Gonna dive into Neo Geo AES collecting. Talk me down?

[mjmjr25]

Boy, i've been on this collector / gamer / both / neither roller-coaster for the past 3+ years and I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what I am. Like many of you, I am a gamer who collects.

My time constraints really keep me to arcade type stuff (fighters / puzzlers / shooters / quick platformers) so naturally that is what most of my collection has evolved into.

I've been into MVS pretty heavy for a little over 2 years now and lately have been thinking of moving to AES. Obviously the Neo library suits my gaming needs really well and from a collecting perspective, they hold steady and increase, so not a ton of risk in the investment.

Most AES games are going to run a few bucks more, or in some cases, quite a bit more, which I know going in. With MVS titles, I always spend a few bucks on a shock or neo mini box, so there's more money there, plus no manual. Manual and original art are a big draw for me.

So, what am I not considering - are there reasons aside from cost that others go MVS over AES? I've already hit up Fox and Noise for their takes, but would like to hear from a few more...

[fastbilly1]

Bad Mick bad!

[dunpeal2064]

Just skip that nonsense and go full-playa.

Collect Cave boards

[Ghegs]

AES is for insane people with way too much money in their hands. I'm pretty sure those people don't even play the games, for fear of scratching the case and contacts.

MVS is for when you actually want to play the games, and you can do so without spending exorbitant amounts of money. The really good stuff like Metal Slug, Blazing Star, etc. are easily 10 times more expensive as AES versions and very hard to come by, while you can find the MVS versions fairly easily and cheaply.

[sevin0seven]

..think of your kids. don't do it MIKE!

[Stark]

So ... what advantage are you getting from an AES console that you don't get by doing a consolized-MVS and using the collection you already have? There aren't very many (are there any?) AES-exclusive titles are there?

[mjmjr25]

Bad Mick bad!

I know. I know. It's silliness.

Just skip that nonsense and go full-playa.

Collect Cave boards

Well, yeah. I def. enjoy that too, but pricey and scary. I told you that my 7yo was trying to change a PCB (something he's been told he's not to do) and he dropped my Galuda II board, right?

AES is for insane people with way too much money in their hands. I'm pretty sure those people don't even play the games, for fear of scratching the case and contacts.

MVS is for when you actually want to play the games, and you can do so without spending exorbitant amounts of money. The really good stuff like Metal Slug, Blazing Star, etc. are easily 10 times more expensive as AES versions and very hard to come by, while you can find the MVS versions fairly easily and cheaply.

I have all the MVS titles i'd want, save a couple I just haven't stumbled upon yet, NitD, TSS, SSVS, and Pulstar.

The sad reality is that as cool as the neo miniboxes look - i'm really bothered by the fact that they aren't "legit" products. It doesn't bother me for my atomis or PGM stuff, because there aren't official home releases, so custom stuff can work. It's purely a cosmetic / OCD thing that it actually at times - bothers me. I want the manual and original art. I fully understand this is sad, but it's also true. I would def. play the AES titles though. I play MVS more than just about anything else.

..think of your kids. don't do it MIKE!

I am! You know my boys would love this!! Thinking of you too, since you'll be here to play them

[dunpeal2064]

. I told you that my 7yo was trying to change a PCB (something he's been told he's not to do) and he dropped my Galuda II board, right?

I barfed in my mouth a littlle.

[fastbilly1]

I understand the OCD aspect of it, I really do, but thats alot of money to swap out your collection. I mean the Metal Slug prices alone are enough to turn away most people. Have you done the math on the transition? Meaning roughly how much it will cost to buy the games in AES with the sale of MVS?

[mjmjr25]

Not the full math, no.

I'm aware of baseline prices on the Slugs, etc. I def. wouldn't get involved in the conversions.

There are some odd occurrences lately where the MVS carts are selling higher than the AES carts: Magician Lord, Super Spy, Nam 75, Riding Hero, etc. Granted, these are low-mid tier titles.

I def. wouldn't collect the entire library. Probably something in the 60-75 title range. I wouldn't see a need to get all the art of fighting games, all the world heroes, etc.

Just doing a really quick check, to get the top 50 AES titles i'd be looking to get for sure, would be about 27K. My MVS collection could offset about 17-18% of that.

So yeah, that is one (scary) way to look at it.