HoshiChiri

It's not an app, but I started using vgcollect.com after someone here linked to it, and I love it! I've bounced around from site to site for years, but this is the first one that's let me list my entire collection, which is wonderful. The stats page has some awesome stuff on it too- I especially like that it breaks down your collection by category. I'm a lot more concerned about the number of physical games I own than digital games or what version of each console I have, so it's great that it breaks that down. Sometimes the listings are incorrect, but mods are quick on the update logs, so if you submit the right info it's corrected in just a day or two. New submissions are added instantly, too- handy for getting obscure items into your collections fast. Long story short- definitely the best thing I've ever used for listing.

For online purchases- I don't care at all about the 3% exchange fee. If I can get what I want, at a price I'm happy with, I'm not really concerned about what money goes to paypal/shipping/etc. However- it is important that I can figure that out. Once in awhile, I've found international sellers (usually Japanese, I deal with them more) who only list a yen price & only accept a yen payment. This means I don't know what my final total is until it comes out of my bank account. I can always try checking an exchange site to get an estimate, but the number varies from site to site. Plus, if it takes a week to get billed, the rate's likely changed. That's usually not a problem with Ebay transactions, though. As far as in-person transactions... considering how many cashiers have trouble with just handling US currency, I understand why they wouldn't want to bother with Canadian (except the dime thing... it's just a dime! Dump it on someone else in their change already!) I am a bit surprised to learn about the trouble with bank exchanges, though- you'd think they'd be set up to handle it properly. At least along the border/in tourist hotspots. Maybe we've just stumbled into a business venture...

I am giggling to myself that the Atari was sold off, but is on the 'buy' list for later. I mean, I get why, but it still sound silly to say out loud. I'm also very jealous at your solid collecting plan... mine got torpedoed over the holidays, and I'm still sorting it out. I'm listening... I don't particularly need anything, but as the Genesis was when I really got into gaming, I tend to be a bit attached to it. I feel like the seagulls from Nemo when it gets mentioned. "Sega? Sega! Sega!"

Man, how do you pick just one? There's so much variety out there, and you expect me to huck it all out the window in favor of one simple experience? C'mon, dude! I suppose, if someone put a gun to my head and forced me to pick- Katamari Forever. The Katamari series has a wonderful balance of the pick-up-and-play nature of most retro games, and the story driven long-haul style of the modern era. There's varied levels that change up how you approach your rolling. Honestly, I'd put the whole series up as a potential 'best ever'- but since we're going for a single game, I'll pick the one that combines some of the best stages from the whole run. Other favorite titles: Demon Attack- I've only played the Intellivision version thus far, but it's a fantastic lil' shooter that somehow keeps its Jaws-theme soundtrack from getting too old. Guardian Legend- an adventure game meets shooter for the NES that'll make you wonder why no one else did the same thing. I may be biased, this is tied to one of my best childhood gaming stories. Klonoa 2: Luntea's Veil- One of the best platformers I've ever played. It's not terribly difficult... think Kirby... but it's gorgeous and fun. Elite Beat Agents: I love rhythm games, and this is one of the most unique & entertaining ones you'll ever come across. I picked EBA over its Japanese counterparts simply for song familiarity- and I have to give them props for making a brand-new game for the English market over just porting a Japanese one. Patapon: AKA, the reason I bought my PSP when I did. Another very unqiue take on the rhythm genre, this time mixed with a sprinkle of side-scrolling strategy. Also, you get to be a god. That's always fun. Tearaway: I have never played a game that made me, personally, feel like a part of the story the way Tearaway does. You don't play as the main character, you play WITH them. It's an amazing dynamic. Final Fantasy 12: I've played a lot of JRPGs. They mostly do the same thing- get your friends, save the world. I love that, in FF12, the world is not at stake- it's just some rinky-dink country. I love that so much. Plus, the cast is great, and I'm just a fan of Mr. Matsuno's storytelling in general. Crazy Taxi: The only driving game where not being able to stay on the road, isn't gonna mess you up too much. Original soundtrack is a must. Ok... so I guess that's a top 10 list off the top of my head. It's hardly refined, though.

YES. YES YES YES. I love this game. I've never finished it- hell, I'm not sure I've ever gotten more than 2 keys. I still love it- it's a slightly bizarre but completely awesome mash-up of vertical shooter and Zelda. It is very worth your time!

I have a friend who's been hunting for Felix for years now- she used to play it with her grandma on grandma's nes. She was always told that, when grandma passed, the games were promised to her. When the time came, she got the box in the mail from her mom- and only then did anyone learn that a couple of opportunitistic cousins had raided grandma's stuff for valuables. Any game that was worth more than about $20 was gone. Apparently grandma also had that really expensive Flintstones game- she's accepted that's never coming back.

Done... with?I don't understand the question... In all seriousness though, basically every system has more games to discover. Done with the classics? Find hidden gems. Then dig into your favorite genre. Then check out homebrews. There's really no "done" if you don't want there to be.

No problem- it took me months of hunting to stumble across those guys, so I like to spread the word when I can. It amazes me how much disc packing has shrunk... I've seen cases that put 6 discs into the space of 1 standard 15mm DVD case, without using those awful spindle hubs. It's kind of crazy! Oh, but on the note of annoying 'eco-friendly' cases... I HATE these things so much! I get the idea- "less plastic waste is better for the planet!" Here's the problem: 1)It's not waste if I'm not going to throw it away. Most people do keep their disc cases! 2)Why are you taking away the plastic from DIRECTLY BEHIND THE DISC?! That's where I want it the most! These aren't saving anything, they're making it worse... because people like me buy good cases and throw these away whenever possible! I'm still hoping to find proper non-eco cases in Wii U blue so I can upgrade those.

http://usplastics.com/search/?q=dvd&view=g&refinements=&skip=30 Love these guys. You don't have to buy in bulk, shipping is reasonable enough (at least it was, it's been awhile). You're still out of luck if you need a 4-disc case or want authentic stuff... but if you just need a home for the discs, it's great. (the green single-disc amarays are 360 green too.)

It's an intriguing thought, to be sure- considering the expense of the headsets, there's definitely people who'd rather pay a couple dollars to try it for 15 minutes instead of shelling out a few hundred and sacrificing a room in their home. I know I certainly don't have the option to have a 'VR room'. (I'm assuming the vive-style setup where you actually move about the space is going to be a goal for most VR here.) At the same time, though- you'll need tech that can't be had in your home and some 'killer apps' to get & keep people interested beyond just trying it out once. As it stands, I think a few cities could pull off a temporary VR arcade- think something like an exhibit at the local science center. But something permanent? I'm not so sure.

Extra Credits sums things up better than I can: https://youtu.be/QBaOpfSL2YQ

Where were you 2 summers ago when I threw out my nigh-complete run of PSM?! I was only missing issue 1! *sigh*

I kind of think of it like this: most social media, like facebook, is like being at a party. Everyone's in their little groups talking to everyone else, not paying much attention to any other conversations, and the topics can change at the drop of a hat people move from group to group so nothing is talked about in depth. Forums are more like a study group. We have our focus, and we're pouring over the books, discussing what we find & what it means to the topic at hand. Occasionally you get on an unrelated tangent, but it doesn't last too long. No one's talking over each other because we're all learning about the same thing. I don't think forums will ever die completely- there will always be a desire for a conversation over chatter on certain subjects. I do think we'll continue to see forums sort of collapse in on themselves, as more followers of more niche interests move to places that discuss similar, but not identical, topics so there's a faster flow of conversation. For example, I'm not sure how well a dedicated colecovision forum would work, but as a sub-topic somewhere that discusses all classic gaming? It at least lets you read about other older systems you might like while you wait for your topic to get some new hits. Plus, people who aren't big enough fans to join a dedicated coleco forum will pop in and comment while waiting on their system-of-choice to get talked about... so you end up with more people talking than you would otherwise. (It certainly doesn't hurt that the kind of people who'd care about 30-40 year old videogames are the kind of people who grew up on forums & therefore are more comfortable in them. )

Exactly. If I were to consider bidding on such an auction, it would be with the expectation of getting the least desirable game/type of game I can think of, with a price to match. Since the amount of money I'm willing to spend on 90s Madden titles is "nothing", that's my offer. I kinda think he'd say no.

Oh yeah... it's been a long time since I read any Nintendo paperwork. (I've been working on collecting for other systems.)

You know, I've only ever seen that term used in one context: That's honestly a genuinely disturbing thought to me. Good thing people bootlegged the CRAP out of the DS so we'll still have the games.

Ha. Ha ha ha. I don't have anyone to retro-game with at ALL. I have one friend who'll play 8-bit & up, but anything pre-crash I usually have to annoy the crap out of someone to get half an hour's worth of play in. Nothing quite like the feeling of trying to run a 2-players required game by yourself!

This thing just confuses me on so many levels: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-NES-Mod-Controller-for-Sega-Genesis-/301819106758?hash=item4645d215c6:g:0xcAAOSwQoFWQRX4

Bump for new want list!

Something I was thinking about the other day... what exactly is the difference between a game cartridge and a game card? I know how they look: But is there something notable in their construction that makes them different in a non-cosmetic way? My first thought was cards have exposed contacts and carts have a plastic 'lip' covering them... but then again, PS1/PS2 memory cards have the lip. Or am I just reading too much into this and it's all pure semantics with no functional difference between the two?

This- I'd much rather have to clean out some dust than worry about my console fusing to a title. I will leave the cart in if I'm playing it, which usually involves the system being on at least every few days.

This is a really hard question for me to answer... I'm typically looking at $30-60 per modern title instead of $1-25ish on vintage. At the same time, I tend to buy more vintage becuase it's cheaper than the modern titles. So, it kind of balances out? However- I'm willing to spend more on a single vintage game than modern. For example- I scoffed at the idea of spending $80-100 on Bayonetta 2, assuming if I waited it would be cheap again soon enough (a correct assumption, I might add!) At the same time, I've been hunting for a copy of Lunar Eternal Blue on Sega CD with the expectation that it will cost $100. So based on that, I picked vintage.