Obtaining a projector is the only real expense. At first, my girlfriend borrowed one from her company. We used it often enough that I decided I wanted one of my own. I found a refurbished one for $800, but they have come down in price since then, and more are showing up on e-Bay. Some places rent them, or you may know someone who owns one.

For the screen, anything goes. Some people project onto the side of their house or garage; paint some plywood white; stretch out a silver tarp or bed sheets. I went a little more expensive: a friend was working at a company that makes vinyl outdoor sign banners, so I paid about $100 for a big, blank white banner with grommets. I stretch it with bungee cords over a simple 2×4 frame. My friends love it!

I also took the projector to Colorado for my parents’ 50th anniversary and projected hundreds of old photos onto the dining hall wall at a dude ranch. It was a big hit. So for me, the projector has been a very worthwhile investment that I plan to continue using for years.

If anyone is interested in creating their own back yard “drive-in” theater, visit backyardtheater.com. They have great forums on everything from screens to projectors to audio systems and more.

I strongly recommend experimenting with a borrowed or rented projector before investing in one: some folks may have unreasonably high expectations for the resolution; it ain’t high def (unless you REALLY shell out some bucks for a projector and professional screen).

also good to weed out games that only take 7-10 hours to play through and don’t wind up giving you much for your $50

@Chris: Agreed. The PS2 has legs like you wouldn’t believe. I’m waiting until the day it hits $50, then going on a spree for all the gaming I’ve missed over the years. (Ico, Shadows of the Colossus, Ratchet & Clank, etc.)

@Ben: Don’t buy the 360 core system! Trust me, you want the hard drive. MS promised that no games would require the HD, but that’s proving more and more difficult for developers, and rumour is that’s not going to last much longer.

My son will happily do chores AND extra work if he knows the fruit of his labor is going toward a
Wii game or accessory.

I almost pulled a muscle playing tennis

Googling how to take it apart and clean (the conductors were crappy) is time worth spending.

If you are going to find a used NES, get the top loading re-designed one. You won’t have any problems with the flashing screen of death!

My parents are thinking of getting a Wii for a family christmas gift. I still haven’t tried it yet but I’ve been meaning to give it a shot.

Xbox 360 just dropped to 279.99 for the core unit if you’re looking for classic game capability and a next generation, HD level gaming system. It can be the best of both worlds.

Fantastic game, my arms hurt so much after playing tennis (even if you don’t have to swing that hard), and we have a TON of fun playing together in the hotel rooms…

I, too, have my original NES, and would have difficulty getting it to work (blow in the console, blow on the cartridge). That is, until I took it apart and cleaned it. I Googled the directions and it was FUN to take apart and clean. Now, no more blowing!… and every game plugs right in and works GREAT!

As for gaming to be a ‘waste of time’, I get most of my good ideas while playing… and, also, I use that time to passively think and solve dilemmas in my life. A 3rd benefit, I can jump on my mini-trampoline while playing!

Now that companies have made a good business model out of old games I am again on the emulation is wrong train. I will bust out the java nes emulator sites for a kick at work during downtime, but beyond that i’d rather support the developers and buy the game son the wii/xbox 360 live arcade. (I still haven’t buckled down and bought anything on the wii virtual console but I did have to buy the old tmnt arcade game on the xbox when it came out, 5$ is far less than the amount of quarters i blew on that thing in my childhood).

I heartidly agree with ben that you don’t need to defend your hobby choice anymore than you have, and I agree with Lauren that buying an old gamecube controller is a much better deal than buying the classic controller, mostly because it gives you access to gamecube games which are extremely cheap.

However I do need to disagree with one note from your previous column, you said that the wii is “by far the least expensive console” If someone wants to get into videogaming and wants the best deal and access to the largest library of cheap games, then a ps2 is a much better deal. It’s still extremely relevant for at least another year, it’s current cost is 129.99 with a possible drop to 99.99 this year. Developers are still making games and it has a library of titles that must be at least six times larger than the gamecube.

However if you want the activities that the wii brings to the table and a console that is assured to have titles developed for it (be relevant) for at least 5 more years than splurge for the wii.