The King of Collectors: Full Playstation 2 NTSC Library Sealed

[Xtincthed]

I just finished the interview I had with the only known collector to have a full sealed ntsc Playstation 2 collection (over 1850 games).

The Playstation 2 has one of the most extensive libraries of all consoles, trying to get a complete set is near madness..lbut he went for a complete sealed set!
Wanna know what drives this collector and wanna see his collection?

http://www.playstationcollecting.com/general/the-king-of-collectors-full-playstation-2-ntsc-library-sealed

Hope you enjoy the read as much as I enjoyed talking to him :)

[LifeGame]

Good stuff!!!

[kupomogli]

It was a nice read, but pertaining to Greatest Hits games with extra content, he's missing quite a few games from having a full collection.

[imanerd0011]

Damn! I never thought I'd see a complete PS2 set, let alone a complete sealed set! Anyone have any idea of the value of this set?

[kupomogli]

Damn! I never thought I'd see a complete PS2 set, let alone a complete sealed set! Anyone have any idea of the value of this set?

Not nearly as much as what he probably paid to accumulate it.

[Nate Nanjo]

Not nearly as much as what he probably paid to accumulate it.

I wonder what he does for a living? I want that kind of money, especially to buy a Uncharted Fortune Hunter Edition.

[Xtincthed]

Not nearly as much as what he probably paid to accumulate it.

actually I thought that too, but as the text says he paid $300 for Moto GP and that was by far the most expensive one.. so the games that go for big bucks now were all picked up pretty cheap

[Bojay1997]

actually I thought that too, but as the text says he paid $300 for Moto GP and that was by far the most expensive one.. so the games that go for big bucks now were all picked up pretty cheap

Yes, but if you look at one of his other answers, he says he got 95% of the games for either a discount or around what they were released for. Given that probably 95%+ of the PS2 library goes for less than 1/3 of what it was released for, he probably spent many times more than what the entire collection is currently worth to accumulate it.

[savageone]

Well, that is amazing and all but I think he is going to have to sell all that if he wants a decent Neo Geo AES collection.

[The 1 2 P]

Thinking about all those sealed yearly sports games in his collection is headache inducing. If he ever decides to sell his collection he won't even be able to give those away.

[Smashed Brother]

actually I thought that too, but as the text says he paid $300 for Moto GP and that was by far the most expensive one.. so the games that go for big bucks now were all picked up pretty cheap

I thought it was Wizardry that he paid $300 for? Very impressive, but still, sealed collecting is masturbation no matter how you justify it.

I don't know who's crazier: this guy, or Adol?

[Aussie2B]

Boy, some people have more money than they know what to do with. It only takes him four years to get a full, sealed PS2 library (is it full NTSC? I don't see Japanese games), and he immediately starts a US AES set and is only shy two already? All by 23 years old? Crazy. Talk about the silver spoon. Kudos to him for meeting his collecting goals, but a huge, sealed collection like that is just a massive waste of both money and space in my book. I'd be more impressed by an average Joe without bottomless pockets slowly piecing together a full set over many years, one which he plays and loves.

[Bojay1997]

Boy, some people have more money than they know what to do with. It only takes him four years to get a full, sealed PS2 library (is it full NTSC? I don't see Japanese games), and he immediately starts a US AES set and is only shy two already? All by 23 years old? Crazy. Talk about the silver spoon. Kudos to him for meeting his collecting goals, but a huge, sealed collection like that is just a massive waste of both money and space in my book. I'd be more impressed by an average Joe without bottomless pockets slowly piecing together a full set over many years, one which he plays and loves.

I agree with you. It's impressive that he has the collection, but assuming virtually unlimited financial resources, there is almost nothing on the PS2 that is so rare that you couldn't get it with a little bit of waiting for Ebay, Amazon, etc...I actually think I am within 100 or so sealed PS2 games of a complete US set right now, but I don't think I will ever pick up the annual sports games and a few edutainment titles for small kids to finish it off just because I don't care enough. I also picked up most of the games when they hit $20 or less, but it was within the regular retail window, so it's not really all that impressive, especially when you consider I still spent well over $20K over the years for a collection that is worth far less than what I paid (not that I would ever sell it).

The Neo Geo collection is actually more impressive in my opinion just because some things very rarely show up and when they do, it's almost always in private transactions and not on Ebay or even Neo-Geo.com. Still, you're right that hearing stories of people who have put together entire sets without a lot of money or in some cases Ebay is really neat and those are the stories that I like reading.

[portnoyd]

Boy, some people have more money than they know what to do with. It only takes him four years to get a full, sealed PS2 library (is it full NTSC? I don't see Japanese games), and he immediately starts a US AES set and is only shy two already? All by 23 years old? Crazy. Talk about the silver spoon. Kudos to him for meeting his collecting goals, but a huge, sealed collection like that is just a massive waste of both money and space in my book. I'd be more impressed by an average Joe without bottomless pockets slowly piecing together a full set over many years, one which he plays and loves.

Just because you have money doesn't mean you are smart with your money. Also, I agree with this post. This moneybags should talk to the moneybags on NA who has two complete in box GG collections. Together, they can forge an even more meaningless collecting goal and waste even more money.

[Gameguy]

Nevermind the complete PS2 collection, what about some of the other stuff in his collection?


When you have a collection as vast as yours, there are probably dozens of items in your collection that would qualify high in anyone’s “favorite items” list. So now I wonder which ones you pick out of all those amazing items.
Well actually picking a top 5 is not that hard for me:
1. Uncharted Fortune Hunter Editions [Playstation 3] (of which I have two copies)
2. Elemental Gearbolt Assassin’s case [Playstation 1]
3. Last Hope [Neo Geo AES]
4. Magical Chase [Turbo Grafix]
5. Minestorm 2 Cart [Vectrex]
How much are those worth now? They're all pretty rare, each one is basically considered a grail. How someone can get all this stuff so quickly just boggles the mind.

[Aussie2B]

They're all pretty rare, each one is basically considered a grail. How someone can get all this stuff so quickly just boggles the mind.

I'm guessing the bad economy is working in his favor. When you got average collectors willing to part with their grails if they can get enough out of them and a guy ready to throw his cash into the wind and spend whatever it takes, it's probably not that hard to get even the rarest of items.

[Kellhus]

Not nearly as much as what he probably paid to accumulate it.
Agreed. What a clown.

[chrisballer]

I have not looked at the interview yet,but I must be missing something. There is a lot of hate in this thread.

[Boltorano]

I have not looked at the interview yet,but I must be missing something. There is a lot of hate in this thread.

Same.

For sure, there are a few games that I would LOVE to have a factory sealed copy of (Final Fantasy III for the SNES among other things). I've been building up a collection for the past few years but have only been seriously interested in collecting video games for the past six months or so. I still need to decide if I want to go for as many loose carts as possible or focus on CIB. Do I automatically despise the collector of factory sealed games just because it's not my thing or I can't afford it? Nope.

[Parodius Duh!]

Should be "North American" sealed set, not NTSC. Japan is NTSC as well, doubt he has all those games sealed......or ever will for that matter. Anyone who has a complete Sealed Japanese set is the real balls to the wall ps2 collector.

[Oobgarm]

Boy, some people have more money than they know what to do with. Kudos to him for meeting his collecting goals, but a huge, sealed collection like that is just a massive waste of both money and space in my book. I'd be more impressed by an average Joe without bottomless pockets slowly piecing together a full set over many years, one which he plays and loves.

QFT. I love the PS2, but I find this crazy. Maybe 1/10th of the games on the system will be looked at as "good buys" later on down the road, especially sealed, but the rest will likely be "just more old common crap".

And the sheer number of dupes I saw was kinda sickening. 13 copies of the GH version of Crazy Taxi? WHY??? No one needs 5 sealed copies of NCAA Football 2002. NOBODY. Showing off piles of dupes just screams of arrogance to me. And this is the kind of arrogance that was simply bought with piles of money.

Anything can be achieved if you throw enough money at it.

[Boltorano]

Should be "North American" sealed set, not NTSC. Japan is NTSC as well, doubt he has all those games sealed......or ever will for that matter. Anyone who has a complete Sealed Japanese set is the real balls to the wall ps2 collector.

Perhaps, although I think most would get the right idea.

If somebody said they had a "Complete NTSC-J collection" I wouldn't assume they had all the North America releases automatically.

[Parodius Duh!]

its not like collecting sealed NES or other vintage stuff either, Im sure quite a few super nerds have put away sealed copies of "what might be rare" just to hock on ebay in a few years. You'll see.

[SpaceHarrier]

Fun read.. I don't get the sealed thing either, but it's certainly an amazing collection!

[savageone]

Wow I totally overlooked that this guy is only 2 games from completing an english AES set when I made my first post here. I thought he was just starting.

He says he is only missing Metal Slug and Ninja Masters, and while those two are definitely rare they aren't the rarest english AES games. If he has legit copies of Kizuna Encounter and Ultimate 11 he should be well known in the Neo Geo community. These are probably the 2 most rare commercially available games ever. As far as I know the last documented sale of those two games were $55,000 for the pair 2-3 years ago. How did he get either of those 2 games? Does Ahans76 use a different ID there? He obviously has the money for them, is he is the same guy who paid $55k?

[TonyTheTiger]

Boy, some people have more money than they know what to do with. It only takes him four years to get a full, sealed PS2 library (is it full NTSC? I don't see Japanese games), and he immediately starts a US AES set and is only shy two already? All by 23 years old? Crazy. Talk about the silver spoon. Kudos to him for meeting his collecting goals, but a huge, sealed collection like that is just a massive waste of both money and space in my book. I'd be more impressed by an average Joe without bottomless pockets slowly piecing together a full set over many years, one which he plays and loves.


Just because you have money doesn't mean you are smart with your money. Also, I agree with this post. This moneybags should talk to the moneybags on NA who has two complete in box GG collections. Together, they can forge an even more meaningless collecting goal and waste even more money.

I'm not going to pass judgment on somebody for their buying habits so long as their affairs and necessities are in order and their priorities are straight enough that they aren't harming themselves or others.

But, I really would like to hear more about these truly grand collecting goals in terms of money. I realize that people's finances are none of my or any one else's business but there are two things I always think of when I see collections like this.

1) What kind of floor/shelf space do you need to comfortably handle it all?
2) What kind of initial investment and management is necessary to follow through?

People talk about the amount of money collections are worth after the fact but they never talk about the actual process of accumulating everything (and not going bankrupt in the meantime) in much detail. I think I'd be interested in reading a candid explanation/advice column on how to balance large collecting goals with money.

[Doonzmore]

What's the story behind the Uncharted Fortune Hunter Edition anyway?

[Emuaust]

Just because you have money doesn't mean you are smart with your money. Also, I agree with this post. This moneybags should talk to the moneybags on NA who has two complete in box GG collections. Together, they can forge an even more meaningless collecting goal and waste even more money.

I would rather have a full PS2 set(sealed is stupid) then a CIB Nes set anyday, takes all kinds I suppose.

While this guy seems to have too much money and probably doesn't super appreciate what he has I am nearly half way on a PAL PS2 set and Im dirt poor...

[Porksta]

He says he only collects the first release with the white logo? Were there other releases, or does he just mean black label?

[jonebone]

lol @ all the hate in this thread. So what if he has money, he's still a collector.

Now if he just slapped $100k down in someone's face and bought their entire PS2 collection, then you'd have a point. But he pieced it together game by game just as many of us collectors do.

When talking about the last game he needed, he even says:

"The first Moto GP. It was an early release title and I had never seen one sealed. I literally looked through thousands and thousands of games every day on EBay to find one."

Someone looking through thousands of games in a day obviously has a love for the hobby, no matter how much money. If he was such a filthy rich snob as you guys make it seem, he'd pay someone else hundreds of dollars to search for him and land the deal.

Seriously, the jealousy in this thread is disgusting.

[Darko]

And I thought I had quite a few PS2 games at around 200 :)

Now, as far as people bashing him for having money, that's ridiculous. Who cares? I make a great salary for being 27 and I grew up without much want. Does that make me a bad person? If I wanted to have a complete sealed PS2 collection I could make it happen over a few years. I just don't spend a ton of money on collecting because I enjoy the hunt and finding great deals on games. It's part of the fun in it to me.

Collecting games should be something fun and personal. Jealousy shouldn't drive you to the point of being a dick. Money isn't everything and the amount of shit you have lying around doesn't make you who you are.

[Aussie2B]

You guys are exaggerating the "hate" in here. That's usually how these topics go. If anyone posts something the slightest bit negative, anything other than "Wow, that guy and his collection are awesome!", then accusations of jealousy and hatred are thrown around. Nothing that terrible has been said in here. Some just feel that his collection isn't as impressive or meaningful as others. I think there's something wrong with the collecting community if the guy with the most money is automatically considered to have the most impressive collection. It's not just about what's on the shelf; it's about the hunt itself. Anyway, if this guy came here personally to post his collection, I think you'd see less negativity, but when you do an interview and that interview gets posted on forums, you're opening yourself up to discussion - discussion of all kinds. This guy would have to be naive if he'd think that every reaction would be praise. Heck, as fellow collectors, we can relate to where this guy is coming from and our negativity is pretty mild as a result, compared to people who don't collect games and would have far more disparaging words for a guy that has thousands of sealed plastic cases (because that's all they are if you're not opening them) which he's spent God knows how much money on.

[Bojay1997]

You guys are exaggerating the "hate" in here. That's usually how these topics go. If anyone posts something the slightest bit negative, anything other than "Wow, that guy and his collection are awesome!", then accusations of jealousy and hatred are thrown around. Nothing that terrible has been said in here. Some just feel that his collection isn't as impressive or meaningful as others. I think there's something wrong with the collecting community if the guy with the most money is automatically considered to have the most impressive collection. It's not just about what's on the shelf; it's about the hunt itself. Anyway, if this guy came here personally to post his collection, I think you'd see less negativity, but when you do an interview and that interview gets posted on forums, you're opening yourself up to discussion - discussion of all kinds. This guy would have to be naive if he'd think that every reaction would be praise. Heck, as fellow collectors, we can relate to where this guy is coming from and our negativity is pretty mild as a result, compared to people who don't collect games and would have far more disparaging words for a guy that has thousands of sealed plastic cases (because that's all they are if you're not opening them) which he's spent God knows how much money on.

I agree. While there is the usual negativity regarding sealed stuff in this thread and a few people probably went a little far questioning how this relatively young guy could afford all this stuff, I'm just not seeing a lot of jealousy or even hate. If anything, the OP set his interview subject up for ridicule by declaring him the "King of Collectors". I think it's neat that he has a full PS2 sealed set and more impressive that he has a near complete Neo Geo English collection, but I don't think this is the kind of story that is going to inspire people or make them jealous. He's collecting a very recent system where even the "rare" games are plentiful and literally anyone with a little time and a credit card can complete the set if they really want to.

[tom]

Any PS2 special box releases, like MGS on PSX?

[Darko]

I think there's something wrong with the collecting community if the guy with the most money is automatically considered to have the most impressive collection.

If you have more buying power you're going to (potentially) have more items (more=better to many collectors). I agree with your statement but not everyone thinks like us.


It's not just about what's on the shelf; it's about the hunt itself.

Truth.


I'm just not seeing a lot of jealousy or even hate.

Yeah, I agree. I might have gotten a little carried away. It just rubs me the wrong way when I hear/see people throw around negativity towards someone's achievement, monetarily or otherwise. Hit a little personal chord.

I'm pretty impressed simply because of the amount of time/effort he's obviously put in to finding everything sealed. Sure, it's not the oldest system in the world but it's still quite the collection. Also, I'd bet that his duplicates are widely due to the purchase of large lots of unsealed games along the way.

[Darko]

Stupid double post...

[Swamperon]

Most expensive paper weight ever?

I jest. Well kinda. Yes it's impressive to a degree and I don't care about the money side but they're just gonna sit there now... Granted PS2 is recent enough that he can pick up any game again on the cheap probably, but... meh.

There's more impressive collections out there and much harder sealed ones to achieve.

At least they're not all graded!

[Xtincthed]

Any PS2 special box releases, like MGS on PSX?

one of the pictures in the interview shows some of the box sets

[PapaStu]

What's the story behind the Uncharted Fortune Hunter Edition anyway?

It was a special edition given out/won when Drakes 2 released. Something like 100 copies in each region were made (or was it just 100 total, I forget). They were never put up for sale, just given away by SCEA/Naughty Dog.

Whenever a massive set like this is established some of the first things kicked around always revolves around the $$ needed to facilitate the collection. The second thing that gets kicked around seems to revolve around the time it took to facilitate the collection. This is compounded by the simple fact that it was done relatively quickly and the final outcome... sealed. I've never seen anything as alienating as the sealed/complete/loose item collection arguments that spring up, with the sealed collections taking the cake for interwebz drama. What doesn't help here is the fact that some of the attitude his interview has portrayed him as a braggart and that tends to really rub people the wrong way.

4 years to make a full set of PS2 games is no small matter. 4 years to make a full SEALED set is pretty insane.
Early NES collectors who started to make full sets appear got this kind of reaction too. So much money, stupid collection a huge waste of space, all of that was kicked around. Now people may think that, but because a complete set is a bit more common, its not as shocking as it used to be.

What anyone decides to do with their income is completely their own perogative. Do questions come up, when a 23 year old person has amassed a sealed set of games in a relative quick period of time? Of course. It cost money, no doubt about it, but if this guy chooses to spend 40k (conservative estimate) amassing this set, so be it. It may not be the wisest choice with ones money, but game collecting on the whole is that way. Even those of us who've been doing it for a decade or two, we know we're not going to get it all back.

So this guy has also almost completed an AES set (among who knows what else), he's got money, be it from the lotto, a trust fund, a massive stock payout, his invention of the snuggie, working hard in his 9 to 5 job. Who gives a fuck. Would it have been any better to the collecting community had the AES set not been mentioned? I doubt it. The target would have just fallen onto other things like Assassins Cases, or Fortune Editions, or 14 copies of Crazy Taxi GH. There is no pleasing everyone.

[The 1 2 P]

Doesn't Dream have a full or near complete set of PS2 games also?

[Drath]

I've never understood the whole, "I collect video games, I love collecting!"

"Wait, a second! Somebody has more games than me???"
"What a loser, what does he do for a living, look how much he spent! Terrible. I hate him. He's stupid!"
"Whatever, it's not that great, I'd rather have <insert random esoteric collection>."

That progression is a pretty clear-cut case, and a dictionary definition of the word "jealously". People have disposable income, if it wasn't sealed PS2 games, it would be modern art, motorcycles, or vintage lawn gnomes from the 18th century... who the hell cares. Collectors gonna collect.

[Gameguy]

I'm not jealous of a complete PS2 collection, at least 80-90% of the games are shit and they're all sealed so they won't be played with anyway. I just know I wouldn't want that much crap taking up space, it would drive me nuts.

I think most collectors who are angry aren't jealous of the collection, they're more annoyed with how someone can waste so much money on stupid shit when they could have put it to better use themselves. Like if someone was struggling to find a way to pay for needed home repairs or schooling and then reads about some random rich guy who bought 10,000 Hot Pockets to throw at cars off the highway as a prank. That type of stuff is annoying. That's the mindset I think most people have anyway.

[Drath]

I'm not jealous of a complete PS2 collection, at least 80-90% of the games are shit and they're all sealed so they won't be played with anyway. I just know I wouldn't want that much crap taking up space, it would drive me nuts.

I think most collectors who are angry aren't jealous of the collection, they're more annoyed with how someone can waste so much money on stupid shit when they could have put it to better use themselves. Like if someone was struggling to find a way to pay for needed home repairs or schooling and then reads about some random rich guy who bought 10,000 Hot Pockets to throw at cars off the highway as a prank. That type of stuff is annoying. That's the mindset I think most people have anyway.

But that's kind of my point. They are jealous of his money; maybe not the games themselves. Maybe jealously is the wrong word in that case, envy would better fit that. Like I said, if it wasn't sealed PS2 games, and he wasn't a gamer, he could of bought any useless materialistic shit and nobody would care because it's not game related and isn't marginalized to a community founded on elitism (well, unless it was art, haha). The point I guess at the end of it, besides all my envy/jealousy talk is if this was just another rich dude buying 10 Ferrari's nobody would care.

I think the "sealed" thing definitely is the major contributor to the negativity, I agree there, but I'm not going to wish I had his money to do amazing things with.

[Emuaust]

nevermind

[Aussie2B]

Like I said, if it wasn't sealed PS2 games, and he wasn't a gamer, he could of bought any useless materialistic shit and nobody would care because it's not game related and isn't marginalized to a community founded on elitism (well, unless it was art, haha). The point I guess at the end of it, besides all my envy/jealousy talk is if this was just another rich dude buying 10 Ferrari's nobody would care.

I don't think that's true at all. I think most people, game collectors and non-gamers alike, are bothered by wanton excess, even more so in these last few years in which so many people are struggling. There's a point when people's spending habits just become offensive to most, and I don't think that necessarily has anything to do with envy. If you get to the point in which you know you and your family are going to be financially comfortable for life and you've already acquired more than enough material possessions to keep yourself busy and content and you STILL have more money than you know what to do with, then it's time to think about being thankful for your blessings and giving some money to the less fortunate, rather than conjuring up more things to dump money into, just for the sake of spending.

[portnoyd]

By going full steam at this now, he's wasted easily thousands of dollars. The system is still live. When it finally is put to bed, that's when he should have gone for it. Won't change the state of sealed games much from what it is now, but the price will start to go down. As it is, he's going to pay full price for any new title coming out for the PS2 just to maintain that full set. Just doesn't sound like a smart use of their funds.

And it's funny how the one regular NintendoAge poster is the one to accuse everyone of jealousy. Just because we don't blow everyone who spends gobs of money like the members at NA doesn't mean we hate or envy them.

[Drath]

There's a point when people's spending habits just become offensive to most, and I don't think that necessarily has anything to do with envy. If you get to the point in which you know you and your family are going to be financially comfortable for life and you've already acquired more than enough material possessions to keep yourself busy and content and you STILL have more money than you know what to do with, then it's time to think about being thankful for your blessings and giving some money to the less fortunate, rather than conjuring up more things to dump money into, just for the sake of spending.

You bring up a good point about collecting being offensive, and I guess that's probably true as can be witnessed here. I guess that's another word I failed to realize could be another feeling people are experiencing. I know not everybody is jealous or envious, but I know there may be some of that happening, but the others, they might be offended, like you mentioned.

Unfortunately though, the world isn't fair and people aren't altruistic enough to donate the money that they think they rightfully earned, they would rather buy useless crap. I think if people accepted that, then there would be no "offense" taken.

It's cool that most of the discussion here is more interesting then the sealed PS2 games... well at least I think so.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

Here is my personal feeling. I am not jealous or envious. I do not feel that he is stupid or wasting his money. It is his money. If it were my money I would not spend it that way or else I would already have my own complete collection of PS2 games. As it is, I have too many PS2 games that I will never play so I don't need another thousand or so.

This is why I only have about 70 or so complete Saturn games. That is probably the system I like the best, although the Genesis comes a close second. If I wanted to, I could run out right now and buy a bunch more complete Saturn games, but I do not want them. There are some that I want and if I see them for a reasonable price, I will get them.

I have chosen to collect those things that I like and will hopefully someday actually play, but if someone else chooses to buy a complete set of anything, more power to them. So while I am not a hater, I am also not overly "Wowed" by the whole deal. I am happy that he reached his milestone, and I am off to pursue mine.

JY

[Oobgarm]

Jealous? Of tons of sealed games that I could not play and most of which I would never buy opened? No.

Think that it's crazy someone has all 1800+ games and will never open them, as they plummet in value? Yes.

[gum_drops]

As far as I know the last documented sale of those two games were $55,000 for the pair 2-3 years ago. How did he get either of those 2 games? Does Ahans76 use a different ID there? He obviously has the money for them, is he is the same guy who paid $55k?

That was wolf, who bought them from Shawn for 55,000.

Yes, appears this is the same Ahans76 from neo-geo.com.

[Kitsune Sniper]

By going full steam at this now, he's wasted easily thousands of dollars. The system is still live. When it finally is put to bed, that's when he should have gone for it. Won't change the state of sealed games much from what it is now, but the price will start to go down. As it is, he's going to pay full price for any new title coming out for the PS2 just to maintain that full set. Just doesn't sound like a smart use of their funds.

I dunno. A lot of the newer ... final PS2 releases seem like bargain bin shovelware that ends up on eBay or Amazon for $5 a month after release. The longer he waits to get the older games sealed, the harder it'll be to actually get them.

It's his money and he can do whatever he wants with it, but goddamn, what kind of a job does this guy have to be able to AFFORD this at his age? That's what I want to know. I'd expect someone older than him to have that money, you know? Savings and all.

[Bojay1997]

But that's kind of my point. They are jealous of his money; maybe not the games themselves. Maybe jealously is the wrong word in that case, envy would better fit that. Like I said, if it wasn't sealed PS2 games, and he wasn't a gamer, he could of bought any useless materialistic shit and nobody would care because it's not game related and isn't marginalized to a community founded on elitism (well, unless it was art, haha). The point I guess at the end of it, besides all my envy/jealousy talk is if this was just another rich dude buying 10 Ferrari's nobody would care.

I think the "sealed" thing definitely is the major contributor to the negativity, I agree there, but I'm not going to wish I had his money to do amazing things with.

I don't think either envy or jealousy is the right word. It's more like paternalism as if this guy somehow has to spend his money in a way that comports with how others on this board would do it. Frankly, I believed that people were just not that impressed initially because it was a fairly current system with a very limited number of "rare" titles, but having seen this latest round of comments, I'm convinced that there are some very sad individuals on this board. Yes, the economy is bad and yes, people are hurting, but nobody has any obligation to stop spending their own money on whatever they want just because other people have made bad choices in life (i.e. bought homes they knew they couldn't afford, didn't save any money at all over the years, amassed massive credit card debt at high interest rates, didn't graduate from high school or college, didn't keep their skills up, etc...) or because factors beyond their control have caused them to lose their job.

Lots of us on this board do many charitable things and donate our time and money to the community. Who knows, maybe this guy does too. As for speculating about how he can afford all this, who cares? It's his choice. Maybe he chooses to live in a 400 square foot studio apartment and puts every penny into his collection. Maybe he's rich or maybe he went to college, got a degree in computer science or engineering or another field in demand and got a great job right out of college. I know I worked my way through college and didn't take out any loans and therefore, I was dirt poor for four years, but when I graduated, I had no debt and the ability to spend more than a third of my $60K salary from my first job on completely stupid stuff including lots of video games. It's not anyone's place to judge what other people and other collectors are doing with their money.

[Rob2600]

I think most people, game collectors and non-gamers alike, are bothered by wanton excess, even more so in these last few years in which so many people are struggling. ... If you get to the point in which you know you and your family are going to be financially comfortable for life and you've already acquired more than enough material possessions to keep yourself busy and content and you STILL have more money than you know what to do with, then it's time to think about being thankful for your blessings and giving some money to the less fortunate, rather than conjuring up more things to dump money into, just for the sake of spending.

I agree 100%. I wish more people were this mature, responsible, and generous.

Even at a discount, it'd take what, roughly $45,000 to own a complete sealed U.S. PS2 collection? That could've been a down payment on a house, four years at a state college, or capital for a small business start-up. Knowledge is power, but so is money. This guy chose to focus that power on a sealed PS2 video game collection instead of helping people. "A fool and his money are soon parted."

[Trebuken]

I think it's awesome. Collecting is as much fun as playing the games for some of us...so good for him.

This is the only thing that bothered me -- "I wasn’t old enough for the Atari and don’t care about the Atari so I don’t collect any of them." He said that. I think he is
truely missing a piece of this hobby by making that statement - he is young, perhaps in time.

[Bojay1997]

I agree 100%. I wish more people were this mature, responsible, and generous.

Even at a discount, it'd take what, roughly $45,000 to own a complete sealed U.S. PS2 collection? That could've been a down payment on a house, four years at a state college, or capital for a small business start-up. Knowledge is power, but so is money. This guy chose to focus that power on a sealed PS2 video game collection instead of helping people. "A fool and his money are soon parted."

Instead of helping people do what? Do you give a significant percentage of your hard earned income to other people? How many jobs have you created and successful small businesses have you started? You have no idea what this guy does in his free time. He might be the most generous and giving person on the planet. He might already own a house and have a college degree and a successful business employing many people. Some people buy expensive cars or boats or coins or stamps or art or whatever. He buys PS2 games. Just about everyone on this board has some form of collection, the vast majority of which doesn't get played on a regular basis. Is everyone that owns more than a tiny collection of games an evil person that isn't doing enough for society? Just because this guy decided to buy PS2 games and collect those he somehow is a greedy, non-giving person? I would suggest some of you spend a little time looking at your own finances and see how much waste there is on eating out, a car that maybe is more than you need, a house that's larger than you need, etc...Unless you've taken a vow of poverty and post here just because you like reading about old video games instead of owning them, you are a huge hippocrite.

[98PaceCar]

I don't think either envy or jealousy is the right word. It's more like paternalism as if this guy somehow has to spend his money in a way that comports with how others on this board would do it. Frankly, I believed that people were just not that impressed initially because it was a fairly current system with a very limited number of "rare" titles, but having seen this latest round of comments, I'm convinced that there are some very sad individuals on this board. Yes, the economy is bad and yes, people are hurting, but nobody has any obligation to stop spending their own money on whatever they want just because other people have made bad choices in life (i.e. bought homes they knew they couldn't afford, didn't save any money at all over the years, amassed massive credit card debt at high interest rates, didn't graduate from high school or college, didn't keep their skills up, etc...) or because factors beyond their control have caused them to lose their job.

Lots of us on this board do many charitable things and donate our time and money to the community. Who knows, maybe this guy does too. As for speculating about how he can afford all this, who cares? It's his choice. Maybe he chooses to live in a 400 square foot studio apartment and puts every penny into his collection. Maybe he's rich or maybe he went to college, got a degree in computer science or engineering or another field in demand and got a great job right out of college. I know I worked my way through college and didn't take out any loans and therefore, I was dirt poor for four years, but when I graduated, I had no debt and the ability to spend more than a third of my $60K salary from my first job on completely stupid stuff including lots of video games. It's not anyone's place to judge what other people and other collectors are doing with their money.

Thank you for saying what I couldn't put into words while remaining polite!!

[Aussie2B]

Do you give a significant percentage of your hard earned income to other people?

I would if I was in the situation I outlined above. I and my loved ones only need so money to get through life and I only need so much stuff (I already have practically all the material possessions I could want, besides the big stuff like a house and car). If I still had a huge excess of money beyond that, I'd be happy to give the rest away. And if someone isn't in that situation and is still spending massive amounts of money on frivolous things, then it is of my opinion that they're being foolish because money like that early in life would go so far in creating security for your family. The way I'm looking at it, what would Suze Orman tell this guy?

I don't think there's anything hypocritical going on here. It's about wanton excess, not about spending any amount of money on unnecessary things. You can even have a large collection of games. I have 1200, but they've been acquired over the course of around 20 years (12 for the serious collecting), I always make sure I'm paying a fair price as to not waste money, and I play and appreciate everything (even if many haven't been played at great length just yet). I've also hit the point that I've slowed down my rate of game purchases because I know I have enough to entertain me for a long time and I value the space in my home too.

Also, by the way, I think you're coming up with scenarios for this guy that aren't really plausible. Even if he completed the PS2 collection right when the interview was done, that means he started his four year PS2 shopping spree at 19. But considering he started an English AES collection which is two games from complete after the PS2 collection was done, I doubt he started as late as 19-years-old, unless you think he pieced together the AES collection in a matter of months. That means he probably started the PS2 collection before he even finished high school. Basically the only plausible scenarios is that he has a very rich family, most likely, or he won the lotto, less likely. Or for a big stretch, you could theorize that he married very young and his wife's family is rolling in it. Not that any of this matters, but it is a little intriguing.

[Rob2600]

Do you give a significant percentage of your hard earned income to other people?

I give as much of my time and money as I can.


Some people buy expensive cars or boats or coins or stamps or art or whatever.

Two wrongs don't make a right.


I would suggest some of you spend a little time looking at your own finances and see how much waste there is on eating out, a car that maybe is more than you need, a house that's larger than you need, etc.

I don't own a car, I rely on walking, bike riding, and public transportation (and once in a while carpooling). I currently rent a bedroom in an apartment near the train station, and am saving up for a small, modest house. I rarely eat out and only buy local, organic fruit and vegetables (no meat). Once I own a house, I'll grow as much of my own fruit, vegetables, and herbs as I can. I try not to waste any electricity and turn off all of my power strips before I go out and/or go to sleep. I'm not perfect, but I try to be as healthy, conservative, and responsible as I can.


Unless you've taken a vow of poverty and post here just because you like reading about old video games instead of owning them, you are a huge hippocrite.

That accurately describes my situation. I enjoy coming to DP to read about and discuss video games. I haven't taken a vow of poverty, but I *have* taken a vow of simplicity, minimalism, conservation, and generosity. I sold or donated almost all of my gadgets and video games. My Atari 2600, Lynx, NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Game Gear, Game Boy, Turbo Express, Saturn, and Dreamcast, MacBook, and iPhone 3G are gone. The only things I kept are my Wii (and a few games), my TV, my portable MP3 player, digital camera, and my computer (which I use for work half the time). I also own an acoustic guitar that I bought in 1995.

I'm not bragging, it's just that I realized how powerful money is. I'd rather help people and animals in need than continue to fill my home with more stuff (especially stuff that sits in closets, on shelves, or in storage bins). I'm not asking people to give up everything they own and become monks. I just want people to think about how much help their money could bring to some families and animals before buying something that will sit unopened on a shelf.

(I have to defend what I believe in, as unpopular as it may be in today's world. Pre-1940's, the general public would've reacted to such frivolous spending with disgust.)

[Doonzmore]

What's to say this guy didn't have some help? He's obviously an experienced collector to have pieced together this collection so quickly. Maybe he lives in an area where there's plenty of good watering holes and strikes while the irons hot on some good sales. He could know the right people and have received some donations. I'm going for a complete Gamecube set myself and currently stand at 261 complete games with a little less than 1,100 wrapped up into it. That's about 4.21 a game. I have a 10% discount card at both Gamestop and PlaynTrade, I've redeemed award points for coupons at GS, I used to use the coupons that came with the weekly newsletter from GS, and unless it's rare I usually wait till the B2G1 or B2B2 (like they had back during Easter) sales.

I also have friends who in the past have just given me their games for free just because they don't play them and would like to see me fulfill my endeavor. A friend recently gave me about 20 cube titles and they weren't chump titles either. We're talking Resident Evil 4, Star Wars Jedi Knight and Bounty Hunter Collectors Edition. His contribution alone saved me over 100 dollars.

I have about 10 Cube games still factory sealed that I bought back in the day when stores were clearing them out and never got around to opening them to play. If I wanted to play them now It would be cheap enough just to buy them used.

[TonyTheTiger]

I guess now is not the best time to mention that one of my life's goals is to become so filthy stinking rich I can buy the naming rights to shit and give them lulz worthy monikers.

"So where is your next class?"
"The Batcave."

"Welcome to the NJ Devils radio network. Here we are at the Trollface Arena..."

[Bojay1997]

I would if I was in the situation I outlined above. I and my loved ones only need so money to get through life and I only need so much stuff (I already have practically all the material possessions I could want, besides the big stuff like a house and car). If I still had a huge excess of money beyond that, I'd be happy to give the rest away. And if someone isn't in that situation and is still spending massive amounts of money on frivolous things, then it is of my opinion that they're being foolish because money like that early in life would go so far in creating security for your family. The way I'm looking at it, what would Suze Orman tell this guy?

I don't think there's anything hypocritical going on here. It's about wanton excess, not about spending any amount of money on unnecessary things. You can even have a large collection of games. I have 1200, but they've been acquired over the course of around 20 years (12 for the serious collecting), I always make sure I'm paying a fair price as to not waste money, and I play and appreciate everything (even if many haven't been played at great length just yet). I've also hit the point that I've slowed down my rate of game purchases because I know I have enough to entertain me for a long time and I value the space in my home too.

Also, by the way, I think you're coming up with scenarios for this guy that aren't really plausible. Even if he completed the PS2 collection right when the interview was done, that means he started his four year PS2 shopping spree at 19. But considering he started an English AES collection which is two games from complete after the PS2 collection was done, I doubt he started as late as 19-years-old, unless you think he pieced together the AES collection in a matter of months. That means he probably started the PS2 collection before he even finished high school. Basically the only plausible scenarios is that he has a very rich family, most likely, or he won the lotto, less likely. Or for a big stretch, you could theorize that he married very young and his wife's family is rolling in it. Not that any of this matters, but it is a little intriguing.

Completely ridiculous and the very definition of hypocracy. Who cares what Suze Orman would say? Does Suze Orman live in poverty? No, she has a net worth of $10 million, a beautiful home and gave almost $30K to the DNC two years ago. She knows nothing about this guy's situation just like you don't.

You are applying a narrow minded moral judgement to this guy when you know nothing about his situation and have what some would describe as an excess of material items with 1200 games yourself. Nobody needs 1200 games just like nobody needs even a single game. Games are luxury items just like anything beyond food, water, shelter and love are. Even if you only spent $5 each on those games (and let's be honest, you probably spent much more on many of them), that's $6,000 that could be feeding the poor, clothing the naked, ending disease, etc...

You also don't need to be rich to give lots of money away or donate lots of your time. In fact, poorer people are typically more generous than the rich as a percentage of income that they give to charities.

Who cares if he came from a wealthy family? Maybe his father or his father's father worked from poverty to become wealthy. Isn't that what many people claim to be the American dream? Are all rich people automatically evil in your book? Should rich parents not share any of that wealth with their kids? Should poor parents present their children with a bill at age 18 for anything beyond the bare basics that they have bought them over the years?

There are a lot bigger problems and examples of waste in the world than this one guy who has only about a third more games than you own and the fact that none of us know his story makes it really disturbing that some people are judging him and assuming facts about him for which there is no basis.

[Gameguy]

It's not really how many games he has, but how quickly he got them all. It wasn't carefully built over a long period of time, it was pretty much instant. He focused on the PS2 for four years, and if I'm reading the interview correctly he had 300-400 sealed games before he decided to focus on the console. Four years has approximately 1460 days, even subtracting the 300-400 sealed games he already had that's about 1 sealed game per day. I'm sure he bought other games for other systems during the same time, and he said after he finished the collection he literally started on the Neo Geo the next day. I'm more worried that he's giving the impression that most "serious" collectors are overly materialistic and are driven by compulsive behaviour beyond their control.



http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/2490/ps22.jpg

[Vectorman0]

Buying many PS2 games is really no different than buying a nice house, car, clothes, jewelry, pretty much anything; nor is it much different than basically everyone on this site who has hundreds of games.

For those who feel negatively about this collector, I don't understand why you don't feel the same way about everyone else here, or anyone you see out in public with a nice car, purse, etc.

[Eternal Tune]

Buying many PS2 games is really no different than buying a nice house, car, clothes, jewelry, pretty much anything; nor is it much different than basically everyone on this site who has hundreds of games.

For those who feel negatively about this collector, I don't understand why you don't feel the same way about everyone else here, or anyone you see out in public with a nice car, purse, etc.

Agreed, but you know, haters gonna hate and all that.

[kupomogli]

Agreed, but you know, haters gonna hate and all that.

And people on the internet are going to continue using the same cliche quote. Nothing against you, but that's the fourth time I've seen that quote used in the past week or two.

[Eternal Tune]

And people on the internet are going to continue using the same cliche quote. Nothing against you, but that's the fourth time I've seen that quote used in the past week or two.

Of course. It's the internet, you can not escape cliche quotes and memes. Best embrace and hope you make it out alive.

Back on subject however, personally, I have penis envy. I'd love to have his collection. Granted I would never shell out the money, but to each his own. Plus I'd kill for that Uncharted 2 set. God I love you Nathan Drake.

[98PaceCar]

And people on the internet are going to continue using the same cliche quote. Nothing against you, but that's the fourth time I've seen that quote used in the past week or two.

Says the guy that has had the "you gonna get raped" meme in how many avatars now?

[jcalder8]

It's a nice looking collection but it's not how I would have spent my money. In my opinion it's cool to have but it's not as impressive as say a sealed NES collection with Stadium Events. He might be considered the King of Collectors his age but not the overall king.

[The 1 2 P]

This is the only thing that bothered me -- "I wasn’t old enough for the Atari and don’t care about the Atari so I don’t collect any of them." He said that. I think he is truely missing a piece of this hobby by making that statement - he is young, perhaps in time.

My first system as a kid was the Atari 2600 and I eventually upgraded to the 7800. Today I can't stand anything before the Nes and especially dislike the early Atari consoles. I have no problem with his statement because I feel the same way and I'm much older than he is. So I doubt his opinion will change over time. People who didn't grow up playing Atari systems that try to go play them now after first gaming during the 32 bit(or later) gaming gen are usually bewildered that we once had to endure such primitive gaming experiences.

Back on topic, I'm alittle surprised that people have picked him apart so much. As others have already said, what he's doing is no different from Oprah(or any other rich person) having 4 seperate houses, 2 condos and 6 apartments spread out around the world. Thats what people do when they have alot of money: SPEND IT.

[Baloo]

Instead of helping people do what? Do you give a significant percentage of your hard earned income to other people?

My family goes to church every sunday, and we tithe 10% of weekly income to our parish. And I'm sure many other people do that as well, its sort of a pessimistic outlook on life to REALLY think that everyone is a greedy bastard when there are indeed lots of philanthropists out there in the world who create libraries and hospitals and schools and fund non-profit organizations and police officers and their local communities and many other things. To go and call out others for criticizing this guy for using his money in a non-productive manner might not exactly be the best idea.

And there are actually quite a few members here on Digital Press who have started their own businesses, or put kids through college, or paid for houses, and know the value of roughly $40,000. A 23-year old (Probably) fresh out of college student might not know that.

More on topic, I don't like collectivism. It's a waste of resources, time, and money. Games weren't meant to be displayed on a shelf and bragged about, they were meant to be enjoyed for what they are, a form of entertainment. This guy can show off his stuff and get coverage and pictures of these one-in-a-lifetime games that most of us dream about, but in the end, you can't take it with you all the same.

[Bojay1997]

My family goes to church every sunday, and we tithe 10% of weekly income to our parish. And I'm sure many other people do that as well, its sort of a pessimistic outlook on life to REALLY think that everyone is a greedy bastard when there are indeed lots of philanthropists out there in the world who create libraries and hospitals and schools and fund non-profit organizations and police officers and their local communities and many other things. To go and call out others for criticizing this guy for using his money in a non-productive manner might not exactly be the best idea.

And there are actually quite a few members here on Digital Press who have started their own businesses, or put kids through college, or paid for houses, and know the value of roughly $40,000. A 23-year old (Probably) fresh out of college student might not know that.

More on topic, I don't like collectivism. It's a waste of resources, time, and money. Games weren't meant to be displayed on a shelf and bragged about, they were meant to be enjoyed for what they are, a form of entertainment. This guy can show off his stuff and get coverage and pictures of these one-in-a-lifetime games that most of us dream about, but in the end, you can't take it with you all the same.

Yes, and many of those same philanthropists have amazing homes, expensive cars, eat great food and drink expensive wine, own million dollar art that is only displayed in their homes, etc...Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have pledged the majority of their wealth to charity, but they still live what some would consider to be opulent lifestyles. I'm not assuming anyone is greedy just like I'm not assuming anyone is completely generous in every respect. My point is that we don't know anything about this guy other than the few details in the interview and even if he is some 23 year old living on a trust fund who has never and will never work or do anything positive for society, it's not our place to judge him or dictate what he should buy.

There are many people in the world who think playing games is a waste of time and bad for society. You could be using that time to start a business, volunteer, or do any of a million other things. I personally don't agree, but having $40K in games on a shelf is no more or less positive for society in my opinion than owning $500 worth of games and playing them. Heck, at least spending $40K on games gets that money flowing into the economy and helps to create additional jobs and growth at a time when our economy can really use it.

[camarotuner]

His E-Penis is definately larger than mine but I'd personally have dropped the money on a vette or something more entertaining that a pile of sealed games I obviously wasn't going to open and play. But hey, good for him if he's happy. Do a sealed WII set next, no one else will ever do one I'm sure... god I hope no one does a sealed wii set that'd be depressing in a way.

[Tempest]

His E-Penis is definately larger than mine but I'd personally have dropped the money on a vette or something more entertaining that a pile of sealed games I obviously wasn't going to open and play.
That's the part I don't understand. A complete PS2 collection is VERY cool in my book, but why sealed? I guess that makes it more of a challenge or something along those lines (or maybe he's just into minty freshness?), but now it's become something you can't play with. It's just a 'looking at' thing which doesn't make sense to me.

Tempest

[portnoyd]

That's the part I don't understand. A complete PS2 collection is VERY cool in my book, but why sealed? I guess that makes it more of a challenge or something along those lines (or maybe he's just into minty freshness?), but now it's become something you can't play with. It's just a 'looking at' thing which doesn't make sense to me.

One of the arguments against collecting sealed. It's basically a conflicting mentality.

[Baloo]

Yes, and many of those same philanthropists have amazing homes, expensive cars, eat great food and drink expensive wine, own million dollar art that is only displayed in their homes, etc...Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have pledged the majority of their wealth to charity, but they still live what some would consider to be opulent lifestyles. I'm not assuming anyone is greedy just like I'm not assuming anyone is completely generous in every respect. My point is that we don't know anything about this guy other than the few details in the interview and even if he is some 23 year old living on a trust fund who has never and will never work or do anything positive for society, it's not our place to judge him or dictate what he should buy.

There are many people in the world who think playing games is a waste of time and bad for society. You could be using that time to start a business, volunteer, or do any of a million other things. I personally don't agree, but having $40K in games on a shelf is no more or less positive for society in my opinion than owning $500 worth of games and playing them. Heck, at least spending $40K on games gets that money flowing into the economy and helps to create additional jobs and growth at a time when our economy can really use it.

Well I don't think anyone is completely in that aspect of giving everything away and living a life where you still work hard. As much money as some of these people do have, you do have to give them credit for the money they give away. Interesting way of looking at that 40K circulating in the economy, which really is needed.

I find it sad that those video games will never be played though.