Retro Gamer covers The Elite of Collectors (aka crazy people)

[fishsandwich]

Did anyone catch the two-part article on HARD CORE collectors that appeared in the last two issues of Retro Gamer Magazine? What a facinating article!

The article documents a secret society of super-elite collectors out there who operate in the shadows using aliases, secret websites, incredibly rare items, and insane amounts of money. Actually, money CAN'T buy everything... many collectors will only TRADE rare one-of-a-kinds for other rare one-of-a-kinds. Game carts of unreleased games actually serve as currency.

The article mentions the notorious auction of the unreleased Saturn Sonic game... it involved stalking, serious hacking, death threats, and God knows what else. Collectors have changed phones numbers, e-mails, and have even MOVED to protect themselves. There was mention of two collectors almost getting killed. Anyone heard about this?!? What happened with the Sonic auction?

Some of the items in these people's collections make some of the rarest items I've seen on this board seem almost common and worthless. These people don't play! Well, I suppose they DO play (games) but not when it comes to collecting. We are talking some seriously wealthy and well-connected people here.

A very interesting read!

[98PaceCar]

It's an interesting article, but I think the author took the 'mafia' theme a bit too far. From a strictly informational view though, seeing and reading about some of the rarer dev kits and unreleased games was pretty cool.

That and having my pics published as part of it was a nice touch too! :)

[cyberfluxor]

Watch it fishsandwich, you might get banned from the internets talking like this. LOL

Just playin with ya but it is funny. There's no doubt there's an elite collectors organization where people have connections but that's with any community really. People only deal with others they know well and know have connections otherwise they'll get screwed out of the real deals. Why do you think so many here believe eBay is a joke? Because it's like a gamble anytime you bid on there. Who knows the condition, if it's going to be the wrong item, a scam or even a bootleg. Oh, and don't forget that "mint" means one thing to one person but something else to another. :)

[Borman]

I didnt even know there was a second part. Curious to see what it is..

[DreamTR]

LOL, that's the biggest load of crap I have ever heard

[Nimrodil]

First part can be read here:

http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12526

Since I like, and want to support, Retro Gamer I will not scan the other part. So regard it as a teaser (the second part is also more exclusive since big parts of the first part alraddy have been publiched earlier in Escapism:-). In the same issue as part two there is also a great Vectrex article by Mayhem from this board and a lot of other great articles!

[Bratwurst]

LOL, that's the biggest load of crap I have ever heard

Oh you would deny it wouldn't you? :hmm:

[Kid Ice]

Put 2 and 2 together. A bunch of folks here outed a group called the "Presidents Club". Now none of them are around anymore.

I happen to have knowledge of....huh....who's that? Wait I think I hear someone in my house....

[TheRedEye]

fishsandwich, do you have a scanner? I'd love a scan of the part where I'm called "malevolent" and "hostile," but I don't want to buy that magazine and support its yellow journalism.

[Mayhem]

Which did surprise me considering I know both yourself Frank and the guy who wrote the piece (whom I might add doesn't work for Retro Gamer now as he decided to leave to pursue a different career... this article was the last thing he did). John's a great guy so I have no idea what on earth must have happened for him to write that... I'm just sitting it out because I can't have loyalty either way in that matter.

[TheRedEye]

Which did surprise me considering I know both yourself Frank and the guy who wrote the piece (whom I might add doesn't work for Retro Gamer now as he decided to leave to pursue a different career... this article was the last thing he did). John's a great guy so I have no idea what on earth must have happened for him to write that... I'm just sitting it out because I can't have loyalty either way in that matter.

That's cool man, don't worry about it. There's no "it" to stay out of, I'm not making a fuss over it.

I will point out that the quote he had from me was posted on my private forums, and was probably not even directed at John. He quoted that forums post as if it was an interview for this article, which it clearly was not. This is what I meant by "yellow journalism" (besides making shit up, as his UNDERGROUND PRIVATE ILLUMINATI articles tend to do).

[TheRedEye]

I also had my PR person contact the magazine to open a dialogue toward their policies of quoting people out of context and calling it an interview, but we never got a reply. Now that's professionalism!

[Vroomfunkel]

Hmm, I don't know much about the dev / proto scene, but I do know that some of that is rather exaggerated. There was a dev Saturn on ebay UK not too long ago - and it certainly didn't sell for megabucks as his photocaption would seem to suggest that it should

[Nimrodil]

RedEye; if you want I can scan it for you tomorrow (just don´t want to make the hole article public since the mag still sells in the shops).

[fishsandwich]

First part can be read here:

http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12526

Since I like, and want to support, Retro Gamer I will not scan the other part. So regard it as a teaser (the second part is also more exclusive since big parts of the first part alraddy have been publiched earlier in Escapism:-). In the same issue as part two there is also a great Vectrex article by Mayhem from this board and a lot of other great articles!

Indeed, I think this issue is a bit better than normal. I usually tear through these things quickly but I still have a lot to read on this issue.

One thing I HATE is when a game appeared on two consoles (a Contra game appeared on both the PSone and the Saturn) but the article only mentions the PSone game and never says the game also appeared on Saturn. I see that in a lot of magazines, though.

[Push Upstairs]

Get out your tinfoil hats!

Actually, seeing pictures of that rare stuff was more interesting that hearing about some super secret video game collecting society.

[TheRedEye]

RedEye; if you want I can scan it for you tomorrow (just don´t want to make the hole article public since the mag still sells in the shops).

Sounds good! I just want the part with me to post on a blog or something.

[megamaniaman]

Put 2 and 2 together. A bunch of folks here outed a group called the "Presidents Club". Now none of them are around anymore.

I happen to have knowledge of....huh....who's that? Wait I think I hear someone in my house....

I don't know why people made such a big stink over the Presidents Club. It seems more like a Moderators forum. Except this one it seems that the moderators were allowed to invite some their friends. Big freaking deal. My guess is that most websites have the same type of forum.

[Cambot]

Makes the X'Eye I found a few weeks ago look stupid.

I actually don't know that having unreleased and non-retail is soley what makes you a collector. Yeah, throwing money at eBay doesn't qualify you either, but scouring thrift stores and yard sales does, in my opinion.

[ProgrammingAce]

Which did surprise me considering I know both yourself Frank and the guy who wrote the piece (whom I might add doesn't work for Retro Gamer now as he decided to leave to pursue a different career... this article was the last thing he did). John's a great guy so I have no idea what on earth must have happened for him to write that... I'm just sitting it out because I can't have loyalty either way in that matter.

I talked to john about it after the article came out. Seems to me as if he spent too much time talking to assembler, who admittedly has gone to great lengths to get some dev hardware. My thoughts on assembler are fairly well known at this point.

As for the article, i love the thought that there are a group of people who have working SNES-CD's.

As for prices, i bought a prototype saturn for $50. The most i've ever paid for something game related was $1500.


You'd need a good network of paid contacts to wrangle this kind of merchandise out of a still breathing company

Riiiiiiiight... Because that's how it works...

The secret society is a joke.

[DreamTR]

It's a secret to everyone!

[DefaultGen]

.....

[Cambot]

I have some R3s!

YOU ARE NOTHING!

[DreamTR]

After reading through the article...

I have Lobo for Mega Drive/Genesis, and it was not sold to me by some "Imagine" employee.

I don't get it, though, they make it out like these unreleased games for disk systems are worth $$$, but I've had some for sale on an Assembler thread for awhile, and they are moving, but really slowly. And I am selling 'em cheap!

The writer really did overexaggerate on a few things, but you have to get readers, and make it compelling, and it's a pretty interesting read nonetheless, but this "secret society" is not really much of a secret.

[Poofta!]

a few things...

1) great read, part 1 that is

2) can someone link me to part 2 please, or upload it

3) whats the president's club deal?

4) ace, what are your thoughts on assembler?

[Vinnysdad]

I would like to read this article. Where can I find this magazine? I have tried to find it in the past with no luck. Any help here people?

[ProgrammingAce]

It's a secret to everyone!

You want to start our own secret society? That'd actually be kind of cool. We could have a secret handshake and everything.

Poofta: Every time i mention assembler, he gets wind of it and it becomes a large moronic argument between the two of us. He's kept out of my business and i've kept out of his. So far it's worked out fairly well.

[cyberfluxor]

I would like to read this article. Where can I find this magazine? I have tried to find it in the past with no luck. Any help here people?

I could have sword I saw a copy at Barns & Nobles just last weekend but can't find it on their website. I can't even find it on a search at Borders website and they usually have mags B&N lacks around here. You can always offer to buy from someone on here or go searching online which may not be too trustworthy.

[bangtango]

a few things...

3) whats the president's club deal?

You mean you missed that series of threads from a month or so ago?

[Stark]

3) whats the president's club deal?

A small group of fat guys staring at pictures.

[Poofta!]

You mean you missed that series of threads from a month or so ago?

yeah i guess i did... could you direct me? thanks.

[Gillian Seed]

Can we stop the ridiculousness, can someone who has a copy of the issue post the second part of the story. I would gladly buy the issue but there are no vendors of RG here in Montreal. And a subscription consisting of 13 issues costs about $150 Canadian.

Secondly, what gives one person the right to say who is, or isn't a 'true' collector? For some. money is no object and they can ebay whatever they want. For others, hunting through thrift stores and salvation army basements is what they have to resort to, and incidentally may find the most rewarding. I know if I suddenly won the lottery, I would probably buy the selected items I'd been lusting for. Would I be any less of a fan of games or collecting for having taken such an action? Of course not.

[fishsandwich]

I've got my copy with me today. I'll scan the article here at work but I can't promise great quality.

[Nimrodil]

Since a new issue have came out I can scan the hole article and post tonight (here in Sweden the clock is 15.41 for the moment...;-) if no one else have done before.

[Nimrodil]

I've got my copy with me today. I'll scan the article here at work but I can't promise great quality.

Great, then I don´t have to mess with my crappy scanner:-)

[Gillian Seed]

Thanks in advance guys. Can't wait to give it a read.

[fishsandwich]

Ok. I've scanned it but can't upload it here (2mb) and I don't have a place to post it.

Who wants to upload it somewhere for all to see?

[TheRedEye]

Ok. I've scanned it but can't upload it here (2mb) and I don't have a place to post it.

Who wants to upload it somewhere for all to see?

Email it to fcifaldi@gmail.com, I'll do it. If you have trouble, let me know on AIM, my screen name is normalroach

[fishsandwich]

Email it to fcifaldi@gmail.com, I'll do it. If you have trouble, let me know on AIM, my screen name is normalroach

Just sent it. Enjoy! It actually came out pretty clearly. I did notice some printing problems in other parts of this issue, though. Some other pages are very hard to read. This one is ok.

[Borman]

Feel free to send it to me (Borman18@gmail.com). Ill upload it to my site :)

[TheRedEye]

Hold tight everyone, I have lots of meetings this morning. I'll upload this in a bit.

[TheRedEye]

Boy, this sure is a one-sided story full of horse shit. At least there are some nice pictures.

http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/8894/01so0.th.jpg (http://img73.imageshack.us/my.php?image=01so0.jpg) http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/4391/02rm4.th.jpg (http://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=02rm4.jpg) http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/104/03hl2.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=03hl2.jpg) http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1540/04yl3.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=04yl3.jpg) http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1097/05eu8.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=05eu8.jpg) http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2394/06vj3.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=06vj3.jpg)

[neuropolitique]

Hey, I have one of those things pictured in the article. I didn't know I was part of any cognoscenti. Neato.

*starts getting paranoid*

[TheRedEye]

Hey, I have one of those things pictured in the article. I didn't know I was part of any cognoscenti. Neato.

*starts getting paranoid*

You are the illuminati, you control our collections. You have meetings in secret underground bases and smoke cigars and play Shenmue on the Saturn.

[98PaceCar]

You are the illuminati, you control our collections. You have meetings in secret underground bases and smoke cigars and play Shenmue on the Saturn.

Dang.. Nobody offered me a cigar and I'm even mentioned in a picture caption(though I'm starting to think that may be a bad thing)!! ;)

Neuropolitique, what do you have that's in the article??

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Poofta: Every time i mention assembler, he gets wind of it and it becomes a large moronic argument between the two of us. He's kept out of my business and i've kept out of his. So far it's worked out fairly well.
Now, don't take this the wrong way. I like you, ProgrammingAce, you're a good guy, but this sort of comment is exactly the problem that *I* have with ASSEMbler and pretty much everyone else on the ASSEMblergames boards these days and probably also the article under discussion here (though I haven't read it), they all take themselves way too seriously. The idea that people try to get themselves into this kind of soap opera inter-personal melodrama over collecting video games is hilarious to me. We're *HOBBYIST* *GAME* collectors, we don't have business to stay in or out of, if we imagine that we do, we're having delusions of grandeur.

The sort of secret groups this article talks about remind me more of teenagers who watched too many episodes of Melrose Place than the illuminati or mafia or anything like that.


3) whats the president's club deal?

A small group of fat guys staring at pictures.
5) what's this "Internet" deal?

A large group of fat guys staring at pictures.


...word is bondage...

[TheRedEye]

Now, don't take this the wrong way. I like you, ProgrammingAce, you're a good guy, but this sort of comment is exactly the problem that *I* have with ASSEMbler and pretty much everyone else on the ASSEMblergames boards these days and probably also the article under discussion here (though I haven't read it), they all take themselves way too seriously. The idea that people try to get themselves into this kind of soap opera inter-personal melodrama over collecting video games is hilarious to me. We're *HOBBYIST* *GAME* collectors, we don't have business to stay in or out of, if we imagine that we do, we're having delusions of grandeur.

The sort of secret groups this article talks about remind me more of teenagers who watched too many episodes of Melrose Place than the illuminati or mafia or anything like that.


5) what's this "Internet" deal?

A large group of fat guys staring at pictures.


...word is bondage...

You're just covering up your secrets! WHAT ARE YOU HIDING???

[Mark30001]

Nice read.

[ProgrammingAce]

When i say i'm "staying out of his business" it's a polite way of saying i'm ignoring him.

Assembler has a literal business of scamming people by selling retail systems as dev kits and ignoring people's complaints for months because he's "sick".

I bought a TEST PS2 from him for just shy of $500. 2 months later he hadn't shipped it and refused to reply to my emails. I only had resolution in the matter after i started an investigation for mail fraud.

So Assembler has a business, and i'm staying out of it.

As for my ego, i'm not sure what you'd expect from someone who calls himself "ProgrammingAce"?

[Japan-Games.com]

The article was "sexed up" a bit, but that's common. If you've ever read an article about something you're intimately familiar with it usually doesn't come across well, but that's because the article is supposed to be for the masses that don't know about much about that particular topic as you do. It's not like John can write, "yeah, owning this stuff isn't that big of a deal" because he'd starve as a writer.

It is an interesting world that most people don't know about so he's not creating something out of nothing, just making that something good for an article.

[ProgrammingAce]

It is an interesting world that most people don't know about so he's not creating something out of nothing, just making that something good for an article.

You don't believe this secret society actually exists, do you? I mean, there are people out there who will only trade unreleased games for other unreleased games. But if you want a prototype you hit www.gamesniped.com and wait for it to show up. Then you throw a few grand at it and it's yours.

ZoMG! I run a website where people buy and sell betas and prototypes. Does that mean i have my own secret society too? I guess i really do need to come up with a handshake or something.

That secret FTP linked in the article? Here's a link on how to access it (http://gamerhistory.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=302). The only reason it has secured access is so that anti-piracy watch groups don't have the owner sued, not because you have to be deamed worthy.

For some of the truly rare stuff, you might have to know people before you start asking around... but i'll let you in on a little secret. Not only is Biohazard 1.5 out there, but you can find the owner through a google search! Imagine that!

[Mr_Elimin8]

Biohazard 2??? Sonic X-treme???


WHERE!?

[Push Upstairs]

And all I ever wanted was a burnable file of "Propeller Arena".

I have zero interest in owning most of the stuff they show in that article, but it sure is nice to see the stuff. It's really too bad that more of this "OMG RARE" stuff isn't viewable and is tucked away in someones personal collection.

[smork]

The article was "sexed up" a bit, but that's common. If you've ever read an article about something you're intimately familiar with it usually doesn't come across well, but that's because the article is supposed to be for the masses that don't know about much about that particular topic as you do. It's not like John can write, "yeah, owning this stuff isn't that big of a deal" because he'd starve as a writer.

It is an interesting world that most people don't know about so he's not creating something out of nothing, just making that something good for an article.

Yeah, but Retro Gamer is pretty niche, I think most of its readers are collectors of some stripe, too. It's not exactly EGM.

The whole unreleased/proto collection scene is interesting enough without writing the article like he's a man inside some terrorist cell, reporting on stuff that could get him killed. Just way too serious, it's games we're taking about!

[smork]

And all I ever wanted was a burnable file of "Propeller Arena".

Oh yeah, i've always wanted that, too. People always say it's easy to find, but I never did.

Must be a shitty surfer! ;)

[Japan-Games.com]

Uh, I wasn't saying it was a secret society that no one knows about....that wasn't my point. I was saying that I agree the writer made it sound more dramatic than it is. But to that end he's a writer and it's just not that shocking of a thing to see happen.

[ProgrammingAce]

Hehe, well on that point we agree...

The quote from red eye still sucks tho.

[smork]

Uh, I wasn't saying it was a secret society that no one knows about....that wasn't my point. I was saying that I agree the writer made it sound more dramatic than it is. But to that end he's a writer and it's just not that shocking of a thing to see happen.

Yah, I know -- was really just quoting you regarding the writing for the masses thing.

I actually bought that mag (and the one before with part 1) -- I guess the thing that bugs me is that the writer paints the 'hardcore' collector scene with a brush that makes it look like the underground (read: stolen) art scene. Sure, legally people aren't supposed to have many of these items, but it's not like Interpol's on the case.

[lurpak]

Phah!

if theres one thing I know about collectors, if they have something rare...they don't keep it secret !

it was april 1st recently you know.

"people went underground, emails no longer in use"... so thats what happens when people change email address, they go underground...mkay!

[TheRedEye]

Biohazard 2??? Sonic X-treme???


WHERE!?

shhh! do not speak those words aloud! the internet has ears...

[jajaja]

lol when i read the thing about secret society i thought of The Stone Cutters LOL

http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/fraternalism/images/stonecutters_song_1.jpg

"Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do!
Who leaves Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the martians under wraps?
We do! We do!
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do!
Who robs the cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscars night?
We do! We do!"

[udisi]

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[TheRedEye]

Uh, I wasn't saying it was a secret society that no one knows about....that wasn't my point. I was saying that I agree the writer made it sound more dramatic than it is. But to that end he's a writer and it's just not that shocking of a thing to see happen.

He is being paid as a journalist, and as such, his job is to show why peeking behind the curtains and collecting things you're not meant to have is interesting, without adding on layers of bullshit to sensationalize a story, especially to a niche audience that is at least tangentially aware of this "scene" already.

So yes, he's a writer doing his job, but he's also a very poor writer if he has to resort to sensationalist garbage and misquoting people out of context to write an article. And the publication itself deserves very little editorial merit for not only allowing this, but refusing to respond to email requests from both myself and my PR.

For the record, I did, eventually (after that misquote, mind you) become hostile toward this author and his watermarking, after he decided that it was important to watermark the first public screenshots of Son of M.U.L.E. ever released.

You know, Son of M.U.L.E., the very last work of art by a brilliant woman, who literally died trying to finish the game. The author of this article decided that it was worth tagging what amounts to gang-level graffiti over a dead woman's final contribution to the world to promote a website.

The website itself (http://www.worldofmule.net) is absolutely fantastic and worthy of being visited, and - yes - the screenshots of Son of M.U.L.E. that currently grace the site are not watermarked, thank god. But you can see why I might get "hostile" toward watermarking.

He conveniently ignored all this, as you can see, and just made me out to be some kind of gigantic asshole. That's some solid journalism!

[Push Upstairs]

May I ask how you were misquoted?

I could scour the article, but it's not terribly easy to read.

[DreamTR]

Programming Ace: We can start a secret handshake for our secret club, but it has to be kept a secret from ourselves.

[TheRedEye]

May I ask how you were misquoted?

I could scour the article, but it's not terribly easy to read.

Sure.

http://lostlevels.org/illuminati2/hostile.jpg

This is the section where I'm quoted. It's the ONLY section in a two-part article about unreleased games that I'm quoted in. People like DreamTR and buyatari are also missing, because the extent of this journalist's research is to go to the assembler forums and talk to the "heavy hitters" over there (and just so no one skews my words, I have no real issues with the community on those forums and, in fact, contribute once in a while).

Now, reading the language of this passage, one would think that the author personally interviewed me, in an environment where I was informed an interview was happening. This is, in fact, not the case at all. This quote was pulled from a post on my forums:

http://forums.lostlevels.org/viewtopic.php?t=961

In this thread, the author of the article does, indeed, ask my forum members' opinions on watermarking (unfortunately, he decided to delete the contents of his post to cover his ass, so we don't have the original context of his question). And I do reply in a way that signifies I don't like watermarks, under no assumption that my words will appear in a print magazine.

I'm not taking back what I said, because it's true, but I would not have used that sort of language and tone had I known that my response would have been printed in a magazine. I also don't like that he conveniently chopped out the middle of my quote, without indicating that there was anything missing, to make me look even worse.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

He is being paid as a journalist, and as such, his job is to show why peeking behind the curtains and collecting things you're not meant to have is interesting, without adding on layers of bullshit to sensationalize a story, especially to a niche audience that is at least tangentially aware of this "scene" already.
You have to be aware that the author of this article didn't come up with this secret underground h@rdc0r3 angle to the story on his own. He didn't invent it, it's something a lot of collectors of protos and dev stuff like to pretend is going on even in their own lives. The journalist here is only guilty of playing into their delusions in his desire to write a compelling story.

Indeed, this is the same thing almost all journalists are guilty of.


...word is bondage...

[Mayhem]

Just to correct one mis-conception here btw Frank, you are actually quoted twice in the article. The other one happens to be in the first part in the previous issue (the very last paragraph of it), and actually throws a much better light over yourself by comparison. To paraquote...

"A lot of people have this elitist need to be the only person able to play a game, some have this weird belief that holding onto a one-of-a-kind game gives it legendary status and makes it more historically valuable than it would be if publically available, and still others mouth off about how much they paid for the damned things. No one but the game's copyright holder is entitled to have a game never sold at retail level. The rest of us either rely on the kindness of strangers, or spend a hell of a lot of money dealing on the black market. To me once I'm over the excitement of being Indiana Jones and discovering something special and new, I specifically want to see how other people react to it. Seeing people actively playing and discussing the game I found is much more gratifying to me than being able to brag about having something."

Just thought I'd balance things out here...

[TheRedEye]

Just to correct one mis-conception here btw Frank, you are actually quoted twice in the article. The other one happens to be in the first part in the previous issue (the very last paragraph of it), and actually throws a much better light over yourself by comparison. To paraquote...

"A lot of people have this elitist need to be the only person able to play a game, some have this weird belief that holding onto a one-of-a-kind game gives it legendary status and makes it more historically valuable than it would be if publically available, and still others mouth off about how much they paid for the damned things. No one but the game's copyright holder is entitled to have a game never sold at retail level. The rest of us either rely on the kindness of strangers, or spend a hell of a lot of money dealing on the black market. To me once I'm over the excitement of being Indiana Jones and discovering something special and new, I specifically want to see how other people react to it. Seeing people actively playing and discussing the game I found is much more gratifying to me than being able to brag about having something."

Just thought I'd balance things out here...

Oh yeah, I remember that! He printed it in the Escapist article too, I think?

Fair enough. I'm done being pissed anyway. I'll be hanging out with Deep Throat and going to my Freemasons meetings if anyone needs me.

[Push Upstairs]

I'm glad I didn't bother with reading the article anyway.

Interesting pictures, but the article sounds amateurish.

[Ed Oscuro]

Boy, this sure is a one-sided story full of horse shit. At least there are some nice pictures.
Yeah...

"The underground community organized the sale of several hundred Megajets [sic], which had been stolen in Indonesia" - lol

anyway the article is GRAET if you want to find out about the trials and tribulations of Assembler (to be honest a lot of what's in there is new to me as far as specifics go, although obviously overstated).

[greedostick]

I remember a few years ago when I use to sell games full time on ebay for this guy at a flea market. Every week he had so much rare stuff it was unbelievable. He would come back with suikoden 2, keio flying squadron (sometimes sealed), and all kinds of rare stuff. I sold fro him for about a year and a half and asked him if I could come with him to pick up games sometimes. Since I was a collector and he gave me 50% of all the sales aia knew he got some awesome deals. The stuff this man got was just unbeliveable and consistant. Anyways when I asked him he said I couldn't come cause the way he got the games was ran like a underground organization and they only sold to select people. He said if he brought me they would never let him back. Sure he didn't get any Euro Kizuna encounters or anything but he got some high selling stuff.

The guy was older and really weird. He always studdered and I figured he was full of it about the under ground selling thing. And I still think he is to some extent. I hear he still sells at the ceasers creek flea market in ohio. I should go look him up.

I just don;t see how he got sealed Keio's every month and a large variety of $100 plus dollar games. Still baffles me.

[neuropolitique]

Dang.. Nobody offered me a cigar and I'm even mentioned in a picture caption(though I'm starting to think that may be a bad thing)!! ;)

Neuropolitique, what do you have that's in the article??

There's a DemoVision pictured. I have a couple, but they are Faaaaaaaaar from being hard to find, expensive, etc.

[98PaceCar]

There's a DemoVision pictured. I have a couple, but they are Faaaaaaaaar from being hard to find, expensive, etc.

Very nice! If you ever decide to part with one, let me know.

[rbudrick]

The way I see it, half of what Assembler says is bullshit, and the other half is usually lies, in my experience. Yes, he finds some amazing stuff, but he also routinely tries to steal from people and only tries to make it right when publicly humiliated. It happened to me once. He paid me back, but only after I raised hell.

This article is some of the shoddiest "journalism" I've ever seen. Secret society my dick.

And Frank, stop being such a dick, and people won't misquote you like that! ;) Lolz, j/k.

-Rob

EDIT: I just read part one. This guy obviously did not do his research. It has been well known for some time that more than 90 gray NWCs were made, since I proved the existance of four of them outside from the 90 winners. It really is starting to seem like he really did 90% of his research from the Assemblergames forum. It's odd as hell that he does such an article and doesn't even go to the #1 collectors' forum on the net.