My Japanese console collection (so far)

[Upsidedown Fuji]

You got some really good deals, some even better than me. It proably goes with the area. There's just more people around to sell their stuff off I guess. That's one main reason why I want to go to Tokyo. I got a few good connections out in the countryside but it's always nice for a change of scenery. Maybe I'll try to head out to Tokyo on Monday.

[Breetai]

You got some really good deals, some even better than me. It proably goes with the area. There's just more people around to sell their stuff off I guess. That's one main reason why I want to go to Tokyo. I got a few good connections out in the countryside but it's always nice for a change of scenery. Maybe I'll try to head out to Tokyo on Monday.

Just don't go looking for Hard-Offs in the centre of Tokyo. You won't find any!

[shallowgamer]

Just for fun, here are what my Japanese consoles cost (as best as I can remember). All were loose, unless I say it was boxed or CIB!:

Sony
PS2 - 1000yen (Hard-Off)
PS3 60GB - 60,000yen(?) new (Momotaro)
NEC
PC Engine - 1200yen (Super Potato Akihabara)
PC Engine Duo - 5000yen CIB (Hard-Off)
Nintendo
Famicom - free (gift from a student)
Super Famicom - free (gift from a student)
Gameboy - 500yen (Hard-Off)
Nintendo 64 Gold - 500yen (Hard-Off)
DS lite pink - 20,000yen(?) new (Bic Camera or Yodobashi Camera, I forget which one)
Wii - 25,000yen(?) new (Ito Yokado)
Sega
SG-1000 - 500yen (err... I forgot the store name. It's on the main road in Akihabara, near Taito Station)
Mark III - 500yen (same place as I got the SG-1000 from)
Mega Drive - 2000yen (another shop in Akihabara, also near Taito Station)
Game Gear (translucent smoke) - 1000yen (Hard-Off)
Saturn (model 1) - 3000yen CIB (Momotaro)
Saturn (model 2) - 1200yen, came with 3(!) memory cards (Hard-Off)
Dreamcast - 4000yen (Traders 2... I REALLY wanted a DC now, at that moment. Screw waiting a week for it to show up at Hard-Off for 500yen!!!)
Bandai
Wonderswan Color - 2000yen CIB Final Fantasy edition (Hard-Off)
Panasonic
3DO FZ-10 - 1500yen (Hard-Off)
SNK
Neo Geo AES - 7000yen CIB (Hard-Off)
Neo Geo CD front-loading - 5000yen (Hard-Off)
Neo Geo Pocket Color - 500yen (Hard-Off)


Best deal on a used game: PC Genjin 3 (PC Engine HuCard CIB) - free! (gift from a student who was getting rid of her grown-up children's stuff)
Most expensive used game: Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PC Engine Super CD-ROM2, missing spine card) - 3980yen (Super Potato)

WAITWAITWAIT...so you found a AES with box for around US$70??? Does that store normally have stuff that amazing? Or is it hit and miss like a pawn shop???

I think you need to share the wealth with your fellow Racketeers!!

[Breetai]

WAITWAITWAIT...so you found a AES with box for around US$70??? Does that store normally have stuff that amazing? Or is it hit and miss like a pawn shop???

I think you need to share the wealth with your fellow Racketeers!!

Yeah, it was 7000yen. That's about $70, give or take. It's from a chain shop which sells used electronics goods here in Japan called "Hard-Off", kind of like a pawn shop I guess. The larger branches have a lot of awesome stuff. I don't usually see AES systems, but Neo Geo CD systems for $30 are pretty common. I wasn't planning on buying much, but there was no way I could pass up a boxed AES for that price.

[Upsidedown Fuji]

Isn't there a new one in Akihabara behind the station?

[Breetai]

Isn't there a new one in Akihabara behind the station?

That's a Book-Off. Same company, I think, but different selection of stuff overall. Plus, things are priced higher at that Book-Off than the ones in the suburbs or in other parts of Japan. There are some deals, sure, but you're VERY unlikely to find a CIB Neo Geo AES for $70 there!!!

[gradualmeltdown]

solid reppin' the SG-1000. Now thats the sign of a really hardcore japanese sega fan.

[Upsidedown Fuji]

I had a feeling it wasn't a hard-off, I just never bothered to confirm it. Thanks for letting me know what it really is.

You're right about book-off not selling system hardware for the most part. But I've found some of my best software deals at book-offs. Whenever I see the yellow and blue I always stop in ant take a look for any odd items. What's great about book-offs is that they let you use your Tsutaya point card. So I've racked up quite a bunch of points buying crap at family mart convenience stores, book-offs, and random restaurant chains that accept the card.

[kunoh]

Great collection you have going. You even have a neo geo - something that I've always wanted for so long, but could never bring myself to get. Also, I love those white Sega Saturns - so cool! (The one I have is the typical black model from the USA).

Cool.

What I love about those Trinitron sets is that they use a steel Apeture Grille insteadof the usual Shadow Mask to form the pixels on screen. This eliminates all of the color banding and geometry issues usually prevalent with other Shadow Mask based CRT HDTV's making Trinitron sets extremely durable and high quality compared to any other CRT set.

I really didn't know that. I had a Trinitron set before I moved to Japan and was really happy with it, so I was more than happy to get another.

Yeah, they're fantastic sets with extremely nice picture tubes and contrast levels.

I also have a Sony Trinitron TV.. (a 27" which I got from relatives who were throwing it out). I hooked up all my older consoles to it (Saturn, SNES, NES, Dreamcast) and it looks amazing. I would say in many cases that it looks great even when compared to my larger Samsung 1080p lcd

[Breetai]

Great collection you have going. You even have a neo geo - something that I've always wanted for so long, but could never bring myself to get.

Yeah, I'm very happy to have that! Originally, I was very afraid to get a Neo Geo. The price tag is a scary thing. Still, I wanted one. I decided on a Neo Geo CD system, since it was affordable. Quite a few top-loaders around in the $30 range, but then I found a front-loader (25,000 made) for $50 including one control pad and one AES joystick. I just couldn't resist. About a month later I found my complete in box AES for $70 (no games and one joystick). So, now I've got an AES, a front-loader CD, two pads (picked a 2nd up for $5) and two joysticks. My AES games are nothing too special; Samurai Shodown II, Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury 2. They were also $5 each.

Also, I love those white Sega Saturns - so cool! (The one I have is the typical black model from the USA).

I only have the typical grey and white models from Japan. Actually, I like the grey one better. I used to have a black one (model 1) in 1996-98, but sold it with my games for about $250. Not a bad return... except that Dragon Force and some other great games were lost!!! Then I later bought a modded white model in 2000(I think) for $100 and sold it a couple years later for $300. I don't want to see my Saturns again!!! It's in the running for my favourite system of all time, but it's ironically the system that I keep selling off. I have no idea why I do that. I keep coming back to it.