What my collection looked like in 2002

[brokentoken]

I just found a folder of old pictures, and it was fun to look at the state of my collection 22 years ago when I lived in Washington, DC. All of these games are long gone...A lot has changed!

First up, the row in my garage. From the back:



1) Championship Sprint. One of 2 I've owned over the years. I believe I sold this to someone who is a member here.
2) Galaxian/Galaga. I believe I painted this black and sold it as a Galaga (sorry, Galaxian fans. I wouldn't make that choice today).
3) Nintendo Super System. This cabinet was in remarkable condition, but the board didn't work. Sold it to a local collector.
4) Baby Pac-Man. One of 3 I've owned over the years. I believe I sold this at auction.
5) Forgotten Worlds. I remember buying multiple complete, NOS control panels and some PCBs, all for less than $50. I also remember selling the kits to people who I think are members here for about the same price. Ooops! Still one of my favorites, and wish I'd held onto one set up.
6) Area 51/Max Force Duo. I remember feeling cool that I had a "new" game in my collection. I think I sold this one on eBay.
7) Atari Tetris in a Blasteroids cabinet. Always intended to restore this to a Blasteroids (I still have the boards). I painted the cabinet and sold it a couple months after this picture was taken.

 

[brokentoken]

Next up, the short row on the side of the garage:





1) Playchoice-10, single monitor. This had been converted from a Popeye, I think. I ended up turning it into a vs. Super Mario Bros. and sold it at auction in 2003
2) Qix. This was a sweet one that I bought from a local operator non-working, for the "going rate" at the time, which was $50. Fixed it up and sold it to a local collector.
3) Dig Dug. This was a really great working game, but had some significant water damage around the bottom of the cabinet. It didn't look bad from the outside. Sold it to a local collector.

 

[brokentoken]

I also had some other cabinets at this time, but I don't have great pictures...a Scramble cabinet that had been gutted. A Punch-Out!! cabinet and Playchoice-10 dual-monitor to go with it...several cocktails, and parts.

EDIT ** Found one of the Playchoice, with a corner of the Scramble cabinet visible:





Do you have any "vintage" pics of your collection? Let's see 'em!

 

[fatherpain]

Nice, the good old days when cabs were plentiful on CL and cheap. I long for the days when games were $100-500 and in pretty good shape. Of course, we'd appreciate follow up with pics of your current set up please

 

[KazooBR]

Qix for $50. Man, that's hard to hear when I'm looking for one today. The games were cheap back then. My Asteroids was 200, ms pac cabaret was 250, dig dug was under 200.

Good times back then.

 

[brokentoken]

Nice, the good old days when cabs were plentiful on CL and cheap. I long for the days when games were $100-500 and in pretty good shape.

I don't think I even knew about craigslist back then. I actually remember using the Yellow Pages to call operators, and I think a majority of these games came from one of my more successful calls. And it was prime-time for RGVAC, too!

 

[brokentoken]

Qix for $50. Man, that's hard to hear when I'm looking for one today. The games were cheap back then. My Asteroids was 200, ms pac cabaret was 250, dig dug was under 200.

Good times back then.

It seems like you could pick up average games pretty commonly for around $25-$50 back then. I remember when I splurged and bought a Paperboy from Lloyd at coinopwarehouse...for the premium price of $150! He even loaded it in my truck!

I think I sold the Dig Dug for $250, and felt pretty good about the 5X return

 

[carolinamarcg]

Wish I had pics of all the games I had late 90s & early 2000s. Used to buy or sell a game every month, craigslist or rgvac. All stuffed in my apartment in Chapel Hill. My cell phone only made calls back then unfortunately.

Do have one of 720 in the background in 1999. The kid in the picture (my nephew) has 2 kids of his own now. 720 was tucked away to make room for easier games while he visited.

 

[CameronMcC]

back when old games really weren't that old.

 

[fatherpain]

@brokentoken wow back when I started it was KLOV and Craigslist. I'd missed out on RGVAC and never saw $25-$50 deals.

My best snags were in the $300 range: SmashTV, Spy Hunter Sitdown… Major Havocs were around $5k then and kinda regret not snagging one.

 

[WadeLanham]

Isn't there already a recent thread of this exact same topic?

 

[alfonzotan]

2) Qix. This was a sweet one that I bought from a local operator non-working, for the "going rate" at the time, which was $50.

Those were the days. *sigh*