Buy A Copy of Ultima 6 (FM-Towns Version) For Just $160!
Okay, actually, Google tells me that the current exchange rate between the Japanese yen and the US dollar means that this copy of Ultima 6 for the FM-Towns system is on sale for the equivalent of $157.62.
Or maybe that’s the current bid, and the “Buy it now!” price is the equivalent of $170.85. My Japanese is not good, and by “not good” I in fact mean “nonexistent”.
Be that as it may: someone is selling a copy of Ultima 6 for the FM-Towns system (this is the version of the game that has the vastly improved soundtrack and voice acting done by key staff at Origin Systems at the time, including Richard Garriott) via the Japanese portal of the Yahoo! Auctions service. If you happen to be able to correspond in Japanese, Dragons and Dragonettes, you might just inquire as to whether they ship to your part of the world!
Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what happened to all the copies that -aren’t- on auction sites? I always have wondered where all the cool stuff goes as time passes.
This article reminds me of the new Ultima book and how hard it would be to actually acquire all those things if you were a serious collector. What would be really grand is if a foundation was created with the specific goal of collecting and displaying it in a controlled fashion. At least then the community could have a shrine to visit to see EVERYTHING. Isn’t there an Origin museum or something somewhere? Maybe I’m confusing it with a web site.
There *IS* an Origin Museum (that’s me) but it’s not nearly as complete as Stephen Emond’s book. In order to gather all of the information and pics for his tome, Steve had to work with Ultima collectors around the world, gathering pics and information. While this book is the culmination of a massive work that took him years to create, Steve has the entire Ultima fan community to thank for helping him out over the years. Steve has a great Ultima collection himself, but The Origin Museum contributed lots, along with the great collections from Enrico Ricciardi (Lord British Dragon), Tom Hvaltay (Tom Mage), Holger Bachert (Televar Dragon), and many others. I’ve got rooms full of rare artifacts here at the old Museum, but I don’t think any of us really even knew about the *massive* amount of Ultima variations, collector’s items, limited editions, and paraphernalia that encompasses this awesome book. Steve made that happen–and he made lots of new Ultima collector friends in the process.
Joe
Wow, there is a ton of Japanese Ultima stuff on yahoo auctions. I have some friends in Japan. I’m gonna get them to bid on stuff for me and send it to mee.
There’s a SNES version of Savage Empire? http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n104495406
*pulls out his Ultimate Collector’s Guide* Oh, yup. There it is.
I have a complete one with the box, manual, and even the plastic tray (cause ya gotta have the plastic tray!) 🙂
The current minimum bid is 12,000 yen (and there are no bids); the BuyItNow is indeed 13,000 (the ~$170 price).
If anyone’s interested, there are a bunch deputy bidding services out there that’ll handle the transaction and ship stuff to you if you live outside Japan (most Yahoo Japan sellers won’t ship overseas). For what it’s worth, I’ve had good experiences with Shopping Mall Japan (though they’ve been a bit poky lately) and bad ones with Rinkya and Celga. Do be aware, though, that using these services incurs significant additional fees (bidding fee, wire-transfer fee if applicable, additional shipping to your house).