Possible Xmas in May?

[Gabriel]

I think my 2600 and NES collections might be about to get a shot in the arm.

 

On Thursday, I accidentally bumped into a friend that I hadn't seen in quite some time. In fact, it had been so long since I had heard from him, and when I had he was not doing so well, that I was beginning to think he was dead. So, it was exceptionally good news to see him alive and well.

 

We arranged to hang out this past Saturday, and we basically shot the shit all day long. Currently, my friend has a shitty job in a podunk crap town. He's maintenance at a really crummy apartment complex. Some of his stories about the tenants were pretty amusing, and some of his stories were downright sick or scary.

 

Anyways, being a classic videogame lover, I asked him if he had found any video games that had been left behind by evicted residents. He replied that he found such things regularly. In fact, he knew that he had seen several Atari 2600s, complete with controllers but no games. He also remembered having a couple of NESes, and one of them had been like mine (a top loader).

 

I asked him how much the apartment complex would get for selling these things, and he told me that they would sell the old systems, from VCS to NES, for $5 each. Of course, I was quite amazed that they sold a top loader NES for $5, and I had paid over $100 this past Christmas on ebay for an Atari 2600 and 30 games.

 

So, I told my friend flat out that such things were worth $5 for the controllers ALONE to me. I offerred to pay him for any orphan systems he would bring to me. He agreed, and told me that he'd only charge me if he couldn't sneak them past the apartment manager. And he also said he had at least one Atari 2600 that was fully working with controllers that he'd bring me next week.

 

So now, I'm gonna sit tight and see what my friend brings me next week. I feel like its Christmas in May.

[AtariDude]

Keep us posted on what items you get. It should be interesting to see what items turn up.

[Jasoco]

I'd give my right leg for a Top Loader NES. Not to collect, just so I could actually play my games without fear of the darned blinking screen of death.

 

But I don't wanna pay $60-$100 to get one off eBay. *sigh*

 

Lucky SOB you are. Let us know what he finds for you.

[Cassidy Nolen]

Why not fix your NES? Its super easy, and the 72 pin connector is available at www.mcminone.com I think they are 7 bucks.

 

Top loaders are cool, just expensive. I traded a 2600 setup for just the base unit a while back. Sold it, but it was pretty cool.

 

Cassidy

[birdie3]

Nice score for sure!! I personally need an NES top loader so I can use my Famicom Disk System and 30 odd untested games that just sits there waiting to be used. ARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!

[Jasoco]

Why not fix your NES?  Its super easy, and the 72 pin connector is available at www.mcminone.com  I think they are 7 bucks.

 

Top loaders are cool, just expensive. I traded a 2600 setup for just the base unit a while back.  Sold it, but it was pretty cool.

 

Cassidy

I know, but I just really wanted a super-cool Top Loading NES. My normal one is just crying to be retired. I already fixed the pins once with a thin screwdriver, and even those replacements won't last forever. At least with a Top-loader there's a better chance of survival.

[Gabriel]

Well, my friend finally remembered to bring over the videogame stuff he had promised to give to me.

 

It wasn't spectacular, but it was still pretty cool. This is what he gave me:

 

Atari 2600 Vader (no switchbox or AC adaptor)

1 joystick controller (sadly, it needs work)

5 games. They were all commons. One of them was a Sears Telegames. I think its the Sears version of Air/Sea Battle, the first Atari 2600 game I ever saw.

 

I haven't tested any of the stuff except for the joystick yet. They look in good shape, so I'm fairly sure they work. Even if they don't, they were free, so I have no complaints.

 

So, in the end, it wasn't exactly Christmas. But it was still pretty cool.

 

Additionally, the marketing lady here at work saw my note I had posted in the break room about wanting old videogames. She mentioned that she might have some stuff for me. She seems to have forgotten about it today, but if she remembers, maybe I'll get more free stuff!

[Zeus]

I have a friend who might be giving me his Atari collection for free. I offered to give him money for it, but he said it was basically junk to him. He just has to make sure no one (ie sisters) wants a claim on it. He's got some cool games that I don't have yet, such as crackpots, jungle hunt, and some fours that I would like. I also saw a SNES 2 recently. Think its worth buying?