Metal Gear Solid Binoculars, knife, compass and case?

B

bruenor

Gawd
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
674
I used to work as a video game reviewer and I was going through some of my stuff and found a Metal Gear Solid case with a pair of binoculars with the logo, a compass/carabiner, and a Swiss Army-style knife with utensils. It's all in the original packaging and never been used. I can't find word of this online anywhere, not even eBay. I was trying to figure out the value to put it up but have no idea where to start.

Does anyone know anything about this or an idea of the value? I honestly don't even remember where/when I got this. It's way cooler than the other find... a big padded backpack made for the original PS2, where there are flaps and pockets that allow you to plug in and play it from inside the pack.
 
actually that backpack sounds ok. if you travelled any with a ps2, saves you from having to take it out. could prolly leave all the cables attached and stuff them back in the backpack. Not bad...
 
I took some quick photo's this morning, I'm really amazed at how there is nothing about this online. All of my searching so far has gone in vain. Here's the pics:

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The binoculars have the Metal Gear Solid logo on them and say 5x30 power on the other side.
 
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are you very attached to them? If not, just throw em up on ebay and see what happens. Theyd prolly go for 100+
 
No, not attached, but I just didn't know if I should set a reserve or really where to even begin. It is cool, and I'm guessing fairly exclusive since there is no mention anywhere online. So I'd hate to sell it for $50 if it's worth a few hundred.
 
I got ya, but ebay is the market at work in the truest sense. Just tag it as metal gear solid RARE and you'll get looks and it'll sell. You could always do a reserve of 200.
 
Well, I put it up, so we shall see how it goes... I don't want to link to it here because I don't know if that is against the rules. It's up top under the Video Games -> Merchandise category on eBay. I put it up at $100 which I think is fair given that it is over 6 years old, in pristine condition, each item still wrapped, etc., damn rare, and a pretty cool collectible for a fan.

I've been going through a lot of my old video game-related stuff and I've been pulling out all kinds of cool/unique stuff. I just found a Dragonquest King Slime promo keychain unopened, and a ton of unreleased PS2 preview/playtest discs. And a new Dreamcast and VGA adapter, which I'm going to hook up and play now :)
 
I have quite an extensive collection ranging from Atari 2600 to modern systems. I worked in the video game industry for over 10 years so I have a ton of stuff. I believe recently there was a large number of new in box Dreamcasts found and being sold online for not a lot of money. I'd rather enjoy a system than have it sit. And when I came across the VGA adapter it will make a good system for at my desk.
 
id think a unopened new dreamcast would sell for 100 plus. Speaking of, i need to find my dc. I bought one on 9.9.99. Still at my parents house i believe. Best thing about it is the cd trick that lets you play imported games. I bought some off ebay a few years back, good times.
 
Well, apparently we were way low... I've been getting hammered with emails and direct offers since putting it up and we are talking a couple hundred so far. Not bad, I found and put up a cool Dragonquest King Slime promo keychain too, but it hasn't generated much interest yet.
 
bruenor said:
Well, apparently we were way low... I've been getting hammered with emails and direct offers since putting it up and we are talking a couple hundred so far. Not bad, I found and put up a cool Dragonquest King Slime promo keychain too, but it hasn't generated much interest yet.
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The dragon quest slime keychains were given away on the square website for anyone who signed up - to a certain number.
I got two random ones and currently use them as Christmas ornaments on my tree.
You might get some good money for them if someone is crazy about Dragon Quest, but they were definitely more attainable than the mystery MGS package.
 
I was a founder of ps2insider, which was later sold, I worked with Rottentomatoes when they first were starting up and just moving into games, I've worked with Snowball Network, UGO, and early IGN. I then went independent/freelance because at times there are too many bought and paid for reviews and that wasn't my style. Funny enough, I had panned MGS3 for being too much movie and not enough substance when every other site was showering it with 9's and 10's and was threatened by the publisher and their PR folks to pull my review... but then they found out I was independent and had to walk away.

It was fun, I covered the PS1 and PS2 heavily through most of it's run which held some great titles... but also a lot of crap :) When everyone was jealous of my job I would remind them that 10+ hours of Barbie horse fun-time, or Britney Spears Dance Beat dulls the ICOs and GOWs. It's a huge time investment compared to reviewing movies or music, and the pay is meager... so you have to love doing it or it's just not worth it. Only now some 10 years beyond getting out, am I finally starting to be able to just sit down and enjoy playing a game just to play it. Even if this item goes for $200-300+ I guarantee I had more than 20 hours into just the playing, then another equal to that for the review itself, and after the maybe $100 or so I got for the original article... I'll have still made far less than minimum wage almost 10 years later ;)
 
Oh, and yes, I knew the DQ slime keychains were regular promo items but they were limited and they are about 6 years old now. Certainly not majorly rare, but not that common to find still perfect in the original box... and they were random so the King Slime is probably tied with the regular blue slime for cool-factor out of all of them.
 
Can you give any examples of companys or games that had 'bought' high review scores, or review companys that 'sold' them?
 
bruenor said:
Oh, and yes, I knew the DQ slime keychains were regular promo items but they were limited and they are about 6 years old now. Certainly not majorly rare, but not that common to find still perfect in the original box... and they were random so the King Slime is probably tied with the regular blue slime for cool-factor out of all of them.
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It kinda seemed like I was crapping on the slimes in my original post, but that wasn't my intent. Just providing some back ground info.
My boxes are definitely long gone...now that I think about it, it would be nice to get a whole set for the tree...
 
bigdogchris said:
Can you give any examples of companys or games that had 'bought' high review scores, or review companys that 'sold' them?
Click to expand...

Grr... I had a nice long reply but Pandora crashed Firefox so I'll have to condense for take 2.

Basically a "preview" or early "hands-on" should be instantly ignored. Previews were and still are often paid for to drum up positive press based on essentially nothing substantial. Games go through major revisions, cuts, edits, etc. right up until the final pressing... and often because of bugs, time/money constraints, and more... rarely to actually make a game better. So what is being previewd or hands-on tested is a single super-polished level or section... it means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

If you see massive banners or "site-takeovers" like IGN does, you can often assume the game has some flaws but a big budget. Occasionally this is wrong and the game is great, but 90% not.

Print publications are almost always bought and paid for, especially now in the face of the Internet. Find a truly independent magazine or website, and ignore the rest.

A single site having a review before any others (usually for a big title) should be a red flag.

Use sites like metacritic or gamerankings for general overview. Always read the smaller sites and skip the big names. Also read the lowest scored reviews, you are sure they are not paid for.

The big name publishers have the most money and pull, so much of their coverage is paid for in some way.

Companies like ATLUS are awesome. They are often niche but they don't participate in any of the garbage other companies do, and work hard for their products. They may not have big budgets, or mass-appeal but respect and support them when you can.

Companies like Rockstar and Square Enix are notorious for being stingy to many reviewers so they often get a pass, but they have their own methods and generally only go after the big fish.

Nintendo could care less about any of it. It makes them tough for reviewers which is why they often get a bad rap... but actually makes them one of the most honest and straightforward game companies in existence. Again, they should be supported. They do crap like self-promotion (Nintendo Power, etc.) but that is far less insidious than what goes on with everyone else.

Often companies hire out PR firms to handle these kickbacks and "payments" which absolves them of it directly. Like anything, some of these are really good people and some are scum. I have been directly scolded or threatened by some for bad reviews (like the MGS3 one I mentioned above) and often they will just cut you out of press releases and free review titles or early review copies. It may seem minor but not having a review or exclusive content early can be a big loss for a site.

Lastly, NEVER, ever, trust or read again, a site that offers a review of a sweeping epic title or MMO within a week of it's release. They are lazy, lying, sometimes paid, and the "review" will be nothing more than fluff. It takes a very long time to properly review even a short title, 20-40 hours for most for both playtesting, notes, and writing. So you can imagine a huge title takes considerable time.

Support independent review sites/mags and especially indie developers. They might not be the flashiest or the first with a review, but there is a reason for this.

Wow, that was still long... hopefully it helps.
 
Wait until MGS 4 comes out, that's the prime time to sell this stuff..

Sounds like you had a passion reviewing games, good for you! I always felt as if the mainstream sites talked with their heads up their asses.
 
I was doing reviews up until around 2005, so even my last stuff is 5-6 years old and the later work was print/freelance stuff. Everything else is either lost to the sands of the early Internet or cached/wayback machine stuff.

I definitely had a passion, but reality always steps in and it's just not a viable career. The time investments can be huge for as I stated far less than minimum wage... but it was fun and I learned a ton and had some really cool experiences. I do love being back on just the fun side of playing games again, but sadly I have less time and with so many rehashed themes and genres there is less and less to get excited about... but there are still a few gems around.

I could have waited until MGS4 I guess, but honestly I had no idea it would generate as much interest as it did. I was just cleaning out some stuff I've been hanging on to for a number of years and I just hope it goes to a good home. I have so much gaming-related stuff that I just need to pair it down to my few personal favorite things and let the rest go. MGS has never been a franchise near or dear to my heart, honestly.
 
bruenor said:
Grr... I had a nice long reply but Pandora crashed Firefox so I'll have to condense for take 2.

Basically a "preview" or early "hands-on" should be instantly ignored. Previews were and still are often paid for to drum up positive press based on essentially nothing substantial. Games go through major revisions, cuts, edits, etc. right up until the final pressing... and often because of bugs, time/money constraints, and more... rarely to actually make a game better. So what is being previewd or hands-on tested is a single super-polished level or section... it means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

If you see massive banners or "site-takeovers" like IGN does, you can often assume the game has some flaws but a big budget. Occasionally this is wrong and the game is great, but 90% not.

Print publications are almost always bought and paid for, especially now in the face of the Internet. Find a truly independent magazine or website, and ignore the rest.

A single site having a review before any others (usually for a big title) should be a red flag.

Use sites like metacritic or gamerankings for general overview. Always read the smaller sites and skip the big names. Also read the lowest scored reviews, you are sure they are not paid for.

The big name publishers have the most money and pull, so much of their coverage is paid for in some way.

Companies like ATLUS are awesome. They are often niche but they don't participate in any of the garbage other companies do, and work hard for their products. They may not have big budgets, or mass-appeal but respect and support them when you can.

Companies like Rockstar and Square Enix are notorious for being stingy to many reviewers so they often get a pass, but they have their own methods and generally only go after the big fish.

Nintendo could care less about any of it. It makes them tough for reviewers which is why they often get a bad rap... but actually makes them one of the most honest and straightforward game companies in existence. Again, they should be supported. They do crap like self-promotion (Nintendo Power, etc.) but that is far less insidious than what goes on with everyone else.

Often companies hire out PR firms to handle these kickbacks and "payments" which absolves them of it directly. Like anything, some of these are really good people and some are scum. I have been directly scolded or threatened by some for bad reviews (like the MGS3 one I mentioned above) and often they will just cut you out of press releases and free review titles or early review copies. It may seem minor but not having a review or exclusive content early can be a big loss for a site.

Lastly, NEVER, ever, trust or read again, a site that offers a review of a sweeping epic title or MMO within a week of it's release. They are lazy, lying, sometimes paid, and the "review" will be nothing more than fluff. It takes a very long time to properly review even a short title, 20-40 hours for most for both playtesting, notes, and writing. So you can imagine a huge title takes considerable time.

Support independent review sites/mags and especially indie developers. They might not be the flashiest or the first with a review, but there is a reason for this.

Wow, that was still long... hopefully it helps.
Click to expand...

Fascinating inside info. Thanks a lot!
 
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