Do you lend out your games?

[cityside75]

I know this shouldn't bother me, as I have plenty of others to play, but it drives me CRAZY. I have one friend who's a gamer and occasionally asks to borrow a few games from me, typically PS2 or N64. I know he'll take care of them, I'll get them back once he's done with them, and he's a good guy that I like so it shouldn't bother me at all to do him a favor.

But...as soon as I lend out the games, I find I have an immediate desire to play those very games, even if they weren't touched forever before he borrowed them. Plus, I have to fill in the holes in my shelves where those games normally go with something, otherwise I see the holes every time I come into my game room and that drives me crazy too!

I'm honestly not overly obsessive about my collection in general, and don't have complete sets that I'm breaking up or anything, but I just can't stand the feeling of not having all of my games here.

So, do you lend out games? Does it drive you crazy too?

[Tallise]

:3 I don't lend simply because my friends don't need to borrow really. Even when they do Usually I will just bring it over and "play together". Then sometimes I feel ok about leaving it, or its just for a rather short time. The feeling isn't crazy though, I'm sure everyone feels like that to some degree, or we are both just nuts. Either way your not alone lol

[Arkhan]

I stopped loaning games out when they started coming back in shitty condition.

[sebastiankirchoff]

I don't mind lending out games, as long as they are a "good" friend of mine. I refuse to lend to people that I don't know very well or are notorious for not taking care of stuff.

[Ed Oscuro]

I stopped loaning games out when they started coming back in shitty condition.
This last happened to me with Metal Gear Solid. Never again.

[scooterb23]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130238&highlight=lend

here's a thread on a similar vein. I reiterate my stand in that thread. I would love to have a community of people to swap games with, but I'm so geographically isolated from anyone I know with a video game system, it's just not possible.

[kupomogli]

I stopped loaning games out when they started coming back in shitty condition.


I don't allow people to borrow disc based games because of scratches.

You said it better. I used to loan games out until one of my friends borrowed Ehrgeiz and didn't put it back in the case. When I went over one day I found it face down on his dusty dresser(black part of the disc.) That's when you realize that even though these people may be really good friends, they won't take care of your stuff like you may. They'll treat it just how they'll treat their own.

Because of all that bs Ehrgeiz has a bunch of really light scratches. Plays perfect, and they're really light scratches, but most of my games have absolutely none and even one scratch really bothers me.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I'd be more inclined to give a game rather than lend one. Trade is even much preferred. Then I don't have to worry about it's return. Why strain friendships over stuff? Depends on many factors.

[darkslime]

You said it better. I used to loan games out until one of my friends borrowed Ehrgeiz and didn't put it back in the case. When I went over one day I found it face down on his dusty dresser(black part of the disc.) That's when you realize that even though these people may be really good friends, they won't take care of your stuff like you may. They'll treat it just how they'll treat their own.

Because of all that bs Ehrgeiz has a bunch of really light scratches. Plays perfect, and they're really light scratches, but most of my games have absolutely none and even one scratch really bothers me.Agreed. My best friend is a really good guy, but he treats his games like shit. I lent CoD4 to him, and it was completely covered in scratches, the manual was missing, and the case was completely dirty when I got it back a few weeks later. And he just lost my Gurren Lagann DVDs, and he won't put DVDs back in the right cases, and sometimes just throws them whereever or in the wrong case, but he's still a good friend. But there are two friends who I will lend games to because I know they will take care of them and they will be in about the same condition as when I lent them to them.

[Damaramu]

Nope. You're more than welcome to come over and play anything I own, but borrowing is out of the question.

[scooterb23]

Kinda sounds like if I did have friends nearby, I wouldn't be able to get a trade group going anyway!

[Oobgarm]

Really good friends, sure. Other than that, not really.

[Battlehork]

I loan them to my dad, my brother (who both only play PC games anyway) and my best friend. They've taken exemplary care of my stuff.

[megasdkirby]

Only to my brother, as he knows how to take care of them.

No one else is allowed to touch my games.

[genesisguy]

I don't know anyone who is into older games. We used to lend cartridges when we were kids and my copy of Legend of Zelda still has my name in sharpie written across it.

[-hellvin-]

Nope, no one I know would be interested.

[TurboGenesis]

I have a select few friends whom I trade with on occasion. A couple friends I have been swapping games for 20 years.

Only once did I lend a game out and was upset upon its return. It was Super Smash Bros Melee on the GCN. It was returned with out its manual. I was a bit upset over it and told him he couldn't borrow anymore and he was understanding (it was his wife who probably lost the manual so he blames her lol)

[Baloo]

Now see, I let people borrow my games, and I borrow games from a friend of mine.

Albeit, the friend of mine with the larger collection always gets irked that I want to borrow something, even though he has a collection of about 1000+ games while I have only about 300.

[speedgtr]

i had a friend a couple of year ago who asked me for my final fantasy 8 game, he also borrowed the strategic guide plus a tomb raider 2 game.

the guide came back all dented and some sheet were glued together(hope it was not because he like the game too much...).
He had also lost the tomb raider (found out later he had lend it to someone else)

anyway i was so angry that when he left i open my window and trow the guide right on his car and told him to keep the damn thing.

he never asked for more stuff from me and that was perfect

[Lemmi_Is_God]

last time i traded games with a friend was about 20 years ago (atari 2600 games)
i got 4 of his games and he took 4 of mine, and guess what? i still have his games and he still has mine. i think i got the better deal tho he took 3 crappy games (plus my Montezumas Revenge) and i got Ghostbusters, Aliens and Popeye :D

he also has my Hit the Ice for the Genesis but i got his PGA tour golf

we will probably never trade the games back mainly because he probably doesnt know where his old games are, he has moved onto the more modern stuff like the Wii
while im looking to sell alot of my old stuff

[Raedon]

I stopped loaning games out when they started coming back in shitty condition.

Seconded. The last game I let a friend barrow was somewhere around the time of the SNES. I let a friend borrow FF-III and Donkey Kong Country and the FFIII cart came back to me with dog chew marks and a "sorry."

I asked the guy to buy me a new FFIII because of the condition and he told me, "What? It still plays fine."

Never talked to the guy again even though he was in the same group of friends. That's when I realized that my games had more in common with my comic books (which I collected at the time.)

[ScourDX]

I still lend out games to my friend. He is a comicbook, videogame & DVD collector. I am ok with it as long as he takes care of my stuff.

[Platinum]

Only if they ask. It doesn't bother me too much, because I only lend out to those whom I view as responsible enough to have my games for a while.

I just lent out Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and even though it was one of my favorite Metal Gear games, it doesn't bother.

Other than being asked, never. I never invite them to, I just let them come to ME if they want to borrow.

[Game Freak]

I lent out Banjo Kazooie to my friend last summer. I never played it (aside from the 20 minutes or so I did just to make sure it worked) and merely got it cause it was free and a high notoriety game. Now i've wanted to play it more than ever and he still has it >_>

he let me borrow his toy story 2 game on the ps1 though :D

[danny_galaga]

I know this shouldn't bother me, as I have plenty of others to play, but it drives me CRAZY. I have one friend who's a gamer and occasionally asks to borrow a few games from me, typically PS2 or N64. I know he'll take care of them, I'll get them back once he's done with them, and he's a good guy that I like so it shouldn't bother me at all to do him a favor.

But...as soon as I lend out the games, I find I have an immediate desire to play those very games, even if they weren't touched forever before he borrowed them. Plus, I have to fill in the holes in my shelves where those games normally go with something, otherwise I see the holes every time I come into my game room and that drives me crazy too!

I'm honestly not overly obsessive about my collection in general, and don't have complete sets that I'm breaking up or anything, but I just can't stand the feeling of not having all of my games here.

So, do you lend out games? Does it drive you crazy too?

I'd say lend him all the games you've lost interest in so you can become interested in them again (",)

[Bloodreign]

I loan nothing out, period, not to family, not to friends, no one. Friends want to play something, call me up and come on over and we'll play if I have the time. I won't even loan to nephews or niece anymore because in the past, loaning to family members, I've had to replace games that came up missing while in their possession.

I didn't work this hard coming this far, only to see it go all out the window.

[todesengel]

I no longer loan out games after my copy of Castlevania SOTN never came back to me and few other games just not being taken care of by the people that borrowed them. Loaned SOTN to a friend who then decided that it was ok to let someone else borrow it and that guy moved out of state shortly after I finally tracked the damn game down. Amusingly I still have the packaging to the game though and the guy I loaned it to his brother gave me a Dreamcast and like 2 games to make up for it.

[Breetai]

Nope, not anymore. I used to when I was younger, but after having a few games get "lost" and not re-bought for me, I stopped. The only games or manuals I've ever had gone missing were those I've lent out.

[SegaAges]

I lend games out to the people I trust like most of you, and that is about it.

I do agree that it is strange that I now have the sudden urge to play Crackdown even though I have not touched it in months and lent it to a friend of mine

[Ro-J]

I have some young nieces and nephews who have just recently over the past couple of years gotten into video games when their parents bought them Wii's. Earlier this year I started introducing them to Gamecube games and marveled at their fascination with the "oldschool" Gamecube controller. They had never seen controllers with so many buttons before and thought it was hilarious that people used to play games that way.....


Anyhow, they really enjoyed the Gamecube games and periodically I lend a game out to them to play and return later when they want to try a new one. Currently they have my Luigi's Mansion and have been asking for Super Mario Sunshine. The games come back in pretty much the same condition as I lend them, except for the manual which they read ad nauseum and add quite a bit of wear to. That doesn't bother me though as I really enjoy how excited they get over the games.

[scooterb23]

The games come back in pretty much the same condition as I lend them, except for the manual which they read ad nauseum and add quite a bit of wear to. That doesn't bother me though as I really enjoy how excited they get over the games.

I really like that line, and felt like it was important to emphasize it. Someone getting excited about a game is worth 1000 times more to the health and growth of our hobby than keeping the manual in pristine condition, and making sure dust particles don't land on the disc.

I did forget about the kid we used to sit would borrow PSP and N64 games from me from time to time. He would leave a post-it note listing the games he would take, and always made sure to return them the next time he came back.

All I ever asked is that he treated my stuff like it were his, and to have fun with the game. And my stuff always came back in great shape. Amazing that an 8-year old can be responsible with stuff if you just ask nicely first.

[Kamigami]

i don't lend game to anybody.
The main reason is that my games even if played em like hell they are mine and part of my collections and i don't want to separate me from em.

I'm kind possesive here.
I can lend loose stuffs .. i don't have problem with that.

Another reason is: i spend a lot of money to buy..mmm sutte hakkun (ie) in mint condition.

I played it so much and i enjoy have it in that condition.
I can stand another person who don't take care as i do for the game and his condition.
Is a fact. (even if he could be a brother)
If a thing is not yours.....
you know what i mean...

there's no way out.

[Swamperon]

I have exactly one friend who I would trust to lend games out to, and we often borrow games from each other at the same time. He takes good care of his games and in fact has a larger collection than me despite not being a collector.

It's more my dvds that seem to suffer. I discovered one box set is missing a dvd so now I have to replace that, one got ruined and 2 just went "missing". Luckily they're all cheap to replace, but that is not the point.

[adam_devry]

I do not loan games out cause my friends want to play games like star ocean or arc the lad or lunar silver stars and just the thought of him droping it or his Ps3 not ejecting it or something like that stops me from doing it.

[geneshifter]

No way, Jose. Last time I did it was my N64 system and Zelda gold cart to a "friend" and he moved away :( I cry.

[Joe West]

lending games, don't even ask, cause the answer will be "HELL NO" :2gunfire:

[Thrashdance]

I never offer to let someone borrow from my collection, but I find it hard denying a friend a game that they want to borrow, so I usually buckle...haha.

[Gamingking]

I only loan out games too close friends.

[buzz_n64]

I get really nervous when even a trusted friend asks to borrow a game, as if someone was borrowing my car. I only let 2 of my friends borrow my games, and almost all the time, I ask to borrow one of their items. Just in case something happens to mine as collateral, not because I actually want to play any of my friends stuff. I don't know anyone in my area with my selection of games anyways. When I loan out a game, I feel worried for it like it was a child of mine or something. I feel bad having games in my possesion that don't belong to me even. I have some Guitar Hero games from a friend that just wants me to have them at my place because of his/her family that will lose or mistreat them.

[RPG_Fanatic]

I did in the NES & 16 bit days but when CD-ROM took over then I stopped.

[p_b]

I hide all my games in my secret nuclear bunker, no one's allowed to even know I've got them. If they knew they would ask me....


Of course I lend out my games. There made to be played, so if my friends want to play them... there you go.
I won't hand out games to complete strangers, obviously. But a friend's a friend.

[Kamigami]

Fooooooool

[guitargary75]

No! And Hell No!!

[DeputyMoniker]

Under some circumstances, I will loan a game. It has to be someone that I'm close with though. Not just some dude from work. I'm very anal about taking care of my things, so it has to be someone who respects that they need to treat my games the way I would, not just the way they think I should treat them. As long as they return them in the condition that I loaned them, they can borrow for as long as they need it. Once it comes back dirty or in worse condition, no more loaning. I don't want to be a dick, but my gamage is important to me. Bombastic (PS2) may be $10 sealed, but the dollar value represents very little to me. I'm loaning them a piece of my collection...a part of my hobby. I need them to respect that. If they can handle that, I love to let them try games they would never just go out and buy.

When I visit friends, and they need me to bring a controller, I keep mine separate from theirs. People ask me what's so special about mine, and all I can tell them is that I don't know if he stores his controllers in the garage, or eats beandip while he uses them, or throws them on the floor when he loses. I only know how well I take care of my own...so I'm going home with my own.

So yeah, I have my own problem with loaning anxiety. I think everybody should, but I'm sure that a Mustang collector wants to puke when he sees a Mustang rusting in someones back yard. It's part of who we are. In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to worry about loaning my games. But this is real life and people may not respect the importance that I place in my games...so I have to be protective.

[Zap!]

I do if asked by close friends, but I have NEVER been a fan of borrowing, and have always frowned upon it.

[Insaneclown]

I have and sometimes ... my games dont come back. Hhhhmmmm...I just cant do that anymore. Some people...argh

[Hawksmoor]

I will only loan games to a select group of friends, and even then it's disc only and with a disc skin on. I make sure they know that if they lose it or damage it somehow they must replace it; if they don't agree to this provision then I'm not loaning it to them.

[Geddon_jt]

I always have about a dozen games out on loan at any given time. I've been very fortunate to have a pretty large collection, and I also have a lot of young relatives who really enjoy my games, and I like to make them happy. Yes, sometimes I don't get them back, but as long as it puts a smile on their face, I kinda think of it as part of my job as the wierd uncle with the big game collection.

Reminds me of when I first met my good friend Bill back in the late 90s. He and I were both members of the same Neo Geo related mailing list and learned we lived in the same city. Te day I met him, he let me borrow Pulstar and Sengoku 2 AES carts! (about $600 or so combined value). Without blinking an eye. He and I turned out to be great friends and we are always giving each other great game stuff (I gave him an Earthbound cart for free last year, sold him an extra US Bonk 3 Hu + manual for cost to me $20) At the end of the day, these are just games. The more people who can enjoy them the better, and I have found that not being selfish and stingy is really the only way to go.

[scooterb23]

I always have about a dozen games out on loan at any given time. I've been very fortunate to have a pretty large collection, and I also have a lot of young relatives who really enjoy my games, and I like to make them happy. Yes, sometimes I don't get them back, but as long as it puts a smile on their face, I kinda think of it as part of my job as the wierd uncle with the big game collection.

Reminds me of when I first met my good friend Bill back in the late 90s. He and I were both members of the same Neo Geo related mailing list and learned we lived in the same city. Te day I met him, he let me borrow Pulstar and Sengoku 2 AES carts! (about $600 or so combined value). Without blinking an eye. He and I turned out to be great friends and we are always giving each other great game stuff (I gave him an Earthbound cart for free last year, sold him an extra US Bonk 3 Hu + manual for cost to me $20) At the end of the day, these are just games. The more people who can enjoy them the better, and I have found that not being selfish and stingy is really the only way to go.


I keep coming back to this thread, getting more and more disillusioned the more posts that come along, and then a post like this comes and makes my day. :)

[Breetai]

I always have about a dozen games out on loan at any given time. I've been very fortunate to have a pretty large collection, and I also have a lot of young relatives who really enjoy my games, and I like to make them happy. Yes, sometimes I don't get them back, but as long as it puts a smile on their face, I kinda think of it as part of my job as the wierd uncle with the big game collection.

Reminds me of when I first met my good friend Bill back in the late 90s. He and I were both members of the same Neo Geo related mailing list and learned we lived in the same city. Te day I met him, he let me borrow Pulstar and Sengoku 2 AES carts! (about $600 or so combined value). Without blinking an eye. He and I turned out to be great friends and we are always giving each other great game stuff (I gave him an Earthbound cart for free last year, sold him an extra US Bonk 3 Hu + manual for cost to me $20) At the end of the day, these are just games. The more people who can enjoy them the better, and I have found that not being selfish and stingy is really the only way to go.I feel nice now. :)

[Videogamerdaryll]

I stopped loaning games out when they started coming back in shitty condition.


And not coming back at all
"oh,I gave that back to you already"..
I'm still in loss of a Ps1 game ..

This had become such and issue that I was going to make a sign,"Games Not for loaning out",or something to that effect..

The new kid tenant we have here already tried to borrow games from me(but it's only going downstairs/why not)
He's such a careless slob that I kbow it would just be like throwing the game in the trash..
I'm glad I nipped that right in the butt.

[jdc]

Maybe when they were more readily replaceable....but not any more. The one friend that I would lend games to never asks, because he has no time to play games any more, lol.

[Flippy8490]

No, because I never get them back...unless its to a good friend that I trust.

[JSoup]

I tend to only lend out to my closest friends, simply because I know they'll take care of whatever I give them. That, and my policy is if I let you borrow a game until you're finished with it, then I get the same courtesy until I get my game back. One friend has had the same two games of mine for the last two years (she simply hasn't sat down to play them) and in that time frame, I've borrowed and beaten just about every game in her collection.

[Robocop2]

I used to loan a game or two to a friend I work with (mostly 360 games) but he keeps them for months at a time and doesn't play them and when I ask for them back its like pulling teeth to get him to bring them back. They never come back in bad condition hell he barley touches them but still its just that if I borrow something I intend to play it and get it back to its rightful owner in a reasonable amount of time.

[scottw182]

As the years have progressed, I've lended games out less and less to the point that now, I don't lend at all. There were too many times where I didn't get my game back at all, got it back in worse condition, or got it back with my save file erased.

First example, my aunt/uncle/cousin borrowed my copy of Donkey Kong Country 2. After it had been a while, I was over there one time and asked about it, they claimed the copy they had was there's! Yeah, my extended family sucks. I was young and couldn't prove it was mine so I never got that back.

2nd example, I let my older brother's friend borrow my FF III/VI strategy guide, never got that back, and when I confronted him about it he said he had never borrowed it.

3rd example, I let a good friend of mine borrow F-Zero X. I had an awesome save file on there with everything unlocked and a 43 second record on the death race. I even specifically told him not to erase the save file, and on that game, you have to actually go into the options and select "clear all saved data" or something like that, it's not something you can just accidentally do. I got it back and of course, the save file was erased. He claimed his brother did it.

After a while I finally got to the point where the only person I would lend with was my brother, and he would lend games to me as well. I thought it would be ok because he acts as if he's as anal about condition as me, but too many times I got games back from him with damage that wasn't there when I let him borrow it. Even worse, I would give him his games back and he would blame me for damage that was already there when I got it. There was even one case where I never even got around to playing the game, never even removed it from it's case, and he tried to blame me for something. So I eventually cut that off and now, I don't lend to anybody. He never erased any of my saves though, I'll give him that.

[PentiumMMX]

I only lend my stuff out to a select few people I deem worthy of handling something from my collection, especially after an incident of letting a "friend" borrow some of my games. Yes, I'm about to tell a story of what happened:

Last summer, I let a friend of mine borrow some of my N64 games (Goldeneye and Mario Kart 64), and I figured everything would be fine...and it was for Goldeneye (It came back in the same shape it left in). However, Mario Kart wasn't so lucky; evidently, he knocked over a drink or something onto it, and didn't give a fuck to clean up the mess and try to save the cartridge. Going in was a well-loved cartridge from my childhood (The label was intact though well-worn and the contacts where kept clean), and what I got back was a sticky cartridge with a discolored, water-damaged label and corroded connectors.

I had had that copy of Mario Kart 64 for years; it was the copy I was given to me by my mom as a late Christmas gift in 1997. It, along with Diddy Kong Racing, where the 2 N64 games I had owned the longest. A relic of my past, destroyed because some bastard was too lazy to take care of it. It was then, that he was no longer allowed to borrow any of my stuff.

Now, the only people I still lend stuff to are my sister and her husband, whom are trusted to take care of what they borrow.

[tubeway]

If a person's not a collector, then odds are they're very utilitarian about games, and don't put too much thought into their condition. They're the people that sell games to GameStop without the case and manual, and just toss the bare disc around on top of their coffee table.

So, I only loan games out to other collectors.

[BetaWolf47]

I do let friends borrow stuff, but I make sure they understand the following rules:

1. Optical discs are to remain in their cases while they aren't in the system. No leaving games out, silver side up, where the dust can get them.
2. Controllers must not be pounded on.
3. The item must be returned when I request it back.
4. Item must not be left in a place where it can be damaged (i.e. leaving game cases on the floor).

Except for two people, most of my friends don't borrow stuff very often. I don't mind minor disc scratches either, but if a game comes back with the label torn I know I'd be pissed.

[Snappaccino]

At first I lent out games and movies to friends and they would come back in such ratty shape. I lent a VHS to my friend and he brought it back all kinds of messed up, He said he sat on the cardboard that holds the tape... ugh.

Now I give them a set time when I should get my stuff back, 2 weeks tops and they have to keep it in the shape that they got it in. Ever since I started doing that they were coming back the way I wanted them to.

[Jehusephat]

I lent out my games.

My friend spilled beer all over the games I lent him.

I don't lend out my games anymore.