Getting SNES and Genesis cartridges on a modern TV comes down to three realistic options. You can keep your original console and put a scaler between it and the TV, you can buy an FPGA system that plays the carts directly over HDMI, or you can skip the carts and use Nintendo Switch Online. Which one makes sense depends mostly on whether your old consoles still work and how much you want to spend.
Option one: keep the console, add a scaler
The old consoles put out analog video, and a modern TV wants a digital signal at a resolution it knows. A scaler sits in the middle, takes the analog signal from the console and sends a clean HDMI picture to the TV. RetroTINK is the name most people end up at, and its lineup covers a wide price range.
| Model | Price | What it does | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| RetroTINK-2X Pro | $139.99 | Takes component, S-Video and composite, and line doubles 240p and 480i to 480p | RetroTINK now calls it a legacy product and points buyers to the 6X CE |
| RetroTINK-6X CE | $230 | The new entry model, with output up to 2560×1440 and the same image pipeline as the 4K | Sold out for now, with the next restock estimated for October to November |
| RetroTINK-5X Pro | $325 | Composite, S-Video, component, RGB and SCART in, up to 1080p out as standard | About a quarter of a frame of latency in its Framelock mode |
| RetroTINK-4K CE | $475 | Output up to 4K60, with inputs for nearly every analog format | CRT simulation and profiles you can load from an SD card |
There is also a 4K Pro at $750 above all of these, which is more than most people with one or two consoles will need.
The cable matters as much as the box. RetroTINK sells an $8 SNES and N64 S-Video cable (NTSC consoles only) and $32.99 HD15 dongles that carry RGB into scalers with an HD15 input, like the 4K CE and 6X CE. The 5X Pro has no HD15 port, so these are not for it. The Genesis dongle is for the Model 2 only. The SNES dongle needs a console that outputs RGB through its Nintendo AV port, and RetroTINK cautions that some don’t, so check your model before you buy.
Genesis owners should skip plain composite if they can. RetroTINK warns that the Genesis composite signal is off-spec and may not work properly with the 2X Pro, and it recommends HD Retrovision cables for the Genesis instead.
This route makes the most sense if your consoles still run well, you have other retro systems to plug in later, or you want CRT-style scanlines and other tuning. A single scaler serves every console you own.
Option two: an FPGA console that reads the carts
If your SNES has died, or you just want one box and one HDMI cable, Analogue’s Super Nt+ and Mega Sg+ are built for exactly this. They are new consoles with a cartridge slot, and instead of software emulation they recreate the original hardware on an Altera Cyclone V FPGA chip.
Both are $219.99 and output HDMI at up to 1080p for NTSC and PAL games, and both are region free. The Super Nt+ plays Super NES and Super Famicom cartridges, which Analogue counts at more than 2,200 titles. The Mega Sg+ plays Genesis and Mega Drive carts and comes with a Master System cartridge adapter and a Sega CD spacer. Adapters for Game Gear, My Card, Mark III and SG-1000 games are sold separately, and Sega CD discs need an original Sega CD or Mega CD attached.
You also get Bluetooth and 2.4GHz support for up to two wireless controllers, and your original wired pads still plug in. Neither console comes with a controller, so if your old pads are worn out, budget for one. If you want to go the other way and run one on a CRT, Analogue sells a DAC separately that converts the output back to analog.
The catch is timing. Both systems are listed as out of stock and shipping in December 2026, so anyone who orders now is waiting until close to the end of the year.
Option three: no carts at all
If what you want is the games rather than the cartridges, Nintendo Switch Online is the cheapest way in. The base membership is $19.99 a year, or $3.99 a month, and includes Nintendo Classics, a curated library of NES, Super NES and Game Boy games. Sega Genesis games come with the Expansion Pack tier at $49.99 a year, which also adds Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance and Virtual Boy games, plus GameCube games on Switch 2 only. Family plans are $34.99 and $79.99 a year. The games download and run on your own Switch, but you can only play them while your membership is active.
The trade-off is that you are renting, not owning. You only get the games Nintendo has picked, they go away if you stop paying, and your own carts stay in the box.
Which one to pick
If your consoles work and you might add a PlayStation or N64 to the setup later, a scaler is the better long-term buy, and the 6X CE is the one to watch when it comes back in stock. If you only care about SNES or Genesis and want the simplest possible setup, the Analogue systems are hard to beat, as long as December works for you. And if you mostly want to replay a few old favorites on the couch, a Switch Online membership may already be sitting on your Switch, as long as you are fine paying for it every year.