Buying an AES console

[Caseh]

Well, it's been a while. According to my profile history about 9 years since my last post!

Sadly I sold my Hyper64 and my entire MVS collection many, many years back but recently I've been finding I have an overwhelming urge to purchase an AES system. I've never owned one but done quite a bit of reading on what mods it might need etc.

The only real problem I'm encountering is actually finding one to buy. I'm based in the UK so a little apprehensive of importing, I got nailed for import tax on two reasonably big purchases from Japan recently so that's made me a little weary.

Also, what sort of price should I realistically be looking at for a fully boxed (in good condition) example complete with auth certificate, manual etc? I've found an NTSC-J console within the UK for £275 which seems reasonable, I imagine the US AES system in general to be more expensive?

Not really bothered if it is NTSC-U/J just not a PAL system.

 

[tacoguy]

I don't want to sound discouraging but maybe you should quit while you're ahead. The prices of AES have gone way up. MVS prices is doing the same too but it's still affordable in comparison to AES.

 

[Caseh]

To be honest the current cost of the AES console itself is fine, i'm just wondering what the going rate is at the moment as you can't always base that on feeBay listings. I won't be buying many games for it and the games I do buy will mostly be what most would consider to be the dregs of their collections.

 

[Ren-chan]

Everything is turning super expensive.... you may afford few games, but you may want to consider getting a mvs converter for the really expensive ones.

 

[Caseh]

This is more in line with owning a piece of gaming kit I would have loved to have owned when I was growing up rather than handing over £1000 for a game that could be played on an emulator over 15 years ago. If owning some of the more expensive games was the aim then yeah MVS would probably be the way to go.

 

[PigInTheMud]

£275 sounds high! Are prices really going up that much? I picked mine up for 9000 yen with controller and everything back in 2012. And my friend picked one up for 15000 yen complete in box. You can buy the system for about 200-250 in the U.S. I've heard a lot about game collecting being expensive in the UK but that price sounds absurd to me

 

[cum_drops]

Why limit your search to a boxed one. It just adds cost and makes it harder to track one down.

 

[Caseh]

£275 sounds high! Are prices really going up that much? I picked mine up for 9000 yen with controller and everything back in 2012. And my friend picked one up for 15000 yen complete in box. You can buy the system for about 200-250 in the U.S. I've heard a lot about game collecting being expensive in the UK but that price sounds absurd to me

Damn that's cheap, the PS2 currently sells in Japan (or so I'm told) for the exact same amount as what you paid for a Neo Geo 3 years ago. Haha Yeap in the UK we pay quite a bit. The general rule of thumb is whatever you guys pay in US dollars, we pay the same number (give or take a few quid) but in sterling. Shops have to charge high as they import and pay the fees, then add tax onto their sales within the UK.

As for having a boxed AES, that's OCD on my part. If I intend on keeping something then having a complete , mint example is more important to me than just owning the console itself. May seem weird to many but I know I'm not the only one.

 

[GoosehanX]

That's fine and good, but good boxed systems have been $500+ lately, many going for much, much more while a good loose system can be had for around $200 if you look in the right place.

 

[ne7]

better off buying from Japan as prices even after shipping can be cheaper than that, UK ebay sellers are just being ludicrous with pricing atm

 

[itsofrustratin]

Dont get discouraged, while many games are nuts in price you can still amass a decent selection of games without breaking your bank, as long as you arent overly picky. Like others have mentioned get a system from Japanese. Cheaper plus Japanese systems are uncensored. Good luck

 

[StevenK]

Hey man, I'e got boxed AES systems coming out of my ears, drop me a pm!

 

[Caseh]

Haha holy shit, PM sent!

 

[itsofrustratin]

Hey man, I'e got boxed AES systems coming out of my ears, drop me a pm!

View attachment 26097

wow, did you rob a store to get those? haha

 

[Atro]

I picked mine up for 9000 yen with controller and everything back in 2012. And my friend picked one up for 15000 yen complete in box.

You just forgot that it's almost 2016.

 

[PigInTheMud]

You just forgot that it's almost 2016.

I forgot that game collecting has reached an all time high and everything is becoming stupid expensive

 

[Caseh]

I forgot that game collecting has reached an all time high and everything is becoming stupid expensive

Indeed it has, if eBay were to vanish tomorrow I imagine the value of a lot of gaming stuff would drop quite drastically.

 

[itsofrustratin]

Yea probably, ebay has become a blessing and a curse for all things collectible. If ebay simply got rid of the BIN feature, prices would surely go down. It would go back to pure supply and demand.

 

[Caseh]

Yea probably, ebay has become a blessing and a curse for all things collectible. If ebay simply got rid of the BIN feature, prices would surely go down. It would go back to pure supply and demand.

On the one hand it may stop people asking insane prices but on the other hand I've seen many auctions exceed the price of a BIN. Despite both items being identical some people miss the point and get caught in a bidding war.

 

[itsofrustratin]

Yup ive seen that as well..i remember seeing a mint copy of Jap Last Blade selling for just about $400 in a no reserve auction. In other cases the difference in price is marginal and barely worth the effort. Having more no reserve auctions would increase the odds of finding a half way decent deal on ebay though. For some reason the Japanese sellers have become some of the worst gougers.

 

[Archdesigner03]

You also need to mod your system with a uni-bios. Its a must have.

 

[SumerNivek]

You also need to mod your system with a uni-bios. Its a must have.

Agreed. I got my AES probably back in 2005 or so...maybe 2006...and it came with two sticks and the UNI-BIOS for about $270. It also came with Japanese Fatal Fury Special. I love the UNI-BIOS, as it seems that the Japanese AES carts are, on average, cheaper than the American AES carts. I picked up around 5 games at the Midwest Gaming Classic for around $150...commons mind you, and all Japanese, but your quest for a decent sized AES collection for a reasonable amount money can be had...just not on eBay!

 

[Caseh]

To be honest most of my purchases for this will be fairly common games. I've managed to wrangle a game or two with the AES from StevenK and I've got a copy of Fire Suplex and Samurai Spirits inbound ready.

I'll get the UniBIOS done at some point but it's not a priority just yet, think i'll take it as it is for now then get the work done when i'm pre-occupied with something else.

 

[itsofrustratin]

You also need to mod your system with a uni-bios. Its a must have.

Ya some games are impossible with only 4 lives.

 

[Archdesigner03]

I started off with an AES system about 10 years ago, but regret it after a while because of the high price home carts. My aes collection is pretty weak at the moment with mostly japanese common carts. I had bought an omega last year and I was able to grow my collection at a cheaper price. Also, some great games are only available on the mvs like strikers and shock troopers. Plus 161 in 1 cart is under $90 for the mvs vs over $700 bucks on the aes.