Collecting Tips for Various Platforms -- Completeness

Hi gamers!

Here is just a quick little guide on collecting, these tips will help you build your collection properly and help with the total value if you ever need to sell them in the future. Remember! You never know when you'll have money troubles if you're collecting for investment these tips are very important.


When buying retro games majority of them are loose meaning no box and manual or anything else they came with, just the game it's self. The NES, SNES and Nintendo 64 are known for this, many people I knew threw the boxes away and kept the manual of course not in the best conditions they got damaged.
Not only cart based systems suffered from this, believe it or not CD/DVD based game media also can be found loose. Some people buy those CD folders and store the games in there and throw the cases away.

Without getting to far into why games become incomplete, let's focus on how complete some platforms must be.
Believe it or not, if you buy limited edition version of games, sometimes they might come with a controller or postcards, a mug etc the wrapping those things came in also add to the value. I know that sounds stupid but it's the truth. So keep everything after opening your games, this means ties, bags etc!!

Now let's get into the completeness of the platforms. Of course I can't mention them ALL as I don't own all platforms nor complete games for that platform, so some online databases such as satakore.com will come in handy. Of course sometimes completeness varies from game to game, so make sure you do your research before buying!!

Nintendo 64 - Box, Inner Tray, Poster, Baggie, Cart, Safety Notice, Manual

Playstation - Original "Playstation" case (with Playstation  written on the spine), Manual, CD.

Playstation 2 - Playstation 2 marked case (blue/black/white/red/silver with playstation logo), Manual, DVD

XBOX - Green case, Warranty Card, Manual, DVD, Seal Stickers

XBOX 360 - Light Green Case, Warranty Card, Manual, DVD, Seal Stickers

SEGA Saturn (JAPAN) - Jewel case, back inlay, spine card, registration card, manual, CD

SEGA Saturn (PAL) - Black long box case, Manual, CD

Nintendo Gameboy Color - Box, Safety Slip, Cart, Manual

Nintendo DS - Case, Manual, Safety Booklet, Cart

Nintendo 3DS - Case, Manual*, Cart, Quick Start Slip*, Club Nintendo Card*

Nintendo Wii - Case, Manual, DVD, Safety Slip, Club Nintendo Card*

* = Varies from game to game

A video about this and other collecting tips will be coming in the next few weeks on my YouTube channel, be sure to check it out. This should include all online databases, and what to look out for.

Happy gaming and collecting!!

Super Rare Neo Geo AES Games, between $500-$1500. You won't believe!

Hi gamers!

I've never ever heard of this game before nor have I seen a game this expensive. "Shin Gouketsuji Ichizoku Toukon Matrimelee" happens to be really rare, and sure is a mouthful to say, especially if you can't speak Japanese.

I know AES games are expensive now, and they were even expensive while they were in production.

After hearing about this game I started to look around on the cyber world to see exactly HOW expensive this can be. I've found a place selling this game for $500, but while looking for this game I found another one being sold for $1,500!! That's a lot of money!

And that game is "TWINKLE STAR SPRITES", I'm yet to find a more expensive NEO GEO AES game. Would any one spend this amount of money on a single game? Cause a boxed AES in A-1 condition doesn't go for more than $250...

Camera Test/Crazy Race Weekend: An!NE and I play Blur Multiplayer [videos]

Hi gamers!

Today An!NE and I played Blur online, and wanted to test my new Panasonic Lumix TZ-10 camera, so we recorded some races with commentary. These videos were more of test than anything else, but some pretty insane stuff happened in the races. Enjoy!

HEX1GON and An!NE Play Blur Multiplayer - "Mine Lucky, Bitch!"

 WATCH ON YOUTUBE

HEX1GON and An!NE Play an Insane Race in Blur Multiplayer

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

Happy gaming!!

CAPCOM's "Marvel vs CAPCOM 3 Fan Page" shows popularity of the PSVita

Hi gamers!

So the Playstation Vita gets released in the US and soon to be released in Australia tomorrow. With all this happening CAPCOM's MVC3 Fan Page on Facebook just shows the amount of Hype the PSVita has. Take a look for yourself.

So with the PSVita failing in Japan, and by the looks of it failing in the US I'm thinking Australia is soon to follow. I personally know NO ONE, that's NO ONE getting a PSVita any time soon, or even pre-ordered...

CAPCOM's "Marvel vs CAPCOM 3" Fan Page on Facebook

EB Games Rant - Club Nintendo Cards Follow Up [Video]

Hi gamers!

As I've been up for pretty much 24hrs my brain is kinda mushy, but I must say I feel so more relaxed that I felt like making a video. I got this email a few weeks ago, but much like my previous entry I had computer problems which delayed the release of it. Well any how, here it is:

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

King of Fighters: Collector's Edition Arrived today!!

Hi gamers!

Another great auction won, with King of Fighters: Collector's Edition. I'm quite stunned I got this for $7.50! Best buy yet I reckon, I should mention it was a last minute bid too ROFL.

It comes complete with both discs, slip cover and art book I don't know if you can call it an art book but it shows some renders so I'd call it an artbook. ;) The condition is just amazing, I bought this from a collector the case and box doesn't have one scratch on it! This just has to be the best auction won for me so far! ^_^

PC Troubles encounters with bitcoin mining, Study, Figures and new Anime addiction!

Hi gamers!

Recently I've been so busy with studying and fixing my PC. Which came first? Well they both did, as soon as I started studying again my PC decided to catch a bitcoin miner, yeah a bitcoin miner that was embedded into my GPU causing it to lag out. How did I notice? Well from the lag, I'd usually get 230ish FPS in Counter-Strike: Source instead I was getting 50fps, so yes it was very noticeable. So exactly how did I get this bitcoin miner? Well I believe it was through an insecure torrent connection through the uTorrent client...

What I'd do to save power would be to let the torrent download over night and use auto shutdown feature. As I had to get up for study the next morning, I then woke up and found the PC off ( I had thoughts of it not turning off for some reason ).

So I just was a little worried I formatted and reinstalled Windows, the problem was gone. At this moment I didn't know what caused it, so I downloaded another full season of "Ikkitousen" over night with auto shutdown enabled... I bet you can see where this is going...

I woke up, turned on my PC and started Counter-Strike (at the back of mind, I thought this occurred again). Fuck me dead there was the dreaded 50FPS bitcoin mining son of a bitch draining my GPU's power. As it was in the morning and I had to leave to go to study I left it at that for the day.

I got back while not looking forward to seeing the Windows setup screen formatting my HDD. Windows finally installed after many races on Ridge Racer. Installed Steam again, installed Counter-Strike "cannot sync to steam cloud" *Great I thought*. So I thought this was a bugged install of Windows and formatted again, thankfully this second format was the final one. After this format Counter-Strike could sync to cloud, my GPU was running happy like a school girl and I can now play CS at full FPS and use a lag free Windows.

I promise this is last bit of text about the PC trouble. Either this was a payload or I was being hacked is completely over my head, so I mentioned this on the wonderful world of ASSEMbler forums and wanted to ask the awesome people there what they thought caused this. Without any doubt Bad_Ad84 mentioned bitcoin mining on my GPU, I take his word for it as it describes exactly the symptoms I was getting. The trojan was hidded I couldn't find any of it's melted exes, dlls or cmd any where. Possibly it was a rootkit but who knows, for all I care the problem is gone. I'll no longer torrent through Windows, it will all be done in another OS or a separate PC.

No no, really THIS is the last one; let this be a warning for all you torrenters out there. I'm a very knowledgeable  PC user especially in Windows. I take every careful step through downloading content through torrents and this just happened to sneak through a connection. So I recommend NOT to use uTorrent right now as I believe there is a security breach in it somewhere. Oh and for fucks sake, don't download while leaving your PC unattended, especially over night.

FIGURES AND ANIME STARTS HERE

Now for some good news, finally! My Boa Hancock figure finally got shipped, even though I contacted the company about the lack of communication I got no reply, how ironic. On the topic of figures, my MAX-FACTORY Zero Suit Samus figure is secured so I will be getting one, now all I gotta do is wait till June ( i think ).

Right, so I've mentioned my PC troubles, study and figures what else? Oh yes I have a new anime addiction, I now understand why people get hooked on it. So what anime am I addicted to? Well it's "Ikkitousen" series, I won't go into detail about the series too much but basically it's a bunch of school girls fighting in championships around the world ( i think ), for what? I don't know yet.
There is quite a few series/seasons of this anime and I don't know the original order, it's based on the Manga which I plan on reading soon while on the bus or on break in class. I'm currently looking around libraries that have at least the first one, but no luck yet.
I happen to love old style Anime like Advanced VG, Sakura Wars but some more recent Anime I've like would be Rio Rainbow Gate, Shuffle, Azumanga. If you've noticed a pattern somewhere, well done I guess...

Apologies for the long, long post but really I haven't had a functioning Windows until now. A new game arrived today, with a nice story so I'll mention that in the next entry.

Happy collecting.

Some great 3DS titles to get you started!

Hi gamers!

There has been some debates going around on various forums I'm on with people asking if there is actually any good 3DS games out there. Much portable systems have bad games/ports and this has happened ever since the Gameboy, so let's take a look at which games I recommend to a new 3DS owner. If you're thinking about getting a Nintendo 3DS this may help you decide.

straight off the bat I'd really recommend Dead or Alive: Dimensions, a really good solid fighting game with lots of street pass/spot pass features, nice online play and very appealing to look at. Plenty of unlockables like new characters, stages and costumes.
At around $25-$30 it's a good game to pick up as it's not too expensive and can be found quite easily.

Dead or Alive Dimensions review can be found here

Which brings us to our next game Mario Kart 7, another fantastic Mario Kart game. New features, fluent gameplay and some hidden retro gems inside. This was recently released late last year so it can still be quite expensive around $70 at local stores, keep an eye out online and on sales as this game is worth picking up. Plenty of unlockables, and great online play!

Mario Kart 7 review can be found here

Super Mario 3D Land is another great game to look for, much like Mario Kart 7 it's a new release and will most likely be expensive for a while, so keep an eye out online and local store sales.
Unlike Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land is a great game to play while you commute to and from school/work/uni or even going on a short trip as it's pick up and play style caters for these type of events.

Super Mario 3D Land review can be found here

Lastly Ridge Racer 3D, if you like previous Ridge Racer titles this would be a great game to pick up. Also very affordable at $20-$25 it's great to have. Unlike PSP Ridge Racer games the graphics are not as great and 3D effect is quite low..Apart from those aspects this game is a lot of fun and still looks very nice on the 3DS. Lots of cars, tracks and events to unlock, just like the other Ridge Racer games!

Well there you have, these are the only 3DS games I own so far and very shortly I'll be getting Resident Evil Revelations. I have played the demo of the game so I'd still say get if you can afford it, just like any other new release it's $70 here, of course you can check online for a much better price. Hopefully this will help kick start you on the 3DS!

EB Games and their "completeness" issues. Warning to all collectors!!!

Hi gamers!

This is a long post, so if you can't be bothered reading on, I'll be making another rant video on this exact same topic later on in the week.

I have another issue I've currently been experiencing in a few stores. As you know, my friends and I go to various stores and buying uncommon games for Playstation 2, XBOX 360 and sometimes PSP.
Sometimes it does excite us to see an uncommon game in EB for around $4-$18, as it would for any collector.

We all know how much I've complained about bad condition cases, but that's the least of our worries. Once you've finally found a fair looking case(s) you take it to the counter for the staff member to look for the game behind the counter for 20 minutes. 15 minutes later we've walked out the store and finished our purchase, however only 3/4 games we wanted to buy we now own. They simply had bad organization in the draws that they have missed placed one of the games we were after, but that's only the icing on top of our cake here.

To finish things off, we got back to class and waited for our 15 minute breather, during that time I got my friend to open all the games he bought for me to take a look at (these are games I usually wouldn't buy). While opening the case I found it was very very flimsy like VERY flimsy, unlike the usual slight flexibility you find in the Playstation 2 flexcases these felt like poor poor knockoffs and that's because they were...
From the untrained eye these look very original, some Playstation 2 cases vary in colour but only very slightly and NOT very noticeable unless you compare them side by side.
A very easy way to notice these is by popping them open and to not find the Playstation symbol on the inside.

Knock off case

Colour comparison 

This doesn't only apply to Playstation 2, there are incorrect cases for XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 sometimes, I know it just keeps getting better doesn't it?

What strikes me is, why some of these games have original cases and some have these replacement cases. Before you mention "that's how they're traded in" is a complete lie and you know it! They use these knockoff cases because the ones that are traded in are extremely poor condition or the game was traded in without it and it's simply more money in their till.

They seem to mix and match games thinking it just simply will not matter and yes fine for the average gamer it won't matter. Fine EB Games is a place that sells entertainment and not a collector's store but when since does carelessness take place over a presentable store and products?
It's like eating a filthy restaurant and saying it's only a place that sells meals.

You might be thinking; "Haven't thought of asking for a better case, or simply asking you don't want the game because it's incomplete?" In fact yes, I have and so has my friend. Last time we went to the store a game we wanted didn't have the booklet, so my friend said he won't be taking that game because there isn't a booklet. Without the staff member insisting on lowering the price or anything else rational, she hammered down replying that the game has on screen instructions as well... Are you fucking kidding me? What if he's a collector, What if it was a gift? What if he JUST WANTED THE FUCKING BOOKLET!!!?!?!? Don't think he only said no once, he said no a total of 10 times before she put the game down and started getting the other games he wanted to buy. Unbelievable...

On the final stretch there is just one more problem, JUST one more. If a game comes with two CD/DVDs, make sure you get both and both in the correct case and again this applies to collectors. My friend FINALLY found an reasonable priced copy of Final Fantasy-X, and guess what.. it's incomplete...

(Before you read any further on my collecting rants, please remember I nor or any other collector would like to hear your stupid comments about why it matters. You clearly just don't understand collecting to begin with, so this just isn't the blog for you to be reading...)

I know this a minor complaint but, take this as a warning guys. If you're collecting and you want stuff complete, help yourself and future collectors and not buy from EB for collection purposes unless you've pre-ordered. You get treated like an idiot. If you're a gamer who doesn't care about a missing booklet or incorrect case go right ahead it wouldn't bother you anyway. When it comes to reselling or trade in (another store) it maybe difficult! Keep it in mind.

All images taken by: An!NE

Finally got a HD Camera!! This means new content!!

Hi gamers!

I've managed to finally get a HD Camera, Panasonic Lumix TZ10.
All I have to do now, is buy a tripod from somewhere and viola! I can finally record steady videos in HD ^_^.
So you get a slight idea of what the camera looks like, here is a random image from Google ROFL.

I'll redo many, many of first videos like N64 collection, XBOX collection and so on.

You won't see these videos over night or even next week, I had to buy another charger for the camera as I got it without a charger I had to cut costs some where ><" Anyhow, my videos are not crash hot at the moment so I've got plenty of time to fine tune things.

As I've mentioned in one of my videos my original channel will be a gadget channel, so after I fool around with this camera for a bit I might review it for people who'd like to get into the review scene on a budget...

CLUB NINTENDO WIIMOTE STAND - Review

Hi gamers!

Here is what I have to say about Club Nintendo's WiiMote stand:

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

Angel Graffiti S arrived today! ^_^

Hi gamers!

This morning Angel Graffiti S arrived! I've been looking for this game for quite awhile now, the last time I was checking around eBay there was never any results even by searching the title in Japanese and just 2 weeks ago I thought I'd give it another try and search again.. what a turn around, there were pages of results. Many were incomplete as Japanese SEGA Saturn games came with a lot of stuff unlike the western releases.
I always aim for at least Manual, Spine card, Registration card and original case. Without the game being complete it's just not suitable for a collection I personally think.
So yes, the copy I managed to get from eBay was indeed complete with everything I mentioned above.

Exactly what is Angel Graffiti S? It's a typical anime love adventure game with walls of text and cute cut scenes.

It's surely a nice title to have in your collection if you haven't done so already, especially if you like anime as well. There are plenty of anime games for the SEGA Saturn, which makes the system a very fun system to collect for.

Flatout 3 Review is LIVE!

Hi gamers!

Here is a game I was hoping to reviewing, and now I wish I didn't

WATCH NOW ON YOUTUBE

Next XBOX has a HD Touch Screen controller... My thoughts.

Hi gamers!

I present another stupid rumour that's been spread around various gaming sites like IGN, Gametrailers, Gamespot and Eurogamer. Where any of this has come about is beyond all of us, just because Wii-U has a HD Tablet controller doesn't mean another company will soon follow, even if XBOX wanted to make a tablet controller there would be various amount of lawsuits...Don't you think?

We all know most of XBOX's market is the kinect more video game consoles are sold to families and so the parents would go for the most active console. So really the Next XBOX would surely have more kinect features than anything else I'm thinking.

The term "XBOX 720" has seemed to dive further down the list of titles for the next system. Now many are calling it the "NEXTBOX".

Well who knows, even though rumours this early on never match what the final is going to look like. There has been reports from Microsoft that the "NEXTBOX" won't be seen until 2013.

What's with all the rumours of this console that won't come out for another year!? Stupid game journalists, many of you have no clue what a CD-i is let alone the next XBOX. How come there isn't any rumours of the next Playstation yet?
They must be mind-mapping it still /sarcasm  

Sources: Various stupid rumour articles on Gamespot, IGN and so on and so fourth.

Zero Suit Samus MAX-FACTORY Figure Pre-ordered!

Hi gamers and collectors!

As a crazy Samus fan,
I'm excited to announce I pre-ordered the Zero Suit Samus figure by MAX-FACTORY. This figure appears very popular within the Metroid fan base and looks a hell of a lot better than "First 4 Figures" version. The MF version is a lot more detailed and bundled with a Metroid! From various details I could find on the internet the figure is around 24cm tall which is just a little smaller than my EVE figure by Daiki.

MAX-FACTORY version

I know it's kinda weird now that I've started buying figures, they seem to appeal to me now and look quite nice around a room. I also have a bootleg luckystar figure but my sister wasn't using it (still in box) so I took it ^_^

First 4 Figures version

Diskvision EVE

6000 fans reached! Thanks everyone!

Hi gamers!

Thought I'd quickly say that I have reached 6000 fans here. Thanks to you and everyone else who's been reading my blog ^_^.
Special thanks to everyone at ASSEMbler games and my buddy Haunted360!

10x Winning Streak on Blur, reached rank 50 and a ingame argument!

Hi gamers!

I've been pretty quiet on my blog as in, writing stories. This is due to the point that I've been playing Blur so much recently.

I stopped playing at rank 36, my memory is kinda foggy on that but sounds about correct. Anyway, as I started playing again I got addicted twice as much as before resulting me in rocketing up to rank 50 in just 2 days. Of course after rank 40 the last few levels are piss easy and the reason for that is mainly the cars you unlock through out 40 to 50 are useless/you can do with out them.

Last mod you unlock is silent running which indeed was a mod I wanted ever since the start of multiplayer, but I hardly use it as you come out of the cloak from the smallest hits. Was fun using it on a few races though.

What really made me rank up so quickly is how many times I came first in a row, amazingly I got a 10x winning streak which is really rare for me. Most other level 50 players rage quit. As many players do they fight for 7th-5th place all the time which only gives the top 3 distance, and with the bottom 3 always using bolts and shunts on each other rather than shocks for the leading pack. If only those players would think straight this winning streak would not of happened to me, it's a positive thing for me sure but it's just too easy when this happens.

Last time I was level 49 :'(

There are great amount of cocky players on Blur, always ramming and thrashing around on the track. Usually when players do this one of two things can happen for you.

1. You can avoid the 'riot' and drive straight past, giving you a great amount of distance from the rest of the pack.

2. Getting caught in the middle of the 'riot' causing you to be defensive and ram back. Slows you down a hell of a lot and can cause you to spin out. Also forced to being rescued and set back even further.

Exactly why am I bringing this up? Well I started to get really angry at one player, the amount of cockyness that was coming from his driving was just aggravating, so I thought I'd counter his cockyness and play cocky myself. At every race I'd counter his ramming, manoeuvres, and powerups shots.
At this point, my heart started to increase in BPM as what I did became very effective, he couldn't pass me, slow me down or get close to me at all.

I get a message from this player, calling me all sorts of female names. (bitch, hoe, whore. etc). When players say these things to me, I often wonder WHY they call me female names.. Like I just don't get it. :shrug:

I replied to one of his messages saying him to watch his mouth, as PSN and XBOX LIVE are very strict on foul language. He took the bait and I reported his sorry ass! While thrashing on the track and only aiming for him which only made him more angry I could see it in his driving. At this stage he couldn't message me (blocked) as he continually spammed my inbox cursing at me, so the only way for him to really reply was to be aggressive in the game which only made him screw up even more.

10 races later of him trying to counter my attacks he disconnected. BL!

Vigilante 8 Review is LIVE!

Hi gamers!

The review is now LIVE! Enjoy!

WATCH NOW ON YOUTUBE

Vigilante 8 Review Uploaded, Public View Pending!

Hi gamers!

Today I completed my Vigilante 8 review on the Nintendo 64, it's rather short but I'm pending permission to release it to the public. There is some video footage that was captured by someone else. This person is very busy, as he owns a business and is currently transferring his server, and all other stuff.
I'm doing the right thing here, by asking permission first of course if I don't get a reply stating yes OR no, I'll have to edit the video or release it anyway.

I would say this review is a lot smoother, short and sweet. There are quite a few things I didn't mention but that's because I'm leaving it for the sequel as that game has so much to talk about with much more features. I'll cover both anyway in the next review for comparison sake, and I don't mean between the different platforms as there isn't much difference other than the graphics.

Anyway, that's all for me today.. Rather late I know but I thought I'd share the status of my next review.

Collecting for January 2012

Hi gamers!


Here is a total collection I happen to get through out January.

WATCH NOW ON YOUTUBE

A quiet gaming evening ZZZZZZ and some updates!

Hi gamers!

I've been so tired today, putting off a few games to play mainly cause of my fatigue. No idea how it's just hit me, and it happened while playing Bayonetta. Possibly it's got to do with the relaxing soundtrack :P or getting my ass owned by Tekken 6 yesterday not really sure. What really sucks is, I planned to record some footage for my review today but I woke up and rushed out the door, by the time I got back from my haircut and had dinner I had no energy.. Where did it all go? -_-

Right now I'm into saving some money for recent releases, I've got in mind Resident Evil Revelations and Catherine. Also not really a game but Zero Suit Samus Other M figure by MAX-FACTORY pre-order. Such a sexy figure can't wait for the release, many places are stocking it so I have a big chance on getting it ^_^.
This doesn't mean I won't be getting any more games in, I have another two Angel Graffiti S and Silent Hill 4 and possibly some accessories. On the topic of current stuff I've bought I will be making a "January Collection" video soon, wow, January has already passed ><" so that should be uploaded sometime tomorrow.

MAX-FACTORY Samus Aran

Hopefully this entry made sense, I'm lacking in my chair and my eyes are half open why I'm lacking so much energy beyond me and is just not normal.
Happy gaming and collecting guys!

Rare Nintendo 64 Hudson-soft Controller aka JoyCard 64 - Review Video

A very unique Nintendo 64 controller that was made by Hudson with first party parts, making it a 1st-3rd party controller! More information in the video.

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TEKKEN 6 Limited Edition Unboxing Video XBOX 360

Hi gamers!

This morning I received the Limited Edition of Tekken 6, check it out in the video below ^_^

WATCH NOW