Current trend among game collectors

[N 2 Nintendo]

I have noticed since I started collecting games myself a beneficial, and yet disturbing trend.
I have seen a lot of long time collectors (meaning, they either have many years of experience collecting, or have an extensive collection) just completely stop collecting, and sell off what seems to be their entire collection. I'm actually trying to compile this as a part of my documentary on video game collecting as a hobby, as it would be a the first, of any kind of media on video game collecting (other than websites, like DP, and few various publications) but not the games themselves, but more specifically focusing on the people and their experiences collecting the games.

So with that, if you are one of these people of which I speak of, please tell me your story of collecting from beginning to end. What made you start collecting, what made you stop collecting? If its been awhile since you stopped collecting, do you regret selling your collection? What was your main goal while collecting? Did you reach your goal? What kind of collector did you consider yourself? (A bargain bin searcher, ebay scavenger, strictly Nintendo or Sega, strictly retro games, etc. or any combination of each.) Again, thanks for any positive input given, you can remain anonymous, or if the documentary actually makes it far enough where it would matter, I can and will give all credit due to those who supplied valuable resources. Even if you are still currently collecting, and maybe you have considered "getting out of the game" so to speak, your input is welcome also. I will probably have more threads like this, in the near future, to do more research in the fanscinating realm of collecting video games. Thanks!

[PapaStu]

It's not a 'current' trend. It's just a part of collecting in general. I know a number of 'big time' collectors who got out of the game 2/3 years ago now. Your problem is that you're looking for them at a place that they used to visit. Since they no longer have a reason to come here (or a collecting/database-esque forum like this, AA, NA ect) you're not really going to get any posts from the big boys like you're looking for.

[badinsults]

I've collected SNES things off and on for the past 10 years, and accumulated about 200 games or so. I generally wanted to get a complete collection, but because I was in school was not able to buy much. When I got out of school and got a job, the first things I pursued were the Super StarFox Weekend and Donkey Kong Competition Cartridge. I also bought a couple of prototypes and a bunch of boxed games. However, once the economic downturn happened, I quickly realized I needed to pay off my student debt as quickly as possible in case something bad happened. As luck would have it, I was informed my contract would end last winter, about two weeks after I finished paying off my debt. As such, I am glad I never became a hardcore collector.

Right now, I am set to move to Australia from Canada to go back to school. As such, I am planning to purge most of my small collection, as I do not want the hassle of shipping it to Australia. Really, the folly of it is that the majority of the games are not worth playing, and as such not really worth keeping. Really, I was accumulating games to document them on my website. I take the best games with me on my trip, and get rid of the ones I probably will never play. I have a flash cart should I need to play anything I don't have. Of course, I plan on keeping my competition carts, as I can't see myself being able to repurchase them at a reasonable price should I change my mind.

Really, when it comes down to it, my games are nothing more than an anchor when I move. It is a pain to have to tout them around, and for the usage I get out of them, it isn't worth having them.

[Bojay1997]

It's not a 'current' trend. It's just a part of collecting in general. I know a number of 'big time' collectors who got out of the game 2/3 years ago now. Your problem is that you're looking for them at a place that they used to visit. Since they no longer have a reason to come here (or a collecting/database-esque forum like this, AA, NA ect) you're not really going to get any posts from the big boys like you're looking for.

Very true. He will probably need to search the archives here and elsewhere for some representative sales posts and then try to track down those individuals to see if they are interested in participating. The economy may have been a factor for some recently, but there have always been people getting out and selling everything, whether they were fairly new collectors or long-time collectors for at least the 23 years I have been actively collecting and probably longer.

[N 2 Nintendo]

It's not a 'current' trend. It's just a part of collecting in general. I know a number of 'big time' collectors who got out of the game 2/3 years ago now Your problem is that you're looking for them at a place that they used to visit. Since they no longer have a reason to come here (or a collecting/database-esque forum like this, AA, NA ect) you're not really going to get any posts from the big boys like you're looking for.

So you're saying you know some of these people. Are you not willing to atleast inform them, and see if they have interest as a resource for me? Much appreciation, if so.

[portnoyd]

As Stu said, cashing out is common thing. Very few people seem to be able to go the distance - and this is considering how new game collecting is, relatively speaking. Financial problems, marriage, boredom, space. Even old age (ask Al Backiel). Any one of those can come to a head and cause a collector to sell everything.

I hope to think I'm one of those who will hold onto their stuff (especially considering I met my wife through game collecting). But who knows what'll happen?

[N 2 Nintendo]

I've collected SNES things off and on for the past 10 years, and accumulated about 200 games or so. I generally wanted to get a complete collection, but because I was in school was not able to buy much. When I got out of school and got a job, the first things I pursued were the Super StarFox Weekend and Donkey Kong Competition Cartridge. I also bought a couple of prototypes and a bunch of boxed games. However, once the economic downturn happened, I quickly realized I needed to pay off my student debt as quickly as possible in case something bad happened. As luck would have it, I was informed my contract would end last winter, about two weeks after I finished paying off my debt. As such, I am glad I never became a hardcore collector.

Right now, I am set to move to Australia from Canada to go back to school. As such, I am planning to purge most of my small collection, as I do not want the hassle of shipping it to Australia. Really, the folly of it is that the majority of the games are not worth playing, and as such not really worth keeping. Really, I was accumulating games to document them on my website. I take the best games with me on my trip, and get rid of the ones I probably will never play. I have a flash cart should I need to play anything I don't have. Of course, I plan on keeping my competition carts, as I can't see myself being able to repurchase them at a reasonable price should I change my mind.

Really, when it comes down to it, my games are nothing more than an anchor when I move. It is a pain to have to tout them around, and for the usage I get out of them, it isn't worth having them.

Thanks for the post Evan G. That's one of the reasons I started to notice with other collectors, and myself. I'm not quite as collector crazy as I first was. Especially for games that I don't care anything about with the exception of their rarity, demand, and the profit of a quick turn-around sell. What I mean is, I used to seek out games, just because they were rare, or could potientially be rare. I still do to a degree, but not with as much willingness to buy first, and ask questions later. Many times, I seemed to end up with something that I regreted purchasing at that price. And even worse, something I wished I hadn't bought in the first place. Regardless of what I paid, cheap or not, or how rare, in demand it was, I would still have regrets. I've always reasoned that was just a part of collecting, however. Again, I'm writing about collectors of video games, and their experiences collecting, and everyone's is different, hence why I'm writing it. Thanks again Evan G!

[BetaWolf47]

It does sound quite disturbing at first, but you need to realize that games need to go back into the wild once in awhile. If that doesn't happen, it'll eventually be impossible for new collectors to get their hands on anything, period. If people don't sell their stuff, that means that games can only get more and more scarce.

[N 2 Nintendo]

As Stu said, cashing out is common thing. Very few people seem to be able to go the distance - and this is considering how new game collecting is, relatively speaking. Financial problems, marriage, boredom, space. Even old age (ask Al Backiel). Any one of those can come to a head and cause a collector to sell everything.

I hope to think I'm one of those who will hold onto their stuff (especially considering I met my wife through game collecting). But who knows what'll happen?

Thanks for the post portnoyd. I would agree with you that, I hope that I will not become one of these people. It's funny, when my girlfriend brought up the notion of actually just saying the heck with it, and trying to collect all the NES games, or all the gamecube games I said no. I knew right then, I had seen to many of the same, and don't want to become one. It's almost scary to think, (for some people) you CAN actually own too many games.

[N 2 Nintendo]

It does sound quite disturbing at first, but you need to realize that games need to go back into the wild once in awhile. If that doesn't happen, it'll eventually be impossible for new collectors to get their hands on anything, period. If people don't sell their stuff, that means that games can only get more and more scarce.


Thanks for the post BetaWolf47.

I would agree as this is why I began first by stating it was "beneficial".

[Bojay1997]

So you're saying you know some of these people. Are you not willing to atleast inform them, and see if they have interest as a resource for me? Much appreciation, if so.

Not to be a jerk, but why can't you spend some time searching old posts here and at the other leading collector's sites to identify some of these big collectors who have gotten out and then contact them yourself to see if they would like to assist? It's not like all of us see each other in person or speak to each other on the phone regularly, so it's not like we can just casually mention to any of them that you want their input and stories and to get in contact with you. If you can't find accurate contact info or need some suggestions about who to track down, etc...we can probably help, but as the documentarian, you should be doing the initial research on your own.

[Kid Fenris]

"Look, I'll tell you a story, all right? I once fell deeply, you know, profoundly in love with tropical fish. Had sixty goddamn fish tanks in my house. I skin-dived to find just the right ones. Anisotremus virginicus, Holacanthus ciliaris, Chaetodon capistratus. You name it. Then one day I say, 'fuck fish.' I renounce fish. I vow never to set foot in that ocean again. That's how much 'fuck fish.' That was seventeen years ago, and I have never since stuck so much as a toe in that ocean. And I love the ocean."

"But why?"

"Done with fish." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y410SQD2mz8)

[Steve W]

Right now, I am set to move to Australia from Canada to go back to school. As such, I am planning to purge most of my small collection, as I do not want the hassle of shipping it to Australia. ... I have a flash cart should I need to play anything I don't have.
Don't you have a relative that can store your collection until you get back? Then all you'd have to do is take the flash cart with you.

From a collector's point of view, going to another country like Australia would be incredibly exciting. You're going to a new place that had different releases and hardware that never came out in North America. That would be thrilling to me. I'd spend every weekend at flea markets, seeing what I could find.

[Fuyukaze]

I've only been collecting for around 9-10 years. Stu basicly nailed it though. Alot of people stop collecting for the very reasons he gave. I've always considered marridge as one of the most painfull though. It tends to end ugly reguardless and I've seen both go out the door as well. By both I mean the collection and the spouse. Its even worse when they do it cause they need the money. People know your desperate and they try to lowball you to death. Myself, I've considered selling it all off as well. The thing about a collection is that you cant just partial it out because your constantly reminded of what you no longer have. Sometimes it's good to just get rid of it all at the same time. There is a certain sense of freedom from not having a daily reminder that your basicly a liabrarian of a collection of electronics few would want and even fewer would enjoy. Yeah, it's great having access to literaly thousands of games, but even if you play a game a day it's scary to know you could go 5 or more years without ever playing the same exact game.

[N 2 Nintendo]

Not to be a jerk, but why can't you spend some time searching old posts here and at the other leading collector's sites to identify some of these big collectors who have gotten out and then contact them yourself to see if they would like to assist? It's not like all of us see each other in person or speak to each other on the phone regularly, so it's not like we can just casually mention to any of them that you want their input and stories and to get in contact with you. If you can't find accurate contact info or need some suggestions about who to track down, etc...we can probably help, but as the documentarian, you should be doing the initial research on your own.

Before I made this post I had already contacted a few people who had posted (On DP to be precise), and sold online also. And as a documentarian, I try to take any credible information whenever and wherever I can. I was just trying my luck here. Thanks for the input.

[Tempest]

I haven't gotten out of collecting (unless you count prototypes), but I have cut back quite a bit. These days I'm busy with work, my personal life, and my marriage so my priorities have shifted a bit (not to mention I'm running out of room :)). I doubt I'll ever actually sell off my collection though (unless I need to for financial reasons) as I still enjoy having it around.


Yeah, it's great having access to literally thousands of games, but even if you play a game a day it's scary to know you could go 5 or more years without ever playing the same exact game.
I found that a long time ago. It *IS* scary when you first realize that. :)

Tempest

[-hellvin-]

This is an interesting topic as I've several times considered getting out of collecting. In the end, I found I really have a hard time parting with most of the stuff I've accumulated. I think what kind of burned me out on it a few years ago was the constant hunting for games. Since then I've cut back A LOT and don't go hardcore thrifting / hunting like I used to. I've tried to enjoy the games I have, and appreciate it a little more.

I can totally understand why people get out of the game. There are some parts of life that will eventually be more important to the person. I don't consider my collection vast by any means compared to some of the others I've met on these forums, and I have NO IDEA where all my stuff is going after I move into my new house. Space is a huge issue. As long as I remain single it's not a problem for me, but if that ever changes, I don't have the room period.

Like a few others have stated, it's never a bad thing when someone sells everything off. The games get recycled back into the wild, or they end up in another fellow collector's hands who will take care the item(s) for as long as they're into the hobby! For me to sell off all the games I own, I think it would take a very large problematic bill or the prospect of a family life to end my interest. Until then, game on!

[dbiersdorf]

I discovered this site, along with other video game websites like CheapAssGamer and IGN Buying/Selling in late 2003/early 2004. I was 15/16 years old at the time. By the time I ended up selling my entire collection I had probably ended up with about 400 or 500 games. Specifically I was a hardcore collector of GameCube games. Being so young I sort of got wrapped up in the GameCube and was obsessive of wanting to try and own the whole collection to be able to "know" a whole game library as well as own and understand all of the hardware. At that age I also didn't have many expenses to worry about so it was easy to focus all of the money I earned on my one hobby. However the GameCube was still in production, with a lot of releases being made so it was also sometimes expensive (compared to now especially). But there were some great opprotunities as well (who remembers the massive $5 game blow out at Circuit City?). All in all, at my peak I wound up with about 165 GameCube games. Now? I own zero. All I have left is a Panasonic Q GameCube that is modded to play all region games that I refuse to sell.

For me I think I found the seeking something out for a great deal as a thrill. I think I also took pride in being able to post on forums and actually know what I was talking about first hand with a lot of games. If someone asked for a recomendation on a game, I truly knew what the killer games were for the system as well as underrated gems that had passed through with little notice. I think for me I lost interest because my hobbies simply changed... I'll always love videogames as a hobby but I'll be honest in saying that I rarely play them. When I had deceided to sell off my collection, I changed my mindset from "buy any game for cheap" to "buy the games that you're actually interested in and are good." Here's a picture of when I tried as hard as could to trim down my collection to as little as possible (probably late 2005/early 2006) -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/rocksteady33/IMG_0979.jpg

Even then it wasn't that scaled back and I wanted a lot more games for each system. Slowly though my interest in games and actual time spent playing them faded. I had more interest in being with friends, girls, going out drinking, that it all didn't really make sense to me. As I needed money more often as well I would swallow my pride and sell off another game, to eventually I ended up with nothing at all. (I probably own about 10 games outside of the N64).

I think for me personally, it was just a sudden click in the head of "what's the point?" A lot of games I hadn't played or even opened for that matter. They weren't doing anything for me. Do I regret it? Sometimes. Just recently I had the urge to play Paper Mario 2 on GameCube, and I couldn't and didn't really want to waste the time trying to track it down. Had I not sold it I could have down that. Maybe someday I'll try it out because I do miss the seek out thrill that goes along with it. But as a broke college student, it's just not in the cards.

I think I'm one of the few members who actively wheeled and dealed at such a young age. But it sure was fun as a kid.

[N 2 Nintendo]

Much appreciation for your post dbiersdorf, -helvin-, Tempest, and Fuyukaze.
I think its fair to say, most people even "getting out of the game" have those few items, that they just won't part with. I feel the same way, about parts of my collection. I didn't really start collecting until just alittle over 5 years ago. The jumpstart to my collection was still actually having my original games and systems (My mom didn't throw/get rid of all my stuff).
But I got inpsired by finding out about people actually collecting video games, like they were comic books. I will admit, I have been a collector all my life. From garbage pail kids card and baseball cards to comic books, and now video games as an adult. I still collect comics sparcely.
Although, most of my prized books were given by my father, as he has collected them since his childhood. But despite their monetary value, they are worth more, because of who gave them.
And now, I'm doing the same with collecting games, and making them even more sentinmental in value, for example: I recently was able to obtain one of the well know internet game reviewer's authograph on a copy of a game they reviewed (Actually, more than just one). And now I feel like I could never part with it(Even if it were to increase in monetary value).

[maxlords]

I've been slowly trimming down my collecting habits over the last couple years. They're getting slimmer and slimmer, as is my collection. Part of it is a cash issue - I need cash, and collecting also costs a bunch of cash. Part of it is a time issue. I work more and more, so I game less and less (and other hobbies are lessened too). And I'm finding that now that I have so much less time for it, I'm less inclined to keep my collection. It's just becoming less important slowly. I'm sure this has happened to a few people as well.

[Sonicwolf]

My interest in collecting has collapsed in the last few months. I find that I am spending lots of money on games in which I dont even bother playing. I have 100 Genesis games now and am willing to bet I have only put half of them into the console to try.

[tubeway]

I'd spend every weekend at flea markets, seeing what I could find.

Step 1. Go to exciting new country with wildly different culture, sights and people.

Step 2. Spend entire time looking for games at Flea Markets.

[Steve W]

Step 1. Go to exciting new country with wildly different culture, sights and people.

Step 2. Spend entire time looking for games at Flea Markets.

Yep, pretty much what I'd do. I don't do eBay, I don't often buy from others online, my collection is pretty much bought either when the console was still on the market, or afterwards in thrift stores and flea markets. When I go visit family out of state, I plot out thrifts, resale shops and fleas in the area to hit in my down time. For me, it's the thrill of the hunt. Because you never know what you'll find, hit the same shop ten times and find next to nothing, and on the next visit find a Vectrex (that really happened to me).

I think that's why my interest in playing games comes and goes, but I still like to collect. I'll still go out on a day off and spend a couple of hours hitting thrift stores on the off chance I'll come away with something really great. At the moment, I don't play all that many games, but the desire to hunt them down in the wild is still there, and hopefully won't fade any time soon.

[eskobar]

I sold my entire collection in 2003 ....

That collection was very complete and included too many incredibly rare games from Atari, NES, SNES, PS1, Turbografx, SMS, Genesis, Game Boy, Neo Geo AES, 32X, Sega CD, PC ... etc.

My strongest motivation was that at the time i "retired" from gaming / collecting because my work and social activities consumed all of my days. I sold most of my collection online and in 2 retro expos in Monterrey where i had a booth.

After i sold almost all of my collection i was really happy and not because i made a lot of money but for the great feeling of getting tons of emails and smiles when the buyers left with my games :D

I enjoyed that so much that i still sell games online in my spare time. As a bonus i demand myself to play a few hours a month to keep getting fresh stuff and good recomendations for my customers :D

[PapaStu]

So you're saying you know some of these people. Are you not willing to atleast inform them, and see if they have interest as a resource for me? Much appreciation, if so.


Oh sure, I've got no problems doing that, but honestly the ones springing to mind don't care at all about this stuff anymore and I really doubt they'll respond as they've moved on.

I think you should ask yourself, do you care about the person who had 200-300 games across a buncha systems and just burned themselves out due to a lack of focus, or are you looking for the kind of people that i'm thinking of (DarthVader for one) that have the kind of games that Fuyukaze is referencing who up and left it all behind? It might be nice to see how both big and little came to their ends, but I do think that it might just end up being the same story for people of both big and little collections.

As Port said, I know of someone who got out for every one of those reasons he mentioned (sometimes more than one, and sometimes someone that left, came back only to leave again for the mentioned reasons (again)).

I've never not been a collector (save when I was a wee lad and my parents sold off the 2600 stuff when i got a NES in 87, but I didn't care about those games then, I had moved on to the NES). Every game i've ever had has stayed in my collection since. All told now, i'm well into the 2k-3k range and have enought to keep me playing not only something new daily for years to come, but enough games that it would very easily take me a ton of time to get through them all.

Years ago I came into the mindset to move beyond just playing and into collection (2002ish) when I got a bunch of games that would take me more time than I had to play and beat them. I moved full on into collecting that day and to this day i still buy more than i've got time for. I don't even bother with a 'backlog' pile anymore.

Could I see walking away? Sure. I've done it with other collections, I can see it happening with this one. Will I with this one? Doubtful. I may cut it back heavily, focus on fewer things (though I more or less do that now-a-days as is) but its a part of my life. I've looked at moving chunks of my collection, including complete collections (Dreamcast and NGPC) and for what i'd make (both in money and space) I've determined at those times, it wasn't worth it. Doesn't mean that i'd not do it, but considering most of what i've got isn't in demand, to move say 750 PS games will end up leaving me with a net loss most likely, rather than a gain or pushing even.

[kupomogli]

Why not collect games that you like only? If you think you're getting out of collecting then don't worry about striving for every game and only get the ones you really want. Whenever I pick up a game it's going to be something I like or it's atleast playable to me.

I actually just started collecting for the Sega CD as I really like the system and previously just never wanted to buy into it because I didn't want to own a system that has no games. It honestly has about 10-20 games I like or are somewhat good and that's it. So I thought about it and while I'll buy the games, I'm going to skip picking up the system and emulate the games on a system such as the PC or PSP if I want to play them.

So yeah. That's how I'll save room. Don't bother with the systems, just pick up the games. It does sortof take a bit away from it not ever playing the games on the console they were created for, but eh, if I ever want to have that feeling then I will someday pick up the system.

[Flippy8490]

I started collecting games as far back as 1994 when I was five. I was like a pack rat when it came to my games, I would never get rid of them/let my parents get rid of them. Therefore, by the time I reached an age where I could hold a job, I had a very nice collection well on its way to fruition.

I've never been one of those to go out and get every software title ever for a system, because I know i will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on completeing my collection, just to have most of the games sit on a shelf and collect dust never being used. So the only games that I collect are ones that I play and enjoy. There isn't one game in my collection that I havent played.

I think that is one of the big problems with the really hardcore collectors is that the acquire an insane amount of software for a bunch of different consoles and never get to play all of them. So, ineviatably, they get overwhelmed and lose interest, selling off their entire collections. I mean, if you think about it realistically, who actually has the time to sit down and give every game their full attention and time when you have a job to play bills and other obligations. There just isn't that much time for me, and I know that is true for many others.

[N 2 Nintendo]

Thanks for your post maxlords, Sonicwolf, tubeway, Steve W, eskobar, PapaStu, kupomogli, and Fippy8489.




I think you should ask yourself, do you care about the person who had 200-300 games across a buncha systems and just burned themselves out due to a lack of focus, or are you looking for the kind of people that i'm thinking of (DarthVader for one) that have the kind of games that Fuyukaze is referencing who up and left it all behind? It might be nice to see how both big and little came to their ends, but I do think that it might just end up being the same story for people of both big and little collections.


Anyone that doesn't wish to participate will only be asked once, and left alone. I have no wish to bother people that don't desire to revisit their past. It's really just part of my documentary. I've known collectors of comics that have completely moved around the collecting scale. From buying old, and having subcriptions to new titles, but then dropping off completely, but never really selling the entire collection. Even so now they collect, but just old comics. I think, that theirs a chance a number of people collecting games would be the same. I feel like their are simularities between alot of the collectors. And I feel like their are still collectors out there like Steve W, who also collect for another part of the experience of collecting. I have to admit, I just got a complete gem mint copy of Jungle Strike for Genesis (Has the gamepro subcription offer, registration card, book, and a Mutant League Football Poster, all virtually untouched) all for $2. Now granted, their was and probably still is two factory sealed copies on ebay for $20 a piece. So not that great of a find, but still a good find for me, as it makes good merchandise as a vendor. But I have found virtually mint copies of Lunar Silver Star Stories, Lunar Eternal Blue, Parasite Eve Collector Edition, and Intelligent Qube for PS one all at one time for virtually nothing in comparison to their value (someone lost out when they donated that stuff to Goodwill) but again, why I say whether sold, or even donated, it is beneficial. And I do still enjoy the hunt for great finds.




So I thought about it and while I'll buy the games, I'm going to skip picking up the system and emulate the games on a system such as the PC or PSP if I want to play them.

So yeah. That's how I'll save room. Don't bother with the systems, just pick up the games. It does sortof take a bit away from it not ever playing the games on the console they were created for, but eh, if I ever want to have that feeling then I will someday pick up the system.

I definately have taken advantage on emulation. Especially on the Xbox. But I still own original games, that I end up playing emulated, rather than on the original systems. As a collector, I feel I still want to own the original. The one thing that is different with emulation is this, you can never get the same feeling of a nes, snes, etc. without the controller that you first played it with. It's just plain familiarity, and comfort. I know I need the extra buttons of an Xbox controller for the various programs, and features, like save state. But still, sometimes you just want to have that exact same feeling, and to me that is the only way. Thanks for the input.

[iycon]

I've been gamming since i was a young boy with the 2600 and oddessey2. But i was not a collector untill about 2001 or 2002 when i was 30. before then i was really into comicbooks from the early 1960's to current stuff. I had slowly stoped comic collecting as the current prices kept climbing and the cost of living increased. In that time the only game sytem i purchased was the Sega Genesis and N64.

When the Dreamcast went to $49, my GF (now wife) convinced me to buy one, and i began frequenting GameCrazy and Funcoland to find games for it. While looking for games for the dreamcast , i noticed the old Genesis games for sale and began picking up some of those to.

Over time, my wife convinced me to buy a NES, SNES, PS1, Saturn, GBA, and got me a Xbox for Christmas 2002. And when we bought a house 25 miles away , I discovered 2 independent game stores in Brentwood and Antioch which fed my collecting bug.

Now I have over 1500 games across 20 different consoles. I've never bought or sold anything online.Owning a house and having a daughter has slowed my collecting down a bit. But if I had the free money, I would be still be collecting like i was.

To me, it seems that alot of older games are being brought to the current Systems via disc compliations or digital downloads thus, making the demand for original physical copies fall. Bringing my game collecting to compare to comicbooks as that industry has been reprinting runs of titles in collected volumes thus making the need for tracking and buying the originals unneccesary. I, however, would allways prefer the original print than a reprint.

Thats the short version of my story.

[maxlords]

No problem. I used to be far more involved with the hobby than I have been lately. I started collecting in 1995 and I got into after selling Final Fantasy III for SNES. I suddenly had the urge to play it again and I decided that from then on, I'd just keep any games I liked, rather than trading em in. Turned into a full blown collection of around 900 or so games, multiple platforms. Was helping out here on DP, running a web-based sales site for a bit, eBaying, hitting pawn shops constantly, the whole nine yards.

What I came to realize is that I wasn't actually USING them though. I got to a point where I had more games than I could play through, even if I did nothing but game for the next 5 years straight. When I realized that, I started to decide that I didn't need to own more games than I could ever play and I've been slowly scaling back ever since. I'm probably down to around 600 games now, and I expect that to decrease over the next few years. I'm actually doing the same thing for my other collections (books, comics, CDs, DVDs) as well. I'm not sure if it's a liefstyle thing or an age thing (I'm 32) or what...collecting is just becoming less important to me.

[pseudonym]

I have noticed since I started collecting games myself a beneficial, and yet disturbing trend.
I have seen a lot of long time collectors (meaning, they either have many years of experience collecting, or have an extensive collection) just completely stop collecting, and sell off what seems to be their entire collection. I'm actually trying to compile this as a part of my documentary on video game collecting as a hobby, as it would be a the first, of any kind of media on video game collecting (other than websites, like DP, and few various publications) but not the games themselves, but more specifically focusing on the people and their experiences collecting the games.

So with that, if you are one of these people of which I speak of, please tell me your story of collecting from beginning to end. What made you start collecting, what made you stop collecting? If its been awhile since you stopped collecting, do you regret selling your collection? What was your main goal while collecting? Did you reach your goal? What kind of collector did you consider yourself? (A bargain bin searcher, ebay scavenger, strictly Nintendo or Sega, strictly retro games, etc. or any combination of each.) Again, thanks for any positive input given, you can remain anonymous, or if the documentary actually makes it far enough where it would matter, I can and will give all credit due to those who supplied valuable resources. Even if you are still currently collecting, and maybe you have considered "getting out of the game" so to speak, your input is welcome also. I will probably have more threads like this, in the near future, to do more research in the fanscinating realm of collecting video games. Thanks!

I was an NES collector who preferred complete games. I won't get into my story, but the reasons I quit collecting are,

- Space issues; I was running out of room.
- Tired of the rat race; checking out Ebay and other forums for deals everyday; the thrifts, flea markets and other stores every other day maybe; buying lots on Ebay just for that one game and spending a week or so getting rid of the doubles that you have.
- Money; I'm a bit cheap, I've almost never paid the going rate for my collections, and I couldn't see myself dropping hundreds/thousands for the games that I still needed.
- Rare games; most rare games are rare for a reason, they usually suck. I didn't really want to spend a lot of money of games I would try out once or twice and then leave on the shelf anymore.

I don't have any regrets about selling, I'm glad and it's freed up money for other things.

[N 2 Nintendo]

Thanks for the post pseudonym.




- Space issues; I was running out of room.
- Tired of the rat race; checking out Ebay and other forums for deals everyday; the thrifts, flea markets and other stores every other day maybe; buying lots on Ebay just for that one game and spending a week or so getting rid of the doubles that you have.
- Money; I'm a bit cheap, I've almost never paid the going rate for my collections, and I couldn't see myself dropping hundreds/thousands for the games that I still needed.
- Rare games; most rare games are rare for a reason, they usually suck. I didn't really want to spend a lot of money of games I would try out once or twice and then leave on the shelf anymore.

I don't have any regrets about selling, I'm glad and it's freed up money for other things.

I will agree, my space issue has defintely become a problem. But I never seem to tire of looking on ebay, searching for games, maybe I just need more time to get burned out. I hope not, but at the same time I just recently got rid of a bunch of titles, including the ones I got for a cheap deal, for the exact reason that I probably wouldn't play them. Now some of these are great games, just like the Lunar Stories I mentioned finding a steal of $6. But that usually falls under time restrictions. But even then, I could make for many different games, I just choose not to. I feel like I'm wasting my time if I'm not truely enjoying the experince of playing. I guess you could say I'm just really picky about what I like to play (I like the classic Zelda, up to Twilight Princess. As I do SMB for NES up to Mario Galaxy, and Mario Bros Wii.) (I enjoyed classic RPGs like Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, FF3. etc.) But still have yet to play, but might one day get around to play say FF7. So it's easy for me to let a lot of titles go without hesitation. Thanks for the input.

[videogameking26]

I been collecting pretty hardcore for about the last 10+ years, I'm no where near quitting and actually seems I bought awhole lot more last year than I usually do, for me when I find a game that I been wanting it puts a huge smile on my face and to own every platformer on the PS2, DS, PSX, 360, GCN and Wii gives me goosebumps everytime I think about it because I love the genre and told myself I would own every game on that genre on particular consoles and handheld and I did. I own 2000+ games so far and out of that I like to get 100+ for alot of consoles and handhelds so like 360 I own 205 and DS I own 210 to give you example. I love what I do for a hobby and my girlfriend never has really cared in how many games I buy and she told me if it makes me happy then she is happy. I can't see myself quit anytime soon as just tonight both 10 PS2 games off of ebay I been wanting and that will put be at 700 for the collection so very happy about that.

Hope that helps you!

[MachineGex]

When your collecting habits become a burden or a "job", you have taken it too far. I had this problem with comics back in the early 90's. So many new cross-overs and cover variants made collecting a job for me and I got burnt out fast. I cut way back and it became fun again.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I have a modest collection compared to others here, and while I do go through cycles as far as what I like to play- I don't ever think of selling it. I will occasionally sell games that I know I won't play, or extra systems I come across at cheap prices but thats it. I've been enjoying video games ever since getting my NES in the mid 80's, but up until recently I've not collected a whole lot.

I think it's important to not go over board. Stay away from ebay, and collect what you find at reasonable prices. You can grow your collection at a much slower pace that way, and discover what you tastes are in classic games. Filling an entire room with classic games in the span of an entire year, because you liked the NES as a kid is a sure fire way to burn yourself out quick (for most).

[Tempest]

I think the reason I haven't become 'burnt out' is that I collect for just about everything and I go through 'phases' so to speak. I'll be into Atari 2600 for awhile then I'll get tried of it and move onto my TI/99 or PCjr or 5200 or ADAM or etc. etc. etc. Not only does this make collecting a bit cheaper (I don't have to concentrate on expensive rares), but it also breaks up the monotony as there's always something new. The only downside to this approach is that it takes up a lot of space. :)

It's much easier to get burnt out on collecting when you concentrate on one system and all you need are a handful of rare games that you know you'll never find and can't afford.

Tempest

[N 2 Nintendo]

Thanks for the post videogameking26, MachineGex, TheDomesticInstitution, and again to Tempest.

I would agree that I go through phases of collecting. But not only do these phases change my collecting, I think what is available to collect makes a differance. I can be completely satisfied with where my sealed gamecube collection is at, especially right after adding a few more titles to the list(not going for all of them, just the ones I want, which isn't a small amount either). But I can also loose interest because I did just purchase titles to add, and hence why I have no choice but to patiently wait until another title appears that I'm looking for. During that period it is nice to move on to getting all the complete nes games I want, or finishing my NP magazine collection. I have many multiple, incomplete collections, but don't care to stop collecting any of them. Thanks again for the input.

[Nature Boy]

Thanks for the post Evan G. That's one of the reasons I started to notice with other collectors, and myself. I'm not quite as collector crazy as I first was. Especially for games that I don't care anything about with the exception of their rarity, demand, and the profit of a quick turn-around sell. What I mean is, I used to seek out games, just because they were rare, or could potientially be rare.

I agree with the previous poster: this isn't a new trend, this is just what happens to collectors. Some of them sell their stuff off when they get to this point, some don't.

I would put myself in the latter category. My 'retro' collecting from last year was maybe 3 or 4 PS2 games I wanted. And I can't remember the last time I bought anything older than that.

I never intended to have every game for every system I own, and I feel like I've gotten to the point where I have the games I want for the older systems. Plus my retro vs current gaming has always been 10:90, so it makes more sense for me to be buying 360 games rather than more SNES games.

[Tempest]

One thing that has always stopped me from even thinking about selling off my collection is finding a buyer who is willing to take large parts of it in one go. Most buyers only want certain parts of my collection (rare stuff or a specific computer) and aren't interested in the rest. Selling a large collection piece by piece is almost a full time job and is risky as you are dealing with many many different buyers. If I ever sell off my collection it's going to have to go in three or four large chunks because I don't have the patience to sell it off over a year or two. :P

Tempest

[Goodwill Hunter]

I had a 2600 as a kid, but didn't get into collecting until after I got married, got a house, and found an NES lot at a rummage sale in 1991. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt while thrifting and rummaging as much as I enjoy video gaming, and generally picked up any cheap game lot I could find. This resulted in me having a lot of games, and despite being disorganized in most other areas of my life, I found that I had to organize my collection just so I knew what had and what I needed.

I also did a lot of trading back then, so I kept track of my doubles as well. At first it was a text document I would print out using 6 point type and keep in my wallet, which eventually completely covered 2 sheets of paper. I then got one of the first Palm Pilots, and my collection lists have been with me electronically ever since. I made the effort over the years to keep up both my collection and trade lists, but as my collection has grown, I had fewer opportunities to make trades, and the effort on behalf of my doubles didn't feel like it was paying off anymore.

So last year I decided to sell off my doubles (about 2,500 games) at the Midwest Gaming Classic. It was a very liberating experience, getting rid of a game and not having to update an electronic record (not to mention generating a ton of cash!), and I can see why some people would be tempted to do that with their game collection. This year, I'm planning to sell my spare consoles and hardware (my wife is still smiling about this development), along with the spare games I've acquired this year.

But I don't think I'll ever get rid of my actual collection (5600+ unique titles and still growing), as I still get a great deal of satisfaction from adding to it and enjoy the tetris-like challenge of fitting new acquisitions into my space-challenged gameroom. Good luck with your project.

Rich

[calgon]

I guess I can help out here. My story is similar to other people here. I got into collecting "exclusively" for the NES around 2002, when I was 18. At first I went after the games I wanted to play, but that somehow transformed into "buy every NES game you see that you don't have and probably will not play." I think I entered this stage a few months after I had gotten everything I wanted to play. Around a year or so after that I started collecting SNES games, following almost the exact same pattern. Since I was a college student, I didn't have tons of money, so I spent time in thrifts, pawns and flea markets, always hoping for that big find.

Around 2006 I had noticed that I spent WAY more time looking for games than I did playing them. In fact, all my systems were collecting dust, and seldom did I get much enjoyment out of playing them, save for the rare 2-player adventure, hell Secret of Mana and Mario World kept one of my most important relationships going a few more months than it should have.

Flash foward a few months later when I discovered this site, particularly the buying and selling forum. I looked at all the boxes of games I would probably never play, and the decision to sell them was easy. From about that point on, I have been thinning my collection so that I have what I consider to be the classics. I still buy games once in a blue moon, but I am completely done living the collector lifestile.

Looking back I would say in total I probably owned around 400 nes/snes/genesis games. I currently have around 40. Hope that helped.

[swlovinist]

I have never considered to get out of collecting, but respect collectors that have had to make tough decisions. My collection is going strong after two moves(one out of state), a cancer scare with my wife, a newborn baby, and unemployment. I am happily married, and have found a healthy balance between my hobby and spending quality time with the family. Most importantly, I have a stable job and my wife supports my "room of doom".

[Bandicat]

Interesting project. I hope your documentry comes to fruition.

Sorry this thread got more long winded than I intended it to be.

I started collecting around the time the Nintendo 64 came out, however I enjoyed playing video games since as long as I can remember, (until lately) I also was a bit of a pack rat, so my NES and SNES was still around when I decided to start collecting. (I also never traded stuff in, because I thought the prices were too low) I probably also saved my parents' Atari from being sold at a garage sale. (also now part of my collection)

I used to buy any game, piece of hardware, or system I saw. I also wanted to get ahold of every system ever created. Because of this I have really thin collections of 3DO, Neo Geo, Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, Atari Jaguar, XBOX and probably a few other things. In fact, I don't even have any games to go with my Saturn. Just a boxed system.

Nintendo was always my favorite video game company, so naturally I focused a lot of my money on that throughout the years. Once I got a Playstation, I found I really enjoyed that system too, so I started spending money there. From about 2007-mide 2009 I focused on just building my NES library, basically went after any game that I didn't already have in my collection.

Recently though, I have just lost pretty much all motivation for playing video games and collecting video games. I moved into my first single family home last August and brought the collection with. I hooked up the PS3 fairly quickly, because the freedom of the single family home allowed me to play it as loud as I wanted. I didn't hook up my Wii until last November when I bought Super Mario Bros Wii. Then I played that a few times and set it on the shelf. Everything else, including my extensive NES collection has sat in a pile taking up an entire spare bedroom.

I've been contemplating selling the entire thing except for the PS3 and a bunch of the NES classics. I look around at it and think to myself. "What is the point of all of this stuff?" It just sits there. I don't play it; I don't display it. I could turn that room into a "Room of Doom", but that doesn't really appeal to me. Everyone tells me not to sell the collection, they say I will regret it. However, I've recently started working on selling of my extra NES systems/duplicate games.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Here's my contribution to 'trend'. In the last few years, I've hit a wall. When I started, I could go out and find something I needed in the wild any day. Now, I can drive all day and hit up every place I know and if I find something, even just one thing off the list, I would consider myself extremely fortunate. When this first started I still had the internet to make trades and buy from. Now I have a very short list of domestic games/consoles so now I'm on to imports. Only thing is, the imports I really want don't show up online too often at reasonable prices and my knowledge of import libraries are much less robust than the stuff available in my local region.

As far as recent gaming, things have slowed down quite a bit in the last year. I'm keeping up with Wii/DS, PSP (to a lessor extent) and PS2 (even more so). A busy release month would be 2-3 releases I had interest in. Mostly, a months releases are usually bare though.

So, I've transfered my hunting time into thinking and gaming time. I'm playing some accumulation and finding that it's time for another big trim. I had a large trimming a few years back, but I do one every year to keep things in line in terms of space etc. I'm expecting my coming trim to be fairly large and probably the biggest one I've committed to yet. It's going to be fun.

[megasdkirby]

Eventually, at some point or another, a collector will sell off their collection due to numerous reasons, many of which have already been mentioned in previous posts. They (collectors) might say that "I will never let go of my games!", but truth be told, they will. Not now...maybe not later...but eventually.

Video games are just physical items. Nothing more, nothing less. It gives us pleasure. It gives us grief. Finding a super rare item brings us an incredibly happy experience. Loosing a rare item brings us sadness.

Do I see myself letting go of my collection? Sure. If necessity comes into play, or just plain lack of interest, I will get rid of everything I have. I might retain those games that hold a special place in my heart...or those really hard to find titles. But the rest I will get rid off, specially those I never play with.

Recently, I've slowed down quite a bit, because I realized that the amount of money I've spent of games has been quite ridiculous. And it hurts that most of those games I will never play. I can't pay an exagerated amount of money on a game (I used to) just to have it "shelved". For instance, I know many would love to spend $5,000 or more on "Air Raid" for the 2600, but the probability of it never being played and sitting on a shelf for years is VERY high. Heck, I might say even 99%, give or take a percentage. What I find most important is not obtaining the game, but the satisfaction/happyness obtained when the game was finally obtained. This feeling can rarely be duplicated.

Also, I believe everything video game related has a price. A collector might say that they will never part with a game, no matter how much they are being offered for it. But give them a nice price, and they will bulge. I might find a copy of "Air Raid" (same example again) and I might say "I will never sell this no matter what", but if someone would offer me a million dollars (as an example, not a reality) for it, sure I would. It could be any price, as long as the person sees it as something worth while.

[Nature Boy]

Eventually, at some point or another, a collector will sell off their collection due to numerous reasons, many of which have already been mentioned in previous posts. They (collectors) might say that "I will never let go of my games!", but truth be told, they will. Not now...maybe not later...but eventually.

This is just way to absolute to be true. Of *course* there will be people who never sell!

Letting go is another matter. In 40 years or so I'm sure I'll no longer be interested, and will have passed on my collection to my sons (and hopefully some grandchildren :) ).

[N 2 Nintendo]

(Read next post)

[N 2 Nintendo]

Thanks for the post Nature Boy, Goodwill Hunter, calgon, swlovinist, Bandicat, Icarus Moonsight, and megasdkirby.


I agree with the previous poster: this isn't a new trend, this is just what happens to collectors. Some of them sell their stuff off when they get to this point, some don't.


The reason I feel it is a new trend is because console video games (Not video game consoles) have only existed since the mid 1970's. That's less than 40 years. A lot of games being collected are mainly from the 1980's and on, so it actually would be less, for most games. So, most the the games are less than 30 years old. Most of the post here have stated no more than a maximum of 10-15 years of collecting. That's half the time that they even existed to be collected. And as also stated, most people have either sold their collection, or defintely reduced their collecting habits in the past 2-3 years. This is a first for video game collecting as a hobby. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if its the beginning of video game collectors selling off their collection and/or reducing collecting games in general, especially in the last 2-3 years, and not prior, I'd call that a "trend".


Another interesting theory:

Now I'm just using comic books as a good example, as you could apply this theory to baseball cards, etc. Comics books have been around since the 1930's. Twice the amount of time for video games. If when comics books were just under 30 years old, say 1960's, roughly when even comic books had been reborn with the rise of Marvel, had been sold then, I doubt would have been remotely for the value it is now. Especially in good shape. I'm sure their were plenty of people that sold their comic books collections , even when some of them at that time, may have had a pretty decent value. But nothing of their value to be in the later future. Even in the 1980's a Amazing Spider-Man #1 went for well cheaper than it even does now. Mint copies of cardboard NES boxes, and manuals are increasingly harder to find. As a near mint CIB game represents a near mint vintage comic (in respect to collecting, not monetary value) So, who's to say this couldn't happen with video games?

I find it disturbing that people may miss out on the same potiential. I'd prefer it to not happen to me. But also, I think that its the story of the collector that is interesting. And some ended their collections because of the "What's the point?" factor. That is disturbing, to see anyone not be a fan of something they were once a fan of. I also don't want to fall victim to that thought. I know that material possesions are temporary, but so is a life. So, I like to hear someone's story about their life, before it's gone. I can't really explain it past that. And really, I figured I would compile collectors stories just as a portion of my documentary. My documentary is on video game collecting the hobby as a whole, just this portion being about the collectors, and their experiences.

[FayeC86]

Ive never sold huge parts of my own collection, but I have bought large parts of others collections. Some times its because they simply want the capital to buy something else. Other times they just want to see the games played rather than sit on a shelf.

One time, a friend and I bought a good portion of a deceased gamers collection. In this case his family just didnt want to look at it.

Ive never seen people get rid of collections for the sake of being done with collecting, tho. In my experience its more likely they want to open a new chapter and begin collecting something else.

[tubeway]

But give them a nice price, and they will bulge.

When I sold off all of my 3DO prototypes the prices offered certainly made me bulge.

In my pants.