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Consoles you wouldn't take even if given for free


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I was thinking about this last night. Is there any console that if someone were to offer you for free, you would turn it down? I can only think of a few where trade value would be the only reason to have it in my house.

 

N64: I find everything about this system unpleasant. The very limited game library, the smeary graphics, the controller, the music, the look of the console itself. Everything about it is "off".

 

5200: The 8 bit line has all of the 5200's good qualities with none of it's bad ones, completely redundant.

 

Colecovision: I like the games, but I don't like the controller, and it's too much of a maintenance nightmare.

 

 

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Probably none (why would you turn down something free), but I don't have a ton of interest in owning a Nuon, a CDI, an Amiga 32 or, I'm sure to the offense of some here, a Jaguar. If space weren't an issue and funds were plentiful; sure, why not? Otherwise, eh. I have a ton of consoles and am happy to have pretty much anything if there are at least a few decent games.

 

Stuff I would literally turn down? I dunno. I'd probably say "no thanks" to like a Hyperscan or a Video Art or a Casio Loopy* or something. Even I have to draw the line somewhere! :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

* And even then, I probably wouldn't mind having a Loopy for the novelty. I'm not too worried about someone just handing me one anytime soon, so I have time to make that soul-searching decision

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Assuming that the system is in working order with all nessecary hookups/controllers, I really think I'd be hard pressed to say 'no' to a system. Off the top of my head, I might turn down:

 

A 5200- I actually had one a couple years ago & sold it. It didn't have the controllers/hookups and I didn't realize it was so expensive to get said bits. I might take one now, but given the size of the unit & the fragile natures of the controllers meaning I'll likely be in the same boat as before in short order... I might pass.

 

A CDi- once again, it's a big system that would be hard to store, and I've not seen one game for it that looks remotely fun to play. On top of that, the games are somewhat rare & therefore tend to be on the pricey side to boot. I don't want to spend $30-$50 (or more) on a game in the hopes that it might be somewhat enjoyable.

 

A Hyperscan- I typically avoid licensed games like the plague, and this thing is ALL licensed games.

 

A Famicom- ok, unlike the others, this one certainly has fun titles I'd like to have and it's not prohibitively big... but considering I could play most of those interesting games on my top loader with an adapter, I'm not sure I'd be willing to deal with the hardwired cables & fiddliness of hooking up old Japanese systems just to use a famicom specifically.

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It's hard for me to think of a game system I wouldn't take if it were offered for free. But considering the limited space in my house, I'd have to think twice about taking these:

 

Action Max: Eh, it's just a shooting gallery that runs on VHS tapes. It barely qualifies.

V-Smile, et al: Educational consoles are fine for their target audience, but I haven't been in that demographic for at least thirty five years.

RCA Studio II: Way primitive, way before my time. Wasn't this thing emulated by the friggin' Intellivision?

VIS: A multimedia console with an educational focus, sold by Radio Shack. Makes the CD-i seem tempting by comparison.

Game dot com: Pretty lousy. I remember all the hype in the late 1990s, for a handheld that couldn't compete with the original Game Boy.

Those 200 in 1 devices with the black and white screens: "Never buy game cartridges again!," said the advertising. Yeah right. Actually lots of cheap Chinese crap qualifies... nobody needs another friggin' Famiclone.

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Of the current console makers, I wouldn't take a MS console, any of the 3 or their spinoffs. They get nothing unique of value the PC didn't get too pretty much, each system had its share of stupid issues, and the original changed in part the face of gaming that still disgusts me.

 

Retro level stuff of the 20th it's tough. I wouldn't want if offered probably anything older than the Colecovision outside of a Vectrex as there's just too many issues, hangups and screwy stuff to deal with since I won't and don't keep a CRT around, and stuff that old even to me in the late 80s and 90s looked and sounded like crap to me (which I know given this site someone won't like seeing that written.) :D I just get very bored of it very quick, it's not the lack of imagination.

 

That said if there was no terms to FREE, as in I could just turn around and sell it to use the money on something worthwhile I'd turn away nothing.

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This is an interesting question. I'm actually looking at my own choices in my collection history to try to answer it.

 

Fairchild Channel F. I was holding one, bagged with some accessories, in my hand at Urban Ore in Oakland, CA about 7 years ago. It was marked $20. I put it back on the shelf.

 

I find this ironic, since my original purpose of opening an eBay account was to find and buy a Channel F.

 

I was kind of obsessed with it... The idea that it was a console for "retro-masochists". This was also 19 years ago when it was only emulated by MESS and there were just a few carts dumped. A console before Atari that was a struggle to enjoy? I was ceaselessly intrigued.

 

After loosing horribly with my first attempts on eBay, I got hooked on vintage PC cards, then Apple II stuff, and eventually other consoles and carts. I forgot I was after the Channel F.

 

When I finally held the object-of-my-desire that sparked all of this in my hands (bagged at Urban Ore) I realized that it's one of those things that I would spend WAY more time fixing than enjoying. So in a lucid moment, I put it back on the shelf and walked away.

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How about narrowing down the rules? Something like you may not sell it, you may not give it away and you may only recycle it once it is broken. Under those rules, I think I'd skip most Pong systems. Not sure about 2nd and 3rd generation consoles, but I would not clutter my space with any console made 1994 or later with the possible exception for one or two oddballs since I swing that way. Definitely say no to an Xbox, probably not into PS1, Saturn, N64, Dreamcast, Gamecube etc as well.

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I was thinking about this last night. Is there any console that if someone were to offer you for free, you would turn it down? I can only think of a few where trade value would be the only reason to have it in my house.

 

N64: I find everything about this system unpleasant. The very limited game library, the smeary graphics, the controller, the music, the look of the console itself. Everything about it is "off".

 

5200: The 8 bit line has all of the 5200's good qualities with none of it's bad ones, completely redundant.

 

Colecovision: I like the games, but I don't like the controller, and it's too much of a maintenance nightmare.

 

 

In my opinion, Colecovison has the best controllers of all vintage systems.

Atari 2600 misses one fire button, 5200 is broken very soon, INTV with this terrible disc, NES controller is for left handed

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How about narrowing down the rules? Something like you may not sell it, you may not give it away and you may only recycle it once it is broken. Under those rules, I think I'd skip most Pong systems. Not sure about 2nd and 3rd generation consoles, but I would not clutter my space with any console made 1994 or later with the possible exception for one or two oddballs since I swing that way. Definitely say no to an Xbox, probably not into PS1, Saturn, N64, Dreamcast, Gamecube etc as well.

Yeah, there are too many ways to get some use out of a console that you wouldn't spent your own money on, but just happen to fall into your lap. When you state that it has to stay in my collection forever, then my list starts to look like:

 

Game.com

Atari 5200

Hyperscan

R-Zone

Gizmondo

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Yeah, no kidding! Even the 5200 (which I've passed up in the past for next to nothing because I didn't want to deal with the controllers) would be worth it today, if just for its Pokey chip. :lol:

 

In all seriousness, I wouldn't butcher a working 5200 just for Pokey - but I might be tempted. ;)

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