Retro Game Consoles

When the weather turns ugly and I can’t make it to the mountains, one of my other hobbies is collecting and restoring old gaming consoles and computers. Most people I know – including myself – have fond memories associated with video or computer games, and that nostalgia, combined with an appreciation for their history and influence on modern culture, have led me into what I think, is a fun hobby. 🙂

My own journey with gaming began on Christmas Day in 1979. That’s when I got my first video game system: a Radio Shack TV Scoreboard, which was a Pong clone that came with a bad-ass light gun. The following year I convinced my parents to buy me an Atari VCS that I faithfully played until it was replaced on Christmas Day in 1983 by my first computer, a Commodore 64. Getting the C64 was my dad’s idea and that gift will always be special, because my dad was suffering from terminal cancer and knew he wouldn’t be around to see me use it. However, before he passed, he told my mum that the C64 was a priority because computers were the future; though I’m sure he had visions of me actually doing more programming than gaming.

Anyway, the C64 was joined in 1985 by a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and then in 1986, by a Commodore 128. Of course, my favourite system of all, was my, Commodore Amiga 500, that I purchased in 1988. In my mind, the games on the Amiga were the best I’d ever played – and I still think so today. What’s even cooler, when I met my wife, she also had Amiga 500 and her favourite game was Battle Squadron, so I knew we were meant to be. 😂 We also wrote all our undergraduate papers in university on the 500.

After our kids were born, we cycled through various systems including a Sega Mega Drive, a Nintendo GameCube, an Xbox, and then various iterations of Xboxes, Playstations, and Nintendos. I’ve also built several computers over the years. For me though, its always been the early systems from the 70s and 80s that have captured my attention. A vivid childhood memory for me was visiting my cousin and playing Donkey Kong on his new ColecoVision. I used to think that my friend, James’ Intellivision was better than my VCS, but the ColecoVision was next level amazing. For this reason, when I got into collecting, getting my own ColecoVision was a top priority.

40 years later and finally playing Donkey Kong on my own ColecoVision 😂

In fact, my adult kids are always amazed at how many different systems were once available and despite what they think are crappy graphics, they always comment on how fun the gameplay is. Even the TV Scoreboard has surprised them with how enjoyable a game of paddle hockey can be. Come to think of it, I would guess they are among very few Late Millennials / Gen Z’ers who have ever played an authentic TV Scoreboard, or for that matter, any of the old consoles such as a Bally Astrocade or a TurboGrafx-16. While all these systems can be emulated on modern devices or with mini systems, you can’t recreate the ergonomics (or lack thereof) of the original controllers or that tangible experience of plugging in a cartridge and hearing it ‘click’ into place.

This page highlights my current collection that I hope one day becomes an interactive museum for my grandkids and their friends. Many of these consoles have come to me in various states of functionality and condition. Quite a few were, Dead On Arrival (DOA), while others were operational, but were damaged or missing parts. Some were in great shape but just needed a little TLC, and others are still in the project phase. Perhaps weirdly, I’m more into fixing and restoring the consoles than playing the games, but I do play these systems and I definitely have my favourite games.

My goal is to try and restore consoles to their original state. Sometimes, this involves acquiring multiple units so that I can cobble together one complete system; though once I have a parts system, I can’t leave it alone and will try and fix it as well, so the cycle is endless. 😂 I generally avoid mods (e.g. conversion from RF output to composite output), but will do them when required for functionality. I also try and avoid replacing parts and components unless necessary, because you can cause additional damage through what you think is ‘minor surgery’. For example, I put limits on replacing capacitors (re-capping) unless there is good reason to. Preventative restoration can be a double-edged sword.

I’m always adding to my collection and I’m always happy to learn from and share information with others. I lean heavily on the good folks at Best Electronics, Atari Age, BallyAlley, Console5, Lemon64 and all the great YouTubers out there like Adrian Black,  8-Bit Guy, and Noel’s Retro Lab. Thanks for providing all the amazing information! Also, I HIGHLY recommend that you listen to the Nintendo Dads podcast. Not only is the content excellent, but one of the hosts is my neighbour. 🙂

Hopefully these pages bring back some happy memories for my fellow Gen X’ers and thanks for visiting!

My Current Collection Of Working Consoles and Computers

(Click on a photo to visit the project)

 

Currently On My Workbench

Amstrad CPC 464; Atari 800; Atari 1040 STF; Nintendo Game Boy; Nintendo Game Cube; Nintendo Wii; Playstation 3; Sega Dreamcast; Tandy CoCo 1; XBOX 360 ‘Jasper Revision’