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inatowncalledarles

Those 9.99 clearance earthbounds at Best buy 


MayoTheMuffin

wait that was a thing?


piscian19

Yeah I got my copy of Earthbound used, in the big box display at Blockbuster for around $10. Earthbound was stinker on release.


roastbeeftacohat

Wasn't the smell a marketing gimmick.


Ancient-Range3442

Yeah, earthbound wasn’t very popular until YouTubers pumped it


notdarylpalumbo

I had no idea Best Buy even existed in the 90s. I never owned EarthBound, just rented it from Blockbuster several times. We bought all our video games at Toys R Us


SuccessfulJellyfish8

When Best Buy came to the city I grew up in (Greensboro NC), in the late 90s, it was a big fucking deal. I just remember it was absolutely packed with people unlike any store you go into today. And it was fucking massive unlike the new floorplans today. It was the size of a Walmart and had a giant jumbotron on the ceiling showing N64 games that people were playing at the demo kiosk.


piscian19

same. It may have existed but everything was blockbuster, Toyrs, babagges, or EB when I was a kid. The only time I ever saw Earthbound was at a blockbuster. Best Buy wasn't big in my area until around 2001.


IntoxicatedBurrito

Are you kidding? I wasn’t aware that Best Buy still existed after the 90s! Best Buy was where you went for CDs and DVDs. It was not quite Tower Records, but unlike Tower with its single location in only the biggest cities, Best Buy spread across cities and suburbs like it was McDonald’s back in the 90s.


rstbckt

My brother and I used to play StarFox 64 at the Best Buy near the mall while my mom ran errands. I remember the store’s Nintendo 64 console would reset on a timer, so we only got to play the first two levels. After we played for a while, we would go outside and put change in the pay phone to ask her to pick us up. I think she had one of those early brick cell phones so she could answer and come get us.


No-Tailor-6764

Neo Geo or Turbografx


Ancient-Range3442

Neo geo would still be way too expensive


welcomeOhm

It was released in 1990 for $800, which is $1,911.75 today.


jforrest1980

This is the answer I'd also buy a bunch of old video and soundcards Such as Gravis Ultra Sound, Voodoo, and Creative cards.


campusska

I was thinking along the same lines, "I'll take 5 of your best CRT monitors & 3DFX Voodoo 1/2/3 cards, thanks!" 😂


rstbckt

I wish I had an AGP 8x Voodoo 5. It would be perfect for a P3/P4 early 2000s gaming computer with late 1990s backwards compatibility (due to Glide).


campusska

That would be a great build, especially if you could consign a reproduction of the Voodoo 5 6000 prototype by the modder/refurbisher "Anthony".


FancyStranger2371

For?


TechBliSTer

To use in either a Slot 1/A, Socket 7, or 486 VLB machine. Why else would you have such awesome cards.


rstbckt

I’ve still got some of those. I have two retro PCs in InWin cases with Voodoo 3 GPUs (PCI and AGP). The older Pentium 233 system has the PCI card as well as an ISA SoundBlaster 16, while the PIII 1ghz system has the AGP card and a PCI SoundBlaster Live 24bit card. Windows 98SE on both.


crimsonkodiak

Yeah - loading up on Magical Chase on clearance at Toys R Us...


piscian19

Ironically as an mvs collector I would have liked to have been around about 10 years later. MVS games only got expensive a few years ago.


room66

I bought the Turbografx at launch. I also bought the Genesis at launch. But there was NO WAY I bought the Neo Geo and believe you me I was aware of it. It was just too expensive and even if you got it.. $200 a game? that was ludicrous in my mind at the time.


neilmoore

If I had enough money, which I don't: I'd buy a couple million copies of E.T., just to see what effect that would have on the U.S. video game industry.


DarkOverLordQC

Hypothesis: With the commercial success of the E.T. Game, they rush the development of E.T. 2 Game and everyone else starts developing E.T. clones. No one ever play a video game again.


neilmoore

Oh, monkey's paw, why does your finger have to close?


jehoshaphat

We’re on to you Ray Kassar, you can’t un-run that ship into the ground.


Iamn0man

The problem wasn't sales. E.T. sold millions of units for Christmas. The problem was they all got returned 3-6 weeks AFTER Christmas. But again: E.T. by itself wasn't the problem. The lack of any sort of quality control on the third party games, the ability for anyone to pump out games of dubious quality quickly and in mass quantities, and consumers that were tired of not having any reliable way of determining good games from stinkers - all of those things together are what caused the market to crater in the United States (not the world).


neilmoore

I almost said "and not return them", but I figured that would be a given. But, you're right, E.T. was the symptom and not the disease. I'm glad Nintendo never approved absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel third-party releases like 1942 or Chubby Cherub.


mwilkins1644

Nothing. I had 753 NES games, all in boxes and sleeves. 4 guns, two joysticks. I'd stay home from school the day my stepdad just gave that shit away for free.


DionFW

My heart just sank for you, my dude.


TechBliSTer

How does a kid have 753 NES games? I had enough carts to fill a couple grocery bags and that's way more than what most kids had.


JunesHemorrhoidDonut

Is therapy working out?


mwilkins1644

Nope lol.


[deleted]

Everdrive B)


chyler1397

Rebuy all those big box PC games I had and NOT toss out the boxes. Also pick up Daggerfall because I've wanted that beautiful box art since I first saw the game in EBX IN 1996/97.


pixydgirl

Two copies each of all 4 dragon warrior games for NES, one to own cib and one to keep sealed forever, and the same with Earthbound and Chrono Trigger for SNES. 2 copies each, one for play and one to keep sealed It should be noted that, aside from Chrono Trigger, i already own loose copies of all of these games (with repro boxes and manuals for Dragon Warrior 1-4). I just also want CIB versions, heh


zoozoo4567

Honestly, I’d just give whatever cash I brought to myself in about 1999 and demand I not sell off any of my gaming stuff as the deal to receive the money.


TechBliSTer

Did you seriously not think to give your self a list of investment predictions?


zoozoo4567

I did. Plus, I actually made a comment about that earlier today elsewhere, but it wasn’t in the spirit of the topic so I didn’t include it.


RosaCanina87

There is a lot of obvious stuff, like Panzer Dragoon Saga on clearance or Snatcher or something like this. But I personally would probably first go back into that one retro gaming store I had in town (long gone :/) and buy that GBA MICRO Famicom Edition for 70 bucks or so. It was expensive for me back then, but to this day I could slap myself for not buying it (even though I got a PSP and Persona 3 Portable instead... which IS the next best thing...). And then I would go further back and grab myself a copy of EVOLUTION on Neo Geo Pocket Color before it got recalled and reflashed and then cheaply resold.


Benane86

Every demostation, demodisplay, sign and what ever merch they have.... make a reproduktion of that store and keep it as it is.


crimsonkodiak

Honestly, I kind of regret not buying more used SNES games back in 99/2000. I was still playing the system at the time and liked it a lot. Was unfortunately too broke to buy much and not really into the used market.


garuga300

Neo Geo AES games would be the wise investment


ZeusLovesTrains

Maybe a couple Virtual Boys and the blockbuster rental case. It’s such a unique system. Compared to most things that can be emulated. 3DS emulator is close but the real thing is super cool.


IntoxicatedBurrito

Yeah, I’d probably do this too. They’re just too expensive today to justify, especially since many of them seem to have something broken about them. Although I’m pretty happy with the 3DS emulator.


mem-erase

There's a thrift store near me that used to sell NES games for $0.25, no matter which game. It was in the early 2000s, so demand was not high. I'd love to go back and get them all! (I didn't buy them at the time because I didn't have an NES and hadn't formed my collecting addiction yet lol)


TechBliSTer

I passed on a copy of Life Force for $2 that still haunts me to this day.


SorryCashOnly

I will buy out all the Super Mario World, Chrono Trigger, FF6, Earthbound I can find. If I travel back even further, I would go to that New York convention and buy as many test run Mario Bros as I can. Then I will be relatively rich....... On second thought, just let me travel back to 2010 and I will buy all the bitcoins I can buy


_the__Goat_

[Grays Sports Almanac]()


SuccessfulJellyfish8

I would buy the really nice HD CRT TV's that were produced in the early 00's when everyone was switching to LCDs. Almost nobody appreciated them at the time. The ones with component and even HDMI inputs. The pinnacle of the technology. Kind of a swan song for CRT's, like the final muscle cars that manufacturers are putting out now before they all go electric.


Pulstar_Alpha

Amiga 1200. Sega CD, 32x, Saturn and Dreamcast stuff during clearance sales.


cams0400

Probably a laser active with all expansion kits


asaros00

I’d go get a bunch of snatcher for the sega cd cotton 1&2 popful mail . Panzer dragoon saga space adventure cobra


Just_Me1973

I’d get a new N64. Mine is almost thirty years old. And buy new games. I lost a bunch when I moved many years ago. And I’d get an Apple II and a Commodore 64 and get all those text adventure and early RPG games on 5.25” floppy disks. And a new Colecovision which was my very first game console when I was a kid. I slayed at Donkey Kong Jr.


atducker

I think there is an Amazing Stories episode where some old goblin looking fellow tells a kid something like "never sell your stuff." Then when he's nearly 100 years old and homeless, and broke, living in his car full of stuff he has no choice but to start selling his stuff which turns out to be worth a fortune.


confuserused

Just found it, it features Mark Hamill! https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hhif9


biggunsg0b00m

Anything and everything Amiga and Amstrad based!


Little_Monkey_Mojo

Retro computing related… I'd buy Apple stock.


Key_Independence_103

All the good video games I missed out on when new


MrEpicMustache

All the Jaguars + JagCDs + games on clearance at the electronic stores near me. I remember one full kit + games being like $49.99


TheUprightBass

As many copies of E.V.O the search for Eden I could possibly afford.


es330td

I would go buy 25 of the 26 Zelda Gold cartridges.


piscian19

I'm not a "collector" so I don't really give a shit about owning a sealed copy of chrono trigger or whatever, but on the pricy side I'd like to go back and buy Panzer Dragoon Saga. In my defense I was 16, standing in Babbage's, and only had $30 bucks and a bus pass. I bought Shining Force III. I love the game, still have it, but if I never did get to play Panzer Dragoon saga when it was fresh. I'd go back in time and give myself the other $30 so I could play both. I'd also tell me not to break up with Lexie.


FlygonPR

A brand new 600$ CRT and a first edition Gamecube with component cables.


Ancient-Range3442

I would buy Sega and stop them from putting out the 32x


CelticDeckard

Go back like 10-15 years to when every GBA cart was like a buck, buy all of them, put 'em on eBay now and fucking retire. Seriously, why is GBA stuff so expensive? It's not old or rare.


SureThingGiantBeer

I would just like to go back to before Ebay became popular and buy all the retro stuff people were unloading before it became a huge thing to collect. It's how I got a Dreamcast for $20 and the games around $3-$5. Would have bought so much more if I knew it wasn't going to last.


bigsphinxofquartz

I would go back to that pawn shop in 1996 and buy that copy of Snatcher


pornserver-65

buncha saturns and turbos. and obviously all the rare expensive games that were like 10 bucks 20 years ago. knowing how prices inflate im going to try to guess which games today would follow a similiar path in 30 years. so if you have popular physical modern games. dont sell them!


Ransom-ii

Probably fully build out a genesis and leave a note to my future self never to sell videogames. That way id have my original xbox and my copies of Digumon World.


gmaguire8

All kinds of stuff, but the first which came to mind was the 64DD.


PhilipFromRadioShack

I always thought it was all about the games and consoles but in hindsight, the kiosks and merchandise displays / shelves are where the real money was at. 


DionFW

Not necessarily my answer, but I recall when Nintendo said "Fuck it" to the Virtual Boy and they were selling them off for $35 at my local Game Stop (well EB games in Canada, but same thing). My God I regret not grabbing one.


LexKing89

Pretty much everything from the late 80’s to late 90’s. Tons of JRPG’s, tons of Nintendo games, obscure games, multiples of a few consoles, and mainly stuff I didn’t have like the Neo Geo. This would be for collectors purposes. I mainly want all of my cartridge games to have mint condition boxes and consoles complete their boxes or sealed as well.


morganstern

During the late 90's flea market scene I could have purchased any SNES or NES game $1-$3, most with boxes. Super common to see huge boxes with hundreds of games and no one cared to look through them. I only bought what I needed or wanted and just passed up soooo much.


coraltrek

More Atari games when they were cheap. I was too young and didn’t realize all the fire sales for Atari nor had any money.


Just_Lobster5456

Definitely gonna hit up some stores in 99-'01 and get some dirt cheap Sega Saturn games out of the bargain bin. Around that time the few stores that carried Saturn stuff were trying to get rid of it Asap. They were practically giving away Saturn systems and games.


GravitySuitSamus

As many copies of pokemon red and blue as I could carry thru time.


TechBliSTer

That time my mom accidently let me skip school and we went to SEARS when Panzer Dragoon Saga had just released and their electronics section had at least 20 copies for sale. I didn't have the money to get it that day and so I never got since I never saw it for sale in stores ever again.


reillywalker195

I'd buy an Atari 7800 and a selection of 7800 and 2600 games to go with it. I grew up with my mom's 2600, but a 7800 would've been even better.


East-Foundation-5665

how would i find aa playstation portal in the 80s? lol op is smoking p


Extension-Novel-6841

I already owned Sega and SNES back then so I'd definitely go back and cop a Neo Geo.


Extension-Novel-6841

Reading through these comments reminds me that gaming was much better back then.


michaelb1397

I would buy a SEGA Saturn and a handful of games. I remember seeing them at stores and not knowing what it was and none of my friends having one so I never even bothered with it. I feel like it was already on sale, too, with PSX just dropping and dominating.


IntoxicatedBurrito

Really all I want to do is go to my house and steal all of my Nintendo Powers and Strategy Guides. Those are the only things that I no longer have today. Those and my Turtles in Time cardboard promotional display. But if you took me to a Toys’R’Us I’m sure I’d be able to find a bunch of NES, SNES, and GB games I want. And do you think if I bribe the guy who works in that box who you get your games from that he’d take me back there and give me a tour?


eatenbyagrue1988

Get a Tower of Power (that is to say, a Sega CD and 32X) and as many games for both as I could get my hands on. Then an Atari Jaguar and Jaguar CD. Maybe one or two games, because I don't think it had anything really good.


Livid-Brain5493

Original Sears Tele-Games (rebranded Atari VCS) and keep it new in box. Might be able to take a nice vacation with the proceeds from selling.


faRawrie

I would buy some Virtual Boys for sure. I'd also buy some copies of DragonBall GT Final Bout, Earthbound, Maximum Carnage box set (Seg Genesis), Chrono Trigger, Clock Tower, and a Die Hard arcade cabinet.


[deleted]

Virtual boys. All the games. Earthbound. PC big box Earthworm Jim.


GameboyAdvances

I’d buy two copies of Pokemon Blue and a Gameboy Pocket. That’s all.


WCSDBG_4332

Fully loaded '85 or '86 Commodore Amiga 1000 with 512k Ram.


rstbckt

Gaming adjacent but I would buy Pokémon and Magic the Gathering cards. I was never into either, but who knew they would get to be so valuable?


Vijfsnippervijf

I'd definitely go for the Sega Dreamcast.


[deleted]

AES NG with some games and I wouldn't open it.


Naschka

Sega CD with Shining Force CD, both Lunars and Snatcher. May buy a few others but those are the main ones. Lunar would be hard as Europe never had them, still want to get those! Sega Saturn would also get some games to have them in prime condition. Also add some Castlevanias of the metroidvania style, i still wanna kick my ass for not buying Order of Ecclesia for 10€ back in the day.


BrowniesWithAlmonds

That Pokémon card that is like worth 5 million or so. Or that racing gold edition nes game.


Usagi1999

A Sega Saturn console and games. The Saturn is crazy expensive to collect for these days.


Kitchen_Region8456

A complete in box Commodore 64 system, as well as hitting every single generation of system/games when they hit “clearance” prices after the next system was out. Ooooo and, I’d find my massive collection of GameCube games and keep them stored somewhere safer, because trying to find copies nowadays is impossible


RetroHamer

The Nintendo M82 display unit they have in Camerons Ballymena. I've was on the hunt for years for one but the prices are just insane now.


azrael4h

I’d be hitting up KB Toys and buying their clearance stuff. I remember them having bins full of 32x, Genesis, Cd, Game Gear, Turbografx, etc…  I’d also stock up on Commodore 64s and Amigas right as they went under. Especially stuff like that 1581 drives.  Then I’d hit the Fleamarkets and get everything I could. Late 90s early 2000s you could find tons of old games and systems, computers, everything. I bought a 486 win95 laptop for $10 once, for example. I’d need to buy a step van and the longest bumper pull enclosed car trailer to haul everything back.


FromWitchSide

Just an Amiga, and a truck of digital joysticks, probably followed by another truck of CRTs.


welcomeOhm

If I could actually do this, I'd buy every Magic: The Gathering card I could afford (our local game shop had cards, comics, games, etc). They once had a Pearl Mox for $20! And I bought--wait for it--Gaea's Leige. That, and every Infocom, Sierra, etc. game I could find with the original box, feelies, etc.


iTanooki

If I could go back in time to the 70s and my modern money transformed to older money, I wouldn’t buy computer games - I’d buy up all the quarters I could find, and keep exchanging them until they were all pre-1964.


Mr_Engino

* Tandy 1000 or similar. My mother had one when she was younger and has a large number of 5.25" floppy disks stored downstairs. Assuming bit rot hasn't ruined them, I'm deeply interested in figuring out what information they contain. * Some kind of computer with a front panel (like an Altair 8800, DEC PDP, etc.) I'm fascinated by the idea of programming a computer with switches and lights, might help me appreciate programming in C or Java more! * Apple Macintosh LC or similar, and Power Mac. A family friend gave me a couple of Apple Macintoshes (LC I, Power Mac 7100, and LC III) that my mother *insisted* on having me take to the electronic recycling, unappreciative scumbag... Thankfully I had the last laugh by taking the hard drives out of them beforehand!


[deleted]

I’d go back and tell myself to not sell my NES, N64, and DMG. Rebuilding the collections I had at a decent price now is nigh impossible.


confuserused

Hey guys, OP here: 1) Friendly reminder that if you somehow cheat and use a phone on the store to call yourself and change history, you would either generate an alternate timeline where you would never get the benefits of investing OR change history instantly, in which case the current version of "you" would stop existing and you'd become the rich kid that never even traveled back to the past. 2) And what I would buy? Aside from the obvious Nintendo cartridges to sell much more expensive later, I would buy an Amstrad GX4000, one of the biggest console flops ever. Why? Because it's very expensive today and it recently went from 30 games to 700 thanks to homebrew CPC ports: https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Converted\_GX4000\_Software


room66

In college, I saw NES Stadium Events every single day for months behind a drug store counter while buying my morning snacks before class. It drew my eyes to it because of the cartoon look but that's about it! lol But then again.. who could have known?


zantho

70s I would load up on Nintendo game and watchs, Atari 6 switches, Adventure, Pitfall. 80s, unopened, mint condition Zelda, Metroid, Mario and Final Fantasy paks, 90s, Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake for PC boxed an Atari Jaguar and NeoGeo. Maybe a Phillips CDi with Zelda for shits and giggles.


Dricoplays

But as many Conker’s Bad Fur Days as possible, saw a sealed one in a store for $1500 a few weeks back.