What are you playing? (games)

[dan.schumaker]

this is what happens when you find out the NES Classic doesn't have Contra https://retropie.org.uk/

I just built myself a retropie system on a Raspberry Pi 3, using some 8bitdo NES30 Pro Bluetooth controllers.  Its awesome to be able to play through all the games I used to when I was young, and the ones I always wanted to play.  And yet, what I've been drawn to playing is Link's Awakening from the Game Boy on my 55" TV....

Budget wise how much did it end up setting you back?

The whole legal grey area thing is what always keeps me from doing that. Although I have a pretty good stash of games, suppose it's okay if I limited it to just those.

Its not too bad getting a system up and running, about the same as a DIY BBD Delay

It was $35 for the Pi, and I splurged $20 on a case.  The biggest expense for me was the bluetooth controllers.  But if you are fine with USB ones, that can take a lot of the cost out.  It can definitely be doable for under $100.

If you don't care about playing N64 or PS1 games, just 16-bit and below, you can setup a Raspberry Pi Zero system for even less.  The Raspberry Pi Zero is only $5.

[alanp]

I guess that makes me a cheap drunk, I'm only after an 8bit emulation, not even 16bit!

[juansolo]

Latest Pi Project: http://juansolo.co.uk/geekery/amibian.html

[selfdestroyer]

Latest Pi Project: http://juansolo.co.uk/geekery/amibian.html

So cool John!

Cody

[madbean]

GTA V for me currently. This game is kinda too much for me sometimes but it can be really fun. Trevor is like a caricature of an evil hillbilly. Right now I'm stuck on trying to pilot the damn helicopter!

[juansolo]

Latest Pi Project: http://juansolo.co.uk/geekery/amibian.html

So cool John!

Cody

It may not be pretty, but it works nice. It'll get the Commodore badge on it when it arrives. I've also got a Raphnet USB to 9 pin adaptor on it's way so I can run two sticks for two player action.

There's something perverse about browsing the web wirelessly on an Amiga. It's quite amusing how different it looks. But keep it sensible (ie just use Amiga sites) and it's actually useful for getting those whdload images for example, without having to mess around on another computer.

[chromesphere]

So somehow I missed the memo about my entire gaming childhood becoming collectable (nes and snes) and I went and bought one console each, in case things got any worse.  They weren't too expensive...but some of the prices for games are absurd...(Megaman, Zelda, and pretty much every single other favourite game I had... )

I have a feeling this is going to get expensive. 

[alanp]

I've been a gamer for decades, but the whole console thing passed me by entirely. Never owned a console, never spent more than maybe an hour collectively in my life playing on one. Always been a C64, then a PC gamer.

Trying to use a console controller with my thumbs feels, to me, like you're trying to play by tapping the keyboard with your pinky toes. Too used to using all ten fingers.

[chromesphere]

I'm sure there will come a time in the not so distant future when I wake up one morning and gasp with the premonition that commodore 64's are expensive and rare

I spent a lot of time on a c64 as well.  I'm not a console guy.  or a pc guy.  I just play / use whatever I find enjoyable at the time.

[alanp]

Oh, I've got a C64 tucked away in Dad's shed, with strict instructions to NOT get rid of it.

Disc drive with it doesn't work, though.

[stringsthings]

I've been a gamer for decades, but the whole console thing passed me by entirely. Never owned a console, never spent more than maybe an hour collectively in my life playing on one. Always been a C64, then a PC gamer.

I never got into consoles either.  My first experience with computer games was on a university mainframe back in the late 1970's. 
I think I just just equated gaming with computers.  Been enjoying PC games for a long time.  At one time, I did have a C64.
It was primitive, but fun.

[juansolo]

So somehow I missed the memo about my entire gaming childhood becoming collectable (nes and snes) and I went and bought one console each, in case things got any worse.  They weren't too expensive...but some of the prices for games are absurd...(Megaman, Zelda, and pretty much every single other favourite game I had... )

I have a feeling this is going to get expensive.

I've done this also and I'm going to recommend you something that I wish I'd known about before I'd spent £600 on SNES carts... Flash Carts.

https://krikzz.com/store/ if you're in Europe, https://www.retrotowers.co.uk if you're in the UK, http://www.stoneagegamer.com if you're in the US.

Basically one cart with an SD card in it with a load of cart rom images on it and a menu on the front. There are plenty of vids showing how they work on You Tube. That said, there is another side effect to having them. The SD2SNES for example can play MSU-1 games. So Zelda, Chrono Trigger, and a load of others with full CD quality sound, from a cartridge on a SNES. It's brilliant. Also you get fan translations, so Secret of Mana 2, which was only released in Japan for example, in English. There's tonnes of those. Unreleased stuff too like Starfox 2, though you can't play that one yet as the Super FX isn't currently emulated on that cart. Finally there's a huge homebrew scene on all these old consoles now that you can play. Final upside is that a couple of the also allow you to play older games emulated on them. Like for example I can run Master System games on my Megadrive (Genesis) and NES games on my N64.

I highly recommend them. The SD2SNES is VERY expensive mind you, but it's the dogs bollocks. I've got the Everdrive64 for the N64, Turbo Everdrive for the PC-Engine (Turbo GraFX) and the Mega Everdrive X7 for the Megadrive (Genesis).

[juansolo]

I've been a gamer for decades, but the whole console thing passed me by entirely. Never owned a console, never spent more than maybe an hour collectively in my life playing on one. Always been a C64, then a PC gamer.

I never got into consoles either.  My first experience with computer games was on a university mainframe back in the late 1970's. 
I think I just just equated gaming with computers.  Been enjoying PC games for a long time.  At one time, I did have a C64.
It was primitive, but fun.

I did both... I've always preferred to game on consoles though.

The first machine we got was a Binatone Pong box, followed by the ubiquitous Atari 2600. After that I had a brace of Sinclair Spectrum computers (pretty shit to be fair, but the C64 was hugely more expensive), Atari ST, SNES, Amiga 500, PSX, loads of PCs, Jaguar, GameCube, Dreamcast, Switched over to Macs from about here, PS2, PS3, Xbox360, WiiU, PS4. Recently I've been filling in some gaps with the retro thing and bought a PC-Engine, original Xbox, Saturn and Megadrive.

Prices are starting to get silly though as they're now of an age to appeal to the nostalgic with cash in their pockets. Some of the prices of the cartridge games are stupid. I would have bought them all in all honesty, but when you're starting to look at £200+ for one game, it's just gouging and I'm gonna find alternatives (flash carts). Stuff like the Neo Geo has always been expensive though. I'd love one, but the prices are insane. For an AES with a Flash cart you're looking at around £800 all up. Wanna buy original games for that, you can look at $5000+, it's madness. The other problem I have with it, is that it's EASILY emulated. A £30 Raspberry Pi will easily emulate one flawlessly and there are ways to use the controllers or similar with them.

It's a shame really, but thats the whole collector thing (which I very much am not) just driving prices into the stratosphere. It's also why I'm getting all the hardware in and sorted as quickly as possible...

Emulation is an option though. I really wanted to buy an Amiga 1200 or 4000. But again, costs were getting silly working that out. £250 for a 1200, another £80 on that to get a CF HDD replacement, then you need a old monitor and other miscellany on top of that. Also it makes it more difficult to build as a machine. Or you can build an emulated A4000 on a Raspberry Pi 3 for a little over £60... It kinda pains me that I've done the latter rather than used real hardware, but it feels so much like a real A4000 it's uncanny. Plus it's so compact and easy to do. I can live with it.

There are details of stuff in the more geeky corner of my website: http://juansolo.co.uk/geekery/index.html

[juansolo]

Oh, I've got a C64 tucked away in Dad's shed, with strict instructions to NOT get rid of it.

Disc drive with it doesn't work, though.

There are modern solutions to that

[selfdestroyer]

Like Juan, I too am a nut for classic gaming and collecting. I have been actively collecting for the past 14 years but I have been a gamer since I was 5-6 years old. I grew up in a house with a Kaypro 2000 computer. My father has always been in the computer field one way or another and there was no shortage of cool computer gear around the house. From Kaypros to Sinclairs to Commodores ect.. It was great.

Since I dub myself a collector of the game hardware and not of the games them selves, the Everdrive/flash carts John speaks of have been my go to devices. I really ramped up on them this last year. I can not say enough good things about the Everdrives and the quality of the builds. There are tons of clones/knock offs of the Everdrives  but they do not have the long term support and build quality like the actual units designed and built by Krikzz. I would avoid the clones if at all possible, I fell for a few of them due to price but ended up replacing them actual Everdrives from StoneAgeGamer.

I have some pictures of most of the flash carts I own on my gaming blog if anyone cares to take a look at them.
http://www.evolvingconsole.com/

Most the "want & have" lists are out of date on my blog but I will soon update all that mess. I have been working on my collection a lot already this year and trying to document and store my stuff better. My main goal is to get stuff listed that I own since I am constantly buying doubles or ever triples by accident. Not always a bad thing but I am running out of space for this hobby. lol

This stuff is really getting a lot of attention these days which is good & bad.. I love hearing/seeing people appreciate the classics, but it sucks since its getting harder to get your hands on stuff at a good price.

For those of you that are interested in collecting, I recommend learning the basics of repair on game consoles. Buying broken system and repairing them is a great way to collect and same some money. Stuff like, most systems have soldiered on fuses that can pop and cause a system to not get power.. etc..

Also, play the things for gods sake.. don't just horde the hardware. Nothing beats getting a groups of friends over and playing some classics.

Cody