Why I'm done collecting

[gbpxl]

By collecting I mean buying games just to say I have them or play them for 5 minutes and then never play them again. The addiction started circa 2013 with going for CIB SNES games. I'd get my hands on whatever I could that was either at or below market cost. Most the time I would buy them individually. I've built up a sizeable collection over the years. Some of the games I've bought are absolute treasures that I could easily turn around and sell right now and get more than what I paid. Some of them I don't know how long would take to sell. But the bottom line for me is that what I've come to realize is that my money is better spent on real things that I will actually appreciate. My collection has outgrown my living space and I am looking at titles of games that I barely made a dent in. I think the hope was that "eventually" I'd get around to playing them but in reality, "eventually" never came.

So now my collection is gonna be whittled down to just the games I know I will be playing 40 plus years from now if I am still alive. I will be selling off games that I have no interest in. Whatever can't sell individually will get bundled into lots and sold for cheap.

The best comparison I have to collecting video games is this: I like traveling. I LOVE traveling. But would I ever travel to North Korea? Just to say "oh yeah I went there." Likewise would I buy Super Pitfall on the NES a game so broken and pointless I am mad at myself for even paying money for it.

So for me this collecting thing really is just an addiction. My money can be spent on way better things or even better- saved. So I'll be slowly letting them go on EBay over the next couple years. I have a ton of odds and ends between NES, SNES, N64, GC, PS1, PS2, Xbox, Dreamcast, Lynx, Game Boy, and PC that I'll be getting rid of. If there's anything specific you guys are looking for, ask, and I may have it. I have my whole collection on PriceCharting.com but no idea how to post it here.

[gbpxl]

I also want to add that the illusion of a shiny game in original box and great condition made me think I was buying something valuable when in fact I was just buying a really shiny turd.

[calthaer]

Everybody gets to this place, I suspect, in whatever hobby you have. My video / computer game collection didn't get too massive, but over the past few years I have realized that there were some items that I had that I was simply never going to play. For me, it was the JRPGs that take 100+ hours to complete. The thought of even starting them, just to grind on a bunch of formulaic and simplistic battles for hours on end, just made me deflate with ennui. Some of these I'd never opened, so I put them up on eBay for 3-5x what I paid, sometimes - or, at the very least, for the same. I'm kind of at the same point when it comes to board games...there are so many out there, and I just don't know if I really want or need more.

There are lots of things I want to do in life, and a lot of it involves creating more and consuming less - even if it's just keeping a personal journal to reflect and learn for my own edification. I still play video games, but I'm picky now about what I buy and what I spend time on - it has to be really good, and if it's not, I'll dump it.

[Greg2600]

Yes, yes you should def give up. I'll take the CIB SNES off your hands!

[gbpxl]

Yes, yes you should def give up. I'll take the CIB SNES off your hands!

When I have time I will take pics and put up a list.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

I still enjoy collecting, but I've had to largely suspend it for a few years, looking to start back up in 2021-2022. I'm going to be focusing on the newer stuff, PS1/N64-era to PS3/Wii/360 era (about 1996 to 2014). Those games are, on average, cheaper, more plentiful, and easier to actually play nowadays than, say, Atari 2600. A 2600 is a pain in the ass to use in the modern world, meanwhile a PS2 is a piece of cake.

I really need to get an old '90s CRT TV (as a secondary TV). I looked for a '90s Magnavox a few years back. The '02 Samsung I used to have would play anything from Atari 2600 to PS4.

[Steve W]

I've never reached the point where I want to get rid of things, but I have stopped collecting old stuff. I used to go out thrift store hunting and flea market shopping not because I was necessarily looking for stuff but because I was venturing out to a new place, a new town that Google Maps said had a flea market in it. Once the eBay resellers cleared everything out I stopped going out of my way. My collecting drive is still there, getting a PS3 in January awakened it again but I have been guilty of getting things I won't get around to playing any time soon - I have about 350 PS3 games but I only really play a handful of titles at most. Now that I have a PS4 I have a new machine to be obsessed with. To me it's the thrill of the hunt that keeps me collecting. I don't enjoy the games as much as the tracking down of games.

[Gameguy]

I'm going to be focusing on the newer stuff, PS1/N64-era to PS3/Wii/360 era (about 1996 to 2014). Those games are, on average, cheaper, more plentiful, and easier to actually play nowadays than, say, Atari 2600.
N64 games are cheaper than most Atari 2600 games now? I haven't really kept up on pricing lately but that's still surprising to me, even PS1 games are getting expensive for anything good.

Not that I find Atari stuff in the wild anymore, maybe the odd time cartridge games turn up in thrifts but barely ever and they're just in the showcase or auction sections now for high prices. The last cart games I remember finding were some SNES games a few weeks ago at salvation army, mostly sports games and a few commons priced $19.99 each. There's always a chance of finding something good so I still go, but it's far rarer than it used to be to buy something game related.

PS3/Wii/360 games are still common and cheap enough for the most part, but these consoles don't really interest me so I mostly pass on them. If anything looks possibly interesting I'll look them up for more info but most games I come across don't seem to be special. I'd be happy to find good PS1 or PS2 games for cheap prices, I wish I could find Game Boy, Genesis, Sega CD or Saturn games like I could 20 years ago. I mostly buy other things at thrifts now like VHS tapes, thankfully I can still find good ones occasionally and they're priced the same as the commons. I look at toys, CDs, records and books too just in case something good turns up.

[mailman187666]

I took a few years off from collecting/hunting, and got back into it about 2-3 years ago. I didn't sell much for games, I just sat on most of them. They've mostly all gone up in the past 6 years. I am at the tail end of selling off a buddy of mine's collection for him right now and will probably slim down some of my own over the winter. I'm mostly going to be getting rid of common filler games or ones I don't mind parting with. Anything PS1 and earlier is largely going to stay with me though. I'm mostly going to focus on letting go of some PS2-PS4 era title (also MS and Nintendo) but most things that are of real value will stay with me. I've probably got about 2000+ games and will probably sell 100 or so. I still enjoy going to the flea markets to find new gems, but I also grab stuff to offset the cost and make some extra bucks for my savings. If I didn't unload stuff once in a while, I too would not have room to live at my place.

[SpaceHarrier]

I've been in a holding pattern for most of the last year.

Haven't bought too many physical games in the last 2 or 3 years, beyond a handful of Switch titles. I buy those digital now. But I cannot get myself to trim the physical collection down, either. I'm content with the collection, so I think I'll just continue circling the runway for a few more years.

[Tron 2.0]

I don't buy much for retro video games these days it's too much of a rat race.I got plans to slim down my retro video game collection,while last year i bought a colecovision i just want to buy a flash cart for it and that's all.Modern i've slow down since i got carry away buying to much during the summer.

[ncman071]

personally, i try to make absolutely sure i can pay my bills and take care of my kids before i spend money on games. Sometimes i do look at just the sheer amount of systems i have hooked up in every room of the house and think...damn maybe i should sell my stuff...i dont know...but if i was gonna start downsizing...only system i wont touch is my snes and probably my dreamcast too

[Genesaturn]

I feel this man. I started buying games from my childhood or games I always wanted. It turned into years of grabbing whatever deals I could get. At peak about 2 years ago I had just shy of 1, 100 games and 40+ consoles. It became to much and really I still played all the same games. I sold off 99% of the collection and now just work on pieces that have meaning to me, or that I really want to play. I feel better about collecting now vs then.

[gbpxl]

im kinda like that with movies where Ill buy a bunch of Blu Rays but always end up watching the same 3-5 films