Are you a collector or a gamer?

[DigitalSpace]

Whoops again. I can be such a dumbass sometimes! Sorry, fellow DP'ers. :frustrated:

[evilmess]

Gamer (16 bit to current)

I usually buy games that I genuinely want to play and then add them to my collection(s). On occasion I'll buy a game because it's interesting for some reason or another, play it a little and then put away for a trade.

Good question! 8-)

[Daria]

I have to say both, while I spend a good deal of my free time playing games I certainly enjoy collecting them as a hobby and I buy plenty of games I've never gotten around to playing... yet.
________
Lovely Wendie99 (http://www.lovelywendie99.com/)

[Jasoco]

Well.. until recently I was a big collector. But I have put it aside and now only game. Finally finished Pikmin last night! And I actually got off the planet! Probably wouldn't have done it if I had kept collecting and letting it consume my life. Gaming is more fun for me now.

Sad.. I collected the 29th part on day 30.. didn't even get a chance to play the final Trial.

Maybe I'll play again one day. After I beat Pikmin 2.

But anyway.. Gamer. That's me.

[dj898]

I used to be gamer till my daughter was born. since then I'm more of collector simply I have no time for playing at home. :(
still I reckon with games I'm collecting it won't be too long before I can play with my daughter... :p

cheers

[farfel]

game !game! GAME

:D

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

Right now, I'm more of a collector. I now spend most of my gaming time on the Internet.

[JesterDev]

It's a bit hard to define myself between the two. I would say that there is only maybe 3% of my collection that I haven't played at least once. There are always those titles that I buy with the intention of playing, but somehow never get around them (not including sealed games). I do however buy anything that I do not already have. I have a few games for consoles that I do not even own yet. :) A very few mind you, but I bought them in hopes of one day buying the console.

In anycase I buy allot of titles with the intent of preserving these games for the future to they didn't end up in the dump. I just can't stand to see that happen. But my collection is well used. There is not a day that goes buy that I don't stop and relax to play a game or two or more. It's like a drug habit I guess.

Really though I like the idea of being able to pick and choose what I'm in the mood for verses having only a few to choose from. So I am somewhere inbetween I suppose. But I play more then I collect. :)

[izret101]

I'm not going to vote either because depending on what is going on i spend more time doing one or the other.
I am getting out of a buy to collect not to game phase right now.
Probably because i am starting to finish up a bunch of the games i bought because i wanted to play them not for a collection purpose.
But when i get to many games that i want to beat i go into a collector phase again.
So i guess i am a bipolar gamer/collector.

[lendelin]

Gaming and collecting aren't contradictory at all. It is not 'either-or,' it is 'and.' They both reinforce each other. Gaming provides fuel to keep the motor running for collecting, and vice versa.

Gaming is about the love for games. Collecting is about the love for games AND having lots of options to play different games. I like to think of collectors as nutty gamers who want gamestores in their homes; and the more games you have, the more options you got.

When it comes to restricted time budgets, most guys do at different times a more gaming and then more collecting. That is a good thing because it provides variety when it comes to games. In the long run, it probably balances out nicely.

One misconception about collecting is that it doesn't make sense because all the games collected can never be played. The latter is true, in particular for really impressive collections, but large collections are about the OPTION to play games on your shelves if you want to or have to. Book libraries are there and thrive for completion not becasue every book will be read, but because books should be archived and are readily available if there is the need to look them up. Same goes for game libraries.

[bargora]

As lendelin and others point out--
A collector is a gamer with no time.
A gamer is a collector with no money.

[goatdan]

It all depends on how I look at myself...

I am definitely a gamer first... most of the time. I only have two or three major collections -- Jaguar, Dreamcast and Neo Geo Pocket, which I've never considered a collection until recently when I realized I have something like 90% of the games for the system. I have a few minor collections just for the sake of the system interested me and it was cheap. My Action Max "collection" falls into this category.

But with my collections, I collect to game 95% of the time. I have played every Jaguar game I own at some point or another for at least a few hours. Even the ones that suck just to give them a shot. I have played about 75% of my Dreamcast collection, including about 25% of them at length (long enough to beat the games or accomplish a lot like an entire season in NBA 2K1). Beyond those, I only have games I had when I was younger plus a few oddiites that snuck in. For the 2600, I have added Ram It in the past ten years. For the NES, Tengen Tetris and Top Gun (which is actually my wife's). For the SNES, Maximum Carnage. And that's about it.

The GOAT Store started at least partially as a reason for me to get more games to check out, but not get attached to them like I have with my original collections. I often check out stuff that we get in to see what it is like. I've been borrowing a Geni lately and playing through a ton of different Geni games I've always been interested in. I have also borrowed a Saturn, 32X, SMS and Turbografx-16 for the same sort of stuff. It's been a nice way to get to play a _lot_ of games for a lot of systems, and it also gives me the opportunity to help people locate games from their youth that they sold or games to help complete their collections, which gives me a sense of accomplishment.

But anywho, definitely a gamer first :)

[videogameking26]

I'm a bit of both..game alot but also collect alot..mainly just next-gen and GBA games right now

[jasonegitto]

I am definately a collector. I will collect any game I see, even if I wont ever play them. I have the calssic list of all the games I used to play a long time ago and loved, but I plan on owning every game for every system. Good luck me.

[legov8]

I'm both. I collect them, and play them.

[ozyr]

Gamer for the most part. I've given/sold/traded to many rare games away to be otherwise. Besides, I just like to play the things. I just have a habit of keeping games, instead of trading them in for new ones like some folks do.

On the other hand, when it comes to Odyssey2/Philips G7XXX series, and the Atari Lynx system, I'm a collector. Anything I can get that deals with these two systems I can get my hands on, I'll take it (if I can afford it). Games, fliers, magazine ads, etc. Between these two systems, I hate to think how much I've spent - especially getting those darn hard to find rarer games - like Power Lords! (of course, I've spent plenty more on other hobbies - yes, Video gaming is 'not' my main hobby) :embarrassed:

[Moon Patrol]

Im about 50/50, I collect and I game. I have a small collection, about 100 or so games for Genesis, 2600/7800, SMS, and 32x.

I see tons of people who collect a lot more than they game though, I just want to get a complete US Genesis/32x collection, maybe complete SMS too, that's it.

[Alucard]

I'm mainly a collector. I play the games I have but once in a while.

[game_nut]

Gamer. I only buy games that I know I'm going to play alot. If I collected games, most of them would just sit on the shelf and collect dust...and that would just be a waste money to me.

[Dji]

I used to collect pretty much anything, but I've sold most of what I had because of a lack of interest, recently including my Saturn, my 3DO, and even most of my N64, Genesis and dear SNES games. I used to have a Game Gear, Master System, 2600 and TG16, but that was years ago, when I was still a kid. I intend to sell most of my PS1, PS2, Xbox, GCN and DC games, since I barely even play them anymore (if ever). I've spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on unremarkable GBA games, which I think I'll keep for a while yet anyways, for whatever reason. Nowadays, I only collect NES games (I'll buy anything NES that I don't have, and even stuff that I do have, from time to time), while I seldom even buy non-NES stuff... and even then it's only to play. I buy MVS games from time to time, but they're quite expensive, so that doesn't happen often. Most of my game-playing time is spent on NES titles, which I (re)discover. One of my friends is quite the collector, though. He's bought numerous consoles and games which he doesn't even know the names of. I collect vicariously through him; giving him tips on what is a good deal, going on shopping sprees with him in cheerleader-mode, etc. I think that's even more fun than when I collected myself, as I get to play almost everything and search for buried treasure, plus it's none too expensive and doesn't take any space! :P

[atari_wizard]

i went with collector. i love gaming and trying out new games. i usually go thru my bins and pull out games that i've yet to play, toss it in and see if its good or not. iv'e found a few new loves this way.

[VG_Maniac]

I null vote because I consider myself to be both a collector and a gamer. However, I'm not a hardcore collector. I'd never even consider trying to own every system and every game for every system.