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[BeEatNU]

loads of memories flowing in.


Playing RE on Sega Saturn!

 

[godofearthx]

That is how I got my second controller in toys r us haha. I remember that ad man lmao.

 

[Alchemy]

Makes me sad I wasn't old enough to enjoy all those system. Now to track down a Sega Saturn...

 

[G-Fex]

I remember reading all of these ads when they were new. Truly something special at the time.

Damnit reddit go away, buncha karma kreeps.

 

[Takamura-San]

So many memories.

I remember collecting Toys R Us holiday ad books as a kid and wishing away.

 

[Venfayth]

Hi Reddit.

Damnit reddit go away, buncha karma kreeps.

Hahaha, I just came here from Reddit. I clicked on the link, a gaf thread opened up, I was so confused.

edit: DAMN. $69.99 for SF2 Alpha?

 

[test_account]

that's because during that generation, prices went down to $40 for console games, and during the ps2/xbox/dc/gc era, the highest price was $50. we went back to a higher price point for no real good reason.

Games today cost a lot more to make, that is a big reason for it (taken inflation into account as someone else mentioned, the price has hardly gone up though).

 

[LightofRohan]

Now we have people complaining that $20 is too much for Journey... this generation... -_-

Thanks for posting OP!

 

[Omegasquash]

That was my senior year in high school. Oh god.

 

[abadguy]

Still remember blowing 80 bucks of my Christmas money on a very shitty Wolverine game for my Genesis. Good times.

 

[Guevara]

In for one gold Game Boy Pocket.

 

[SegaManAU]

internet ruined gaming. back then you saw a handlful of pics and maybe read a preview/review for a game before getting it. you had to imagine the awesome. now you see 1/3 of the game before it comes out and hear thousands of people saying it sucks without ever playing it.

So true!

Screw you internet!

 

[dark10x]

This thing is just so hilariously huge

The GameGear isn't too bad. The Lynx is MUCH larger.

At least it was comfortable to hold.

 

[heyf00L]

In 1996 my parents got me a 32X because the N64 cost too much. They thought it would be an acceptable substitute. I think the salesman must have told them that. I got Virtua Fighter (pack in) and NBA Jam, and a friend gave me Doom b/c I think his parents got it for him and he didn't have a 32X. Pretty good games, of course, but not an N64.

I saved up everything I could and bought myself an N64 the next year, although I couldn't afford a game with it. My dad took sympathy on me and got me Mario 64, though.

 

[Suite Pee]

Ah, this brings back so many memories. But now I'm disappointed that my parents didn't shell out 50 bucks so I could get a pocket instead of GB Phat.

I was wondering how GAF broke its online user record today. Damn reddits.

 

[inm8num2]

Man, the nostalgia. I want to say I actually remember those ad pages. I used to scour ads for TRU, Best Buy, etc. every Sunday morning when I was a kid.

 

[DrFunk]

Ah back in the days where beta screenshots and arcade version screenshots were the norm

...feels bad man

 

[Oshimai]

is that john vanbiesbrouck on the nhl 97 cover?

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Why would anyone in their right mind buy a Genesis or SNES when PSX is $199 with cheaper games?!

Oh and Le Reddit Army. *waves*

 

[Tagg9]

Why would anyone in their right mind buy a Genesis or SNES when PSX is $199 with cheaper games?!

Because PlayStation was an unknown brand at the time.

 

[kunonabi]

Why would anyone in their right mind buy a Genesis or SNES when PSX is $199 with cheaper games?!

If you're just looking at the ad in a vacuum there is no reason to buy anything other than the Saturn.

 

[Tiktaalik]

I recall visiting a Toys R Us in the USA and there being kiosks for Nights, Crash Bandicoot and Mario 64 all next to one another and my patient parents let me have the time to try out all three games. Mario 64 was clearly the best game of the three in my view and I ended up getting an N64 that Xmas.

 

[crpav]

I hate seeing these old adds. Not because they are not awesome but because i want to go back to simpler times.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

If you're just looking at the ad in a vacuum there is no reason to buy anything other than the Saturn.

MK Trilogy > UMK3. I already owned UMK3 is Genesis. MK Trilogy and Twisted Metal were the first games that made me buy a PSOne.

 

[Tarin02543]

It is true, those prices may seem crazy expensive at the time but back in our days games were considered an investement. You did not buy a game solely for its possession, you actually wanted to see every bit of it on your tv screen. As a result the rental market for cartridges was huge, almost as huge as vhs. The percieved value of the cartridge of a popular game was almost as much as the console itself.

 

[kunonabi]

MK Trilogy > UMK3. I already owned UMK3 is Genesis. MK Trilogy and Twisted Metal were the first games that made me buy a PSOne.

While I love MK Trilogy, umk3 is still THE MK game

Saturn with Virtua cop, Daytona, and VF2 for is too boss to pass up. Add in Nights and Virtual on and you have a pretty damn awesome Christmas. In all honesty, the Saturn is a waste of a system if you don't import though.

I didn't pick up a PS until Persona hit. I was more of a N64 guy that gen until I started importing and the horror/rpgs titles started rolling in for the PS.

 

[cyberheater]

I nearly teared up when I saw the N64 pics in the OP.

SM64 and Pilotwings. Surely the best launch line up ever.

 

[dragonflys545]

My childhood sucks. I never own any of those consoles

 

[Heisenberg]

Wow, completely forgot about that "Menacer" gun for the Sega Genesis until that ad on the last page.

I had that thing and I don't think I ever even used it that much. I remember some Tomato game that came with it where you shot the tomatoes - I think Toe Jam and Earl were in the game.

Crazy, owned the thing but completely forgot it even existed.

This thread has been a nostalgia overload for me.

 

[AniHawk]

Games today cost a lot more to make, that is a big reason for it (taken inflation into account as someone else mentioned, the price has hardly gone up though).

production costs have gone up every generation, but this was the only one where the customers were asked to help chip in as everyone agreed on a price hike.

 

[Candeldandel]

Whaat? Nintendo used to just sell the gold controller with the system instead of having people do a "gold controller" dance and hope they get one? What went wrong?!

And there's my yellow gameboy!! D'awww, I love you, yellow gameboy <3 Honestly, I... I think I remember this Christmas. Because I distinctly remember Incredible Universe selling out of N64s, and me trying out the Virtual Boy.

We just waited for the N64.

 

[smr00]

Jesus Christ, I vividly remember this catalog.

I remember it as well, every christmas my parents would tell me to circle things i wanted and i remember circling the N64 w/ Golden Controller and got it for christmas.

 

[evilromero]

For me the industry just doesn't compare anymore to the days of old. I had so much more fun with games back then. Of course I enjoy new games but it's just more of the same.

 

[Yawnier]

One thing I noticed is that controllers sure were a lot cheaper back in the day, damn.

 

[MikeE21286]

That was my senior year in high school. Oh god.

lol, I was 10.

Spoiler

Waiting for someone to say they weren't born yet

 

[Macho Madness]

Controllers may have been cheaper back then, but they certainly haven't gotten any cheaper to produce over the years. Especially with all the extra stuff they do nowadays.

 

[Eusis]

The worst part was the screen was so small in relation to the size of the machine and it ate batteries faster than you could put them in lol.

Yeah, the Vita may be considered "too big" now, and even at best I consider it on the edge, but it can actually fit into an empty pocket on regular men's jeans at the very least, and something like 66-75% of the surface area is SCREEN. It also probably lasted longer on its internal battery than the GG did on 6 AAs, and neither the 3DS or Vita have battery lives that are considered great.

And a large part of why we had prices go down so much as Sony deciding to not follow the same plan as before and possibly Japan (sell at around $50-60+ like usual), and in 1997 as I recall go for the jugular and sell a lot of their newest, biggest games at $40 with $50 being the peak. That forced N64 games to be $60, and Saturn games I think stayed around $60, probably because they were selling that fewer copies in the US and by the end of 1998 phased out the Saturn anyway (last game I recall was Magic Knight Rayearth, and that was $60 or $70). I do wonder how things would be now though if they stuck with the higher prices, maybe the industry would be smaller but healthier? Or it'd have rapidly faded into near irrelevance only supported by a fairly small niche like in Japan, but we may well be on that path anyway.

Controllers may have been cheaper back then, but they certainly haven't gotten any cheaper to produce over the years. Especially with all the extra stuff they do nowadays.

I'm still inclined to think we're being overcharged anyway, certainly the regular 360 controller at $40's kind of bullshit relative to the costs of games themselves. Though you can easily find that for $30, so I guess it's not really a big deal.

 

[Prozel]

Some toy stores in Denmark could easily charge 159$ for a game. I'm not even kidding.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Thats true I rented games all the time. I don't know if kids still do these days or not. I don't know any 9-14 year olds.

I'm 21, I find myself renting more games now than when I was a kid thanks to redbox. Just pick up the latest FPS for a couple days and plow through the campaign. That doesn't seem to be too widespread of a thing yet though.

 

[mattiewheels]

Yeah, this thread made me track down and buy a yellow original Gameboy. This is just a random Google image, but just look at this thing:

Only about $20. And I'm getting Teris and B&W Link's Awakening on its way too.

 

[Agent Unknown]

Good memories, I was a junior in high school at the time. The N64 was such an exciting event.

@ Saturn trying so hard to get people to buy it.

 

[M3d10n]

costs went up from the n64/psx/saturn era to the next, but prices stayed the same or went down. costs are going up next gen too. planning on paying $69.99 for a game?

The move from cartridges to CDs had a significant impact in game prices. Cartridges were way too fucking expensive.

 

[CountAntonius]

That aluminum game boy pocket was such a beautiful handheld.

 

[G-Pink]

This post taught me that Tetris Attack came out for the Game Boy.

Why the hell did I never know that?

 

[strafer]

look at those colored n64 controllers

 

[Cloudy]

We bought our Saturn and N64 from TRU. I remember showing this ad to my dad for the N64 lol

 

[MIMIC]

I remember being in the 6th grade and EVERYONE having a Giga Pet.

I never got the one I wanted because it was sold out. I had the opaque Dalmatian one (but wanted one of the translucent ones)

 

[The Awesomest]

Have you guys seen this thread's views to posts ratio? Reddit

 

[test_account]

production costs have gone up every generation, but this was the only one where the customers were asked to help chip in as everyone agreed on a price hike.

True, but now the games have reach such heights when it comes to developement budgets. I dont think the market is big enough to maintain sales at $40 today and still have the same developement budgets (besides the mega franchises like Call of Duty). The risk if losing money on a game would be much bigger today if it was sold at $40.

Playstation 1 also had games on discs, which cut down the costs on the gaming storage media. That is probably one reason why they went with a lower pricetag. And maybe also that Sony tried to get a better foothold in the gaming market. The Sega Saturn games in the ad in the OP are in general more epencive than the PS1 games despite both system using disc based games.

 

[TheSeks]

Have you guys seen this thread's views to posts ratio? Reddit

Yep, made it to /r/gaming. Congrats, NeoGAF. The site you hate feeds from you.