PC-Engine Clone: PC-2100

[romanoaj]

Went out today to look for some 3DS games, came back with this PC-Engine clone.  There were two there and the one I bought, though unused, was clearly in storage for quite a while as the wires had sunk into the melted styrofoam.  Happy to report it works fine.  I have searched the forum to see if this clone has been posted before, but I could not find it (at least not by the name "PC-2100").

[spenoza]

Where did you come across this thing?

[apachacha]

How expensive were these things, exactly ?

[romanoaj]

Where did you come across this thing?

A small shop in Shanghai. 

How expensive were these things, exactly ?

The extremely patient and friendly old lady asked for 300 RMB (roughly $50).  Having no point of reference for price, I happily agreed.

[cabbage]

I know I've seen this same clone before--probably on some auction site, but I don't remember which. The "IC system" is making me think it's by Jamiko.  They made some other clones, including some PCE ones like the PC-II and the PC-Boy. I wouldn't be surprised if this PC-2100 were just another of their products.

I think the PC2100 looks nicer than some of the other pirate efforts, though Nice find. I'm guessing it takes normal Japanese Hucards?

By the way, here's a thread on assembler about the PC-II: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?33379-Jamiko-PC-II-Is-it-a-clone
I think it looks very similar to yours, and you can see the "IC System" there as well. (I hope it's OK to link to another forum, hehe)

There has been a PC Boy on ebay forever but the price is crazy so it will probably stay there for much longer 

[romanoaj]

Thanks Cabbage.  That looks to be from the exact production line.  Both boxes even refer to Hucards as "IC" cards (whatever this means).  Tested it and works with normal Japanese Hucards.  I especially like the turbo buttons atop the controller.

[spenoza]

Is it really only RF-out? That's a shame...

[Tatsujin]

Even I don't think that any of these clones are worth big bucks, for how much does a CIB PC-Boy go for today?

[Samurai Ghost]

Yeah, I wouldn't spend what a lot of people are asking for these clone systems, but $50 for a boxed and complete set is a pretty awesome deal. The controller is pretty damn funky too!

[grahf]

Yeah I agree with you guys. It's pretty damn cool as a collectors piece, but not worth it for a main system. I'm a sucker for hardware though, so I probably would have bought it myself.

[esteban]

Yeah I agree with you guys. It's pretty damn cool as a collectors piece, but not worth it for a main system. I'm a sucker for hardware though, so I probably would have bought it myself.

I would have purchased it as well. 

This clone in particular is great because it so desperately wants to capture the aesthetics of the CoreGrafx, but the execution is decidedly heavy-handed (it looks like a literal caricature of a CoreGrafx—a cartoon that has manifested itself in plastic, PCB, and resistors. The controller is so clunky and unwieldy, making the console itself look more svelte than it deserves credit for.

Hell yes I'll buy this from you for $50  . Not that I even have the money, of course.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Neato!  Thanks for sharing; I too would've bought that clone, just for the hell of it.  Any chance of internal pics for comparisons, and what's the white thing above the system in the styrofoam?

[grahf]

Yeah, I'd really love to see the insides! It's probably very similar to the other clones, since there isn't much to a PC Engine except for those three magic chips

[hoobs88]

what's the white thing above the system in the styrofoam?

"Anntena (sic) Switch Box" according to the contents list on the package.

[spenoza]

If I had the cash, I'd buy it just for modding practice, assuming it isn't some single-chip-under-epoxy thing that's impossible to do anything with.

[romanoaj]

Any chance of internal pics for comparisons ... ?

[romanoaj]

Any chance of internal pics for comparisons ... ?

[grahf]

Wow, that is really interesting!  The clones on NFG games all seem to be using "stolen" original Hudson chips, while these look to have been cloned in the more traditional way. Pretty cool stuff. Also funny that they used NEC ram chips.

[spenoza]

It is possible those NEC memory chips are counterfeit.

[grahf]

Probably not. I'm sure they didn't come from NEC directly though, probably "fell off of a Chinese truck".