Sunday, January 26, 2014

Random Thoughts on collecting for Atari 7800, Jaguar and other old systems

- The guy who wants to sell his Jaguar stuff to me wanted $840. That's for the Jaguar console, Jaguar CD attachment and 35 games. I don't know what all the games are. There are doubtless going to be a lot of titles that I *DON'T* want.

- I told him that was too much. He tried to lower it to a mere $800, thinking that would help. It didn't.

- I suspect he also wants full retail or whatever he paid for the stuff. Excuse me while I laugh for a few minutes...

- Anyway, that is not going to happen. I hate saying it but, most Jaguar games were crap. The only ones I want are the ones on my list. Most of those I have had before in years past. That's how I know they are good and worth owning again.

- I tried to tell him that all I really want was the few Jaguar titles on my wanted list and the console itself. He said he'd call me back. I haven't heard from him since that conversation took place 2 (or more) weeks ago. I'll probably hear from him again but, my stance is not likely to change. I'm not buying things I don't want.

- He mentioned that he didn't want to get stuck with games he didn't have a system for and I just had one word to respond to him: ebay.

- I wonder if this guy got the impression that I was trying to get the complete collection for the Jaguar. Not true. The only console where I want to get the complete library would be the Atari 7800. That console's library is relatively small and quite cheap. As an added bonus, most of the system's titles were pretty good and comprised largely of arcade ports and 1st party titles. Score!

- Also, I'm not 100% sure I will actually keep all of the 7800 games, once I have them. I may just keep the ones I like and sell/trade the others. That might be profitable since the 7800 does have a cult following among retro gamers. Not only will the system play it's own games but, it also plays the old Atari 2600 games too. That's a nice bonus and really helps keep the cost for 7800 consoles from bottoming out like the 2600 did.

- The retro market was hot for Atari games about 10 to 15 years ago but, not anymore. It bottomed out because EVERYONE hopped on the bandwagon and tried to jack up the price.

- While there are plenty of gamers who want to see what those old systems were like, most were in it just for the nostalgia. We had these games as kids and wanted them again. Now, we all have what we want (for the most part) and prices will NOT be going back up EVER. Unlike classic Nintendo and SEGA systems, the graphics on Atari consoles are too primitive to even tell what a character is much of the time. Besides the all-time classics that are constantly showing up in Atari compilations for newer systems, it's unlikely that many other 2600 titles will have an audience with newer generations. They just haven't aged well. So, anyone selling loose 2600 carts for more than a buck or two is out of their mind.

- You can probably say the same thing about many of those early 3D games from the PS1, SEGA Saturn and some N64 titles with the really low polygon counts. They haven't aged well, either. Other than certain classic shooters and RPG's, just how often do you see someone going out of their way to collect old PS1 games?

- The classic Nintendo and SEGA systems of the 8 & 16-Bit era though, had graphics and sound that were timeless... and often cartoonish. So, the NES, Super NES, Master System & Genesis will always be valuable. Atari should be able to get in on that too with the 7800 and Jaguar. Both of those consoles ended up with some really great games that have stood the test of time. The 2600 hasn't been so lucky because of the now-dated visuals and VERY primitive (yet instantly recognizable) sound. The 5200 is reviled because of its lackluster controls. That is a shame since it did have a few good titles but, stuff happens...

- Lord Publius

No comments:

Post a Comment