spacecadet

The thing that gets me is this: "ANYOME WITH A RATING OF 5 OR LESS MUST PLEASE CONTACT ME FIRST BEFORE ANY BID BECOMES ACCEPTED." The dude's got a rating of 1 himself! I hate newbies that put up auctions like this as their first (or second) auction. I'd never bid on something like this. I mean dude, sell some common NES carts individually or something first, build up a little feedback history.

Mattel licensed the Intellivision to basically anyone that wanted it. Sears, Tandy (Radio Shack) and Sylvania all took them up on it. Bandai picked it up in Japan. The Sears and Tandy models are a bit different than the stock Mattel system cosmetically, though the Tandy just has woodgrain instead of metal strips. The Sylvania is basically just like a Mattel system, except it's possible the metal strips are lighter in color. I've never been sure of this, though. The Sylvania system is definitely rarer than the Mattel. I would definitely say it's more than worth $10 with 23ish games - I'd pick that up in a second. I don't know how much of a premium it'd be worth over a Mattel system but I'd pay $10 even for a Mattel system with 23 games. That's definitely a deal.

I've been trying to collect Genesis stuff lately because it's cheap and I actually really like the system (and I had one when it was new). And you gotta love those clamshell game cases. Problem is a bunch of mine are really worn - I remember in the 90's you could actually buy replacements for a buck a piece at Toys R Us and Blockbuster but nowadays I never even see them turn up on Ebay. Does anyone know of a current source for these? Or does anyone just have a bunch of mint (or new?) cases they'd want to sell me? Actually same question for Saturn games... I actually bought a bunch of these at one point not too long ago from Video Game Liquidators but I had a horrible experience and vowed to never use them again. Anyway, I think these cases are long gone even at VGLQ at this point. I'm sure a lot of you know how fragile those US Saturn cases were...

i don't know if i agree with that. "If any one has any more information on the history of the TV1 e-mail me, and I will post it. The sad part is one one really knows what HAPPENED." Is this page serious?

I think that's pretty revisionist. The Sega CD was so successful, I guess, that they felt the need to rush the 32X and then the Saturn to market in order to stay competitive. The Sega CD was intended to beat back the SNES, and it didn't work. The Genesis fell further behind the SNES after the Sega CD's release. The model 2 Sega CD was designed to cut costs and increase reliability by eliminating one of the motors (from what I've read here, it was not completely successful at this). They had to do this, because the system wasn't selling. The alternative was to pull the system and leave the Genesis out there as the perceived inferior to the SNES, which was already pulling ahead. Just the fact that a system has a major marketing push and a lot of them are produced doesn't say anything about its success. Sega put a huge amount of money into this thing and made basically nothing back in return. But then, I know people who say Sega was successful in pretty much everything they've done... which I guess is the reason they're now out of the hardware business altogether. The Sega CD was the start of their downward spiral. (I am a huge Sega fan, and have almost every system they've ever produced along with practically all of their peripherals - maracas included! - but even I acknowledge their failures.)

Just a nitpick. I'm fairly certain the SegaCD was $229.99 in 1992. And I'm fairly certain it was $300. If you search around the net, you find this figure almost everywhere - and here's a pretty in-depth article that talks all about the Sega CD's history and also mentions this price: http://www.eidolons-inn.net/segabase/SegaBase-SegaCD.html I also worked in an electronics store at the time and while I wouldn't trust my memory alone, I do remember it selling for $300 initially. With all this other material out there supporting that, I believe that's the correct number. This doesn't mean the price didn't drop very quickly. The Sega CD was a pretty major flop. It wouldn't surprise me if it was discounted pretty heavily within six months. That part, I don't remember one way or another - but it seems plausible. If you consider that a Genesis at the time also cost around $100 or maybe a bit more, the cost of a full, working Sega CD system at launch was at least $400.

It hasn't been produced since probably 1999. You're not going to find them new. You can probably still find them at used stores there. The later Saturn stick was just such a piece of crap, and came out so late in the Saturn's life there, that nobody wanted it. So it doesn't surprise me that those are still around. It is not like the kind of arcade stick normally sold with Japanese systems.

Yeah, they eventually released the crappy US model later in Japan, and it's probably more common there than the original one. This is the one you want, though: http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r11104945 http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f35137820 Or the friggin' ultimate Saturn stick, depending on your point of view: http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r15241924 http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e49182297 Unfortunately, nobody in Japan will ship internationally, even if you speak the language and have a Japanese bank account! I have never found an auction there that said the seller would actually ship internationally. Which is maybe just as well, because I'd have to have a warehouse to house all the stuff I'd buy on Japanese auctions. It's like a whole other world of collecting over there.

Sega themselves never released any wheel for the Dreamcast in the US. Agetec did, and it was the Japanese Sega Rally Wheel. It did not have the Sega logo on it, just the Dreamcast logo. (It may have said Sega on the bottom; mine's boxed up right now or I'd check.) There were no separate pedals; the pedals were behind the wheel itself, so you'd squeeze them as you gripped the wheel. This is the Sega/Agetec wheel that was released here: http://www.segagagadomain.com/hardware/wheel.JPG Surprisingly enough, Agetec still has this listed on their web site: http://www.agetec.com/products.asp?MyView=...ame=Rally+Wheel btw, at the time Agetec and Sega were both owned by CSK. So Agetec would pretty routinely get dibs on the scraps that Sega thought wouldn't sell here. They released the DC stick, the DC wheel and a couple of the lower-end Sega games here, too (like Virtua Athlete 2000). They wanted to release the Sega gun but Sega wouldn't let them. Anyway I really wouldn't recommend this wheel... the third party wheels are probably actually better. Sega's DC arcade stick was awesome but this weel is not one of their better efforts. Some people may like that it doesn't have separate pedals, though; it's more compact and it's a one-piece unit. And it's solid... it just doesn't give me very realistic results. I feel like I'm swimming whenever I try to drive with this wheel.

That's a pretty cynical attitude. I think it's more likely that they did the same thing for this list as they do for all their lists; they only consider games made while they've been in circulation (hence the Genesis/SNES version of Ms. Pac-Man being on the list, not the original), and as you would expect for a variety of reasons, they weight it pretty heavily towards what's current. I mean a) they want to sell some magazines, and b) these are the games they've got stuck in their own minds. I doubt there's anything nefarious about it. I think it's kind of silly to try to look at a list like this in a gaming magazine as some sort of historical thing to stand the test of time. The point of this magazine is to make money. They're not interested in putting together a time capsule. It's fun to go and look back and laugh at some of their choices but let's not take this too seriously.

I don't think anybody can give you any definitive answers to this. Most of what you'll get probably amount to old wive's tales. I can just tell you that I've got two launch systems (one US, one Japanese) and I've beaten the hell out of both of them as far as the amount they've been used and they both still work fine. The US one takes longer than it used to to recognize discs but I've never had a DRE and like I said, this is after 4 years of often non-stop use. It's just normal wear and tear. I keep mine vertical. I don't know if this makes any difference but the laser lens is sideways, so dust won't collect on it. Same is true of all the other electronics - no dust collecting means less heat buildup. It also helps the fan stay clear. There is also basically nothing at the very top of the PS2 case (old model, anyway), so I would think it would be better for heat to collect and then escape from up there than for it to sit around directly over various important parts when horizontal. My Japanese system was actually dropped shortly after it was purchased and it was physically broken (the drive door popped out and would not go back in - it had come off the track). It was repaired by Sony and I have had no further problems. I also had this system modded at one point, and when I got sick of the mod (because it ate my discs for lunch) I opened the case and actually physically ripped the mod chip out. Still, no problems. I don't think PS2's are as fragile as they're reputed to be. But maybe the quality control is just not great. It may be a case where if you get a good one, it'll work forever, but if you get a bad (i.e. defective) one, it could go at any time.

Intellivision launched at somewhere between $280-$300 in 1979. Mine cost $280, but I think that was a discount. I think the MSRP was probably $299. A lot of other consoles have been around that price. The Atari VCS was $249 in 1977, I believe. The Neo Geo AES launched at $699 in the late 1980's. 3DO was also $700, as you said, although that was MSRP and pricing wasn't set on that, so you could get them for less. Sega Genesis launched at $249 in 1989. Saturn was $400, as you said, PS1 and PS2 were both $300. Sega CD was $300 in 1992. There are more I'm not thinking of in that range. Maybe, maybe not. It was not really out of bounds with what other consoles sold for at the time. It also didn't stay at that price for very long; the CV undercut it and so the price on the 5200 dropped pretty quickly. It was sort of the same deal as the Saturn/PS1 battle (with the same result). Nowadays you'd never get away with releasing a system at $270 in 1982 dollars or $700 in today's dollars... but the market was smaller back then and there were a lot fewer multi-console owners. Today there are a lot of people who buy every console that comes out, so they actually spend about the same amount as they used to... but any system that was priced significantly more than the others would be at a severe disadvantage, competitively.

The MadCatz wheels were white, IIRC. Not sure about Interact. Sega also made their own wheel for the system and sold it under the Agetec brand here in the US (they did the same with the DC arcade stick). This wheel isn't all that great either but it is, at least, first-party... if you care about that sort of thing. I find I do better just with the regular controller than I do with the Sega wheel.

Congrats on your NIB CV - wish I could be so lucky. As for the Inty launch games, this is the list of games released in 1979, when the console first went on sale: Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack Armor Battle ABPA Backgammon The Electric Company Math Fun That's it! There were more when it went nationwide, but not many. I consider the 1979 launch to be the real launch, though; I mean I got my system in 1979, and I remember the marketing being everywhere at that time. If Sony released the PS3 only in New York at the end of this year, we'd still say it was launched this year, I mean you could get one if you really wanted one. As long as it's available at retail, it's a launch...

On the other hand, what's up with stuff like this? Same guy leaves like 20 different negs? He's not the only one either. can't say enough on these ebay crooks !!! never again !!! shameful !!! Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6405775671 Negative feedback rating $141.00 paid for 6 dvds,no dvds, no replys, called but no return replys,nothing Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6401557209 Negative feedback rating 2 weeks, no product, will not respond to emails. FRAUD!!! Do not deal with! Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6405971036 Negative feedback rating worst transaction i have ever experienced,ebay rip offs, very bad seller Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6405777049 Negative feedback rating never received the item, email bounced, no communication from seller! Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6403427404 Negative feedback rating Paid imm; after a MONTH, no return comms of *many* calls & emails, & no product Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6407489062 Negative feedback rating two e-mails no responce no answer no dvd Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6405775329 Negative feedback rating Paid 3 weeks ago. Still no DVD. E-mailed 1 week ago and received no reply. Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6407339343 Negative feedback rating BAD SELLER! SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT RESPONDING! ITEM NEVER RECIEVED! F MINUS!!!!!!! Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6405776371 Negative feedback rating No replies to my emails and item never received. Buyer analvintagehomo ( 0 ) Jul-12-05 09:23 6401557201

No idea how many units the 7800 sold. The Atari 2600 sold approximately 29 million units all told (all models). The NES sold, IIRC, around 65 million units worldwide. That's including the FamiCom. I can pretty well guarantee this dwarfs the sales of the 7800, which I can't imagine sold more than 10 million units and even that is being generous. The Super NES/SuperFC sold 46 million. (The N64, btw, sold around 37 million, despite its reputation as a resounding failure.) My source for the Nintendo numbers is Nintendo's own press site that they no longer maintain, although I can't say my memory is 100% accurate. I believe those numbers are correct, though. The Atari number came from a variety of web sites and has just stuck with me over the years. You can choose to believe these numbers or not. I don't pretend to be an encyclopedia, but I personally believe them to be accurate.

wtf?? how did that end up going for five bucks? I mean I know it says the system doesn't work too well but people pay five bucks for single loose carts on ebay half the time!

Ah, yeah, the mission stick... if you say "joystick" I just think of an arcade-style stick. The mission stick is only worth having if you actually have one of the games made for it, i.e. a flight sim. I don't really even know what games support this stick; probably a lot of them work with it but only a few would really be improved by it. If you don't know if you need it, you most likely don't... The Japanese arcade stick, though, is worth having for pretty much any Saturn owner.

No way. Maybe in a lot with a Genesis and a bunch of games, but not by itself and not even just with a console. I just checked ebay real quick and they usually go for less than $20. This is the annoying thing about the front-loaders; it kinda messes up the aesthetics. The metal plate is annoying too, although in my experience you don't actually need this. I oughta know, mine is missing But my Sega CD and my Genesis work fine without it. I think this was more of a failsafe thing, or maybe an FCC shielding requirement. But it doesn't seem to affect the actual operation being without one. I've never owned a top-loader but the front-loaders have a reputation for the motor breaking (the motor that ejects the discs). The top-loaders may have even more problems, though. Having only owned a front-loader, I kinda would like to try out a top-loader. (I edited that, if you're reading this a second time - I had that backwards somehow originally.) But I'd rather just have a JVC X'Eye. I actually had one at one point and sold it like an idiot... it was not in the best shape and I figured I'd just replace it with a better one, obviously never happened

The ones sold in the US are unfortunately not the same. Some pics of each: Japanese: http://i1.ac.hki.yahoo.com/users/3/6/3/4/t...irtua_stick.jpg US: http://www.riehlthing.com/vgame/saturn/hardware/vstick.gif Not only do they look different, but they feel completely different too. The Japanese one is a proper Japanese style joystick, with nice springy action. The US one feels really cheap and mushy and is made almost entirely of plastic. In the US, the American version is worth about $5 but the Japanese one is still worth quite a bit more as they are not easy to find here and they are pretty sought-after. I honestly wouldn't buy another American stick for really any price (I have one), but I would definitely pay more than $6 for a Japanese stick.

Ok, are these famicoms or are they not famicoms? FamiCom is a trademark; if you say something's a FamiCom, I and everybody else is going to assume you mean an authentic Nintendo system, not just a system that plays famicom games. If you say one of them is a "hong kong version", that makes me think these are all pirate systems. If they're not Nintendo systems, then they're worthless. Pay whatever you think the plastic and electronics inside would sell for if they were melted down. If they're genuine Nintendo Family Computers, the original model, working ones are probably worth about $40 or so each unboxed, maybe more. These are not easy to find even in Japan anymore, because people there don't collect like we do so this stuff just gets thrown out and recycled. Last time I was there in 2003 was the first time I did not see a single original famicom in any store I visited (doesn't mean there still aren't *any*, but they are getting hard to find even there). And whenever I check Ebay I'm lucky if I even see one or two genuine FC's (there's a sea of those ripoffs these days; I think Nintendo stopped caring a while back). You can find them pretty easily still on Yahoo Auctions Japan, but not easily in stores and not that anyone can get here. So they're not easy to find for westerners. A broken one may still be worth $30 or so. I don't know how easy they'd be to get to work, but you could always try cannibalizing the other two to fix one. I don't think these really have a common problem like the US NES did with the cartridge contacts... so it could be anything wrong with them. (Unless these were part of the original run of recalled units, in which case I'd pay almost any price for a non-fixed first-run system.) Disk systems can go for anywhere from $50-$100, depending on the day and condition. Broken or working almost doesn't matter because the broken ones almost all have the same problem and it's very easy to fix (it's just the drive belt, and you can still get these). A genuine power adapter would be really tough to find on its own but I'm sure you can get a suitable alternative... I haven't looked up the requirements, though. Whether or not the whole deal is worth it.. if these are all genuine Nintendo systems from Japan, I would say yes. But it sounds like they probably aren't, in which case I would say no. You can buy these hong kong FC systems for 25 bucks new, so I don't see how $125 for three of these without ac adapters and in questionable condition is possibly worth it, even with a possibly broken and adapter-less disk system thrown in.

I take it off on anything new that I buy immediately, but if I buy something 20 years old and the plastic's still on it, that plastic ain't never coming off. Sorry. What that plastic does is keep metal from getting micro-scratched, as someone else here apparently found out the hard way You don't even need to do anything; the metal is going to get little tiny microscopic scratches through no fault of your own, and they'll eventually cover the whole thing. This is what makes old consoles with metal on them look dull. There's no way to ever get that shine back. I was exaggerating before - I'm sure one day, in 200 years when spacemen come and open up my death vault, they'll be able to experience the pleasure of peeling off the plastic on my 5200 Or maybe I'll just let my great grandkids do it on my 100th birthday. (Which is only about seven decades away!)

This thing ain't worth anything, is it? I've got the Apple II Madden still in its original packaging, excellent shape. I know the modern Maddens go for peanuts (as they should), but what about the original with all the packaging, playbooks, etc.?

Looks like a compression artifact to me... Why would anyone bother doctoring a photo on a $4.50 auction? I'm surprised he even bothered to post two photos at all... highly doubt he's doctored either one.

Well, I've never seen that box. Generally speaking, though, Nintendo doesn't really mess around with their home consoles - they do LE's of their handhelds all the time but I can't remember a truly "limited" release of any of their home systems, at least in the US. There have been a few that they've *called* limited, but they still made as many as people would buy and until the GameCube, that's always been quite a lot. Really would doubt that. That's probably one of the less common SNES packages but whether it's "rare" I would kinda doubt. I just don't think there really is such a thing as a rare SNES set.