For those who grew up with imported PCE in Europe

[exodus]

My only addition to this thread is I've never met a french game journalist over the age of 28 who doesn't love the PC engine.

[Digi.k]

managed to dig up this ol' mag.  October 1991 and wow I can't believe how cheap mags were back then.. thats roughly about 3.80 USD

[Digi.k]

Geez if only NEC or Hudson pushed 8-16 mbit as a standard!

[Digi.k]

[johnnykonami]

Conversely I'd love to get some British mags like Retro Gamer more often (or just a subscription) but the pricetag is too hefty to import.  It's like $15 an issue or something like that, I think!   A long time ago I had a pretty decent collection of Game Pro, EGM, Computer and Video Games, and probably some others and I traded them all for a collection of Shounen Jumps when I was more interested in those.  Kinda regret it as now I have neither but I did have the good sense to keep my TurboPlay/TurboForce/DuoWorlds/etc.  due to sentimental value.  Still have em'!  Along with a couple of PC Engine Fans.  I have a couple of issues of EGM, Dreamcast magazine, and some other oldies I have picked up since though.

[Otaking]

Necro bump for my favourite thread in this forum ever.

Any other Euro users in here?

[elmer]

Any other Euro users in here?

Well, as a Northern lad, my "local" PCE shop was in Nottingham.

That was one heck of a long distance shopping trip (by British standards) from Manchester.

Had my very first car accident on one of the trips (trying to take a semi-hidden sharp corner way too fast). 

I was going to pick up the SCART-modded SuperGrafx that I'd pre-ordered from the shop as soon as the SuperGrafx was announced. 

[shubibiman]

Wow !

[NecroPhile]

'Tis cool you still have the receipt after all this time.

Is that supposed to be P-47 (the game) or is that something to do with the SCART mod?

[wildfruit]

£310 in 1990 was a lot of money.

[NecroPhile]

£310 in 1990 was a lot of money.

Indeed.  Googlerins says that would've been about $550 US monies.

[esteban]

£310 in 1990 was a lot of money.

Indeed.  Googlerins says that would've been about $550 US monies.

Elmer played BATTLE ACE for the next 6 months.

Best £310 ever spent.

[elmer]

Is that supposed to be P-47 (the game) or is that something to do with the SCART mod?

You're right, it's the P-47 game. It's just a typo by the guy at the shop.

IIRC, the SuperGrafx came with Battle Ace ... I can't think of any other reason that I have the game.

£310 in 1990 was a lot of money.

IIRC, the Genesis launch bundle was £129, or £149 at the time.

Elmer played BATTLE ACE for the next 6 months.

Best £310 ever spent.

Yes to the 1st part, but let's just politely say that I wouldn't quite agree with the 2nd part, at least not when it comes to Battle Ace! 

It is still (again, IMHO) the most powerful of the 4th-generation consoles, only beaten by the X68000 Home Computer (I don't count the Neo Geo there, because it was an Arcade Machine, and not a real Home Console theoretically aimed at the mass market).

But power isn't the same as well-marketed, or well-targeted, and definitely not well-supported.

[imparanoic]

does anyone remember microbytes in the old bull ring in birmingham, first time i have ever seen a pc engine, super star soldier was the game being played during 1990, my eyes dropped on the arcade quality visuals and awesome gameplay, it was expensive but an awesome machine ( until super famicom came out)

[elmer]

does anyone remember microbytes in the old bull ring in birmingham, first time i have ever seen a pc engine, super star soldier was the game being played during 1990, my eyes dropped on the arcade quality visuals and awesome gameplay, it was expensive but an awesome machine ( until super famicom came out)

I used to shop in the Bull Ring nearly every weekend ... but that was in the early 1980s.

My memory of the time was more influenced by the RPG/minatures store in the Birmingham New Street shopping center (original D&D, RuneQuest and Traveller), wonderful concerts (Supertramp, Jethro Tull, Judie Tzuke), and getting searched whenever I went into a pub for a pint of Banks' Mild because of the IRA bombings ...

http://alphahistory.com/northernireland/ira-mainland-campaign/

[imparanoic]

does anyone remember microbytes in the old bull ring in birmingham, first time i have ever seen a pc engine, super star soldier was the game being played during 1990, my eyes dropped on the arcade quality visuals and awesome gameplay, it was expensive but an awesome machine ( until super famicom came out)

I used to shop in the Bull Ring nearly every weekend ... but that was in the early 1980s.

My memory of the time was more influenced by the RPG/minatures store in the Birmingham New Street shopping center (original D&D, RuneQuest and Traveller), wonderful concerts (Supertramp, Jethro Tull, Judie Tzuke), and getting searched whenever I went into a pub for a pint of Banks' Mild because of the IRA bombings ...

http://alphahistory.com/northernireland/ira-mainland-campaign/

small world

i noted that occasionally, Mr Disk also had a few imported consoles as well

[Ex_Mosquito]

Wow this is a great thread! Interesting read!

I have been aware of the PC Engine since it was first featured in an old C&VG, and later the famous picture of the IFU with a packet of skips resting on it to give the scale of the unit Unfortunately my local import shops didn't carry PCE stuff back in the day, we only had SFC and Japanese MD stuff, I went that route. I grew up in Newport - South Wales, so Cardiff was only 20mins down the road from me and there was a killer import shop there. They mainly focuses on American import like NEO AES / TG16 and the usual other suspects,  but they did have a handful of the more popular Japanese imports. I was always avidly reading the CVG and the legendary 'Complete Guide To Consoles' mags back in the day following the PCE, the 'scanlined RGB'd off the screen screenshots' blew my mind back then! They looked SO good. It wasn't until Christmas 93' that I finally got my first PCE. I mainly got my games from KT Konsoles (Keith and Bob were great at recommending games) in Thurso by mail order and the usual famous UK imports like Raven, Console Concepts and Dream Machines 2.

Looking through this thread I saw some mention the PCE guide book, I actually had this back in the day, great book! Like the loser I was I even laminated the book to prevent damage :/ I also highlighted the games I had in the cheats section and wrote down the games that I wanted/own in the notes section





Ah Classic CEX, when it was good! In their smaller shop down the end in the early 90's. I used to frequent London's TCR import shops in the early 90's like Shekahna etc, it was such an exciting and magical time for gaming back then. Ah Advanced console entertainment.... My mate bought a PCE Briefcase in CEX in the late 90's and we went there before our bus home back to Wales to get it RGB modded. We went back in 2hours, which to be fair was a pretty quick turnaround, but when we arrived home the RGB amped and he wired the sound from the PCE bus and not the RCA jacks resulting in no CD music. Shoddy.

Here are a few bargains I got from CEX in 2002. It was pretty much dead on its arse back then unfortunately.

[esteban]

^ Hany in the Sky!

[shubibiman]

Man ! Back in 1998, CEX would sell Shubibinman at a bargain price of... 30 quids !

[Otaking]

Great story Ex_Mosquito.
Those CEX PC Engine prices seem pretty good for a retail store, but as you say was near the end so they were just clearing the retro stick.
BTW in the past I've watched on YouTube a few of your arcade play through and 1CCs, enjoyed them, good stuff.

[Ex_Mosquito]

Cheers. I've since sold all my Engine stuff in 2003 to fund my arcade cab :/ I recently got back into in with a briefcase unit + Everdrive, I regret selling all my originals now! I went to Tokyo in 09' and I'm kicking myself for not getting a shedload of cheap Engine games back then when I had the chance, but at the time I wasn't really playing that many videogames aside from a bit of Super SF2 Turbo (X) online.

Btw. Are you the author of Hyper Play? I listened to an interview on RGDS podcast about that fanzine.

[Otaking]

I've since sold all my Engine stuff in 2003 to fund my arcade cab :/ I recently got back into in with a briefcase unit + Everdrive, I regret selling all my originals now!

Yeah know the feeling, I sold most of my games collection a few years back and regret it now, mine was from pressure from my wife due to the limited space in our house.

I went to Tokyo in 09' and I'm kicking myself for not getting a shedload of cheap Engine games back then when I had the chance

I went to Japan a few times years back and it was like going to Mecca, it was mind blowing, unlimited games all dirt cheap and all mint. Apparently those days a now long, long gone and most of Japan's retro game stocks have been bled dry and left the country via gaijin and resellers.

Btw. Are you the author of Hyper Play? I listened to an interview on RGDS podcast about that fanzine.

It's not my zine. I've always been a massive fan of printed fanzines and a massive fan of Super Play, the magazine that inspired this fanzine. So when I first heard about Hyper Play it was right up my street and hoped it would be a success, which it looks like it has been.
I'm hoping it would lead the way and be the start of a revival of printed fanzines in general, be awesome to see ones about shoot 'm ups or fighting games etc.. or platform specific like Neo Geo or PC Engine etc..

[brightmidnight]

Any other Euro users in here?

Well, as a Northern lad, my "local" PCE shop was in Nottingham.

That was one heck of a long distance shopping trip (by British standards) from Manchester.

Had my very first car accident on one of the trips (trying to take a semi-hidden sharp corner way too fast). 

I was going to pick up the SCART-modded SuperGrafx that I'd pre-ordered from the shop as soon as the SuperGrafx was announced. 

I bought a white PAL modded PC Engine from the SUPERVISION guys back in 1990 at the September ECES (European Computer Entertainment Show) at Earls Court. Those guys were great, they definitely offered the best PAL modded systems at the time that actually output a decent picture and didn't require one of those god awful great big ugly colour boosters. I actually still have mine and I even still had the hand written receipt until recently, but it seems to have vanished. I believe they also had a sister company called SUPERGRAPHICS. They were from Hong Kong as I recall and were definitely one of the better import dealers on the scene in those early days. I mostly used PC Engine Supplies though, but I don't think they had a booth at that show. Or if they did, I couldn't find it. I don't remember seeing Raven Games there either, but I'm sure they must have had a booth. The show was massive and quite overwhelming. My head was spinning by the time I left!

Did anybody else go to those ECES shows back then? They were beyond amazing, literally stuffed with booths representing most of the grey import mail order companies in the UK of the era, selling all of the latest Japanese consoles and games. There were lots of live entertainment events going on, but I skipped all of that stuff and headed straight to the vendor area. I was 14 at the time, so it was a golden age for me gaming wise and I was already an absolutely hardcore Japanese import gamer by that point. My brother and I went there with my dad and our tiny minds were utterly blown by what was on display. Everywhere you looked there were Mega Drives, Neo Geos and PC Engines running the best new games that were available. It was an audio visual overload. I remember it was the first time I ever saw a SuperGrafx or Neo Geo in person and also the first time I laid eyes on a Game Boy (also Japanese import) right before they got released in the UK. I clearly recall agonising over whether to buy a SuperGrafx or an original white Engine, but the SuperGrafx was quite a bit more expensive. I bought a copy of Splatterhouse with my PC Engine and the total was around £250 - £275, so definitely not cheap. Import gaming was definitely not for the faint hearted or gamers on a budget. I remember Splatterhouse had just been released and was a red hot title. I was so excited to get home and fire it up and it certainly didn't disappoint.

Great memories of an absolutely golden bygone era!

[esteban]

...
Everywhere you looked there were Mega Drives, Neo Geos and PC Engines running the best new games that were available. It was an audio visual overload. I remember it was the first time I ever saw a SuperGrafx or Neo Geo in person and also the first time I laid eyes on a Game Boy (also Japanese import) right before they got released in the UK. I clearly recall agonising over whether to buy a SuperGrafx or an original white Engine, but the SuperGrafx was quite a bit more expensive. I bought a copy of Splatterhouse with my PC Engine and the total was around £250 - £275, so definitely not cheap. Import gaming was definitely not for the faint hearted or gamers on a budget. I remember Splatterhouse had just been released and was a red hot title. I was so excited to get home and fire it up and it certainly didn't disappoint.

Great memories of an absolutely golden bygone era!

Amazing. To my knowledge, we had no equivalent in the States. No import "scene" per se, just a few scattered shops that might carry some import games.

As stated earlier in the thread, even folks outside of England/UK love reading about this piece of PCE history because *we don't know about it*.

I just want to REQUEST... if you folks have *any* zines, ads, documents, flyers from any of these shops, I would love to include them here:

https://archives.tg-16.com/magazine_database.htm?col=region&val=uk

It is shameful that there are only two entries for U.K. 

I NEED TO FIX THAT.

[imparanoic]

Wow this is a great thread! Interesting read!

I have been aware of the PC Engine since it was first featured in an old C&VG, and later the famous picture of the IFU with a packet of skips resting on it to give the scale of the unit Unfortunately my local import shops didn't carry PCE stuff back in the day, we only had SFC and Japanese MD stuff, I went that route. I grew up in Newport - South Wales, so Cardiff was only 20mins down the road from me and there was a killer import shop there. They mainly focuses on American import like NEO AES / TG16 and the usual other suspects,  but they did have a handful of the more popular Japanese imports. I was always avidly reading the CVG and the legendary 'Complete Guide To Consoles' mags back in the day following the PCE, the 'scanlined RGB'd off the screen screenshots' blew my mind back then! They looked SO good. It wasn't until Christmas 93' that I finally got my first PCE. I mainly got my games from KT Konsoles (Keith and Bob were great at recommending games) in Thurso by mail order and the usual famous UK imports like Raven, Console Concepts and Dream Machines 2.

Looking through this thread I saw some mention the PCE guide book, I actually had this back in the day, great book! Like the loser I was I even laminated the book to prevent damage :/ I also highlighted the games I had in the cheats section and wrote down the games that I wanted/own in the notes section





Ah Classic CEX, when it was good! In their smaller shop down the end in the early 90's. I used to frequent London's TCR import shops in the early 90's like Shekahna etc, it was such an exciting and magical time for gaming back then. Ah Advanced console entertainment.... My mate bought a PCE Briefcase in CEX in the late 90's and we went there before our bus home back to Wales to get it RGB modded. We went back in 2hours, which to be fair was a pretty quick turnaround, but when we arrived home the RGB amped and he wired the sound from the PCE bus and not the RCA jacks resulting in no CD music. Shoddy.

Here are a few bargains I got from CEX in 2002. It was pretty much dead on its arse back then unfortunately.

i had that home made magazine as well

[brightmidnight]

...
Everywhere you looked there were Mega Drives, Neo Geos and PC Engines running the best new games that were available. It was an audio visual overload. I remember it was the first time I ever saw a SuperGrafx or Neo Geo in person and also the first time I laid eyes on a Game Boy (also Japanese import) right before they got released in the UK. I clearly recall agonising over whether to buy a SuperGrafx or an original white Engine, but the SuperGrafx was quite a bit more expensive. I bought a copy of Splatterhouse with my PC Engine and the total was around £250 - £275, so definitely not cheap. Import gaming was definitely not for the faint hearted or gamers on a budget. I remember Splatterhouse had just been released and was a red hot title. I was so excited to get home and fire it up and it certainly didn't disappoint.

Great memories of an absolutely golden bygone era!

Amazing. To my knowledge, we had no equivalent in the States. No import "scene" per se, just a few scattered shops that might carry some import games.

As stated earlier in the thread, even folks outside of England/UK love reading about this piece of PCE history because *we don't know about it*.

I just want to REQUEST... if you folks have *any* zines, ads, documents, flyers from any of these shops, I would love to include them here:

https://archives.tg-16.com/magazine_database.htm?col=region&val=uk

It is shameful that there are only two entries for U.K. 

I NEED TO FIX THAT.

Those shows only ran for a handful of years from the late 80's to the early 90's. The ECES event was superseded by the Live '9X event each September, which was more of a general consumer electronics/technology show, but also had vendor areas where import dealers sold their wares if memory serves.  There's few videos from the Live '95 event here, which I'm sure I went to:

http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/RTV/1995/09/19/605230725

They were consumer shows for the general public, as opposed to the ECTS (European Computer Trade Show) which was a bit like the UK E3, albeit on a smaller and less significant scale. That trade show ended in the mid 2000's.

It would be great to get some of those Electric Brain fanzines scanned and uploaded anyway, as it was a prolific publication with at least 40 or so issues published, featuring some fantastic content. With the arrival of HyperPlay RPG and a seemingly renewed interest in old school 90's style fanzines, it would be amazing to see another PC Engine 'zine on the scene along the lines of the brilliant but abortive PCP. I'm sure there would be plenty of interest. The PC Engine was a sorely neglected console back then and there was precious little in the way of fanzine support, which is such a shame.

[SuperPlay]

Looking through this thread I saw some mention the PCE guide book, I actually had this back in the day, great book! Like the loser I was I even laminated the book to prevent damage :/ I also highlighted the games I had in the cheats section and wrote down the games that I wanted/own in the notes section

i had that home made magazine as well

You can grab a scanned copy of this from:

PC Engine Guide 1993 (UK - Fanzine Style Publication): http://www.mediafire.com/?ogyzdjhltid

EDIT:

Whoops just noticed that esteban already posted a link to this earlier in this tread, sorry!

tg-16.com/magazine_database.htm?col=main&val=complete

[SuperPlay]

OldGameMags have put up a scan of Electric Brain issue 35 (1993-06) 

http://www.oldgamemags.com/electric-brain/

[Otaking]

OldGameMags have put up a scan of Electric Brain issue 35 (1993-06) 

http://www.oldgamemags.com/electric-brain/

Missed this before, thanks for the link.

One day when I get a better scanner I'll have to scan in all my Electric Brain issues, I think I have all of them.
I unfortunately don't have Onn Lee's precursor fanzines Console Ma'zine or PC Engine Fanatics.

[Artabasdos]

When it comes to video games, as said above this my favorite subject.

That's why I love old fanzines, it's like a window portal back into that time. The one Esteban linked to above is a perfect example.

Through the 16 bit era the PC Engine and the grey import scene was massive in the UK, but for some reason I don't know, there seems to be a lack of any community that wants to reminisce about those days. I'm jealous of Shubibiman who has the French Necstasy forum. I would love a UK equivalent.

Here's a couple of threads about the UK scene. It has links to other threads which had loads of magazine & fanzine scans which unfortunately mostly appear to have now gone from where they were hosted.

"CVG pics and Scans - Collecting PC-Engine in the early 90s in the UK part 2"
https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=19762

"Collecting PC-Engine in the early 90s in the UK"
https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=6644

Probably because most kids owned a Megadrive, Amiga 500, Master System, C64, or some Speccy variant in the U.K. back then.

[esteban]

OldGameMags have put up a scan of Electric Brain issue 35 (1993-06) 

http://www.oldgamemags.com/electric-brain/

Missed this before, thanks for the link.

One day when I get a better scanner I'll have to scan in all my Electric Brain issues, I think I have all of them.
I unfortunately don't have Onn Lee's precursor fanzines Console Ma'zine or PC Engine Fanatics.

Goddamn! Get the better scanner, comrade!

[LMS]

One for all my UK based old timer Comrades...




My memory is pretty blurry, perhaps Hardcore Otaking can better recall the details. From what I remember... Console Concepts started out as a mail order only grey importer of the PC Engine (hence the original name PC Engine Supplies) who went on to rebrand themselves as their wares expanded to include the likes of the Mega Drive, Neo Geo and SFC as each system was released. I never visited the physical shop but from what I remember it was a late addition to the business. I was a pretty regular custom back when this card was issued (92-94 I think) but the only 'Priviledge' it ever bought me was the ability to give them my customer number instead of my full address when placing an order over the phone.

Like I say, this is all a long time ago and my memory is pretty shit but I feel like these guys disappeared just prior to the 32bit systems arriving (or maybe just after). It feels as though there was one 'scene' of importers here in the UK throughout the 16bit era (Shekana, the original CEX, VGC, KT Consoles, Dream Machines, etc), then a whole other one after. I guess the PS1 really shook things up on that front. It blew up way bigger than any previous system here in terms of hype and a bunch of new importers jumped on the opportunity. I'm sure some of the existing guys who got on board benefited too but it certainly changed the landscape and as the niche factor started to evaporate, I think a lot of the more obscure stock (pc engine & Neo in particular) was pushed to the back.

[Digi.k]

I've ordered from them in the past I wonder if they became these guys

http://www.consolepassion.co.uk/

also these guys too

http://www.videogameimports.com/

[Otaking]

Awesome scan, as you know I love stuff like this.

My memory is pretty blurry, perhaps Hardcore Otaking can better recall the details. From what I remember... Console Concepts started out as a mail order only grey importer of the PC Engine (hence the original name PC Engine Supplies) who went on to rebrand themselves as their wares expanded to include the likes of the Mega Drive, Neo Geo and SFC as each system was released. I never visited the physical shop but from what I remember it was a late addition to the business. I was a pretty regular custom back when this card was issued (92-94 I think) but the only 'Priviledge' it ever bought me was the ability to give them my customer number instead of my full address when placing an order over the phone.

Like I say, this is all a long time ago and my memory is pretty shit but I feel like these guys disappeared just prior to the 32bit systems arriving (or maybe just after). It feels as though there was one 'scene' of importers here in the UK throughout the 16bit era (Shekana, the original CEX, VGC, KT Consoles, Dream Machines, etc), then a whole other one after. I guess the PS1 really shook things up on that front. It blew up way bigger than any previous system here in terms of hype and a bunch of new importers jumped on the opportunity. I'm sure some of the existing guys who got on board benefited too but it certainly changed the landscape and as the niche factor started to evaporate, I think a lot of the more obscure stock (pc engine & Neo in particular) was pushed to the back.

Yeah as far as I'm aware you're correct about the history of Console Concepts. At the end of 80s they were one of the first major video game "grey importers" under the name PC Engine Supplies. And as you said, as other consoles arrived they changed their name.

Thinking about it my experience of using them was limited. Back all through that era I used to game with 2 other friends, and after I got my Japanese Duo one friend wanted one too and asked me to help him get it, I ordered his one from Console Concepts. I can't remember exactly how but they messed up the order some how (I think maybe sent the console without a game pad), and then after sent me/him a free copy of Final Soldier to compensate. My other experiance with them is buying PC Engine Street Fighter II from them when it was released.

I used Video Game Centre in Bournemouth a few times and also Telegames, but thinking about it my use of mail order was limited.
By far the main way I bought and traded games was through three ways.
1. Loot newspaper. ( basically a printed newspaper version of Gumtree(UK) or Craigslist(US))
2. Through a network of hardcore gamers in the UK at the time, used to speak on the phone and trade games via post. Some from London I'd meet up with and trade.
3. Bricks and mortar stores in the Greater London area, as in all the ones discussed throughout this thread.

[Otaking]

I've ordered from them in the past I wonder if they became these guys

http://www.consolepassion.co.uk/

also these guys too

http://www.videogameimports.com/

Videogame Imports is a guy called Lee who used to trade under Dream Machines back in the day.
He has a loyal customer base from more midlands and north of England.
http://www.videogameimports.com/aboutus.htm

[LMS]

Big grey import systems of the late 80s, early 90s era...

PC Engine, Gameboy, Atari Lynx!, Mega Drive, Neo Geo, Super Famicom, FM Towns Marty

...with a bonus mention for the supergun as a lot of these same guys were supplying jamma pcbs

What am I missing? 

[Otaking]

Big grey import systems of the late 80s, early 90s era...

PC Engine, Gameboy, Atari Lynx!, Mega Drive, Neo Geo, Super Famicom, FM Towns Marty

...with a bonus mention for the supergun as a lot of these same guys were supplying jamma pcbs

What am I missing? 

I think the big ones were PC Engine, Mega Drive, Super Famicom/SNES and Neo Geo.

With the Super Famicom I think an equal amount if not more SNES games were imported from the US, particularly the RPGs we didn't get here. I think this was due to Super Play being the best selling video games magazine for a period and they heavily pushed RPGs.

Neo Geo surprises me because of the price, but most of the grey importers stocked it. I don't think they actually sold many, just had token selection in stock.

With Gameboy it was definitely crazy popular, but can't remember whether it was imported or pal releases. I know you had those knock off multi carts from Hong Kong that were a thing for a bit.

[LMS]

There was a lot of import Gameboy stuff at the start for sure, I guess primarily due to release dates being so far ahead in Japan back then. The magazines would review stuff like Rockman as soon as it was out on import and we didn't see a pal release for a long time after.

You're right about US imports for SNES RPG's but back then the US release dates on all SNES titles were a good while after Japan too. so when it came to the games that didn't require you to read the text, most places would stock Japanese carts until the US release was available at which point they'd switch to that.

[SignOfZeta]

In the US "importing" Neo games was usually pointless. With most games being released in all territories In every language on the same day for virtuality the same price there was no need to deal with actually importing it.  Of course, eventually the carts became so hard to get that the only places carrying them were...import shops. NCS would just ask you what language you wanted because they carried both US and JP.

[esteban]

As always, I love that these threads have grown and eclipsed over the years.

I really think that all of the info/scans/photos here is invaluable since you old bastards will soon be routinely forgetting what you had for lunch yesterday.

What I am most curious about: how, exactly, did U.K./US importers source the consoles/games? I have always been curious about that aspect of the business.

[Artabasdos]

As always, I love that these threads have grown and eclipsed over the years.

I really think that all of the info/scans/photos here is invaluable since you old bastards will soon be routinely forgetting what you had for lunch yesterday.

What I am most curious about: how, exactly, did U.K./US importers source the consoles/games? I have always been curious about that aspect of the business.

I'm only 28 you saucy git.

[Ex_Mosquito]

As always, I love that these threads have grown and eclipsed over the years.

I really think that all of the info/scans/photos here is invaluable since you old bastards will soon be routinely forgetting what you had for lunch yesterday.

What I am most curious about: how, exactly, did U.K./US importers source the consoles/games? I have always been curious about that aspect of the business.

Hey I'm not old, I'm only 38 ....No wait. I often wondered that. Apparently Leigh from Dream Machines used to supply PC Engine Supplies with their games.

[Otaking]

If there was enough of us I would start a dedicated forum (and website maybe) about the "grey import" UK retro games scene.
Its just it seems there's not enough of us about though, so feel it would probably be completely dead. 

[Otaking]

In the US "importing" Neo games was usually pointless. With most games being released in all territories In every language on the same day for virtuality the same price there was no need to deal with actually importing it.  Of course, eventually the carts became so hard to get that the only places carrying them were...import shops. NCS would just ask you what language you wanted because they carried both US and JP.

Yeah here in the UK with regards Neo Geo AES I'm not sure how much of it was imported from outside Europe. There was a mix up of Euro, US and Japanese games and when it was sold I don't recall the region being defined so much with it. For example with the SNES it was very clear whether it was US, Japanese or PAL.

I suspect alot of the mailorder companies who sold "grey imports" for all the other platforms (MD, SFC, PCE etc.) but when it came to the Neo Geo AES it was mostly the Euro region they stocked.

[Ex_Mosquito]

Heh yeah that would be great. I'd love a website with a comprehensive list of UK indie import shops from late 80's early 90's complete with pictures of the insides and display shelves

I'm not sure if I've posted this before but there is a cool thread on the Jamma+ forum about PC Engine importing.

http://www.jammaplus.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=46461&title=the-pc-engine-appreciation-thread

[Artabasdos]

Heh yeah that would be great. I'd love a website with a comprehensive list of UK indie import shops from late 80's early 90's complete with pictures of the insides and display shelves

I'm not sure if I've posted this before but there is a cool thread on the Jamma+ forum about PC Engine importing.

http://www.jammaplus.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=46461&title=the-pc-engine-appreciation-thread

Well, why don't you start one?

[LMS]

I think a lot of the UK based importers of that early era didn't really have a storefront of any kind aside from the adverts they placed in C&VG, Mean Machines, etc.

I read the other day that PC Engine supplies was run out of Steve's front room prior to partnering up with Colin Diamond to become Console Concepts. When I used to visit Shekana on Tottenham Court Road it was essentially a small glass cabinet of games hidden at the back of an electronics shop full of hifi equipment.

On that last note, did anyone else find themselves really drawn to the small form factor of the mini disc  format when it first arrived? Like an extension of an existing fetish for hucards

...notable exceptions to this were Video Game Centre in Bournemouth and the early incarnations of the Tottenham Court Exchange that went on to later become CEX, both of which where crazy places to walk into at the time. Raven Games always sticks in my mind as being the most impressive though, especially once the arcade cab was present (R-Type Leo anyone?).

[esteban]

^ I was in high school/college and couldn't afford mini-disc (my money was focused on music and rent). I wanted DAT, too. I've never owned any hardware for these formats, though.

[Artabasdos]

^ I was in high school/college and couldn't afford mini-disc (my money was focused on music and rent). I wanted DAT, too. I've never owned any hardware for these formats, though.

Wow, mini-disk. There's a thing I haven't seen mentioned in years. That shit was huge in the U.K in the late 90s and early 00s.

[esteban]

^ I was in high school/college and couldn't afford mini-disc (my money was focused on music and rent). I wanted DAT, too. I've never owned any hardware for these formats, though.

Wow, mini-disk. There's a thing I haven't seen mentioned in years. That shit was huge in the U.K in the late 90s and early 00s.

It was niche over here, but It was fun reading about "the future"...