Well this is embarrassing. According to file timestamps, I scanned this all the way back in August 2012 and forgot to post it for almost 11 years. I'm not sure why but I have a theory...
I think I planned to post this in January 2013 because I used to like big round number anniversaries. In real life I switched jobs at the start of the year, joining what was then a fast growing pre-IPO software company. So I had a lot going on. When February rolled around, maybe for a moment I thought about posting it 5 or 10 years later. Or more likely I didn't remember it at all.
So now in the middle of summer 2023 I'm finally getting around to posting this. It's of course very, very similar to the 1992 xmas catalog and the 1993 spring catalog. That's just fine though, there are enough differences to make it interesting.
Since I'm almost out of catalogs to post I'm (again) offering this one in two sizes. There are 1200px wide versions that are a meg or two. If you're sharing these in a post or article about game prices it would be nice if you linked to that version. There are also 2400px wide versions for those who, I dunno, want to turn one of these pages into a poster. I don't really care what people are doing with these.
Page 1: Video game cover
Like at least one other catalog, this is split into reversible video game and computer halves. If you go through these catalogs in chronological order you'll witness the transformation from an almost entirely PC software store to an almost entirely video game store.
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Page 2: Video game contents
The Turbo Touch 360 controller isn't even worth it for free. Madden ‘93 still hovering at $57.99 at the end of the season feels too high.
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Page 3: Super Nintendo
I noted that these catalogs often are shared by people trying to make a point about games being $60+ in the 1990s. I'm going to take a different angle and point out a few deals. Like a first party controller for $17.99.
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Page 4: Super Nintendo
After 30 years I still haven't played Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. At $39.99 it's a relative bargain for a JRPG. There weren't a lot to choose from in 1993.
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Page 5: Super Nintendo
NBA All-Star Challenge is a reminder of how oddly sports game licensing worked for many years. I don't prefer the current single company monopoly model though.
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Page 6: Sega CD
The attempt to censor the cover of Night Trap just makes things worse. It implies that the woman on it is completely topless. Also it's a stupid thing to do. The dude on the Prince of Persia box on the same page is literally topless.
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Page 7: Sega Genesis
I only now realize that Sega had a lead on Batman Returns during this time. It was on the Genesis and Sega CD but wouldn't appear on the Super Nintendo until later.
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Page 8: Sega Genesis
OK, Streets of Rage 2 at $64.99 is kinda pricey. I don't think it was actually that price at most locations but the catalogs always list the theoretical maximum. Still, it's a really good game with one of the best game soundtracks ever. I know it would be a $4.99 indie game today but it's not a bad deal for the time.
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Page 9: Sega Genesis
Uncharted Waters at $69.99 is a hard sell. I think it was actually that price at launch. The Koei label carried some weight then and had a (small) fan base that would pay it.
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Page 10: Sega Genesis
It's been a while but I think I liked the Lotus series. I have to go try them again. Racing games are ones I always like in theory but I'm usually awful at them.
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Page 11: TurboGrafx-16
By far, very far, the best deal in this catalog is the TurboGrafx-16 for $49.99. Forget the modern day resale value of the system. $49.99 is a great deal even for a dying system. Especially one that has a solid library, most of which is in clearance bins.
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Page 12: NES
OK, maybe "very far" in the last comment was a stretch. $89.99 for an NES with two controllers and Super Mario 3 is pretty darn good. Again, it's a dying system. Not dying in the same way as the TurboGrafx-16 but it won't be around for long. If somehow you waited until 1993 to own an NES you will never find a better deal in stores again.
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Page 13: NES
It's a little weird to see a new NES game in 1993 listed at $59.99. It's Dragon Warrior IV and (again) JRPGs were in short supply.
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Page 14: Game Boy
I've probably said it in other catalog posts but Game Boy games were such great deals. There are four great games on this page, half are $19.99 and the other two are still under $30.
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Page 15: Game Boy
OK, these might not be the best deals ever. I haven't played anything on this page though so what do I know? I'd try the Ren and Stimpy game for sure.
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Page 16: Game Gear
The Game Gear is the system I keep putting off the most. I have one, and many other ways to play the games. I own, I dunno, 30 cartridges. Maybe I'll save it for the next pandemic.
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Page 17: Game Gear
I wonder what it would take to get a game named after a boxer again? I don't mean some indie game called "Mike Tyson's Surf Safari Gaiden". I mean something like the Evander Holyfield game. I don't think it will happen again. It's hard to imagine boxing returning to the level of popularity it had in the 1990s.
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Page 18: Atari Lynx
I might have mentioned it once or twice, I'm not sure, but I worked at an Electronics Boutique in 1993. The Lynx section was one shelf facing the back of the store. I'm not knocking the system, just telling it like it was. This page is an optimistic representation of what was in stores.
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Video game sales - page 1
Eh, none of these are really great deals.
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Video game sales - page 2
Sonic 2 was still new enough that $5 off was alright.
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Page 1: PC cover
Of the two covers, I think the PC one wins.
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Page 2: PC contents
The NEC CD Express got me thinking... external CD drives. They seemed like the inferior option back then, and long after. Now, maybe not. The next computer I build probably won't have a CD/DVD/BluRay drive. For the 2-3 times a year I need one I'll go with an external drive. Why waste a perfectly good bay on that?
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Page 3: Tax and finance software
It is convenient to be able to grab tax prep software and Night Trap in the same stop.
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Page 4: Tax and finance software
More tax and accounting software... I doubt anyone will ever click on these.
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Page 5: Tax and finance software
I went to see what happened to Softkey and just learned that it's how one of the Shark Tank hosts made all their money in the first place.
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Page 6: Home productivity
I have no clue at all what that "Chaos" software does based on the description. Doesn't seem very productive though.
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Page 7: Home productivity
That Disney Animation Studio stuck around for a while. I was always curious about it.
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Page 8: Home productivity
3rd party screensavers were a thing that Microsoft didn't need to kill by embedding a free alternative in Windows. They didn't compete in any financial sense. They did it anyway.
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Page 9: Business productivity
Hey, do you want your computer being a lot slower? Like a lot slower? Try software disk compression.
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Page 10: Business productivity
Fax software is another thing that Microsoft didn't need to kill with a free version.
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Page 11: Business productivity
Anybody reading this site knows that I would benefit from that Correct Grammar software.
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Page 12: Business productivity
Does anyone totally dork out over these Wordperfect scans? I don't know why I bother.
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Page 13: Business productivity
I don't recall Amish Utilities for Windows. It must not have been around long. Seems like a bad angle. Amish furniture - sure. Amish software - huh?
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Page 14: Business productivity
It's been a while but I think the Windows 3.1 upgrade was just the full version. Maybe it checked for some file called win.exe against some known checksums, probably easy to get around for a $40 discount.
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Page 15: Family works
The Micro Cookbook for Windows has to be 1000x more convenient than trying to find a recipe online today.
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Page 16: Education
Someone at Sierra had a good sense of branding. Their educational game boxes were the same form as their game-game boxes but with a different pattern. So you knew it was a Sierra product but it was a little different.
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Page 17: Education
Again, I doubt anyone looks at these pages. If they do, Mario is Missing might be the thing they are looking for.
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Page 18: Computer accessories
So that's $124.99 for a 2MB RAM upgrade.
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Page 19: Computer accessories
Seems like people don't worry about computers getting dusty anymore. Big Dust Cover had us all convinced it was a serious problem.
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Page 20: Computer accessories
I used one of those Gravis control pads for years, wore the thing out.
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Page 21: PC games
The order of this section is the reverse of most catalogs. After 20 pages we're finally getting to the games.
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Page 22: PC games
This is the war and racing games page.
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Page 23: PC games
Battle Chess 4000 is $39.99 unless you want the Super VGA version, then it's $8 more. Feels kinda scammy. I can't imagine there's much of a difference.
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Page 24: PC games
X Wing has some of the best cover art of any game. The color scheme is perfect.
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Page 25: Budget software
Alright, back to some stuff no one is here for.
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Page 26: Macintosh
I realize Mac is doing well today. In 1993 it was about one shelf in our store.
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PC sales - page 1
Those two D&D collections are nice deals. The graphics were kinda dated but they play well. Those are solid 20-40 hour games, maybe on the lower end if you know how to edit save games.
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PC sales - page 2
Some less interesting sales here.
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Mail order form
Now for everyone's favorite section. The mail order form.
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Mail order bargains
It's so exciting, I know.
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Alright, so despite some of my late comments this was another fun catalog.
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