RetroN 5 $129.99 with free shipping @ ThinkGeek - The RetroN 5 deals thread

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$129.99 with free shipping at ThinkGeek


Important Information
​Warranty registration - http://www.retron5.com/warrantyregistration_/
Patch Notes / How to Update (Last update 6/10/2014) - http://retron5.in/?src=98f13708210194c475687be6106a3b84

I've included the text from the pre-order era of this OP in spoilers for reference.
UPDATE 5/27/14: It's real this time. Hyperkin's June 6 release date is happening. Many mom and pop stores that have received their units have started selling them already, and many people who have ordered from Amazon (myself included) are reporting getting emails from Amazon notifying them that their orders qualify for release day delivery and are updating estimated delivery status to June 6th, no longer showing the "we need more time" placeholder. It's worth noting that so far only people who have ordered the grey unit from Amazon are receiving order updates (which coincides with Hyperkin reporting on their facebook page that they had shipped Amazon's grey preorder units, but Amazon had yet to place an order for the black units). All consoles that have been shown off online by reviewers, people who have been able to buy them before the street date, or Hyperkin themselves have all been grey consoles to this point. No word on black consoles. Another note: Chris Gallizzi of Hyperkin responded to an inquiry about Newegg orders by saying that he is not aware of any issues with Newegg's preorders, and they should be good to go for the launch.

UPDATE 5/22/14: Just one day after IGN and Polygon reported that Hyperkin would begin shipping units to retailers on May 22 (today as of this writing), Hyperkin essentially confirmed that. They have announced that the launch date for the long overdue RetroN 5 is June 6th, 2014. In a much quieter fashion (just by responding to a random person's comment) they confirmed this would be for North America only and that the console would launch in the UK in September. There is also one more small hitch. The rumor that the first batch of units would be only for mom/pop B&M retailers and that NO units from this batch would go to Amazon or Newegg has been gaining some serious steam. While Hyperkin has been responding to a decent amount of comments on their facebook page from excited fans, they continue to ignore questions about when Amazon orders will ship. So it seems those of us who preordered on Amazon still don't have a solid release date. Fulfillment could happen any time between June 6th through September or beyond.

UPDATE 5/21/14: IGN today reported that the RetroN 5 would begin shipping out on May 22 (tomorrow, as of this writing)! This coincides with Chris Gazzilli, Hyperkin's project manager, posting a picture on his facebook page of a massive shipping container full of RetroN 5 units. Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems hell may have just frozen over.

UPDATE 5/13/14: Hyperkin has listed the RetroN 5, and it's controllers, on their company wholesale store for authorized retailers to buy. The console (both colors) and controllers (both colors) are listed as sold out. I'm not sure if they were in stock and sold out quickly, or if they haven't been made available yet. Regardless, it's good news that the system is listed for the first time ever. Additionally, reviewers such as GameSpot and several youtube reviewers have received their review units, which appear to be retail units. The RetroN 5 seems to finally be around the corner. We'll see, but things look promising right now. One thing to note: the listing for the console on Hyperkin's wholesale page indicates that each wholesale box contains six units. If this is the case, it would seem to debunk the previous report of the console being shipped in quantities of four per retailer.

UPDATE 4/25/14: While this hasn't technically been confirmed by Hyperkin, I take it as fact. It's worth remembering that NOTHING has been officially confirmed by Hyperkin. Hyperkin has remained silent until unofficially confirming almost all known info in random interviews with various youtubers and forum members. Therefor, again, I take this as fact:

I spoke to Hyperkin today.

Here are the "unofficial" details.

The "end of May" release is a "soft" release. Meaning they really are waiting for the next batch due in the summer for the official real release. Amazon is NOT getting any of the units released at the end of May. Each retailer is only getting 4 units. Retail on the unit is $139.99 and $39.99 for the additional controller. The reasons for the price increase are both cosmetic and technical but if it works as it should then it should be a great retro system.

Our 4 are already taken with pre-orders. If you know any stores locally that are getting units, and you want one for end of May, then i suggest you contact them and put money down. Keep in mind that each store is getting 4 units only for the soft launch.
UPDATE 4/17/14: Hyperkin has increased the price of the RetroN 5, saying "north of $100, between $129.99 and $149.99". Alll pre-orders from Amazon should be honored via their pre-order price guarantee. I believe Newegg has the same guarantee, I am not sure about Stone Age Gamer or 8 Bit Classics. Think Geek still hasn't opened pre-orders on the unit, instead offering a link to be signed up for email notifications as to when it will be available. Also on the Amazon front, they have sold out or pre-orders. Furthermore, it is more likely you'll learn the ETA from Amazon, Newegg, or whoever you ordered it from. Hyperkin has gone on record of saying they will never again announce a hard release date for anything.

UPDATE 4/12/14: After Hyperkin denied the console was delayed again and vigoruosuly shoved the month of April up everyone's ass for half a year, today they delayed the vaporware console yet again. At the Midwest Gaming Classic, they did their annual presentation. They ignored the planned April 2014 release, but finally somebody in the crowd asked about it. The Hyperkin rep said it was releasing in "30 days, guaranteed". This is not the first time they used the word "guaranteed", last time was about April so this doesn't mean jack shit. So maybe it'll randomly show up at people's houses at the end of may, maybe it wont, and maybe my ass will fly out of my ass.

Retron 5 Delay History:
-Summer 2013 (which they continued to say after summer was over, claiming they meant "Indian Summer" or "California Summer"....i'm not making this up)
-December 10 2013
-Quarter 1 2014
-Quarter 2 2014
-First two weeks of April
-April 2014, guaranteed
-Gauranteed within 30-40 days of April 12, 2014
-June 6 2014

DELAYED. ANY UPDATES FROM HYPERKIN WILL COME ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/HyperkinGames

UPDATE: In a recent interview, Hyperkin confirmed that the initial batch of units WILL NOT BE ENOUGH to meet day ome demand. Also confirmed was the ability for the system to act as a multitap. Example: in a four player SNES game, two players could use snes controlles, one player could use the retron controller, and one player could use a genesis controller. Interview can be found here.


Pre-order at Amazon (SOLD OUT)
Pre-order at Newegg: Black (SOLD OUT) or Grey (SOLD OUT)
Pre-order at Stone Age Gamer (DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, RELEASE DAY DELIVERY NOT PROMISED)
Pre-order at 8 Bit Classics (DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, RELEASE DAY DELIVERY NOT PROMISED)





UPDATE: Hyperkin claims that they opened up some packaged retail units and discovered some units had faulty pins. because of this, the Retron 5 has been delayed. No new release date has been announced, although Hyperkin has stated the unit will release in 2014 and that they are aiming for Q1. This is the Retron 5's third delay.

EDIT: Preorders are sold out at Amazon and Newegg.

Retron5 pre-orders have finally (about damn time) opened.

For those of you who have been following this console, you know it's quite highly anticipated and looks to be far better than any clone system released before.

For those unfamiliar, here's a little info:

  • It's one system that plays games for the following systems: NES, SNES, Genesis, Mega Drive, Famicom, Super Famicom, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance.
  • Two controller ports for each console will be built in with the system. It will also come with one wireless universal controller.
  • Outputs in HDMI and upscales for HDTVs. Early impressions and videos of this have been extremley postive. From the website: "The RetroN 5 will up convert the video signal to show clearer and cleaner images, with vibrant colors on an HDTV with a resolution output of up to 720p through the use of shaders. You will also be able to select the aspect ratio in our GUI, from the standard 4:3 to the HD ratio of 16:9."
  • Features a user interface (dashboard. Somewhat similar of the PS3 interface in appearance, in my opinion).
  • Features save states. From the website: "Most games did not allow for you to freely save your games. The RetroN 5 will allow you to save their games at any point during gameplay, and will feature an autosave feature upon shutdown. You will be able to load your saves at anytime during gameplay."
  • Button reassignment supported. From the website: "Users will be able to program the controller to assign buttons to their preference. In turn, the RetroN 5 will save these custom layouts, so that users will not have to constantly reconfigure the button configuration. This feature will also be available to people wanting to remap their buttons on their original controllers."
  • 100% game cartridge compatibility, without lag.
  • Sega Power Base Converter compatible, allowing Sega Master System games to be played.
More information is here. It may be a bit dated since this was from back when they first announced the console, but I figured it was the best site to link since it also featured some screenshots as well. http://hyperkin.com/blog/2013/03/retron-5-details-revealed-from-the-midwest-gaming-classic/ There is also plenty of info on Hyperkin's facebook page.

I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and i'm extremley excited that pre-orders are finally open. For one console that not only plays all of these console's games, but upscales them and features save states (either to the cartridge (if supported) or the console itself)...this seems like a great deal. And if you've been following the hype for the console, there is a good chance it could end up selling out. Hyperkin isn't a huge company and this thing has a TON of pre-release demand (just check out the comments on the facebook page). I like the look of the black one a bit better, because it seems to be the traditional console color nowadays. But I opted for the grey model because the black console and controller seem like they'd be fingerprint magnets.

Preorder either color here at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hyperkin-RetroN-Gaming-Not-Machine-Specific/dp/B00DZIX3CQ/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1378958043&sr=8-13&keywords=retron+5 or here at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=retron%205&N=-1&isNodeId=1&RandomID=65244712392254220130925161655

Here are pictures of the two consoles, since the pictures on Amazon aren't that great:

Grey:
Retron-5.jpg


Black:
e3_retron5_03550.jpg

 
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They should have just grabbed the Retron 5 and ran, lol. I'll be moving probably next month and I have my massive retro game collection packed up. Wherever I'm at in April should be good timing for me even though I'll be approaching finals (last semester woooo). I barely care about an official announcement anymore. It seems the company doesn't even know what's going on with the release at this point and I'm patient enough to wait a couple of more months or decades.

 
They should have just grabbed the Retron 5 and ran, lol. I'll be moving probably next month and I have my massive retro game collection packed up. Wherever I'm at in April should be good timing for me even though I'll be approaching finals (last semester woooo). I barely care about an official announcement anymore. It seems the company doesn't even know what's going on with the release at this point and I'm patient enough to wait a couple of more months or decades.
I wonder how this is going to be in the future when they release a new retron with N64 support.

 
What I'd like to see them do for the N64 is make a USB adapter or something. But if they do decide to make a whole new console it better add 32X support too.

 
But if they do decide to make a whole new console it better add 32X support too.
Really? I own a 32X and I don't even want it to have support for that thing. I own one and about a half a dozen games for it and I can only say that I liked Metal Head on it. Doom and Star Wars Arcade are okay but I really can't seem myself putting that ugly thing into my Retron.

 
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Just a heads up - today I got an email from Amazon that I had to reapprove my preorder or it would be cancelled. This is just a normal thing when preorders get old, but keep an eye on your email.
 
Im torn.  I have roughly 50-60 games for this thing.  I have a retron 3, which is great. Ive had the R5 preorderd since day 1 on Amazon.  But looking at the prices of some of these games I want to get ($50 range) Im wondering if its worth it anymore.  Sure I can get tons of games for CRAZY cheap but then there are a large amount that are $25 and up and some are astronomical.  Im just torn between the R5 now or an Ouya and just do pure emulation on that since it does Dreamcast and everything before it.

 
Im torn. I have roughly 50-60 games for this thing. I have a retron 3, which is great. Ive had the R5 preorderd since day 1 on Amazon. But looking at the prices of some of these games I want to get ($50 range) Im wondering if its worth it anymore. Sure I can get tons of games for CRAZY cheap but then there are a large amount that are $25 and up and some are astronomical. Im just torn between the R5 now or an Ouya and just do pure emulation on that since it does Dreamcast and everything before it.
You don't have to pay ebay prices for things. For me, part of the fun is finding these old games for reasonable prices at flea markets, thrift stores and pawn shops.

 
Ouya has a Dreamcast emulator? Gonna have to dig mine out the closet. Side note this delay better be because they decided to support ROMs.
 
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Im torn. I have roughly 50-60 games for this thing. I have a retron 3, which is great. Ive had the R5 preorderd since day 1 on Amazon. But looking at the prices of some of these games I want to get ($50 range) Im wondering if its worth it anymore. Sure I can get tons of games for CRAZY cheap but then there are a large amount that are $25 and up and some are astronomical. Im just torn between the R5 now or an Ouya and just do pure emulation on that since it does Dreamcast and everything before it.
Definitely a good thought to bring up. Being a retro collector for some time now, I hear you on the high game prices.

From my experience in acquiring games, it is fun hunting out in the wild, but for those with full-time day jobs it's difficult unless done over a lunch break. While it certainly depends on location and general economy of the area among other factors, most of the time stuff is already picked over by daywalkers that know the spots and have already hit those places up while you're at work so it forces people like me to acquire good games from private retro collector groups or to suckle at the teet of mother eBay at outrageous prices. You win some you lose some. I am in a bad location, so I always lose.

I've considered the emulation path, but I had already been doing that for years. It's only when I started wanting to be a responsible steward and preserve the past did I become interested in retro collecting seriously (and of course the financial means). That's just me. In any case, It's not worth it economically, just sentimentally.

 
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Im torn. I have roughly 50-60 games for this thing. I have a retron 3, which is great. Ive had the R5 preorderd since day 1 on Amazon. But looking at the prices of some of these games I want to get ($50 range) Im wondering if its worth it anymore. Sure I can get tons of games for CRAZY cheap but then there are a large amount that are $25 and up and some are astronomical. Im just torn between the R5 now or an Ouya and just do pure emulation on that since it does Dreamcast and everything before it.
If you really want to get some of the upper end games there doesn't seem to be much choice but to pay the higher prices. I've had very little success finding anything decent floating around town. None of the pawn shops carry anything but last gen games anymore and the specialty stores know their values. I can tell you I've paid as much as $120 for a cart that I just had to have. Fortunately, there aren't too many games left that I want so the big buying binge I have been on has slowed considerably. Just keep your eyes peeled on eBay and sometimes you can get lucky. I got a $120-180 cart for about $90 and I never see it drop below $120. Patience and you can amass a decent collection without spending a fortune.

 
Im torn. I have roughly 50-60 games for this thing. I have a retron 3, which is great. Ive had the R5 preorderd since day 1 on Amazon. But looking at the prices of some of these games I want to get ($50 range) Im wondering if its worth it anymore. Sure I can get tons of games for CRAZY cheap but then there are a large amount that are $25 and up and some are astronomical. Im just torn between the R5 now or an Ouya and just do pure emulation on that since it does Dreamcast and everything before it.
I'm not condoning (since i'm a collector ) anything here, but have you thought about flash carts?

 
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I've put hundreds of dollars into getting back all the games I played as a child some so far the best I've spent is 50$ on a single game and that was Shining Force (maybe it was 25$) but a lot of those add up fast when you buy a couple at a time. Sadly in my area not many stores carry sega games and the one that does knows the price of them.

I live in Mesquite Texas for those that might as well and know of some spots I might not know of.

 
I've put hundreds of dollars into getting back all the games I played as a child some so far the best I've spent is 50$ on a single game and that was Shining Force (maybe it was 25$) but a lot of those add up fast when you buy a couple at a time. Sadly in my area not many stores carry sega games and the one that does knows the price of them.

I live in Mesquite Texas for those that might as well and know of some spots I might not know of.
True that. I'm also in Texas and none of the garage sales, flea markets, goodwill's, salvation army's, HPB's I've been to have anything worthwhile retro. Ever. Well HPB has super mario/duck hunt for some outrageous price. And some guy named Joe at Corpus Christi Trade Center charges outrageous prices. Also the turnover is terrible. Maybe it's the time of day I go or day of the week? I don't know. While it's all a game of chance determined by factors that could raise or lessen overall success in finding decent retro stuff, I still believe my daywalker theory is decreasing my odds.

There is hope sometimes found on eBay besides hunting in the wild. I was able to win an auction for Shining Force 1 & 2 CIB in excellent condition last year for $44 shipped during the summer months which I thought was a pretty good deal relative to the going rates at the time. Summer is a great time to score good deals on ebay when students are lacking financial aid and people are moving around :D

 
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I've put hundreds of dollars into getting back all the games I played as a child some so far the best I've spent is 50$ on a single game and that was Shining Force (maybe it was 25$) but a lot of those add up fast when you buy a couple at a time. Sadly in my area not many stores carry sega games and the one that does knows the price of them.

I live in Mesquite Texas for those that might as well and know of some spots I might not know of.
http://retrowaretv.com/category/shows/the-game-chasers/page/5/ - Been watching this web show for a few years now. Basically about two guys who look for retro games around Texas. I'm not sure if they hit Mesquite, but watching them will probably give you a few ideas on where to look.

As for myself, I started buying retro games big time in the summer of 2007. I graduated early from high school earlier that year and got a decent paying job so that I could catch up on everything I missed. Occasionally, I use emulators. Hell, my Wii is softmodded so when I go to parties I'm often requested to bring it because its a hassle to transport a VCR sized NES and several cartridges. Especially with retro games becoming rarer, I'm actually more worried about theft now than I ever was.

Anyway, from around 2007-2009 I was a hardcore retro game collector. I blew so much money and overpaid on a lot of crap just to have it. But now in 2014, the crap I potentially overpaid for is now either the standard price or the price has skyrocketed even higher. I can personally say from 2007-2009, I got several games such as A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Mega Man 2, Ninja Gaiden 2/3, each for 5 all at my local pawn shops. Now those pawn shops are scalped by resellers and are almost always empty now. :(

Now with pricecharting and with way more exposure to how much old games are worth, retro game collecting has just become a chore now. I still do it casually on the side, but not nearly as much as I used to due to the prices being absurdly high on nearly everything I want.

http://imgur.com/a/AMNEK#0 - Hi res version of my crap in 2012. I obviously have more stuff now but I'm in the process of moving so all of my stuff is boxed up for now.

 
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http://retrowaretv.com/category/shows/the-game-chasers/page/5/ - Been watching this web show for a few years now. Basically about two guys who look for retro games around Texas. I'm not sure if they hit Mesquite, but watching them will probably give you a few ideas on where to look.

As for myself, I started buying retro games big time in the summer of 2007. I graduated early from high school earlier that year and got a decent paying job so that I could catch up on everything I missed. Occasionally, I use emulators. Hell, my Wii is softmodded so when I go to parties I'm often requested to bring it because its a hassle to transport a VCR sized NES and several cartridges. Especially with retro games becoming rarer, I'm actually more worried about theft now than I ever was.

Anyway, from around 2007-2009 I was a hardcore retro game collector. I blew so much money and overpaid on a lot of crap just to have it. But now in 2014, the crap I potentially overpaid for is now either the standard price or the price has skyrocketed even higher. I can personally say from 2007-2009, I got several games such as A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Mega Man 2, Ninja Gaiden 2/3, each for 5 all at my local pawn shops. Now those pawn shops are scalped by resellers and are almost always empty now. :(

Now with pricecharting and with way more exposure to how much old games are worth, retro game collecting has just become a chore now. I still do it casually on the side, but not nearly as much as I used to due to the prices being absurdly high on nearly everything I want.

http://imgur.com/a/AMNEK#0 - Hi res version of my crap in 2012. I obviously have more stuff now but I'm in the process of moving so all of my stuff is boxed up for now.
Sadly in my desire to own every sega genesis game I really like having them CIB and that adds a good amount to the price. So far I've done a decent job at getting the ones I want but even the ones I don't want for myself but to complete the collection can cost some money.

I don't have pictures of mine but I do have a somewhat up-to-date list in my signature listing everything I own and I think box 4-5 or so are all my sega games with the state they are in but it could use some clean-up.

I'm currently talking to someone on craigslist where I will buy their sega and a boxed copy (missing the manual) or Toejam and Earl just because I don't have the case and it seems like a good price for it. So that is 25 dollars for another console and a game then I'm talking to another person that has a lot of games and a console for 50 and he does not want to split them so once again I might just buy the whole lot then I will have 3 segas :D

 
http://retrowaretv.com/category/shows/the-game-chasers/page/5/ - Been watching this web show for a few years now. Basically about two guys who look for retro games around Texas. I'm not sure if they hit Mesquite, but watching them will probably give you a few ideas on where to look.

As for myself, I started buying retro games big time in the summer of 2007. I graduated early from high school earlier that year and got a decent paying job so that I could catch up on everything I missed. Occasionally, I use emulators. Hell, my Wii is softmodded so when I go to parties I'm often requested to bring it because its a hassle to transport a VCR sized NES and several cartridges. Especially with retro games becoming rarer, I'm actually more worried about theft now than I ever was.

Anyway, from around 2007-2009 I was a hardcore retro game collector. I blew so much money and overpaid on a lot of crap just to have it. But now in 2014, the crap I potentially overpaid for is now either the standard price or the price has skyrocketed even higher. I can personally say from 2007-2009, I got several games such as A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Mega Man 2, Ninja Gaiden 2/3, each for 5 all at my local pawn shops. Now those pawn shops are scalped by resellers and are almost always empty now. :(

Now with pricecharting and with way more exposure to how much old games are worth, retro game collecting has just become a chore now. I still do it casually on the side, but not nearly as much as I used to due to the prices being absurdly high on nearly everything I want.

http://imgur.com/a/AMNEK#0 - Hi res version of my crap in 2012. I obviously have more stuff now but I'm in the process of moving so all of my stuff is boxed up for now.
Good post. I've personally blown several thousand collecting the big three primarily NES, SNES, and Genesis. I'm not even close to owning every game for all three of these systems, but I sure do have the gold for SNES and Genesis :D

NES on the otherhand, is made up of so many little rare gems that I can't see myself paying for. I was offered a little samson and flintstones: surprise at dinosaur peak combo from a good collector friend for $1k, but I just couldn't do it :(

 
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wow so its not just me thats surprised at how high a lot of retro games have gotten. wtf happened in the past few years? Prices on ebay have gotten absurd. I havent really bought anything in the past 2 or 3 years or so and there are several games i wish i had got back then. I remember thinking 'nah... 60 bucks is too high for that cart, i'll pass' Now that shits like $170 bucks >_
 
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wow so its not just me thats surprised at how high a lot of retro games have gotten. wtf happened in the past few years? Prices on ebay have gotten absurd. I havent really bought anything in the past 2 or 3 years or so and there are several games i wish i had got back then. I remember thinking 'nah... 60 bucks is too high for that cart, i'll pass' Now that shits like $170 bucks >_< I remember not wanting to pay around $50 for Brigadine for PS1 but i got the map and strat guide for cheap. Now the damn thing goes for around $100 and up and i dont want to spend that much. Staring at my worthless map and guide, lol

Still theres quite a few games i really wish i had bit on a few years ago before they went really nuts. Lufia II, Panzer dragoon saga, ect
Well there are only so many games going around. When there are people like me and it appears many others on this site we buy the games to keep them. If there are more and more people collection over the years sooner or later a lot of the games get bought up and fewer appear on the market. Higher demand and less supply :D

 
Yup its a supply and demand model.

Back then games were not produced in the numbers we see today. Today millions are printed and made for sale and get reprinted over a time period. There are a lot more gamers as well consuming the content then they were back then.

This leaves games that were limited in print with more consumers wanting them so they can play or have the original. So you have more buyers competing for the same item with less available in the market as over the years the stock has been depleted with more and more buyers than they have sellers who want to sell the item.

This is why games like Final Fantasy, Mario Party can hold value. There is a "sequel" of the brand every few years in which new consumers of that product are born who want to experience the old games. This is also why FF is still in print to this day (other than 7 which is more of an artificial demand that is helped a bit by Square by not printing but boosting their digital sales for the game as well).

 


Sadly in my desire to own every sega genesis game I really like having them CIB and that adds a good amount to the price. So far I've done a decent job at getting the ones I want but even the ones I don't want for myself but to complete the collection can cost some money.
My family actually had a Genesis when I was younger so I have a lot of complete Genesis games. One tip I got from a game collecting panel at MAGFest was when you find a rare game in a lot, just to buy the lot, and sell what you don't want. Therefore, you won't put any attention to the game that you're trying to get.

NES on the otherhand, is made up of so many little rare gems that I can't see myself paying for. I was offered a little samson and flintstones: surprise at dinosaur peak combo from a good collector friend for $1k, but I just couldn't do it :(
We got a small shop in Williamsport, MD where the owner had three copies of Little Samson (cart only) last month. He told me he sold his last copy for $500. =|

Speaking of that store, I saw a guy there trade in a complete copy of Mega Man X4 on Saturn which I was hoping to nab for cheap in the store before he priced it... but he already looked up the prices and he already said "it would be in the 80's". Damn you, price charting. I have the PSX version but it was one of my first PlayStation games and one my favorite games.

 
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Don't forget that back in the day, Gamestop, EB Games, and other game stores threw away boxes for many, many retro games (NES in particular). I was collecting even back then, and I'd go into a store, get a bunch of boxes from the shelves, and take them to the counter. Very often they'd only have 2-3 games for those boxes that I brought to the counter, but they just let me keep all the other boxes (since they planned to throw them away in dumpsters soon anyway). I have tons of NES, SNES, Genesis etc. Games (and boxes/manuals) from that time, all in storage. Need to break them out and see what I have). These stores really did trash many thousands of great boxes from older retro games, a real shame.
 
Don't forget that back in the day, Gamestop, EB Games, and other game stores threw away boxes for many, many retro games (NES in particular).
That was the biggest fault of boxes back then. I was relieved 2 gens ago when everyone went to DVD cases. Way better than flimsy boxes or jewel cases.

 
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Funcoland used to be a treasure trove for discarded boxes and manuals. It was where I would go to get a manual I may of been missing after making a trade on the internet. Ah good times

 
Don't forget that back in the day, Gamestop, EB Games, and other game stores threw away boxes for many, many retro games (NES in particular). I was collecting even back then, and I'd go into a store, get a bunch of boxes from the shelves, and take them to the counter. Very often they'd only have 2-3 games for those boxes that I brought to the counter, but they just let me keep all the other boxes (since they planned to throw them away in dumpsters soon anyway). I have tons of NES, SNES, Genesis etc. Games (and boxes/manuals) from that time, all in storage. Need to break them out and see what I have). These stores really did trash many thousands of great boxes from older retro games, a real shame.
I'm interested in knowing too :)

 
Don't forget that back in the day, Gamestop, EB Games, and other game stores threw away boxes for many, many retro games
Just one of the reasons why I don't like GameStop, and what it's done to the industry. I love collecting classic cartridges, and GameStop dropped that entire side of their business in favor of the more lucrative new release grind. Now the majority of their business is in selling used copies of games that just came out, and the more classic titles are just gone. They don't even carry GameCube and PS2 titles at most stores. (and the PS2 had a massive library) GameStop's treatment of the medium as a completely disposable diversion is terrible for collectors.

I was once looking for a copy of The World Ends With You. I found a box for it at a GameStop, and took it up to the counter. They poked around, but couldn't find the cartridge. As I was walking away, I noticed the sales clerk casually tossing the empty case into the garbage. I stopped him and inquired if it would be okay for me to have the empty case. He was quite happy to oblige. The case was complete and in mint condition. But because the game wasn't present the whole thing was discarded. I eventually found a bare cartridge at another store and was able to complete the set.

I know there was no rancor or antagonism present. It's just that with a giant business machine like GameStop few people care, and even fewer are encouraged to care about the medium.

I generally don't bother trying to get full boxed copies of the older games. Those paper cases are just too hard to find in good condition, and the mark up for those copies are onerous. The Genesis was one of the first systems to have proper plastic cases, and it's not too hard to find those in good condition. Oddly enough, I still have a lot of the original boxes to most of my computer game collection. PC games were a little more affordable than console games back in the day, and I was careful with my collection even at a young age.

 
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^Don't forget that when Gamecrazy opened they sold games from every gen. I was only like 14 at that time so I never had any money to buy anything. Of course as we all know Gamecrazy went the GameStop route in its last few years which made me take me my business elsewhere. 

Also, guys. We're really really going off topic. We might want to move the retro game discussion in another thread as we've went off the Retron discussion several posts ago. 

 
Also, guys. We're really really going off topic.
Possibly, yes. It's just a bit more fun to ruminate on retro shopping than it is to harp on how this device isn't coming out yet. The delays on the RetroN5 have everyone in a bit of a holding pattern. We're expecting it somewhere in the spring window, but there is no hard date, and likely won't be until we're right on top of it.

 
I had been buying all the games I want for the systems this supports...with the release being so uncertain, I've started holding off until something definitive happens.
 
Well there are only so many games going around. When there are people like me and it appears many others on this site we buy the games to keep them. If there are more and more people collection over the years sooner or later a lot of the games get bought up and fewer appear on the market. Higher demand and less supply :D

Yup its a supply and demand model.

Back then games were not produced in the numbers we see today. Today millions are printed and made for sale and get reprinted over a time period. There are a lot more gamers as well consuming the content then they were back then.

This leaves games that were limited in print with more consumers wanting them so they can play or have the original. So you have more buyers competing for the same item with less available in the market as over the years the stock has been depleted with more and more buyers than they have sellers who want to sell the item.

This is why games like Final Fantasy, Mario Party can hold value. There is a "sequel" of the brand every few years in which new consumers of that product are born who want to experience the old games. This is also why FF is still in print to this day (other than 7 which is more of an artificial demand that is helped a bit by Square by not printing but boosting their digital sales for the game as well).
yea i get the supply and demand thing, im just surprised that the prices have shot up so much in just a couple years. I was on a buying spree a while back but basically stopped a couple years ago after realizing how much i spend in one year (dont ask). Just seems crazy and odd that most games have basically doubled or more in price in such a short ammount of time. I dont know if its actual supply and demand or just ebay inflating prices. Problem is there arent many other places to get retro stuff anymore =(

*sigh* anyway hope this console comes though. Dont mind the delays if that means theyre doing it right. I still think it should have 2 controllers. Im not sure how the hell i can get a 2nd controller for this thing

 
Amazon sent me an email making me reconfirm my order and the total is now $76. Did anyone else get this price drop?
Lol, wth? My order show a pretax total of $76.19 each. I guess Hyperkin doesn't want that $50 I was already going to give them. Works for me! Considering the pre-sold out situation I'm absolutely shocked to see a price drop. I wonder if it was intentional.

 
I was in a FYE store this past weekend and they were taking pre orders for the Retron 5. Does anyone know any other retailers that plan on selling it?

 
Maybe it's a make-good for all the delays? I can't think of any other logical reason.

'Sorry for all the delays, we're giving everyone that preordered a 25% discount'

 
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Wow at only $76 each these things have gotta be pretty junky, you really can't put out any kind of quality product for that price IMO.
But they can at 100? When it comes out we will all find out. If it's just mostly emulation the price to make it can be small but the amount of work into the program could be where all the money and time is going. So the cost of production can be small.

 
I think this is just Amazon making up for the delay.

Newegg does not reflect the change on the website or in my open order.

 
Wow, my order says $76.19 also. What the hell. I took a screenshot on the off chance that they somehow attempt to raise the price. Doubt it though.
It's such an odd price so it seems like it is a discount for people that preordered it months ago expecting it to come out. Hopefully it stays the same but I was planning on paying 100 anyways.

 
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