How do YOU Collect?

[TheRealist50]

How does everyone on this board collect games and why do you collect the way you do?

do you go by system? rarest? odd/weird games? imports?

before today I have been all over the place, just get whatever I can. But today I have made up my mind that before I go anywhere else I am going to get every single Dreamcast game released in North America...plus a few PAL games (Shenmue 2 mainly)

that would come out to exactly 250 games (249 NA games plus Shenmue 2)

I don't think it should be too difficult, just time consuming.

[TonyTheTiger]

I don't have much of a "collector's mind" if you'd call it that so I don't necessarily collect games for the sake of having them. I just have enough interest in the hobby that I buy them on the hope (usually mistaken) that I'll have time to play everything I want to.

It's only been over the last year that I've started to notice things and taken at least a little interest in having games as display pieces in the same way I have a few signed baseballs. But, in the long run, I know I can't be much of a collector. I just don't have the mindset for it.

[incubus421]

Good luck on your hunt for Dreamcast goodness.

When I first started collecting about 3 years ago I was just looking for all the older games I used to play as a kid that i no longer had in my possession. After getting most, if not all of those back I not mainly look for good older/newer RPGs.
The system makes no difference to me, sega, nintendo, sony, etc. I look for all platforms. I also look for rare/valueable games in general as whatever I don't keep for myself will be resold.

[ryborg]

I've been going to thrift stores consistently since 1994, which is where I've got a HUGE portion of my collection. I also scrounge ebay for terribly listed auctions to fill in whatever holes I need.

I have a strict policy of only spending far less than the standard price for any game or system, except for must-have current-gen titles. It makes collecting more interesting.

[modest9797]

I get whatever I can at a good price. I mainly buy xbox and 360 games but I am going to flea markets often trying to find classic games too.

[Hwj_Chim]

I just get what I will play. Other wise I feel like I just wasted money and shelf space

[Trebuken]

I collect for the system i can get the most games for cheapest. When I targeted NES games, for example, I bought every game I could find for $5 or less (while scanning for steals on rarer and popular games). Once I exhausted that I moved onto another system, say Dreamcast. The Dreamcast required a $10 or less rule; I got them and then moved on.

This gave me a base. Using checklists and searching online I became familiar with all the games for the systems, knowing which were of value, then in my shopping I know when I am getting a deal on anything.

I collect for relative completeness; I don't obsess over boxes and manuals (except for current systems), because it is too expensive. Some of the collections which are complete with boxes and manuals are very impressive though...

I hate collecting sealed games. I have many, but I hate them because I can't open them even if I want to...

[SpyHunter]

I collect what I want to play. If I like it, I keep it. If I don't, then it goes.

[NES_Rules]

I buy whatever I can that's cheap. Although I focus on Nintendo, Sega and Atari stuff and stay away completely from computer games.
I keep my DP Lite Lists with me on my hunts and use the rarity as more of "how many more times will I see this game again" and not a "this game is a R9 therefore it must be valuable".

I try not to look for certain things because that is a surefire way to never find it.

[Coldguy]

I like to sneak into children's homes, break into their parents attic, take everything worth while there, and leave copies of ET and Pacman for the 2600 in my wake. So far it is a good way to get some nice games. It is a hell of a lot easier then going to http://retromap.net and driving to various stores in the area and buying from retro game stores.

[TheRealist50]

I collect for the system i can get the most games for cheapest. When I targeted NES games, for example, I bought every game I could find for $5 or less (while scanning for steals on rarer and popular games). Once I exhausted that I moved onto another system, say Dreamcast. The Dreamcast required a $10 or less rule; I got them and then moved on.

This gave me a base. Using checklists and searching online I became familiar with all the games for the systems, knowing which were of value, then in my shopping I know when I am getting a deal on anything.

I collect for relative completeness; I don't obsess over boxes and manuals (except for current systems), because it is too expensive. Some of the collections which are complete with boxes and manuals are very impressive though...

I hate collecting sealed games. I have many, but I hate them because I can't open them even if I want to...

I agree, I'm not a big fan of sealed games...I mean if thats what people like thats awesome. I just like playing the games and showcasing them. I have 1 sealed game and I only bought it because it was cheap (6 bucks for a sealed intellivision game)

the way I'm going about my dreamcast collection is, First i buy the games I KNOW I will play and are worth it...then over time I will pick up the cheap games for as low as possible. thats why It will be very time consuming.

[darkhades]

I collect games for many systems, but mainly for Nintendo and Sega. I do have lots of PS1 and PS2 games but mostly they are RPG as I am working on a complete PS1 and PS2 RPG collection. I only collect games that are complete, meaning they must have the original box, manuals and other paperwork that was originally included. Also I do not just collect any game, it must be a game I personally enjoy or maybe a game that defines the system.

[otaku]

I've always gone by what I want to play on the system for the most part. Right now I'm getting started with old sega stuff (Having built up nice dreamcast and saturn collections) I have a genesis/cd soon probably a 32x and of course quite a few games but so far they are all games I've wanted and most of them are complete with a few loose exceptions.

I will admit to buying lots though with games in them that I don't want or buying games mostly for rarity (its fun to brag you have rare stuff or tons of stuff hehe)

[Blanka789]

I mainly collect Genesis, Sega CD, and 32X games, plus quite a bit of PS1 and Super Nintendo. I don't go for rare games or complete collections necessarily, just want to get games I like. If I don't like it, it usually winds up on ebay.

[Steve W]

I tend to collect only the stuff that interests me. When I'm thrift store shopping, that usually means 'golden age' games and systems... Atari 2600, Colecovision, Intellivision, etc. I don't bother with Nintendo games for any of their systems (unless it's Virtual Boy, which I'll pick up just out of pity), and rarely buy Genesis stuff anymore. I do tend to pick up a whole lot of Xbox games now that the machine's dead and the games are seriously cheap.

I have been collecting old handhelds for a little while too. That includes those Coleco tabletop arcade games. I've probably got around 20 assorted handhelds now, like Mattel's Football and Entex's PacMan2.

[Haoie]

Well, whenever I see something I want, and is preferably reasonably priced, I try to get it.

Simple as that really. I collect for PS1, by the way. Not too old or obscure.

[Press_Start]

I'm an avid collector for games from many systems especially obscure ones and constructing a list for which desired from each system is a requirement. First off, playtest on emulators (for NES to pre-N64/Saturn/PS1) or watch clips on Youtube (everything else after) helps sift the wanted games from the rest.

Working on a graduate student's wage, my wallet can get pretty tight at times. Usually I wait for Gamestop to have a sale or spot a good find on Craigslist or the forums within my price range before dishing out the cash. At times, I do pay full prices to show support for great low-profile games that deserve a sequel.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I started without much focus. I was buying everything I came across that I could afford that seemed reasonable or cheaper. Since then I have adopted some rules and a purchase decision process. I decided to only pick up the games I know I want and at the price I want. Played nearly every game I could through emulation and other means to be sure I wouldn't miss anything and made my lists. Once I am done with my want lists for domestic classics I'll move on to picking up the cheaper imports then on to the expensive domestics and imports or simply wait for them to come along through other means rather than tracking them all down through the internet. That, as we all know, is both time consuming and expensive. I don't have to own everything and what I do get can be loose disks or carts and it doesn't bother me much. Sure, complete stuff is nice and all. It's just not important. A bad pun could be made here... I like my games as I like my women... loose and cheap. :p Sorry, couldn't help it.

I cut everything pre-NES but, I have a Flashback 2 for some Atari fun. As far as current systems I have limited myself to DS, Wii and the infrequent PSP software purchase. This helps quite a bit and besides, one day, PS3 and 360 stuff will be old news and cheap as hell one day. :) I stay away from betas, protos and such but, it's really not a problem as I have never encountered any.

Occasionally I buy a sealed/rare/valuable/high-demand game for the sole purpose to trade or resell to get the games I want. We all do this though. :) Keep plucking away folks and may your personal grails come dirt cheap and in pristine condition. :D

[megasdkirby]

I buy mainly for myself. Games I want.

I will admit that if a game is really cheap, I will pick it up. Also, if I see an ultra rare game that is affordable, I will pick it up as well.

My problem stems that there are many games I like! Just past May, I went on an Xbox spree and picked up around 100 Xbox games (CIB) in less than 30 days!

I need VGA (Video Game Anonymous)

[SegaAges]

The only reason why I even have sealed games is because

a.) duplicate of a game I already have and play(ed)
b.) I haven't opened it to play it yet

When I collect, I try to dedicate myself to one system at a time. It seriously becomes very overwhelming to try and collect for multiple systems at once.

That is how I got my complete NTSC N-Gage collection. I had to dedicate myself to just N-Gage, and for 55 games, it is not the easiest thing to do.

I started collecting just because I didn't want to get ripped off when I took games in to game shops, so I just kept everything. I got tricked way back in teh day when I was into comics before I was into games. I can't explain it, but I would buy comics and never read them. I never called myself a collector. In fact, with games, up until Joe was on G4 3 or 4 years back, I never called myself a collector. Before I knew it, I was up to 200 or 300 games, and I got a good job and just continued to keep games, and I ended up collecting.

I know it sounds cheesy, but I got heavy into collecting because of Joe. I saw him on G4 and realized that I wasn't strange for having too many games, but in fact, I was just like many others, and that there was an entire community of people, and DP be thy name.

Back on topic. Yeah, I try to keep it to one system at a time. That normally doesn;t happen and I am going for 2 or 3 systems at a time, but I try to avoid just going all out and getting for every system that I own (that is alot). That is also why I am just now getting to about 1000. A feat in and of itself though, but it is because I have slowed down collecting since I started narrowing it down by a system at a time.

[16bitter]

I collect what I want to play. If I like it, I keep it. If I don't, then it goes.

That sums up my philosophy exactly.

[megasdkirby]

I try to find particular games, but I don't just wait till I get find those to get new stuff.

I simply look around, and if I find something I like, I get it. If one the items I want is listed, then cool!

[ncman071]

my collecting was kind of random at first. i started back in 2000 when i went to Funcoland for the first time and saw tons of snes games that i hadn't seen since i was 14. so i started going there almost weekly and buying all of the snes games that i wanted as a child for cheap. as a result i now own around 120 snes titles but i collected about 90 of those titles in about a 3 month period just going to Funcoland and blowing my measly YMCA check.

Now i collect for around 15 systems. Most of the classic systems i own now are from the early to mid 90's including the sega cdx/atari jaguar/saturn/3DO

i usually only buy the games i'm actually gonna play for the xbox 360 and the nintendo wii.

currently i'm looking to finish up my fighting game collection for the dreamcast.

anyway, i guess my collecting is still kind of random, but i refuse to pay full price for new games and the most i've ever spent on a classic game was around $40 and i will never do that again.

i generally have like a $20 rule in my head with most games for all systems. thats pretty much my limit and i try to go much cheaper.