New to AES

[Danthor]

Greetings, all! A friend of mine recently sold me his AES, and while I'm off to a good start, and I hope I wasn't hosed because he knew how badly I wanted it (He sold me the console, 2 controllers, World Heroes 2, Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, Samurai Shodown, Samurai Shodown II, KoF '96, KoF '97 and Art of Fighting 2 all with cases and books for 500$) I naturally want to get the most out of enjoying/collecting for it.

That said, as I look at AES cart prices more seriously (Been an NGCD only collector till now) I'm finding the prices range anywhere from reasonable, to seriously horrifying. Is this a case of people just overcharging and I'm looking in the wrong places, or am I just in too much shock after being used to paying NGCD prices? I also looked at MVS converters. A bit of an investment for a good one on the frontend, but MVS carts look so much more attractive in terms of my wallet. In the long run, would it be better off just waiting for reasonable sales on certain titles, or getting a converter and using MVS carts? I thought about getting an AES Multicart, but I'm really not feeling that idea, it doesn't seem much better than just using my NGX and a modded SD card.

 

[cdamm]

new to aes?

quit now while you are ahead.

 

[Danthor]

Why would I do that? I'm enjoying it! Is there some other reason apart from pricing on games that might make me want to do so? Is maintenance and care especially difficult? I didn't find that was the case with other NeoGeo systems.

 

[hyper]

buy from the neostore

buy from the neostorehttp://www.neostore.com/Default.asp

 

[theMot]

By the time you buy mvs carts, shock box, inserts and the shipping separate for each your usually paying the same as buying jap home carts anyway. Then there are some games that would be double or tripple the mvs price which you could still stretch yourself to do. There are probably only about 15 - 20 jap home carts that are exceptionally expensive. Of course though the mvs library is bigger.

 

[alsmoneo]

I would suggest getting a CMVS instead of the converter as its about the same price if not less (open or enclosed 1 slot CMVS). AES collecting can be very expensive for some carts. Carts range from $20 - 30K...

MVS would be the better way.. The Shock box is $8 and the insert is $3 but shipping is what is going to be the killer (but just buy in bulk).

 

[hyper]

KOF series titles can be had for around $60-$150 depending on condition, same with Samurai Shodown 1-4.

 

[Danthor]

I would suggest getting a CMVS instead of the converter as its about the same price if not less (open or enclosed 1 slot CMVS). AES collecting can be very expensive for some carts. Carts range from $20 - 30K...

MVS would be the better way.. The Shock box is $8 and the insert is $3 but shipping is what is going to be the killer (but just buy in bulk).

I did think about that, but the way I figure it, if I go the way of the converter, I've paid the same price and I have the option of using both in the same system, which makes more sense to me. That and every CMVS I've seen for sale is running between 500-700$, but again, I think I'm just looking in the wrong places. Hence why I thought I'd ask here! To that end, if I decided to go that way and get MVS carts instead, I was definitely planning to buy in bulk, be it carts or shockboxes. While I'm at it, where can I buy shockboxes for 8$ and inserts for 3$? Once again, where I look, they're more expensive then that! The inserts especially.

 

[Karou]

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?240964-NEO-MVS-MAGIC-KEY-converters-for-sale.

http://southtown-homebrew.com/index.php?cPath=170 - has inserts too.

 

[Danthor]

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?240964-NEO-MVS-MAGIC-KEY-converters-for-sale.

http://southtown-homebrew.com/index.php?cPath=170 - has inserts too.

And that... is EXACTLY why I always think it best to ask here, instead of rushing into ebay blindly! Seriously, thanks a lot, guys!

 

[fr33m4n]

It all depends...

What is your priority?!

 

[Danthor]

It all depends...

What is your priority?!

Easy, to get the best bang for my buck. I want to build a large library, and enjoy it! The converter is looking REALLY appealing because I can then take advantage of both!

 

[hyper]

Better off building your own cmvs

 

[Danthor]

Better off building your own cmvs

What would the advantages of that be, as opposed to buying a converter and having both? I'm not asking sarcastically, I truly want to know! Bear in mind, I am remarkably terrible at building stuff. I had to have someone else make a modded SD card for my NGX, for example. Which is what makes the converter so appealing

 

[psychobear85]

new to aes?

quit now while you are ahead.

Yes do it, sell what you got and get an MVS, way cheaper then AES, the converter will eventually get you mad, you can find MVS boards for under 100 and have someone make it into a console for you.

 

[hyper]

What would the advantages of that be, as opposed to buying a converter and having both? I'm not asking sarcastically, I truly want to know! Bear in mind, I am remarkably terrible at building stuff. I had to have someone else make a modded SD card for my NGX, for example. Which is what makes the converter so appealing

the ngx modding is more tedious, building a cmvs is pretty straight forward. The advantages are that you can customize the components installed to your liking, (video converters, power supply, memory card addon..) and its ALOT cheaper, or you can build a supergun, fits right onto the board slot, you use it with other arcade hardware etc.. If saving money is a priority than that would be the way to go. Most people get into homecarts for reasons other than saving money.

 

[wyndcrosser]

What would the advantages of that be, as opposed to buying a converter and having both? I'm not asking sarcastically, I truly want to know! Bear in mind, I am remarkably terrible at building stuff. I had to have someone else make a modded SD card for my NGX, for example. Which is what makes the converter so appealing

CMS is actually cheaper to make your own (less than $150 with encoder and PCB board being the most expensive). CMVS is the at home best way to play MVS carts, the converter just isn't worth it (personal opinion).

I've done a lot of soldering before, so doing my last seven CMVS's, is pretty easy by now. Do a MV-1F and it should take you at the max 3 hours to complete, the solder points are prettty big and it takes a straight 5v 3a power adapter.

However, like you said, if you couldn't do the NGX yourself, this might not be for you. MVS is where you go if you just want to play in my opinion, as they look nice in shockboxes, but that AES carts have their own glory lol.

Good luck,

 

[Danthor]

Yes do it, sell what you got and get an MVS, way cheaper then AES, the converter will eventually get you mad, you can find MVS boards for under 100 and have someone make it into a console for you.

Hmmm. Well unfortunately for me I suppose, I won't sell it to make the investment back (I'm an awful, dragon-hoarding type videogame collector) But the MVS option looks like it will give me more return in the long run, the more research I do. Now, here's something I do need to know. Is it possible to have a CMVS running Unibios? The converter I was linked to earlier in this thread runs it, which is one reason that makes it super attractive to me. I am liking the MVS game prices, but I like the AES gameplay options for a lot of games, especially fighting games, and with that converter I get the best of both worlds. I have much to consider!

 

[Danthor]

CMS is actually cheaper to make your own (less than $150 with encoder and PCB board being the most expensive). CMVS is the at home best way to play MVS carts, the converter just isn't worth it (personal opinion).....
however, like you said, if you couldn't do the NGX yourself, this might not be for you. MVS is where you go if you just want to play in my opinion, as they look nice in shockboxes, but that AES carts have their own glory lol.

Good luck,

Exactly why I'm still weighing my options. Thanks for the open feedback, though!

 

[hyper]

You can purchase the unibios chip directly from Razoola:
http://unibios.free.fr/

check here for info on pcb's:
http://www.hardmvs.com/

 

[psychobear85]

When you start seeing the prices of games you want to play and buying is the only option you will wish you gotten an MVS, I'm just saying I started of like you, I picked up a AES system from my friend for 400$ with 5 games, eventually I wanted to play others. For what a good converter will cost you better of saving a couple of hundred and get a CMVS.

 

[Danthor]

When you start seeing the prices of games you want to play and buying is the only option you will wish you gotten an MVS, I'm just saying I started of like you, I picked up a AES system from my friend for 400$ with 5 games, eventually I wanted to play others. For what a good converter will cost you better of saving a couple of hundred and get a CMVS.

Which is precisely why I wanted to do a lot of research and gather facts from people, before I make another purchase. I'm getting a LOT of useful info from these posts. To that end, thanks a lot guys! I had no idea I had these kinds of options!

 

[mahesak]

buy from the neostore

buy from the neostorehttp://www.neostore.com/Default.asp

shock price

 

[andsuchisdeath]

A lot of people are going to preach on about getting a consolized MVS.

The validity of keeping the AES (or just owning any of the hardware in general) truly depends on what titles you are looking to play. Having access to the full library isn't going to automatically be fun just because it's cheap..

Asses your level of conviction to the titles you are interested in, and with patience you can make it happen with AES.

You've already pulled the trigger on the console, and the price you paid on that bundle is fair (Kof '96 and '97 make the pot sweeter). I don't know, unless you are a tech guy that likes building projects I just see a CMVS as pointless compromise. If it REALLY comes down to gameplay, (and it usually doesn't) then emulation can provide that.

 

[Joneo]

You've already pulled the trigger on the console, and the price you paid on that bundle is fair (Kof '96 and '97 make the pot sweeter). I don't know, unless you are a tech guy that likes building projects I just see a CMVS as pointless compromise. If it REALLY comes down to gameplay, (and it usually doesn't) then emulation can provide that.

IMO AES compromises quite a bit more.
* Game price
* Game availability
* Playability (unless you don't care about wear & tear on your $3,000 Metal Slug homecart)
* Software scope (quite a few MVS exclusives out there)
* Maintenance (MVS carts are easier to open & clean. Replacements are generally easier to source.)
* Durability (a quality encased CMVS will hold up better and longer than a brittle plastic AES)
* Sanity (you will hold up better and longer if your time's spent enjoying games rather than combing over insertion marks, insert wear, missing/damaged books, etc.)