Rant time: what others think of your VG collecting hobby

[Lord Contaminous]

Have any of you experienced having to live with someone who thinks of your VG collecting hobby differently than you do? This is what compelled me to start this thread:

For instance, a half hour ago my Super Famicom system (which I wanted for 8 years) finally came....much faster than I expected.

However, my dad (in which I did NOT want him to know that I bought the damned thing) straight up killed the excitement and exhiliration I expected to experience once I got it.

Even though I sold some of my games to build up for this set, when my dad handed me my package, we almost threw off the gloves cuz he thinks I spend money on video games way too much (and that's not true this is the first time in a month I've done it), I don't understand the difference between needs and wants and other moral stuff I already know. News flash! I sell my fucking games so I WON'T have to pay out of my pocket. I sell my games through Paypal to keep it within that spectrum I tried to say that to him, but he just obviouisly don't wanna listen, so he throws his finger up to cut me off mid-sentence and I end up biting my tongue. He collects coins all the time and I don't say a thing to him.

In the middle of last week after I paid with Paypal, I went to the post office to tell the people to mail me a slip telling me to pick up my package instead of bringing it to the house so I could avoid confrontations like this about my hobby. And guess what? They bring it to the house anyway and the result: me getting pissed off making this thread to get it off my chest.

[drwily008]

Yeah man, I feel ya. People like that make me so mad and my Dad was the same way until it helped me get a job in the videogames field. I'm opening my own store in 2 months, now I'm 27 and don't know how old you are. If your old enough get your own place, it makes the world of collecting a totally different experience. Sure you wont have a crumb to eat and you furniture will consist of old hand me downs and a $2000 stereo system, but hey at least you've got YOUR priorities straight!

On topic I've had MANY girlfriends who didn't feel my love for video games, so I kicked their abercrombie lovin' tramp asses to the curb. Seriously, I wouldn't settle for a girl who didn't at least appreciate my collection. That equals lots of meaningless relationships. Oh well I am now happily married to a beautiful gamer girl that I might not have met had I been with one of those other girls!

Good luck w/pops!

[cowmando6]

Both of my parents appreciate my collections and would never tell me I spent too much on games. My dad also helps me when I look for games in the wild.

[FlufflePuff]

I get the normal teasing and gruff from my parents. Shows that they don't understand my hobby, but don't necessarily approve of the money I spend. We've never got in any arguments over it, and as I live two states away, they don't see my game room very often. My gf is very understanding. Hell, I have control of an entire room of our apartment. Occasionally she gives me that look that says, "you spent too much and I'm not that happy with you right now," but it goes away. So, all in all, no complaints here.

[FooFighter]

If my wife gripes I just remind her that I dont smoke, do drugs, or go to the bar and drink. I have this one vice it could be much worse.

Besides, this stuff is still worth something after you use it.

[drewbrim]

My wife thinks I'm crazy and spend way too much money, time, energy, etc.. on my hobby. But since I only spend what I make from selling games on ebay or wherever, she really isn't able to say to much. At least I no longer get the "and how much did that cost?" questions.

[Damaramu]

My girly thinks I spend a bit more than I should, but overall doesn't complain; she's a gamer too and enjoys all the side benefits of my hobby! 8-)

[Funk Buddy]

This would have to be moved to the Pub if I posted my rant on this subject.

Let me just say, I'll be 36 this year and my step mom has a real problem with my collection. I could punch a hole in the wall every time she brings sh*t up. :angry:

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Last summer I made my mom get up early to go yardsaling, but she didn't really mind, she got more stuff than I did.

My brother makes fun of all my games and stuff, but it dosnt make sense, because he is a gamer himself. I think he might just be jelous that I have all these awesome games and systems and the such =P

[gepeto]

This is my logic,

People spend tens of thousands on cars and other stuff see pimp my ride. That is a collection right there. My collection keeps me young. Am I addicted yes. Do I buy games that I will never finish Yes. I collect because videogaming is a part of my life like any other thing. My wife knows this. I could be at the bar playing pool drinking staying out all hours of the night running the street. One guy told me it was a total waste and I told him at least I can account for majority of my money (not wifey) and see the results. Will I stop who knows . It is easy to put down what you dont understand. Every man has a hobby even pops find his be it clothes cigarettes. Enjoy your games and your collection.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

If my wife gripes I just remind her that I dont smoke, do drugs, or go to the bar and drink. I have this one vice it could be much worse.

Ditto (minus the wife part). My dad every once in awhile likes to give me the whole "don't you have enough games? You should be saving your money" speech, but I think I do just fine. I put more then half of my pay check in the bank every week and it's not like i'm spending money on booze and getting myself into credit card debt like most kids my age (21). Besides, he just bought a new computer and a flashy Gibson guitar in the last couple of months, so I don't really think he's one to talk.

[Funk Buddy]

Besides, he just bought a new computer and a flashy Gibson guitar in the last couple of months, so I don't really think he's one to talk.

You're doing good if you can save some money, I wish I did when I was younger.

I have around $250 a month left over after all my bills. What little is left, I feel what I do with it is no ones business. I don't drink, smoke or do drugs either, but I do like to eat. I rent a small house and drive a pos car since mine was stolen, and work 55 + hours a week and I'm salary. Life could be better, but that's what the games are for. ;)

I always get asked if I am saving any money. The real reason it pisses me off is I work for them and have for almost four years now and have not be given a pay raise. I make the same as my old job where I worked the hours I wanted and only was there 35 hrs a week. This question coming from people with five houses, four cars, a boat and two jet skis. Of course, they have worked hard to get where they are, so I understand their situation. That's enough from me, they'd sh*t purple Twinkies if they read this post. :D

[jezt]

My wife use to hate my hobby. That is until she played super mario kart double dash. Now she wont let me in my game room.
:angry:

[Steven]

No one understands it. My ex saw it and was like "why you wasted so much money on a dead system?"

Oh well, I learned ppl will always be like that, just enjoy yourself and have BALANCE

[Stark]

It's a hobby that's all. Now if people around you (especially living with you) don't understand or accept it then you will not enjoy it as much. No need to argue over it either. Try sitting down and explaining that its a hobby, it's what I like to do and if you are lucky enough to find something rare you could profit from it just like other hobbies. When I tell people I collect videogames the first reaction is What? Then I go on to say ya I have x amount of games from the beginning to modern games then they start asking questions like what was the first game or ya I remember playing pac man what else is there? That's the fun part in my opinion.

[shvnsth]

collecting is in my blood, and i have tons of collections:

games
oasis shit
dvds
cds
audio equipment
clothes
guitars

and everyone around me knows i have the cash to spend, and its better in this shit than drugs or whores, so no one really bothers me about this shit. good luck with your dad

[Yago]

Well, the last I checked collecting VG's is a hobby. Hobbies cost money regardless what it is. I also like H2O trains. Now THERE is a nerdy hobby. Nobody collects trains anymore! But I also like guns. So that evens it out. If somebody has a problem with hobby #1 or #2 or both, see hobby 3#. O_O

[Putney]

Pretty much everyone I know is ok with my collecting. Parents are usually on the look-out for good deals and check around them when I'm searching for anything in particular, and the wife is usually ok with it. She just uses my game spending to justify purchases for herself though ;)

[Uzi 9mm]

My Family is kinda negative about my computer and video game addiction, such as saying I "spend all day in my cave".

[Cirrus]

Since I tend to spend more time collecting than actually playing, nobody gives me too hard of a time. My wife enjoys video games, too, which is a nice touch.

Moving into my house last year my father made some jackass comment about "needing to grow up" because I was going to use one of the empty rooms just for games. I got pissed and made a comment about him hunting for sport. We had a small fight but it worked out.

Then I decided to build a MAME machine: (Click here (http://www.afreeimagehost.com/upload/6037/Cabinet.JPG) to look!). I basically put the whole thing together from broken parts, so it wasn't too expensive. Maybe 400 dollars overall, but that definitely drew one or two comments from my wife. Oh well, it was worth it.

The hardest to justify was putting a projector TV down in the basement (the eventual gameroom). 1200 bucks to play the retro games in 100 inch beauty. Got my surround sound and all my systems hooked up... but I pretty much won't be able to buy any games for months without getting some serious crap from my wife. (Walking on thin ice.)

Most of my friends play games, though.. I'm the only one that collects to any large degree. One buddy of mine collects Genesis and Nintendo, but probably only has around 50 or 60. Still, most of my friends have no problem going hunting for games from time to time, so it works out.

Sorry for all of you folks who get crap for your hobby. Stay strong! They can have their Nascar and baseball cards!

[shoes23]

You know it's amazing how much of a mixed reaction people have towards the hobby of collecting video games. At times my girlfriend has no problem with me spending $$$ and time getting my grubby hands on every game I can. On the other hand there are times that she feels too much time is devoted to living in a "virtual world". The simple fact is that everyone needs an outlet; we here at DP just choose to games. Sometimes you gotta fight a little dirty as well. Everytime my girlfriend points out that I just spent two hours gaming away, I feel the need to point out that 1600 min cell phone plan that gets maxed out every month. :bullshit:

[NeoSNightmarE]

i was constantly getting bitched at by my parents because i had all of my stuff there. so i sed, ok. and i moved it all into a storage unit. they dont say anything now because they cant. :D

[Berty]

Im the boss of myslef so it doesn't really matter what others think.

[Link_Chrono]

I guess I'm kinda lucky on this one. My parent's don't really seem to care about it, and my girlfriend loves playing my SNES and Gamecube. I only occasionally get comments from my brother, but he's the one who has at least 200 DVD's all stacked and sorted in his room.

[chaoticjelly]

Yeah I get the parent thing too. basically for like 2 years every weekend I went out looking for games, managed to fill up like an attic and a spare room full of games and stuff..

My whole game collecting started off like when I got a SMS, I swapped a PSX game for it! got like 2 games inc afterburner, and it had Alex Kidd built in, started collecting games then unofficially, then we went to a car boot, found a Master System 2, with like a pile of 14 games, this was all pre-ebay times - it was like next to nothing for the system and games I couldnt believe it

Ive collected pretty much everything since I was a kid - pretty much anything you can think of, but I think I'll always collect games. Started finding that rare games could be sold for a lot on ebay, so generally now I go around finding games, the best stuff that I dont have, which I collect for goes into my collection - Sega, Nintendo - the rest goes on ebay

Built up a sort of "little business" doing it - now im never short of money - dont have to worry about paying bills, money for food, socialising etc - im just 19 and I have like a little income, its pretty good

Only thing is, ive still got a load of games stuff I need to shift, mainly hardware, cause I kept it all thinking id mod some and sell it at a higher price or something like that - so I get my parents griping because ive got a lot of stuff at home and the house is in disarray

But their hoping to move soon, and hopefully i'll have a double garage to play around with.

It seems people are saying its harder and harder to find these games, but I could literally go out 4 times a week if I had the space and get absolutely tonnes and tonnes of stuff, so I guess i'll have fun when I've toned down my stock a bit!

I dont really play the games often, but I dont just collect to sell, trade etc, I do play em sometimes, but I have little time at the moment.

One of the guys I live with at University, when I first met him and said about game-collecting, he was like "OMG you nerd" and come on guys, this guy sings to himself in Japanese, and has 100's of Anime DVD's so yeah, he can talk!

I think everyone collects something, my dad has loads of fishing gear, my mum has her lladro (spanish porcelain figures for anyone who doesnt know) and like people have their DVDs, Anime and stuff like that

Its a hobby that gives me great pleasure, and I might even be able to start a business out of it in the near future!

[Graham Mitchell]

I've been pretty lucky with other people's reactions. My parents were always pretty cool about it. I actually used my games and my taste in games to rope in my fiancee'. Her boyfriend at the time had his Xbox, and he was playing Halo and Morrowind and a few other, more violent games all the time. Girls don't want to play that. So I took her out to play some pinball, and we went back to my place to dive into some Super Mario 3. She was mine not too long after that.

Now that we live together, she's always got a "game of the week". She's got way more time than I do, so she gets amazingly good at them. You guys should see her play Katamari Damacy; she found everything! (Not bad for a girl who never played anything before 2004).

Most of my colleagues are pretty fascinated with it. I go to medical school, which is full of a bunch of jockey males. Because I loathe most sports, I really have a tough time bonding with males at my school. I have 2 male friends there, and they think it's great. Most of the girls do too. Occasionally, I'll get in a situation where I have to talk to one of the "beautiful" people (yes, there's a popularity contest even in med school. They all run for student elections and vote for each other. It's retarded, and nobody else pays attention to the elections). When they find out I collect, they usually bluntly laugh at me.

It's okay, though. Most of these guys are really dumb. Earlier this year, a bunch of them that live in a house together spent the afternoon swatting a hornet's nest. These people are an average age of 26 so they should know better, and they tell patients to be safe and healthy all the time. This baffles me. But I just remember that no matter how "lame" they think I am, at least I don't spend my afternoons trying to kill myself.

[Mayhem]

My parents put up with up, though I do get the odd comment of "haven't you got enough yet?". Same could apply to their acquisition of antiques now :P

Actually I'm doing the same thing (these games ARE antiques compared to the timeline!)... and preserving them.

My girlfriends have thankfully been a bit more tolerant and lived with it, and my gamesplaying. Now all I have to do is find someone like QoF over here in the UK (unless the kitty decides she wants to move!)... one person who definitely doesn't mind the games LOL

[RJ]

See my EyeToy thread I posted today (before seeing this) for my friends' reaction to video games.

My wife deals w/ my "addiction" but sometimes I really wish she'd sit down & PLAY SOME w/ me. She tries to "get" them but just cant somehow.

A guy at work, upon noticing me reading a gaming mag on break (rather than sitting there, staring off into space, I guess) told me to "grow up"...I guess 'cuz he has a few kids...or something...

The most fun I've had gaming recently is showing my PS2 to my bro-in-law & cousin who had a great time w/ EyeToy & my Guncon2 games.

I really appreciate someone who appreciates gaming!

[pookninja]

i dont get to many problems about my video game collection.my wife is a gamer,so she is cool about it.my parents even look for games for me when they hit goodwills and such.the only time i got into hot water with anyone about my gaming hobby/addiction,is when i went and spent a little over $300.00 on a fire shark coin-op,and didnt tell/discuss/beg my wife about getting the arcade game,in fact i didnt even tell her until i brought it home.

[Crazycarl]

my personal experience is that both my brother and i are gigantic pac-rats and both collect. the only diffrence is mine is cheeper, since he collects cars. so really my mom cant say anything towards me hehe. the only other gruff is from my g/f (thats because she would like me to spend the money on her) hehe. but that pretty much it for me.

[hydr0x]

haven't read through the posts here but here's my input

my girlfriend wasn't shocked or anything when she learned about my hobby, she wasn't a gamer at all and now she plays once in a while, she's ok with my collection too as long as our appartment doesn't look like an arcade ;)

my parents were very worried at the beginning (i started to collect after not playing consoles for a few years) and i'm pretty sure my mother hates the hobby and thinks it's nonsense, my father accepts it, he thinks everyone needs his weird hobby, for some it's cars, for me it's vg, he's ok with it as long as the other parts of my life work out

there aren't many other people who know about my hobby, but those who know games think it's quite cool, the people who have never experienced games do not really understand it, but none of the people i know better think of me as a nerd

[jdc]

My collecting has really pared down these days so it costs me way less than it has in past years. (dumped a few systems and left the industry LOL )

My wife looks at it this way. I'm home at night with my 3 yr old son at my side and not out blowing paychecks in the bars. I'm not up to "trouble". LOL

[joshnickerson]

I get some strange reactions from my mom. As in, her attitude towards my collection is totally random. For instance, once we were checking out a video store that was shutting down and they had some boxed N64 games going for like 5 for $20. I was wondering to myself if they were worth it and she said "Oh, go ahead, it's only money." And then a few weeks later, I hit the dirt mall and come back with a bunch of cheapo NES games and she says "Don't you think you're getting too old to waste your money on games?"

O_O

Of course, whenever she gives me grief I just point out her large collection of Cow Parade figurines. LOL

[kainemaxwell]

Friends are impressed and do tease me on occasion about my collection.

[crazyjackcsa]

People say that I've got an illness when it comes to my games, I've only got about 150 and my family make fun of me sometimes. It's good natured but I don't really think I have a lot of games.

[Crush Crawfish]

I've been pretty lucky so far...both my parents are my supportive of my hobby and my friends all think It's really cool. They love being able to come over and pick a new game to play every time! :D

[VACRMH]

It really depends on who the person is...

Parents, can't stand it and think i'm wasting every dime I have.

Girlfriend enjoys some of it, but is still mad because me seeing her toploader when we started dating is what got me into gaming again.

Most random people (Coworkers mostly) think it's a little odd that I own so much, but love talking about old favorites.

My close friends are all game nuts so they just get jealous :P

[Kroogah]

Most friends love it (probably because most of them go to this message board)

Parents...both love it, but dad is obsessed with his image as a parent so he bugs me about the money I spend all the time. They can't say much, they were building collections of stuff and going to garage sales for years before I was born!

Game store employees around here give me hilarious reactions.

[Steven]

I just wanna add one thing. Whenever my next GF comes, or say, wife.... she BETTER be able to tolerate it because there's no way I'm throwing them out or "storing them away," but I'm pretty positive I'll find a cool girl who will love me for me and that includes all my little quirks.

Hey, that's true love eh, and that's only what I'll accept, therefore I'm optimistic she'll be able to tolerate it. I'm sure I could get her into it too, I have a ton of puzzle games ;)

[l_lamb]

My family knows and supports my habit - for Christmas or my birthday, I either get cash or gift certificates to places that sell games. I constantly get crap from friends when we're out shopping and I'm picking up cheap new games - "You'll never play all of the games you already have, why buy more?"

Of course, they're always in awe of the size of my collection and always find some game that brings back good memories "Wow! Stampede, I used to LOVE that game!" and have no problem turning on the SNES display and playing Super Mario World.

[VinnyT]

My familys always thought that I spent too much time and money with video games, but whatever. Even though my brothers always playing games, he mostly makes fun of how i'm always coming here and posting.

[Algol]

Nobody I know really cares. Of course, I'm doing well in school, saving most of my money, and staying out of jail, so they really can't complain.

[cracked8ball]

My girlfriend doesnt care that I collect games, but she doesn't understand the concept of it. She always asks why do I collect shit I will never play.

[Pop Culture Portal]

My parents NEVER had a problem with my collecting when I lived at home. Hell, Dad brought home a Pog and an Atari 2600 without either me or my brother asking for one (thanks Pop!). My wife used to have a big problem with it, mostly because it was everywhere and she thought I was spending our mortgage money on it. But once I explained to her how I was getting the money, things are better (of course now,she says I play too many games). Ebay, Amazon, Half.com and a few other places have been money makers for me so I can actually afford to buy games. If they weren't around, I'd definitely go without. We don't have much extra to spend on "goodies" as they're called around my house.

[Trevor Belmont]

I guess I'm lucky in that my girlfriend, my parents, and everyone else doesn't really care that I have a truckload of movies and video games. I rationalize it as this: as long as I'm responsible for making sure other things are paid for (like my car payment, student loans, etc.) then why not?

The thing is, everyone has their own hobbies. I wouldn't get on anyone else's back for collecting things, or my girlfriend for having a ton of shoes, etc. They have their vice, we have ours.

I feel sorry for everyone in this thread that has to put up with people on their backs. Just keep on collecting guys ... don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[slip81]

My girlfriend complains that I spend too much every now and then, but with me its understandable because I have racked up some pretty high bills on games. She's just trying to look out for me.

She doesn't mind that I collect, she just doesn't want to me to get into some huge debt that I can't handle.

[Big Shady]

Parents hate it, but whatever, I'm basically just a guest now (22 and starting my own life soon). I use to justify it to my mother by pointing out her $1000+ porcelin statues that just sit in the China cabinent, so she shuts up real quick about my NEO GEO collection.

My father, he's just irrate that I'll be making $70,000/year right out of school making video games. He thinks it isn't a real job, but hey for a "fake job" it pays pretty damn well :D

[Richter Belmount]

my fam doesnt mind only one chick i know that thinks its weird but she still likes me like hell :/ .

[Kejoriv]

Parents think its stupid and pointless
Girfriend doesnt really care
Co workers think Im retarded
Friends think its funny

[ubersaurus]

My parents figure there's worse things I could be doing, and my friends think it's awesome.

Unless the woman likes video games herself, they tend to think it bizarre, but I don't bother with most of them anyway.

[Bluteg]

My girlfriend used to think nothing of it as when my collection was only about 300 two years ago. Now it's around 1250 and I get some funny looks sometimes. She's very understanding and even started playing some games (mostly fighters and puzzle). Before me the only thing outside of Solitare shes ever played was some racing game on N64, which she hated. Now shes starting to enjoy hunting and I even bought her a DP shirt that she wanted.

My parents don't mind too much, because they see me selling extras and in demand stuff for profit on ebay. Although when I was taking my $60 Vectrex out of the box my mom said "why are you paying good money for junk someone else wanted to get out of their house".

[videogameking26]

Everyone around me thinks I go a bit to far in spendings for my hobby, their are better things to spend my money on than videogames...but I'm like whatever as I live on my own and pay bills, rent etc so if I want to spend lots on my hobby than I can.

My younger brother is very happy because I'm his video store that dosen't pay to borrow games for PS2 8-). And overtime my parents have just adjusted to my hobby and don't say much about it.

My co-workers are like all I do is play videogames and have no social life which is very wrong..but whatever It's what I love to do, I don't drink,smoke or do drugs like them so their jealous I can built my hobby like I do :evil: :D

[TurboGenesis]

Only my gamer friends understand and to a lesser degree my lady. Not too long ago she quipped on why I had to have Ikaruga for both Gamecube AND Dreamcast. Said I should sell one of them. Yeah right! All my other friends just don't understand why I have 500+ games and why I "waste" my money on "old games" when I could be buying a new PSP or something.

Collecting games is a fun AND interactive hobby. What is one going to do with all their coins or stamps or sports cards but just stare at them?