A Tour of the Retro Room

This project actually started a few months ago, so I figured I'd show what my room looks like so far and detail a few of the things I've already collected. Props to my girlfriend for both donating the TV and letting me get away with this <3

 

The entertainment center was a score from a local yard sale site for $45. Obviously wasn't big enough to hold everything I wanted hooked up, so I repurposed one of my bookshelves.

The retro setup is in the middle of the computer room. We both have our computer desks against each wall. At a later point when my desk is cleaner, I may post some of the interesting stuff there.

When we play, whoever isn't lucky enough to get dibs on the recliner ends up rolling up one of the computer chairs. Unless a cat is there.Snowball never slept in this chair until I moved it here <_<

There's not really any preference in the order of the consoles on this shelf, though it has the glass door offers a bit of protection from dust and UV.  It's basically whatever fit best or I acquired first.

• The Xbox is one I bought from a friend shortly after it was released. 
• The NES I got through a trade from a local game store (traded an extra SNES system I had)
• The SNES is a goodwill score, though I had to track down all it's cables.
•  The Playstation 2 I bought on release.

 The auxillary shelf is just a cheap Walmart bookshelf with some holes punched in the back. Works out well, though I'd ideally like to have a protective cabinet for these too, someday.

• You may recognize the Black Beast from my previous post: The Sega Genesis Model 1 / Sega CD combo. I actually wanted to put this on the other shelf and swap it with the XBOX, but it was too massive to fit in it.
• Next to it is an NES Advantage joystick. I've got to admit, this thing is one of the most sturdy accessories I've ever held for any game system. It plays really well with arcade style games, but it's a bit hard for me to use for games I'm used to playing with the game pad. Got this from the local game store.
• N64 and Playstation are goodwill finds. Both were not working at all and extremely dirty, but after taking them apart and cleaning, they both work great now.
• The Wii I originally bought on release. It's not really retro, aside from some of the virtual console games, but it will probably remain as the newest console in the room.
• The Atari Flashback 2 is a goodwill find, though it's basically in brand new condition. I am debating getting rid of it since I'm not that big a fan of the Atari 2600.
• The PS One I found in storage at my parents' place. I completely forgot I ever owned one until I found it. I'll probably get rid of the other Playstation.
• The Gamecube was also a goodwill find, since my brother sold my original Gamecube after letting him borrow it. Luckilly, they are extremely cheap. Unfortunately some of the games I'd like to get for it are pretty pricy. I do still have The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for it, though, which is one of my favorite Zelda games.

There's not much room left, but honestly there's not much left I'd like to get as far as consoles. Maybe a Sega Saturn System and Sega Dreamcast, but definitely no rush on those. The main focus on my collecting is stuff that I played at some point in my past.

So...you are probably wondering  how all of this is hooked up. I'd like to think it's pretty organized, myself...

 It's honestly a nightmare of wires behind there now, but it works. I have three of these video switch box daisy chained together. Most of the consoles connect with composite RCA jacks, and the TV only has a RF input, so an RF Modulator has to be used. It's easy enough: the lady of the house can just press the button of whatever console she wants to play when she's alone, so I consider it a successful setup.

I keep some CD binders of XBOX, Playstation, and Playstation 2 games in the storage beneath the entertainment center.

Controllers and accessories are in this storage bin, though it's starting to get pretty full.

Most of the controllers' cords are long enough for our use, but for some reason the Genesis controller is like 2 feet long. I don't remember them being that short, but I definitely need to either get an extension or find controllers with longer cables.

Here's the most of the collection of games I have so far. I have a bit of room left, but I'll probably grab another shelf like this eventually if the collection grows beyond this shelf.

N64 has by far the most annoying game cartridges ever, by the way. There's no end labels on them at all, so it's pretty annoying going through all the carts trying to find the one you are looking for. Some of the carts do have cool colors to identify them, such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Donkey Kong 64, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. I'm still looking for a solution to organizing these games though.

Most of the cart collection I've built off of the local game shop or goodwill finds though I had a friend give me one of my favorite SNES games ever: Secret of Mana. I was pretty blown away. Be sure to check with your friends and family if you ever get into collecting stuff like this. You never know what they have tucked away.

 Well that's a general overview of my retro room! Hope you enjoyed checking it out!