Sega Genesis Sage

Good question. Probably a lot of work and not a lot profit. I see these cases are kind of expensive now.

7 hours ago, Teh_Lurv said:

I'm not sure how I feel about this. This patch means there's now a 1.0 version Cats now potentially lost to cinema history outside of initial bootleg recordings.

Not totally unprecedented, The Shining famously has a lost ending scene: http://www.openculture.com/2017/04/the-lost-final-scene-of-the-shining.html

6 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

You are definitely not using the right equipment if you don't think that sound has improved since the PS1 era.  Sound quality has improved significantly since then, especially since the PS3 era.  I understand that not everyone is going to invest in proper sound equipment, but that doesn't mean the improvements aren't there.  

Metal Gear Solid 4 is a great example of a game that really uses the surround sound to full effect.  Listening to that game through 7.1 surround for the first time was an amazing experience.  

What I meant was for the average person using TV speakers and/or a stereo setup. Once games transitioned to redbook audio and full voices, that was pretty much it for the average person, they're not gonna notice much improvement after that.

5 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

I don't know if that's totally true. I have overhead Atmos surround sound and the experience is phenomenal when games use it well (Gears of War is a great example).

Oh ya, if you have the equipment for it, you can definitely see a big difference, but for the average schlub, things have kind of plateaued. The auditory jump from Xbox to Xbox 360 to Xbox One for the guy using TV speakers is pretty much a flat line. Whereas the difference between, say, Atari and SNES, or even NES and SNES is huge.

One thing I think people overlook is sound. Sound can make a game feel "next gen." Sound quality hasn't improved that much since Playstation era

Also, instead of a CRT revival, what I see as more likely is better and better and increasingly popular "CRT filters" in emulators and other similar devices.

6 hours ago, Sumez said:

By this logic (which is correct), playing on a CRT would eliminate lag. At least the manner of lag you're talking about here.

EDIT: Unless of course you meant a CRT rendering a digital video output via HDMI etc.? Yes, that would still lag just as bad. I think it's implied here that one of the primary ideas behind using a CRT, is to display analog video.

I guess a better point here is that nowadays lag also comes from a lot of other sources. Game engine bloat and managed code, controller drivers and wireless protocols, operating systems, etc. etc. Hell, even game logic. There are so many factors outside of just the video output. But the video output is definitely still a big one in today's world.

CRTs are only "lag free" afaik if you're going analog to analog. If you have a digital signal (which is most devices these days) coming into a CRT, it has to be converted to analog, which introduces some lag.

And some late model CRTs, even when displaying analog video, had lag because they had some amount of digital processing of analog signals as well.

The big downside with CRTs wasn't so much picture quality (as CRTs routinely trounced flat panels when they were both available on the market), but size/weight. There's just something about a TV that's flat that really appeals to people, and is very practical. Also, the size of flat panel TVs now is a lot larger than the biggest CRTs we ever saw.

Starting up manufacturing on CRTs again would be very very expensive. You have a lot of components there. Ever take apart a CRT TV vs a modern TV? There's a lot more stuff inside of a CRT.  Especially at the quality level people expect, you're going to be paying very high prices. Just look at how much PVMs cost in their day - thousands of dollars. And that was with some amount of economy of scale behind them.

And even if you did get together enough people that wanted new CRTs, and were willing to pay the high price for one, the last large, high end CRTs were manufactured.... 15ish years ago? The engineering knowledge is going to be tough to find, and it may at this point have been lost to time. If anything, you'd end up with a much lower quality CRT than the top end CRTs of yesteryear.

Also, CRTs aren't magical, gaming on a CRT isn't going to immediately eliminate all the lag we see with flat panels. That's because much of the lag we see nowadays is because of digital processing of the picture. Later model CRTs that had HDMI inputs suffered from some lag as well.

Finally, the vinyl comparison doesn't hold up, because vinyl is relatively cheap and compact. A vinyl record is a small investment, and the player can be easily moved around, or integrated into an existing home theatre setup. A CRT (especially a large one) requires a much bigger physical space investment.

45 minutes ago, chromableedstudios said:

On topics with any sort of depth that could be ten pages of discussion and opinion.

I guess I grew up in the catb how to ask questions sort of forums where a technically correct but gruff answer is more typical than friendly chatter. That doesn't have to be every forum, but I think technical folks tend to lean that way.

I guess my tldr is, I don't think it's particularly rude to point to the last five times a starting soldering iron thread was posted(get the fx888), not that you have to lock or anything (although without context sometimes tone is difficult to ascertain).

 

I don't think there's any question that typically gets asked on a videogame forum that requires 10 pages of detail, even scientific papers have summaries. 

I also grew up on those kinds of forums, I don't mind, I have thick skin, but most people don't and that kind of attitude drives a lot of people away. I've seen it happen on multiple forums.

You may not personally think it's rude, but a lot of people do.

4 hours ago, GreenKoopa said:

I personally don't see an issue with new topics being shown the link to an existing thread. It makes for efficient storage and reference of information. But, it's important to keep the new topic with point link, as it help people find the actual thread. 

That being said, there is a nice way it should be done. From what I recall an NA, this was done in a nice way also. 

The issue I have with it is that those links often end up being dead links if there's an inevitable change in forum ownership, software, etc. Isn't there a bunch of dead Nintendoage links out there now because GoCollect was sloppy with the migration? To me, there are few things more frustrating than Googling something, having the exact question come up in a forum post, and then the answer being given as a now dead link. Is it really that hard to copy paste the answer, as well as the link? 

Bubble mailers are usually fine for newer stuff, but I've definitely gotten damaged cases for Genesis, Xbox, PS2, Dreamcast, etc. It's not a high chance, but given the choice, I'd personally pay a few bucks extra for additional peace of mind. 

And it should go without saying that any cardboard or Sega Saturn style longbox games definitely should get a box (and a well padded one at that, with at least 1" of good padding on all sides and the game definitely not touching the cardboard of the outer box).

Haven't seen anyone else talking about these, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Mods, please feel free to merge topics if I'm mistaken.

First, I'd like to say that I bought these myself, I wasn't provided with these by anyone or asked or prompted by anyone to do a review.

The cases in question are available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBMRQJW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Ov04DbGFVC09P

It's worthy to note that I had some hands on time with the first run cases, and found them to be quite subpar. These, however, are the exact opposite. Let me explain. 

Most importantly, they hold together tightly, just as tight, if not maybe slightly tighter than OEM cases. In hand, they feel extremely similar to the real deal. The feel and creak of the plastic and the way the cases snap together is extremely satisfying. They really nailed it. The edges of the cases feel ever so slightly sharper than OEM cases, but that could just be because the OEM cases are 25 years old. But the fact alone that these feel and lock together so incredibly well makes them worthy replacements. 

But their attention to detail goes beyond just a superficial examination. The hole size/spacing is so accurate, you can actually swap parts with the OEM cases. These cases are based on the Sega CD ones, which have slightly smaller holes and pegs on the hinges, but they match well enough that you can just pop a new door (the most frequently broke part) onto an otherwise OK OEM case.

Picture here with VGC case on top, Saturn on bottom, and Sega CD in the middle:  

You can pop in the CD tray from an OEM case and it fits pretty much perfectly. The CD trays that come with the cases are much better than revision 1 - they're dark gray instead of being black, and the color almost matches OEM cases exactly. But if you're extremely picky and have an eye for these things, you'll notice that the grain of the plastic is slightly off, and that the Compact Disc logos are missing. Not a big deal at all, but worth noting.

Picture here of OEM Saturn tray on bottom, VGC case on top:

The only fit issue I had was trying to fit a VGC Online tray into an OEM Saturn case, but that was only because I was assembling leftover pieces, not an issue I see people running into on the regular.

Of course, original manuals and back artwork fit into the cases perfectly, and I had no problems with the games I tried. Here's a pic of Tomcat Alley with the OEM try and VGC Online case:

The only potential issue that I can see turning people off is that when you have these on a shelf, the ridged tops of the replacement VGC online cases don't match the cloudiness of the OEM cases exactly. The VGC Online cases are crystal clear, while the OEM cases are slightly cloudy. Not sure if this is due to age or what. But either way, it's a very minor nitpick, but I thought again worth mentioning. 

Here's a pic of what I mean, with Tomcat Alley in the middle having a replacement case:

These are sent out in packs of 10, and all 10 I received were unbroken and scratch free, which is quite impressive considering how fragile the original ones are. These are individually wrapped in a thin plastic baggie, which is then wrapped in a bubble wrap bag, and put into a cardboard box. Amazon just slapped a shipping label onto that box, which had me slightly worried, but they arrived safely. 

Overall, these are absolutely fantastic, and will make your games look like new. It's very satisfying to revitalize some old games, without having to cannibalize parts. VGC Online has done a very big service for the community with these. I could see some potential minor improvements with a V3, but not much. Must be why LRG hasn't released their cases yet, they probably can't compete on quality. 

The only question I have now is where can I download and print replacement inserts for my disc only games?

2 hours ago, chromableedstudios said:

Just my $.02 but allowing the same question over and over is a recipe for driving people that answer questions away and fragmenting the information into many places so it is harder to find.

 

Edit: I haven't had a chance to poke around yet, but I'm missing nerdy nights and the list of local game stores, hope those migrate if they haven't already

It's this and other kinds of similar choices that set the tone of a forum. Allow the questions, and you risk annoying long time members, but you have a lot of new members coming in and a more active community. Don't allow the questions, and you have a more loyal base of hardcore posters, but much less new blood. It's up to the mods the kind of community they want to make.

There's a few factors:

1) the improvements are there, but they're more subtle. Framerates, resolution, etc are all a lot higher quality and more stable this generation compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3. You really have to sit down with the games for a while to notice.

2) the CPUs of the PS4 and Xbox One are relatively weak, while they were relatively strong on the PS3/X360, which prevented things like really advanced AI and physics. This shouldn't be the case with the PS5 and Xbox Two.

3) ray tracing, if done right, is the generational leap in quality you're looking for. Not sure what the implementation will be like on the PS5 and Xbox Two, but it has a lot of potential: 

21 hours ago, TriHart said:

One thing I appreciate is the freshness of......everything. 

 

There's none of that "this discussion has already been talked about, refer to ancient thread XYZ that has been dead for ages."

Any topic at this point is up for grabs. That's pretty awesome! 

Agreed, the whole "just do a search," "did you do a search," etc thing really makes a forum feel unwelcoming.

In general, I think the collector mindset, across all interests, is that they like the thing, so they want to own a piece of it. For example, you like a sports team or player, so you want to have a jersey of that team, or maybe some cards, and maybe next level is the autograph of a player. You like games, so you want to collect your favorite games or systems, step up from that being you want to collect CIB games or graded games or a complete set from your favorite system. You like superheroes and/or reading comics, so you want to collect your favorite/most significant issues, etc.

There is some crossover between the groups, which is probably a generational thing (I know when I was growing up, if you were into anything like gaming, cards, comics, etc you probably at least dabbled in the others) which leads to some similar cross pollination (the new trend of grading games).

I have the Power Base Mini with the FM chip. Worth it for that feature alone.

On 10/24/2019 at 11:50 AM, Gloves said:

One thing I think the comics folks are going to be disappointed with is how free of them the casual market really is, for the most part. 

My comparison here being the difference in completeness. A casual comic collector who wants every Wolverine comic for instance needs to get every one of them, and the whole lot of em are the same - just a comic. But in video games you see people all the time sharing their "complete" sets of Franchise X on social media, and they have the cart games cart-only. There are tiers of options available, and I honestly can't see them buying up all the Mario 3 carts to try to game that specific bit of the market. 

CIB was already pretty niche comparatively, and sealed far moreso; specific rare variants most people don't even register as a thing that exists. So they can buy up all the CIB Mario 3 all they want, but it will really only impact those specifically into CIB collecting, and let's face it - the vast majority of us who collect CIB already have Mario 3, and probably in pretty decent condition due to the not-scarce nature of it.

I think there's going to be some interesting growing pains for the comic guys coming into this, and some potential surprises for them.

I think there is some parity between the groups - at the low end of comics collecting, you have people that collect "reader's" copies and don't particularly care about condition, they just want to have the issue. I see this as being pretty much analogous with loose collecting. Similarly, these people actually like to crack open and read their comics, much like loose collectors like to at least have the ability to play their games.

On the high end of comics collecting, you have people that won't even look at an issue if it's not sealed and graded 9.5 or higher. This is more analogous to the high end, sealed game collector.

The comics collectors also love first prints, variants, etc. That's why you see people trying to bring that sort of mentality into videogame collecting.

On 11/6/2019 at 8:05 PM, Startyde said:

It will always be what it has always been, key significant titles and the rest just remains flat or falls.

The next spike will be the extremely significant titles for PS1 while everyone else is wasting time on the B and C class Nintendo stuff. 

Strokes his copy of Battle Arena Toshinden in anticipation. 

On 10/22/2019 at 8:30 PM, epiclotus said:

I am advocating for leaving the marker there!  I will do so in all of these threads (*evil laugh?*).  Carts with marker or rental stickers are unique pieces of history.  Scrubbing that history creates a void.  I say, bust out a sharpie, and add your own flair to the cart!

I agree. Especially with rental stickers and such. Those stores probably don't even exist anymore. People's names on carts I can usually live without, but will usually leave.

However, sometimes a previous owner will make a half hearted attempt at removing stickers or other markings, and that just looks terrible to me and that's when I feel I have to clean it up.

49 minutes ago, phart010 said:

One time I bidded on Gradius V on PS2. I put a bid of $35 + $15 for shipping. After bidding I realized it was the Japanese version, which I have no interest in. I tried canceling the bid and contacting the seller to no avail.

I had accepted my fate,  nobody is gonna pay US price for the Japan version. Then when the auction ended, I found that someone outbidded me. Thanks Mr Sniper  

I feel like sometimes people snipe to deny someone else from having something, rather than trying to get something for a good price. I've seen auctions that end 2-3 times with no bids, then as soon as someone puts a bid in, the sniping starts.

Also, I'm pretty sure that some sellers bid on their own auctions to try to drive up the price. Serves them right if they wind up winning their own auction. 

11 hours ago, Jfreakofkorn said:

Wtf is going on w these prices ? ! ? 

Pure market manipulation. The $100k sale of the sealed/graded Super Mario is what kicked it off. Heritage Auctions, Wata, etc are working to pump up the value of sealed games, because it is in their best interest business-wise. And it's working. People are panicking buying up anything that's sealed in the hopes of having the next $100k Super Mario.

VGPC for me, I never liked GVN's interface.

9 minutes ago, nesking80 said:

really hate to see that they killed off a site with so much history, and a special culture, and replaced it with a husk that doesn't even remotely resemble what made NA a great site. but they dont care about that, all they care about is the data that it holds. RIP NA, vive la VGS!

I'm not sure what data they're even after that already isn't publicly available. 

Wow, what a mess, GoCollect completely squandered a valuable resource. It would have taken one or two developers with a modicum of talent to port everything over seamlessly, but they couldn't be assed to do that. I wonder what third rate off shore shop they hired for this.