MrBlackCat

Hehehe... pretty accurate. By the time I would have gotten back into my dream, I am sure the scalpers in dream land would have gotten them all, and I would not have been able to check out. MrBlackCat

I got like a cart full of them for everyone I know... then I work up and went to work. This must actually be getting to me a little bit... Grrr... MrBlackCat

Times change... at least the DS/3DS Stuff isn't all digitally dependent so much that you can't play the games we do have as long as we can keep the systems running. I detest the term "Product Life-cycle". I am SO SICK of the PSP because of this... every time I pick one up, some game I am trying to play has to be re-downloaded because it has expired (Examples, GTA: VCS or GTA: LCS) I just really like having all these "cartridge-based" (memory card type) games to play... fast, and don't expire. MrBlackCat

It isn't really about unlimited funds as much as priorities I think... I live in the USA, and basically almost any working adult is rich compared to most any place I have lived. Not knocking anyone for their priorities though. I take care of my son first of course, but if I choose to share something with someone else, be it a close friend, or a YouTube personality, it will be a gesture of kindness from the passion of a shared hobby. (though I admit I've not sent people I've watch on YouTube anything unless I knew them pretty well through a Forum like this. MrBlackCat

So much for the market flood... I understand the generally conservative nature of Nintendo in these areas, but this seems really out of touch to me. Maybe it is difficult to access your position in "the real world"? Like when a musician really doesn't know "how they are doing" publicly as they are often fed tons of garbage from those around them to stroke their egos basically. Off topic, I am not too excited about the SNES 3DS... not sure why. Just doesn't appeal to me like the others do. I REALLY like themed things... but I think this early 3DS-XL Classic Edition is just excellent. Considering the NES and SNES Classic editions, I really feel lucky I was able to even get one of these at full price. I did pre-order it... MrBlackCat

I see you have focused on one particular aspect of previous statements... I do not (nor do you) know of new games for Wii really. I agree it is doubtful beyond some ports of easily scalable games. The point I was trying to make is that new games do not define a systems direct viability. Availability of games on store shelves DOES directly demonstrate viability. Is the PS 4 consoles still made? Yes. Is the PS3 console still made? No. Are PS2 consoles being made? Absolutely not. Are new games being made for PS3? Probably, doesn't matter, they are on the shelves because the system is still viable. Are new games being made for PS2? Not that I am aware of. Are PS2 new games available at retail in WalMart today and every day? Yes, in every WalMart here. They are right over there next to the Wii and PS3 games. On a side note, there are still Nintendo DS Games on the shelves as well. You see my point now. Maybe we type about two different things. MrBlackCat

While this is sensationalized, it looks like a "mainstream simple" emulation console... Microsoft used Windows to bring PC's to the ultra-casual crowd with that piece of garbage (windows) and it survived to become a standard. (understatement?) Maybe something like this will bring emulation gaming to "everyone else" interested in retro gaming outside of smartphone based stuff. I like the way this looks and is marketed. Sure I can and have used MAME since the DOS days, but modern emulation on Pi machines or any of them is NOT plug and play. Plug and Play is a big market with the "retro craze" thing going on... something like this I believe will fill that gap... and when it does, it will be huge. MrBlackCat

"Behind the Curve"... Here is how simply I see it... I buy games at their low, which I call internally staying Behind the Curve. This is generally a few years behind a given system and then the games start to go back up, but varies based on factors that don't really matter to me or need to be defined. I just track the prices, which is super easy with the internet these days. I remember when you could by Atari 2600 stuff in large lots cheap, as most of us here do... around the time the PS3 came out, Atari stuff was really sagging in price, PS2 used stuff went up like cwazy as many could not afford PS3's now had access to SO many used PS2's flooding into eBay, second hand game stores, and pawn shops. I don't have time to be comprehensive with this explanation/analogy, but I just want to point out that all systems and their games sag in price and then come back up. Some things seem to fall in value continuously (like boxed Vic-20's) and some things just rise in value continuously. The point is that I just see Atari games as back on their rise out of the low-price sag. In this age of excess, where collections are fashionable beyond the scope of actually using them of course any social icon like the Atari, or even video games in general are going to become more expensive. Don't forget that a large group of people are collecting for the sake of collecting at a social level. Then this is no long the "in" thing to do, those collections will end up right back on eBay and like Beanie Babies, you won't be able to give them away. Just don't think that everyone who has a collection of Atari games and systems (or any games and systems) isn't going to move on the next big social thing next week. Sure some people will learn about them and become genuinely interested long term, but many will not. Example: PS2 games are at their low for sure. For the last couple of years I have been buying specific PS2 games I think I would enjoy. I have doubled my library of PS2 games for SO little in the last 2-1/2 to 3 years. You can always find good deals if you watch of course, but I am talking mostly about averages of course. If we are indeed in a bubble, and you want to know when it will pop, you have to know why it exists... MrBlackCat

I will second seeing Wii (not Wii U) games still active "outside the glass" in medium sized racks at three different WalMart stores. Not so much behind the glass in prime area of course... but over with the PS3 overflow stuff. Wii and Wii U games are still viable for a bit of time I think. This is only speculation as I have no inside information with Nintendo Developers of course. Bill L is correct... the Wii U never came down in price. On the official Nintendo eBay store, they have been selling refurbished units for months for $200 USD. Last I looked it was over 15000 units sold. Pretty good demand for a "dead" system. I realized this is relatively small, but shows people don't fear its viability. Maybe some of the incomplete games for the Wii and Wii U will more likely be finished as they know they can and will be ported to the 2/3DS family as some games are. (like Lego City Undercover was... great game that shines on both systems in my opinion) MrBlackCat

Nintendo can't even keep the Switch on the shelves... I saw ten behind the glass at WalMart day before yesterday. I got hold of my cousin the next day and asked if he had gotten one yet and he said he hadn't even seen one since release. Like me, he doesn't wait in lines and track shipments etc. So I went back today and they were gone... what kind of marketing is that? I really don't know how many they are making, but what is wrong with accumulation of product before shipping? He is still ticked off about the NES Mini situation. I remember toy marketing in the 70's and 80's... you made stuff until it quit selling basically. There might be delays, but no shortages. Pre-orders were for the sole purpose of calculating demands in the 90's... that too seems to have changed. MrBlackCat

YouTube is just an extension of, or product of social networking. There are a LOT of people who do exactly the same thing, for completely different reasons. I am generally non-social, but I do like to support what I enjoy. When I show pictures of my game room and games (I consider myself a gamer, not a collector) it is only experienced as intended by a relatively small group... the rest are jealous, or experience other negative reactions which they are always too eager to share. I find it disruptive generally speaking, which is why I generally don't "show off" my game and game room. If an area of my game room/games fits a specific topic, then I try to share what I have enjoyed obtaining over the years. If there is too much penix measuring going on, I don't comment or share usually. The point is that YouTube is mostly socially based now, and today "collecting" retro games is "in"... Like others have so eloquently stated, they have what they do because they enjoy it, not for socially based reasons like "belonging" to a popular group, social competition, or my least compatible set, "investors". MrBlackCat

I'll read the Original Post with focus later... but my first reaction is... sounds like a basis for a game! "Retro-Bubble!: Don't Blow It!" "Retro-Bubble: Inflation" "Retro-Bubble: A New Hope" "Retro-Double-Bubble!" Ok, seriously though, I don't believe in the idea of hobbies as investments. I view them, weather material or not, as paid entertainment like a movie you go watch. It is spent, it is experienced. I only "lose" if the game isn't enjoyable. Gaming for me isn't a fad, investment, and isn't socially driven. If gaming or game collecting IS an investment for you, then you are at risk as with any investment... I can't loose as I haven't gambled. If I were to ever sell anything I have "collected" then it is pure profit as it was all absorbed when I had more money to spend than I needed to live. More later after I really soak up that post that really deep, or at least long. MrBlackCat

Well... maybe not ME... but I do enjoy living vicariously the life and times of Duke Nukem. The Irony... Gum and "Steroids"... I may never run out! MrBlackCat

When I look around my game room, it isn't the cost of the games that jump out at me. I like merchandise from my favorite games. I always have, and that is where some fairly large single chunks of budget goes. Sure I have a lot of different DooM games (for basically every system it would run on) but as far a single expense, this exceeds the cost of most any single games I have bought... Same with Duke Nukem... I enjoy most every Duke Nukem game, as might be evident from this older image... But I love the "everything else", and that is where I probably spend more money than the actual games. Maybe not overall, but in larger chunks. I don't really know my limit on a most desired game for my collection, but it probably is lower than my limit on merchandise from my favorite franchises. MrBlackCat

This is what I like to see... these guys have their product together it seems. Look how fast they funded. This seems SO much more legitimate that the Ataribox drama. I hope we end up needing a thread for these guys. MrBlackCat

D!Zone 75 in the "Picture Box"... I have the "Skull Box" only of the two 75's. I just googled it real quick to insert an image of it, but didn't even find that. Yeah, it's rare. I have only seen it a couple of times ever, in others collections. I don't think I have ever seen it in the wild. Could have been a non-US only or other regional release of some kind. I would really like to have it... so on topic, how much am I willing to pay for it? I don't even know that myself... depends on my budget at the time I find it I suppose. I don't HAVE to have it, but as far as I know, it would be the completion of my D!Zone for DooM collection... and that has a substantial value to me. This is a good example of why, in my case, I would not be able to just throw out a number of how much would I pay for a game... but to answer the OP in the context of my position, I could say what is the most I have ever been willing to pay for any game... going to look at my eSnipe account for that one. <insert some time here> It seems I am crazy... I forgot about a couple of those. I will just leave it at A LOT! At least in the past. Most of the expensive stuff has been PC FPS's pre-Windows though. Doesn't mean I got them, but I have been outbid when I was at many hundreds of dollars... but I was willing to pay that at the time. At least those few extra-high ones I didn't get, so it shows me I was on track with what their value was to others as well as myself. MrBlackCat

My view on what a video game is worth is one of relativity. The old saying that "something is only worth what you can get for it" might hold true when someone says "this shirt cost $50, but I got it for $19.95"... it isn't a $50 shirt then, at least in my mind. But what about availability? Once I was trying to buy something on eBay (this predates auto-bidding) I was attempting to manually snipe a game I wanted... I had no idea of its value, it was just an uncommon boxed PC DOS game I wanted. (a DooM-alike game with 3D Glasses) I bid in the last minute or so (modem days, couldn't cut it as close as current times)... I was outbid. I raised my bid again. Outbid. I raised my bid to say $35... Outbid. Out of curiosity, I raised my bid to $150... Outbid, and auction ended. WTH?! I contacted the winning bidder (because you could back then) and they had put over $1000 on it. Was it worth that? To them it was because they wanted it for an unusual reason like collecting 3D Glasses games or something and this was literally their last one to get. I didn't really understand until my game wanted list began to dwindle and rarity started to claw at my desired pay levels. Examples of why value is mostly relative... neurosis and "what we want". I like the game of DooM for PC... and I really like its add-ons like D!Zone series. I like boxed First Person Shooters pre-Windows... so I get down to all but one of my desired D!Zones (I am still missing one more in the series actually, but I have only seen it on others collection). They started getting rare, like less than one a year showing on eBay years ago. I don't remember which one it was, but I wanted it off my wanted list. I wanted the series complete... so its value goes up more. It doesn't matter if it has always sold for $30 if you can't encounter one... so its worth is relative now to my collection. I don't think I ended up paying a whole lot for it, but I did snipe it really high. Another example would be one from a few years ago when I wanted some game... I offered someone a rather high sum of money for this really rare game they didn't have a buy it now on. They didn't want to end the auction because they couldn't be sure I would pay if the changed it. It went for very little and I was high-bidder anyway, but I the point is that I was willing to pay a relatively large amount for the game. (say $150+) Is it worth that? Probably only to me. Last example was recent... Deer Avenger 4... that is SO hard to find boxed, and Big Boxed. I had not seen it big-boxed for over five years when one finally turned up. I loaded my auto-sniper pretty darn high on it... I don't remember what, but it was less than $300. Why was it worth so much? It isn't really... it is just relative. This is why it held so much value to me... wanting to complete this. (Ok, i don't have Deer Avenger: Stag Party add-on, but I am not pushing that one really) This is an older image... the Deer Avenger 1 and 2 are in the upper right... three was not up at the time I suppose, but now I have all four of them. If I want something, I quantify how much I am willing to pay for it... one of the main ways is "how much enjoyment" will I get from buying one item at greater expense, or many items of lesser expense. Then comes, how much do I have budgeted, and how many weeks of that budget are going to be worth "tying up"... if something else comes along after I have blown the budget, oh well, I don't get it, with few exceptions. MrBlackCat

Maybe the AtariBox just streams sound for video sources, music, and bluetooth for our smartphones straight to one of several styles of "Atari Hat"... and we get to PICK which hat we want! I mean nobody likes those silly blue-tooth things stuck in their ears really. I might go with the Atari Aviator hat for the most direct sound... but the Atari Baseball cap is very safe really, but maybe I will get the Atari Cowboy speaker-hat for getting in touch with my redneck side. Ok, sarcasm off... but now there is nothing left I can say without sarcasm, considering how silly this non-revel is. When a company has to let you know a date they are going to let you know something about a product that will be crowd-funded? Seriously? The economy is not SO bad that if you have a "real" product to put out, you can get someone to back it. I find this whole thing an annoyance. I thought the hat thing was a joke though... MrBlackCat

Commodore Vic 20's. My father got us one fairly early on. Actually, I attended a small red-neck school near where we lived and I was the only student with a computer at the time. For a while, I would bring the Vic-20 to school each day and let the principle play with and taught him some programming in BASIC for a few minutes after school each day. He got his own by the next year as I remember. Shortly after that, I got a Vic-Modem (300!) and got on Compuserve I think it was at the time... so I have been BlackCat or MrBlackCat since 1984. Second was a Commondore 64 (SX Actually) I got at a pawn shop very reasonably. With its awesome Floppy Disk drive I could save stuff crazy fast, and fairly reliably. MrBlackCat

I agree that this retro-active "Launch Edition" tendency is garbage, deceptive, and wastes my time... I just add (-"Launch Edition") I don't want to buy from sellers that allow this, or actually use this retro-actively. MrBlackCat

I would buy an improved feature Intellivision and ColecoVision to go with the "need some improvements" models I have now. I would like to see this happen. MrBlackCat

I have the PS One with Sony 5" LCD. When I saw this post and then looked around a bit, I was surprised how high they have gotten. Unmotivated people are going to put a finite amount of effort into "anything", like researching prices. If you feel like you really earn the money you are going to spend on something, it will motivate you to look for a reasonable price. Anyway, enough of that... I have almost no use for the 5" LCD screen as far as anything practical, but I set it up and play on it periodically just because it is something unique and something I would have loved to have as a younger child. Here is mine... If I see any turn up at a reasonable price, I will message you. MrBlackCat

All the drama surrounding this console has gotten to be no fun to me. I just wanted it to be over... so bought a used one with no box or anything for $125.00 I just want a unit and to be done with it. The sense of relief is more than I expected. It was no longer an enjoyable toy-hunt for me. This thread started off so positive... a shame. (Thanks Nintendo, grumble,grumble,grumble) Just a few days and maybe all this silly Nintendo craving will be satisfied... then I can return focus to the next releases of AtGames consoles. That new Genesis is SO freakin' cute! Can't wait! Oh, and thanks GoldLeader for the heads up on those knockoff "Chinendo Mini's" with 500 games... as a general gamer, I try to get as many of those different types of units as I have time to try out. I ordered one of those also. MrBlackCat

The selling point of the Nintendo Mini Classic for me was that I could play/keep the games as long as I wanted, without a subscription to expire and without a "Product Life Cycle"... this news is mostly just an annoyance. MrBlackCat

Those tiny consoles are SO freakin cute though... the games don't all suck. There is always a few games I enjoy on them, anyway. I have a mini arcade of those things. I have about 50 or so Plug N Play games of different types, and I too noticed just how great the decline in them has been. I wish they would keep making them, but I am also really happy with the ones I have now. MrBlackCat