Opinions On Nintendo Age?

[Guntz]

If tracking is involved, then yeah it's expensive for small items. A CD could go for $8 untracked very easily.

[Gentlegamer]

It was a copy of PCE Winds of Thunder, so there was no way I wasn't going to have tracking and insurance.

[Guntz]

If the item is expensive, what's wrong with a bit more shipping for more security?

You Americans and your underpriced shipping...

[Gameguy]

There does come a point where fighting for authenticity is utterly moronic. There have been NintendoAge threads where people questioned replacing batteries because of authenticity, preferring extremely specific general purpose PCB parts in game repairs and by far the most debated is picking the correct back labels for games.

Well with batteries or things like capacitors they have a shelf life and will eventually fail at some point, it's the same like replacing belts in tape decks or turntables(it's generally accepted). I will say that some things like replacement parts like capacitors are something I might think about, if someone just uses the cheapest ones they can find there's a good chance they'll just fail and leak within a few years damaging or destroying a game or console. Replacement parts should be of a certain quality including the batteries. With stereo equipment the quality of the capacitors used can affect the sound quality so it does matter to audiophiles in that hobby. I avoid NES systems with replaced connectors because most are poor quality crap that will just fail soon after use. As for back labels, to me it should match the original if possible, there were a few different versions with different writing made over the years. I don't replace labels though, I'd only replace the back if the plastic was cracked or broken.

For other hobbies like vintage bicycles, it's generally preferred that something is all original rather than restored, right down to original tires and tubes. A common saying is that a bike can be restored 100 times but it's only original once. Modifications or after market parts aren't usually welcomed, except for placeholders while tracking down correct parts. It's a different attitude than most classic car collectors have. Each hobby has it's own attitudes unique to that hobby.

What gets me is when people get up in my business about something I'm doing for myself and that's it. Take Harvest Moon (SNES) as an example. It's one of my favorite SNES games, but I have it loose. I decided a few years ago that I'd eventually track down a box. Looking into the prices, seeing that the custom printed ones I can buy off DeviantArt or similar are cheaper and of generally higher quality (and, by the way, note "this is a reproduction" somewhere on the box), I've chosen to buy a reproduction box whenever I get around to it. I don't care if it's authentic, as I'm not looking to archive my game or make a complete set for flipping. I'm getting it for me because I'd like it and it'll look nice on my shelve. Could it eventually make it's way on to eBay or something and theoretically be mistaken for something authentic? Sure, but we're talking decades down the line, maybe longer if any kids I may or may not someday have decide to hold on to all my old junk after I'm gone.

Is it really decades down the line? How many times have various collectors said as soon as some expensive bill came in they started selling off chunks of their collection to help pay it off. It seems to happen pretty often.

You can do anything you want with your own possessions. If you have a brand new in the box NES Deluxe Set you could smash it all with a baseball bat and set it on fire for a youtube video if you wanted to. You'd probably still have some collectors upset with that even though it's still your property. It's all just sharing opinions.

If it's marked somewhere on the box that it's a reproduction I'm personally fine with that. I just remember seeing some ebay listing for a "complete" Super Mario All-Stars/Super Mario World for SNES with a box, nothing was mentioned about the box being a repro and it sold for over $200+. The site selling the boxes just priced them at $15 each. It's this type of stuff I don't like seeing. I'm sure the person who bought it didn't know it was a repro, and more misinformation about there actually being a separate boxed release will be floating around various sites. At least this is something that doesn't officially exist, imagine a repro box of Mega Man X3 being included like this. Anyone with a loose cart can buy a fake box and include it in an auction, good luck finding games cheaper than real complete copies. Even the fakes will all sell for as much as real ones.

If someone can make me an exact repro of those things, and it costs a fraction of the real deal, then of course I'll be interested -- and I don't mind at all if it says "REPRODUCTION COPY" in small print somewhere.

As I already mentioned if it's marked as a reproduction I wouldn't mind as much, it's that plenty of people insist on making near perfect copies of things without marking them as copies. You could print off the PDFs if you need a tangible copy of the manual or map, for practical use. As for paintings, there's only one original so people are forced to buy copies. And these copies are clearly copies, cheap prints of the original. Copies of paintings are more like with books, the first editions are usually clearly marked as such and reprints are plentiful yet worthless while only the first edition is worth anything substantial.

Well you know there is a point you're missing or just don't care about, saving a lot of money. If you can get a purely 1:1 copy of an original piece of non-descript cardboard tray for like $20 vs $100, there's no harm. A Timex watch is far different than throw away blank cardboard so that's kind of a reach and cardboard isn't warranted or serviced like a watch either. From a gamer, non-deep pocketed collector's end of things, maybe you want a printed manual or box instead of a picture of it and the prices due to scalpers and collectors are insane...make a copy. At least you can have something to look at and easy to peel through while sitting there with the game in front of you you know?

There's another way to save some money, don't spend any at all on any repro items. I may want something, but if it's something that was mass produced for general consumers, I want a real one. Again, owning a fake wouldn't satisfy me so I'd rather go without. At least, I wouldn't spend money on fake items. I'd only have them if they were free. I come across plenty of fake bootleg DVDs at flea markets and thrift stores, even if they're films I'm looking for I don't bother paying money for them. Not unless it's something not officially available, even then I wouldn't spend much if anything.

With forums the main point is for a discussion and sharing of opinions, without that forums get pretty boring. I've also commented above to JSoup with that NES Deluxe Set example. It's your property so you can do what you want with it. People will still have opinions on it. We're all just sharing our opinions on it.

[JSoup]

Is it really decades down the line?

For me, yes. If I prove myself wrong, you're free to "I told you so" until the cows come home.

[leatherrebel5150]

With forums the main point is for a discussion and sharing of opinions, without that forums get pretty boring. I've also commented above to JSoup with that NES Deluxe Set example. It's your property so you can do what you want with it. People will still have opinions on it. We're all just sharing our opinions on it.

There is a difference between sharing opinions and openly attacking someone. Many a time Ive seen a newish member on NA ask about replacing their label and not 2 or 3 posts are made before they are called a scammer. That is a serious charge that can ruin someone's ability to buy and sell on line and it is just thrown about on there the second an inquiry is made.

[Tanooki]

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[555]

Haha, I was banned from Nintendoage years ago, and thought I was the only one who hated it. Just a bunch of hive-minded yes men, who are afraid to speak up to their god-like moderators.

I will say though, I do agree with them about changing parts of a game and not listing it in the sale. If it's your own game and you're doing it for yourself, then by all means. However, if I'm paying $20 + for a game I would like to know if the label, or back isn't original. I don't collect for value or anything, but I'd like to know. Too bad they're super anal about it though.

[Tanooki]

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[555]

I think you're misinterpreting. They don't want you doing anything to your game, not just wanting a list of it. The only list they'd want would be if you replaced a battery. They're against someone having a new game with a copycat restoration label or a knock off plastic dust cover and the like. I think no one would want to be in the dark about what they're buying if something has been restored or replaced, it should be listed for anything and not just games, unless you are a crook as then your scam is up.

I think being uptight about the back of the cart if it isn't unique to the game is overboard though. I've swapped out a few over the years and I've never made note of it as there's no point. Until someone can come up with an old Nintendo factory doc saying that ## is from this area of Tokyo or ## was run in China or Mexico I really don't want to hear it as I don't care and it's not factual and just speculation. It's just another tool for scalpers to raise prices whining about originality. You know?

Disagreed, but to each their own.

[Tanooki]

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[555]

I guess you're disagreeing on the back of the carts. Just let it be known I have switched some, I will not report it, I don't even commit it to memory, and I know there are a lot of people who do this too, even from polling in the past on NA. Sometimes there's a line too far when it gets into being silly and we won't agree on where that is.

I'm fine with it if the back is completely destroyed that it affects functionality, but swapping it so the condition is better so one can mark up the price I'm not cool with.

[Pikkon]

If you switch the back with a identical one that's in better condition I see nothing wrong with that,even asking a higher price is no big deal.

[leatherrebel5150]

Just though Id throw this out there
http://vintage.nintendoage.com/auth/...&threadid=7073

A quick overview. A member made a bunch of Repro Stadium Events as an April Fools joke in which he claimed to find a crap ton of them. After the joke played out by like the 3rd post they are sold to everyone who wants one including many long standing members. My how times have changed. This person would be insta-banned and put in the Hall of Shame if it were to happen today.

[Leo_A]

If you switch the back with a identical one that's in better condition I see nothing wrong with that,even asking a higher price is no big deal.

Agreed, there's absolutely nothing wrong with someone taking a logical step to improve the condition of their game with original and completely identical components.

Saying otherwise would be like accusing someone of being a scammer since they swapped a cracked jewel case for an identical original. There is absolutely nothing wrong with such an action and it does not affect the value nor should it.

[Tanooki]

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[Flashback2012]

Oy...I had no idea this thread had blown up in the last few days.

[JSoup]

Oy...I had no idea this thread had blown up in the last few days.

Nothing brings this community more together than having someone or something to complain about.

[Steven]

Let me start off by restating that I like NA overall, but one of the funny things about it is whenever there's a price-related topic. A few people will eventually state something like "Man am I glad I got it for (insert cheap price here) back in ___!" And then you have people bashing those who say that. Or they'll bash it in a mocking way like *insert obligatory I got it for ___ back in ___!" It always amuses me, and everytime I read such posts I can't help but sense bitterness from someone who just wasn't lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. In general, I feel bad for those gamers who are trying to start a collection today. The scene was vastly different in 2006, and it's kind of funny how people like to bash those who talk about the good old days of the gaming scene. It's like, if you weren't there, then you don't need or want people WHO WERE to allude to that time period in any shape or form, as if those who are doing it are "rubbing it in."

Just a random observation I've made about NA over the years. Many members there are sensitive to what they think is considered "bragging" or "showing off" or "rubbing it in."

[Gentlegamer]

They don't want people to know how things were before collectards and resellers ruined the hobby.