From the mind of Lord Publius: Game collecting misadventures in 2024

If you're reading this, then Congratulations. Something resembling Civilization has survived another year. I know, I'm surprised too. Thank God that Trump won.

And now that I've chased off the weirdos and degenerates, let us continue with the gaming goodness. 😜

This post is going to do something different this year. Instead of links to relevant info on the game being directly under the pictures, I'm going to put them all at the end. That way, the post looks a little bit cleaner than it would otherwise.

2024 was quite different from 2023. Whereas last year was 'quantity over quality', this year was both quantity AND quantity. Also, I didn't wipe out the long-tern debt that I was expecting to eliminate this year. Cost of living kept going up too much. Thank goodness that most of my game acquisitions this year were dirt cheap. Didn't start an Ebay store yet, either. However, I did put all the games that I plan to resell into my storage room. Baby steps, I guess...

Anyway...

2024 started off the same way 2023 ended: with me regularly checking on two different pawn shops near my job at an auto parts store. Managed to find some good things at those two shops in January & February. There were also a few hardware purchases that I wasn't planning on this year... and at least one that I did deliberately plan. How did the rest of the year go? Read on to find out...

Previous Years

2018

2019

5 Jan

Got a 400GB SD Card for the Switch. The card in there before is not likely to have enough room for all of my save data for much longer...

This ought to ensure that I don't run out of room for downloads and game installs anytime soon...

16 Jan

Went to one of the the pawn shops near my job during my lunch break today. Got a half dozen games for $5, including tax. The price tags on them all actually added up to $20, but I guess they were looking to just get rid of them. I'm probably the only person who goes in there to buy any of those old games.

Anyway, here's what I got...

All of these PS2 games were highly rated.
The PS3 game is considered to be kinda meh by players and critics alike.

18 Jan

Got a physical copy of Nintendo Switch Sports, purchased with an Amazon gift receipt and bonus rewards on my credit card. Actual charge to card was only $2.19, not including whatever tax may have been charged.

Stock photo used because I was too lazy to take a picture of my copy...

27 Jan

Once again visited that pawn shop that's in the same strip mall as my auto parts store. Found some good stuff too. Namely 2 different PS2 titles and a Wii game that I decided to gamble on since it was so cheap. The gamble paid off because the title is actually quite highly rated by players. The Metacritic score was good too, but I don't care about the critics. Certainly not after all the lies that were exposed by GamerGate. With regard to game reviews, only the opinions of other players matter to me.

Anyway, I did some research to see what these games were going for online shortly after buying them. As of this date, 27 Jan 2024, these 3 games were worth $27.56 combined. I paid $13.10 for them. That would be a profit of $14.46, if I decided to sell them all for what they're worth. That would be a profit of just over 110%. Not bad for an acquisition made during my lunch break to stave off boredom after finishing my sandwich...

Lots of classic gaming goodness for only $13.10. Not bad... 😊👍

Coincidentally enough, I got the first Star Wars: Battelfront game from this same pawn shop only a few weeks prior. Maybe it was kismet instead of coincidence?

30 Jan

Another day, another visit to that pawn shop near my work. Found another three well-rated PS2 games, all racing titles. Paid $12 even for them with my Veterans discount. Online value for them as of today, 30 Jan 2024, is $22.58. If resold today, they would make a profit of $10.58. That's just over 88% in profit. Not too bad. Now, the question is, will I resell them anytime soon? Doubtful. I like racing games.

I do love racing games...

2 Feb

Raided the pawn shops near work AGAIN. Got 2 titles for PS2 and 1 for Wii. The Wii game is considered marginal by both players and critics alike. The PS2 games are a different story. One is considered to be good, the other is only okay. I should have known I was scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

The supply from these local shops has been picked clean by yours truly and some other gamer the shop employees told me about today. That guy also bought the copy of Wizards and Warriors for NES that I mentioned to them was overpriced. They lowered the price and then it sold to the other guy. I don't care because I already have 2 copies of that game. 😜

Either way, I should give those two shops at least a few weeks to replenish their supplies.

I need new spots to fish for games...

12 Feb

Raided the pawn shop several doors down from work AGAIN. Got 2 titles, 1 for PS2 and 1 for PS3. Noticing a repeating pattern here? Why did I go there again, despite wanting to give them time to replenish their supplies? Because I still had at least a half hour on my lunch break and was bored.

The PS3 game was something that I already had in my collection, as I suspected. However, this copy is the version that was included as a pack-in title with a PS3 system at one time. That's why it says 'not for resale' on the box and the disc. Also came with manuals in both English and French. How nice of Sony to do that for me. Now I can sell it to someone in the Acadiana Parishes (i.e. Cajun Country). 😜

And no, I will not consider re-selling it on Ebay to a global audience. I want to stay in the U.S. for my retail operation there. No way I'm going to deal with international shipping, taxes and exchange rates over an old game that I got from a pawn shop for 2 bucks. The game was also made for a North American version of the PS3. So, it's not going to be compatible on PS3 consoles in other global regions.

The PS2 game is just another arcade-style 3rd person shooter, like so many other war/action games on that system. The Metacritic score is only 58, but the player reviews are actually favorable. Should be worth the 2 bucks that I paid for that one too.

After this, I decided to actually give those pawn shops a break. I have picked them clean of everything good that they had for the systems that I own. It got to a point where I started considering the purchase of one of their PS4 units in stock just to grab some of the good titles for that system on their shelf. Spending $100 on a console just to justify maybe $50 in software purchases would be absurd. Maybe if I become a richer man in the near future? If so, I can add that to the list of systems that I plan to purchase in the next year or so: The successor to the Nintendo Switch (which probably won't be released until 2025 at the earliest), the Atari 2600+ and the Atari 400 Mini.

Anyway, I paid $4 for those two games. Their current value online as of 16 Feb 2024 is $15.32. Not a bad little score, regardless of whether I resell them or not.

Shooters and Racing games seem to be VERY popular on the PlayStation platforms...

29 Feb

Raided the pawn shop several doors down from work YET AGAIN. Noticing a repeating pattern here? 😜

Well, the pattern is slightly different this time.

Instead of PlayStation stuff, I got 2 Nintendo titles: 1 loose cartridge for N64 and 1 for Wii. Cost for both with my Veterans discount was $11.79. As of 29 Feb 2024, the value of the loose N64 cartridge is $9.72. The value of the Wii game is $22.51. That's a combined value of $32.23 if I sell on Ebay right now. Profit would be $20.44. That's a pretty decent score for someone doing the Ebay thing just for extra scratch. Looks like my decision to give the pawn shop some time to acquire new items actually bore fruit.

That Wii game can be resold without even a second thought. It's just Wii Sports. I already have several other copies of that game, including my copy that came with my Wii back in 2006. Hard to believe that it's been over 17 years since that console was released. That makes me feel a little older... 😢 I'm also quite surprised that the game is worth so much. It was the pack-in game for one of the best selling consoles ever made and later became the best-selling individual title EVER released. Not sure if it still is, but I can still say that the game is definitely not hard to find.

The N64 game I will have to try first. It's an extreme sports title that I knew was popular: 1080° Snowboarding. It has a stamp on the back saying property of Hollywood video. That little bit of extra history might make it worth more to someone. I will need to do some research. Of course, that's assuming that I don't decide to keep the game. Some sports titles can be fun, especially Wii Sports titles, extreme sports, boxing and occasionally baseball titles.

For once, I found some sports games that DON'T suck. That's uncommon...

2 Mar

FINALLY tested most of the games that I've acquired this year. All that's left is the handful of Wii and Switch games. Anyway, the PlayStation shelf in my game room is now almost completely full. I'm actually surprised that there was room. I'm also surprised that there's still room for at least a few more titles. No, I am not planning on getting more. No, that doesn't mean that I won't still end up with more. We all know how this collecting game is played. Anything can happen at any time.

Putting the PS1 games on that CD tower opened up a lot of space.
The loose discs for PlayStation consoles are kept in a binder.

5 Mar

Raided the pawn shop again. It's starting to look like I have a problem. 😜

All joking aside, the pickings today were slim. Just 3 action movies on Blu-Ray that this blog post wouldn't care about and one PS3 fighting game. I don't normally go for fighting games outside of Super Smash Bros. and Mortal Kombat, but the Tekken series does have an excellent reputation. It was $8. current value online is $12.56. Probably not worth my time trying to re-sell right now, but that wasn't my plan anyway.

Will this be the title that gets me more interested in fighting games?

15 Mar

There's a Steam sale going on at this point in time... and only 5 items on my Wishlist. 2 are still in development. I discovered that 2 were already in my collection on some other platform/collection/etc. and deleted them from the list. So, that left me with 1 indie game that cost me $3.81, including tax.

The game in question is Dusk '82. It's a prequel/de-make for the retro-themed indie first-person shooter Dusk, which I bought in 2021.

This game is like Chip's Challenge, except with a horror aesthetic and graphics calling back to 8-Bit computers of the 1980s like Commodore 64, Atari 8-Bit family and Apple II. I can't include the original IBM PC in that list because the CGA graphics it used were more pastel than the darker colors used in this game. This game also has a level editor. Quite a lot of retro-themed goodness and value for only $3.81. That cheers me up a little since the Ides of March ended up being a rough day. I'm not going to go into why. However, at least no one tried to assassinate me. 😜

This will be interesting...

12 Apr

In the last week, I got a few unexpected gems from that pawn shop near my job. Giving them a few weeks to re-supply paid some interesting dividends. Here's a pic of what I managed to acquire, complete with the price tags still on the games...

The carts will need some mild-to moderate cleaning and the XBOX discs are in surprisingly great shape. The Switch game is still sealed, but it won't stay that way.

Anyway, here's the game values as of 12 Apr 2024...

Fable - $6.68

Frogger (1998 Remake, Loose cart) - $10.72

Race Drivin' (Loose cart) - $7.36

Star Wars Clone Wars/Tetris Worlds - $5.12
Wonderful 101: Remastered - $23.87

TOTAL VALUE: $53.75

TOTAL COST: $25.00

NET PROFIT: $28.75

As of right now, I have no intention of selling these titles. However, I can live without that poorly-reviewed SNES game. I'm also disappointed that Fable wasn't worth more. That game is considered a classic. I figured a near-mint copy of it would bring in a better return. The market must have suffered because of the game being re-released on later XBOX consoles & the PC. There's also a Macintosh version, but who cares about that platform? No one buys a Mac for a games machine. 😜

13 May

Made a few more acquisitions this month, including 2 new systems from Amazon on May 5th and yet another game from that pawn shop near work. The game from the pawn shop is unusual because it was a SEGA Dreamcast title that was actually on my want list: Toy Commander. I didn't expect to find that...

The consoles from Amazon were both Atari machines: the 400 Mini and 2600+. Thanks to the 2600+, I can now play 2600 and 7800 games on a modern HDTV through HDMI instead of a 7800 plugged into a CRT. That will help make it easier to reorganize my game room. That project is coming soon, probably later this calendar year.

Atari (or the company currently using the Atari name anyway) are also making new cartridges for the 2600 and 7800 platforms too. They even work with the original consoles from the 1970s and 1980s. How nice... 😊 I will eventually get some of them, but it's not a big priority. Only 3 of them are interesting to me right now and I've spent enough money this month on EVERYTHING, not just games. I'll probably get them before the end of this year, though.

The 400 Mini affords me the opportunity to get into the Atari 8-Bit computer line, which I have been curious about for a long time. There were 2 times in the past where I could have gotten one of the XL series computers from a retro game store. (I'm pretty sure it was the 600XL both times.) However, I didn't pull the proverbial trigger over concerns that I didn't have the cash. That is no longer a problem. Now, as long as I can get the ROM file, I can play the game on some official Atari hardware. And no, I don't care if the purists out there have a problem with that idea. They know as well as I do that the original hardware and games are getting more and more expensive (and unreliable) with time. Like it or not, Emulation is going to play a key role is preserving old games for posterity.

All of this also applies to the much-maligned Atari 5200 console, which the 400 Mini will also emulate. That console was just a console-ized 400 computer. If not for its unreliable controllers, that console probably would have been at least a moderate success. While I do have a 5200 console, none of my 3 controllers for it actually work (Surprise, surprise...) and I never did get around to ordering any rebuild kits for them. I will still do that someday, but I don't mind emulating the games on another platform. I already have done that in a roundabout way with varying Atari game collections on more modern systems (Steam, Nintendo Switch, et al.)

Been a while since I added a few new systems to the collection... Unless you count that Countertop Arcade unit back in December of 2023...

17 May

Another day, another trip to the pawn shop near work during my lunch hour. This time I got a great Switch game for $24.57. Actually, it's the HD remake of an old Wii game ported to Switch. Which one? The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. I had meant to get this game on either Switch or Wii over the years, but never got around to it... until now. By random chance.

Value as of 3 June 2024 was $31.10.

So, if sold for that price, I'd have a profit of about 26.6%.

However, I do not intend to sell this one.

Pretty rare to find used Zelda games for affordable prices...

1 Jun

Raided the pawn shop again. No need to go any further. By this point, you all know the drill. They had some new stuff for PS3. I raided that stockpile for everything that was worthwhile. Cost to me with my Veterans discount was $21.84. Value of all these games on PriceCharting as of 1 Jun 2024 is $55.52. If I sold them all today for what they're worth, I'd make a profit of $33.68. Not sure if/when any of these will end up being sold. I'm probably going to hang on to Dead Space and Prince of Persia.

Pretty nice little score...

29 Jun

This time, I grabbed something for the game room from my own store, as opposed to the nearby pawn shops. It's a mechanic's seat that I'm going to use to quickly jet around the room while cleaning/re-arranging the lower shelves. The entire room is going to have to be rearranged soon. It's going to be quite a project. I'm not even sure how it's going to turn out yet. However, I can say that this is not the last piece of furniture that will be going into this room this year. Stay tuned.

Anyway, this seat was a clearance item. Regular price was $50 or so. I got it for about $15. That clearance rack can provide quite the bountiful harvest at times. 😊

And being a GM guy, I really like the idea of AC Delco-branded stuff being in my game room...

3 Jul

My usual routine of stopping in at the pawn shop near work during lunch once again bore interesting fruit. This time it was virtually flawless complete copies of 3 XBOX games and 1 random PS2 title.

For PS2, it was a 'Not For Resale' copy of ATV Offroad Fury 2. That means this disc was once a pack-in game with a console. I have a loose disc copy of this game already, acquired earlier this year on February 2nd. It's also labeled as 'Not For Resale'. My loose copy will probably end up getting resold as part of a bundle on eBay.

The XBOX games are... Well, multi-platform titles that aren't remarkable on this system, per se. However, they are fun and popular titles in general. They are Burnout Revenge, Medal of Honor Frontline and Need for Speed Underground 2.

I've had a loose disc copy of the Burnout game for years. Now, that one can be resold as part of some XBOX bundle. I have the Medal of Honor game on both PS2 and GameCube so, no reason why that one can't also be resold. I didn't have the Need For Speed game, but I do have Part 1 and two of the other entries in this series. Need For Speed is one of the VERY few franchises from EA that I bother with these days. (And then only on old consoles that haven't been supported in years...)

Anyway, they all cost me $8.00 with my Veterans discount.

VALUES OF TODAY'S HAUL:

ATV Offroad Fury 2 - $5.10

Burnout Revenge - $7.39

Medal of Honor Frontline - $6.53

Need for Speed Underground 2 - $12.85

TOTAL: $31.87

COST: $8.00

NET PROFIT: $23.87

Not a bad little score. No idea when (or if) any of these would get sold. My bet would be the Medal Of Honor game since I already have that exact same game on 2 other systems. It's also not one of those games where you keep different console ports of it just to appreciate the subtle differences. That would be various legendary classics like Doom, Wolfenstein, Quake, Mortal Kombat, the great Namco and Atari arcade classics, etc. etc. etc.

I was amazed at how flawless they all were... They were like new!

22 Jul

2 different items acquired in the last week. One is a second 3rd party HDMI cable for the original XBOX purchased during Prime Day. The other is another FPS/war game for the XBOX called Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. Yes, once again, it came from that pawn shop near my store. It's surprisingly mint condition (again), but it's not worth a lot. Only $6.40 as of today, July 22nd. However, I paid $2 for it, so selling it off today at that price would make me a 240% profit.

Will this game be really good or just another random FPS title?

13 Aug

Finally assembled that spinning media shelf/rack thing that I bought from Amazon during Prime Day last month. The reviews said it would take 1 hour to complete. It was more like a little over two. The instructions were also horrible. However, I did get it together with some help and then moved it into the game room. I used that as an excuse to give the room a much needed redesign.

First, I boxed up all the games that I intend to resell on Ebay someday. That alone took 4-5 hours split up between 2 days. Then, I started moving things around in the game room. (Furniture, shelves, 1 of the arcade cabinets, locations of various game collections, etc.) Then, the new spinner rack was put into it's position inside a corner near the room's door. Finally, I spent the rest of that night putting games on the thing and removing/reutilizing the shelves that were suddenly emptied by this behemoth.

ALL of the SEGA, SONY & XBOX titles being kept were put on this shelf. Then, I put all the 21st Century Nintendo consoles on there too. (GameCube, Wii, WiiU & Switch) There's still plenty of room for expansion.

After finishing that Herculean task, I took all the portable Nintendo games (which occupied an entire shelf by themselves) and put them on the wooden media rack that once held most of the PlayStation games. That rack is also now up against a wall instead of the back of the love seat in that room. Pics below.

Stock photo of the spinning media rack

XBOX, GameCube and Wii on this side...

Wii, WiiU and Switch on this side...

PS1, PS2, PS3 and a small box w/ PSP & PS Vita cables on this side...

PSP, PS Vita, my SEGA stuff & extra shelves on this final side...

The current configuration of that spinning rack is NOT final. I'm probably going to move the SEGA stuff to a mostly empty shelf that's not being properly utilized right now. That room's overall design will probably never be completely finished... 😜

Anyway, for those wondering what happened to the arcade cabinet that was once in that spot...

Those arcade cabinets are much more narrow than I thought...

The portable Nintendo collection in its new home...

17 Aug

Once again, I visited that pawn shop near my store, just before my shift started today. Had a nice surprise with some interesting complete-in-box titles for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. Here's the numbers on them, assuming that all the titles are in perfect shape...

Arkanoid DS $11.31

N+ $8.15

Namco Museum DS $7.99

Space Invaders Extreme $18.58

GBA

Capcom Classics Mini Mix $30.98 (This one surprised me...)

Paperboy / Rampage $20.28

Pong / Asteroids / Yars' Revenge $7.25

TOTAL VALUE: $104.54

COST: $27.00

PROFIT: $77.54

And no, I don't know if any of these will ever be re-sold. However, I'm sure the GBA games won't since the boxes are so badly smashed. Pics below.

The 3 GBA titles that I acquired today. The boxes are smashed, but everything is there...
Doubt strongly that I'll be selling these...

I can sell Namco Museum title since I already have that one. I'm keeping the others...

30 Aug

Stopped by that other pawn shop that I occasionally raid for games. Found a lone PS3 title that should be interesting, bought it for 3 bucks with my Veterans discount. Value online as of 3 Sep is $11.77.

Amazing just how cheap that everything involved with PS3 has become...
Except replacement parts and controllers... 😢

8 Oct

I don't remember the exact date, but I did find an XBOX game at that pawn shop that I have continually raided this year. It was a complete copy of James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire that I acquired for $5.

Even in my enormous collection, I only have 6 Bond titles.
This surprises me...

Also, there was an Amazon package waiting for me when I got home that afternoon...

I had recently ordered some of those reproduction Atari 7800 carts that Atari has been making for their Plus platform consoles (2600+, 7800+, et al.) and a controller extension cable.

I have been trying to get physical copies of these games for literal decades now. They were essentially unobtanium due to rarity and ridiculous prices. I'm glad that Atari is re-issuing a lot of these old games and making new titles for the 2600 & 7800 as well. (Usually ports of old arcade and computer titles.)

All that being said, using the original 7800 controllers that I have (the 'ProLine' joysticks) makes these games much more difficult to play. Those sticks were never all that comfortable to begin with (hence the reason why they were nicknamed the 'PainLine' joysticks by gamers), and these sticks are getting really stiff. The 1st party Atari 2600 joysticks (Model No. CX-10 & CX-40) had the same problem. Fortunately, there is a modern solution. Atari did make a joypad for the European version of the 7800 console back in the day. They also decided to reproduce them for the new Plus platform consoles. I did order/receive one later on in October.

12 Oct

Logged into Steam to update things. Saw that there was a sale going on and bought the PC version of the 2013 Tomb Raider remake for less than $3, including tax. Couldn't pass up that deal, even if I did already have this one on PS3. I need more variety in my PC gaming anyways.

25 Oct

Ordered that reproduction Atari 7800 joypad for the Plus consoles, the CX-78+, from Atari's website on the 20th. It arrived on the 25th. I think...

Anyway, I went with the wired one because it was $10 cheaper than the new wireless versions that are coming to the market. The wireless version also wasn't released yet.

Also, I do have that extension cable that I'd like to put to good use...

6 Nov

Got this little handheld called the Super Pocket: Atari Edition in the mail from Atari. I spent too much time with it over the next week. It has met and exceeded my expectations.

Why didn't Atari do something like this years ago?

It has 50 built-in games from the Arcades, 2600, 5200, 7800 and Lynx. You can greatly expand this with cartridges from the Evercade system, which this unit also plays. I'm personally looking forward to greatly expanding my collection of old classics in this way. It makes them all accessible, affordable and portable to boot. Hard to beat that...

Some of the titles built into this device...

Controls are responsive, but you will want to look through the game menus to figure out the different control schemes for each game. Sound is quite clear, loud enough and in stereo. The screen is more than large enough to see what's going on in each game. (2.8" with 320x240 resolution)

I foresee this unit greatly expanding my options for portable gaming in the future. The only way I can see this unit getting better is if I find a way to run emulators on it through a cart slipped into its Evercade slot. Can someone please invent this device/software package please? TIA.

18 Nov

Was off from work today and was out running some errands. Stopped at the pawn shop a few blocks away from work to use a 20% coupon that I had and got 2 nice surprises. The first surprise being another Arcade1UP Countercade, this time with Ms. Pac-Man. (As some may recall, my other one with NBA Jam also came from this same pawn shop a few blocks from my job on 1 Dec 2023.) The second surprise was something that I never expected to find for a reasonable price anywhere, let alone in a random pawn shop: A PS3 from that console's launch, complete with PS2 Backward compatibility. I'm not sure what to do with it since I have a PS2 & PS3 set up on 2 different TV sets in my game room. However, I'm sure that I'll think of something... Like maybe using it for a testing station for any random PS1, PS2 and/or PS3 games that I acquire in the future... Or in a home-built arcade cabinet...

Amazing what kind of random stuff that I just happen to run into...

Later that same afternoon, I stopped by the other pawn shop that I frequent. The one a few doors down from my auto parts store in a strip mall. They had something worth grabbing too: a PS3 copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The disc is flawless, but the tray card insert has gotten wet. I got it for less than $5. I'm sure I could sell it for at least that much. I might also bundle together all of the CoD games that I've acquired for that system. It would make a few bucks and help clear out some titles from my inventory that I'll probably never play much.

Maybe I should at least try these games before re-selling them?...

27 Nov

Finally got around to ordering one of those Evercade cartridges for my Super Pocket: Atari Edition. I got the 1st of the 2 collections of old Duke Nukem games. Being able to play Duke Nukem 3D on the go is pretty awesome. Never thought I'd be doing that when I first played the game back in (I think) 1997... 😊

Come get some!

Also on this evening, I took a picture of the new Arcade wall in my game room. All 5 machines were set up, turned on and running for this one. Why? It occurred to me that I have accomplished a dream I've had since childhood: I have my own arcade. Life is good... In this one small way...

This pic does NOT do it justice... Especially since that room is an eternal work in progress...

10 Dec

Ordered 2 Evercade cartridges for my Super Pocket: Atari Edition. The first one (Home Computer Heroes) arrived on December 4th. The Intellivision collection arrived today.

I have some of the INTV games on actual carts for the original system. Still glad to have this collection, though. Setting up that console can be a pain in the ass sometimes. I got the Home Computer collection specifically to play the games made by David Murray, the 8-Bit Guy.

In addition to making numerous videos over the years about ancient computers and game consoles, he also made a few homebrew games for them. His games 'Attack of the Petscii Robots' and 'Planet X2' are on this collection. Those 2 games were made for the Commodore Amiga and Commodore 64 respectively, which means I am now making my first forays into those platforms. I look forward to this... I never thought I'd find a cost-effective way to play C64 or Amiga games without another mini system (and they do exist) or using emulation.

Surprisingly good pic here. I was certain there would be a lot of glare that made it useless.

16 Dec

The 2 new Atari 7800 cartridges that I ordered from Atari's website on November 27th had finally arrived this morning around 0800 hours. I guess that Atari was swamped with orders this holiday season. They have had a surge in demand, especially for the new 7800+ console. I was by no means the only one who had to wait more than the usual 3-5 business days for delivery.

Still loving the fact that I can buy new cartridges from Atari for the 2600 and 7800...

22 Dec

Went to the local Big Lots store since I heard that company was going out of business. I figured they might have a few video games at greatly reduced prices. I found exactly ONE game in the whole store... And it was for the XBOX One. A game called Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved.

Despite not having that console, I bought it anyway. It was about $5.57, including tax. Current value for this still sealed game is $7.76 on the Price Charting website. So, it won't make for a good Ebay sale right now. However, it might in the years to come.

Also, I have this game on Steam. So, I know exactly what I am not playing here. I can also vouch for this game being a fantastic arcade-style top-down shooter. The games in the Geometry Wars series are always a serious trip. It's like all of the old Atari vector-based arcade games wrapped up into one and amplified by 3 orders of magnitude. Hell, the player ship even looks like the claw ship from Tempest. Not hard to see where the creators of this series got their inspiration.

Went with a stock image ripped off from the internet instead of trying to take a picture.
Being factory sealed, there's a good chance the camera flash would cause too much glare.

26 Dec

Bought a few cheap games from the Nintendo eShop for my Switch. One of them (Battlezone: Gold Edition) was bought with Gold Points that were set to expire soon. It was on sale for $3.49 and I had 360 points. Each point is worth a cent. Do the math.

Also picked up Dusk '82 for the Switch. That way, I can have a portable way of playing this excellent retro puzzler. Also picked up my 2 favorite arcade racing games of all time: Pole Position & Pole Position II. Don't know why BandaiNamco won't put them in the Namco Museum titles anymore, but it is nice to have them on my most up-to-date console.

Just slapped the logo images together in Photoshop since
there's no physical form to these acquisitions.

27 Dec

My family insisted on doing a Secret Santa thing again, since we're all spread across the country. This year, one of my sister-in-laws got me. She shipped the package late. It showed up at my house today. Got the Batman game that I put on the list provided via this weird Secret Santa app. That means that the PS3 copies I have of Arkham Asylum can be resold on Ebay, if I want. Gonna have to wait for a while since PS3 games don't really get much money right now. I wonder why...

Also included in the box was this Micro Player with the 2 Pole Position games from MyArcade. She and my brother saw it in a store and figured it would appeal to my interests. They were correct.

With these new additions over the last 2 days, I can now play some version of a Pole Position game as stand-alone titles on MyArcade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Mattel Intellivision and Nintendo Switch. Many more if we include the different Namco Museum entries with one or both of them: XBOX, N64, GameCube, GBA, PS1 & PS2.

There's also 3 different Plug-N-Play devices in my collection that have the first one. Don't know why the sequel didn't get a whole lot of love on the Plug-N-Play systems.

Anyway, there's no shortage of ways that I can play my all-time favorite racers... And also have this long-running high score rivalry with one of my younger brothers. (Not the same one that picked this new MyArcade cabinet for me while he and his wife were shopping one day.) He never beats me, but he does come VERY close.

30 Dec

If you thought the late Christmas gift was somehow the end, then you thought wrong.

So freakin' wrong that you might as well get in the front leaning rest and beat your face.

Seriously, did you not read any of the entries in this series for the previous years?

There are still various sales going on via Nintendo eShop and Steam. And, of course, the pawn shop that I routinely clean out of good stuff is open for business... 😈

Any, I got 10 games today. 4 of them are old PS3 titles from the pawn shop. They cost me $10 even with my Veterans discount. Pics below.

There are entirely too many titles in this series...

Yet another highly-praised First-Person Shooter...

The more racing games, the better...

This game has a reputation for being good.
I better not be disappointed...

The manager of the pawn shop also showed me some stuff that's going to be made available on January 10th. Most of it is stuff that I already have, but I did see a few old random cartridges that I don't have... Yet... That, and a few other things I have planned are going to start off 2025 with a bang...

The other 6 titles that I acquired tonight are all old Atari Lynx games that are on Steam. They were sold for heavily reduced prices as part of Atari's contributions to the Steam Winter Sale. Instead of posting pics for each one, I just grabbed this screenshot of the Steam web page that made me aware of the bundle's existence...

Pretty damned good deal since getting the original carts can often cost up to $100 a pop...

Is this finally the end of 2024's game collecting misadventures? Well, there is still ONE more calendar day. I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

I suspect that 2025 is going to be pretty damned good for this particular hobby...

31 Dec

Well, I didn't get any games today. Couldn't get away from work. Also, I think that I might have gotten everything I'm going to get from the sales on Steam and the eShop. (Famous last words...) However, I'm already planning some of January's game collecting misadventures as we speak. Especially since Atari actually responded to one of my questions in a generic-yet-positive way...

I'd love to see them reacquire the rights to Battlezone from Rebellion software and make more games
in that series... Not to mention a 7800 version of Tempest, their arcade Star Wars games, etc.
The possibilities are as limitless as the programmer's skills and imagination... 😊

And that's all for 2024. I won't miss this rather challenging year. I've been promoted at work. Debts are smaller... or, at least, not larger. Homeowner's insurance premiums actually went down for the first time in years. Life, in many ways, is slowly getting better. Much to the chagrin of my many vanquished enemies (especially the Democratic party), I have survived yet another trip around the sun. And we didn't even need to have a boogaloo. Thank Christ.

See you all in 2025, folks. Until then, pray for Liberty and Peace in our time and for our beloved Republic. The fact that Trump won so decisively is proof that prayer works.

- Lord Publius

Info on all games acquired this year...

ARCADE

Arcade1Up

Ms. Pac-Man 40th Anniversary

MyArcade

Pole Position Racing Player

ATARI

CONSOLES

Atari 400 Mini

Atari 2600+

Super Pocket: Atari Edition

ATARI 7800