Who Had An AES Growing Up in the 90s?

Joined
Aug 2, 2020
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36
Hey Guys,

New member here, and love the forum!

I'm probably getting my first AES shortly, and it's making me think...

I was 11 - 14 years old in the early 90s, during the AES' heyday. Those of you around back then probably remember how much of an, almost, urban myth, the AES was. It was a time before the internet, before any one of us had the ability to vet playground rumors. Our only information on this fabled system came from hearsay, mostly in the form of, "I know this guy, who knows this guy, who knows this guy, who has a Neo Geo!" In short, most of us didn't really think the AES really existed, until we actually saw pictures of them online in high school (they weren't sold at TRU, etc.).

I sincerely don't want to embarrass anyone, or shine a spotlight on anyone's privilege growing up. But I do want to know who actually owned these systems back when they first came out, and what it was like. I mean, in our minds -- back in the early nineties -- you AES owners were living like Ricky Schroder in Silver Spoons. Did you also have a rideable model train? What other toys did you have? The GI Joe aircraft carrier? Fortress Maximus? I am sincerely, 1000% not being facetious here. It's been 30 years. I'm not envious. My curiosity is purely academic.

Those old shits here, like me, who were around for the AES debut, remember the fabled status this console had on the playground. Let's hear from the wizards who wielded its power.

Edit: After re-reading this post, I realized the tone could be misconstrued as dickhead-ish. Again, if you could put yourself in the mindset of those of us growing up back then, owning one of those consoles was almost the stuff of legend. I just want to know what it was like, and more about WHO those people were. If I embarrassed anyone, I sincerely apologize. That's not my intent at all.
 
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yagamikun

Art of Typing Wiz
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Welcome!

I had an AES in the 90's, but I worked my ass off to get one. I got a job at Target the second I turned 16 so I could save up enough to get an AES and a handful of games. In late January 1998 my dream came true. I got my boxed US AES with Samurai Shodown 2, KOF 95, and Fatal Fury Special. Not long after I got my first "new" AES game, The Last Blade. From my original AES collection, my parents only contributed one game - KOF 96.
 

Atro

Who?,
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I had 2 AES systems in the 90's (late 97/98) and then came the bank account struggles :keke:

But I followed the system as a young kid. Namely due to heavy coverage from french (specially) and spanish magazines.
 
Joined
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Welcome!

I had an AES in the 90's, but I worked my ass off to get one. I got a job at Target the second I turned 16 so I could save up enough to get an AES and a handful of games. In late January 1998 my dream came true. I got my boxed US AES with Samurai Shodown 2, KOF 95, and Fatal Fury Special. Not long after I got my first "new" AES game, The Last Blade. From my original AES collection, my parents only contributed one game - KOF 96.

You sir, are a true 90s hero!
 
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I had 2 AES systems in the 90's (late 97/98) and then came the bank account struggles :keke:

But I followed the system as a young kid. Namely due to heavy coverage from french (specially) and spanish magazines.

I might have just simply been a dolt, which is entirely possible, but I really doubted its existence. I actually had an SNES, a Genesis, and a Sega CD, and a lot of games for each. The sum total for all of that could have probably bought me an AES I guess. But the AES wasn't sold at the big box retailers around me.
 

Heinz

Parteizeit
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They aren't really that expensive today if you don't care for the box.
 
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They aren't really that expensive today if you don't care for the box.

Exactly, yeah, which is why I'm first getting one now! :-)

But shit, growing up, that system was the equivalent to a Bugatti. That's really the only reason I would buy an actual AES. I have the arcade stick pro and all the games emulated. It's the principle of owning one finally.
 

bubba966

Cinema Ninja!,
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Bought one at the end of '91. Took a long time for me to save up $650 for it. Never knew anyone else that had an AES back then.
 

oliverclaude

General Morden's Aide
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Around 1992, bought it from an ad in the same mag, where I saw it for the first time, IIRC it was the one called "Video Games". After that I didn't buy anything for the next 12 months or so and the next thing I bought then... was another cart. What was it like? In video game terms, like nothing before and quite frankly, like nothing after.
 

Syn

There can be only one.
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My neighbor had one but he was in his early 20s working at Babbages.
 

XxHennersXx

Why So Many X's?,
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Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Posts
1,166
Hey Guys,

New member here, and love the forum!

I'm probably getting my first AES shortly, and it's making me think...

I was 11 - 14 years old in the early 90s, during the AES' heyday. Those of you around back then probably remember how much of an, almost, urban myth, the AES was. It was a time before the internet, before any one of us had the ability to vet playground rumors. Our only information on this fabled system came from hearsay, mostly in the form of, "I know this guy, who knows this guy, who knows this guy, who has a Neo Geo!" In short, most of us didn't really think the AES really existed, until we actually saw pictures of them online in high school (they weren't sold at TRU, etc.).

I sincerely don't want to embarrass anyone, or shine a spotlight on anyone's privilege growing up. But I do want to know who actually owned these systems back when they first came out, and what it was like. I mean, in our minds -- back in the early nineties -- you AES owners were living like Ricky Schroder in Silver Spoons. Did you also have a rideable model train? What other toys did you have? The GI Joe aircraft carrier? Fortress Maximus? I am sincerely, 1000% not being facetious here. It's been 30 years. I'm not envious. My curiosity is purely academic.

Those old shits here, like me, who were around for the AES debut, remember the fabled status this console had on the playground. Let's hear from the wizards who wielded its power.

Edit: After re-reading this post, I realized the tone could be misconstrued as dickhead-ish. Again, if you could put yourself in the mindset of those of us growing up back then, owning one of those consoles was almost the stuff of legend. I just want to know what it was like, and more about WHO those people were. If I embarrassed anyone, I sincerely apologize. That's not my intent at all.

I mean, they were sold at Toys R Us though. And they were sold at Babbages and Software Etc (you might know them as their current name...GameStop). I saw them at Incredible Universe for sale also.

I think you might not have been actually noticed it since you knew you couldn’t get one anyway.
 

OldSchoolNeo

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May 28, 2005
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Picked up a Gold System with Magician Lord in 91 (I was in my late teens) from a Babbage's at a local mall. It was too big to fit in any of their bags so I had to carry it out by the handle from the store to my car (I was worried about getting mugged). Had to sell virtually all of my NES collection and a good portion of my SNES and Genesis games to help fund it.

There literally was nothing like it (and nothing quite like it since in my opinion).

Thankfully there was a store in CA, 'Game Dude' I believe, where you could swap an AES game and like $80 for another AES game. I used that service quite a bit to cycle through the early AES library.

Unfortunately I ended up selling it around 2001, and then later in the mid 2000's going the MVS route.

Just recently picked up a Japanese AES unit. I had totally forgotten the unique AES cart smell. There's nothing like the smell of an AES cart in the morning!
 
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Joined
Aug 2, 2020
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I mean, they were sold at Toys R Us though. And they were sold at Babbages and Software Etc (you might know them as their current name...GameStop). I saw them at Incredible Universe for sale also.

I think you might not have been actually noticed it since you knew you couldn’t get one anyway.

You're probably right. I was 11 at the time, and wasn't looking. I just never saw them at the TRUs in Paramus.
 
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Most purchases of this sort are to satisfy nostalgia for things I owned, or wanted to own. But when I get this AES, it will be an acquisition of something I wasn't sure even existed, but wanted a lot, nonetheless, as a concept. An actualized, video game wet-dream, to be disgusting about it.
 

redfield0009

Sieger's Squire
Joined
Jun 24, 2009
Posts
808
Most purchases of this sort are to satisfy nostalgia for things I owned, or wanted to own. But when I get this AES, it will be an acquisition of something I wasn't sure even existed, but wanted a lot, nonetheless, as a concept. An actualized, video game wet-dream, to be disgusting about it.

Nice cringe. You'll fit right in.
 

Digmac

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Feb 10, 2016
Posts
1,966
I knew this was the right crowd.

Well, to really fit in, you have to crucify your AES redfield style by dropping your bodily fluids on it. It’s the only way to really fit in.

In response to the thread, I wasn’t even around when the AES could be purchased in stores. I’m a young tymer with an old tymer mindset. I do thoroughly enjoy having an AES nowadays though. Even with the market prices there’s tons of fun to be had with alternatives like the NeoSD and NeoSD Pro.
 
Joined
Aug 2, 2020
Posts
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Well, to really fit in, you have to crucify your AES redfield style by dropping your bodily fluids on it. It’s the only way to really fit in.

In response to the thread, I wasn’t even around when the AES could be purchased in stores. I’m a young tymer with an old tymer mindset. I do thoroughly enjoy having an AES nowadays though. Even with the market prices there’s tons of fun to be had with alternatives like the NeoSD and NeoSD Pro.

Then you have the best of both worlds! Old mind, young protastate!
 
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