I actually noticed today that the price was $55 and then when I bought mine it was $58 and now it’s $68 I think from that seller. I think they’re testing what the upper limits are over time based on what the current crop of carts is going for.
Japan 4 U is another I think I mentioned before. They’re great for the $1 to $10 stuff that you’ll pay $15 to $30 for if you try to buy the US cart.
Just saw that price increase lol. Shit, you can’t blame these guys for trying I guess.
I have Japan 4 U as a saved seller already, like you say seems like a fantastic place to pick up common titles for low prices. Love that they actually take the time to photograph each item individually instead of just saying “4 in stock” with a generic photo. I’m definitely going to use them to pick up all the special chip games I want that are not supported by the Super NT jailbreak.
Really can’t find a reasonably priced copy of BioMetal though, nor do I think they exist anymore. I need that Japanese only soundtrack in my life!
From what I can see from my own sources in Japan is that Biometal (バイオメタル) can easily be bought for ￥5,530 (Yellowing Cart), ￥8,600 (Cart Only), ￥21,900 (Boxed but tatty) or ￥38,400 Complete. This is of course without shipping and any handling fees a proxy might charge you.
I have also used Japan4U before as well and can attest they have been good to deal with the few times I have used them. I’m lucky as one of my Japanese friends runs his own retro game shop and lets me send items I buy in Japan directly to him and then just combine everything together when I have enough to ship a decent sized box over to me in the UK. Case in point one such parcel arrived today!
Most of the contents aren’t however game related so I won’t bother show anything else but the box being opened and the top level of contents:
However it did contain my latest CPS2 acquirement:
This completes my CPS2 VS series for me. I’m only missing SVC Chaos (MVS/PCB) and MVC2 (Naomi) to complete the set though I’m not a fan of MVC2 so might just skip over it unless I see it really cheap.
Also got in a bunch of Broadcast monitors from an ITV studio clearance which turned up yesterday:
2x JVC DT-V1710CG
5x Barco CVM3637
I need to sort out input cards for the JVC’s before they can be put into use. The pristine condition one has 57000 hours usage on it (looks like it was left in a permanent setup) and the one that looks like it has been moved around a lot and has some minor scuffs to the screen is only at 3700hours. Both have October 2008 production dates so maybe some of the last off the production lines.
The Barco’s are dated October 1998 and all seem to have very good calibration though they produce a very different type of image to what I’m used to with Sony PVM style broadcast monitors and you can not really see scan lines in the traditional sense and @Peltz called it a:
Beautiful even keeled pixel structure
I honestly can not decide which is better as I miss the thick scan lines but you get totally uniform pixels.
All the monitors are also marked as being last calibrated in May 2014 which is a really good sign. However on the Barco’s the calibration options are passworded and I have so far been unable to guess it or find a way to bypass it. I might have to just brute force it over time but it is 5 digits longs (numbers only fortunately) as I can not seem to locate any manuals for them or much information at all for that matter. I did contact Barco directly but they just reply back saying they are EOL and wont assist.
Lastly I also picked up a cheap Wonderboy 3 for SMS that was just in average condition but I bought it only because it came with a pristine manual and poster that I wanted to complete my already owned boxed copy.
That cart only price is pretty good but as you say by the time shipping and postage is accounted for will probably end up close to or the same as the average ebay price. Thanks very much for taking the time to put all that information together though, you’re a gem!
EDIT: @Suteneko do you sell any of these monitors btw?
I will be selling off a few of the Barco CVM3637 monitors if anyone is interested. But it would have to be collection only (from UK) or someone willing to sort out some form of courier collection.
I’m tempted to get involved in the secondary ITV clearance auction but it is such a pain to deal with all the rules and regulations they have (such as general public are not allowed on the premises) and the cost of sorting out a dedicated transport vehicle again put me off.
Oh cool, I’m in the UK (Hertfordshire) so would potentially be interested in taking a couple off you…
Had a few things I picked up/made over the past couple weeks.
First, I made a very rough shelf for my bedroom emulation setup, replacing a worryingly flimsy metal shelf. It was thrown together in an afternoon and I made the top too small, but it is plenty for my monitors, PC, and other odds and ends.
Then, I found a transparent CRT at the local thrift store. They wouldn’t budge off of $15, which is darn steep for a RF-only 13" CRT, but it had just arrived and I have wanted one for a while. The tube is strong and it works fine. Manufactured in 2009 as well, so it’s the latest CRT in my collection.
Lastly, I went to a local gaming/PC repair shop in the town I work. I picked up a spotless Genesis controller and Sub-Terrania for the Genesis for $10 first.
Then the owner and I started talking about this and that, and I asked if he had any 90s-era PC hardware. Turns out someone brought in this old Gateway with a borked HDD and never picked it up. He gave it to me for free, glad I was taking it off his hands. I threw an old IDE drive I had in it, and after a little trial and error, I now have a (crappy) Windows 98 PC! This is my first time being able to use a PC of this era since XP came out, so I’m excited to dive into it.
That’s a prison TV! Never seen them in person myself.
That transparent case looks to be in good condition, hopefully you can RGB mod it…somehow?!
https://global.discourse-cdn.com/standard10/uploads/retrogameboards/original/2X/1/17e12e6da46b053871c653472188251ab1267cec.jpeg
https://media1.tenor.com/images/6eaab0d39bd1afa7be8985eb7ac2d28b/tenor.gif?itemid=4108687
RGB mod that. Looks so fucking cool. I’m ridiculously jealous.
Haha, yep! There was one on local CL for a couple months. i thought about grabbing it for the novelty but RF only is kind of meh.
@D.Lo that Fatal Fury hat, 
As soon as I figure out a reliable way to do it, I’ll RGB mod every non-component set I have. I have about 6 now that I have collected just for that eventuality. The 80s especially had so so many sweet looking CRTs that are RF only.
@Mega I’d read these were used in prisons for safety, it’s an RCA Demonstrator model. I haven’t tried it but I bet it looks killer in a dark room.
Yeah, prisons use all sorts of clear plastic gadgets to prevent the hiding of contraband.
I don’t know squat about modding TVs (someone who does can chime in), but I’ve read it’s harder to mod old RF TVs for RGB as opposed to newer ones with OSDs and jungle ICs that you can use to tap the OSD’s RGB signal.
I wanted Sweet Home, and the seller had both Contra and The firemen for cheap so I had them share the shipping price.
All three games are in English. The firemen is an original cartridge with a new EPROM, I don’t know about the other two. Sweet home got a cool new label at least.
Sweet Home is such an amazing game. I played it for the first time last Halloween, and had an absolute BLAST. I would recommend trying to play it without a guide, draw your own maps. The game is insanely great at leading you, and the discovery is half the fun: getting to a new area, facing new enemies.
Felt good to complete some small, “collection within a collection” goals. The Model 3 now completes my boxed Model 1, 2 & 3 for the Genesis. And the N64 controllers completes my US colored controller collection. I wasn’t after the Pokémon, Donkey Kong or Millenium controllers because I tried to keep this goal within reasonable reach. Regardless I’m happy to have them. The Nintendo Powers were thrown in for free because the guy I delt with is awesome!
Niiice, I really love Firemen!
The Contra is a pirate I’m afraid. It’s on a regular Fami cart when the original is on a Konami cart (which has a top label).
Recent DS pick ups. First pic was from a binge in the last couple of weeks. Second pic, misc buys from the last year or so. Two shovelware games + Cooking Mama came with the DSI XL, which has nice large IPS screens-- played RE:DS and Metal Slug 7 and they looked great. Still waiting for a few more games in the mail. And can’t remember where I placed Rhythm Heaven, had it in hand and was showing it to my SO recently…
