Favorite systems to collect for?

[BassGuitari]

Like it says on the box. Which systems are your favorites to collect? It can be for any reason--gameplay, historical significance, shelf appeal, nostalgia, you just think it's neat, whatever.

Some of mine:

Atari 2600: The good old Video Computer System is my first true retrogaming love that's as fun to actually play as it is to collect for. I love the variety of cartridge designs, shapes, colors, and label styles from the innumerable third-party publishers. The 2600 is the definitive retro console in my mind (sorry, Nintendo), and there's soooo much weird stuff for it--from games to controllers and peripherals--that collecting for the Atari alone is a hobby unto itself.

VIC-20: I've only recently gotten into the VIC-20, but I love collecting cartridges for this thing. Same as the 2600, the variety of third-party cart styles makes a stack of VIC-20 cartridges aesthetically stimulating--and the games themselves are usually pretty fun, too, and often unique. Compared to the more famous and powerful Commodore 64, not to mention systems like the Apple II and Atari 800, the VIC tends to get forgotten and as such is a little off the beaten path, which makes it that much more interesting to me.

TRS-80 Color: Another underdog computer. Unlike the 2600 and VIC-20, there are practically no third-party cartridges for this system (third-party CoCo publishers generally went to tape or disk formats instead), so the Color Computer cartridge library has a very uniform physical look overall (which I appreciate), but almost to a fault--TRS-80 systems in general tend to have a very stark, utilitarian look. But at least the cart labels are colorful, and most of the games are pretty good, if quirky and primitive-looking compared to some of the A-list systems. Lots of great games on tape and disk, as well.

Atari 7800: To be honest, I ignored the 7800 for a long time. But as I ran into walls with stuff like the 5200, Intellivision, and Odyssey 2, I started looking at previously uncharted territory (to me) like the Coleco and 7800. While the system was sort of confused and out of place in its time, I came to appreciate it on its own merits, and its relatively small library makes it good to collect for. Many of its later releases are underrated IMO.

Atari XEGS: As established, I like weird systems. The XEGS really had no reason to exist, for starters, but to top that off, it's one of the funkiest-looking systems I've ever seen. And honestly, I love the look of the gray XE carts. I even pick up the "XL label" gray reissue carts when I can find them, even when I have the older 400/800/XL version. This one's mostly about aesthetics and obscurity, but I do like being able to play Atari 8-bit games on a console (not that there's really anything to stop you from using any other Atari computer as a console, but...shut up. ).

Honorable mentions--Atari 5200, Odyssey 2, Channel F, Intellivision, Bally: I've had a lot of fun collecting these over the years but have reached the point with these that, unless I want to start going for CIB (which I do not), the only titles or peripherals I'm missing are the extremely rare and/or overpriced (*cough*Channel F*cough*) items. And they had pretty small libraries to begin with. So I've kind of gone about as far as I can with these ones.

[Stage_1_Boss]

Atari VCS / 2600: One of the systems I grew up with, have had various dreams where I'll find yard sales / swap meets / thrift stores with random Atari carts (some which don't even exist like Dragon Warrior on Atari lol) I personally don't like collecting complete in box for this system unless it's specific titles, prefer just having the carts. I tend to collect not only games I have fun playing, but also weird and quirky games that are just interesting to see / try.

 

Atari XL / XE: One of the first home PCs I had experience with, this and the VIC-20, though I find more appeal in the XL / XE now. I don't have a lot of games for this system, but there are a few I keep it for, Miner 2049er, Caverns of Mars, Adventure Creator, etc.

 

Atari Jaguar: Mainly 'cause it's a system I also had experience with growing up. Some of the games carry nostalgia for me like Alien vs. Predator, Club Drive, Kasumi Ninja, etc.. and after I was able to get one of my favorite games on the Jaguar (Another World), I've been set on just collecting all around for this system. I also love the presentation of the console and the games in box. I'm not sure if I'd be as into it if it were a more well-played, well-known system, so it being an underdog is probably another reason I collect for it.

 

NES: Great system, I prefer collecting carts over complete in box and typically only carts I have interest in playing at some point. Not a whole lot to say on this one since most people my age also grew up with the system.

 

Neo Geo AES: I know MVS / CD is cheaper to collect for, but I do love the look of the Dog Tag boxes for the AES. Having a giant cart with a label, instruction book and official case with an art insert makes me more excited to collect for this system than the other options.

[Gentlegamer]

When I'm being a collectard, I find Sega Genesis most enjoyable to collect for. There seems to be a lot more "under the radar" good games that haven't been collectarded in price, reflecting Sega generally as underrated, and most Genesis games came in plastic cases, so it's more common to find complete games, even for the later games that came in boxes, compared to Nintendo systems.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Neat topic idea! Over time I've collected for well over a dozen different systems, but these days I've narrowed my collecting down to just a few.

 

Game Boy: The very first video game system I ever had that I could call my own was an original Game Boy that I got for Christmas in 1990 when I was 5 years old, and it sure left a big impression on me. I've always loved the style of the cartridges and the huge variety of games that can played on the system, and these days I especially appreciate that the Game Boy is one of the very few systems left that is still really cheap to collect loose cartridges for. I've never minded the lack of color graphics and the 4 shades of green and black display is really nostalgic and enjoyable for me.

 

Game Boy Color: This system was the greatest thing since sliced bread to me when it came out in 1998, and 19 years later I'm still just as impressed by it as the day it launched. It's everything I love about the Game Boy but with a crystal clear screen that has zero motion blur and full color graphics as well as flawless backwards compatibility with original Game Boy cartridges, and some great color palette options to add a splash of color to them. It's got just as huge of a library of quality games in every genre imaginable as the original Game Boy and it's also equally inexpensive to collect carts for. The Game Boy Color is probably my all time favorite system from the standpoints of both a player and a collector.

 

Game Boy Advance: I never had a SNES growing up, but I never minded that because the Game Boy Advance is like having a SNES in your pocket! In some cases the graphics can even be on par with original PlayStation games. I have an AGS-101 model Game Boy Advance SP myself and I love just about everything about it. The screen quality, ergonomics, and especially the selection of games! While not quite as cheap to collect for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, the Advance offers some really fantastic styles of games that couldn't be played on earlier Game Boy systems. First-person shooters like Doom and Duke Nukem Advance, racing games like Mario Kart Super Circuit, and a whole lot more. It's a real powerhouse of a handheld with a fantastic library of games to choose from, and it's still not too expensive to collect cartridges for. Backwards compatibility with the Game Boy / Color is just icing on an already very tasty cake.

 

GameCube: The only home console that I'm collecting for, and definitely the priciest of the bunch since it's the only system I collect complete in box games for. The GameCube was my go-to gaming machine as a teenager so it's definitely a system that I have a lot of nostalgia for, but just like the other systems I collect for it's really the games that make me love the Cube. It's got all my favorite games from my favorite home console game franchises, from Star Fox Adventures to the Resident Evil and Sonic the Hedgehog series. Not to mention almost every home console Legend of Zelda game and a whole slew of unique and remarkable games like Killer7 and Alien Hominid. It's a really unique system with a lot to offer, and did I mention that it can also play all my Game Boy, Color, and Advance games with it's Game Boy Player add-on? There's a lot of home consoles that I really like, but the GameCube is the only one that I love.

 

 

Those four are the only systems that I collect for, but I also greatly enjoy playing Atari 2600, NES, Sega Genesis, and original PlayStation games. In the case of the Atari, NES, and Genesis though I play all the games for them off flash carts so I can save my collecting money for other systems, and my wife collects for the PlayStation so I can always delve into her game drawer when I need a PS1 fix.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Jin

[DesertJets]

My collecting pace has slowed down dramatically in recent years as I have less time to spend enjoying what I buy.

 

 

But before I downsized I would say that the 2600 was my favorite to collect for. I liked the fact that is was cheap and at least 5-6 years ago buying game lots was a really fruitful way of getting commons and some really solid less than common games. With the library being so large and so varied with some many cartridge types made it extra fun. One of my favorite things to do when looking for stuff in the wild is picking up carts with missing labels -- I scored a copy of Kool Aid Man for $1 that way.

 

Right now I am on the hunt for GBA games. In many ways I think the GBA is very similar to the 2600 in that the library is huge -- both in breadth and depth -- and generally inexpensive. Though I have had not so great results finding stuff in the wild, but I haven't been really actively looking either. The challenge I like is learning what are the games worth picking up and figuring out whether or not that would be something I'll enjoy. And right now my record on that isn't so great.

[+GoldenWheels]

PC Engine is probably the most fun for me....the JP games are cheaper than their TG versions, and the system has a ton of exclusives (or at least, games that didn't make it to the Turbo). They also hit the sweet spot for me of 8 bit/16 bit/somewhere in the middle goodness. Also there is an element of discovery for me as I didn't experience these games as a kid like I did the NES and Atari....for me it feels like exploring a new library which is always fun.

 

Atari 7800 is also fun for me, for different reasons: It has some of my favorite versions of my favorite arcade games, plus, most games are still dirt cheap and it's not an unreachable grail to have a complete collection, if you're into that kind of thing.

[spacecadet]

Sega Genesis: The 2D graphics and games still hold up today, I love the durable plastic clamshell cases (it's easy to find 25 year old used games that look brand new), and it's kind of an undiscovered system for collectors at this point, so most games are really cheap. Only downside is that the clamshells that I love so much do take up a lot of space on a shelf - they're often about 1.5 times the thickness of an Atari 2600 game box, and certainly much thicker than a CD or DVD case.

 

Sega Dreamcast: It's just the pinnacle and last stand of arcade-based home consoles. Soooo many great games too. Prices are really starting to rise, though, so I haven't bought anything in a while. My collection may be stuck at around 70 games. Luckily I got some of the rarest ones before the prices shot up.

 

Generally I love Sega, so those are my top two systems.

 

Mattel Intellivision: It was my first console, so I just have an emotional attachment to it. For me it's also the earliest system for which I think a majority of games are still fun today.

 

Sega Saturn: I used to collect for this a lot more, but I've sold off most of my rare games and haven't bought any new ones in a while. I still love the system and many of its games, though, and I still look around for stuff I don't have periodically. Prices have gone way up over the years, though, so it's hard to collect for it anymore.

 

There are various other systems I dabble in, and a few I keep thinking I want to start actively collecting for including the NES, N64, and maybe oddly enough, the original Xbox. But obviously it's hard to do that many systems at once.

[Silverfleet]

I collect for basically all video games, but these are my favorites to collect for right now:

 

Atari 2600

Carts are still relatively cheap, and all the different styles of carts, label variations, etc. make it fun to try for complete subsets. Such a cool system, even today.

 

Atari 5200

I am lucky to have a pair of Wico Command sticks for it, so it's actually somewhat playable! I've been finding lots of 5200 titles at the local flea markets, so I've been building a nice little collection.

 

NES

I love the NES. I have most of the games I want for it, but I like the hunt for boxed titles and cheap rarities.

 

Sega Master System

I've been going hard lately on the SMS, especially with the shmups. Around here, SMS stuff is usually not desirable, so there are good deals to be had. And since most games came in plastic clamshell cases, CIB titles are as easy to find as loosies.

 

Genesis

I've loved the Genesis since day one. I have a decent collection, but I'm always searching for more. Like the SMS, it's common to find CIB games, which is nice. I also like that loose games fit in cassette tape holders, and that makes them very easy to display.

 

N64

I basically bought it when Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out just to play that, so I never had much of a collection. Lately, I've rediscovered it and have been focusing on hidden gems. I like it better now than I did back then!

 

Xbox

Games are fairly common and dirt cheap, and a lot of them hold up well. No one cares about the OG Xbox right now, and that's a great thing if you are a collector!

 

PS3

New titles can be found in stores, and lots of the great ones are now in bargain bins. I have built an extensive PS3 collection in a very short time for not a lot of money. The remastered combo packs of PS1 and PS2 games are also awesome!

[BassGuitari]

NES: Great system, I prefer collecting carts over complete in box and typically only carts I have interest in playing at some point. Not a whole lot to say on this one since most people my age also grew up with the system.

That's basically how I feel about the NES. It was my first system, and I love it, and I have a couple hundred games that I've acquired over the years, but I feel like I have all the games I really want to play for it...which realistically is only about 30 titles. Although there are a handful of NES carts I'd still like to pick up (notably Balloon Fight, Wild Gunman, Donkey Kong, and Chiller), the explosion of popularity for the NES over the last 10-15 years has sort of precluded me from digging into the system's deeper cuts.

 

Side note: the reactions of people I talk to at shows when I tell them I'm not really into collecting Nintendo stuff are usually pretty funny--"flabbergasted" describes most of them. Guess I'm just not cut out to be a member of the Nintendo Master Race.

 

Side side note: it's sort of ironic that the systems I grew up with are the ones I'm the least interested in collecting. NES, Genesis, PlayStation...guess I feel like I've been there and done that? I'll grab games here or there that are interesting and that I actually want to play, but only rarely (esp. Genesis...I don't think I've bought a Genesis game in years).

 

Game Boy Color: This system was the greatest thing since sliced bread to me when it came out in 1998, and 19 years later I'm still just as impressed by it as the day it launched. It's everything I love about the Game Boy but with a crystal clear screen that has zero motion blur and full color graphics as well as flawless backwards compatibility with original Game Boy cartridges, and some great color palette options to add a splash of color to them. It's got just as huge of a library of quality games in every genre imaginable as the original Game Boy and it's also equally inexpensive to collect carts for. The Game Boy Color is probably my all time favorite system from the standpoints of both a player and a collector.

 

I loved the GBC as well. My old clear purple GBC is actually my go-to Game Boy system even for original GB games. Not even really for the color (which is nice, but the monochrome doesn't bother me on the old GB...) but, as you said, zero motion blur (...which does ). Every now and then I consider getting into collecting some of the different colored systems but get distracted by other stuff.

 

Affordability with GB games is a good point, though. Now's the time to pick these games up. Maybe I should finally get around to picking up copies of Solar Striker, Alleyway, and Nemesis?

 

PC Engine is probably the most fun for me....the JP games are cheaper than their TG versions, and the system has a ton of exclusives (or at least, games that didn't make it to the Turbo). They also hit the sweet spot for me of 8 bit/16 bit/somewhere in the middle goodness. Also there is an element of discovery for me as I didn't experience these games as a kid like I did the NES and Atari....for me it feels like exploring a new library which is always fun.

I'm on the fence about getting into the PC Engine (I've long since ruled out the TurboGrafx-16 on price alone). Some of the games look like really early Genesis titles (read: "not good"). And then there's stuff like Dracula X, which was incredible. But I'm not really into the 16-bit era so much in general, and the entry fee for a working PC Engine Duo--I understand they usually need recapping--seems pretty high for what I'd actually get out of it. Still, it's tempting. The other problem is I like to collect for too many other systems; if the PC Engine was one of only a few systems I was into, or I was really into 16-bit games, it would be a different story.

 

Sega Dreamcast: It's just the pinnacle and last stand of arcade-based home consoles. Soooo many great games too. Prices are really starting to rise, though, so I haven't bought anything in a while. My collection may be stuck at around 70 games. Luckily I got some of the rarest ones before the prices shot up.

 

Sega Saturn: I used to collect for this a lot more, but I've sold off most of my rare games and haven't bought any new ones in a while. I still love the system and many of its games, though, and I still look around for stuff I don't have periodically. Prices have gone way up over the years, though, so it's hard to collect for it anymore.

 

Oh man, the Dreamcast. Such a great console. I didn't actually have one back when they were out, but I drooled over screenshots of Resident Evil: Code Veronica. And I remember the store demos with Sonic Adventure at Best Buy. I finally got one about 10 years ago but I've only got about 25 or 30 games for it. And I really don't play them as much as I should. (Note to self: I need Ikaruga.)

 

The Saturn, I dunno. I've tried with the Saturn, but every time I play it I feel like, "this is like PlayStation but not as good." At this point all the Saturn fans jump in with a chorus of, "But, the imports!" Which is all fine and well, but that's a whole other rabbit hole to go down. Don't get me wrong, there are some great games for the Saturn but good god, are they expensive. I'll settle for burning ISOs; can't see the CD when it's in its case or when the system's running anyway.

 

Or even--*gasp!*--emulation. (Don't tell Keatah I said that! )

 

Sega Master System

I've been going hard lately on the SMS, especially with the shmups. Around here, SMS stuff is usually not desirable, so there are good deals to be had. And since most games came in plastic clamshell cases, CIB titles are as easy to find as loosies.

The Master System is neat system that keeps managing to drop off my radar. I've got a couple dozen games, give or take, and most of them are pretty good but nothing I'd really call essential (except maybe Shinobi). I like Rambo but it's hard as all get-out. I like Alien Syndrome but the square D-pad is problematic. Sadly, I don't have any Alex Kidd games.

 

I love shmups though, and don't really have any for the SMS. What are some good ones?

Edited January 23, 2017 by BassGuitari

[Silverfleet]

SMS shooters are few and far between compared to other consoles, but most of what's there is solid.

 

The cream of the crop is Power Strike. It's one of those "holy grail" games in the US. It's the first game in the Aleste series, and it is impressive. It was a mail order only game in the US, but late in the console's life it was supposedly released in stores too. It was a full release that even got a sequel overseas.

 

Speaking of overseas, Scramble Spirits is another top down shooter that's solid, but not sold in the US. It's a port of an obscure Sega arcade game, and they did a good job porting it.

 

Bomber Raid is another one. It's very similar to Sky Shark and 1942/43, and pretty good.

 

For side scrollers, the big standout is R-Type. It's a very solid port, and I think it even supports FM sound if you have your console model for that.

 

There's a few others, like Astro Warrior and Aerial Assault that are decent, but the ones mentioned above are my favorites. And don't forget all the Euro and TecToy releases from overseas and South America!

[Keatah]

A long time ago I wanted and started to collect for all videogame and computer systems ever made. Tall order that made perfect sense to a pre-teen. As I grew up I got the project underway and over the years chased every damned system I could get my grubby paws on. I ended up with a lot of storage units and ultimately some warehouse space from other family endeavors.

 

At some point I discovered I couldn't enjoy that mound of videogames and computers. The phrase, "Less is more." took on real meaning. Donated some of it, sold some of it, trashed the remaining bits and pieces.

 

The material that survived is what I still have today, though the pile of Apple II material has put on weight like a sedentary movie watcher eating potato chips every day.

 

Apple II

It's what I had a kid. It's what I discovered the most on. it's what taught me the most about computing. Ideas and concepts learned back then still apply today. And I have some odd 90% of the material I had then, interspersed with modern-day ebay purchases. It's threatening to get out of hand and I see a downsize coming. Maybe a serious reorganization and re-packing. Yet I still continue to accumulate material for it, but at a slow pace. A book here and there, an interface card here and there. All my original software + the Asimov archive pretty much has me covered now and in the foreseeable future. This is a collection that will not likely every be complete in terms of having every bit of hardware and software. Nor does it have to be. There's no need to have 20 different makes and models of Parallel or Serial cards for example. A couple of the top makes are good. As long as broad functionality is covered like speech recognition, video digitizing, sound synthesis, 80-columns, memory expansion, clocks, modems, printing, acceleration, modern-day storage capability via flash.. That's good. That makes the collection representative of the times. Varied. Fun. That's a good thing.

 

Apple III

Not exactly sure why I have this. In some odd twisted sort of way I think it is a deviant, a variant, of the standard II models. A remote extension of the Apple II ecosphere. I don't actively seek out purchases for this. But if I see something that tickles me I might get it.

 

Gateway 2000 80486 DX2/50 PC

Well, it was my first PC. It wasn't magical like the Apple II, but it was a tool that relieved a lot frustrations building as a result of the limited 8 and 16 bit worlds. And while I don't actively collect anything for it I may purchase duplicate parts if I run across them at a good value. I may also pick up software of that era. Stuff I didn't have back then. A little something to do, you know. The 486 brings back a lot of memories and discoveries too.

 

 

Ti-59 Programmable Calculator

A dose of awesomesauce to be sure. This was magical, a handheld "computing" device not unlike Mattel AutoRace - the red LEDs, you know.. Like the Apple II, it introduced me to a number of new concepts. And while the Atari VCS had cartridges with roms, I didn't think of them (carts) as data storage devices. Not like I did the Solid-State Program Modules the Ti-59 used. These "modules" were real data, real scientific data, serious data for professionals. Briefly I wondered how much memory that little module would hold if it were 50 years into the future. It was a mind exercise. And it proved to be, 40 years later, that the volume of space would permit 1TB. That's 4x250GB microSD cards. Far beyond was I was capable of imagining at that time. And I loved it! It's one of the things that stayed with me. So it's a sentimental keeper. My collection is rather complete, but if I see something I'll be sure to pick it up.

 

TRS-80 Pocket Computer 1, 2, and 4

This stuff is rather complete and I continue with it for sentimental reasons. I learned a lot of BASIC tricks with it and it was like a make-believe navigational computer prop for Star Raiders sessions. It was also a test administrator. I wrote a quiz that you had to pass before you could play. I liked that it was a real computer with a real language. I took it everywhere with me, even to school. Soon I wanted more, so I got into the 2 model. And then the 4 model - knowing it was a lower-cost, lesser capable machine, but cool looking. If I see something I'll grab it, but not at ebay prices.

 

Modern Day Contemporary PC

I don't really collect hardware here, other than spares and cycling through defective/outdated stuff. But the contemporary PC allows me to collect other things like, Astronomy stuff, Doom Stuff, X-Plane editions, Orbiter editions, graphics (photoshop) stuff, old DOS games, disk-system-telecom software. A hodgepodge of things. There's always something new here, so my interest remains high. The modern PC is a tool that greatly enhances the fun and practicality of collecting for other systems - through many levels of capability such as file management and record keeping. Or even hosting virtual systems via VM and emulators.

 

Emulators

Essentially this covers everything not listed above; because I still enjoy classic consoles like Astrocade, Colecovision, Intellivision, VCS, C64, Vic20, Vectrex, Ti-99/4A, Atari 400/800, TRS-80 CoCo, Odyssey2. The Arcades.. And more! Emulation lets me have virtual versions if not the real hardware. There is a balance between what is practical and what is desired. And Emulation allows a lot of great things to happen when that problem presents itself.

 

---

 

Other than the Apple II sprawl, not a whole hella lot of space is consumed by each system. Especially the handheld stuff. And there isn't much to a single Desktop like the 486. Nor is there a lot for the Apple III. So this should be manageable well into the future.

 

Collections that are complete vs collections that are incomplete are not good or bad. Complete collections give you one form of satisfaction. And incomplete collections give you something to strive for and keep you involved.

[Eltigro]

Right now, it's going to be the VCS/2600 or Intellivision, because I imagine I can score those the cheapest.

[Tanooki]

We're talking today in the current market abuse/craziness since around 2011-12 right? (If we're talking pre-scalper era the NES through Gamecube and Turbo Duo HuCard+CDs JP+US.)

 

Sticking to the post-scalper to present years, I've actively I've enjoyed getting:

- Gameboy

- Gameboy Color

- Gameboy Advance

More recently...

- Nintendo DS

- Sega Dreamcast

- Neo-Geo MVS

(Until I downsized Sega Game Gear and Genesis too)

 

Motivation on this is not hard to understand. I can treat (MVS aside) any of those systems like it was 1995, 2000, 2010. It means I can walk into a store front, a flea market pull up or inside regular, craigslist, or some other forum (including a forum like this one) and I can say...hey I have $5 or I have $20, what can I buy and experiment a bit on? What can I try out and have some fun with because it's so cheap the gamble is worth the experience? Handheld games of the 8bit variety like anything Gameboy and Game Gear (most of GBA, DS, and Genesis too) loose carts all around (complete DS though) most games fall into a $3-30 range, most fall in the middle or lower middle of that. Very affordable to experiment with.

 

Handheld games a lot of foolish people feel are bite sized lesser experiences of console games, let them think dumb like that, saves me the headache. Genesis gets the same disrespect too, perhaps due to the Sega burn of its base in the 90s, or just random dumb luck but it worked out well while I had it. I'm just so happy I can still buy cheap Nintendo games via Gameboy as I still find stuff I never got around to but knew of that end up being solid experiences. (The same can be said of the Dreamcast below.) Sometimes I find myself of all things with the GBC in total shock at the quality people could edge out of that old hardware (see: Dragon's Lair laserdisc conversion, Warlocked which is basically Warcraft without notable flaws, Cannon Fodder, etc.)

 

Sega Dreamcast I got a month ago today, that one a LOT of games fall into a $5-25 range complete in the jewel case no less too, against awesome and cheap for what it is, and almost nothing cracks $50 (original MSRP) outside of mostly just Capcom fighting games and bullet(hell) shooters which I mostly don't care about so it's cool. I don't know if it makes me sound like a cheap ass or just smart avoiding the scalping horde of scumbaggery that cripples NIntendo consoles, TG16/PCE anything, Sega Saturn/CD, and some other mediums.

 

it's a sad day that I enjoy blowing $30 here or $100 there on a MVS game and think I'm getting off cheap when looking at what the prime games for the NES/SNES go for now. I've got 20 legit and 2 boots for my MVS and I was smart and tactical with every buy, all came in under ebay rate too because I was patient and calculating in figuring out buys. Thankfully being a smaller market that wants the stuff it's more educated so scalping is hard to do and get paid on it unlike Nintendo where many are mindless open wallets.

[BassGuitari]

A long time ago I wanted and started to collect for all videogame and computer systems ever made. Tall order that made perfect sense to a pre-teen. As I grew up I got the project underway and over the years chased every damned system I could get my grubby paws on. I ended up with a lot of storage units and ultimately some warehouse space from other family endeavors.

 

At some point I discovered I couldn't enjoy that mound of videogames and computers. The phrase, "Less is more." took on real meaning. Donated some of it, sold some of it, trashed the remaining bits and pieces.

That described me as well. I was always interested in old games, and although what I really wanted was an Atari 2600 (this was in the late '90s when I was in junior high), along the way I'd acquired systems that were like the Atari 2600, like the Odyssey 2 and Intellivision. Then when I started working and having disposable income (I was in high school and lived at home so it was all disposable, minus a percentage I saved for college), I'd go thrifting around town and grab up anything and everything I could.

 

While I never got to warehouse levels, I am definitely at the same point. Time to downsize.

 

An Apple /// would be fun to play around with, in the same way the TRS-80 Model II is, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to get one, especially now that I'm in downsizing mode, unless maybe I found one for too good a price to pass up. I'd trade some //e stuff for one, I guess (at least it'd be a sideways move instead of a backward move in terms of clutter reduction ), but anybody who has a /// to spare already has at least five //e rigs.

 

Side note: the Monitor /// is an excellent monitor. The crispness of text on it is kind of stunning.

 

Have you ever messed with a TRS-80 Model 100 (or 102)? Fun little machine. It strikes me as sort of a logical progression from the Pocket Computer series (which hit its apex with the PC2, IMO) in terms of functionality and usability. You can't stick it in your [very large] pocket, but it's still very portable. Multiple lines of text are nice to have, as well.

 

Right now, it's going to be the VCS/2600 or Intellivision, because I imagine I can score those the cheapest.

Intellivision hardware has gotten spendy, but yeah, most of the best games (and even many of the worst ) are still pretty cheap. Not 2005 cheap, but still cheap. Even many of the rarer titles aren't that expensive compared to other systems' rarities, at least provided you aren't going for CIB. Just this summer I got a loose copy of Body Slam for only $60 shipped. The upper crust, rarest-of-the-rare stuff will definitely cost you, though.

 

I have quite a few CIB Intellivision titles, and also several loose/unboxed ones. Since Intellivision boxes at least offer some utility as cart/manual/overlay storage, I've been thinking about trying to get boxes for some of my "loosies" (I love that term, Silverfleet! I'm going to use it to describe loose carts henceforth. ). Intellivision boxes look great on a shelf anyway!

[Keatah]

I never really played around with it much back in the day, but I did have several of them. They were popular with journalists. They were used to transmit copy from across the country.

 

And that is right, the PC2 was the biggest and baddest of the pocket computers. Color plotter, cartridge slot, everything. I rather liked the PC4 for its looks. It is paltry with just 544 steps or something like that. I don't know what they were thinking with QC, the keys, while they worked, were loose and rattled around quite a bit.

[+LS650]

Right now, it's going to be the VCS/2600 or Intellivision, because I imagine I can score those the cheapest.

I have to say that I've cut back quite a bit on what I spend collecting. It used to be an affordable hobby, but now most items from the 20th century are getting crazy expensive.

 

Case in point: I'd like to start collecting 7800 items. I think the 7800 has some really nice games, especially some of the homebrews - but have you priced out what a tested, working system goes for on eBay these days? The prices are getting nuts.

[spacecadet]

Oh man, the Dreamcast. Such a great console. I didn't actually have one back when they were out, but I drooled over screenshots of Resident Evil: Code Veronica. And I remember the store demos with Sonic Adventure at Best Buy. I finally got one about 10 years ago but I've only got about 25 or 30 games for it. And I really don't play them as much as I should. (Note to self: I need Ikaruga.)

Yes, you do need it, though to be honest I'm pretty sure it's exactly the same on Gamecube (which means Wii too). And I think it's cheaper on Gamecube.

 

At one point I had three sealed Dreamcast copies for some reason. I don't even remember how I got them. I also have it for Gamecube.

 

The Saturn, I dunno. I've tried with the Saturn, but every time I play it I feel like, "this is like PlayStation but not as good." At this point all the Saturn fans jump in with a chorus of, "But, the imports!" Which is all fine and well, but that's a whole other rabbit hole to go down. Don't get me wrong, there are some great games for the Saturn but good god, are they expensive.

The two things the Saturn has that the PS1 doesn't are:

 

1) Sega games

 

2) 2D games

 

The Saturn is probably the best 2D game system ever made. It's probably even better than the Neo Geo AES. And of course there are no Sega games on the PS1, and that's reason enough to own the system IMO. Most of Sega's games are not that expensive. For example, the 3 pack that contains Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop and Daytona USA is about $15.

 

But yes, if you want Guardian Heroes (which I had at one point), be prepared to shell out $150 or so. Want Burning Rangers? $300 minimum.

 

Sega Dreamcast I got a month ago today, that one a LOT of games fall into a $5-25 range complete in the jewel case no less too, against awesome and cheap for what it is, and almost nothing cracks $50 (original MSRP) outside of mostly just Capcom fighting games and bullet(hell) shooters which I mostly don't care about so it's cool. I don't know if it makes me sound like a cheap ass or just smart avoiding the scalping horde of scumbaggery that cripples NIntendo consoles, TG16/PCE anything, Sega Saturn/CD, and some other mediums.

It is really cheap to get the common games and a lot of them are really good. But it has its share of stupidly expensive games just like the Saturn. I got Project Justice for $9.99 in a bargain bin back in the day and good luck paying less than $130 for a CIB copy now. Then there's absolute weirdness like Sonic Adventure 2, which seems to range in price from about $50 to $200 and I have no idea why. This was one of the most common games on the system!

 

I think overall it's not that much different from something like the N64. A ton of N64 games are cheap too, but then randomly you'll see dirt common stuff like Mario Kart that's like $70 now even loose, I guess because of demand.

 

But you can definitely get up to around 50-60 games paying like $5 each or less, and 80% of those will be great games. But it ramps up pretty quickly from there.

[StopDrop&Retro]

My favorite console to collect for: PlayStation 2. If there's a single word that could describe its library, its 'plentiful.' There is plenty of everything you would ever want. It was a hell of a time to be alive. I haven't counted my collection yet but it has to be close to 300 games (more likely over) and I still don't have everything I want. I could get rid of every system except for PS2 and I will never be bored for the rest of my life.

 

Other fun systems to collect for:

 

NES - the graphics and sound are iconic and the library has so many games that you can easily browse and find something good you haven't yet mastered. It's really fun to explore the lesser known titles because some of them are surprisingly good and the simple ones usually make up for it with a lot of challenge.

 

Famicom - its library has a totally different flavor than NES. If you can't tell, I love exploring hidden gems and obscure curiosities and the Famicom has that in spades. You have to watch out because you can get suckered into a game that requires fluency in Japanese but as long as you know what to look for you can find a ton of exciting games that never made it to our shores. I've been on a Famicom binge lately.

 

WonderSwan - this one is like the Famicom, but worse in some ways. Its library has tons of pitfalls where non-Japanese speakers can get screwed. I'd say less than 10% of this library is playable to westerners. But with a little bit of patience and foresight you can find some interesting playable stuff here and almost nothing on this handheld has ever appeared anywhere else in the same form. The cost of entry is really cheap too unless you're going after the SwanCrystal which commands a premium.

 

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - the graphics here are so minimalistic they're a work of art. When you watch an old tv show or cartoon and there's generic video game things happening on a tv screen, I can assure you they're playing a Magnavox Odyssey 2. Games are pretty cheap because no one really seeks them out but the bad part is that the game 'cases' are made of cardboard and get damaged very easily. I want to get a multicart soon.

 

Atari 2600 - the mac daddy of them all. There is so much obscure shit in this library. Since most casuals skip anything before the NES, it's always cheap and sellers are always desperate to unload carts ASAP. There's a guy at a swap meet that sells any 3 for $5 and I've been able to find some pretty valuable titles as well as off the wall crazy shit, he's just happy to see them go. A true collector's system.

 

 

And just to heat things up, here are some systems I hate collecting for:

 

Sega Genesis - yes, there are some great titles in its library but there's so much mediocre garbage to wade through that it's not even worth it. I always want to get psyched when I see a box of Genesis games but I'm deflated after I get past the first layer of sports games with ugly EA shells. Plus the hardware had so many revisions it's impossible to track down the best version, you'll always be stuck with people telling you you're playing on inferior hardware. There's an excellent way to collect for this system, it's called a PS3 compilation disc.

 

SNES - prices are too high. Even Japanese imports that used to be a safe haven for collectors have already started to get out of hand. It's not even worth checking out prices anymore. Pass.

 

GameGear - just get a Master System already, you pleb.

 

N64 - not enough variety and too small of a library to be interesting. You can pretty much see the whole library in a weekend, so there's no sense of discovery when you collect.

[Tanooki]

It is really cheap to get the common games and a lot of them are really good. But it has its share of stupidly expensive games just like the Saturn. I got Project Justice for $9.99 in a bargain bin back in the day and good luck paying less than $130 for a CIB copy now. Then there's absolute weirdness like Sonic Adventure 2, which seems to range in price from about $50 to $200 and I have no idea why. This was one of the most common games on the system!

 

I think overall it's not that much different from something like the N64. A ton of N64 games are cheap too, but then randomly you'll see dirt common stuff like Mario Kart that's like $70 now even loose, I guess because of demand.

 

But you can definitely get up to around 50-60 games paying like $5 each or less, and 80% of those will be great games. But it ramps up pretty quickly from there.

Well maybe I'm getting really lucky on and offline I suppose, but the only games I've come across over $50 on Dreamcast as I said in that first post were almost all the Capcom games outside of Capcom vs SNK and the Resident Evil titles (the shooters and the fighting games of any type.) You leave that realm it's mostly $30 or less with a lot as you said (50-60) in the $5 area and much of them are solid games too. Sonic 2 I'm not sure where you saw it paid for at that price, but most them I see roll by on ebay are around $25 which still is kind of crazy. I scooped it up along with the original in a bundle of 15 for $150 shipped so I got off cheap. http://www.ebay.com/itm/322343365810 Only had 3 lame sports and a duplicate of Crazy Taxi I already had but the better non-allstars one so I swapped it and those 4 I intend to sell. The highest I've paid yet is $30 for Sword of Berserk and a $80 bundle with Skies of Arcadia, Toy Commander, Gundam, and Soul Calibur(w/the Japanese art guide included.) Should set me back around that for Record of the Lodoss War which is higher on my list. The only painful one for me to grab will end up being Power Stone 2 which seems to roll between $65-80 so I don't know.

 

 

By the way if anyone is into the Gameboy stuff I know lots of solid things worth playing that tend to fly under the radar, some impressive enough you'd be surprised the old 8bit system did it.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Tanooki

[Skippy B. Coyote]

By the way if anyone is into the Gameboy stuff I know lots of solid things worth playing that tend to fly under the radar, some impressive enough you'd be surprised the old 8bit system did it.

I'm always interested in finding more good Game Boy games to play, so if you know of any that are absent from my list of 350+ Game Boy / Color Games Worth Playing list in the Official Game Boy Thread HERE please feel free to share them!

[Eltigro]

Intellivision hardware has gotten spendy, but yeah, most of the best games (and even many of the worst ) are still pretty cheap. Not 2005 cheap, but still cheap. Even many of the rarer titles aren't that expensive compared to other systems' rarities, at least provided you aren't going for CIB. Just this summer I got a loose copy of Body Slam for only $60 shipped. The upper crust, rarest-of-the-rare stuff will definitely cost you, though.

I have quite a few CIB Intellivision titles, and also several loose/unboxed ones. Since Intellivision boxes at least offer some utility as cart/manual/overlay storage, I've been thinking about trying to get boxes for some of my "loosies" (I love that term, Silverfleet! I'm going to use it to describe loose carts henceforth. ). Intellivision boxes look great on a shelf anyway!

 

I'm good on the hardware front. Got a Intellivision I and a Super Pro System. Most of my games are CIB (about 15 or 16), with about four loose. I don't have a nice shelf yet to display them on, so they are in an old VHS storage box... but hey, it has a smoke plastic cover and wood grain! (And the hinges have been replaced with duct tape, but hey, whatever...)

 

I haven't really seen any CIB Intellivision games in local shops, but I have seen some of the loosies. But now that I think about it, I'd probably rather have the CIBs, simply because, as you mentioned, it helps keep the overlays and manuals and such together.

 

I have to say that I've cut back quite a bit on what I spend collecting. It used to be an affordable hobby, but now most items from the 20th century are getting crazy expensive.

 

Case in point: I'd like to start collecting 7800 items. I think the 7800 has some really nice games, especially some of the homebrews - but have you priced out what a tested, working system goes for on eBay these days? The prices are getting nuts.

 

One of my collecting goals for 2016 was to get a good deal on a 7800. It went un-fulfilled. I ended up getting a clean 2600 4 switch woodgrain, though. System was free (Christmas gift). Just cost me the price of a new AC adapter and an adapter to make it fit the tv.

[Tanooki]

I'm always interested in finding more good Game Boy games to play, so if you know of any that are absent from my list of 350+ Game Boy / Color Games Worth Playing list in the Official Game Boy Thread HERE please feel free to share them!

Yeah I don't much time right now to go mining a list that long, but I did skim the GBC area. Good to see Wendy there, would have suggested it. The three I thought of and didn't name earlier, those are I think a must from both a fun and technical achievement level. Dragon's Lair, Cannon Fodder, and Warlocked come to mind but I saw those listed as obvious choices to me. If you don't mind rehash, UK got the 4 volumes of the Konami GB Collection of all their best GB games colorized proper(unlike the JP SuperGB releases) and english for the non-localized stuff like Goemon. Your list will take a bit to browse since it's broken up by genres.

[Omega-TI]

The TI-99/4A Home Computer

 

This machine can be like a game system, or expanded into a full fledged computer system. There are so many ways one can expand this system that it's hard to count all the permutations.

 

As a starter system it can be relatively inexpensive. It's possible to get a starter console for around $35.00 - $45.00. If you just wanted to play games and nothing else, you would only need TWO MORE items....

 

The first would be the FlashROM 99 to get FREE GAMES!

That's right, hundreds of programs are available FOR FREE for the above gadget << RIGHT HERE >>!

For the gamer on a budget, it's hard to beat.

 

The second item is the 32K sidecar memory which lets you play 99.9% of everything available. Watch the video below for more information on this rather NEW release into the TI community.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaY7_0XbpIE

 

Now if you choose, you can also E -X - P - A - N - D your system.

 

Over the past few years I've gone from this...

 

To this...

 

Consider a TI-99/4A they are a lot of fun!

[+LS650]

A couple of systems I collect for: the Magnavox Odyssey 2. No, its library doesn't have anywhere near the depth of most 8-bit systems, but it does have some great fun games; the two KC games, UFO, Monkeyshines, Killer Bees, etc. There's a pretty decent homebrew scene. Lately it's been getting at least a handful of releases per year. _And_ it's still relatively affordable: you can pick up a complete working system with a few common games for well under $50 US. You can't say that about most 8-bit systems anymore.

 

Another system I really like is the Vectrex. Yes, the cost of entry is getting ridiculously high: it's hard to find a working system for less than $250 US. However, some of the games are really terrific, and the unique display really sets it apart from any other game console. You can pick up a multicart with a legal release of all the original 80s games for maybe $75 if you hunt around. That, and there's quite a nice homebrew scene, with new releases every year.

[DesertJets]

Sticking to the post-scalper to present years, I've actively I've enjoyed getting:

- Gameboy

- Gameboy Color

- Gameboy Advance

More recently...

- Nintendo DS

- Sega Dreamcast

- Neo-Geo MVS

(Until I downsized Sega Game Gear and Genesis too)

 

Motivation on this is not hard to understand. I can treat (MVS aside) any of those systems like it was 1995, 2000, 2010. It means I can walk into a store front, a flea market pull up or inside regular, craigslist, or some other forum (including a forum like this one) and I can say...hey I have $5 or I have $20, what can I buy and experiment a bit on? What can I try out and have some fun with because it's so cheap the gamble is worth the experience? Handheld games of the 8bit variety like anything Gameboy and Game Gear (most of GBA, DS, and Genesis too) loose carts all around (complete DS though) most games fall into a $3-30 range, most fall in the middle or lower middle of that. Very affordable to experiment with.

 

Handheld games a lot of foolish people feel are bite sized lesser experiences of console games, let them think dumb like that, saves me the headache. Genesis gets the same disrespect too, perhaps due to the Sega burn of its base in the 90s, or just random dumb luck but it worked out well while I had it. I'm just so happy I can still buy cheap Nintendo games via Gameboy as I still find stuff I never got around to but knew of that end up being solid experiences. (The same can be said of the Dreamcast below.) Sometimes I find myself of all things with the GBC in total shock at the quality people could edge out of that old hardware (see: Dragon's Lair laserdisc conversion, Warlocked which is basically Warcraft without notable flaws, Cannon Fodder, etc.)

 

 

I think handhelds are a great way to get into and experience retro gaming. You don't have to worry or deal with making your retro consoles work with a modern TV if you lack an older CRT TV. Just grab the game console, a few carts, and park yourself on the couch and go. The fact that games and hardware are relatively inexpensive and can be found in the wild is a bigger bonus. If somebody came up to me today and asked me what to pick up to get into retro gaming I think that some combo of GB/GBC/GBA would be my recommendation.

 

I have to say that I've cut back quite a bit on what I spend collecting. It used to be an affordable hobby, but now most items from the 20th century are getting crazy expensive.

 

Case in point: I'd like to start collecting 7800 items. I think the 7800 has some really nice games, especially some of the homebrews - but have you priced out what a tested, working system goes for on eBay these days? The prices are getting nuts.

 

I haven't even looked at that in a long time, dare I ask how much one goes for these days. I think when I got mine 4 or 5 years ago I paid around $60 or $70 for a complete one with controllers, random loose carts and shipping.