lisalover1 wrote:I have owned four or five Master Systems, none of which have worked. It is definitely the most poorly-made console I have ever owned, even more so than the 360.
Blasphemy. I have had the same Master System since 1988 and it still runs like a dream, and doesn't even need the "repeatedly insert cartridge and switch power until game starts" method that
every other cartridge system I own requires.
Is there actually anything about it that makes it poorly made, or more poorly made than the NES for instance, or is this just anecdotal? Part of what makes Sega's early system more reliable than Nintendo's (in my experience) is because they don't have added moving parts. No goofy toaster springs or stiff eject buttons. Just shove the cart in and play.
The only console that I've been the original owner of that has broken was the phat PS2, which succumbed to disc read errors twice. Sony fixed it twice, for free, and my Dad still has it and I think it's still running.
As for the second hand market, I have come across far more original XBOXs that do not read discs than any other system. Working Atari 2600s have been difficult to come by as well, I generally don't even bother testing them out when I see them anymore because I've never found a working one in the wild.