NES Toploader Dropping In Price?

[Big Papa Husker]

I went to a local store and they were selling the Toploading NES for only $59.99. Usually I saw it being sold for $80+. I just checked EBAY and its around 60-70 on there too. Why is it dropping? Should I buy that one for $59.99?

[tylerwillis]

$60 isn't too bad of a price, particularly if you want one. They were closer to $100 on eBay a few years back, but generally they're now $70-80, like you said.

If your taxes aren't more than what you'd pay for shipping, you have the cash, and you want it - go for it. Who knows if prices will go up again.

[TeddyRuxpin]

It has to do with the time of year. Right now is a slow time until around Labor Day. Then people will start Christmas shopping. The high volume of sales will contine well into February and then slow down. By then people are finally so far in debt from the holidays and such they have to slow down or stop. @_@ ..Well, at least that's my take on it. LOL

A few months before last Christmas I sold a top load NES for $150 that wasn't yellowed at all, but the dogbone controller had chew marks on it, and the only game I included with it was "Top Gun". Had nothing else with it other than AC Adapter and RF switch. No box, no manuals, nothing.

Prices can even vary by week. I had several of an item I listed on there just recently. The first sold for $9.99 with 1 bid. The next week another of the same exact item sold for $20 with 11 bids. Both opened at $9.99. So you just never know. :hmm:

[retroman]

hell yeah....i have two of them...and use one over the old nes because i dont have to blow in my games to play...

[TeddyRuxpin]

hell yeah....i have two of them...and use one over the old nes because i dont have to blow in my games to play...

If you keep the *system* clean as well as the games no blowing is needed. ;)

I have an old official SNES cleaning kit that's completely filthy and yucky, yet it still manages to clean system contacts. I take my Front load NES apart and use one of the SNES cleaning kit slot thingys to clean the NES contacts. Then, a clean cart loads like the system is brand new. 8-)

[Bluteg]

I personally feel the flood of Famiclones that have "Top loading NES" in the title is greatly bringing the prices down. Especially when there are BINs for these so called Top Loaders for $24.99.

[tylerwillis]

Blowing isn't good for the games - it puts moisture on the contacts which will eventually lead to rust/corrosion. Try cleaning your games with the method outlined in the knowledge-base article and then keeping them in sleeves.

[Raedon]

The best time to sell your extras on Ebay is right after Thanksgiving for Xmas.

http://home.cablelynx.com/~tsouthern/top_dw.jpg
http://home.cablelynx.com/~tsouthern/top_ff.jpg

[TeddyRuxpin]

Blowing isn't good for the games - it puts moisture on the contacts which will eventually lead to rust/corrosion. Try cleaning your games with the method outlined in the knowledge-base article and then keeping them in sleeves.

Or storing them in this fashion:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/games/000_1684.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/games/000_1684.jpg)

[namzep]

I paid $30 for my Top Loader a couple of months ago (sans hookups or controllers). I still think I got a good deal but I have been seeing the prices dropping somewhat lately. Is it possible that the influx of those Chinese top loaders (the newly manufactured ones that have swamped ebay lately) have somewhat of an influence on the price of the older ones? Just a thought.

[TeddyRuxpin]

Is it possible that the influx of those Chinese top loaders (the newly manufactured ones that have swamped ebay lately) have somewhat of an influence on the price of the older ones? Just a thought.

Most likely. But then again it could also be the slower time of the year for ebay. Although I doubt I'd bother to buy an official top loader when I can get a cheap chinese one for half the price. The one I sold for $150 I paid about $10 for at a thrift store. 8-)

[Master Chu]

I would'nt touch one of those damn Famiclones with a ten foot pole myself, but to each his own i guess...

[mb7241]

Hm... I wonder if a similarly proportionate price drop would apply for complete top-loaders...? My personal top-loader still has the box, instructions, styrofoam, baggies, twist-ties, posters, advertisements, etc. that originally came with it. It still works, looks, and plays just like new. The price I paid? Not a cent! (My parents bought it for me and my sister brand new in 1993 for $50). So, does a similar price drop still apply?

[hezeuschrist]

If you're going to pay that much for a toploader, you may as well buy a Messiah. Check the link at the bottom of the page, debut's at CGE!

[chrisbid]

this is good news, the top loader is an overrated machine. No AV kills any advantage the machine has over the front loader. plus, dirty carts have the same amount of difficulty booting on a top loader than they do on a front loader. you just dont get the annoying flashing screen when the cart fails to boot

[Raedon]

There will always be the "ROM/EMU" croud who argue that you don't need the console. There will be people who could care less about the Top Loader and get a toaster or.. whatever.

And then there are the 1000's of 30 somethings out there with way to much money on their hands willing to get the real thing for a few hours of work money spent.

IMHO, the Super 8 was the best purchase I've made for nes/fami cart playing... but I've had several Top Loaders pass threw my collection for under $20 and they have a solid "OHHH AHHHH" factor when people come over. Most people had a toaster but were unaware of the top loader and $80 is laughable money for the single 30 something with a career path.

[Jagasian]

I have owned a toaster, top loader, and AV Famicom, all since they were released. I have also done NES emulation since before Nesticle. IMO, the toaster and AV Famicom are the only way to go. Take care of them, always clean your carts (without water of course), and you will never have any problem with a toaster. The toaster also gives out better video than the NES top loader and it supports all of the NES carts and peripherials, which is not true for top loaders or emulators.

But I guess the true king is the AV Famicom. It supports all NES and Famicom carts and peripherials (assuming you have an inexpensive NES to Famicom cart adapter), has audio and video as good as a toaster, is less sensitive to dirty carts, etc, etc, etc.

In conclusion, the top loader is over rated, emulation isn't accurate or compatible enough, and by god those famiclones are trash!

[Big Papa Husker]

So how many of you are getting Messiah's Clone?

[Raedon]

I have a soft spot for all things NES/Fami even the clones when found on the cheap. I'll probably end up with one.

[hezeuschrist]

So how many of you are getting Messiah's Clone?

I'll probably wait until I hear some reviews (and subsequently have some money), but there's a very good chance I'll end up getting one. I have a refurb'd toaster, but it still certainly isn't 100% and somewhat prevents me from actually playing the system anymore. I'd also like to save a bit of space and toss my toaster back in it's pristine box and leave it there.

[Geo1126]

I hated when Yobo say that there famiclone is better than the Nintendo made toploading NES. Have you heard the sound on the NeoFC? It's sucks when playing Super Mario Bros. on a famiclone since I compared my NES with my friend's NeoFC. I guess it's the crappy Nes-on-a-chip. :roll:

Which is why the toploading NES is worth more than a NeoFami.

[Jagasian]

An official top loader NES is better than any clone, no doubt. Hopefully the Messiah NEX clone will be better, but rumor has it that it is based on the crappy Yobo/NeoFami Nes-on-a-chip, with inaccurate audio, video, etc.

If I was to rate systems it would be, in order from best to worst:
1. AV Famicom
2. functional toaster
3. AV modded official top loader
4. top loader
5. AV modded original Famicom
6. original Famicom
7. all clones

[stuffedmonkey]

How hard is it to AV mod a top loader? That is the one thing keeping me from getting one...

[tylerwillis]

How hard is it to AV mod a top loader? That is the one thing keeping me from getting one...

Not too hard, it was my very first mod job and if you have a steady hand and the basic ability to read a diagram and follow its instructions, you should be able to do it.

Personally, I love my modded AV top-loader. Modding it gave me that much more pride and joy. :)

[GizmoGC]

All of the recent FamiClones have dropped the price qite a bit. Granted, I own one of the newer FamiClones, I will be getting ANOTHER Top Loader eventually.

[Great Hierophant]

I have owned a toaster, top loader, and AV Famicom, all since they were released. I have also done NES emulation since before Nesticle. IMO, the toaster and AV Famicom are the only way to go. Take care of them, always clean your carts (without water of course), and you will never have any problem with a toaster. The toaster also gives out better video than the NES top loader and it supports all of the NES carts and peripherials, which is not true for top loaders or emulators.

But I guess the true king is the AV Famicom. It supports all NES and Famicom carts and peripherials (assuming you have an inexpensive NES to Famicom cart adapter), has audio and video as good as a toaster, is less sensitive to dirty carts, etc, etc, etc.

In conclusion, the top loader is over rated, emulation isn't accurate or compatible enough, and by god those famiclones are trash!

Well put, if I may sat so. I love my AV Famicom so much that I wrote a FAQ advising people to buy it. They don't come cheap, but you will never have to buy another NES console ever again if you treat these with respect.

Unfortunately, all isn't perfect. The Famicom AV will not work with a NES Zapper, Power Pad or Arkanoid Paddle even though it has the NES-style Controller Ports. Nintendo only intended for regular controllers to be used with the Famicom AV's controller ports, all other peripherals had to use the Expansion Port. So they left two wires unconnected to the second controller port. The Famicom versions of these peripherals will work just fine with the NES cartridges. Otherwise you can make an adapter for the Famicom Expansion port or solder two wires inside the Famicom AV.

To get a Game Genie to work in a NES Top Loader, you either have to obtain a rare adapter that modifies the shape of the casing or remove the casing altogether. The first course can be expensive, the second threatens the stability of the system with the heavy cartridge unsupported above. The Famicom AV uses a pin adapter that will clear the plastic slot, so the difficulty is only keeping the system steady.

A NES Top Loader (and all Famicoms) can support any game a NES Front Loader can (unless the cartridge shape exhibits the same problem as the Game Genie) except for one cartridge. Anyone care to guess what that cartridge is?

[Gary]

When I bought my toploader recently, they tried to sell me one of those Famiclones, but I had my eye on that toploader the whole time.

I knew I wanted it, and to me, it was $80 well spent. If it would've came down to it, I would have probably paid $100 for it. @_@

[AMG]

So how many of you are getting Messiah's Clone?


I am getting one.

[Nes]

dogbone controller had chew marks on it

I know they have a vague resemblance to dogbones, but come on.

[Dr. Morbis]

A NES Top Loader (and all Famicoms) can support any game a NES Front Loader can (unless the cartridge shape exhibits the same problem as the Game Genie) except for one cartridge. Anyone care to guess what that cartridge is?
NWC?

[mills]

I could have an original top loader for free because its in my Girlfriend's aunt's basement in a box with about 30 games, but they are too lazy to dig it out................

[Jagasian]

A NES Top Loader (and all Famicoms) can support any game a NES Front Loader can (unless the cartridge shape exhibits the same problem as the Game Genie) except for one cartridge. Anyone care to guess what that cartridge is?
NWC?

No way. He has to be refering to the Game Action Replay, which is a real-time saving device for the NES. In fact, the GAR didn't even fit correctly in the toaster NES.

[Great Hierophant]

No way. He has to be refering to the Game Action Replay, which is a real-time saving device for the NES. In fact, the GAR didn't even fit correctly in the toaster NES.

Actually Dr. Morbis was right, I was referring to the NWC. The NWC has a lockout chip inside the cartridge and requires a signal from a lockout chip inside a front-loading NES before it will initialize the cartridge's hardware.

As for the Game Action Replay, according to tsr the device will not work in a Front Loading NES unless you remove the metal bar and insert it while the cartridge caddy is in the down position. To get it to work on a Top Loader, you have to remove the top portion of the Top Loader's casing or use the Game Genie adapter. By using a pin adapter, it should work similarly in any genuine Famicom.

While the GAR is useful, little thought was put into its construction. In addition to the physical difficulties, the maker saved crucial code in the device in battery backed RAM rather than in ROM or EPROM. When the battery fails, so does the device unless you have a CopyNES.

[Jagasian]

Is it true that Firehawk is the same way, i.e. it needs a working lockout chip to run correctly? If this is the case, how do these games run on emulators? The lockout chip hasn't been reverse engineered yet, so emulators must use a hack in order to get such games to run, right?

[Moon Patrol]

I've seen a few ebay auctions where they are only 40.00 I found them while I was searching for "SNES" and "Super Nintendo" on ebay.

[Tron 2.0]

So how many of you are getting Messiah's Clone?
I might afther i hear some feedback on it.

When i sold my NES back in the early 90's i kind of miss it in some ways.

If the Messiah does every thing that it clams then maybe i'll get one to, get back into NES gaming.

Heck a system that plays NES&Famicom carts 'is cool in my book 8-)

Btw how is the used market these days for NES games?

[Great Hierophant]

Is it true that Firehawk is the same way, i.e. it needs a working lockout chip to run correctly? If this is the case, how do these games run on emulators? The lockout chip hasn't been reverse engineered yet, so emulators must use a hack in order to get such games to run, right?

The Firehawk cartridge seems to be virtually identical to the other Codemasters/Camerica carts and uses the exact same lockout-defeater circuitry as the other Codemasters/Camerica games do. I have made other Codemasters games work in my AV Famicom, so I see no reason why Firehawk would not work as well. Emulators do not use any kind of hack that involves a lockout chip to make the game work.

[Poofta!]

famiclones are single handedly responsible for the Toploader drop. time of year has nothing to do with it, last July i sold mine for 130 +20shipping on ebay, with all connectors in nice condition. why? i felt it was pointless to have it if i could just buy a famiclone for less and have the same (better) results.

since then i gave my famiclon away to my cousin, im waiting on the messiah. i feel it will doom the Toploaders to anyone but MIB collectors. if youre gonna use it to play games, why not get a new console that plays the japanese versions as well for the same price?!

i doubt the price drop will affect MIB top loaders though, sure itll fall but not so severely. i wouldnt be surprised if MIB Toploaders will still sell for approx. 130.