Defender Strikes

vcoleiro1 · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 5:29 pm Post subject: Defender Strikes

I've always said that Defender Strikes IMO is one of the most rarest and collectable handhelds. Seems to come up for sale a lot less than an AV. I have been running worldwide searches for a number of handhelds regularly over the course of several years , and this one seems to be one of the rarest.

Good to see its price start to reflect this. One just sold on ebay for $792 (if you believe the bidding).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TABLE-.....27e2f26889

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Rik · Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 12:51 am Post subject:

Nice, at first I was a little surprised to see a loose one sell that high, but then I noticed it did have a box. I wouldn't be surprised to see a boxed one hit the $750-1000 range depending on the condition of the box. As you say, it's ridiculously rare, esp with the box. (I paid $350 for my loose one nearly 10 years ago... I'm always kind of shocked when I realize how long ago I got some of these games... Just doesn't seem like it's been that long.)

Rosy Space King is another one I'd rank as rare as this (and Tiger Galaxx). But they still don't fetch Adventure Vision prices...

Rik

blanka · Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 12:12 pm Post subject:

The game makes me curious. If I'm correct interpreting the Ebay pictures: I see red, bright cyan AND BLUE phosphors! That means it is a later generation one (1983 perhaps) and it might be pretty sophisticated. Anybody here willing to open one for my research and check out some facts about it?

Rik · Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 1:14 pm Post subject:

Yeah, it does have a 1983 copyright...

If it's where I think it is (i.e., I can _find_ it), I can open mine... What do you want to know about it?

blanka · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 3:43 am Post subject:

A photo of the PCB: both sides with readable IC print and maybe a peek on the front and the back of the VFD panel is the easiest as those pics tell everything.

vcoleiro1 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 11:24 pm Post subject:

Hmm, this is weird, the same Defender Strikes is up for sale by another seller - the person who bought it?
Same marks on it and stickers etc

They are selling it for $1192 USD, quite the markup from the $796 it was bought for.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DEF.....amp;_uhb=1

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Rik · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:28 pm Post subject:

That seller is a member here, so he's legit at least... Smile

Did the price get lowered? He's only asking $850 now. He usually has tons of games on eBay (although not right now that I can see...)

Better pics of the box though, I like that. Smile

vcoleiro1 · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 11:32 pm Post subject:

Yes, he lowered the price today by 200 pounds. Strange that he would buy it and then try and resell it immediately.

pergessle · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 4:44 pm Post subject:

You might find a few of us have or have had a Defender Strikes. The older collectors that have been on ebay since the 90's. I sold my loose one some years ago for a decent price. I've seen them since then a few times if I wanted one.
Yes they're rare but not impossible to find. Certainly amongst the rarest.

That's a reasonable price for a boxed one.

vcoleiro1 · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 12:32 am Post subject:

I've got two of them , both loose. One is in very good condition. The other , the internals are loose, the battery cover is missing a tab , the joystick is just a screw sticking out, and the graphic around the screen is missing. I think that's the problem with these, they were not built very well, and I guess most haven't lasted.

They are rare for sure, not the rarest by any means. There are certainly rarer games like a pro screen, or black knight or space hurricane. Or even some of the rare tiger tabletops etc. But it's still quite rare.

One day we will actually put together a ranked rarity list , one day.

blanka · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 1:29 am Post subject:

It is the never ending problem with rare. There is always a reason why a game is rare. Either bad quality, yet most of the time it is just a bad game, and very often both.
I think this is great: because the best games to collect also have the best prices. So keep your budget down, and you get the most fun and best experience in return.

vcoleiro1 · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 2:59 pm Post subject:

@blanka

Its funny you should say that, because the reason I like Defender Strikes, is because not only is it rare, its actually a good game. Also the tabletop design is pretty distinctive and appealing. It's only flaw is that its not the best built game. Oh well, can't win them all.

But yes, generally speaking (not always), the rarer it is, the crapper it is.
Nothing highlights that stereotype more than the Palmtex Super Micro. Not only poorly built, but the system and games are so bad, you've got to wonder whether the developers were on drugs. It's a shocker.
I'm surprised any exist today at all, because after 10 minutes playing one, you will be filled with the overwhelming desire to throw it as hard as possible against a brick wall. Then to burn it with fire to remove all traces of it's existance