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schuwalker

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Posts posted by schuwalker

  2. Posted

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the first NES's sold in the States didn't come with SMB? I think that may have come out as much as a year after the system.

    I'm fairly certain the first NESes came with Gyromite and Duck Hunt on two separate carts. Of course, the system also came with two controllers, a Zapper, and ROB.

     

    I don't know exactly when SMB entered the picture, but it probably wasn't long.

    It did and was generally viewed at first by customers as an odd and expensive thing. 85 season as I think I recall we had one setup on the counter, people really thoght it odd, we sold very few for quite some time.

    It was far from an immediate success. People liked Super Mario brothers but wanted it for their system not another system.They did like Duck Hunt! People would always play a few rounds and liked it very much! Gyromite and the Robot were just confusing for people. Were were doing closeouts of all the major systems from warehouses around the country so really at first NES had to compete with great prices on better more popular systems, as well as Atari 800 and C64. I think folks believe that NES was some immediate success. It wasn't. 85 would have been different if Warner had not been so skittish. 7800 would have done very well. People asked ALL the time.Seemed like as the closeouts dwindled and NES had more title things just went that way as there was little else to chose (yes SMS) so.. right place right time. The industry is full of these examples.

     

     

     

    Very intersting.... Especially from retailers point of view......

     

    I know my friend and I had a helluva time finding a NES for sale in it's initial launch...And we live in the Chicagoland area!!! In know I didn't get mine till Feb. of '86 (B-day gift.) It was the *Deluxe* set that included seperate carts of Gyromite and Duck [email protected] 63---Was there a limited initial supply?

     

     

    I'll preface this by saying I "loathe" SMB! I think the original Mario Brothers is the superior version! My friend actually owned a arcade BITD. And I believe he did have a VS SMB when it was new-not sure if it twas 85 or 86.... So for me, I could care less about SMB on the NES. It was the fact that Nintendo, the maker of Mario Bros, Donkey Kong series and Popeye, was coming out with a graphically enhanced versions of such arcade gems! SMB wasn't even a thought.

     

    So my answer to the op's question is *NO*! The Nintendo system itself aided in the post crash era......

  13. Posted

    Nice CED collection there!

     

    Our family bought one of these players from Sears I think around 1980. I think they went this route because of the ridiculous prices tape players were going for. I remember the first movies he bought were 'Goldfinger' and 'From Russia With Love.' And yes he's a James Bond fan... :D

     

    This was also my first introduction to 'Star Wars', since I was too young when it came to theaters.

  14. Posted

    I love seeing this vintage stuff!

     

    I was born in '73 and lived in the Chicagoland area my whole so I saw my fair share of gaming items....Some stores I recall:

     

    Sears- This store was the bread and butter of my 2600 collection. I also remember playing a TI99 kiosk there... I want to see some vintage photos surface of the Sears game asile...

    I don't remember our Sears having a TI kiosk, but that would have been awesome I bet! I do remember the Sears in Vernon Hills having these monstrous glass display cases. They took up and made the entire aisles back then. I remember standing in awe of the Atari 5200 and Vectrex displays.

     

    While I was checking out the 2600/colecovision stuff; my dad was at the TI 99 area. I stumbled open it by looking for him one day and he was playing Ti Invaders! So the ones I remember playing were Tombstone City, Blasto and TI Invaders....

     

    This Sears was in Fox Valley mall in Aurora, Il. The same Sears that had a arcade and help me amass my vintage Star Wars Collection! It's still around today but it's not the same. :sad: Damn, I miss that place!

  15. Posted

    I love seeing this vintage stuff!

     

    I was born in '73 and lived in the Chicagoland area my whole so I saw my fair share of gaming items....Some stores I recall:

     

    Sears- This store was the bread and butter of my 2600 collection. I also remember playing a TI99 kiosk there... I want to see some vintage photos surface of the Sears game asile...

     

    Dominicks and Jewel grocery store- yes they used to sell them by the film section...

     

    Kmart- Anybody remember when Kmart had a 2600 kisok there?

     

    Some other notables.... Montgomery Ward, Toys By Rizzi, Woolco, Camelot music stores, K&B, Zayre and McDades....to name a few

  21. Posted

    There have been at least 7 Sears Checkers CIB auctioned on eBay in 2010 alone. Sears Math Grand Prix CIB in the last 2 years has had 2 auctions.

     

    In non-eBay world, private sales are often transacted and these are kept private, so you may not have an accurate picture of what you think you know. Someone looking for a title may have already acquired it.

     

     

    Unfortunately I base all my info on ebay transactions rather than private dealings...

     

    I got the last Checkers boxed this past summer on ebay, did not know there was 7 this year! The Sears Math I do recall that one and losing on that one as well! :x That's why me personally, I put boxed Cannon Man ahead of the three... I've been on ebay since 98'ish, and that was the first one I've seen. I do recall seeing a couple of boxed Sears Math.....Again solely based of ebay....

  23. Posted

    Did anybody get any of these???

    eBay Auction -- Item Number: 2507305030201?ff3=2&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&item=250730503020&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]

     

    eBay Auction -- Item Number: 2507304900861?ff3=2&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&item=250730490086&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]

     

     

    I lost out on the Math :( Can't believe it went for that much!!!

    Math Grand Prix is one of the rarest CIB Sears titles. $205 is a bit high - I thought it would top out around $150 - but it's in nice shape and rarely shows up in auction.

     

    Don't forget about that CIB Sears Checkers eBay Auction -- Item Number: 2507305133651?ff3=2&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&item=250730513365&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER] for $186.

     

     

    I really wanted the Math since I have a Submarine Commander albeit this box was better than mine so I put a meager bid on it hoping it would slip through...

    Back to the Math, I recall only seeing 2 CIB in the last 5 years on ebay; so this was the one I was targeting. I actually went as high as $165ish for my bid. What really sucks that timing of this was really bad-too close to the holidays and recent aquistion of another pinball machine... I must say was kinda shocked on how it went but congrats to the new owner/Dino?

     

    I did see the Checkers on there as well but didn't really keep an eye on it too much. I'm content with the Checkers I have...

     

    I'll put you guys on the spot... Cannon Man>Sear's Math (rarity wise)or vice versa?

     

    Honestly with these Sears games recently unearthed on ebay; can you believe I'm still having a helluva of a time finding a boxed Demons! :?

  25. Posted

    Growing up I was really torn between a Colecovision and Atari 5200; both had games I wanted but I was buying from my limited savings account and my parents were going to go in for a few games. I wanted the CV since it had Turbo (and a steering wheel!) which was my favorite arcade game of the time... We went to Gemco (anyone remember those? or Memco?) and looked at both; I think it was sort of a last minute decision but we went with the 5200, mainly as it had Pac Man and Frogger (2 arcade games the whole family liked; we got Frogger specifically as my mom loved it; I guess at the time Gemco didn't stock Frogger Colecovision or something..!). I think we got it with Pac Man, Football, and Frogger. (plus the Turbo + steering wheel was pretty expensive if I remember correctly)

     

    (there is a point to this :) ) -- later that year when the Adam got released I thought I'd finally also be getting my Colecovision-- the family needed a computer, it was a really good deal, etc. I was really excited to have both of the major systems. It was sort of the family Christmas gift that year (so that'd be 1983?). I think we didn't actually get it until January 1984 due to shortages, but we got it all hooked up, plugged in, turned it on-- and it worked for about, oh, 10 minutes before blowing up and not producing any video.

     

    By then the stories of the Adam's failure rate were legendary so we boxed it up, took it back to Gemco, and my parents got a DEC Rainbow computer. (deciding not to screw around with "toy" computers anymore... that sucker was built like a tank)

     

    Anyway... never have had a Colecovision, but I just bought one from Yurkie which should be here in a week or so. :) And I just got a box of CV games I picked up on Ebay. So now, after 27 years, I will FINALLY have a Colecovision to call my own.

     

    Gotta wonder what would've happened if I had bought the CV instead of the 5200, or if the Adam had worked-- the 5200 was a big stepping stone into Atari computers later on. Kind of funny how divided the "camps" were back in the day. (and once I had the 5200 I was full on in the Atari camp! even though I still secretly lusted for Turbo)

     

    (strangely, I DID pick up a couple Colecovision controllers from Radio Shack, I think, sometime in the mid to late 80s when they were clearancing them, for some reason $10 for 2 sticks out.. I used them on my 800XL to feel what it'd be like to play a ColecoVision. ;) )

     

     

     

     

    Great piece of history there! We had a neighbor kid, a spoiled one at that, got a 5200 when they first came out in stores. So went over there many times and checked it out. To be completely honest, really didn't grab me-maybe because of his library of games..

     

    Now the Colecovision was an entirely different story. For you Chicagoland peeps, there was this catalog store that had a Cv kiosk setup. I HOGGED that thing the whole time while my parents were shopping! I remember being blown away by the graphics for Rocky and also having one of my favorite arcades games to play-Frenzy.....Well the rest is history!

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