Ever Get a Game Before the System to Play It?

[ventrra]

MarkM2112's response in another thread got me to thinking about this.
While collecting games, did you ever get a game before you got the game system that you needed to play it on?

I've done this several times myself. Back when I had a stack of NES games for trade, I sent some in to BRE (I think) who had a deal that if you bought some number of games, you could get your choice from a list of games free. I sent in my games and bought some others for the NES and picked out Galaga '90 for the TurboGrafx. I didn't own the system at that time and it wasn't until 3 years later tht I found one at a garage sale.

Another time, I found a copy of R-Type for the GameBoy on the road while riding my bicycle through town. Sure enough, a couple of years later, I was the owner of a GameBoy.

[nesman85]

i have a bunch of psx games and still no psx yet. i also had some O2, intellivision, and c64 games, but i never wanted to get the systems i just put them in my trade pile.

[o2william]

I have a significant stack of TG-16 HuCards... maybe 20 games or so, including some good titles like Blazing Lazers and Ordyne, but no system. I found one at a thrift only once, but it was $50 so I passed. All my TG16 games are thrift finds.

Someday I will break down and purchase a console off the 'Net, but I'm dragging my heels on it because if I DO manage to find one "in the wild," the find will be that much more exciting.

[Lady Jaye]

Well, because of my past life as a videogame columnist (already a year ago, :-( ), I got several games I got to keep, including games for the PS2 and the Xbox. I don't own a PS2 yet (I had one on loan from Sony for 6 months) and don't intend to get an Xbox. Still, I'd hate to get rid of my copy of Jet Set Radio Future, which I really like (but it's not enough to get me to buy an Xbox). Oh, and I also have some PC games (I have a Mac), none of which that's directly compatible with a Mac (and I sure can't afford buying a copy of VirtualPC for games that may be too taxing on my Mac anyway).

So, what did I do with these extra games? Some ended up at my aunt's house (my 18-year-old cousin is a gamer), while others ended up at EB, paying off for some nice games (including Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion). And I will get a PS2 when I can afford to buy one.

[Captain Wrong]

Yep, I got Arcadia 2001/LeisureVision, C64 and 8 bit Atari carts. No machines.

[maxlords]

Yup...started buying XBox games before I got my XBox. That's the first system I've done that for tho.

[zemmix]

I have some games that that I can't even find the systems to play them on! I have a Bandai @mark game and some Samsung Gamboy carts but no system to play those on either.

I also have some systems with no games, my Arcadia 2001 and the RCA studio II. Though I am not in too much of a hurry to pick up any of those...

[Britboy]

I'm currently collecting GBA games but don't own a GBA. I'm waiting until March

[IGotTheDot]

I assume you mean new games and not used games (you can't pass up a used game just cause you don't have or know what system it is for) so I picked up Rayman for the PSX the day before the PSX came out. I had heard rumors that the sytems where in the stores and you could pick up your pre-order. The rumor was half true, they had the systems, but I didn't have enough money to bribe the guy that worked there. I picked up Rayman and read the manual that night.

[snorter]

I bought most all 32x games long before I got a 32x...and then only because it was really cheap...

The games were $2 on clearance, and all the ROMs on the internet were bad dumps, so I couldn't resist the challenge...

Snorter

[Kid Fenris]

I have two import TurboCD games, and no Duo with which to play them. Feel free to donate one.

I also have a copy of Super Street Fighter II Turbo for the 3DO. I bought it at Wal-Mart for a buck, and I've never found a system to play it on.

[Arrrhalomynn]

I've got some 32x cd games, while I don't have a sega cd. I'm not really interested in playing them either, but I am interested in owning them.

[Mr-E_MaN]

I bought Command and Conquer Red Alert for the PC a couple months before I got my computer. I read that book so many times waiting for the chance to play the game... but I had to learn how to install it first... since it was my first computer.

As for used games. I'll pick up any game if the price is right... but as of right now I have about 10 genesis games and no console... $30 at the pawn shop for the console... I'll wait until the summer and pick one up for 5 at a garage sale...

[Mr. NEStalgia]

I own a couple of Atari 2600 games, but I don't really plan on getting a system (it was before my time).

-=Mr. NEStalgia=-

[Achika]

I've got two of the Zelda games for CDI, yet no CDI still

[BHvrd]

Yes I have a Sega Master System Games, Playstation, Atari 7800, and some others yet no systems.

On a related note, I plan on buying Zelda: Wind Waker, yet I have no Gamecube. I just wanna get that cool promo disc just to have it. :D

[kainemaxwell]

On a related note, I plan on buying Zelda: Wind Waker, yet I have no Gamecube. I just wanna get that cool promo disc just to have it. :D
You and me both! ;)

[GENESISNES]

i did both. picked up a cheap Saturn game at goodwill, and got a pico with no games there too.

[Charlesaway]

I own 3 PS2 games, but no PS2. Likewise, I have 3 Arcadia 2001/Leisure Vision games but no system, and a couple of Vic-20 games but no computer.

I only bought the arcadia and vic-20 games because I wanted to buy something (the addiction, ya know), while I actually bought the PS2 games with the intention of playing them once I get my PS2. ;)

[nesman85]

On a related note, I plan on buying Zelda: Wind Waker, yet I have no Gamecube. I just wanna get that cool promo disc just to have it. :D
You and me both! ;)
don't forget you have to pre-order it to get the bonus disc.

i also have a small box full of extra controllers/accessories that i've accumulated for systems that i don't own.

[ubersaurus]

I had a bunch of 5200 games for years before finally getting the console to play em on. I'm aamazed they work, my grandma found em out to the road.

Also had some C64 games before I got the computer (again).

[Pheidippides]

I got Rouge Leader 2 weeks before the cube came out. Ive also bought a few NES games since my last couple of NES' went kapoot. In hopes that ill remember to get a new one.

[Britboy]

*reads* Oh great, now I'm going to have to preorder and buy Zelda, and I don't have a gamecube :)

[qaotik]

Well I just ordered Impossible Mission for the master system even though i dont own the sms. Got it only because some site featuring all versions of it said that this one was the best one. Damn that game owns. ;) I would gladly buy Ikaruga also if I saw one cheap though ive already got the rom of it, the whole 17mb of it..

[Nature Boy]

Only once.

Back before the PS2 launch I purchased SSX at EB three days before the system came out.

My preorder was at TRU and, although I was guaranteed to get two games from them, I didn't know what they'd actually have and I wanted to be sure I got SSX (which I had read *great* things about online). Good thing too - my TRU had no EA games on launch day.

[fcw3]

Just did that. Last week.

I found a used copy of Steel Battalion and picked it up.

Several days later, I bought an XBox.

Received much grief from friends and family :P

"What kind of idiot spends that much on a game for a system he doesn't have yet ?!?!?"

<sheepishly raises hand>

I also picked up a copy of the XBox Xmas Golf at Blockbuster before Christmas.

Years ago, my wife had also picked up some TI carts cheap at Goodwill before I had a TI machine. I also have a couple of Coco carts waiting for a machine someday. I also traded for a couple of Zelda CDi games hoping to get a machine someday. It never happened and I sold the games. I still have a couple of Laser Active games that I don't have a machine for.

Hey, wait a second. This is starting to appear to be a problem...

FRED

[bargora]

I bought Vib Ribbon, Gradius Gaiden, and Nichibutsu Crazy Climber, all before I got one of them "JP-compatible" PSone consoles.

Also, I bought Steel Battalion a month before receiving an Xbox for Christmas (I was hoping I'd get one), but I hid it in the attic to avoid ridicule and reproach.

[stonecutter]

I bought 3 Gamecube games a week before release. I also have a couple of Intellivision games but no system for it.

[scmsx]

While collecting games, did you ever get a game before you got the game system that you needed to play it on?.

It frequently occurs to me...
I had a bunch of Game Gear games before getting the console.
I also have some TG16 carts but I don't have the console -- only a PC Engine CoreGrafx. And I'm also getting Colecovision carts before getting the console. Soon or later I hope to get one.

Sergio

[ManekiNeko]

Absolutely. I bought NightWarriors for the Saturn a month before I actually HAD a Saturn, because I was that dedicated to the game. It almost singlehandedly changed my opinion of the system, too... I didn't even like the Saturn until I played NightWarriors at a friend's house.

JR

[Vroomfunkel]

Bought Panzer Dragoon Saga because I had heard so many great things about it, and was intrigued. I paid about £75 for it, and got a Saturn a few days later for £15 :D

Since I was broke, I later sold PDS for £90 and felt very pleased with the whole deal. Now I've got some money again, I'd quite like PDS again . . . but it is just going for insane amounts at the moment! I saw it go for £150 ($230) a couple of weeks ago. I really hope the bubble bursts soon. If I could get it for £75 again I'd snap it up!

Vroomfunkel

[tom]

yes, big time,
I got CD-i titles long before i managed to pick up a CD-i cheap enough.

I have an Atari Laserdisc (Firefox) but no hardware to play it on.

On my recent trip to London I picked up DrumMania for PS2 for $250; because it looks a neat piece of kit (and I am an ex-drummer). Haven't got a PS2 yet.

I have lots of software for the Atari ST. And years ago, I bought an Atari Laser printer (SLM804), just because I had to have it. I only got a 1040 ST and Mega ST recently (last year)

I got loads of MAC and Apple II software, but no hardware. I got loads of CBM Pet tapes, but no Pet computer. I got two Supervision games, but no handheld to play them on.

On the other hand, I got a Coleco and Adam, but no software for either.

[IntvGene]

Happens all the time. I have 7800 games and no system... same with the 3DO.

But, even worse, when I went to Japan I actually bought a Dreamcast before I had a TV. I had to just look at the DC sitting in my apartment before the TV came. Those were long nights. @_@

[Jestr]

I can finally convince my wife that I am not the only person that bought Steel Battalion before he had an X-Box.
I went to my brothers house 5 hours away to play it!

[dreamcaster]

I got Cruis'n USA for N64 for my birthday in 1997. I then got the N64 system a few days later.

And yes, I did try shoving the cartridge into my SNES - with no luck of course...

[gamergary]

I got a coleco game in a trade by accident and i don't think i'm going to get a coleco anytime soon so its going to the nava meeting. :-D

[EnemyZero]

Hm yeah I remember when I was much younger and 3DO was released, at the time i didnt think much of it but some while later some kid said his dad wanted to sell his 3DO games for .50 cents each, and they would work in a home stereo system ( a panasonic of course) so being young and naive i grabbed johnny bazookatone, alone in the dark and burning soldier, for a 1.50 i couldnt go wrong, also when i was younger it was kick ass to have a 1.50 so yeah. Either way turned out he got me good, and his dad, lol his dad was pissed but was nice enough to let me keep the games and even though i had no use i held on to them and im glad i did because i came across a brand new 3DO at someones garage sale about 2 years ago.

[Retsudo]

Yep Tekken for PS1

[Don Rogers]

The first time I bought a game before I had the system was Pac-Man for the Atari 800. Technically my dad had already purchased the system through a mail-order house but I had the game before it arrived.

More recently, I own several Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance games but I don't have the system yet. That will change when the GBA SP is released next month though.

-Don

[Arqueologia_Digital]

A lot of NES games before the machine... LOL

[Kamisama]

I only have Dennou Tenshi for PC-Engine CD. It always was and is the only game for which i dont have the system, but at least i can run it in an emulator :P

[jaybird]

I just bought Fire Pro Wrestling 2 for Game Boy Advance in anticipation of me getting the SP when it comes out later this month.

I never bought an original GBA - and boy am I happy now! The SP looks awesome!

[threeoclockhigh]

Never for a system I got new. I have done it quite a few times when it was used games and systems involved, like with the Sega Saturn for instance. I got Virtua Fighter 2 and didn't get the Saturn until 6 months later. VF2 was on closeout and the Saturn was from a video store which decided to get rid of it for 20 bucks. I could name other systems I've done this with but who really is that interested in reading? LOL. All that matters is my answer to the question is Yes.

[Boboduo]

This is how my collection "branched out" so to speak.
I originally collected just Nintendo 8 bit games. While
thrifting I would pick up atari carts-with no system. Then
I found about 30 boxed intellivision games-no system.
You all know how it works! LOL

[nesuser2]

well lets see, when i put my screen in my car i put my PS One in to save time and space and then i decided to go PS2 for dvd purposes.......so i went out and bought a DVD remote and GTA 3.......waited for PS2's to come in at the local BigK so i could save 10% through my friend that worked there and they never came in........so i got my PS2 used with about 10 games for $260.......what game did i get with it in particular......GTA 3.......grrrrrr >.< ......i still have 2 copies :duh: .......i even opened it before i had the console :oops:

[ianoid]

I've never let lack of hardware get in my way of getting software.

Currently, I can't think of much I own in that category, but over the years, I definitely have had tons before I got the consoles.

The best item I have that fits into that category right now is my Intellivision Basic cart. I'm dying to find an original Keyboard Component, but then again, who isn't?

IF any of you want to dump some of your software for consoles you don't have hardware for, check out my tradelist- I may be able to use your goodies (likely for my tradelist, but still- you could get something you need.)

[funksoulfather]

I've only had a few occurances of having a game before the system, only one time was on purpose. I bought FFX for PS2 while on vacation before I bought the PS2 when I got home. I got a colecovision game in a trade for atari 2600 carts and didn't notice until later. My brother found a copy of Yoshi Cookie for game boy at an apartment he was renevating. The pwople were evicted and left a bunch of their crap, most of which was trashed.

[GiantPooka]

Three times, actually.

My brother bought a copy of Virtua Fighter 2 for the Saturn for cheap, claiming "One day, we'll get a Saturn". About 3 years later, he got me a Saturn for my birthday. The game collected dust while it was waiting to be played.

Once bought a copy of Keio Flying Squadron from a toy fair, just because it looked cool and it was £2. Eventually got a Mega CD a few months later- worth the wait!

Finally, bought a copy of Doom for the 32X, without a 32X. I'd bought one off 3Bay, I was just waiting for it to arrive, so not that much of a wait.

[c2000]

Bought Knuckles Chaotix', Doom (32X) and Ecco CD (Mega-CD) NEW for about $1.50 a piece. (All PAL) on holiday in France. Bought the systems when I got back. LOL

[7th lutz]

yes. The turbo grafx-16. I bought it online but waiting for it. I bought games from a flee market.

[BZero]

I bought Tommi Mäkinen Rally and World Cup '98 before I got a PSX.

[chicnstu]

I bought WipEout Pure for PSP a couple weeks before I got the PSP.

I made a fake PSP to hold me until I got the real one LOL

[jferio]

The closest thing I had to that was when my old Atari collection resurfaced at my parents' place, with a handful of 7800 games. The 7800 was long gone (my brother's attempt to repair a broken power cord destroyed the power hardware), and it took several months for me to acquire one.

My friend has had Robotech: Battlecry for the PS2 for a couple years, a Christmas present from his brother, and he only recently got a PS2 to play it on.

[funksoulfather]

I've been on a gameboy game buying frenzy, but I still don't have the hardware to play any of them. :( Anybody have a spare GBA SP?

[Zilla]

I just picked up some neogeo pocket color games but I dont have a ngpc. But that wont last for long, I'm going to actively look for one now.

[DigitalSpace]

-I had Mario Kart 64 and Diddy Kong Racing before I had an N64. However, my brother had an N64 back then, and I had received the games as gifts, so I did get to play them. In early 2004, I finally got an N64 of my own after buying a friend's.

-I had the Zelda Collector's Edition for Gamecube for about two hours before buying my Gamecube. In February 2004, I set out to get one. My first stop was a GameStop that had a used copy of the game (they were $19.99 back then). Then I hit up a few different places looking for a used Gamecube for around $70 or so. I finally found a Jet Black model at that price at a CD/Game Exchange. My last stop was at another GameStop to buy a 251 card, and then I headed home and played the first Zelda and Ocarina of Time for most of the night.

-Around the end of May 2006, I bought New Super Mario Bros. for the DS the week it came out. I had planned to purchase a used DS from a friend prior to that, but the deal fell through. About a week and a half later in June, I finally bought a used Hot Rod Red model from someone on craigslist.

[.Goomba24]

I have nearly 20 2600 games, some TI/99 carts, and a PS2 game, but I don't own any of the systems. I bought them all for fairly cheap. Couldn't pass up the deals.

[Technosis]

Yeah, I've got a few games that I still don't have systems for (i.e Astrocade, Channel F, TI-99). I probably had 30 or so SMS games, some in duplicate before I actually got a console. These were typically found for pocket change, so I picked them up for trade fodder.

[DigitalSpace]

I just got Crazy Taxi 2 for the Dreamcast as a bonus in a trade. Time for me to add a Dreamcast to the collection...

[RadiantSvgun]

Yes, on many occasions. I got Saturn games a year before I found a Saturn. I got tons of SNES, Genesis, and NES games before I could find replacement systems. If I see a bargin, I jump on it.

[wallydawg]

Twice that I can remember, both times because of Zelda games. I bought Classic NES Series Legend of Zelda on GBA for $14.99 because I wanted the free Mario Shirt that came with it (buy a Zelda Game, get a Mario shirt, figure they'd have a Zelda shirt, but whatever). I got a GBA SP for christmas that year.

The other time was during a 50% off classic games at ebgames. Grabbed Zelda: Link to the past for a cool $3, knowing that I would one day again own a Super Nintendo. Took about a year and a half to find one cheap, but it was worth the wait not having to pay ridiculous eBay prices.

[Y0u]

So my fiancee and I went in EBgames a couple of months ago- we were gonna get a Wii and stuff for it. We got Twilight Princess, but as we were ringing up, we found out that there were no Wiis in stock... went ahead and got TP anyway. Got the Wii a few days later by camping at Circuit City.

[mezrabad]

I'm "this close" (holds thumb and pointer finger really close) to getting Oblivion for either the Xbox 360 or the PC when I am nowhere near ready to afford either an Xbox 360 no a PC on which to play it. But I really, really want it.

I did have Return to Pirate's Isle for years before getting a TI-99/4a on which to play it.

Oh, and I bought the PS2 hard drive bundled with Final Fantasy XI knowing it was a safe bet that it wouldn't work in my Korean-made, modded PS2. It wasn't for another year that I got around to getting a US, heavy, PS2 on which to play it for about a month. Now I'm just waiting to get a longer ethernet patch cable so I can play it a little more.

I forgot, I also got Abe's Oddysey, Tomb Raider and Parasite Eve about two years before I was even thinking about getting a PSX. The reason at the time being I was really excited about Bleem! and I wanted to try it out with these titles.

[VACRMH]

Gamecube
Saturn

Currently PSP, I have 5 games hopefully a TV adaptor will come out so I don't have to buy the system.

[Kamisama]

I bought only 1 game for PC-Engine CD and 1 game for Playstation 2. And some Lynx games. Still need those systems :P
Also got some more PS2 and X-Box games but these were for free :p

[Steven]

I secured World Heroes Perfect in late 1998 before I even bought a Saturn. At the time, I thought of WHP as some rare holy grail, so getting it was priority #1.

SNES, well, technically I bought it on the same day I started buying a heapload of games for it, but when it finally arrived 1/30/06, I already had maybe 50 games at home waiting for me to play...

[50s Brawler]

In 1992 I purchased the SCD PC-Engine game Macross 2036 from Die-Hard Games, a full (2) weeks before buying the TurboGrafx 16 + CD-ROM add on at reduced price from Babbages. Back then I was that insane over the SDF Macross Japanimation that I felt it worth the purchase. I didn't discover until much later that while I could play the game with the standard CD Hu Card, the SCD 2.0 Card unlocked the in-game cinema scenes in that particular game. Of course I ended up with a nice collection of mostly import games for the TG16/PCE, but I mainly wanted the system to play Macross and bought the game first.

[alec]

Yeah, I bought Twilight Princess without having a gamecube. When I realized that gamecubes were still kinda expensive, I took the game back. Later I got the game for Wii. I'm currently stuck in the game somewhere.

[bangtango]

I found Checkered Flag in a thrift store several years ago, long before I had an Atari Jaguar. I actually ordered a Jaguar online because I wanted something to play the game on. Sure, it wasn't a good game but the fact that I had it prompted me to pick up the Jaguar ahead of some other systems I may not have already owned games for.

Same thing with Virtua Fighter II on the Sega Saturn. Since I already had the game, I didn't hesitate to overpay by around $10 for a used Saturn that I found one summer. If I'd gotten it online, I still would have paid that extra $10, or so, to have it shipped to me.

[Lone_Monster]

When Toys R Us had a buy two get one free sale I bought three Xbox 360 games before I had a 360. I either ordered one or was going to very soon, so I didn't want to miss out on the sale even if I didn't have the games yet.

The games on my shelf tortured me every day as I longed to play them though.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[Steve W]

I have Bowling for the Fairchild Channel F, but nothing to play it on. I have two new Nintendo DS games I bought cheap in a Goodwill, and yet no DS (with very little desire to buy one). Today, I bought 3 SNES games, but I have no console to play them on. I've also got 2 Super Famicom carts. I even have two or three Game.com titles unopened and waiting.

I had a pile of new Atari 5200 carts for years before getting a console. I bought Pyramid Patrol for the Pioneer Laseractive a week before buying the console, and it was nearly a couple of years before I found the Mega LD module the game required to play it. I had a couple Commodore 64 cartridges laying around for some time before I won the computer at Flack's table at OVGE last year. :) I've had a couple of TI-99/4A cartridges that work with the Milton Bradley Expansion system, but until late last year I didn't have an MBX to play with. I even had a few Palm OS games long before I picked up my Zodiac to play them on. Around 1989, my friend and I were going to a computer store out of business sale, but first we stopped at a pawn shop where I bought a few Intellivision games. At the computer store, I bought an Intellivision ECS. Later I realised that one of the games from the pawn shop was Mind Strike, which would only be playable on the ECS. Nice bit of serendipity there.

[PentiumMMX]

I've done this before. In 2004 (When I was on a quest to find a copy of Final Fantasy VII), I finally found a copy of FF7. I bought it, and played it in an emulator until I finally bought a PSX a few months later.

[Jumpman Jr.]

Heh.
I've got a CIB Dreamcast collection - but no dreamcast
Makes sense, doesn't it?

[RPG_Fanatic]

I have bought both Golden Sun games brand new (i even opened them and even bought the strategy guide) for the GBA and i still don't have a GBA or DS to play them on, one day i guess.