Long wanted to go pick up a Famicom with Disk system with SMB2 on it but haven't had the chance for obvious reasons. Seems like a good place to go hunting if I ever decide to go to Japan though it probably will cost quite a bit.
It'd be cool to buy a PS2 in there and then do some modchipping or something to region unlock it
I remember back when it was the place to go for computers and electronic parts. It still is to a certain extent, but all that otaku stuff stands out so much more now. [del]Disgusting[/del] Sad tbh. :frown:
[QUOTE=daigennki;52466342]I remember back when it was the place to go for computers and electronic parts. It still is to a certain extent, but all that otaku stuff stands out so much more now. Disgusting tbh. :frown:[/QUOTE]
How long ago did the change start happening?
Man, there's way better places than Super Potato to get games and consoles. They sometimes have rather nice machines come in but for the most part their prices suck. 25000 yen for a midrange MSX machine. Ouch. I was able to get a screaming 6800 yen deal on an X68000ACE around the corner at the Tokyo Radio Department Store. Also BEEP is hidden away if you can find it and if you just want the console and it doesn't need to be minty I suggest looking into hard-off a block over.
Also watch out in the Radio Mall as there's a bunch of stuff you are often better off ordering through ebay from china and if you are one of those people like me where you have restrictions on luggage weight you are better off buying when you get home. That being said there is at least two booths that were selling HiRose connectors. I ended up buying something like $400 worth of connectors to sell to friends locally because everyone online were asking three times the price.
[QUOTE=Laserbeams;52466352]How long ago did the change start happening?[/QUOTE]
For noticeable changes, probably 15 years ago or so. I am sure it has something to do with the spread of the internet, but I feel there is something else I do not realize...
[editline]14th July 2017[/editline]
Let this speak for itself:
[video=youtube;7qcmS9jjUuw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qcmS9jjUuw[/video]
Holy shit the commentator in the 1995 clip. "Has the future of Akihabara been guaranteed by computers?" "10 years later, what will sell in Akihabara, and what kind of town will it become?"
[QUOTE=Laserbeams;52466352]How long ago did the change start happening?[/QUOTE]
[del]I am not from the region but from what I've heard it was about 15 years ago when the smaller component shops started to make way for weeb fodder.[/del]
Damn you are fast Daigennki.
[QUOTE=pentium;52466385]Man, there's way better places than Super Potato to get games and consoles. They sometimes have rather nice machines come in but for the most part their prices suck. 25000 yen for a midrange MSX machine. Ouch. I was able to get a screaming 6800 yen deal on an X68000ACE around the corner at the Tokyo Radio Department Store. Also BEEP is hidden away if you can find it and if you just want the console and it doesn't need to be minty I suggest looking into hard-off a block over.
Also watch out in the Radio Mall as there's a bunch of stuff you are often better off ordering through ebay from china and if you are one of those people like me where you have restrictions on luggage weight you are better off buying when you get home. That being said there is at least two booths that were selling HiRose connectors. I ended up buying something like $400 worth of connectors to sell to friends locally because everyone online were asking three times the price.[/QUOTE]
Also the super potato in akihabara is overpriced compared to the ones in other locations. I went to the one in Ikebukuro and I was shocked at how much cheaper the prices were on their ps2s.
I would recommend to check Hard Off too, there's one in Akihabara located off the main road. They have a section of the store where they label items as "junk", meaning they bought the items from people and just didn't bother to check if they work or not. You can get some really old classics there, I bought a "junk" copy of Gran Turismo 2, with all of the papers and booklets in it, for 100 yen and it hasn't froze on me yet.
Akihabara PC parts are expensive last I checked (nearly 15-25% more expensive than what I'm used to)
I hooked my cousin up in Tokyo to buy from foreign sources since
[QUOTE=Blueridge;52466589]
I would recommend to check Hard Off too, there's one in Akihabara located off the main road. They have a section of the store where they label items as "junk", meaning they bought the items from people and just didn't bother to check if they work or not. You can get some really old classics there, I bought a "junk" copy of Gran Turismo 2, with all of the papers and booklets in it, for 100 yen and it hasn't froze on me yet.[/QUOTE]
I fell in love with the Hard-off/House-off in Nerima. Twice the size and a much broader selection.
[t]https://cdn.cheapoguides.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/04/IMG_1335.jpg[/t]
Well worth the 1km walk from the station.
I love these videos...
Going to some of these shops seem like a lot of fun. Seeing all those video game boxes/cartons makes you miss physical copies at lot.
How good are these places for English speakers?
Id love to take a trip, but the language barrier scares me.
Something about all those vacuum sealed electronics all nice, neat and clean made me feel at ease.
A city like this would be paradise to me, just seeing all that retro 80s technology.
I really wish there were retro game shops like that in the states. Well there *are* just none are close to me at all
[QUOTE=daigennki;52466388]For noticeable changes, probably 15 years ago or so. I am sure it has something to do with the spread of the internet, but I feel there is something else I do not realize...
[editline]14th July 2017[/editline]
Let this speak for itself:
[video=youtube;7qcmS9jjUuw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qcmS9jjUuw[/video]
Holy shit the commentator in the 1995 clip. "Has the future of Akihabara been guaranteed by computers?" "10 years later, what will sell in Akihabara, and what kind of town will it become?"[/QUOTE]
1995 looks like a Vaporwave dream.
Man if I found a job that allowed me to telecommute and make a decent wage (CS major, so it's possible) , I'd love to live there for a short stretch, maybe 2 years max. Unless I really fell in love with it I probably wouldn't stay much longer
[QUOTE=Kill001;52466624]Akihabara PC parts are expensive last I checked (nearly 15-25% more expensive than what I'm used to)
I hooked my cousin up in Tokyo to buy from foreign sources since[/QUOTE]
Depends on where you go really, main street is overpriced but the back streets is okay. And from experience its where the locals actually go to buy PC parts as well. There was one shop that had a large board in front of it with RAM prices and the prices constantly changes depending on availability, it was like a goddamn stock market and everyone was just waiting at the front door waiting for the best price (it was really just stock clearance though). Managed to get myself 8gb of Corsair Dominators for 30% off and when I went inside to pay I picked up a 3GB GTX570 for $170 (it was still pretty new for that time).
I really wouldn't bother with hard off in Akiba. The best one is probabaly in Hachioji, amazing selection but its both the best place to find really good things because that's where people mainly go to sell, but at the same time its the worst place to find good stuff because it gets hit by internet resellers every day. So you gotta be quick and lucky.
[QUOTE=DuCT;52466733]How good are these places for English speakers?
Id love to take a trip, but the language barrier scares me.[/QUOTE]
Tokyo is completely fine for English speakers. Besides most of the Japanese probably watched enough western media to have basic understanding of the language, just don't expect actual communications. Most these days have english translations as well. Should all things fail its completely fine to just whip out your phone and rely on google translate.
[QUOTE=DuCT;52466733]How good are these places for English speakers?
Id love to take a trip, but the language barrier scares me.[/QUOTE]
Having been myself I can say it's safe and helpful to have some basic Japanese down, but a lot of places have staff that can understand English relatively well. Some places have native or second language English speakers too, who are naturally much easier to talk to.
The few places that don't and text based things without English TLs is where you'll need some Japanese but in general you can get by quite well with minimal fuss in Tokyo and Akihabara.
I want to go so bad. Every single one of Chris's videos is torture. :v:
[QUOTE=adam1172;52467336]Depends on where you go really, main street is overpriced but the back streets is okay. And from experience its where the locals actually go to buy PC parts as well. There was one shop that had a large board in front of it with RAM prices and the prices constantly changes depending on availability, it was like a goddamn stock market and everyone was just waiting at the front door waiting for the best price (it was really just stock clearance though). Managed to get myself 8gb of Corsair Dominators for 30% off and when I went inside to pay I picked up a 3GB GTX570 for $170 (it was still pretty new for that time).
I really wouldn't bother with hard off in Akiba. The best one is probabaly in Hachioji, amazing selection but its both the best place to find really good things because that's where people mainly go to sell, but at the same time its the worst place to find good stuff because it gets hit by internet resellers every day. So you gotta be quick and lucky.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, it's a headache according to my cousin (making a trip out and browsing), so he says ordering online is easier, especially when his options are expanded with foreign websites
Sucks though, since all my 3 cousins in Tokyo didn't know anything at the time and bought overpriced PC parts from the wrong places; I'll probably help them out whenever they decide to build a new rig in the future
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