Sega 32x Complete Collection Video

This is a just a quick post to show you I took a video of my complete US Sega 32x collection(The video is at the bottom) and also to talk a little bit about the 32x. This video is also as much about showing off the library, as it is practicing with iMOVIE, which I hope to use to compose all future videos. A little bit about the 32x or what I like to call the worlds hardest system to connect. The way you set up a 32x and which Genesis systems it is compatible with varies. So before you go all willy nilly trying to connect one google how it's done. It is pretty sad that I am suggesting people Google how to set up the frankenstein console but reality is a harsh master.

I found that photo in a Sega forum, and I feel it perfectly captures the 16bit era for Sega. The 32x doesn't have too many any all-star titles or must own games, what it does have is a severe lack of a proper Sonic title, which might have helped move the system, it also has games you can play on other Sega Systems: Night Trap, Slam City, Brutal, WWF, Mortal Kombat, Pitfall, you get they idea. For a system with so few titles it has a lot of ports, no Sonic and two WWF games. It isn't all bad, it does add some beef to the processor, and better sound but most feel that the games weren't getting enough of an improvement to warrant buying one.  I don't want to get to in depth about the system, for that you can go here .   Let me tell you what this systems offers for collectors, since I pretty much just panned it as a gaming rig. The 32x has a small library of games 36 (in the video you hear me say 39 but that is counting the 3 non US releases), that aren't to difficult to find and only really has 3 expensive titles.  The expensive ones are Spider-Man: Web of Fire, Pitfall, and World Series Baseball with Deion Sanders. These titles can be had for prices ranging from $90 to $200 (These prices are trending upwards at the momen), and anyone digging in eBay and patrolling forums can do better. This was the first set outside individual game series I completed and it felt really good to check that box. Collecting complete libraries is a daunting and expensive task, the 32x is a great way to get one if that is what you are after, also the yellow boxes really standout on a shelf.

Edit
I wanted to add a few notes to this blog after some discussion on various Sega forums. 1: The total library might actually be 40, a rare Sega Tec Toys 32x version of Surgical Strike is known to exist, but it is not known if it had release beyond that of production model. 2: With regard to the library again, the 3 world titles are Sangokushi 4 (jp), Darxide (eu), and Fifa 96 (eu).

I hope you enjoy seeing another piece of my collection and good luck hunting.
~Johnny~

I have a Facebook Humor Page: Why Is Everybody So Bad At Everything? If you like the little jokes I put in the links, this is of the same ilk.

Collectors Burnout and Daytona USA C.C.E. Netlink Edtion

Well it has been a little while, but I hope to get more frequent updates out the near future. The reason I failed to post for the last couple of months was family related and also "collectors burnout" related which does happen from time to time. Collectors Burnout occurs when you reach a point where you have been collecting hard for several months, possible years, and you suddenly lack the excitement or passion that was driving you before. This might be because you were attempting to reach a certain goal, be it complete set, complete series or whatever your particular slant is and you made it or realized it wasn't reasonable. Sometimes life gets in your way and forces you to focus on more important things, weddings, college, babies, unemployment, and all that other fun grownup stuff. Some people burnout due to simple frustration, maybe because of a failed goal, the cost of the hobby, or the lack of resources or good finds. When this point occurs ,at least for me, I need to have another goal or be willing to adjust my collecting strategy to move forward, but to do any of that you need a spark, something that rekindles the passion to collect (please read as obsessive need).

Well 4 months ago I completed my Sega CD collection, getting most of the variants and I was pretty much wipe out, I had been patrolling forums and eBay for almost a http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifear pushing hard to finish my set, I had shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifpent a ton of money and I even had another goal ( To complete Sega Saturn US Library) but I didn't have the drive, couple that with some family stuff and viola, I disappeared. My eBay searches were still emailed to http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifme every night, and here and there I picked up a game or to, but I was absent from the forums, I wasn't hunting in the wild, I was just out of the game. I had not lost my love of games, I had in fact been playing through several, what I was lacking was that spark. So what finally engaged me and brought me back? Daytona USA CCE Netlink Edition.

(I realize that some people do not know what Daytona USA CCE Netlink Edition is, so if you click it it will take you to the wiki, but here is what the wiki says "It was also separately released for the Saturn as a Netlink-compatible title, entitled Daytona USA: CCE Netlink Edition. Although commonly thought to be Panzer Dragoon Saga, this NetLink version of Daytona USA: CCE is in fact the rarest North American Sega Saturn game. It was available only through Sega's online store, and making it even more rare is its almost total indistinguishability from the regular version of Daytona USA: CCE. The only notable differences found are a black & white NetLink booklet with the standard booklet and the disc has a small NetLink logo. It fetches up to US $1,100 (March 2010) on eBay, in the rare instances it does pop up.")

It was about a month ago when I was going through my favorite searches email, which I barley paid attention to, it was more I wanted to clear my inbox then find a game, when I saw that a copy of Daytona USA CCE Netlink Edition had popped up on eBay. Now I promised to talk about all the tactics I use to collect and here is one that might be a little more questionable, or at least not admitted to as frequently by other. Here is the auction link Daytona You can see in the auction that the seller wanted $500 for the game OBO. The game was without the insert, which admittedly hurts the value of the game, but for me and my mental checklist just having the game and the case was good enough. I checked very quickly my private price guides to see if $500 was a good deal, and it seemed okay, if I was lucky I might find a complete one for that, Racketboy's site said it about $300 complete but from what I had heard the last one complete went for more than $700 and sealed $1100ish. I knew I didn't want to pay $500 so I made an offer, but quickly saw that another offer was already out on the game.

Quick aside, when rare games that don't find eBay more than twice a year appear, sellers might mishandle the price because they cannot check completed auctions and the available price date from other sites is inaccurate and inconsistent. This knowledge sometimes allows people to offer low on a rare game and get it because the seller just doesn't have enough data, these are the good deals you hear about and rarely see because they dissolve so quickly.

Knowing I had one offer in front of me I decided to act quickly. The first thing I did was to check Amazon to see if the seller had it listed there, turns out that was a no, second thing I did was to Google the sellers eBay name. This Google search lead me to a phone number, that I promptly called. Why make the call? It's true if I wanted the game and was worried about the offer I could have just used the buy it now for $500 but I wanted a deal and thought that I could get it because when I looked through the sellers history he didn't sell many Saturn Games, I was hoping his lack of knowledge and the general lack of that game anywhere would benefit me. So I place the call and promptly I got a voice-mail box. I left a message stating I saw his auction and was interested and asked for a returned call. I was a bit disappointed and mulled over using the buy it now, but within 20 minutes I got a call back. I talked to the gentlemen selling the game, he was very nice, he explained he was just about to accept the 1st offer he had on the game being it was better than mine. I offered to match it, and complete the transaction via Paypal that instant and save him some cash on final value fees. He agreed, the transaction was made and I received the game 2 days later.
I got the game for well under $500 but more than $250, a price I was comfortable with. Was the way I handled this a little shady? Yes, I'd say so, I also think had I acted before the first offer went out I could have had the game at around $200. The quest for this game and the fact that I didn't think I'd ever own it (or at least anytime soon) really pushed me through the mire of burnout I had been trapped in. I believe that all collectors will experience burnout from time to time and in varying degrees, so before you sell your collection on eBay in one big lot, take a few months off recharge and come back when you are ready. I say this because I have seen several post on forums that state "I am starting my collection again", or "I wish I hadn't sold everything". Don't let this happen to you.


A few quick notes about this blog.
I want this blog to be an honest look at how I collect, so I am willing to admit when I do things a little drastically, or things that aren't quite on the level. I accept the critisims and judgments that come with such acts.
I also want this blog to be about more than just "hey look at the cool game I just bought". I really want to give out some tips, and talk about how I experience collecting.

As Always, Thank you for reading
~Johnny~