To the untrained eye (aka the uninterested) this update to my collection is not so significant. But I can see the difference and I had a lot of fun doing it. I had a bunch of Neo Geo AES games pilling up (they’re sooo Huge!) and I wanted to make room for them… Yes, the Sega Dude collects Neo Geo AES and they’ve even managed to worm their way into TheSegaCollection site. I’m not sure what I think about that but the world is not black and white and I am trying hard to come to terms with it.

As I started my collection house cleaning I realized (remembered) that diving in and messing with your collection every now and again is a great way to rejuvenate interest in it. I got to see how many games were is awesome condition and a refresher on the few that I wish were a bit better. But best of all it didn’t take long to remember how much I love seeing a shelf that is absolutely bursting with games. In order to get all of my Japanese Sega Mega Drive games into three shelves (from 3.5 shelves) I really had to utilize every square inch of space. But drawing on my insane Tetris skills I managed what you see below and I was still able to face some of my favorite/cool games to make it look all pretty.

*Hey, did you see? That’s Panorama Cotton down there! 🙂

Look at all of those Sega Master System games. One third of my SMS games where previously on the other book shelf. I’m glad I found room to reintegrate them. Seeing them together really does offer up a lot more impact. Despite having poorer quality artwork, less colour and less over-all polish they really do look great. The Style of the drawings and the white grid backdrop really do mark their era. And they really do look at home with the Mega Drive games yet at the same time they stand out as something special on their own. Speaking of the white grid backdrop my Japanese Mega Drive fooled me. I didn’t realize it wasn’t my boxed Sega Master System until after I had taken my pictures. I don’t have a lot of room for the boxes so I’ll figure out what to do with them later.

Genesis does what Nintendon’t!… because the Super Nintendo wasn’t around for about two years after the Genesis came out. You wont find the SegaDude bashing the SNES. I loved it then and I love it now. But the Genesis is what I had back when video gaming really took hold of me. I had my Master System and I love it and when the Genesis was released I dove in and it never even occurred to me that there might be something else. I love seeing all these kick-butt Genesis games in the next three images below. I feel really lucky that I started collecting so long ago. There a lot of titles there that I just wouldn’t buy if I had to consider today’s prices.

You’ll also notice some cool bead art on a few of the shelves. The Phantasy Star crew and Dark Force were made for me by Nintendo Joe and Sonic, Opa Opa, mini Opa Opa and SEGA were made for me by StopXwhispering. Thank you! to both of you. You did great work and I really do enjoy having them mixed in with the collection.

*Hey, did you see? That’s Musha down there! 🙂

What’s this now? In those two images above… Let me tell you. That’s a little taste of awesome. When the Neo Geo AES first came out I saw two games for it; Nam-1975 and Magician Lord… and they blew my mind.  They were literally perfect arcade ports. The Neo Geo AES was offering the arcade in your home with no corners cut. And after hearing the retail price my young brain had no choice but to pretend it didn’t exist.

I know already my Neo Geo AES collection wont get much further than it is now. The games are so expensive that I just wont be able to keep up. I’ve decided that I want to have a few nice pieces in my collection from something that was entirely unattainable back in the day. And even though I got my Neo Geo X before my AES I still love having the real deal. These fat and massive cartridges rock; there is so much meat to them! And most of the games are really fun to play.

I also started a mini collection for the Neo Geo Pocket. It’s a cool handheld and I feel like it’s often over looked. You can get a boxed NGP for about $50 plus shipping so it’s not too hard to get the hardware and loose games are cheap enough. *By the way; don’t believe the negative hype about the Neo Geo X. It’s a good system and a great way to get some of the best Neo Geo games in a much more affordable way. Since my Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo Pocket collection are pretty new to me I know exactly how much I’ve spend so far… but I’m not yet ready to share that number 😛 That should tell you something about the AES.

Look at that last shelf. Isn’t it cute? That’s my baby TurboGrafx-16 collection. The TG-16 is another Rock’in system from back in the day. Ever since my friend EvilKalman gave me a free TG-16 with the add-on CD unit I’ve started picking up a few games here and there. I’m tempted to pick up a PC-Engine but I’m thinking I need to stay focused and I’m getting close to deciding what systems I really want. The TG-16 CD unit is region free so I have been able to get a few cheap PC-Engine CD games that run just fine on my unit. I also tried out burned CDs and they also work. I’m thinking that copying a CD back in 1990 was so expensive that NES felt they didn’t need any protection.

Below are two more pictures of the collection. One showing the whole thing in one shot and the other showing my tucked away Nintendo Collection. Nintendo Joe is helping me print up some covers for Universal cases for NES and SNES games so I can make them look nice when on display.

The Sega Collection

Tucked Away Nintendo Goodness.

I really do want to make the whole wall where my collection sites a bit nicer looking. The furniture and games look good but the white wall in the back is a bit stark. The consoles could be setup a bit neater and I need to find a proper home for the TurboGrafx-16 and the Neo Geo AES. It’s time for some growth! …but I’m not quite sure how to approach it yet. So for now phase one is complete; pack’em in there!