spacecadet

Yes, they're interchangeable. I have two US guns and one Japanese gun and I use whichever one happens to be on top of the pile.

Probably on the first page of the set I like the photos with people in them. That's what really dates these, those hairstyles and fashions. Otherwise arcades like this actually still exist (there's still at least one here in NYC, with tons of classic games)... though some of these machines do look quite a bit newer than I've seen them in a while.

Nope, they're identical. This page shows both - the one below the box is a Majesco unit (and a Majesco box), the one I'm holding in my hands is a Sega unit: http://home.earthlink.net/~jeffw2002/games/gamegear.html If you can see a difference, you've got better eyes than I have. Both have colored dots on the face. AFAIK even the box is the same - Sega called all of their bare systems "CORE" systems too, that's not a Majesco thing. Just means it has no pack-in games.

Bright blue one was a Pepsi promotion, IIRC. They're uncommon but not that uncommon. I don't know anything about the dark blue one, but I don't think I've seen one either. Might be more uncommon than the bright blue one. I would agree with SteveW that neither is probably worth all that much, though. Maybe someday they will be, but this isn't a really sought-after system right now and there are still a lot of them out there.

Argh, apparently this is gone now? Looks like I missed my chance to pick it up, I don't see it in the store anymore...

This is akin to asking "if the Dreamcast had sold better, do you think the Dreamcast would have sold better?" I mean why do you think Sega was having financial problems? Considering that it did experience very low sales, I would say it would have continued to experience very low sales. I guess if what you're asking is whether Sega could have resuscitated the DC given unlimited cash, the answer is no. I see hypothetical questions like this come up a lot - I just never see the point to them. If a company is in business to sell products, and the products they produce don't sell, first of all where would they have gotten this mythical money that they never had before, and second of all why would that cause people to suddenly start buying a system they've already shown they don't want? (I love the DC, don't get me wrong... but just throwing money at it wouldn't have made a difference even if Bill Gates had died and willed his entire estate to Sega.)

I doubt they are worth much. I've seen auctions for these types of things on ebay from time to time and they usually go for around 10 bucks. I suppose there might be some specific ones that people might want, but I'd think those would be more the name brands - like a real Atari organizer to go with an Atari system. Boxed up, I've seen those go for $50 or so. If I were you, I'd probably keep them if I actually needed to use them. I'd probably keep the boxes too but I don't think you really need to worry about keeping the organizers themselves in new condition.

Unbelievably there is another crystal yellow one on Ebay right now. I've got my eye on it, if it stays low enough I might go for it. There's no real point in me having two except to hoard, but I just never see this color anywhere. If anyone sees a crystal blue one, though, I'd definitely go for it for $25 if it came with the box, etc.

Most of the Game & Watches are $50-$100, even the ones that are worth $10. The tabletops are almost all over $80, some are close to $200 or at least were last time I visited. Basically take what you know one of those things is worth and double it. The Mattel handhelds were close to $100 last time I looked, but this was before the re-release. I don't know if any of them have been repriced since then, but I kind of doubt it (this is the kind of store where conserving price gun tape seems to be the primary business model).

Dude, no offense but no way a used US PS2 is worth $90. Bare ones pretty much always go for $60-$70 on Ebay. Gamestop sells refurbished ones for $90 - that's fixed and cleaned and with a warranty. .hack is $25 max each (usually more like $15), and those are Ebay prices. I have no interest in turning anyone off your sale - I'm just here because I was curious, because not many people other than me seem to have both a US and a Japanese PS2. In fact I kinda stuck up for you in my last reply. But if you're gonna be unrealistic *and* have an attitude about it, I'm gonna say something... Good luck trying to get what you're asking on Ebay. Usually people try to sell stuff for *less* than what they think they could get for it on Ebay here... you're going for more. Nothing you've got is rare, so don't act like you're doing us a favor by giving us "first crack" at it. Anyway, I'll exit now and let the free market do its worst...

CX-2600 was the part number long before Warner had anything to do with Atari. Somebody at old Atari did come up with that number. My point above was that I doubt much thought went into it because it was not used publicly. It's the same as the Intellivision or really any other console - nobody calls the Intellivision the "Mattel 2609", so who cares about the part #? You don't call your PS2 the "Sony 55001" either. These numbers can be anything. But Warner had nothing to do with the number originally; it was all original Atari. Warner were just the ones who decided to actually use it to market the system(s).

Also don't forget that the model number back then really was not that important, because that was not the system's name. The name of the system was the Atari Video Computer System. CX-2600 was just the part number. (In fact, back then we all just called it "the Atari"; "Video Computer System" was really generic sounding so it was usually completely left off whenever anybody mentioned the system.) I'm not refuting any particular theory, just pointing out that they probably didn't much care what they picked for the part # of the console at that point. They didn't start calling it the 2600 publicly until around the time the 5200 was released and they realized it was a quick and easy way of marketing the fact that the 5200 was "twice as powerful". Because, you know, 5200 is 2600 times two! Also, as for "Atari", it's from Go but it's also a common word in the Japanese language. I'm not sure if Bushnell, etc. realized this or not, but they may have. In Go it's similar to saying "Check" in chess, but in common Japanese parlance it means something close to "I win" (it is similar to "yatta!" but not quite the same). People say it when playing lots of games or even just when they've done something they think is impressive in real life. A quick edit: "yatta" basically means "I win", "atari" is more offensive in nature in common usage... it's actually closer to "you lose". I kinda wonder if this is not one reason why they had so little success in Japan; imagine a company that named itself "You Lose!" in English and then tried to sell games in America.

i am serious 909956[/snapback] I'm pretty sure his reply was his way of saying "no"... I don't think this package is worth as much as he probably thinks it is but it's definitely worth more than $200. The .hack games alone are worth about $25 each if you go by ebay prices. The two consoles, maybe $60-$70 each, FFXI with the HDD is maybe $40-$50, network adapter $25, etc. etc. It's definitely more than $200 worth of stuff. I'd say $300 is probably pretty close.

Nope. All WinCE games have an obvious and specific WinCE loading screen. It's part of the contract Sega signed with MS. There is no way to miss a WinCE game. Most, if not all WinCE games also say "Powered by Microsoft Windows CE" on the back of the game case. I would think that all of them said this but I just checked my copy of Chu Chu Rocket (which I think is a WinCE game) and it has nothing on the back of the box. I'm too lazy to actually fire up my DC right now, though, so I'm not 100% sure this is an actual WinCE game. I have a few other games that do have the logo on the back of the jewel case.

His prices have always been bordering on completely outrageous. I strongly suspect all he does is buy stuff on ebay for resale. I wouldn't miss it if this store closes down. The people who work there are mostly arrogant jerks (they act like you're the one that's crazy if you think you can get an Atari 2600 system for less than $100) and I'm surprised they even allowed these photos to be taken. Their prices are mostly terrible. Maybe if they go out of business they'll be forced to hold a fire sale before shutting down, they'll actually have some decent deals for once.

Sure, if you want to be gouged... $150 for a 4-switch Atari 2600, for one example. $5-$10 for most common games. I've bought stuff there but everything I've bought has been a very small purchase and I've always debated whether it's worth it. They've got a box of loose common games that's sometimes worth it if you're missing any commons - it's $1 per game. I've also bought a couple loose 5200 games for $4 each, and a boxed Intellivision Microsurgeon for $5. These are not good deals, but they're at least not bad deals. Most of the stuff they sell is a bad deal, though. But they're at least fun to visit as almost a museum. I think there is a huge place in Brooklyn that has a lot of classic game stuff for cheap; I don't know where it is but maybe somebody else will chime in about it. Think you mean Astor Place

Well, as time goes by, the going price for both versions will likely increase. I mean there are only so many of these things around, and they're not making anymore of em. I remember back in the late 1980's there were a lot of people that just couldn't accept this, and there probably still are some who disagree... but this is the way it is with collectables as they age. Almost any tin toy from the early 1900's in its original box is worth about 500 times its original price now, for example. That doesn't mean prices will always increase, but over time the trend will be upwards. Especially when $10-$50 is your starting point - there's really nowhere to go but up. I mean this is not just some random item, this is the beginnings of the video game industry. It'd be like having an original Edison motion picture camera or something. Assuming that, I don't think it's going to ultimately matter which version of the system you have. They will both end up coveted for different reasons. (I should point out that I don't consider either model at all "rare" yet, but as the decades go on, that will probably change.) Some people will want the Atari-branded system for "authenticity's" sake, others will want the Sears-branded system both because of its different look and the story behind it (it already sounds quaint to think that Sears wouldn't sell any product with a brand name other than its own at one point). I think that ultimately, the serial number, condition, and completeness will matter more than the brand. I have a Sears model and I am glad to have it. I'd like to get an Atari model eventually but it's not a pressing need (especially given my current space issue). I like the look of the Sears model a lot; even better than the Atari version (I do have a 4-switch Atari model).

Interesting but basically meaningless. For one thing, this is one dude. For another, he's reviewing past games now at the same time as he reviews current games, so his numbers for past consoles are skewed by history while his numbers for current consoles are based on current trends. (In other words, he's going to be judging all games by today's standards, and by his own standards, even if he says otherwise. He's human, he can't avoid it.) It would be only slightly more meaningful to go back and look at various issues of major game magazines over the years and do a similar list for reviews as they were happening, compiled from a variety of sources. I say only slightly because I used to be a member of the gaming press and I know how things work - I would think it highly unlikely that any given console had a significantly different ratio of good to bad games in the press at any given time because of the press's natural tendency to want to please everybody, especially current advertisers. I'm at least as qualified to review games as this guy (not only did I work for the press, I also worked in the industry itself, for Rockstar Games, and I've been collecting games as long as he has), and I could put a similar list together for you right now and nobody'd give it any credence whatsoever, nor should they. I'm just one guy, at a particular moment in time. If you could somehow guarantee that all members of the press were 100% honest at all times and you then went back and compiled a similar list from all possible sources, then you'd have something really worth talking about. But that's not really very plausible.

If you're talking about the one I posted, I bought that in a store. So I doubt it was you. I've never seen one that color on Ebay. I would probably buy another one if I did and the price was low enough. I've actually been trying to find the crystal blue model for a while now but they're not easily attainable anymore in the US.

The top 10 are ok. Beyond that, I dunno. Wave Race 64? Come on. Not that it's your fault or anything. But I think from #10 on, this is not really any better than any of the individual top 100 lists these publications have released, all of which are pretty ridiculous. Just shows there are around 10 games that pretty much everybody can agree on being great.

Link goes to My Ebay. As in my Ebay.

Huh?? He says they sold a ton of games, so "here is a rare one"?? How the hell does this make sense?

I do. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with my GBA except for the standard Nintendo yellowing around the edges. I think I've learned at this point never to buy any white or grey Nintendo system ever again. Drives me crazy how well I take care of my stuff only to have it go yellow regardless. But, at least my GBA isn't too bad - it's just along the seams on the sides.

But have I played RE on PSX since it came out on the GameCube? No. Will I ever? Are you kidding? (Same is true of Metal Gear Solid, btw.) Have I played Sonic 2 on the Genesis since the release of Sonic Mega Collection? Nope. Will I ever? Maybe, maybe not. FF7? It's being remade on the PS3 (I know it's not official yet, but it's happening). Syphon Filter? Not a classic. Go back and play it again. Grandia? Was a classic on the Saturn first. I also think that there's a difference between a sequel that's just different than the game before (i.e. the Final Fantasy series) and a sequel that truly improves in all areas on the original. Why, for example, would you play Gran Turismo 1 anymore when you've got Gran Turismo 4? There is no reason - there is nothing unique about GT1 that's not in GT4. The same is true of games like Wipeout, Twisted Metal, and a few others on your list. Personally, I didn't say there's no reason to own a PSX, but there's less reason to need one than there is other systems, if these are the games you want to play. I mean, true, nobody needs any game system, but unless you're really out to just have every major system ever and every game in the world, the PSX has less to offer a future collector than many, many other systems. Given that most of its best games are non-exclusive, it doesn't have as much to drive people to it or give it an identity of its own as some other systems. This is not the way it works. You're assuming that things that are popular at the time are always looked at fondly or with a sense of nostalgia. That has never been true, in any medium. Do you look back and remember how great the band Nelson was today? What about Hanson? Is Titanic still one of your favorite movies? What about Independence Day? How collectable is the Genesis? You can get a system for 10 bucks and most games for under a dollar. Only a few of its games sell for even close to what they did new. (I love the Genesis, and I love collecting for it because it's so cheap, but I'm obviously in the minority.) The PSX will never be forgotten but it is highly, highly unlikely people are really going to feel true nostalgia for it. I do agree that the PSX had some great RPG's and it's those RPG's that are already some of its most collectable games. Beyond that, though, it doesn't really have a whole lot to offer in terms of unique content.

Orange cleaner is most definitely not ok. That stuff is citric acid - that's why it smells like orange. I would never advise cleaning your consoles with any kind of acid. Every time you do you are going to take a little bit of the finish off. I'm all about Glass Plus. Now I know, there may be stuff in there that's not great for plastic either (surely not as bad as acid, though!). But I've looked at the ingredients and I don't think it's too harmful. It has to be Glass Plus and not Windex or a store brand, though, because all of those contain ammonia. Glass Plus is basically just a sort of soap that doesn't streak or suds up. I have cleaned all my consoles with Glass Plus, sometimes repeatedly, and except for a few that show obvious wear from use or fading in one or two cases, most of them look good as new. (Just look at my site linked from my sig.) Also, this is sort of tangentially related but whenever you buy a used console, I would highly, highly recommend cleaning it with both Glass Plus and Lysol disinfecting wipes. (Don't use Clorox wipes or anything else containing bleach - use Lysol.) Glass Plus is not intended to kill germs, but Lysol is. And lord knows I've bought a few consoles that were scary to even pick up when I got them. You never know what sorts of little creatures were putting their butt-picking little fingers all over your "new" console before you bought it. Same goes for the controllers, obviously! Maybe even doubly so.