Great, now I know what to get the kids for xmas this year. They are so excited. Will look sweet on the 60 inch!
And just for you, for a limited time, you are welcome to it for the measly price of $1499.99. 😀
Damn sexy machines aren’t they.
No difference between the original CG and CGII aside from cosmetics. Perhaps NEC released the CGII in orange to match the Super CD-ROM2 device.
If you leave out the CD equation, it’s actually a cheap system to game on. A loose HuCard console can be had for as little as $40 delivered (if you don’t mind a bit of dirt and scratches) and aside from the elite titles, most HuCard games are rather cheap, especially for loose titles.
Your CG console looks to be in immaculate condition, nice score!
Yep, damn sexy! I think I was impressed by the weight of them the most when I first got them – they cram a heap of goodness into the small body.
I didn’t think there was any difference between them either, but I just wasn’t sure. I might have to crack them open and take some pics when I get a chance to really compare internals.
As much as I agree with your comments re this not being the most ideal solution for CD based gaming, it’s still my favourite setup.
Believe it or not, it was priced at 57,800 yen in 1988.
There’s a couple of versions available, you can spot the difference by looking at the lid. One says ‘CD-ROM2 SYSTEM’ and the other ‘IFU-30’. The former is the one bundled with the actual CD-ROM2 unit whilst the latter only contained the interface unit (requiring the CD-ROM2 unit to be purchased separately). Rumour has it that NEC did this to avoid paying as much tax on the device.
There’s also a couple of versions of the CD-ROM2 unit too, one that was sold as a standalone device and compatible with personal computers and the other which was sold exclusively for use with the PC Engine console.
Thanks for the extra info, and also thanks for the pricing Frank – will edit that straight away.
I haven’t seen the one you mention that needs to have the CD-ROM2 to be purchased separately. Yet another thing for the hoard I have to hunt for. 😀
RE the IFU’s, yeah I have both of them but only one of them works. You might recall the incident, it did happen a while ago though. Mine aren’t all boxed and minty like yours though, just loose jobs. 🙂
The Tennokoe Bank HuCard is a great thing to own too, I use it to xfer save data from my interface unit to the Tennokoe Bank HuCard – then you can delete the save data on the interface unit and start again, whilst retaining all your save data.
There’s also the Tennokoe 2, another hardware device to store save data, but this is limited to HuCard games only (as in you can only connect it to a base HuCard console and not a CD setup).
I actually have a Tennokoe 2, but I haven’t really tried to use it with anything except one of the F1 games. Can’t actually remember the name of that particular F1 game at the moment.
The main issue with this Memory base is that it only supports around 20 games, and most of them are RPGs. Can’t say I play many RPGs on the PCE honestly.
Probably F1 Circus you’re thinking of.
The Tennokoe 2 supports heaps of games, and once it’s full you can transfer to the Tennokoe Bank HuCard. Well worth grabbing a few of the TB cards.
Yep, F1 Circus was the one I was trying to recall from this rusty brain.
Just wish they had a backlit screen, that would have made it the perfect handheld!
If these were backlit the competition would not have stood a chance!
I have seen a few vids on youtube showing off front-light mods which looks pretty cool.
This post is like PCE porn or something. The minty box and system setup are absolutely beautiful!!
I think I need one of those Tennokoe thingies, as my sad Duo-R doesn’t have much memory for saves 🙁
I will add it to my list of stuff to track down 🙂
Love the NeoGeo Pocket Colors consoles, will have to make some space in the nerd room to accomodate one and some games down the road 🙂
BTW, I thought the toilet references were apt/amusing 🙂
Definitely a must buy Sean. If you don’t have one I am gunna find you one – don’t worry about that.
I actually finished MetalSlug twice through on the toilet. Hmmm, either that says something strange about my movements, or something great about the game. 😀
That machine is all kinds of awesome 😀
Yep, really is one of the cooler Tomy games. Not sure how long I am able to keep it though – I have bought big recently, and I have to recoup a little bit back to buy more! 😀
Sean, you don’t have a Pocket? I’ll give you a play on mine next time you’re over, you’ll love it. The joystick nub is insanely cool and effective, makes one wonder why no other handheld has one.
Thanks for the enthusiasm guys!
Next time I’m over your way Frank, would love to check out one of your NGPs – I love the concept of a microswitch pad on a handheld!
Had no idea that’s how it was setup until I read Hollo’s article actually!! I’m no more informed, so hooray for me 🙂
Absolutely stunning find Hollo – in 1998 I desperately wanted one of these, but back then I didn’t have the financial means to grab one… so instead I looked at pictures and admired the machine from a distance 😀
Not sure why that particular revisions break some games, though some speculated over on Assembler it’s either due to the BIOS revision (v1.01.1) or something was changed with the 68k CPU (the CPU assigned to the audio hardware).
Interestingly, the problems seem inconsistent – some have skeleton Saturns that play those titles without a hitch, other have noted that later print runs of the aforementioned titles are fixed to work with Skeleton Saturns.
You’ll have to let us know how your machine handles those titles 😀
If time permits, I plan to get it out and test it with Metal Slug today.
I guess it’s somewhat similar to having a beautiful girlfriend – a few incompatibilities can go unnoticed. 🙂
I have updated the Skeleton Saturn post with my findings regarding incompatibility. Take a look Sean. 😀
Don’t start with me Hollo! The Hori Commander is the best PCE 6 button pad, but unfortunately they’re rather pricey. I can’t justify spending big money on a controller, especially when the same amount of money will land you a loose PCE console!
The Duo RX pad is also a fine 6 button pad, once again hard to find and costly.
Interesting bit of trivia that you may not be aware of, the 6 button pads have further uses aside from Street Fighter – some of the shooters use the select button to select between movement speed or special firing sequences. It’s a pain in the bum to reach the select button though, so with a 6 button pad you can use the third button to replace the select button in a range of games. There’s also a dedicated 3 button control pad which serves the same purpose.
Ahh I forgot about that Hori Commander!
Nice info regarding the shooters that use the 6 buttons as well. I might have to have a shmup session to see which ones work.
Very nice. I have the blue Gekisen U-Boat one from this series.
I agree, these things are great. I’ve often wondered why solar powered handhelds like this never took off. Solar power is free, while batteries cost money, therefore you would have expected these to dominate the market but….they didn’t. Bit of a mystery.
I am always on the lookout for the blue one. Having all three would be very cool!
Thanks for the link, I will take a look at that now. 🙂
EDIT:
Just had a look at yours. The one I’m after is the airport one, and not the Uboat one you have yourself there – still after seeing yours in amazing shape I wouldn’t mind having one of those as well! It never stops does it? 😀
I’m with Frank – the Avenue 6 is a pad for utility, not necessarily for comfort. I was playing some PCE yesterday using the nice black PCE pad and it felt a lot better than playing with the Avenue 6.
That being said, the aforementioned pad wouldn’t be useful for SF2!
The Hori Commander sounds like a nice piece of kit, but I can’t justify huge prices for controllers. A better option would be to take an Avenue 6 and case it, then build an i/o to take a Saturn controller to the PCE. In fact, pretty much any console could benefit from such a setup. Those controllers are amazing 🙂
Being able to control a PCE with a Saturn controller would be unbelievably sweet! I tend to use the Hori stick the most out of the controllers I have for the PCE, but there are times when a pad is a must.
300 yen? Madness!!!
Looks like a nice and shiny console 😀
It’s not in bad shape although it has suffered a little bit from the Saturn yellow syndrome. 300yen though! One of those rare moments indeed.
Looking at the second picture posted, it’s almost as if the Satellaview, DC with karaoke unit and orange GCN are pointing and laughing at the Playdia, the poor thing.
Great write-up though, I had no idea the Playdia’s controller were wireless, unusually progressive for a console from that era!
Those two laugh at almost everything! It’s only when the two AES consoles come out they feel a bit insecure. 😀
Awesome 🙂
I remember a friend of mine had DK1 and it was great fun to play. We got a couple of them when we were kids around 1990, must have come out a cheaper entry point as my brothers and I got one each – there was a Snoopy Tennis, Donkey Kong Junior and Super Mario Bros between us I think, all the single-screen ones. I went hunting around my parents’ place last year or the year before trying to find them, but no luck 🙁
Donkey Kong Jr is a great game. I was so jealous of a kid at school with one. I can remember so clearly sitting around him and just watching him play it. Ahh the 80s.
You should be tearing your family house apart Sean! They’re there, you possibly just need power tools to get at them. 😀
Ah yes, I have seen the airport one at Mandarake here in town, its a nice (but expensive if I recall) one! Mine is a bit different from these two as it doesnt have a D pad and is vertically rather than horizontally oriented.
And yup, it never stops….
Unfortunately it’s rare for me to run into even the more common Bandai LCDs around here where I am – little bit rural. I’m will be happy to pay a reasonable amount for a loose Airport though.
I do check the auctions when ever I get time, but the proxy bidding is driving prices up a fair bit of late. Well that, and the retro bug that seems to be sweeping the globe.
Anyway, thanks for the comments Sean – much appreciated.
Nice find mate, I know you’ve been after one of these for a while.
Strange that they didn’t included the necessary pins on the expansion bus for the CD-ROM attachments – what were they thinking!?
It’s funny how things change, when I was first getting into the PCE the Shuttles weren’t that popular and usually sold at a cheap price. Now they’re suddenly commanding big dollars.
The amazing thing is that PCE in general is starting to get very expensive. Really wish I bought up more now. Still, I got this one for a pretty good deal considering it had the memory unit and about 10 games.
Believe me, I’ve even had my brothers over to help me, but no luck!
We did find our Transformers and TMNT toys from when we were kids though, so it wasn’t a completely wasted exercise 🙂
Bad luck not finding the G&Ws there Sean. Still, judging by the prices Transformers go for these days, you could probably sell a few off and re-buy the old G&Ws. 😀
Is it the hardware going up, or HuCards as well?
Hardware more than the HuCards Sean. The prices on DuoRs seem pretty constant (as in expensive), but there has definitely been a price increase on the CoreI/CoreII. 🙁
If I had to use a composite AV switcher, that would be my pic. It’s awesome 😀
But would you rummage through rubbish to get one? 😀
Very interesting, I am embarassed to admit that I never even knew these things existed. Now I must find one, I really like the way it looks. Kind of smoothe.
The hardest things to find (like I mentioned in the post) are the controllers and backup memory. I couldn’t believe my luck finding one with the memory.
I like the look of them as well actually, but then again, I’m a PCE whore! 😀
LOL, I know exactly what you are talking about. I have made some nice finds in 300 yen junk bins around here too. I`m not a Saturn collector but that looks like a cool one.
I`m guessing if you have a few junk shops in the neighborhood you are probably in Tokyo or some other big city?
Hi there,
Very nice post. 🙂 I didn’t know much about this handheld before. Looks very nice.
“Admittedly the Bandai Wonderswan is the last machine I tend to turn to when I’m heading to the toilet for a quick game (well, quick game and number two release).”
LOL! Quote of the year! 😀
Technology wise they are really cool little machines for the time period. It’s just a pity there aren’t more games for it that are non-Japanese friendly.
We have to be honest here though right. The handheld market has dramatically increased the time we spend on the toilet. 😀
Holy crap! *sells house and moves to Japan*
Love the way everything is displayed and bagged etc. The few much, much smaller second hand game shops we have here are nowhere near as professional or courteous with their layout and presentation. Games are literally thrown in a shelf and you have to sift through them all.
What’s a rough idea on pricing in there? Do they tend to know what they are selling and price accordingly? Any Highway Star carts in there? 😛
I just wish I could have gotten more pictures to really show you how extensive it is!
They do tend to know what they have, but even so the prices are very reasonable. Occasionally though I will walk in and there will be bargains you cannot believe. I remember one day just stopping in and not planning to buy anything, and then walking out with 4 Neogeo CDs, two Saturns, two Famicoms, and a bunch of games.
You remember that 300yen Sonic Saturn I talked about in another post? I got that from this shop. 😉
This week I was excited when I visited a Game Traders and they had 10 boxed SMS games on a shelf, and another 5-8 or so on the shelf underneath, most of which were available at reasonable prices.
I thought that was mildly exciting, but then you go and show me pictures like these. It’s mean, but in the best way because it looks so awesome 😀
Always thought they seemed like cool machines, but don’t have much of a desire to add one to the nerd room. Your post on the NeoGeo Pocket though has convinced me to look into getting one at some stage 🙂
If I had to choose between a WS and a NGP, the NGP wins by a LOT! I can usually grab them for about $15 for a clean one, and about $10 for a worn in one – want me to grab one for you if I see one out?
Nice! I just have the ordinary 6-player adapter for the Saturn (Japanese version), and playing big multiplayer matches of Saturn Bomberman is still great fun today, especially in the big 10-player mode!
10 players is just craziness!
Walking into a place like this is an amazing feeling there Sean. There have been trips where I literally fill the car with gear and drive home very carefully. Nothing can match it at home.
I’ve only managed to get 7 people around the warming glow of a CRT owing to only having one adapter and probably not enough controllers 😉 Still, can’t count the amount of times I’ve played 4 players and filled the remaining players with CPU opponents, my brothers and mates gathered on so many occasions for massive sessions on my old trusty 51cm CRT 😀
That would be great fun! Always the way though, more people that controllers in the house. 😀
Nice hollo, that’s the stuff dreams are made of
. It’s probably good you didn’t get to the hardware
Isles, I don’t need to torture myself any further!
Thanks man, loving the blog.
Hey Tim, Thanks heaps! Yeah, there is only so much the human brain can handle. 😀
Great post, I do these type of game shop posts on my blog too and I love to see what other people`s `hunting grounds` look like. Yours actually looks like it has a better selection than my local one which, sadly, is about to go out of business. Like you I have walked into there on numerous occasions not intending to buy anything and been so shocked by the bargains they had just tossed out that I ended up leaving with more than I could carry.
That’s what it’s all about right – the hunt!
If you’re ever up my way (Ishikawa) I’d happily show you around. Unfortunately though, places are starting to close down around here too… Still have the Hard-Offs/Comp-Offs, but many seem to be getting less and less gear. Damn, I’m talking myself into doing a run again! 😀
LOL, it is easy to convince oneself to do just one more run isn`t it? The Hard Offs in Fukuoka have also gone downhill recently and don`t turn up much good gear anymore either. I guess once word gets out everyone descends on the good ones and clean them out pretty quick!
All too easy! I was planning on a run today actually, but a chunk of our roof blew off!! The weather was completely nuts here… How was Fukuoka?
Super Ultra store, indeed! Heaven is a retro games shop… but seriously, that is amazing, almost gives me chills just looking at it. Fantastic.
Also: Just got your comments on my blog. Thank you. 🙂
Amazing right? Yep, gotta love Japan when it comes to game culture!
And no problem about those comments. You are doing a brave thing reviewing every NES game made! You should check out Sean’s Famicomblog if you haven’t already to take a look at the Japanese titles too.
Wow, a chunk of the roof? We had some bad wind here yesterday and I nearly got toppled over while trying to ride my bike, but our roof held! I hope it was not an important part of the roof (ie the part directly above your game collection) that went!
We lost a reasonably big section off the first floor and many bits and pieces from the second, and yes, some were over my games room! Spent a few hours wrapping gear just in case there were leaks, but luckily we had some brave guys come before the heavier rain came in and we were safe. Restless night to say the least though.
AH, sorry to hear about that, it must have been an unpleasant night! Glad to hear that your games are all in one piece though!
That’s a very nice way to do a retro release in 2005! Amazing you managed to find one brand new in the wild, but that’s Japan I guess 😉
Yep, gotta love Japan for the great finds! 😀
These look cool but judging from the YouTube video, they appear to be a little cheaply made?
They are definitely no Game&Watch in terms of plastic quality, but they aren’t too bad.
Nice man, im going thru a bit of a LCD craze at the moment. oh and full props for using Showagamers vid. i love his channel!
His channel is definitely cool. I love how he gets mint handhelds and then plays the living crap out of them!
Nice man, i really should grab some games for mine…. its lonely and cartless. Love the retro photography Hollo!
Bait taken. 🙂
SC-3000, SC-3000H, SG-1000, SG-1000 II, Mark III, Master System I, Master System II, Game Gear, Nomad, Mega Drive I, Mega CD I and the Mega CD II all use the same PSU regardless of region.
The Mega Drive II uses the same power supply as the 32X and the Saturn has the same power cable as the Dreamcast. This means that you can run every SEGA console with 3 different types of PSU.
In contrast, the Japanese Famicom, Aussie NES, US NES, Twin Famicom, N64 and the Game Cube all use a different power supply.
With the exception of SEGA’s later consoles (Saturn & Dreamcast) all SEGA consoles use the same controller pinout. In contrast, the Famicom, NES, SNES, N64 and the Game Cube all have incompatible controllers.
What about native RGB?
Master System – yep
Mega Drive – yep
32X – yep
Saturn – yep
Dreamcast – yep
Famicom/NES – nope
Super Famicom/SNES – yep
N64 – nope
Game Cube – nope
Yeah, take that Hollo! =)
P.s. glad to see you back in action. 🙂
I knew that’d get a response! I actually meant to write ‘Sega didn’t do that in the 70s’ 😀
P.S. Thanks. 🙂
I have almost finished getting the game room back in action, but there still is a fair bit of rearranging to do unfortunately.
No, SEGA were too busy making arcade games in the 70’s. 😛
Tim thinks I’m a closet Nintendo fan, and he may be right given that 85% of my recent retro purchases are Nintendo related. 🙂
Re rearranging, I can imagine what a nightmare that is going to be. My collection is 1/10th of yours and I hate it when I need to sort/tidy/rearrange it.
We ALL know you’re a Nintendo fan Frank. It’s just a matter of time before you find out as well. 😀
One good thing about the roof trouble is I got a chance to go through stuff that was buried in the hoard. Managed to find myself a few extra NeoGeo controllers which I was pretty wrapped about.
Hope the roof troubles are behind you now (as opposed to being above you….)
I`ve really wanted one of these for a while but haven`t come across any in the shops down in Fukuoka. I agree about the awesome 70s look – it indeed would be cool to have a retro orange TV to play that on!
There is still a bit of work that has to be done on the roof, but I’ve been assured that the roof won’t leak, so that’s good enough for me to start unwrapping and re-stacking the gear. What a hassle though – specially for the April rush!
I would really recommend grabbing one if you can Sean. They do play incredibly well. Even if you can find one off the auctions (although it’s not as good as the live hunt) it’s worth having. 🙂
Great blog Hollo, really enjoyed reading through this one.
One thing I’d like to clarify, the Neo outputs RGB natively, all you need is an appropriate SCART cable. Of course Neo Geo branded ones sell for silly amounts (in the hundreds) but not to worry, you can buy aftermarket ones that work just as well for $10-$20.
Re the improvement in video output, the earlier units have better RGB output but slightly worse composite output, compared to the later units which have diminished RGB output and improved composite output. One theory for this is that SNK figured more people would be utilising a composite input rather than RGB, so they improved the composite output in later units at the expense of RGB.
When I first landed my AES, after the shock and excitement of finally owning this beast, what really struck me is its size. The console, joystick and games are massive when compared to other systems of the time, and even though I was aware of this to an extent it really didn’t hit me until I was holding the hardware in my hands.
Thanks heaps Frank. I have edited the post.
I agree regarding the size. Pictures just don’t do them justice at all. Another thing that got me when I first got one was the twin PCBs in the carts.
Ahhh NeoGeo… 🙂
Yep, one PCB for video and the other for sound.
You should add a photo of an AES cart with a Mega Drive or SNES cart sitting on top of it, this would really give people who aren’t familiar with the Neo Geo a good sense of scale.
Hey, what are those games in the top right of the pic with all your AES games? Anything of significance or just some Famicom games that woulldn’t fit anywhere else?
I might just do that – taking pics next to Megadrive/Genesis carts I mean. I want to take another pic of my boxed AES too as the pic there wasn’t the best quality.
Those are just a few Famicom carts (and a lonely NeoGeo Pocket cart) that I didn’t have space for anywhere else. I’ve been trying to pack everything up to fit more gear in recently.
I’m actually playing this right now and was looking for reviews. The video above misses a few cool things in this little handheld. The water bubble is there! He rides it down the screen killing all in path. Bosses ARE in the game! The boss levels have there own intro music. Level Skip is also there! 1up extra man. There’s a bunch of others icons too I haven’t discovered yet.
I’ve been collecting these handhelds for a long time and this is one of the most playable, fun handhelds there is. Epoch created a classic. They are rare – this is the rarest of the series but still findable cheap with patience. One tip – Pause the game if on a level and not playing it or it will switch off after 5 minutes. lol
Hey Zac, thanks for adding some very cool info!
I have since sold this on, and as the next owner wanted it new I didn’t actually get a chance to play it. Amazing that there are actually bosses in the game!
Hmm, maybe I should have actually cracked the seal and given it a go after all…. 🙂
Give it a go Hollo, just use an inexpensive game that you don’t particularly care about. You’d be surprised at how well it works and at how much gunk it removes from the disk.
It would be awesome if Nintendo released a device to clean the head of the actual disk system console, I wonder if such a thing exists? A cotton tip with iso works well but it sucks having to unscrew and dismantle the console to gain access to the head.
Yeah, I am not sure if there was anything designed to clean the actual unit… There must have been though surely – this is Nintendo we’re talking about!
Oh man, that is a bummer. I was really impressed with the pics of that place in your last post about it. Also, if I may say so, WOW! 300 games in one go? That must have been some sale!
Actually I probably bought close to that many when my Omocha Souko closed down last month, only it was spaced out over several visits rather than all at once. I had the same feeling too – torn between happiness at getting some good deals versus sadness at the end of the store.
Something similar happened here about 2 years ago when all the GEOs in Fukuoka simultaneously liquidated their retro game stock. They marked everything down in stages – 50% off for the first month, then every remaining cart for 100 yen each for the month after that and finally 50 yen for everything left over after that. I bought so much stuff during those sales but felt pretty bad about the loss of the store. I think in the 4 years I`ve been in Fukuoka there has been a definite reduction in the number of places selling retro games. Sad.
Yep, over 300, and I am seriously thinking of going back today (seeing as it’s a day off) too.
It really is mixed feelings though. This place definitely had the best wow factor around me, and the prices were good. There would be no way I could get the games I did this cheap again, so I had to grab them while I could.
The deals I missed out on though!! Put it this way, there would have been Radiant Silverguns for the Saturn, Rainbow Island for the PCE, and MetalSlug for the NGCD for under 500 yen a pop…..
It’s not going to be easy finding another store like this. *sigh*
Yeah I know what you mean. When you see them that cheap it is `now or never`. If it wasn`t for going out of business sales (or at least getting out of the retro game business sales) my Famicom collection would be about half the size it is today.
I think it is best to pull the trigger when you get the chance too. When the GEOs here liquidated their stock I was a bit selective with my purchases at first. Then after a couple of days I decided `Wait, these are ridiculously cheap, I should be buying all the good ones I need en masse`. By then it was too late though and I had missed out on a ton of the really good stuff. I still got loads of deals, but even after two years I sometimes think to myself `WHY didn`t I get that CIB copy of (several games) when I had the chance?`
I wonder if there is some decline in the market for retro games here. I`ve seen lots of stores close or stop selling retro games in the past 4 years, but I have yet to see a new store selling retro games open, so the available shopping options are getting smaller and smaller.
Retro gaming definitely doesn’t have the following in Japan compared with home, but my guess is there will be a boom of sorts once it gets scarce. I do know of one younger guy (early 20s) here that is well into retro gaming, but he is definitely the exception and not the rule.
Yep, this time I didn’t want to be kicking myself for not picking up as much as I could – it’s happened too many times before….
I just opened everything and there are some gems! I will be posting some pics later once I clear a section of floor to lay them out in the respective companies.
Yes i would love the hang on please!
Man I wish you would get your hands on another Rob Robot and a Power Glove for me! haha far out great haul there! Hope you had a look at my castlevania post 🙂
No worries Nick, it’s all yours.
I will keep my eyes out for a ROB and PG for sure. 🙂
Nice one, thanks for linking to that video, I’ve been hanging to see it in action.
Very cool toy for its time, I’d even go as far as saying that it’s a lot better than most of the cheap and uninteresting toys that are available today.
100% agree there Frank. Just the weight of this thing alone means it would cost a damn lot more to make than the crap around these days.
Wow, that’s an incredible haul of games Hollo!! Extremely jealous, but chuffed to be able to live the journey through the blog 🙂
Yep, it’s not a bad effort, but there is no reason to be jealous – just think about the comments I am getting from the wife.
Anyway, I just did a quick calculation, and it seems in 3 trips I landed about 460 games!! Then of course there are the consoles and accessories.
I’ll keep you guys posted if tomorrow I also land a set of divorce papers. 😀
That’s…wow. This, and the related posts, are pretty amazing. Dare I even ask the sum it totalled? (I know you said prices were lowered still)
A bit of doublets/triplets as well in there… one for use, one for looking at and one for preservation? : )
Well lets just say that it was well into the triple digits, and it was way more than the wife was happy about. 😀
I will be keeping doubles of the games I really enjoy, but the main reason I bought these is because 1) I will never see them this cheap again, and 2) I try to help friends out on Aussie Arcade (link on the right) – can’t have friends paying those crazy inflated Ebay prices.
Sensational finds Hollo, am loving all of those items!
Damn Hollo… just damn. And a boxed Famicom keyboard! How I love the fact that Famicom boxed gear looks so uniform. I can’t wait to own it all 😀
That V-Saturn looks really good. The model 1 units are probably the best looking ones and the V-Saturn’s color scheme, while a bit odd at first, is quite nice.
Thanks guys. They were really great finds for sure.
@ Amiga4Eva – Yep, totally agree. Nintendo knew what they were doing – everything just goes so well together, and this definitely inspires a hoarder to go for that next bit of gear.
@ Ji-L87 – I really like the V-Saturns too. The box is better on these versions, but I have to prefer the other version though – the colours are just too cool.
Crazy stuff Hollo, how do you fit it all in the little Japanese houses I don’t know 😀
It’s not easy at all Dave! Although my house is pretty big by Japanese standards, I only have one room to keep this gear in, and it’s literally overflowing – by that I mean I have to leave the door open and boxes are spilling into the hall – I am not kidding either. 😮
I’ve got a friend here in New Zealand who has so much stuff it’s in the roof and under his house as well. Despite most of it being retro, he doesn’t have any retro consoles plugged in and spends most of his time in WoW and probably Diablo III now too. Don’t become that guy 😀
Nope not a chance! 😀
I have 5 retro consoles permanently plugged in (DC, PS2, PCE, Gamecube and Super Famicom), and the rest are just a few steps away. I always keep adapters and cables near the TV, and all of my controllers are hanging up ready to be grabbed.
The only trouble now though is there is so much stuff to sort through that I don’t have space to sit down infront of the TV! Won’t be long though. I did actually finish sorting trough a fair bit, but I bought another 300 or so games, so I have to do it all again. 😀
One of your best lots yet the SNES boxed titles look great, Famicom Disks including the awesome Castlevanias and some great Saturn / DC titles. Strike whiles there’s gold to be found I say 🙂
Good work Hollo!
I notice you have a Famicom block cart, keep this as it will come in handy to test any future Rob’s that you acquire.
Love the Fami disks too. I enjoy collecting them, I think they’re an awesome little package of gaming and it’s handy that you can save to them.
Thanks guys. 🙂
Yep, this place is amazing at the moment. I will hopefully get some more time to get more gear soon. I have to get in there and buy up while I can – the deals are just too good!
Nice l00t. I think there’s something I want in nearly every pile. Speaking of which, that P.P.M. Racing for the SFC. I’ve never heard of that game, but it must be awesome. Why? The cover features a Lamborghini and a Monster Truck to a backdrop of explosive mayhem. That’s why.
Oh wait, it’s R-P.M. Now it makes more sense. Slightly.
It’s not just that the cover has a monster truck and Lambo going head to head in explosive glory…. R.P.M. actually stands for ‘Radical Psyco Machine’, and with a name like that how could I leave it in the store! 😀
Insane 😀
The wife agrees with you, but not in the same way. 😀
Jaw dropping stuff Hollo – I hope it never ends! 🙂
So how much for surface shipping on that Duo? ;P
Me too! But that’ll mean the money has to keep flowing as well…. I’ll cross that bridge later though. 😀
I reckon I’ll be keeping that Duo, but I reckon I will be selling my unboxed one now though.
IMO keep cleaning the place out. Get it all back home, and then filter it – there will be tons of stuff that’s crap, duplicate, just not what you’re into, get rid of that and keep the best for yourself. If you balance it right, you’ll be able to shift the crappy stuff and get all your money back 🙂
Yep I reckon you’re right Dave, but the only trouble is finding the cash to actually grab stuff. Still, these kind of deals are unheard of even here, so I have to do it while I can – even if it means maxing out the cards for a short time.
Crap, I think I was talked into buying more far too easily! 😀
Awesome stuff! I just stumbled on this site for the first time. Do you live in Japan?
Yep, been here for a while now.
Thanks for taking the time to have a look at the site Ted – much appreciated. 🙂
Nice Duo. They’re all so spiffy-looking. And man, Daytona USA. Picked that one up recently. I’m having trouble drifiting in this game (and it seems you must learn to do it) but the music is worth the price of admission alone.
Gotta have love for Daytona! So many memories attached to the arcade version. I still don’t have it for the Dreamcast which is bit of a bummer, but I am not in a position to complain too much. 😀
Unbelievable stuff Hollo! I hope there are a few titles left by the time we make it to Nippon 😉 Not sure if Wifey will be too happy if we hire a truck and fill it up… But I do like the idea 😀
When she understands how much it will save her in the long run she’ll come around – maybe. 😀
Seriously though Sean, it’s unbelievable what’s going on in this place! I just hope it’s still running by the time you get over here….
Even if you’re adventures are coming to an end, I’m sure I can speak for all of your readers in saying thank you for taking us along for the ride, it’s been awesome 😀
+1 to the comment above by Sean.
Hollo, re PC Engine HuCard games, you must be getting close to a complete set? Assuming you keep records, how many unique games do you have? -If you don’t mind me asking. 🙂
Thanks guys. The optimist in me still believes there will be new stock next time I go, but I won’t get a chance to get there this week due to a change in schedule – wallet needs a rest anyway. 😀
I’m up to 230ish unique HuCards, so that means still another 80ish to go. Unfortunately there are a few that I probably won’t get a hold of anytime soon, but I hope to at least get within 10 cards of the full set – hope being the operative word there. 😉
jesus christ dude, nice score 😀
Bags the Sharp Famicom if you’re moving it on 😀
Gotta love Japan right? Well, at least for gaming anyway. 😉
Now that I have two Twin Famis I will be selling one on, but too many guys have been asking me about them for a while now, so it’s not fair to give it to just one. I will do a public sale and it will be first in wins. Won’t be a for a little while though.
Delicious haul!
I have to obtain one of those Famicom recorders too, when I do rest assured I’ll be sending some tapes to your house. 🙂
I also want to grab one of those standalone disk systems, preferably a non-working ‘junk’ unit at a cheap price. I can get them working again.
The SEGA mouse is a nice touch, I love the black/blue colouring.
The Super Famicom RGB cable is nice to have, they tend to fetch a few dollars. Not so useful for us Aussies though as they’re not compatible with the SNES and the pinout is different to the SCART TV’s that we have here, mind you it’s easy enough to grab a converter cable.
Trackball controller is only compatible with the following 4 games:
– Operation Wolf
– US Championship V’Ball
– Moero Pro Soccer
– Putt Putt Golf (FDS game)
You can still use it with any other game if you use the d-pad though.
You know, for such a massive collector, your game room pics are few and far between! More damn you, MORE! 🙂
Things have changed so much since these pictures were taken too! I always think about snapping more shots, but then I think if I wait a month there’ll be much more anyway. 😀
Yep, just looking at these photos though, it might be time for a few new pics. 😉
Some great info there Frank! Thanks heaps for commenting. 🙂
I will have to go through the Famicom carts to see if I have those titles – pretty sure I have Operation Wolf and V’Ball, but not sure about the others.
The Famicom recorder cost me a fair bit unfortunately. I was on a roll and just splurged for it.
The Sega mouse is pretty cool, but the mouse pad is the coolest part. I am thinking about actually using it at work. 😀
Well look, I’d hate for you to feel confused about when you should or shouldn’t take pics mate – it must be hard with all that gear coming in all the time. I tell you what I’ll do, but only because I’m honestly such a kind and considerate guy… each time your retro gear comes in, just send 50% of it to me!
That way, there’s 50% less gear at your place causing so much conflict about when you should take pics! Aren’t I a nice guy? 🙂
50% hey? Hmm, that would definitely make the decision of whether or not to take pictures easier, but…. I am going to have to decline your kind offer. 😀
Amazing hauls in there Hollo, I’m very jealous :):):)
You shouldn’t be Sean… Like I said, you should be feeling sorry for me more than anything. 😀
Haha sweet Hollo!
I didn’t cheat, I read through the entire post from top to bottom to find out the surprise and thought it was going to be a Vectrex for some reason, but a Duo-R is way cool!
What mods are you wanting for it?
If I ever get one I’ll be making sure it has an RGB mod (the Duo puts out an incredibly gorgeous RGB signal), region switch (doubt I’ll ever use it though, the US games don’t appeal to me), cap replacement and new lens fitted. Yep, it costs a fortune to get a Duo with these mods, but it’s worth it. Sean has one, ArcadeKing has one too I believe that he was looking at selling a while back, hmmm…
A Vectrex would have been pretty damn cool, but to see one of those in the wild now if a steep ask. 🙁
Yep, something to output a better signal is what I’d like a mod for. Region doesn’t worry me, as Japan has a better range of games anyway I hear.
That’s one sexy console!
Even just seeing the photo I took of it is bringing a smile to my face – wrapped! 😀
That poor sexy black duo you got the other week is going to be neglected now 🙁
Not neglected, just admired under the glow from a new machine’s LED. 😀
Welcome to the Duo-R Club! While all Duos are nice looking, the Duo-R was the first PC Engine I ever laid my eyes on. Love at first sight? Of course.
Speaking of PCE, I see you’ve picked up one of those YAWARA!-games. I’ve been curious about them ever since I watched what I could find of the anime (and it’s pretty great too. Good animation and detail for a TV-series). I guess it’s just a bunch of minigames or a digital comic or something but it makes me curious.
Yep, finally have myself a Duo-R! 😀 Now I just have to grab an RX, and SuperGrafx, then I’m set for my NEC console obsession – unless I end grabbing an LT too…. Na, I can’t afford that, but if someone wants an extra kidney let me know.
I haven’t actually played YAWARA yet, but my guess is it’ll be a digital comic though.
I did at least fire the Duo-R up late last night, and it works great! One happy guy here that’s for sure. 🙂
I would happily forgo every other PC Engine console for an LT!
Glad to hear that the Duo-R is working nicely, always a relief when an expensive CD based console fires up without drama.
What a delightful haul Hollo! Hopefully there will be a couple of left-overs by the time we visit, but if not I’m still loving the picture gallery 🙂
I can attest to the gob-smackingly delicious RGB output on a Duo-R – my machine cost a premium, but it works brilliantly with the after-market work and saved me the trouble of modding an expensive console (and potentially munting it).
PCE in general these days is costing a fortune. It’s a pity really…
Anyway, I am sure we can find you a few things to spend some money on when you come over Sean. 😀
Thanks for sharing your good fortune Hollo, am very much looking forward to having a Famicom in my house. 🙂
Unrelated but I may as well squeeze it in here, any way for us to upload a user avatar?
Keep up the good work, your website is a fantastic source of information on rare and sought after stuff!! Greets from the Black Forest / Germany
R7 drooling aside (can’t dwell on it for too long as this is my unicorn console – if that makes sense)…
Can’t believe you just casually lay down a copy of JJ for the Famicom! I’ve been hunting around for it for ages (Sean over at Famicomblog saved me – big shout out to him :)) and you simply pick it up on an afternoon shopping trip. 😀
I actually got three copies which I didn’t picture there Frank. Why three? Well, I know it can be sometimes difficult to get for the guys into 3D, so this way it will be easy for me to help out. 🙂
EDIT: Sean is a great guy. Hope he gets some time to post on his blog soon.
Can’t have too many Dreamcasts!
And speaking of which, you picked up Comic Party! I quite like the DC-edition PC version so, it’s a pretty nice game, genre and all considered :p
Yeah, it was one I didn’t have, but I think this one is factory sealed so it might not get opened depending on how I feel. It should be reasonably easy to find a loose one though at some point though.
What sort of prices are you paying for all this stuff? Great grabs Hollo 🙂
The loose R7 was the equivalent of about $55aus, and the boxed one was $90aus. Dirt cheap even by Japanese standards. The boxed one was bought as untested junk, but the loose one had initial checks done. I might give them a quick test before I have to head off this morning.
The PCE HuCards there were expensive though (more than I wanna say just in case the wife reads :D), but they were needed games so I had to grab them.
Just tested both those R7s and they both work perfectly. Japan is the only place where “untested” actually does mean untested. 😀
I’d be happy to provide further extensive testing on any of those R7 consoles! I would usually charge a fee for this service but I’d be willing to perform it for you free of charge, that’s what a nice guy I am. Just send one over and I will play the crap out of it, how can you refuse such an offer? 🙂
Thanks for the kind offer Frank. I don’t know what to say….. Really. 😀
Good lord look at all of these posts with amazing stuff you have recently purchased, I have to say I am very impressed. That Frogger machine in particular caught my eye, that was one of my favorite games as a kid. I`ve been looking for one of those Famicom Data Recorders for a while too, nice find there!
Thanks Sean! Yeah, the Data Recorder turned out to be one of the most expensive addons I have bought for the Famicom. Frank was telling me the best way is to simply hook up an MP3 player/recorder to load and save files, so this will probably be ornamental more than anything though, but still cool none the less.
Are you back to posting on your blog?
The incompatibility is because they switched the 68k on later boards. Early boards use 68k + synth chip, later boards have both in one IC. You can find plenty of normal Saturns with later boards too, but skeletons were the last production models so they all have the single IC sound block.
Outrun and Space Harrier got later revisions which worked fine in later machines. I don’t know about Metal Slug – it did have a later revision, but I’ve yet to find any real reports of the game not working on any Saturn. So it’s probably just a case of Wikipedia being full of shit. Either way, you can check the ring code of the game disc to see if its the later revision.
Could you post a picture of the back of the console, of the serial number?
A great comment, thanks Zyrobs – you seem to really know your stuff!
Next time I have it out I will get a picture of the serial. Is there some sort of significance with serials on the Skeleton Saturns?
The V-Saturn is cool but not really special, and it’s very common too. The Hi-Saturn is much more special.
Can you post a picture of the back of the machine, of the serial number?
Thanks for the comment Zyrobs. The HiSaturns definitely are harder to come by, but would you believe I found mine (complete but with no box) in the rubbish? Hopefully I will find a Navi the same way. 😀
You have a Hi-Saturn too? Nice, which model? I want a model 2 Hi-Saturn, it likely uses a motherboard type that is very rare for japanese models (likely because it used older type ASICs, so they were uncommon for anything else but soaking up unused stock).
Hey, if you have so many Saturns, can I ask you to go through them and take snaps of the serial number for each one? I’m building a database of them.
It’s a model1 Hi-Saturn, but to find it in the rubbish fully working with controller and hookups was pretty cool to say the least. 😀 I have never even seen a model2 in the wild though (rubbish or shop).
The only Saturns I still need are, a Derby Skeleton, a Hi-Saturn model2, and a Navi. Not sure how long that will take as I don’t actively hunt for Saturns these days. It’s interesting you are trying to build a database of Saturns, but could I ask why? There are soooo many Saturns out there that listing Saturns seems like a mammoth task.
I’m collecting statistics. Obviously I won’t ever list all saturns, not even all the ones still in circulation, but more samples will mean more accurate statistics. With that list, we can take guesses on how many saturns were manufactured, how many of each type were manufactured, which are the common motherboards and uncommon ones, when were each type made and where, and so on.
A lot of interesting things can turn up if you just put all serial numbers next to each other and compare them. For example, see if you can find a Saturn manufactured by Sega Logistics Service.
Very nice piece 😀 Shame they’re so heavy!! I’ve thought about importing one before, what do they weigh, 40kg?
I’m not sure how much they weigh, but I didn’t have much problem carrying it around, so I don’t think it’s overly heavy.
One thing is for sure though, it would cost a fortune to send overseas, and there would be a good chance it wouldn’t make it in – specially back home.
NZ is no problem for machines used for gambling?
Not sure. Pokies are always for sale on trademe (our “ebay”). Maybe i’ll look into it one day 😀
Maybe NZ is ok then by the sounds of it. From what I hear from the guys on AA it’s illegal to sell them back home – damn nanny state!
Looks like you can send 30kg via surface for 13,750 yen, not too rough all-round! Don’t think they allow anything over that. Had a look online, pachislo weigh around 35kg, apparently pachinko is lighter, 20-30kg. Verrrrrrrryyy interesting :DDDDDDD
One of the biggest issues would be the size restriction, as opposed to the weight restriction, but if you stripped one and sent parts it would be alright I reckon.
It really is a cool thing to have in the game room though. It’s small enough that it doesn’t take too much space, but bright and loud enough that when it’s on it demands attention. 😀
Man Nintendo had every peripheral imaginable?!?! Very sexy haul man…
Yep, if one company knows how to milk the addons it’s Nintendo. 😀
thanks hollo for your compliments 🙂 i wish i had more time to add infos on the many systems around. especially the underated und unknown systems really deserve it.
And for some reason, part of me thinks that the NegCon might work well with WipeOut… 😀
You know I haven’t actually tried Wipeout with the Negcon… The speed at which you have to control that game would mean a serious workout with the controller though – probably resulting in injury. 😀
Nice collection of controllers! I have had to stay away from the mountain of Playstation related controllers because there are too many of them and I have nowhere near enough room, so I stick strictly to weird Famicom controllers (and there are a lot of them). Still though, I love those drink cup holders on the train controller. They used to have one for the N64 at my local shop that closed a few months ago, I was always tempted to buy it but always held off because….how fun could a game that mainly involves pushing a lever up and down be?
Yep, there will be a few Famicom ones in part two – when I get the time to put write it up that is.
There is a huge following for the Train sims though I hear. Not really my thing either, but if they include the “death by Shinkansen” phenomenon it might help them to reach a broader market. 😀
Thanks for the interesting read, discovered some controllers I’d not seen/heard of before.
I too would be interested to see some Famicom controllers, looking forward to part 2.
Man the Playstation has a lot of weird hardware!
Yep, really weird gear for the PS. I decided to leave a few of the controllers for the PS out as well – programmable joysticks etc.
I got a strange Megadrive one as well which should be interesting for you guys. Ugly as hell too. 😀
As far as I know, ASCII grip is for playing RPGs single handed, but I could be wrong 🙂
You may be right there Dave. Well, that will get very little use then I reckon. 😀
Wow, that Mega Drive controller is a weird one. Looks kind of ugly though, but awesome that it’s analog even if only a few games support it.
I don’t own these but would like to add them to this blog as honorary mentions:
There’s a really cool dual analog stick for the PCE, supported by Outrun and Afterburner and possibly a few others:
I have never seen that analogue stick (the first one you posted) before! Doesn’t look half bad actually.
That Super Controller is legendary though. Love the picture with the Super Grafx just poking out the back of it – that controller must have been massive!!
I also have that Bandai Super Controller 2 for the Famicom. Mine isn`t new like yours, but I haven`t actually tried it out yet. It is one of those things I saw in the store, thought `YES, I MUST have this for my collection, it will be so awesome.` Then brought it home, tossed it in a box with a million other controllers I never use and completely forgot about it! Might be good though…
You should definitely do a controller round up for the Famicom too Sean. I am sure you’d have some amazing stuff to share! Also, if you do a write-up of the Super Controller 2 and find out it’s rubbish, then I can leave mine sit. 😀
Being in Japan it’s so easy to buy, then forgot about what’s in the pile though isn’t it? I move gear around, then find things I didn’t know I had, or even worse, find things I have bought two of.
Those are some awesome controllers Hollo 🙂 I have to admit my inner-otaku thinks the Sailor Moon pack-in controller on the PSone weird controller looks pretty awesome. I do wonder if I’m going to get weird looks when the inevitable trip to Japan later this year happens and I buy something silly like a Sailor Moon game 😛
No one will blink an eye trust me. I will be taking you to places where the guys are so hardcore in their Otaku-ness that they have dedicated whole sections of their stores to the most obscure stuff you will ever see!
Besides, when it gets to the REAL stuff, they have separate cash registers with curtains hung in such a way that you will never have to look the cashier in the eye. 😀
When in doubt… take the PCB 🙂
This place wasn’t open and I wasn’t in the best position to just get on their property and rip it apart. I will be taking tools next time I head down there though – just in case of course. 😀
This plays like a horror film, with picture 1 drawing you into a calm and peaceful setting and then bang, picture 2 knocks you on the head with the unexpected carnage.
Not sure if that was intentional or not, but nicely done. 🙂
It felt like a horror film too let me tell ya! 😀
Yeah, bring the tools, save that board! 😀
It might be a while before I am up that way, but maybe I can get ‘good husband’ points by suggesting that we go for another family drive… Albeit with a trailer attached to the car. 😀
I like Frank’s horror movie call – good timing since it was Friday the 13th last week 🙂 Wifey and I celebrated by watching some old school horror flicks, and Frank’s apt description made me think often first Evil Dead movie 🙂
Nice! You know I remember some arcades back in the day that resembled horror flicks. 😀
Insane. Nothing else to say!
Yep, that just about sums it up Dave. 😀
Looks like an awesome shop, I wish we had one here in Fukuoka.
They are pretty hard to find CIB like that, mine is missing the cartridge with the songs on it so I`ve never been able to use it (not that I would be likely to know how to sing any 80s J-pop songs even if I did have it). Definitely a cool thing to have though:)
I just read up about your Karaoke thing there Sean – 100?! amazing! This one is closer to 4,000, but it does seem to be complete. Worth 4k though? Hmmm, I don’t know….. Specially when I am trying to generate cash to complete the Hucard collection. I will have to give it some thought I reckon.
Yeah, 4000 yen is probably a fair price for that, meaning that it isn`t overpriced but it isn`t a bargain you need to snap up right away before somebody else does:)
Some of my photos of shops are blurred like that too, I hate those policies against taking photos in stores. Mandarake in particular has a really nice Famicom section that I can`t take photos of because it is right in front of the cashier.
BTW, is that a vintage Return of the Jedi Y-Wing in the background of that photo of Yoda? I`m always on the lookout for old school Star Wars stuff but pretty much every shop here is just loaded with crap from the 90s-00s.
Yep, pretty sure that one is an original judging by the price on it. This place does have a few original StarWars bits and pieces, but the majority is of the 90s variety.
So very, very awesome Hollo 🙂 My inner nerd screams with jealousy and excitement at the same time 🙂 Great work in sneaking those pics, it’s always appreciated by Western otaku 🙂
Not long before you’re over here Sean, so you better start filling up that credit card. 😉
This is one of the things that I love about living in Japan – finding random, surprises like this everywhere you go:)
Let me guess: if the wife wasn`t with you, you would have tried to cram that into your car or strap it to the roof. I know that is how it would have gone down with me:)
If the wife wasn’t with me I would have definitely tried to at least contact the person who owned the property the machine was sitting on. As it was, it was quite hard to get to it without looking like a criminal.
Next time I go down that way I will be better prepared – that means without the wife if you’re wondering. 😀
Robot statues for the win!
Wish we had stores like that here, maybe we should all go into business together and open Australia’s first (huge and fairly priced) Japanese retro gaming store!
If it were me, I’d snap that Famicom Karaoke unit up immediately. You could always sell it if you decided you wanted your money back.
How much are they asking for those 2 VB consoles?
Don’t reckon stores like these would survive back home – they barely survive here unfortunately. 🙁
Yeah, I reckon I will have to head back and grab it at some stage (the Karaoke thing I mean).
Those are the two VBs I told you about the other day Frank. All around the 7,000y mark, and that’s including the loose one you can just see above the others there.
Another impressive store to make all us lads jealous, my friend would love that Mazinger robot out the front. How are the prices compared to other stores? Do we have another giant shopping spree in the works 😀
I would love that Mazinger too! Pretty sure the wife wouldn’t though. 😀
The prices aren’t too bad on some things, but pretty expensive on others. I have bought a few things in the past, but nothing like the extreme buys that I get from other places.
This is just one of those places that entertains by letting you walk around and look at all the cool stuff.
Where is this? I wanna go!
Sunny Ishikawa – using the word ‘sunny’ loosely of course. 😀
Hey home slices!
Do you know where I could find a replacement controller for the playdia?
I obviously know the option of just buying another system but would rather not go that route….. Is it possible to use any other remote or universal remote with this?
Not sure what other controllers would work with this, but you’d be hard pressed to find something I reckon. Buying an actual Playdia controller separately would be damn near impossible too. Finding yourself a whole new complete unit might be the only way unfortunately. 🙁
Nice write-up!
I’m not really into the handhelds, but these older ones do have a certain charm due to their ‘mechanical’ nature.
Interesting bit of history, and interesting to see some early concepts of video games.
Thanks Frank. 🙂
There is something cool about the mechanical handhelds. I’m not overly into the handhelds either, so these will probably be sold on. It’s just cool getting to see them up close and have a few games.
Those are pretty awesome Steve, thanks for all the fancy photos 🙂
BTW, great to see you blogging again! Not that I can say much, I keep on taking big breaks between posts at the moment!!!
It’s not easy to find the time to post, but it’s good to get at least something up. I really want to post about the PCE collection soon though. 😉
I like it!
Funny you should mention it, as I came across one very similar to this only it was FDS styled. It had a yellow background with the FDS symbol in the middle. It was about the same price but I never picked it up, kind of wishing I had now. Might see if it’s still available lol.
After trying to research a bit about this one, I found that there is a whole set of them. Some of them look pretty cool. Still, I had to move this one on to fund more PCE! 😀
Lols at PCE 🙂 Nice little curio though!
My man your website is GREAT!!! Keep it up and it’s up there with the big ones on my fav. list.
Now I feel pathetic with my 3 boxes of games and my 14 systems lol
Oh man, sounds like good times!
You’re right tho’, I thought you’d end up grabbing more systems and what not, but hopefully that will change when you do that other trip : )
Did you spot anything else special or interesting that you did not end up buying? Like, old computers or LD players or anything like that? 😀
Yep, I had budgeted for an LT and a Duo-RX if I had seen them, but there wasn’t anything even remotely close to that. 🙁
All up there wasn’t much around at all. I always look out for the Pioneer LD (the one that can house a PCE), but nothing. No interesting old computers either.
I think my next road trip I am not only stopping in the Hard-Offs, I am going to stop in dedicated gaming shops like Chameleon Club too – unfortunately these shops often mean higher prices, but at least I will be more likely to find the gear I am chasing.
Awesome road trip diary Steve! Will have to keep an eye out for the -Off chains when I go shopping 🙂
You definitely should Sean! Some can be a real problem to find though, so definitely research them before going when you have a chance.
Awesome!
These road trip style blogs are my favourite, pity that the store owners are reluctant to let you take photos inside the store though – I drool all over my keyboard when I see the insides of these places!
Would have liked to have seen some more PCE haulage though, lift your game Hollo! 😀
If you think reading about them is fun, you should try living it! 😀
Yep, it’s a pity they don’t like people taking photos inside. I probably could have gotten away with a few, but seeing as these places were new to me, I wanted to spend the limited time I had buying rather than snapping off pics.
I had cash ready for big PCE purchases, but it wasn’t to be….. So sad really, but these things happen. 🙁
Hi, own a spitball sparky game and am looking at selling it. It is in the original box with instructions and stickers, just wondering what my best options are cheers
I sell gear on the forums from time to time, and I’ve never had any trouble. I avoid Ebay like the plague, but retro G&W can do very well there I hear.
Great photo blog here Hollo – I remember when this first came out, made for exciting times. I personally loved how this unusual philosophy floated through to the PS3 which had Linux out of the box until they irritatingly scrapped the feature due to console hacking (which ironically incensed the hacking community to arguably make the tools publicly available).
I look forward to a future where Linux and homebrew is actually integrated into consoles as a progressive move to add value to the platform. This is particularly interesting to keep in mind considering the next gen Playstation console is apparently moving away from proprietary CPU architectures to x86-based hardware to ease the development process, which would naturally lend itself to Linux 🙂
I bet Sony regrets that PS3 Linux back-pedal enormously now. It was only then that the hackers really decided to give it a good go. I wonder if Sony may have learned something from that? Na, I doubt it. 😀
I think the closest we have on the horizon that fits the homebrew philosophy is the Ouya, but it’s too early to tell how that’s going to turn out.
Interesting regarding the PS4 (if that’s what it will be called) architecture. Not a very ‘Sony’ thing to do!
Wow, that’s something different!
I think I prefer the analogue version, looks like a lot of thought and care went into its design/creation.
I like this statement – “It really does reflect a time in which manufacturing on a mass scale was done differently.”
^ So true, a lot more pride in workmanship back then.
Yep, something a bit different is always a good thing in my opinion. 😀
I don’t mind the analogue version either. I will have to learn to play at some point – if time allows that is. The 83 digital version is quite amazing considering the time it came out though. Very different to anything LCD of the same era from Nintendo.
Apologies for the belated response mate, arrived safe and sound from the trip yesterday and have only jumped onto my RSS feeds tonight!
Let me know if you learn how to play mahjong, I’ve also got no idea!
Great post BTW – haven’t seen either of these before and they do look very awesome.
So how was the trip Sean? You don’t even have to answer mate – it must have been great. 😀
Hi!
Just wondering if i can ask you a question about the mechanical score keepers:
What are the numbers of each reels (like 0 to 10) ? Because i can’t find anywhere
a scan of the manual.
Thanks! 🙂
Sorry for the delay there Sly DC – I completely forgot.
The far left and far right wheels read (when scrolling down) 0, 15, 30, 40, D, A.
The two inside wheels read (again when scrolling down) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi Hollo,
This is very helpful, thank you very, very much! 🙂
Now i have all the informations i needed to do a Epoch Electrotennis simulator.
Do you by any chance own or know someone who has a Bandai TV-Jack 2500 ? I have the schematic of this console but it is impossible to assemble it since they are too many TI TTL’s (chips) that aren’t in production for more than 20 years.
Just seeing a video of this game console in action, i would die a happy man. 😉
Thanks again for the Epoch Electrotennis infos! 🙂
You’re very welcome SlyDC. 🙂
Very cool you’re making a simulator! As the bats can move in and out (as well as up and down) via the knobs, I think people would love playing this one.
I don’t have a TV-Jack yet. I passed on one a few months ago, and haven’t seen many pop up since then. It’s not something that I am hunting for actively though.
Hi again Hollo,
The simulator is almost done (thanks to you!), but seems i have encountered a small problem: The “A” and the “D” letter. I know they are for “Ad IN or Ad OUT” and “Deuce” (tie) but since there is no drawn boundaries (like a real Tennis court), how do we judge when a player makes a mistake in this video game ?
It’s simply x2 rectangle bats, a ball and a net. Does the manual says or states anything regarding Ad or Deuce ?
That’s the only thing it’s bugging me to finish the simulator. All the rest is already coded and ready to go (with even both original sounds).
Thanks in advanced for any infos! 🙂
I’m also interested, I’ve emailed you. Thanks 🙂
I really appreciate the interest guys. You wouldn’t believe the amount of mail I get about this N64 – they really are sort after by the looks.
Unfortunately though, it’s not up for grabs at the moment.
Hi SlyDC, it seems I can’t directly reply to your post there for some reason, so I hope you still get this…
Anyway, it’s judged purely on if a player misses the ball or not. If a player misses the ball then the other player gets the advantage points wise.
Looking forward to seeing the final sim!
Hi Hollo,
Sorry for the delay to reply, been quite busy.
Humm…ok then, i will leave out the “A” and the “D” out (for now) since it will be the first released version. I’ll wait to see if there is some bugs/glitches or if people have suggestion(s) to make an update.
BTW, can you e-mail me because i have something to discuss that i don’t want to share it in public (secret…wink!) 😉
Thanks ann keep in touch! 🙂
P.S.: The simulator (1st version) is done at 99%!! =)
— Sly DC —
Hi again Hollo,
I received an e-mail from you but when i try to send a reply, it always come back as a MAILER-DAEMON. Do you have another valid e-mail adress so i can send you a copy of the Epoch Electrotennis simulator ?
Thanks! 🙂
— Sly DC —
Hi again Hollo,
Seems that i can’t send any reply or files at your e-mail address you’ve given me. Here what i received as a reply (MAILER-DAEMON):
Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com.
I’m afraid I wasn’t able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I’ve given up. Sorry it didn’t work out.
Do you have another e-mail address ?
I collect handhelds and have this particular game too. I agree it is stellar fun to play. Kinda like a shoot-em-up pacman. Its also not too hard to get through the first few levels unlike many other handhelds so it becomes an instant favourite with those who play it for the first time.
FYI it was released in 1982 🙂
Thanks for the info. regarding the release date. 🙂 Yep, one of the classic Tomy handhelds in my opinion.
Since several months have now passed….what was the fate of the cab? Did you manage to get back up there?
Hey Xevious,
Unfortunately no… I haven’t found the time to do anything that I would call fun recently – real life has had a pretty harsh hold on me of late. As it’s winter here now, anything that might have been left of it would probably be pretty much trashed too. 🙁
WOOOOW lucky b****** !^^ I’m trying to find it for several years. If you sell it someday, please put it on internaitonal eBay (i live in France)!
(FYI, i’m ready to pay some hundred $ for it).
Yeah, it doesn’t get luckier than this. 😀
Thanks for the interest Aurélien.
Hello Hollo,
I am willing to pay what you’d like for this item. I’d only be interested in a complete one anyways. I’ll pay fair for sure if you ever decide to sell it you have my e-mail.
That’s some nice depth of field in that last shot – is that the magic 50mm lens we’ve chatting about at work there?
Hey Sean,
Nup, these shots were taken with an old fixed lens Fujifilm camera I have (9100) – mainly because it has a macro mode. One day I will get a good Macro for the DLSR, but that won’t be for a while (damn expensive). 🙁
I will upload a few of the latest pics with the 50, then send you a link.
EDIT: Rather than send you a link, I just sent them directly to your email. 🙂
All I can say is, you absolute lucky bastard!
I prefer to think of it as skill…. Who am I kidding, it’s pure luck! 😀
As always Hollo, love your work 🙂 Such a shame that the old retro stores are closing down, but in the grand scheme of things I can live vicariously through your retro hunting which makes me happy 🙂
Do you happen to stumble across much in the way of anime LDs in your travels? Couldn’t find much when we were over there late last year and was wondering if they were out in the wild these days. Not that it mattered because I brought back enough crap as it is when we went (which would have been significantly worse if we managed to sneak over your way to catch up!!). That last bit’s a scary though actually 😉
It really is a pity that the places are starting to dry up, but it was bound to happen I guess – not like they’re making this stuff anymore. You would have needed another suitcase if you came over my way believe me. 😉
I know a place that has a heap of LDs falling into the Anime genre. Is there much of a market for them though? I’m not into them myself, but I’d happily grab them for others that might want them. The only LDs I’ve grabbed have been game related – either NeoGeo or Capcom etc.
Do stores like Hard Off/ similar have some LDs lying around? I want to remember seeing a few in some youtube videos. I guess the net/auction sites is the best bet otherwise.
I’m too wondering about the market.
Honestly not sure there is one. I mean, yeah, I’ve seen some members on forums & communities that are interested. But on youtube, it’s mostly game related LDs that people show off. At least on the channels I’m watching 🙂
I’m wondering if simply most people do not know this format even exists, or forgot about it. Thinking anime & gaming fans alike should be all over them for the coolness factor and “premium feel” alone…
Yep, most places have LDs, but not that many have the anime related ones. I do know of one place that has a heap for about 300yen a piece though.
I don’t think they sell all that well actually. Most (if not all) classic anime has been converted to DVD or BR these days.
Next time I head out I’ll just grab some to show you guys. At the very least they’ll look good on my wall if no one wants them. 😀
Haha, sounds good to me 😀
Sweet haulness!
That 5000 yen Dreamcast lot…wow. Amazing bargain right there 😀 Twinsticks and everything.
And that Duo. Duo’s are always a sight to behold, this one seems to be in very good condition no less. Almost want to take one of those PCE controllers of your hands, as I just scored a multitap but thinking about it, I probably only have about 2 games that support it anyhow :S
How much did those Neo Geo pockets set you back? I forgot me and a friend was interested in those and stopped looking for them, so this was a reminder~!
All in all, a varied and impressive haul. Keep buying that good stuff 🙂
Bomberman on the PCE is really great for multitap action! Well worth having a few controllers around for.
The NGPs cost me about 700-1100yen for the ‘color’ versions, and 500-800yen for the ‘B&W’ versions. I usually sell them on (the colors I don’t have) for about $15 on average – helps me get the petrol money to head out again. 😀
wow, the analog set is amazing, how much is that worth??
I have no idea of the current market value Gumir. I got this one from a place not renowned for selling video games, which means Nintendo gear isn’t priced any differently to anything else.
A while back, I did see Nintendo sets sell on the auctions from 5,000-10,000yen though, but they didn’t have the paper cards and inserts like this one – also this was long before the international market started buying Nintendo gear like mad.
If you (or anyone else) sees one pop up for sale, I’d be really interested to know what they go for these days. I’m not keen to sell this one just yet, but if they sell for a fortune then I might consider it to fund a few PCE titles I’m after.
Great post! Where abouts in Japan in this store?
This place is in Ishikawa, but it sure looks different to those pics now though….. Since this post the place has pretty much closed down it’s retro section and concentrated into card games and more modern consoles. Having said that though, it’s still possible to grab the occasional disk or cart, but the good ol’ days are long gone. Sad times indeed…
That’s a shame.. I’m heading back to Tokyo and Kyoto in April and keen to hunt around for some old consoles. I’ll definitely be going back to Akihabara but if there’s anywhere else I should check out please let me know 😀
I went to Osaka a few months ago and didn’t find much at all – for good prices anyway. The same goes for most of the big cities…. This doesn’t mean you won’t find anything, but you may just have to pay a little more than I would here. Definitely try and get out to the smaller towns on the fringes and enjoy the hunt. 😀
Cheers 🙂 I cant wait!
Well that was quick 😛
That rental Tenchi Muyo gold LD would make for a great wall piece 🙂
Good gets all around. I’ll be honest and say that while I haven’t seen all of them, I do know OF them.
What price were these?
Thanks Ji-L87. Yep, I had a free lunch so I went out and grabbed some. 😀
They were from 300yen to 500yen each – the Starwars LP was a bit more though. I just grabbed the ones that caught my attention.
There were boxed sets with 2 or 3 LDs that looked cool too, but they were a bit more pricey at a bit over 1,000yen, thus I didn’t buy any.
Would you consider the ones I bought cheap, or is that about average?
Those are very nice prices 🙂 Rakuten sometimes have LDs for that kind of price but then you need to add EMS shipping to that (only kind they offer) and then the price goes way up.
Limited editions box sets and the like are much more expensive, of course 😛
Cool, good to know that I didn’t pay too much for them. 😀
Yeah, EMS can be costly, but surface shipping is the way to go – with pretty tough gear like these specially. I didn’t realise how heavy these were until getting a few together though.
Anyway, if I can help out with your pile of LDs let me know Ji.
KHFKUDHFEH3476y3t7y47y8jy8T*O&^H%O5!
So. Awesome. Srsly.
Are you grabbing these from Yahoo auctions or out in the wild?
Given the weight of them, it’s probably a good thing I stumble across them when we were over there 🙂
Now I have to go and buy an LD player for the nerd room. Damn! XD
I would recommend picking up a “cheap” Pioneer industrial player. If not for main, then as a reliable backup 🙂
And it still gets most use, since the better unit I bought to replace it, developed some issues on it’s way here :/
Higher end home units might have more features, less noisy video output, better built in DACs etc but these will most likely outlive them 😛
… and I just realised that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all of those posted. I’m so tragic 😛
… and those Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon LDs are so awesome XD As are the Macross 7 ones… and the Tenchi ones… argh, too much awesome AIC animation!
These are all from the wild Sean. I know a place that has a heap of LDs for pretty cheap – like I’ve said many times, it’s a real pity you didn’t make it over my way. 😀
I have to say I’m happy you know of all the disks I have there. I bought completely on cover art alone, so it was chance that I got some worth grabbing.
EDIT – If you also are keen on some, let me know Sean. I don’t know what I am looking for, but they are cheap enough to take the risk on buying them.
Fantastic hauls there! I particularly like the CIB Game and Watch and that Slot Racer set.
I am in the same boat in terms of not being able to get out there on the hunt anymore, it has been at least 6 months since the last time I was able to do some good rummaging around. Hope you get to make the rounds a bit more often from now!!
@Ji-L87: That is an amazing site with all sorts of info!!! I’ll keep it in mind as a reference site when I start seriously looking into grabbing a player mate, thanks again for posting the link! I was looking at grabbing a Pioneer model as they have a stirling reputation from what research I’ve done to date, so it’s always good to hear feedback confirming this. I’m not fussed on DD audio output, but I’d like to snap one up with some good filters and s-video output. I’m a bit scared how much I might potentially sink onto a unit though!!
@Hollo: Wow, so awesome that these are out in the wild! I would have gone crazy if we managed to catch up, though I’m a little scared of what the volume of stuff would have been if we went on a shopping spree!!!! I may well hold you to that offer to grab some anime LDs as well!
Amazing haul as always Hollo! That boxed GCN in particular looks stunning!!
Are there a slew of Book Markets around the traps? I visited plenty of Book Offs, but outside of that I didn’t find too many other franchises (though I dropped into a Geo at Nara if that counts :P).
Yep, I was pretty lucky to score that GC. The only problem is it’s missing the booklet that is meant to come with it. Still, it was damn cheap, so I can’t complain.
BookMarkets aren’t as common as many other book related chains, but there are a few near me. They usually don’t have a heap of retro gear, and even though I’d been past this one many times, this was the first time I went in (looking for game related Manga) – damn happy I did!
Geo used to be amazing a few years back Sean, then they got rid of all retro stuff. I missed all the sales too damn it. Many places are closing down the retro gear sections these days….
Which one/ones are you interested in? I still haven’t bought games for the PS version or the N64 version, so I might let them go.
I really want it so much from a long time (3-4 Years ago) :/
Can you tell us how you connected it to the TV an what channel will the gameplay show up on ?
thanks
Hi Videogamearcade, I connected using a standard RF switch, and it works on channel 1 or 2 (can’t remember which off hand) like most of the Nintendo early machines. I have heard that people using PAL based TVs may have difficulty tuning in Japanese consoles via RF though, so maybe you’re having some trouble? If you are, make a post about and I will try to help out more.
Please, can you put the address on google maps?
Thankyou.
I’d kill to get my dirty hands on this one! How/where id you get it? I love SML, as this was my very first GB game back in a day. Besides, I just love Nintendo art style direction of the day.
What shop do you go to???
Congrats on a purchase.
Hi GameScanner,
Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Yeah, this was a pretty good find – they are pretty rare it seems, as I had someone mail me directly a while back asking about it.
This one was found in a used shop that unfortunately stayed open for only about 6 months before going bankrupt. I have a regular run of shops that I try to get to at least once every two weeks, but the main places are HardOff/HobbyOff/CompOff, Mandai, ChameleonClub, and some little one off used places.
The art style of Nintendo back then was really cool – I totally agree! 🙂
Speechless man I am, now!
This is an outstanding collection. I’d love to get some of those boxes scanned!
Congrats man on this beautiful set of dirt! 🙂
Thanks GameScanner, I prefer to think of it as a hoard more than a collection these days though – it’s really gotten out of hand since these pictures were taken.
Box art scans isn’t a bad idea actually. I wouldn’t want to flatten the boxes out on some of them, but high-res pictures might be worth a go.
Ok quick, I just need you to send at least all of them along with a FC and SFC to this address: 10101010, pleasesend–um…yo-you are taking my request seriously right?!? xD
Digging the Net Yarouze – so sexy in black. One day…one day! 😀
Yep, it wasn’t a bad haul. 😀
I am actually thinking of selling the Net Yaroze on though… I don’t really have the skills to maintain the laser mech properly. I got it really cheap (about 6,500yen), so I doubt I’ll lose money on it, but it will be a bit sad to see it leave.
Amazing selection of goodies as always mate… I shudder to think of the amount of crap I’d have dragged home if we caught up while we were over last year XD
If we become secret millionaires or something, we’ll come back to Japan and get to your side of the country for some nerd shopping 🙂
Yep, you definitely would have had to buy an extra case Sean. Pick the right day, and you would have needed a container to get everything back. 😀
lol, as it was we ended up buying a third suitcase while we were over there 🙂 I have a feeling we’d have had to hit the post office to fire stuff across via surface mail 🙂
If I was here on a visit that’s definitely what I’d do. I’d get a box maximum allowed surface size and load the sucker up! 😀
That Gamecube is probably the nicest one I have seen. The Orange is my favourite.
Great to see that people can find these “in the wild” – your find is outstanding! Congrats! I made a N64 rarity guide on Youtube with this included
Hi Lithium, thanks for the comment. 🙂
I took a look at your video, and that’s one amazing collection you have yourself there! Love the way you have everything set up.
I was extremely lucky to find this how I did. I’m still blown away in all honesty. Doubt very much I’ll be this lucky again, but one thing about Japan is you never know.
Weird I only had a few handhelds as a kid and those were two that I had (US versions) the others were Mattel football II and a pacman clone
Have to say, sounds pretty awesome Steve 🙂 Certainly sounds a bit more advanced compared to the VR game I played back in ’92 or ’93 at the Adelaide Show where you tried to shoot a dragon in a 1-on-1 FPS style game 🙂
Yeah, it was the early 90s where the idea really took full steam, but it took this long for the tech to catch up!
It really has to be tried to understand the possible implications/applications of this thing. Being the cynical and skeptical bastard I am, I wasn’t convinced by all the glowing reports, but took the plunge anyway – pretty happy I did!
On the demo front (for those interested)….
A new roller coaster was released a few days ago called ‘Parrot Coaster’. It’s not the prettiest, but the way your brain tricks you into feeling gravity is insane!
First Law – Very fun little space shooter that people get completely lost in!
Ocean Rift is another fun one in which you are underwater walking around – quite surreal.
I connect my Kuzushi with a US NES rf adapter . The picture is very wasted up almost unplayable . I guess the unit sends weak signal to my display . I used an old tube tv and a HDTV with same result.
That sounds like what it looks like when you choose the wrong channel (either 1 or 2). If I choose 1 when it should be 2 (or visa versa), I can see the game running, but it’s completely “snowed” out and pretty much unusable.
It could be that the unit is sending a weak signal though, but I’ve never had any RF Nintendo machine (TV Game 6, 15, Kuzushi, Famicom etc.). You gave the connections a clean with Isopropyl?
Just edited the original post with the news of Oculus winning best hardware of E3! Really happy for the company, but even more happy for the great content that will be coming out for the thing. 🙂
Man, that is really awesome! Once I start making decent money I’m gonna visit Japan and check those stores out. 🙂
Actually, for the Densha de Go controllers, it’s not a cup holder. It’s a clock holder.
Thanks for commenting Wilmer. That definitely makes more sense now that I think of it. I am pretty sure having drinks on the control panel isn’t something JR would want. 😀
I was in Japan the other week and found that many of the cool retro shops had closed since I last visited in 2005. Such a shame as the stores there were so well stocked. Akiba still has shops, but you just have to wander around a bit more since all the anime stores and maid cafes have taken over.
Yep, they’re closing up pretty quickly. In just the past year I’ve seen three places that I used to go to all the time shut the doors. 🙁
Wow, so much stuff you already got there. I’m in a pinch, since I have to reduce stuff drastically to gain more family space. But I still love me to haul in HardOffs and recycle shops etc.
Space isn’t easy to come by for sure, but luckily I’m living in more of a rural area (Ishikawa) – meaning I have a pretty big house with one whole room dedicated to gaming goodness.
I discovered your website last year through your Epoch Electrotennis post and have been reading here ever since, but it seems like you haven’t had the time to update in a while – too bad, I really love the content and pictures!
This is my first time commenting – just wanted to add the little piece of information that the Ascii Grip-Controller was intended for the Derby Stallion games. They came with tons of horseracing-related paperwork that I have no clue how to use, but apparently you were supposed to control the game with one hand while writing down stuff with the other.
I don’t have the SFC controller, but I own a brand-new one for the Sega Saturn and it has tons of paperstuff and tiny stickers inside the box to highlight your winnings.
Anyways, hope we can see you post some new entries someday 🙂
Cheers from Vancouver/Canada,
J.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you Ave. Yep, time hasn’t been on my side recently… 🙁 I did manage to make a quick post today though.
I didn’t know the ASCII was aimed at Derby Stallion games. Very cool!
Awesome write-up Hollo, was really cool to see those images as well!! An absolute stunner of a find!!!
Yep, defintiely don’t see these around. I wish I knew more about them actually – how many were made etc. There just isn’t much info on them.
Great, now I know what to get the kids for xmas this year. They are so excited. Will look sweet on the 60 inch!
And just for you, for a limited time, you are welcome to it for the measly price of $1499.99. 😀
Damn sexy machines aren’t they.
No difference between the original CG and CGII aside from cosmetics. Perhaps NEC released the CGII in orange to match the Super CD-ROM2 device.
If you leave out the CD equation, it’s actually a cheap system to game on. A loose HuCard console can be had for as little as $40 delivered (if you don’t mind a bit of dirt and scratches) and aside from the elite titles, most HuCard games are rather cheap, especially for loose titles.
Your CG console looks to be in immaculate condition, nice score!
Yep, damn sexy! I think I was impressed by the weight of them the most when I first got them – they cram a heap of goodness into the small body.
I didn’t think there was any difference between them either, but I just wasn’t sure. I might have to crack them open and take some pics when I get a chance to really compare internals.
As much as I agree with your comments re this not being the most ideal solution for CD based gaming, it’s still my favourite setup.
Believe it or not, it was priced at 57,800 yen in 1988.
There’s a couple of versions available, you can spot the difference by looking at the lid. One says ‘CD-ROM2 SYSTEM’ and the other ‘IFU-30’. The former is the one bundled with the actual CD-ROM2 unit whilst the latter only contained the interface unit (requiring the CD-ROM2 unit to be purchased separately). Rumour has it that NEC did this to avoid paying as much tax on the device.
There’s also a couple of versions of the CD-ROM2 unit too, one that was sold as a standalone device and compatible with personal computers and the other which was sold exclusively for use with the PC Engine console.
Thanks for the extra info, and also thanks for the pricing Frank – will edit that straight away.
I haven’t seen the one you mention that needs to have the CD-ROM2 to be purchased separately. Yet another thing for the hoard I have to hunt for. 😀
RE the IFU’s, yeah I have both of them but only one of them works. You might recall the incident, it did happen a while ago though. Mine aren’t all boxed and minty like yours though, just loose jobs. 🙂
The Tennokoe Bank HuCard is a great thing to own too, I use it to xfer save data from my interface unit to the Tennokoe Bank HuCard – then you can delete the save data on the interface unit and start again, whilst retaining all your save data.
There’s also the Tennokoe 2, another hardware device to store save data, but this is limited to HuCard games only (as in you can only connect it to a base HuCard console and not a CD setup).
I actually have a Tennokoe 2, but I haven’t really tried to use it with anything except one of the F1 games. Can’t actually remember the name of that particular F1 game at the moment.
The main issue with this Memory base is that it only supports around 20 games, and most of them are RPGs. Can’t say I play many RPGs on the PCE honestly.
Probably F1 Circus you’re thinking of.
The Tennokoe 2 supports heaps of games, and once it’s full you can transfer to the Tennokoe Bank HuCard. Well worth grabbing a few of the TB cards.
Yep, F1 Circus was the one I was trying to recall from this rusty brain.
Just wish they had a backlit screen, that would have made it the perfect handheld!
If these were backlit the competition would not have stood a chance!
I have seen a few vids on youtube showing off front-light mods which looks pretty cool.
This post is like PCE porn or something. The minty box and system setup are absolutely beautiful!!
I think I need one of those Tennokoe thingies, as my sad Duo-R doesn’t have much memory for saves 🙁
I will add it to my list of stuff to track down 🙂
Love the NeoGeo Pocket Colors consoles, will have to make some space in the nerd room to accomodate one and some games down the road 🙂
BTW, I thought the toilet references were apt/amusing 🙂
Definitely a must buy Sean. If you don’t have one I am gunna find you one – don’t worry about that.
I actually finished MetalSlug twice through on the toilet. Hmmm, either that says something strange about my movements, or something great about the game. 😀
That machine is all kinds of awesome 😀
Yep, really is one of the cooler Tomy games. Not sure how long I am able to keep it though – I have bought big recently, and I have to recoup a little bit back to buy more! 😀
Sean, you don’t have a Pocket? I’ll give you a play on mine next time you’re over, you’ll love it. The joystick nub is insanely cool and effective, makes one wonder why no other handheld has one.
Thanks for the enthusiasm guys!
Next time I’m over your way Frank, would love to check out one of your NGPs – I love the concept of a microswitch pad on a handheld!
Had no idea that’s how it was setup until I read Hollo’s article actually!! I’m no more informed, so hooray for me 🙂
Absolutely stunning find Hollo – in 1998 I desperately wanted one of these, but back then I didn’t have the financial means to grab one… so instead I looked at pictures and admired the machine from a distance 😀
Not sure why that particular revisions break some games, though some speculated over on Assembler it’s either due to the BIOS revision (v1.01.1) or something was changed with the 68k CPU (the CPU assigned to the audio hardware).
Interestingly, the problems seem inconsistent – some have skeleton Saturns that play those titles without a hitch, other have noted that later print runs of the aforementioned titles are fixed to work with Skeleton Saturns.
You’ll have to let us know how your machine handles those titles 😀
If time permits, I plan to get it out and test it with Metal Slug today.
I guess it’s somewhat similar to having a beautiful girlfriend – a few incompatibilities can go unnoticed. 🙂
I have updated the Skeleton Saturn post with my findings regarding incompatibility. Take a look Sean. 😀
Don’t start with me Hollo! The Hori Commander is the best PCE 6 button pad, but unfortunately they’re rather pricey. I can’t justify spending big money on a controller, especially when the same amount of money will land you a loose PCE console!
The Duo RX pad is also a fine 6 button pad, once again hard to find and costly.
Interesting bit of trivia that you may not be aware of, the 6 button pads have further uses aside from Street Fighter – some of the shooters use the select button to select between movement speed or special firing sequences. It’s a pain in the bum to reach the select button though, so with a 6 button pad you can use the third button to replace the select button in a range of games. There’s also a dedicated 3 button control pad which serves the same purpose.
Ahh I forgot about that Hori Commander!
Nice info regarding the shooters that use the 6 buttons as well. I might have to have a shmup session to see which ones work.
Very nice. I have the blue Gekisen U-Boat one from this series.
(I did a post about it here; http://famicomblog.blogspot.jp/search/label/Bandai%20LCD%20Solar%20Power )
I agree, these things are great. I’ve often wondered why solar powered handhelds like this never took off. Solar power is free, while batteries cost money, therefore you would have expected these to dominate the market but….they didn’t. Bit of a mystery.
I am always on the lookout for the blue one. Having all three would be very cool!
Thanks for the link, I will take a look at that now. 🙂
EDIT:
Just had a look at yours. The one I’m after is the airport one, and not the Uboat one you have yourself there – still after seeing yours in amazing shape I wouldn’t mind having one of those as well! It never stops does it? 😀
I’m with Frank – the Avenue 6 is a pad for utility, not necessarily for comfort. I was playing some PCE yesterday using the nice black PCE pad and it felt a lot better than playing with the Avenue 6.
That being said, the aforementioned pad wouldn’t be useful for SF2!
The Hori Commander sounds like a nice piece of kit, but I can’t justify huge prices for controllers. A better option would be to take an Avenue 6 and case it, then build an i/o to take a Saturn controller to the PCE. In fact, pretty much any console could benefit from such a setup. Those controllers are amazing 🙂
Being able to control a PCE with a Saturn controller would be unbelievably sweet! I tend to use the Hori stick the most out of the controllers I have for the PCE, but there are times when a pad is a must.
300 yen? Madness!!!
Looks like a nice and shiny console 😀
It’s not in bad shape although it has suffered a little bit from the Saturn yellow syndrome. 300yen though! One of those rare moments indeed.
Looking at the second picture posted, it’s almost as if the Satellaview, DC with karaoke unit and orange GCN are pointing and laughing at the Playdia, the poor thing.
Great write-up though, I had no idea the Playdia’s controller were wireless, unusually progressive for a console from that era!
Those two laugh at almost everything! It’s only when the two AES consoles come out they feel a bit insecure. 😀
Awesome 🙂
I remember a friend of mine had DK1 and it was great fun to play. We got a couple of them when we were kids around 1990, must have come out a cheaper entry point as my brothers and I got one each – there was a Snoopy Tennis, Donkey Kong Junior and Super Mario Bros between us I think, all the single-screen ones. I went hunting around my parents’ place last year or the year before trying to find them, but no luck 🙁
Donkey Kong Jr is a great game. I was so jealous of a kid at school with one. I can remember so clearly sitting around him and just watching him play it. Ahh the 80s.
You should be tearing your family house apart Sean! They’re there, you possibly just need power tools to get at them. 😀
Ah yes, I have seen the airport one at Mandarake here in town, its a nice (but expensive if I recall) one! Mine is a bit different from these two as it doesnt have a D pad and is vertically rather than horizontally oriented.
And yup, it never stops….
Unfortunately it’s rare for me to run into even the more common Bandai LCDs around here where I am – little bit rural. I’m will be happy to pay a reasonable amount for a loose Airport though.
I do check the auctions when ever I get time, but the proxy bidding is driving prices up a fair bit of late. Well that, and the retro bug that seems to be sweeping the globe.
Anyway, thanks for the comments Sean – much appreciated.
Nice find mate, I know you’ve been after one of these for a while.
Strange that they didn’t included the necessary pins on the expansion bus for the CD-ROM attachments – what were they thinking!?
It’s funny how things change, when I was first getting into the PCE the Shuttles weren’t that popular and usually sold at a cheap price. Now they’re suddenly commanding big dollars.
The amazing thing is that PCE in general is starting to get very expensive. Really wish I bought up more now. Still, I got this one for a pretty good deal considering it had the memory unit and about 10 games.
Believe me, I’ve even had my brothers over to help me, but no luck!
We did find our Transformers and TMNT toys from when we were kids though, so it wasn’t a completely wasted exercise 🙂
Bad luck not finding the G&Ws there Sean. Still, judging by the prices Transformers go for these days, you could probably sell a few off and re-buy the old G&Ws. 😀
Is it the hardware going up, or HuCards as well?
Hardware more than the HuCards Sean. The prices on DuoRs seem pretty constant (as in expensive), but there has definitely been a price increase on the CoreI/CoreII. 🙁
If I had to use a composite AV switcher, that would be my pic. It’s awesome 😀
But would you rummage through rubbish to get one? 😀
Very interesting, I am embarassed to admit that I never even knew these things existed. Now I must find one, I really like the way it looks. Kind of smoothe.
The hardest things to find (like I mentioned in the post) are the controllers and backup memory. I couldn’t believe my luck finding one with the memory.
I like the look of them as well actually, but then again, I’m a PCE whore! 😀
LOL, I know exactly what you are talking about. I have made some nice finds in 300 yen junk bins around here too. I`m not a Saturn collector but that looks like a cool one.
I`m guessing if you have a few junk shops in the neighborhood you are probably in Tokyo or some other big city?
Hi there,
Very nice post. 🙂 I didn’t know much about this handheld before. Looks very nice.
“Admittedly the Bandai Wonderswan is the last machine I tend to turn to when I’m heading to the toilet for a quick game (well, quick game and number two release).”
LOL! Quote of the year! 😀
Technology wise they are really cool little machines for the time period. It’s just a pity there aren’t more games for it that are non-Japanese friendly.
We have to be honest here though right. The handheld market has dramatically increased the time we spend on the toilet. 😀
Holy crap! *sells house and moves to Japan*
Love the way everything is displayed and bagged etc. The few much, much smaller second hand game shops we have here are nowhere near as professional or courteous with their layout and presentation. Games are literally thrown in a shelf and you have to sift through them all.
What’s a rough idea on pricing in there? Do they tend to know what they are selling and price accordingly? Any Highway Star carts in there? 😛
I just wish I could have gotten more pictures to really show you how extensive it is!
They do tend to know what they have, but even so the prices are very reasonable. Occasionally though I will walk in and there will be bargains you cannot believe. I remember one day just stopping in and not planning to buy anything, and then walking out with 4 Neogeo CDs, two Saturns, two Famicoms, and a bunch of games.
You remember that 300yen Sonic Saturn I talked about in another post? I got that from this shop. 😉
This week I was excited when I visited a Game Traders and they had 10 boxed SMS games on a shelf, and another 5-8 or so on the shelf underneath, most of which were available at reasonable prices.
I thought that was mildly exciting, but then you go and show me pictures like these. It’s mean, but in the best way because it looks so awesome 😀
Always thought they seemed like cool machines, but don’t have much of a desire to add one to the nerd room. Your post on the NeoGeo Pocket though has convinced me to look into getting one at some stage 🙂
If I had to choose between a WS and a NGP, the NGP wins by a LOT! I can usually grab them for about $15 for a clean one, and about $10 for a worn in one – want me to grab one for you if I see one out?
Nice! I just have the ordinary 6-player adapter for the Saturn (Japanese version), and playing big multiplayer matches of Saturn Bomberman is still great fun today, especially in the big 10-player mode!
10 players is just craziness!
Walking into a place like this is an amazing feeling there Sean. There have been trips where I literally fill the car with gear and drive home very carefully. Nothing can match it at home.
I’ve only managed to get 7 people around the warming glow of a CRT owing to only having one adapter and probably not enough controllers 😉 Still, can’t count the amount of times I’ve played 4 players and filled the remaining players with CPU opponents, my brothers and mates gathered on so many occasions for massive sessions on my old trusty 51cm CRT 😀
That would be great fun! Always the way though, more people that controllers in the house. 😀
Nice hollo, that’s the stuff dreams are made of
. It’s probably good you didn’t get to the hardware
Isles, I don’t need to torture myself any further!
Thanks man, loving the blog.
Hey Tim, Thanks heaps! Yeah, there is only so much the human brain can handle. 😀
Great post, I do these type of game shop posts on my blog too and I love to see what other people`s `hunting grounds` look like. Yours actually looks like it has a better selection than my local one which, sadly, is about to go out of business. Like you I have walked into there on numerous occasions not intending to buy anything and been so shocked by the bargains they had just tossed out that I ended up leaving with more than I could carry.
That’s what it’s all about right – the hunt!
If you’re ever up my way (Ishikawa) I’d happily show you around. Unfortunately though, places are starting to close down around here too… Still have the Hard-Offs/Comp-Offs, but many seem to be getting less and less gear. Damn, I’m talking myself into doing a run again! 😀
LOL, it is easy to convince oneself to do just one more run isn`t it? The Hard Offs in Fukuoka have also gone downhill recently and don`t turn up much good gear anymore either. I guess once word gets out everyone descends on the good ones and clean them out pretty quick!
All too easy! I was planning on a run today actually, but a chunk of our roof blew off!! The weather was completely nuts here… How was Fukuoka?
Super Ultra store, indeed! Heaven is a retro games shop… but seriously, that is amazing, almost gives me chills just looking at it. Fantastic.
Also: Just got your comments on my blog. Thank you. 🙂
Amazing right? Yep, gotta love Japan when it comes to game culture!
And no problem about those comments. You are doing a brave thing reviewing every NES game made! You should check out Sean’s Famicomblog if you haven’t already to take a look at the Japanese titles too.
Wow, a chunk of the roof? We had some bad wind here yesterday and I nearly got toppled over while trying to ride my bike, but our roof held! I hope it was not an important part of the roof (ie the part directly above your game collection) that went!
We lost a reasonably big section off the first floor and many bits and pieces from the second, and yes, some were over my games room! Spent a few hours wrapping gear just in case there were leaks, but luckily we had some brave guys come before the heavier rain came in and we were safe. Restless night to say the least though.
AH, sorry to hear about that, it must have been an unpleasant night! Glad to hear that your games are all in one piece though!
That’s a very nice way to do a retro release in 2005! Amazing you managed to find one brand new in the wild, but that’s Japan I guess 😉
Yep, gotta love Japan for the great finds! 😀
These look cool but judging from the YouTube video, they appear to be a little cheaply made?
They are definitely no Game&Watch in terms of plastic quality, but they aren’t too bad.
Nice man, im going thru a bit of a LCD craze at the moment. oh and full props for using Showagamers vid. i love his channel!
His channel is definitely cool. I love how he gets mint handhelds and then plays the living crap out of them!
Nice man, i really should grab some games for mine…. its lonely and cartless. Love the retro photography Hollo!
Bait taken. 🙂
SC-3000, SC-3000H, SG-1000, SG-1000 II, Mark III, Master System I, Master System II, Game Gear, Nomad, Mega Drive I, Mega CD I and the Mega CD II all use the same PSU regardless of region.
The Mega Drive II uses the same power supply as the 32X and the Saturn has the same power cable as the Dreamcast. This means that you can run every SEGA console with 3 different types of PSU.
In contrast, the Japanese Famicom, Aussie NES, US NES, Twin Famicom, N64 and the Game Cube all use a different power supply.
With the exception of SEGA’s later consoles (Saturn & Dreamcast) all SEGA consoles use the same controller pinout. In contrast, the Famicom, NES, SNES, N64 and the Game Cube all have incompatible controllers.
What about native RGB?
Master System – yep
Mega Drive – yep
32X – yep
Saturn – yep
Dreamcast – yep
Famicom/NES – nope
Super Famicom/SNES – yep
N64 – nope
Game Cube – nope
Yeah, take that Hollo! =)
P.s. glad to see you back in action. 🙂
I knew that’d get a response! I actually meant to write ‘Sega didn’t do that in the 70s’ 😀
P.S. Thanks. 🙂
I have almost finished getting the game room back in action, but there still is a fair bit of rearranging to do unfortunately.
No, SEGA were too busy making arcade games in the 70’s. 😛
Tim thinks I’m a closet Nintendo fan, and he may be right given that 85% of my recent retro purchases are Nintendo related. 🙂
Re rearranging, I can imagine what a nightmare that is going to be. My collection is 1/10th of yours and I hate it when I need to sort/tidy/rearrange it.
We ALL know you’re a Nintendo fan Frank. It’s just a matter of time before you find out as well. 😀
One good thing about the roof trouble is I got a chance to go through stuff that was buried in the hoard. Managed to find myself a few extra NeoGeo controllers which I was pretty wrapped about.
Hope the roof troubles are behind you now (as opposed to being above you….)
I`ve really wanted one of these for a while but haven`t come across any in the shops down in Fukuoka. I agree about the awesome 70s look – it indeed would be cool to have a retro orange TV to play that on!
There is still a bit of work that has to be done on the roof, but I’ve been assured that the roof won’t leak, so that’s good enough for me to start unwrapping and re-stacking the gear. What a hassle though – specially for the April rush!
I would really recommend grabbing one if you can Sean. They do play incredibly well. Even if you can find one off the auctions (although it’s not as good as the live hunt) it’s worth having. 🙂
Great blog Hollo, really enjoyed reading through this one.
One thing I’d like to clarify, the Neo outputs RGB natively, all you need is an appropriate SCART cable. Of course Neo Geo branded ones sell for silly amounts (in the hundreds) but not to worry, you can buy aftermarket ones that work just as well for $10-$20.
Re the improvement in video output, the earlier units have better RGB output but slightly worse composite output, compared to the later units which have diminished RGB output and improved composite output. One theory for this is that SNK figured more people would be utilising a composite input rather than RGB, so they improved the composite output in later units at the expense of RGB.
When I first landed my AES, after the shock and excitement of finally owning this beast, what really struck me is its size. The console, joystick and games are massive when compared to other systems of the time, and even though I was aware of this to an extent it really didn’t hit me until I was holding the hardware in my hands.
Thanks heaps Frank. I have edited the post.
I agree regarding the size. Pictures just don’t do them justice at all. Another thing that got me when I first got one was the twin PCBs in the carts.
Ahhh NeoGeo… 🙂
Yep, one PCB for video and the other for sound.
You should add a photo of an AES cart with a Mega Drive or SNES cart sitting on top of it, this would really give people who aren’t familiar with the Neo Geo a good sense of scale.
Hey, what are those games in the top right of the pic with all your AES games? Anything of significance or just some Famicom games that woulldn’t fit anywhere else?
I might just do that – taking pics next to Megadrive/Genesis carts I mean. I want to take another pic of my boxed AES too as the pic there wasn’t the best quality.
Those are just a few Famicom carts (and a lonely NeoGeo Pocket cart) that I didn’t have space for anywhere else. I’ve been trying to pack everything up to fit more gear in recently.
I’m actually playing this right now and was looking for reviews. The video above misses a few cool things in this little handheld. The water bubble is there! He rides it down the screen killing all in path. Bosses ARE in the game! The boss levels have there own intro music. Level Skip is also there! 1up extra man. There’s a bunch of others icons too I haven’t discovered yet.
I’ve been collecting these handhelds for a long time and this is one of the most playable, fun handhelds there is. Epoch created a classic. They are rare – this is the rarest of the series but still findable cheap with patience. One tip – Pause the game if on a level and not playing it or it will switch off after 5 minutes. lol
Hey Zac, thanks for adding some very cool info!
I have since sold this on, and as the next owner wanted it new I didn’t actually get a chance to play it. Amazing that there are actually bosses in the game!
Hmm, maybe I should have actually cracked the seal and given it a go after all…. 🙂
Give it a go Hollo, just use an inexpensive game that you don’t particularly care about. You’d be surprised at how well it works and at how much gunk it removes from the disk.
It would be awesome if Nintendo released a device to clean the head of the actual disk system console, I wonder if such a thing exists? A cotton tip with iso works well but it sucks having to unscrew and dismantle the console to gain access to the head.
Yeah, I am not sure if there was anything designed to clean the actual unit… There must have been though surely – this is Nintendo we’re talking about!
Oh man, that is a bummer. I was really impressed with the pics of that place in your last post about it. Also, if I may say so, WOW! 300 games in one go? That must have been some sale!
Actually I probably bought close to that many when my Omocha Souko closed down last month, only it was spaced out over several visits rather than all at once. I had the same feeling too – torn between happiness at getting some good deals versus sadness at the end of the store.
Something similar happened here about 2 years ago when all the GEOs in Fukuoka simultaneously liquidated their retro game stock. They marked everything down in stages – 50% off for the first month, then every remaining cart for 100 yen each for the month after that and finally 50 yen for everything left over after that. I bought so much stuff during those sales but felt pretty bad about the loss of the store. I think in the 4 years I`ve been in Fukuoka there has been a definite reduction in the number of places selling retro games. Sad.
Yep, over 300, and I am seriously thinking of going back today (seeing as it’s a day off) too.
It really is mixed feelings though. This place definitely had the best wow factor around me, and the prices were good. There would be no way I could get the games I did this cheap again, so I had to grab them while I could.
The deals I missed out on though!! Put it this way, there would have been Radiant Silverguns for the Saturn, Rainbow Island for the PCE, and MetalSlug for the NGCD for under 500 yen a pop…..
It’s not going to be easy finding another store like this. *sigh*
Yeah I know what you mean. When you see them that cheap it is `now or never`. If it wasn`t for going out of business sales (or at least getting out of the retro game business sales) my Famicom collection would be about half the size it is today.
I think it is best to pull the trigger when you get the chance too. When the GEOs here liquidated their stock I was a bit selective with my purchases at first. Then after a couple of days I decided `Wait, these are ridiculously cheap, I should be buying all the good ones I need en masse`. By then it was too late though and I had missed out on a ton of the really good stuff. I still got loads of deals, but even after two years I sometimes think to myself `WHY didn`t I get that CIB copy of (several games) when I had the chance?`
I wonder if there is some decline in the market for retro games here. I`ve seen lots of stores close or stop selling retro games in the past 4 years, but I have yet to see a new store selling retro games open, so the available shopping options are getting smaller and smaller.
Retro gaming definitely doesn’t have the following in Japan compared with home, but my guess is there will be a boom of sorts once it gets scarce. I do know of one younger guy (early 20s) here that is well into retro gaming, but he is definitely the exception and not the rule.
Yep, this time I didn’t want to be kicking myself for not picking up as much as I could – it’s happened too many times before….
I just opened everything and there are some gems! I will be posting some pics later once I clear a section of floor to lay them out in the respective companies.
Yes i would love the hang on please!
Man I wish you would get your hands on another Rob Robot and a Power Glove for me! haha far out great haul there! Hope you had a look at my castlevania post 🙂
No worries Nick, it’s all yours.
I will keep my eyes out for a ROB and PG for sure. 🙂
Nice one, thanks for linking to that video, I’ve been hanging to see it in action.
Very cool toy for its time, I’d even go as far as saying that it’s a lot better than most of the cheap and uninteresting toys that are available today.
100% agree there Frank. Just the weight of this thing alone means it would cost a damn lot more to make than the crap around these days.
Wow, that’s an incredible haul of games Hollo!! Extremely jealous, but chuffed to be able to live the journey through the blog 🙂
Yep, it’s not a bad effort, but there is no reason to be jealous – just think about the comments I am getting from the wife.
Anyway, I just did a quick calculation, and it seems in 3 trips I landed about 460 games!! Then of course there are the consoles and accessories.
I’ll keep you guys posted if tomorrow I also land a set of divorce papers. 😀
That’s…wow. This, and the related posts, are pretty amazing. Dare I even ask the sum it totalled? (I know you said prices were lowered still)
A bit of doublets/triplets as well in there… one for use, one for looking at and one for preservation? : )
Well lets just say that it was well into the triple digits, and it was way more than the wife was happy about. 😀
I will be keeping doubles of the games I really enjoy, but the main reason I bought these is because 1) I will never see them this cheap again, and 2) I try to help friends out on Aussie Arcade (link on the right) – can’t have friends paying those crazy inflated Ebay prices.
Sensational finds Hollo, am loving all of those items!
Damn Hollo… just damn. And a boxed Famicom keyboard! How I love the fact that Famicom boxed gear looks so uniform. I can’t wait to own it all 😀
That V-Saturn looks really good. The model 1 units are probably the best looking ones and the V-Saturn’s color scheme, while a bit odd at first, is quite nice.
Thanks guys. They were really great finds for sure.
@ Amiga4Eva – Yep, totally agree. Nintendo knew what they were doing – everything just goes so well together, and this definitely inspires a hoarder to go for that next bit of gear.
@ Ji-L87 – I really like the V-Saturns too. The box is better on these versions, but I have to prefer the other version though – the colours are just too cool.
Crazy stuff Hollo, how do you fit it all in the little Japanese houses I don’t know 😀
It’s not easy at all Dave! Although my house is pretty big by Japanese standards, I only have one room to keep this gear in, and it’s literally overflowing – by that I mean I have to leave the door open and boxes are spilling into the hall – I am not kidding either. 😮
I’ve got a friend here in New Zealand who has so much stuff it’s in the roof and under his house as well. Despite most of it being retro, he doesn’t have any retro consoles plugged in and spends most of his time in WoW and probably Diablo III now too. Don’t become that guy 😀
Nope not a chance! 😀
I have 5 retro consoles permanently plugged in (DC, PS2, PCE, Gamecube and Super Famicom), and the rest are just a few steps away. I always keep adapters and cables near the TV, and all of my controllers are hanging up ready to be grabbed.
The only trouble now though is there is so much stuff to sort through that I don’t have space to sit down infront of the TV! Won’t be long though. I did actually finish sorting trough a fair bit, but I bought another 300 or so games, so I have to do it all again. 😀
One of your best lots yet the SNES boxed titles look great, Famicom Disks including the awesome Castlevanias and some great Saturn / DC titles. Strike whiles there’s gold to be found I say 🙂
Good work Hollo!
I notice you have a Famicom block cart, keep this as it will come in handy to test any future Rob’s that you acquire.
Love the Fami disks too. I enjoy collecting them, I think they’re an awesome little package of gaming and it’s handy that you can save to them.
Thanks guys. 🙂
Yep, this place is amazing at the moment. I will hopefully get some more time to get more gear soon. I have to get in there and buy up while I can – the deals are just too good!
Nice l00t. I think there’s something I want in nearly every pile. Speaking of which, that P.P.M. Racing for the SFC. I’ve never heard of that game, but it must be awesome. Why? The cover features a Lamborghini and a Monster Truck to a backdrop of explosive mayhem. That’s why.
Oh wait, it’s R-P.M. Now it makes more sense. Slightly.
It’s not just that the cover has a monster truck and Lambo going head to head in explosive glory…. R.P.M. actually stands for ‘Radical Psyco Machine’, and with a name like that how could I leave it in the store! 😀
Insane 😀
The wife agrees with you, but not in the same way. 😀
Jaw dropping stuff Hollo – I hope it never ends! 🙂
So how much for surface shipping on that Duo? ;P
Me too! But that’ll mean the money has to keep flowing as well…. I’ll cross that bridge later though. 😀
I reckon I’ll be keeping that Duo, but I reckon I will be selling my unboxed one now though.
IMO keep cleaning the place out. Get it all back home, and then filter it – there will be tons of stuff that’s crap, duplicate, just not what you’re into, get rid of that and keep the best for yourself. If you balance it right, you’ll be able to shift the crappy stuff and get all your money back 🙂
Yep I reckon you’re right Dave, but the only trouble is finding the cash to actually grab stuff. Still, these kind of deals are unheard of even here, so I have to do it while I can – even if it means maxing out the cards for a short time.
Crap, I think I was talked into buying more far too easily! 😀
Awesome stuff! I just stumbled on this site for the first time. Do you live in Japan?
Yep, been here for a while now.
Thanks for taking the time to have a look at the site Ted – much appreciated. 🙂
Nice Duo. They’re all so spiffy-looking. And man, Daytona USA. Picked that one up recently. I’m having trouble drifiting in this game (and it seems you must learn to do it) but the music is worth the price of admission alone.
Do-dodo-do-do-do-do-do-doooo-dooooooooooooooooooo
DAAYYYYYTOOOOOONAAAAAAAAAAAA
Gotta have love for Daytona! So many memories attached to the arcade version. I still don’t have it for the Dreamcast which is bit of a bummer, but I am not in a position to complain too much. 😀
Unbelievable stuff Hollo! I hope there are a few titles left by the time we make it to Nippon 😉 Not sure if Wifey will be too happy if we hire a truck and fill it up… But I do like the idea 😀
When she understands how much it will save her in the long run she’ll come around – maybe. 😀
Seriously though Sean, it’s unbelievable what’s going on in this place! I just hope it’s still running by the time you get over here….
Even if you’re adventures are coming to an end, I’m sure I can speak for all of your readers in saying thank you for taking us along for the ride, it’s been awesome 😀
+1 to the comment above by Sean.
Hollo, re PC Engine HuCard games, you must be getting close to a complete set? Assuming you keep records, how many unique games do you have? -If you don’t mind me asking. 🙂
Thanks guys. The optimist in me still believes there will be new stock next time I go, but I won’t get a chance to get there this week due to a change in schedule – wallet needs a rest anyway. 😀
I’m up to 230ish unique HuCards, so that means still another 80ish to go. Unfortunately there are a few that I probably won’t get a hold of anytime soon, but I hope to at least get within 10 cards of the full set – hope being the operative word there. 😉
jesus christ dude, nice score 😀
Bags the Sharp Famicom if you’re moving it on 😀
Gotta love Japan right? Well, at least for gaming anyway. 😉
Now that I have two Twin Famis I will be selling one on, but too many guys have been asking me about them for a while now, so it’s not fair to give it to just one. I will do a public sale and it will be first in wins. Won’t be a for a little while though.
Delicious haul!
I have to obtain one of those Famicom recorders too, when I do rest assured I’ll be sending some tapes to your house. 🙂
I also want to grab one of those standalone disk systems, preferably a non-working ‘junk’ unit at a cheap price. I can get them working again.
The SEGA mouse is a nice touch, I love the black/blue colouring.
The Super Famicom RGB cable is nice to have, they tend to fetch a few dollars. Not so useful for us Aussies though as they’re not compatible with the SNES and the pinout is different to the SCART TV’s that we have here, mind you it’s easy enough to grab a converter cable.
Trackball controller is only compatible with the following 4 games:
– Operation Wolf
– US Championship V’Ball
– Moero Pro Soccer
– Putt Putt Golf (FDS game)
You can still use it with any other game if you use the d-pad though.
You know, for such a massive collector, your game room pics are few and far between! More damn you, MORE! 🙂
Things have changed so much since these pictures were taken too! I always think about snapping more shots, but then I think if I wait a month there’ll be much more anyway. 😀
Yep, just looking at these photos though, it might be time for a few new pics. 😉
Some great info there Frank! Thanks heaps for commenting. 🙂
I will have to go through the Famicom carts to see if I have those titles – pretty sure I have Operation Wolf and V’Ball, but not sure about the others.
The Famicom recorder cost me a fair bit unfortunately. I was on a roll and just splurged for it.
The Sega mouse is pretty cool, but the mouse pad is the coolest part. I am thinking about actually using it at work. 😀
Well look, I’d hate for you to feel confused about when you should or shouldn’t take pics mate – it must be hard with all that gear coming in all the time. I tell you what I’ll do, but only because I’m honestly such a kind and considerate guy… each time your retro gear comes in, just send 50% of it to me!
That way, there’s 50% less gear at your place causing so much conflict about when you should take pics! Aren’t I a nice guy? 🙂
50% hey? Hmm, that would definitely make the decision of whether or not to take pictures easier, but…. I am going to have to decline your kind offer. 😀
Amazing hauls in there Hollo, I’m very jealous :):):)
You shouldn’t be Sean… Like I said, you should be feeling sorry for me more than anything. 😀
Haha sweet Hollo!
I didn’t cheat, I read through the entire post from top to bottom to find out the surprise and thought it was going to be a Vectrex for some reason, but a Duo-R is way cool!
What mods are you wanting for it?
If I ever get one I’ll be making sure it has an RGB mod (the Duo puts out an incredibly gorgeous RGB signal), region switch (doubt I’ll ever use it though, the US games don’t appeal to me), cap replacement and new lens fitted. Yep, it costs a fortune to get a Duo with these mods, but it’s worth it. Sean has one, ArcadeKing has one too I believe that he was looking at selling a while back, hmmm…
A Vectrex would have been pretty damn cool, but to see one of those in the wild now if a steep ask. 🙁
Yep, something to output a better signal is what I’d like a mod for. Region doesn’t worry me, as Japan has a better range of games anyway I hear.
That’s one sexy console!
Even just seeing the photo I took of it is bringing a smile to my face – wrapped! 😀
That poor sexy black duo you got the other week is going to be neglected now 🙁
Not neglected, just admired under the glow from a new machine’s LED. 😀
Welcome to the Duo-R Club! While all Duos are nice looking, the Duo-R was the first PC Engine I ever laid my eyes on. Love at first sight? Of course.
Speaking of PCE, I see you’ve picked up one of those YAWARA!-games. I’ve been curious about them ever since I watched what I could find of the anime (and it’s pretty great too. Good animation and detail for a TV-series). I guess it’s just a bunch of minigames or a digital comic or something but it makes me curious.
Yep, finally have myself a Duo-R! 😀 Now I just have to grab an RX, and SuperGrafx, then I’m set for my NEC console obsession – unless I end grabbing an LT too…. Na, I can’t afford that, but if someone wants an extra kidney let me know.
I haven’t actually played YAWARA yet, but my guess is it’ll be a digital comic though.
I did at least fire the Duo-R up late last night, and it works great! One happy guy here that’s for sure. 🙂
I would happily forgo every other PC Engine console for an LT!
Glad to hear that the Duo-R is working nicely, always a relief when an expensive CD based console fires up without drama.
What a delightful haul Hollo! Hopefully there will be a couple of left-overs by the time we visit, but if not I’m still loving the picture gallery 🙂
I can attest to the gob-smackingly delicious RGB output on a Duo-R – my machine cost a premium, but it works brilliantly with the after-market work and saved me the trouble of modding an expensive console (and potentially munting it).
PCE in general these days is costing a fortune. It’s a pity really…
Anyway, I am sure we can find you a few things to spend some money on when you come over Sean. 😀
Thanks for sharing your good fortune Hollo, am very much looking forward to having a Famicom in my house. 🙂
Unrelated but I may as well squeeze it in here, any way for us to upload a user avatar?
Keep up the good work, your website is a fantastic source of information on rare and sought after stuff!! Greets from the Black Forest / Germany
Thanks Adrian! I’m a huge fan of the pong-picture-page, so I am really honoured by your visit. 🙂
R7 drooling aside (can’t dwell on it for too long as this is my unicorn console – if that makes sense)…
Can’t believe you just casually lay down a copy of JJ for the Famicom! I’ve been hunting around for it for ages (Sean over at Famicomblog saved me – big shout out to him :)) and you simply pick it up on an afternoon shopping trip. 😀
I actually got three copies which I didn’t picture there Frank. Why three? Well, I know it can be sometimes difficult to get for the guys into 3D, so this way it will be easy for me to help out. 🙂
EDIT: Sean is a great guy. Hope he gets some time to post on his blog soon.
Can’t have too many Dreamcasts!
And speaking of which, you picked up Comic Party! I quite like the DC-edition PC version so, it’s a pretty nice game, genre and all considered :p
Yeah, it was one I didn’t have, but I think this one is factory sealed so it might not get opened depending on how I feel. It should be reasonably easy to find a loose one though at some point though.
What sort of prices are you paying for all this stuff? Great grabs Hollo 🙂
The loose R7 was the equivalent of about $55aus, and the boxed one was $90aus. Dirt cheap even by Japanese standards. The boxed one was bought as untested junk, but the loose one had initial checks done. I might give them a quick test before I have to head off this morning.
The PCE HuCards there were expensive though (more than I wanna say just in case the wife reads :D), but they were needed games so I had to grab them.
Just tested both those R7s and they both work perfectly. Japan is the only place where “untested” actually does mean untested. 😀
I’d be happy to provide further extensive testing on any of those R7 consoles! I would usually charge a fee for this service but I’d be willing to perform it for you free of charge, that’s what a nice guy I am. Just send one over and I will play the crap out of it, how can you refuse such an offer? 🙂
Thanks for the kind offer Frank. I don’t know what to say….. Really. 😀
Good lord look at all of these posts with amazing stuff you have recently purchased, I have to say I am very impressed. That Frogger machine in particular caught my eye, that was one of my favorite games as a kid. I`ve been looking for one of those Famicom Data Recorders for a while too, nice find there!
Thanks Sean! Yeah, the Data Recorder turned out to be one of the most expensive addons I have bought for the Famicom. Frank was telling me the best way is to simply hook up an MP3 player/recorder to load and save files, so this will probably be ornamental more than anything though, but still cool none the less.
Are you back to posting on your blog?
The incompatibility is because they switched the 68k on later boards. Early boards use 68k + synth chip, later boards have both in one IC. You can find plenty of normal Saturns with later boards too, but skeletons were the last production models so they all have the single IC sound block.
Outrun and Space Harrier got later revisions which worked fine in later machines. I don’t know about Metal Slug – it did have a later revision, but I’ve yet to find any real reports of the game not working on any Saturn. So it’s probably just a case of Wikipedia being full of shit. Either way, you can check the ring code of the game disc to see if its the later revision.
Could you post a picture of the back of the console, of the serial number?
A great comment, thanks Zyrobs – you seem to really know your stuff!
Next time I have it out I will get a picture of the serial. Is there some sort of significance with serials on the Skeleton Saturns?
The V-Saturn is cool but not really special, and it’s very common too. The Hi-Saturn is much more special.
Can you post a picture of the back of the machine, of the serial number?
Thanks for the comment Zyrobs. The HiSaturns definitely are harder to come by, but would you believe I found mine (complete but with no box) in the rubbish? Hopefully I will find a Navi the same way. 😀
You have a Hi-Saturn too? Nice, which model? I want a model 2 Hi-Saturn, it likely uses a motherboard type that is very rare for japanese models (likely because it used older type ASICs, so they were uncommon for anything else but soaking up unused stock).
Hey, if you have so many Saturns, can I ask you to go through them and take snaps of the serial number for each one? I’m building a database of them.
It’s a model1 Hi-Saturn, but to find it in the rubbish fully working with controller and hookups was pretty cool to say the least. 😀 I have never even seen a model2 in the wild though (rubbish or shop).
The only Saturns I still need are, a Derby Skeleton, a Hi-Saturn model2, and a Navi. Not sure how long that will take as I don’t actively hunt for Saturns these days. It’s interesting you are trying to build a database of Saturns, but could I ask why? There are soooo many Saturns out there that listing Saturns seems like a mammoth task.
I’m collecting statistics. Obviously I won’t ever list all saturns, not even all the ones still in circulation, but more samples will mean more accurate statistics. With that list, we can take guesses on how many saturns were manufactured, how many of each type were manufactured, which are the common motherboards and uncommon ones, when were each type made and where, and so on.
A lot of interesting things can turn up if you just put all serial numbers next to each other and compare them. For example, see if you can find a Saturn manufactured by Sega Logistics Service.
Very nice piece 😀 Shame they’re so heavy!! I’ve thought about importing one before, what do they weigh, 40kg?
I’m not sure how much they weigh, but I didn’t have much problem carrying it around, so I don’t think it’s overly heavy.
One thing is for sure though, it would cost a fortune to send overseas, and there would be a good chance it wouldn’t make it in – specially back home.
NZ is no problem for machines used for gambling?
Not sure. Pokies are always for sale on trademe (our “ebay”). Maybe i’ll look into it one day 😀
Maybe NZ is ok then by the sounds of it. From what I hear from the guys on AA it’s illegal to sell them back home – damn nanny state!
Looks like you can send 30kg via surface for 13,750 yen, not too rough all-round! Don’t think they allow anything over that. Had a look online, pachislo weigh around 35kg, apparently pachinko is lighter, 20-30kg. Verrrrrrrryyy interesting :DDDDDDD
One of the biggest issues would be the size restriction, as opposed to the weight restriction, but if you stripped one and sent parts it would be alright I reckon.
It really is a cool thing to have in the game room though. It’s small enough that it doesn’t take too much space, but bright and loud enough that when it’s on it demands attention. 😀
Man Nintendo had every peripheral imaginable?!?! Very sexy haul man…
Yep, if one company knows how to milk the addons it’s Nintendo. 😀
thanks hollo for your compliments 🙂 i wish i had more time to add infos on the many systems around. especially the underated und unknown systems really deserve it.
Off topic: Need some more SGUG love man, been a while since your last blog post. I’m having withdrawal symptoms. 😀
Yeah, it has been a while. I have just been sooooo damn busy it’s crazy. Won’t be long before something new goes up though. 😀
Awesome, I didn’t know power shovel had it’s own controller 😀
Cool right? 🙂
That particular controller feels really good too – not quite as good as the arcade machine of the same name, but it still ups the amount of immersion.
I love me some weird controllers! Well…maybe not using them.
That Super Robot Wars-controller looks like a poor mans Belkin/Razor Nostromo-thing:
http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.221675100
Interesting..uh, placement for the R-buttons too.
And for some reason, part of me thinks that the NegCon might work well with WipeOut… 😀
You know I haven’t actually tried Wipeout with the Negcon… The speed at which you have to control that game would mean a serious workout with the controller though – probably resulting in injury. 😀
Nice collection of controllers! I have had to stay away from the mountain of Playstation related controllers because there are too many of them and I have nowhere near enough room, so I stick strictly to weird Famicom controllers (and there are a lot of them). Still though, I love those drink cup holders on the train controller. They used to have one for the N64 at my local shop that closed a few months ago, I was always tempted to buy it but always held off because….how fun could a game that mainly involves pushing a lever up and down be?
Yep, there will be a few Famicom ones in part two – when I get the time to put write it up that is.
There is a huge following for the Train sims though I hear. Not really my thing either, but if they include the “death by Shinkansen” phenomenon it might help them to reach a broader market. 😀
Thanks for the interesting read, discovered some controllers I’d not seen/heard of before.
I too would be interested to see some Famicom controllers, looking forward to part 2.
Man the Playstation has a lot of weird hardware!
Yep, really weird gear for the PS. I decided to leave a few of the controllers for the PS out as well – programmable joysticks etc.
I got a strange Megadrive one as well which should be interesting for you guys. Ugly as hell too. 😀
As far as I know, ASCII grip is for playing RPGs single handed, but I could be wrong 🙂
You may be right there Dave. Well, that will get very little use then I reckon. 😀
Wow, that Mega Drive controller is a weird one. Looks kind of ugly though, but awesome that it’s analog even if only a few games support it.
I don’t own these but would like to add them to this blog as honorary mentions:
There’s a really cool dual analog stick for the PCE, supported by Outrun and Afterburner and possibly a few others:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/fjs/528963_10151062627486351_1907464926_n.jpg
Lastly, another PCE item, no weird controller line-up would be complete without it… The Super Controller (what were they thinking!?):
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/fjs/93677880.jpg
I have never seen that analogue stick (the first one you posted) before! Doesn’t look half bad actually.
That Super Controller is legendary though. Love the picture with the Super Grafx just poking out the back of it – that controller must have been massive!!
I also have that Bandai Super Controller 2 for the Famicom. Mine isn`t new like yours, but I haven`t actually tried it out yet. It is one of those things I saw in the store, thought `YES, I MUST have this for my collection, it will be so awesome.` Then brought it home, tossed it in a box with a million other controllers I never use and completely forgot about it! Might be good though…
You should definitely do a controller round up for the Famicom too Sean. I am sure you’d have some amazing stuff to share! Also, if you do a write-up of the Super Controller 2 and find out it’s rubbish, then I can leave mine sit. 😀
Being in Japan it’s so easy to buy, then forgot about what’s in the pile though isn’t it? I move gear around, then find things I didn’t know I had, or even worse, find things I have bought two of.
Those are some awesome controllers Hollo 🙂 I have to admit my inner-otaku thinks the Sailor Moon pack-in controller on the PSone weird controller looks pretty awesome. I do wonder if I’m going to get weird looks when the inevitable trip to Japan later this year happens and I buy something silly like a Sailor Moon game 😛
No one will blink an eye trust me. I will be taking you to places where the guys are so hardcore in their Otaku-ness that they have dedicated whole sections of their stores to the most obscure stuff you will ever see!
Besides, when it gets to the REAL stuff, they have separate cash registers with curtains hung in such a way that you will never have to look the cashier in the eye. 😀
When in doubt… take the PCB 🙂
This place wasn’t open and I wasn’t in the best position to just get on their property and rip it apart. I will be taking tools next time I head down there though – just in case of course. 😀
This plays like a horror film, with picture 1 drawing you into a calm and peaceful setting and then bang, picture 2 knocks you on the head with the unexpected carnage.
Not sure if that was intentional or not, but nicely done. 🙂
It felt like a horror film too let me tell ya! 😀
Yeah, bring the tools, save that board! 😀
It might be a while before I am up that way, but maybe I can get ‘good husband’ points by suggesting that we go for another family drive… Albeit with a trailer attached to the car. 😀
I like Frank’s horror movie call – good timing since it was Friday the 13th last week 🙂 Wifey and I celebrated by watching some old school horror flicks, and Frank’s apt description made me think often first Evil Dead movie 🙂
Nice! You know I remember some arcades back in the day that resembled horror flicks. 😀
Insane. Nothing else to say!
Yep, that just about sums it up Dave. 😀
Looks like an awesome shop, I wish we had one here in Fukuoka.
About that karaoke studio controller, I actually have one of those. I did a post about it here http://famicomblog.blogspot.jp/search/label/Karaoke%20Studio
They are pretty hard to find CIB like that, mine is missing the cartridge with the songs on it so I`ve never been able to use it (not that I would be likely to know how to sing any 80s J-pop songs even if I did have it). Definitely a cool thing to have though:)
I just read up about your Karaoke thing there Sean – 100?! amazing! This one is closer to 4,000, but it does seem to be complete. Worth 4k though? Hmmm, I don’t know….. Specially when I am trying to generate cash to complete the Hucard collection. I will have to give it some thought I reckon.
Yeah, 4000 yen is probably a fair price for that, meaning that it isn`t overpriced but it isn`t a bargain you need to snap up right away before somebody else does:)
Some of my photos of shops are blurred like that too, I hate those policies against taking photos in stores. Mandarake in particular has a really nice Famicom section that I can`t take photos of because it is right in front of the cashier.
BTW, is that a vintage Return of the Jedi Y-Wing in the background of that photo of Yoda? I`m always on the lookout for old school Star Wars stuff but pretty much every shop here is just loaded with crap from the 90s-00s.
Yep, pretty sure that one is an original judging by the price on it. This place does have a few original StarWars bits and pieces, but the majority is of the 90s variety.
So very, very awesome Hollo 🙂 My inner nerd screams with jealousy and excitement at the same time 🙂 Great work in sneaking those pics, it’s always appreciated by Western otaku 🙂
Not long before you’re over here Sean, so you better start filling up that credit card. 😉
This is one of the things that I love about living in Japan – finding random, surprises like this everywhere you go:)
Let me guess: if the wife wasn`t with you, you would have tried to cram that into your car or strap it to the roof. I know that is how it would have gone down with me:)
If the wife wasn’t with me I would have definitely tried to at least contact the person who owned the property the machine was sitting on. As it was, it was quite hard to get to it without looking like a criminal.
Next time I go down that way I will be better prepared – that means without the wife if you’re wondering. 😀
Robot statues for the win!
Wish we had stores like that here, maybe we should all go into business together and open Australia’s first (huge and fairly priced) Japanese retro gaming store!
If it were me, I’d snap that Famicom Karaoke unit up immediately. You could always sell it if you decided you wanted your money back.
How much are they asking for those 2 VB consoles?
Don’t reckon stores like these would survive back home – they barely survive here unfortunately. 🙁
Yeah, I reckon I will have to head back and grab it at some stage (the Karaoke thing I mean).
Those are the two VBs I told you about the other day Frank. All around the 7,000y mark, and that’s including the loose one you can just see above the others there.
Another impressive store to make all us lads jealous, my friend would love that Mazinger robot out the front. How are the prices compared to other stores? Do we have another giant shopping spree in the works 😀
I would love that Mazinger too! Pretty sure the wife wouldn’t though. 😀
The prices aren’t too bad on some things, but pretty expensive on others. I have bought a few things in the past, but nothing like the extreme buys that I get from other places.
This is just one of those places that entertains by letting you walk around and look at all the cool stuff.
Where is this? I wanna go!
Sunny Ishikawa – using the word ‘sunny’ loosely of course. 😀
Hey home slices!
Do you know where I could find a replacement controller for the playdia?
I obviously know the option of just buying another system but would rather not go that route….. Is it possible to use any other remote or universal remote with this?
Not sure what other controllers would work with this, but you’d be hard pressed to find something I reckon. Buying an actual Playdia controller separately would be damn near impossible too. Finding yourself a whole new complete unit might be the only way unfortunately. 🙁
Nice write-up!
I’m not really into the handhelds, but these older ones do have a certain charm due to their ‘mechanical’ nature.
Interesting bit of history, and interesting to see some early concepts of video games.
Thanks Frank. 🙂
There is something cool about the mechanical handhelds. I’m not overly into the handhelds either, so these will probably be sold on. It’s just cool getting to see them up close and have a few games.
Those are pretty awesome Steve, thanks for all the fancy photos 🙂
BTW, great to see you blogging again! Not that I can say much, I keep on taking big breaks between posts at the moment!!!
It’s not easy to find the time to post, but it’s good to get at least something up. I really want to post about the PCE collection soon though. 😉
I like it!
Funny you should mention it, as I came across one very similar to this only it was FDS styled. It had a yellow background with the FDS symbol in the middle. It was about the same price but I never picked it up, kind of wishing I had now. Might see if it’s still available lol.
After trying to research a bit about this one, I found that there is a whole set of them. Some of them look pretty cool. Still, I had to move this one on to fund more PCE! 😀
Lols at PCE 🙂 Nice little curio though!
My man your website is GREAT!!! Keep it up and it’s up there with the big ones on my fav. list.
Now I feel pathetic with my 3 boxes of games and my 14 systems lol
More posts please 🙂
Sorry for the delay in responding to your comment Wess. Thanks for the kind words! It’s definitely a good room to spend a few hours in. 😀
Interested in information an maybe buying
Oh man, sounds like good times!
You’re right tho’, I thought you’d end up grabbing more systems and what not, but hopefully that will change when you do that other trip : )
Did you spot anything else special or interesting that you did not end up buying? Like, old computers or LD players or anything like that? 😀
Yep, I had budgeted for an LT and a Duo-RX if I had seen them, but there wasn’t anything even remotely close to that. 🙁
All up there wasn’t much around at all. I always look out for the Pioneer LD (the one that can house a PCE), but nothing. No interesting old computers either.
I think my next road trip I am not only stopping in the Hard-Offs, I am going to stop in dedicated gaming shops like Chameleon Club too – unfortunately these shops often mean higher prices, but at least I will be more likely to find the gear I am chasing.
Awesome road trip diary Steve! Will have to keep an eye out for the -Off chains when I go shopping 🙂
You definitely should Sean! Some can be a real problem to find though, so definitely research them before going when you have a chance.
Awesome!
These road trip style blogs are my favourite, pity that the store owners are reluctant to let you take photos inside the store though – I drool all over my keyboard when I see the insides of these places!
Would have liked to have seen some more PCE haulage though, lift your game Hollo! 😀
If you think reading about them is fun, you should try living it! 😀
Yep, it’s a pity they don’t like people taking photos inside. I probably could have gotten away with a few, but seeing as these places were new to me, I wanted to spend the limited time I had buying rather than snapping off pics.
I had cash ready for big PCE purchases, but it wasn’t to be….. So sad really, but these things happen. 🙁
Hi, own a spitball sparky game and am looking at selling it. It is in the original box with instructions and stickers, just wondering what my best options are cheers
I sell gear on the forums from time to time, and I’ve never had any trouble. I avoid Ebay like the plague, but retro G&W can do very well there I hear.
Great photo blog here Hollo – I remember when this first came out, made for exciting times. I personally loved how this unusual philosophy floated through to the PS3 which had Linux out of the box until they irritatingly scrapped the feature due to console hacking (which ironically incensed the hacking community to arguably make the tools publicly available).
I look forward to a future where Linux and homebrew is actually integrated into consoles as a progressive move to add value to the platform. This is particularly interesting to keep in mind considering the next gen Playstation console is apparently moving away from proprietary CPU architectures to x86-based hardware to ease the development process, which would naturally lend itself to Linux 🙂
I bet Sony regrets that PS3 Linux back-pedal enormously now. It was only then that the hackers really decided to give it a good go. I wonder if Sony may have learned something from that? Na, I doubt it. 😀
I think the closest we have on the horizon that fits the homebrew philosophy is the Ouya, but it’s too early to tell how that’s going to turn out.
Interesting regarding the PS4 (if that’s what it will be called) architecture. Not a very ‘Sony’ thing to do!
Wow, that’s something different!
I think I prefer the analogue version, looks like a lot of thought and care went into its design/creation.
I like this statement – “It really does reflect a time in which manufacturing on a mass scale was done differently.”
^ So true, a lot more pride in workmanship back then.
Yep, something a bit different is always a good thing in my opinion. 😀
I don’t mind the analogue version either. I will have to learn to play at some point – if time allows that is. The 83 digital version is quite amazing considering the time it came out though. Very different to anything LCD of the same era from Nintendo.
Apologies for the belated response mate, arrived safe and sound from the trip yesterday and have only jumped onto my RSS feeds tonight!
Let me know if you learn how to play mahjong, I’ve also got no idea!
Great post BTW – haven’t seen either of these before and they do look very awesome.
So how was the trip Sean? You don’t even have to answer mate – it must have been great. 😀
Hi!
Just wondering if i can ask you a question about the mechanical score keepers:
What are the numbers of each reels (like 0 to 10) ? Because i can’t find anywhere
a scan of the manual.
Thanks! 🙂
Sorry for the delay there Sly DC – I completely forgot.
The far left and far right wheels read (when scrolling down) 0, 15, 30, 40, D, A.
The two inside wheels read (again when scrolling down) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi Hollo,
This is very helpful, thank you very, very much! 🙂
Now i have all the informations i needed to do a Epoch Electrotennis simulator.
Do you by any chance own or know someone who has a Bandai TV-Jack 2500 ? I have the schematic of this console but it is impossible to assemble it since they are too many TI TTL’s (chips) that aren’t in production for more than 20 years.
Just seeing a video of this game console in action, i would die a happy man. 😉
Thanks again for the Epoch Electrotennis infos! 🙂
You’re very welcome SlyDC. 🙂
Very cool you’re making a simulator! As the bats can move in and out (as well as up and down) via the knobs, I think people would love playing this one.
I don’t have a TV-Jack yet. I passed on one a few months ago, and haven’t seen many pop up since then. It’s not something that I am hunting for actively though.
Hi again Hollo,
The simulator is almost done (thanks to you!), but seems i have encountered a small problem: The “A” and the “D” letter. I know they are for “Ad IN or Ad OUT” and “Deuce” (tie) but since there is no drawn boundaries (like a real Tennis court), how do we judge when a player makes a mistake in this video game ?
It’s simply x2 rectangle bats, a ball and a net. Does the manual says or states anything regarding Ad or Deuce ?
That’s the only thing it’s bugging me to finish the simulator. All the rest is already coded and ready to go (with even both original sounds).
Thanks in advanced for any infos! 🙂
I’m also interested, I’ve emailed you. Thanks 🙂
I really appreciate the interest guys. You wouldn’t believe the amount of mail I get about this N64 – they really are sort after by the looks.
Unfortunately though, it’s not up for grabs at the moment.
Hi SlyDC, it seems I can’t directly reply to your post there for some reason, so I hope you still get this…
Anyway, it’s judged purely on if a player misses the ball or not. If a player misses the ball then the other player gets the advantage points wise.
Looking forward to seeing the final sim!
Hi Hollo,
Sorry for the delay to reply, been quite busy.
Humm…ok then, i will leave out the “A” and the “D” out (for now) since it will be the first released version. I’ll wait to see if there is some bugs/glitches or if people have suggestion(s) to make an update.
BTW, can you e-mail me because i have something to discuss that i don’t want to share it in public (secret…wink!) 😉
Thanks ann keep in touch! 🙂
P.S.: The simulator (1st version) is done at 99%!! =)
— Sly DC —
Hi again Hollo,
I received an e-mail from you but when i try to send a reply, it always come back as a MAILER-DAEMON. Do you have another valid e-mail adress so i can send you a copy of the Epoch Electrotennis simulator ?
Thanks! 🙂
— Sly DC —
Hi again Hollo,
Seems that i can’t send any reply or files at your e-mail address you’ve given me. Here what i received as a reply (MAILER-DAEMON):
Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com.
I’m afraid I wasn’t able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I’ve given up. Sorry it didn’t work out.
Do you have another e-mail address ?
I collect handhelds and have this particular game too. I agree it is stellar fun to play. Kinda like a shoot-em-up pacman. Its also not too hard to get through the first few levels unlike many other handhelds so it becomes an instant favourite with those who play it for the first time.
FYI it was released in 1982 🙂
Thanks for the info. regarding the release date. 🙂 Yep, one of the classic Tomy handhelds in my opinion.
Since several months have now passed….what was the fate of the cab? Did you manage to get back up there?
Hey Xevious,
Unfortunately no… I haven’t found the time to do anything that I would call fun recently – real life has had a pretty harsh hold on me of late. As it’s winter here now, anything that might have been left of it would probably be pretty much trashed too. 🙁
WOOOOW lucky b****** !^^ I’m trying to find it for several years. If you sell it someday, please put it on internaitonal eBay (i live in France)!
(FYI, i’m ready to pay some hundred $ for it).
Yeah, it doesn’t get luckier than this. 😀
Thanks for the interest Aurélien.
Hello Hollo,
I am willing to pay what you’d like for this item. I’d only be interested in a complete one anyways. I’ll pay fair for sure if you ever decide to sell it you have my e-mail.
That’s some nice depth of field in that last shot – is that the magic 50mm lens we’ve chatting about at work there?
Hey Sean,
Nup, these shots were taken with an old fixed lens Fujifilm camera I have (9100) – mainly because it has a macro mode. One day I will get a good Macro for the DLSR, but that won’t be for a while (damn expensive). 🙁
I will upload a few of the latest pics with the 50, then send you a link.
EDIT: Rather than send you a link, I just sent them directly to your email. 🙂
All I can say is, you absolute lucky bastard!
I prefer to think of it as skill…. Who am I kidding, it’s pure luck! 😀
As always Hollo, love your work 🙂 Such a shame that the old retro stores are closing down, but in the grand scheme of things I can live vicariously through your retro hunting which makes me happy 🙂
Do you happen to stumble across much in the way of anime LDs in your travels? Couldn’t find much when we were over there late last year and was wondering if they were out in the wild these days. Not that it mattered because I brought back enough crap as it is when we went (which would have been significantly worse if we managed to sneak over your way to catch up!!). That last bit’s a scary though actually 😉
It really is a pity that the places are starting to dry up, but it was bound to happen I guess – not like they’re making this stuff anymore. You would have needed another suitcase if you came over my way believe me. 😉
I know a place that has a heap of LDs falling into the Anime genre. Is there much of a market for them though? I’m not into them myself, but I’d happily grab them for others that might want them. The only LDs I’ve grabbed have been game related – either NeoGeo or Capcom etc.
Do stores like Hard Off/ similar have some LDs lying around? I want to remember seeing a few in some youtube videos. I guess the net/auction sites is the best bet otherwise.
I’m too wondering about the market.
Honestly not sure there is one. I mean, yeah, I’ve seen some members on forums & communities that are interested. But on youtube, it’s mostly game related LDs that people show off. At least on the channels I’m watching 🙂
I’m wondering if simply most people do not know this format even exists, or forgot about it. Thinking anime & gaming fans alike should be all over them for the coolness factor and “premium feel” alone…
Yep, most places have LDs, but not that many have the anime related ones. I do know of one place that has a heap for about 300yen a piece though.
I don’t think they sell all that well actually. Most (if not all) classic anime has been converted to DVD or BR these days.
Next time I head out I’ll just grab some to show you guys. At the very least they’ll look good on my wall if no one wants them. 😀
Haha, sounds good to me 😀
Sweet haulness!
That 5000 yen Dreamcast lot…wow. Amazing bargain right there 😀 Twinsticks and everything.
And that Duo. Duo’s are always a sight to behold, this one seems to be in very good condition no less. Almost want to take one of those PCE controllers of your hands, as I just scored a multitap but thinking about it, I probably only have about 2 games that support it anyhow :S
How much did those Neo Geo pockets set you back? I forgot me and a friend was interested in those and stopped looking for them, so this was a reminder~!
All in all, a varied and impressive haul. Keep buying that good stuff 🙂
Bomberman on the PCE is really great for multitap action! Well worth having a few controllers around for.
The NGPs cost me about 700-1100yen for the ‘color’ versions, and 500-800yen for the ‘B&W’ versions. I usually sell them on (the colors I don’t have) for about $15 on average – helps me get the petrol money to head out again. 😀
wow, the analog set is amazing, how much is that worth??
I have no idea of the current market value Gumir. I got this one from a place not renowned for selling video games, which means Nintendo gear isn’t priced any differently to anything else.
A while back, I did see Nintendo sets sell on the auctions from 5,000-10,000yen though, but they didn’t have the paper cards and inserts like this one – also this was long before the international market started buying Nintendo gear like mad.
If you (or anyone else) sees one pop up for sale, I’d be really interested to know what they go for these days. I’m not keen to sell this one just yet, but if they sell for a fortune then I might consider it to fund a few PCE titles I’m after.
Great post! Where abouts in Japan in this store?
This place is in Ishikawa, but it sure looks different to those pics now though….. Since this post the place has pretty much closed down it’s retro section and concentrated into card games and more modern consoles. Having said that though, it’s still possible to grab the occasional disk or cart, but the good ol’ days are long gone. Sad times indeed…
That’s a shame.. I’m heading back to Tokyo and Kyoto in April and keen to hunt around for some old consoles. I’ll definitely be going back to Akihabara but if there’s anywhere else I should check out please let me know 😀
I went to Osaka a few months ago and didn’t find much at all – for good prices anyway. The same goes for most of the big cities…. This doesn’t mean you won’t find anything, but you may just have to pay a little more than I would here. Definitely try and get out to the smaller towns on the fringes and enjoy the hunt. 😀
Cheers 🙂 I cant wait!
Well that was quick 😛
That rental Tenchi Muyo gold LD would make for a great wall piece 🙂
Good gets all around. I’ll be honest and say that while I haven’t seen all of them, I do know OF them.
What price were these?
Thanks Ji-L87. Yep, I had a free lunch so I went out and grabbed some. 😀
They were from 300yen to 500yen each – the Starwars LP was a bit more though. I just grabbed the ones that caught my attention.
There were boxed sets with 2 or 3 LDs that looked cool too, but they were a bit more pricey at a bit over 1,000yen, thus I didn’t buy any.
Would you consider the ones I bought cheap, or is that about average?
Those are very nice prices 🙂 Rakuten sometimes have LDs for that kind of price but then you need to add EMS shipping to that (only kind they offer) and then the price goes way up.
Limited editions box sets and the like are much more expensive, of course 😛
Cool, good to know that I didn’t pay too much for them. 😀
Yeah, EMS can be costly, but surface shipping is the way to go – with pretty tough gear like these specially. I didn’t realise how heavy these were until getting a few together though.
Anyway, if I can help out with your pile of LDs let me know Ji.
KHFKUDHFEH3476y3t7y47y8jy8T*O&^H%O5!
So. Awesome. Srsly.
Are you grabbing these from Yahoo auctions or out in the wild?
Given the weight of them, it’s probably a good thing I stumble across them when we were over there 🙂
Now I have to go and buy an LD player for the nerd room. Damn! XD
I would recommend picking up a “cheap” Pioneer industrial player. If not for main, then as a reliable backup 🙂
This was my first player:
http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laserdisc_archive/pioneer/pioneer_cld-v2800/pioneer_cld-v2800.htm
And it still gets most use, since the better unit I bought to replace it, developed some issues on it’s way here :/
Higher end home units might have more features, less noisy video output, better built in DACs etc but these will most likely outlive them 😛
… and I just realised that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all of those posted. I’m so tragic 😛
… and those Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon LDs are so awesome XD As are the Macross 7 ones… and the Tenchi ones… argh, too much awesome AIC animation!
These are all from the wild Sean. I know a place that has a heap of LDs for pretty cheap – like I’ve said many times, it’s a real pity you didn’t make it over my way. 😀
I have to say I’m happy you know of all the disks I have there. I bought completely on cover art alone, so it was chance that I got some worth grabbing.
EDIT – If you also are keen on some, let me know Sean. I don’t know what I am looking for, but they are cheap enough to take the risk on buying them.
Fantastic hauls there! I particularly like the CIB Game and Watch and that Slot Racer set.
I am in the same boat in terms of not being able to get out there on the hunt anymore, it has been at least 6 months since the last time I was able to do some good rummaging around. Hope you get to make the rounds a bit more often from now!!
@Ji-L87: That is an amazing site with all sorts of info!!! I’ll keep it in mind as a reference site when I start seriously looking into grabbing a player mate, thanks again for posting the link! I was looking at grabbing a Pioneer model as they have a stirling reputation from what research I’ve done to date, so it’s always good to hear feedback confirming this. I’m not fussed on DD audio output, but I’d like to snap one up with some good filters and s-video output. I’m a bit scared how much I might potentially sink onto a unit though!!
@Hollo: Wow, so awesome that these are out in the wild! I would have gone crazy if we managed to catch up, though I’m a little scared of what the volume of stuff would have been if we went on a shopping spree!!!! I may well hold you to that offer to grab some anime LDs as well!
Amazing haul as always Hollo! That boxed GCN in particular looks stunning!!
Are there a slew of Book Markets around the traps? I visited plenty of Book Offs, but outside of that I didn’t find too many other franchises (though I dropped into a Geo at Nara if that counts :P).
Yep, I was pretty lucky to score that GC. The only problem is it’s missing the booklet that is meant to come with it. Still, it was damn cheap, so I can’t complain.
BookMarkets aren’t as common as many other book related chains, but there are a few near me. They usually don’t have a heap of retro gear, and even though I’d been past this one many times, this was the first time I went in (looking for game related Manga) – damn happy I did!
Geo used to be amazing a few years back Sean, then they got rid of all retro stuff. I missed all the sales too damn it. Many places are closing down the retro gear sections these days….
Hey can i buy your DDG Controller?
Please contact me on FB -> http://www.facebook.com/RyanFreeman1996
Which one/ones are you interested in? I still haven’t bought games for the PS version or the N64 version, so I might let them go.
I really want it so much from a long time (3-4 Years ago) :/
Can you tell us how you connected it to the TV an what channel will the gameplay show up on ?
thanks
Hi Videogamearcade, I connected using a standard RF switch, and it works on channel 1 or 2 (can’t remember which off hand) like most of the Nintendo early machines. I have heard that people using PAL based TVs may have difficulty tuning in Japanese consoles via RF though, so maybe you’re having some trouble? If you are, make a post about and I will try to help out more.
Please, can you put the address on google maps?
Thankyou.
I’d kill to get my dirty hands on this one! How/where id you get it? I love SML, as this was my very first GB game back in a day. Besides, I just love Nintendo art style direction of the day.
What shop do you go to???
Congrats on a purchase.
Hi GameScanner,
Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Yeah, this was a pretty good find – they are pretty rare it seems, as I had someone mail me directly a while back asking about it.
This one was found in a used shop that unfortunately stayed open for only about 6 months before going bankrupt. I have a regular run of shops that I try to get to at least once every two weeks, but the main places are HardOff/HobbyOff/CompOff, Mandai, ChameleonClub, and some little one off used places.
The art style of Nintendo back then was really cool – I totally agree! 🙂
Speechless man I am, now!
This is an outstanding collection. I’d love to get some of those boxes scanned!
Congrats man on this beautiful set of dirt! 🙂
Thanks GameScanner, I prefer to think of it as a hoard more than a collection these days though – it’s really gotten out of hand since these pictures were taken.
Box art scans isn’t a bad idea actually. I wouldn’t want to flatten the boxes out on some of them, but high-res pictures might be worth a go.
Awesome grabs, and glad to see you’re still alive 😀
Hey Dave! Yeah thanks mate, it was a pretty good run for sure. 😀
Trying…to see…if any Fire Emblem games…are in your hoard lol
Pretty sure I have the FC, and SFC versions. 😉
Ok quick, I just need you to send at least all of them along with a FC and SFC to this address: 10101010, pleasesend–um…yo-you are taking my request seriously right?!? xD
Of course I am taking your request seriously!
I have already sent 170 of each cart in a seriously well packed package. Doesn’t get much more serious than that. 😀
That’s a nice everything you have there 🙂
Digging the Net Yarouze – so sexy in black. One day…one day! 😀
Yep, it wasn’t a bad haul. 😀
I am actually thinking of selling the Net Yaroze on though… I don’t really have the skills to maintain the laser mech properly. I got it really cheap (about 6,500yen), so I doubt I’ll lose money on it, but it will be a bit sad to see it leave.
Amazing selection of goodies as always mate… I shudder to think of the amount of crap I’d have dragged home if we caught up while we were over last year XD
If we become secret millionaires or something, we’ll come back to Japan and get to your side of the country for some nerd shopping 🙂
Yep, you definitely would have had to buy an extra case Sean. Pick the right day, and you would have needed a container to get everything back. 😀
lol, as it was we ended up buying a third suitcase while we were over there 🙂 I have a feeling we’d have had to hit the post office to fire stuff across via surface mail 🙂
If I was here on a visit that’s definitely what I’d do. I’d get a box maximum allowed surface size and load the sucker up! 😀
That Gamecube is probably the nicest one I have seen. The Orange is my favourite.
Great to see that people can find these “in the wild” – your find is outstanding! Congrats! I made a N64 rarity guide on Youtube with this included
Hi Lithium, thanks for the comment. 🙂
I took a look at your video, and that’s one amazing collection you have yourself there! Love the way you have everything set up.
I was extremely lucky to find this how I did. I’m still blown away in all honesty. Doubt very much I’ll be this lucky again, but one thing about Japan is you never know.
Weird I only had a few handhelds as a kid and those were two that I had (US versions) the others were Mattel football II and a pacman clone
Have to say, sounds pretty awesome Steve 🙂 Certainly sounds a bit more advanced compared to the VR game I played back in ’92 or ’93 at the Adelaide Show where you tried to shoot a dragon in a 1-on-1 FPS style game 🙂
Yeah, it was the early 90s where the idea really took full steam, but it took this long for the tech to catch up!
It really has to be tried to understand the possible implications/applications of this thing. Being the cynical and skeptical bastard I am, I wasn’t convinced by all the glowing reports, but took the plunge anyway – pretty happy I did!
On the demo front (for those interested)….
A new roller coaster was released a few days ago called ‘Parrot Coaster’. It’s not the prettiest, but the way your brain tricks you into feeling gravity is insane!
First Law – Very fun little space shooter that people get completely lost in!
Ocean Rift is another fun one in which you are underwater walking around – quite surreal.
I connect my Kuzushi with a US NES rf adapter . The picture is very wasted up almost unplayable . I guess the unit sends weak signal to my display . I used an old tube tv and a HDTV with same result.
That sounds like what it looks like when you choose the wrong channel (either 1 or 2). If I choose 1 when it should be 2 (or visa versa), I can see the game running, but it’s completely “snowed” out and pretty much unusable.
It could be that the unit is sending a weak signal though, but I’ve never had any RF Nintendo machine (TV Game 6, 15, Kuzushi, Famicom etc.). You gave the connections a clean with Isopropyl?
Just edited the original post with the news of Oculus winning best hardware of E3! Really happy for the company, but even more happy for the great content that will be coming out for the thing. 🙂
Man, that is really awesome! Once I start making decent money I’m gonna visit Japan and check those stores out. 🙂
Actually, for the Densha de Go controllers, it’s not a cup holder. It’s a clock holder.
Thanks for commenting Wilmer. That definitely makes more sense now that I think of it. I am pretty sure having drinks on the control panel isn’t something JR would want. 😀
I was in Japan the other week and found that many of the cool retro shops had closed since I last visited in 2005. Such a shame as the stores there were so well stocked. Akiba still has shops, but you just have to wander around a bit more since all the anime stores and maid cafes have taken over.
Yep, they’re closing up pretty quickly. In just the past year I’ve seen three places that I used to go to all the time shut the doors. 🙁
Wow, so much stuff you already got there. I’m in a pinch, since I have to reduce stuff drastically to gain more family space. But I still love me to haul in HardOffs and recycle shops etc.
Where are you located?
Greets
Tatsu
Hi there Tatsu. 🙂
Space isn’t easy to come by for sure, but luckily I’m living in more of a rural area (Ishikawa) – meaning I have a pretty big house with one whole room dedicated to gaming goodness.
Where are you living? Been here long?
Hi! 😀
I discovered your website last year through your Epoch Electrotennis post and have been reading here ever since, but it seems like you haven’t had the time to update in a while – too bad, I really love the content and pictures!
This is my first time commenting – just wanted to add the little piece of information that the Ascii Grip-Controller was intended for the Derby Stallion games. They came with tons of horseracing-related paperwork that I have no clue how to use, but apparently you were supposed to control the game with one hand while writing down stuff with the other.
I don’t have the SFC controller, but I own a brand-new one for the Sega Saturn and it has tons of paperstuff and tiny stickers inside the box to highlight your winnings.
Anyways, hope we can see you post some new entries someday 🙂
Cheers from Vancouver/Canada,
J.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you Ave. Yep, time hasn’t been on my side recently… 🙁 I did manage to make a quick post today though.
I didn’t know the ASCII was aimed at Derby Stallion games. Very cool!
Awesome write-up Hollo, was really cool to see those images as well!! An absolute stunner of a find!!!
Yep, defintiely don’t see these around. I wish I knew more about them actually – how many were made etc. There just isn’t much info on them.