Monday, March 19, 2012

What would you rather spend 950£ on: Food, rent or a PC Engine LT?

It's a fairly well-known fact that I fancy the portable PC Engine--branded the "PC Engine LT" because it folds up like a laptop--that the ballsy folks at NEC released back in 1991. (Or, rather, it should be a well-known fact, since I've mentioned this sexy system in a number of posts--including this one and this one. Oh, and this one, too.)

Will I ever actually buy one of these sexy-but-bulky (for a handheld) systems? I'd love to tell you "hell yeah," but I'm not so sure--especially after seeing this eBay listing.

For those of you who aren't interested enough in the PC Engine LT to click on the link above, it takes you to an auction for an unboxed PC Engine LT, a blue-and-gray PC Engine controller and copies of four shoot 'em ups (Final Soldier, GunHed, Solider Blade and Super Star Soldier).

Oh, and the whole shebang will set you back just 950£ (about $1,500).



Hey, at least shipping is included.

As appealing as that price is, I think I'll pass--especially since I've seen plenty of unboxed PC Engine LT's appear on eBay with much smaller price tags (usually between $600 and $800).

Also, if I were to drop that kind of dough on a PC Engine LT--you know, if I somehow won the lottery and didn't mind spending nearly $2,000 on a game system--I'd drop it on a complete-in-box PC Engine LT like this one.

(Via retro-treasures.blogspot.com)

16 comments:

Pix3l said...

Io amo i videogiochi, ma non potrò mai spendere così tanto per loro!
Sono pur sempre semplici pezzi di elettronica che ai giorni nostri costano un quarto di quanto costavano al tempo...

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, sure, Pix3l, make me translate! I'll go do that now :P

Bryan Ochalla said...

OK, I'm back. (Thank goodness for Google Translate!) Anyway, I agree with you for the most part, Pix3l. There are few game systems I'd be willing to spend $600-800 on at this point in my life. Actually, this is the only one. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do it, though, even if I have the money. I guess we'll see!

Pix3l said...

Oh sorry, I was checking with a translator if I had wrote right and I copied the wrong text XD

"I love video games, but I will never spend that much for them!
They are still just pieces of electronics that today cost a quarter of what they cost at the time..."

Bryan Ochalla said...

No worries, Pix3l! Thanks again for the comment. I'm sure most folks who come to this blog will agree with your sentiments wholeheartedly :)

Pix3l said...

I should hope so :D

Linnea said...

That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. It would almost be less expensive to build one yourself, but I don't have the knowledge. My boyfriend has this amazing Treamcast (http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQbZyoKBVpLQFAzM6Y-13-IIk_a-oiEgHitwMz4RekVW8Fm0La5pN9X4_7s6Q )

I love these obscur systems! Except the price tags...

Sean said...

That is a tad on the high priced side, I think those can be acquired for less than that here, though they are quite rare.

I often wonder what my max to spend on a game system would be. Now it is way less than that, but if I ever strike it rich I would be tempted to dish out on big ticket items like that. It certainly is a cool system.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Whoa. That's incredibly expensive...it makes me wish I'd bought one a long time ago and still had it.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Linnea: You're probably right that it likely would be cheaper to make one of these yourself. That said, if you did that it wouldn't look as amazingly cool as the official product does.

Your boyfriend's Treamcast looks great, by the way. Does he -- or you -- use it often?

Bryan Ochalla said...

Sean: I would have to imagine you can find them cheaper in Japan. As I mentioned in the post, I've seen unboxed ones on eBay for between $600 and $800, so $1,500 definitely is high.

As for having a ceiling in regards to how much you'll spend on a particular game or piece of hardware: I understand that and I probably have a ceiling, too. For instance, a game has to be pretty awesome for me to spend $75 or more on it, and even then I'm only likely to spend that a few times a year.

There's a part of me that thinks I'll get one of these some day, regardless of price. I'm not sure that's really the best idea, of course, but it's pretty much my holiest of grails when it comes to gaming hardware, so if I'm going to drop that kind of dough on a system, I guess it should be this one, eh?

Bryan Ochalla said...

Justin: You know what's sad? I'm pretty sure they were pricey even when they were released. Not $1,500 pricey, or even $800 pricey, but I think they may have been at least $500. I'll have to see if I can find an ad showing their price (at the time of release) at some point...

diaglyph said...

All I can say is, you are ka-razy!!
:p

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ha! Well, you aren't the first person to say that, Igor :P

SuperGaijin UltraGamer said...

One day I know I am going to stumble into a small junk here in Japan and find myself an LT for the equivalent of $20!

Hey a guy can dream right? :D

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, I really hope that comes true for you, SuperGaijin! I mean, sure, I'd love for that to happen to *me*, but I'd also like it to happen to someone else. Just promise me you'll let me know about it when it happens, OK?

By the way, I like your site! I'll be checking in on it from now on, I think. You certainly cover a wide range of things that interest a Japan-focused geek like myself :)