Biggest Videogame Spending ERROR You've Ever Committed

[digitalpress]

Come clean.

I'm looking at this topic "have you ever regretted not buying a game" and I'm thinking to myself it's more often the other way around for me - I plunk down money on a game only to find that it sucks hard. Or I get my hands on something "rare" only to have a case-load of them discovered a month later.

That kind of thing.

Share.

[Nature Boy]

I was exclusively an N64 owner back in it's early days and of course I was starving for something to play. So I bought Hexen. I paid $90 + tax which, in Ontario, came out to $103.50. Yup.

Of course the game sucks to boot so I eventually traded it in. I got so little for it I've blocked out the actual amount. Maybe $25. Maybe.

I haven't overpaid for a game since.

[y-bot]

I bought a Sega CD when it first came out for like $300 and I never bought a single game for it. I sold it along with all my other Genesis stuff in the early 90's for $85 or so.

y-bot

[shompee1]

I spent 35$ for a used Beavis and Butt-head complete for Genesis and I thought it was the best deal ever :/

[Alex Kidd]

Well, I've never really regretted any Console purchase
Tho I do regret a few PC purchases...
Number one in my mind right now is D&D: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
A very hyped game, that not only did NOT live up to it's name was had terrible gameplay, terrible coding, bugs galore, and uninstalling COULD render your Windows OS unusable without a re-installation.
Plus I bought it when it first hit the shelves so it was about $85 CDN.

Alex Kidd

[klimatron8]

:( regrets...I've had a few...but then again....too few to mention. DP you've hit upon a good one here. I recently got impulsed (i.e. suckered) into paying waaayy to much for a Sega Master System. It's compunded by the non-mint condition of the console (it does work) and the fact that I just found out that apparently the controller is missing a thumbcontrol? (the middle part). I'm not tellin the cost, cause I gotta trade/sell it to one of you suckas. :-D

[GENESISNES]

I bought Metal Gear Solid for PSX (Greatest Hits) for $20. Needless to say, i HATED the game. I saw it at funco a week later, for $10 and it was the original! YARGGHH

[Raedon]

it's just to horrible to mention...



..ok..
.

I spent $30 for n64-Superman!! *HANGS HEAD IN SHAME*

[digitalpress]

Some of these sound pretty good, but most of them (N64 Superman? Beavis & Butthead? METAL GEAR SOLID?) I would hardly call MAJOR errors in purchasing. I have one that is going to blow the doors off of what I'm seeing here so far.

I'd rather not tell the story until the blow is cushioned by others. :/

[NE146]

1. Buying SNES Super Tennis for $50

2. Being so into SF2 and buying a fighting clone for the snes for $60.. I even forget the name. Lets just say it was such a BAAAD poorly put together street fighter clone hashed together in about a week. ugh! >:(

3. Freeway for the 2600.. My mom gave me a choice of Activision games to get. And I thought it would be like Frogger only to find it was a TIMED game and you could only move up and down! >:(

[omnedon]

I bought a Sega CD when it first came out for like $300

me too. Except I did buy games for it, which made it worse for the most part. Of the 15 or so CD games I bought, the only ones I got that were worth anything were Silpheed and Robo Aleste. Sold it all at a big loss in 94 and bought a PC.

(I have one again now. I think my SEGACD/Genny/32x combo, plus over 50 assorted games[so far] have set me back less than the price of Silpheed back in the day)

With console purchases, patience is a virtue. My working Sunnyvale sixer is a testament to the fact that the console is not going anywhere, and there will be lots of time to play the game(s) eventually.

[Bratwurst]

Not a game, but game related: I was among the first to get the Afterburner kit for the GBA, and I regreted it. Ended up messing up the light guide, considered it a waste of money. Screw that nonsense, I'm getting the SP.

Bought Megaman 5, NEW for about 50 dollars, but I beat it really soon and promptly decided to trade it in a week later for some crazy reason. Got 17 bucks worth of credit, spent it on some other used NES game that I traded in shortly after. And then there was the time I traded in my entire NES library (20 or so titles) back in 94', before I wised up.

My grandmother was an avid RPG fanatic, but when the PSX and Saturn hit the scene she no longer had an interest in the games anymore. Gave me the credits she had accumulated at a used game shop that totaled at about 100 bucks, but by the time I visited the store that happened to be out of town, they had gone out of business.

[DREW]

It would have to be the time I bumped heads with Marco on a boxed Malagai, Spent way more than I wanted 1k+ but since I really wanted it for my collection, and will probably never sell it I can kinda justify it, well maybe if I just need to keep telling myself that

[Arrrhalomynn]

Last year I bought a new game.com from ebay germany.
I forgot how much I paid for it, but it was a lot. Later I imported some extra games from the USA to go with it. I think I also overpaid those.

I'm sure I don't need to explain why this was a bad deal. >:(

[kainemaxwell]

Bought Street Fighter Alpha 2 for $10+ at Chinatown last month thinking it was a big rarity..wasn't.

[Captain Wrong]

I'm like MR. Careful when it comes to buying games and stuff. I mean I walked by my copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga THREE times before I finally bought it because I wasn't sure I'd like it. Lucky for me it was still there the last time.

So, the closest I can come was buying a PS2 a few months after release. Not at a jacked up price or anything, but it was still $299 at the time. For many of you this might not be an error, but for me, it was. Aside from the fact that there wasn't anything other than Gradius 3 & 4 I wanted to play (and even that wasn't a must have) in the time since then I still haven't found much I wanted to play. I'm sure I could have waited until it gets down to $99, but I got caught up in the moment.

[Kid Fenris]

My biggest spending error wasn't so much a matter of what I bought as it was a case where I should have bought something else. After working for my grandparents and uncle for the summer of '93, I had about $120 saved up. It was just enough for a Genesis, but I decided to get Alien 3 and Mega Man 5 instead. Years passed before I bought a Genesis and realized what I had been missing.

Other that that, I don't have a major spending mistake to recall. Maybe I should make one just for the sake of my future nostalgia.

[ManekiNeko]

My biggest blunder was buying a copy of Ecco the Dolphin for the Genesis when I could have had an entire game system, the Turbografx-16, for the same price. Arrgh, what was I thinking? Ecco's so dull that oil riggers in Alaska still use it as a boring mechanism.
I did get a Turbografx-16 eventually, but a lot of my game systems are in Arizona and I haven't a clue what happened to them. I'm a little afraid of what happened to them, frankly.

JR

[hamburgler]

Olympic hockey for N64.I couldn't believe that i bought a game that was the same like Wayne grentzky's bu only with different teams.Luckly i traded this stinker to get a better game that's worth the money, virtual tennis,for dreamcast.

[GENESISNES]

I spent 60 bucks on nightmare creatures for the N64. that game SUCKED

[Cafeman]

Most recently, I bought a Sega CD / Genesis combo from a flea mart lady near me. Got home, the CD doesn't work. (grumble). I call her up, she hems and haws around, eventually she doesn't return my phone call so I quite bugging her. I traded with her an NES & some games for the CD/Genesis plus I paid $30. I was ticked -- I had also bought a few CD games from her and now they sit.

Last week , I finally found Einhander for PSX -- only $14.99 at Its About Games. Elated, I bought it and brought it home .. and I hate it. Slow, dull shooter, nothing like my faves of Darius Gaiden or Thunderforce games.

[ManekiNeko]

"2. Being so into SF2 and buying a fighting clone for the snes for $60.. I even forget the name. Lets just say it was such a BAAAD poorly put together street fighter clone hashed together in about a week. ugh! "

Power Moves, perhaps? Or maybe Doomsday Warrior?

JR

[maxlords]

Yup....a couple years ago I decided I REALLY wanted a Turbo Duo. At the time I'd never even HEARD of www.tzd.com or anything and there weren't any on eBay or anywhere. So I found this website that's selling "NEW" Turbo Duos for $300 + shipping! I get all excited and bought one. It comes in the mail..FINALLY...and lo and behold...mint box, mint Duo...looks new...BUT the manual is a photocopy, and the pack-in Gates of Thunder game (that's even advertised on the box!) is not there at all! So these guys are selling the manuals and game separately and selling their Duos new (tzd does that as well with the pack-in disc for some reason too...)! Made me so mad. THEN I found out I could have gotten a nice boxed used Duo for like $100 and a new one from TZD for $200...so I got totally ripped off basically. Sucked hard.

By the way...how can TZD advertise their Duos as new if they've removed the pack in discs? That bothers me but seems to be common practice for EVERY dealer in "NEW" Turbo Duos....

[Bratwurst]

By the way...how can TZD advertise their Duos as new if they've removed the pack in discs? That bothers me but seems to be common practice for EVERY dealer in "NEW" Turbo Duos....

Or how about when they refuse to check the screens of their Turbo Express stock for dead pixels, claiming the 'new' factor?

They're selling Duos without the original gamepads as I recall it now, just TG-16 pads with the adaptor. TG-16 systems used to be for sale over there with the Keith Courage game removed too.

[Six Switch]

Nothing really bad for me,a few bad N64 games for $60 and SoE for PS2 for $50 at launch day.

I am waiting to see what Joe has in store for us....... :hmm:

[Tempest]

SoE for PS2 for $50 at launch day.


Am I the only one who liked that game?

Tempest

[briskbc]

So far it is not a regret but ir could very easily turn out that way. I paid $75 Canadian (tax in) for Kakuto Chojin. Hell I don't even have an Xbox. With all the talk of this game being pulled I thought I should get it. It is the last one in my area. As for the price, well thats not unusual for a new game in Canada. Just the way it is.

This better end up being rare.

[WiseSalesman]

What the hell is SoE?

[Sniderman]

I'm guessing State of Emergency.

[WiseSalesman]

:embarrassed: Thanks...I kept trying to figure it out, and it wasn't coming to me.

Joe: What's the story? You've got us all panting in anticipation!

My biggest spending blunder? Either the fact that I bought an N64 close to launch, or that I paid something like $50 - $60 for Saturn Metal Slug. Wouldn't be so bad, except I have no ram cart with which to play it....

[jaybird]

When Tecmo Super Bowl II: Limited Edition came out for the SNES I couldn't find one anywhere. I'd read it was supposed to be hard to find, but I finally found it for rent at my Hastings.

I rented it, told them I lost it & paid $69.99 for just the cartridge. I wanted to ask them for the box & enclosed manual that was sitting on the rentals shelf, but thought they may catch on to my scheme & decided against it.

I was a sly fellow indeed...

[WiseSalesman]

Update on my greatest blunder. This past summer I passed over a SegaCD with attached genesis and two (bad) games for something like $30. I'm regretting it now, because I checked online and it seems segacd games are really cheap right now....and I don't have one. BLAST!

EDIT: Oops...this belongs in the other thread.

[ubersaurus]

I remember a few years back buying a boxed Chrono Trigger for 70 bucks because I wanted the game so damn bad...this wasn't even during the SNES's heyday, either. But that's about the craziest my spending ever got.

[cheesystick]

This wasn't as much of a loss, as it was just plain stupid. I'm sure all of you saw those displays that gave away free gamecube preview DVDs? Well, in my haste, I bought one on ebay for 2 bucks. The nest day while at my local Fred Myers, I saw the free kiosk. I stuffed a whole bunch in my pocket and gave them to my friends. I got the DVD in the mail and just laughed at how stupid i was at my impulsive buying. I figured I would get the Kit Kat that was stated to come with it in the auction, but apparently, he forgot.
Know whats funniest about this whole story?
After i got my gamevube DVD, I went home and played it in my Xbox. He he he
-crispy

[geelw]

lessee now:

paid $81 for a boxed copy of sorcerian for the PC, and 2 weeks later watching 2 or 3 more go for around $10

paid $50 for a 3DO game guru, then found a closeout place had some miscellaneous PC games for a dollar to 3 dollars each, and yes, there was one in the stack, emphasis on WAS, as some guy grabbed it and RAN to the register (i was about 10 feet away looking at some CD storage bins)

$90 for gleylancer for the mega drive (bid war, ebay- i got outbid and lost, but the guy who won didn't pay, and neither did the 2nd or 3rd bidders. one of the guys later contacted me an offered to buy it from me, but i turned him down flat)

$86 for zeiram zone for the ps (used/excellent shape). saw the game later for 20 bucks, new.

$85 for a new/sealed frame gride (dreamcast)- which wasn't THAT bad, but i had sold off mine a bit earlier, got another for $25 new, sold that one, and had a devil of a time locating one until the more expensive one was offered me.

there's a few more, but these are the ones that stand out... :embarrassed:

[Charlie]

I honestly don't think I've ever made an error in judgement when it comes to the classic stuff, but I can think of three times off the top of my head I bought a game only to see it go on sale the next day. Bomberman Online for the DC for 29.99 at Best Buy... next day it was 9.99. Skies of Arcadia for the DC for 49.99. Next day it was 19.99 at Best Buy. And finally just the other day I bought Godzilla Melee for the Cube for 39.99 at Best Buy and then it dropped to 29.99.

OK, now I can think of one... my Sega Hologram. Costed a ton, and although it looks pretty (plays like shit, but looks pretty lol), I would have rather spent the money on a good coinop like Tapper, Sinistar, Tempest, or something along those lines.

[NE146]

2. Being so into SF2 and buying a fighting clone for the snes for $60.. I even forget the name. Lets just say it was such a BAAAD poorly put together street fighter clone hashed together in about a week. ugh! "

Power Moves, perhaps? Or maybe Doomsday Warrior?

JR

POWER MOVES!!! OH GOD THAT WAS IT!!! >:( Yep.. you nailed it. EB sure ripped me a new hole on that one.

Thank you for reminding me (or is it no thanks) ;)

[HaggarCodyGuy123]

I spent $30 on Genesis 1, Sega CD 2, and 32X combo just so I could get the 32X cables. So I spent $30 for a pair of wires that I have since found extras of at 2 separate occasions loose at a couple of thrift stores for less than $2 for both. :( >:( >:(

[maxlords]

$90 for gleylancer for the mega drive (bid war, ebay- i got outbid and lost, but the guy who won didn't pay, and neither did the 2nd or 3rd bidders. one of the guys later contacted me an offered to buy it from me, but i turned him down flat)


Actually, that's a GREAT price for Gleylancer....that's not embarrasing, that's a score! Ususally a complete one goes for well over $100 :)

[MankeyMan]

Some of these sound pretty good, but most of them (N64 Superman? Beavis & Butthead? METAL GEAR SOLID?) I would hardly call MAJOR errors in purchasing. I have one that is going to blow the doors off of what I'm seeing here so far.

I'd rather not tell the story until the blow is cushioned by others. :/

Joe, have you played N64 Superman? It's not a game, it's a form of torture resurrected from the middle-ages (and I spent £40 on it :embarrassed: ).

[asharru]

79 bucks for a broken intelly.... This was my first retro system purchase a few years ago. I have REALLY learned my lesson since.

:(

[Tritoch]

I haven't made any big mistakes either (overpayed by a couple dollars here and there), but I kinda regret buying the PS2 on launch day and an Xbox about a month after launch when I could've waited and saved $100. Neither had anything that compelling (save for Halo) that I just HAD to play when I bought them.

[jonjandran]

I was at a flea market and saw a sealed black box NES game for $10.00. I remembered reading in this forum that they were worth a lot so I bought it. My wife was looking at it and said " It has a sticker on the spine with writing on it on the inside of the shrink wrap."
Yep sure enough it was a rental that was re-shrinkwrapped.
And it didn't even have the instructions. And it was BATTLE CHESS !!!!
:embarrassed: LOL

[Nature Boy]

Joe, have you played N64 Superman? It's not a game, it's a form of torture resurrected from the middle-ages (and I spent £40 on it :embarrassed: ).

I have to get that game if only to truly appreciate how bad it is. Terrible games fascinate me for some reason.

I have to agree with Joe though - some of these are pretty lame. $50 isn't that big a mistake. And if his is a wopper I'm guessing well into the 3 digits range, maybe 4 :D

[WiseSalesman]

So where the hell is it? I have this morbid curiosity, sort of like looking at a highway wreck, and it's making me all jittery. I'm not going to be able to rest until I read Joe's story!

[orrimarrko]

Joe's mistake probably doesn't have to deal too much with price - he already said in another thread that the most he has spent on a game was $250.

That was for Lochjaw boxed, and fairly recently.

My guess is the it is the game(s) itself.

[Arcade Antics]

Joe's mistake probably doesn't have to deal too much with price - he already said in another thread that the most he has spent on a game was $250.

That was for Lochjaw boxed, and fairly recently.

My guess is the it is the game(s) itself.

I suspect that he meant, for example:

Billy went out and bought every single copy of NCAA Football he could find for the GameCube. He found 100 copies at ten stores and they were $30 each for a total of $3000.

Two months later, Billy realized that it's NCAA BASKETBALL people wanted, NOT Football.

THAT kind of error. :-D

[Raedon]

I'm guessing Joe's big error has to do with a prototype type of purchase.. maybe..

[Bratwurst]

I have to agree with Joe though - some of these are pretty lame. $50 isn't that big a mistake. And if his is a wopper I'm guessing well into the 3 digits range, maybe 4 :D

Well, we've coughed up enough stories and figures that cumulitively it might dampen whatever shockwave Mr. Santulli unleashes! I'm interested in what inspired him to start this thread as well. :D

[buttasuperb]

I got into a bidding war for snes EVO complete, and paid 57 dollars. When I sold it to help get my MK2 cab, it only went for 27. LOL

Also others might consider me paying 500 for the MK2 cab an error, but I sure as hell don't.

[Tempest]

Two months later, Billy realized that it's NCAA BASKETBALL people wanted, NOT Football.


Is NCAA Basketball actually worth anything or is it that we THINK its going to be worth something someday? I ask because I know of a place that has at least three copies, but I'm not going to pick them up if it's only worth $5 more than I paid for it.

Tempest

[Six Switch]

Come on DP...... :hmm: ;) -_-

[lostsage]

i purchased a dreamcast as a x-mas gift for myself (i was really good that year). i don't regret this. but i do regret putting it on my credit card. within two months, the money i was making wasn't happening anymore. but i tell you one thing, it's the best $350 i've spent in a long time.

[jonjandran]

Two months later, Billy realized that it's NCAA BASKETBALL people wanted, NOT Football.


Is NCAA Basketball actually worth anything or is it that we THINK its going to be worth something someday? I ask because I know of a place that has at least three copies, but I'm not going to pick them up if it's only worth $5 more than I paid for it.

Tempest

Let this be your answer.
http://search-completed.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=gamecube+basketball&cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&siteid=0&ht=1&from=R10&currdisp=2&itemtimedisp=0&st=2&SortProperty=MetaHighestPriceSort&SortOrder=d&BasicSearch=

[WiseSalesman]

Come on, Joe .... you think we're just going to forget about this and let it slip into the annals of DP history without you ever relating your story?

[Gamereviewgod]

Just recently I dropped almost $20 (after shipping) on Deep Blue for the Turbo. Worst...game...ever.

[Raedon]

DP, I must know.. O_O

[orrimarrko]

Someone pm Joe - it probably just slipped his mind.

[Tetsu]

ooh, i got one:
Bought a GBA about 3 weeks after the Japanese debut. Spent a whopping $200 on it. A few weeks later, the price of the import drops to $100 to match the domestic release. Sigh.

Also, I bought an N64 for $200, brand new. Had it for a year, didn't buy a single game for it. Ended up trading it for a Playstation the following year.

[ersgameboy]

I bought several game.com games (including Sonic Jam) for full price, back in 1998. It was a dumb move for a high school student with no job.

[kainemaxwell]

I tried liking Quest 64 when I got it after wanting it for awhile.

[Bighab]

I dropped $79US plus shipping and customs fees on a Tristar 64(plays Famicom,Snes/SFC and N64 games on your N64) I was told it had very few compatability issues with Nes games(had to use a GameAxe converter to play Nes games on it) I tried playing some of my favourite Nes games and they didn't work >:( None of my Koei games worked(6 different ones) and strangely enough Dragon Warrior 1 wouldn't work but 2,3,4 did. I also found the cheat menu hard to use too. Probally cause it was heavy Japanese :/ I ended up trading it away a few months later.

[Ruudos]

Well I overpaid for some games, but not pretty big.
I paid like, I think $40 for an incomplete ROB, that's probably the worst.[/quote]

[bargora]

I paid $35 for a PSX trac-ball.

I paid way too much for Radiant Silvergun.

And I bought DP's line of bull when he said he was going to tell us about his blunder. :P

[Scoots]

Bought ECW:Hardcore Revolution (N64) the day it came out for $50 or $60....

[lionforce]

Let's see, I purchased Marvel vs Capcom 2 brand new for DC for $80, Street Fighter Alpha 2 (not Gold Edition) brand new for Saturn for $45, I bought a Saturn brand new no games for $300 and a few days later the price dropped and Sega decided to pack 3 games in as well >:( I bought a Gamecube for $200 and a few days later Nintendo dropped the price to $149, I bought a Playstation for $200 and a few days later the price drop occured and it dropped to $149 (I sure know how to time my purchases eh) :( but for all the times I have gotten screwed I have also come away with some really good steals so I guess it balances out in the end

[stargate]

Didn't DP say buying the 3DO system new was the biggest buying mistake he ever made?

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Paid $ 20 for a pirate Pac-kong for 2600... :/

[123forever]

I bought a Game.Com as soon as it came out. I think it was $70. I've yet to buy a game for it.

I sometimes wonder if anyone ever paid full price for the Genesis version of Virtua Fighter 2, and how they might have felt about that.

[bargora]

Didn't DP say buying the 3DO system new was the biggest buying mistake he ever made?
Oh--missed it! :embarrassed:

[DarkSoul]

PC: Outpost (Sierra). That wasn't so much a game as it was a cut scene that ended with "You Lose". $50, brand new.

I regretted Stronghold (SSI, $50- old one ~1990, not the new game with the same name) for a long while, but I eventually grew to really like the game... wee!

Console: Eh, not too much yet... I overpaid a little for a 2600, 2600jr, 800XL, and Intv2 lot (plus ~15 games) for somewhere in the area of $110-140, I can't really remember, but that's not as bad as it coulda been (though, that assmonkey said the INTV pads worked great, and they sure as hell didn't).....

ah, hmm... it's a tiny complaint, but I haven't been able to get into Shenmue on the DC at all, but that's only $15 out of my pocket. That and overpaying a little on my $15 Zelda (NES) or accidentally buying Rad Racer for $4 thinking it was something else, hehe

[Videogamerdaryll]

Honestly..I bought two Steel Battalions.."thinking" they were linkable..

I was really sleeping when I bought them..But I love link games.
A friend told me that he read it was Supposed to be linkable..
I believed him without checking for myself..

It's an awesome game but I could of did without the second one if I had did the research..before I bought 2..
This was a very busy time in my life and I slipped..up..
But I keep the second one sealed..,..for future...hmmmm I don't know..

Probably for my son to play..when he gets old enough...
He wants to play what I'm playing now..and he's only two..

http://www.imagemagician.org/images/cokegirl/113013.jpg

[hurstman]

I bought a Virtual Boy the day it came out *sigh* :( Cant remember how much it was exactly $150? Big mistake.Oh well,funny thing is I still got the damn thing for some reason lol.

[DarkSoul]

I know I always hear terrible things about them, and I don't remember my one experience with one being at all good, but is it fun at all? I'd think that the Tennis game could, at least in theory, be amusing...

[Mr-E_MaN]

The only thing I can think of that, in my opinion, I over paid was I bought a SNES for $40 dollars Canadian last summer. I felt like I got ripped off after I brought it home. I found another one for $10 a week later. Out of my entire collection that is my only regret.