the.com/neo geo aes collectors
grown adults refinancing houses to buy cartridges the size of a phone book.
means a subculture of retro gaming enthusiasts who collect the neo geo advanced entertainment system and its absurdly expensive game cartridges.
from snk released the neo geo aes in 1990 as a home console version of its arcade hardware, priced like a used car specifically to keep it exclusive to arcades and the ultra-wealthy, which accidentally seeded decades of collector mythology.
launch priceconsole alone cost about 650 dollars in 1990
rental marketjapanese shops rented cartridges since buying was insane
cart sizeaes carts are roughly twice the size of mvs arcade versions
grading obsessionsealed copies now get vga graded like baseball cards
for instance
metal slug aes — loose carts routinely sell for over 1000 dollars
kof 94 sealed copy — vga graded copies have fetched five figures at auction
neo geo cd fans — rival faction who argue the cheaper alternative was smarter