Sega Nomad: think twice before buying this one
Dave Mann
On The Nomad's defense:
I just have to say this is one of the best game systems/portables I have ever
purchased. It worked fine the first day I bought it, so no gripes on that. I do
have to agree that the volume is a tad bit too low (compared to say... a Game
Gear!? or even Game Boy) but heck, it has a stereo-headphone jack, and the
ability to plug in stereo a/v cables so this more than makes up for this
shortcoming.
The NOMAD is great.. I have to say I am very pleased with it.. I like it more
and more every day (more specifically, every time I buy one of those old Genesis
games at around $7-$20 :) I don't even use my full size Genesis anymore.. Heck,
this thing almost gets more play time than my Saturn.. It's a great peripheral..
For anyone wondering if they should buy it or not..... BUY IT!
It's great re-discovering (or even discovering for the first time!) all these
great 16-bit titles... Let's see.. Back to Road Rash & General Chaos!
_ _ FIGHT ON! GO ANTEATERS! /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
/\ / \ //' >Dave Mann >
> \/USC\".==--,_________Z__O__T___________<UC Irvine Alumni, Class of 1994 <<_-\)_ ()_ dave...@usc-abc1.hsc.usc.edu >USC Alumni, Class of 1996 >
DAVEPAGE http://www-abc.hsc.usc.edu/dave \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Jeff Mazur wrote:
[stuff deleted]
> My recommendation, even though the *concept* behind the machine is a
> good one (a portable machine that uses regular cartridges and runs on
> AC, battery, or 12V car adapter), is to avoid this, as it is not very
> well engineered, and maybe even not well made.
>
> Just my two cents' worth... Others may be happy that their child's
> toy doesn't operate above a loud whisper, but I want my boy to enjoy
> it - Play It Loud, as they say. (Is that SEGA? I don't recall)
>
> Jeff Mazur
--
Jeff Mazur
(Please forgive me if commentary like this has already been posted;
I'm just trying to be a good guy and get some useful info out.)
Went out and bought the Nomad for my son as a birthday gift. The
first one I brought home was defective - the display was washed out
and unviewable, regardless of brightness setting.
Went back to the toy store and checked out two more units (I insisted
on seeing them work before leaving). While both had working video, I
discovered that the volume of the sound coming through the miniscule
built-in speaker was quite unsatisfactorily low.
Sammy Smooha
In article <323E31...@usc-abc1.hsc.usc.edu>,
Dave Mann <dave...@usc-abc1.hsc.usc.edu> wrote:
>On The Nomad's defense:
>
>I just have to say this is one of the best game systems/portables I have ever
>purchased. It worked fine the first day I bought it, so no gripes on that. I
do
>have to agree that the volume is a tad bit too low (compared to say... a Game
>Gear!? or even Game Boy) but heck, it has a stereo-headphone jack, and the
>ability to plug in stereo a/v cables so this more than makes up for this
>shortcoming.
>
>The NOMAD is great.. I have to say I am very pleased with it.. I like it more
>and more every day (more specifically, every time I buy one of those old
Genesis
>games at around $7-$20 :) I don't even use my full size Genesis anymore..
Heck,
>this thing almost gets more play time than my Saturn.. It's a great
peripheral..
>For anyone wondering if they should buy it or not..... BUY IT!
>
>It's great re-discovering (or even discovering for the first time!) all these
>great 16-bit titles... Let's see.. Back to Road Rash & General Chaos!
I agree with -all- of the above...the Nomad rocks! Best portable since the
Turbo Express. Perhaps the original poster ran into a bad batch. I bought
one the first day they were out at Toys 'R Us, and mine has been working fine
ever since.
-- KEENE
Joe Kearney
jma...@ix.netcom.com (Jeff Mazur) wrote:
>My recommendation, even though the *concept* behind the machine is a
>good one (a portable machine that uses regular cartridges and runs on
>AC, battery, or 12V car adapter), is to avoid this, as it is not very
>well engineered, and maybe even not well made.
>
>Just my two cents' worth... Others may be happy that their child's
>toy doesn't operate above a loud whisper, but I want my boy to enjoy
>it - Play It Loud, as they say. (Is that SEGA? I don't recall)
Jeff, Id stick a pair of phones on the kid and give him to it as loud
as he wants it. Wouldnt want to limit yourself to monophonic sound,
would you? Perhaps Sega should have built in some stereo speakers.
Maybe even thrown in a 11.5 inch TFT display while they were at it.
Im giving you a hard time becuase I own a Nomad, and believe it to be
the best portable system out there. I waited years for a portable
that would run games I wanted to play, not scaled down conversions.
Im no consumer advocate, but speaker volume is not a viable criticizm
of the unit, unless youre hard of hearing.
To all those concerned: The Nomad has the best looking screen Ive
ever seen on a portable game system (and I own all the other ones). I
havent had a problem yet with incompatibilities, although I stick
mainly to EA sports titles. Ive dragged it with me to hotels and
seminars and played Madden with a friend on a hotel TV with it. Its a
cool unit.
See ya, Joe
Wolve42
Well I bought a Nomad around a month ago and am EXTREMLY happy with it. I
got the battery pack and rf unit and it's better than a regular genesis.
The sound is superb for a portable as are the graphics. My recommendation
is to get one now and get rid of the genesis.
Samuel Hart
On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, Jeff Mazur wrote:
> Went out and bought the Nomad for my son as a birthday gift. The
> first one I brought home was defective - the display was washed out
> and unviewable, regardless of brightness setting.
>
> Went back to the toy store and checked out two more units (I insisted
> on seeing them work before leaving). While both had working video, I
> discovered that the volume of the sound coming through the miniscule
> built-in speaker was quite unsatisfactorily low.
>
> My recommendation, even though the *concept* behind the machine is a
> good one (a portable machine that uses regular cartridges and runs on
> AC, battery, or 12V car adapter), is to avoid this, as it is not very
> well engineered, and maybe even not well made.
I haven't had any problems with mine and three of my friends who have
them haven't either. As a matter of fact, I have been EXTREMELY pleased
with mine. While some games really suck on this small screen (Lemmings,
Rampart, etc.) I've enjoyed most of my games.
I'd be interrested to find out if perhaps the entire shipment the store
you mentioned (maybe even other stores in your area) received was
defective (if not all, maybe a majority.) That would be too bad because
the system has a great potential.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Hart ha...@physics.arizona.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chalmers Davis
On Tue, 17 Sep 1996 02:39:46 GMT, jma...@ix.netcom.com (Jeff Mazur)
wrote:
: My recommendation, even though the *concept* behind the machine is a
: good one (a portable machine that uses regular cartridges and runs on
: AC, battery, or 12V car adapter), is to avoid this, as it is not very
: well engineered, and maybe even not well made.
:
: Just my two cents' worth... Others may be happy that their child's
: toy doesn't operate above a loud whisper, but I want my boy to enjoy
: it - Play It Loud, as they say. (Is that SEGA? I don't recall)
Jeff Mazur
Hey! I bought one when they first came out and have been using it ever
since without a hitch. I guess it was early spring when I bought it.
I've never tried adding a second controller to it, or plugging in the
Genesis's RV connector, but it's sure a GREAT way to pass my lunch hours
at work! I'd highly recommend it for kids instead of buying a Sega Game
Gear, since most kids already have a good library built up!
My only complaint is I WISH I COULD FIND A SCREEN EXTENDER FOR IT!!
Cache Money
I work in a Toys R Us warehouse and I know that about 4 months after the
Nomad came out, we had to pull all existing stock out of the racks and
take it all (about 20 pallets of 30 boxes of i believe 6 units) to an
area where Sega personnel could come in and work on them. The work
consisted of placing a sticker on the screen that said "This screen is
covered with a protective film. Please remove before using". People were
returning them because they didn't know it had the film on it and it got
scratched (the film) and they thought the screen was ruined. I'm betting
this guy was one of those idoits.
Craig M. Kazial
To me the prices are insane.. $180 to start with no accessories..
what about $70 for the battery pack..
uh huh.
Sammy Smooha (kr...@cornell.edu) wrote:
: In article <323E31...@usc-abc1.hsc.usc.edu>,
:
Craig M. Kazial
: Im giving you a hard time becuase I own a Nomad, and believe it to be
: the best portable system out there. I waited years for a portable
: that would run games I wanted to play, not scaled down conversions.
: Im no consumer advocate, but speaker volume is not a viable criticizm
: of the unit, unless youre hard of hearing.
Woah hey, please note the above, get your critiscms checked for viablity
in the future through this guy!! I think it is valid.. ok so speaker volume
isn't really sufficient. Is it even with headphones? Gee, some games I would
like to be pretty loud.. streets of rage 2 for example.
How about blur (havent seen much on that) - when the action gets wild does
it get tough to follow (reason why I returned the lynx).
Craig
Wolve42
<<To me the prices are insane.. $180 to start with no accessories..
what about $70 for the battery pack..
uh huh.>>
well.. i got a brand new one for 120 and a brand new battery pack for 17..
you have to know where to look
Carl-Henrik "Kungen" Skårstedt
Craig M. Kazial wrote:
>
> : Im giving you a hard time becuase I own a Nomad, and believe it to be
> : the best portable system out there. I waited years for a portable
> : that would run games I wanted to play, not scaled down conversions.
> : Im no consumer advocate, but speaker volume is not a viable criticizm
> : of the unit, unless youre hard of hearing.
>
> Woah hey, please note the above, get your critiscms checked for viablity
> in the future through this guy!! I think it is valid.. ok so speaker volume
> isn't really sufficient. Is it even with headphones? Gee, some games I would
> like to be pretty loud.. streets of rage 2 for example.
I have compared the sound in a game that was hacked to death for it
on Genesis (It sounded like someone playing with a chainsaw in the
background whenever there was speech) but with the Nomad, there were
no such noise. I checked it with a headset on both, and I was really
amazed at the difference in the sound quality. Either SEGA made a mistake
with the original stuff, or something really clever with the Nomad.
> How about blur (havent seen much on that) - when the action gets wild does
> it get tough to follow (reason why I returned the lynx).
Well, there is some blur, but much less than the Lynx and the Gameboy.
I don't have a problem playing games on the Nomad at all, even if some
text is hard to read at times (only because it is very small, not because
of the original Genesis blurring). What I don't like about the Nomad is
the smaller display area of the screen and the fact that it is not availiable in
Europe.
> Craig
/Carl-Henrik
Frank Montabon
Jav Atar
What is the going price for a Nomad these days? Since most Genesis
things are being blown out these days I was wondering if Nomads are
available at discount prices these days?
Jav Atar
Craig M. Kazial
From what I have seen lately it's still full retail.
We might have to wait a bit.
Jav Atar (jav...@ibm.net) wrote:
: What is the going price for a Nomad these days? Since most Genesis
Arjan Tijms
"Carl-Henrik \"Kungen\" Skårstedt" <ca...@funcom.com> wrote:
>Well, there is some blur, but much less than the Lynx and the Gameboy.
>I don't have a problem playing games on the Nomad at all, even if some
>text is hard to read at times (only because it is very small, not because
>of the original Genesis blurring). What I don't like about the Nomad is
>the smaller display area of the screen and the fact that it is not availiable in
>Europe.
>
Does anyone know, is there a specific reason why the nomad is not
released in Europe ?
grtz
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