Selling (mostly) up for MiSTer - I feel like a traitor.

[Max P.]

Yep, tough decision but early retirement, down sizing and the honest fact that all my stuff has pretty much been in storage for the best part of 20 years only seeing the light of day every five years or so I can be bothered to faff around with boxes/cables/CRTs if lucky.

Plus all the other factors - I won't lie the games have been a great investment - many current prices are nuts. I had no idea that the younger generation would desire this old stuff that much, it has to peak sometime?

I have faith in my brick like SNES and (IMHO best design console ever - PC Engine) to go on and on but the Saturn, PSX, DC are more fragile of course - but really for the sale of just one desirable MVS game I can fund a brand new MiSTer and play them all with 32" of TATE'able monitor and no hardware worries - it's hard to ignore as much as I love the whole pleasure of handling and owning original hardware.

Like many here I guess, I started with the arcades circa '79 and started import gaming in earnest with the MD then SFC, Gameboy, PCE, PSX, Saturn, N64 and finishing with the DC around 2000 finally getting into NG MVS a few years later. So, amassed a large collection over all those years BITD when you could for little money and when many games were a few £'s used, I can remember buying used Saturn or SFC games from Japan when they were sometimes maybe $1 each! Crazy now - even my humble boxed mint original Gameboy seems worth £150 and a copy of Mr Do! I got for it 30 years ago is nudging £200...

Ironic when I just found this old topic I started 15 years ago: https://bordersdown.net/threads/7650...ing?highlight=

So, I have to start the mammoth task of shifting far too much stuff but I've ordered the MiSTer bits and will see. I'll have to keep the SNES and a few games and the PC Engine - can't bear to sell that beautiful lump and the best game storage format ever, oh and no Dreamcast on Mister - as for selling off an MVS collection that took so much effort....argghh....giving up on hardware is like a big chunk of yourself disappearing.

How about fellow oldies on here?

[Asura]

Plus all the other factors - I won't lie the games have been a great investment - many current prices are nuts. I had no idea that the younger generation would desire this old stuff that much, it has to peak sometime?

Absolutely true about the prices, though it's not so much a younger generation thing (apart from the Game Boy; that's something which a lot of kids have gotten into in the way my generation got into vinyl in the 90s).

I think it's a convergence of a few things.

Firstly, we're at critical mass of failure for a lot of stuff. We're at a point where sunbleached plastic and rubber on many old bits of tech is wearing away and breaking down. A couple of years ago I got an SLR camera out of its case and its grip had broken down into something resembling tar; it was soft like play-doh and left marks on everything. Then, internally, a lot of these devices had moving parts and that's a ticking timebomb too; especially now. A few years ago I briefly got back into Minidisc for a summer after getting one cheap from a charity shop (long story) but fans of that format have the same problem, in that (1) the number of working units is dwindling and (2) even if you're an expert, repairs on many units are essentially impossible as many of the components simply aren't made anymore.

Secondly, the pandemic. Retro game prices absolutely skyrocketed in the first 6 months, and what was most telling was which games were rising in price; not the usual things you'd expect, the Castlevanias, the Suikodens, the JRPGs - but titles like Tekken 2, Gran Turismo 2, Metal Gear Solid, Cool Boarders 2, Tony Hawks'... All the popular titles which previously you'd pick up for £2. I'm convinced this was because a bunch of people, faced with lockdown in a challenging state for mental health reached out for things that gave them comfort. For millions this was subbing to Disney+ and watching Aladdin or The Lion King, but evidently for many people it was going on eBay to pick up a PS1 and the 5 or 6 favourite videogames they had when they were 14. I think they've actually tapered off a bit but I doubt they'll ever go fully back down.

Thirdly, the cartels. There are literally people on eBay who've spent the last 10 years buying up all the cheap copies of certain games. Like they have boxes and boxes of Vagrant Story, or Saga Frontier 2 - every time they saw a copy cheap, they snapped it up, and gradually, the liquid copies of those games have dried up, leaving most in the hands of either collectors or these cartels. They now list games on eBay at high prices, over and over and over again, so for many of them, if you look those games up, you get the perception that Vagrant Story is "worth" £50 even though if you look at the "sold listings", almost none of them actually sell. You can see this if you try and list one of those games at a reasonable price; I've literally had people contact me to say I'm "low-balling" and causing a problem, and should raise my price.

I totally understand what you mean about giving up a part of yourself. I sold off everything I had, gaming-wise, in 2006, from before that date (save for a DS and a few games) before a house move. I just realised that all the boxes; the Dreamcast and pads and guns and memory cards, the GameCube with the same, the PS2 with the same, the Xbox with the same, the Saturn, the rest of it... It was all an achor around my neck. And all of it, gradually, was turning to dust. And one day I was gonna turn to dust too and it wouldn't matter how many games I owned. Morbid though it may be, I knew that there are so many ways to play the games I love, without needing shelves and shelves and boxes and boxes...

Honestly I'm much happier for it. My collection now is literally just a handful of standout titles, and a few shelves of transient stuff - along with some emulation/retro devices. You'll thank yourself in the future, believe me.

[dataDave]

I've downsized everything other than my very small (six game) NGPC collection. I still keep a Wii and PS2 set up with custom firmware and HDD support for their respective 'digital' libraries. I need an EverDrive for my N64, but I already have one for my GBA. I'm just missing a Saturn and a Dreamcast, but then I only ever played arcade ports on those anyway - all of which are covered by the MiSTer.

Everything retro is now done on the MiSTer. It's honestly been the best gaming purchase of my entire life, although I think it has shone slightly more thanks to being paired with a PVM and a cheap little DAC and headphone amp combo. It's one of my favourite possessions - top 3, easily.

Who wants a Saturn port when you have the CPS versions running 100% bang-on perfect? Absolutely no regrets about getting rid of my collection in 2009, other than thinking about the money I'd have made if I'd sold it all off today instead, of course..

[wakka]

I'm a bit younger than you Max - I didn't start gaming until the early/mid 90s. But I pretty much still own almost every game I've ever bought. I've never set out to create collections as such, it's just kind of happened. As a result I've got a ton of videogames stretching from Master System/NES through to PS5, and plenty of consoles and peripherals too.

This is all fine and well and good except I don't actually ever use any of them. The only possible reason I would sit down and play, I dunno, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX on PS1 in 50hz, is for nostalgic purposes, and I actually kind of hate nostalgia.

I play loads of older games but they tend to be ones that are new to me, not old stuff I hammered back in 2002 (with a few exceptions for super faves like MGS and Shenmue).

I was storing loads of stuff at my Mum and Dad's but they're now downsizing, and all of my stuff is being sent back to me. I live in a small flat in inner London, and so I'm going to have to stick it in a storage unit. And I'm thinking, why am I keeping all this old stuff? Will I ever use any of it? Is it worth paying a monthly stipend just to hoard it, for no good reason?

At the same time, it feels like a part of me. I've been surrounded by those games all my life (in many cases literally, like in my bedroom as a teenager and my flat in my 20s when I was still single).

I think I need to let go. But it's hard.

[dataDave]

Also, there's no need to worry about RGB mods or video amps are any of that. The MiSTer outputs everything with reference quality analog RGB out. If you're using HDMI you get highly (and I do mean highly) configurable lag-free scaling and shaders/filters. The thing practically has a RetroTink built into it.

[dataDave]

Honestly, if the immense value wasn't a part of the equation I'd choose the MiSTer over mint, boxed, and complete collections for all of the consoles and arcade boards it's simulating. That's a very easy decision. I have no interest in maintaining a video game museum of aged, and at the best of times, sub-optimal 'real' hardware.

[beecee]

similar here, but ill get rid of everything the Mister can do.

I got my Mister a couple of years back when it was quite cheap, as its more than doubled in price since, its an amazing device and gets better monthly, with CPS3/Jaguar almost here. The arcades core getting released now are is just ridiculous.

I use it for everything up to the PlayStation, for now keeping my N64, Dreamcast, Xbox, Wii / Wii U, but initially looking at moving on my MD/SFC analogue consoles and flashcarts ,PS1/2/3/4 and Xbox 360 stuff. its just the thought of getting it all sorted with pictures/prices etc, and then dealing with listings and then there is the inevitable barrage of questions, some of which are genuine, but a lot just folk not reading the listings or trying to low-ball you.

[Jamie]

I did the same last year, decided to sell up all my retro stuff and just use my Mister and Analogue Pocket now for anything retro. I use both analogue and digital outputs of the Mister, and have it hooked up to both my CRT and OLED, so can use whichever type of screen i feel like using at the time. Love the flexibility of the system, without any of the worry about hardware and media failures, having to get aftermarket mods for the best display etc.

It was a difficult decision, I'd had some games for going on 30 years, but i really don't miss them now, alot of mine were in storage as well which was pointless.

[Max P.]

Wow, fantastic response, we are all singing from the same hymn sheet it seems and fantastic points one and all.

I will miss it all but I guess we all were in 'our' golden era - who's to say now isn't the real golden era though but I've never forgotten seeing Space Invaders for the first time around '79, then Moon Cresta, Scramble etc or the crazy buzz of early 80's arcades.

I've found all my old Onn Lee fanzines and some editions of 'Arcade Pier' too, unbelievable days - you'd find a tiny ad in the back and end up visiting some dude in his bedroom on some back street in South London to pick up the latest import PCE game.

I guess some will remember Colin at Megaware - when he moved to PSX he sold me 60 of his ex-rental SFC/SNES games for about £100 the lot, never forget the huge box arriving and all game boxes were mint as he only ever sent the carts out.


It's bloody daunting to test, photograph, list and sell it all though - catalogued it last week and about 13 sheets of around 10 systems FFS, I'll be one foot in the grave before I've sold it all...

[Asura]

So we're just letting people post porn on the forum now?

Honestly this totally makes me want a MiSTER setup. I'm still waiting for flawless Saturn.

[Max P.]

Two other questions:

Is there any way to satisfactorily emulate Dreamcast (I realise not on mister) at present? I'm very much out of touch with modern 'ways' apart from mister.

And selling - how did you all shift your stuff in recent years? It has to be eBay I fear to get best prices but thinking I should just list every single thing at 99p auction listings and get it sold at *true* market prices before the bubble bursts...

BIN (with offers accepted) listings priced at near the highest price sold in the past are the other alternative but they can hang around for a *long* time.

I've started listing this week (50 odd items) so will see how it goes.

[Tobal]

I went down the route of Hacks (xboxOG, wii, Ps2, psp), FPGA disc drive replacements(Saturn/DC) and quality Multicarts(N64) with a retrotink to hook it into modern TV's and use retroarch with nice shaders on a powerful pc and/or laptop for arcade, 16bit and lower, though i do keep a Pi around as i took forever originally getting amiga emu correct with all the Whload, box art and easy plug and play KB/mouse/pad, no way i want to go through that again.

I really like using original hardware with mods for minimal issues, i get to use the original pads and keep my saves.

still need to sell my Saturn/DC and N64 collections at some point this year after putting it off for ages.

[Max P.]

Yes, forgot to mention I think it's key to play with the original controllers - I'll be keeping my spare joypads and faithful old Sanwa modded NG stick as that keeps the faith and feel for sure. I'll probably make up a series of Daemonbites for them.

[wakka]

Two other questions:

Is there any way to satisfactorily emulate Dreamcast (I realise not on mister) at present? I'm very much out of touch with modern 'ways' apart from mister.

And selling - how did you all shift your stuff in recent years? It has to be eBay I fear to get best prices but thinking I should just list every single thing at 99p auction listings and get it sold at *true* market prices before the bubble bursts...

BIN (with offers accepted) listings priced at near the highest price sold in the past are the other alternative but they can hang around for a *long* time.

I've started listing this week (50 odd items) so will see how it goes.

Dreamcast is kinda like GameCube in that it's very well emulated. I use Redream, works great. Compatible with both Windows and Mac.

I personally wouldn't worry about the bubble bursting on retro gaming prices. Demand for retro games has been rising steadily and I don't see it retrenching by any meaningful amount.

[Max P.]

Dreamcast is kinda like GameCube in that it's very well emulated. I use Redream, works great. Compatible with both Windows and Mac.

Cheers Wakka.

Are you running it on PC? Ideally I'd like to set something up next to the dedicated Mister - is there any way to integrate the two (?) say with a Raspberry Pi or whatever?