Check Out This Dumb Thing I Bought: So Many Game Consoles
For the first seven or so months I was in Japan I really didn’t focus that much on buying video games. For the most part this was because I had a real shit TV with horrendous input lag, but I don’t know, I also had a general disinterest in playing games for a while. I think it went back to my depression/anxiety that I wrote about earlier. Whenever I feel down or out of it I make an active effort to get the hell out of my head and outside of my place.
But a return to a somewhat normal mental state + a new TV + HELLACIOUS SUMMER HEAT really made me dive back into gaming the past few months. I had bought a Retron 5, so that covered my basic needs. But with my Japanese skills more than severely limited, I soon found myself wanting to branch out into newer “retro” consoles.
This was around the time that I bought my Hanshin Tigers Gamecube, which also led me to make another decision; if I was going to buy any more old game consoles, I was only going to buy really weird/stupid/amazing variants.
Because any asshole can by a PS2 – it takes a special kind of person to buy a pink one.
This was an awesome find, uncovered at a Book-Off near my workplace just a few weeks back. Most used PS2s in good condition cost about 5,000 to 6,000 yen (about $60). This one set me back about 9,000 yen, but I think it was more than worth it. Look at that shine. And a pink controller! Sure, it may be a little damaged, but I can fix that up.
With a Ps2 and Gamecube in my possession, I decided my next prey should be a special N64. I knew this would probably be the easiest, as Nintendo was crazy about putting out as many different variants for that system as possible. And, just as I thought, I found one within 20 minutes of stepping into Akihabara.
I was hoping for a blue or green one, but this transparent blood red one looks pretty great. It also coordinates well with the pink PS2, so that’s nice. Truth be told though, if I find a crazier looking color I’ll probably buy it and then hawk this one on eBay or something. So if this tickles your fancy you might want to keep an eye out for that.
That leaved just the remaining Sega systems, Saturn and Dreamcast, on my list. I knew these were going to be the hardest. As far as I knew there weren’t a lot of interesting versions of the Saturn, and all the variant Dreamcasts I saw were retailing for nearly a grand – and I just wasn’t going to shell out that much for something I’ll basically just play two games (Power Stone and Typing Of The Dead) on.
I got lucky with the Saturn first, stumbling upon this amazing clear version that I actually didn’t even know existed.
Yes, Saturn you are right. This is cool.
From what I can gather this is the only really unique-looking Saturn out there. Sure, they made the V-Saturn and a white model as well, but those are boring. Transparent (or “skeleton” as the kids say) sure looks way cooler.
All but the Dreamcast. Like I said, I thought this one was going to be near-impossible. But the very next day after I found my Saturn I lucked out and found this.
HOLY. SHIT.
HOLY. SHIT.
HELLO KITTY DREAMCAST WHAT THE FUCK.
I got this one boxed, and in near-mint condition. It cost me, y’know, it cost me a fair amount, but far less that I suspected it would have. And since it came complete with a special controller, VMU and amazing keyboard, I knew I would have been crazy not to grab it.
So now I have a Gamecube, N64, Saturn, Dreamcast, PS2, Ps3, Ps4, Super Famicom and a Retron 5 (which allows me to play NES/Famicom, SNES/Super Famicom, Genesis/Mega-Drive and Game Boy titles). Ideally that should hold me entertainment-wise until the end of time. But I’M NOT DONE. I still need a Turo-something (Duo? Duo-x? Grafx? I don’t know.) and possibly a Master System, but those are insane hard to find here. If I do luck across any other gaming idiocy though, you’ll see it here.
Leave a Reply