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Pick-Ups – Gleylancer Has Come Home!

Posted by Sega Dude on December 2, 2016

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: ebay, gley lancer, Gleylancer, mega drive, sega. 10 Comments

OK, get ready. I’m about to go the long way around…

Depending on your age you may remember He-Man action figures. In particular He-Man himself and Skeletor. The toys for these two characters each came with half a sword. These two halves (if you had them both) could be connected together to make one whole and hefty sword. To my memory the cartoon never really addressed this nuance of the toys and that helped elevate this mystery into something almost mythical for me as a kid.

So that first time that I was able to put these two half swords together it was totally AWESOME!
It wasn’t really ‘awesome’, but I managed to build up the idea so much that it felt very meaningful. Playtime became a conflict about the good guys or the bad guys getting both halves; and then totally dominating the other side.

The only reason I’m taking the time to explain this is because I haven’t felt this inner kid level of excellent for something that is actually trivial (but fun) in a long time.

Today I received an authentic cartridge, the actual game, to complete my Japanese Sega Mega Drive Gleylancer. As I clicked the plastic cartridge in place into my once empty Gleylancer case in the back of my mind I could hear the kid in me squealing with delight. And it felt totally awesome.

Gleylancer is a really good space ship shoot ’em-up that unfortunately has one of those ‘run away’ price tags that is commonly seen in the Retro Video Game scene. Is it truly rare? I don’t know but I suspect maybe a little bit as it was exclusive to the Japanese Sega Mega drive and never made it to the European Mega Drive or the North American Genesis. It can always been seen on ebay so I’m reasonably sure it’s not truly rare.

It’s common to see a complete good condition Gleylancer list on ebay for somewhere between $300 and $400 USD.

But what is the game actually selling for? Below are recently sold listing for Gleylancer. Disregarding those two reproductions (fakes) only two authentic and complete Gleylancers have sold recently. One for $319 USD and the other for $271 USD. So yes, it can be a very expensive game and it would seem that only a very few people are willing to pay for it.

I got sucked into hunting down Gleylancer after I managed to get a good deal on a case and manual from the neo-geo.com forums for $60 USD from a fellow member. It was my hope to someday find a cheap cartridge to complete the set. You can see my previous post about scoring my Gleylancer case and manual here.

So, did I find myself a cheap authentic Gleylancer cartridge? Hells no! But in the end I did a bit better than ebay sold listing for a hard to get game that is actually worth having.

My case and manual cost me $60 USD plus the loose cartridge in this more recent transaction that cost me an additional $135 USD. Leaving my grand total at $195 USD for a complete good condition Gleylancer.
Close call! That came in just under $200 which psychologically helps with the ‘acceptance’ stage of being frivolous. However, Canadian dollars are what are relevant to me which means I spent ~$260 CAD on this game. I do believe the wife will be mildly upset until she finds out that with this purchase of this one cartridge every single game I have in my Japanese Sega Mega Drive collection is now 100% complete. Booya! Just when she thought I couldn’t possibly be any dumber I go and do something like this and totally redeem myself! Right?

I thought I did about as well as I could for this game. But it turns out I could have done a lot better. Shortly after I received my Gleylancer cartridge I found the following ebay listing for the same cartridge for ~67 EURO (~$72 USD). Not to mention that ‘maker offer’ option.

Some lucky Dude bought this Gleylancer listing after I had to pass it up. I hope they know how well they did.

If I had only waited a few more weeks I could have completed my Gleylancer for $60 USD less; $135 USD instead of $195 USD. That’s a huge difference and I would have felt like a bandit had I managed it. But I didn’t and I’ll try to take from this a moral that as gamers and collectors we really need to be patient.

Am I still pleased with this purchase? I am. And it’s because Gleylancer is a really fun game. Check out the longplay recording I made of Gleylancer for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
Yeah, that’s right I beat the game… no big deal.

Thanks to Zebbe I have discovered a fan translation to the introduction of Gleylancer by M.I.J.E.T. And what I discovered is a really and truly good story to go along with this excellent game. The more I discover about Gleylancer the more impressed I am.

“STICK TO IT AND BELIEVE IN YOUR POWER!”

Pick-Ups – An Unexpected Bro Deal

Posted by Sega Dude on September 17, 2016

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: Alisia Dragoon, ebay, mega drive, Rockman Mega World, sega. 10 Comments

This is what I like to call retro-karma. It’s similar to the more common expression good-karma except retro-karma has more to do with luck and innate goodness of gamers.

In my previous post called ‘Pick-Ups – Sega Mega Drive, Almost Spectacular!‘ I found a way to get good prices on what are otherwise wildly expensive games. Part of what I did in ‘Almost Spectacular!’ was use ebay to see if I would be able to find the missing components that I would need before diving into that previous purchase. During that search I stumbled onto two other ebay listings from the same seller for different yet equally elite Japanese Sega Mega Drive games which are also very desirable and hard to obtain.

If I remember correctly each of these games were listed on ebay for $230 CAD each. Which is about half (or a bit more than half) of what I’ve come accustomed to seeing them list for. So I did what every cheap bugger would do and I messaged the seller offering $300 CAD for both; even suggesting we could take the deal outside of eBay.

I received a very polite ‘no’. A ‘no’ backed-up with sound reasoning that I could not argue with. Because just like the seller I also believed he would be able to sell these games for his asking price.

We exchanged a few messages and at one point the seller suggested that I look into emulation or Everdrives (flash carts) not realizing how Sega crazy this particular Dude is.

Oh well… you know what they say ‘better to have low-balled and lost than to have never low-balled at all’.

Some time later I received a message in my personal email from this seller. Previously when I suggested a deal outside of eBay I did sneak in my email address into the ebay message system. To my surprise the seller messaged me and was pleased that I didn’t blow up over failing to make a deal and he seemed satisfied that I wasn’t looking to flip these games.

I got a counter offer; $350 CAD plus $20 shipping for both.

That really is a lot of money. But being apart of the Mega Drive scene for many years I knew right away that this really is a great price. And the counter offer was just 14% more than my offer. Should I walk away and wait for retro fever to die down? Or tack on some more money to an already large sum and just do it?

So, for $185 CAD (~$144 USD) each I now have Rockman Mega World and Alisia Dragoon for the Japanese Sega Mega Drive.

Before you scroll down and bask in the glory that is an authentic Rockman take a moment to check out Nintendo Joe’s post where he tries to lord his Reproduction Rockman Mega World over me 😛

The back of the Rockman cartridge is the first time I’ve noticed a variation as to where the rear sticker is placed. Is it unique only to this CAPCOM game? I don’t know.

I do have the North American version of Alisia Dragoon and as good as the Genesis Alisia Dragoon artwork is the Mega Drive version is better in my opinion.

Years ago I remember repeatedly passing on Alisia Dragoon when it was still commonly below $100. I had no idea that retro games would explode like they have. Who knew?!

And just like I did when I blogged about Gley Lancer and Slap Fight I decided to have a look at eBay to compare prices with these recent purchases.

The lowest price I found for Rockman Mega World was $312 CAD. Which means the price I was lucky enough to receive was 40% lower than eBay’s best. And a whopping 65% lower than the highest ebay price! It really makes me wonder if these games ever sell at those prices.

The first ebay listing for Alisia Dragoon (see below) I’m going to dismiss. It’s so sun-faded that it’s almost a white sheet of paper. However, the second listing is even cheaper and in much better shape. Once again the best price is coming from Singapore at $237 CAD. While Japan is again laying on a really heavy price tag.

This time I’m receiving a 22% discount compared to eBay’s best. And a 58% discount compared to ebay’s highest price.

In both cases above my ebay search results returned very few matches (as I expected). But don’t let this scare you in your own video game hunts. Right now in 2016 many games are expensive on ebay but are not truly rare. The prices listed by the above Japanese sellers are common and are what I’m accustomed to seeing for these kind of Japanese Mega Drive games. Try as best as you can to resist there are other options!

I really do feel that this post does a great job demonstrating how much of a premium you’re likely going to pay when shopping on ebay. Patients is the key.

You never know when a better price will come along or when a perfect stranger will decide to give you a bro deal that you did not deserve.

Thank you for the fantastic games! If the Universe is listening then there will be plenty of good-karma coming your way.

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To eBay or Not to eBay

Posted by Sega Dude on March 23, 2016

Posted in: Article, Community. Tagged: alternative, brick and mortar, convention, ebay, forums, game swap, retro video games. 11 Comments

I’m going to start by confessing that the Sega Dude and eBay have had a falling out. I’m tired of premium prices on both goods and shipping. And I’m actually offended when I see eBay’s ‘customs services’ included via eBay’s Global Shipping Program as if it’s a feature that the buyer will benefit from.

I’ve been using eBay since the early 2000’s (maybe earlier) and on December 2015 I closed my eBay and PayPal account. I believe I’ve suffered from the ‘frog in boiling water‘ syndrome. Maybe someday I’ll go back but so far I’m surviving life without eBay. And my bank account is fatter for it.

What’s the alternative for retro video gaming? For me I’ve found that forums are really good places for buying and trading retro games. If you decide to check out forums do yourself a favor and do not treat them as stores. Treat them as communities and participate in discussions and see what others are up to. You’re going to have to be known to established members before you’ll really be able to benefit from their markets. The markets are for invested community members and not Joe off the street.

I really do enjoy buying games directly from other gamers just like myself and cutting out the middle man. Doing so has really helped reduce the cost of many of the games I’ve been buying. Of course there is no denying that eBay is convenient and the single most likely place to find that special retro game that you’ve been looking for. So maybe it would be rash to run out and cancel your own account but there is no harm in expanding your shopping horizons and peeling back the curtain a little bit more to see what else this Internet of ours has to offer.

If you’re curious here are a few excellent retro gaming related forums to check out:

www.sega-16.com

www.racketboy.com

www.smspower.org

assemblergames.com

neo-geo.com

The alternatives don’t end with forums.

Occasionally I’ll find good deals at local retro video game stores and buy a few games or do some trading. These are very fun places to visit. But better still are retro video gaming conventions. Thanks to Nintendo Joe I’ve found out about many of these events both close to home and in neighboring cities. We both really enjoy going to these gatherings and we always seem to come home with a few good finds.

Before I even completed this post I have already re-signed up for a new PayPal account. I’ve learned that PayPal is pretty much required for purchasing games from individual gamers on the forums scene. People know how to use PayPal and trust in the protection it offers. So, I managed to go about 2.5 months without PayPal and I now see it as a requirement for the hobby. I still do not have an eBay account and I’ll tell you about the things I miss. eBay was very convenient and affordable for a bunch of miscellaneous things. I’m currently looking for good alternate places to buy clear plastic case protectors for Sega Genesis games, cap kits and game manuals (and other misc items). And for these reasons I may someday return to eBay but it’s my hope that I’ll manage just fine without it. Of course it would be better if value returned to eBay but it has been lost now for many years now and I’m not too optimistic. This is my opinion and I do believe it’s shared among many other people. If you use and enjoy eBay I’m happy to hear it. Maybe you can give me some pointers? 🙂 For me the final price of the things I’ve been buying after all is said and done has consistently just been too high for my liking. I’ve been spoiled for many years buying games for great prices and maybe that’s all there is to this. But I do believe this venting has been very therapeutic, so thank you for listening!

What are your favorite types of places to hunt for Retro Video Games?

Update: Since this post I managed to go about six months before signing up for a new ebay account. Why? The short answer is sometimes you will find good prices on ebay and sometimes the convenience is worth the premium. *For the specifics of my return the see very bottom of this post.
Update: As of Dec. 2016 I have closed my ebay account again. I just don’t feel like I’m getting good value there. Let’s see how long it lasts this time 🙂
Update: As of Jan 2019 I am still without an ebay account. It’s been a little over two years and I feel better for it. With massively inflated prices, hidden/bogus fees and misrepresented reproductions/bootlegs it’s hard to find value in ebay. I have no desire to go back.

Mega Drive Tetris

Posted by Sega Dude on July 28, 2011

Posted in: Community, Games, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (Japanese). Tagged: art, bootleg, collection, community, cover, ebay, genesis, japanese, mega drive, picture, sega, super fantasy zone, tetris. 8 Comments

Once long ago I owned a copy of Tetris for the Mega Drive. The knock-off bootleg version. Then I traded it away long before I knew how rare it was. Well, that is, how rare the actual licensed version is. Knowing that I’d never end up with the licensed copy I really wanted to try and get my bootleg version back. Not so easy. Those few times it showed up on ebay it was listed for hundreds of dollars. Sometimes for just the cart.

Then recently I saw it listed for $350. I don’t know why but I made an offer for $100. Not nothing but far from the asking price. I got a counter offer asking $150. That was down a lot but I really honestly felt like I was at my limit. I replied explaining that $100 was all I wanted to do, including shipping. I got another reply stating that if it wasn’t sold after the up coming weekend that my offer of $100 would be accepted. I was pretty excited. At the same time I still feel a little crazy for spending $100 but this one game will be a place holder in my collection for the single rarest game for the Genesis/Mega Drive. I’m pretty sure I’m really happy with this 😛

A BIG Danke Schön to my fellow collector auf Deutschland!

This is my new Bootleg Mega Drive Tetris. Not mint, but pretty good:

This is what Sega’s officially licensed copy of Tetris was going to look like for the Japanese Mega Drive. Sega ended up losing the license for Tetris on consoles so they had to destroy the copies they made.
The assumption is that some were spared and got out into the wild. Which is why this version of Tetris is so rare and why someone on ebay got a little crazy in the head. Signed Licensed Sega Mega Drive Tetris:

Wildly over priced eBay auction for Tetris:

While searching for pictures of the license version I came across some really well made custom case covers and labels that I might print up some time. I believe the person who posted them also created them. The following is a link for many more excellent covers: http://www.box.net/shared/5qi65zpjbp

Tetris Case Cover Sleeve and cartridge lable:

With all of the recent hype for the originally licensed Tetris it really nailed home the idea that I’ll never have it. Which for me adds some extra value to my bootleg copy. For fun I even considered trying to Photoshop up a copy that looks like the licensed version but despite how simple the Tetris cover looks it’s really not that easy to reproduce (at least for me).

And from a poster that I enjoy following here’s a youtube video detailing the ‘what’s what’ of the licensed Mega Drive Tetris.

Mega Drive Tetris by Mega Drive Memories