Retro gaming to be found in Thailand?

[Dark Helmet]

Hi, I've been lurking around these boards for some time, I guess I should start posting a bit :)

Anyway, my girlfreind is currently in thailand, and has asked me if I wanted anything.. So I have been trying to find out what sort of gaming things CAN be found in thailand.. I'm having a hard time finding any info on this matter. Of the top of my head I am thinkin mostly bootleg stuff, when I think of Thailand.. but maybe some pc engine could be found asweell?

I would love to hear what you guys think? what can be found in Thailand?

[Jumpman Jr.]

I'd imagine that it would be quite hard for her (espessially if she's not a gamer, which I doubt she is) from determining what and what isn't a bootleg.
I'm sure there is loads of stuff to be found over there. I'd just tell her to pick up anything that looks cool. If you say stuff like "pick me up the rarest Pc-engine game you can find" she'll spend all of her time looking for something that she probably won't find.

[roushimsx]

You won't find much in the way of legitimate console games in the country. Some of the larger chains will have small glass cases with asian or japanese versions of games retailing for their normal prices (which, in Thailand, is a fucking shitload of money...thus, no one buys them), but for the most part you'll just be swimming in mountains of bootleg Famicom and Gameboy/Color/Advance carts and bootleg Playstation 1/2 games. Famicom carts were the biggest thing up until ~2000/2001 when bootleg Playstation games really started outselling them. Dreamcast games did ok but they really dropped off the radar once the DC died.

Even in the larger chains, like Robinsons or Lotus you'll find counters stocked with bootleg games.

If she goes to Pantip Plaza in Bangkok (the place is friggin' huge and is a hop skip and a jump away from the Central World Plaza / Gaysorn / Cit Lom skytrain, though it's a little bit quicker to get off at Rachatewi) she can find a ton of legitimate PC games (hint: if it comes in a box it's legitimate, if it's just a disc it's a bootleg, if it comes in a DVD case, it's russian roulette :) ), with some awesome deals. Normal retail prices of new games is ~450baht-600baht and you can always haggle them down. Older titles are sometimes as cheap as 100baht (~40 baht = 1 dollar). Needless to say, when I go, I stock up on stuff.

Pirate systems there are mostly PAL, though you can stumble on some NTSC variants. I picked up a pirate fami that's PAL, but I know some people that bought NTSC compatible Polystations and whatnot. Tons of really neat variants to sift though. A lot of really neat pirate fami carts, too. I picked up two bootleg technos carts, one with 4 technos games and one with 8.. both have seen much playtime over the last few years :)

oh, and MBK (it's a pretty large mall in Bangkok, right across the street from Siam City Center) has a large section on the...5th? floor with a lot of game stuff... again, mostly PC and GBA.

Hopefully that helps. I would have snapped pictures inside a lot of these places, but they don't allow photography (I guess they got tired of tourists snapping photos of every damn thing in sight ;) ).

btw, here's a shot of Pantip Plaza (http://www.roushimsx.com/4images1/details.php?image_id=237) from our old apartment window :)

[kevincure]

If you're into PC games, you can get (as the last poster mentioned) legit new games for under 10 bucks. Half Life 2 was selling for $6 in China a few months ago (of course, the bootleg is everywhere for under a buck). GBA and Famicom bootlegs are still popular at markets throughout SE Asia, usually for something like $3 for bootleg GBA.

[Dark Helmet]

Thanks a lot people.
Especially to you roushimsx, That is like all the info I could wish for :)

Well, I think I must have like 10 famiclone's allready.
And I'm not interested in any pc stuff. So I guess I'll ask her to bring home a couple of pirate gba carts.. But only a few, as it is my experience that most pirate gba carts contain just a few first generation gameboy B/W games, and usually the same ones.. Mario land, Tetris etc.

I have found one dealer where I live, who actually sells Pirate GBA carts, that contain 2-3 first gen gba games, and then 20 or so nes games played through a "modified" version of the PocketNES emulator.. That's a bit interesting i think.. But the guy is asking like 30$ for a cartridge, and I have a flashcart myself.. But I've newer heard these pirate carts mentioned anywhere, so I thought I'd tell you.

Thanks again for the info