Growing collection

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Trev
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Growing collection

Post by Trev » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:46 pm

I was thinking, and although I have over two dozen different video game systems, I've only established a large game library for a few of them (3DO, Dreamcast, Gamecube) I am going to try & build up the rest of my game library one system at a time. My question ... what have people found to be the easiest system to start collecting for? (Ex- one that has a smaller library of games, has games that are easier to find, has accesible imports, etc...) I'd appreciate any thougts from fellow collectors. :)

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Post by dawid22 » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:38 pm

Well I have about 14/15 consoles and have over 600 games put together. I am currently sitting on 45 N64 games which I started collecting 2 years ago and found that the easiest... and I am from South Africa, so I am sure it would be REALLY easy for you :)

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Post by Trev » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:58 pm

True, N64 is among the more accesible consoles. My only probelm with it is (being the anal collector that I am) it is getting increasingly difficult to find games "complete" w/boxes and instructions. People have no trouble keeping cases to protect their fragile cds/dvds, but the durable cartridge often has its box junked! I have the same problem w/the Jaguar and also the later generation Sega boxes (paper not plastic)

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Post by Dryden » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:45 pm

Agree on the N64 -- complete games with box & manual are impossible to find.

I'm collecting Sega Master System right now ... Only has 114 official North America release games, and at least 80% of them you can buy for about $1.00. Most of the "rare" games sell in the $4.00 - $6.00 range. Because the Sega games were in hard clamshell cases back then, the case, case art, and carts are generally in excellent condition. If you can live without the manuals collecting is like taking candy from a baby -- good condition manuals are hard to find though, so you'll pay a collectors price for those as they're only in the hands of other collectors.

If you can get Phantasy Star and the 3-D Glasses in decent condition with their box you're pretty much golden on the commonly known stuff. There are two or three hardware oddities you'll probably never find, but overall you can "complete" 98% of an SMS non-import collection for very little expense. It's nice as a collector also because if you're displaying this in a game room, the SMS and Genesis/Mega Drive carts fit well together since they're in similar hard cases. If you choose not to display it, at least it won't take up much space in storage.

There's as little demand for the Master System today as there was 20 years ago, and because virtually no one in America bought the system it holds little sentimental value that encourages people to buy and retro collect the system like the Genesis or NES.

I've bought 24 carts this week on eBay unchallenged and am paying around .60 to .80 per (That means I've completed over 20% of the entire North American NTSC Game Collection for about $17.00, but I'll wind up having sunk $25 - $30 in S/H when all is said and done.

This might be the only system where the eBay/PayPal charges + S/H outprice the console itself 2:1.

Lastly, don't outbid anyone on eBay. It isn't worth it. One of the "rare" carts, Alf, sold on eBay last month for $25.00. Another one sold four days ago for $4.02. There's little value in it without the demand, so don't get pulled into bidding wars if you head that way. If you're patient you shouldn't wind up paying over the minimum auction listing on anything SMS related.

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Post by Trev » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:05 pm

Thanks Dryden, that is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. :D I want something that is manageable both in size & price. It sound like the SMS is a good choice. Question though, do you know what the differences are between the 2 models? Also, didn't Sega release cheap/ budget games for the console? Are they included among the 114?

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Post by Lemmi » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:21 pm

since i dont collect imports unless the system is region free and even then they have to be sold by US collectors for me to buy them

the easiest for me was the atari 7800 with only 57 games, i had 80% of the games before i started buying on ebay but thats when the money went out the window :)
all the games are easy to get and you see them often but your gonna pay alot for a couple of games and there is not much you can do about it (examples are- Tank Command, Mean 18 golf and Ikari Warriors, these 3 games cost me as much as the previous 80%)

i own only 2 systems with complete US collections and its the 7800 and 3DO

but i have no motivation to even collect anymore, and im thinking of selling alot of my other collections

when i collected, i would focus on one system at a time usually a few weeks at a time, but i always kept an eye out for other things just because you never know when a great BIN would pop up

when i collect the game must have a manual (if possible) but i have different rules for different systems, the rules developed over the years because in the wild its harder to find complete items

TG-16 -must have manual, HUcard, and jewel case
Jaguar -must have box, cart and manual - which all of mine do
7800 -must have cart and manual - which all of mine do
Genesis -must have box, cart and manual - i have a few without manuals and it still bugs the hell out of me
Sega CD -must have box, CD and manual
32X -must have box, cart and manual
Saturn -must have box, CD and manual
Playstation -must have jewel case, CD and manual
SMS must have box and cart
NES - cart only is fine
2600 - cart only is fine
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Post by Dryden » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:58 pm

Trev wrote:Thanks Dryden, that is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. :D I want something that is manageable both in size & price. It sound like the SMS is a good choice. Question though, do you know what the differences are between the 2 models? Also, didn't Sega release cheap/ budget games for the console? Are they included among the 114?
There are several SMS consoles. Primarily there are two distinct models though, the first being the original NTSC/North American version that included the Phaser light gun, two controllers, and probably the Hang On/Safari Hunt cart, and the second was the redesigned version that included Alex Kidd in Miracle World stored inside the consoles firmware, so it booted to the game if no cart was present. There are variations on the first release, such as different carts and periphs, and there were variations on the second as well, with different hard ROMs built-in (I believe there is an OutRun built-in model too). I imagine there were probably 9 or 10 different SMS revisions made over it's life, plus there was the cart adapter for the Genesis ... so a bunch of configurations.

The generally accepted "base unit" is the core system though, with the gun and two matched controllers. Very rare controller versions had the cord coming out the left side. More common was the clone of the NES controller with the cord running out the top. Quite rare is getting the itty-bitty little joysticks that screw into the center of the D-Pad if you get either the first or second gen contollers.

Classic Gaming and the "official" SMS FAQ have both claimed 114 carts for the past 10 years, while Digital Press lists 115. I didn't diff the two to figure out where DP gets the extra cart, but I'd always heard 114. Alf and Buster Douglas Boxing are probably the two most rare carts, and Alf sold for $4.00 earlier this week. Phantasy Star will probably wind up the most expensive because of its popularity, but it still won't approach the $50+ you see on 3DO titles like Night Trap, Snow Job, and the Vivid stuff. There are probably hundreds of rogue/homebrew/imports available too because the system was HUGE in South America, and was still being sold 'as new' in Brazil as recently as the late 90s.

The SMS was Brazil's Nintendomania.

Mobius

Post by Mobius » Thu Mar 08, 2007 7:37 pm

The Neo Geo CD is a reasonably good collector's system, too. It doesn't have a massive library, and the CD games are far cheaper than AES cart system. It does have a few high demand/low availability games that can run you $75, $100, or more, though. But hey, what's a collection without a few valuable pieces?

The only caveat is that it can be frustrating if you want english releases. There are a plethora of japanese releases out there, but english is harder to find. There's also the whole spinecard/neo geo stamped jewel case issue.

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Post by UnholyTancred » Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:05 pm

Neo Geo CD?

Damn. I've been wanting one but whenever I look on ebay it always goes for at least $100.

BTW, Dryden you seem to know a lot about the SMS. Are there other RPG's besides Phantasy Star?
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Post by Dryden » Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:48 pm

UnholyTancred wrote:BTW, Dryden you seem to know a lot about the SMS. Are there other RPG's besides Phantasy Star?
Miracle Warriors, Y's, Golden Axe Warrior, Golvellius ...

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Post by UnholyTancred » Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:53 pm

Thanks.

Ys came out in America?
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Post by Dryden » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:01 pm

UnholyTancred wrote:Thanks.

Ys came out in America?
Y's: Vanished Omens is the full title. Usually goes between $8 - $10.

Good luck finding one of those with a working battery though. :wink:

Mobius

Post by Mobius » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:08 am

UnholyTancred wrote:Neo Geo CD?

Damn. I've been wanting one but whenever I look on ebay it always goes for at least $100.

BTW, Dryden you seem to know a lot about the SMS. Are there other RPG's besides Phantasy Star?
The console itself is definitely the most expensive part of collecting the Neo Geo CD. I actually got myself a Neo Geo CDZ. It's an upgraded version with faster loading times that was only released in Japan. The system, mint condition, fully boxed + manual and two games ran me $260. The regular system runs less than half that.

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