fcgamer

I more or less completed a Famicom full set a few years ago, with there being only one or two variants and a couple "disputable" titles that I am missing; for the latter, I'd definitely be interested in grabbing them at some point, should they appear for a decent price, but I honestly see them as being akin to having a NES full set (yes, with Stadium Events) but not having a Game Genie. There are a few sets where I am close to having a full set (Super A'can, Game King, In2It), where I'm missing just a couple items and likely never will have a full set due to the scarcity of said items. And honestly I am more than comfortable with that, haha. Gamate - If I were to choose a second full set, this would probably be the one. I love the artwork on the boxes, and the games look like they would be sort of fun to play, if anyone ever made an updated machine to run them on. I am sitting at about 40% or maybe half of the set, I'd guess. Sega Mega Drive (J) - If I didn't choose the Gamate*, my other choice for second would be Sega Mega Drive. I'm like @OptOut that realistically I will likely never achieve this, though I do have a decent amount of titles, and the set is small enough that I could achieve a good chunk of the set reasonably. Now a rundown of some other sets, and my thoughts: Sega Mark III - Definitely wouldn't mind a full set here, I reckon I have about 1/5 of the set. Hard to find locally, but seems more or less obtainable*. Wonderswan / Wonderswan Color - I pick these up from time to time if I find them for cheap, again like the Mark III, sets seem more or less obtainable. I think it looks like a fun set as it is a bit more obscure, though similarly, the original monochrome machines seem terrible to play on. Super Famicom - No way I'd ever go for a full set here, I really don't enjoy the machine very much, and its library is bloated at something ridiculous like 1500+ games. I view it as the Wii of the 90s. If I find titles cheap at junk shops CIB or whatever, I'll pick them up if they look interesting, but this is a set that needs to be heavily curated I think. PlayStation - I feel similar to the PlayStation as I do the Super Famicom, though if I had to choose, I'd rather go for a PlayStation full set; there seems to be a lot of fun and interesting looking titles for this machine, with many of them being quite cheap, though I'd literally need a new home just to house a full set I think. N64 - Definitely another set that I would like to complete at some point. It's not a huge priority for me, as I can just visit my buddy and play / see his set if I want, but I occasionally grab titles for this set. Dreamcast - Another smallish library, wouldn't mind having a full set some day, and feel its more or less obtainable. Game Gear - Another smallish library, wouldn't mind having a full set some day, and feel its more or less obtainable. Game Boy / Game Boy Color - I started a full set of bootleg cartridges, preferably boxed. It's a lot more fun, as the set is a weird mix of USA and Japanese releases. Not really obtainable, as it's hard to even know what does and doesn't exist, but it's fun. No desire for the actual Japanese sets though, as the libraries are large and I just have other priorities. Game Boy Advance - I basically see this as SFC, no thanks in every way possible. PlayStation 2 - I am going for a set of Asian versions. Not likely to complete it, as I am not sure if anyone actually made a full list of what exists. I imagine just like SFC and the original PS, the library is going to be so bloated though, that it just isn't a desirable set to go for. Asian XBox - More or less obtainable, and it's a set that I am actively going for. Asian Xbox 360 - Less desirable than the above set imo, likely more or less obtainable but with a shit ton more crap, ehh releases. PC Engine - Not really obtainable, not really chasing it. Gamecube - Another smallish set that looks appealing to me. Wii - Only interested in the Taiwanese set of these, which is quite small. Nintendo DS - Not really interested Nintendo 3DS - Only interested in the Taiwanese set of these, which is quite small. Likely obtainable, though overpriced and not easy to find many of the titles. Watara Supervision - Would love to have a loose set of these, but there's a lot of extremely rare / obscure titles, and prices always seem to a bit much for what it is. NES - No thanks, ick. No idea why anyone would want this full set, take part of the Famicom library, and then add in a ton of shitty exclusives, as well as high prices. Ugh. *more or less obtainable to me equals the majority of the set can be had for reasonable prices, maybe I wouldn't obtain an actual full set due to some pricy titles, but could get about 80 - 90% reasonably, and would feel more than satisfied remaining at that.

The situation is really different here right now than in the States, I'd imagine, they're even forcing schools to go back online again. But yeah, at the current moment, here no mask is sort of like not washing your hands after using the public restroom...some people do it, but it's collectively frowned upon majorly and is in the very very minority, at least in my area. So I wasn't about to be hassled, especially when she seemed off, as I mentioned.

Thanks for the interest! I should have the price point figured out by the end of the weekend. I'm striving for around $8 + shipping of $6, for total of $14, maximum, though if I can get the price down to about $12 total (magazine + shipping included) that's what I'd prefer. Like I said in the earlier post though, I also plan to give access to the library of (paid) online articles I plan to do as a bonus for those who order the magazine, though I am still looking into how to make this a reality.

Brilliant, a guilty pleasure of mine. The tunes are really infectious, the sort of thing that just runs through your head all day and won't leave. I like the lyrics and the themes, in part because they are quite shallow teenage fluff. I guess part of it might be nostalgic, but sometimes I'd rather just listen to something like this than something heavy, especially if I'm doing some sort of computer work. She just released a new album last year I guess it was, I had heard one of the songs on the radio while at a junk shop here in Taiwan, and I was thinking, "WTF?" as it just sounded like her old stuff, but while I have mixed feelings on the situation (i.e. should people of her age still be singing the same type of songs as they were doing twenty years ago?), at the same time it felt quite good, in the same way that homebrew NES games feel good.

So I was waiting to cross the street to head into the post office. An Asian woman approached me, middle aged bat. Looked a bit off, she then asks me in decent English if I spoke Chinese. I looked at her again and thought to myself that I really didn't want to talk with this woman, I just really weird vibes. So I told her that I don't talk to people who aren't wearing a mask (it's still a requirement here by law, and at least in the city centre most abide by the rule in one way or another. She then got pissed off and told me to fuck myself, before she went into the bank. Very strange incident.

Which company do you think would grade it higher, Certified Dick or Wankera ?

I got a JY-201 sealed. Which company would you guys recommend me submit this to for grading? Serious question.

Mali's Cash is coming this June! I just had a proof of concept printed today at lunchtime, which I used to take these pictures, but the actual magazine will use perfect binding, be cut properly, etc.

Isn't that the truth though. I don't have the PhD bit, but I am an author and also studied English as my field, so I know how it is. Every single word has been carefully selected and curated, hahaha.

That last one, man you should write feel good stories for magazines.

Well on another note, not getting backdoored but something similar in my mind. Sometimes people ask me to help bid on or buy something here in Taiwan; if they inquire about the item before I see it, then I'll generally try to help, even if I have an interest in it after seeing it. Just the way I roll.

I view back dooring as being on a similar level to knowingly and willingly seducing and sleeping with someone's spouse or fiancee. I don't care if it's $20 or $20,000, it's something I personally don't want to get caught up in, I personally hold myself to a higher standard. In a situation where you researched but overlooked a detail and it makes the item you thought was garbage worth tens of thousands...well just act as grown adults then and "sit down" and talk about it. Tell the original party what's up, give them the first right of refusal. No need to make thinly veiled lies to people. I mean, at the end of the day I also feel that there's possibly a strike against buying something for pennies and flipping it for millions. I try to be honest and fair when dealing with anyone, it's something I refuse to compromise as I've gotten older, especially not for something as money.

How much did the other listing sell for?

Of course, it happens. I had one situation where the guy shamelessly refused to sell to me and sold to a local instead, after I made the purchase, guess he was worried about selling to a foreigner, chewed him out quite a bit and even proceeded to buy a cheap item from him just to get his address and bank account details, he didn't really appreciate that but I like to know information about this sort of people. Rarely though have I been backdoored. On the reverse, I don't think I've ever taken a higher offer to someone that wanted to make an offer and backdoor. I'm not going to sell out my name, even if it is $500+, lol.

I'd rather complement my sealed games with stuffed lions and stolen Picassos.

It's extremely difficult to get ahold of him. I put him in touch with a guy who has a Super Mario prototype and wants it dumped, God only knows if he wrote the guy or not, and since I'm just a middle man, there's little I can do about it either way. I know how busy I am, so I can definitely sympathize with being busy. Then again, with big ticket stuff, really should be prioritising that.

Not entirely though, as there's a huge elephant in the room that no one is talking about. Unless the unreleased game is very significant to the Wata shoot lion crowds, the only people that are interested are collectors, preservationists, and gamers, with the first two groups being the most likely to pony up the cash for the item. Remove collectors out the equation, for example, and it's just going to be the preservationists going after the game. Now here's the honest truth, a lot of the collector guys that would have been interested in throwing down cash for this stuff years back are out, out of the hobby. It's a phenomenon we will see more and more of. So what does that leave us with? An unreleased game and little demand, even the concept of needing it publically released is seen by now as outdated.

Oh there's debate as to whether it's a reseal or not, but circumstantial evidence suggests it's legit.

Yes, that may have been true twenty years ago (that's what the argument always was, anyways) but the landscape has changed quite a bit since then. Here are my thoughts on the matter: 1. The insane deep-pocketed collectors are not going to be interested in 95% of prototypes, dumped or undumped, released or unreleased games. Why? They are barely interested in regular video games anyways. Look at the titles that become the major "hits" for the investment, small-dicked shoot-a-lion dentist club: Marios, sports, Marvel superheroes (I do have a legit sealed John Madden whether people want to acknowledge it or not, btw). So are these guys going to be purchasing prototypes, magazine samples, and demos of Clash at Demonhead or other games they never heard of? Of course not. 2. The people that would be purchasing prototypes of games that aren't big ticket fall into two categories, namely collectors and preservationists. The latter group is not going to be dropping mint on a game that has already been dumped, so yes, it removes part of the competition out of the equation and could potentially lower the price of the game, if it were dumped. Similarly, while collectors are interested in the physical object, having an item that no one else has access to / has played does have a certain appeal, perhaps giving it an edge in value. Or does it, though? 3. Times have changed since the early collecting days when we were all hovered around DP like flies drawn towards shit or sour wine. Many preservationists (such as Frank Cifaldi himself) recognize and accept that resources are finite (i.e. money to purchase and dump games with), therefore we have to pick our battles. His situation with WATA is a good example; the game gets dumped and preserved, albeit not released, and at least some people know what the differences between that build and the retail build are, allowing us to document and paint a better picture of a game's development. I'd even argue that in the twenty years we just went though, these folks came to realize that it isn't even important to attempt to preserve everything, as it's physically impossible and the time and money could be better utilized elsewhere. But this sort of attitude is very, very different from the attitudes of 2001. Similarly, as collectors, we are mostly beyond the full set days, and people are purchasing items that have a significance to them. So when we see prototypes appear on ebay, whether dumped or undumped, there just isn't nearly the "OMG Prototypes" thought that there once was. 4. Due to the changing landscape, I feel it's necessary to reevaluate the archaic, outmoded idea that dumped prototypes are worth less than undumped ones. If it were a rare, unreleased Mario game for example, an undumped title might have a huge appeal to investors, collectors, and historians / preservationists alike; however, I would take a dumped Mega Man 3 prototype with no changes any day over a Clash at Demonhead alpha with major changes. These are different times, and as such, the rules have changed entirely.

That avatar...what did you do to @OptOut lol. Yeah, it'll be CIB

Faxanadu was awesome.

Long live the twink!

Text is finished and formatted. Goodnight VGS, this will be available soon

I'm really not sure I should be giving non-clients free marketing advice but it's as simple as deciding upon a campaign or two, adding value, and going nuts. Take this cartridge for example, complete garbage tbh: Running that video and circulating it around, suddenly there's a bit of fame attached to both of those cartridges, and if I sold the pair (I'm not looking to sell), the price would be higher than what the initial sell price would be. After that video I also ran an "Adopt a Top Gun" campaign and ended up selling those cartridges, games I couldn't even give away previously. It all came down to clever marketing. For your cartridge, I'd personally create an interest in it initially. Bring it to some Canadian gaming conventions or something and showcase it, create an interest and something memorable about it. Add value, create a history. Etc etc. Heck, throw it into an indie film. Then dump the game and get it to the masses, but the ones that really took to it from your earlier campaigns will want the physical cartridge even more, and the value will increase. It could be NWC all over again.

Very nice find! I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable about buying some of those games now, I'm glad I more or less finished this years ago.