My 'gotta catch em all' console collection

As you've no doubt gathered I'm building a collection of [popular] consoles and trying to make them all playable at once using an entertainment unit and a switchbox.

I figured I'd start a thread to track its progress rather than all of the individual 'wanted' ads :)

At the present time:

• I have the entertainment unit, with several holes drilled for cable routing.
  
• I have built a 12-input AV switchbox to easily switch between systems. Steps: Turn on console, turn on TV, select 'channel' on switchbox. Done!
  
• I have a modded PS1 (already had this)
  
• I've bought a N64, and a few games since, totaling 23.
  
• A Sega Mega Drive II (I've just ordered a new AV cable for it) and about 12 carts. I also have a MD1 but its not going to be 'on display'
  
• I've bought a C64, tape drive and disk drive, with hundreds of floppy disks.
  
• I also have a laptop (using Svideo) in the entertainment unit that I use with 2x LCD Top Guns for shooting games in MAME, and use some of my Desktop Control Panels for other MAME titles.
  

I'm currently persuing opportunities for:

• A NES (must get myself a duck hunt cart and zapper too)
  
• A DreamCast
  
• A SNES
  

And high on the 'watch list' (things I'm actively seeking but dont have any leads outside of ebay):

• Atari 2600 (with paddles and joysticks). Several 'must have' games for this, including: ET, Pitfall, River Raid, and various 'arcade' ports.
  
• Sega Master System (1 or 2, not sure which to get?)
  

For later consideration (not a priority given they're either pricey or too recent):

• Another modded XBOX (I have one, but its in the other living room used mostly as a movie box)
  
• A PS2
  
• A Sega Saturn (yes its kinda retro, but I'm not seeing many)
  
• Something really old (but not some misc clone etc) like an Atari Pong 'console' or a Magnavox Odyssey, etc.
  
• A modded Wii with all the retro titles on it. I have an (unmodded) Wii but I'll wait until after its 'current gen' to add it to this collection.
  

Are you getting ET for the 2600 because of its status as a horribly bad game :) .

Yes absolutely, how could you go past owning The Game that killed Atari?

Are you getting ET for the 2600 because of its status as a horribly bad game :) .

I was just thinking that , Dm you could try and find the landfill they dumped all the Ets that didnt sell in.

Sega Master System (1 or 2, not sure which to get?)

1 has built-in A/V out (you have to mod it in manually on 2, but it's not difficult - here's one I did earlier), and it has the card slot for the old card-style games and 3D goggles, if you plan on getting serious about SMS collecting.

A PS2

Highly recommended. Sony cop a lot of flack on these forums, but the PS2 has an enormous array of near arcade perfect translations of arcade games over the last 5-10 years. I have a whole arcade cabinet dedicated to a PS2 just because it has that many good arcade ports on it. I'm big into arcade 2D fighting games and shoot 'em ups, and the PS2 is loaded with them.

Remember too you can soft-mod PS2s now (you'll need to borrow someone else's already modded PS2 to do it, but once done you can replicate it yourself as many times as you like). I'm experimenting with one for a friend at the moment, and when I perfect it I'll write up a little post about how I went.

Oh, and interesting talk of 10+ A/V switchbox units. I'll be doing the same very soon (another month or so) but looking for 10+ S-Video and possibly even multi-RGB switchboxes for my own collection. I'm a big fan of modding consoles for RGB out, as the end result is utterly superb compared to standard A/V.

no gameboy

i just fired up my old gameboy colour with 50in1 cart

ahh the old days

Hmm, well I have a GBC, GBA:SP and DS in the house if you count my kids handhelds... but I'm trying to stay out of the heldheld collecting.

.... for now.

50-in-1? Sweet....

ahh cool mate

had the 50in1 since i think early highschool came originally with a original gameboy before the colour ones came in

I was just thinking that , Dm you could try and find the landfill they dumped all the Ets that didnt sell in.

Apparently they covered it over with concrete to hide there shame .

nice work with the switchbox! did you find a guide on the net to make it? id like to bookmark that. any interest in atari jaguar? i said a while back id never get one, but now im starting to think about it. although it seems to it has RF out type thingos. which i cant stand. ive hardly touched my master system II because of that. once i do the mod itll get some play (",)

if you do get a jaguar, give us a report.

nice work with the switchbox! did you find a guide on the net to make it? id like to bookmark that. any interest in atari jaguar? i said a while back id never get one, but now im starting to think about it. although it seems to it has RF out type thingos. which i cant stand. ive hardly touched my master system II because of that. once i do the mod itll get some play (",)

 

if you do get a jaguar, give us a report.

I'm definately interested in a jaguar due to its history as a flop but its ironic post-flop success as a homebrew console. I keep forgetting they existed, and I doubt they'll be cheap.

I didn't find a guide for the switchbox but it wasn't hard with a few tips from the ever-helpful David_AVD (who supplied most of the parts). It does require a lot of use of the multimeter for continuity testing, as the rotary switch is a little confusing at first, until you know how its laid out.

can we expect a tut or a guide at some time Dm?

I like the idea a lot

AAtari 2600 (with paddles and joysticks). Several 'must have' games for this, including: ET, Pitfall, River Raid, and various 'arcade' ports.

I reckon this is a must-have for an console collection. They must have sold an absolute bucket-load of these things.

I can still remember clocking Missile Command one Sunday afternoon at a friend's place back when I was a teenager.

Well I won an ET cartridge on ebay yesterday for 1c (+ $7 postage :lol)

Today I went to a pawn shop and got Missle Command (Atari 2600) and James Pond 3 (for Sega Mega Drive) for $6 each... at least there was no postage.

Remember too you can soft-mod PS2s now (you'll need to borrow someone else's already modded PS2 to do it, but once done you can replicate it yourself as many times as you like). I'm experimenting with one for a friend at the moment, and when I perfect it I'll write up a little post about how I went.

I'd be interested in a write up :)