Do you guys ever feel overwhelmed by your collection? [Archive]

Steven

08-03-2011, 11:50 PM

boatofcar

08-03-2011, 11:56 PM

You've got to ask yourself, am I getting any enjoyment out of all this? And if not, time to downsize! I sold most of my collection in 2007 and have only regretted it a few times. I kept the stuff I liked and was nostalgic about, and made a handy profit on a lot of stuff that I was able to turn around into other neat stuff, like a DSLR.

allyourblood

08-04-2011, 12:05 AM

I'm overwhelmed by it on a daily basis. I've been thinking lately about reevaluating my collection and trimming some of the fat. For years I've been buying whatever comes my way that is (A), in good condition, (B), extremely inexpensive, and (C), something I don't already own. 2000+ games later, that's not looking like such a good plan anymore.

I already experienced a mass exodus of my collection back in 2003, and I don't really want to repeat it. This time, I've decided that I'm going to continue trying to complete full collections for a small handful of platforms that I really like. For the others, I will only keep the games I either like to play, or have some sentimental attachment to (for lack of a better phrase). The only problem is that I haven't implemented this new plan yet. @_@

j_factor

08-04-2011, 12:47 AM

I'm way overwhelmed by my collection. Some of my stuff just kind of floats around because I have no place to put it. The stuff I don't really like has already been separated from my "collection" and shoved in a closet. I'm still way overwhelmed with my collection excluding those items (although I do need to get around to getting rid of them). I have never really been interested in collecting full sets or anything like that, so I've only ever bought games because they interested me as games. I genuinely like a lot of shit. I do have a significant number of games that I haven't really played for more than 2 minutes, but they're in my possession because I genuinely think I'll like them. Someday I'll get around to playing them all. Someday.

Why do I have all this stuff? When I was a kid I met and was highly impressed by a few adults who had massive catalogued music or comic collections, and (at least they claimed) none of it was crap. I would be in awe as the story behind a rare/obscure record was explained to me, and then I was given a listen and discovered that the music was actually good. Later I was somewhat influenced by the concept of the personal library that was common among upper-middle-class households from the late 19th century on (although I am not upper-middle-class). To that end you could take any random game off my shelf and I could tell you the story behind it. Even if it's one of the games I haven't played for more than 2 minutes, I know exactly what kind of game it is, its distinguishing gameplay/visual/audio characteristics, when it was released, who made it, its reception, etc. This history fascinates me.

I know my collection is hugely dwarfed by some people's here, but by most standards it's pretty huge.

SpaceFlea

08-04-2011, 01:01 AM

I realized a few months ago that I no longer enjoy collecting. It requires too much time and effort anymore, and the prices have gotten way out of hand over the last couple years. I have LONG since acquired all of the games I actually wanted when I first started, and upon arriving at 4000 games I have begun to question what the hell I'm trying to accomplish. I've spent my spare time over the last 9 months re-cataloging the entire collection and am only about 25% through. I would love to unload the whole thing save the nostalgic bits, but that too would be a hefty duty. I've actually started a second collection consisting of duplicates I wish to keep - so I don't break my sets when I keep some stuff if the time ever comes that I do sell.

dap9984

08-04-2011, 01:49 AM

Never. I'm way too OCD to keep things unorganized. And I rarely ever keep a double of any game. And if it's something I don't like or don't want, I sell it to make room for something else. I do, however, feel overwhelmed by looking at some of the rooms of doom here on DP. Some people just seem to have stuff EVERYWHERE. lol Don't think I'd be able to handle that. Would drive me nuts (unless it's organized of course).

BetaWolf47

08-04-2011, 08:18 AM

Yes, I do. I've got about 700 games in my room. I feel overwhelmed at not being able to get around to all of them before I grow old :( Also, I feel overwhelmed at the space they take in my bedroom.

Mr Smith

08-04-2011, 08:28 AM

I sometimes look at my collection and pity myself for being so nerdy.

VACRMH

08-04-2011, 09:06 AM

All the time, but it's because of some of the things I did as a young collector (See thread about advice to give a younger you).

Right now I've got a spare room with boxes of random game related stuff all over the place. Plus I'm having one of those "Why do you need this?" moments with some games so I'm taking from the collection too.

The game room is getting easier to manage now, but before that I never knew where to even start when looking at all the stuff to find a place for.

alec006

08-04-2011, 09:37 AM

It's always a pain in the ass to rearrange the wires and games in your collection, but I always remember these things are part of my childhood so I love showing them off and making sure they still work.

Cornelius

08-04-2011, 09:37 AM

Nah, it isn't the collection that overwhelms me, it is all the stuff that has accumulated 'around' the collection. Stuff I need to sell because I bought a large lot or 80, crap not worth selling, broken controllers and cables. Oh and a Sega Pico. Why the heck do I have that? I even bought a few more 'games' for it recently and I just don't know why.

Zing

08-04-2011, 09:38 AM

A few years ago, I decided to only own games that I would actually play. This resulted in the sell-off of my PS2 collection. I currently have quite a bit of my collection (GBA and Wii) stored in the closet, waiting for later in the year to have another sell-off.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed before this decision. Despite now focusing strictly on NES, SNES, and PlayStation, I still believe I have enough gaming to last me for the foreseeable future.

ShinobiMan

08-04-2011, 09:39 AM

Yes. I have what I call "The Game Vault" in my apartment, which is really just a large closet. It's wall to wall games and consoles in their boxes. I'd say over 700 games. Oh, and in the corner on the left... that's where I hang my shirts.

I've definitely been thinking about selling a portion of it off, especially with current events in my life. A lot of change is taking place, and I just know the video game collection will be effected at some point.

horseboy

08-04-2011, 10:16 AM

rolenta

08-04-2011, 10:18 AM

We recently expanded our house and added an extra room in the basement, which is for my stuff (3000+ games, 130+ systems, plus VG book and VG magazine collections). Even after filling the new room, I still have consoles and games yet to get in there. And so far, I've just put everything into the room, nothing is yet organized. I don't even know where I kept all this stuff before the renovation!

starchildskiss78

08-04-2011, 10:31 AM

My collection is nowhere near the size of some of the collections here (164 games and counting), but I have felt overwhelmed by my collection in the past (when it numbered in excess of 300 and they were scattered everywhere) and I get a little overwhelmed now.

I sold off (and traded...and donated...) a good portion of my collection a few years ago. I was buying games indiscriminately and ended up with games like Super Battleship for the Sega Genesis. I didn't like it and it took up space.

I started feeling guilty recently (within the last year or so) about getting rid of so many games (I was down to less than a hundred) that I started getting some of the games back. I decided that for the Sega systems (Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast), the Gamecube and Wii as well as the PS One I was going to get complete games only. I abandoned that line of thought for NES, SNES, N64, and Game Gear because of the sheer cost of some of those games complete. If I managed to get one complete then that was just a bonus. My requirement for those was the minimum of the sleeve (or dust cover for SNES or a clear case for N64) and the manual for those. I accomplished that finally after weeks of scouring eBay and Amazon. (Ranma 1/2 Hard Battle's manual was super tough to find, and it was luck I happened upon it one day just on a whim on eBay for $5.)

I had to get a new "bookshelf of doom" because the old one ran out of room. (Amazing how much space a clamshell case takes up!) I plan on playing the games more. I used to stand and stare at the games wondering what to play. Now that I finished my degree and I can relax a bit more I think I will have an easier time.

Bottom line....I think you just have to do what makes you happy. If selling off some (or all) of the collection makes sense then do it. But think hard about it....it's been an experience replacing games I didn't think I cared about!

duffmanth

08-04-2011, 11:00 AM

Today was cleaning up my games and re-organizing them. I'm only about 50% done sorting after 4 hours of sweat, lol. I stood up, stood back, and suddenly felt very overwhelmed by the amount of gaming items I own. Probably need another 4 hours to finish re-organizing it all.

Anyone else ever felt/feel this way?

What a difference from when we were kids and only owned, what, 10-20 games...

This is why I've always kept my collection to a fairly small size of my favorites. I don't want an entire room of games, manuals, and other stuff just laying around taking up space. It gets expensive after a while to, and you have to ask yourself when it's enough? I don't buy games just cuz they're cheap either, I've done that a few times and it turned out to be a complete waste of money. My entire gaming collection consists of a little over a 100 games and a half dozen consoles and that's the way I like it!

Sinizar

08-04-2011, 11:29 AM

Yes, I have been collecting on and off for over 20 years now. I sell off a huge part of my collection every few years but always seem to pile on more.

I just had a thrift sale and sold $1800.00 worth of games in 3 days, all priced at thrift sale prices instead of the actual value just to move it.

Out of all the collections I sold over the years it is the 6 sealed copies of Earthbound that I sold for $50.00 each during the SNES days, and my Turboduo with Turbo Express and all the rare games that I purchased at retail I miss most. I sold them all when the PS1 came out so I didn't get anywhere close to what they are selling for now. The sad thing is I sold them all to a guy who did some carpentry work for me. He gave it to his kid for Christmas and the kid destroyed all the boxes, etc. I think I only miss them because I would like to sell them now that the price is so high.

One of these days I will just stop collecting because it is just cheaper to buy the game when I want and have time to play it. Most of the games sit on the shelf with only a few hours of gameplay on each. I keep thinking someday I will retire and spend some of my days gaming, but I have enough games to retire now, play 24/7 and still not finish by the time I die of the old age of 120.

portnoyd

08-04-2011, 11:47 AM

I feel overwhelmed at the thought of selling it all, but that's about it.

PapaStu

08-04-2011, 11:56 AM

Aussie2B

08-04-2011, 02:03 PM

I'm only overwhelmed because my collection is split between two houses. It's hard to do much with a major chunk of a collection thats a half hour away. One day the magical 'house' will be owned, the room will designated and the stuff will go in it.

Until then... MOAR DS games!

At least you're only talking half an hour. Try a collection split between the west coast and the east coast.

But I don't really feel overwhelmed by the collection I already have. My shelves are kind of maxed out and starting to look ugly from things being put in two rows deep and such, but it's no big deal for now. The only overwhelming thing is getting new stuff, especially if it's 10+, 20+ games at a time. It can take such a huge amount of work and time sometimes to process it all, to clean them, test them, add them to my collection list, etc. But I've been trying to cut back on my rate of purchases, so that doesn't happen too often. At the same time, I also like getting a large lot once in a blue moon because it's exciting going through everything too.

jcalder8

08-04-2011, 02:14 PM

The only time I really feel overwhelmed by my collection is when I have to move it. Most of the time I am just in awe by it. Like the OP said I remember when I had 10 games growing up and now when I go and look at it and see over 1000 it just blows my mind! I love organizing it and sorting everything out so that has never bothered me.

kupomogli

08-04-2011, 02:19 PM

I only have about 500 games and I feel pretty overwhelmed. I'm trying to finish off the current gen before I go and replay my backlog of games on the PS2, PSX, etc. But as soon as I get completed with one or two games this gen, I always seem to add another game to my collection. Add hard modes or extra hard modes to complete and wanting to complete those as well, it pushes me even further back.

The good thing is, is that I really haven't purchased much in awhile, but it's coming to the end of the year with Dark Souls, Arkham City, and Uncharted 3, so there are going to be more games added to my backlog whether it's those three, or a game I might end up putting what I'm playing on hold to play one of those three.

There is one good outcome if there did happen to be a video game crash. I might actually be able to start working on my backlog before any good games are released again. It's not going to happen though, so I'll just work through as best as I can.

jonebone

08-04-2011, 02:20 PM

I'm not really overwhelmed by my collection, but I am overwhelmed when I think about the time I spent reselling / buying to create it. Between forums, hunting auctions, buying / selling, cataloging, god knows how much time was put into it.

The time aspect is what bothers me more than anything.

Nebagram

08-04-2011, 02:34 PM

Atarileaf

08-04-2011, 04:24 PM

I did a major purge back in January. I sold the systems and games I didn't play, made a couple thousand bucks and have more space and am more content.

I just now concentrate on games I actually enjoy playing.

PDorr3

08-04-2011, 04:33 PM

I am beginning to feel the signs of overwhelment of my collection because I am running out of places to store things, so its starting to take up a lot of space with each and every box of something I pick up these days. Its not so much the games, but more of the collectibles I buy as well. I tell mself I cant throw away the boxes for my large figures/statues, so I store them in closets and such, but even that is at its overflow point now.

TonyTheTiger

08-04-2011, 04:43 PM

I am beginning to feel the signs of overwhelment of my collection because I am running out of places to store things, so its starting to take up a lot of space with each and every box of something I pick up these days.

That's me in a nutshell. It's not so bad with the ordinary games I'll pick up but whenever something of any significant size catches my eye (like an arcade stick) I have to struggle to find a place for it. The sad truth is that "find a place for it" these days usually translates to "leave it anywhere it'll fit." My house is simply not equipped for a room of doom.

Shingetter

08-04-2011, 09:17 PM

Not at all. Organizing is 75% of the fun. Getting a new shelf, moving all the stuff over, that is part of the love. I also enjoy logging new acquisitions into the spreadsheet when I get home from thrifts and yard sales. The only thing I don't like are the boxes of doubles, I'm just too lazy to ebay them.

SpaceHarrier

08-04-2011, 10:14 PM

I tend to fluxuate between being overwhelmed by my collection, and wanting to add more to it! My collection is tiny by DP standards though.

Colorado Rockies

08-04-2011, 10:24 PM

I have over 2000 CIB games and I am very overwhelmed. I am addicted to buying more and more games though even though I have played less than 10 percent of my collection. Oh well.

7th lutz

08-04-2011, 10:55 PM

Not at all despite having games for 21 systems including the DS, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, Lynx, and Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Cornelius

08-04-2011, 11:01 PM

Not at all despite having games for 21 systems including the DS, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, Lynx, and Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Dude, where do you find the space to store those handhelds and games?!

Ha! Just busting your chops. Strikes me as odd that the ones you pick out to list are all small handhelds. Or was that the gag and I'm the unwitting straight man?

WelcomeToTheNextLevel

08-04-2011, 11:49 PM

My collection is a manageable 500-600 games, so I want more. I don't feel at all overwhelmed.

7th lutz

08-05-2011, 12:03 AM

Dude, where do you find the space to store those handhelds and games?!

Ha! Just busting your chops. Strikes me as odd that the ones you pick out to list are all small handhelds. Or was that the gag and I'm the unwitting straight man?

I only mentioned the handhelds because I didn't want anyone to think the systems I own are game consoles.

The handheld part of my collection is easy to store since most of them are loose except for the DS games I own.

Haoie

08-05-2011, 02:25 AM

It's not like it's an all consuming black hole, gaming.

OK for the nerdiest of nerds I guess it is.

NaturalChemical

08-05-2011, 05:14 PM

My collection is ~700 games, give or take, and it's a bit overwhelming. I want to sell off a bunch of sealed titles and games I'll never play, so I can try to tidy things up a bit.

Emperor Megas

08-05-2011, 06:17 PM

The only thing that's overwhelming is the thought of having to pack them all up to move. Especially if I'm moving to another part of the country. I hate the idea of storing my things at a storage place until I have an adequate game room set up to house it all.

Leo_A

08-05-2011, 06:31 PM

I only mentioned the handhelds because I didn't want anyone to think the systems I own are game consoles.

The handheld part of my collection is easy to store since most of them are loose except for the DS games I own.

Hard to understand just what you're saying, but I take it that you stick exclusively to handhelds (Since you didn't want anyone to think that you own game consoles) and that most of your games are loose?

Loose handheld games aren't exactly the most difficult thing to easily store and manage. ;)

chrisballer

08-06-2011, 06:02 PM

I still have well over 1000 NES games to sell, and I keep buying faster than I am selling. It is making me feel overwhelmed just trying to keep everything organized. I am looking forward to getting my NES stuff to the level I want it at.

BobaFettHotep

08-08-2011, 12:03 PM

im getting totally overwhelmed i have about 4000 games and 25 or so systems iv run out of room to store everything iv had to put all my cd games in to cd books and the cases are in my attic which sucks and every thing besides my nes games are in boxes in my room

Shingetter

08-08-2011, 04:33 PM

put all my cd games in to cd books and the cases are in my attic

Wow, I don't think I would ever do that with game discs, music discs maybe. Makes me glad I have the room I need for my collection.

Oldskool

08-08-2011, 08:17 PM

Yes, look in the near future. I will be unloading about 700 various rare/good games/consoles across several different platforms. I think I am going to go all flash cart where possible, and build up an arcade cab. I can think of many more important things to do with my money. Will I regret selling MUSHA and Pier Solar? And all the other sought after titles I own? Sure.. but I'm starting to think that collecting is not a priority - it seems more like a chore than anything. Sure I play my games, and often. But I feel like each individual game doesn't get the attention it deserves, like they did when I was a child playing on my NES and Genesis back in the day.

substantial_snake

08-08-2011, 08:27 PM

Yeah kinda.

I have in no way what many are describing here but I do have a pretty large back library at this point of impulse buys or good deals across several platforms. Outside of a few exceptions or anything SUPER interesting I might come across I've put a stop to my general game buying/collecting habits until I have played what I have. The problem being of course when you force yourself to play a particular game it starts to feel like a chore...which kinda defeats the whole purpose of playing a game for entertainment and enjoyment. I'm at the moment just slowly working my way through the pile before any more collecting.

johj1987

08-09-2011, 07:42 PM

this guy is not overwhelmed by his collection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kFRiYFb6GI:)

chrisballer

08-09-2011, 07:54 PM

this guy is not overwhelmed by his collection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kFRiYFb6GI:)

HA! That was good.

The 1 2 P

08-09-2011, 08:01 PM

Add me to the overwhelmed list. I've even sold off more and more of it over the last few years to pay bills but thanks to Goodwill, penny strategy guides and Target clearances it just keeps growing and growing, like an out of control boner. I've ran out of room so many times due to new additions and keep having to consolidate a little more to be able to fit everything in my room. I really need to move to a bigger house but then that may give me an excuse to add even more stuff. It's a vicious never ending cycle.

allyourblood

08-09-2011, 08:28 PM

I really need to move to a bigger house but then that may give me an excuse to add even more stuff. It's a vicious never ending cycle.

Hey, I did that!

theredlineboss

08-09-2011, 08:45 PM

I'm not overwhelmed by my actual collection, but I *am* overwhelmed by the stuff I bought to sell. Once I get that stuff out of the way, the collection should be a bit easier to handle. :D

-Rob

SpaceFlea

08-09-2011, 09:22 PM

this guy is not overwhelmed by his collection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kFRiYFb6GI:)

I believe that's the Pet Shop Boys official music video for that song. :)

Shingetter

08-10-2011, 06:45 AM

this guy is not overwhelmed by his collection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kFRiYFb6GI:)

No, no he is not.

c0ldb33r

08-10-2011, 07:05 AM

I do. Absolutely.

I've stopped buying physical items and have only been purchasing digital content lately. That way I don't have to store it or keep track of it.

Emperor Megas

08-10-2011, 09:12 PM

I have over 1500 games. I'm not even slightly overwhelmed. If I want to play something- anything- set up is five minutes tops. Everything's nicely shelved so cleaning isn't an issue, it's fifteen seconds with a duster. Everything's in alphabetical order so locating something is effectively a zero-second job. Yeah, I've got a hell of a backlog- about 600 games that haven't ever been played- but I figure it's not like they're going anywhere. My compulsion is collecting, not finishing everything I own.What would take upwards of 5 minutes to do exactly? I'm just wondering what would take that long if "everything's nicely shelved". Even if the console wasn't currently set up to play, and in it's box in a closet, that still seems like a while. I know that's probably the absolute longest it would take, and not an example of the norm, but 5 minutes is actually quite a long time to hook a game console up to a television (that's like 2 music videos :|).

Do you have some of your consoles/games out in the garbage, or in a storage shed or something?

Baloo

08-10-2011, 09:49 PM

Sometimes I do, but once I reorganize my games onto a larger shelf I have to clean up it's going to be more managable. I have 400 games and would like to get rid of a few, but personally I find systems to be more unmanageable as I can't have them all hooked up at once.

dystopian

08-10-2011, 09:50 PM

What would take upwards of 5 minutes to do exactly? I'm just wondering what would take that long if "everything's nicely shelved". Even if the console wasn't currently set up to play, and in it's box in a closet, that still seems like a while. I know that's probably the absolute longest it would take, and not an example of the norm, but 5 minutes is actually quite a long time to hook a game console up to a television (that's like 2 music videos :|).

Do you have some of your consoles/games out in the garbage, or in a storage shed or something?

Someone has never been drunk before :onfire:

I dunno man, 5 mins is probably about right to set up a console from the shelf, attach the wires and controllers, get the game, and fire it up. Anywhere from 2-7 minutes wouldn't really be that surprising, if you're being real technical like.

Lemmy Kilmister

08-10-2011, 11:59 PM

Yeah, of course. I look at my collection from time to time and think of all the space, money and time I spent on it throughout the years, and honestly, it's mere peanuts compared to some of the other members' collections here. It also doesn't help that I have a very large collection of records and CDs too.

Ryaan1234

08-11-2011, 01:31 AM

Steven

08-11-2011, 01:56 AM

Oh my God guys! I think my NES collection is trying to kill me... Every time I look over at it it seems to be a little closer to me than it was before. And 2 minutes ago I looked down and there was a copy of Death Race on the ground beside me.... and I didn't put it there!

Please! Send help before something hap

LMAO! Nice.

Reminds me of that one scene from the movie Nature's Grave (AKA Long Weekend, starring Jim Caviezel). Movie's a dud, but that one scene of that seemingly dead seal sneaking up on Caviezel overnight was genuinely creepy.

http://static-l3.blogcritics.org/09/09/12/113253/ng-2.jpg