gaming setup 2007 flashback

content/articles/gaming-setup-2007-flashback.md

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+---
+image: "/img/articles/nostalgia_gameboy.jpg"
+date: "2020-08-20"
+title: "The Gaming Setup, a 2007 Flashback"
+tags:
+    - 'retro'
+    - 'collecting'
+    - 'gaming setup'
+description: "While digging through an old archive, I came across pictures of my gaming setup in 2007. CRT gaming and the ultimate game boy - it's all there! Recollecting once owned but now lost games has become an expensive undertaking."
+---
+
+Ever wonder what the could be the best way to play Game Boy Games? It will be a while before the [Analogue Pocket](https://analogue.co) release in 2021. Until then, how about this setup:
+
+![](/img/articles/nostalgia_gameboy.jpg "The Ultimate Game Boy Setup")
+
+It has been 13 years since I took that photograph, and even in 2007, the Game Boy and Advance have long been replaced by Nintendo's DS systems. Still, if you wanted to feel something bulky and just so happened to have four full AA batteries (which is an exception), you could do something like the above. What's included?
+
+- An unlicensed GB cartridge apparently containing 88 games (which it didn't). Pirated game cartridges sadly were commonplace back in the day, and I got this one for my birthday somewhere on holiday. My parents didn't know better, and I was happy. 
+- A stereo sound enhancer that again requires batteries. 
+- In case one doesn't see jack shit, take out the magnifying glass. Light extensions also existed. 
+- In case one has trouble beating a boss, take out the Game Genie to apply cheat codes. What an ingenious system!
+
+In another photograph, I of course boast with my "huge" collection DS games:
+
+![](/img/articles/nostalgia_handhelds.jpg "More recent handheld additions for being the year 2007: the GBA Micro limited edition and a DS Lite. ")
+
+I still feel sad for selling most of them, including the 20-year anniversary Game Boy Micro and DS Lite (In favor for a 3DS). I've had so much fun times playing that thing. It might be rightfully called the best selling handheld ever - beating even the original Game Boy family. 
+
+Tactics Ogre: Knights of Lodis sadly never made it to Europe, so I had to import. Play Asia, Videogamesplus.ca, and so forth were my friends - but the post guy that had me pay extra import taxes clearly was not. 
+
+Besides handhelds, I also occasionally hooked my GameCube to my PC CRT screen:
+
+![](/img/articles/nostalgia_gamecubecrt.jpg "My GameCube hooked to the PC using a TV decoder")
+
+That Wavebird controller was the best controller I ever owned. Still, I was mostly a handheld Nintendo fanboy and a PC gamer. However, Wind Waker and Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door have easily made it into the top 10 best played games ever. The stack of GC games on the picture does not resonate with me anymore. Wario World was a total letdown compared to the Wario Game Boy games. 
+
+Take a look at the insane price peaks of some games (complete) depicted here, according to [gamevaluenow.com](https://gamevaluenow.com):
+
+- Super Princess Peach: `$38.50` (I paid `$30` I think)
+- Tactics Ogre: Knights of Lodis: `$95`!
+- Game Boy Micro Special 20th Anniversary Edition: `$200+`
+- Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow: `$53`
+
+![](/img/articles/nostalgia_prices.png "Prices have gone up rapidly since COVID-19...")
+
+We can conclude that (partially tanks to COVID-19) retro game collecting has become a rather expensive hobby. I do regret that I got rid of a lot of older games. I'm more of a "been there done that" kind of guy, that likes to only keep the best games. My wife thinks that is ridiculous. And it is - I usually make really bad decisions selling things I regret afterwards. 
+