HoshiChiri

Oh, that's basically what I've done! The set from Amazon Japan with 2 games & memory card is bought, they just can't mail it. Once they can- or once I find a local deal & cancel the order- my current slim will go to my sister (she's been getting back into gaming lately.) The second slim is technically my fiance's, so it's boxed up in his stuff- and the fat I've got hooked up is my original from 2001, & it ain't going nowhere! 😆

I'm not sure for Xbox, but PS4 & Switch are very much NOT region locked. I've got European games for both & Japanese/Asian releases on Switch, zero issues. In fact, many games on Switch will see your system's language info & automatically run the English version of the game for you! Online is still locked though- I was disappointed to learn my import copy of Taiko no Taisujin couldn't use DLC from my US account. Luckily the US digital release went on sale for like, 10 bucks shortly after & that fixed things 😆

Hey, if I can open an Xbox controller & find a teaspoon's worth of birdseed, im sure grease can work through a few curvy vents!

Yeah, I came to the same conclusion- except I did pick up a slim 75000 model. Reason being, I have one of the Joytech LCDs, but it's only compatible with a slim (and doesn't lock properly on models newer than the 75000.) This way I don't have to futz around with hooking it to my bloated entertainment center for a quick play session. Plus, I'll be able to play PS1 imports too! Well, I shouldn't say I picked one up yet- turns out Japan's turned off most out of country shipping due to "super-covid" concerns 😅 So while I have an order in with Amazon Japan, I don't actually know when it'll ship! It's ok though- they won't bill me until it ships, so I have time to poke around more local sources for a comparable deal. Gonna be hard to beat though- at least I think so. Silver 75000 model, black oem controller & memory card, hookups, & copies of Ico & Final Fantasy 12- $92 shipped. Most appropriate slims I can find are more expensive and/or lack the extras.

Since you brought up shooters specifically- there's an accessory Fangamer sells called the Flipgrip that allows for a vertically-oriented screen in handheld mode. Here's a link to the games that support it- which, naturally, covers a lot of vertical shooters.

I'm still interested in one! Nice to see this finally coming to fruition! 😁

Interestingly, they seem to be similar in cost to a Japanese console- and given the choice between a system from Serbia that I have to hope will work, or a stock console from Japan that will almost certainly work, I'd get the Japanese one.

Oooo! *runs to check* and there's stickers too! Awesome! Definitely- right now I'm debating between 'finding an appropriate swap magic setup' and 'buy an import console'. Swap magic let's me put my current spare ps2 to use, but is by far the harder option to come by. An import machine gives me access to ps1 titles & a chance to get my joytech lcd set up properly- but means I'll have a very superfluous 3rd ps2 hanging around. Decisions!

Doesn't appear to be made anymore- there's a few copies on Ebay, but anything that isn't $100 or more is disc only- meaning on top of making sure the version is correct to my console, I need to find the appropriate sensor covers to allow the swapping to occur. Also stumbled onto a scph-7500 satin silver Japanese PS2 on ebay... notable largely becuase it has the screw holes to accommodate my joytech LCD, and matches it in color- that's a mighty tempting find, to be honest! 😂

13. Yakuza 4 (PS4) Weird to think I've played 5 of these games this year! This one threw me with the split story- when I first realized I was playing Akiyama I was disappointed ("I don't want to be this lazy a$$!") but I quickly warmed up to the idea ("this lazy a$$ is actually awesome!") I'm taking a lil' break before I continue into Yakuza 5, as I fear I'm starting to burn out a bit. Not sure what I'll play next...

I already did some googling on Free McBoot... it seems that it allows for backups/homebrews, but not imports. I certainly don't want to kill a console, but between me & my fiance we have 3 PS2s & only one of them sees any use- so I definitely have an 'experimental system', so to speak. I honestly half-wonder if it'd just be better to get an import console- guarantees I could play import PS1 too. The only reason I'm kinda holding back on that is, quite simply, then I'd have 4 PS2s... and that's really kind of excessive!

If you haven't already, make sure your TV is outputting a 4:3 image. The stretch to 16:9 adds a LOT of fuzziness. I messed that up a bit when I got my first non-tube TV, just becuase it didn't occur to me that it would be such a big deal. And definitely fiddle with your cables. Use the a/v coax adapter previously mentioned & try different cables for the connection if you got spares. Heck, if you're feeling up to it, open your consoles and jiggle around the wires internally. These are old machines, and they can be finicky- all sorts of things can help your picture. My intellivison was unplayable (no horizontal hold) until after I opened it. Didn't really do anything, just took out all the parts & put them back... and then it was fine. Experiment a little!

Having opened my Secret Santa presents this morning, I find myself very much in need of an import solution for my PS2- I'm hoping someone here can get me pointed the right way! I want to run the original discs, not backups or rom/isos (just how I roll). I'm VERY willing to mod- I have a spare PS2 slim just waiting for something to do- but I have no soldering ability of my own, so if that's a factor I'd need someone who does installations to help. I'd prefer not to use 'lifehack'-style fixes that could strain the motor/laser (you know, 'use a paper clip to force the door open & switch discs while it's spinning!' kind of things.) If that's my only option though, I could try it... anybody got any thoughts?

OK! Christmas morning! Time to open my remaining gifts! First up is... UM... *nervous cough* well, I do have a little collection going of odd peripherals... this definitely counts! I will... need to figure out how to clean this before I do much else with it... 😂 Moving on! More snacks! I'm gonna good until like, March 😆 and an Antonia Levi book! I haven't heard that name in years, she used to be regular at my local anime con. This'll be fun! BWAHAHA! NO Christmas is complete unless someone gets a toilet-themed gift! Normally it's my mom getting toilet seat covers from my aunt, but I did give my sister Hello Kitty paper once (it was fruit scented!) This will be handy if the hoarders kick in again! And- my first NES homebrew! I have a couple modern carts, but they're more 'late release' (Holy Diver, Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl to be specific.) Looking forward to trying this! And then, the Big One: Now THIS. IS. AWESOME. I LOVE a good rythmn game, so I'm very aware of Beatmania, but it's always been niche enough to be juuust out of reach of me! I'm gonna be spending today looking into how to play imports (as there is a spare PS2 slim floating around here!) Thank you so much! I can't wait!

I just started playing again for the Christmas items... I have SO MANY extra hybrid flowers! Anybody want some? I don't want to toss 'em, but it's getting ridiculous!

So, since my fiance's family has opted to skip Christmas this year, I set myself up a lil' Charlie Brown-type tree & put out my remaining Santa gifts for tomorrow- becuase I could! I'm glad you liked it all! I was a lil' concerned you might already have the 45- I figured being a 'not for resale' copy might justify the duplicate- glad it wasn't an issue! The guys I bought the adapter from ended up sending me an extra, so I inadvertently got a gift for myself out of it! 😆 They are fun ones! Don't feel guilty! I get the concern (I certainly worry about it), but I don't think anyone here is seeking expensive or multiple gifts- just heartfelt ones. I'd be perfectly happy with one inexpensive thing that was clearly chosen for me than all the impersonal trinkets in the world! (Seriously, it amazes me that AA folk can shop better for me than some of my own family!) This is reigned in?! What the heck would all-out look like, a frickin' arcade cabinet?! 🤣

This thing, confuses me, so much... When I first saw the trailer, I thought "oh, it's an air fryer", and that made some sense. Then it started flashing specs & I'm like, it's a PC?! But the comments insist it's an actual console & I have no idea if they're just speculating or if I missed something! And of course, this is ignoring the whole 'is it even safe to keep frickin' CHICKEN in your gaming box?!' Wouldn't crumbs & oil be an issue? I just don't get it!

I know that pirate game! We used to play the CRAP out of that! Great fun, but you need a lot of space if you get really into it 😅 (Mostly I remember my fiance getting mad when I got & opened a pack with all translucent cards/boats, & he realized I just pulled a particularly rare set 😆)

I probably would have been terribly amused to recognize something from the workplace- but I get a discount, so it's best if I buy it anyway 😆 Not in a place to need a new kit though- I've been working on this one for quite awhile! (The stitched area is about 2 feet square!)

Ok, so now that things are settled- my Christmas has been thrown out of whack due to my brother (who lives in the same house as me & my parents) testing positive for covid 😳 Me & my mom have tested negative, dad & my sister (who visited the day before this was known) are pending. Bro is doing ok, just a general 'under the weather' feeling. I was visiting my fiance when this came up & went home only long enough to get some more supplies- I'm staying here for the quarantine period. So, Christmas is delayed a week for us. But fear not! I grabbed my Santa gifts when I went back, so I'll be finishing those off Christmas day proper. Well, except one, since the paper tore a bit anyway... 😆 Another one I'm not familiar with (although I'm pretty sure I've seen people post bob comics online, just never had any context for it!) Curious to see what this is like- and how Sinister takes his coffee! Sugar? Cream? Souls? 🤣 EDIT: OK, I only flipped to a couple random pages before posting this, and just now opened to the title page... this is autographed! Shame I don't know any Michaels... I mean, I WORK for Michael's, but I doubt Mr. Notley is just a big craft buff 😂 Still VERY cool!

I had a few boxes go sideways this year (thankfully not gifts!) Only one's required getting a replacement shipped, the others all started moving after awhile. Fingers crossed for you!

I kinda dig the European name more... I dunno, I think as a kid I might have taken an Adventure more seriously than something that sounds like a virtual amusement park (not that that's inaccurate!) Maybe, anyway- I didn't get serious about games until middle school-ish. Totally agree about the cover art, though! Various going-ons mean I gotta pause my gift a day plan- but I'll be back with more as soon as I can!

🎶On the fifth day of Christmas, Captain gave to me...🎶 I had to do a quick Google on this one, becuase I'd actually never heard of it! I guess it's called Marvel Land stateside? It's very colorful- I dig it! Even though I only had a couple minutes before work, I had to pop it in just to see it run- despite my Genesis games containing the oldest part of my collection, I actually didn't own any Mega Drive games! I mean, I knew they'd work (save for occasional pal-related issues). I just never actually found one to get. I'm looking forward to really giving this a go!

Catch up day! My niece came by early, so we did a pre-work gift opening! First one: A Queen music box! I actually had to look it up on YouTube to figure out the song, becuase Sev (my niece) didn't want to give it up & doesn't have good speed control 😄 (it's Bohemian Rhapsody of course!) Despite being my favorite band, I don't have a lot of Queen stuff outside of albums, so this is awesome! While Sev was distracted by the box, I opened the next gift: A new 2600 cart! Sev wanted to try it immediately, but I still have the Odyssey 2 out for Mean Santa, so maybe after work. I went to open the last box, but Sev decided she wanted to open it & grabbed it from me! This one was a box of cute cat buttons! I'm gonna have to figure out what all to attach these to!! 😄 Fast-forward's over, tune in tomorrow for the 5th day of Christmas & a further display of CaptainBreakout's generosity!😊

I haven't busted out my PSP for a bit, but I'd never get rid of it- it's a very solid lil' system with a great library! The only accessory I'd consider is the component cable- it lets you play on a TV (at least on the 2000/3000, I'm not sure it works on the 1000.) Be sure to keep your eyes open around secondhand sources- it's not well known so you might get a lucky hit. I got a 3000 for my sister-in-law at a yard sale a couple years ago for $5... it was in a travel case, so it looked like an empty case at a glance. Even had a couple games with it!