What do your family/friends think...

[Press_Start]

About you collecting and playing retro video games as a hobby?

I know it's not quite as popular or "acceptable" as gardening or fishing, but I do it for the LOVE of it! LOL

My friends and coworkers think its weird for me, since they mostly talk about current-gen games. However, my family, especially my mom, give me a nagging ear-full each time a box of games come in through the mail. They say its a waste of time and money, but they eventually realize that I'm an adult capable of making my own decisions and that the only way is for me to come around on my own. :texaschain:

(Yeah, in a million years!) :devilish:

Share your thoughts and experiences on here.

[dlopez9069]

My immediate family really supports my collecting. Every time I get some something pre-crash my mom starts giving me a complete review of the game. And my girlfriend is the person who most of my games are for.

My friends are the complete opposite though. There is only one of them that actually knows half the stuff I'm talking about. All the rest think that instead of buying all of these "antique" systems I should get a 360.

To hell with that cause last time I checked, Outlander wasn't on any current gen system.

I really like the idea of this thread though.

[brusnes]

In all honesty my friends and family have a "don't ask don't tell" policy about it. They don't mind, but they're certainly not really interested in hearing the ins and outs of it. My girlfriend however, thinks my degree of nerditude on the subject is cute... so that's worked out well for me.

[spoon]

I don't really get any shit from my family. We all used to play games growing up. It also helps that my Moms new boyfriend is into games. And usually the same genres I am into. always cool to sit down and talk/play games.

Some of my co-workers take digs at me sometimes. Whenever I take time off to go to "Nerd Events" aka conventions. I guess I don't hear it as much because I don't fit the quote unquote stereotypical nerd image. Although I do wear game related shirts quite a bit.

The thing I always wonder is whenever I meet a new chick, what is she gonna think? I know I could never be with someone that absolutely hates games.

Most people seem to think it is cool and always want to share stories about what they played back in the day and such.

[RadiantSvgun]

My mom always nags me about it. My parents used to be into that "parents- anti gaming fad" back in the day. My dad doesn't really care anymore since I graduated and I am doing well getting a master's degree. Since I live in Alabama, it doesn't score me any cool points, but everyone who sees my collection is amazed. I actually inspired a few of my friends to get into collecting, but they have a long way to go.

[Streetball 21]

Funny, I was thinking about this the other day. My parents support my gaming habits, they always and more than likely always will. However most of my other family and some friends think I'm too old for it or game collecting is childish. However, gaming is a hobby just like any other hobby (fishing, hunting, movies, cd's etc etc), which they dont seem to get it through their head. The funny thing is when the same people who think I'm too old to collect come to me when they have questions on a game, or a system or where to buy something.

[cyberfluxor]

Almost every friend of mine is into similar hobbies as mine, just various tastes. They like to come over every now and then to see the new games they've never played or heard about. Only a couple of them are seriously into more modern releases but have classic/retro roots so they aren't joystick shy.

As for the family, they find it interesting what I buy. The parents get annoyed when a huge box of new games, movies, music, computer stuff, or whatever it might be comes in because I'm very much so out of space and am beginning to take up other rooms. I've calmed down on purchases in the last year due to this growing concern. It'll be a rough day when I move out and will need lots of delicate help. :D

[Graham Mitchell]

Most people I know are into it, and when people find out that I collect they tend to say "hey, do remember that one game...?" I've actually inspired one friend to start collecting himself.

However, I did have a girlfriend who really insulted me for it and treated me like shit whenever I played something. I actually felt bad about playing and I stopped completely for 6-8 months. Boy am I glad she's gone! My current girlfriend really enjoys it. We play together a lot, so it works out okay.

Not everybody needs to like what I do with my friend time, but anybody with a basic respect for others should feel it's okay as long as it doesn't take over your life. Generally, if a person really chews me out for it, it's a red flag that I won't get along with this person in general because of their personality and belief system. I've found that trash-talking my hobby often goes along with a heavy preoccupation with one's personal appearance and one's desire to "fit in" or appear "normal" to a certain social niche (fashion industry, religious group, lame-ass hipster clique) which are things I try to avoid in general.

[animesuperj]

My dad has never really said anything other than "I need space in the garage" when I bring too much home (standee's, PS2 demo kisok, etc..). I don't think he really cares, but just doesn't want the house covered in stuff. My mom used to nag all the time about saving money, don't spend too much, what did you get this time, etc, etc, etc.... Now she doesn't really say much, cause I think she gave up and realized that I am going to continue collecting.

My girlfriend is actually supportive in my collecting hobby. She's bought me some games and guides I really wanted and have been trying to find. She's not really interested in collecting all that much, but she knows I enjoy it. She'll play her DS or PS2 a lot, but doesn't really get into the collecting aspect of it. She'll also listen to me ramble on and on about some game I just got, or whatever's bugging me about some game at the moment. I know she has no idea what I'm talking about half the time, but it's nice that she listens.

My old co-works, were probably the worst people to talk to about gaming. They only play Halo or sports games, get drunk on weekends, and....well...ok just those two things. I'd bring up something about a "new" system I got (old system, just new in that I just got it), and I'd get the nerd-sounding-glasses-pushing jokes about coming my way. It was pretty annoying, considering they just sit around and talk about getting drunk. I learned to ignore it/not bring up gaming around them. However, I have now quit that job, and my NEW co-workers are actually pretty cool. They think it's awesome I collect older gaming systems, and are actually interested in my opinions about games when they have questions.

Basically, the people I deal with everyday think it's either cool or don't care enough either way to say anything. Both of which are fine by me.

[Trebuken]

I just remind them that I am smarter than they are...

[NES_Rules]

My mom is really weird about it. Sometimes, she'll tell me about a garage sale she saw games at, and then she bitches when I bring stuff home. My dad kind of supports it, since he is a collector too (he collects just about anything), but he jokingly makes fun of me and my collection.
What I hate is when they tell me something is worthless because I'm not selling it. They don't seem to understand that a game is worth $100 if it's on eBay or on my shelf.
I find the best to way to get them to be quiet when they yell at me, is to remind them of my cousins who spend all their money on drugs and/or alcohol. Suddenly, games no longer seem so bad.

[sylvestor]

I'm 41 and I focus on collecting imports for the Mega Drive, saturn,and Dream Cast.I don't like the geekyness factor but who cares as long as your not a geek.Ultimately do what you enjoy! There are plenty of adults who collect toys(i.e. baseball cards,barbies,lunch boxes,board games,etc.,etc.) It does get expensive collecting rare imports thou! I think thats my wife's only complaint.One of her brothers collects comics,the other NASCAR.

[otaku]

I take alot of shit for it from my family mostly just my old man who isn't a gamer he literally hates my hobby of gaming. My mom just kinda rolls her eyes etc and tells me not to get carried away etc

I work in an electronics department which gives me more of a geek stigma but I think I carry myself well enough that after awhile of working there I have proven to the women that I'm not a complete nerd. Likewise I couldn't be with someone who hated that I like games I've been with a few girls who don't game or like games but never long enough for it to be an issue

[Chuplayer]

My parents got me into gaming when I was younger. Even before I was born, my mom and dad played Atari 2600, and 99% of my Atari collection was theirs before I was born. My mom even spent all day practicing 2600 Bowling to kick my dad's ass when he got home from work, but she got the biggest blister on her hand :) My parents liked playing NES because it only had two buttons, but they preferred the joysticks of the Atari 2600 and 7800.

Starting with the SNES, my parents' interest in gaming waned. My dad still loved playing Mario World and All Stars, but when games started using more buttons on the controller, they gave up. The game with most used buttons my dad ever attempted to tolerate was Star Fox.

N64 was the beginning of the end. My dad loved NFL Blitz, but nearly every other game was too much for him. He played Mario Kart 64 and Starfox 64 a little bit, but he never got as good at them as he did Starfox on the SNES.

Other than the bumper car Burger King game and a brief NES run in the summer of 2002, my mom hasn't played video games since the NES days.

Before most of my extended family stopped talking to my immediate family, my cousins and I used to have epic gaming sessions at family get-togethers. Most of my friends are gamers, so I don't have to worry about their negative opinions.

These days my parents are mostly cool about it. My dad is absolutely fine with me playing video games. The only time he felt compelled to comment on it was when I got Guitar Hero. My mom's cool about it most of the time, but sometimes she bitches about it. She mostly just bitches about it because she's having PMS or menopause or just because she's a psycho, though.

My friends and family are a little bit more critical about my anime and manga tastes, though. I like a lot of romance stuff and stuff for girls, and I have a few cute figures. I got an anime character doll a couple weeks ago, and now my mom thinks I'm gay :|

[InsaneDavid]

My girlfriend however, thinks my degree of nerditude on the subject is cute... so that's worked out well for me.

Same here and she's prevented me from selling off large chunks of it for various reasons from time to time. Both my hobbies (video games and model railroading / garden railroading) are expensive so I gotta watch myself but I've been able to keep my years with the video game industry on the cheap and as for the other one I don't have the time and space to dedicate to it as much as I would like, so cost has stayed down.

As long as things stay like that no one seems to mind either way.

[Pantechnicon]

My mother and stepfather are mostly indifferent. They lack enthusiasm for developing an appreciation for anything of a technical nature other than being able to push the right button and that the thing works. They have a vague understanding that there's some money to be had from this sort of thing, should one choose to make money at it, so that gives the hobby a little more credibility in their eyes.

My brother and biological father both see my interest in old game systems as an alternate application of the same personality traits we all mutually share with respect to appreciation of technology, knowing a good deal of history and lore on a subject, being packrats etc. However, I think they'd like it better if I were applying these attributes to the things they appreciate more i.e. - old cars and motorcycles, and there's a mild and unspoken sentiment which suggests that their obsessions are somehow more worthwhile than my own.

My closest friends - none of whom live nearby - accept it, but are not gamers themselves and would rather not be bored with all the minutiae I can dredge up on the topic.

My daughter is wholly indifferent to it. My son thinks he's the luckiest kid on the block.

Most important is my wife, who was with me when I began this hobby in earnest (and also bears partial responsibility for it). She is the one who keeps it from devolving into monomania, whether I'm playing too much or spending too much. As long as it all stays within reasonable norms we all stay happy.

[sylvestor]

Same here."within reasonable norms".......whatever that is.

[ssjlance]

My habits have lessened.As of late, I've been more into PC gaming. I installed Windows (blech) on my laptop just to play Quake III, I was so desperate for some FPS action.

But when my collecting was at it's peak, much of my family was bothered. My collection barely scratches many of the mammoth collections found here, but 300 games from Atari to XBox is still considered a lot by normal person standards. Damned outsiders.

[debian4life]

My wife thinks it takes up too much room!

[Trevelyan]

Ive been collecting various things and have been playing video&computer games since the late 80's. I recently started putting a bit more effort into video game collecting and own a few different consoles.

I'm not made of money which is reflected in the majority of purchases I've made. Nobody I know is surprised or bothered by it and this goes for my friends who rarely ever played video games.

[Chuplayer]

She is the one who keeps it from devolving into monomania, whether I'm playing too much or spending too much. As long as it all stays within reasonable norms we all stay happy.

Good woman. If you can't throttle yourself, it's good to have somebody who can do it for you.

As for me, I've been taking the time to enjoy what I've got before moving on and buying a different game. I got a cheap disc-only Rock Band a couple weeks ago, and I'm enjoying the hell out of it with my Xplorer guitar. I don't need to spend boatloads of cash on the whole set, and now I can dedicate myself to an instrument. It works. I seriously think the only game I'm going to get between now and MGS4 is Arcana Heart. I might finally (FINALLY!!!) get Fighters Megamix between now and then, but we'll see.

The same goes with my anime. I generally get a box, burn through three episodes the first day, and watch four or five a week after that. I get to spread out my enjoyment of a series across a month or so, and I spend less $$$ in the process.

[cityside75]

My daughter is wholly indifferent to it. My son thinks he's the luckiest kid on the block.

Most important is my wife, who was with me when I began this hobby in earnest (and also bears partial responsibility for it). She is the one who keeps it from devolving into monomania, whether I'm playing too much or spending too much. As long as it all stays within reasonable norms we all stay happy.


It's funny, I have two kids, seven and four. I've been personally responsible for getting some of their friends obsessed with video games. They're always so excited to come over to our house to play games to the point of crying when it's time to leave. My kids, on the other hand, are mostly unimpressed with my games. My son loved the Cars game for a while and we all enjoyed the wii for a few weeks after christmas, but on the average weekend they'd rather be playing with toys than playing games downstairs. I'm not necessarily saddened by that either, I think it would make me feel more guilty about keeping the games around if we always had to pull the kids off of them.

I've always taken the role of entertainer at our family get-togethers, so my parents have appreciated my collection for the enjoyment its provided through the years. Of course, I'm 37 and my collection didn't grow to the point where I couldn't stash it away until 4-5 years ago.

[Pantechnicon]

...on the average weekend they'd rather be playing with toys than playing games downstairs. I'm not necessarily saddened by that either, I think it would make me feel more guilty about keeping the games around if we always had to pull the kids off of them.

There's definitely an imperative for establishing a balance when it comes to the hobby and one's kids. For our part video games for the kids are limited to one hour per day on weekends only, allowing exceptions for something in which the whole family may participate such as DDR or Singstar. On several occasions I've witnessed my son (aged 10) walk away from a game console on his own initiative, go to his room and either play with his pets or start reading a book. As long as that sort of thing keeps happening, then I'll continue to feel confident that we're keeping things in check.

[josekortez]

My mom is so supportive that she kept the bulk of my Dreamcast games in her apartment once when I moved and didn't have room for them. Even though I don't live near her, she still asks me if there are particular games I'm looking for if she's near a game store. She used to play me in Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast back in the day, and she started to get the hang of it at one point.

My stepdad and I have played together. He owns the original Xbox but my mom won't let him have the 360, so we've played Gears of War together. Well, if playing consists of him hiding behind cover while I save him from barrages of gunfire.

The rest of my family probably thinks it's a bit obsessive and a waste of money, but I never ask them for any, so it's really none of their beeswax. I'm a adult and have been for a long time now.

My girlfriend tries to indulge me, even though she thinks that this hobby keeps us from spending time together more often. But even though I can't convert her to gaming, she has been gracious enough to try the 360 and the Wii, and she did kick my butt once in Ready 2 Rumble on Dreamcast by mashing the buttons furiously.

[Flack]

I don't know that I've ever sat and put this down in words before. Interesting.

Co-workers, well that's an easy one. I work as a senior network engineer with a bunch of other tech geeks, most of which have been playing around with computers and videogames for a long time now. Not much surprises them. The co-workers that have come by the house have all thought my games, computers and arcade games were pretty cool.

Likewise, most of my friends are into computers and videogames, so they also understand and appreciate my collection. What I think some of them can't relate to is the work (read: obsession) that goes along with the hobby. I have friends who think having a huge collection of Atari 2600 games is "cool," but those same people think going to garage sales, thrift stores and antique malls is "not cool."

My mom is a packrat like me so I don't know what she thinks of my collecting but I'm sure it doesn't surprise her. We both have garages we can't walk through.

My dad is a minimalist who doesn't put a lot of value into physical objects. I don't think he owns a single thing from his childhood (I own almost *everything* from my childhood). I guess I a weird combination of my parents; I got my love of technology from my dad and my packrat tendencies from my mom, so they each understand some of my habit but not all of it. My dad kids me frequently about my collection. I don't think he sees the point in buying more games when I have games that I haven't played yet, and he shakes his head when he sees the arcade.

My wife is pretty tolerant of it all. Both of us have healthy incomes with well-defined spending limits, so my collecting has never been a problem financially. What has become a problem over the years is space. Currently I have a downstairs office/computer room, an upstairs "movie room" (all consoles and games are up there), a three car garage filled to the brim with stuff, and an outside building filled with 27 arcade games. In addition to all of that I have a few gaming systems downstairs in the living room and a few computers positioned around the house. All things considered my wife is amazingly tolerant. Her big thing is that anything new I buy gets out of the living room / dining room pretty quickly. As long as I keep my crap out of her sight, things work out okay.

Mason (6) loves the collection. He's a gamer at heart. He loves the DS, Xbox and Wii, and occasionally he likes playing the older stuff. I just ordered an A/V modded Atari 2600 from InsaneDavid, so after I get that hooked up I hope to expose Mason to some older games as well. Mason likes the arcade, but I think my huge collection has spoiled him. I mean, when you have hundreds or thousands of games to choose from, an arcade game that only plays one game can seem kind of boring.

Morgan (2) has been eyeing "bubba's" DS as of late. I suspect she'll end up with one of the GBA's pretty quickly.

[Tony Lama]

My family varies from "somewhat indifferent" to "supporting". My parents don't actually condemn my collection but they do think the money could have been spent wiser. My brother and his wife are ok with video games. They bought their children a Wii this past Christmas and they all enjoy using it. They've even purchased virtual console games. They view my retro collection as cool but a bit obsessive.

My buddies have given me their old systems and games as they've moved on to modern consoles. Old Sega Master Systems and PS Ones have little value to them. No arguments here. I'll take them. But they do wonder why I don't seem to embrace the new technology as much as the general populace.

Most of my women friends don't get it at all. When I start talking games it's like I'm speaking a foreign language. Some of the casual stuff on the Wii has them interested though.

I have a group of friends at the gym that don't know video games have advanced past Pong. They're mostly older gym guys in their late 40's to mid 50's that don't have a clue about those "blinking lights and sounds" on the TV. One guy I know who is a former Mr. Illinois once burned me a DVD copy of his last competition and told me that if it didn't play on a normal DVD player that I could run it on my "Game-Station" or "whatever". I suppose he was referring to a PS2. 'Nuff said.

I work in retail and my co-workers are a very young bunch, mostly late teens to mid twenties (I'm the old man manager at 35!). They think it's cool that I have a bookshelf of NES and SNES games. But they're really into Xbox 360 and other modern consoles. And they don't really care about rarities, mint condition, completeness, or other factors that go into collecting. The newest copy of COD, Madden, Smackdown, or Halo is all that matters to them. Although there are a few guys who really dig my fondness for 2D fighters. One Japanese guy at work knows all the combos and fighting grooves for CAPCOM VS SNK2. Sah-weet!

[RetroYoungen]

This is an interesting topic, both in that I haven't thought much of it before and in reading everyone else's responses on the idea.

My parents are interesting, since they're the ones that got me playing in the first place, but now that I'm older they give me crap for it. For the longest time my dad was the one smiling and laughing when I brought up playing this or that game, but after I hit about sixteen or so and he started to see I was serious about playing, he really tried to steer me to programming. Which I have NO interest in. So now he just scoffs when I bring up anything gaming related.

My mom... she occasionally will sit down and play a round of Tetris or Dr. Mario, but for the most part she really couldn't care less. She doesn't like that I break out a new system from time to time and play it anywhere near her, especially if I try to include her in any way, shape or form of it. Lately I just try to keep her away from the game, even if I have the system hooked up to the TV near her. I just try to keep it quiet. Unless I'm trying to ask for help in getting a job as a game tester or something.

My friends have always been hit or miss. Some of them think it's really cool that I can bring out a game to play at all times - usually a game they've never heard of before - but just as many of them just roll their eyes if the concept of gaming is even brought up (let alone gaming from early on in our lives, or before said lives). Occasionally they'll ask me something, particularly if they've always wondered something about, say, the VCS, but then they'll just go quiet again. It's kind of a shame, really... some of the people I know would very likely really dig some of the games I should show them, but I know they'd never give it the time of day.

By the way, same thing goes for my playing poker. Except for the one exception being my dad, who HATES the concept of my playing ANY game for money. ^_^;;

[jb143]

I'm pretty low key when it comes to collecting so I don't get much greif. I sometimes slightly get the feeling that they think it's slightly childish but that turns arround when I buy a "piece of junk" system at a garage sale for a couple bucks and sell it for $50.

[Drakon]

My friends are mostly collectors too. The ones who don't collect just shrug it off as another hobby. My family at first thought I was retarded. But my one sister got majorly hooked on half the games I collected. I even got some of my cousins hooked. Other than that my family just ignores it.

[MeTmKnice]

My mom this its cool/semi-amusing I suppose, my sister likes it cuz she can play some of my games. My ex sorta appreciated it, but always gave me shit for buying the stuff. Most of my friends think its awesome. One of my good friends, who calls himself a "nintendee" (or whatever) appreciates it but doesnt understand why I have anything else other than nintendo products.

[Fuzzball24]

My parents support my gaming habit, so an extent. They will buy me games every once-in-a-while (along w/ holidays and stuff), but most of it I buy. My dad thinks it is "retarded". My mum tells me to "do what I love". I guess that's video games. XD

My friends at first didn't think I was going to through with it. They though I would quit after a few weeks, or a month. Then, I bought 3 systems in a month, and they knew I was quite serious. My friend collects comics, so it isn't that bad to him.

My girlfriend has no problem with it. She will never complain about it, or say that I don't spend enough time with her because of it. She has never bought me games, but I told her not to (don't like to receive them, to be honest, more of a giver). She likes to play games too, and even sports a Zelda shirt! Yeah, guess that's what I get for dating my best friend.LOL

[mr.soul]

Every time I come home with games:

"Neil, don't you have enough games?"
"No, mom."

Every time I come home with a new console:

"I thought you already had all of them!"

[98PaceCar]

For the most part, everybody in my life is pretty positive about my collecting. My parents are the ones that got me started way back when with a pong and 2600. They've never given me any grief about what I spend, but I've also been independant since I turned 18 and have managed to build a pretty good lifestyle for myself. Mom still plays a lot of 3do and NES games and even went as far as trying Guitar Hero 3 the last time they came for a visit. Dad is just overwhelmed at the amount of games I have.

My friends and co-workers all seem to enjoy my setup and I spend a lot of time hearing stories about whatever game they used to love. It's always cool to be able to pull the game off the shelf and let them play it again. I've had several people give me their old systems and games which is always a plus to.

Now my girlfriend is a different story. She not only tolerates my spending and collecting habits, but she encourages them. She's gone as far as buying me R10 2600 carts and accessories in addition to a ton of current gen stuff. She also encouraged me on several key purchases that were very high dollar. As long as I can make the bills and our lifestyle doesn't suffer, she's perfectly content with anything I bring home.