ElwoodBlues

I am currently hunting for an original Nintendo Entertainment System.

Does anyone have any tips on where to look for them, what to look for (common issues, problem areas etc.), and what kind of money I should be expecting to pay for a decent system?

Any advice is appreciated, thanks

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Rudel73

ebay will have tons of them just check it out

serge

Where I live they are usually sold for anywhere from 20 to 30 bucks a pop, and that's canadian. So if you are american it should be even cheaper.

A great place to look is at flea markets, alot of malls tend to have pretty big flea markets on sundays in which people sell mass quantities of games, systems, and so on for relatively cheap.

The only real issue you have to be aware of with the nes is the dreaded grey screen of death that most people think blowing on the cartridges fixes. That isn't the case though. The reason for this issue is the pins inside the nes in which the cart connects to, they bend too much over the years and that limits the connection that needs to be made in order to load the game.

And even though blowing on the cart seems to fix the problem, your breath actually corodes the connector chips over time. So the solution is to either buy a new connector online to install or bend the old ones back into place.

Heres a link on bending the pins, it's really not that hard but if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, have someone you know who may be used to handling electronics do it for you.

http://www.classicgaming.com/feature...les/nesrepair/

And yet another alternative is to buy a newer top loading nes, which loads cartridges the same way a snes or N64 does. These can be found pretty commonly on ebay but you'll pay alot for one as they are rare and in high demand. I've seen them go for upwards of 200 bucks.

Well it's a little long winded but I hope my posts helps you a little there.

CityOfAngels

GET A TOP-LOADER! I can not stress this enough. The top-loading NES sells for about $100 on eBay, but it ACTUALLY WORKS! I've gone through three old-school NES's, and ALL of them have broken down. I currently have my top-loading NES hooked up to my TV and play it whenever I get the chance with NO problems.

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MooseMan3000

But the front-loader is just that much more old-school goodness. I would go through 100 front loaders before I bought a top loader (my friend has one... they're just too ugly).

I've had the problem serge mentioned (who hasn't?), and cleaning the pins both in the cartridge and the console itself has always fixed it.

sadistikdreams

I reckon I can catch one for you... Top loader, even.
Seattle is overflowing with them, what with Nintendo US HQ in Redmond.

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GakFace

I've had my Old Skool Side Loader for over a decade.. still works like a charm.

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blahblah454

You can get a front loader off ebay for like 40 bucks (that usually comes with games too) or you can hold out till you see a sweet auction and pay about 100-200 dollars american but it will come with around 50 or so games. And the Systems themselves DO NOT BREAK like everyone says that they do, the only problem is with the 72pin connector that is inside the machine. Just look it up on ebay and you can get a new one for 7 bucks. (I know a really nice guy that sells them and gives you fool proof instructions for instalation. Well I dont know him but I have done business with him. If you want his Store ID just PM me and I'll send it to you)
After you fix the 72 pin connector even the games in the crappiest condition will play perfectly with a simple blow on the guts for good luck!

Right now I own around 40 games for my orinal NES and I'm loving it!

Xenomorph

There used to be a place here in St. Louis that would rejuvinate fading NES'es. They sadly went the way of the NES itself in terms of being available on the market.

Gamestop deals in games and systems as old as the NES, although now a lot of districts are sending all of their old stuff to one store because it's becoming so scarce. They'll charge you a good $50 or so for a (possibly very well-) used side-loader, though.

I've contemplated trading my PS2 for the toploader of a guy I know. I probably should just replace the pin connector in the side-loader I've had since Ronald Reagan was in office.

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thecoldone33

small electronic shops. My friend bought three complete unopened NES power sets (the once that came with the light gun) and sold them on eBay a couple years ago. Swap meets are also good.

RolandGilead

I recently bought one (working) at a german fleamarket with original packing, manual and mario bros. for 20€ (=22$). I wouldn`t have paid more for it, but I`m not that maniac videogamer, though...
What is that toploader thing? is this an official product or a fake one?

Coppertop

bal8664

The Goodwill near me always has old nes's around for about 4-5 dollars each, not sure if they work or not. I bought a working dreamcast there with 2 controllers and the cables for 6 dollars total.

Bratwurst

Why not just use an emulator on your pc? I had a laptop with FCE ultra plugged into my tv with an s-video cable and it worked really well.

Wingless

Bratwurst: It's just not the same playing a NES game on your compy. Actually having the console sitting there next to your TV... thats old school

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Bratwurst

Yes I understand that, but using my nice gamepad that fits my hand and isn't a rectangle with hard edges sure doesn't feel as "old school" either.

Its a helluva lot cheaper too. But then again, maybe not so legal. I guess there are tradeoffs either way.

Stiltzkin

My sideloader still works if you clean the pins out, give both the system and the game the traditional "Nintendo blow", put the game in, stuff a sock into it to keep the game down, turn it on, slap the side of the system hard several times, reset as necessary.

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bal8664

Yeah they may not have been them ost ergonomic design, but those suckers were built to last. I don't know how many countless times mine got thrown at things in frustration of some old NES games and the thing still works great. My Xbox Controllers can't last more than a year of normal usage ( I've gotten past throwing things by now )

Slavakion

Is it possible to break those things? I was spinning one around one time, damn near broke my hand. After 14 or so years, there's barely a scratch on either of my controllers.

Mr Scorcex

Heh, the outcome of many Tecmo Bowl games has caused controllers to be thrown to the floor in disgust in my dorm, but those things keep on kicking. To get on topic: uh... don't worry about the integrity of the controlers, but rather the 72 pin connector!