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[Canadian Psycho]

So I was just looking at some of my games the other day, and noticed that my copy of Megaman X has no back label, but instead has raised plastic text saying what the label would say. Is that normal for that game? I tried to kind of feel the back of my other carts, and I don't think there are are letters carved out like that under the labels. Weird, though it's not really a big deal to me. I paid 5 bucks at a pawn shop any way, plus it's not rare and not even in great shape.

I had a Super Return of the Jedi cart that was the same way. Even though I too believe it's more practical for cleaning purposes, it always annoyed me as it was different from my other carts. I ended up purchasing a "regular" one and unloading the version with the "embossed" back.

Reminds me of some Acclaim NES carts with their unique backs/shells. They look similar on the surface, but when you look closely, you realize that the font on the back label isn't the same, etc. (Batman: Return of the Joker and Wizards & Warriors III come to mind).

 

[sixteen-bit]

I had a Super Return of the Jedi cart that was the same way. Even though I too believe it's more practical for cleaning purposes, it always annoyed me as it was different from my other carts. I ended up purchasing a "regular" one and unloading the version with the "embossed" back.

Reminds me of some Acclaim NES carts with their unique backs/shells. They look similar on the surface, but when you look closely, you realize that the font on the back label isn't the same, etc. (Batman: Return of the Joker and Wizards & Warriors III come to mind).

Hah, what was the deal with Acclaim? Their Genesis cart molds were also slightly different from the norm too, and use torx screws instead of 4.5mm security screws. You think it was a way to dodge licensing fees?

 

[Canadian Psycho]

Batman: Return of the Joker is obviously Sunsoft, so it was not limited to Acclaim.

I have Steel Empire on Genesis (published by Acclaim) and its case is different (don't remember regarding the screws).

You think it was a way to dodge licensing fees?

I don't know, but it seems like an educated guess.

 

[Shining]

As stated earlier, if the back of the cart has raised text it's either a late release made/assembled in Mexico (my copy of Wild Guns have that) or when it comes to Capcom and Konami games it's often the cheaper quality Majesco re-releases. The labels on these carts is of lower quality than the "Made in Japan" releases which could explain why carts like Mega Man X3, Wild Guns etc often have ruined lables.

 

[khaaan]

The only way to be 100% sure is to open it up (need a special bit you can get for cheap off ebay). If you see wires on the inside, it's a fake.

What are the games, and what makes it seem shady to you?

It's not a games itself specifically, it's just that the person I could buy from (IRL) sells both legit and pirated stuff. The pirated stuff tends to be really obvious but I have no experience with SNES stuff so I was wondering if there was a way to identify. I might be able to convince him to let me open a cartridge and if I don't see any wires and the label art matches up I'll take it as the real deal.

 

[Jhriad]

Seems like the supply is outweighing the demand pretty heavily. So it seems clear supply is not what is driving up the costs. So what is it?

I think part of it is simply the nostalgia of games from your youth and the fact that a lot of folks that were kids when these systems were out are now old enough that they have money to spend. The other part, and in my opinion the bigger factor, is the easy availability of price data based on up to date information. It's one of the reasons you can get great deals at yard sales, flea markets, and occasionally thrift stores. Those people generally don't know the value of their goods so they have to guess. eBay sellers have ample time and several quick and easy ways of checking prices, including eBay itself.

 

[Sword Familiar]

I think part of it is simply the nostalgia of games from your youth and the fact that a lot of folks that were kids when these systems were out are now old enough that they have money to spend. The other part, and in my opinion the bigger factor, is the easy availability of price data based on up to date information. It's one of the reasons you can get great deals at yard sales, flea markets, and occasionally thrift stores. Those people generally don't know the value of their goods so they have to guess. eBay sellers have ample time and several quick and easy ways of checking prices, including eBay itself.

I think this is part of the problem. If people see prices are up on ebay they're gonna want the same price for their goods, even if the price is accurate to it's actual value or not.

 

[Lambtron]

I think this is part of the problem. If people see prices are up on ebay they're gonna want the same price for their goods, even if the price is accurate to it's actual value or not.

Yeah I think the eBay thing has made a big shift. And I think eBay making it so you can do Buy It Now listings for free makes it way easier to just set a high price and wait for someone to buy, rather than "gamble" with an auction. It doesn't allow a market price to be set.

 

[-KRS-]

It's not a games itself specifically, it's just that the person I could buy from (IRL) sells both legit and pirated stuff. The pirated stuff tends to be really obvious but I have no experience with SNES stuff so I was wondering if there was a way to identify. I might be able to convince him to let me open a cartridge and if I don't see any wires and the label art matches up I'll take it as the real deal.

I haven't seen many SNES pirates myself, but I have one of Mortal Kombat and it's missing the Seal of Quality on the label, and doesn't have a region code either. So check for that too. The one I have is a pirate from back in the day though. I'm guessing pirates made more recently have more authentic labels and such. So yeah the best way is to open them up and look at the PCB.

Edit: My MK pirate has epoxy blobs on the PCB instead of chips as well. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a pirate because I know at least for some Game Boy games that was something they did with later reprints to save money. Like the Japanese version of Tetris, some have chips some have blobs. I think for SNES games though that is pretty rare with official games.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

It's not a games itself specifically, it's just that the person I could buy from (IRL) sells both legit and pirated stuff. The pirated stuff tends to be really obvious but I have no experience with SNES stuff so I was wondering if there was a way to identify. I might be able to convince him to let me open a cartridge and if I don't see any wires and the label art matches up I'll take it as the real deal.

I would just stay away from anyone you know sells pirated shit. If you are brave enough to deal with such a shady person, absolutely open up every single cart you get from him before handing over cash. If he refuses, it's cause he knows shit ain't legit.

To reiterate also, if you see even a single little wire, it's a fake.

Buy It Now listings for free makes it way easier to just set a high price and wait for someone to buy.

This is exactly what is happening. Buyers seem to have completely given sellers all the market power through sheer impatience (which I do understand so can't really talk shit about them). Sellers are actively driving up SNES prices extremely successfully right now by just putting up a high buy it now, and knowing eventually someone will want it bad enough to pay it. Then other people see the game sold for that price and start adjusting their prices accordingly. And now we have cart only copies of Earthbound selling for $230 pretty easily.


EDIT: Fuck me. Just look at this shit.

Earthbound Sold Buy It Nows:

$275 on the 25th
$300 on the 22nd
$275 on the 21st

That is all cart only. Are these people fucking nuts!? Meanwhile auctions are ending for $180-200 usually.

 

[Wereroku]

Some people really dislike auctions do to the sniping and what not which means you may have wasted a whole week to get outbid in the last 5 secs. Such overpriced buy it nows get people who are impatient or just have more money then sense.

 

[Lambtron]

I'll pay a biiiit more on a BIN over an auction for convenience's sake, especially if it's a handful of games, but yeah some of these prices are crazy. I can't believe EVO is almost $200 now, holy shit.

 

[-KRS-]

EDIT: Fuck me. Just look at this shit.

Earthbound Sold Buy It Nows:

$275 on the 25th
$300 on the 22nd
$275 on the 21st

That is all cart only. Are these people fucking nuts!? Meanwhile auctions are ending for $180-200 usually.

Wow... Just wow. Depressing. =/

 

[plc268]

I haven't seen many SNES pirates myself, but I have one of Mortal Kombat and it's missing the Seal of Quality on the label, and doesn't have a region code either. So check for that too. The one I have is a pirate from back in the day though. I'm guessing pirates made more recently have more authentic labels and such. So yeah the best way is to open them up and look at the PCB.

Edit: My MK pirate has epoxy blobs on the PCB instead of chips as well. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a pirate because I know at least for some Game Boy games that was something they did with later reprints to save money. Like the Japanese version of Tetris, some have chips some have blobs. I think for SNES games though that is pretty rare with official games.

I know that there's a variant of Starfox that uses four globtops on its board as opposed to its regular layout.

 

[Teknoman]

On NintendoAge, so far someone has offered me a Run Saber for Shadowrun...which actually sounds good since it looks like its not that common, the price has gone up on it, and it was something on my list of games to get.

Guess I should hold out a little first though... Any opinions on it? I know its a Strider style action game and made (published?) by Atlus. I've seen one review that says its short and not that challenging...but is the length really all that shorter than any other action game?

 

[Jake Tower]

Some people really dislike auctions do to the sniping and what not which means you may have wasted a whole week to get outbid in the last 5 secs. Such overpriced buy it nows get people who are impatient or just have more money then sense.

protip: bid your max with 5 secs til end and not before

 

[Lambtron]

protip: bid your max with 5 secs til end and not before

I do this except I use Gixen. Sometimes I forget about whatever it is I bid on, and then surprise! I won a game. haha

 

[krae_man]

I would just stay away from anyone you know sells pirated shit. If you are brave enough to deal with such a shady person, absolutely open up every single cart you get from him before handing over cash. If he refuses, it's cause he knows shit ain't legit.

To reiterate also, if you see even a single little wire, it's a fake.



This is exactly what is happening. Buyers seem to have completely given sellers all the market power through sheer impatience (which I do understand so can't really talk shit about them). Sellers are actively driving up SNES prices extremely successfully right now by just putting up a high buy it now, and knowing eventually someone will want it bad enough to pay it. Then other people see the game sold for that price and start adjusting their prices accordingly. And now we have cart only copies of Earthbound selling for $230 pretty easily.


EDIT: Fuck me. Just look at this shit.

Earthbound Sold Buy It Nows:

$275 on the 25th
$300 on the 22nd
$275 on the 21st

That is all cart only. Are these people fucking nuts!? Meanwhile auctions are ending for $180-200 usually.

It's not just carts this is happening with. I was trying to buy some Tim Doyle prints and all I could see was crazy buy it nows. Auctions were regularly going for 1/2 the buy it nows and the BIN sellers wouldn't budge because there was one or two dumbasses who did pay the crazy buy it now prices.

 

[McBradders]

Wow I must be the nicest/dumbest ebay guy ever. I shove my shit up at auction for the minimum I'm willing to part with it for then let fate decide. Completed auction listings just enable disappointment usually XD

 

[Credo]

Wow I must be the nicest/dumbest ebay guy ever. I shove my shit up at auction for the minimum I'm willing to part with it for then let fate decide. Completed auction listings just enable disappointment usually XD

I've found this to be the unfortunate truth. And in my case, I could replace usually with every time.

 

[McBradders]

I've found this to be the unfortunate truth. And in my case, I could replace usually with every time.

Hahah

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Wow I must be the nicest/dumbest ebay guy ever. I shove my shit up at auction for the minimum I'm willing to part with it for then let fate decide. Completed auction listings just enable disappointment usually XD

The BIN ones are always a crummy indicator of the true price but yea, I do the same. Most of the time it sells and I don't feel too horrible about the price.

 

[PixyJunket]

sounds alright by me, you looking for anything in particular? feel free to post or PM details man!

also i gotta know your MUSHA roundabout story.

I'll PM you a want list, I think there's enough games of similar ilk on it.

I thought I posted about it? I found a $20 Zelda Game Boy Camera, which I am selling for the cost of the MUSHA I picked up.

 

[MisterLuffy]

Anyone recommend me some PAL games I should get that didn't come out in NA?

Edit: Good Pal games I should get.

 

[PixyJunket]

Anyone recommend me some PAL games I should get that didn't come out in NA?

I'm pretty sure it's just Terranigma and Whirlo. Oh, and one of the Twinbee games?

I think everything else is soccer games.

 

[Asparagus]

Super Parodius. You might as well just import the JP version though.

 

[-KRS-]

Well if you do pick up any soccer game, make it Sensible Soccer. It's actually kinda fun, and I hate sports games. Not that I play it a lot though, but it's cheap so whatever. I also saw just now that there is apparently a limited edition version called International Sensible Soccer that includes teams from the '94 (I think?) world cup.

 

[Seven Force]

Hooooly crap. Someone in my area's selling their son's old SNES lot for $50, and it has a bunch of classic games (SoM, CT, ZAMN, among others) boxed and in great condition. It almost seems too good to be true. Should I bite?

 

[Lambtron]

Hooooly crap. Someone in my area's selling their son's old SNES lot for $50, and it has a bunch of classic games (SoM, CT, ZAMN, among others) boxed and in great condition. It almost seems too good to be true. Should I bite?

Yes. Haha, if nothing else sell the carts here so some scumbag on eBay doesn't do it.

 

[johnsmith]

Hooooly crap. Someone in my area's selling their son's old SNES lot for $50, and it has a bunch of classic games (SoM, CT, ZAMN, among others) boxed and in great condition. It almost seems too good to be true. Should I bite?

If you meet in a public place and bring a friend, why not.

 

[georgetheplushie]

I missed out on a huge lot on craigslist yesterday by just not being fast enough. It was like $50 for an N64+games (nothing too notable), a SNES+games (Secret of Mana, Contra III included in there), and something like 50 NES games that he didn't want to bother going through.

Depending on your financial situation, a lot like the one you mentioned is pretty much always a no brainer because you'll find people to bite for the stuff to make it pay for itself and then some.

 

[Seven Force]

Shot them an e-mail.

If it's legit and still for sale, I'm definitely bringing someone with me just in case.

 

[Lambtron]

Shot them an e-mail.

If it's legit and still for sale, I'm definitely bringing someone with me just in case.

Yeah this is a good idea. Or at the very least, meet somewhere in public. I kind of foolishly agreed to meet this dude at his house out in the middle of nowhere to buy his Halo Xbox. I mean, I live in fucking North Dakota, what's the worst that could happen?

So I pull up and he's got the light on in his garage, and he's like "come on in and I'll show you it's working." And in my head I'm trying to think of how to get the fuck out if shit goes south. He powers it on and I'm like "great, looks good, here's your money!" He unhooks the system and hands it over to me. I start to walk out the door and I hear the sound of something heavy hitting the work bench, so I look over my shoulder only to find him placing a fucking pistol on the work bench.

He goes "Heh, can't be too careful!" And I'm like "haha yep!" I got in my car and got the fuuuuuck out of there.

 

[Seven Force]

Yeah this is a good idea. Or at the very least, meet somewhere in public. I kind of foolishly agreed to meet this dude at his house out in the middle of nowhere to buy his Halo Xbox. I mean, I live in fucking North Dakota, what's the worst that could happen?

So I pull up and he's got the light on in his garage, and he's like "come on in and I'll show you it's working." And in my head I'm trying to think of how to get the fuck out if shit goes south. He powers it on and I'm like "great, looks good, here's your money!" He unhooks the system and hands it over to me. I start to walk out the door and I hear the sound of something heavy hitting the work bench, so I look over my shoulder only to find him placing a fucking pistol on the work bench.

He goes "Heh, can't be too careful!" And I'm like "haha yep!" I got in my car and got the fuuuuuck out of there.

Haha, glad things didn't go south.

Assuming I can enable a transaction, I just hope that I can arrange a meeting place in public. I've only used craigslist a few times, but I always make sure to meet in public, well populated locations.

 

[Lambtron]

Haha, glad things didn't go south.

Assuming I can enable a transaction, I just hope that I can arrange a meeting place in public. I've only used craigslist a few times, but I always make sure to meet in public, well populated locations.

Yeah, me too. I've had good luck overall with Craigslist deals and people I've met, but I'm far more careful now.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Good job getting out of that mess. Craigslist is always an adventure but I've been fortunate so far.

 

[Zing]

Meh, I just played through Illusion of Gaia a few months ago after getting it. I definitely prefer Soul Blazer. Obviously, have never played Terranigma.

Interesting that this topic has come up. I just finished Soul Blazer last night (first time) and jumped right into Gaia (first time). Other than the graphics and music, the game seems inferior in every way. I played it for two hours then gave up. Without going into a huge rant, I will comment on a few things.

Soul Blazer has a coherent and satisfying plot. Will's story in Gaia starts like this: "Hi! I am a student at school. Oh hey, a portal on the roof that leads me to a floating talking head that tells me I am the chosen one! Meh, no big deal, I won't even act surprised or comment on it. A minute later a runaway princess is in my home. Whatever. Hey, random red crystals behind pails and such, so I have to search everywhere at all times, distracting me from my current task. I say task, because everything feels like a spontaneous task instead of some over-arching quest. Every couple minutes, I am told to go here and do this, and given almost zero explanation, and I show absolutely no surprise or hesitation the entire time."

The developers also made a critical programming error. They allow the d-pad to cancel text windows. Read that again. Yep. Did I mention that text windows pop up all the time when you are not expecting them? Usually during times you would be, you know, pressing the d-pad. I probably missed 1/3 of the text in the first town because I was entering a door or leaving a room when a text box decided to pop up. They just disappear instantly.

I think a good rule of thumb for GAF is when I see someone say "so good", I translate that to mean "skip this game", because that phrase is batting 1000 in that regard.

 

[Zing]

At the end of the day, a game is worth whatever someone is willing to pay. I think his point is just that there are so many copies out there that people shouldn't be willing to pay those prices. There's more than enough for everyone.

I mean, looking at Earthbound. On the 24th, one copy sold while eight copies were listed. On the 23rd, three copies sold while six were listed. Seems like the supply is outweighing the demand pretty heavily. So it seems clear supply is not what is driving up the costs. So what is it?

The supply is not nearly as much as the demand. The current rate of sales is based on the current prices. If carts were listed with a BIN of $100, they would all sell within a day. If they were down to around $50, I bet few would even get listed, and those that did would sell instantly. Think about how many people would be happy to have this game in their collection if it were around the usual $30-40 for a high demand cart. It probably has the same demand as something like Yoshi's Island, or Final Fantasy III. However, it has an immensely lower distribution.

The current, perceived slow, rate of sales is capitalism at work. If games were selling out, the asking price would rise. If games were sitting around for months, the asking price would fall. Right now, games are listed for anywhere from a day to a week or so, the price equilibrium.

 

[McBradders]

Today I have ordered;

Controller Extension Cables - goddamn SFC cables are short!
Astro GO GO - amazing box art, kinda crappy game but one I played the crap out of anyway
Natsume's Wrasslin' game - SFC version because Natsume are awesome and this game was neat

SNES!

 

[ys45]

Interesting that this topic has come up. I just finished Soul Blazer last night (first time) and jumped right into Gaia (first time). Other than the graphics and music, the game seems inferior in every way. I played it for two hours then gave up. Without going into a huge rant, I will comment on a few things.

Soul Blazer has a coherent and satisfying plot. Will's story in Gaia starts like this: "Hi! I am a student at school. Oh hey, a portal on the roof that leads me to a floating talking head that tells me I am the chosen one! Meh, no big deal, I won't even act surprised or comment on it. A minute later a runaway princess is in my home. Whatever. Hey, random red crystals behind pails and such, so I have to search everywhere at all times, distracting me from my current task. I say task, because everything feels like a spontaneous task instead of some over-arching quest. Every couple minutes, I am told to go here and do this, and given almost zero explanation, and I show absolutely no surprise or hesitation the entire time."

The developers also made a critical programming error. They allow the d-pad to cancel text windows. Read that again. Yep. Did I mention that text windows pop up all the time when you are not expecting them? Usually during times you would be, you know, pressing the d-pad. I probably missed 1/3 of the text in the first town because I was entering a door or leaving a room when a text box decided to pop up. They just disappear instantly.

I think a good rule of thumb for GAF is when I see someone say "so good", I translate that to mean "skip this game", because that phrase is batting 1000 in that regard.

Glad to see Im not the only one preferring Soul Blazer, i also got tired of Gaia and just stoped playing (emulator)

On another subject, I played Ninja Warriors last night on emulator , i really need to get my hands on this one.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Glad Ninja Warriors (Again) is getting love. I adore that game.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

I need to revisit that one. I foolishly sold it last year along with Blast Man 2. I lucked out by finding the latter for a good price this past weekend (top tier SNES beat 'em up right there IMO). Hopefully I can snatch Ninja Warriors again.

 

[McBradders]

Glad Ninja Warriors (Again) is getting love. I adore that game.

It's the best game. The best game.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

What makes it so good? It really seems I didn't give it the time it deserved (played only the first stage or so...).

 

[McBradders]

What makes it so good? It really seems I didn't give it the time it deserved (played only the first stage or so...).

It's executed incredibly well, has good mechanics (dare I say deep? For the genre, anyway) provides a good challenge, great graphics and music and generally really fun. Another Natsume winner. It was one of my SNES grails (along with Wild Guns). The only bummer about it is that it's not 2 player

 

[Canadian Psycho]

Wow! never knew it was a Natsume game! Always assumed Taito was designer/publisher. Thankfully, it's not too cost-prohibitive compared to other Natsume properties (have you seen Dragon freakin' Fighter on NES? Damn...).

 

[Lambtron]

It's executed incredibly well, has good mechanics (dare I say deep? For the genre, anyway) provides a good challenge, great graphics and music and generally really fun. Another Natsume winner. It was one of my SNES grails (along with Wild Guns). The only bummer about it is that it's not 2 player

Wild Guns looks so damn fun, it's a shame the prices are so insane. The SFC prices look lower but they're still pretty high. I assume you can play it with very limited Japanese knowledge?

 

[McBradders]

Wild Guns looks so damn fun, it's a shame the prices are so insane. The SFC prices look lower but they're still pretty high. I assume you can play it with very limited Japanese knowledge?

Wild Guns and Ninja Warriors are fine and dandy in any language.

 

[StAidan]

Interesting that this topic has come up. I just finished Soul Blazer last night (first time) and jumped right into Gaia (first time). Other than the graphics and music, the game seems inferior in every way. I played it for two hours then gave up. Without going into a huge rant, I will comment on a few things.

Soul Blazer has a coherent and satisfying plot. Will's story in Gaia starts like this: "Hi! I am a student at school. Oh hey, a portal on the roof that leads me to a floating talking head that tells me I am the chosen one! Meh, no big deal, I won't even act surprised or comment on it. A minute later a runaway princess is in my home. Whatever. Hey, random red crystals behind pails and such, so I have to search everywhere at all times, distracting me from my current task. I say task, because everything feels like a spontaneous task instead of some over-arching quest. Every couple minutes, I am told to go here and do this, and given almost zero explanation, and I show absolutely no surprise or hesitation the entire time."

I haven't played Gaia since it first released, but I remember feeling the same way about the nonsensical story. I did play all the way through it, though. I mainly remember being impressed with the graphics & sound, and thought the gameplay was also pretty good (although I'd been hoping for a more Zelda-like game).

I've never played Soul Blazer, so I might have to give that one a try.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Wild Guns and Ninja Warriors are fine and dandy in any language.

Yeah, I have the SFC cart of Ninja Warriors and even the story intro is in English with Japanese subtitles.