Your thoughts on retro purchasing

[RCBH928]

Lately I started to have those worries that I should start hoarding consoles because they are getting old(more likely to break) and rarer to find, not to mention peripherals like memory cards etc.. and the idea of cd based systems laser dying is very scary.

On the other side it has been 15 years since psx, saturn, N64 being out yet they are still around thnx to the internet. Even older systems like genesis and NES are to be found around. What do you think, shall I start being really paranoid?

[otaku]

well as long as parts are available its not to big of a concern though having spare consoles may be cheaper than parts and repairs and for some systems parts and repairs may be difficult to come by (I'm thinking DC with GD rom drive here) and then theres the jag cd with its super low production run I believe repairs are about 75 bucks at this point

if you can afford it and plan on keeping and using the stuff then why not?

[MyNESstayFR3SH]

I sometimes think about this every time I even look at my collection but not in terms of hardware but more in terms of the software.

Even though I do sometimes think about my NES dying or my Neo Geo stops working or my PS2 exploding for no reason I worry more about the data stored in those cd's and cartridges I own. This is because I heard that the info stored on them will eventually disappear in a certain number of decades(really dunno how accurate it is but still) so what is the point, might as well just download the games instead but then I think about it, nothing gives me joy like the original so I keep collectiong cuz even though I might lose the battle of longevity, it just makes me happy having them NOW. I don't like saying this but I'll have to worry about the data leaving when it happens(if I'm not DEAD)

[Hatta]

A lot of time I'll buy a lot with consoles and games just for the games, and keep the console for backup. I bought an N64 with Mario Kart on Craigslist for $20. Since Mario Kart goes for $15-20, I consider that a free N64. By now, I have several duplicates of just about every retro system I have with this strategy.

[wclem]

Heck, most of the Atari 2600 carts I pick up still work. Some are 30 yrs old. I would not worry too much about it. Anyway, if an NES takes a dump and by some crazy reason you cannot get another then you could always buy one of those players for them.

[Cassidy]

For $300 you could buy a ton of retro systems and not have to worry about them breaking down for many, many years.

For $300 you could buy a new Xbox 360 and not have to worry about it breaking down for many, many days.



Sorry. Yeah, if you have the bank, go for it. It would be nice to have a backup NES or SNES just in case...

[newt42]

Expensive solutions to this problem:

Wii Virtual Console
Xbox Live Arcade
Playstation Network
Emulation

[DCsegaDH]

I'm not worried about the retro systems due to the fact that you can find most systems cheap at most second hand stores.I don't know about the other systems,but I think the Sega systems will be around a long time,I had my Genesis for 13 years and it plays like new.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I am personally hoarding all the disc based systems I can store, but only a few Cartridge based systems.

As for carts don't worry about them loosing data as all fully licensed retail cartridges (Atari, NES, SNES, Genesis, N64 etc...) use Hard wired ROM's which are 100% permanent, it's unlicensed repros that usually use EPROM's which lose data slowly over the course of a few decades through exposure to light, but can have their games re-written onto them with an EPROM burner.

CD's on the other hand need to be kept in a cool dry place as to prevent disc-rot from moisture getting to the aluminum data layer of the disc. My mom still has all of her old CD's from 82'-83' when my dad bought the first CD player on the market (Hitachi DA-1000); all of her discs still look and play like new though, as they were kept in a cool dry environment.

EDIT: Fixed error in description.

[Erik_Twice]

I think cartridge-based systems are extremely durable. The construction is very solid, with thick plastic and more designed to resist abuse. Just compare the NES with the PS2. You can sit on a NES like if it were a brick.

In the end if you think about it there's nothing that is prone to breaking down in an old console except for the contact pins. They have no moving parts nor delicate equipment.