Can't stop buying NES games. My addiction is out of control.

[Anthony1]

***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** THIS IS ANOTHER "SWIMMING IN LAKE ME" POST BY THE SELF-IMPORTANT ANTHONY1. SO IF YOU DON"T WANT TO READ ANOTHER POST ABOUT MY OWN GAMING LIFE, THEN LEAVE NOW!


Sorry, I just had to put that out there for the DP Members that hate my "swimming in Lake Me" posts. I actually wanted to stop doing these posts, but I just can't help my damn self. If you don't mind them, then read on......




I've just recently gone on a NES game buying binge. I don't know what the deal is. For some reason I just find myself mesmerized by that gray and red toaster.


It's weird because I had a NES back in "the dayz", but I really wasn't all that into it back then. And even when I went "retro", the NES was very far down on my facsination chart. I was playing the hell out of the TG-16, Genny, SNES, Sega CD, etc, etc, but I just couldn't really get into playing the NES. It just seemed that the graphics and sounds were so ancient to me, that it was hard for me to go back to the days of extremely limited color and flickering to the max.

But somehow I have recently gotten into the old NES in a major, major way. I think it started with me reading some really old Game Players magazines. Some of the earliest Game Players really don't have much non NES coverage. Looking at those old Game Players issues and those classic old NES games, just gave me the NES bug, big time. I started playing all the classic NES games that I had been acquiring here and there. Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo Bowl, Battletoads, Super Mario Bros., Metroid, etc, etc.

Then it became a situation of me looking to buy more and more NES games. So I really started hitting up the Thrift stores. The thrift stores in my area are usually pretty good at having a few NES games here and there. Usually they are crappy super common NES games that are overpriced. But once in awhile you find a really nice classic game for a good price. Then Gamestop has the buy 2 get 1 free deal. So I hit up all my GameStops looking for decent NES games at low prices. Then they have the 30 percent off deal on the old schools. So I start buying even more. And I'm also going to GameCrazy's looking for the occasional pricing anomolies. I bought Contra the other day at a GameCrazy for $4.99. I almost bought that game several times for about $15 on Ebay.

So I'm just buying NES games everywhere I can find them. Of course, I haven't totally lost my mind, or my stingyness. I'm still trying not to pay more than a few bucks per NES game.

Anyways, sorry to ramble on about this, but I just noticed all these damn NES carts stacking up on my desk needing to be cleaned.

On a side note, do any carts get more dirty then NES carts?

Damn they got some filthy NES carts out there. I practicly need to put on a Hazmat suit to handle em!

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Hey...you need more control!!!!!! and a pic of your collection will be great too...

[§ Gideon §]

Yes, a pic of your collection would be nice.

If you want to control the buying addiction, turn it into a playing addiction. It's very easy. If not, that's okay: You'll run out of games to buy, eventually.

[Bratwurst]

How many have you accumulated thus far, Senor Anthony? I too was once drawn in by the allure of cheap and abundant Nintendo carts, but astutely I did perceive with foresight that I would not play every game I might own equally! There's a lot of crap out there! To stave off the demons of materialism I am stopping at 100, and am quite close right now at 93. To be honest, even after careful picking, I'm having trouble conceiving anything else I might want after 70 or so. (#70 was Little Samson. :D )

Reading your posts has left me with the impression that we see eye to eye on many things! Whether you consider my suggestion or find it appealing, however, is another thing entirely. I merely propose you ruminate over what you'd -really- like to have and stick with that.

As for Nintendo cartridges being the most prone to getting dirty, I blame their popularity, immense distribution and the fact that they are some of the widest, or longest, carts out there. A whole lot more surface area to expose to dirt.

[charitycasegreg]

Ill buy any nes cart i see if its cheap. commons for a buck or less. no 5 dollar common game. thats gross. I collected for about 8 months and had 100 nes games up to 2 months ago. In the last 2 months I have got about 75 more though. Prolly spend about 80 on them and about half are boxed and some good ones too. thats coo tho

[Aussie2B]

You'll run out of games to buy, trust me. Even though I only have a small fraction of the total number of US games (a bit over 100), I'm already pretty much left with nothing to buy (only NES game I've bought in the last few months was Spelunker because of the funny name and the guy that looks like Chevy Chase on the cover, hehe). I'm not so desperate as to turn to eBay for NES game shopping just yet, and I cleaned out my local GameStop of everything was good and cheap (well... some were just cheap). I also cleaned out a great independent store I frequented back when I lived in Washington state. I'm hoping that since a year has past since I was last there, they'll be stocked up again when I visit, but as the years go by, fewer and fewer people trade in NES games... Maybe if I hit the yard sales and flea markets hard I'll be able to pick up some of the good stuff I'm missing (due to demand making the prices get inflated...).

[Videogamerdaryll]

With no Pun intended to your topic..

The "thread topic" instantly reminded me of this Ebay Buyer who milked paying a NES game auction he won of mine..
Then he decided just not to pay..
He was a nice guy in general but just didn't pay after excuses and excuses..and after telling me how much he was into collecting NES games.

79dragon79

WELCOME!
Thank you for stopping by to see my home page! I am VERY excited about using ebay to complete my collection of Original NES games. I will stop at almost nothing to finish my collection. I ultimately intend to collect every game on NES and then work my way through SNES all the way to the Newest system. I am mainly only interested in Nintendo systems.

[Anthony1]

Hey...you need more control!!!!!! and a pic of your collection will be great too...


A picture of my collection really wouldn't be worth the trouble for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that they are all loose carts. Except for one game. And I only have 40 games right now. I know that 40 doesn't sound like that many to be having an obsession with it, but I started off with only like 5 to 10 NES games, and all of a sudden just in the last couple of months it's bumped up to 40. I've added about 30 to 35 NES games in the last 90 days or so. And about 20 of them has been in the last 2 weeks.

Here is a list of the games I got, and why I got them:

10 Yard Fight - owned it back in the day
Abadox - was recommended as a good shooter
The Adventures of Bayou Billy - got it for a buck
The Adventures of Link - considered one of the NES classics
Bases Loaded - owned it back in the day
Battletoads - considered one of the NES classics
Bionic Commando - got it for 2 bucks
Blades of Steel - owned it back in the day
Captain Comic - got it for 2 bucks
Captain Skyhawk - got it for 70 cents
Contra - owned it back the day, huge classic!
Destination EarthStar - got it for 70 cents
Double Dribble - owned it back in the day
Goal - owned it back in the day
Gradius - was recommended as a good shooter
Guerilla War - got it for a buck
Gyromite - got it for 70 cents
Hoops - got it for 70 cents
Knight Rider - got it for a buck
The Legend of Zelda - classic NES game
LifeForce - was recommended as a good shooter
Little Nemo Dream Master - got it for a buck
MagMax - got it for 70 cents
Metroid - classic NES game
Mike Tyson's Punch Out - had it back in the day
Monopoly - got it for a dollar
Ninja Gaiden - had it back in the day, huge classic
Rad Racer - Got it for $1.40
Snakes Revenge - got it for a buck
Star Force - got it for 70 cents
Starship Hector - got it for $1.40
Stealth - got it for 70 cents
Super Mario Bros. - super classic for 29 cents
Super Mario/ Duck Hunt - had it back in the day, 29 cents
Super Mario/ Duck Hunt/ World Class Track - 29 cents
Super Mario Bros. 2 - want to have every Mario game
Super Mario Bros. 3 - super classic NES game
Tecmo Bowl - owned it back in the day
Tiger Heli - got it for $1.40
TMNT - got it for a buck
Top Gun - got it for a buck
Track N Field - got it for a buck
Track N Field 2 - had it back in the day
Treasure Master - got if for $1.40
Win, Loose or Draw - got it for a buck, my only complete NES game
Wood & Water Rage - had it back in the day


There are only a few NES games that I owned back in the late 80's, that I still don't have yet. Like....

Baseball - the original Nintendo one
Rygar - want this game bad, but not for too much money
Racket Attack
3-D World Runner
All-Pro Basketball

As you can see, there are alot of sports games in my NES collection, and ones that I still need to get. You might wonder why I would want so many old NES sports games, considering most are totally worthless. The reason is that back in the late 80's I was primarily a casual sports gamer. I didn't really play adventure type games then. Just mostly sports games with my buddies. We had tournaments and leagues and stuff. We had leagues in Double Dribble, Tecmo Bowl and Bases Loaded. We had tourneys in Track N Field 2. So I have an attachment to those old sports games. Even though most are worthless today.

[Anthony1]

Hey...you need more control!!!!!! and a pic of your collection will be great too...


A picture of my collection really wouldn't be worth the trouble for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that they are all loose carts. Except for one game. And I only have 40 games right now. I know that 40 doesn't sound like that many to be having an obsession with it, but I started off with only like 5 to 10 NES games, and all of a sudden just in the last couple of months it's bumped up to 40. I've added about 30 to 35 NES games in the last 90 days or so. And about 20 of them has been in the last 2 weeks.

Here is a list of the games I got, and why I got them:

10 Yard Fight - owned it back in the day
Abadox - was recommended as a good shooter
The Adventures of Bayou Billy - got it for a buck
The Adventures of Link - considered one of the NES classics
Bases Loaded - owned it back in the day
Battletoads - considered one of the NES classics
Bionic Commando - got it for 2 bucks
Blades of Steel - owned it back in the day
Captain Comic - got it for 2 bucks
Captain Skyhawk - got it for 70 cents
Contra - owned it back the day, huge classic!
Destination EarthStar - got it for 70 cents
Double Dribble - owned it back in the day
Goal - owned it back in the day
Gradius - was recommended as a good shooter
Guerilla War - got it for a buck
Gyromite - got it for 70 cents
Hoops - got it for 70 cents
Knight Rider - got it for a buck
The Legend of Zelda - classic NES game
LifeForce - was recommended as a good shooter
Little Nemo Dream Master - got it for a buck
MagMax - got it for 70 cents
Metroid - classic NES game
Mike Tyson's Punch Out - had it back in the day
Monopoly - got it for a dollar
Ninja Gaiden - had it back in the day, huge classic
Rad Racer - Got it for $1.40
Snakes Revenge - got it for a buck
Star Force - got it for 70 cents
Starship Hector - got it for $1.40
Stealth - got it for 70 cents
Super Mario Bros. - super classic for 29 cents
Super Mario/ Duck Hunt - had it back in the day, 29 cents
Super Mario/ Duck Hunt/ World Class Track - 29 cents
Super Mario Bros. 2 - want to have every Mario game
Super Mario Bros. 3 - super classic NES game
Tecmo Bowl - owned it back in the day
Tiger Heli - got it for $1.40
TMNT - got it for a buck
Top Gun - got it for a buck
Track N Field - got it for a buck
Track N Field 2 - had it back in the day
Treasure Master - got if for $1.40
Win, Loose or Draw - got it for a buck, my only complete NES game
Wood & Water Rage - had it back in the day


There are only a few NES games that I owned back in the late 80's, that I still don't have yet. Like....

Baseball - the original Nintendo one
Rygar - want this game bad, but not for too much money
Racket Attack
3-D World Runner
All-Pro Basketball

As you can see, there are alot of sports games in my NES collection, and ones that I still need to get. You might wonder why I would want so many old NES sports games, considering most are totally worthless. The reason is that back in the late 80's I was primarily a casual sports gamer. I didn't really play adventure type games then. Just mostly sports games with my buddies. We had tournaments and leagues and stuff. We had leagues in Double Dribble, Tecmo Bowl and Bases Loaded. We had tourneys in Track N Field 2. So I have an attachment to those old sports games. Even though most are worthless today.

[Cmosfm]

Actually, the thing to do to stop buying them is easy! Stop going to places that sell them. I know when I want to stop spending money I stop going to flea markets.

Also, no need for a disclaimer at the top of your posts. Chill dude! LOL

[Cmosfm]

Actually, the thing to do to stop buying them is easy! Stop going to places that sell them. I know when I want to stop spending money I stop going to flea markets.

Also, no need for a disclaimer at the top of your posts. Chill dude! LOL

[Aussie2B]

I wouldn't consider NES sports games worthless (unless you want to get into pure monetary value). I find those very old sports games more fun than any modern ones. They couldn't be super realistic, so instead they relied on making the games very simple and fun, even if the player isn't into sports (like me). As soon as the SNES and Genesis came around, sports games tried to simulate the sports too much, and I became not only confused with all the options but I also stopped having fun with the games... I'll always have fond memories playing Tecmo Bowl, though. :)

[captain nintendo]

Here is how I go at it...I only collect if I can find them with at the very least the box...... I have around 150 complete games 50 loose and probably 60 empty boxes along with another 50 - 60 instructions. I try to fill the boxes I have while looking for more boxes/ complete games. It makes it hard to be "compulsive" if you know you want complete games. ;)


Just my opinion

[Darth Vader]

I wouldn't consider NES sports games worthless (unless you want to get into pure monetary value). I find those very old sports games more fun than any modern ones. They couldn't be super realistic, so instead they relied on making the games very simple and fun, even if the player isn't into sports (like me). As soon as the SNES and Genesis came around, sports games tried to simulate the sports too much, and I became not only confused with all the options but I also stopped having fun with the games... I'll always have fond memories playing Tecmo Bowl, though. :)

Negative, NES sports games were the last blast of sports games before we got "seriesed" to death with every system that came out post NES. Madden, Tecmo super bowl (although they are mostly good), NBA live, NBA showtime, NFL QB club 20xx, etc... Very little change between games but yet people keep buying them beause they are the "new" releases"

A bit off topic, anthony, but EB games is doing a 15 games for $50 for N64 games now too! About half are sports related, but at less than $4 a pop after shipping, you can't go wrong!

Here is the link:

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/groups/15games50bucks/n64.asp

If you are a completist like me, it is a cheap way to fill in the holes with common titles.

Good luck on your NES quest Anthony!

Danny

[whoisKeel]

I know what you mean anthony, i only have 75 nes games (started with about 26 i think from when i was a kid), but that's alot of games to be buying within a few months if you ask me...and that's not counting the psx/dc/genesis/snes/gamecube games i've bought.

But i come from a different perspective, i LOVED the nes back in the day, and i always have. Now, i even enjoy the bad games, if even for only a few minutes, and i often pay $5 or a bit more for loose commons.

[Anthony1]

Also, no need for a disclaimer at the top of your posts. Chill dude! LOL



Yeah, sorry about the disclaimer. But I put that in there just because after that one topic, when I told people that I would try not to post to many self-focused posts, what do I do on my next post?

Another self focused post.

So that is why I label it a "swimming in Lake Me" post. So that if somebody checks out my posts, but hates it when they are focused in on myself, if they see that, then they can avoid them altogether and not waste their time in reading them.

Because apparently I just can't stop doing them.

[MarioAllStar2600]

I did that with my NES for awhile. It was Funcoland a good 2 times a week. Now I am only buying boxed games, and trying to complete my loose ones. I think that might be the most fun to play on, out of every system ever.

[DigitalSpace]

@Anthony1: This is off topic, but I enjoy reading your posts. You should consider seeing if there's an opportunity for you to write a column based on retrogaming somewhere. Almost every one of the topics you create appear to be written somewhat like one.

[nesuser2]

My nes binge ended when I hit just under 400 after about 3 months of collecting. LOL Then I decided to sell enough to I would be around 150-200 and I really wish I hadn't sold them. I didn't get squat for them and at that rate, they're good to have around. I usually emulate most of the NES games I play because I don't get to play any games much and when I do, it's a very limited amount of time. Easier to power on my box and play for a couple minutes. I always buy NES games that are $1-2 loose or $3 boxed and I've decided that buying the really cheap ones is the way to go. Just wish I hadn't sold those 200 games at cut throat prices....I was well on my way to a collection....at 400 games in 3 months. The rest probably would have taken me another 12 months, even at the previous rate due to the rarity of some the remnants. I could probably settle with an NES collection, save for maybe 8 games.....I'm not going to go break the bank for those last ones. Awesome topic though Mr. Norcia :D

[Funkenstein]

My worst binge was $300 in one month on Genesis games. My second worst about $160 in a month when I first started getting the NES games. I don't have one ounce of regret about that though.

I think part of the beauty of the NES is you don't really need to invest any time in the games. My NES collection is 115 or so and I've played every single one of them for at least five minutes. Five minutes is really all you need to decide whether you like an NES game or not. There's ones like Deja Vu or Final Fantasy where you need to sit down for a while and get some playing done before you hit the meat of the game, but for every one like that there's two Kid Icarus or Battletoads.

Most of the games you can just toss in, play until you don't feel like playing anymore, and then put away for a while without feeling cheated or having to schedule time to beat the thing. Games now are more like controllable movies, which I like to an extent, but there's something to be said for just pressing the on button and being able to have fun in 15 seconds.

[13u1313a]

Good good good... Use your aggressive feelings Boy!

good to see that so many people spend as much as me but the main thing is that its all worth it (some of the time anyway), I'm in my Mega CD Phase (Sega CD to the US, in case you just went 'wtf') and im starting off my collection to that.

[The Manimal]

100 games tops?


I currently have around 350 NES games...that are all good and fun. I like all of the ones I have, minus one or two which I want to get rid of. I still look for NES games, and although there are a few titles I do not have that I wish I had (like Wario's Woods and Magician), I am STRUGGLING TO FIND MORE GAMES THAT I 'FEEL' LIKE BUYING! I don't think I've bought a new NES game in over a year.. Just not finding any more that interest me :hmm:

[john_soper]

I think the golden age for NES collecting was probably about 5 years ago. Someone posted about Funcoland having tons of games and most were a dollar or two, which got even cheaper after the discount card. He said the employees would groan when he came in because the carts were behind the counter and they had to go through maybe 300 different titles and pull 150 or so for him. Then he would come back and return a big chunk because they didn't work (for batteries I guess).
Said he got his collection up to 500+ without too much work.

[The Manimal]

I think the golden age for NES collecting was probably about 5 years ago. Someone posted about Funcoland having tons of games and most were a dollar or two, which got even cheaper after the discount card. He said the employees would groan when he came in because the carts were behind the counter and they had to go through maybe 300 different titles and pull 150 or so for him. Then he would come back and return a big chunk because they didn't work (for batteries I guess).
Said he got his collection up to 500+ without too much work.

I remember those days but I don't think I bought a single game during that time because they were TOO EXPENSIVE. When I was told $20 for Mega Man cart only, I knew it was time to look elsewhere. Plus, they had them all behind the counter, so I had to ask for specific titles, which was too much of a hassle. Then a few years ago (maybe 3 or so), they had NES games (where they are now), at a few dollars a piece and of course, those 9 cent SMB/DH copies :lol I DID buy quite a few around this time, picking up games for $3-5. Most were in NICE condition...at least the ones I picked up. Anymore, it's label torn/written on/dirty/etc carts...