karokoenig

I've read about this option, but I'm not sure if I'm skilled enough to do it. Also I heard that many games don't work properly either after that - running too slow or too fast, or generally glitchy.

I see the problem. I think all the computers mess up the stats, no matter how you categorize them. They simply had more power than the videogame consoles back in the day. To me, the lists would look more naturally if all computers (with their keyboard, multiple disk games, Text and graphic adventures, complex simulations etc., would be treated as a separate entity. Instead of release date, which is arbitrary, why not do categories sorted by technological criteria? 8-bit and lower and >8-bit, which would include the Turbografx, I guess, because it is kind of 8-bit and then some more 8-bit. If you say that the Famicom release date isn't viable, then it should be "in for a penny, in for a pound": you can't lump Famicom and NES together in one category anymore :-) (*smartass mode off*) I am aware that you are doing this for a long time already, and for long-term statistics it would be stupid to change the criteria on the fly now. Older data would become a mess. At the end of the day, there is no clear categorization scheme, and some awkward spots will remain here and there. So - I'm comfy with whatever you come up, and I appreciate all the work you put into this.

Hmm... I am a bit puzzled about the Amiga being in the Pre-NES category. Sure it was introduced at about the same time as the NES, but the Famicom was earlier. Just looks weird to have a full-blown 16-bit system in that category, I think

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a lot for the link. It is an US cart. Now off to contact the guy and ask him what he was thinking...

So, I bought this copy of "Monster in my Pocket" on eBay. It gives me the blinking red light and blinking startup screen. Since I cleaned it thoroughly before use, and every other game works fine, I got a suspicion that the bastard sold me an NTSC cart without mentioning it in the auction. I'm in Germany and the seller is also german. What struck me was that the "warning" text on the back was english only (you know - the one with "do not immerse in water" etc., while on my other carts it's multilingual. It may still be that this cart is UK only, which should still work fine on my german NES - I don't know enough to tell. So, what exact criteria are on the carts/labels that tell me I have an NTSC cart? Anyone?

I would say they are both pretty worthless, because they are very common.

My bag of tricks for the week: Atari 2600: - Breakout: 10 minutes - Circus Atari: 10 minutes - Galaxian: 15 minutes - Moon Patrol: 10 minutes - Smurf: 5 minutes - Super Breakout: 15 mintes - Vanguard: 5 mintes - Wizard of Wor: 10 minutes You may observe some Paddle games. Coolest controller ever imo. And contrary to some opinions I have read/heard on the interwebs, I think Super Breakout is indeed the better game compared to its predecessor. Circus Atari is hilarious anyway. NES: - Battle of Olympus: 30 minutes - Rad Racer: 10 minutes - Silent Service: 30 minutes - Solar Jetman: 10 minutes Got Rad Racer new, never played it before. I have no idea why people think this is a good game. I'm glad I didn't spend much for it.

Just an NES here. I might grab a Mega Drive or an SNES some day, but I am willing to wait till I find a really good deal for those. Not ready to spend any significant amount of money for such ultramodern, bells and whistles poppycock :-).

I wonder if it would be an, albeit tiny, market niche to produce facsimile stickers for vintage carts on demand, to completely replace detoriated labels. Or would you serious collector guys consider the cart "fake" after this?

Most sports games should be mandated to have a sticker on them, saying "Warning! 50 percent depreciation per week". Basically, those games are worthless plastic already when they have been lying unsold in the seller's shelf for a month. From an ecological standpoint a waste of resources, and they don't even have the slightest potential to gain any nostalgic value. I personally would rather collect a dozen carts of "Bobby goes home" than spend 5 bucks on any sports title with a year number in its name. When I see those large reseller booths on flea markets... The ones with 500 Xbox titles, and 495 of them are two-year old sports games they are trying to sell for 8-15 Euros each... I am torn between pity (because they won't sell a single one of them ever), anger (because of their greed) and a strong urge to point at them and laugh derisively.

I guess it's something with the glue they used back then. It seems to detoriate into something nasty, greasy-looking.

Hey there, I keep checking prices on eBay Germany for the abovementioned carts, and they are usually ridiculously high-priced (15 Euro or higher). That can not be due to their rarity, since both are probably extremely common. I was wondering if anyone in Europe has any spare carts of Frogger or River Raid lying around he/she wants to part with for a reasonable price. Germany would be preferred, of course, due to the lower shipping costs. I don't care about CIB, manuals, or even if the cart looks like it has been run over by a truck. As long as it is a cart and works. Anyone?

Damn right! Anyone remember Stonekeep? It came with a freaking 124-page NOVEL written exclusively as an introduction to the story of the game. A real book, with pages made of paper and stuff. Not a PDF. I guess I'm never gonna sell THAT box. So, alright. Call me a one-item PC game CIB collector.

I still do have a bit over a dozen of my old DOS games cib, mostly point & click adventures and a few simulation games. But the fact that I still have them is more a result of my inability to get rid of them on a flea market or two :-). No one here in Germany seems interersted in DOS games anymore, so I thought to myself "Might as well keep them". I wouldn't call that collecting, though.

Not so much time to wiggle joysticks this week. Here's the numbers: Atari 2600: - Plaque Attack: 10 minutes - Pitfall II: 25 minutes - Galactic: 5 minutes Galactic is a german ripoff cart, made by Goliath. It looks identical to Condor Attack (Ultravision), but I don't know if the latter isn't already a ripoff of something by itself. Oh... it sucks. Hard. NES: - Pinball: 10 minutes - Battle of Olympus: 10 minutes - Shadowgate: 10 minutes - A Boy and his Blob: 5 minutes A Boy and his Blob is a new addition to my (still tiny) NES collection. I only had time to testplay the cart for a few minutes, but it looks like an incredibly unique concept. David Crane at work there. I think I like it a lot already, but we'll see when I got some serious playtime for it.

From a statistical point of view, I have to frown at this distortion by highly favouring one single game. But man, I admire your dedication. Keep the paddles glowing :-).

Okay, another week, another list. Atari 2600: - Commando Raid: 10 minutes - Miniature Golf: 10 minutes - Reactor: 20 minutes (damn, I used to be better at this game when I was a kid...) - Tomcat: 20 minutes (still not really getting the hang of this game, but making progress) NES: - Golf: 10 minutes - Kabuki Quantum Fighter: 10 minutes - Silent Service: 70 minutes - Star Tropics: 35 minutes (Sweet game! Thanks to HVGN for the recommendation.) - Tiger Heli: 5 minutes Silent Service of all games, you may ask? Well, I got a crush on this game from my C64 days. I got the Silent Service cart relatively new, and I can't say that I am really happy with the translation to a console. But oh well... a war patrol now and then doesn't hurt :-).

I tend to be lenient with most ebay sellers. Remember that most are just random people trying to get rid of some of their crap and making a buck or two out of it. Not every person on this planet checks his/her emails every hour, and not everyone finds time to pack lots of items and get them to a post office immediately. Meaning: ebay is amateurs selling to amateurs, and that's the kind of service I expect. Still being quite new to the ebay experience, I am nonetheless quite happy so far. I did have some problems already, but those could be solved easily by friendly communication and a bit of good will from my side. I consider a handful of small disappointments in, say, 50 transactions normal background noise. When it comes to powersellers and online shop ebay "departments", I do expect faster delivery and professional customer service, of course.

And that's why - when I really want to find decently researched information about a game - I cross-check any AVGN opinion with reviews by the Happy Video Game Nerd or Aqualung.

There was a controversy? I didn't realize. It would explain only one strike on the channel, though. Got a link to the backstory to that maybe?

Wow, you're not kidding. It's really gone. I don't get it, though... What violations could that possibly be? Even if there have been any in the past and the channel did have some strikes already, I would deem James experienced enough not to risk any further strikes. On the other hand, there was a recent rise in bullshit false DMCA claims all over the place. And Youtube tends to fall for this crap pretty often...

Same here. Though I have to admit... it took me some effort to resist grabbing a fine looking SNES for very cheap on a recent flea market.

Interesting... I was always a joystick guy. Changed from the 2600 right to a C64 back in the days. Always found NES controllers childish. Now that I do have an NES, I still feel awkward with a gamepad. Wears me down much more than any joystick ever did, and I am much less precise with them. Probably a training issue :-). About those controllers: I find them pretty crappy, but that's mostly because the buttons tend to get stuck under the plastic case when you press them slightly diagonally. But that might be a specific problem of those I own. No idea if that's a general issue with them. Everytime I try something really serious on the 2600, my trusted indestructible 28 year old Competition Pro comes into service.

I'd say "In for a penny - in for a pound". While you do that, the wife should do a review of some manly man's stuff. Maybe there are Fabio games out there, who knows...

I don't get it.