Playing ultra-rare games

[smork]

I have a bit of a dilemma.

I just completed my 64DD collection. most of the games aren't too hard to find, but Kyojin no Doshin 2 and Japan Pro Golf Tour 64 sure as hell are (they say Japan Pro Golf Tour 64 has something around 200 copies in existence. Mine was actually new, but I popped it open anyway).

The problem is the system isn't emulated, and those games are really interesting! I've played a bit on Japan Pro Golf Tour 64 and REALLY liked it, but it's so damn rare that I feel like I am risking a big screwup by playing it, especially since it's a magnetic media game.

Those of you with really rare titles, do you ever take them for a spin? How much do you worry about damaging those hard to find games?

[SegaAges]

Not insanely rare, but I do have some htf games (mainly vb games). I also have titan ae demo of ps1.

My opinion is play the game. That is what it is made for.

Seeing as you are a collector, you already know that you will be gently with it. Play it and enjoy it

[MrSparkle]

yea the biggest thing is to learn how to handle the media. Carts are pretty tough, incredibly rare optical media is something that i usually try to find a way to backup so i can just use the backup from that point on. as stated as long as you handle the media properly you should be able to play it without risking damage. whats the fun in having a game thats incredibly rare if your too scared to even give it a run you know. its like owning an incredibly rare car, your not going to drive it to work every day but your not doing the car justice by keeping it sitting in a garage forever.

[TheRealist50]

just be careful with it. doesn't matter how rare a game is it wouldn't stop me from playing it. besides You probably wont play it again after a few times so its not like your going to be playing the hell out of it.

[otaku]

this makes me think of car collectors who own duesenbergs and other assorted wonderful cars but never or rarely drive them. Hell even new exotic cars are rarely driven. Boggles the mind. I'd play them!

[coreys429]

this makes me think of car collectors who own duesenbergs and other assorted wonderful cars but never or rarely drive them. Hell even new exotic cars are rarely driven. Boggles the mind. I'd play them!

Though I think of Jay Leno's collection he drives his cars, motorcycles, and customs.

[Yukio]

About classic magnetic media on the classic systems. It is recommended to use the full game at least one time per year, otherwise the magnetic media could vanish ... This is specially true to the old floppy games! After five years there is the need to play all the games, ten years after is alarming!!!

This is a fact, even if someone do not need to save on the disks. Disks that have save games or high scores includes Puyo-Puyo , Snatcher and others ...

[Mayhem]

I had a similar dilemma Smork regarding playing both of those games, but I busted them open to play and test anyhows. Just to make sure they actually boot! There are about 2000-3000 copies of both I believe out there, they were only sent via mail to remaining Randnet subscribers rather than be available at retail which explains part of their rarity.

[Bojay1997]

About classic magnetic media on the classic systems. It is recommended to use the full game at least one time per year, otherwise the magnetic media could vanish ... This is specially true to the old floppy games! After five years there is the need to play all the games, ten years after is alarming!!!

This is a fact, even if someone do not need to save on the disks. Disks that have save games or high scores includes Puyo-Puyo , Snatcher and others ...

I would assume you're joking because whether or not you play a game has nothing to do with whether or not the magnetic media will still work. In fact, handling and placing a magnetic disc into a drive is more likely to do damage than not to do damage if the disc hasn't been used in many years and the protective cloth disc interior becomes dry and brittle. Most magnetic media collectors back up a game immediately upon getting it and keep that as their play copy while the original is safely stored in a dark, cool enviroment. In the case of CD-based game systems, I would agree that they should be used on a regular basis to avoid lubricant build-up which could cause the mechanism to stop working, but otherwise your claims are bogus.

[MrSparkle]

a friend of mine collects old dos games. he keeps them stored in giant cleaned out spackle buckets with custom little shelves so the weight doesn't bear down and crush the games on the bottom every 5 games or so there is a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture the lids are kept closed at all times and the buckets themselves stored in a closet. Anytime I've seen him pull a game from one of those buckets it has worked fine with no problems. He does of course back the disks up upon getting them. uses a floppy imager to just create image files so he doesn't have to deal with backing up onto the same relatively unreliable media.

[DigitalSpace]

It isn't an ultra-rare game, but I've probably treated my copy of Zero The Kamikaze Squirrel (SNES) better than it was treated when it was a rental.

[Famidrive-16]

I played the hell out of my copy of Sonic Adventure:Limited Edition. I've taken good care of it otherwise, aside from the scratches (although it had those when I bought it)

[scooterb23]

Play the games. That's why they were made. I'd rather have a game die on me by some act of God while I'm enjoying it, than letting it wither away on a shelf just because you may be too concerned over "value"

[Aussie2B]

Eh, I don't really worry about it. I'm sure I'm a bit extra careful, but I have no problem popping in my Rondo of Blood or my Valkyrie Profile. I guess I don't have anything quite on the level of what you have, though. Great job on the 64DD collection, by the way. :) I'd really love to get one of those myself.

[All Things Sega]

The whole point of owning rare games is to play them physically in its true form. If not, I'd just download the roms and play them on my computer. As long as your careful, most games will not suffer. Not like people are gonna play them, throw them around or leave near the dog so he can chew on it. Not after you pay a lot for it LOL Hell I still load up the outback joey on the bike for shits and giggles. No way a rom can match the same experience

[swlovinist]

Play the rare games, show them to friends


After all, that glory of the hobby is that they are video games to play


Everybody each to their own reasons why they collect...I collect games for fun and to play.



I bust out my Stadium Events now and then just to show it running


If it breaks, it breaks

[Astrosmash]

Yeah, echoing the general consensus... definitely take care of your games and be careful with 'em, but go ahead and play them too. Like somebody else said, that's what they were made for, after all. Personally, I don't think I could get into collecting sealed games for that reason - I'd rather have a loose, beat up old cart than a pristine sealed one; I'd rather be able to play it than just look at the box.

[greedostick]

Yep, games are made to be played. I play all my rare games. Dynastic Hero, Magical chase, rare and fragile JAMMA boards and MVS games. I just try to take really good care of them. For boxed games I usually store the cart in a plastic if I know I will be playing it alot, so I don't bend the box.

For CD based games, mainly PC Engine, I will make a backup of the game (if possible), and keep the cd case in a celophane wrapping. Wish I could find more of these. you can re-seal them, and it protect from dust, moisture/spills. I may also keep the cd in a seperate slim jewel case if the original jewel case is hard to get the CD out of. Some cases hold the CD so tight they eventually crack the inner circle of the CD. Which can lead to a spiderweb effect through the whle cd and ruin it. Happened to my Halo 3 Legendary Edition. Also trying to get cd's out of cases that hold them that tight can mak you bend the CD slightly. Bending CD's can lead to disc rot in the future, which will corrupt all the information in the disc.

For JAMMA boards I screw them to a piece of wood, cutting board, or heavy duty plastic, to keep them from bending. Wrap them in pink bubble wrap, and if possible keep them in a box. Like a priority mail box if they will fit.

I do worry about my Famicom Disc games alot. I figure that i'm so carefull though that they will be ok. I assume that if you are posting a thread worried that you're gonna break your games that there pretty well taken care of. So just relax and enjoy. You're more likely to have them destroyed in a fire, or by some snot nosed kid.

Maybe you should buy fire proof containers? Better start looking online NOW!

[kaedesdisciple]

I started asking questions like those after acquiring my Samurai Shodown V Special MVS cart. I got it for around $200 in trades, and later sold it for about that much. I did play it a few times and, whenever I did, I made sure the cart was clean, made sure the MVS board was clean, very carefully inserted it and played on. After I was done I cleaned the cart and carefully put it away. I enjoyed the game while I had it, but not so much that it made it worth me having to go through that every time just to make sure the cart stayed in such good condition. Generally I take very good care of my games, but I didn't need to keep doing this. Plus, no one else around me really played it. Games like that are only so fun with one player. I hope wherever that cart is now, someone is enjoying it...

[rbudrick]

Play your backups whenever possible. If you simply must use the original, just be careful. If you are super paranoid about damaging a given game, find a way to back it up ASAP, no excuses!

-Rob

[MrSparkle]

I'm glad to see that everyone agrees games are meant to be played. I for one was playing a video game crafted out of wood by Jesus Christ himself last night. It was sealed when i got it but i was like ehhh fuck it ill pop this sucker open and get a few rounds in.

[jdc]

I imagine that there would be a certain level of joy in sitting down and savoring a rare game, knowing that you are having an experience that not many other gamers will get. The game content could be great...the game content could be a total waste of plastic, but you get to see what it's all about firsthand.

[MrSparkle]

also just to clarify the reason why i play backups of my optical media based games (the rare ones at least) is because even if YOU are careful with the discs sometimes the drives arent. I have had at least 2 ps2's and a dvd rom drive recently which like to eat discs put them in brand new and they come out an hour later looking like theyd been owned by a 5 year old.

[bones11]

The only rare game in the collection that I wouldn't play is a boxed 2600 River Patrol. Tested the game out once to make sure it worked and put it back on the shelf. Had a cartridge made up and use that instead, fun little River Raid type game.

Probably overkill, but keeps me sane.

[k8track]

Games are meant to be played.
Books are meant to be read.
Food is meant to be eaten.
Cars are meant to be driven.
Chicks are meant to be... er... to be... ahh... Hey look at that! *runs away in other direction*

[aaron7]

I used to play my Caltron 6-in-1 all the time. Playing a game doesn't hurt it long as you handle it nicely.

[vgc]

I used to play my Caltron 6-in-1 all the time. Playing a game doesn't hurt it long as you handle it nicely.

Unless its the Cheaply Made NES Cheetahmen II. I sold one at my store ( Just 19.95 Back Then ) to a Customer who took it home and played it for a while. He ended up smoking the game after just a couple hours ( Blown Capacitor ) so I gave him another. I told him it was a Rare game that sucked to play and he should have left it sealed before he took home the 1st one. I think the most I ever got out of a Cheetahmen II was 100ish, Most I sold on eBay for around 60ish. I sold about 10 at my store at the 19.95. Nobody wanted them at all at first. If I had only known how much they would have increased in value. I did need the money back then and did make good profit but todays prices are Insane. Mike : )

[cyberfluxor]

I don't own any ultra-rare games but do have several 7's and over a dozen 6's. I play them and store them with the rest from their system. Floppy games are kept in their boxes and whatnot, stored on shelves away from the window and speakers. I have a couple of computers with floppy drives and about once a year plop the diskettes in and check if they work, then make sure the floppy bakcup images are still good. Maybe overkill but until after graduation it's hard to have time to dedicated with each game all the time.

[UK Collector]

Go for it, then tell us all about it.

[rbudrick]

I'm glad to see that everyone agrees games are meant to be played. I for one was playing a video game crafted out of wood by Jesus Christ himself last night. It was sealed when i got it but i was like ehhh fuck it ill pop this sucker open and get a few rounds in.

Oooh, the rare sealed Wood NWC cart. Remember, the golds will kill you. I hear Jesus played the wood cart just after the Last Supper, so it might be a reseal.

It gives "holy grail" a new meaning.

-Rob

[bombman]

I wouldn't sweat it. Just play the damn thing and use common sense in handling it. If it breaks, it breaks.

[greedostick]

Doesn't the saying go "The things we own, end up owning us."

[vectrexer]

everything I own is played or shot. Nothing too old or young.