Retro game stuff talk

[Clyde]

@obsidianspider Thanks for mentioning DuoLingo. Embarrassingly, I didn't know it although it started in late 2011, more than six years ago. Since I'm also considering to learn at least one other foreign language in my life (next to English, my native tongue is German), I'll definitely look into it.

Alas, I can't give you much advice for learning Japanese. However, here in Germany, language exchanges are a common way for two people to learn each other's language. There are online services to bring them together, you could search the web for them.

Writing about it lets my own motivation flare up again. So, thanks for the push. :)

[obsidianspider]

While looking for modded game boys, my search brought me across this…

[ruckage]

@flyingtomahawk said in Retro game stuff talk:

@ruckage
So a game gets his current value on the price sold.
So let's say you and me are gonna raise a price for let's say Game A. So I put Game A on eBay or somewhere where it gets a lot of attention for a ridiculous price. Then you as my friend purchase that item. (but don't really pay me) I then cancel the deal on eBay or even pay the eBay fee just to keep the price high. Then from that day on that game has such value because it was sold for that high price. Right? We could even repeat that procedure a few more times with fake accounts.
I know I am overthinking it but it just boggles my mind to think in a time where cheating is normal as drinking water. I have seen auctions go higher in price because the seller asked 1-2 friends to place fake bids.
When I go around the Japanese game stores I can see some still have the same rare games for the same ridiculous price for the past 10 years! So that would mean that THAT game should actually loose its value since it hasn't been sold for such high price for the past 10 years. Or not?

IMO that is all stupid price policy. I understand if there is a game only printed/made 10-50 pieces world wide and they are rare because there are simply not many around but seeing a $300+ game over 10 times within 1 year sold by different stores does smell not right to me.

Anything is really only worth what people are prepared to pay for it. Viewing sold listings on ebay - though not perfect - gives a good indication (if you look at completed listings instead you'll often see much higher prices but they go unsold).

People can rig listing by placing false bids but if they sell then they either are sold to the false bidder (which isn't really a sale) or a genuine bidder was willing to pay the high price. Unless an item is really rare there will be several listings so you get a more accurate idea of actual value as you can see an average.
Definitely, if an item is on sale for months or even years at a high price and no one buys it then I totally agree it's not worth that price but some people just refuse to lower prices for some reason.

It's also subjective, everyone values things differently. Personally I would never pay large amounts of money for a game.

As a very recent example I just bought a controller for my PC engine. In the UK they are pretty scarce but on average they sell for around £25. There haven't been many listed recently but there is a seller in Germany who consistently lists them for £50 which is really expensive (I could import one from Japan with taxes and get it cheaper.) The thing is they never sell so aren't worth £50, he just keeps re-listing the same item.
A UK seller listed his controller and I guess tried to slightly undercut the German sellers price so had a Buy it Now of £49 - I put in an offer of £25 which was refused. No one bought it so he reduced to £39. Again no one bought it so he lowered it to £29. At this point I put in another offer of £26 and he accepted so I got it for the going rate and more importantly the price I was willing to pay.

Here's a photo of my controller as it's pretty relevant to this thread, it's in nice condition and came with the box so I got a good deal I think, I've opened it up and surprisingly the membranes are all in really good condition as well with no splits.

[edmaul69]

@flyingtomahawk yeah that is outrageous. Even if it is sealed/new

[obsidianspider]

I never had a NES as a kid. We went right from my parents' Atari 2600 to Super Nintendo. When I was in college I got a NES in trade from a guy for fixing his computer. I played it a while and then the red light would blink constantly and games wouldn't load. I tried fixing the connector by re-bending the pins, but it didn't work. Then it sat in a box for a number of years.

This past Fall I got the NES autographed by James Rolfe but it was still inoperable.

Today on my lunch break I finally got around to replacing the 72-pin connector, and thankfully that was all it needed. I've heard that on some the NES10 lockout chip fails and you have to bypass it.

Some games with a slightly thicker PCB (Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt) are really difficult to remove, but all play correctly, and most of the time I'll probably be using my Famicom anyway.

[space cadet]

On the lock out chip it can by disabled by snipping one of its leads. Can't remember on top of my head though!

[obsidianspider]

@space-cadet Thankfully that wasn't necessary, but if it breaks in the future I'll know what to do! :)

[FlyingTomahawk]

Does anyone heard of fake Japanese MegaDrive games? Or so called repros?
I was just looking at an auction site here in Japan and I see 2 titles, Vampire Killer and Battlemania which would easy go for ￥40000-60000 each starting at 1 Yen or 1600 Yen for the other and one more day to go and no bidders at all. Which is very strange. Usually you have people fighting and over bidding each other for such titles.

The product description says it is a foreign version. Which would indicate fake or other Asian country besides Japan. So I read of people accidentally buying those "fake" games and it would be most painful if you paid hundreds of dollars to get it only to find out it is a cheap fake.

[lilbud]

@flyingtomahawk said in Retro game stuff talk:

Vampire Killer and Battlemania

Vampire Killer is the Japanese Version of Castlevania Bloodlines and Battle Mania is Japanese version of Trouble shooter. They are probably Repro carts which is why they are going for so little. Or they are in poor condition and no one wants them.

[obsidianspider]

Well, the "For parts or not working" DMG I mentioned above arrived today, and sure enough, it wouldn't turn on. I took it apart, cleaned it up and now that it's working, I don't know if I want to mod it. It's so clean. What do you think?

[MrJordaaany]

@sgtjimmyrustles

@ruckage @obsidianspider

I can weigh in on the Aladdin debate. Aladdin on Mega Drive is way better.

I reckon the animation is way better. I like having a proper weapon right from the get go too.

[FlyingTomahawk]

@lilbud

As I thought those were Repros. Still the Casltevania one went for 6250 Yen which is way too much for a fake. You can get the exact same for $14 shipped at aliexpress.
The other game however, Battlemania, went for measly 410 Yen.
Funny though at this very moment a guy is selling the real Battlemania and... drumroll... Eliminate Down! Yes a real Eliminate Down! I put both on my watch list since I am curious to see for how much they will go. Eliminate Down can be purchased for 110000 Yen at a game store near my place.

[obsidianspider]

Not all mods go well the first time you attempt them.

Yesterday I attempted to backlight a DMG for the first time, and well, I broke it.

The screen on those is permanently attached and while I was fighting with the polarizer film the corner must have pressed against the plastic surround and I heard a pop. :(

Now I'm on the hunt for a screen from a DMG with a trashed shell.

[FlyingTomahawk]

@obsidianspider

Oh crap!
Mark as collateral damage?

[obsidianspider]

@flyingtomahawk I'm really angry with myself for doing it, but it was my first time attempting a DMG backlight, so I am chalking it up as a learning experience. At least it wasn't an expensive mistake. The total spent on the Game Boy was $17 including shipping, and the rest of the device is in amazing condition.

[FlyingTomahawk]

Well, if you ever should run out of DMGs over there we should have plenty over here. Went to a Hard Off the other day they had like 10+ DMGs stuffed in a box for 2000 Yen each. All looked fairly clean and good.

Oh btw. a Panorama Cotton is about to go for 29500 Yen. Still gonna go up since there is 1 more hour to go. Just crazy people actually paying those prices for one game.

[FlyingTomahawk]

4 hours left to go for Eliminate Down! Currently at 96666 Yen ($915.403!! ) Insane if you ask me.

[obsidianspider]

@flyingtomahawk You just have expensive taste. ;)

Now that I have EverDrives I'm looking for certain games complete in box and it's either very expensive or they rarely if ever show up for sale.

[FlyingTomahawk]

Auction finished!
Eliminate Down went for...... "drumroll"

121000 Yen!!!! that's $1,140.61 !!!!!
Friggin crazy for a MegaDrive game. Someone is really gonna pay that amount of money for a MD game. I mean it's not a Metal Slug on NeoGeo which is also crazy expensive but NeoGeo stuff always was.

[obsidianspider]

@flyingtomahawk At least show us some photos when it shows up at your house :)