Settling for Second

[Nz17]

Sometimes you can't get exactly what you want. You might have a favorite console or a game which you wish to buy that's gotten too expensive so you have to choose an alternative to get a legal copy for your collection. This could range from importing a copy of a particular game from a different region (Sonic The Hedgehog 1 for the SMS) to buying a digital download copy (like with Super Mario RPG for the Virtual Console from the Nintendo eShop) to buying a game for a different console which might not be identical yet it is similar (like buying a game by the same name for the Sega Genesis instead of the Super Nintendo). So what are your stories of "settling for a gaming second?"

[Damaramu]

Panzer Dragoon Saga. Played it when it was released back in the day and was never too impressed with it. Fast forward to present day. I have no intentions of paying triple digits for a game I'm lukewarm on, so I ended up importing it for less than $20. Plenty of walk-throughs and translations available, so playing it is not really a problem. Still not too impressed by it.

[XYXZYZ]

There is a lot of settling for second in Neo Geo. All my Neo Geo AES carts are Japanese with the exception of Magician Lord, Nam 75 and Ninja Combat. I'd prefer the domestic versions. MVS carts are another obvious choice; I would love Aero Fighters 2/Sonic Wings 2 for AES, but sellers keep leaving their phone numbers where the price is supposed to be. I got the MVS cart for a reasonable price.

The price discrepancy between Turbografx and PC Engine is another big one. I have a TG16 and some of the basic games, but I tend to go for PC Engine just because I prefer it aesthetically.

[Tanooki]

I wanted Nightmare in the Dark for my neo geo cabinet, game goes for three figures (and not just at $100 but well over.) You can get repros with new boards and chips, or you can go half way and get an original SNK board and chips with the game rewritten to it -- a conversion cart. Grabbed one of those for under $50 on a private forum. Still using SNK parts, not paying the nerd tax.

[jperryss]

The price discrepancy between Turbografx and PC Engine is another big one. I have a TG16 and some of the basic games, but I tend to go for PC Engine just because I prefer it aesthetically.

Even 4-5 years ago when I was collecting TG/PCE stuff, the PCE versions were almost all cheaper than their US counterparts. It seems that the price gaps between the two have closed a bit.

The nice thing about the PCE versions is that the artwork was usually nicer and all of the hucards themselves have artwork too. In my experiences PCE games were also easier to find complete w/case and overall were in nicer condition than TG stuff.

[drunk3nj3sus]

I've done this on occasion typically it isn't really settling for second per say it's usually just a trade off that makes more sense to me, I bought the SFC versions of all 3 donkey kong country games as I'm not missing anything by playing the japanese versions (apart from minor differences) and I got all three for less than the cost of any 1 US version of the games, did the same thing for Super Bonk. The 2nd one only came out in japan so I picked it up along with the SFC version of the first one for less than half the cost of the US version of Super Bonk. None of the games are really expensive but it just didn't make sense spending an extra $100 on those games which aren't even rare.

Instead of buying Kid Klown for $300+ I got Mickey Mouse 3 which kid klown's a sprite hack of due to licensing issues for $20 (which is about half what it goes for), I bought repro's of Cocoron & Dream Penguin Adventure which aren't really pricey but they're strange games which I wanted to have in english. I also bought a repro of Bio Miracle Baby Upa because it's another really odd game & late release that's pretty pricey, but had I known what I know now I probably wouldn't have because with the FDS adapter and FDStick I can play the original version of the game(along with any every FDS game) for less than I paid for the repro. Buying the FDStick could be considered "settling" too I guess but with the relatively small library, issues with the disk drives, and issues with disks themselves IMO it's a pretty foolish system to collect for. In addition to that unlike an Everdrive, which still has compatibility issues because of inaccurate/incomplete hardware emulation the FDStick is a simple drive emulator with 100% compatibility at 8% of the cost (25% if you count the ram adapter).

I've got a pretty decent collection but I prefer actually playing the games rather than collecting games for their future value so I don't even bother trying to look for the overhyped high priced games on the systems I own or the crazy overpriced systems like the Neo Geo and TG16, I'm just not going to feel like I'm getting my moneys worth and if I did manage to get a great deal on something I'd probably just resell it for a bunch of other games I'd rather play. Been thinking about getting a Neo Geo CD though since I can burn any game I wanna play on it + I think I'd really like the controller for it. Lately I've been buying a lot more FC and SFC exclusives rather than NES and SNES, you can pretty regularly find games for half their going rate and their's hundreds of great games for $10 or less nowadays it's getting harder and harder to find solid games on the NES or SNES for $10.

[celerystalker]

I've done thr same as many others here. Bought some PCE games instead of TG16, etc. With Neo Geo AES, I'm a mix of domestic and import, as I generally take whatever I can get at a decent price. Some, like Windjammers, I just went the MVS route, as I have a cabinet as well. Just depends.

Some games, though, are cheaper in weird ways. Like, why pay hundreds for SNES Aerofighters when an actual pcb runs around $70?

[Tron 2.0]

I've done thr same as many others here. Bought some PCE games instead of TG16, etc. With Neo Geo

My,TG16/PCE collection is like that as well when i was buying for it often id stuck to japanese release instead.Since in price it's cheaper for certain games.I been doing that as well for some sega-cd games to.I remember wanting a copy of keio flying squadron again so i opted for the japanese version,which is cheaper then the u.s one.

[Edmond Dantes]

I remember back a few years ago I tried to get a replacement cartridge of Chrono Trigger (I had stupidly sold my boxed original). I wound up settling for one with a ripped label just because it was a price I could afford.

Happens a lot with DVDs of cartoons and anime too--one of my sets of the Street Fighter cartoon has no case artwork, just a piece of paper put inside the spine that says what it is (not even sure how that happened as it IS the three-disc case of the style ADV was using at the time...). Other times I wanted a specific edition of a show but wound up instead just getting a cheaper more common print even if I sometimes had to make sacrifices.

[WulfeLuer]

Oh man, this story goes past beating a dead horse to smacking a horse fossil around.

Legend of Legaia. Again. I posted a rant in a thread somewhere around here before, sorry for repeating myself. An era ago, I rented a copy of Star Ocean The Second Story at a Blockbuster and wound up with a minor obsession. Not too long later, I found a copy in a toy store at the local mall, and connived the resources to go and get it, but it was already gone (I caught some hints that it wasn't even sold, just lifted and dumped one of the two places that took used games in the same mall, harumph). Denied my prize and wanting to use the cash before it was taken from me (I had a BAD case of financial paranoia back then), I bought Legend of Legaia and hoped it would suffice. It didn't quite work out, but it did help snap me out of dumping my games for next to nothing at Babbage's. And let me know that even toy stores could have a good RPG or two lying around.

[celerystalker]

Another route I take is compilation discs. When there's an arcade game I want that just doesn't have a good enough home version and/or costs more than I'm comfortable paying for a pcb, I'll go for compilation disc emulation. The Taito Legends/Memories discs, Capcom Classics, etc. have given me a TON of bang for the buck with an X-Arcade stick.

Another one is Dreamcast ports of NG: Dev Team games. I'd love to have their AES carts, but I just can't stomach the $500 price tag for the fun given what else I can get in that range, but the cost for an official disc on DC is quite fine to me.

[homerhomer]

When the NES got too expensive I started collecting for the Sega Genesis. For a while there it was really affordable system to collect for.

[Aussie2B]

I guess I could say that all my LRG purchases are settling, in that I'd much prefer if these games could get regular print runs that appear on Amazon and the like, such that I could pick them up on markdown eventually for <$20.

Digital purchases are settling too, since I'd buy physical whenever reasonably possible. There are a few physical games that are very expensive used that I bought digitally, like Tron Bonne.

With PC Engine, I don't know if I'm settling or if I actually prefer getting the Japanese releases.

[jb143]

Does buying loose carts rather than CIB count? Sure it would be nice to have those pristine boxes complete with instructions all lined up neatly on a shelf but factoring in the cost and extra time/energy spent tracking them down I'll just settle for the carts.

[Niku-Sama]

eh If I cant get what I want I usually don't settle when it comes to games. eventually I find it at a decent price. people tell me that I have a lot of patience when it comes to that sort of thing though, patience and luck.

I mean theres things I never would have imagined owning that I own now just because of circumstance, patience or maybe even a little foresight.

I mean some of the crap I wanted in my collection I found in the actual trash

[celerystalker]

There are some things that I bought with the intent of holding me over until I could buy the more expensive thing I wanted in hopes of re-capturing the experience, although I can say that none of them did the trick and scratched their respective itches as hoped. Examples:

I played Goldeneye on N64 at a party right after it launched and was hooked, but didn't have an N64 yet, so I began setting aside money out of each paycheck. I saw an Atari Jaguar on clearance shortly after for $30, and though that it might have some comparable 64 bit experience. It did not.

A couple of months later, I see a Saturn on clearance at a Wal-Mart for $25. I bought it, hoping for the same thing. It also did not, but that one was less disappointing, as I was also a huge Virtua Cop fan. I bought my N64 with Goldeneye and WCW vs nWo: World Tour a few months later and finally got that fix.

Most recently, I'd wanted a GI Joe arcade board for years and years, but they aren't cheap and don't pop up at auction all that often, usually having sound issues. So, while waiting for the right deal to come along and trying to get my fix by playing lots of Space Harrier and its clones, I decided to pick up a Konami Devastators pcb for $35, as it is a clear predecessor to GI Joe. It definitely is... but is so slow by comparison that, while I've had fun with it, it's just not even close to GI Joe's crazy action.

I also took a risk on a poorly listed auction for a Punisher board last year, as it was super cheap, but it turned out to be a bootleg as I figured. It still plays fine, but like all Punsher bootlegs, it has sound issues and a few glitches.

[SparTonberry]

Does buying loose carts rather than CIB count? Sure it would be nice to have those pristine boxes complete with instructions all lined up neatly on a shelf but factoring in the cost and extra time/energy spent tracking them down I'll just settle for the carts.

Yes, it's to the point where most retro games I buy now I have to really want the box/manual to pay the difference.
(not like in the 2000s where FC/SFC etc. it was maybe a few dollars more, now it can often be as much or usually more than the game cost to get the paper)