jhd
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Posts posted by jhd
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While he doesn't have any 2600 hardware (as far as I can tell), there is a flea market vendor around here with everything in his booth covered in dust and filth. I have no idea how he sells anything.
As for cleaning them, I acquired many grungy systems at garage sales and such. I would routinely remove the case and wash that in the sink -- even let it soak if required. This gets it back to a presentable condition easily.
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I got an Atari 2600 around 1981. Only one classmate of mine had one; we traded games occasionally and there was a nearby video store that had a few titles for rent. I ultimately owned about 6 cartridges for it; I probably played 12-15 titles altogether.
I sold it in Spring 1983 and I put the money towards a new Coco. Alas, I remember seeing advertisements for games lke Bard's Tale, Ultima, the Infocom series, etc. -- none of which would run on my system.
The readily available cartridge games at Radio Shack just did not compare in terms of quality. Eventually I discovered some of the better arcade ports and I held onto the system until I got a PC for Christmas 1988. The only real upside to having a Coco was that we used them in High School so I could do my BASIC programming assignments at home.
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I also voted for the Sixth Generation.
The PS 2 is the most recent console I own and I
it! I have absolutely no interest in online play or DLC. I have yet to see anything for the current generation that would make me have to go out and buy someting newer.
Sate-of-the-art graphics are not really an issue when I am playing 1980s arcade games.
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So, if I understand correctly then, the PS 3 cannot play (at least some) games without Internet access to "authenticate" the game. Or is it just because this particular game was purchased online?
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I think the point was that the pricedrop floor is rising a bit. The 2600 and NES were eventually below $100. However, even after numerous price drops, the 360/PS3/Wii aren't even close to that mark. I seriously doubt any of the current crop will get below $100, though the Wii just *might*. Can we ever expect a sub-$100 barely-current-gen console?
Inflation does skew this, I grant you that.
For what it's worth, around here the PlayStation 2 is still being sold at the $99 level (at those handful of stores that still have it it stock). It has been "stuck" at this point for several years now. (The PS One finally ended its retail life on clearance for around $50.)
If Sony is still making money off the PS 2 (and I assume that they are), I can see the reluctance to drop the price on the PS 3 to that same level as that would elimiate the market for their "budget" console.
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Is this game based on a licensed property (e.g. anime, comic book, toy series)? I've never heard of "Power Lords", but the advertisement suggests a significant back-story.
There is a 1983 copyright/trademark notice at the bottom of the flyer, but the print is too small to read.
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Almost all of my 2600 boxes (ca. 40) are stored flat-packed inside of a larger file box. My Folks moved house some years ago, and while they were happy to move/store my stuff along with theirs, I had to reduce the overall volume somewhat. (Note that it is not possible to flatten a Parker Brother's box without completely destroying it.)
That said, most of the boxes were obtained second-hand and so they were not in pristine condition to begin with.
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I'm surprised to see 2600 Donkey Kong in so many lists. It may have been a hit for Coleco, but was it really among the top 10 sellers across the board?
Remember that it was the pack-in game for the Gemini console for a long time (later replaced by Mouse Trap). Like Combat, that would account for a signifcant chunk of the total sales.
Many of the copies I've seen have the "Not for Resale"-type sticker on them indicating that it came with the system.
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There was a similar discussion about libraries collecting video games back in December:
Video Game Collection at the University of Calgary
In sum, there are a few other academic institutions (and public libraries) collecting games -- it may be helpful to contact them and see what issues they have faced, etc.
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I just took a quick look on Amazon.ca and Walmart.ca and they have nothing except for affiliate sellers. Any other Canadians seen them in retail?
Around here, Wal-Mart and Zellers both have stacks of them new for $99 -- though only the graphite black model. I bought a new-but-open-box PS 2 from Future Shop for $89 about six months ago (as a back-up system); there were several still sealed at $99. The Sony Store may still have a few; I've not checked.
As noted by others, virtually all that is left at retail is sports games, kiddie games, and music games. Surprisingly, many of these titles remain at full-retail ($30+).
I cannot imagine anyone starting a PS 2 collection at this point, but I suppose it is the cheapest (new) system currently on the market.
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The Coco joystick is simply a pair of potentiometers, mounted at right-angles to each other. The fire button is a simple momentary-contact switch.
The switch is very easily fixable/replacable; I upgraded mine to rapid-fire when I was about 14
I'm not sure if the pots are as easily repairable; perhaps open the case and see if there is just a loose connection or obvious mechanical damage.
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It's not comprehensive, but check-out replacementdocs:
http://www.replacementdocs.com/news.php
Currently, there are 299 NES manuals (some in Japanese), 167 Genesis manuals, and 201 SNES manuals.
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Before I go somewhere "new", I will do a quick search to see what local game stores, thrift shops, pawn shops, etc. are around. I do not atempt to hit all of them, but I will go to as many as are convenient and that time permits.
I have made some great finds -- rarity does seem to vary by region. For example, I found a store in Maine last year with multiple copies of a title that I had been unable to find anywhere locally.
I have had rather less success with find video games thrift shops, but I also collect books and art glass and so I usually find at least a few things to justify the visit.
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Jferio is exactly correct on this -- there are too many IP issues to ever make such a project viable (or even possible). Nintendo, for example, is certainly never going to license their IP to a competing hardware manufacturer so Donkey Kong will only ever be (legally) appearing on the Wii.
The best you are going to get (other than downloading ROMs, of course
) are the original arcade compilations on various modern systems. Lock 'N' Chase should be part of the new Data East compilation. -
Growing up, I had a Coco (post-atari 2600).
I used to use the blank pages at the back of the game manuals to log the high score (and date achieved) for each of the games.
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I have a 65XE that has an odd yellow streak about 3 inches across going diagonally across the machine. It's the damn oddest thing because the plastic on either side is in good shape.
Could it be residue from packing tape?
I don't know how it reacts to plastic long-term, but tape adhesive will stain and discolour paper given enough time.
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Agreed -- this is an excellent article. I look forward to the future installments.
There are a few established museums and universities that collect video games and related material, but by far it is mostly either in private collections or still with the original company (or long buried in a landfill somewhere).
Unfortunately, the historical record is frequently lost (or discarded) by other types of companies as well.
I used to work as a professional archivist and it was not uncommon for businesses and other organizations to call and ask us where their old records are; usually when a major anniversary or other milestone was approaching. We had to frequently explain that if they did not chose to donate their records to our institution then we did not have them.
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I went from an Atari 2600 to a PlayStation to a PlayStation 2, so I never had a ColecoVision, Intellivision, NES, Genesis, or SNES.
Happily there is now emulation for everythign but the SNES, so I feel no urge to buy more old hardware.
Genesis systems used to be dirt-common around here, but have hardly seen any games other than piles of old sports games. In contrast, I have never seen a CV "in the wild" and only very rarely have I seen games or other hardware (e.g. SA controllers).
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Are retail stores obliged to sell at the MSRP? What mechanism is there to stop retaliers from charging whatever the market will bear?
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I'm not sure where I stand in this discussion.
Despite my age (40-ish), I never played any of the classic computer or console RPG games growing up. In terms of hardware, I went from an Atari 2600 (1981) to a Coco (1983) to a PC (1988) to a PlayStation (2003) and now a PS 2 (2008). (I played AD&D a little bit in high school, but only very casually.)
Virtually nothing mainstream was ported to the Coco; I cannot think of a single RPG title (possibly excluding Dungeons of Daggorath). Consequently, I have only experienced some of the famous NES/Genesis titles (e.g. Dragon Warrior, Pool of Radiance, Phantasy Star II) rather recently and through emulation.
I really like the gameplay of many of these titles, but I also find them painfully slow. I have also been spoiled by the superior graphics of newer titles. Having played, for example, Baldur's Gate, it's really hard to get excited over any NES "Gold Box" SSI game. Probably I would feel differently if I had some positive memories of these games from my childhood, but it is hard to get into them "fresh" at this point.
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one of my friends is blind in one eye and the 3D TV that uses glasses wont produce the 3D effect for him because of that. i wonder if the TVs that don't require glasses will have the same effect with someone that cant see out of one eye.
Speaking as someone with limited vision in one eye, it is simply not possible to see 3D even "in real life". Stereoscopic vision is required for depth perception.
Need proof? Ask you friend to catch a football that you throw towards him.
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I've only ever seen a lonely 2600 Pac-Man cartridge in an antique shop. I don't recall the specific price, but I found it funny at the time.
There is one shop around here that sells books and some old advertising material, but most just stick to funriture, glassware, china, and the like.
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I began collecting around 1989 or 1990. My main interest then was the Atari 2600.
Garage sales and charity/church/rummage sales were a great source -- the going rate for a 2600 and a big box of games was usually only $25. EB Games did not arrive until the mid-90s and there were only a few small independent game stores. It was still possible to find a few 2600 games new at retail, usually forgotten stock in clearance bins.
I also picked-up two Pong systems for $1 each. I did not see much in terms of Colecovision, Intellivision, etc. hardware or games. Then, as now, I had no interest in old computers.
Remember to that there were no rarity guides so games were often priced as commodities -- Pac-Man would be priced the same as Waterworld.
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Which system pioneered the release of "annual" sports games, and when?
The 2600, for example, had Football (1979), Realsports Football (1982), Super Challenge Football (also 1982), and Super Football (1988), but these were really seperate games rather than part of a continuing series.
As far as I can determine, the trend of annual releases started on the Genesis around 1992 or 1993. Are there any other/earlier examples?
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Tandy pong
in Dedicated Systems
Posted
Some years ago now, I found a TV Scoreboard in box (again, no manual) at a rummage sale for $1.
It did, however, include the optional power adaptor.
I think this was a later model because it included the lightgun. It is currently packed away in storage so I cannot easily check the catalogue number.
The box certainly adds to the collectable value. The only boxed system I have ever encountered is mine.