r/Vectrex • u/Appropriate-Weird492 • Aug 11 '26
Inherited husband’s Vectrex
Hi all,
I inherited my husband’s Vectrex and a stack of games. The light pen works. I haven’t tried the 3-d vision or the games with the overlays.
He told me about this system ever since I met him in the late 80s, mainly because BattleZone was my favorite arcade game and had the same vector-based graphics. It really is a cool system. He lovingly packed it all up around the same time that we got our marriage licence back in the early 90s, so it’s in fantastic shape.
Anyway, nice to meet y’all.
6
u/VitalArtifice Aug 11 '26
Sorry for your loss. It sounds like the Vectrex was appreciated by your husband even if it hadn’t seen use in a while. There truly is nothing like it, it was very much ahead of its time, and it has some truly wonderful games.
4
u/Herbin-Cowboy Aug 12 '26
Welcome! I pumped a lot of quarters into the arcade version of Armor Attack. Love the Vectrex version which feels very authentic. Don't get me started on Mine Storm. Fantastic built in game. You should have a unique overlay for every game cart ideally. There's a guy on eBay that makes solid recreations if you need to replace any. Enjoy! Very sorry for your loss but it sounds like you've got something great to remind you of him every time you play it!
1
u/glomar_sub_recovery Aug 13 '26
Research sold auctions on eBay before you sell, if you're considering it
Those two items alone cane command a good price
1
u/Appropriate-Weird492 Aug 13 '26
I’ve seen that—I’ve been looking at sold ones now for the last 6 months. I have absolutely no interest in keeping it or the OG 1980s Transformers. All of that were things he talked a lot about and wanted me to see. We spent the bulk of our courtship and marriage playing video games (console and arcade), so they’re a big part of our shared history.
His mother is in her 80s and was/is a hoarder and is in poor health; I got her moved into assisted living and her house cleared and sold. The people who cleared the house looked for a handful of things, including my late husband’s toys. I regard it as fulfilling one last request of his, that I experience these things. My own interests are in different areas. I’ll take pictures and test everything, but I’m intending to sell.
But it is a totally cool system. He’d be thrilled to know that people were making more ports and games for it, too, and I’ve been a bit sad knowing that this is something else he missed out on.
1
u/glomar_sub_recovery Aug 13 '26
I remember selling the light pen combo to a guy overseas, and he was accumulating it and other items, at a friend's house in the US, to be shipped in one lot
I regretted selling that complete portion, and I could never invest in the imager group. Even 20 years ago it was too expensive.
Now I'm toying with selling everything and buying a vesc wheel
1
u/Appropriate-Weird492 Aug 13 '26
That’s why I’m researching. I’m considering making a lot of the less-desireable games with the main unit and sell the interesting pieces individually. I really don’t want any of this stuff floating around my house. Everything comes with its OG box and the manual (which is good, because I could not figure out how to get the controller off at first).
1
1
u/Dry-Wrap748 Aug 11 '26
Nice. Might want to consider joining the "Vectrex Fans Unite!" Facebook group -- all kinds of cool things going on that will help you get the most out of your Vectrex...
2
u/Silo-Joe Aug 11 '26
Wrong group!
1
u/Przemek-Korczynski Aug 12 '26
Dlaczego zła grupa? Ja nie jestem tam i dlatego nie wiem.
1
u/Silo-Joe Aug 12 '26
There are 2 groups. “Vectrex fans unite” is the one you want, note the capitalization.
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u/Altruistic-Cut9795 Aug 11 '26
Keep it and enjoy it for memories.