I'm one of those people who mainly goes for cart only when it comes to frail cardboard boxes (don't like them and having to baby my stuff), but I can appreciate a CIB collector because the person will post interesting pics of the contents (see D.Lo's recent MM acquisition in the NES thread) and that person will also play the game. The material is being enjoyed as intended. The sealed collector stares at the outside of the box, on a shelf or mantle, and does nothing with it.
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Retro-GAF unite!
- Thread starter IrishNinja
- Start date
I'm one of those people who mainly goes for cart only when it comes to frail cardboard boxes (don't like them and having to baby my stuff), but I can appreciate a CIB collector because the person will post interesting pics of the contents (see D.Lo's recent MM acquisition in the NES thread) and that person will also play the game. The material is being enjoyed as intended. The sealed collector stares at the outside of the box, on a shelf or mantle, and does nothing with it.
PumpkinSpice
Banned
I don't think you should feel like you're not welcome for wanting to collect sealed stuff. Feel free to come and post. People shouldn't shit on your posts.
Sure, and that wasn't my intent. I welcome the posts as well and will not shitpost about any sealed pickups.
I was just trying to air out my thoughts on the subject, but maybe it's more appropriate to discuss it in another thread.
Yes, people like different stuff. I'm not discussing that, but I think you'd be able to articulate why you like such or such thing. Or why you dislike some other things.
You keep saying you want them in the best condition possible. I understand that. This is why you buy them sealed: it's the assurance that everything is in the box, and the things in the box are all mint. But why keep the box sealed after you have received it? You said so yourself, you're not planning to resell them or make a profit from it. If you want to keep things as pristine as possible, there are transparent boxes you can buy for cartridge boxes, or resealable plastic wraps for CD cases. So what exactly prevents you from opening them? Are you not interested in the content?
PumpkinSpice
Banned
Sincerely, even if you're not looking to sell stuff, knowing that opening it reduces its value significantly is pretty huge.
Also a lot of people think that as long as it's unopened it'll be safe.
I say this as someone that doesn't collect anything sealed but I had a really hard time opening that Fire Emblem Fates Special Edition pack since it was already expensive (3x what I paid for it) by the time I got it in my hands.
davidwhangchoi
Member
no biggie, it's fine to collect sealed stuff. though i don't do it for games but my Macross stuff is sealed and plp say the same thing to me: to open my stuff up.
I just don't feel like it's up to me to judge the difference between someone who enjoys looking at the outside of a box and someone who enjoys looking at bits of paper etc inside a box. People who don't get collecting at all would probably think both are stupid. I honestly couldn't care less how people play/collect/enjoy/whatever.
Some of those comparisons are not analogous. People don't buy music CDs to stare at the cover art. We don't go to the movies to collect the ticket stub and cherish a free poster, or to stare at the box when it comes to home DVD/Blu-ray.
Cards and art prints don't have practical use applications like a movie or game. If I seal a baseball card, I'm not depriving myself of a further experience like if I keep a game sealed or send it to a video game grading service to entomb it. Toys are sort of in the middle... some are meant to be played, some are made only for display.
People who collect vintage cars still drive them (see Leno and Seinfeld). Pinball machine aficionados still play their stuff despite their scarcity and the actual danger of mechanical wear of playing their machines which are way more valuable than disc or cart games. Audiophiles still use their expensive equipment.
All that being said, playing a video game is the biggest and most important part of owning it. More than toys in fact because of how many people put in months or years of their time to craft an hours-long gameplay experience meant to be enjoyed by the buyer. This is why sealed games above all else gets the most adverse criticism.
Well, because there is no all encompassing answer. I have far more open games than sealed. If I'm paying a premium, it's generally for a game I already have, but it means enough to want and maintain a sealed copy. One of my first ever gaming experiences was the Atari 2600 Spiderman game. I remember getting it through a cereal redemption. I still have the cart, but a couple years ago bought a sealed copy. Seeing it on my shelf makes me far happier than playing the game ever would today. I certainly didn't buy it as an investment.
That's not to say it never factors in. Sometimes as a collector it is 'fun' to own something rare. That is what a lot of collectors look for. I'm not saying it can't degenerate into a pissing match, but that isn't normally my motivation. So it can become an issue of maintaining that rarity. If I'm buying it to play, i'm not buying it sealed. If I'm buying it for its rarity, I try to.
I have more games than time, something I'm guessing many can relate to, and so as I've gotten older, sometimes the enjoyment comes from just buying the game. And what can happen is that it becomes valuable before I get around to playing it. I'll leave it sealed then and look for another way to play it if I really want to.
Sorry, that got longer than intended, but it's not always easy to describe what motivates you.
I can respect that. Thanks for taking the time to explain.
Thank you too. I like to think we all have more in common here than not.
Thanks for your comments too Peagles, Sheepyguy and everyone else. I like to think that's what makes GAF cool. We all have a similar love of games, we just don't all express it in the same way.
blast processed
Member
Do whatever you want. If we all had the same goals and motivation, these boards would be boring. Do what makes you happy.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Eh, I'd limit that to RetroGAF.
Guys I just made a new thread.
It's called...
*drumroll*.....
Metal Slug animated gifs are fucking awesome so post your favorites. 56k WARNING!!!
Lol
It's called...
*drumroll*.....
Metal Slug animated gifs are fucking awesome so post your favorites. 56k WARNING!!!
Lol
PumpkinSpice
Banned
Has normal GAF gotten worse lately or has it always been this bad?
D.Lo
Member
I totally understand the point.
I see my collection as a mini-museum. I don't have many sealed items, but they could be a part of that picture.
I have sealed copies of Metroid and Arumana no Kiseki on Famicom Disk. I have playing copies too, but those two I see as an archive. And they were mega cheap when I got them. Opening them is a once-only experience, breaking the seal. So they can stay that way for now.
I see my collection as a mini-museum. I don't have many sealed items, but they could be a part of that picture.
I have sealed copies of Metroid and Arumana no Kiseki on Famicom Disk. I have playing copies too, but those two I see as an archive. And they were mega cheap when I got them. Opening them is a once-only experience, breaking the seal. So they can stay that way for now.
davidwhangchoi
Member
here's my pickups today, i finally picked up a power base converter!
How so?
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
To put it succinctly, the rest of GAF forgot how to have fun.
I guess I have trouble quantifying what you see. I mean I do see some snobby attitudes towards certain games, but in the context of modern gaming norms (i.e. DLC, Fee to pay, retailer exclusives, etc...) I understand a lot of the grief on the "normal"/modern side of things. *Shrugs*
I never see master system stuff in retro stores around here, very cool to see.
My local brick and mortar has Master System games. I'd buy some if I had either the system or the childhood attachment! My LCD modded Game Gear with Everdrive sort of has me covered there anyway.
It's obviously not everyone, but I know what you mean. Bitterness, hostility and argumentative attitudes have taken root in so many corners that you have to wonder if some people ever have fun anymore with this hobby. Everything gets turned into an ideological battlefield and things can't just BE. I'm glad to mostly stay away from it all.
It's obviously not everyone, but I know what you mean. Bitterness, hostility and argumentative attitudes have taken root in so many corners that you have to wonder if some people ever have fun anymore with this hobby. Everything gets turned into an ideological battlefield and things can't just BE. I'm glad to mostly stay away from it all.
IrishNinja
Member
here's my pickups today, i finally picked up a power base converter!
nice, m'man! enjoy! man that PBC was a godsend in the day
also love all 3 of those SMS games, but fuck i'm tempted to cheat to see the end of alien syndrome one day
Ten years ago it wasn't this bad when I started lurking on GAF. Outside of the retro discussion threads I feel like I constantly am walking on pins and needles if I post an opinion in them, shit escalates quickly.
Nods
Things have gone hugely downhill since I joined in 2009 in terms of actual gaming discussion being outweighed in almost all corners by politics.
BTW, I beat Y's I. I'm moving on to II. It was alright... It's no Zelda, but it was nice. Hoping II is better.
The second to last boss was a bitch! Even on easy mode. If you don't have the proper equipment, you just ain't gonna win. I found that out the hard way and had to do a ton of backtracking to find a better sword, armor, and shield.
The second to last boss was a bitch! Even on easy mode. If you don't have the proper equipment, you just ain't gonna win. I found that out the hard way and had to do a ton of backtracking to find a better sword, armor, and shield.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Ys II is much, much better. Better music, better environments, and the addition of magic adds a lot to the gameplay.
There have been ups and downs, but there was really a marked decline around the time the current gen consoles launched IMHO. It's really hard to have a meaningful discussion with differing opinions that doesn't turn to shit now. People just seem to be out for blood for absolutely no reason.
that's why community threads are so key on gaf
Uhnn... The SEGA Master System has been my very first home console, and every time I see a photo showcasing SMS games... Man, the nostalgia. And the subtle desire to start collecting again for that system too.here's my pickups today, i finally picked up a power base converter!
What stops me is the fact I couldn't go PAL, now, and prices for Japanese SMS (boxed, complete and in nice conditions) seem generally pretty steep.
Stay cool and stick around. I like to think here in the retro threads we also keep it pretty civil even when disagreements arise.
D.Lo
Member
PAL is 99% safe when it comes to SMS, since Sega did almost no optomisation for PAL at all. A very simple 60Hz mod on a PAL machine and you're laughing.
Of course PAL (and US) boxes for SMS range from hilarious to hideous, and even though they started with consistency with the grid motif, this devolved dramatically to the point it's one of the least consistent box ranges. You can see it in davidwhangchoi's pictures above - Alien Syndrome is oldest, and uses the stardard typeface for the game name, and a picture superimposed just over the grid. Shinobi are R-type are the next evolution, and get their own title font and the picture 'taking over' the background. Early games had a simpler graphic for the picture, and late games completely abandoned the motif altogether.
Even the name of the system effectively changed in all countries, obviously in Japan from Mark III to Master System, but in US/PAL the first half of the console's life the games (and even console packaging) had no Master System branding and it was simply 'The Sega System'. See all three games pictured above, no Master System name on the cover at all, and even the back and manual referred to the system as either just 'Sega' or 'Power Base'. Master System was confusingly referred to as just the console (like the NES 'Control Deck'), and even that had two names, Master System and Power Base (it literally says on the top 'Master System/Power Base'), and they usually used the latter term in manuals and marketing and packaging, but 'Master System' was also confusingly used to refer to a particular set which included the light gun (so an equivalent of the NES 'Action Set'). Also see above for this in action, the converter for Mega Drive/Genesis isn't called the Master System converter, it's called the Power Base converter.
I guess the summary is Sega had no idea what they were doing, so business as usual for them.
^^^ Lol, for real, man.
That said, the reason why I'd like to go NTSC-J with the SMS, is basically because of its FM sound capabilites, which - if I remember correctly - were completely removed from the hardware, in the West. I'm aware there are more recent alternatives, nowadays, like the Power Base Mini FM, but nothing feels like playing with the original systems for me (plus compatibility issues are always there, to some extent).
That said, the reason why I'd like to go NTSC-J with the SMS, is basically because of its FM sound capabilites, which - if I remember correctly - were completely removed from the hardware, in the West. I'm aware there are more recent alternatives, nowadays, like the Power Base Mini FM, but nothing feels like playing with the original systems for me (plus compatibility issues are always there, to some extent).
Where?
D.Lo
Member
FM is the bomb. Makes 8-bit games sound like Mega Drive games!
Actually 8-bit graphics plus FM sound gives a very '1985 arcade game' feel to the proceedings.
I have most MS console versions, but my bae is my Mark III with FM attachment.
It is quite a bit of work to get nice RGB out of it while still having FM audio.
But look at that beautiful 80s sci-fi design!
blast processed
Member
How is that Game Gear mod working out? Im real close to pulling the trigger on it, just can't decide if I want VGA out or not.
Nice pickups! I only had one friend that had a Master System that lived down the street, Shinobi and Space Harrier were the only games I experienced.
Adding FM back into western consoles is a very easy mod on the original console (much less so on the Master System II), and most western games have kept their original FM soundtrack. Some games even got FM without ever being released in Japan!
But playing Japanese cartridges on a Western console is a difficult task. It's possible, but the modifications needed are important.
Yep. That's dope. Never owned Master System but I want to someday. Probably will just grab a power base converter.
Dude. *__*
Yeah, that's another major issue. All things considered, that's why SMS will probably remain forever in my dreams.
I'm kind of the same, I never had a Master System growing up, those were my C64 days, but I did and still do have a decent game gear collection. Had to get the caps replaced on my childhood game gear, but it's back in business. I don't seem to play much on it outside of the streets of rage games anymore though.
Shin Johnpv
Member
With the US SMS the expansion ports are still there, and it's a not too crazy mod to add it back in if you wanted to consider a US system. Plus its inexpensive and I believe it's 100% compatible. Just food for thought.
*edit* sorry didn't see this was mentioned already till after I posted.
RadarScope1
Member
I'd love to check out some SMS games one day but when I do it'll probably be with an FM Power Base Mini.
D.Lo
Member
Very well, the screen is fantastic, the multiple scaling options make the best out of the non-native res screen, and the vertical scanline filter is a great feature that completes the "look" of the games. I still play it and would spend even more time with it if I had a stronger attachment to the library. Meaning, the games are good but I need to find out what's worth a play, while with something I grew up playing (NES) I know the classics and have my library of personal favorites I can jump right into. My last played games were Jungle Strike, T2 The Arcade Game, Outrun and Alien 3.
The ebay modder/seller didn't cut a hole and install a VGA connector, but the functionality is in there and I can have it done later.
PM'd you.
I'm trying to get into stuff like C64 and ZX Spectrum via emulation on a GPD XD handheld. It's been hit/miss as sometimes I'm not even sure how to get a game to run.