Okay, so I already told you about how I got my second console, the Sega Saturn. Now it's time to talk about how I managed to get a Sony PlayStation over 1 and a half years later...
I was happy with my Sega Saturn, but at a certain point I felt that something was wrong. When I first decided to buy the console, I already knew about how good PlayStation was doing. However, being an old Sega Fan, I preferred to continue buying Sega consoles instead of moving on to new territory. The main reason that made me chose Saturn was the fact that I trusted Sega. They didn't abandon Mega Drive until very late. I wasn't so sure about Playstation. It was the first time Sony was making a videogame console and it didn't appeal me that much. I knew nothing about the release titles such as Tekken or Ridge Racer, but a friend of mine actually bought the console and insisted it was as good or even better than Saturn. I just didn't care. What were you expecting from a 13 y.o. who would still argue over ridiculous stuff with poor arguments?
At a certain point I started to play the PS1 in the usual spots and I eventually became quite fond of it. Ridge Racer, Air Combat, Tekken, Battle Arena Toshinden... all those titles were actually pretty good! But I was still loyal to Sega and of course it was unimaginable to own two consoles of the same generation. No kid I knew had that chance. The few kids that had one console were lucky enough actually, as most didn't have one.
One day, during summer break, my father arrived earlier at home from his night shift and dropped me a magazine on my bed before going to sleep. The magazine was just a complement of a well known newspaper and was mostly about computer and videogames, with news and reviews. One of the news was about this fantastic game that had been announced called... Tomb Raider 2.
If you've read the previous episodes I wrote, you probably know how much I loved Tomb Raider. Needless to say, my mind was blown with the news and the images of Venice levels. However, I partially died inside when they mentioned that it would only be available for PS1 and PC. I panicked. No, really, I did.
The game would be released later that year before Xmas holidays. I had about 6 months to save enough cash to get a PS1, but that was nearly impossible. I talked to my parents about buying another console, explaining that I wouldn't be able to play Tomb Raider 2. I was expecting my mother would actually be interested in buying it but instead she just stepped out. So basically, for the next couple of days, I couldn't think of anything else. I wanted to buy the PS1.
... Time went by and the release date was approaching. There were maybe a couple of months left. Well, actually, the release dates over here were useless, thanks to the worst Mafia business called IGAC and the terrible distributors involved with them: Ecofilmes. Nowadays it's different but at that time games would come out whenever they wanted, several days or even weeks after the official dates.
At that point I only had saved half the money I needed to buy the PS1. I thought I wasn't going to make it, so I was thinking on investing some more money on Saturn games. But suddenly something happened and my hopes were raised again. A big supermarket decided to make a huge promotion for its birthday campaign. For two weeks, they decided to cut the price of many products which were published in a leaflet. Several products were available each day but the day and the final price were kept a secret. I'm guessing they were trying to force costumers to visit the supermarket every day during the promotion in order to attract more clients. PlayStation was on the list. By that time the retail price was 50.000$ (something close to about 250 euros). I only had around 120 euros - yep, only half the money.
The supermarket was half ways between my home and my dad's workplace. He went there every day when coming from work to try to pick a Playstation. After several days, a nice lady working at the supermarket realized that my father was visiting the store every day and decided to inform my father of the day the console would be at a lower price. It was one Friday.
My father went there on that Friday and he called home to tell me about the console. I kinda expected him to say that the price drop was not big enough. But, to my surprise, he actually called me to tell he had bought the console. Mind blown! The price was reduced to 120 euros! About half the price for a single day and I had enough money for that. I was delighted. Eventually, my parents didn't even ask for the money. I kept the console and my money! :P
