Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )

[GameFreak]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Turbo-grafx-16-console-booster-5Mint-games-Guaranteed-/230642440998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b35c5b26#ht_1021wt_881

Ok I can understand someone in Europe or U.S. wanting a PC-engine, but why on earth would anyone in japan want a U.S. turbografx-16? (that is where the item is located. why did it wind up there?)

[PunkicCyborg]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Turbo-grafx-16-console-booster-5Mint-games-Guaranteed-/230642440998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b35c5b26#ht_1021wt_881

Ok I can understand someone in Europe or U.S. wanting a PC-engine, but why on earth would anyone in japan want a U.S. turbografx-16? (that is where the item is located. why did it wind up there?)

lol he's sending the shit back!

[BlueBMW]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Turbo-grafx-16-console-booster-5Mint-games-Guaranteed-/230642440998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b35c5b26#ht_1021wt_881

   Its in Japan?  Thats kind of strange....

[csgx1]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Turbo-grafx-16-console-booster-5Mint-games-Guaranteed-/230642440998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b35c5b26#ht_1021wt_881

Ok I can understand someone in Europe or U.S. wanting a PC-engine, but why on earth would anyone in japan want a U.S. turbografx-16? (that is where the item is located. why did it wind up there?)

Maybe someone thought: "the grass is always greener on the other side".
 

[thrush]

Ok I can understand someone in Europe or U.S. wanting a PC-engine, but why on earth would anyone in japan want a U.S. turbografx-16? (that is where the item is located. why did it wind up there?)

The only "reasonable" scenario I can imagine is if you were really into vintage hardware and just wanted to own every variant... there certainly seems to be lots of folks like that in the Commodore/Amiga scene.  But in that case why part with it later?  Probably csgx1's "grass is greener" is more likely.

[Mathius]

That's something I haven't seen yet!

[RR1980]

The guy could be an expat kinda like Tokei had his tg16 with him when he living in Japan.

[nat]

OK, no offense to anyone, but the comparison commonly tossed around here about MC being as common as OotG is total nonsense and I've heard a half dozen people repeat it.

OofG came out a lot earlier, around the same time as Air Zonk.  They were both part of the "new software lineup" advertised through Turbo Zone (NOT TZD) and Totally Turbo in 1992.  They're both copyrighted 1992.  The Turbo was still a semi-viable system that year - there were no clearance sales, and Toy's R Us had not yet begun trimming down their selection.

By 1993, Turbo games were much harder to find, making it safe to say that games like MC had nowhere near the distribution of earlier releases even if just as many were pressed.

Let's look at the slate of Turbochips scheduled in the 1993 Club Duo Catalog:

Jan - Darkwing Duck (makes sense, the copyright on the actual Turbochip is 1992)
Feb - Hero Tonma, World Sports Comp
March - Bomberman '93
July - Magical Chase
August - Bonk 3 (makes sense because this is the only game released with the updated box design)
Oct - Battle Load Runner (oops, what do you know, never released)

The accuracy of this list is supported by the Bonk 3 box design, the copyrights on the games, and the fact that BLR wasn't released.  So, I'm going to argue that MC was the second-to-last Turbochip ever released and is therefore pretty frickin' rare.

The whole thing was started by a guy who used to work for Hudson, that stated Order of the Griffon and Magical Chase had the same release run. It was something like 3,000 copies, I don't remember exactly. That's solid enough "evidence" for me, and it seems to fit based on the number of copies of each I see on a regular basis.

Distribution may have mattered a lot back in 1993, but it doesn't mean jack shit in 2011. The games are all out there now, in circulation. Unless you're implying there are cases of unsold copies of Magical Chase laying around somewhere, which I highly doubt. Any unsold copies of the game would have ultimately made their way back to TTi, which, as we all know, turned into Turbo Zone Direct. You might have had an argument four years ago, when TZD (the REAL TZD) was still around, that perhaps Steve was sitting on a case or two of sealed MCs to be used as leverage when it came time to sell the business. Well, the sale actually happened as we all know, and there was no secret stash of unopened Magical Chases. Hell, I'm not sure he held on to even a single copy. We know they had one single sealed Dynastic Hero, and some other odds and ends that never made it to the official sale page but nothing in any quantity that would have any effect on a game's actual rarity.

Your argument actually makes little sense to me. The timeframe in which a game was released doesn't dictate a game's rarity; the number of copies pressed and released does.

[Necromancer]

Unless you're implying there are cases of unsold copies of Magical Chase laying around somewhere, which I highly doubt.

Excepting the full palette sitting in my garage, right?  I call it my 'retirement fund'.

Hell, I'm not sure he held on to even a single copy.

Didn't Mr. Nanto get the last one for providing TZD with sexy pictures right before they sold out?

[vestcoat]

Thanks for the comment about the Hudson guy, I had forgotten the source for that.  While OotG and MC are both “sleepers” that probably had low print runs, it still seems odd that the penultimate Turbochip released during 1993 - the year of bargain bins and cancelled games - would have a run the size of a game released during the launch of the Turbo Duo, Air Zonk, and LoT...still, I’ll buy it.  

I actually wrote a follow-up post to Jibbajaba the other day addressing the issue of distribution, but had to run out the door before finishing it.  Here's an updated version:
  
There are still a number of holes in the equal quantities theory.  Foremost being the report of bulldozed games and TZD trying to buy as many as they could to save:  https://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=5384.msg93705#msg93705

Whether or not this source has any authority, it stands to reason that a bankrupt company's inventory had to be liquidated, debts paid, and the remainder disposed; a smooth transfer of TTI handing their entire stock over to TZD is very unlikely.  The liquidation/bulldoze story is also supported by the fact that Smartworks apparently took over hardware sales due to some kind of settlement (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142037&page=5) and I’ve read that Telegames added a lot to their stock of Turbo goods at this point (can’t find the source right now).

When TZD and Telegames were choosing what to save from the landfill, they no doubt erred on the side of games like Bonk 3 and Soldier Blade and overlooked games without any U.S. name recognition like MC.

This would explain why TZD sold out of MC - a no-name game that was never advertised - almost instantly.  This would explain Steve's comment to Aaron about how there are probably only five sealed copies in existence (mentioned in Aaron's original MC/Bonk3 pictures post, now deleted).  This would explain why Aaron’s copy from TZD (sold on ebay a few years ago) is the only sealed one anyone has ever seen.  

The issue of distribution is relevant because OotG had an extra one-to-two years to sit in Toys R Us before the day of reckoning came.  Off the top of my head, I know Blue has a sealed copy, I have one, I saw a third in Stillwater in 2006, and a couple others on ebay over the years.

[RoyVegas]

This would explain why Aaron’s copy from TZD (sold on ebay a few years ago) is the only sealed one anyone has ever seen.   

I'm aware of 3 total that are still sealed.

[hizaygizirlz]

Interesting stuff.  That guy on half.com also claims to have one that is sealed for 5K, I'm sure most people are aware of that one though. 

If it is true or not I have no idea.

[DragonmasterDan]

Thanks for the comment about the Hudson guy, I had forgotten the source for that.  While OotG and MC are both “sleepers” that probably had low print runs, it still seems odd that the penultimate Turbochip released during 1993 - the year of bargain bins and cancelled games - would have a run the size of a game released during the launch of the Turbo Duo, Air Zonk, and LoT...still, I’ll buy it. 

I actually wrote a follow-up post to Jibbajaba the other day addressing the issue of distribution, but had to run out the door before finishing it.  Here's an updated version:
   
There are still a number of holes in the equal quantities theory.  Foremost being the report of bulldozed games and TZD trying to buy as many as they could to save:  https://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=5384.msg93705#msg93705

Whether or not this source has any authority, it stands to reason that a bankrupt company's inventory had to be liquidated, debts paid, and the remainder disposed; a smooth transfer of TTI handing their entire stock over to TZD is very unlikely.  The liquidation/bulldoze story is also supported by the fact that Smartworks apparently took over hardware sales due to some kind of settlement (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142037&page=5) and I’ve read that Telegames added a lot to their stock of Turbo goods at this point (can’t find the source right now).

When TZD and Telegames were choosing what to save from the landfill, they no doubt erred on the side of games like Bonk 3 and Soldier Blade and overlooked games without any U.S. name recognition like MC.

This would explain why TZD sold out of MC - a no-name game that was never advertised - almost instantly.  This would explain Steve's comment to Aaron about how there are probably only five sealed copies in existence (mentioned in Aaron's original MC/Bonk3 pictures post, now deleted).  This would explain why Aaron’s copy from TZD (sold on ebay a few years ago) is the only sealed one anyone has ever seen.   

The issue of distribution is relevant because OotG had an extra one-to-two years to sit in Toys R Us before the day of reckoning came.  Off the top of my head, I know Blue has a sealed copy, I have one, I saw a third in Stillwater in 2006, and a couple others on ebay over the years.

That definitely seems like it's accurate. I really wish Steve from TZD checked this boards from time to time.

Whether or not there were just as many OOtGs produced as Magical Chase, clearly not as many survive to this day.

[nat]

Ah yes, I'd forgotten some of the unsold stock had been destroyed. That certainly cements a foundation for your argument, however, there's no way to be certain exactly what games got destroyed and what didn't. It's certainly logical to assume TZD opted for games like Bonk 3 and Soldier Blade over MC, but we don't really know this to be the case.

All that said, I still firmly believe the perceived rarity of MC is almost entirely hype. There are copies up for sale multiple times a month.

[vestcoat]

I think it's about as rare as official Turbochips get, but not as rare as people think.

Now what I can't figure out is why TZD sold out of MC in the first year, yet Legend of Hero Tonma and World Sports Competition stuck around for so long.