socrates63's gaming collection and setup

[Atari 5200 Guy]

The Dreamcast!  The only console I've ever pre-ordered and all because of Sonic Adventure.  I seen the opening on a demo unit and was blown away.  Then I got Tokyo Xtreme Racer and my favorite racing game switched from Gran Turismo to TXR.  As far as I'm concerned Sega knocked it out of the park with that console and it's game library.  LOTS of excellent games.

I had SC5 and loved it.  I spent a LOT of time on it.  Neat game.  I still have a Dreamcast Magazine disc with Sega Swirl on it.  I played that one a lot, too, but it was a pain to get to it to load it up.

[CrossBow]

I think I just used Discjuggler for most of them. I did create my own images to use with my MODE from my personal collection using AnyBurn for most of them. Volgarr was the one game I own physically that no matter what I used to make an image, I couldn't get it to work. That was when I found out that the actual image for the game to burn for yourself had been made available and that image file works on my MODE.

See here...as again this available freely from the creators it would seem for personal play use.

https://volgarr.rkd.zone/

 

[CrossBow]

11 minutes ago, Atari 5200 Guy said:

The Dreamcast!  The only console I've ever pre-ordered and all because of Sonic Adventure.  I seen the opening on a demo unit and was blown away.  Then I got Tokyo Xtreme Racer and my favorite racing game switched from Gran Turismo to TXR.  As far as I'm concerned Sega knocked it out of the park with that console and it's game library.  LOTS of excellent games.

I had SC5 and loved it.  I spent a LOT of time on it.  Neat game.  I still have a Dreamcast Magazine disc with Sega Swirl on it.  I played that one a lot, too, but it was a pain to get to it to load it up.

I was only aware of sega swirl as it was included with the web browser disc I had at the time that I could use. And I did then too as there were about 3 or 4 of us that would play PSO each night for several months. I still have my DC Keyboard somewhere although that came in a plain brown cardboard box from a Gamestop years ago so it was obviously like an OEM version or something that they were trying to get rid of back then. But again I got my DC after it had been discontinued so that would likely explain it.

 

[socrates63]

Mail call -- got a couple 7800 heavy hitters, not the heaviest but still uncommon 🙂 I'm about 17 short of the complete NTSC official 7800 releases, and they're all the expensive variety. Seeing @nosweargamer's 7800 games ranking video re-ignited a small fire. My wallet hates you, too, @HDN for nudging NSG to release the video. I've always been about CIB games but decided that if I can find affordable loose carts, I'd be happy with that since the remaining games are usually $100-$200 for CIB copies.

Commando is from a local game store couple of hours away, and Fatal Run is from ebay. I hate buying sealed games but the price was good (fingers crossed that it's NTSC).

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by socrates63

[HDN]

22 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

My wallet hates you, too, @HDN for nudging NSG to release the video.

My wallet's hating itself right now. 7800 was well worth the money already though. After I get Food Fight and those other games I'm done buying for a while. 

I think it's really cool that I sort of reignited that video.

24 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

I've always been about CIB games but decided that if I can find affordable loose carts, I'd be happy with that since the remaining games are usually $100-$200 for CIB copies.

I almost always go loose. Sometimes I go for CIB if they're the same price or less. I sometimes like to give the uglier games a home, too. No graded mint for this guy!

 

Nice finds, though. I've heard great things about Commando. Don't know much about Fatal Run but it looks like Rad Racer meets Spy Hunter.

Just remember: every time you open a sealed retro game, a kitten dies somewhere. Just kidding! It's your game now so do whatever you want! Have fun with your new titles.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I like CIB as well and I have bought new old stock games before but not to sit on a shelf and collect dust...I get them to play them, period.  Preservation is for emulators lol.  Those of us that lived through the early Atari years know that box meant nothing...it was all about the games on those carts and how quick you could get in some game time.  Why change it now?  Lol.

Just kidding.  Times change.  It shouldn't matter as long as they work and you enjoy playing them.  They don't have to be perfect.

 

[socrates63]

37 minutes ago, Atari 5200 Guy said:

I like CIB as well and I have bought new old stock games before but not to sit on a shelf and collect dust...I get them to play them, period.

Yep, me too. I buy games to play them first and foremost, and that's why I don't like buying sealed games because they usually come at a higher price. 

[nosweargamer]

5 hours ago, socrates63 said:

Yep, me too. I buy games to play them first and foremost, and that's why I don't like buying sealed games because they usually come at a higher price. 

Usually, but not always. 7800 collecting is weird in that way. When I was building my collection, there were times sealed games cost the same as used!

BTW, if Fatal Run is PAL, ebay will probably let you return it. Ebay almost always sides with buyers. It can be taken advantage of, but it's good in cases such as these.

[TrekMD]

I have a complete 7800 collection that is CIB as most of the games I bought originally I kept the box for.  Any titles I missed, I also got CIB and was able to find them sealed too! 

[socrates63]

I broke the seal on Fatal Run -- I just had to find out whether I got the NTSC version or not. Turns out it's the NTSC copy! I'm very happy about that.

[CrossBow]

On 9/13/2020 at 8:05 PM, socrates63 said:

I broke the seal on Fatal Run -- I just had to find out whether I got the NTSC version or not. Turns out it's the NTSC copy! I'm very happy about that.

Awesome job! Fatal Run is one of my newer additions to my 7800 collection as well for the officially released titles anyway. Haven't played it that much but I do think that the rarity on the 7800 side of things needs to be redone. 

An example is that just about anytime on Ebay you can find Tank Command and WaterSki available. I've even seen them in most conventions I've attended in the past available for sale. But finding a good condition Basketbrawl is a different story. I've never even seen a Basketbrawl in the wild in the 20+ years I've been collecting. I've only seen the one loose cart I own and maybe a boxed CIB one once at PRGE but it was priced to match. Same thing with the game Planet Smashers. I've only found that game once in the wild and that is when I bought it. 

I guess my point is that it seems that games on the higher end of the rarity like Fatal Run, Waterski, Tank Command, come up more often on Ebay than several of the other 'lesser' rarity games do.

 

[socrates63]

Finding 7800 games in the wild in general is tough, at least in the Seattle area. I posted in the local retro gamer Facebook group my list of 7800 games that I was looking for, and that yielded the Commando cartridge from a retailer a couple of hours away. But other than that, nothing. I was happy to have found one game.

I filled in a couple from atarisales.com. Lance had Ninja Golf and Summer Games.

Ebay is usually the worst in terms of pricing, but as you said, Ebay is where you can these games with regularity. Oh well... I really hope PRGE will happen next year.

[CrossBow]

On 9/15/2020 at 12:43 PM, socrates63 said:

Oh well... I really hope PRGE will happen next year.

Unfortanately for me, it looks like PRGE 2019 will be my last to attend. The new timeframe makes it way way more expensive than it was prior and that time of the year is when other closer cons take place near me that I might be invovled with etc. 

So I was not a fan of the move to August...

[socrates63]

8 minutes ago, CrossBow said:

Unfortanately for me, it looks like PRGE 2019 will be my last to attend. The new timeframe makes it way way more expensive than it was prior and that time of the year is when other closer cons take place near me that I might be invovled with etc. 

So I was not a fan of the move to August...

Me, too -- not a fan of the August date. I hope it gets moved back to the fall.

What cons have you been involved with in the past?

[HDN]

On September 15, 2020 at 12:43 PM, socrates63 said:

Finding 7800 games in the wild in general is tough, at least in the Seattle area. I posted in the local retro gamer Facebook group my list of 7800 games that I was looking for, and that yielded the Commando cartridge from a retailer a couple of hours away. But other than that, nothing. I was happy to have found one game.

I have had great luck finding 7800 games at my usual place. I called them the other day to chart out their prices. Only $20 for Ballblazer; I would save almost $10 than if I bought on ebay. Mario Brothers for only $15, too. That's around $5 less. Unfortunately I can't buy any at the time, but I'm going all out 7800-maniac when I get some more money. They've had every game I asked about accept Asteroids, which I saw there earlier. Must've sold the one copy.

I have heard stories of game stores with nothing but the occasional Pole Position II. If you find yourself in Northeast Wisconsin for some reason, check out Game Trade. I say local, but it's really about a half hour away from me. Not even the closest store to me, I'm just that loyal.

[socrates63]

Wow @HDN it's pretty rare for me to run in 7800 games in the couple of stores that I go to. There are a few more stores but I stick to two, and I go to two more a couple of times a year. I picked up a local copy of Commando for the 7800 only because I posted in a Seattle retro gamer Facebook group. I say "local" but it's 1 1/2 to 2 hours away including a short ferry ride.

I've caught your bug and have been playing some 7800 lately.

[TrekMD]

4 hours ago, CrossBow said:

Unfortanately for me, it looks like PRGE 2019 will be my last to attend. The new timeframe makes it way way more expensive than it was prior and that time of the year is when other closer cons take place near me that I might be invovled with etc. 

So I was not a fan of the move to August...

I think many of us are not fans of PRGE in August.  I'd rather go in October but I think the issue for the move was due to the convention center schedule, not the organizers of the event.

I've only seen one 7800 on sale at a retro event.  It was the original model with the expansion port.  I was tempted!

[CrossBow]

20 hours ago, socrates63 said:

Me, too -- not a fan of the August date. I hope it gets moved back to the fall.

What cons have you been involved with in the past?

For 13 years I organized and hosted my own small classic game convention here in the Tulsa area that was known as OVGE (Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition). But due to a lack of interest in my attendees and exhibitors in smaller cons, I stopped after the 2015 event. We have another that was started last year known as NYGE for Name Your Game Expo that is video games, card collectable games, Table RPGs and LARP that I was involved with last year. Specifically I helped to setup and maintain the retro systems and arcade cabs before, during and after the event. We had another scheduled for this year but have postponed it due to the pandemic.

But there are lots of other cons that take place much close to me and therefore much less expensive around that time frame so it does make PRGE seem less attractive at that time. Honestly it cost my wife and I about $2000 to attend last years PRGE with airfare and hotel costs even booking that 3 or 4 months out. That didn't include what I spent at PRGE which, was a separate considerable amount.

 

[HDN]

@socrates63 remember how we talked about Mario Kart last night in the chat and how I said that I liked the old flat-style games? Well, guess who called today with Super Circuit! Quick, mention Lode Runner or Pilotwings! They might call about that too if you mention it like you did Mario Kart!

[socrates63]

1 hour ago, CrossBow said:

For 13 years I organized and hosted my own small classic game convention here in the Tulsa area that was known as OVGE (Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition). But due to a lack of interest in my attendees and exhibitors in smaller cons, I stopped after the 2015 event. We have another that was started last year known as NYGE for Name Your Game Expo that is video games, card collectable games, Table RPGs and LARP that I was involved with last year. Specifically I helped to setup and maintain the retro systems and arcade cabs before, during and after the event. We had another scheduled for this year but have postponed it due to the pandemic.

But there are lots of other cons that take place much close to me and therefore much less expensive around that time frame so it does make PRGE seem less attractive at that time. Honestly it cost my wife and I about $2000 to attend last years PRGE with airfare and hotel costs even booking that 3 or 4 months out. That didn't include what I spent at PRGE which, was a separate considerable amount.

Yes, traveling and lodging isn't cheap. It's cool that your wife travels with you though.

For a city of Seattle's size and the large populations of gamers in the area, the lack of retro gaming conventions is surprising. Or, maybe it's just me because I only know about two or three small conventions in the greater Seattle. I've only been to Seattle Retro Gaming Expo.

[socrates63]

1 hour ago, HDN said:

@socrates63 remember how we talked about Mario Kart last night in the chat and how I said that I liked the old flat-style games? Well, guess who called today with Super Circuit! Quick, mention Lode Runner or Pilotwings! They might call about that too if you mention it like you did Mario Kart!

Who called? Your local game store?

[RickR]

If anyone ever needs help with finding lodging or navigating public transit for PRGE, let me know.  I'm happy to help. 

[HDN]

14 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

Who called? Your local game store?

Yes. Thankfully I won't have to take a ferry to get there. We may stop and feed the geese as well in our travels. If you couldn't tell, I'm a bit of a goose-maniac. I even bought Untitled Goose Game on Switch at launch. The goose in my profile picture now responds when we call his name. He won't be flying anywhere anytime soon. 

Geese aren't evil. They put up a charade. There is nothing on a goose that can hurt you. Unless 50 of them try to smother you.

Edited September 17, 2020 by HDN
Geese

[CrossBow]

7 minutes ago, RickR said:

If anyone ever needs help with finding lodging or navigating public transit for PRGE, let me know.  I'm happy to help. 

As we weren't wanting to rent a car while we were there, we used the trains from the airport to the convention center and then just made sure to stay at a hotel nearby. The airfare was the largest expense for the two of us as the hotel was only about $150 a night as I recall which for the hotel we were in and the proximity to the convention center, we felt was reasonable.

We would use an Uber for anywhere else we might want to venture that wasn't within a few blocks of walking distance while we were there.

 

[RickR]

Sounds like you did it right.  I know people can get intimidated by public transit, and sometimes all it takes is for someone to explain it or show them.  Also, news about Portland being "lawless" or "dangerous" are grossly inaccurate. 

In any case, the offer still stands for you or anyone else that wants to come to PRGE.  Hopefully, once this pandemic ends, we'll have a show ready to go.  I've been a volunteer for the event a few times, and it's a show that seems to get bigger every year.