Restated my AES Collection
- Thread starter Mr Walk Away
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I live about 20 min from EBs ex HQ in a West Chester. I literally went to college and parked my car across the road from the HQ. My local mall Granite Run (Gone for about 10 years now) and King of Prussia were the two most local malls to them EB was originally a calculator store at KOP
My point is I don’t know when EB expanded but at Granite Run before it was called EB they called it Games N Gadgets. My original experience with anything Neo Geo was seeing the Nam 1975 and Baseball Stars carts for sale there and they were around $250/$275 and I thought these must be the best games ever if they charge that much and really kicked off my interest in the system.
I actually worked for EB around college and afterwards as a manager for a year or two when my local game store I worked at closed. My job when I quit was basically going around opening stores for them from Virginia to Connecticut, so I spent time with the DM going around and talking to him. he worked for them around the release of the Neo and said with their return policy you could buy one Neo Geo game at $245 and then just continually return them for a new game so it was almost a subscription rental service that’s when they stopped selling them in stores because of that.
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That’s it and probably for cOnTenTS everyone has ADD now anyway.
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So I guess someone must have had to sell the games as open items after they were returned? (I don't know if they just put them back on the shelf for sale back then.)
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They always “gutted” games anyway for the shelf back then.
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My local mall had a gamestore before it was EB as well. I know at one point it was a Babbages. But I cant remember if the other non-EB name was something else but honestly the name Games n Gadgets seems really familiar. I was in south TX as a kid, not Westchester but yeah for some reason that rings a bell.
I do remember when Babbages was bought out/merged with EB. It was cool to see a brick and mortar version of that catalogue that I'd constantly get in the mail. I remember seeing Neo games there as well, stuff like Nam75 and the first Samurai Shodown.
What I remember most fondly though, was I was able to get a copy of Vampire Savior with the 4mb RAM cart for $15, and it wasn't used. They also had the US release of Magic Knight Rayearth for the same price. At the time I didnt know what MKR even was so I didn't pick it up.
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I had a similar experience. I specifically remember Baseball Stars and thinking this must be the most amazing baseball game ever.
I wonder what early adopters thought. The launch games were decent games, but offered very little over much cheaper counterparts.
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Baseball Stars Professional probably seemed amazing in 90/91, but it kinda sucks now.
I remember a TV news segment spotlighting the Neo Geo when it came out that I'm probably never going to see again. The reporter ended the segment at his desk playing Baseball Stars Professional, "I'm just going to stick to working on the baseball for now."
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Snk made sure to add whatever pizazz they could at the time. I would think soon Baseball Stars would feel just like pretty much any other baseball game and you're left wondering why you paid 4-5 times the price for it.
Maybe I just can't objectively remember this era anymore. Maybe voices and the slightly better graphics of these early games were just jaw dropping and stayed that way?
Maybe I just can't objectively remember this era anymore. Maybe voices and the slightly better graphics of these early games were just jaw dropping and stayed that way?
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And now the inevitable sell off 
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No worries, you're on the same spectrum.
Theruff
Cheng's Errand Boy
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“He only wanted $300 for Riding Hero”
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@ 6:30 in the video: "The Superior Spy" for $300 
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I cant be arsed, is that the same chick from earlier in the thread that said Metal Slug was one of her favorite games of all time and was clearly playing it for the first time in her life?
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Yup.
I skimmed like 5 seconds of the video, she lost me at saying Football Frenzy is a game she likes to play.
Even people that like the Neo dump on that game.
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It's hardly worth the CD price.