UPDATE: This first and second batch are basically gone. A few copies of JP Dracula X, Godzilla, Bonk 3, and Dungeon Explorer 2 remain.
Also, PLEASE please read the instructions when it comes time for requests. Send PMs to Bernie, not me to get on the lists for these.Dynastic HeroGodzilla - few left
Bonk 3 - very few left
Dungeon Explorer 2 - very few left
Dracula X (PC engine original) - few left
Batch 1 info + historyGreeting all!
We've all watched as our hobby has been impacted (positively or negatively) by the incredible inflation of game prices. I think many of us can agree that it is quite frustrating when we want to play some game on our original hardware but cannot justify spending $100, $200 or even $500+ for that game. Most of us have families and responsibilities and just cannot spend that kind of cash.
A while back a group of us got together and discussed possibly having discs pressed for various expensive but desirable games. Many of us are aware of PCE Works / Tobias and his offerings. This post is not here to question the ethics, motives, or merits or lack thereof of what Tobias offers. I think many of us can agree that his selling of translations was in poor taste to the community but he has since offered the translations free of charge.
In our search for a viable method to reproduce / press discs we reached out to Tobias as he has proven he can get discs pressed that work in our original hardware. We weren't sure what sort of response to expect from him as our intention was to offer an alternative / cheap solution for people who just want to play the games and aren't as concerned with something looking pretty on the shelf. To our surprise, Tobias was quite accomodating and upon further discussions by our very own hair dryer specialist Bernie we came to an arrangement with Tobias that we believe you the community will appreciate and benefit from.
When Tobias produces his games he must order a set amount of discs. He also produces the packaging etc for those discs but not always in the same quantity as the discs themselves. As a result there are usually extra loose discs. Some of you may remember when I handed out about 400 loose disc misprint Sapphires a while back. This will be a similar situation. We have made arrangements with Tobias to acquire and distribute this extra stock of discs. The goal here is not profit but rather to get the games into the hands of people who want to play them but cannot or prefer not to use CDRs on their original systems.
There has been much controversy as of late over the PCE Works bootlegs, and we do recognize the concerns relating to such, but we feel that a compromise can be made. Tobias is offering us the discs to distribute, and we in turn are offering them to you the community. We don't any money for them, just a donation to cover the cost of shipping / packaging and maybe a few extra to fund the shipping of future discs. These are loose discs, but they are pressed discs and should run perfect in your original hardware.
As a side note, we reached out to as many people as we could who have worked on translations and the like and have come to an understanding with as many as we could get a hold of. I would certainly welcome them to chime in on this operation but I believe we have the support of most of the translation / hacker teams in the PC Engine scene. This is just another opportunity for people to enjoy their hard work.
Ok now that you've read the background on what is going on here lets get to the meat of it. At present time we have spindles of three different game discs to distribute. These are going to be done in waves so as to not overwhelm the person in charge of handling them.
Regarding distribution, we are going to offer an amount of these to these forums first, and then later offer some to a few of the facebook groups also.
No minimum post count is required but there is a caveat. If we discover that someone we sent discs to is reselling them, that person will be excluded from all future discs we may offer. Initially we will prioritize long time members, but even newer folks will be on the list and hopefully we can supply everyone in time. We just ask for your patience in this. Limit one of each disc per person! All we ask for is some money to cover the shipping / packaging costs. Any extra proceeds will go to pay for shipping of more discs from the source. We've done the calculations and feel like the following would be appropriate within the United States. Outside of the US would have to be a little more:
Figure on $5 each
Without further ado, he is what we have right now:
Dracula X - English translation
Beyond Shadowgate
Might and Magic 3 - Isles of Terra
Since these are loose discs, you will be responsible for providing your own jewel cases, inserts, etc if desired. User brraap has expressed interest in offering quality inserts.
https://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=5917Please direct your requests to Bernie. He will handle them in order and as quickly as he can. As requests are filled, I will update the next post to reflect such.
https://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=3751Regards,
The Turbob Xpress Team
