Game Core 2009 - Nomad Edition

THE NOMAD ON-THE-GO
This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Game Core 2009 convention which was just outside Philadelphia. My complete report of Game Core can be found at SEGA Nerds. While my Saturn-centric report can be found at The Saturn Junkyard. Despite two articles, that wasn't the complete report. Yes, I held off on a few Nomad related tidbits.

The convention was a mix of dealer tables and tournaments. There were also Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic card stuff going on, but I rightfully avoided those. The dealer tables were quite large and varied. I have never seen so many 32X's in one room. Speaking of unpopular SEGA hardware, the Nomad himself (not me, the handheld) was on show at quite a few tables!

The Nomad seen above was still in its lovely box, with an asking price of $80. Meanwhile, a open Nomad was below for the price of $60 with battery pack and a/c adaptor included. Not bad when you consider the high prices it goes for on ebay. Another dealer had an unstickered Nomad with a cracked screen. I'd assume that were I to haggle, I could get the system for $40 and buy a replacement screen on ebay.

Nomad games were in strong supply, both boxed and loose. I, however, didn't have the cash to pick up any as I already blew my allotted convention budget (and then come) on this:

Yes, I've already posted this photo on two other SEGA blogs, but I'm just so proud! A lovely white Saturn is finally mine after thirteen years. I also nabbed Sonic 3D Blast, one of the few Sonic games that I did not own. I had always assumed it was the same game as the Genesis version and boy was I wrong! The awesome soundtrack and kickass bonus stages make the game much more than the Sonic Flicky hybrid that the Geness version was. Metropolis Street Racer was my other game purchase. I had only played MSR during a long weekend back in 2001 when I rented the game from Blockbuster. It was bit challenging but was so damn sleek and polished. The real-time clock and Richard Jacques radio stations were also awesome additions. Finally I got a vinyl Dreamcast sticker for participating in the Crazy Taxi tournament. While I lost, placing second or third, I didn't miss out on much as the prize was a Wii accessory. Surly a Dreamcast racing wheel would have been a more fitting prize!