Anne Willan Presents the Food of France SEALED Philips CDi

[nrslam | 475]

16 hours ago, Chaos Control said:

I had to piece a lot of it together from eBay sold listings, pictures of collector collections online, various catalogs and brochures from back in the day, and from the ICDIA lists here:

http://www.icdia.co.uk/archive/index.html

along with the databases at World of CDi:

https://www.theworldofcdi.com/

and the mostly complete checklists here:

https://cdii.blogspot.com/p/cd-i-masterlists-catalogue.html?m=1

 

Wow. So many titles I was unaware of.  Would be nice to see it all compiled into a single US (or NA) list as there seem to be lots of foreign (to me) titles.

I do have a couple of Nintendo-themed demo discs (and many more demos) that I suppose might be fake, but considering I bought them in cheap, local lots years before counterfeiting became so prevalent I hope they're authentic.  Once I unpack the CDi I'll use the link you provided to check them.

[Chaos Control | 70]

9 hours ago, nrslam said:

Wow. So many titles I was unaware of.  Would be nice to see it all compiled into a single US (or NA) list as there seem to be lots of foreign (to me) titles.

I do have a couple of Nintendo-themed demo discs (and many more demos) that I suppose might be fake, but considering I bought them in cheap, local lots years before counterfeiting became so prevalent I hope they're authentic.  Once I unpack the CDi I'll use the link you provided to check them.

If you bought the Nintendo demo discs cheap years ago and as part of lots, then you're probably fine. I feel a bit bad for a lot of collectors who aren't hesitating to pay big bucks for fakes on eBay, but only a bit. They really should know better.

As for dedicated US lists, I do have some in the works, to include breaking them down by type, an updated longbox guide, and lists with a clear image of each title. 

[Chaos Control | 70]

Just as a heads-up, a lot of the impossibly rare Japanese CDi games, including a Japan exclusive title, came up for auction ending this Sunday:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224633830808?hash=item344d383d98:g:FYAAAOSw2H1hWjdj

... there's also a sealed NFL Instant Replay and copies of Do You Remember the 1960s and The Weather Kitchen. To my knowledge, the Japanese titles have never previously come up for open auction in the US, and some of the other titles can go years in between appearances. 

 

 

 

 

[RH | 4,903]

@Chaos ControlMedia sampler contents ripped and posted to YouTube.

 

[Chaos Control | 70]

On 11/5/2021 at 10:35 PM, RH said:

@Chaos ControlMedia sampler contents ripped and posted to YouTube.

 

Thanks for sharing that!:)

Philips made more Samplers and system Demos for the CD-i than any other any other company. Just in the US alone there's about 20 different discs meant to show off various technical capabilities and upcoming games. This Sampler in particular is neat because of how much it shows of Microcosm and Dead. 

[Chaos Control | 70]

I'm not sure if it's a sign of prices for rare titles heating up, CD-i collecting in general becoming more popular, or just the result of a dedicated collector really wanting it, but a sealed copy of Sailing just sold for $150:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sailing-Philips-CD-I-Interactive-1992-New-Old-Stock-Boating-Sail-/304234979967?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

...now, that price is definitely commensurate with the rarity of the title, as Sailing is one of the 10 rarest longbox releases and is a US exclusive that rarely ever shows up for sale, and much less often at an open auction. My congratulations to whoever won!

 

[Chaos Control | 70]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-ACT-College-Search-92-Philips-CD-I-1992-New-In-Factory-Sealed-Long-Box-/224736170650?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

...I have never seen a sealed copy of this rarity come up for an open auction. It's the second rarest longbox release, a US exclusive, and a title that Philips actually stopped promoting in later catalogs as it had become outdated soon after release. 

[Chaos Control | 70]

On 8/2/2021 at 10:45 AM, nrslam said:

FWIW, NFL Instant Replay was one of the games that never showed up in any of my searching or lot buys, so it's probably uncommon, at least.

Just as a heads-up, I put my spare copy, which is still sealed, up:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NFL-Instant-Replay-Philips-CD-i-CDI-cdi-SEALED-UNOPENED-RAREST-GAME-interactive-/224736637504?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

... there have been a few listings for cheap BINs or incomplete copies but I wasn't able to find a record of a sealed copy at open auction. 

 

[Chaos Control | 70]

Just as a heads-up, the upcoming tax changes set to take effect this coming year have prompted me to put up open auctions for a few of my spare copies of a few CD-i rarities. Some have NEVER previously come up for open auction in the US. RetroPals highlighted Do You Remember the 1960s? a while back, and a copy is available here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Do-You-Remember-the-1960s-Philips-CDi-CD-i-rarest-game-/224736632096?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

...to share a bit of collector lore, it's one of the 10 rarest actual games releases across all Countries. It was a UK exclusive quiz game based on historical and pop cultural trivia from those years. It was also only sold via mail order by XDRA/McNo, and possibly in a few independent software shops. Less than 10 copies are even known to exist among the CD-i collecting community, and I've owned three of them. I had hoped to trade it for other CD-i rarities but nothing happened there. Anyone going for a full set of CD-i games needs it, and this title and a few other horribly obscure and overlooked regional releases are why only about 5 people have ever managed to get every CD-i game. 

I also put up a few non-game CD-i rarities- The Weather Kitchen and Breast Self Examination. The Weather Kitchen is an infamous US exclusive and hilarious educational title that was a late release only sold out of the Philips catalogs and a few stores. Breast Self Examination is a YTP style of self-care professional title is exactly what it says on the tin. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Philips-CD-i-The-Weather-Kitchen-cdi-rare-/224736634825?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Philips-CD-i-Breast-Examination-Auto-examen-Del-Seno-rare-professional-title-/224736633637?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

...I wouldn't normally hock my own listings in a general purpose collecting and discussion thread, but these titles that usually go years in between appearances and among the most obscure releases for any major platform, if one considers CD-i to be a major platform. No CD-i collector should miss out on these. 

 

[Chaos Control | 70]

...I just updated the US longbox to account for two titles that I had previously overlooked, and to elaborate a bit upon the rarest titles in the set. I hope it will be of interest to CDi collectors!

 

 

[Penguin | 198]

Yeah def the Atari 2600 set would be the hardest to complete, so many low print games that nobody has. 

[Chaos Control | 70]

[Chaos Control | 70]

I just acquired a CD-i controller that I've only seen a few times over the years. I don't think it was ever actually released to retail, but it certainly looks like a finished product. Does anyone here have any knowledge on it, or have a CD-i IR receiver that they'd be willing to sell or borrow to me so I can test it out?

[Chaos Control | 70]

Another view. It certainly seems to be something that was mass produced.

[Chaos Control | 70]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/266258155432?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=31G2cT9IS1C&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=cssq4zlBQMK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

 

... for once, a genuine rarity that actually justifies such a price! I have NEVER seen a copy of it prior to now. I had to get mine directly from another collector that got it back in the '90s, and to my knowledge only one other guy has a copy. So with only three copies known, this is as rare as it gets for US CD-i retail titles. Even more Web-i discs are known. The one publicly available US release with fewer known copies is Bell Atlantic Info-Active.

[nrslam | 475]

I'm amazed that any CD-i title could command this sort of price.  Uber-rare, to be sure, but it's an infotainment title for a generally unloved system.  The demand side of the supply vs demand equation just doesn't seem to be there, or are are there more CD-i collectors that I thought?

 

[Chaos Control | 70]

9 minutes ago, nrslam said:

I'm amazed that any CD-i title could command this sort of price.  Uber-rare, to be sure, but it's an infotainment title for a generally unloved system.  The demand side of the supply vs demand equation just doesn't seem to be there, or are are there more CD-i collectors that I thought?

 

I was wondering the same thing, about whether or not any of the other handful of really hardcore CD-i collectors would be willing to pay the big bucks for this copy, assuming that they don't already have one. I know that if I didn't have a copy that I'd be very tempted to pay around a grand, because it's one of those titles that goes years in between appearances. 

The seller originally had it priced at $999, but looking now the price has been raised to $2,400. It probably won't sell at the higher amount, but if it did it would set a new price record for a single CD-i title. Even Zelda Adventure and Bell Atlantic Info-Active haven't sold that high.