Ok this is probably one for @regmcfly but anyone with any knowledge of Japanese retro shops may be able to help.

A work colleague of mine is going out to Tokyo early next month and has offered to pick me up a SEGA/ Victor Wondermega. However I would not have the foggiest where to source one in Japan other than to say go to Akihabara. They are probably pretty rare over there to be honest so I'm thinking it's probably not something he is going to pick up in a Super Potato!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I think it was you that got my interest peaked in them Mark! They are going for about a grand on eBay which is just ridiculous. I'm hoping to pay half that max.

I wonder how well the CD ROM drive is holding up in those? Bit of a gamble unless it can be replaced.

Never had a cube but always liked the look of this.
It's like the antithesis of Nintendo's purple handle fisher price design.

Eric wrote:

They are probably pretty rare over there to be honest so I'm thinking it's probably not something he is going to pick up in a Super Potato!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Maybe go with a picture of what you want, to overcome that language barrier? I do remember reading that visits to Japan should, if possible, have tour guides whenever possible - if you're having a tour, maybe the guide could take you to places you want to see? "Take me to the tucked away retro game shops" might be a good start. Just guessing here. As you say, Reg is probably your best bet.

I'll be paying close attention, as my brother is going to Japan soon, and if he doesn't come back with a load of Neo Geo stuff for me, I'll disown him.

optimark_prime wrote:

That is the best looking console ever

Definitely a contender.

Liveinadive wrote:

I liked the Q at the time but it is very of it's time.
Should be paired with an inflatable chair.

Like something out of Troy McClure's apartment. "It's so modern, it's... ultra modern!"

Blue Swirl wrote:

Maybe go with a picture of what you want, to overcome that language barrier?

Returns with a turbo toilet. The Q has too many buttons and LEDs.

Look at this for an auction happening near me....

https://www.wilsonsauctions.com/auctions/government-auctions/AuctionEvent?saleCode=173580&location=Belfast&lotPageNo=1

among the sports cars, film props and watches, there's a collection of arcade cabinets and pinballs. There's even a Vectrex and a couple of classic handhelds in there. Must have been some house this came from.

features a sit down Star wars and a Namco Propcycle!

Thats absolutely incredible, it must have been Michael Jackson levels of craziness to have all that! Id be so tempted to bid on one of those arcade machines but my wife would kill me.

Assets recovery agency over here means it's quite probably the fruits of ill-gotten gains.

I'm definitely going.....if Battlezone goes for a song I might snipe it. Will have a pop at the Vectrex too.

That auction above is this chap’s collection.

A cannabis farm in a nuclear bunker. You have to admire the guy's style.

I'm glad it wasn't a member of one our "community organisations".

As it made national news it is unlikely there will be a bargain - some of those items will be worth making the trip for. But I'm going along just in case. You never know with an auction.

Nina, if you're looking for pre-Gamecube/GBA era there are plenty of handhelds that will do the job anywhere between competently and admirably. The cheapest of the cheap will run 8-bit and Megadrive titles well. GBA seems to run well on the cheapo machines too.

Since getting a Raspberry Pi I've drifted away from the handheld emulators because a) Retroking kitted it out for me and b) the emulation success rate seems higher (I've had plenty of problems with SNES games on various handhelds).

I had this. It's not perfect, but for the price it's excellent as a portable retro hub:

I plan to do it once I'm through my pile of subscription shame, as I assume you can't go back to the official stuff once you've hacked it. It might depend on emulators, but PSP is weaker than my GemeiA330 for Megadrive sound.

Thanks all.

I saw the GXD Singularity that @Eric mentions in an MetalJesusRocks video (haven't been feeling well the past week, stumbled onto his channel and that's partly what made me interested in looking at my options here). He thought it was a bit too pricey for what you get. It looks heavy, how do the buttons feel on that one?

GPD X D looks nice, they also have a Windows one (costs about double the price though). Might be an option this one.

@Moot That JXD S7800B is another one that I think I saw in one of MetalJesus's videos. He didn't mention what it was, it was in his handheld drawer and I thought it looks nice. Can't find it on the official site though, it's either the Singularity or cheaper handheld clones. Haven't checked what they do, I'll keep the site bookmarked.

I'd rather not mod my Vita, as I got a couple of games to play, and it's region free (same for GBA), meaning I can pick up games here if I see any. Was thinking of maybe looking into a pspGo.

There's just too many option, must say that @Moot's post made me favour the Raspberry Pi at the moment, a quick google search for raspberry pi handheld shows some cool WiiU gamepad machines. Guess with some case modding you could still connect it to a tv with HDMI, and the 8bitdo retro controllers work with it as well I think. Which can also be used with the Switch and PC.
Part of me also leans toward a Pi in a screen / little box, one that you can easily rotate for shmups. I got a good stick and buttons at my mom's place, for when I wanted to make a pc arcade stick.
Just trying to get @Blue's attention, he always seems to find cool Pi Projects.

And yeah, it would be mainly for NES, SNES, MAME, and probably Sega stuff. Later stuff would be nice if the machine can handle it. Think with GBA games for example I'll just look out for cart only games of the ones I missed. I've always been one that wanted it complete, but it's about the game in the end. Not worth to pay the extra money as storage space is also an issue for me right now. I'll try to go digital for as many as possible (not sure if the vita has access to the psone games, but the psp did, and 3DS for some SNES / GB and NES games), but what's on offer digitally is just a small part of what's been released.

edit: I've just found out a Pi can also stream PC games. Probablt won't be able to keep up with the big action games, but for all the walking simulator's in my backlog it should be ok. Interesting.

The Singularity isnt heavy at all, it feels hollow to be honest! Buttons are great and Id suggest its much more ergonomic than the Wii U. D pad is fine. Its not great for fightmans (its a bit angular) but fine for anything else!