Handheld Games Collector's Guide?

[number6]

I was wondering has the Digital Press staff ever considered listing classic (1977 - 1985) Handheld games in the collector's guide? I mostly collect handheld games from the early 1980's and though I know these games are not "Video" games they were still very much part of the video game craze back then. My game collection consisted mostly of handhelds during, what I consider, the golden age of video gaming (the early 1980's) because my mother thought the Atari would somehow mess up the TV. I am currently trying to piece together some information for an article I am writing for Armchair Arcade and I welcome any and all feedback from anyone here with insights into Classic handheld/tabletop game collecting. I am hoping some members here can point me to some collecting resources I have not been able to find online. Currently I am aware of the Handheld Game FAQ as a rarity list, but it seems like it may be somewhat dated since the last update was in 1998.

[KJN]

If you haven't you should visit http://www.handhelden.com, lots of info and pictures of classic handhelds. Also be sure to get the book Electronic Plastic, you can check it out here.

[number6]

Thanks for the links. I should have mentioned that I have been to that site before. Yes, it is a good site. That book looks like it is out of print though. I did a search on ebay and Amazon and neither site has it .

A couple of other sites I have found include Handheld museum which is the site I use the most to look up handheld games. Retrogames also has a handheld page that is pretty informative. These are the main sources I have found online.

[christianscott27]

heres the very rough draft of the handheld guide i worked on, full of cuts n pastes from around the web.

http://www.digitpress.com/lists/handhelds.pdf

i'll tell ya in brief what makes a handheld guide a tricky thing-

define handheld game - what about all the simon type games, the edu games, the latter day tiger games...hard to know where to stop!

pricing is tough - often only one, if any, examples of a game show up and one ebay auction is pretty thin evidence to base a listing on

regionless - unlike TV based games handhelds can pretty much cross borders at will. clones abound, theres no way to have a complete list.

that said its a fun topic to dig into, i'm always looking for collaboraters to help me get that list going again if anyones up for it.

[NE146]

Here's one book. it's Ok.. mostly focuses on U.S. systems at the time.

[digitalpress]

Thanks for the links. I should have mentioned that I have been to that site before. Yes, it is a good site. That book looks like it is out of print though. I did a search on ebay and Amazon and neither site has it .

A couple of other sites I have found include Handheld museum which is the site I use the most to look up handheld games. Retrogames also has a handheld page that is pretty informative. These are the main sources I have found online.

Christian's research is also online here:

http://66.92.250.36:8080/DP/cmf/search.cmf

Select "handhelds" from the system list and hit enter. You can narrow things down from there if you'd like.

[number6]

Thanks for the links. I should have mentioned that I have been to that site before. Yes, it is a good site. That book looks like it is out of print though. I did a search on ebay and Amazon and neither site has it .

A couple of other sites I have found include Handheld museum which is the site I use the most to look up handheld games. Retrogames also has a handheld page that is pretty informative. These are the main sources I have found online.

Christian's research is also online here:

http://66.92.250.36:8080/DP/cmf/search.cmf

Select "handhelds" from the system list and hit enter. You can narrow things down from there if you'd like.

Thanks alot Christian and Digital!

That's exactly what I was looking for. I agree that it is hard to categorize handheld games. I am mostly interested in the brands I grew up with, but I am finding a lot of games on ebay that I never saw before. I am mostly into the games that had VFD displays because to me they were easier on the eyes and I can still enjoy playing them today.

I have seen quite a few of the entex games on ebay the last few months and I can say that they went for a lot more on ebay then what is listed in the guide. I have been to numorous flea markets and have never seen any of these games for sale. The only place I find them is on ebay or at classic game shows.

Christian,

I could start keeping a tally of the final selling price of the VFD games I watch on ebay, I am looking all the time, and try and come up with some kind of average price for them and get that back to you in a few months on the titles I see in your list if that helps.

[number6]

Here's one book. it's Ok.. mostly focuses on U.S. systems at the time.

Thanks for the info NE146. I have that book also . I have had that book ever since I was a youngster trying to decide what games I wanted for my birthday/Christmas. I consider that book a part of my collection. The reviews by the author of that book are some of the best in my opinion because it was written during the time these games came out and the author provides rather insightful observations about game design.

[Steve W]

I'm dragging this topic back from the dusty ol' vault that it's been sitting in. I've been picking up a few electronic handhelds for the past year, and I was wondering if you guys had come up with any newer sites in the past four years since this post was created or possibly new reference books on the subject.

[rbudrick]

I have a whole shelving unit in my RoD dedicated to these units. Will post pics soon.

-Rob

[NE146]

I was wondering if you guys had come up with any newer sites in the past four years since this post was created or possibly new reference books on the subject.

Well, handheldmuseum has since started their own forum, specifically focused on classic handhelds of course.

http://handheldmuseum.com/forum/