Cataloguing game collection (and other items) on spreadsheet (e.g. Excel)

[layzee]

2010 EDIT: No longer lazy. Excel collection list is complete. See excel excerpt below; suggest ways to improve it?

Does anyone else use Microsoft Excel (or any other spreadsheet program) to catalogue their game collection?

And what can you suggest to help improve (both in looks and setup of information) mine?

I've been pretty lazy recently and have not been entering newly bought games into my collection list. So I thought I'd check here before I do so, and see how other spreadsheet-using members here organise and keep track of their collection.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa166/unsung-hero/excel.jpg

The pic above is an example excerpt and shows the Japanese PC game segment of my collection. Am I missing any categories that should be included?

My categories:

System: What the item is used for.
If it's a PC game, then it's classified as PC.
If it's a music CD (or anything similar), then it's classified as AUDIO.
Sometimes items comes in different versions (e.g. a limited and a standard edition), the special ones (for example, some Japanese game music soundtracks, special editions of Metal Gear Solid) sometimes comes with a special hard case or something similar. To take that into account, they are classified as CASE and the items inside that case will be listed after. There should be a better way of listing these.

Serial: The item's unique identification number. For example, most games come with a serial number, most music CDs come with a catalogue number, most books come with an ISBN number. If it has no ID number, then I'll need to make one up for my own reference.

Name: The name of the item. I'm debating whether to properly capitalise/punctuate what is shown on the cover, or directly write down what's on the cover (so if the name of the game is in ALL UPPER CASE, then that's how it'll appear on the list). For example, "Wild Arms" or "Wild ARMs" or "WILD ARMS"?

Disc #: Self explanatory. If it's a multi-disc video game, then it'll be "1 of 2", "2 of 2" etc...

Edition: Self explanatory. E.g. standard, limited, special, premium, etc... I'm debating whether to write what edition a game is in the "Name" column as well.

Media: E.g. DVD, CD, Book, etc...

Condition: I only have two classifications: Preowned (I was not the first owner of the item) or new (I was the first owner of the game. Not necessarily sealed).

Notes: Any random things worth noting.

I'm thinking of adding extra "Case", "Manual", and "Disc" categories so that I know what I am missing, as well as listing the conditions of the aforementioned. However, everything I own is complete anyway so the former wouldn't be too useful, but listing the conditions might be useful so that I can replace cracked or worn out cases for example. Or if I get a double, I will replace the original disc that has scratches with the one in better condition.

I also list multi-disc games separately, so they look like this:

SPS2 SLPM 66675 Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix + Disc 1 of 2 Standard DVD New Includes: SLPM 66676; Included with SE-W 0004
SPS2 SLPM 66676 Kingdom Hearts: Re:Chain of Memories Disc 2 of 2 Standard DVD New Included with SLPM 66675

My reasons for doing so is that each disc has their own serial number, and in this case, it's actually two game DVDs in one, even though the latter is not mentioned on the front cover. Some games also come with bonus packaged music CDs or video DVDs or whatever.

Lastly, I would like to make limited edition stuff in the spreadsheet to have their own background colour so you can clearly notice them among the standard editions as well as see what stuff it includes. This will also help make redundant the "Includes/Included with..." notes in the "Notes" column. But due to the conditional formatting (which is what allows me to do the alternating colours) I am unable to do this.

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

i'd suggest using the data->list feature. it makes your spreadsheet act more like a database in that each row is a record, and your headers become filters. so for example, under system you'd hit the drop-down and select pc and it'd show you all of your pc games. or you could filter again and get just your limited-edition pc games. pretty powerful little tool.

[aaron7]

I tried that once. Took me a half hour to set it up and enter some in... I looked around at my collection... and said screw it haha

[SegaAges]

if you are looking to add categories, what about completeness?

This is the scale I have on my software:

Complete (all inserts, extra paperwork, etc)
Box+Instructions (self explanatory)
Box Only (self explanatory)
Instructions Only (self explanatory)
Loose (self explanatory)

Also for condition, it looks like it is new and preowned, maybe expand on that a little.
Instead of new, switch that to sealed. for preowned, you could have a scale for that as well. This is how I have my scale setup

Sealed
Minty (only thing that separates this from being sealed is the shrinkwrap on it, basically perfect condition, but opened)
Good (close to perfect, but not quite. Maybe the corners of the box are bent slightly or maybe there is a dent on the box, or maybe there is a sticker on the cd case. It is just how it sounds, good condition, but not perfect by far)
Average (it is just that. It is not mangled, but it is not exactly in super good shape either)
Bad (Uh, at least it plays in the system, having a box is just an upside to owning it)

[darkslime]

I just write what game I get in a note book each time I get one.

I list game, condition, CIB DIB DI CI C or D, how much I paid for it and where I got it.

[Bojay1997]

My Excel spreadsheet is a lot simpler. It goes title, system, condition and box number where it is stored. That's all I need, but it has saved me tons of money in avoiding duplicates on a collection that is over 16,000 items at this point.

[PapaStu]

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k252/PapaStu/Picture1.png

Thats the jist of what I do for my lists. I'm a tad more anal (in tracking part numbers and such) than others, but it really just depends on what kind of info you care to have at your fingertips. Just ask yourself, what matters to you.

If you're going to do it in excel, keep up with it. It's so easy to get behind and then forget to add things ect, especially when you've got alot of stuff that has been building up, it makes it hard to want to go back and add all those games.

[Haoie]

Check our rfgeneration.com if you want something similar, but on an online database.

[layzee]

I thought I'd bump this thread to see if anyone has any more views/ideas to add about using spreadsheets to catalogue one's own game (or anything else) collection. Feel free to take a screenshot of your own game collection spreadsheet to compare and contrast with others.

In particular, I would like to direct thread readers to my first post to comment on the pic of my excel excerpt. Does it look good or bad? What would you do to make it better?

To criticise my own list, one problem is that, because of the way I set up my list, a drop-down filter (e.g. Show PS2 games only, etc...) box will not be very effective. Another "criticism" is that 99.95% of my stuff originates from Japan so most online game collection databases are useless. Due to those reasons (and others), I have decided to commit to spreadsheets.

A few things to add to my main post:

1) Games that come with multiple discs are outlined with a black border.
2) Limited Edition games (which always come with extra stuff) are outlined with a black border and filled with a yellow background.
3) For me, there are three condition types:

a) Sealed: The game is sealed (with shrinkwrap), whether the sealed game comes from a retail store (brand new) or preowned.
b) New: The game was bought brand new from a retail store but is not sealed and was not sealed in the first place (most Japanese cart-based games e.g. Nintendo 64); or the game was sealed (brand new or preowned) but the game is no longer sealed because I personally unsealed it.
c) Preowned: The game is not sealed and not brand new.

4) And yes, special cases come with their own line.


i'd suggest using the data->list feature. it makes your spreadsheet act more like a database in that each row is a record, and your headers become filters. so for example, under system you'd hit the drop-down and select pc and it'd show you all of your pc games. or you could filter again and get just your limited-edition pc games. pretty powerful little tool.

It probably won't work very well for my particular list (see first post), but in any case, how do you do this? I used to know how to do it and it's supposed to be one of the most simplest things to do in Excel... but I forgot.


Check our rfgeneration.com if you want something similar, but on an online database.

Unfortunately it doesn't serve my particular purposes.

[Flack]

It probably won't work very well for my particular list (see first post), but in any case, how do you do this? I used to know how to do it and it's supposed to be one of the most simplest things to do in Excel... but I forgot.

If you have headers set up across the top, it's: Data > Filter > Autofilter

[portnoyd]

We do ours in Excel as well, but we keep it much simpler. We have a different sheet per system in the file and only do the following:

Game Name
Completeness
System (differentiates between import, homebrew, etc)
Notes (for LEs, numbered games, sealed, etc)

We only use 4 so it fits better on Excel Mobile.

[JSoup]

Unfortunately it doesn't serve my particular purposes.

Then try Backloggery. Really revolutionized how I keep track of my collection and makes/breaks incentives for buying new games.

[Ed Oscuro]

I said this elsewhere recently, but as I'm somebody who actually cares about every single piece of paper...there's a bit of guesswork involved in calling something actually complete. I like PapaStu's setup, I'll have to follow the part number route.

[PapaStu]

Personally I think how you've gone and split the games up is going to lead to more confusion as to how many games you've actually got. Do you really need individual lines for the box? Couldn't you list what games have soundtracks, special cases and multiple discs without bordering that game and highlighting it by just placing that info in comment lines for that specific game?

If you end up sorting it by type (ie PC) you're now cutting out the box/soundtracks that you deemed important enough to list in the first place.

[Ed Oscuro]

Devil's advocate - you could see quickly how much big stuff you have, if it proves easier to store some extra items, oversized boxes and so on in a separate place, but I'm not sure how you're going to "tie" the extras to the actual game entry so they show up when sorting by anything but number.

That said it doesn't make sense to lump soundtracks sold separately with the original game release, which is reflected in layzee's demo pic (check out the lump of soundtracks in the largest yellow grouping).

[layzee]

If you have headers set up across the top, it's: Data > Filter > Autofilter

Ah, that was easy.


Personally I think how you've gone and split the games up is going to lead to more confusion as to how many games you've actually got.

Yeah that's one problem about my Excel list: Since I've gone into much detail for each item, it's real difficult to actually count how many games or whatever I've got. I'm willing to sacrifice that ability for the detail though.


Do you really need individual lines for the box?

Probably not but some boxes have their own serial numbers and I like detail so...


Couldn't you list what games have soundtracks, special cases and multiple discs without bordering that game and highlighting it by just placing that info in comment lines for that specific game?

I could do that, but I personally think that all the extra stuff deserves their own line so that I can see exactly what is supposed to come with what. And if I did do that (placing more info on the comments lines), then that is a very long comment line that is hard to access, instead of being out in the open like it is now.


If you end up sorting it by type (ie PC) you're now cutting out the box/soundtracks that you deemed important enough to list in the first place.

Another ability (filters) I have to sacrifice for the detail.


Devil's advocate - you could see quickly how much big stuff you have, if it proves easier to store some extra items, oversized boxes and so on in a separate place, but I'm not sure how you're going to "tie" the extras to the actual game entry so they show up when sorting by anything but number.

If there was a way to "tie" or permanently link the extras to the actual game (so the multiple lines are counted as one), then that would be useful.


That said it doesn't make sense to lump soundtracks sold separately with the original game release, which is reflected in layzee's demo pic (check out the lump of soundtracks in the largest yellow grouping).

Actually, the stuff in the largest yellow grouping (e.g. Limited Edition) all came together, not separately. Anything within the bold black borders came together in the first place. If they were separate, then I wouldn't put them in the same borders as other stuff. Here's a few more examples of why I like detail, giving each and every single item their own Excel line instead of having listing everything on one line with the extras being written in the notes/comments field (copied/pasted from Excel because I can't be bothered screenshotting):

System Serial Media Disc # Name Edition Condition Notes

CASE SE-W-0004 Case Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix + Limited Edition Preowned Transparent slipcover case holds SLPM 66675~6
SPS2 SLPM-66675 DVD 1 of 2 Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix + Standard Sealed
SPS2 SLPM-66676 DVD 2 of 2 Kingdom Hearts: Re:Chain of Memories Standard Sealed
GUIDE Book Kingdom Hearts - Another Report Limited Edition Preowned


CASE SLPM-66070 Case Shadow Hearts: From The New World (Premium Box) Premium Box Preowned
SPS2 SLPM-66070 DVD Shadow Hearts: From The New World Premium Box Preowned
VIDEO DVD Tokuten Eizou DVD Premium Box Sealed
AUDIO CD Shadow Hearts Special Sound CD Premium Box Sealed
MISC Misc "Johnny" Tokusei T-Shirt (Free Size) Premium Box Sealed
MISC Misc "Shania" Earring Kata Key Holder Light Premium Box Sealed
MISC Misc "Valentina" 3 Kyoudai 3 Ren Strap Premium Box Sealed
BOOK Book Tokusei B5 Notebook Premium Box Sealed

[Flippy8490]

Another cool program for this type of cataloging is Delicious Library 2. Unfortunately, it's only for Mac's, but if you have one, this program is awesome. It is a visual bookshelf program which you can use to keep track of all of the media stuff you own (books, media, video games). You can scan the UPC on items through your webcam (or an actual bluetooth scanner, if you have one) and it looks them up and libraries it for you. You can enter manually, too, if the item doesn't exist on the database. Which is pretty rare, since it goes through Amazon I think. You can make separate libraried categories as well, which is fun to play with.

It also has a "loan" feature. If you want to loan something to a friend, you can put a note on it that it was loaned and it will remind you so you don't forget.

Try it out if you have a Mac, I highly recommend it.

http://delicious-monster.com/

[mezrabad]

Another cool program for this type of cataloging is Delicious Library 2. Unfortunately, it's only for Mac's, but if you have one, this program is awesome. It is a visual bookshelf program which you can use to keep track of all of the media stuff you own (books, media, video games). You can scan the UPC on items through your webcam (or an actual bluetooth scanner, if you have one) and it looks them up and libraries it for you. You can enter manually, too, if the item doesn't exist on the database. Which is pretty rare, since it goes through Amazon I think. You can make separate libraried categories as well, which is fun to play with.

It also has a "loan" feature. If you want to loan something to a friend, you can put a note on it that it was loaned and it will remind you so you don't forget.

Try it out if you have a Mac, I highly recommend it.

http://delicious-monster.com/

Thank you for the recommendation. I have tried out the demo, purchased it and love it.

Funny thing about it. If you scan in a Star Wars Game, the program "reads it" out loud like it does for everything else, but after a 8 or 9 second pause, it says "I..am..your..father..." lol

[jonebone]

I don't care about codes or anything like that, and I also think "Price Paid" is a bad column heading to have since a thrifty collector often buys games in lots, or even trades for them.

I have separate tabs / worksheets for each system. I also have "Box (or Case on PS1)", "Manual", "Cart (or Disc)" and "Sealed" columns. I do numerical grading in each one of those fields. If I get a CIB, maybe I give it grades of 7.5 / 8.5 / 10 so I know that the box and manual could be upgraded at some point down the road. If it is sealed, I write "Sealed" in each of the Box / Man / Cart columns, then put a numerical grade in the Sealed column.

This way I can count total games anytime, count Sealed games, count games that are 9 or better, etc. Very easy to do so.

One column that I have which most people neglect is a "Date Acquired" column so I can see exactly how I put my collection together over time. Unfortunately it is huge pain in the ass to go back and do this if you haven't tracked it already, though if you track what you buy then it is doable. Add about a week to the purchase date of anything you bought.

[fergojisan]

I did this because we had a Pocket PC, but I found that to be a pain in the butt to carry around and access. So I went back to my original plan, a pocket-sized looseleaf binder. I badly need to update it, but I think it will work better for me.

[JSoup]

I notice I didn't bring this up the last time I posted, but I remember seeing a site a few years ago that a collector set up to show the world how he kept track of things.

The guy had written lists that showed the price paid, the date bought, the day beaten, system, genera, which number the game was in genera (IE: 2nd RPG ever bought, 1st RPG ever beaten) and a few other things I can't remember.