Funcoland Price Lists

[scooby105]

I was thinking about the Funcoland price lists earlier today and remembering how cool it was to walk into the store and pick up a price sheet and browse around. It was also cool to be able to take the lists home and look at them. There's always something about printed lists that is nicer than looking at price lists online.

Anyways, I was wondering if anybody still has these old price lists laying around. I thought it would be cool to get together scans of some old Funcoland price lists to post and take a look at.

[tornadostormxl]

What happen to funcoland?

[InsaneDavid]

What happen to funcoland?

Absorbed by GameStop I believe?

[MarioMania]

Funcoland was great...Why did Gamestop buy then out..Is it because of Funcoland was doing better then them

[Sniderman]

Funcoland was great...Why did Gamestop buy then out..Is it because of Funcoland was doing better then them

If Funco was doing better than Gamestop, then they would've had more money and THEY would've bought out Gamestop, wouldn't they? But since it happened the other way around, then I believe you can figure out who was doing better than who.

[InsaneDavid]

Funcoland was great...Why did Gamestop buy then out..Is it because of Funcoland was doing better then them

If Funco was doing better than Gamestop, then they would've had more money and THEY would've bought out Gamestop, wouldn't they? But since it happened the other way around, then I believe you can figure out who was doing better than who.

If they sealed some descrepancies (ie. raising the price of those $0.99 NES cartridges a bit and lowering the prices of those $44.99 NES cartridges) I think they would have still been around. In the present marketplace, with the monopoly on large chain game stores and removal of retro stock, a store like how FuncoLand used to be would do well again. People have realized how much they miss good customer service and people that actually like games.

Remember kids, there are "chip smashers" in the XBox360, OMG, don't open it!!!

[MarioMania]

That's a shame..I really liked Funcoland, You could just go in & browse the store for a game or a controller.Now the only thing for me fro buying 8 & 16 bit games are online..Gamecrazy dosnt have the games I like & they can't specail Order any hard to find games

[Goodwill Hunter]

I still have my Funco Price sheets from the good old days...here is the picture from my Room of Doom Gallery.



I'd always pick up 2...one I kept in a folder, and the other I would trim off the borders, fold it up, and keep it in my wallet. This was before I had discovered DP, so I used it as a poor man's rarity list. It also helped me to know which Blockbuster ex-rentals to buy to get maximum trade-in value at Funcoland.

I'll see if I can post some scans later this week...
Rich

[scooby105]

I'll see if I can post some scans later this week...
Rich

That'd be awesome. I think it'd be cool to see at least a few of the scans so we could look over them and have a good laugh or two and remember the days when chain video game stores weren't bad.

[mario2butts]

I might still have mine somewhere, but they're probably folded up with highlighter and scribbles all over them. I used them at flea markets to compare prices back in the day. One flea market seller I got to know pretty well actually pirce matched to the list. At the time I never dreamed that Funcoland would die, or that the lists would be a nostalgia item!

I miss Funcoland sooooo much!!

[Steven]

I miss Funcoland sooooo much!!

heh, I miss them a bit myself too. The best thing was driving by at night and unexpectedly spotting the bright rainbow colors of FUNCOLAND lighting up the night.

My last memory of them came in January 2001 when I first got hardcore with the Saturn. I came in and walked out with WSB II and Galactic Attack for 10 bucks. It kind of started my rage that culminated 4 years later and saw over 350 games bought.

I still have a pricelist somewhere in my game room

[Steven]

Here's a Funcoland post I made elsewhere... oops Jan 2001 wasn't my final good memory of FL... Dec 2001 actually, when I bought Dark Legend CIB.

-------

Why I don't hate FuncoLand as much as the next guy...

Speaking of yesterday, it only felt that when my enthusiasm for the Saturn was reignited. I bought a Saturn in January '99 (@ FuncoLand), and for 2 years, only had World Heroes Perfect and Fighter's History Dynamite.

February 2001 I was going to my cousins' house when I saw a FuncoLand and decided to stop by. I bought World Series Baseball II for 3.99 and Galactic Attack for 4.99.
WSB II, I had heard was a quick-paced arcade-like baseball game (like the classic Ken Griffey MLB on SNES) and Galactic Attack -- # 86 in EGM's top 100 (issue 100, November 1997)

There was also Quake & Fighters Megamix for 9.99 each but I decided not to get them (disc only). The clerk looked at me and said, "You still playing these games?"

"No... just starting." And he looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was... but damnit, if I was crazy, I was gonna have a good time being so.

Now I had six games in my collection, and couldn't wait to try out these new ones. It became an addiction.

I left the games in my glove compartment and made my way to my cousins' house. They had to make a run at the grocery store; told me I could join them or stay back and surf the net or something.

I stayed back and searched for info (read: reviews) on WSB II and GA. I'll never forget . . .

sega-saturn dot com

My God -- hundreds of user reviews! US and JPN game reviews. The works! I was absolutely floored. I read WSB II and GA reviews til my cousins came back. I was so happy to read all the good things about both games.
What do I think of both games today? Well, WSB II has largely been superseded by WSB 98, and GA... GA's still GA -- which is damn good fun and the shmup that brought me back into the genre.

Over the years, I occasionally referred back to the reviews found on sega-saturn dot com, either before purchasing a game, or just after playing it; reading what others thought of certain games and then comparing that to how I felt. It was part of the fun of buying and playing Saturn games.

I've definitely read one too many JM Vargas and Dark Falcon reviews!

Anyway, the last Saturn game I ever bought from in-store was at FuncoLand after I took one of my damn college exams on December 17 2001.

I know, I know, most gamers have nothing but shit to say about FuncoLand, but you can see my history with them. I'm not crazy about them but they helped me get started... which is why I don't view FuncoLand as some sort of evil empire. I always say, "bring 20 bucks, look around for 10 minutes and then get the hell out."

BTW, the last game I bought from a real life shop was...



Heh, I remember seeing it at the bottom pile of some crappy sport games. I remember looking at the Goro-like creature thinking... cool, it's a Data East 2D fighter... and you know me and Data East fighters.

I stopped over to play a Metal Gear Solid PS2 demo, then I went back and said to hell with it and forked over the 5 bucks.



I had never heard of Dark Legend before but I brought it home and had a pretty good time with it. It's not very good, but I found it decent enough for a '95 fighter.



The semi-sequel is also only available on Saturn, via the JPN market, called Suiko Enbu Fuunsaiki. It adds from Fighter's History Dynamite fame -- Ryu clone Mizoguchi and the long-legged chick Yung-Mie. This game is pretty over-the-top with long-ass combo chains and 5 fireballs in the air... like a cross between a SFII game and a Versus game.



12-17-01... damn... it's almost been 5 years...

[Synergy]

Hehe, my brother bought me Final Fantasy III from a phone order as an early birthday present. I think Funcoland charged something insane for a FFIII cart at that time; like $65. Yeouch.

At least it worked fine. And I didn't want any other game so bad at the time.

If they sealed some descrepancies (ie. raising the price of those $0.99 NES cartridges a bit and lowering the prices of those $44.99 NES cartridges) I think they would have still been around.

QFT.

[Garry Silljo]

I HATED my local Funcoland.

They always had hundreds of display boxes out for games that werent even in stock. So you would take them to the counter and ask to purchase it, and they would tell you it's just for display. Why display product that isn't for sale?!

When they did have something I wanted in stock, Shining Wisdom for Saturn, they sold me they only copy of the game they had and refused to allow me to have the box and instructions because they needed it for display even though they no longer had the item for sale. I demanded I be permitted to return it for a full refund immediately, and the manager with an annoyed smirk tossed the box in my bag hard, cracking the case against the counter and tossed his arm to the door as if to say 'here get the fuck out.'

They always refused to tell you what they had available, they said we had to find the item we wanted on the list and ask for each individually to get an answer on if it was even there or not. My friend Vinny and once recited the enitre Saturn catalog 3 times in a row until the employees stopped ignoring us and gave us an inventory list. They had a whopping 4 games and 60 boxes on display, non of which were for those 4 games.

I hate Funcoland.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Yeah, I don't see any reason to be all nostalgic about Funcoland. While they may have carried more than the most absolutely recent games like Gamestop does today, they almost never had anything decent for the older systems and finding out what they did have was a huge pain in the ass unless on rare occasions you found someone sensible and friendly working there who would let you go behind the counter and look through their stock yourself. In any case, Funcoland wasn't unique in carrying stuff for the 16-bit systems at the time, most video video game chains back then carried more than current generation, at least EB and Software Etc. did, I don'tknow about Gamestop since there wasn't a Gamestop in my town until they bought both Funcoland and Software Etc and then there was two...a block away form each other.

I can't be too anti-Funcoland, though, since I did once get a free shopping bag full of Intellivision carts there form one of those rare friendly employees who hauled the bag out from the back room as soon and handed it over to me as I mentioned that I'd just picked up an Intelly at the local flea market. Apparently someone had brought them in a few days before hoping to sell, but just left everything there when they found out Funco wouldn't buy them.

Actually, though, the Funcoland brand is not totally put to rest, there's still a Funcoland at Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa, CA, which I go to frequently. I don't know if that's the only one left in the world or what.


...word is bondage...

[MarioMania]

Yeah, I don't see any reason to be all nostalgic about Funcoland. While they may have carried more than the most absolutely recent games like Gamestop does today, they almost never had anything decent for the older systems and finding out what they did have was a huge pain in the ass unless on rare occasions you found someone sensible and friendly working there who would let you go behind the counter and look through their stock yourself. In any case, Funcoland wasn't unique in carrying stuff for the 16-bit systems at the time, most video video game chains back then carried more than current generation, at least EB and Software Etc. did, I don'tknow about Gamestop since there wasn't a Gamestop in my town until they bought both Funcoland and Software Etc and then there was two...a block away form each other.

I can't be too anti-Funcoland, though, since I did once get a free shopping bag full of Intellivision carts there form one of those rare friendly employees who hauled the bag out from the back room as soon and handed it over to me as I mentioned that I'd just picked up an Intelly at the local flea market. Apparently someone had brought them in a few days before hoping to sell, but just left everything there when they found out Funco wouldn't buy them.

Actually, though, the Funcoland brand is not totally put to rest, there's still a Funcoland at Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa, CA, which I go to frequently. I don't know if that's the only one left in the world or what.


...word is bondage...

Is it like the old Funcoland or the feel like Gamestop...Can you still get 16-bit games there

[InsaneDavid]

Actually, though, the Funcoland brand is not totally put to rest, there's still a Funcoland at Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa, CA, which I go to frequently. I don't know if that's the only one left in the world or what.

Yeah but they're just GameStops now with the old name. Hell, I knew of a Software Etc. up until a couple years ago until it finally got branded as what it really had become and was - a GameStop.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I have had quite a few bad experiences at FuncoLand. EB/Gamestop is catching up however, seems to have accelerated since the merger. FuncoLand rubbed me and my childhood bubs so wrong, in fact, we used to call the stores FuckYouLand. I'm guessing it's a store by store deal. YMMV in full effect.

[blue lander]

I don't think Funcoland was "bought out" by Gamestop, I think Funcoland merged with a few other software/game stores like Egghead Software to become Gamestop. I know I have a few really old Funcoland price guides from way back when they used to sell Neo Geo AES games, but I don't know where I put them. They're probably all marked up anyways since I used it as a makeshift check sheet for what NES games I did and didn't have back before I got the DP price guide.

[googlefest1]

in my area - i can always tell which game stop used to be a funcoland

the dirty looking and odd smelling ones - they also have the same color theme (which is probbaly why they look dirty )

i just dumped all the funcoland price guides i had laying around - i was thinking of offering them to up for grabs but i didnt think anyone would care for them