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goonhoon

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Posts posted by goonhoon

    Hyundai's Mini Comboy (Korean release of the DMG Game Boy)

    in Collecting Guides

    Posted · Edited by goonhoon

    @sp1nz thanks for the mention!

    @VideoGameGalaxy this is crazy! I had no idea the DK existed. It is one of the games that was featured in this advert, for example, which perhaps suggests that those indeed were titles that were all planned to be released in Korea. The cart is JAP, not KOR then?

    Thanks for sharing this. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the only known CIB (probably not, but it also doesn't sound too crazy).

    Would you mind sharing where you picked this up?

    The Machine (GBC, Incube8 Games)

    in The Gauntlet

    Posted

    LsFt0X.png7

    The Machine is a game about a little guy named Girt. Girt lives in the machine. The machine isn't perfect but it's the only thing Girt knows. Girt can choose any career he wants... as long as he has good enough test scores! By the way, Girt forgot to study for his tests. Good luck! :)

    - https://benjelter.itch.io/the-machine

    ...

    My physical pre order copy came today and so far I think the game's pretty awesome! The game starts with you taking a school exam. Your score on the test then determines your story. It's great to see unique and original ideas pushing the system's limits some 20 years after the console had its last release.

    Anyone else playing this? My first story (or run) was extremely tragical from start to finish 😄

    Hyundai's Mini Comboy (Korean release of the DMG Game Boy)

    in Collecting Guides

    Posted · Edited by goonhoon

    I have seen a few topics regarding the Korean Game Boy release rebranded in Korea as Hyundai's Mini Comboy (미니컴보이) but I found very little information regarding some of these details below and usually scattered all around the place. I'd ideally like to collect all the information you guys have or know about and put it in this post. Below is the little bit I myself gathered.

     6.png?type=w800

    source: Gamer LaFan's blog

    1. What is it?

    The Mini Comboy (or Hyundai Mini Comboy) was a Korean release of the Game Boy by Hyundai Electronic Industrial Co (now SK Hynix, the world’s 2nd largest chipmaker). For decades prior to the release, Korea has imposed various forms of embargo on the import of Japanese goods (still an ongoing issue). This news article, although from 1994, talks about a ban on import or distribution of Japanese-subbed games. Since Nintendo had no way to distribute these games in Korea, they did it through Hyundai (after the N64 release, Nintendo ditched Hyundai and partnered with Daewon instead - no consoles were ever locally branded after this). I assume that Nintendo agreed to this because the console market in Korea at the time was booming, but that may also be the reason why the Mini Comboy wasn't that big of a hit - there were too many other consoles and knock-offs. The fact that the first PC Rooms (PC방) opened in the early 90s is definitely also one of the reasons.

     

    2. Releases, variations

    The DMG-01 with the silkscreen printed 미니컴보이 on the front is the 1st Korean release, where as the second had nothing printed on it. These variations can be also differentiated by their boxes (image).

    •  1st release with a box code DMG-S-GATR-(KOR) [1990 - 1993?]
      • Made in Japan
      • The first release apparently cost 119000 Korean Won at launch (approx. USD 119) - source

    image.png.5b1a93a7868f98176a71670827546e95.pngimage.png.9af5c88c6613ba94472b0b437215297f.png

    - Serial run for the silkscreen variation: G11 - G21 (?)  - album. 

    - The G11758589 I have at hand was manufactured in Oct 1990.

    - The earlier serial numbers on the back usually start with G11, G12 or G13 and the latest I found is a G21 on cata-wiki. These serials were not specifically numbered for the Mini Comboy: G01 is the first release in Japan and when it got to G11 they started releasing the Korean variations. I assume the G11 is the earliest, or at least one of the earliest Mini Comboy's serials. 

    - Here is a picture of a 1st release MiniComboy speaker

    • 2nd release DMG-S-GB-KOR or Japan DMG-S-GB(KOR)-1 (source) [1993 - ?]
      • Up to around G38 serials 'Made in Japan', after that 'Made in China'

    image.png.32767e6dc8e418a92d137eceac04ac0e.pngimage.png.45d9156fd35bcbae7391810e47b28c90.png

    G3xxxxxxx, GMxxxxxxx, GHxxxxxxx (?). The G3 serials were made between 1993 - 1995, after which they switched to H and then the M serial, which were made until late 90s. I.e. the above pictured GM58xxxxxx was most likely made in 1998 or early 1999.

    Some of the 2nd releases Mini Comboys also had a black stamped ‘Made in China’ above the sticker (example)

    How many were released: The magazine Game world (게임월드) in 1994 published multiple sale numbers (source) regarding the sale of the Super Comboy (SNES) and Comboy (NES) but not the Mini Comboy. Does anyone have any other numbers from any year regarding the Mini Comboy specifically?

    Colours: [??]

     

     

     

    3. Games

    image.png.e3a6417b5249a88e3bc994a9f44fe998.png

    There is physical evidence of the following games released for the Mini Comboy:

    There may be more, as I saw mentioned a few times on the internet, but I believe there’s no trace of them actually existing in physical form.

     

    4.  Promotion

    5. Trivia, random facts

    • This is apparently the only known CIB of the Korean Gameboy Pocket (not a Comboy, but thought this was interesting)
    • This article from 1993 mentions that Hyundai Electronic Industrial Co. violated the local free competition laws by imposing its own sanctions on stores who sell Nintendo consoles under the recommended retail price. It mentions that Hyundai was already found to act anti-competitively five times.
    • The Gameboy Color was not rebranded as Comboy, but had two Korean game variations: Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, and one Korea-exclusive GBC game: Bomberman Selection (The compilation is similar to Bomberman Collection, but includes only two titles instead of three and doesn't offer compatibility with the Super Game Boy - source)
    • Here's a person selling decals of the Mini Comboy logo (site cannot be accessed without Naver account)
    • Interesting clear Mini Comboy case
    • [...]

     

    Some extra sources:

     

    • Like 3
    • Wow! 1

    Video Game Original Art

    in Show Off

    Posted

    On 6/6/2022 at 12:06 PM, DoctorEncore said:

    Awesome!

    There are some big time art collectors here and a lot of good threads. I don't remember the thread titles off the top of my head, but if you poke around you should be able to find some really cool stuff other people have.

    Thanks! I will have a look around. I found this through the Facebook's Original Artwork for Video Games, Pinball, board games, RPGs, and other gms group, which I assume has some pretty serious and insane collections.

    • Like 1

    Video Game Original Art

    in Show Off

    Posted · Edited by goonhoon

    Apologies if there's a similar thread - I couldn't find one.

    If there's any original art collectors, I'd love to see your pieces! 

    I recently obtained this preliminary artwork for Tom and Jerry: In Mouse Attacks drawn by Walter Carzon. The art was then digitally coloured. This is the first console game I remember playing and so it always brings good memories seeing the art/game.

    unknown.png

    E7FIShS.jpg

     

    • Like 11
    • Wow! 2

    Heritage Auctions Thread

    in Sealed & Graded Collecting

    Posted

    On 4/26/2022 at 12:41 AM, jonebone said:

    I'm a huge N64 collector and that Mario Tennis price makes no sense to me. I think I sold a raw one that was about 9.0 B to B+ for 799 a month ago? Think I had it at 899 for 30 days no bites then someone bit on the relist.

    People should be aware of pops but shouldn't chase them. That was someone chasing.

    I am definitely biased but those are low pop MARIO games we're talking about. I myself spent months looking for either Golf or Tennis in 9.0/A and higher and was offered pieces for as much as 5 figures. I was on IG, FB, here, SGH and god knows where but no traces of anything. The cheapest copy I was offered was a VGA 80 with 2 dented corners for 2700 USD in September 2021.

    If Smash Bros 9.2 A+ sells for 26k, Goldeneye 9.2 A+ for 30k and Michael Jordan 9.2 A+ for 26k, then wouldn't a 9.2 A+ Tennis for 15k be proportionate to that? It certainly was not as famous as Mario 64, MK or some of the Mario Party games, but it still was pretty popular. Same with Golf.

     

    • Agree 2

    What is a 'blank UPC sticker'?

    in Collector's Questions

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, RH said:

    Generally speaking (since I'm not aware of this specific item) the idea is that this is a soft-NFR copy, or might have been bundled together in a set.  The idea being, if two games were shrink wrapped together, they'd put stickers over each barcode, and then slap a new barcode on the combo of the two.  Alternatively, if this was packed in with a game system, this might have been covered.  In all cases where I have seen something like this, it was usually done by a third party distributor who made the bundle vs. Nintendo themselves.

    Now, I don't know that for sure, but that is what I've observed in the past with some bundled games.

    Thanks! That's super helpful. I always assumed the bundles came with just the cartridges.

    I found a few bundle boxes on google, great to see some of these:

    41lyqzPlprL._SR600,315_PIWhiteStrip,BottCV | Nintendo Game Boy Advance Costco Bundle

    • Like 1

    What is a 'blank UPC sticker'?

    in Collector's Questions

    Posted · Edited by goonhoon

    My SMW2 copy has a 'blank UPC sticker' - what exactly is this? I assume most (if not all) SMW2 copies had a regular barcode printed on the box. 

    Is this just a sticker the store decided to put on to write a price on it or is there a deeper, perhaps factory-related, meaning to it?

     

    544946805_madw-3sticker.thumb.jpg.7d68111600b15f53ec57e9f74ddca22f.jpg

    Please help! Mold!

    in Collector's Questions

    Posted

    Just now, MrWunderful said:

    As low as possible. 

    I see, thanks! I live in the UK in a brand new apartment building with a proper ventilation but have no idea what the humidity is. All I know is that outside humidity is often 70-90%. Guess I have to wait for some of the desiccant packs and moisture meter and see what can be done.

    Besides mold, what happens to the games when humidity is high? Do they start to warp? Do WATA/VGA cases protect the games any better from mold and other humidity-related issues better than if they were stored raw?

    Graded Games, Show Them Off!

    in Sealed & Graded Collecting

    Posted · Edited by goonhoon

    1 hour ago, jonebone said:

    A 9.4 can have a crease like you describe. For a game to get a 9.2 like the GBA title then there is something significantly damaged somewhere. You're missing something or the case is masking a side bulge.

    I think I found the issue. I think there may actually be a side bulge masked or at least some slight creasing strategically hidden under the seam. It's difficult to take picture of things like these but this has to be it. A lot of it is light and the plastic but some damage to box is finally apparent 😄

    Edit: still, doesn't seem to be more serious than a corner crease? 🧐

    1DA5399D-417F-435C-89D6-3E2B0E3639AF.thumb.jpeg.cd1a46685de6f5cdf1e000a36ac196a5.jpeg

     

    8D3C0833-992F-4CE9-888D-80876D4BEFAA.jpeg

    • Like 2
    • Agree 1

    What are the differences between .2 grades (9-9.8)?

    in Sealed & Graded Collecting

    Posted · Edited by goonhoon

    Hi!

    I am new to the hobby and have been trying to understand the real differences between each of the .2 grades from 9.0 to 9.8. I think I have a solid understanding of the same concept in the card grading hobby but with sealed games, things get more complicated.

    The WATA examples (images) on their website are, needless to say, rather useless for any self grade assessment purposes, so I came to ask here.

    1) What really is the difference between a 9.2 and a 9.4, or between a 9.4 and a 9.6? 

    For example, the attached picture is a 9.4. Is it over-graded? Is it normal (besides that there's a slight bowing on the shorter side). 

    2) I assume WATA grades differently for each platform/console. I noticed that many GBA/GBC games look really clean even at 9.2/9.4, whereas N64 or NES games always have more damage at the same grade. Is that the case or am I making things up?

    I remember seeing some comparison video in the card hobby, where a person took the same card from PSA 1 all the way to PSA 10 and kind of explained the differences - is there anything similar for WATA grades? I also understand that these are graded by humans, so inaccuracies will happen, but I am curious about what the community think is 'acceptable' for each grade.

    Thanks!

     

    263050245_638265837367802_4792491147069292591_n.jpg

    Graded Games, Show Them Off!

    in Sealed & Graded Collecting

    Posted · Edited by goonhoon

    49 minutes ago, inasuma said:

    let's fuse your SMA2 and my SMA to become one super SMA.

    IMG_5341.thumb.jpeg.f1513af765850848c6911f2e256e2563.jpeg

    Lovely! May be my next target.

    Do you happen to know if they grade GBA games stricter than N64 games?
    I literally can't spot anything besides one little corner ding (not even a crease) whereas the N64 Golf has a slight corner crease (and is higher grade).

    • Like 1

    Seal condition

    in Collector's Questions

    Posted

    19 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

    Find two games with perfect seals and then throw a dart at them. Whichever one it hits now has an A+ seal since you just put a hole in it.

    Obviously this puts high emphasis on the grader but I was under the impression that A+ cannot have any holes in them? 

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