Starting collection, couple questions.

[CRTGAMER]

Maybe scope out the games before committing to a system. Price and availability also a factor. For instance, PS2 games are plentiful and inexpensive at Gamestop, a perfect time to buy.

I'm not too keen on the Universal Game Cases, they look nice but too bulky. As your collection grows you lose a 3rd to Half holding power on the shelf because of the oversized cases.

[Xeogred]

Gotta love the old Genesis hard cases though. A real shame the NES/SNES/N64 didn't have something similar.

[ajsracket]

Gotta love the old Genesis hard cases though. A real shame the NES/SNES/N64 didn't have something similar.

Well there was robocop vs the terminator on snes, came with that cool hard plastic case. I agree with the other poster, i prefer the original cases vs cheap generic ones

[Kwixotik]

Thanks for all the input, guys. Just had a new situation pop up. I was looking at my SNES games and picked up Donkey Kong Country (my first game ever, still have it ). Unfortunately, seems like the saving ability is broken. Now that I've been looking around online for games, seems like a lot of sellers have to list that the save ability is functioning. How prevalent of a problem is this in cartridge-based games?

[CFFJR]

Its pretty common actually.

The batteries have a limited lifespan. There's no hard time limit (they do have an expiration date, but some last longer than that), but eventually they do crap out.

Not to worry though, its not too much of a chore to replace them. A dead battery does not equal a dead game!

In fact, there's a handy dandy guide for replacing snes batteries in particular, right here on racketboy.

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2006/11/ ... ttery.html

[Michi]

I will further recommend thrift stores, collectible places and such myself. It's amazing that places like amazon/ebay and such make it easier for us to track down some of those really hard to find games, but I still love the thrill of going into a store with a bunch of classics and sometimes stumbling upon something I've been on the look out for awhile. Great stuff.

I have to agree. I've found some of the nicest, minty-est cart-only, and even complete disk games, at a local chain of thrift stores (I've found stuff at Goodwill, but the local shops here are way overpriced).

Don't get me wrong. The finds are often few and far between, but it's still exciting to go in and find a small collection of games in a pile and going through them, finding common titles, popular classics, and the occasional gem.

[Bradtemple87]

My area is really thin but Seven seems to find deals

I usually make trades here or check eBay

[DAAAAA!!]

Buying games online is good because you don't have look a million places to find a game. But it is more expensive. If your cheap like me check your local thrift stores and swap meets. That's where i get most of my crap.

And when you buy a system, test before you buy. I have bought lots of broken crap. But games almost always work.

[AznKhmerBoi]

totally agree with you, but it bother the hell out of me when the tab on the top of box is torn off. It just looks weird to me. What do you think?

Gotta love the old Genesis hard cases though. A real shame the NES/SNES/N64 didn't have something similar.

[BoringSupreez]

totally agree with you, but it bother the hell out of me when the tab on the top of box is torn off. It just looks weird to me. What do you think?

Gotta love the old Genesis hard cases though. A real shame the NES/SNES/N64 didn't have something similar.

No, what's worst is when the tab is half snapped off.