Hi, what are the coolest Famicom blogs and sites, post them here:
http://famicomblog.blogspot.be/
http://iheartyuna.wordpress.com/
http://www.illusionware.it/index.htm
Famicomworld.com , surely.
Building a link list of rad Famicom-related websites?
I dig Famicase.
www.famicase.com (http://www.famicase.com) NSFW.
My favorite from this year's entries:
(http://www.famicase.com/14/softs/74.jpg)
Hey, thats my blog up there!! Thanks!! ;D ;D
Quote from: senseiman on December 20, 2014, 10:12:24 pm
Hey, thats my blog up there!! Thanks!! ;D ;D
Yeah, your blog is tops in my book. :)
And now time to pimp my own page:
http://fcgamer.wordpress.com/
8)
Quote from: fcgamer on December 20, 2014, 11:21:31 pm
Quote from: senseiman on December 20, 2014, 10:12:24 pm
Hey, thats my blog up there!! Thanks!! ;D ;D
Yeah, your blog is tops in my book. :)
And now time to pimp my own page:
http://fcgamer.wordpress.com/
8)
And yours in mine too! :redcart:
I friggin love the blog. I would check it everyday and always love seeing what amazing deals you find in Japan. I also love your review of A & C Games in Toronto!
Another blog you guys might like is Before Mario. The blog features articles about all of Nintendo's pre-Famicom products, including toys, cards, games, puzzles, and more!
While we're pimping blogs...
www.hobbydrifter.wordpress.com
Not just Famicom stuff, but a bunch of stuff I pick up in Japan.
zmaster - thanks!! And I totally agree, Before Mario is an amazing blog.
Shumi Nagaremono - just had a look at your blog, that is good stuff. I had a laugh reading your post about Fukuoka Famicom fun, I think I`ve been to those Hard Offs and Eco Mall (the ones out in the suburbs east of town?). I also know the exact Book Off you are complaining about that had the ridiculously high prices, in fact I did a post about it on my blog about 3 years ago: http://famicomblog.blogspot.jp/2011/12/book-off-price-gouging-happens-in.html
Quote from: senseiman on December 22, 2014, 04:53:42 am
I also know the exact Book Off you are complaining about that had the ridiculously high prices, in fact I did a post about it on my blog about 3 years ago: http://famicomblog.blogspot.jp/2011/12/book-off-price-gouging-happens-in.html
While the Hakata Book-Off does has some really overpriced FC games, it can't compare to the new Book-Off Super Bazaar in Tenjin. This one is in the Daiei Building, right by where the giant Mandarake used to be. It's only been there for a year or so. In August, that same copy of Devil World was still there, btw. :)
Absurdly expensive Famicommons aside, it's a pretty awesome place. Great selection of manga, a HUGE toy/hobby section (with only a *few* items priced in the "what the hell are you thinking?" category.
Oh that is cool. I left Fukuoka over two years ago so I didn't know there was a new Book Off that had opened in Tenjin. Too bad about the prices. And I am glad to know that copy of Devil World is still there, I actually stopped by that Book Off when I was in Fukuoka on business a few months back and saw it still there. I think it will be there for all time.
Also I like that you also collect Japanese movie programs, I also have a collection of those on the go, which I actually got started at that same Hakata Book Off.
Quote from: senseiman on December 22, 2014, 03:40:38 pm
Oh that is cool. I left Fukuoka over two years ago so I didn't know there was a new Book Off that had opened in Tenjin. Too bad about the prices. And I am glad to know that copy of Devil World is still there, I actually stopped by that Book Off when I was in Fukuoka on business a few months back and saw it still there. I think it will be there for all time.
Also I like that you also collect Japanese movie programs, I also have a collection of those on the go, which I actually got started at that same Hakata Book Off.
That Book-Off in Hakata has started selling the programs at "collectible" prices that are even crazier than their Famicom selection. There are "blind packs" of maybe a dozen programs with two "desirable" ones visible for around 2,000 yen. Also, for some reason, Evangelion 3.0 programs for 3,000 yen each. Still plenty of 100 yen programs, though.
Did you ever visit the two floor Hard-Off/Off-House in Nishijin? It's been closed for maybe five years now, but it used to be my go-to place for older hardware/software.
Oh man, that sucks about the prices for programs. I mainly focus on older programs from the 70s and 80s, though I've recently been buying more chirashi these days as I've gotten most of the programs for film (which Book Offs don't usually have).
I dont remember the Hard Off in Nishijin, though I might have been there when it was around and might have just missed it (I lived in Fukuouka from 2008 to 2012, but in Higashi Ku on the other side of town from Nishijin). I used to hit the Hard Offs in the suburbs east of town sometimes (like this one here http://famicomblog.blogspot.jp/2010/11/fukuoka-famicom-shops-ii-decline-and.html ), and there was one Eco Mall near Hakozaki but it usually didn`t have much older gaming stuff.
I lived in and around Fukuoka from 2006-2011 and then again in 2013/2014. Going back is always bittersweet. Most of the smaller places (and even several of the big ones) are gone. And it's so rare to find *great* deals at the remaining places.
Where are you located now?
Yeah, a ton of the shops I used to go to closed during the time I was there. The worst loss was the Omocha Souko in Kaizuka which had some of the best deals around. I`M in Nagoya now, which has some decent shops in Osu, but the prices are way higher than they were at the shops I used to go to in Fukuoka.
Quote from: senseiman on December 22, 2014, 08:34:10 pm
Yeah, a ton of the shops I used to go to closed during the time I was there. The worst loss was the Omocha Souko in Kaizuka which had some of the best deals around. I`M in Nagoya now, which has some decent shops in Osu, but the prices are way higher than they were at the shops I used to go to in Fukuoka.
I never got to check out Omocha Souko. Everybody told me I needed to go, but I just never had the time.
Earlier this year, I started working in Akiba. I thought it'd be awesome, and sometimes it is, but it's like shopping for games online. Everything is available all the time, and prices are either even with or *higher than* your typical 'net prices. Now, most of my Famicom stuff comes from Book-Off stores or tiny little resale shops that I can't imagine are going to be around much longer.
Since this thread is about the best online Famicom websites, I'd like to just take moment to complain about how the BEST Famicom websites are *not in Japanese*. You'd think that there would a TON of amazing Japanese Famicom websites, blogs, etc. But they are extremely few and far between.
That is true about Japanese language Famicom blogs. The only one I follow is Famicom no Neta (http://famicoroti.blog81.fc2.com/ ) which is a good one, he posts lots of little news bits that you won`t see in English.
Quote from: senseiman on December 22, 2014, 11:51:27 pm
That is true about Japanese language Famicom blogs. The only one I follow is Famicom no Neta (http://famicoroti.blog81.fc2.com/ ) which is a good one, he posts lots of little news bits that you won`t see in English.
That looks pretty cool. But why, oh WHY does every Japanese website look like a ransom note from MySpace and WebTV? I guess it attempts to mimic how magazines are presented, but you can't *click* on every line of a magazine cover.
I like to joke that you can tell how expensive something is just by glancing at it. Is whatever you're looking at some kind of OCD nightmare? It's probably pretty cheap. Is it very plain and simple? Then it's gonna cost ya. ;)
That is a pretty good point, I have long wondered why all Japanese blogs, not just gaming ones, look so awful. So cluttered but not with good stuff.
Quote from: senseiman on December 23, 2014, 01:33:43 am
That is a pretty good point, I have long wondered why all Japanese blogs, not just gaming ones, look so awful. So cluttered but not with good stuff.
I just think it's funny that in a topic about the Cool*est* Famicom Fan Sites, there has been only *one* site mentioned that's in Japanese. I wonder if maybe we're missing a few. Like, maybe, buried under piles and piles of dead links and insane graphics, there's the *perfect* Japanese Famicom site/blog that's being criminally overlooked.
I find that really strange. When I visit the US and go to a comic book show or even a Transformers convention, and talk to other fans, everybody's got their favorite website, the one they go to at least a few times a week. For comic books it's usually CBR or Bleeding Cool. For Transformers it's Seibertron or TFW. But when I talk to other Famicom fans? Nothing. There are GAMES that everybody likes to talk about. And Game Center CX is popular with a LOT of folks. But nobody says "Oh, yeah, check out this site/blog/etc." It's weird.
Well in fairness most of the people on here don`t speak Japanese so its not unusual that so few would be mentioned. But knowing what I do about the Japanese scene, its true. Part of the problem might be that most Japanese bloggers seem to use fc2, which has one of the worst designed blog templates I`ve ever seen. Wordpress or Blogger are just plain better but for some reason (I`m sure there is a reason, I just don`t know what it is) Japanese bloggers almost never use them.
Another thing is just plain differences in taste between foreign Famicom fans and Japanese Famicom fans. The stuff Japanese bloggers write about isn`t always going to be of interest to foreign readers and vice versa. Famicom no Netta posts some stuff that I find quite interesting but most of the other Japanese blogs I`ve looked at don`t.
Hi,
maybe we should have a new post: "senseiman and Shumi Nagaremono conversations" hahaha,
but yeah its true, good Japanese blogs are rare, another great site is :
http://www.arcade-gear.com/
Its a store but there is so much info there and great pictures.
Quote from: senseiman on December 23, 2014, 03:06:05 am
Well in fairness most of the people on here don`t speak Japanese so its not unusual that so few would be mentioned. But knowing what I do about the Japanese scene, its true. Part of the problem might be that most Japanese bloggers seem to use fc2, which has one of the worst designed blog templates I`ve ever seen. Wordpress or Blogger are just plain better but for some reason (I`m sure there is a reason, I just don`t know what it is) Japanese bloggers almost never use them.
I suspect that at least part of the issue is that social media platforms like Twitter are so popular. Why go to the trouble of creating and maintaining a blog or website when you can just use Twitter to share your gaming love. But yeah, those that do use that infuriating fc2.
Quote from: senseiman on December 23, 2014, 03:06:05 am
Another thing is just plain differences in taste between foreign Famicom fans and Japanese Famicom fans. The stuff Japanese bloggers write about isn`t always going to be of interest to foreign readers and vice versa. Famicom no Netta posts some stuff that I find quite interesting but most of the other Japanese blogs I`ve looked at don`t.
That's a very big part of it. Do you remember that list of the top 100 Famicom games from a few years back? The one that proved completely baffling to non-Japanese gamers? It had like all four DQ games in the top 10 while the first Rockman game showed up in the 20's or 30's. It's (largely) because of how radically different the tastes of Famicom gamers and NES gamers were. I love how different (unique?) console gaming in Japan was in the 80's. It's always fun to swap stories with co-workers and new acquaintances.
Quote from: jinshu on December 23, 2014, 03:06:05 am
maybe we should have a new post: "senseiman and Shumi Nagaremono conversations" hahaha,
Since we're both Fukuoka boys, I imagine most of those conversations would involve imo shouchu and red-faced nostalgia about fishing out games from brightly-colored plastic tubs in shoppes with their own theme music. ;)
Quote from: Shumi Nagaremono on December 23, 2014, 03:47:30 am
That's a very big part of it. Do you remember that list of the top 100 Famicom games from a few years back? The one that proved completely baffling to non-Japanese gamers? It had like all four DQ games in the top 10 while the first Rockman game showed up in the 20's or 30's. It's (largely) because of how radically different the tastes of Famicom gamers and NES gamers were. I love how different (unique?) console gaming in Japan was in the 80's. It's always fun to swap stories with co-workers and new acquaintances.
Yeah I totally remember that top 100 list. It goes the other way too. Like Yume Penguin Monogatari is an extremely popular game outside of Japan since it is both unusual and was never released outside Japan, but Japanese gamers just regard it as some random platformer that they barely remember.
One other thing that has recently been noticable in the Japanese language sites/blogs is a mild resentment towards foreign Famicom fans. This is due to the effect we are having on prices in Japan, with games like Gimmick having gone through the roof in price based solely on the foreign market. There is almost always some grumbling about this in comments about gaming prices.
That will probably get worse with the weakening Yen making it easier for foreigners to buy up Famicom games.
Quote from: jinshu on December 23, 2014, 03:06:05 am
Since we're both Fukuoka boys, I imagine most of those conversations would involve imo shouchu and red-faced nostalgia about fishing out games from brightly-colored plastic tubs in shoppes with their own theme music. ;)
Yup, i have a ton of fond memories of fishing through crate loads of retro gaming stuff in Fukuoka and scoring some incredible bargains. And I also have a fondness for both shochu and exaggerating the size of my catches in conversation :)
People all over the world gripe about the rising cost of retro games. It's no single thing leading to the price hikes. As people get older and have disposable income, they want to own the things they loved as children. With few exceptions, prices have gone up because that's what the market demands. In a way, it's probably good that the market is so strong, otherwise *finding* many of these older titles would be next to impossible.
Gimmick is a 20,000 yen game *if you're lucky*. But compare that to games for Sega Mark III. Many of them are just as rare as Gimmick...but they're not worth ****. Because there isn't enough interest to justify higher prices.
The "damn foreigners with their dirty money buying up all the good stuff out from under us" thing isn't unique to older games. I swear, whenever Japanese TV stops showing "C-list celebrities eating out" shows, "look how much money these (usually Chinese) tourists are spending!" segments take their place.
There's a place in Kawasaki I go to pretty often. The actual store is just the tip of the iceberg, and the bulk of the stock is in storage units the owner will look through...if he likes you. And for awhile, he *didn't* like me. I was often looking for *boxed* Famicom hardware. Because of that, he thought I was a collector or (worse) a reseller. But once he understood that it was just the *hardware* I wanted boxed (mostly for my blog and youtube show) and that all the *games* I wanted just to play, he became a lot more friendly.
He set me up with my new Famicom Robot set (after I stupidly sold my old one before the move...and right before the market on it exploded) and even found a Famicom Gun for me (too late, though). He even offered me a great deal on a Sharp Twin Famicom and let me have a beautiful Super Famicom console for like 15 USD. I've happily given the dude plenty of cash and will almost certainly continue to do so. But he'd have rather just let the stock rot in those storage units than sell to a "collector" or "reseller".
That store is like the best place I've found (online or off) for chatting about old video games in the area. There are usually a few regulars in there and everybody has a different "history" of playing Famicom games.
And he's totally got the tubs! From old Hard-Off styled plastic tubs to ancient cardboard boxes, he'll just pull these freakin' crates out and invite ya to flip though 'em. And *unlike* every modern Hard-Off, these aren't picked over. Imagine going though a crate of loose carts that nobody's been through since the early 90's. It's awesome!
Whew. I totally just CSB'd like crazy up there. Gomen.
All true!
Its cool having a regular little shop to chat with the owner about gaming stuff. Especially if he has bins! That haven:t been picked over are the best!
Quote from: senseiman on December 24, 2014, 02:25:05 am
All true!
Its cool having a regular little shop to chat with the owner about gaming stuff. Especially if he has bins! That haven:t been picked over are the best!
Yeah, the bins are great...until they become picked over. I have one such buddy myself, though I suspect I cleared him out, basically (until he does more spring cleaning...I hope). Every time I stop by his place, his wife gives me a coffee and some cake, we chat, and I (hopefully) get to look at his stash of goodies.
Yeah, I hear that! I used to go through the bins at Omocha Souko in Fukuoka on a weekly basis or so just to see what new stuff they had thrown in there since my last visit. I amassed probably half of my collection that way and definitely some of the best bargains ever.
A couple more member blogs:
fredJ - http://japanspel.blogspot.se/
AlexRUS - http://somerussianmariodude.blogspot.ru/
http://retro-video-gaming.com/famicom-cartridge-collage/ (http://retro-video-gaming.com/famicom-cartridge-collage/)
Y'all are makin' me feel natsukashii for my old neighborhood shops in Kobe and the Mandarake over in Osaka.
http://www.thairetro.com/forum/index.php?board=3.0
some very cool stuff.
Sorry for the sneaky self-promotion, but I also have a large Famicom section on my web site :)
http://www.videogameden.com/fc.htm
Wow, i have been going to your website for years, very helpful site, awesome reviews, cool to hear from the maker.