Everything I've bought in Japan, other than my Wii and PS3, is here. I already had a Japanese PS3, Wii and DSlite before I started collecting older Japanese systems. The Saturn was the first classic console I bought in Japan. I got it boxed for about 3000yen with the intention to sell it on ebay and start making money on games. That didn't really happen. Much to my wife's distain, I d It's slightly yellowed on the right side, something I wished I noticed when I bought it. Other than that, it's in great condition. 3000yen is a pretty standard price for a boxed Saturn here. It's probably more in a shop like Super Potato in Akihabara, but that's true for just about anything game related in Japan. I've seen unboxed Saturns for as low as 500yen. I got my Dreamcast not long after getting Sonic Jam on the Saturn. The 3D parts of Jam mad me want to play a 3D Sonic. I do have Sonic on the PS3... but that wasn't cutting it. I needed Sonic Adventure, and I needed it now! So, I went down to my local game shop and picked up SA and a few other DC games. Unfortunately, they didn't have any Dreamcasts. So, I went to Akihabara and picked up one unboxed with a controller for 4000yen. A bit overpriced, but I needed my Sonic! I picked up my Mega Drive recently. I saw a boxed one for a decent price, but someone else picked it up before I had a chance. I found this one for 2500yen with all the hook-ups and 2 controllers in Akihabara. Sometimes there are good deals there... who'd have thought? I'm still looking for a cheap Mega CD... I got a Famicom for free some a lady who's kids had moved out and she wanted to get rid of some of their stuff. She gave me a Famicom, and a bunch of Famicom, Super Famicom and PC Engine games. The Famicom was yellowed and ugly, but worked perfectly. I picked up a faulty Famicom that looked great for 300yen, switched the nice casing on the faulty system for the yellowed casing on the good system and now I have a working Famicom that is in great condition for just 300yen and a screw driver! I picked up a Super Famicom about the same time that I got a Famicom. Getting a bunch of free (boxed!) SF games, but not having a system, created a need for something to play them on. I went through 3 different systems, ranging from 300yen to 500yen each, until I got a clean looking one that worked well. For some reason, it's really had to find a non-yellowed perfectly working Super Famicom for 500yen or less... Most of them are either yellowed, or have some problem. The third time was the charm. When I got my N64, I wasn't that interested in the system. Still, when I spotted this good looking Gold system for 500yen (not controllers or hook-ups, unfortunately), I couldn't resist. I eventually found a couple of gold controllers (100 for one with a broken joystick which I managed to fix, and 800 for the other in good condition) to go with the gold system. I got my PC Engine Duo not long after getting those free Famicom, SF and PCE games I mentioned earlier. I needed a PC Engine! Unfortuantely, PC Engines are hard to come by cheaply in Japan for me. I thought they'd be more popular. An original, Core or Core II system is usually 4000-5000yen with no controller in Akihabara. I was very lucky to fine a complete in box PCE Duo for 5000yen not far from where I'm living. It did have some trouble turning on sometimes... but after opening it up and reconnecting all the connections, it's been working perfectly. Unfortunately, I STILL only have one controller since they are so hard to find outside of Akihabara for a good price (500yen or less). Game are also hard to come by, although I've built up to a collection of 12 HuCards and 7 CD games (all decent/good games, no baseball, racing, pachinko, etc.) in the past 6 months. I don't usually like to pay more than 500yen for a game unless it's REALLY good. In other words, it had better say Gate of Thunder or something like that or it's definitely not getting bought if the cost is over 1000yen and probably not if it's over 500yen. I was happy to get Ys I&II CIB for 100yen. I found the 3DO for, I think, 2000yen with a controller and connections. I've only got two games so far, because games are hard to come by... unless you really like golf games (I don't). Let's just say I'm happy that there's no region or copy protection on it. I came across the front-loading Neo Geo CD for 5000yen. It's in awesome condition and game with one arcade joystick and one regular small control pad. A bit expensive, but I liked the idea of having a front-loader. I think they look a lot nicer than the top-loader. I have seen quite a few top-loaders floating around lately for around 3000yen, but haven't picked one up so far. I'm not sure if I'll bother. I was thinking of getting one just for the heck of it. Anyway, the top-loader works great and looks awesome, too. I was surprised that the games didn't take *too* long to load. It's certainly barable on most games! I've only got the usual suspects (Samurai Showdown I & II, a Fatal Fury game and KoF '95, but have burned copies of some newer games just to see how they play on it. My conclusion? Older games on the Neo CD are great. The loading times aren't bad (expecially if you're used to the Playstation, Saturn, Sega CD or Turbo CD) on the older games. On the other hand, newer games like Last Blade 2 are almost unplayable. Something like a minute or two for the title screen, then another minute for the character selection screen. And then, get this, after the characters do their little motion at the start of the match... it loads again... The Neo CD is totally great for older games, but horrible for newer games. (Metal Slug is fine on it, BTW) The Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System. Ahhhh, great stuff. Definitely my favourite "suprise" find in the wild (although finding a PCE Duo was also awesome). Fully boxed, I got it for 7000yen. It's the cheapest I've ever seen a boxed Neo Geo for, although I'm sure there are a few floating around for cheaper. I was told that there were a few problems with it; mainly the controller not responding correctly and the game's sound dropping off suddenly sometimes. That was, unforunately, true. It turns out that the controller cord was simply a loose connection. An easy fix. As for the sound, I haven't opened the system yet, but it seems that the AV connection is simply loose. I tested the controller quite easily... I just tried one of the controllers I got with my Neo CD with it. No problems! The original joystick works just fine now. With the sound, if I attach the AV cord "just right" it works perfectly. I'm sure it wouldn't take much effort to have this thing working at 100%. As it stands now, the system and joystick inself are in very nice condition (the Neo does have a few scratches on it, so it's not at all flawless), the manual looks new, and the box if decent. A great find! So far, I've picked up Samurai Showdown II, Fatal Fury II, and Art of Fighting for it. Each game was 500yen. It's tough to find Neo games in the wild. When I do, it's usually one of these games or a sequel/prequel. Other games are almost always anywhere from 2000yen to 20,000yen plus. I don't see my Neo collection ever growing very large, but it definitely feels cool to own one with at least a few games. I've got two original joysticks and two control pads. In other words, I've got more controller than games! (if you cound CD games, I have 7 in total) The Gameboy was a nice little find. These are very common, but I was happy to find this guy in near perfect condition for 500yen. Instant pick-up. I never did have a Gameboy growing up, I now I have one. I do have quite a few Gameboy games that I picked up after I got a GBA about 10 years ago. I used to have a Game Gear growing up, but regrettably sold it with about 7 games for $50 in the mid/late-90s. Now I have one again. This is a translucent smoke version that cost 1000yen. When I intentionally drop by game shops, I usually take some AA batteries to test any portables I find. This one worked fine, so I bought it. Unfortunately, the screen has some scatches. Nothing that can't be fixed, but still a bit annoying. I got the Wonderswan Color for 2000yen. This is the Final Fantasy Edition. It was boxed with the game, system, instructions, registration card and even the AA battery. The complete set! How often do you find a used portable that still has the battery in the box? I've since picked up Final Fantasy II for it as well as Side Pocket, a billiards game. This system looks as new as the day it game out. Well, that's it! My non-Japanese systems are listed in my signature if you're curious. Hopefully you enjoyed my write up for each system. My list of games is here. All my Japanese games are listed, but I'm missing quite a few of my American/Canadian games, since I can't check to see what I have right now.
no, watch you just inserted a blank link which is not even a direct picture link. use this: http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv31/Absinthaholic/DSCN4316.jpg with the "insert picture"-button. et voila: nice collection there
Huh... I thought I did that. Well, it works now. Thanks! Thanks again. Yours in nice as well. Especially your PC Engine stuff.
Sweet collection, although the Mega Drive could do with being a bit more central in the display ;-). Are you planning to get a Mark III to complement the rest of the Sega consoles?
Nice collection. An AES and a Neo CD. Im a bit envious(sp) you got the AES for a great price. Think there are a few slightly more common SEGA consoles before worrying about the Mark 3. Bit like asking if you are going to get a virtua boy to complement you Nintendo collection. Just my opinion but if your going for a hardware fullset then you get the easier/cheaper ones first.
??? He has a Saturn, Dc and GG, and TBH the Mega Cd and 32X aren't really worth getting unless you're a Sega Nut like me, plus they're technically add ons. The Mark III is more common than the SMS in Japan from my experiences of hunting for a Japanese SMS, plus it looks so much nicer
If I find one for cheap. I did see one for a dirt cheap price once... but it looked like it came out of a dump. I don't think it was salvageable. Beside, I need a Master System before I get a Mark III (I know it's basically the same... but still). I think it'd rather get ahold of a US Master System before I get a Japanese one, though. They aren't compatable with each other unless you have a converter... and those look really ugly from what I've seen.
I do have a US Genesis model 1 and Sega CD 2 that aren't pictured. I also have a few Japanese Mega CD games. So if I come across a Mega CD for a good price, I'd go for it. The 32X... only if it's very cheap. I rarely see either one. If I do, they're usually around the 20,000 mark. The Master System (US system) is on my must get list, but the Mark III or the SG-1000 isn't. I'm hoping to pick up another PC Engine, either an original white system or a Core Grafx (I, not II. The Core I compliments the Duo nicely). I also need a PC Engine GT, Neo Geo Pocket and a Lynx.
I would really recommend you to get a JPN SMS first. the FM sound is it worth alone. but on the other hand, the mark III with FM Sound Unit is so style! anyway, both won't be a cheap aquisition unless you find 'em in a hardoff for 10 bucks or so.
