eric_ruck

The good arcade ports not only got me into the 7800 but actually got me into collecting in the first place. This still competes with the Vectrex as one of my all time favorite systems. Eric

I'm a big Pico fan, since my 4 year old kids really seem to get a lot out of it. I think your asking price is a bit high though, I paid $16 for one without the box, including shipping, on shopgoodwill.com, and $30 for a boxed one including shipping on eBay. So if you have the box and are including shipping... Value of the books depends on the book. Some go for about $3 (most really), a few go for over $20. Speaking of which, I'm looking for Pocahontas, that's one of the cheaper ones that I haven't bothered picking up yet. Do you have that available? I have a bunch of 8-bit Atari carts I could trade. Eric

You know I keep telling the boss that we really should be closed that day. Maybe I should work at a bank or the post office, they close for everything. Eric

I used to hate Viking Child but then one day I picked it up again and decided I like it. I think I would have to vote for APB for controllability issues. Eric

You read it right, but I hope you have some serious cash. Or are handy with wood. Eric

Hokey Smokes...I know what game is going to be in my DS when I head to San Jose for CGExpo...unfortunately I don't have time to play it before that. Eric

I prefer the real thing for a number of reasons: 1) I work lots of hours in front of a computer and spending any more time there than necessary (present company excepted) is too much time, feels too much like work. 2) The TV hums, the images artifact and bleed, the sound is a little staticy, the real controllers feel a certain way -- it's like listening to digital remasters of jazz classics, it lacks warmth. 3) Collecting is about touching the stuff. Carts, labels, power cords everywhere, the thrill of bringing a dead yard sale system back to life. 4) Seeing your homebrew running on an emulator is good, but you know it's not 100% done until it runs on hardware. Eric

I also have a boatload of disk games, and I've pretty much decided to unload the classic computers from my video game collection (well, some of them) -- let me know if you're interested via PM.

The year was 1992. I was going to Comdex (remember that?) for my company and was stuck at the airport for weather. They had, uh, probably Electronics Boutique at the mall there. I know I bought Joust, I probably also bought one more but I don't remember which. Eric

Superman...yech.

I got into classic gaming after playing through Resident Evil back when it was new. I bought the PS to play Resident Evil specifically, and when I finished it I went looking for another game. There was nothing I wanted to play. About the same time newspaper articles started appearing about eBay, so I got this thought into my head, "Why don't they make games like my old favorites, like Joust and Galaxian". Plugged Joust into eBay, found the 7800 version for something like $2, and I've been hooked since. And since Resident Evil was, what, 1996, I'll be coming up on the 10 year mark pretty soon. Eric

I think I actually bought this game new and current way back when. I played it quite a bit at the time but I think I got stuck at this level with lots of jumps from conveyor belts and never picked it up again after that. If I had more time I'd probably give it a go again. I also remember liking the story and cut scenes. Eric

Zodiac probably would be my #1 system if it weren't for the sucky battery life and lack of titles. Yes, I play mostly retrogames, but usually I have one modern portable game in the mix, which is why I always have either the DS or PSP around. It would probably also be helpful if I was actually organized enough to use an organizer. Ironic that. Eric

Man this thing is fantastic. Background, in case any of you don't know I have four year old triplets. I sort of used it as an excuse to pick up a Sega Pico and a bunch of games, er, books for it. I can't believe how much the kids get out of it. Aside from learning to take civil 30 minute turns, they would play as many hours as you let them, and over the last few weeks they've learned tons of good stuff. My boys hasn't been good at writing and didn't like holding pens. Learning to use the pen on the Pico has changed all that over maybe two weeks. They also weren't good at attending to task (doing something until its done) but since they've been trying to finish each game, they've gotten better at attending everywhere else. Also lots of counting, spelling, memory, following maps, drawing...it's all good stuff. Heck, they even know how to take it out of the closet and hook it up to the TV. I highly recommend anyone with children about 3-7 years old needs to get one of these things. Eric

PSP but only because I'm trying to focus on finishing one game at a time. Now it's Ape Escape PSP. Only got maybe 10% on the PS version but I'm closer to 50% on the PSP. Before that I was spending all my video game time on Driller Spirits on DS until I beat it. But for the next game? Don't know. Right now the DS looks more promising. On the other hand, I've been itching to load the Sega and Nintendo emulators onto my Zodiac 2. Eric

Old behind the keyboard style scanner. Really cool if you don't have a lot of space. This thing is about the size of a rolling pin. The downside is that it doesn't work with Windows XP, so I can no longer use it. Also I haven't been able to locate the original software for it, but you should be able to find it on the internet. Meantime I'll keep looking...this is part of a general housecleaning project. Oh yeah, plugs into a printer port. $3 plus actual shipping. Eric

Fantasting big box on the floor speakers. Unbelievable sound known for big bass. The space they used to occupy is now filled with Rescue Heroes. Life ain't what it used to be. For anyone willing to pick them up in/near Columbia, Maryland I'll make you a great deal of $50 for the pair. These things go for much more on eBay but they weight 35 lbs each and I don't want to go to the trouble of shipping them. If you really want them shipped or live a little far from Columbia but are really interested, PM me and we'll see what we can work out. Eric

Backpack external burner, excellent condition, great for older systems that don't have a burner already. Includes the unit, original software CD, power supply, and a single cable with both USB and printer port connections. I just decommissioned my last machine that doesn't have a burner, so this needs to find a new home so it stops taking up space in mine. $10 plus actual shipping. Eric

Neat pair of devices, come together with all sorts of software. Snapshot scanner does a decent job of turning paper photo prints to digital. Printer prints them out on Polaroid instant film in very natural color. Plugs into printer port. Comes with an AB switcher that you can plug your existing printer into. For Windows 95 and 98 only, will not work with XP. Comes with one unopened package of Polaroid Spectra film, by itself worth the asking price. Includes original boxes and manuals. All in excellent shape. $10 plus actual shipping. Eric

40 My wife's next birthday, although I doubt she wants anything to do with Vectrex. Eric

11 I dunno, what do you keep after you sell off the first 10?

Eh, who knows, it's probably worth it if they're still there. I don't suppose you have a digital camera to take a picture of the plug? Missing keys often isn't a problem if the keyboard switches were well made, usually they're just missing key caps. If you can find them I'll report back to my friend. Thanks, Eric

I have a friend looking for a wierd keyboard for a Compaq 386. From the outside the plug looks like the old XT style, fat round thing, but instead of five pins arranged in an arc, this one has only four pins arranged in a square. He's trying to decommission an old machine but needs the keyboard to get some old things off of it. He's willing to buy the keyboard off someone, or just rent it for a week if someone doesn't want to part with it permanently. Thanks, Eric

Doesn't Peter Curry/Go Atari still have these? As far as whether you should, I don't really have an opinion. Eric

But won't your wife wonder what's going on when you're in the basement with a pickaxe trying to dig a new sub-basement?