21 replies to this topic

[Ze_ro]

What single purchase in your gaming life do you think has brought you the most pleasure for the money you paid for it? I'd have to say that my Dreamcast was easily my most wortwhile purchase... I bought it when the price first dropped to $100 (CDN), and I've gotten so much play out of it over the years that I still consider it as one of the best things I've ever bought.

The SNES I bought for $5 (And it's not even one of the half-yellowed ones!) has been quite good to me too. I'm also looking forward to a lot of Vectrex related happiness for the $40 I spent on it. Really looking forward to getting Protector

--Zero

[SteveW]

I bought my first DVD player mainly to play games. I kept up with the ex-Atari guys as they worked on Project X, later Nuon. I didn't want a DVD player, because the format killed my beloved laserdiscs. Out of loyalty to my Pioneer LaserActive, I wasn't going to go DVD unless there was something really compelling that really made me want one. And that turned out to be the Samsung N501. I hung around the official Nuon forums, learned more about the technology, and then bought one of the first N501s available in my area. The Nuon games I later bought are pretty fun, but the best part is I could play DVDs on it. I started buying them a little at a time, and it just snowballed. That DVD player I told myself I would only play games on has given me so much more.

[joeybastard]

My Dreamcast. I got it for $50 on closeout and pick up games here and there for less then $10. I play the hell out of that thing.

2nd place is my SMS. I never had it as a kid and got it for $10 with a tracball, gun and game. I have since bought about 20 games for it all for under $4 and I play the @#!% out of that too.

If anything the systems I had when I was younger get less play sometimes as I explore the libraries of new acquisitions.

[Adrian M]

SteveW said:

I bought my first DVD player mainly to play games. I kept up with the ex-Atari guys as they worked on Project X, later Nuon. I didn't want a DVD player, because the format killed my beloved laserdiscs. Out of loyalty to my Pioneer LaserActive, I wasn't going to go DVD unless there was something really compelling that really made me want one. And that turned out to be the Samsung N501. I hung around the official Nuon forums, learned more about the technology, and then bought one of the first N501s available in my area. The Nuon games I later bought are pretty fun, but the best part is I could play DVDs on it. I started buying them a little at a time, and it just snowballed. That DVD player I told myself I would only play games on has given me so much more.

I was about to bring up the NUON as my answer as well. The NUON was my first DVD player (I resisted the urge to upgrade to DVD's as long as I could). The concept sounded great and ECM from Gamefan magazine spoke highly of the unit's potential. Then, I saw screenshots and video clips of Iron Soldier 3...needless to say that convinced me to buy.

So, I bit the bullet, bought an N501 a Logitech controller and a bunch of games at Best Buy. Great fun! Tempest 3000, Freefall and Merlin Racing were all great fun, and Ballistic was a fun little puzzle game my girlfriend loved. While waiting for IS3 (which as you know, was recalled a short week after it was released), I started to delve into the world of DVD's and was thoroughly impressed by the movie playback enhancements that NUON provided! I was in heaven...a DVD movie and game playing hybrid that I truly enjoyed using and was better than what I had hoped for. I almost got the bitter taste of disappointment out of my mouth that the failure of the Dreamcast caused until I began to see that VM Labs was in trouble financially. I could then see the writing on the wall, the NUON was doomed, but after all was said and done, I still own a NUON and it remains one of my most used tech components. Definitely a great purchase and one that I am proud of! Unique and useful.

[eric_ruck]

My XBox...say what you will, for me I got the right games at the right time. Halo and Doom make me happy, and a few others (Turok, Hitman 2) add some variety on the rare occassions when I have a little extra time.

Other than that, the only other system that really got a lot of play was the Lynx. Bought it when it was new to kill some time going to a business convention...actually we were stuck for a few hours at the airport on the way out, fogged in, and there was an EB at the airport mall...done deal.

Eric

[sku_u]

My 5200. I didn't pay anything for the system, and I've gotten more use out of it than any other game system I own.

[tiggerthehun]

I gotta go with the dreamcast as well. It's hard to beat that quality game to crappy game ratio...
And, of course, the maracas I bought to go with it. Those have gotten more than their money's worth of play outta 'em.

[ApolloBoy]

My 7800.

[Jasoco]

Buying my Genesis in June. I had never had a Sega System as a kid. I was a Nintendo Fanboy. But when I bought that Genesis and started on my way into the world of Sega...

Now I have 100 games, two Genesis' a CD unit and a 32X as well as a Nomad for portable fun.

[MegaManFan]

There's been a lot of good ones: a $25 Coleco, a $25 7800, a $99 Cube, a $99 PSOne, the list goes on and on. Hard to pick just one that was the BEST bargain, cause I enjoy them all.

[tyranthraxus]

The Dreamcast has so many supporters on the internet that it seems
like it was a bigger success than it was. But all the posts usually go along
the lines of "I got it on clearance for $XX". How come no one bought it
when it still had a chance?

Did it take the arrival and dissapointment of the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox to
make it look better?

[Adrian M]

tyranthraxus said:

The Dreamcast has so many supporters on the internet that it seems
like it was a bigger success than it was. But all the posts usually go along
the lines of "I got it on clearance for $XX". How come no one bought it
when it still had a chance?  

Did it take the arrival and dissapointment of the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox to  
make it look better?

I always wondered the same exact thing. Just where were all these Dreamcast fanboys when Sega needed them in 1999 and 2000? I'm inclined to think they were playing their mainstream PS1's and waiting for the PS2. Now, all you see is "Dreamcast wuz teh best system EVAR" and things of that nature. Kind of infuriating to those of us who actually bought the system when it launched on 9/9/99 and stuck with it until the end.

[Zeus]

Dreamcast was killed because the code was cracked and all the games could be burned onto CD-Rs. Sure there are plenty of DC fans out there, they are just playing pirated games.

[Ze_ro]

tyranthraxus said:

The Dreamcast has so many supporters on the internet that it seems like it was a bigger success than it was. But all the posts usually go along the lines of "I got it on clearance for $XX".

At the time, I wasn't much into modern systems... the most recent system I had bought was the Jaguar (and we all know what happened with that one). I wasn't paying much attention to any of the new systems, let alone the Dreamcast. When I heard they were dropping the price though, it was too good a deal to pass up. Frankly, if they hadn't done that, I probably would never have bought one.

--Zero

[Adrian M]

Zeus said:

Dreamcast was killed because the code was cracked and all the games could be burned onto CD-Rs.  Sure there are plenty of DC fans out there, they are just playing pirated games.

That was a factor, but not necessarily the main cause. The Dreamcast was basically dead from the beginning. Sega was massively in debt, it's Saturn died sooner than they expected which resulted in a practically non-existant revenue stream up until the DC launched. Sega were forced into developing and launching a next-gen system sooner than they would have liked, and remember, the console sales cause massive losses for corporations.

Basically, it was over for Sega before it even started...Sony had the luxury of sitting back, retooling and launching their PS2 basically whenever they wanted. Sega rushed in, partially out of necessity, and failed to gain the necessary installed base to generate enough revenue from software unit sales. Signs of Sega bailing out of the console race were already apparent as early as summer of 2000 when 3rd party developers were abandoning the platform in droves and killing off many existing software projects. Even though Sega's DC was virtually dead from the start, an extra 5 million units sold would probably have prolonged their efforts a bit longer, which is where my argument about fanboys being their in Sega's time of need comes into play.

Yes, piracy didn't do much to help Sega, but ALL software companies do factor this in with their projections, much like retail stores when they account for "Shrinkage" (shoplifting). Sega's decade long run of hardware disappointments (starting with Sega CD, then 32X, Game Gear and Saturn) ultimately did them in and forced them out of the hardware business and into the more profitable software-only side of things.

[Raijin Z]

Hmm.. Certainly not my Gamecube. I'll have to say... my old PSX. It was beloved Ohio-over. It got MUCH play.

[ApolloBoy]

Raijin Z said:

Hmm.. Certainly not my Gamecube. I'll have to say... my old PSX. It was beloved Ohio-over. It got MUCH play.

When will you stop complaining about the Gamecube?

[Jasoco]

My GameCube purchase in 2001 was totally worth it just for Smash Bros Melee, Sonic Mega Collection and Adventure 2, Zelda Wind Waker and now Mario Kart.

Those games alone make up for the lack of software.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

I think my Gameboy Pocket (no, not color) when I was a little kid. I brought this everwhere with me, it has saved me from some very boring times. I remeber I had a plane delay of about 5 hours, Im so glad I had that, a kid near me had one, and a link cable and a few of the same games. Bliss

[Raijin Z]

ApolloBoy said:

Raijin Z said:

Hmm.. Certainly not my Gamecube. I'll have to say... my old PSX. It was beloved Ohio-over. It got MUCH play.

When will you stop complaining about the Gamecube? :ponder:

When dumbasses like you stop reacting every time I do.

[The MilkMan]

A few items for me...
1. Space Shuttle for the 2600(CIB $5). Had to go the ebay route for that one
2. Genesis complete with box($20). Never owned one before, now experiencing all those cool titles
3. Intellivision II ($15). Played it a couple times as a kid, now I have one. Tron discs and D&D see alot to play time!

[ApolloBoy]

Raijin Z said:

ApolloBoy said:

Raijin Z said:

Hmm.. Certainly not my Gamecube. I'll have to say... my old PSX. It was beloved Ohio-over. It got MUCH play.

When will you stop complaining about the Gamecube?

When dumbasses like you stop reacting every time I do.

*whips out plasma cannon*
*fries Raijin Z*

Nobody calls me a dumbass and gets away with it!