B.G. Willers
Gaming DadTime capsule
For those that follow my Twitter, you heard that I bought a “new in the box” N64 controller off of eBay last week. When it comes to eBay, I’m always skeptical by default. But at the price of $27 I figured it was worth a shot. I only have two good working controllers for my N64, and even if this was isn’t BRAND new, I’ll just be happy if it has a nice tight analog stick. So after work today there’s a package waiting for me. I tear it open ready for some disappointment.
So far so good.
The box wasn’t in pristine shape, but I’m not too worried about that. I used to save all my boxes for all that stuff but eventually I decided to throw them away. The controller looks good so far, but someone could have easily repackaged a used controller in a box. But the nice crisp warranty card is a good sign that this might actually be the real deal.
I'm calling it new. Or at least good as new!
After removing the plastic and a thorough inspection, I don’t see any signs of this old thing ever being used. There’s no real proof that it isn’t used, but as far as I’m concerned it’s better than 95% of the controllers that are still out there. I tested it out and it works perfectly. And now much to Andrea’s chagrin, I repackaged it in the box and it’s sitting next to my computer. To stay “new” as long as possible. Ha ha!
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
What are the chances they are going to be collector’s items one day in the future?
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Oh I don’t think it’ll ever be worth anything. The original controllers are great, but the joysticks get real loose after a long time of furious play. It’s hard to find a used controller these days where the joystick isn’t loose and wobbly. There’s an abundance of brand new cheap knock offs available, but they’re often not very comfortable and the joysticks are sketchy.
I wore out all four of my original controllers. Largely thanks to Mario Kart!