Northwest Arkansas

[horseboy]

I guess I am a newb around here, but I have been in on the classic collecting community for a good long while now, though... 10 years or so. I have been around since rec.games.video.classic was the place to be. There used to be more than 2 posts a day, I swear. I am not a big poster, so I never posted there either, just took in the info like I have been doing around here. I've been around this place for a good long while as well. I even had a lore article published in the 6th edition of the DP Classics guide. Which one? The world may never know.

Anyhow this is just kind of a supplemental "what's up" since I am pretty sure most people ignore the "Introduce yourself" thread. I guess I may be posting a little from time to time now.

About the Northwest Arkansas title of this thread... I had always wondered if there were any other serious collectors around here. I always had my suspicions since I haven't found dump in the wild since the late 90's. So today I decided to stop being lazy and do a search on here. It would seem that icbfkr, grimbal, and Phosphor Dot Fossils all reside around here. So do you guys have a monopoly on the thrifts or what? Anyone else around here?

[James8BitStar]

I'm in Arkansas, not the northwest though.

And oldschool game collecting has been pretty slow around here. I've mostly used Ebay for all my needs.

[icbrkr]

I guess I am a newb around here, but I have been in on the classic collecting community for a good long while now, though... 10 years or so. I have been around since rec.games.video.classic was the place to be. There used to be more than 2 posts a day, I swear. I am not a big poster, so I never posted there either, just took in the info like I have been doing around here. I've been around this place for a good long while as well. I even had a lore article published in the 6th edition of the DP Classics guide. Which one? The world may never know.

Anyhow this is just kind of a supplemental "what's up" since I am pretty sure most people ignore the "Introduce yourself" thread. I guess I may be posting a little from time to time now.

About the Northwest Arkansas title of this thread... I had always wondered if there were any other serious collectors around here. I always had my suspicions since I haven't found dump in the wild since the late 90's. So today I decided to stop being lazy and do a search on here. It would seem that icbfkr, grimbal, and Phosphor Dot Fossils all reside around here. So do you guys have a monopoly on the thrifts or what? Anyone else around here?

It depends on where you are in the "Northwest" part I've pretty much snagged everything in the Bentonville/Rogers/Springdale/Fayetteville area, as well as most of southern Missouri and as far reaching as Springfield and Harrison. Anything south of Fayetteville would be PDF's area. Grimbal is a co-worker of mine so if he finds something he already has, he gives it to me and vice-versa. And he goes out *way* more than I do so good luck competing with him

Where abouts you at?

[horseboy]

I am in Springdale. Where do you guys reside? It would seem that I don't have enough time to even get close to competing with either of you. I always had a feeling someone was snatching stuff right out from under me. You guys ever find anything really good around here? The stupidest thing I ever did was pass on one of those Sharp TV's with the NES built in. I decided better of it the next day, but when I went back it was gone. I bet it was one of you guys.

[Radiac]

It depends on where you are in the "Northwest" part I've pretty much snagged everything in the Bentonville/Rogers/Springdale/Fayetteville area, as well as most of southern Missouri and as far reaching as Springfield and Harrison.
Where abouts you at?

So you're the one who has been raiding all of the flea markets around here. I used to be able to go out and find all sorts of good stuff in the wild here in Springfield. Now it's generally a waste of time to go out hunting.

Note to Arkansans:

Stay out of Missouri!




J/K




not really

[Gapporin]

Note to Arkansans:

Stay out of Missouri!

I propose that we build a fence around the border of Missouri to keep at the Arkansans out of our property! :P

[Daria]

I was born in Northwest Arkansas...




... that's all I got.

[icbrkr]

HB: I'm up in Bentonville. And nope, it wasn't us who snagged that NES though I''m wishing it was.

Gapp: Hey, all the good flea markets are in Missouri! There isn't anything around here but antique stores.

[Gapporin]

Gapp: Hey, all the good flea markets are in Missouri! There isn't anything around here but antique stores.

Exactly, which is why I want you guys to keep out. :P

Actually, the one here in town is pretty hit-and-miss. I usually end up with more records than games. Although, there is that one booth run by a young adult that has a lot of video game stuff at fair prices (For example, a like new FFVI GBA for $15).

[Clownzilla]

I'm from Springfield and I also vote to build a fence around the Arkansas-Missouri Boarder. Funny stroy, I drove down to Mountain Home, AR to pick up a P-47 arcade machine I won on Ebay (there is a company from there that sells a crazy amount of arcade games). Anyway, I had never been to Arkansas, so I decided to take the scenic route...........in a cargo van. Well, I almost puked going around all those corners and hills. I also almost flew over the cliffs that you guys don't put guard rails on! Anyway, I have vowed never to go to Arkansas again!!!!!! As a matter of fact, you guys can go ahead and take all the land up through Branson. As far as I'm concerned, Branson is to Arkansas as Texas is to Mexico!!!!!

[icbrkr]

I'm from Springfield and I also vote to build a fence around the Arkansas-Missouri Boarder. Funny stroy, I drove down to Mountain Home, AR to pick up a P-47 arcade machine I won on Ebay (there is a company from there that sells a crazy amount of arcade games). Anyway, I had never been to Arkansas, so I decided to take the scenic route...........in a cargo van. Well, I almost puked going around all those corners and hills. I also almost flew over the cliffs that you guys don't put guard rails on! Anyway, I have vowed never to go to Arkansas again!!!!!! As a matter of fact, you guys can go ahead and take all the land up through Branson. As far as I'm concerned, Branson is to Arkansas as Texas is to Mexico!!!!!

Ahh.. you went and visted Capt'n Rick I haven't dealt with him personally, but at least 1 of my arcade machines came from him. I hate to ask where you drove! If you stick to the main roads, you get guardrails, normal banked corners, etc. You steer anywhere away from that, and you're lucky it's not just a wagon trail (and yes, I have found one of those ... let's just say the Fit isn't up for driving on those too much).

Gap: Have you made it to the 1984 arcade in Springfield yet?

[Radiac]

I'm from Springfield and I also vote to build a fence around the Arkansas-Missouri Boarder. As a matter of fact, you guys can go ahead and take all the land up through Branson. As far as I'm concerned, Branson is to Arkansas as Texas is to Mexico!!!!!

Best. Post. Ever.

Gap: Have you made it to the 1984 arcade in Springfield yet?

A distant family member of mine owns that place. I have not been there yet, but I hear that it's pretty damn cool.

[Cornelius]

I grew up in springfield, and have family from BlueEye. You guys better watch out, though, cause my parents live in Battlefield and now know to pick up old video game stuff for me when they see it. My dad stopped in a garage sale on his walk and picked up a boxed NES for me for 5 bucks (they were asking 10... he never pays full price). I also think I have about 30 games waiting for me next time I visit!

[grimbal]

Sorry I'm late to party.

Horseboy: How long have you been gaming? I worked at the GXC in Springdale from 97 to 99. We might have met.

Between Ice and myself a good number of games have been rescued over the last couple of years. I generally hit Bentonville/Rogers on my lunch breaks during the week and then Fayetteville/Springdale on the weekends.

Wish I could claim that Sharp TV, but I can't.

I got out of gaming for awhile and sold my entire collection at one point. Ice kinda got me back into it when I saw his collection. Started back up hardcore about 2 1/2 years ago. The following is a sample of stuff I've found in NWA (none of these are yard sale or flea market finds either):

Aero Fighters for the SNES - cart $10
Snatcher for Sega CD - complete $7
Sega Master System Store Demo Unit - $50
Dragon Warrior IV for NES - cart $3
Earthbound for SNES - cart $5
90 N64 carts in one lot with no dupes for $75

I generally go hunting Friday nights and Saturday mornings mostly. Good stuff is out there.

Two of my own arcade machines have been handled by the good Capt'n.

And personally I can't stand driving or even being in Branson.

[Gapporin]

Gap: Have you made it to the 1984 arcade in Springfield yet?

No, but I've been eyeing the place. It's only a hour drive from here; I should seriously trek out there one of these days.

I played with my school band in Branson a couple of times (once as a warm-up band before The Lawrence Welk Show). As I always use to joke: If you're playing in Branson, you're either starting your career or ending it.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I fully intend to lead a DP/Retroputing invasion of the 1984 Arcade sometime before I become a dad and can't just go running off and doing silly stuff like that.

Heh. icbrkr makes it sounds like I "own" the territory south of Fayetteville. The neatest thing down here is...well...my game room. The flea markets and antique stores don't have jack.

[k8track]

The flea markets and antique stores don't have jack.

Oh man, you got that right. In fact, when my brother and I were in Fort Smith (later that day after we got done visiting you), we stopped by that big yellow flea market on Towson Avenue, and it had closed down! We were disappointed, not so much for the selection of video games (which was a bit meager in the past), but that we were going to rifle through the crapload of vinyl records they used to have (that's my brother's thing).

And speaking of Towson Avenue, we stopped at and walked through the Phoenix Village Mall so I could show my brother just how scary it was. It was very creepy when I walked through it a couple of years ago, but this time it was quite literally very frightening. I'm not exaggerating. PDF can confirm that.

[horseboy]

Horseboy: How long have you been gaming? I worked at the GXC in Springdale from 97 to 99. We might have met.

I have been collecting since '97 or so. I went to GXC a bunch, but the vast majority of time I would leave empty handed. The prices are just a little a bit steep for me... especially back then. Back then, before it was the juggernaut it is now, there were some pretty good deals to be had on ebay. I am sure we saw each other, but I am not much of a talker so we probably didn't formally meet each other. I can't wait for them to finally ditch supporting the NES, because they would have to do something with all of those yummy boxes.

[Dreamscape]

I'm in Arkansas, not Northwest though. I go to school in Russellville (Tech), but my home is in Southwest Arkansas, about an hour away from Texarkana. I have family in Fayetteville though, so I'm up there occasionally.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Russellville isn't too far from my stompin' grounds, actually - right about an hour away.

I can indeed confirm that Phoenix Village Mall in Fort Smith is scary - it's like a ghost town. If someone wanted to film a horror movie revolving around an abandoned shopping mall, that would be an outstanding place to do it. You could even strongarm the people down at the one flea market end of the mall into being zombies. It wouldn't be a huge acting challenge for them to overcome.

Sad, really, because there used to be an awesome Aladdin's Castle there - only place in town I ever played Space Fury, Eliminator, Space Odyssey, and quite a few others. Right where that one little "ramp" is, that's where it used to be.

I haven't hit the Fort Smith flea markets since...well...that time k8track and I went, which had to be in 2003 or so.