Nintendo Entertainment System Control Deck

What's the first thing you need to start a NES Collection? The 'S' of course. This is the system that I picked up to actually play games on. Yes, I bought a system to play games on as well as a system to keep in the box.

This particular piece was Nintendo's most basic system, the "Control Deck". It came with the system, 2 Controllers, an RF switch and A/V cables.

I picked this one up, which is in its original box with the instruction manual and original styrofoam packaging, for pretty cheap.

The only aspect of this piece that is not in its original state is the 72-Pin connector, which has been replaced with a brand new one. This is great, in that it will allow me to play more games without any of the classic NES issues such as the flashing red light, or the scrambled picture.

I fired him up this morning and made it to level 8-1 in Super Mario Brothers in a couple of minutes thanks to the Warp Zones.

Welcome To The Fold

Hey there folks. John Here. What is my new blog all about? Well, it is about nostalgia, gaming, collecting and the greatest video game system of all time... The Nintendo Entertainment System. It all started a couple weeks ago when I stumbled upon a vintage toy store in Old Ellicott City. While I was browsing the store, I came across a large selection of NES games which included some that were still in the box. When I got home that day, I decided to look into boxed Nintendo games on the internet and what I stumbled onto was the world of NES Collectors. It didn't take long for me to decide that this was something I was going to get into.

Let's go back in time. When I was a kid, I never owned a NES. My first Nintendo system was the Super Nintendo that I got for my thirteenth birthday. That doesn't mean I wasn't a NES fiend though. My best friends, who lived down the street, had a NES you see; and I was all about it. They got new games quite often and I still remember flying out the door as soon as I got home from school so that I could spend my nights with my friends... Mario, Luigi, Link... the list goes on and on.

Anyway, I have always loved the 8-bit NES more than any gaming system I have ever owned. I even went out and got one at the end of high school and bought quite a few games. Of course, now that I have decided to start collecting, I can't find my old system or any of my games. That only adds to the challenge though.

So what am I going for exactly? Well, a couple of things:

1. I want to own every NES game ever made.

2. I want to try and own every NES game ever made CIB (What is CIB? Complete In Box. This usually entails the game itself, with its black dust sleeve, inside of the original box with the instruction booklet.

3. Collect NES systems, accessories, and misc. related items.

The journey ahead is a long, but fun one and I guess that is why I decided to document it in this blog. Come along for the ride and I'll help you relive your childhood gaming.