Astrocade Deal--Worth It?

Rydias

Rydias

CAGiversary!
A co-worker says his dad has an old Astrocade system that he's selling "as is" with no idea of if it works or not.  The thing has two controllers but is missing the top shell that goes over where you store games.  The box on the power cord is missing the outer casing and the TV cable has some wear near the plug portion.  No games.

Bottom label reads:  Astrovision Arcade Model ABA-1000-2

He's asking $50 for it, saying you don't come across these very much.

I agree that they don't seem to pop up often, but is $50 a fair price considering the above?

Any thoughts?

 
I'd compare it against eBay prices since I haven't bought or sold one in a few years. The missing cover would bug me as a collector, but it would be fine if you only want to play it.

 
soonersfan60 said:
I'd compare it against eBay prices since I haven't bought or sold one in a few years. The missing cover would bug me as a collector, but it would be fine if you only want to play it.
Click to expand...
Ebay has slim pickings at the moment and most are complete (in or out of box) and said to work. They come with games too and are then priced at a couple of hundred of dollars so I'm thinking this may not be too bad to pick up. I just wonder if it's possible to find a replacement cover by itself...

This is my first foray into the world of Astrocade, so it could prove to be a nice little side-project.

 
The cover will be almost impossible to find by itself. You could actually break or lose it quite easily. If you wan to just play with it, go for it.

 
No games? Missing cover? Busted up power supply and worn video cable? Untested and as is? Ehhh...guess it depends on how bad you want it but if it was me, I'd offer $25 firm and walk if he says no. To be fair, this is also one of the few systems I've never felt a burning desire to own, so take that as you will. The "you don't see these very often" line doesn't impress me much. Never has. I got tons of shit in my horde collection that you "don't see very often" but that doesn't make it worth anything.

One thing to really consider, how handy are you at working on electronics? How much info is out there about working on the Astrocade? (I honestly haven't looked myself.) Or do you have a friend, family member or shop that you can sweet talk into helping you, if need be, for less than a fortune? It's that untested and as is that's the real sticking point for me. When I first started buying retro stuff, that wasn't as big a concern for a number of reasons. However, these devices are only getting older and too many people think anything they have that's video game related and old is worth a fortune (thanks Antiques Roadshow!) when it's probably better off as a paperweight or eScrap. Not saying your dad's friend is trying to rip you off, it just seems that anymore "untested as is" translates to "break out the tool kit if you want this thing to work". If you're handy, if it's cheap and/or if it's something genuinely rare, sometimes it's worth taking the risk. While I can't answer issue number one for you, this doesn't meet those last two criteria for me. 

Good luck, regardless!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Captain Wrong said:
No games? Missing cover? Busted up power supply and worn video cable? Untested and as is? Ehhh...guess it depends on how bad you want it but if it was me, I'd offer $25 firm and walk if he says no. To be fair, this is also one of the few systems I've never felt a burning desire to own, so take that as you will. The "you don't see these very often" line doesn't impress me much. Never has. I got tons of shit in my horde collection that you "don't see very often" but that doesn't make it worth anything.

One thing to really consider, how handy are you at working on electronics? How much info is out there about working on the Astrocade? (I honestly haven't looked myself.) Or do you have a friend, family member or shop that you can sweet talk into helping you, if need be, for less than a fortune? It's that untested and as is that's the real sticking point for me. When I first started buying retro stuff, that wasn't as big a concern for a number of reasons. However, these devices are only getting older and too many people think anything they have that's video game related and old is worth a fortune (thanks Antiques Roadshow!) when it's probably better off as a paperweight or eScrap. Not saying your dad's friend is trying to rip you off, it just seems that anymore "untested as is" translates to "break out the tool kit if you want this thing to work". If you're handy, if it's cheap and/or if it's something genuinely rare, sometimes it's worth taking the risk. While I can't answer issue number one for you, this doesn't meet those last two criteria for me.

Good luck, regardless!
Click to expand...
Some really excellent points. Frow what I've dug up on this system, it really seems to be that project system--kind of like a car guy's hot rod that he gets just to see if he can get it running again. I do have some family with enough electrical expertise who don't think fixing the power supply and video cable will be any problem--but they stop there and won't comment on the innards of the unit.

I like what soonersfan60 is saying in regards to if it works and I just want to play it (as opposed to making it a "collectible" and intact) but I also like what you're saying so far as the actual worth of the system, especially without games as is.

I got some great feedback for either side and I appreciate it. I think I'll talk to him and see if there's any wiggle room on his price and try to gauge if he's trying to sell it or trying to get rid of it.

Thanks again!

 
I think your hot rod description is on the money with regards to the Astrocade. The thing I always did think was cool about it is the hobbiest aspect of it because you could run BASIC on it and roll your own. From what I've read, seems like there was a cool little scene that did just that, back in the day.

I'm sure you're right about the power and video stuff. That's usually the easiest part. I built a switch box for my 5200 which is a weird design, but very easy to build. It's once you get into 35+ year old capacitors that we hit the issues. 

:)

 
Yes, I actually programmed a very simple driving game... Lots of useful newsletters back in the day, and even tools. You could save to cassette tape, too !! It was a pain to type out the code if you didn't have the very rare keyboard, so I had to do it the slow way (like those really old texting phones, where you triple enter a key for the 3rd letter, etc.).

 
I always wondered how it worked on that number pad looking thing. I didn't know there was a real keyboard available, but that makes a lot more sense now. Wasn't there also a RAM upgrade one could do for home-brew stuff?

Interesting philosophy difference, back then. IIRC, they based the console on their then current Z-80 based arcade hardware, gave folks the tools to make their own games and then, when Bally lost interest, they turned it over to a group of users to continue support rather than killing it off and locking it away. In context, it's obvious it was never going to be the dominant force the much simpler Atari VCS was, but it's also kind of the difference between something designed by the engineers and something from the marketing and legal folks. (Not that I don't love my Atari.) 

Also from the legal side, I was always interested in how the game licensing worked where, for instance, Bally Midway had the license for  Space Invaders in the acrade, but Atari snagged the home rights and Bally had to give what was obviously their home port a generic name (see also Galaxian and Pac Man.) Interesting stuff.

Sorry to go way off topic. Lol. Don't get to talk as much retrogames of this era as I'd like to.

 
As I recall, the very original (and rarer) releases had the actual arcade names. Once Bally decided to get out of the home market and sell off the rights (very early on, as I recall), then they had to use the generic names for the games.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top