My can of gasoline on this situation...

Wow,

Well, looks like everyone's bitching about one thing or another. Seems SNK's final demise has everyone hanging on, doing their best to get themselves a piece, or bitching insanely because they can't get one. I myself think that everyone bitching on here about Shawn's prices are simply jealous. Shawn doesn't owe any of us a DAMN THING. The market is law, first and foremost. I can certainly understand why Shawn wouldn't give a rat's ass about trying to please any of you, considering how easily your allegiances change at the drop of a hat. If I had worked long and hard and had developed the connections with SNK that allowed me a very last piece of the pie from them, I know I damn sure wouldn't care about pleasing an endlessly fickle crew of web trolls who continually hound me about prices. The bottom line is, if its truly the games you care about, you can get an MVS set-up and play just about damn near anything you want for far less than the cost of an AES and a couple carts. Those of you who are strictly AES are by very definition COLLECTORS, and therefore subject to the hostile climate of the market (no doubt now in permanent upward spiral now that SNK is dead). I myself just liquidated my AES to a good buddy, and am now just down to two home carts which I have yet to sell, because its a simple fact that owning and expanding an AES collection will become a much more expensive proposition in the very near future. Am I crying about it? Fuck no. Because the market is law, and before you go and start pointing fingers at who you might think is responsible, take a good, long, hard look in two places.

1. SNK. Yeah, them. The ones with the absolute terrible business practices. In the end, it was their failure to innovate and maintain pace with the rest of the game industry that cost them their existence. Wanna know why Capcom can still push out games like Capcom VS SNK 2? Cause games like Resident Evil and Onimusha pay the bills. Because Capcom pursued a robust third party publishing program for all platforms and managed to develop cash-cow mainstream hits that allowed them to continue to produce fan faves like the SF series, which most folks know hasnt been mainstream since about 1994. SNK never managed to appeal outside their hardcore base, and if you pair that with the failed Neo pocket, a great little handheld which despite its allure never had a snowball's chance in hell of cracking the GameBoy empire, you've got the main culprits that sunk our beloved company.

2. SNK's fanatical fan base. Or, rather, you. We all know that the killer AES carts and systems were in perilous short supply...what happens when you mix a rabid fan base willing to shell out big bucks and very limited supply? The current situation. Endless bickering and accusations and jealous behavior. Take a deep breath and quit looking for someone to chew out. We're all to blame for this situation to some degree, and irony naturally dictates that the ones most responsible for this now shitty scene are the ones we now mourn. The game creation geniuses at SNK. If only some that creative talent had extended to the boardroom.........

Originally posted by Loopz:
<STRONG>2. SNK's fanatical fan base. Or, rather, you. We all know that the killer AES carts and systems were in perilous short supply...what happens when you mix a rabid fan base willing to shell out big bucks and very limited supply? The current situation. Endless bickering and accusations and jealous behavior. Take a deep breath and quit looking for someone to chew out. We're all to blame for this situation to some degree, and irony naturally dictates that the ones most responsible for this now shitty scene are the ones we now mourn. The game creation geniuses at SNK. If only some that creative talent had extended to the boardroom.........</STRONG>

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<IMG SRC="smilies/ohno.gif" border="0"> too true <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0">

Going against that little voice in my head going "don't do it" I'm adding fuel to ye olde fire.

1. Selling games for a living sucks. People are passionate about it, and most of us are broke 'cause we keep buying more. We like our games cheap, so cheap that most of us can't deny we or one of our friends is in posession of pirated PSX games. I was in game retail for five years - managed one store, owned the other - and the number of complaints you get from people because you dare make money selling games is astonishing. If you manage to make money, bravo. If people buy your stuff and are happy, to hell with the people who don't.

2. Honor is everything. If you announce a price you stand by it. I have, on more than one occasion, lost money matching a competitor's price or selling things at my own price when a distributor raises theirs. That happens. Gouging is bad for everyone.

3. When demand exceeds supply, the price goes up. Deal with it.

4. Neo fans aren't the most rational people in the world when it comes to blowing money.

So where do I stand? Eh, who cares? I'm going back to playing the games.

Lawrence.

I couldn't agree with you more loopz.

No one is in the AES end of the neo geo stuff because its inexpensive. Collecting is the core, and the market is, well the market. If its two expensive, then shop around, that part of the fun of collecting.

I agree 100% with your statements, Loopz. I've said all along that the market dictates prices here, not some fan fairy godmother. Those whining about it DO seem to be jealous, nothing more. No one bothers to bring up the Metal Slug 3 and Sengoku 3 English releases, which required enormous commitment and resources to bring out. The tiny small group complaining bitterly about this do NOT represent the majority of this site, and should ALL be ashamed of that kind of behavior. <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0">

the only ones who should be ashamed are the ass kissers who believe and follow the crap you guys spew..

Originally posted by NEOGEOman:
<STRONG>So where do I stand? Eh, who cares? I'm going back to playing the games.
</STRONG>

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Like I told Diasuke, I think the reason I got so pissed is because I give a shit about 'the scene' and that whole jazz, like you said gouging only hurts everyone.

I have tremendous respect for the woes of a video game store owner, especially a smaller indy store. I worked in a chain but we were a very small chain (handful of stores, 10 at most) and it was amazing how LITTLE they made. We lost money on every new system we sold. The only way we could stay competative was to have our prices at the same level as Funcoland and Best Buy and the retail stores.

It's a thankless, headache of a job.

I try to remember the smaller indy shops when I make my purchase and I always try to convey my thanks and appreciation for the love and effort it takes to run one.

LOOPZ, you have A damn good point. HOWEVER, you made one mistake. Neo carts SHOULD NOT increase in value just due to the fact that SNK is not around any more(however, comlete, boxed AES home cart systems HAVE gone up in price. especialy new systems). their death has nothing to do with the # of home carts that had been available for years. its not like if they stayed open for another year or two we would of seen re-releases of games like metal slug, kizuna and other games which are now at insanbe prices. the bottom line is that for A while now home cart prices have been dropping signifigantly and they continue to do so. SNK's demise should have no impact on the current "market" and unless everyone here has A screw loose and is bent on seing it the other way ,it should have no affect in the future as well.

[ November 09, 2001: Message edited by: ORPHEUS ]

Thanks Lawrence, Chimp for the agreement.
Orpheus, while its true in theory that since the amount of home carts hasnt changed and therefore SNK's death SHOULDNT affect the 'market', it sure as hell will because of the sudden explosion in awareness about Neo Geo. I didnt see a single video game related news post on any site that didnt at least mention SNK's closure over a week ago. Not to mention the fact that said cart supply, like any limited collectable, is subject to dwindling numbers (be it from people being careless, carts dying/broken, or fucks like Dion/Chris trashing them to create scarcity.) For those who disagree with me, that's your call. I don't receive a dime from Neo Store, and have never bought anything from Shawn. Just callin it how I see it. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Sure it does. It spikes the demand.

Brent

Originally posted by ORPHEUS:
<STRONG>LOOPZ, you have A damn good point. HOWEVER, you made one mistake. Neo carts SHOULD NOT increase in value just due to the fact that SNK is not around any more(however, comlete, boxed AES home cart systems HAVE gone up in price. especialy new systems).[ November 09, 2001: Message edited by: ORPHEUS ]</STRONG>

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Loopz,
Hey Bro I read your posts and to be straight up honest I agree with pretty much everything you said.

Only thing that still is sticking that Shawn jacked up the price from $500.00 to a grand in the end.

You don't do that kind of stuff if you consider yourself a retail store. Period.

Shawn considers this a retail store for Neo*Geo merchandise & goods and thus if he posts in the coming soon section 10 new Neo for $500.00 a pop 1st come 1st served, then he had better damn well stick by it.

I could care less how much he paid for the systems.

It him not sticking by his prices when he originally stated them.

Nothing More.

Nothing Less.

Originally posted by BonusKun:
<STRONG>Shawn jacked up the price from $500.00 to a grand in the end.

You don't do that kind of stuff if you consider yourself a retail store. Period.

Shawn considers this a retail store for Neo*Geo merchandise & goods and thus if he posts in the coming soon section 10 new Neo for $500.00 a pop 1st come 1st served, then he had better damn well stick by it.

I could care less how much he paid for the systems.

It him not sticking by his prices when he originally stated them.

Nothing More.

Nothing Less.</STRONG>

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100% Agreed. <IMG SRC="smilies/cool.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by BonusKun:
<STRONG>Loopz,
Hey Bro I read your posts and to be straight up honest I agree with pretty much everything you said.

Only thing that still is sticking that Shawn jacked up the price from $500.00 to a grand in the end.

You don't do that kind of stuff if you consider yourself a retail store. Period.

Shawn considers this a retail store for Neo*Geo merchandise & goods and thus if he posts in the coming soon section 10 new Neo for $500.00 a pop 1st come 1st served, then he had better damn well stick by it.

I could care less how much he paid for the systems.

It him not sticking by his prices when he originally stated them.

Nothing More.

Nothing Less.</STRONG>

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Unfortunately Bonuskun you left out one small detail. When he posted the systems as coming soon, he pegged the price at "$500+", not simply "$500". That means "500 or more" and is not a firm price. Its totally silly to get upset about what they finally went for, obviously wealthy collectors were willing to pay that price and thats all there is to it. For the rest of us (myself included), purchasing used home cart systems is clearly the best option, as they can often be had for $200, give or take . . . <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Actually, that's not the whole story either. Even though he posted it that way, PRIOR to the $500+ being listed on the web page, Shawn (at least in my case) stated via e-mail that the new systems would be "about $500" if they were indeed as nice as he was expecting. That's a far cry from $500+. Unfortunately statements like that generate interest, draw in customers, and create demand.

I don't have a huge problem with the whole thing b/c I don't believe it's possible for Shawn to be profitable with this venture, given the 2 qty=500 cart orders he fronted. He owes us nothing. That being said, I think the way he went about it was improper.

Brent

Originally posted by chimpmeister:
<STRONG>Unfortunately Bonuskun you left out one small detail. When he posted the systems as coming soon, he pegged the price at "$500+", not simply "$500". That means "500 or more" and is not a firm price.... </STRONG>

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BonusK, et. al...

I can understand that totally. I think the timing of boosting those prices was definitely questionable. While Shawn does have the right to pursue as much revenue as possible to make his investments pay off, the judgement exercised isn't too hot, considering the inflamed sense of despair a lot of fans are feeling after SNK called it a day. What is apparent though is that a lot of longtime complaining trolls are using these untimely events as a catalyst for furthering their less-than-purely honorable goals. Yeah, we'd all like a nice phat collection of everything SNK, but the simple fact remains...if its just the games you care about, MVS is your only realistically affordable solution. Even if you're possessed about the artwork, you could always blow $200 on Mooks and have just about all the art you could handle. The home carts have and always will be a volatile, screwy, costly thing to deal with thanks to scarce quantities and the meddling of fuckers like NGF. Saner heads will opt for MVS, those that don't face the wrath of the open season that is the AES collectors cesspool.