Which consoles do you rarely/NEVER find in the wild?

[DigitalSpace]

That thread from someone who has never seen a Commodore 64 in the wild made me think of this.

So, what do you rarely or never see in the wild? I wouldn't count color variants, but model variants are fine.

Rarely:
-TG-16 - I've seen one twice since I started game hunting in 2004, both too expensive. I never see the games either, and when I do, it's usually Keith Courage.
-Sega Master System - I've seen these a little more often than the TG-16, though still not that much.
-Genesis model 3 - I recall seeing this about three or four times tops since 2004.
-Sega CDX - I passed up one for $60 in 2004, and I still regret it a little. The only other one I've seen since then was going for $85.
-Sega Nomad: Since 2004, I've seen four, maybe five of these.

Never:
-Vectrex - Well, I did see one at NWCGE, but I wouldn't count that as "the wild."
-CD-I - See above.
-Neo-Geo AES

What about you?

[ShenmueFan]

I'm guessing you're talking about in actual store and not online, correct?

If that's the case, here are system's I've NEVER seen in stores:

Neo Geo CD
Neo Geo (Original)
Jaguar CD
Pioneer Sega Genesis/Sega CD/(I think it's Turbo Grafx) system
Turbo Duo
Turbo CD Add-on

Many of the obscure systems you mentioned I've seen once or twice but all of them were well over half a decade or longer ago. Below are the last times I've seen these in person.

Jaguar (Toy store ~1996/1997)
CDi (Software Etc. ~1994?/1995?)
Sega CDX (Software Etc. ~Early 1996, Pawnshop ~1997)
Sega 32X (Walmart ~1996)
Virtual Boy (Walmart ~1996)
Sega CD ver. 1 (KB Toys ~1993/94)
Sega CD ver. 2 (KB Toys ~1996)
3DO (original - Goldstar?) - (Furniture store ~1994)
3DO (new top loading ver.) - (Meijer's ~ 1997)
Genesis Model 3 - (Meijers/Walmart ~ 1998)
SNES Ver 2 - (Toys R Us ~1997)
NES Ver 2 - (Toys R Us ~ 1996)
Sega Nomad - (Software Etc. ~ 1997)
TurboGrafx - (Witmark ~1993/1994?)
JVC X'eye - (Pawn Shop ~1999/2000)
Game.com - (Walmart ~2000)
Neo Geo Pocket - (Walmart ~2000)

[DigitalSpace]

I knew I left a couple out. I rarely see the Jaguar, and have never seen a Game.com. Come to think of it, I've only seen the R-Zone twice.

[Grunaki]

I saw a couple of 3DOs and CD-i s in the mall in my home town in the UK when they were new, but they died out pretty quickly... Same with the Atari Jaguar.

[shoes23]

Well, I've not surprisingly seen any of the more "exotic" systems in the wild here, but a few that may surprise some people. It should be noted that I live in the middle of nowhere (South Dakota to be exact) in a small town (20,000 residents). My town doesn't have an EB, Gamestop, mom & pop shop, or any other video game retailer. What it does have however, is two pawn shops that can be very useful in finding games. So much so, that I've eclipsed the 1000 game mark with my collection, and about 90% of it was from local stores and these two pawn shops.

I pick up every console I find in the wild that I don't have yet, but I've never stumbled across any of these:

Sega Genesis (any model)- I've picked up the few games in the wild that I've seen around here, but are unable to play them because no system has ever shown up.

Sega Dreamcast- I bought one retail shortly after it came out, haven't seen one in the wild yet. I've only seen a small handful of games in the wild too (I quickly snatched those up).

Sega Saturn- starting to see a pattern yet? I apparently live in the Nintendo Heartland, either that or Sega Fanboy HQ, and no one is letting go of their systems. Saw one loose sports game in the wild, which I passed on.


Runners-up:
Intellevision
Atari 5200 & 7200
C64
Colecovision
Atari Jaguar
Virtual Boy
Game Gear

[ShenmueFan]

I've NEVER seen a Saturn system in a pawn shop.

Keep in mind that Sega people are usually pretty dedicated to their systems and there were far less Sega systems (w/ the exception of the Genesis perhaps) than other systems in each generation.

I remember how crappy it got trying to find rare games in pawn shops when Funcoland used to have pricing newspapers and the pawn shop owners started getting wise to what games were actually worth more (Squaresoft games, Enix titles, etc.)...that was probably '97-'99...

[qbertandernie]

i dont have (and have thus never seen) an rca studio 2, original odyssey(that i verified), an x'eye, turbo duo, neo geo aes/cd or a fairchild channel f.

ive seen two cdx
only one master system 2
only one arcadia 2001
only one adam
two astrocades
two vectrex
four cdi
two nomad
couple of jaguar, couple of lynx
several gen, nes, snes, vb, saturn, coleco, intv, ataris, 3do, and even turbo grafx

the toledo area seems wrought with games and systems and we have several used shops here in town. i do spend a LOT of time hunting for games and related ephemera so it may simply be i see them more often.

[Push Upstairs]

CD-i
Neo CD

I've not seen a Master System 2 since I saw one on clearance for $20 at Kay Be in 1993.

I recall only ever seeing one Black Dreamcast. It was broken and gave its shell to the Dreamcast I own. Black Sega consoles all around. \\^_^/

[snes_collector]

Only a few times:
TG-16(saw a TG-16 once for $60 but it was on hold, told the dude to call me back if the deal never came through, but he never did)
Saturn
32X(once)
Virtual Boy(the only I've ever saw is the one I own)
Master System
Sega CD(once)
Nomad

Never:
3DO
Jaguar
Lynx
anything Neo-Geo
7800
CD-i
CD32
Intellivision
R-Zone
Game.com

And others

And thats from about 4 years of collecting

[shawnbo42]

Pretty much everything "rare" that I've ever found in the wild I bought. I got very lucky last year at a mom&pop type place, and actually found a Neo-Geo AES boxed w/2 games. I have seen Lynx/Jaguar in the wild (too pricey, so I passed on those), Dreamcast I found one (purchased), 3DO I have never seen in the wild (bought one from a friend of mine), Odyssey or any of the "classic" systems (i.e. pre NES), I very rarely if EVER see, and if I do, I will rob little old blue-haired ladies to come up with cash to buy them (lol). I would say some of the best luck I have had over time is yard sales. It usually takes about 1,000 of them to find the deal, but when you find it, you really get the deal (if y'all know what I mean). Pawn shops and mom & pop type places USUALLY (at least in my area) Ebay price everything, so there really isn't a lot out there for "steals". I have seen a Sega Saturn once, TG16 NEVER, Genesis all over the place, SMS NEVER, Sega CD from time to time, and, surprisingly, I don't see GameCubes very often.

[Nebagram]

I've seen Vectrexes and Virtual Boys in stores... okay, only one of each, but still, not bad. Nowadays though, major stores won't stock ANYTHING pre-Mega Drive, except the Game Boy (and very occasionally Lynxes and Game Gears). Everything else is fair game though- 3DOs and Jags can be picked up if you look hard enough, but Neo Geos are the proverbial rocking horse shit.

Still. This was why ebay was invented (amybe).

[Technosis]

Good thread. I've never seen anything Neo-Geo in the wild. I've found (3) Vectrex's, a Turbo-Duo, and some rarer coin-ops. I've only seen a Bally Astrocade once (at a flea market (late 90's)and I passed on it since the vendor was calling it a "collectors" item and had priced it accordingly)

[Sniderman]

Hmm... Well, although others have found 'em, I've never come across an Atari 5200 in the wild, but plenty of 7800s and Vectrexes. Go figure. No Neo Geo (of course) and never a TG 16. But other systems I would THINK would be hard to come by were pretty common to find around here B.E. (Before Ebay). I've found Sega CDXs, Saturns, and even Virtual Boys without even trying.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[diskoboy]

-Turbografx 16.
-Neo-Geo (any model)
-Atari 5200 (games are plentiful - consoles are not)
-Jaguar
-Lynx
-Vectrex (I haven't seen one in the wild since 1985)
-Odyssey 2
-Intellivision
-Any system made before the Atari VCS

Systems that have suddenly become hard to find that used to be fairly easy (funny how they're all Sega)..

-Sega Saturn
-Sega CD
-32X
-Game Gear

[TurboGenesis]

I've seen a couple Neo Geo AES in the wild, and have seen one Neo Geo CD (I bought it then sold it off a few months later-was Japan system). I still see Turbo Grafx 16 systems once in a while but the only game I ever see for it pretty much is Keith Courage.

Stuff I never seen:

Turbo Duo (last time I saw one traded in was 1994 - I bought it and still have it)
Amgia CD32
Pioneer Laseractive
Nuon
Jaguar CD

[Technosis]

I've never even seen a Vectrex :-( In fact unless I passed over it, I haven't ever seen anything except really popular systems. I've seen a few TG16s at church sales and such.

One of the coolest garage sales that I was at was that of a guy who formerly owned an electronic store. He had a Vectrex, extra controller (boxed) and 2 complete sets of Vectrex docs/Minestorm overlays. I picked up the set/docs/extra controller for $25 IIRC. He also had all sorts of weird TV antennas and other electronic gizmos. I asked him if he had anymore Vectrex's but that was it...it had been left over in storage for years.

Regarding TGX-16's, I've probably picked up 4 or 5 over the years in the wild.

[Slate]

Most of the stuff on the "Never" List is pretty obvious.. Turbografx 16, Neo geo, CDi, But I've never found an atari jaguar, And I haven't found much for the Atari Lynx.

Occasionally:

Virtual Boy (I found 2 of these in 2006 for very cheap)

Rarely:

Atari Lynx Model 2 (I have only seen one of these - Three years ago! I bought it)
Atari 400 (Only seen one, Bought it and sold it later)
Atari 800 (I saw one back in 2004)
Atari XEGS (I bought one in 2006 for $2)
Game.com (I saw one at a yard sale in 2005)
Sega Master System (I've only seen two of these and bought both)
Nintendo Top Loader (I bought one a year ago, It's the only one that I've ever seen)

Never:

3DO
Adventurevision
Atari 5200
Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar CD
Atari Lynx Model 1
CDI (Any model)
Channel F
Laseractive
Neo Geo AES
Neo Geo MVS
Odyssey (The original)
RCA Studio II
R Zone
Sega CD Model 1
Sega CDX
Sega Nomad
Sega Master System Model 2 (Did these things come out in america?)
Microvision
Turbo Express
Turbografx 16
TG16 CD Drive
Turbo Duo
Vectrex

And add a great deal of PONG systems to the Never list, And it's complete unless I'm missing something.

[ShenmueFan]

I've seen a Rob The Robot once in a pawnshop in '92 or '93...

[Xexyz]

Too many to list. I will say this though, I've seen a Neo Geo AES, I've seen a Jaguar CD, I've seen a Nomad on several occasions, I even remeber seeing the 3DO and CDi back in the day when they were new at Media Play, but never, have I ever seen a TG16, nor even a SMS in the wild. These were systems I never even knew existed back in the day, mainly due to my young age.

It kills me too, especially not seeing an SMS. I've been collecting games for the SMS for two years now, own over 20 boxed/complete games for it, even a game pad, and still have yet to see one in real life with my very own eyes...

[j_factor]

Does seeing a system in stores back when it was current count as "in the wild"? If so, the only systems I haven't seen in the wild are the really rare ones like CDTV and some that I'm not old enough to have seen in stores (Fairchild Channel-F).

[Captain Wrong]

I've never seen a Vectrx in the wild. Makes me sad, as I'd buy a resonably priced one in a heartbeat. As for things I'm sure I've only seen once:

TG-16
Laseractive (bought that one :D)
Neo Geo
3DO
CD-I

[7th lutz]

Systems I've rarely seen in the wild or never seen in the wild at all

Turbo duo-never seen in the wild
Turbo cd-I last saw one was in the early 90's.
Neo geo-never saw one in person
Neo Geo cd-haven't seen one a long
Virtual Boy-last time was 2005
Atari 8 bit line-I haven't a computer or a system from this computer line in a long time outside of the 5200.
Neo Geo MVS-never seen
All pre 2600 systems-never seen or saw ounce in the case of the Odyssey 400
RCA Studio II-possible bfore 2002
Atari Jaguar cd-never seen in the wild
sms model 2-came out in the states, Last one I saw, I purchased it about 2 years ago
Microvision-never seen one
Vectrex- saw one before 2001 and was the only time
Sega CDX-haven't seen one in ages
Game.com-haven't seen one in years
R-zone-haven't seen one in ages
Neo Geo Pocket color-haven't seen one in 2 or 3 years
CDI-never saw one or if I did it was in the 90's.
Amgia CD32-never saw one
Pioneer Laseractive-never saw one
Nuon-never saw one
Atari 7800-haven't seen one the wild in a long time
colecovison-rarely
Intellivision-rarely
JVC X'eye-haven't seen one since 1994
turbo express-I have seen it recently, but it is in the same flea market for a while
Odyssey 2 -haven't seen one in 2 or 3 years

[wallydawg]

My eyes have yet to see a 32x anywhere. It's usually sega heaven around here too at thrifts; almost all my games came from goodwill and I even managed to snag a couple of saturns there (one bundled with 18 or so games, the other just had Nights left in the console and came with the 3D controller).

[bangtango]

Just to clarify, I am counting my visits in thrift stores, flea markets, garage/lawn sales, pawn shops and the like. I am NOT counting stuff I have seen in "game" shops that specialize in systems/games and I am NOT counting things I see new in a retail store. Sure, I saw a bunch of 3DO's and Jaguar's on department store shelves back in the 1990's but that means nothing here and today.


Here goes


SYSTEMS I HAVE SEEN ONLY ONCE IN THE WILD:

-Atari 2600 (several years ago and I grabbed it with a box of games for $5)
-Atari 5200 (2006, did not buy as the price was insane)
-CD-I (2007, I did buy it, it was BOXED :))
-Game Cube (2006, I did buy it)
-Goldstar 3DO (2007, I did buy it and it was broken so I took it back)
-Intellivision I (date unknown, I did buy it)
-Sega 32X (seen the loose unit itself many times but only once was it complete, when I found that one I did buy it)
-XBox (2007, bought and returned it, this thing had been taken apart and was broken)


I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN THE WILD:

-3DO models other than Goldstar (always had to get units off of Ebay, would buy again to own)
-Amiga CD32 (would buy to own)
-Atari 7800 (gave up and had to buy one off of Ebay, would buy it again to own)
-Atari Jaguar (see Atari 7800, would buy again to own)
-Atari Jaguar CD (would buy to own)
-Atari Lynx (would buy to own)
-Colecovision (would pass on it)
-Fairchild Channel F (would pass on it)
-Neo Geo (would buy to resell)
-Neo Geo CD (would buy to resell)
-Neo Geo Pocket (would buy to own)
-RCA Studio 2 (would pass on it)
-Sega CD (see Atari 7800)
-Sega Master System (would buy to own)
-Sega Pico (would pass on it)
-Turbografx 16 (would buy to resell)
-Turbo Express (would buy to resell)
-Turbo Duo (would buy to resell)
-Vectrex (would pass on it)
-Virtual Boy (would pass on it)


HERE ARE SYSTEMS I SEE REGULARLY AT THRIFT STORES:

-Commodore 64 (never buy)
-Commodore Vic 20 (bought twice)
-Game Boy (usually buy)
-Game Gear (bought once)
-NES (almost always buy)
-Nintendo 64 (almost always buy)
-Playstation 1 (I always buy these, don't tell Shawn.........)
-PS2 (always seeing them in pawn shops, already bought one)
-Sega Dreamcast (bought once, may buy again if the price is low enough when I see one again)
-Sega Genesis 3 units (bought it before and sold it, will buy again the next time)
-Sega Saturn (always bought it when I didn't already have one)
-Super NES (bought it before and will buy the next time I see it since I sold my last one)
-Tiger Game.Com (have always bought)

[Steve W]

I never find in thrifts: Commodore 64, any variety of Amiga, Atari Jaguar, Neo-Geo (obviously), TurboGrafx-16, Sega Nomad, Fairchild Channel F, Nuon DVD players, Pioneer Laseractive, and so on.

I have found once or twice over the years: Turbo Express (didn't buy it, still kicking myself), Odyssey2, 3DO, Vectrex, Intellivision, Commodore 64, Apple II, Atari Lynx, TRS-80 Co-Co, Action Max, Telegames DINA, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, and so on.

Stuff I've found much more of: Sega Genesis (they swarm thrift stores like flies around here), N64, SNES, NES, Game Gear, Gameboy, Colecovision (when I decided to buy one, I suddenly came across loads of them), Atari 7800 (never saw them in the wild, then came across 5 in half a year), Sega CD, Virtual Boy (but whenever I decide to get one, I can't find any), Timex/Sinclair 1000, Sega Saturn, PS1, etc.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[TurboGenesis]

Was at the flea market yesterday and saw my very first ever Arcadia 2001 console and games! They also had an Channel F II. Very obscure things I had never noticed or seen in the wild.

[bangtango]

Wow no Atari 2600s? Just about every thrift I go to seems to have an Atari 2600... for around $50-100 (I believe Goodwill's standard price for them is $75)

I may be in the minority but I've only ever seen one Atari 2600 "in the wild" (at a thrift store/flea market/pawn shop/lawn sale). I've owned 2600 systems, found them on store shelves many years ago when they were still being sold and seen them in friend's houses. However, I never see them for sale used, not even at an inflated price. The one I grabbed at a pawn shop nearly 10 years ago was the first and last time I've found one someplace for sale in a very long time. Of course, I thrift more often than I used to in the 1990's which would have been the prime time to locate them. That may have something to do with it.

I find it hard to believe there are a ton of people still sitting on a 2600 in their attic or garage, after all these years, without thinking it may be worth a few bucks to someone. Anyone who had something that old would have probably sold it or gave it away by now.

[Technosis]

Was at the flea market yesterday and saw my very first ever Arcadia 2001 console and games! They also had an Channel F II. Very obscure things I had never noticed or seen in the wild.

I have never seen an Arcadia 2001 or the Canadian Equivalent Leisure Vision in the wild. I have however found (2) orphan Space Vultures (long cart) in the wild. My Arcadia 2001 came from a trade with a US collector (thanks Ian).



I find it hard to believe there are a ton of people still sitting on a 2600 in their attic or garage, after all these years, without thinking it may be worth a few bucks to someone. Anyone who had something that old would have probably sold it or gave it away by now..

Or have thrown it in the trash. You'd be surprised how much stuff just gets disposed of.

[Anthony1]

You guys count gaming stores as "The Wild"? Places like GameCrazy and GameStop and even specialty video game stores? For some reason, when I think of the wild, I don't really think of those places as the wild. GameCrazies where I live were selling Saturns for $19.99, Dreamcasts for $19.99, stuff like that. They would have them alot. I don't see them having Saturns anymore, but they did have them for awhile. At one point you could go to any GameCrazy and find at least 1 Saturn for $19.99. To me, that isn't the wild. The Wild is like a flea market or a garage sale or a thrift store or a pawn shop. Crap like that. There is this one specialty gaming store where I live, and they have stuff like Jaguar CD and Neo-Geo's and stuff like that, but they are way too freaking expensive, and with the more unusual systems, they only usually have 1 of them available at a really high price. I've never once thought of this specialty place as "The Wild". Anyplace that specializes in video games isn't the Wild as far as I'm concerned.

[smork]

I think i've seen most of the major consoles in the wild -- but I am including the Asian wild too, where alot of things can be found more commonly. A friend of mine pointed me to a junk shop in a little town in rural Japan that had piles of goodness, like a nice Twin Fami for $20 (got it), quite a few Neo CDs and AESs (picked up some of them, too). Found a working FZ-1 3DO in a junk pile for $5, etc.

My friend has an AdventureVision that he's had since a kid, otherwise I've never seen one. Saw a Game.com in a pawn shop for $30 (!) last year :) It was unboxed and beat up, no less.

But yeah, I think you'd be hard pressed to call game stores "The wild" Otherwise i've seen a Mazora Dreamcast "in the wild". Kinda cheating, no?

[cyberfluxor]

Any of the main-stream systems that sold real well are easily found around here, anything else seems to be difficult to find. It could be that those people that own the system are knowledgable of the gaming stores and when they sell/trade them in they have a quick turn-over. Some places have reserves for when a particular items comes in and will hold them for a certain length of days. Most of these elusive consoles and games are best to be bought online since it'll take too long to stumble across them even with a reserve though, I've been waiting nearly a year for some things.

Some company products include:
Atari, SNK, Phillips, 3DO, Intellivision

Difficult systems to track down:
32X, Sega CD, Saturn, Virtual Boy, N-Gage, Commodore

If I didn't list it then I've either never stumbled across it or it's dirt common, and I believe everyone can determine which is what.

[s1ipmatt]

Amiga's dont turn up very often, up untill afew years ago you could find one in second hand places and jumble sales but now for some reason they are not about.

32x stuff is difficult and never come acrross a multi mega, Anything Atrai is a rare find.

[lurpak]

wow things are so diffrent over the pond than here in the UK, it amazes me the systems you cant find and the ones that you find more regularly.

I would say here you cant help but find on a weekly basis in car boots...

Genesis (megadrive as we call it)
Master system
CD32s (quite common, although never boxed)
atari lynx
C64
Amigas
Atari STs
Game gears
Game.coms
Saturn
Snes
n64
3DO occasionaly
CDI quite often
NES quite often


I have never seen (since new)

vectrex
virtual boy
Jaguars
Neo Geo
colecovision...yep never seen one in the wild, I beleive thier comon in the US, I remember them selling well over here in the 80s...but I rekon the faries stole them all...I have never seen a real one !!

[PentiumMMX]

I have a hard time finding anything in my town. But here's a list of what I rarly see:

- Intelevision (Any model. Only seen an INTV 2 once, and I bought it)
- Top-Loading NES (Only seen it once, only a few months after buying a Toaster (And I didn't have $50 on me))
- Super NES (3 times since 2000)
- Virtual Boy (Only once)
- Sega Master System (Only once, and I bought it, but sold it to Game-X-Change to get Dreamcast stuff (Besides, the only SMS game I liked was Phantasy Star, but I could never find it))
- Sega Genesis 3 and Genesis Model 1 (Whenever I find a Genesis, it's always Model 2. Sometimes a Model 1 pops up, and I've only seen a Genesis 3 once (And bought it))
- Sega Saturn (Only seen it twice, and never nad enough money on me)
- Sega Dreamcast (Only seen it 3 times (By the 3rd time, I already had a DC))

I never see:

- Gamecube
- ColecoVision
- Atari Jaguar (Or anything Atari that isn't a 2600)
- Neo-Geo (Or any other really obsure systems like it)

[CosmicMonkey]

I was quite impressed to find a Vectrex in my local Gamestation. I've also seen most Sega and Nintendo hardware incarnations at carboots. I really should have brought that mint boxed Multimega that matey wanted £20 for. D'oh.

I was at a carboot a couple of years ago and a guy had all these absolutely prehistoric computers. Massive all-in-one units with the monitor, keyboard and a couple of 5 1/4 inch drives all built in. Looking back, it would have been cool to get one and just use the casing with a modern PC inside.

Never seen any PAL NeoGeo homecart or CD stuff ever. Or the Amstrad GX4000. Where did they all go? Are people too embarrassed to actually sell them ;)

[Cambot]

I've been looking for a Sega CD in the wild to no avail. I always go to where they keep the George Foreman Grills. You never know.