Retro Video-gaming Musings

The other day I narrowly avoided dropping £100 on a Super Nintendo.

I'd taken myself off to a Retro games fair in Leeds, something to do on a cold, snowy, Saturday afternoon.  When you tell people your a gamer their natural assumption is that you mean computer or video games anyway (oh how little they understand) and I do dabble in the videogames scene, but personally I think I mainly favour light material and the classics.  The last console I owned was a PS2, mainly for Gran Tourismo and early Medal of Honour games; but my real addiction was always the side scrolling shooter, and Tetris (225+ lines on the Gameboy).

Anyway, justification and background aside, the event was hugely attended:

 

You won't see many wargames shows this packed, thank goodness to be honest.  Most wargamers are aware of 'Convention funk', that special smell that seems to suffuse these events and comes from a handful of attendees who'd rather spend a few pounds less on personal hygiene to spend a few more on figures.  Well multiply that by a factor or two and you have the experience of forcing your way around this event!

The most popular consoles in the retro market could be judged by their availability; Sega Megadrives and Nintendo Gamecubes were everwhere for about £25 a pop, Super Nintendo's were rare and at least £60.  Still cheap compared to what they would have cost once upon a time.  I found one at a good price and it was only the need to go to a bank machine that allowed my common sense to take hold and stop me making a rash choice!  Part of that was realising the price of some of the games actually worth buying; it puts buying classic Citadel miniatures into context!

This may not save me in the long run, getting back to playing the games I remember from the arcades of my youth is still a thing I'd like to do.  But for now I had enough wisdom to walk away.