Category:Plug & Play games

Plug and play! Or don't. Preferably don't.

Games on devices that are usually a self-contained console, often in the shape of a gamepad of some sort. Even at a glance, it's easy to spot that a significant majority of these devices contain hardware derived from Famicom and NES hardware. Without getting too deep in the weeds first, let's just say there is a whole ecosystem with its own fauna. We mean it!

While the exact history of these plug & play devices tend to get murky (mainly because the developers tend to not be as public), the original Famiclone-based plug & plays have been a thing since time immemorial; a functional evolution of the multicart. As the 90s trudged on, the underlying form and exterior of these devices got more and more complex as they imitated contemporary trends of the time. Much of these devices served as a budget form of gaming, especially in parts of the world where games were difficult to purchase.

The 2000s was where the plug & play hit its peak, where selective mutations, creative controller cases, and highly elaborate modifications with the hardware paved the road towards legitimate licenses and a remarkable ease in rereleasing retro games (e.g. the C64 DTV, Radica Genesis, and Atari Flashback). While some of these used custom hardware, many of these devices still used Famiclone hardware with advanced modifications bolted onto them. By the mid-2000s, the hardware of choice for the plug & play had become so complex that the Ship of Theseus became relevant; was it really a Famiclone when it couldn't run Famicom/NES games anymore?

After the eve of custom games faded in the 2010s, the plug & play has saw continued popularity as the focus shifted from obscuring its retro roots to wholeheartedly embracing them as mini consoles began to appear. Only time will tell what the next generation of the plug & play will be.