** Other Games Consoles **

Other Consoles

This section is dedicated to consoles I have not listed in the Featured section. The consoles in this section will not be talked about in depth, but a brief introduction to each one will be made. There are many other consoles released worldwide, however, they will be listed in the Foreign consoles section of my site.

Atari Consoles:

The Atari 2600 VCS game in a variety of flavours, The woody being the most famous (Left). The 2600 was released in the late 70'6 and was the first mass production games system to make big profits. Smash hit games like such as Space Invaders (Which caused a coin shortage in Japanese arcades), Centipede, Pac Man and Mario Bros made this little 4-Bit bueaty a smash hit across the country. We had one in our family, along with my Nan and loads of our friends. The Atari 2600 is retro gaming in its purest form. A boxed woody in mint can fetch over �50 so watch your back if you want a piece of retro gaming history!

The Atari 7800 was the Atari 2600's big brother. This console I have limited knowledge about, but as far as I know, is 8-Bit. It could also play all your 2600 games. It looks a bit like a 2600 Jr, but is fatter and probably heavier. These were not very popular and have less known games released. A lot were sequels to the 2600, but never took off. The start of Atari's downfall. I personally wouldnt pay more than �10 for one of these, but thats me, plus I havn't looked into them before in my life, I just know of their existence!

The Atari ST is not strictly a games machine (or a console for that matter), but it did have games on it. It was a 16-Bit machine and was sold as a home computer. It had it's own BASIC language and ran on floppy disks. 8-Bit graphics and terrible sound were what I remember of my Atari ST. I sold it to my GameStation for �10 and was happy to get rid. It's common rival was the Amiga 500, which was about as equally powerful. I hated my ST and the only reason I got it was because I was given it without having a say in the matter. I wouldn't pay for one of these myself, but if you were to buy one, make sure it works.

Amiga And Spectrum:

The ZX Spectrum was the first home computer to make a hit. It was host to thousands of titles and had it's own BASIC language. The Spectrum required a tape deck to run the tape media. Programs could take up to 10 minutes to load! I had a +2 version which had a built in tape deck and a box full of tapes. It kept me happy for a week or so and gathered dust in my collection. It really is a good machine and had loads of different variants. They can fetch a fortune these days. The Gamestation in Glasgow sold a boxed mint rubber key model (Left) for �99.99. This is a hefty price and I warn you when it comes to spectrums. They break down all the time!!

The Amiga 500 was the Atari ST's rival and sold just a wee tad better. The owners manual claimed it was the first microcomputer to multitask. It had a host of games and ran of of floppy disks. However, a CD-Rom drive could be added on to one of these and allow a whole host of things to be possible. The Amiga 500 ran on an OS called "Workbench" (Now where did Bill Gates get the idea from Windows from?) and was revolutionary for its time. It could even take an external hard disk drive and allow boot up of workbench - Genius. Microsoft, eat your heart out!

The Amiga 600 was a little powerhouse and released in 1991 made a great successor to the A500. It was small and powerful and had Lemmings - perfect! We had one of these for a short time and it worked a charm. Did everything we wanted it to and was mega-upgradeable. It could take a CD drive, and internal or external H.D.D and you could daisy chain up to three extra Floppy Drives (You could do this with an A500 also!). I payed �30 for one of these at a car boot sale with hundreds of games. I traded it for �15 at my GameStation and got an Amiga 1200. Great little unit!

The Amiga 1200 was a pumped up A600 and came complete with a 32-Bit processor. It came bundled with Deluxe Paint IV and a whole host of system disks and even a few games such as Dennis and Oscar. It was released in 1992 if I remember correctly and was well ahead of it's time. I play Lemmings and Lemmings 2 at full capacity and it is just perfectly suited with the mouse and the graphics are the best iv'e seen for these games. It was just as upgradeable as the A600 and you could even accelerate the graphics. I have seen these units go for around �30 on eBay and the graphics cards go for a ridiculously expensive amount also - I would reccomend one of these babies!

The Amiga CD32. What? Anyway it was nearly as powerful as a PlayStation and boasted 32-Bit graphics. It could be used in the same way as an Amiga 1200 and came complete with a funny shaped pad. It also played audio CDs and had a few good games. I remember my Uncle had one and we used to play UFO on it all day. It was an underated console and lost to the Saturn, Playstation and even the aging Mega Drive and SNES beat it. A flop by diverse proportions. Anyway, they can fetch up to Around �30 on eBay. I want one, but as of yet have not tracked one down for a price I see reasonable! If you hate flops, steer clear!

Nintendo:

The NES - what is hailed to be one of the best retro consoles of all time - and I agree. With over 900 games released and an unusual front end loading system, who wouldn't want one? The NES was Nintendo's first proper console and was a mega smash hit. Super Mario Bros. was the most common game and sold over 40 million copies worldwide. The NES features other games such as Metroid, Zelda, Kirby and Donkey Kong. All these games are classic and will never lose their novelty to any retro fan. Link, Samus, Kirby and many more debuted on this console and have made thier mark in history, and still continue to grow. Well done to the big N on this one. These are common as muck and shouldn't sell for much, but I just sold a boxed one on eBay for �19.99, they are a brilliant console and have been known to fetch much more than this.

Nintendo had big profits out of the NES, but it was aging and the Mega Drive was dominating the computer games industry. They fought back hard and won overall again with Super NES or SNES. Games such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid and Kirby were all continued on this console. F-Zero and Pilotwings Debuted on this 16-Bit wonder. It was host to many hundreds of games. My favourites include the brilliant Secret of Mana, Bomberman 2, Super Metroid and Yoshi's Safari. The Super scope for the SNES was a laugh and Mario Kart kept you playing for days on end, let alone hours. It boasted superior graphics to the Mega Drive and won over in profits in the end. It sold less units than the Mega Drive, but did come out later. I wouldn't pay more than �20 for a boxed SNES, but they are easy to get at car boot sales. Buy one and play for hours!

The Gameboy series (Game Boy Colour shown on left). Nintendo's delve into the hand held world proved a mega-success with games such as Mario Land and Tetris making it a big hit. Released in 1989 it was technically ahead of it's time and came with monochrome graphics. Anyone who bought one probably bought it for the highly addictive Tetris. The Gameboy has evolved over some 15 years and is now in the form of the GBA SP. No other company has made Nintendo fall back of the hand held ladder and I doubt anyone will. Thousands of games have been released over the different models and more are still coming. Battery life was good and graphics were great. Buying: GB Original - No More than �5. GB Colour - No more than �10. GB Advance - No More than �30. GBA SP - No More than �60 Pre owned.

The N64 was released in 1996 and was a revolutionary console. It never managed to out sell the Playstation, but it didn't need to. It supported Antialiasing and 64-Bit Graphics. Complete with Mario 64, Zelda 64 and F-Zero X, it was another hit from Nintendo. The problem with the N64 was the expensive cartridges. Games were originally released at �59.99. Ouch! However they are easy to get these days and are cheap enough to get. The last games to be released were games such as Banjo Tooie, Paper Mario and Pok�mon Stadium 2. Paper Mario sells for �39.99 in GameStation and is quite Rare. However, the only real reason people got an N64 was for Goldeneye, the best 4-Player game in existence. Dont Pay More than �15 for one of these in a shop, and less at a car boot sale. I have a Pikachu version which has a Pikachu with flashing cheeks built onto the top of it! Fun!

Nintendo took a turn for the worst with this beast. In 1995 they decided to release the "Virtual boy". It was designed as semi-portable headset type unit which played 3D Games. It only had two colours - Black and Red and gave you the worst headaches ever when played. It is a curious looking console and holds a massive 26 games to its name. These things never made it to Britain. Games still include Wario, Mario Clash and Mario Tennis. There are some really rare games such as space invaders and Virtual bowling which fetches over �200. These units themselves are a bugger to find in UK and fetch a fortune. We sold one in GameStation for �188.96 with three common as muck games. Watch out when buying one of these - your best bet is eBay buying from america - they are quite cheap compared to GameStation, but still a fortune. I don't own one - Yet (Ha!)

The GameCube is the current Nintendo console on the market (Except from the GBA SP). It features 128-Bit graphics and a 485Mhz Processor. Although it is not technically specified as well as the XBox, it has better, smoother graphics. This is due to it's unique architecture. Anyway, the Cube comes complete with Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, Starfox Adventures and more famous Nintendo all stars. What sickens me being a die hard Sega fan is that Sonic games are now produced mainly on this console. It kills me to see Sega's mascot on a Nintendo - Grrr! Anyway - I should be thankful ortherwise Sonic would be confined to PS2 and XBox otherwise, and I hate both. Nintendo, although not top of the Gaming market, are making a nice little profit with this bueaty and I personally think it is the best 128-Bit console to exist. I seriously reccomend a GameCube if you are looking for a new 128-Bit console as they have A1 quality games and are only �79.99 brand new!! Happy Gaming with this one!

Sega:

Sega's Master system was the answer to the NES. However it wasn't quite the correct answer. It was technically specified higher than the NES, but came out too late. Within 3 years of release, the Mega Drive took over. There asre some great games out on the Master System, most of which were also on the NES. Good games included Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic Choas, Sonic Blast and Bubble Bobble. The Master system, just like the Mega Drive, had two models, the Mark I and Mark II. (MkI shown on Left) I have just decided to start buying games for my Master System after a dry period in my collecting. They shouldn't really be more than �15 boxed, and are a pittance at car boot sales. I like the Master system, but for some reason, my NES gets played much more. They are a good console for the Retro collector but you may get bored a little too quickly.

Sega re-released the Mega CD and Mega Drive in one unit - the Multi Mega. These things are barely wider than a standard Mega Drive cartridge. The are tiny. They play all Mega Drive Games and all Mega CD Games. They even work with 32-X's, however it will look very silly. I never knew they existed until about 9 months ago and was surprised to see the prices they can fetch on eBay. I have seen boxed units exceed �100. Anyway they wre a complete waste of time for Sega and I am sure Sega lost more money by releasing it. I want one, but I don't want to pay a fortune. These are for the die hard collector and not for the faint hearted when it comes to price. Your best bet would be my work who would sell one for �99.99 boxed. Bet you can't find one at a car boot sale!

Sega Nomad - another hand-helf from Sega, It is basically a Mega Drive in the space of a game gear - and is even more of a brick. It plays all mega drive games and even plays imports via a converter. It munched batteries and cost a bloody fortune. I really really want one, but can't afford it. They fetch around the same price as a Multi Mega and don't exist in UK, so look elsewhere (Or eBay - Ha Ha!). I would love to see one of these in its material form, but I can only dream of owning one. Another flop by Sega and another dream for me.

The Sega Dreamcast was Sega's last attempt at a console. With 128-Bit graphics which are just under the specs of a Playstation 2 and a whole host of decent games, it had the potential. It sold reasonably well until Sony hit the market with the PS2. Poor Sega, their hopes were dashed and they had nearly lost all their money. Popular games included Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Shenmue 1 and 2, Chu Chu rocket and Phantasy Star Online. The Dreamcast was the first games console to support Online Gaming via the internet. This allowed users from all corners of the globe to battle it out. The best online game had to be Phantasy Star Online, and is still a big favourite among gaming gurus to date. These have lost their value and are only worth around �20, so buy carefully.

Sony:

Sony thought it was time to release a console. Actually they didn't, they just continued the Super CD project on their own and fobbed off Nintendo. (Read about that in the "Super CD" story!). Anyway it was 32-Bit and had a slew of good games. Gran Turismo, Tekken and Crash Bandicoot are about the only games I though were decent. Sony dominated the games market from its release in 1994 to around 1999 when it started to stutter. The N64 was it's only rival and it beat the N64 in sales, however it did not force Nintendo out of the market. If your thinking of buying one then don't - they are a waste of time in my eyes as they have a poor games catalogue. Don't pay more than �10 for one of these - They grow on trees!!

I find it hard to believe I wanted one of these machines. The Playstation 2 was the follow up for the PS1 and was released in 2000 in Japan. It is basically just a more powerful Playsation with just remakes. So far we are onto Final Fantasy 76 (Just Kidding!) The only game I really liked on this was Dark Cloud. I wish I had waited for GameCube to come out - PS2 is crap if you ask me. I traded all my Piss2 (Sorry PS2) games into my work and am trying to get rid of my Playstation 2 now. They are the most expensive console on the market at the moment and are techinically inferior. It doesn't support Anti Aliasing - even the N64 did! I hate these and I suggest you steer clear. Sony owe Nintendo if you ask me because if they didn't plan the Super CD together, then Sony would have never thought about the video games industry. Bog off Sony!!!

Microsoft:

Microsoft decided they wanted a piece of the gaming scene and released the XBox. It is technically specified as the most powerful games machine on earth (It's official!) and has a modded GeForce 3 in it! Ooooohhhh! Anyway I sort of like it and don't plan on selling it. It has some good games like Halo, Project Gotham Racing, Sega GT 2002 and Blinx on it. I don't hold a grudge on Microsoft (Apart from Windows XP - it pee!) because they didn't screw Nintendo, but it is a fat-assed console. It weighs a tonne (Nearly). Microsoft and Nintendo are battling it out for second place in the games market at the moment. Unfortunately, the PS2 is still selling more units. I would reccomend one of these over a PS2 because they have better games, but still not as good as a GameCube!

Neo Geo:

The Neo Geo AES hit America in 1990 and was 24-Bit (16Bit and 8Bit combined!) and was basically just a Neo Geo arcade in a box! It had brilliant 2D graphics and handled 65,535 colours with ease. It did cost over �400 at the time and the games were around �120 each (Ouch!). They were far far more powerful than the Snes or the Mega Drive (And even the 32-X) and Neo Geo just went crazy with game size rather than cost. Anyway, they came complete with two arcade joysticks and a free game upon release. In the not too distant past, a phantom converter could allow you to play MVS cartridges (Arcade Cartridges) on your AES, allowing more games to be playable. They also came with a memory card slot so you could continue your game at the arcade - why, when you have the arcade! These beasts get bought for �100 at Gamestation, so i guess they sell for around �180, so don't say I didnt warn you!

The Neo Geo CD was just an AES but using CD's instead of cartridges and they were much cheaper. They still cost a fortune these days, but what do you expect, they are Neo Geo. The only drawback was loading times, taking up to 30 seconds was mind numbing back then. This was when everyone was used to cartridges and CD's in games were new technology. Anyway, they were cheaper and had CD quality music - what better way to spend your money. Again these buy in for �100 so watch out if your wanting one!

The Neo Geo Pocket colour is Neo Geo's attemp at handheld gaming. Nintendo's GameBoy series whacked it. It was quite powerful, but didn't last. I remember when they were released. They got loads of hype, and yoo could enter competitions to win them on the radio, then 3 months later no-one remembered what they were. We actually have a new one with 6 games in work for �79.99. They are readily available and have some smashing games on them. Games included Bubble Bobble pocket, Sonic and I'm presuming street fighter. Arcade games in your hand. They lasted no time and lost to Nintendo (But which handheld didn't?), so don't go holding your breath looking for one, they are no big deal. Don't pay more than �25 pre-owned, they are not really worth it.

Others:

The Vectrex was released in the VCS era and was quite an unusual console. It was more of a mini arcade complete with its own built in screen. Each game came complete with its own screen overlay and cartridge. All I really know about these is that they were quite unusual and they cost a fortune these days. They can exceed �200 boxed. I'm hoping to see one on sunday at my local car boot sale. Fat Chance!