Read Between The Lines
If you are buying a retro games console / games online or from a local classified newspaper ad column, always read between the lines on what the seller is saying, or not saying as is mostly the case. If the seller says “Working last time I checked” then it probably will not work unless they are genuinely too lazy to even bother to test it. If the seller says that there are a “Few fixes needed” then find out what needs fixing, just how easy it would be to fix the console and decide whether you or someone you know has the spare parts and expertise needed. Also, beware of the old chestnut “Bought as seen” which means that in all probability it hasn't worked for a long time and that they want to get rid of it with no comeback, maybe even setting the pet Chihuahua on you if you come back for a refund. If possible go and visit the buyer you are buying the console from and test it there before parting with your money.
Be especially wary if there is no photo included for a console or game sold. If you buy classic consoles and games you may want to consider buying in the winter as prices can be better in this season compared to other seasons. Make sure that the console you are buying includes a power supply, as it would be pretty disappointing to purchase a console and not even be able to switch it on.
Sometimes a console that is being advertised will have a completely different photo attached, maybe one that they have copied and pasted from the Internet. When the real console arrives that you ordered, it may look like a complete mess. A good way of avoiding scams is to look at the seller's rating on online market places such as eBay.
When it comes to buying games that are on CD you need to tread especially carefully. Neo Geo CD games for instance are easy to copy and put into fake packaging that has been designed to look dated.
Nearly every classic console collector at some stage gets burnt. This risk just comes with the territory in retro console and game collecting. Therefore, if you get stung and lose money just make sure that it isn't a large sum of money and consider it as collateral damage. Just get back up on the horse and put it down to a learning experience.
Misspellings
If you are buying from an online market place, such as eBay, try and type in an alternative spelling for games you are looking to buy. For instance, if you are looking to buy the NES game 'Trouble on Blobolonia', try misspelling it and typing it in the search bar as 'Trouble on Blobonia' instead. This is because when people are rushing they may misspell the title, so that if you come across the game under a misspelt title heading, you will have little to no competition when bidding, as not many people will have seen it.
Box & Instruction Books
Having the box and documentation which was originally contained within the box will give your collected console extra value and interest. Some collectors wishing to sell their whole collections also have collected paraphernalia centred around the console, such as posters, flyers, logo badges, keychains and even mugs etc.
Storage
Obviously, the logical route to storing your classic consoles and games would be to store them in airtight plastic zip-lock bags or coverings and box them up, but this is boring, as part of the fun of collecting is to display your collection and play classic games with friends and family. So one great investment is to have glass-fronted cabinets. If it's a good quality shelving cabinet it will keep a majority of moisture out and prolong the life of your collection. Ideally, your collection should be stored in a room that is not damp or at too high a temperature.
Remember to power up your classic console every now and again to keep it in good working order.
3 – The Evolution of Electronic Gaming
As this is a book about classic game consoles, it seems fitting to take a look at what point electronic gaming was born, as well as the factors leading up to making it possible to produce electronic gaming systems as we know them today. So, where did it all begin?
In today’s day and age we are surrounded by advanced 3D gaming systems, tablets, smartphones and other gaming devices. But there was a time when the things that we take for granted were unimaginable. For gaming consoles to get to where they are today they had to build upon previous console designs progressively. After all, everything is an improvement leading to something else. Without the first gaming console we couldn’t have had the second, the third, and so forth.
What’s really interesting about the evolution of electronic gaming is that at the very beginning there was nothing else to base consoles on. There wasn’t anything else to base games on either. There were no improvements to be had, only innovation.
Edsac OXO Emulator Image
In 1952 a developer created the very first digital graphic game ever to run on a computer, OXO. This was the the only game available on the Edsac (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) computer, as this machine mostly did mathematical calculations. OXO is a game known as 'Tic-tac-toe' in the U.S.A. or 'Noughts and Crosses' if you come from the UK. You can download the Edsac emulator online.
It is truly revolutionary what we have been able to achieve in the past half century. The beauty of the evolution of electronic gaming is that we can connect the dots and see how one revolutionary idea gave way to more revolutionary ideas.
Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device
While it is true that the Edsac OXO game was the first computer game to be able to run on a computer, the very first interactive electronic game ever designed was the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann. It was created with analog electronics in 1947 and was never shown to the public. This game relied solely on knobs to control the trajectory of a CRT display’s light beam. The gameplay involved the player focusing the light beam onto painted airplanes on the screen. Once the beam was positioned on the airplane, the player would fire at the target by pressing a button. If the light beam was within the known coordinates of the airplane, then the CRT beam would simulate an explosion by defocusing.
The Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device was responsible for sparking the initial interest of game developers. Without this first game having been created no one would have thought to improve upon it.
More About The First Digital Graphical Computer Game - OXO
OXO was a computer game written by Alexander S. Douglas in 1952 for his thesis on human-computer interactions for the University of Cambridge. His game OXO was identical to the paper and pencil game Tic-tac-toe. The only difference was that the game was run completely on a computer and displayed via a 35-15 dot matrix cathode ray tube. Not only did the player interact with the computer but you could also play against the computer’s artificial intelligence.
This game was not played by the general public because the EDSAC computer was only available at Cambridge University's Mathematical Laboratory, where you needed special permissions to even get near it. Calling it a 'computer' would actually be an understatement, as the EDSAC was a mainframe which took up an entire room. Certainly there were more innovations to be had before bringing gaming to the masses.
OXO paved the way for more improvements in electronic gaming technology. William Higinbotham would create a very interesting game four years later…
Tennis For Two
Four years after EDSAC's OXO game was developed came the invention of yet another game, Tennis For Two. This game was developed by American physicist William Higinbotham on a Donner Model 30 analog computer. It is often debated whether OXO or Tennis For Two was the first graphical video game. You can argue that OXO only used static graphics to represent the classic Tic-tac-toe game via a CTR display, while Tennis For Two displayed a ball’s trajectory via video. If you want to get technical about it then Tennis