Enjoying collecting even MORE now...

[zektor]

I have been collecting games for many years....over two decades. I did a search regarding this topic, but did not feel like reviving a thread from 2003 :)

What it boils down to is the collecting of loose games. For years I killed myself looking (and PAYING) for complete/mint games. More times than anything I would be forced to sell off what I had acquired only months later because I simply couldn't afford the expense. Games I could have gotten easily were running me an arm and a leg (and then some) to get complete.

I stopped collecting for awhile and went back to my hacker roots. Had some fun there, but wanted to get back in the swing of collecting. But before I did, I had to remind myself why I had so much fun with games when I was a kid. Because I PLAYED them. I didn't care about complete..heck..I didn't even care about the manual (although I would read them now and again for fun). So I figured, why not now?

I sucked it in and purchased some game lots that were NOT complete....just carts. And for very cheap too....nothing that would nearly break the bank. I did this a few more times over the past few months and now I have a great gaming collection of some various systems I really enjoyed when I was a kid. I come home from work, pop in a classic, and zap back 20 years. It's great.

It's just so funny that not too long ago I would cringe at the idea of buying used loose games, and now for the reasons stated above I am just fine with it. Is my collecting mind changing? Getting smarter...or maybe just getting older? Maybe I am just going braindead :) Either way, I am really enjoying my collecting much more now that I have freed myself of the whole "I need complete" thing...

[swlovinist]

While I collect complete sets of things, there are many things that I dont care about collecting just carts. I am mostly this way with atari items, and it just feels good to get those heavily played carts that still just boot up great. After all, when it comes down to it, they play just the same as a cart that is in better shape or complete. Heck I even keep the original goodwill price tags on some of them :)

[Kevincal]

Ya, it's easy to become obsessed with collecting everything CIB. But then, you forget to actually play and have fun with your games and you end up with nice looking shelves of complete games... I sold off all my games I didn't care about and even sold the boxes and manuals of games I decided to keep. It feels a lot better now to look at my collection and know that every game gets played now. I'm gaming and having a lot more fun now than the past few years where I focused mostly on collecting...

[SpaceHarrier]

I used to be obsessed with "factory sealed". Then I stepped it down to CIB. Now I'll take a loose cartridge if it's in good condition. I still stick with CIB if it is a CD based game though, such as Playstation. Something about a loose CD or disc just strikes me as wrong. Just me being idiosyncratic, I guess.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[Steven]

Zektor! Good you to see your collecting side is "at peace" with itself. I remember you and me both buying SNES games at a torrid clip in 2006, but then you just burned out and sold all (or most?) of it away... which came as a huge shocker to me, I recall.

With collecting I find it's just best to find your comfort zone. In 2006 I was trying to amass games for NES, Genesis and SNES simultaneously -- it was my official childhood "comeback." It was a bit too much and eventually, I decided my heart was no longer into the NES and Genesis like I was hoping. Sold it off. Some gamers might slam me for that, but clearing that clutter and making some of my $$ back was a great feeling. Two years later, I have no regrets nor do I miss the Genesis or NES. It was just a personal choice. I didn't care about being able to say "I have 20 systems and 3,000 games!"

So, everyone must find what works for them. I'm glad you found yours, Z.

[Superman]

I agree with SpaceHarrier and DefaultGen; loose disks don't work for me. I love to play my games, but I also like to display them (or at least be able to see what I have). You can't read the side of a CD, so it really should have a case.

I do like the solidness of Sega Master System and Genesis games, but if I find a cart only game I have been looking for or one that looks interesting, I won't turn it down on the box issue alone.

[HYB]

I feel extremely bad when I buy a loose copy of a game. I have some sort of an obsession with getting everything cib. Hell, even the missing insert for my pokemon snap (otherwise complete) bothers the hell out of me.

I think there's something wrong with me ):. I do buy games for playing only (except for CV) though. I'm not going to have a jumbo collection so paying for a good game is alright for me. I just bought a minty mint Kirby's adventure for 40 eur and I'm pissed off at myself though, argh. It's hard being a cheapskate yet a big spender.

[The 1 2 P]

I still stick with CIB if it is a CD based game though, such as Playstation. Something about a loose CD or disc just strikes me as wrong.

Agreed, but for me this is mainly due to other people's careless misuse of their games. If you look at my most heavily played games they still look new. But most people just throw their games and manuals around with reckless abandon....and it shows. For this reason I very rarely buy used game, except for two conditions. If it's a rare game that will cost me alot than I'll just pick it up used to have in my collection because I can always replace it with a new copy later. And second, I can find used Nes, Genesis, Snes, Gameboy and other cart games everywhere, from flea markets to game stores. But unfortunately 95% of the time they are loose. So now I just buy them that way. However, I try my best to atleast buy the manual later so that it can be semi-complete.

[monkeychemist]

I have been collecting games for many years....over two decades. I did a search regarding this topic, but did not feel like reviving a thread from 2003 :)

Sorry to go OT but why are we so scared on this board about this particular issue. It's like the worst crime at DP is not finding an old ass thread to revive...

[Nitrosport]

I'm perfectly happy buying loose games for my collection. My only concern is that they have good front and rear labels. The only games I like complete are disk games and Genesis games when possible. On the other hand, I love having the original boxes for my consoles. I like to look at them and feel like I'm going back in time.

[NES_Rules]

I've always been happy with loose carts, but since my entire collection has come from the wild, an entirely CIB collection is pretty much impossible.

I try to stay away from loose Genesis and Master System games, but I'll still buy them occasionally. And disc games must at least be boxed. But other than that, bring on the loose games!

[izarate]

For some older consoles, I'm fine with loose games and even loose discs, since you can get cover art in many sites on the net.

For others, such as the SNES and N64, I try to get as many CIB games as possible. The only way I would take a loose game is if I can find the box and manual on eBay or it's a rare game that I won't find otherwise.

For the newer consoles, like PS2, GCN, Xbox and such, I strictly buy complete games.

[ShinobiMan]

I have been collecting games for many years....over two decades. I did a search regarding this topic, but did not feel like reviving a thread from 2003 :)

What it boils down to is the collecting of loose games. For years I killed myself looking (and PAYING) for complete/mint games. More times than anything I would be forced to sell off what I had acquired only months later because I simply couldn't afford the expense. Games I could have gotten easily were running me an arm and a leg (and then some) to get complete.

I stopped collecting for awhile and went back to my hacker roots. Had some fun there, but wanted to get back in the swing of collecting. But before I did, I had to remind myself why I had so much fun with games when I was a kid. Because I PLAYED them. I didn't care about complete..heck..I didn't even care about the manual (although I would read them now and again for fun). So I figured, why not now?

I sucked it in and purchased some game lots that were NOT complete....just carts. And for very cheap too....nothing that would nearly break the bank. I did this a few more times over the past few months and now I have a great gaming collection of some various systems I really enjoyed when I was a kid. I come home from work, pop in a classic, and zap back 20 years. It's great.

It's just so funny that not too long ago I would cringe at the idea of buying used loose games, and now for the reasons stated above I am just fine with it. Is my collecting mind changing? Getting smarter...or maybe just getting older? Maybe I am just going braindead :) Either way, I am really enjoying my collecting much more now that I have freed myself of the whole "I need complete" thing...

The same has happened to me in recent years (although I still have the complete OUTRUN 3D you sold me!). I really don't have the time or money to devote to collecting like I used to, so casual cart collecting (mainly NES games) has become lots of fun. I'll find a lot of games even in the wild from time to time and I pick and choose only the quality titles. This may include some games I never owned but always knew about.

Collecting and the love of video games is something that will never really go away. Even when lifes hardships get in the way, they always find a way back to you.

[SegaAges]

As it is said, it is all about your comfort zone.

Me, personally, I think it is wrong to have sealed games unless its a duplicate or it is out in the open waiting to be played.

I got Titan AE Demo for ps1 and it is still sealed just because I can't find my ps1 right now (I could use a ps2, but I love playing games on their own system, personal preference).

I found my comfort zone was to just get them as they come. Every once in awhile if I come close to a milestone, I will push for it (like right now I am at 999 games and hitting 1000 today), so when I hit the 990's, I got motivated to hit the milestone, but other than that, I like doing mini collections. They are so fun to do.

Like I wanted to do a xbox360 Sega collection, but some of the games are still new, so I am waiting for prices to drop to continue that, so I am going to start on a From Software collection. Why not? I am doing it just to do it.

I have done it with a bunch of stuff.

Basically get what you want. Honestly, I buy only 5-10 games a month max right now, but I am enjoying the 5-10 a month much more than when I was at 25+ a month.

[zektor]

@Steven:

Yeah, I did end up selling all of my SNES stuff....although it was very difficult (not for me, nobody wanted it) to sell Dino City :) I can't remember what count I was on, but I did get complete DKC and Starfox Comp carts before I crumbled. Let's just say I bit off more than I could chew at that time :)

@ShinobiMan:

Wow, still have that Outrun 3-D eh? I went through a couple complete Outrun 3-D's before I found that museum quality copy :)

@All:

I do agree that discs are NOT something I would ever collect loose however. I am of course speaking specifically of carts (and cards, wafers, etc!) When I talk collecting loose.

[jdc]

When I collected for the N64, I would go so far as to only settle for ultra-completes...with the blow-ins for Nintendo Power subcrips and the cart baggie, and manuals that appeared to not have been handled too much. I'm kinda glad that that's behind me.

I'm still picky about my PS3 stuff and semi-picky about my PSX collection. However, I now have what I call "beater" systems. I'll settle for scuffed outer cases, wrinkled manuals and some scuffs and scratches on the discs of my Cube, DC and Xbox stuff IF I have no other immediate choice. I'll pick the best of the worst. This has made hunting in the wild quite a bit less frustrating. I will buy loose carts for my vintage systems only because it's hard to find completes in the wild...although I DID find a sealed copy of Ultima for the NES!

[Trebuken]

It has become alot more difficult in the last few years to collect the older systems complete in box, almost impossible in some cases, Game Gear for example. It's also cost prohibitive. If your focused on one collection you might be OK but collecting for multiple systems reuires a substantial disposable income...

Now cart only works because you can upgrade later. You can usually resell your cart for what you paid on ebay if you were careful not to spend too much originally. So picking up that complete copy when you come across it does not hurt you. you also start to appreciate those opportunities when you do come upon a complete game, and realize they are more valuable than you prsviously imagined. I almost get excite when I see SNES sports games CIB because I see so few SNES boxes these days.

Carts take up alot less space as well...

[Funk Buddy]

More times than anything I would be forced to sell off what I had acquired only months later because I simply couldn't afford the expense. Games I could have gotten easily were running me an arm and a leg (and then some) to get complete.


Yep, you used to sell more stuff than anyone else I know. I still have everything I've bought from you BTW.

[fpbrush]

I've been thinking about this recently too--and I agree with Steven and SegaAges about the comfort zone thing. Everyone will be different. But, it's actually been a bit of a chore for me figuring out what that comfort zone is exactly for myself.

What i've come to realize so far, is that my "comfort zone" regarding complete or loose games is strongly related to how I remember the games on the system.

Loose SNES games bother me the least, because that's just how they always were at my friend's house's (I owned a Genesis). I actually think CIB SNES games are kind of weird. I will probably never own one--unless there is one that I really want the manual and goodies for (a game like Chrono Trigger comes to mind...)

Some NES games I really want in-box, like the one's I owned as a kid, because I distinctly remember keeping those boxes in a safe place, instead of throwing them away (Metroid and Blades of Steel come to mind), but other NES games I don't really care about...but I kind of want manuals for them, because that's how they were when I rented them. No official box, but usually a manual and cart in the a clamshell--and I used those manuals too!

The N64 and Genesis have been difficult ones for me. I can't really decide how I want to collect them. Because when I owned them both, I kept everything CIB--so my natural inclination is to do the same when "collecting" or re-collecting for those systems. I've sold my previous, small N64 cart-only collection because it just kind of bothered me in a weird way. But to confuse things further I've also sold my small Genesis CIB collection because it also bothered me. But, both were not in good condition (markings on boxes, or stickered up carts), so maybe that was the source of my annoyance.

I have been pretty rigid about CIB MINT with my PS1, PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube collections. Though with some recent purchases from Gamestop I made in order to increase my last-gen collections, I've had to make some sacrifices--as it is kind of inavoidable. Though I do search high and low for the best copy my local Gamestops have.

My GBC and GBA collections are almost strictly CIB MINT, as they are the only systems i've ever bought on release day--thus, the beginnings of my collections started out with alot of brand new games, so I try to keep that going. I didn't have an original GB as a kid, so I just buy them how I remember em, loose. Though I do have one complete game--but it's not a requirement for me.

And this brings me to my strangest (and favorite) collection--the DC. It's a complete mish-mash. Some are completely mint. Some are disc-only. And some are in-between. But the strange thing is...none of this really bothers me at all. I bought the DC near the end of it's life--but brand new, so that's CIB. But the games have been obtained through various means--from the heyday of used mint DC game buying at EB, to random eBay and craigslist lots, to those lesser days of buying clearanced disc-only DC games at Gamestop. It's all pretty much there--yet it's the collection that bothers me the LEAST if you can imagine that.

So basically...my comfort zone is weird. Really weird. I haven't completely found it yet either, but I'm on my way.

Sorry for the rant :/

[shawnbo42]

If I can get the box/manual with it, great. If not, I'll more than likely pick it up anyhow. I am just very particular about my labels, though. They have to be "collection-worthy". Maybe it sounds retarded, but that's just me. I know the game plays the same either way, but I can't seem to get over putting a "faceless" cart (3/4 ripped off label, magic markered, etc) next to a near mint NES game (or Genesis, etc). Disc games I flat out refuse to buy loose. Hell, even if you GIVE it to me, I still might not take it. And, as far as discs go, if it's 8.5 or better on my personal 1-10 rating system, I would PROBABLY buy it, not even garunteed. Yes, I know it's totally off the edge for some, but it does look nice in the end, and if I ever sell anything, I know it's the best I could find, for the most part. (Everybody ends up with the "junk" sooner or later, I just tend to not display it)

[TheRealist50]

I'm not a total nut when it comes to complete stuff...If i find one...sweet ill get it. But I don't go looking for them. But there are exceptions to all rules...I do however HAVE to have a complete sega genesis game, probably since I'm a sega guy. Lucky for me its not that hard or expensive to get.

You can always pick up a box and/or manual off ebay later.

[GreatBazunka]

I have been collecting games for many years....over two decades. I did a search regarding this topic, but did not feel like reviving a thread from 2003 :)

What it boils down to is the collecting of loose games...

I totaly agree with everything you said. I myself was thinking of collecting boxes, not even sealed, for everything. But i dont want that stuff. Some people want the complete set with all of the literature, but i want the games. Because i also play them not just look at them and having only the carts helps save space. Plus i think the carts look cooler then the boxes because the carts are what really unique.