How Is Your SNES Gaming Going?

[AppleQueso]

I was wondering if maybe the increased interest in retro game collecting might be tied in some way to the unusually long generation we've had, and thought that perhaps it might stabilize or even go down again once the next generation kicks in.

Seeing SNES prices flatlining with the Ps4 and Xbone looming makes me wonder if I might actually be onto something. Guess we'll find out...

[ExedExes]

I guess I am...I even tried Bubsy and found it hard. Its just so irritating to play for 2 hours then lose your last life and have to start all over again.

Go easy on Bubsy players. When you continue, you don't get to start on the same level you played. There are sets of levels, 3 to each set. So stage 1-3 has a forest/grass theme, stage 4-6 has an amusement park theme, 7-9 has a western theme, and so forth. When you die, say on stage 9 where I always had the most trouble, you get taken back to the first level in that set. So you'd start again on Stage 7, burn through all your lives to get back to stage 9, rinse, repeat. There's also bosses on stages 3, 6, 9, etc. so that's where the trouble can be.

No, MAD-1 came latter. Earlier SNES carts that don't use the MAD-1 can more easily lose saves.

Is there some sort of identification that it is MAD-1 on the label or the cartridge itself? It might be a good idea for me to replace my copy.

I had cleared and civilized four areas, and ending up getting stuck on the level with the large bird-like symbol on the ground in the upper left corner. Had no idea what I was supposed to do after I fully expanding the town there. I'll definitely get back to it at some point, but losing that progress is a bit of a downer.

I can help.

That area must be the desert town of Kasandora, correct? After clearing the pyramid, depending on what your experience level is, you can take on Aitos (the town with the volcano) or Marahna (the island town). The game will tell you if your level is too low to start Act 1 on any of those areas.

[SNESdrunk]

I agree, Mega Man X2's price is ridiculous. But that ridiculous level of increase isn't present across the board. In some cases, prices have actually fallen and stayed low over the years. I mentioned Air Strike Patrol earlier and want to take a second to point out its graph:

http://videogames.pricecharting.com/gam ... ike-patrol

Yup, I just got Super Punch Out loose a while back, that one hasn't changed much at all for whatever reason.

And somelike like Skyblazer

You can thank Game Grumps for that, they just started that one so that's going to keep going up.

One month is a small sample size but it looks like the VC release of EarthBound may be having an impact. Still getting 4 sales a day but down $40 on average. That's pretty significant.

[Ack]

God, I hope so. I might be able to pick Earthbound up soon if it continues its downward trend.

[Ziggy]

No, MAD-1 came latter. Earlier SNES carts that don't use the MAD-1 can more easily lose saves.

Is there some sort of identification that it is MAD-1 on the label or the cartridge itself? It might be a good idea for me to replace my copy.

For Sim City, it's easy.



The above cart is earlier. Note the locking cart style. Another thing with this version is the label. Notice how the Sim City logo protrudes outside the boarders for the center picture. It protrudes on the bottom, as well as the top (which is how I identified which version Luke had from his photo).



This is a later version. It has the sloping cart design, as oppose to the locking type. The logo does not protrude. Also has an ESRB rating. This version of the cart should have the MAD-1.



Then there's the Player's Choice version, which is basically the same as the on in the second pic, only with the gold Player's Choice ribbon and a different ESRB rating. This version is guaranteed to have MAD-1. Also noticed that this version was made in Mexico.

They also all have their own distinct product codes.


A good rule of thumb is if a game has an earlier version with the locking design, it probably doesn't have MAD-1. If the cart has the sloping design, it likely has MAD-1. That is, if the game has the need for such a decoder.

The MAD-1 decoder doesn't guarantee you against saves dropping, though. You just stand a much better chance, from my own personal findings. One thing you wanna do is make sure your carts and console are always clean, and don't knock the console/cart while it's powered on. These are easy ways to lose saves, MAD-1 or not. And if your cart is pre MAD-1, then holding reset while powering off should help, just like with NES carts.

[ZeroAX]

Damn you game grumps. How about those guys focus on producing content instead of hiking SNES prices for us?

But this is what I mean. The SNES is the darling of the North American youtube reviewing community. The Mega Drive doesn't get as much attention and so its games tend to be cheaper. And I'm comparing loose SNES cartridges with CIB Mega Drive games here.

I think the youtube review community plays a big part in the higher SNES prices, I know I can't prove it, but I've seen it happen with me personaly. While the only place I hear about amazing Mega Drive games is in these forums, I keep learning about amazing SNES games via youtube from game grumps and ect., and I then want to buy them.


.....of course it's not bad, all my bitching is just a joke, I love it that there are more and more retro gamers out there. And I guess I can focus on other consoles and I can have the library I want before they become expensive too (I'm focusing on PS2 now which is dirt cheap, for example)

Also I own a modded Super Famicom, so I can just buy the cheaper imports from Japan .

....anyone know of good cheap places to buy SNES games from Japan, that ships worldwide of course. ?

[ExedExes]

Ok so then,

- non locking middle portion (early cartridge style)
- non protruding logo
- ESRB rating or Players Choice designation.

I know it's no guarantee, but it would be nicer to be able to hang on to those saves a bit longer.

[RCBH928]

I was wondering if maybe the increased interest in retro game collecting might be tied in some way to the unusually long generation we've had, and thought that perhaps it might stabilize or even go down again once the next generation kicks in.

Seeing SNES prices flatlining with the Ps4 and Xbone looming makes me wonder if I might actually be onto something. Guess we'll find out...

am I the only one who feels this generation was short? the PS2 lived from 2000->2007 , in which technology much advanced over the current period.

As for retro game prices, if anything I thought prices would drop. With emulation getting popular, Steam, iOS, PSN, XLive, and VC its cheaper to play the game through download than going and buying the actual cartridge and actually own the console for it. For example, I want to play FF7 but I believe its on PSN and Steam so I will not purchases the psx cds. But I agree that $10-$20 per game price for 20 year old consoles are high. Then again, there is a lot of $1-3 ones.

[jinx]

the PS2 lived from 2000->2007

That's 7 years.

PS3 2006->2013
That's also 7 years...

Also, consoles don't tend to die immediately after the next gen comes out. Look at the PS2 and how far it lasted past the PS3's release. I'm sure the PS3 has a few more years left in it.

On Topic:
Not too well. After I finished up Super Godzilla, I decided to tackle the Mega Man series. I won't see the SNES again until I hit Mega Man VII, and possible Megaman X after that.

[Gunstar Green]

Seeing SNES prices flatlining with the Ps4 and Xbone looming makes me wonder if I might actually be onto something. Guess we'll find out...

am I the only one who feels this generation was short? the PS2 lived from 2000->2007 , in which technology much advanced over the current period.

Why 2007? That seems like an arbitrary number. Also how long an older console is supported has nothing to do with when a generation begins. There are still a lot of games planned for next year on the PS3 and 360 but their "generation" is over due to the release of their replacements.

In any case the PS2 came out in 2000 and the new consoles came out in 2005/06. That generation lasted until the Wii U in 2012 and now the new consoles in 2013. So really this generation was roughly a year delayed but it varies from company to company, Microsoft's hardware having the longest generation from 2005-2013 and Nintendo's having the shortest from 2006-2012.

So in general it's been longer, but not quite as long as people feel.