Hoodoo

This one's a keeper...part of my Square collection...I own the COMPLETE FF series,mint,sealed for PSX as well as Legend Of Mana (one sealed, one "play" copy), Chrono Trigger will look mighty nice next to the rest (I own these sealed cause I got em CHEAP,years ago, with of course,the exception of CT)

I actually had the same thing happen. Turns out, its usually the game doing this (I'd check for dirt,scratches,etc.), I'd recommend borrowing or renting a different UMD disc to see if this still happens.

After many weeks, and much suspicion that one of the employees at the local Goodwill was "hoarding" the good stuff, I walked in today....to find....gaming HEAVEN.....First, I walk back through the toy aisle (usually I go right through the clothes to the electrical/electronic section, which is a ways from the toy aisle), and lo and behold, lying there among many broken dolls and toys was......and for $5!!!....CHRONO TRIGGER for the SNES.....get this...SEALED in the box! Even still had an "EB" sticker that said "Buy this game and get the strategy guide for 50% off!" Assuming that finding this was my ONE gamer miracle of the day, I continued to the electric aisle and was astonished to find, as a bundle, a GOLD n64 (special Zelda edition,perhaps? Not sure...although it had an expansion pak in it already and came with a gold controller.) with the following games, COMPLETE in box: Perfect Dark, Goldeneye 007, Mario 64, Ocarina of Time and Super Smash Bros. all for 29.95!

Just one.....the same one I've had since 1982....not sure what it's designation, but its the one with the difficulty switches moved to the rear of the console, but its still a "Woody"

As usual, good work, Tempest.... I love reading the stories on the atariproto site!

I'm an Atarian...I play 2600 about two to four hours a day, sometimes more, like when I get aggravated at something, my "Zen" time is a good bong, some loud music (preferably Black Sabbath or Megadeth) and some reflexive goodness from the good ole VCS (Asteroids, Missile Command,etc. The faster,the better!)

I play everything pretty evenly, with the exception of the 2600, which sees MUCH more action than the rest, to the point, every single TV in the house has a working 2600 attached to it. But, my NES,n64,SNES, Genesis, PSX,PS2,etc. get played roughly five or so hours a week apiece. I tend to work through series...like, I'll start Legend Of Zelda and play the ENTIRE run of Zelda games I own (all but the CDi ones) up to Minish Cap (yeah, no Twilight Princess yet). Or I might start with an Atari 2600 game and try all the different versions of it I own (which, for games like Pac*Man is quite numerous). I love em all, cause each one has at least ONE console specific game I can't play anywhere else.

I think the difference is, when the 3d was good, you had a decent camera, and when it was bad, you didn't. How many times did you die in Mario64 because you...didn't turn the fucking camera? YOU, the player should not be required to control the camera. That would be like going to the Matrix and looking at Keanu's ear for three hours because you didn't push the right buttons. Other times, like Zelda64, it wasn't so bad, because you could easily "snap" the focus back to exactly where you wanted it with one button press. It isn't always the camera...sometimes, they take a game and completely change the essence of what the character normally does, like (yes I hated these too...) Mega Man legends, which had almost NONE of the fast paced action that made the originals so fun to play. I don't see it as nostalgia, per se, I see it more of "It wasn't broke....why'd they fix it?" I think these companies can't figure out how to do the successful formula on a new system without seeming derivative, so you end up with a lot of "gimmicks" like player controlled cameras, "special help" commands and the like to mask the fact that this just isnt the same anymore. Not that it SHOULD always be, but me? I would have LOVED a 2-d Mario64 using that systems graphic potential, I think it could have been MUCH better than Mario 64, beautiful, while still giving you the same formula you've loved and come to trust over the years.

Thought maybe I'd take a few minutes and write a little piece about the state of gaming, both currently and classically 1. Does anyone really think gaming will ever be strictly downloadable content, with no more physical games (meaning cartridges,discs,etc.)? I sure hope not, because if so, a lot of gaming history is rendered obsolete. I might be one of the most backward gamers in the world, but I do NOT like online gaming,period. At all. From the Evercrack loonies, to the dickheads who populate MOST queues in online games for consoles (SOCOM immediately comes to mind, as do the WWE Smackdown Vs Raw games,where people cheat,kill you,then tell everyone how bad you suck), I'd MUCH rather game alone, or with one or two friends IN MY LIVING ROOM, like the old days. People crammed around consoles to play Joust or Missile Command is what gaming SHOULD be about, togetherness and friendship! There's something to be said for a couple joints, a twelve pack, two good friends and a VCS with about 100 games that just cannot be said about online gaming,not really. Buying games is the same, at least to me...There's something about buying a game, opening the box,getting that big whiff of blown in factory air, unlimbering the manual for the first time, all of that.....that will all be lost if all games go download. 2. Some Game: PS2 version VS Same Game: XBox version. I get so tired of hearing people arguing about how this game is so much better on the blah blah than it was on the yadda yadda. Does it matter? Really? Can't you just love the version you love and be quiet about who loves the other versions? Yes,okay, the arcade version of Defender is vastly superior to the Atari 2600 version, to.....you. Maybe I don't think so, maybe I loved it BECAUSE it was different,slightly than the original. Maybe I LIKE the original, but maybe I LOVE the 2600 (not so in this case,for me, but as an example.) Gamers shouldn't judge each other. Yeah, I might be the first one killed in Halo, but I'll ANNIHILATE you at Contra, or Frogger, or Pac*Man, that doesn't make either of us better than the other. Just makes us better at different kinds of games. Don't knock what I like, and I won't knock what YOU like. 3. "Oldschool" gamers who consider themselves superior to others. Nope. You're not. (See above!). I am a primarily old school gamer ( I last played anything past the VCS about.....two months ago?), but that does NOT make me "better" nor does it make me any different. People have taken the competition of video games WAAAAAY too far, even to the actual comparisons of systems,etc.If you like to play, you are a gamer. PERIOD. There's no "you have to be a certain skill level" or "you're not a REAL gamer because you don't play (insert title here,mostly its Halo with people like this, or conversely, PacMan for the oldschoolers)". Utter bollocks. Gamer: (noun. GA-MUR) One who plays games. It's that simple. Whether its a three year old learning to play Frogger for the first time, or the grand world dragon Mortal Kombat 69 Champion, they're both gamers, folks. 4. Uptight collectors. Some people are just a little too uptight about collecting. Not intending to flame at all, but someone paid 5000 dollars for Video Life....I love my 2600, but there is absolutely NO way I'd pay 5000 for ANY video game. PERIOD. EVER. That's stupidity, or pure cold arrogance with money. There is so much more you can do, even for yourself than buy an old Atari game that will sit on a shelf that likely NOONE BUT YOU understands. I've been gaming a lot of years, and I have a LOT of rares, including Quadrun (actually ordered from the ORIGINAL run), but I play the hell out of them. Quadrun especially! Mine's worth a lot less, but you know what? My GAMER life would be less without having played it. I got stuff people have no idea why I bust the box open and play, but its simple...I WANT TO PLAY! That's why I buy, pure and simple. Every game,system,controller, everything, I buy because I want to PLAY! Well,to those of you who stayed this long, thanks for listening to an old man gamer for this long.....feel free to comment, and remember, nothing I said I say meaning to knock anyone, rather, I'd wish gamers could be more TOGETHER about things......

You make it sound like Atari collecting is some sort of business venture In the end, isn't it? The fact that we do this for enjoyment doesn't take away from the fact that we're all engaging in the 'buy/sell/trade' game. Granted, we aren't all so deluded as to try to sell some of our stash for obscene prices. Ummmm......how about NO? I'm a collector for the simple reason you HAVE to be to still use an Atari system. You can't walk into Target and buy a copy of Asteroids, so I have to hit the "market" as it were. I get em because I wanna PLAY em, not because I want to COLLECT them( my comic book collection is much prettier to look at, honestly). I am a gamer, and I am a hardcore retro gamer. I go and look for these old games because I loved them, I remember them and I want to play them again. I don't give a damn that my copy of Quadrun is worth whatever, because its the same damned one I had mail order all those years ago. I never WANTED to sell it or even have it valued. It's absolutely priceless to me, because it's maybe my favorite VCS game EVER. Okay, let's put an example on this. From a COLLECTOR market, Frogger:Threedeep is worth many times the original Parker Bros. Frogger cart, but not to me, Threedeep sucks compared to the original. For me,its all about the GAMES,mang.

Mine? Professional Wrestling games.I have NES: Wrestlemania,Wrestlemania Challenge, WCW:World Championship Wrestling, Tecmo World Wrestling, Tag Team Wrestling and Nintendo's "Pro Wrestling" SNES: WCW Superbrawl, WWF Raw, WWF Royal Rumble, Natsume Championship Wrestling, WWF Super Wrestlemania N64: WWF Wrestlemania 2000, WCW/nWo Revenge, WWF No Mercy ( I do NOT own any of the terrible Acclaim games, i.e WWf Attitude, ECW Hardcore Revolution) PSX: Smackdown 1-2, WCW vs The World, WCW Mayhem, Simpsons Wrestling, Power Move Pro Wrestling PS2: Smackdown 3-5, Smackdown VS Raw (entire series) GCN: Day of Reckoning 2, Ultimate Muscle. I have a criteria system when buying pro wrestling games. An OLD game like Wrestlemania is forgiven its awfulness, just because of how old it is. Newer games (like WWF Attitude/War Zone) are either fun to play, or I do not own them,period. I do NOT buy wrestling games based on the rosters (see Ultimate Muscle, Natsume,Tecmo and others), I buy them on how fun they are. (Not counting the DREADFUL Simpsons Wrestling. It was a gift!)

Me? Sega CD version of Snatcher sealed=$5 Conker's Bad Fur Day(loose cart)=$1.99 various "classic" strategy guides at $1 a piece, highlights including Majora's Mask, FFVII, Chrono Trigger (SNES Version), and several VERY early issues of Nintendo Power, all in polybags, all mint, 50 in collection A Discwasher branded PointMaster stick for the VCS for 25 cents....I'm sure most aren't familiar with it,but I had one in the long ago that I played into submission and always wanted another, finding it for a quarter was a delight!

I started collecting when I started playing, back with the old A 2600, and I've found a few things... 1. Where I live currently, the thrift shops are OUTRAGEOUS for games. I saw Super Mario/Duck Hunt, one of the most common cartridges known to man,sold at Goodwill for $4.99. That's crap. Period. 2. I use EBay quite often,actually. I recently got Star Raiders,new, in the box complete with keypad for $2.85 (6.90 with shipping) and I know without a doubt,in the thrift stores here,something like that would go 30 bucks easy. It's all about location. In places where there's a huge retro market, like here in Oregon,where I live, thrift stores often times inflate prices BADLY.I saw an NES once for !!100 dollars!! That's inexcusable. I have dealt with one specialized Ebay vendor of video games and have had nothing but pleasure in dealing with them.