From the mind of Lord Publius: Game collecting misadventures in 2025

As I started 2025, I found myself wondering if this was going to be another 'quantity over quantity' year like 2023. My back catalog is a lot like government spending and inflation: it just gets larger and more monstrous all the time. I don't actually need to buy anything more... but I still will. It's like an addiction. My own personal Crack. LOL.

Also, the new Doom game, DOOM: The Dark Ages, was be released this year. I had no idea if my current computer could run that game, even with massive upgrades. So, I started mulling over the idea of building a new PC exclusively for gaming purposes. That would require me to save money instead of spending it on console games... And new consoles... And controllers... And varying accessories...

Or, so I thought. Massive discounts from Steam sales, Amazon Prime Deal days & my favorite pawn shop made it possible for me to have my cake and eat it too. 2025 has been a crazy year for game collecting, folks. It had almost everything you can imagine. Quality, quantity, old school stuff from Atari, Nintendo & SEGA. New stuff from Atari & Nintendo. Lots of cheaply acquired PlayStation games. New systems. Old systems. Arcade parts. Mad Science run amok. Human Sacrifice, Dogs and cats living together, Mass Hysteria!!!

Okay, there was no Human sacrifice... 😜

Anyway, lets get on with the show...

Previous Years

2018

1 Jan

Put all the portable games (that I didn't pull for my future Ebay store's inventory) back on that free-standing wooden media rack, just to make room for the PS3 games that I bought in December 2024... And anything else that comes along in the future.

I sure do get a LOT of mileage out of this rack that was originally bought for my VHS Tapes and DVDs back in the year 2000. LOL.

Plenty of room for expansion here too... Which will probably end up being Evercade cartridges...

All the space I made by moving the portable games OFF this media tower...

2 Jan

After spending the day doing research, I was still unsure if I should be saving for the parts to build a gaming PC or get the Steam Deck.

The current PC will continue doing EVERYTHING else for as long as it's able. With the right upgrades, I'm sure I can make that happen for about 3-5 years. Maybe even longer. I had also considered a Steam Deck early on this year. However, I had no idea if it could run the new Doom game. Even worse, the Steam Deck's compatibility for my game collection is a bit mixed... And certainly NOT good enough to justify the high price for one at this time. Maybe when more of my Steam collection gets verified by Valve software? Oy vey...

Anyway, here's how it stood with the 76 Steam games that I had on this date...

Verified: 24

Playable: 27

Unsupported: 12

Untested: 14

'Playable' in this context means that the game can work, but you will need to do some amount of configuring the settings. That kinda takes away from the 'console experience' that the Steam Deck is trying to sell to people and allows you to relive the PC gaming experience of old. And a lot of those games that are marginal or unsupported/untested would have been perfect for a handheld portable console...

I had also considered buying myself the Atari 7800+ on this day since it was on sale. I decided against it, because it had no real advantage over the Atari 2600+ that I already have. They both play 2600 & 7800 cartridges and use the same controllers/accessories. I thought that the pause button might be that one difference, but that was wrong. Turns out the Color/BW selector switch acts as a pause button on the 2600+. That random person on Facebook who told me about that feature saved me about $132. Thank you, fellow Atari enthusiast.

I did buy a new XBOX controller to use for Steam games and a new remote for the game room HDTV, but that's all. Pretty sure both were covered by the cash back rewards on my credit card. The Amazon gift card amount I had covered most of the cost for the Twilight Zone Blu-Ray box set that I bought as a birthday present to myself. They should all be arriving from Amazon within 3 days at most.

Finally, I took a few minutes to move the boxed NES, SNES & N64 games to the shelves where the loose cartridges for those systems reside. It makes a lot more room on the floating shelves that were holding all the boxed Nintendo, Atari & INTV titles. I know that Atari is making more cartridges for the 2600 & 7800 right now. I wanted to make room.

Plenty of room for expansion now... 😊

4 Jan

Got a few random things from Amazon today. One of them is an XBOX controller that I can use for PC games on Steam (which ought to be very useful) and a new remote for the HDTV in the game room. The new one is the smaller unit on the left. I have no idea why the old one died.

One thing is certain: this controller has MUCH better support than the Steam controller...
Darned shame too because I like the Steam controller for certain types of games...

11 Jan

Bought two loose Atari 2600 cartridges from that pawn shop near my job. They got an Atari 2600 with a selection of cartridges back in December. However, they had to wait a while before putting them out today.

I didn't have Mario Bros. and Moon Patrol on this system. All the other carts they had were common titles that I already own. The only one of those that was interesting was a Sears Tele-Games version of Defender. I didn't bother with it because I already have 4 copies of the Atari-made version of that game, 1 complete in box. Also, the Atari 2600 version of that game was a rather poor translation with lots of insane graphical flicker. The ports of that game on other consoles of the era (Colecovision, Intellivision, Atari 5200, Atari 8-Bit computers, et al.) were all far superior. So was the Atari 2600 version of the Defender sequel game Stargate.

Anyway, the 2 cartridges were a combined $10.98 with my Veterans discount. Value for them both online is $33.83, as of 14 Jan 2025. If resold, my profit would be $22.85. However, I don't intend to resell these anytime soon. Maybe not ever...

Yes, they both have the top labels on them too.

23 Jan

While browsing social media tonight, I found a screenshot with the specs for the new Doom game.

I checked with the developer's website and confirmed they are accurate.

Honestly, it's not as bad as I thought...

Glad they aren't forcing me to use Win11... Yet...

Now that I have a baseline for what I need, I can start pricing/purchasing things for the new gaming PC. This is going to be interesting and fun. It's been far too long since I built a ~~monster~~ gaming PC. 😈

Also found out that the game will be releasing on May 15th. That is much sooner than I had anticipated. I was expecting October for some reason. Oh well. It's not like I have to get this game on Day 1. I would just prefer to get it on Day 1...

29 Jan

Several days prior, Atari reduced the price on the 7800+ to $101.40. With the cash back rewards on my credit card and some Amazon gift cards, I scored one for only $40.91 (on my credit card) after taxes. That expense was paid off the day before the 7800+ console had been delivered to my house.

This machine is a pretty slick little device.

As previously stated, this 7800+ has no functional difference to the 2600+ for us end-users. The console does have some slightly more efficient microchips than the 2600+ does. No idea if that will ever matter, but that is what one of its developers said in a forum post on AtariAge.

I like the console. It's taken its place as one of the machines that are now permanently attached to the main HDTV in my game room. The 2600+ (for now) has been boxed and shelved. However, it won't stay there. I have plans for that machine...

9 Feb

Over the last week or so, I got this potentially crazy idea to add a larger shelf to the mobile TV cart that I bought in 2023. That cart (and the TV attached to it) has been sitting idle. I decided to take a shelf from one of the bookshelves in my house and add it to the cart's built-in laptop tray. This would create a fully operational mobile retro-gaming battle station. Surprisingly, this worked... to an extent.

I put the Atari 400 Mini, Atari 2600+ and PS2 slim on the shelf.
I could have used a lot of other consoles in their place,
especially mini consoles...

All that being said, the whole cart seemed a bit unstable to me. That shelf was also not at all level, but I wasn't concerned with it falling over. That tray was made to hold about 77 pounds, which is more than enough for a particle board shelf, fasteners and some consoles. All of that material couldn't have been more than 10-15 pounds, maximum.

I did find a way to make it level, but not more stable... until I realized that it was a bit top-heavy. That TV might fit the cart, but it is a heavy old sucker. So, someday, I will put a lighter (and probably smaller) screen on that cart to make it stable. Then, I can put the enhanced shelf back and once-again have my little pet monster of a retro-gaming battle station. For now though, I'll just stick to the original tray put there by the manufacturer and a single console: The PS2.

The 2 Atari retro consoles here (400 Mini & 2600+) are once again boxed and shelved, but not for long. I have plans for them. Plans to prosper them and not to harm them. Plans to give them hope and a future. Plans that involve taking them out of the game room and putting them into the office, attached to monitor(s) used for my computers. Since the new PC that I'm building this year will be used strictly for games (at first anyway), why not attach the 2600+ and 400 Mini? Then, I can play some of the old Atari titles when I get bored.

Anyway, this particular mad science experiment has been a qualified success in its prototypical form. When I get the lighter screen for it, it will be rebuilt.

13 Feb

You all know the drill at this point. Visited that pawn shop near work again. Got these 3 titles for $15. They aren't worth much more than that and won't be up for sale anytime soon, either.

Latest acquisitions from one of the pawn shops near work...

5 Apr

Got some new factory-sealed games for PS2 from Amazon on March 27th & 28th. Yes, you read that right. Furthermore, they were also sitting in a few wish lists of mine for years and costs for the 3 of them came out to $44 + tax. $44 that came out of some gift cards I was given for participating in a research study.

Also scored some replacement batteries for my PSP for free by signing up for Amazon's Vine program. That program allows me to get free items for review purposes. So far, I've reviewed those batteries and a cell phone holder for my car. Still waiting on the gaming keyboards and other items that I requested.

Sure is nice to get such cool stuff for NOTHING out of my own pocket. 😜

Didn't expect to ever get sealed PS2 games again...

I already had the 2 Cacpcom collections. I got them again because I thought the old discs were scratched beyond any hope of repair. I was wrong. The 2 that I had already are OK. It was a SEGA collection for PS2 that's heavily scratched and probably not playable. I already have the Mega Man collection too, but not on the PS2. My copy is on the GameCube. That one is also going to need to be replaced because of the label side of the disc starting to crack. That happened with my copy of the Mega Man X collection on GameCube too. WTF? Good thing that both discs can be readily replaced with a quick eBay purchase...

Speaking of eBay...

There's a Dollar General a few blocks from my job that's selling everything on clearance before shutting down. Everything in the store is 50% to 70% off regular price. In addition to a bunch of LEGO sets that I know I can sell for a profit, I'd also found these Mario figurines. Since the Mario fanbase is at least half as nerdy as the Star Trek fanbase, I'm sure I can resell them for a good price.

These should make for a nice resale on eBay...

28 Apr

Recently bought some Mega Man collections for the GameCube from eBay. I had both of these discs already, but the old copies had labels that were literally starting to crack. Don't ask me how that happened, because I have no idea. All my other GameCube games are fine.

Looking through my records, it seems that old video games are all that I ever bought on eBay, with one exception: a movie poster for a genuine Sci-Fi classic from 1951 called The Day the Earth Stood Still. If you haven't seen that film, I recommend you watch it ASAP.

Anyway, here's a pic of those 2 Mega Man titles, along with...

- A sealed PS3 game from my favorite pawn shop

- CIB copy of the NES Classic Edition, also from that same pawn shop

- Some plastic box protectors for Atari 2600/7800 games that I acquired from Amazon.

Final cost for everything (including taxes, shipping, et al.) was somewhere around $130. Not bad considering the excellent condition of the items in question. The PS3 game stays sealed and eventually gets resold. Will probably do that with the NES Classic too since I have one already. Or, I might give it to my nephew as part of his classical video game education. I haven't decided.

So many happy 8 & 16-Bit memories...
And some weird PS3 strategy game that will make me a few bucks one day...

4 May

Acquired a few things in a Steam Sale early this month. Picked up a port of a classic N64 Star Wars game and a First-Person Shooter in the Aliens franchise. Both combined were less than $10 with tax.

10 May

Visited the pawn shop yet again and grabbed 2 different PS3 games. One of them is from a very popular franchise. The other is a movie tie-in for a Disney flick that I liked. Got both of these and a DVD collection of old Alfred Hitchcock films for only $8 in cash. Current value for the 2 games is $16.68 as of 19 May 2025. If cleaned up and resold, they'd net a profit of $8.68. That's a profit of 108.5%. Not bad... However, I'm keeping them for a while. Gotta see if they're enjoyable first...

22 May

Ordered a few things from Amazon, just because I could. 3 of the 4 arrived today. The other arrives next week. Items that arrived were 2 switch games and a portable loaded with old Atari games, all of which were on steep discount. Pic below.

Like my back catalog wasn't enormous enough...

24 May

Picked up a game on Steam for 20% off. It's the modern remake of a cult classic Atari arcade game from 1984 called I, Robot. That game was the first 3D arcade game to use polygons instead of sprites. It looked like a SEGA CD or very early PlayStation 1 game in 1984. That is quite a technical achievement. The arcade cabinet even had a bonus game of sorts called Doodle City, which was a primitive paint program. That machine was difficult to keep running properly and never did well for arcade operators. However, it remains an important piece of Atari & video game history. The original version of the game is also available nowadays via the Atari 50 compilation.

Title card for I,Robot

Anyway... I had $82.20 before I went shopping today. I spent $13.16 for the game while it was 20% off. Now, I'm down to $69.04 after taxes. From now on, every pay period is going to involve a $20 gift card to Steam. I'll also periodically empty my change jar into a Coinstar machine, just to add further funds to the Steam wallet. This way, I'll be well prepared for periodic Steam sales. According to the internet, the next one should be starting June 26th. We'll see what kind of damage I can do in that sale.

25 May

The other item that I ordered from Amazon arrived. I wasn't expecting it until the 29th. I love it when things arrive sooner than expected. 😊

I'm surprised Amazon managed to get this one back in stock. It frequently sells out quick everywhere. It was $54.86, down from the original $60.00 price. Not much of a discount for a title that's been out for a while, but that's 1st party Nintendo games for you. They retain their value... As long as that system is still current. Either way, I look forward to seeing what this cartoonish remake of a classic GameBoy title is like...

This ought to be interesting...

29 May

I raided my favorite pawn shop again. Got quite a good score. 6 NES cartridges, 2 superhero games for the PS2 and a flight sim for PS3. All for $59.28.

Some of these will make great eBay items...

Except for the Ferrari racing game, ALL of those NES titles are likely to end up on Ebay. They're either something that the Angry Video Game Nerd lampooned or something that I have already. From now on, extra copies of things get resold. There will be VERY few exceptions to that rule.

I'm pretty sure that I have the Wii version of that LEGO Batman game, but I'll keep it anyway. It adds variety to my PS2 collection. I know for a fact that I have that Spider-Man game on XBOX and 2 copies of it on GameCube. Now, I get to compare the different versions to each other to see which one is best. The best one gets kept, the others get resold. Or, I just might keep a copy on all those systems, just to boost the variety of available titles for those platforms. Either way, my back catalog is getting entirely too large.

30 May

May seems to be a popular month for my game collecting hobby. Every year, I end up getting some amazing stuff in that month.

Anyway, an Army buddy of mine is getting into collecting and re-selling and he posted some pics of his wares to Facebook. I saw something in there that was not on my list, but still interesting: Sonic Triple Trouble for the SEGA Game Gear.

I made the purchase by sending him $15 via Paypal (or $15.74 with the fees) and he shipped it to me via mail. I wasn't expecting it until June 2nd, but it showed up today. Awesome. Thanks for such prompt service, U.S. Postal Service.

With this addition, I now have 4 of the Sonic games made for GameGear. There were 9 in total, 10 if you include a combo cartridge with the GG version of Sonic 2 & Sonic Spinball. Many of the Sonic games for GameGear also showed up on the SEGA Master System in various regions like Europe, Brazil and/or Australia. They tend to be different from the Genesis games with Sonic. More primitive and not as fast. However, there's only so much you can expect from 8-Bit hardware. Sonic was definitely created with the Genesis in mind.

31 May

Noticed there was a weekend sale for 3 of the titles on my Steam wishlist. I bought them all for $17.52, including tax.

Why did it take so long to get Portal 2? Well, I already have it on PS3. However, now that I have the PC original, I may sell off that PS3 copy. Only time will tell...

The mere idea of a survival horror game based on a cheesy 80s movie like Killer Klowns from Outer Space was too good to pass up, I just wanted to wait for a price drop.

The Geometry Wars game was just to add to my collection of that franchise and game type. That particular game started on XBOX Live for the X360 console and is only available on PC these days. However, it was included as a bonus on the Nintendo DS version of Geometry Wars: Galaxies. I have both the DS & Wii versions of that title.

7 Jun

That Army buddy of mine that sold me the Game Gear game last week just made more money from me. In fact, it was the exact same amount as last time, $15.74 after Paypal's fees. The game this time is an old lost classic that I have been trying to find for many years: Cool Spot for the SEGA Genesis.

This old platformer was a lot more fun than you would expect...

Some of you are probably asking 'Why the Hell would LP try to acquire a cart of a random platformer made as a product tie-in for a soda company?' Well, the Cool Spot character was amusing in those old commercials, but that's not the reason. My younger brother got a Genesis for his birthday in 1993. It came with Sonic 2 (as most of them did back then), and the family rented a few other games for the weekend. Cool Spot was one of them, as was Jurassic Park. I don't remember the rest of them. I think Road Rash II was among them, but I can't be sure.

Before that, the only game systems in our house were the NES, a few Game Boys & an ancient pong box called the Magnavox Odyssey 3000. I had played a Genesis and Super NES at friends houses by this point, but never got to spend much time with them. Finally having one of those 16-Bit wonders in the house was quite the spectacle. Any game on the the Genesis at that point would have looked damned impressive to me. However, only Sonic 2, Cool Spot and Jurassic Park stuck in my memory. Jurassic Park became a classic for its smooth animation, cut scenes and decent platforming action. (Not to mention the Angry Video Game Nerd making fun of it and all the other Jurassic Park tie-ins on other platforms.) Cool Spot, despite being a marketing tie-in, was still a fun and challenging platformer. That's why I still remembered it over the years. And now, it's FINALLY in my collection. Also, Keurig Dr. Pepper needs to bring back the Spot character in 7Up's marketing campaigns. I have spoken.

19 Jun

Steam was having a publisher sale for Capcom. So, I picked up a bunch of Mega Man titles that were up to 60% off. Sale price for the 5 titles was $43.73 after taxes. Regular price for all of these would have been $104.95 before taxes. I caught quite a good deal.

That should cover just about every
Mega Man console title that wasn't an RPG...

As I write this, I am noticing that I have been getting a LOT of Mega Man titles on various platforms. Is it coincidence, serendipity or something else? I just don't know. That being said, it's nice to have the Blue Bomber on my computer. Maybe a Steam Deck too someday. I haven't ruled out that device. However, as of this writing, only the first Mega Man Legacy Collection & Mega Man 11 are Verified. The others are all unsupported for now. Sure hope Valve changes that soon. There's no reason these old games shouldn't be able to run on their new portable PC/Console hybrid device...

Anyway, here's how it stands with the 87 Steam titles that I have right now...

Verified: 29

Playable: 30

Unsupported: 12

Untested: 16

So, 28 of the 87 won't work on a Steam Deck. Of the 59 that will work, 30 of them need a lot of configuring to get working right. Just like installing older games on newer computers. Yeah... Better hope there's a sale for the Steam Deck someday. Otherwise, I don't know how I can justify that purchase. The base model with a LCD screen & 256GB of internal storage costs $400. (It can use Micro SD cards to expand its data storage space.) The top of the line model with an OLED screen and 1TB internal SSD is $650... And out of stock right now because of supply chain constraints. Same with the mid-grade option with the OLED screen and a 512GB internal SSD.

Also, it's only the middle of the year at this point, but I can tell it's not going to be a 'quality over quantity' year like 2023. It's a 'quality and quantity' year like 2024. LOL.

24 Jun

Another item that spent years on my Steam want list finally released and it was 40% off. So, I got a program called 3DSen for $9.87, via my Steam wallet. This program is not a game in and of itself. It's an emulator that plays NES games in 3D. Screenshots below.

A new twist on a timeless classic...

Even in this weird, extrapolated Voxel 3D, Glass Joe is still a punk bitch.

Too bad this emulator doesn't make Zelda 2 any easier...

26 Jun

The post office FINALLY got around to delivering that third game that I bought from the same old Army buddy. Once again, it's for a SEGA system. Namely, the Genesis port of the Terminator 2 arcade game.

Amazing how close to the arcade original this one looks...

This is a light gun game. The same one that came with that Genesis light gun that I have had for years: The SEGA Menacer. Other than the cartridge with 6 mini-games on it, this was the only light gun game for the Genesis. All others that would require the Menacer were on SEGA CD. There were only 4 or 5 of them, none of them particularly remarkable. The Menacer was a 'me-too' response to the Super Scope 6 on the Super NES, which also did not have many software titles. That's a shame. I love light gun games.

28 Jun

I finally took the plunge and ordered one of those FPGA-Based classic console replicas from Analogue. Specifically, I got the Analogue Pocket and the Game Gear Adapter. The Pocket by itself plays cartridges from the Game Boy, Game Boy Color & Game Boy Advance. There's also available adapters to play cartridges for the Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Neo Geo Pocket Color & the TurboGrafx-16. I bought the Game Gear one because that's the only one of those Non-Nintendo systems that's in my collection.

However, there were some hiccups. The adapter they sent was defective. They had this problem with some of the early runs of this unit. I guess they didn't quite get all of them out of their inventory. However, I contacted Customer Support and got a replacement. All they asked me to do was ensure the cartridges were properly cleaned and that the Pocket was updated to the latest firmware. Naturally, I had done all of that before contacting them.

The Analogue Pocket and both GG adapters.
I labeled the defective one to make sure it didn't get confused with the working unit.

It's fortunate that they were so prompt in providing a replacement. My original Game Gear from the 1990s stopped working at almost exactly the same time that I got the Pocket & GG adapter. It's as if the poor unit was just holding on waiting for me to get a replacement before it died. Considering how bad the quality of the capacitors used in the Game Gear were, I'm amazed it lasted all these decades. I will eventually recap that console and get it working again. However, I can't say that it's a big priority. I do have another device that can play that small handful of GameGear games now. And a few other consoles/devices in my box of broken toys that would be a bigger priority...

Also, if you get the Pocket and GG adapter, be VERY careful when sliding the carts into the adapter. It can be a tight fit and it's easy for the labels to get caught on the lip of the adapter's plastic shell. Other than those issues, the device has performed as expected. It also uses USB-C for charging and connecting to computers for firmware updates. So, be sure you have the necessary adapters.

29 Jun

The Steam summer sale began today and ran through July 10th. As one might expect, I took full advantage of this with the massive amount of store credit that I already had saved.

On June 29th, I got these 4 games:

AVGN 1 & 2 Deluxe

Black Mesa: Definitive Edition

Breakout Beyond

Contra: Operation Galuga

All 4 of these with their steep discounts came out to $40.96 before tax and $44.95 after tax.

But wait! There's more! I saw a compilation of a popular franchise from the PS1 being sold for 90% off and decided to make the purchase. That title was Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. It costed me $4.38 after tax.

So, I spent $49.33 on this day. The regular prices for all of these games would have come up to $124.95. Gotta love them Steam sales...

30 Jun

So, I went into that pawn shop near my job on my lunch break... again... and got a rather pleasant surprise. Something I have been trying to find for quite a while and (surprisingly) couldn't find in the wild: a purple GameCube.

That white controller is a cheap GameStop unit that will be used by players 2-4 for all time.

I already have 5 other GameCubes. Yes, you read that right: FIVE of them. However, they were all either black or silver. I didn't bother with the purple unit when I first got the system in 2002 because I thought it looked too childish. Now though, I don't care. Still need to get a matching controller and give this console a good cleaning, but it's nice to have this piece for the collection. The want list is getting smaller and smaller...

Just another stone for my Infinity Gauntlet...

2 July

The Steam Summer Sale was still calling my name and I answered.

I emptied my change jar into a Coinstar machine for a Steam wallet code and got $23.85. Added the funds to my account to help rebuild what was spent a few days ago. Ended up spending $16.41 of that after tax on some good games with steep discounts. 2 of them were up to 90% off! Pre-tax amount at regular price would have been $94.96. With taxes, I estimate that it would be a little over $101. Wow... Gotta love when Steam sales offer games for up to 90% off, heh? 😜

No caption needed.

26 July

My Army buddy had yet another interesting item for sale, a copy of the NES port of Donkey Kong 3. After PayPal's fees, it cost me $26.03. It's also a 5-screw cartridge. I didn't expect that...

This is also the most I have spent on any one NES cartridge in well over a decade.

Didn't expect to add this to my collection...

I have the arcade original as a digital game on my Switch. I have this NES port as a series of cards for the eReader accessory for the Game Boy Advance. However, a collection for a Nintendo system is rather incomplete without at least 1 game from the Donkey Kong franchise. That big gorilla did make Nintendo a household name back in 1981. Also, this sequel never got the love it deserved. It should have more than just a cult following...

7 Aug

Checked on the pawn shop near work again. Found yet another NES Classic. This time it only had a travel case, but it did come with an extra controller... A wireless controller from MyArcade. Not sure if that even works with the NES Classic yet, but we'll see... Cost was $48.40 after tax and my Veterans discount.

Not having the original box is actually an advantage this time.
I'm running out of storage space for empty boxes.

There was also an Arcade1Up machine there for $300. It didn't have a riser. It did have significant damage to the artwork on the cabinet and a chunk of the particle board side piece broken off. It also had Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, Pac-Mania and Galaxian. I told the shop employees that asking $300 for that machine was unrealistic. I'm also not going to buy it at a lower price, either. I don't have the room for it in my house. Also, I have 2 of those games on the A1Up machines already in my collection. See, I do have some restraint. 😜

Also checked Steam and discovered a weekend sale for Bethesda. When did Thursday get considered part of the weekend? Anyway, I picked up the first 3 Quake games for the convenience. Trying to install them on a modern PC from the old CD-ROMs that I have is a real pain in the ass. Cost was $15.33 after tax, coming out of my Steam wallet. Still have over $80 in that wallet. The Steam copies of the first two games are also the ones with updated graphics that were released in 2023.

Lots of classic FPS goodness here...

19 Aug

Got a copy of Tiger-Heli for the Atari 7800 from Amazon today. I have the NES port of this old arcade classic too. I compared both of these games tonight. The Atari 7800 version is better with both graphics & sound. (Rare that I can say that a 7800 title is better than its NES equivalent...) However, the NES version has a 2 player option and the 7800 version doesn't. So, feel free to pick your poison. Also, the arcade original has been ported to PC. You can get it via Steam and probably GOG.com as well.

Another fine addition to my Atari 7800 collection...

Glad that I made plenty of room
on these shelves back in January...

Also, I finally got around to finishing that mobile gaming cart of mine...

Witness the power of this FULLY OPERATIONAL
mobile retro-gaming battle station!!!

I put a smaller 24" 720p TV screen on it a few months ago for better balance. That will still be more than good enough for the consoles that will be installed on this cart. Also connected my Retron 3 clone console too, which makes 3 consoles on this cart... that can play games from a total of 8 systems. How? The Atari 2600+ plays carts from the 2600 & 7800. The PS2 is playing PS1 & PS2 games. (Not to mention music CDs and DVD movies, if needed.) The Retron 3 natively plays NES, SNES & SEGA Genesis carts. Even though it wasn't advertised, it can also run the Super Game Boy accessory for the SNES as well. So, that's 4 systems that the Retron 3 is actually playing here. My childhood is covered here on this cart. The PS2 is a nice bonus.

I had to use a RCA-to-HDMI connector to attach that Retron console to this TV, since its only composite ports were already occupied by a PS2 Slim. The cable management is an absolute mess. It looks and feels like something the Borg created and/or assimilated. The whole thing feels a bit unstable in a few ways too. However, it does work. It does serve its purpose as a way for me to play retro games in ANY room of my house at any time. Although, it's probably just going to be moved in and out of my home office. Just a little something to keep me occupied while I wait on the computer to download/install software, updates, ZIP files, etc.

I need to do more of these little 'mad science' projects of mine... 😊

22 Aug

Visited the pawn shop near work again (definitely seeing a pattern there) and found an Atari Flashback 4 that was mint condition and complete in the box. Unlike the 2 that I had already, this one came with 76 games instead of 75. The extra game was the 2600 version of Millipede. That may not make much of a difference, but I don't care. It means I can sell the others off, if I so choose. However, when I start selling on Ebay, I'm going to start small with individual cartridges and game discs for various consoles. Shipping on those will be less than the shipping for a boxed console of any kind.

This box is in MUCH better shape than my 2 other ones.

Also, the version of Space Invaders on that console isn't the 2600 version, as I thought it might be when I first got the Flashback 4 at launch over a decade ago. It's the arcade version in full color. The original arcade machine was black and white graphics with overlays on the monitor to add color. Arcade manufacturers used to do things like that back in the early days to cut costs. Full color CRT monitors weren't cheap.

I framed one of those posters and put it on the wall in my game room years ago.

25 Sep

Another entry in this blog post, another trip to the pawn shop near work. This time, I acquired 2 PS3 titles and 4 PS2 titles. All of them are destined to eventually be resold. Right now, they aren't worth much more than the combined $22 that I paid for them all with my veteran's discount.

PS2

PS3

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Eventually, these will turn a profit for me on Ebay.
They'll just have to sit in the inventory for a few years.

Why are all these destined to be resold? Several reasons...

1.) I have those 2 Pac-Man games on PS2 already. Also have Pac-Man World 2 on the GameCube.

2.) Have the Splinter Cell game on the XBOX, along with the 2 immediate sequels.

3.) I have no real interest in the other 3 titles at all.

4.) Those other 3 titles (COD, AC, Ghost Recon) just looked like something that could be a good way to build up the inventory of common games for my future Ebay store. You want a lot of good and affordable games to attract attention from potential buyers. Most collectors are people looking to relive a gaming experience from childhood or folks looking to build up a large collection for their favorite systems. They'll buy the common popular games long before they consider dropping big bucks on the ultra-rare, complete in box JRPG that takes 1,000 hours to complete.

26 Sep

I finally started reselling games. However, it wasn't on Ebay. It was a sale to a young co-worker of a PS3 game that he played as a child: Infamous 2. It sold for the going market rate of $8.00, which was pure profit for me. A friend of mine gave me that game and lots of other PlayStation stuff last year, just to clear out his garage.

I never even bothered to play the game, just made sure it worked before deciding to put it in the resell box... Along with 400+ other titles for consoles ranging from Atari 2600 up through 3DS & WiiU.

28 Sep

I made a few decisions on this day regarding the purchase of future hardware. Due to the staggeringly high costs of new consoles, I am not getting any of them this calendar year. There are also different reasons that are platform specific:

1.) I'm not crazy about this 'key card' thing that Nintendo is doing on the Switch 2. Fortunately, that bad idea seems to be on the way out. Nintendo's supplier for physical cartridges on the Switch platforms made a few new developments in technology. It will soon be possible for games larger than 64GB in size to fit on these cards. That's good. If you're selling me a physical box at retail, the FULL game needs to be in there. Otherwise, there will be no sale.

2.) The Steam Deck is still not compatible with a large amount of my Steam games, including some really old games originally made for the Atari Lynx. That seems pretty ridiculous to me.

3.) PS5 wasn't worth its original asking price of about $500. It's definitely not worth up to $750 for some of the more premium editions. Other than Astro Bot, I don't know of a single game exclusive to PS5 that I might want to play.

4.) Microsoft raised the price of the XBOX to $800 for the top-of-the-line version of the Series X. Why Microsoft is even bothering to still make consoles, I just don't know. They don't sell well and you can access the XBOX Game Pass service (its major selling point) from virtually any smart device or PC. You can even use their controllers on the PC for Game Pass & supported Steam games. There's literally no reason to get the XBOX console. And yet, they decided to raise their prices three times this calendar year? WTF?

XBOX Fanboys must be so heartbroken right now...

5.) My back catalog is so enormous that I could probably stop buying games for a long time. Most collectors joke about having a back catalog that could last for 10 years. In my case, it's likely to be at least 20. These game companies need me more than I need them.

6.) I'm still on the fence about building a new gaming PC this calendar year. However, it will happen sooner or later. There won't be a choice. My current computer can be upgraded only so far...

I think $3,000 ought to be more than enough, Mein Fuhrer...

Seriously though, this PC gaming shit can get VERY expensive...

True Freakin' Story...

29 Sep

Another day, another addition to the collection. Pac-Man World 2 was updated and re-released on all the modern consoles, but not on Steam. I checked. This new 'Re-PAC' version has various graphical updates, voice acting and 'quality of life improvements', whatever that means.

Personally, I'm just glad that it has a vastly improved camera system. That was the one flaw with the original version of the game when it released on Windows PC, PS2, GameCube and the OG XBOX. Otherwise, this was a platformer that just made me happy while playing the game. It was like 'Nintendo Magic' without actually being a Nintendo game. Only Namco can pull that off.

Also, since I pre-ordered it a few days before release, I got a download code for some in-game content. Specifically, a few statues of Pac-Man in various ghost costumes. You can put these statues (and various others) on display throughout the Pac-Village. They're bought from a Gashopon in the village's arcade.

The original Switch has an insane amount of life left.
Nintendo should keep it around as long as possible.

Also went on Steam today and discovered that there were some deep discounts of 45% to 90% for some of the games on my Wishlist. So, I bought 6 of them. Regular price for them would have been about $83.86, according to my best estimate. Sale price including tax was $25.84.

4 classic arcade shoot'em ups and 2 Action Adventure titles. Awesome. 😊

16 Oct

Picked up both Destiny and The Last of Us for the PS3 today from the usual place. (i.e. the Pawn Shop near my job.) They didn't even have price labels on boxes so, the pawn shop just gave them to me for a even $5. As of 16 Oct 2025, they are worth $15.98 combined. Not a bad score, if I just want a quick flip. However, both of these games have been getting heaps of praise for over a decade now. I just might want to play them first...

Also made a few recent Amazon acquisitions as part of the Amazon Prime Deal Days that occurred in early October.

Got a 2nd wireless controller for my Atari+ consoles, just because they were on sale.

Got a protective travel case for my Super Pocket: Atari edition

Picked up an aftermarket replacement for the trackball on my Atari 12-in-1 Arcade1Up cabinet. The factory original one isn't bad, but the aftermarket piece is supposed to be much better. If it's as good as the replacement spinner knob that I got years ago for this cabinet, then it should make the trackball games MUCH more fun to play.

In the pic below, you'll also see some screw hooks that I recently bought from Home Depot. Those are for that mobile gaming cart of mine. I'll add another picture when that project is completed in the near future. They are going to help make an already great project idea that much better.

Pickups for October 16th & recent Amazon purchases... That were both several days late.
WTF, Amazon? I know you're better than that...

3 Nov

Steam was selling Truxton II for 45% off. Final cost including tax was a mere $4.82.

Arcade shooters are always
welcome in my collection.

Also, I did mention earlier that I had a plan for the screw hooks that were in the picture for October 16th. The plan was for them to be used to hang controllers off of the gaming cart. The plan worked. Pic below.

This Battle Station just became even more fully operational...

4 Nov

Found a new Switch Pro controller still sealed in its original box at the pawn shop near my job today for a steep discount. Couldn't believe my luck and grabbed it quick.

Never thought I'd get one of these new since Nintendo refuses to lower the price...

18 Nov

Took a trip to Florida for a family event. Went with my brother's family to a home decor store called @Home. They had a few aisles with 'man cave' type stuff, including a Pac-Man canvas poster. Brought it home with me and already hung it up on the wall in the game room.

Unlike all the posters in that room, I don't have to worry about this thing's frame falling apart...

21 Nov

My pre-ordered copy of Pac-Man: Double Feature for the Atari+ line (and original 7800 consoles) finally came in today. It has a 7800 version and the original 2600 version on the cart. You choose between them via dip switches on the back of the cartridge.

It's about time that Pac-Man had a quality release on an 8-Bit Atari console...

The 'new' 7800 version is really the homebrew that has been floating around among Atari fans for years now. Atari & Namco finally made it official by putting it on one of their carts. The graphics are almost exactly like the arcade original. The only major difference that I spotted was the ghost named Clyde. He looked more Yellow than Orange in this game. That's easily forgiven. Blinky & Pinky are usually the ghost bastards that you have to worry about anyway... The sound effects are pretty close to arcade original. The music numbers are not. Again, that's because of the limitations of the system.

The 2600 version... Well... I won't lie to you. It's the same sub-par crap version that you remember from 1982. I won't be playing that one at all. Any copies of that cartridge that I have in my collection (including the 2 that are complete in box) will be resold when I start my Ebay store next year.

4 Dec

After waiting for SEVEN long years, Nintendo has finally released Metroid Prime 4. Mine was pre-ordered from Amazon for several months. It arrived on this day.

With all the time that I spent waiting for this game, this one had better be pretty damned good.

6 Dec

You know the story by now. Visited the pawn shop near my store during lunch once again and got some good results. Got yet another NES Classic Edition and a Switch title called Carnival Games. The Switch game costed $5. The small console was $35.10. With tax, they were both $44.01.

Not so long ago, these NES Classics were a VERY hot commodity...

The Switch game will probably end up being an Ebay sale item for me. The NES Classic... Well, I have 4 of them now. 2 that are complete in box, 1 in a travel case and 1 loose. I guess I could re-sell one of them... I am also tempted to use one of them for an experiment in uploading emulators to the device. I've seen a lot of talk about that over the years, but didn't want to mess up my console. Now, I have 3 extras that have been acquired in this calendar year alone. I did not see that coming at all...

18 Dec

Amazon has delivered a few things as of late. Earlier on this day, a new Evercade collection that I ordered had arrived...

Yet more Atari 2600 classics that I can now play on the go... 😊

My favorites on this collection would be Demon Attack, Enduro, MegaMania, Pitfall! & River Raid.

Beamrider, Crackpots & Starmaster also have sterling reputations.

Freeway is a Frogger knock-off.

I am curious about the Space Shuttle game.

I don't care at all about Fishing Derby, Gran Prix, Private Eye, Sky Jinks or Tennis.

Also got 2 items from one of my younger brothers as this year's Secret Santa gift. One of them was a Gerber Multi-Tool that I had on my wish list. The other is the RGB Mechanical gaming keyboard that you see in the picture below. It will be interesting to use this on my next computer, which should be the Gaming PC that I have been wanting to build this whole year. That Gaming Rig is gonna be AMAZING...

I look forward to using this on my new gaming PC...

30 & 31 Dec

I renewed my Nintendo Switch Online subscription on the 30th. I emptied my change jar into a Coinstar machine for a Steam wallet code and got $34.25 for my troubles on the 31st. I am not buying anything more until Calendar Year 2026 starts tomorrow. The various winter sales on Steam and the Nintendo eShop will still be going on through at least January 4th. So, I have some time. I'm just looking forward to this year coming to an end. Outside of gaming, 2025 has been a genuine Annus Horibilis. I won't go into any of the reasons why. All I will say is that 2026 WILL be better.

- Lord Publius

Info on all items acquired this year...

ANALOGUE HARDWARE

Analogue Pocket

Analogue Pocket Game Gear Adapter

ARCADE1UP

ThunderStick LED Arcade trackball (TS-UTB01)

ATARI

Atari 2600

Mario Bros.

Moon Patrol

Atari 7800

Atari 7800+ console