Will launch day machines ever be worth something?

[neorichieb1971]

I was thinking the other day looking at my consoles that I have quite a few day 1 Japanese launch machines. My PS1 is a launch day machine from December 1994, I was thinking that maybe a boxed unit with instructions with origonal joypad (2ft cable), boxed memory card and spare joypad from the era would probably be worth something someday. I mean, I have a unit from day 1 of the Sony legacy.

The joypads are not made anymore and the smaller Japanese style pads were made in relatively short numbers.

Then I have the campaign Dreamcast from November 98? Well it was a launch day machine and it has the CEO of Sega of Japan on the box. This was limited to 500,000 units. I even have the orange paper carry bag with the Dreamcast swirl on it in mint condition. I guess apart from artwork this unit has no other differences to the generic machine.

Day 1 N64 with Mario and pilotwings.

It seems to me that a day 1 SCPH1000 would be worth quite a bit down the road. So I plan on keeping it as I know alot of them have been trashed by now..

So whats your opinion, antique collectors item in a few years?

[SAM]

Try Evil Bay if you want to make some bugs on this.

For most of us here, the most we want is a clean Japanese console in good order.

Cave's PCB kit in orginal box is another story.

[SuperGrafx]

Then I have the campaign Dreamcast from November 98? Well it was a launch day machine and it has the CEO of Sega of Japan on the box. This was limited to 500,000 units. I even have the orange paper carry bag with the Dreamcast swirl on it in mint condition. I guess apart from artwork this unit has no other differences to the generic machine.

Well, actually I've been after one of those launch day/campaign Dreamcast systems. There's a guy over at Assembler who is into the DC platform in a big way and mentioned that the earliest DC consoles have a metal fan and some form of liquid cooling as opposed to DC's produced later on. Supposedly they run more quietly as well.

[neorichieb1971]

Yes they have the water cooling system inside, it was heavily documented in Edge magazine in the UK at the time of launch. Most people thought it was an april fools joke (if you read the letters section the issue after it)

However, as for quieter, damn... If the later DC's are louder than the launch machine that would too much to bear. Mine is quite loud, any louder would be intollerable. You can hear the drives mechanisms loud enough and then you have the fan humming away.. its quite loud! Sega liked it loud, even the VMU beeps when you turn the machine on

[nZero]

It's not water cooling in the traditional sense with a water block and radiator, rather it's a heatpipe.

[Ganelon]

All manmade objects appreciate in value over time. I wouldn't count on your system going up in your lifetime though considering nobody even cares about 30-year old computers.

[visuatrox]

Well in maybe another 100 years or so, we are going to see consoles in antique shops, just like we see old toys nowdays. Traditional PC computers are probably never going to grow much in value, because there is so many avaible of them. I have probably like 4 old PC's gathering dust on a attic and they will most likely never gain any value..

But consoles on the other hand, and old "Home computers" may be worth something. I sold my C64 pretty recently for a profit, also the Amiga CD32 is more worth now than when i bought it. It all comes down to supply and demand..

[neorichieb1971]

Well supply is short on these items, its just the demand thats not there for now. Raise your hand if you have a day 1 launch machine of any description.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

My cousin's launch console does the darndest things. Once, I was on the last guy of G-darius, and the game began glitching . I was like "woooooo groovyy what the hell is happening?"

Sell 'em as the "glitching 1rst gen consoles OMG113377777!!1110nEl3v3n."

[neorichieb1971]

Sounds like an extra selling point to me

G-Darius with extra features. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ceph]

I bought a Dreamcast at lauch in late 1998 and it was just as loud as the later Dreamcasts. I never even knew it had a different cooling system. Unfortunately the video-chip of my first DC went on the fritz after plugging in the A/V cord one day (lesson: never plug in any cables while a console is running). I'm currently using a Japanese DC made in 2000 and it sounds identical, imo.

I also have a very early PSX, which now only loads games if you turn it upside down.

I don't see any point in collecting launch models; they usually have more problems than later revisions.

[Fenrir]

I had the launch Jap playstation too, bought in Hong Kong in Dec. 2004. And the first PS1s are teh shit, absolutely against the usual adagio "first consoles = buggy". The launch jap psx were universal, I never had to modchip it. Just put a sticker on the lid spring, boot with a jap CD and then put US or PAL discs with no difference and total compatibility. Teh shit really

By the way, a launch DC (I saw one prototype on e-bay, the one who came out for the press workers, inside a black case, with a pad, cables, VMS, dream passport 1 and penpen) sold for $299. Which isn't a high price at all.
Some collectors like the first editions (I mildly apprecciate them, see Saturn) but the business is not very lucrative.

[FatCobra]

Maybe they will, I don't know. I prefer to buy my systems near the end of their lifespan. Bugs are all fixed and all the good stuff is out.