Console Wars

Having spent a few months immersed in the world of the 32x and finding a number of interesting things out about the console and the specific generation along the way, I have found myself getting deeper and deeper into addiction. 

It started out so innocently, I found a console and a collection that I had a realistic chance of being able to complete and see if I could work my way through the list as and when availability and budget allowed me to. Then it started with the Buyee and access to the captivating retro gaming goodness of Yahoo in Japan. Just a cheeky copy of Shining Force for the Megadrive I said, then a Virtual Boy (well it was almost free).

Then I looked west and to the eBay.com platform which contained other delights that the European consumers had been starved of for so long. A mk2 “Tower of Power” was an opportunity I could not miss, “how was I going to play NTSC cartridges otherwise” I asked myself?

Now we are slipping deeper into the addiction – my most recent delivery from Japan contained a Twin Famicom along with a number of NES and SNES games – justified as things that I could use on photoshoots for Player Clothing.

Almost like a red 32x

Then came the murky world of the Sega consoles and a deep dive into devices I never knew existed. The Nomad was the first, I set up an alert with BayWatch and gauged the pricing and then when a bargain appeared I struck fast and snagged it. 

WonderMega – its seen some action, but it’s a thing of console beauty

It was never going to stop there. I knew it. Then I innocently mused about other consoles that might have been released by Sega and wondering if I might be able to complete the Megadrive/Genesis full set.

Made by Sega, but only in Japan, but arrived via the USA

What is the full set you might wonder – well for the purpose of having a permanent record I have it as this (please do feel free to get in touch if I have missed anything out).

  • Sega Genesis/Megadrive Mk1 [Got]
  • Sega Genesis/Megadrive Mk2 [Got]
  • Sega Genesis/Megadrive Mk3 (3rd Party) [Need]
  • Sega Genesis/Megadrive 32x [Got]
  • Sega CD / Mega CD Mk1 [Got]
  • Sega CD / Mega CD Mk2 [Got]
  • Sega Genesis CDX [Need]
  • Sega Multimega [Need]
  • Sega Megajet [Got]
  • Sega Nomad [Got]
  • Victor Wondermega (3rd Party) [Got]
  • JVC Wondermega 2 (3rd Party) [Need]
  • Sega TeraDrive [Need]

It has to be said there are a couple more on the list if we are going full third party, but these include the Amstrad Mega PC, which might be tricky, and the LaserActive which is a Pioneer device that has a Megadrive module, which might be interesting in the future as it would open up the mysterious world of the PC Engine as well.

Anyway, I have now “officially” started a new collection and I will document my progress as I update the blog.

Keep playing!