HoshiChiri

Pickups from Seattle Retro today! The Renton show didn't have anything in the way of Turbografx, so I've made up for it 😉 Solatorobo stung to pick up- not because it was priced unfairly or anything. I'd intended to pick it up back at release, decided to wait for a "good sale", and waited myself right into a massive price spike. *sigh* But now I have it, and it's complete, and I don't have to think about the price anymore! The Hello Kitty & Pac-Man stuff was won at a local arcade. Glad to have my Pac-Man figure set complete again... maybe? This packaging is new and says there's 8 figures, but I've only seen 7- I don't know what I'm missing!

I'm actually not that interested in the Flashback classics release- so, since a lot of folks have trouble with LRG's releases, feel free to send a message when the time comes. I've never missed a release I intended to buy, I'd happily grab a copy for someone else.

Oh, I see how it is- I finally save up & buy one of these things, and NOW it gets a mini version. I could've used that about 6 months ago! *grumble grumble* Does this mean if I buy a Vectrex this summer, we'll have a mini one by Christmas?

I would argue that your shot glass friend is, in fact, a collector- becuase he will seek & buy new ones as travel souvenirs. There's more than one way to be a collector- you can be a casual collector who only adds new items under specific circumstances. I collect coins, but I don't seek out coin dealers on a regular basis- I fish new quarters out of the change till at work. I visit one coin shop, once a year, as part of my PAX convention vacation. I tell people who ask me if I want souvenirs from their travels to get squished pennies. That's pretty much it- it's a very different beast than my far more active game collecting. One can absolutely have a collection without collecting, though- I have a collection of Woodstock plush like that. You know, the bird from Peanuts? My in-laws got it into their heads that I loved that character (I'm indifferent) and started buying me plush & figures every holiday. I've never actually bought a Woodstock on my own. I just ended up with enough to count as a collection.

I think a collector is either someone with more games than the average owner (which my google-fu pegs at 1-2 consoles with 10-15 games each), or someone actively attempting to accquire games for the sheer joy of it (gameplay notwithstanding.) Also, one must be keeping these machines with intent- simply having an 'old Nintendo in storage somewhere' doesn't count for anything. So- Billy Bob deciding to keep his old consoles hooked up, playing & occasionally acquiring new systems/games for all his consoles, eventually building to half a dozen machines with 20 games each? Collector. Jimmy Jam who sold off his childhood machines before college & current owns nothing, but is missing it & decides to re-buy all the games he owned or wanted back them? Collector. Lil' Timmy who got a Switch for Christmas with Mario & Zelda, & saved up his birthday money for a Mega Man collection? Passionate maybe, but not yet a collector.

Do you need a donor? I've got a plain ol' black Game Gear that was functional at last use (although in need of a recap). I bought a McWill modded one last year so I'm not doing anything with it.

Indeed- if you started saving now, 10 bucks a week would have you with enough money to do the pre-order by October. It's not a stretch. My main takeaway from this was 'someone's making a way for my Arduboy to have multiple games' and I'm super into that

That would be nice- I've actually attempted to buy an ouya a couple times this year, but it's always fallen through. I suppose that was a blessing in disguise. I still think I'd kinda like one though, even if it does end up a paperweight.

I'll admit, I was only vaguely interested until you said one of the games is from Keita Takahashi- so, now I'm on the mailing list. As for the "but who's it for?", that's pretty simple- people, probably game collectors, who like unique gaming experiences. Yes, the $150 dollar price tag is steep, but so's a lot of the games I add to my collection these days. What's so different about buying this than buying Swordquest Waterworld, Little Samson, or basically anything for the Sega Saturn & Turbografx CD? I'm curious to see how this develops- and I'm glad it won't be out until 2020, so I have time to set aside 10 bucks a week in case I decide I want it.

Exactly- sucks that he didn't get the games he thought he was buying, but at least he still got great games at a great price.

It could be worse- at least they aren't sports games!

8. Crystal Crisis (Switch) Not the greatest achievement- everybody knows it doesn't take long to finish story mode & roll credits in a puzzle game- but I just wanna talk about this oddball piece of gaming weirdness. Let's break this down: this is an updated (& fun!) take on Super Puzzle Fighter. The indie crossover cast includes: Quote, Curly, & Ballos (Cave Story); Issac (Binding of Issac); Solange (Code of Princess), Aban, Tina & Jim (1001 Spikes), Thompson & Zombie (Tempura of the Dead), Umihara Kawase, Astro Boy & Blackjack (Osama Tezuka creations); Johnny Freakin' Turbo (Turbografx 16 mascot), amongst others... and the whole shebang is narrated by Peter Cullen, voice of Optimus Prime. This is weird as heck and I LOVE IT.

Renton City Retro pickups! A bit more implusive than I usually go, but the only thing I saw from the want list was that Powerstone 2 there. Not pictured: the copy of Medievil I bought my sister that I can't get to run. I looked it over briefly at the con, and it looked dirty but fine- after cleaning it though, I spotted this odd mark, like an indent instead of a proper scratch? It's not through the data layer, so I'm hoping taking it somewhere for a professional resurfacing will get it going. Also, I didn't buy the Asteroids- that was a gift from a friend who found it while cleaning. She's never owned an Atari 2600, so it's a bit of a mystery.

Oh, I can figure out the sizing thing- I just need a good quality scan to print from, and the cover project has no listing. I'll want the original art at some point regardless, but I'd feel better just having the correct art, even if it is homemade.

I also agree, but to take it one step further still- it's NEVER been easy to monitor what kids see. Have you looked at what we marketed to kids in the 80s? Alien & Robocop had toy lines. Animal Farm had an animated film made in the 50s, that got 3 VHS home releases. Anytime you give a kid free access to a media collection you personally didn't curate, they can (and usually will) find inappropriate content. Even if they weren't trying- trust me, I was an anime fan in my teenage years. It's a special kind of awkward to pick out a video with your mom, go home, watch it- and discover it's almost softcore porn. I actually think it's easier today than in the past- the solution these days is to cut off unsupervised internet. Since most other sources of content are gone, kids would then be limited to whatever your home media collection is- which, I would assume, is all vetted. (Unlike when I was a kid, when rental & book stores were still common & easy to walk/bike to.)

Picked up some stuff at Gamestop today because of the pro sale. Found a CIB Lollipop Chainsaw for 360, so I grabbed Killer Instinct for the 50% off. Looking at it more closely later, I realized I have the definitive edition discs in the combo breaker case! Since I've already bought a new 2 disc case for it, I'm hoping someone might have an art insert they'd be willing to sell me for it. (Or maybe just scan into the cover project so I can try making one until I can buy one.)

The majority of online players, especially in a major modern franchise, is a much different beast than the majority of gamers- I don't play Call of Duty and rarely go online, but I am very much a gamer, as an example. This is the newest article I can find on the subject, which puts the average gamer in their 30s... which pans out if you consider the ridiculous appeal of Nintendo to kids 30 years ago, and that these wouldn't be the people playing the online modern stuff (for the most part.) I'm not particularly put off by the censorship- I don't actually like many mature rated games in the first place, and if you're old enough to decide that you want the anime titty game, you're old enough to buy a second console to play it on. I also think, however, that the decision to have said content should be in the consumer's hands, not the console company. Plus, while it's not gonna hurt them right now (Sony really got the importance of exclusives early on & set up the PS4 for success with them), as we start moving into the next generation, choosing to avoid cross-play and censor or disallow mature titles could end up costing them their place in the market.

I'd disagree- most gamers these days are over 18, & censorship for the sake of a part of the audience isn't right. It's like saying you can't make r-rated movies because kids might see them. It should be up to the kid's parents to decide what's appropriate for their child to play, & to talk them through any mature content they find (accidentally or otherwise.) I'm glad Nintendo's letting the people who want their pervy or violent titles have at it.

Get some of those cart protector boxes & write "fake" on them. Same result, but clean carts.

Nah- my cartridge gaming days were spent on a military base so small, I could practically bike the full length of it. Lending carts wasn't really a thing as a result- you simply went to the other kid's house & played with them. Ironically, we did actually have a game stolen once, so it may have helped- but we ended up getting it back anyway when the other parents got wise to the situation. That's a whole story onto itself, tho'... I used to have some carts from a friend that she'd written her name on- it did nothing to stop my brother from stealing them, becuase he didn't have them out anywhere for me to prove they were taken. For all I know, he sold them (he went through a bad phase in his teenage years). That resulted in my current habit of keeping a catalog of my collection- I used to have to count my games once a week to make sure nothing was missing. Personally, I don't mind so much as it can usually be removed. It's just one of those interesting relics of the era. (Now, a disc game with a name written on it would be a hard pass, as I'd be worried about the ink affecting the data layer.)

Asked about the free copy of Oblivion on 360- not only did he cover the shipping, but it turned out to be the Collector's Edition when I got it! Great guy, very happy!