What consoles can you not seem to find anywhere?

[Tupin]

I've noticed that there are a lot of consoles that I want, but almost never see for sale. The Astrocade and Vectrex are perhaps the consoles I've seen the least. No one seems to ever be selling Astrocades, and usually the Vectrexes that show up for sale have some sort of problem with them.

It's also a pain to try to find TG-16 stuff sometimes. It seems like there's so many copies of Keith Courage out there...

Is there anyone out there that runs into stuff like this on a regular occasion?

[The 1 2 P]

I use to find 3DO consoles every few months but haven't seen any in well over a year. I never find Turbographx 16 consoles or games. Even Saturn stuff has become rare around here outside of a few not for resale cardboard sleeve games/demos. And I also never see any Atari Jaguar stuff although one time I found a few games at a yard sale. But maybe it's best that I don't find Jaguar stuff.

[ubersaurus]

Neo Geo Pocket. I almost never see anything for that. I've run across 3DO and Vectrex stuff before, and Turbografx... but very rarely do i find Pocket games.

Lynx is also really rare for me. As for Astrocade, I don't think I've EVER seen anything for it, system or games. Of course, considering how many of the systems have died I guess that's not too shocking.

[SpaceHarrier]

Never seen a Coleco Telstar Arcade in the wild, though I did find one of the triangular shaped carts at a swap meet. I haven't seen a JVC X'eye since they were new in the store.

[Ryudo]

Anything pre NES. TG16. Anything Neo geo. No 3DO.

[buzz_n64]

Never saw these in the wild-

Odyssey
Fairchild F
Telstar
Vectrex
Laseractive
PC-FX
Turbo-duo or cd add on attachments
Neo-Geo AES or CD
Apple Pippin
Wonderswan
Zeebo

[cracked8ball]

I don't think I've ever seen the following systems:

5200
7800
Vectrex
Virtual Boy

Wouldn't mind owning these in the future.

And up until last year I'd never seen a Colecovision.

[o.pwuaioc]

I don't think I've ever seen the following systems:

5200
7800
Vectrex
Virtual Boy

Wouldn't mind owning these in the future.

And up until last year I'd never seen a Colecovision.

The 5200 and 7800 go for pretty cheap online, whether on ebay or AtariAge or something.

[hellraiser]

Seen most systems at one point or another. Seems like things dried up last few years though.

The only thing I've never seen is a neo geo. A local retrogame shop gas one cib, but never in the wild.

[Tron 2.0]

I never find Turbographx 16 consoles or games.
No surpise there,when it comes to the TG16 it's used market is mostly on ebay now or sites such as pcenginefx.com.

[Tron 2.0]

With the TG16 mention i'd say the neo-geo aes as well i've never seen it in the wild for a long time.

[otaku]

I've never seen an aes in the wild here but I've seen the neo geo pocket. Mostly the japan only consoles or extremely rare stuff is hard to find here but we seem to have quite a few collectors here considering our size and lots of old school stuff

[Genesaturn]

I'm yet to find a TG16 or Neo Geo anything out in the wild, which is one of the main reasons they are 2 of the last consoles I have yet to own..I love finding my stuff in the wild.

[SonicBoom]

Game systems I Never run into, That's alot. TG-16, 3DO, CD-i, Japenese Imports, Ect.

[TurboGenesis]

I've never seen a Bally Astrocade in the wild before... I've never seen the console OR games ever! it's one console I am curious about and if I ever see one, I'll buy it straight away!

I have also never come across a Laseractive or Amiga CD32... I've seen once when new in retail, but none ever since the mid 1990s...

obscure consoles such as Arcadia 2001, Odyssey, Atari XEGS, Vectrex, Fairchild Channel F... I've only seen a couple times, and I bought them!

[Atarileaf]

The title of the thread seems to imply, to me anyway, finding systems that you're actively looking for as a list of systems I've never seen first hand would be too long. To that end I'd have to say - none.

I've found every system I've ever searched for and found them locally at one time or another. There are other systems I've picked up but they weren't systems I've been after but bought anyway. I'd say the only system I've NEVER found locally which holds some interest to me to own would be the Vectrex and even that is a system I can do without. I can't really think of any systems that I've wanted that I've never ever come across personally.

I will say that finding anything pre-PS1/N64 is getting harder and harder to do in my area though, systems or games. Glad my collection is pretty much set. I'd hate to be a new collector of the old gen stuff just starting up today.

EDIT - actually the local game store did have a Vectrex a year or so ago but like most things it was grossly overpriced ($300 and no games)

[Ze_ro]

RDI Halcyon.

--Zero

[The 1 2 P]

Game systems I Never run into, That's alot. TG-16, 3DO, CD-i, Japenese Imports, Ect.

Although I've never seen a CD-i system in the wild I think alot of this has to do with me not knowing exactly what they looked like back in the day. There are so many variations to them and I probably did walk by one at a flea market or Goodwill at sometime but just never recognized it. But if I passed by one today I would know exactly what it was.

[Xian042]

I've never seen a NeoGeo console for sale, a few random games for sale at $200 a pop but thats it. I know of two stores that have a turbografx but they want $100 for it with just wires and a controller.
I still come across 3DO's, and fair prices, too. Last Vectrex I saw was about three years ago and I scored it for $40 in VERY nice condition. I see Virtua Boy parts but very few complete units, saw a couple just missing the visor.
Saw a CDi once, and this one store has a boxed Amiga CD32, asking $400.
I"ve never seen a wonderswan, JVC Xeye, (however you spell it), come to think of it I never see N-gages either.
I regularly see 7800 and 5200's, Odysseys, the occasional Jaguar but a Jaguar CD only once. Lynx's are around, no turbo express's, GameGear's a plenty,

[Trebuken]

These are on my want list:

apf-m1000, though I have seen cartridges for it on several occasions.
Amiga CD-32

Also:
I have been trying to find a decent Atari ST and Amiga 500 (or any denomination) setups. Not consoles, but also hard to find in satisfactory shape, espeacially the Atari ST.

[ubersaurus]

Amusingly I've owned two neo geos over the years, and found both of them at flea markets. I've also seen neo geo games at game stores and fleas.

Hilarious side note: The first time I ever saw Vectrexes in the wild was in Japan, where I came across not one but three Bandai units in game stores. I've only ever seen one stateside for sale, and that was the one I bought at CGE 07!

[Zap!]

Adventurevision, Halcyon, Select-A-Game, and Colorvision. As crazy as it sounds, my best bet of finding one of those in the wild would be the Adventurevision.

[staxx]

I have never found these in the wild:

Aiwa CSD-G1M (Awia Mega CD)
FM Towns II
FM Towns Marty
Bally's Astrocade
RDI Halcyon
Amiga A600 (probably much easier to find in Europe)
ZX Spectrum (probably much easier to find in Europe)
Amstrad CPC (probably much easier to find in Europe)
Bandai Pippen

[SonicBoom]

Although I've never seen a CD-i system in the wild I think alot of this has to do with me not knowing exactly what they looked like back in the day. There are so many variations to them and I probably did walk by one at a flea market or Goodwill at sometime but just never recognized it. But if I passed by one today I would know exactly what it was.

That is true, I Didn't even think about that. Some variations look like DVD or VHS players, So I could have dismissed it.

[Gunstar Hero]

At flea markets and garage sales I really have only maybe seen 3 games older than 1995 in the past few years. The only place I see any retro systems is at my retro game shop where I've never seen Neo Geo, TG-16, Virtual Boy, Intellivision, Vectrex, any Atari, any Japenese system, Neo Geo Pocket, Lynx, Astrocade, Colecovision, Amiga, CD-I, 3DO, Sega CD, Turbo Duo, Odysee, Etc. Etc. Etc. The list could go on forever... I'm just not lucky when it comes to finds in the wild.

[redknight802]

Atari 2600 and 5200, Sega Saturn, Game Boy Pocket, I can't think of anything else

[fahlim003]

For years I had never seen a Saturn and when I did end up eventually finding one it was an import V-Saturn.
Otherwise, consoles/systems I've never seen: TurboGrafx16, NeoGeo anything, 3DO (I found one via CL but never seen in a thrift), and the Atari 7800.

Seems like I'm in a similar boat to others who have posted so far.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

While they were really common in their day and generally can be restored to working order if they break down, Famicom Disk Systems are tough to come by outside of Japan.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

Sega SG-1000, Colecovision and Channel F, though I do have those (acquired online). Never seen an Astrocade, most of the Pong systems, Atari XEGS, etc etc. I saw a lot more stuff in the wild in the mid-late 2000s than I do now.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

Some years ago, about 1994 or 1995 my dad knew a guy who owned a local junk store. This guy would go to estate auctions and buy huge amounts of old electronics at insanely low prices. He would sell most of the newer stuff, and throw the rest out in a pile behind his shop to later be taken to a dump.

A couple of times I visited there was a large pile of junk laying underneath of a awning. In that pile were all manner of Atari's, Vectrex, Astrocade, Arcadia 2001, Sega Master System, Odyssey, Fairchild, and many more. Practically every classic gaming system you can think of. They had all been sitting out in the elements for weeks or months, getting rained on over and over.

I begged my Dad to let me buy one of them anyway, but he figured none of them worked, and I already had "more games than you can play anyway" (I was ten or so). He kept telling me that I wouldn't be interested in the games because they were "worse than your nintendo".

So yes, technically, I have seen just about all of them in the wild, in one of the worst ways possible.

Now, of the more modern systems, these I've never, ever seen at a yard sale, flea market, or other general store.

Neo Geo AES or CD
Turbo Grafx 16 or CD
Amiga CD32
Apple Pippin

The Neo Geo is the funny one. Really, who has seen one? (rhetorical question btw) 99 out of 100 Neo Geo fans got into it because of the arcade, ports, and emulation.


As for modern day, I can't find anything. I search junk stores, peddler's malls, flea markets, yard sales. Everywhere. You might find one measly NES copy of Ice Hocky, or a few scattered Genesis games, but otherwise zilch. Finding something like a Saturn would be a holy grail.

[SparTonberry]

The Neo Geo is the real funny one. Really, who has seen one? (rhetorical question btw) 99 out of 100 Neo Geo fans got into it because of the arcade, ports, and emulation.

That really was the point of the NeoGeo. I think SNK knew they were making a niche console.
Why else would they advertise it as a Ferrari of game consoles, and also allow their games to be ported left and right to more-affordable consoles?

[sloan]

Having a large collection, I have come across a lot of systems in the wild, except the following:

Bally Astrocade
Fairchild Channel F
Vectrex
Emerson Arcadia 2001
RCA Studio II
Turbo Duo
Jaguar CD
Neo Geo AES
Apple Pippin
CD-i
Wonderswan
Sega SG-1000
Sega CDX
Atari XEGS

[Aussie2B]

Anything pre NES. TG16. Anything Neo geo. No 3DO.

That's basically what I was going to say. I've always found it interesting how many collectors talk as if they come across the 2600 left and right, but I honestly have NEVER come across one in the wild. It's pretty weird. I come across pre-NES games some, like those for Channel F, 2600, Intellivision, Colecovision, etc., but never the systems.

Haven't come across the others either, with the exception of the 3DO, which I found tagged as a VCR and quickly snapped up. Never found 3DO games in the wild, though. Had to turn to eBay to get something to play on it.

[Steve W]

I've been hoping to run across a Neo•Geo console for years, but it doesn't happen. I come across the Pocket Color every once in a while, but already have one from back in the day. I have one Neo•Geo CD game, I'd love to have a machine to play it on. I've never even seen the CD console in real life.

Other than at the Oklahoma Video Game Expo, I've never played an Amiga CD32. Back around its release I used to go to the one remaining Amiga store in the Dallas area and see their demo unit running some game or another, but it was behind the counter so customers couldn't touch it. I loved my Amiga, so I'd love a game console based on the Amiga. Too bad they are nowhere to be found. I honestly don't even think I've seen a game in its jewel case before. I might not even recognize it if I came across one.

The same goes for the Apple Pippin. I've seen the keyboards, touchpads, and modems for sale in the past, but never the actual console itself. And I have more of a chance of getting hit by lightning than finding a Pippin game CD in the wild. I've been an Apple user for years, this is one of those machines I'd truly freak over if I found it in the wild.


The majority of the other consoles that have been mentioned in this thread (other than the crazy rare ones like the Adventurevision or consoles that only came out in Japan) I've already found in the wild. I've been luckier in the past than lately. I think TurboGrafx-16, Lynx, 3DO, Jaguar, and any obscure pre-NES systems are the hardest to find games for in the wild around here. I'm shocked by how often I come across CD-i software here.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

Well, I'm not surprised that CD-i stuff might be a little bit easier to find than other gaming related collectibles from the period. I mean, why would you want it? It does not

-have a pedigree from a known manufacturer like Sony, Nintendo, or Sega.
-games that are exclusive to it, or originated on it as a killer title (that I know of off the top of my head)
-have a unique look

I can see 90s completionists wanting one, or people coming over from the Laserdisc/AV hobby side of things, but compared to the 3do, Neo, and Jaguar it is definitely in last place.

[Tony Lama]

I'm from Chicago, Illinois. For some reason or another I think the TurboGrafx-16 did moderately well in this area. I remember back in High School that some kids actually chose it over Sega Genesis. Fast forward years later, I've run into TurboGrafx-16 stuff in the wild (flea markets, thrifts, etc) about once a year. Mostly consoles. Games are harder to come by. But I fear the times are a changing and 16-bit finds in general are drying up. Looks like I'm seeing PS1&2, N64, Gameboy Advance, Gamecube, and Xbox 1 stuff all the time in the wild. Hardly anything else.

[A.C. Sativa]

Atari 2600 and 5200, Sega Saturn, Game Boy Pocket, I can't think of anything else

These are all easy to find around here, same for the 3DO. Anything Jag or Neo-Geo, console or games, forget it.

[dgdgagdae]

At flea markets and garage sales I really have only maybe seen 3 games older than 1995 in the past few years. The only place I see any retro systems is at my retro game shop where I've never seen Neo Geo, TG-16, Virtual Boy, Intellivision, Vectrex, any Atari, any Japenese system, Neo Geo Pocket, Lynx, Astrocade, Colecovision, Amiga, CD-I, 3DO, Sega CD, Turbo Duo, Odysee, Etc. Etc. Etc. The list could go on forever... I'm just not lucky when it comes to finds in the wild.

Then what in the world do they sell?

[Tanooki]

Personally I still have yet to see a coleco, 5200, tg16, neogeo console, game.com, 3do, turbo duo, intellivision, and any of the more obscure pre-NES era stuff in the wild though I have seen the odyssey and some random third party telegames pong. Games I've seen for many of those, just not the hardware and that's between California and Kentucky.

[Zap!]

Since the original op used the word "anywhere", I took it to mean, well, anywhere. So to me, that means eBay too. Many people here are naming systems that are all over eBay.

[Tanooki]

I didn't take it that literally and kept to offline. I saw for the first time in probably 15+ years a Jaguar and the CD unit attached on top yesterday, but it had no wires or controllers so I left it, same with the Saturn next to it annoyingly.

[BlastProcessing402]

The Neo Geo is the funny one. Really, who has seen one?

Never seen a used one, but I saw new ones back in the day, at Electronics Boutique. Maybe at Babbages too, I forget.

[The Adventurer]

I've been doing the flea market thing in earnest for nearly two years now. I've yet to see a Master System* or Turbographix 16 in the wild.

I've found everything else; Sega CD, Saturn, Dreamcast, etc.... But not those two.

* I did find a Master System controller once, which I grabbed for if I ever get my hands on a Power Base converter for my Genesis.

[o.pwuaioc]

What an odd old thread to be bumped, and for what reason, too!

[Niku-Sama]

I guess I'm lucky. I've seen a lot in the wild even an adventure vision. Only thing about that is I didn't know what it was at the time and I'm almost positive it's been destroyed. I even found things in the dumpster that were worth while like my tg-16 with turbo booster.

The one thing that I have never found in the wild though is a Sega master system and a top loading nes. For what ever reason those never pop up but I've had virtual boys and vectrex systems show up in the wild so I guess it's just luck

[fairyland]

Until two years ago I've never seen a Jaguar in the wild. Then at a garage sale this gamer had 5 tote boxes of vintage stuff, systems, games, etc. and that was one of the ones in there It was something that all gamers dream about, finding tons of gamer stuff cheap. Sadly though, I ended up selling off the Jaguar as it really wasn't as good as I had expected it to be. Lately I only keep stuff I actually plan to play, but if I were a true game hoarder, I'd probably have a killer collection as I seem to have pretty good luck finding stuff.

But keeping on track to the question, I'm down to the really obscure stuff like the Vectrex and Jaguar CD attachment and some of the older PCs which takes cart games. I typically don't ever buy these things online as it's much more fun and cheaper to find them at garage sales.

[YoshiM]

These days it's pretty slim around here in "the wild". Hardly any games beyond a handful of sports titles but even they are getting hard to find. I have a feeling games are really getting picked over in my neck of the woods. I've already heard a few teens talk amongst themselves or to me stating they were looking for games "to make money". The last big "wow" I saw was a community garage sale and there were a couple of PS2 bundles, an Xbox bundle, a 360 bundle, Wii, a few Game Boy Advances-all at decent prices. Then nothing.

There is a collectible toy store along with a video game store that has games back to the NES, but their prices tend to hover around eBay amounts.

[calgon]

Good topic. If we're talking since I've actively been looking I'll say
Ninja 5-0
Ducktales 2
Gargoyles quest 2
Crash n the boys street challenge
Mighty final fight
Metroid yellow label

Are games I've been sporadically looking for exclusively in the wild for almost ten years to no avail

[8-Bit Archeology]

The only console I have never had the pleasure of seeing or playing in person, is the sega sg-1000.

I have seen one on ebay for 400USD.
Not within my grasp yet.

[WCP]

My dream has always been to walk into some random thrift store, and find either a TurboDuo, or Neo-Geo AES, or even a TG-16 CD setup, for a really good price. Hasn't happened yet. In fact, I've haven't seen any at all, regardless of price. I also never see Atari Jaguars anywhere. Some people mention that they never see Sega Saturns, but I see them a lot, it's just a lot of times they aren't functioning properly.

Another thing that I always keep my eye open for is another Sega CD system. I would like to have a backup in case my current Sega CD craps out. But I never see the things anywhere.

[Drclaw411]

I've never seen an Apple Pippin in the wild. I'm not actively looking for one, but I do keep an eye out for one. I'd like to get the console and the Power Rangers Zeo game.

[Zap!]

What an odd old thread to be bumped, and for what reason, too!

I guess all the people replying seem to see a reason, or they wouldn't be participating. :)

[Zap!]

The only console I have never had the pleasure of seeing or playing in person, is the sega sg-1000.

I have seen one on ebay for 400USD.
Not within my grasp yet.

So where did you see the Halcyon? How was it?

[o.pwuaioc]

So where did you see the Halcyon? How was it?

Clearly he meant mainstream console, of which the SG-1000 was but the Halcyon was not.

[Zap!]

Clearly he meant mainstream console, of which the SG-1000 was but the Halcyon was not.

I don't think it was that clear, since he said "The only console I have never had the pleasure of seeing or playing in person, is the sega sg-1000." Since he mentioned the SG-1000 (which most people haven't even heard of), I didn't take it like that. There's also at least one poster here who has a Halcyon (98PaceCar), so maybe he has seen one?

[ProjectCamaro]

Neo Geo AES is the only one I haven't been able to find out and about. I'm about to break down and buy it via eBay as I really want to add one which would finish off my collection with every major console.

[Captain_N77]

I've yet to see these in the wild, with a possible exception to the Jaguar CD.

To my knowledge, I've yet to see a Turbo CD or Duo.
I'm having difficulty remembering, but I may have saw a Jaguar CD at a store a few years back.
I've yet to see a NeoGeo CD, but that's probably common to most of us here.

Now there are some consoles that I have run across, but I have been surprised at how seldom I do see them.

TurboGrafx16. I guess because I read alot of EGM back in the day, along with other gaming mags, I assumed the TG16 was a bit more prolific than it apparently was(at least in my area). I've only ran across a couple of these in local stores through the years.
Lynx. I've come across one for sure, maybe 2 or 3 in stores. Again, I think EGM and other mags led me to believe these were more prolific than they were.

I've come across a few Nomads, one TurboExpress, a couple of Master Systems, Jaguars, and 3DOs. But I expect that seeing as how I already knew these didn't exactly light up the charts here in the US.