Anybody ever hear of Action Max???

[slidee]

Somebody I know locally has a loose Action Max video game console with three complete games. What's the value??? Ever even heard of this?

[slidee]

Here's a pic of it: http://i.imgur.com/bXIBR.jpg

More info may be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Max

[Tupin]

All it has is lightgun games. It will only work on an old non-flat panel CRT TV.

You also need a VCR if you want to run those copies, but I think you can use a DVD player if you buy a compilation disc that's sold online.

I personally would not pay much for it. Mainly because it doesn't have good games, is relatively common, and is either unknown or ignored in most collecting circles.

[MarioMania]

How much is he asking for it??

[Parodius Duh!]

"Pops Ghostly" -awesome. I would buy it if its no more than 50 bucks and you have the proper equipment to use it. I remember having a blast with this thing, the kid down the street got one when it was released, that was also at least 22 years ago.

[Parodius Duh!]

found an original commercial on youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsww4SlxUbM

[Blanka789]

These things are pretty limited in appeal. I believe that whether you shoot or not makes no real difference as it is a VHS tape that will play through regardless.

[Arcade Antics]

Action Max is worthless, the R-Zone is more playable.

[Ponyponypony]

IIRC it was one of the first light gun systems. My fiancee wouldn't let me pay more than $30 for it. :P

[Steve W]

IIRC it was one of the first light gun systems. My fiancee wouldn't let me pay more than $30 for it. :P

It's not even worth $30, in my opinion. I come across them on a rare occasion, and they just sit there until kids tear them apart and they get thrown away. I've got one with three tapes, and I've never bothered playing it. Just can't muster up the interest.

Hurst, TX huh? My brother lives up there. Now I know why I haven't been finding much of interest in the Movie Trading Company store up there by North East Mall. There's another collector or two living in the same area. Too much competition for retro games!

[Arcade Antics]

IIRC it was one of the first light gun systems. My fiancee wouldn't let me pay more than $30 for it. :P
There were many light gun consoles prior to the Action Max, and the light gun as a device dates back to the 30s. Your fiancee is a smart woman, the thing isn't worth 30 cents let alone 30 dollars. Action Max is a turd.

[Ryaan1234]

the thing isn't worth 30 cents let alone 30 dollars.
I beg to differ. (http://cgi.ebay.com/1987-WORLDS-WONDER-ACTION-MAX-GAME-SYSTEM-NEW-IN-BOX-/140489850685?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b5d8ff3d)

Considering that's a MIB system I'd estimate a loose Action Max being worth $15-20. For a while I wanted one before realizing that I really didn't need one. There were more systems on eBay a few months ago, and they seemed to bring in that range. It may be a terrible system but in my opinion it's an oddity and a neat little footnote in video game history. For nostalgia's sake there are people that still want Action Max systems, and for that reason it has value. Nobody goes on about how much they enjoyed the R-Zone, and on top of that it has no redeeming qualities, at least the Action Max is an interesting system in concept. It may be a turd, but not exactly a worthless turd.

[norkusa]

I had a complete set with all the tapes. Sold it here a while ago for $50-$60 I think. Never actually played it, so I can't comment on the gameplay.

I could have sworn I once saw rips of the tapes on some torrent site with some kind of Action Max emulator to play them with.

[Arcade Antics]

Considering that's a MIB system I'd estimate a loose Action Max being worth $15-20.
Citing a brand new one on eBay for $32 tells us nothing about a used one. Even if it went for $500, that only means that two gamers who collect sealed games really wanted it. And that they'll never play it. There's no demand for one that's open. Up until 1998 they were in every thrift store by the boatload and still nobody bought them.


Nobody goes on about how much they enjoyed the R-Zone, and on top of that it has no redeeming qualities, at least the Action Max is an interesting system in concept. It may be a turd, but not exactly a worthless turd.
What's interesting about the Action Max? It's an unplayable mess. The R-Zone is a nearly unplayable mess. Both are crap, but the Action Max is a slightly bigger pile. Anyone who pays $15-20 for one isn't looking hard enough. People right here have given them away for the cost of shipping.

[Ryaan1234]

Citing a brand new one on eBay for $32 tells us nothing about a used one. Even if it went for $500, that only means that two gamers who collect sealed games really wanted it. And that they'll never play it. There's no demand for one that's open. Up until 1998 they were in every thrift store by the boatload and still nobody bought them.

Okay, first of all the one that I cited was MIB, it had been opened so technically while being an unused system it was not sealed or completely brand new. Besides that if you did an eBay search for "Action Max" you would see that the one I mentioned was the only one which sold recently on eBay for me to bring up. As I said before I was watching these systems on eBay a few months back and I witnessed them loose bringing in the $15-20 range and sometimes more.



What's interesting about the Action Max?
I said it in the very post you quoted. It's an interesting system in concept. Apart from the old VCR games from back in the day it's the only gaming system that uses the VHS format, that I know of at least. (Although a few old arcade games and the Laseractive used Laserdisc, but I digress) Although the system may play terribly I find that aspect interesting.

[portnoyd]

Jesus dude, it's a fucking Action Max. It's a steaming pile of shit. Are you seriously defending it?

[Ponyponypony]

Hurst, TX huh? My brother lives up there. Now I know why I haven't been finding much of interest in the Movie Trading Company store up there by North East Mall. There's another collector or two living in the same area. Too much competition for retro games!

Dude, it's not just you. That location is trashed and consistently picked over. We do a tour of all the MTC's in the d/fw area when we go.

[Steve W]

I liked it better when MTC stores were just beginning to get retro games in. I'd pop into the Arlington store and buy a stack of Atari 2600 games. A few days later, I'd drop by again to find a new batch added to the shelf. It felt like Movie Trading Company stores were my little secret game store. But not anymore. The last time I went to the Arlington store I ran into jeffg (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/member.php?u=5373) there. In some locations I'll also find flyers for books by 8bitgamer (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/member.php?u=20341) tucked inside and behind boxes. In fact, in the Fort Worth/Hulen Mall location, if you look inside the Genesis version of Shadowrun, one of his flyers is in there. Cleverly sneaky! Too bad there's no instruction manual in the box instead...

[Ponyponypony]

In some locations I'll also find flyers for books by 8bitgamer (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/member.php?u=20341) tucked inside and behind boxes. In fact, in the Fort Worth/Hulen Mall location, if you look inside the Genesis version of Shadowrun, one of his flyers is in there. Cleverly sneaky! Too bad there's no instruction manual in the box instead...

I'm pretty sure that I've bought a few genesis games that had his flyers in them. I didn't know what they were. Definitely try the MTC by TCU, and I personally like the one by Colin Creek Mall (though it's kinda picked over, but the guys are nice). There's another one that's way up in Frisco that I was impressed with, but I never have any reason to be in Frisco. The PnT by The Parks Mall was also nice - They had a NES Wireless Controller setup that they "weren't selling." I jokingly told him I'd give him $10 for it and he said he'd sell it for 12. Surprise!

[jb143]

All it has is lightgun games. It will only work on an old non-flat panel CRT TV.


I do not think this is true. It works on a completely different system than most light gun games so I'm pretty sure it will work on an LCD or plasma TV. I just wouldn't want to suction cup the sensor to those screens.


The Action Max does have a certain charm to it though. I sold mine CIB on eBay a few years ago with a handfull of tapes for around $40-$50.

I have said it before though. I think it would be more fun to make your own Action Max games. All you would need is a video camera, several idiot friends, and video editing software that can add the flashing circles.

[Steve W]

There's another one that's way up in Frisco that I was impressed with, but I never have any reason to be in Frisco.
That one's just okay. Although they sold me a Rescue Terra I cart for the Atari 2600 (R7) for $1.99, though, so I've got a warm fuzzy for that store.

The MTC stores up in Garland and Allen are pretty hit-and-miss. They're both fairly new, and haven't gotten in a whole lot of stock yet. I went to the Garland store the first time, and they had one Atari 2600 game - Pitfall. The cartridge looked like it passed through a rhino's digestive tract, too. I bought a Sega CD game there, got it home, opened the shrinkwrap, and discovered it was empty. Good job there, guys. They love shrinkwrapping things so much they sometimes don't bother seeing if there's product inside the packaging.