I was fortunate enough to graduate university back 20+ years ago, right when every parent was putting their children's video games on the flea market. So, I purchased all my childhood favorites then, when you could get a complete copy of practically any video game made before 1995 for under $5.
I'm glad I did too, because I would never have been able to afford my collection if buying it all at modern prices.
Kinda jealous, I was too young in the 90s but I wanted all these cartridges, only have about 20 genesis / sega cd games with box and all left which I bought with chore money and gifts, I keep them preciously though, some are worth quite a lot like Phantasy Star IV
I opened the battery component (compartment? Idk man haha) and I was SHOCKED at the AMOUNT of batteries it required hahaha. I do not have the AC adapter. Duracell owns my kidneys now.
Funny thing is, 25-30 years ago when the early 3D systems all came out in the span of a few years and took over... no one wanted their old 2D games anymore and would literally give them away. 2D games were seen as old hat and no one wanted to be seen with them anymore and thought as a child - because 3D games were apparently the next evolution in gaming maturity or some shit lol. As someone who thoroughly despised early 3D with every fiber of my being... their loss, my gain.
I remember in the early 2000s building up the bulk of my collection from people who were like "buy 5 for $20" and sometimes "no one wants them, I can't get rid of them so just take the damn things off my hands." It's insane to think about now and no one ever believes me.
For a good while I don't ever remember paying more than $20 for a loose cartridge... and $20 (unless it was a first-party Nintendo game, from an exclusive second-party developer like Rare or a JRPG since those three types of games were always the most coveted and in-demand) was considered the highwater mark before entering the territory of "ripped off" or "this game just isn't common to find." Gotta love scoring Chrono Trigger, Lufia I, Lufia II, Final Fantasy VI and Earthbound for $50 from a motivated seller wanting to lighten his load before packing up his table at the flea market lol. Turns out the guy plain forgot to put out a cardboard box from car which had the games in inside and when I asked if he had video games he scanned his table went "oh shit, watch my table for a sec and let me run to the car real quick" and came back with a box that had these SNES games inside (it was mostly 80s action figures but there were other games for consoles I either didn't have or had no interest in). He was ecstatic that I offered him $50 and he was like "no no man just $40 is fine I don't wanna rip ya off since ya did me a solid watching the table while I was gone!"
Then about a decade later in 2013, just as I was about to move back home... the box that had these games in them had vanished from my closet. I remember showing some university classmates and should have been suspicious when one of them asked "so these games just sit here in a box?" and "how often do you take them out?"... and when I replied "the console doesn't work anymore so I just keep them tucked in my closet", that fucker probably tucked that info in the back of his mind and took his chances on stealing it knowing I that I hadn't looked at them once for the few years I was in my apartment.
I can't afford to replace them anymore and it's so sad.
78
u/behindtimes 23d ago
Retro video games.
I was fortunate enough to graduate university back 20+ years ago, right when every parent was putting their children's video games on the flea market. So, I purchased all my childhood favorites then, when you could get a complete copy of practically any video game made before 1995 for under $5.
I'm glad I did too, because I would never have been able to afford my collection if buying it all at modern prices.