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zenintrude posted:Can someone explain how places like this don't get C&D'd into oblivion? I mean, if Square could shut down a free fan project, surely they could shut down a for profit (for all intents and purposes) cart bootlegging operation if they wanted to, right? It's a small worry, but nothing that keeps me up at night. The people in the industry whom I've talked to have all been cool with it. Many people here know that I personally don't do games which the rights holders still make available on services such as virtual console, xbla, psn, so there isn't too much worry about a company claiming lost profits or something similar. I also don't do games that are simply imports without any patches. So no Rendering Ranger or Undercover Cops even though I get requests for them on a weekly basis. To fit my criteria the game code has to differ in some way from any released version. There's also the issue that many of the games, prototypes mostly, have either had the rights expired and never renewed or are otherwise null. That being said, should a c&d situation ever arrive the applicable products would be removed immediately. I have had the fortunate opportunity to talk with people at Nintendo and other companies about reproductions. So far I've not received any negative feedback. People who actually worked on these games like seeing them available instead of lost forever. As someone who dabbles in game dev myself I can totally understand that. No one wants to see something that they worked hard on disappear forever. Unless it sucks. There's one instance I know of where a reproduction maker was threatened with legal action. The circumstances were different from what I do and nothing ended up coming from it. I can't give out too many details, but I can say that the game was currently being sold at retail and very profitable at the same time. The version that the repro guy was selling was on a different platform where the game hadn't been released. In that case the stakes were just too small for legal action. The company rep asked that all copies (25 total I think) be destroyed and the guy selling them complied the same day he was notified. I do think that the whole reproduction biz is going to disappear in the next few years. Retro is getting bigger and eventually rights holders will be releasing their older unreleased, untranslated games digitally. I'm all for that. For me it's about making these games available for play in a format that people want. Even though we're rolling out boxes and manuals + shrink wrap for some of the more popular games before the end of the year, I'm more interested in doing original things. The 2600 game I did was a success and I'd really like to do more things like that. That's the future in my eyes. Less translations and more retro styled originals. Fortunately the retro craze has reached the point where that's starting to become viable. Congrats on the new thread! That OP is really well done. JJJJJS fucked around with this message at 23:07 on Nov 5, 2012 |
# ¿ Nov 5, 2012 23:01 |
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# ¿ Mar 29, 2024 14:50 |
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I find independent stores to be the best bet for retro stuff. Make friends with the owners and never pay full price again. The thrift shops around here are scavenged by resellers on an hourly basis so I don't even bother. Same deal with craigslist. We have some chain retro stores that have insane prices and aren't worth checking. Pawns base their prices off of ebay or even worse amazon. Then there are the retro conventions. If there's one nearby go to it.
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# ¿ Nov 6, 2012 22:14 |
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Kilazar posted:*edit* also.. I guess I should have asked. Is this allowed in the thread? If not I'll hook up on the IRC later and see if anyone wants them. I'd like to stay away from re sellers nabbin stuff. In regards to selling in this thread, I think this is something we should figure out sooner rather than later. I'd much rather let other retro goons have first crack at something before going to SA-Mart or something else. Maybe get a general consensus on whether or not to allow it?
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# ¿ Nov 6, 2012 22:36 |
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I'm in the process of organizing my game room. It's reached the point where there's just too much stuff and not enough of it is organized in any sane way. As documentation, and since this new thread doesn't have enough pictures yet, I decided to take a few pictures today. These are just a few of my favorite items from the collection out on display. The bottom shelf is completely disorganized and most of the stuff on that shelf needs to be filed away. The beginning of the console wall. The idea here is to have one of every major revision for each console I own on display. It's not much right now, but don't worry there are more systems hanging around. Another wall of display worthy items. Plus Shadow and a NUON thrown in for comedy. A year and a half ago I would have said that one can't have too many consoles. I'm beginning to rethink that stance. These pics are consoles that aren't on display right now. I clearly have almost, maybe enough. Sega disc based consoles! Genesisssss, Genesi, whatever! Playstation! N64! NES! Dreamcast! Have you played Atari today? I sure as hell have. Miyamoto's RGB, your wife and my girlfriend should talk. Stuff currently hooked up. Also those wire cubby hole things suck. I didn't bother taking pictures of most of the games. There are also about 20 more consoles around....a couple more SNES', CDI, a few 3DOs, some PS2 and PS3 consoles as well as a wii and two more 360 systems and of course 15 or so Game Gears that I didn't feel like dragging out.
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# ¿ Nov 7, 2012 02:41 |
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The Orange Mage posted:Speaking of hardware near-impossibilities, has that one guy's attempt to create a Sega Neptune-like uber-Genesis gone anywhere? I started one early this year and haven't had the time to do anything with it. Someday I'll get around to finishing it.
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# ¿ Nov 10, 2012 20:48 |
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Safari Disco Lion posted:Yeah I don't know what Gamester81 does for a living but he makes some serious money. He's got nothing on John Hancock though, who has a CIB collection for something like 22 consoles. That guy is loving ridiculous. Hancock has the most impressive collection I've ever seen. 22 complete sets, although his nes set is missing around 100 boxes. He's smart when it comes to collecting and is quite possibly the luckiest collector out there. Stadium Events cost him $100. He found Outback Joey of all things locally. Rare Japanese only Saturn releases in the goodwill cd section. All the boxes and manuals for his N64 set where free since a video store was throwing them out. The most surprising thing is that his gaming budget is laughably small considering what he has. $100 a month. Seriously. Quite a contrast to another one of my friends who bought this. He already had the cartridge, just needed the box.
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# ¿ Nov 11, 2012 22:13 |
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HKR posted:This guy has new ones for $16.99 I just learned that I've been vastly undercharging for TE cap replacements.
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# ¿ Nov 12, 2012 06:14 |
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HKR posted:Haven't posted a haul post even though I had stuff piling up. That's quite the awesome haul. Reminds me that I need to pick up Dino Crisis 1 and 2 sometime.
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# ¿ Nov 25, 2012 23:12 |
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HKR posted:speaking of Surugaya, anyone get order/shipping confirmations yet? I emailed them on friday and they said my order was still processing. I haven't heard anything yet either. Put in the order on the 19th.
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# ¿ Nov 26, 2012 03:50 |
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zenintrude posted:Can you explain this to my non- brain? Looks like he's trying to get RGB out of an NES without relying on finding an arcade board with a good PPU. The other guy is trying to build an NES from scratch incorporating the good sides of both models. Put these together and Hamburglar will end up mortgaging his house.
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# ¿ Nov 27, 2012 22:13 |
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Antillese posted:Speaking of cabinets, anyone have any suggestions on how to go about purchasing an inexpensive cabinet? Ideally I'm looking for a two-player Astro City form factor that I'll be using to house consoles. So I'll be replacing the monitor, controls etc so I really just care about the cabinet itself. I know a guy locally who has around 500 cabs. Me and a couple guys are trying to set up a deal with him for a couple cabs. I'll see if I can get this moving in the next week and let you know. Also, I have a 3rd Strike set up. I thought that was important to mention.
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# ¿ Nov 28, 2012 22:01 |
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Ambitious Spider posted:In retrospect I could have been wiser with my money. That's the exact opposite of what this thread is about.
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2012 03:03 |
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Super Ninja Fish posted:The hell with Earthbound. What in God's name is going on here? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Final-Fanta...=item43b64f0d5d Retro gaming: it's not about being cheap anymore.
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# ¿ Dec 1, 2012 01:36 |
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StellarX posted:So if I can find a barebones 32X, all I'd need is that patch cable, the AC adapter, and the 32x AV/cable (or would my Model 1 AV cable work?) You would need a model 2 AV cable, not a model 1.
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# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 05:46 |
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Good luck, you'll need it.
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# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 10:08 |
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fatpat268 posted:I was almost tempted to buy this almost $200 soldering iron, but I've already spent too much money. Buy it. The Hakko 808 is the best money/time investment you'll ever make. You could go on using braid to desolder things (if you truly hate yourself) or use the hakko and be able to desolder through hole components in about 3 seconds. I've used mine daily for about two years, can't imagine being without it.
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# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 20:21 |
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Kilazar posted:
The chips in commercially produced cartridges are OTP (one time programmable) Proms. Basically they have a ton of fuses that a device overloads instead of cells that hold a charge. All that means that the chip can't be erased or reprogrammed. Oddly enough Madden games are what I use for repros 99% of the time since they tend to have similar hardware to the popular SNES RPGs.
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# ¿ Dec 6, 2012 08:04 |
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fatpat268 posted:Edit: Yea, the pins on that cart are dirty, but I can't get them any cleaner. I've used pencil eraser and alcohol, but it's still a 50/50 proposition on whether or not the game will actually work. Hi, I'm here to make you spend even more money apparently. Pick up some Brasso and q tips and go to town on those pins. Wipe off the residue with a q tip dipped in alcohol. They'll be as clean as the day the game came out of the factory.
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# ¿ Dec 6, 2012 22:13 |
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Fulfilled my Santa-y duties today and shipped out some gifts to my giftee today. Wrote some notes on each package, open them in order for maximum enjoyment!
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# ¿ Dec 15, 2012 02:50 |
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zenintrude posted:
Glad it all got there. The DC looks like a power supply issue. Sometimes the pins which connect the power supply to the main pcb can have issues. Or it could be the supply itself. I can send another power supply board along if you'd like, it's an easy replacement.
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# ¿ Dec 17, 2012 23:02 |
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Miyamotos RGB NES posted:
Nothing that simple of course. There are schematics to build the interface out there which I followed. The SD slot itself was desoldered from a usb card reader that I found at the local computer recycling store. The circuit is then soldered to the serial pins on the DC motherboard and the pcb is jammed somewhere in the DC...it's a tight fit. As for running DC games, I have no idea. I loaded some neo geo cd roms and it ran those really well. Didn't get into GDROM images though. I hear that running DC images causes problems on some games since the read speed is slower than that of the drive. If I ever do another one I'll have to play around with it some more. madpanda posted:For desoldering old batteries from carts here is what I do. That's the best way I've found as well. Doesn't even take ten seconds. Is there enough interest for some tutorial videos? I can make some quick vids showing basic soldering and battery removal type stuff. fatpat268 posted:I'm trying to learn how to make repros myself, but I want to be sure I can make one before I start buying an eprom programmer and chips. Nes repros are a good place to start, anything with a SNROM board such as Sweet Home or Zelda Outlands is good to get your feet wet. The rewiring is just to match up the pins with the correct points since as you mentioned mask roms and eproms are slightly different. I don't have my tech folder handy but from memory, pin 1 is unused since it's VPP which is only used when programming. Pin 2 is A16 which corresponds to hole 24 on a SNROM board. Pin 30 is A17 which is hole 1. Pin 31 is unused since it is a pin used for programming similar to pin 1. Lastly pin 16 is output enable (OE). Since the PRG chip must always output, it can be tied to any ground, pin 16 being convenient. In eprom world, grounding a pin makes it active while applying voltage to it disables it. And then there's SNES which requires the ability to solder surface mount pins with 0.5 millimeter spacing. It takes a fair bit of practice to say the least. JJJJJS fucked around with this message at 03:57 on Dec 18, 2012 |
# ¿ Dec 18, 2012 03:31 |
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midge posted:So, anyone STILL not got their Secret Santa gift? Nothing yet on my end, our mail service seems to be moving a little slow.
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# ¿ Dec 23, 2012 20:23 |
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Long post ahead. First and most importantly, Secret Santa came in! Here are some hastily taken photos! Funnily enough "Air Fortress" was the name of the band that did the music for the first xbox 360 game I put on indie games. I'm going to go ahead and pretend that my Santa knew that since it makes it way more awesome. Now I finally have a copy woohoo! Holy poo poo, it's The Adventures of Batman and Robin on SNES! I've been looking for this one for a couple years and haven't been able to find it. It's been at the top of my SNES want list for awhile. Thanks Santa, you're completely awesome! Some hand drawn Snatcher art! Snatcher is my favorite game and this will make an awesome addition to the Snatcher/Policenauts section of the gameroom. Seriously I have way too many versions of both of those games...they deserve their own section at this point. Once again, thanks to my Santa, those gifts more than exceeded my expectations. Now onto Dreamcast mod stuff. VGA. It's an easy mod...use a thicker gauge wire than I did for Zen's else the wires tend to break during shipping. I found that I had to add some solder to the points under the motherboard. The regular AV out port will still work fine. The reason people aren't using RCA jacks for the audio is that the system is so cramped inside that there simply isn't any room for them. Not to say that it can't be done, it's just very cramped in there. On my Samsung monitor the image was shifted. On my Panasonic plasma the image was centered. Seems to be an issue with the Samsung monitors...I have no idea why. SD. Easy if you're decent at soldering. The contact points on the serial port are a little small, but nothing compared to say a SNES digital mod. Seems to be far more suited to loading homebrew than dreamcast ISOs due to the slowish read speed. DC cases are not fun to work with. The plastic is thick and a pain to cut. Sanding takes forever because of the thickness as well. I think the ideal way to do it would be to take advantage of the useless modem. Gut the modem and use that casing to house the PCBs and jacks.
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# ¿ Dec 27, 2012 22:47 |
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Cicero posted:So for my Christmas present, the wife took the CRT I had bought, and combined it with our little garage that we rent for our apartment, some shelves she commissioned from a neighbor, the couches we didn't like in our apartment proper, and many blankets and rugs from Goodwill, to create This here is the most awesome thing ever posted in this or the last thread.
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# ¿ Jan 13, 2013 05:26 |
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ACID POLICE posted:Either that or his wife really hates video games in the house. There's also Game Trader just outside of Portland in Beaverton. Legendary Games is just over the bridge in Vancouver and is certainly worth checking out...especially since they just bought out 2 local stores so they have a ton of stock right now. Game Shack has decent prices, some imports and is one of my regular rounds. There's Stuff on 82nd which can be a crap shoot but they do have half off sales. Oregon City has Strikers arcade and an awesome collectibles shop called Coin Corner & Hobbies.
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# ¿ Jan 13, 2013 09:23 |
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flyboi posted:
I wouldn't say it's the ONLY copy....possibly one of 2 though.
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# ¿ Jan 13, 2013 21:41 |
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BaronVanAwesome posted:Question for anyone that's replaced batteries in games before: In addition tho the other suggestions you can also use a helper battery. Wire a new battery to the other points on each pad for the positive and negative. Desolder the original battery, hook up a new battery where the old one was and then desolder the helper battery. CPS3 batteries have to be changed in the same way. I've done it a few times and it works but if you have access to a retrode or something that would be easier.
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# ¿ Jan 15, 2013 11:05 |
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I have a serious question. Since we're all retro goons and most of us have been to a few retro game stores, I figure this might be the best place to ask. What do you want to see in a primarily retro game store? What sort of things do you like or dislike? The short story here is that I and a couple guys are starting a store (and website) in Portland, OR. this year. I'll have my reproductions there as well as offering repairs on just about everything. We've got a good amount of stock built up since we've been working on this project for about a year so fortunately getting stock isn't an issue. With any luck I'll finally be able to reclaim some space in the house which is being taken up with random game/repro stuff.
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# ¿ Jan 27, 2013 02:39 |
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Excellent advice everyone, thank you. We've discussed a few of the suggestions already, such as Random Stranger's UGC idea which we're going to try out. Awesome idea on having grab bins of cheap games as well, I've seen bins like that do really well at the retro shows. Fortunately we're not rushing into it 100% blind. One of the guys involved ran a successful retro store for the last 13 years, I've got a couple years experience working in a used media store, and we have some support from the local retro crew. I certainly agree with the sentiment about turning off the collector instinct and focusing on moving product. One of the local stores which closed down recently had an amazing selection but sky high prices. I honestly think that the owner was far more interested in keeping the good stuff rather than selling it. One of the smartest things I heard from a vendor at one of the retro shows went along the lines of "I don't want to go home with anything I brought to the show. If I still have a ton of stuff at the end doing something wrong." Random Stranger posted:And I hope this goes without saying but the store needs to be comfortable to browse. I've been into too many shops where there's low shelves with bare floors, poor lighting, and odd smells. Everything can't be stored at eye level but the closer to it you can get the better off you are. Agreed. You'd be surprised at how often I see places that seem to have forgotten this. JJJJJS fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Jan 27, 2013 |
# ¿ Jan 27, 2013 04:19 |
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Chainclaw posted:Hey, JJJJJS, why don't you do repro NES carts for Nekketsu! Street Basket - Ganbare Dunk Heroes? I was thinking about ordering that and Recca soon, but didn't see it on your site. I can't believe that I haven't played this before. Thanks for the suggestion, I'm going to add it to the site this week.
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# ¿ Jan 27, 2013 07:01 |
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al-azad posted:But Portland is a pretty clogged place. There's Ground Kontrol arcade which has a little display rack that never moves anything and a retro shop that I can't remember the name of about 15 minutes outside the metro area. Portland is packed but we're not too worried about it. Ground Kontrol isn't a competitor really. They've carved out an awesome niche for themselves but hardly sell anything anymore. Last time I talked with them they were planning on phasing out that part of their business as well. I would say that the main competitor would be Wizards. Fortunately the owners are good friends with myself and my partner in this whole thing. They have collaborated with his former store for years and I've been working with them for awhile now. They've been very supportive to say the least. We've received help from many of the other local guys as well. My main interest in this project is in trying to improve on some of the things I'm not too fond of when visiting stores. Stuff like actually having an inventory system, having prices on everything, presenting the games in a pleasing manner. It's boring crap to most and it seems that many of the retro stores don't even bother with it. For me though? Designing databases, having nice presentation and creating an atmosphere that a customer actually wants to be in? FASCINATING! I've also noticed some places seem to keep the good stuff at a ridiculous price. I've asked around and many times it is just so that they have good stuff to show off. We don't plan on doing that. I'd rather make money off of E.V.O. than have it sit for 6 months at $150. So the question is how does one balance having top shelf stock with sell-able prices? It's a tough question really and something that we've been thinking about a lot. Says the guy who just bought E.V.O. for $100. JJJJJS fucked around with this message at 09:39 on Jan 27, 2013 |
# ¿ Jan 27, 2013 09:30 |
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tvb posted:When you can, I'd recommend investing in retro fixtures. My favorite retro game store in Chicago is loaded with stuff like '90s demo kiosks (that are always running) and advertisements, posters, etc., and when you go in, it gets you so excited about everything that you just want to buy it all. We have a few kiosks already including a DS, DC, SNES, Xbox 360, PS and a few others that I can't recall right now. One of the things we'd like to do is to differentiate areas of the store so that the Nintendo area will look different from the Sega area and so forth. I think kiosks and some old school lighted signs might help with this. A lot of it depends on how big the store is though. Miyamotos RGB NES posted:1) I'd love to be able to see/feel the games. I know this sounds weird but a HUGE HUGE thing for me, and a reason I'd go to a retro game store instead of eBay, is because I'd be able to see the condition of the item. No amount of hi-res pictures recreates that. This might not be feasible, though, because of the threat of someone scurrying off with Chrono Trigger on a daily basis. Maybe a middle ground would be to only sell games with 100% intact labels? This way people going to your store know that if they are going to buy a game, it's going to be pretty mint. This does not need to be done for the bargain bin games, though. These are super helpful. Some work, some aren't feasible unfortunately. As a customer I like being hands on as well but it's something that we can't do. One of the local stores addressed it by having actual boxes out on the floor with the carts behind the counter. Unfortunately most of their boxes have been stolen. People suck sometimes. We are planning on having some new stuff. It's a money loser for sure but it really brings in product through trade ins. It will be somewhat limited though, some of the super hyped titles and a few niche titles but not much else. If it didn't entice people to trade in their old stuff I wouldn't even bother with it. Repairs aren't a big money maker but it's something we want to offer since no local store does. Not many people are willing to spend an absurd amount of time to fix a Sega CD but if it gets us a loyal customer it's more than worth it. Luckily the two guys nearby who will try and fix anything happen to be myself and the other main guy in this project. Having niche stuff is a priority mainly to get people talking. Imports don't tend to sell around here for some reason that no one can figure out. Yet it gets people talking. We are very lucky to have a bunch of oddities to show off already. I've also suggested that we buy a couple hundred dollars of imports from Rakuten. It's basically cheap advertising. We'll get right on opening a store in New York...until that happens you might want to book a plane ticket here for the weekend of October 5th and 6th. I hear we're doing some sort of Portland Retro Gaming Expo that weekend. I'll be near the front with the cool kids this year as opposed to being in the back corner with the cool kids last year. Bring a few thousand dollars.
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# ¿ Jan 28, 2013 01:19 |
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elf help book posted:The good Model 2 is the Model 1. The best advice. Just buy a model 1 and don't worry about all the model 2 variations. Plus the model 1 on top of the model 2 sega cd with extension plate makes the system hilariously large. Huge and cumbersome is like half of the proper 16 bit Sega experience.
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# ¿ Jan 29, 2013 21:56 |
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So uh, next time I make a limited edition I'm keeping a bunch for myself. Road Warriors 2600.
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# ¿ Jan 30, 2013 09:32 |
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Miyamotos RGB NES posted:Out of genuine curiosity, does something like this enrage you? The only part that annoys me is that the buyer asked for the signatures with the apparent intention of selling it. The other ones that have sold on ebay weren't signed and didn't bug me. A few of the genesis Snow Bros. repros we did for the cowlitz show exclusive ended up on ebay as well. I figure once they've bought it they can do what they want with it.
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# ¿ Jan 30, 2013 11:04 |
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in_absentia posted:Holy poo poo, didn't figure it was that drat rare. I figured some people out in California or something would have a few floating around. I'm just a normal nerd in Jackson, MS. I've never seen one, come to think of it I don't even know anyone who has seen one. I do know that I'd sell a car or two to afford one if I ever found one for sale though.
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# ¿ Feb 2, 2013 07:03 |
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Antillese posted:Component mod stuff This is awesome, looks like you're close to production. Any idea what one of these will cost?
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# ¿ Feb 4, 2013 10:24 |
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Mace Bacon posted:Not video game related, but certainly thread related, an old Trinitron commercial where John Cleese is basically us: I assume that that commercial only works if you are watching it on a Trinitron. In which case you already have one and don't need to buy one. However if there's a difference when you're watching it on something other than a Trinitron then it just goes to show that your current TV is equivalent to a Trinitron and therefore you don't need to buy one. This commercial makes no sense.
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# ¿ Feb 4, 2013 10:33 |
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flyboi posted:That's actually where I got the cap kit but step step 3 confuses me.. Does the spacer just lift off or do I have to use wire snips or sacrifice a few earthbound carts? The trick to removing caps like that is needle nose pliers. Twist the body until it comes off, don't try to heat and pull it unless you want damaged traces. The plastic spacer should break apart easily if you pinch it with the pliers. Heat the pads and remove the legs with the pliers. After that it's just like soldering anything else.
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# ¿ Feb 5, 2013 02:31 |
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# ¿ Mar 29, 2024 14:50 |
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JumbocactuarX27 posted:Anyhow, I plugged things back together and the system boots up just fine but refuses to read the audio CDs that I put in there. The thing I've noticed is that the CD doesn't even spin in the drive (though the laser does move and bob up and down trying to read the thing). So my first question is: what can I do about this? Should I replace the motor in the disc reader? Is that even feasible? I put the disc drive in the dishwasher, so maybe it just needs to dry out some more? (I let it dry for 2 hours with the oven preheated to 170, then turned off as recommended here: http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/PCB_Cleaning_101) Have I royally hosed my disc reader and need to replace the whole thing? I sure hope someone here has some advice on this. Tell tale signs of a dead laser. Fortunately Saturn lasers are easy to replace.
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# ¿ Feb 10, 2013 23:12 |