomad? I want the freedom to take my favorite console on the go, but I don't want to blow a few hundred bucks on that option. Does anyone know if there are any cheaper options? I'm afraid if I can't I'm going to have to do a little Dr. Frankensteining and commit the slightest bit of blasphemy and convert a Super Gameboy to a Genesis. I don't even know if that's possible, but I also hope I don't have to do that lol. Anyone have any ideas?

[samsonlonghair]

Short answer: Yes, but there are a few caveats.

We can discuss this in much more detail if you want, but you basically have two options:

1) Emulating on another portable device ie: PSP, android, netbook, et cetera. This tends to work well once you get everything working. I don't know how you feel about emulation. Is this something you would consider "blasphemy?"

2)At@Games portable consoles. Some use real cartridge slots like the Nomad; some use SD cards to load ROMs; most have some number of built-in games. The problem with these is that the sound is AWFUL and the games don't save at all.

[GSZX1337]

2)At@Games portable consoles. Some use real cartridge slots like the Nomad; some use SD cards to load ROMs; most have some number of built-in games. The problem with these is that the sound is AWFUL and the games don't save at all.

Stuart Ashen (Ashens) has recently reviewed a couple of these Genesis handhelds. He gives the bad audio and distortion special attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gGR-jeQ1pM

[TMNTSPYVSSPY]

I would prefer having a cartridge slot,much like the Nomad. Having games on an SD card doesn't feel the same to me. If I wanted an emulation machine I would do it on my phone lol. If that is the best option though I might have to go with it

[samsonlonghair]

I would prefer having a cartridge slot,much like the Nomad. Having games on an SD card doesn't feel the same to me. If I wanted an emulation machine I would do it on my phone lol. If that is the best option though I might have to go with it

You want the GenMobile made by at@games and distributed by Hyperkin.
http://segaretro.org/GenMobile

Don't be so quick to lol at emulation. This officially licensed console ALSO uses emulation. So does Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, the Firecore console, the Jakks Pacific Sega Genesis controllers, the official Sega Genesis and Master System consoles currently sold in Brasil, and every other piece of "Sega Genesis" hardware sold after 1998. If you want a newer, cheaper nomad, it will use some form of emulation on one lever or another. Trust me. Even if you use a real cartridge, the Motorola 68000 and the Zilog z80 are still being emulated. Don't fool yourself.

[KalessinDB]

... have Nomads really climbed to "a few hundred"? I picked one up ages ago for $50 and never really play it (on the rare occasions I want to do console gaming on the move, PSP is good enough for me), perhaps I should think about offloading it...

[jay_red]

... have Nomads really climbed to "a few hundred"? I picked one up ages ago for $50 and never really play it (on the rare occasions I want to do console gaming on the move, PSP is good enough for me), perhaps I should think about offloading it...

Just checked ebay and there are plenty of BIN nomad's for 80-90 bucks, which is a little higher than I remember, but not horrible. There are a bunch listed at like 199 BIN but im sure they will stay listed for a while.

[marurun]

I suppose the REAL question here is, are any of the knock-off portables worth owning, or are the audio and screen problems just too much?

[Anapan]

Retro Duo Portable can do Genesis with the Retrogen adapter. It also does Snes, Nes (with included adapter) and GBA (with Super Retro Advance adapter). You can even run a super gameboy on it.

It's kinda big and heavy (slightly bigger than Nomad), and there are some sound issues. It's screen is pretty nice, tho the picture on it is composite only. The Nomad can output perfect RGB whereas the RDP only does fuzzy composite output.
All in all, unless you really want to use all those carts on a dedicated portable (it can run special-chip SNES games not easily emulated well on older portables), you're better off just emulating (imo).

[marlowe221]

How are the ATgames units apart from the audio?

The reason I ask is because in the the situations that I would be using one of these handhelds in, I would probably have the audio muted anyway to avoid disturbing those around me.