HoshiChiri

Thanks for looking, guys! I really appreciate it!

Ok, so this is a bit of an odd one... I've been using Gamestop's fix fluid for years with great sucess- it's not gonna make your discs look brand-new, but it deals with minor scratches & fixes skipping discs damn good- and without those terrible marks you get from disc doctors and other home solutions. Of course, the stuff isn't strong enough for blu-ray discs, so it's gone on clearance and isn't available online anymore. My local stores don't have any in, so I'm hoping one of you might be able to get ahold of some. It's currently $6 in stores, I'll pay you $9 a bottle plus shipping- I'm hoping to get 2 or 3 to keep as backups. Here's a product link for ease of checking your local inventory: https://www.gamestop.com/accessories/disc-skip-fixer-pack-with-cloths-gs/76125 Let me know if you might be able to find some!

2. HarmoKnight (3DS) Impulsive pickup on this one- I'd been poking around the Nintendo site, trying to figure out why they hadn't sent my Piranha Plant code for Smash, & saw I could use platinum coins for 40% off. Very cute, kind of easy, but also frustrating- it doesn't really do a good job of communicating why you missed a note when you miss a note, so you can't really figure out if you're going too fast or too slow. Unless you're actively going for full completion, it's not going to mess you up much though.

To be fair, I was doing said math at 6am after very little sleep- I hope you'll forgive me for ranging in the wrong direction. I like you all too- let me know if you need any bengay or help crossing the street.

On the age thing- if we assume 'being a kid during the 2600's heyday' means being 10 in 1979 (to allow for a little wiggle room around the release date, as well as 'starting age'), and that 25-35 is when you're most likely to be having kids... *does some math*… then your kids would, in fact, be 25-35 now & having their own kids. Sorry folks, you're old. But don't worry, my Nintendo-era self will be joining you shortly... Holy crap YES- being able to properly introduce someone to a new game absolutely means throwing matches. It's terribly discouraging to lose constantly as a beginner, & it's a quick way to make someone assume they'll never be 'good enough' and quit. Plus, it involves YOU being good enough at the time to intentionally learn to play sub-optimally. I remember teaching kids back in my Yugioh judge days... and sometimes they were so bad, all the throwing away of good cards, careful holding of your hand to disguise how many cards you're not playing, pretending you're not attacking becuase you're setting up a combo, etc. still won't let you throw the game! But you can't just obviously let them win, that's just as discouraging. It's actually kind of hard to discreetly throw a game- probably easier with a videogame, but still.

Well that's just about the craziest thing I've come across in awhile- you'd think this would be better documented by now! I hope you can sort something out... man, what an odd thing...

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and it's not mentioned in the manual at all- you'd think something as important as 'don't delete these or you'll ruin your cart forever' would be in there. I also can't find anyone else talking about it- the first result on my search is this thread! I'm with Flo- your save battery is probably dead. Enough juice to blank itself, but not enough to create a new file. I'd get the battery replaced... or if that's not an option, look for a cheap ugly copy with a good battery and board swap.

I always smirk a little when people post looking for 2600 machines... I just have this image in my head of a room full of people chatting, and a new guy walks in: "Hi, um, I was told this was a good place to ask... I'm trying to buy a twenty-six hun-" *everyone in the room pulls out a console* It's like walking into a cannabis store & asking if anyone knows how to make brownies.

Another SMB/DH kid here. We got our NES from my uncle for Christmas, despite protests from my mom. She ended up being the first one to hit world 1-3. Kind of panicked a bit ("I don't know what's good and what's bad!") but finished- and we were so excited becuase mom won the game! Then Toad told us the princess was in another castle. Found out the next day there were 8 castles. It blew our lil' kid minds (I believe I was in Kindergarten?) No idea what my first arcade machine was- probably Dig Dug/Mr. Do at the video rental store (Genuinely do not remember which one it was!) I also have a strong memory of watching a guy beat Street Fighter 2 with Guile at our local bowling alley. I think it hadn't occurred to me until then that arcade games could have endings- it was kind of surreal.

Those really shouldn't be too hard to get off- carefully peel up as much of the paper as you can, then gently rub off the remaining adhesive with a soft cloth & lemon furniture polish. Alternatively, a heat gun might allow you to peel them up entirely. Alternative-alternatively, you might be able to freeze them off- I was at a game shop the other day, when it was super cold out- the price tags on the carts kept falling off!

Not really- but not by choice, mind you. It is remarkably difficult to find comfortable nerd t-shirts for me. Either they're designed for tiny Chinese women & would never fit me, or they're cut for men & don't sit correctly. Even if I could fine them, my job doesn't allow for a lot of t-shirt wearing to begin with. What I'd really like are nice blouses that just happen to be gamey in some way, like all-over prints that, upon closer inspection, are pac-man mazes or rupees. I graviate toward bell-sleeved babydoll tops, which tend to have brocade ribbon accents down the front. If that ribbon was the scarf from Journey I'd go nuts!

CALL EBAY. CALL EBAY. CALL EBAY. The 'simple automated' system that prevents you from calling normally is the problem now. The computer checked to see if a thing was delievered. It doesn't check where. I just recently had an auction where the item got sent back to the seller- and was marked 'delivered' to ME by the system when he got it. You NEED to get a human being involved who can read the text and go "oh shit, that ain't your address!" Please note the text you keep quoting says an appeal MAY include a police report. Not MUST include a police report. You have plenty for an appeal- namely, tracking that shows the item was not delivered to your address. You just need to make sure a human & not an algorithm looks at that. Take a shot & suck it up. Get an official-sounding friend to call for you if you need to. BUT CALL. Call NOW before you run your 30 day appeal window out & you're really hosed!

If the un-worn sticker is glossy, go over the white bits with a sharpie (just dot, you don't want to put on too much) and immediately wipe with a tissue, before it dries. You'll rub off the sharpie from the glossy bits so it's only on the white part. It blends well, I've done it for years.

https://www.retromodding.com/ Give these guys a whirl- it's pricey, but they'll custom up a nice modded unit to your specifications. Metal Jesus has a couple GBAs from them.

I know, right? My Lynx was also an impulse buy, but it's surprisingly enjoyable machine given its reputation. Small/Asian/Yugioh sized card sleeves make great protectors for loose Lynx carts, by the way. Also... Yeah- guess who did a DVD purge yesterday & is seriously considering an Odyssey 2 now. If I were smart, I'd be focusing on making room for a Vectrex!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Beamrider-Colecovision-Complete-In-Box-1984-Collectors-Quality-Adult-Owned/123595975947?epid=56258407&hash=item1cc6e4ed0b:g:HWoAAOSwWB5b1zb-:rk:4:pf:0 I would advise anyone here to use caution (or preferably flat-out avoid) this listing. I actually bought this, and returned it as defective- the board had somehow become wedged up in the shell, so the connector end showing is 1/8" shorter than it should be. Needless to say, this meant I couldn't get the game to load at all. So, now the guy's relisted it with the exact same photos but added the line 'game is a little finicky' to the description. Unless he managed to pry that board back down, it's not finicky, it's a 100% fail rate. I'd report the listing, but I can't a find a combination in the drop-downs to let me... so I opted to just give y'all a heads up.

1. Wandersong (Switch) I read about this when it first came out- it looked good, but I typically don't buy downloads, let alone $20 ones, so I just kinda filed it away in my head & moved on. Then I got a $20 Nintendo card for Christmas, right about the time this went on sale for $15. So I grabbed it, figured I'd see what it's all about. Guys- this game is So. Frickin. GOOD! It's a lighthearted puzzle platformer. It takes place in a world about to end, and you decide to try and save it. But you're no hero- you're a bard. You have no items and no weapons. All you can do is sing. The amount of variety they came up with for puzzles around this singing mechanic is really quite impressive, and the whole thing is presented in this sort of paper cutout style. It's very cute, it's very fun, and it's not terribly long or difficult- I imagine most of you could beat it in a weekend if not a single day. If you're into this kind of artsy indie stuff, please give this a try- you won't be disappointed.

1 per port plus one for systems with ports. For systems without, I play it by ear based on if my friends have the system, if it's suited to multiplayer, etc. So I only have 2 xbox one controllers, but 4 wiimotes (and would like 1 more). I have 2 ps3, but 4 xbox 360 since my brother gave me his old ones when he sold his. This is all aside from speciality controllers like the NES advantage, light guns, dance pads & my dreamcast twin stick & pop n' music controller. Not surprisingly, I have a cable/controller drawer tower that's about 4 1/2 feet tall. But it's nice to be ready for any multiplayer setup or controller breakdowns- even if they're not mine. My brother-in-law was over awhile ago and idly mentioned his only ps2 controller had broken down. I immediately pulled one out & handed it to him. (I actually found two more at local thrifts within a couple months, so I replaced mine & he's got a spare now.)

You answered your own question- it's a thing becuase people wonder what they're going to end up with. Some crazy repro or board swap? Actual good condition CIB games? Become a Patreon and find out a week earlier than YouTube! Like & Subscribe! Overall I'm in the same boat as you, I'm too fiddly about condition to buy sight unseen- but for those who aren't picky, they can get a decent deal out of it. And for folks like us who are picky, we can use them as leverage: "I can get Bubba's Big Adventure for 10 bucks from Gamestop, why is yours worth $30?" Now the seller has to either come down in price, or be just as fiddly as we are about condition to warrant the premium cost. It's a win-win in my book. I feel like most people are overly butthurt about Gamestop becuase they sold a good game(s) a kid for what is a pittance of its current value, and they decided it's Gamestop's fault & not becuase they were a dumb kid once (like everybody is).

No, that's pretty much how it's supposed to work. We constantly re-define what things are to suit the modern need. Final Fantasy was an RPG when I was growing up, now it's a JRPG becuase the market's changed. Thunder Force was a shooter, now it's a SHMUP as not to confuse with FPS or Bullet Hell. Ask music fans to distinguish what's an 'oldie' or 'classic rock' and you'll likely find conversations just like this thread. Technology-based definitions are good becuase it's a fixed point, not affected by time like a year cutoff. It also helps a collector know what they're going to need to run those systems properly- a modern flat screen isn't the best choice for a composite system without adaptive devices- and those devices are different than what you need for Atari era RF based systems. I think we're going to see the tech cutoffs stay, but the naming change. Since, as you point out, the idea of using older systems specifically wasn't a thing 20 years ago (people did it, but it didn't really have a name), I think we're going to see new words come into play to define eras. I use these ones: pre-NES is vintage, 8 & 16-bit is retro, 32 bit to last gen is classic (or maybe neo retro, that's a nebulous era right now.) Will everyone use these terms? Probably not, but I imagine something similar will emerge to break up and define the ever expanding catalog of no longer current consoles, so each generation of people can identify who's playing 'their' consoles.

I don't know if it really counts as a 'box' protector- but if anyone is looking to cover up loose lynx carts, I reccomend small/Asian/Yugioh sized card sleeves. They're perfectly the right width, you just need to cut off the top quarter to third, depending on the style of the cart. Regardless, the sleeve will cover the contacts & label just fine. The only trick is, it's really hard to find clear sleeves in the right size. I got black ones, they look pretty darn good. Plus, they're cheap- a few dollars for 60 sleeves means one or two packs is more than enough for most collectors.

I'm really terrible at being timely with feedback- grabbed a chunk of thrift store games right after Christmas. As always, perfectly pleasant & properly packaged product. Fujiskunk is easily my favorite guy to buy things from 'round here!