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Welcome, You!
The purpose of this newsletter is
to inform, entertain and continue to breathe life into the
retrogaming market. We will do our best to make this a monthly
newsletter. Included in each issue will be any news that has
popped up (like new games discovered, old games coming back on
new systems, etc...). I will also do reviews, tell of cool
links, spotlight different systems, and ask different questions
for the readers to answer. We will debate the classic systems,
games, and companies. So check back often and see what is new.
Also, we are looking for contributors. Our only guidelines is
that articles must be brief, have some relevance to the material
and be clean. While we don't pay, you get a chance to let others
read your work. Electronic immortality (or until we run out of
money).
Question of the month!
If you were stranded on an island and could only take one
classic game system and ten games, which system would it be?
What games would you take and why? Before you start asking where
we are getting the power source for this and other such
questions, just assume the professor (as in Gilligan's Island)
created a solar powered coconut battery. So you were able to use
this for a power source. Anyway, send in your lists and we will
post the most interesting ones. Here is my choice:
Intellivision - While
Colecovision is my favorite system, the Intellivision has the
best games as far as depth and replayability. All the best one
player sports games and role-playing games are on the
Intellivision and they would keep you busy long after most
arcade games bored you. Here is my list of games and why I chose
them.
1. Tower of Doom - The best of
the role-playing games from the classic era. Lots of different
games, different characters, and big dungeons would keep this
game fun for quite awhile, hopefully till the rescue.
2. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons:
Treasure of Tarmin - Another great role player with a different
perspective. Would also keep you going.
3. Super Slam Dunk Basketball - A
very good basketball game and with the ability to draft players,
adds some replay value to it. Also you can play one player for
times when Skipper is in a bad mood.
4. Utopia - Great one player or
two! Plus, you will be able to relate to the being on an island.
5. World Championship Baseball -
The second of the baseball games, which is the same as the
original except for one player mode and fly balls. Another fun
game as sports games have some of the greatest replay value.
6. Chess - The Intellivision give
you a decent battle and makes for a fun and challenging game.
Different skill levels will keep it interesting.
7. PBA Bowling - Much like real
bowling, as soon as you think you have it figured out, you mess
up and have a bad game. With the ton of options, it keeps the
game rolling (bad pun intended).
8. Royal Dealer - Card games are
always good for another go and this one has a handful. Plus, the
ladies on the game will give you a little company if you don't
luck on an island with Ginger and Maryann.
9. NFL Football - The white label
one with the one player option. Again another fun sports game to
keep your competitive nature going.
10. Burgertime - Gotta have one
arcade game and this is a great one. Good for when you want to
look at some kind of food other than coconuts and bananas.
SHRINK-WRAPPED? SHOULD
IT BE MORE?
One of the things that is popular in
every collectible market is to collect sealed, new in the box
items. Whether it is toys, trading cards or Disney videos,
people are always willing to pay a premium for a sealed item.
Should an item actually be worth more if it still has the
original seal? If so, how much more should it be. While in my
own collection, I don't have any shrink-wrapped games in my
collection, I have sold them. While I am not willing to pay
extra to get a shrink-wrapped game, I do believe they have an
added value due to the scarcity and the assumed mintness of the
item. I do think people should be aware that a game can be
shrink-wrapped quite easily, so I propose that shrink-wrapped
games with original store labels should command a slight
premium. Especially from well known stores like Toys R Us,
Kiddie City, Children's Palace, K-Mart, etc... While it would be
easier to duplicate a generic price sticker, these would pose a
tougher challenge. While I don't know of anything like this
happening in the industry, as the market gets bigger these
problems may creep in. As a former sports card dealer, I have
seen all kinds of unsavory practices like counterfeiting,
resealing packs, doctoring cards and other practices. These are
some of the reasons I left that industry. I couldn't stand to
see fellow dealers ripping off kids, it was sickening. Not that
all the kids were honest either. Anyway, I feel a little caution
can help avoid any problems. Just my two cents worth.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO
SELLING CLASSIC GAMES?
One question I get asked a lot is why
and how did I get into the market of selling classic games. Most
people have problems grasping the concept that there are people
out there who want these games. In the age of 3D worlds, and FMV
, people cannot understand the draw of these games. Well, here
is how I became a classic game dealer. About three years ago
(1995), I finally connected onto the internet and began surfing
the web. I started finding items from my youth and teen years
like Freakies cereal, USFL, Quark and other oddities from my
youth. I started gathering some items from the past and one of
them was a Vectrex. When it came, I started playing it and
became instantly addicted again. So in my regular trips to the
flea market and garage sales (I went in search of toys to sell
at my store), I began to search for these. So that is my story.
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That is all for this month. Come
back next month and I will try to do a little more. Look for
more news, hopefully some reviews and other gaming stuff.
-Tom
Zjaba |
