Howdy from Texas !!

[redraider]

Nice forum you guys have here. Lots of valuable info to be found, along with well informed members.

I have been lurking here for about a month and thought I would join, since I am just starting to get into the Saturn.

Never owned a Saturn back in the day. I was a DIE-HARD Genesis fan that got very upset when the 32x fiasco occurred. So I decided to jump ship and get the Playstation. Fast-forward to 2005, I purchased my Model 1 US Saturn from a assistant manager of my local GameCrazy. Dude was hurting for cash, so for $50 I got the Saturn, controller, hook-up cables and 8-10 games (can't remember exact titles I got from him). Didn't matter to me if it was a good deal or not, I felt like I was getting something in return for helping a bro out.

I have only fired my Saturn up one time, just after purchase to make sure it worked. Kind of pathetic I know, but I bought it just to have it, more than anything. I was knee-deep in XBOX at the time, then got deeper into the 360.

I started a PC watercooling/overclocking site about 3 years ago, which coincided with me playing video games less and less. Over the past three years I have dumped alot of discretionary income into my PC's, my camera hobby, home theater and R/C. Being that I'm ADD/HD, I tend to bounce hobbies (obsessions) quite often, now I'm back into video gaming. This time around I'm going to focus on adding several classic systems I passed over (just to collect) and getting DEEP into the Saturn.

Enough rambling. I thought I had a decent collection of hardware, but damn-it son, I see there are alot of big-ballers on this site.

Here is my humble collection of hardware, which I still own and in working order, with year acquired in ():

• Atari Super Pong (1976)
  Intellivision (1980)
  Apple ][e (1982 - used for gaming 90% of time)
  NES (1988)
  Sega Genesis 2 (1992)
  Sega CD (1993)
  Sega 32X (1995)
  Sony PS1 (1996)
  Sony PS2 (2000)
  XBOX (2002)
  Nintendo Gamecube (2002)
  Sega Saturn (2005)
  XBOX 360 (2005 - Launch Day)
  Nintendo Wii (2006)
  Sega Dreamcast (2006)
  Sony PS3 (2007)
  Sony PSP Fat (2007)
  Sony PSP Slim (2007)
  
• 
  

EDIT: added pics of my Sega Saturn - US Model 1

[bradcap1]

Welcome from Missouri. Wish I had kept myAtari 2600.

[mikey]

Whereabout in Texas are you? I lived in Austin for a bit and loved the nostalgic atmosphere there. I remember many hobby shops and vintage collectors of records and video games. I might move back on day.

If you're looking to expand your Dreamcast library as well, I would focus in that direction before dishing out big bucks on the Saturn. Reasons being a recent jump in Saturn prices on eBay (it goes up and down) while DC has stayed almost unchanged over the past 5 years. Also, the number of quality games on the Dreamcast for under 15 bucks far outnumbers the Saturn in the same price range. And finally, Dreamcast collections are still commonly available locally at pawn shops and craigslist for killer steals.

[mick_aka]

welcome to the forums raider

[redraider]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I live in Houston, which is alot different than Austin, much larger as well.

Thanks for the tip regarding Saturn's current state of inflated pricing. I was on a Sega CD game buying binge back in the early 2000's, man have prices come down on some games that use to fetch over a bill. Been noticing on eBay some high prices on Saturn gear/games, but thought it was normal. I'll definitely start looking harder for deals now. How long do you think this inflated market will last?

I bought my Dreamcast off eBay, along with some garbage games, two controllers and VMU's. I believe this past weekend is the most time I've logged on it since owning the damn thing. What games, in the $15 range would you recommend for Dreamcast? What games are the real gems for a collector as well?

Pulled out all the old systems/games this past weekend to sift through and begin cataloging. After hooking them up to my 60" Pioneer KURO I was very disappointed in the graphics to say the least, lol. So I pulled the trigger on SCART (RGB) cables for the Genesis and Saturn. Also got a SCART to component convertor and audio breakout box. Man I can not wait to hook these systems up and actually see a clear picture without color bleeding.

[mikey]

I've noticed with the Saturn it's been certain titles doubling in price over a couple year's span while some games might not change much. Games I would buy right now if I were in the States are Guardian Heroes, Dragon Force, Lunacy, Resident Evil, House of the Dead and Shining force 3. Of the high dollar Saturn games, these are actually ending auction-style cheaper than I've seen in quite some time. Stuff that's JUMPED in price has been Albert Odyssey, Magic Knight Rayearth, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and Saturn Bomberman. So overall I'd wait to see if Saturn will cool down as some of the trends are showing.

Dreamcast for under 15... Oh man where to start? My picks would be (And I know I'll forget some obvious ones) Jet Grind Radio, Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, PSO V2, Sega Rally 2, Chu Chu Rocket, Shenmue, Crazy Taxi 1&2, RE code Veronica... Any of those can be found for $3 - $10. And then pushing the $15 mark are Grandia 2, Power Stone, Marvel vs. Capcom, Virtual On, Giga Wing, Street Fighter Alpha 3, RE2&3, Sword of the Berserk, and Sonic Adventure 2. Most of the excellent Capcom arcade ports and exclusive titles are in the 25-35 dollar range, and outside of that are just a few titles, nothing currently impossible to get for under $50.

The real USA Dreamcast gems, according to eBay, are Project Justice, Power Stone 2, and Giga-Wing 2... Followed by a slew of other Capcom titles, a couple SNK fighters, Bangai-O and Skies of Arcadia. Capcom absolutely dominates the Dreamcast collector's market, and I dare say 80% of the games that fetch over $20 have Capcom on the front cover. If you come accross 2D fighters or shmups, you've got something of value.

[redraider]

Thanks for the insight mikey, greatly appreciated bro.

I can feel the itch starting now. Watch out, RedRaider is about to go on a cracked out spending spree...

Starting a thread soon regarding opinions of best option to connect Dreamcast to my KURO. Is it the Racketboy VGA, VGA breakout box or Racketboy + VGA/HDMI converter box?


EDIT: Here is a link to the thread I started:

segasaturngroup.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=othcomm&thread=4848

[Sidney]

Welcome aboard mate! I was in the States recently visiting family (having an American Missus an' all) I spent a lot of time in North Alabama and Florida and the only game shops I saw anywhere were Gamestop!!! A few years back when the folks lived in Mississippi, there was an excellent retro shop that had the lot, sadly I could only take advantage at the time of the cheap Snes/Genesis games as my Snes is the American version and the Md is universal not forgetting the PS1 games as mine is chipped. Any US posters know of any great retro gaming stores in the North Alabama/South Tennessee area that I can visit next time I go to America?

[swedishmeat87]

Welcome redraider i hope u will like it here

[NeoGeoNinja]

HI REDRAIDER...
and welcome to SS:UK

It's nice to hear you've finally decided to give the Saturn a go after all these years.

See you around...