My shift in collecting focus to the Nintendo Entertainment System and the SEGA Genesis has continued this month. I also picked up a rather high-value original PlayStation game.
The notable original PlayStation game that I grabbed in May is Rival Schools. It’s a complete-in-case copy that I used some rewards points to knock down to $70, and an upgrade to the loose discs I had before now. I had bought this game in 1999 when working at FuncoLand, but didn’t play it as much as the Street Fighter Alpha games– so I let it go as trade bait within 6 months or so. Now, it’s a $150 game! I’ll revisit it soon to give it another chance… but, as it stands now, it’s one of the more valuable games in my original PlayStation library. I continue to keep my eyes open for more games to add, but the ones I don’t have yet and some interest in are quite pricey… and not as “in the wild” as I’d like. We’ll see what June brings.
For the SEGA Genesis, my game library has been steadily growing. Sports games remain the common thread behind many of my pickups so far, as they’re what I so closely associate my Genesis experience with. Many of these sports games have been complete, thanks to their relatively inexpensive prices. Two of the three Tecmo Super Bowl games I own are complete, with the second being the most valuable (at almost $100). Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf is a personal favorite that I was thrilled to land, and the copy of Hardball! I got was pristine. Sports aren’t the only Genesis games I got, though. Truxton, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Gauntlet IV, and TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist are loose carts that I picked up, and complete-in-case copies of Mystic Defender, OutRun 2019, and Bio-Hazard Battle join these. With more than 75 games, I’ve built a decent foundation for my Genesis library… and I’m certainly on the lookout for more as we roll into summertime.
As it was in April, the NES is where the biggest collecting gains have been. The most notable additions were some complete-in-box games, including Shatterhand, the first two Ninja Gaiden games, and the Classic Series re-release of The Legend of Zelda. While I’m not really focused on getting complete games (in order to conserve shelf space), these were hard to pass up. Plenty of loose carts were also added. Fun House is a game that I looked up on YouTube and really liked. RollerGames is a Konami/Ultra release that somehow slid under the radar. Ninja Crusaders is a competent Ninja Gaiden-alike. Willow is an Action RPG that I’ve never played. Millipede, Joust, and Defender II are ports of arcade games that HAL Labs developed– and each uses familiar music cues if you’ve played Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!. Here’s a sampling of May’s additions:
As I’ve been adding NES and Genesis games, I’ve been adjusting shelf space… and paring back on other console game libraries. Most notable of these is my PlayStation 2 game library, which I’ve reduced by 20%– or about 200 games. Gamecube and Wii have also been reduced a little bit, though Gamecube was already a pretty small set. Original XBox games will continue to have a significant presence on the shelves, though I may consolidate some games to outside small storage bins until I can get my last bookshelf built.
Looking ahead, as can be seen in the photos above, available space is becoming an issue. Even when the remaining bookshelf is built, some of that space will be dedicated to shelving the Nintendo 64 complete-in-box games and the loose carts that are currently in plastic bins. As for the remaining space, it could go to NES games (to keep with the Nintendo theme)… or I may even revisit the idea of getting into SNES collecting. SNES stuff tends to be a bit on the pricey side, so it’s only been something I’ve been considering. The other thing holding me back is thinking about where the console would go, as I already have 7 consoles hooked up… so one might have to go if I make this switch.
That’s it for this month. We’ll see what June brings.
Pete's Perspective 
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