Complete PC engine... Value?

[Raccoon Lad]

I just won a nice complete PC engine (original model) for 100 yen on Yahoo Japan. With Celga fees, it cost me $16 before shipping to the US.

What's the value on these?

Did I do good?

[anagrama]

That sounds like a bargain to me. My ex-flatmate paid £60+shipping for one a few years back, and that was a good deal then.
The original model is the nicest looking (especially combined with the CD cradle), but needs to be modded to output AV or RGB (I believe).

[Azazel]

Generally anything under $50.00 is a pretty good deal for the system. I got a Coregrafx and cd add for about $100.00 and Duo for $50.00 before shipping. :P

My kind of rule of thumb on buying import systems is try not to get it from an import seller or sites. Generally the shipping kills whatever good price or deal you'll get for a system. Almost all of those places only ship by EMS cause it's the only way they can track and insure it. Plus depending on how much the package weighs they can't always send it through regular air mail. So if you can get it shipped other than by EMS it will be a pretty good deal.

[Raccoon Lad]

It'll come EMS, but I always buy several things on Yahoo Japan at once (usually small lots of games), and have them all combined into one package to cut the shipping cost a bit.

[Aussie2B]

I got a semi-related question: What's the cheapest way to go about being able to play every kind of PC Engine game? From what little research I've done, the most affordable method appears to be buying a US TurboGrafx-16 in order to play American Hucards and a Japanese PC Engine Duo to play Japanese Hucards and all CD games. (And I suppose I'd need an Arcade Card Duo to play some of those arcade ports, but I already got an MVS so I have no need for those.)

[Raccoon Lad]

Someone here a while back was offering a MOD that could switch your system between US/JAP at the push of a button. That mod on a duo would probably be the cheapest way tp play all the games.

[Azazel]

Personally your better off just to get a Japanese Duo. Generally cheaper than the US Turbo Duo. It's also generally easier and cheaper to just get the Japanese hucards. There are very few hucards that have much text in them that were released in the US. I think the 2 Neutopia, Order of the Griffin, Military Madness were the only ones that come to mind. All US cd games will play fine on any Duo.

[dj898]

I bought PC Engine CoreGrafx and CD-ROM2 on suite case interface some time ago. Now this UK seller obviously has no idea what he had on his hand and shipped every thing he had for the setup which included not only PC Engine suite case mentioned above but SuperGrafx and its CD-ROM interface unit plus CD-ROM still inside drive unit! :)

Since then I modified SuperGrafx with S-video as well as composite and LR audio and on top of that the region switch so it can play pretty much anything ever released on PC Engine.

Now how much you guys want for this super duper SuperGrafx? :)
It plays all US/JP Hu card, all SG Hu cards, US/JP CD-ROM titles as long as the title does not require Arcade Pro card.

So what do I do with CoreGrafx?
I put RGB port with amp inside one of spare Tennokoe 2 memory bank and hooking it up to NEC PC-88 RGB monitor.

cheers

[Aussie2B]

Heh, I should've pointed out that I'm not interested in a mod job. Sounds like the best plan for me would be getting a cheapo US Turbo Grafx-16, and then when I have some big bucks I'll get a Japanese Duo.

[Azazel]

Heh, I should've pointed out that I'm not interested in a mod job. Sounds like the best plan for me would be getting a cheapo US Turbo Grafx-16, and then when I have some big bucks I'll get a Japanese Duo.

Yea that can work out fine. I think a Turbografx 16 generally run about $50.00 or so.

Although I generally got into the PC Engine for it's cd games and not the hucards ones. I mainly played the cd ones on emulation till I could afford to have an actually system.