Possible alternative 8bit console that's open source.

A while back I was doing my own research on consoles and handhelds, trying to figure out the cheapest designs.  Of course the vast majority of DIY projects tend to range in the $60-100+ range, which is too much to say the least.

However I think there's a lot of promise in the concept behind the FUZEbox, UZEbox and possible cheaper versions.

There are a bunch of tools, docs and specs for it, you can find out more here on the UZEbox.

Now it could be possible to find cheaper parts, methods of using less parts and so on to make the device cheaper.

The device itself stands a little higher then NES/Famicom, but slightly under the SNES in terms of graphics and audio.  An added benefit is that it has been designed to take in SNES and NES controllers.

If the price can be brought down, this could be a very useful as there is already a community of hackers and coders who have or are working with this.

A big benefit of a cheap UZEbox would be having one standard easy to reproduce model, since as far as I know its nearly impossible to get Famiclone parts without disecting them yourself.

However, as far as I know, there is no keyboard support coded for the UZEbox, and it uses SD cards.

Reducing some of the features or making a scaled down version that more closely mimmicks the NES could also help lower the cost.  A custom cartridge could be designed as well, and the system can be built into a keyboard. 

Of course at this time Famiclones are the cheapest alternative.

Just something to think about in the future.