BDL's
Nintendo Express
With talk and rumors of all kinds of color hand-held and portable systems coming from all the major guns, many insiders have been waiting for Nintendo to make a similar announcement with a new ColorBoy or GameBoy 2 color machine. For the time being, however, Nintendo has officially stated that they have no plans to release such a device.
But wait! It appears that a portable Nintendo game system will appear this year! BDL, a new high-tech company with an extremely bright future, has secretly engineered the new system and will now produce the machine themselves with Nintendo's seal of approval. Without a doubt the most exciting of all the new portables, the BDL unit not only utilize a special color screen, but will also play all current NES cartridges!
Called the Nintendo Express, BDL's new wonder-system uses a specially constructed 4 inch color CRT with a unique back-lit system that produces vivid picture quality. Carts snap into the back of the unit and provide all of the enjoyment of standard NES games on the go!
Through special designing by high-tech wizard Paul Biederman, BDL eliminated unnecessary circuitry and scaled the system down onto a board that measures only three inches by five inches. The end result is a NES with a handle and built-in screen that's light-weight and completely portable.
the Nintendo Express increases the features of the normal NES as well. the system comes with a special stereo simulator built-in and accessible through standard headphones which plug into the unit. The Express sends parallel sound info into a special stereo chip, much the same way other controllers like the Hudson Sansui SSS do. The effect this has on game play is quite impressive.
Since the Nintendo Express is still in an early prototype form, several questions remain in regards to player/machine interface. BDL was uncertain as to whether or not a cross-pad configuration would be built into the surface of Express, or if normal joystick ports would be used to allow players to use their favorite controllers.
With such a large screen (bigger than any other competing portable), you may be asking yourself how long the batteries last. Surprisingly, the Nintendo Express is said to outlast even the black and white Nintendo GameBoy, with an average battery life that reaches between 40 and 60 hours! This incredible feat is done by using a special AC/DC transformer arrangement. It must be noted, however, that this could not be confirmed. The Nintendo Express will also come with an AC adapter and car cigerette lighter interface for extra power when it's needed.
The Nintendo Express is now being finished up for final tooling and production. Since the system will take advantage of a special procedure that embeds the circuitry into the plastic casing, BDL is attempting to get the size down even more before release.
Will a portable Nintendo excite players? Most likely, concidering the fact that over 20 million standard NES machines are now in service. While the Express won't offer anything new in terms of game play, doesn't it sound exciting to be able to play Ninja GaiDen wherever and whenever you want to? As you know, a system is only as good as the games it plays - and the Nintendo Express will play a lot.
