Collection density vs. aesthetics

[Wavelflack]

I'm not going to preface this.

When we bought our house, I finally had tons of room to display my game collection. Big, deep shelves that were almost as long as I am.

I had so much room, I could arrange the games AND throw in boxes, displays, and so on for the aesthetic appeal.

As time went on, I started running out of room to maintain functional and non-functional collection stuff. Boxes were relegated to the attic, one at a time.

The "final straw" was when my cousin died and left me his collection. All of the sudden, I had to find space for another 700 games. The remaining superficial and extraneous bullshit went straight to the attic, and games were stacked 2-3 deep on the shelf (makes it hard to scan your games at a glance to locate one).

What direction would you take? Keep the "artful" look, or go for function over form?

[drwily008]

Function all the way....some people on DP live by the boxes, but you need to have everything organized without cardboard cluttering everything up.

I'm really sorry about your cousin man, I bet he knows you are enjoying his collection.

[drwily008]

My opinion BTW is sell the boxes you don't find nessacary and buy some more games with the cash. What good will they do you in the attic?

[Crush Crawfish]

Function, definitely. That's why all my genesis boxes are stacked in the closet- they take up far too much space. Same thing with my GBA boxes. I really have contemplated selling these boxes, though I'm not sure how to go about pricing them.

[swlovinist]

I can so relate to this. Find a theme for your collection, and then focus on that. The problem with many game collections is that you can get spread out very quick. I am there right now. I am in the process of moving to Washington and I have to prioritize my own colleciton. Sell what is not important to you and add to the collections that you play.

[s1lence]

I'm going to go with the fuction group. Boxes may look nice, but all they do is take up space. I'm going to push it a step further though. If there is a group/system that you don't play and probably don't have any intention of playing, put those away too. It was amazing how much space I saved by moving all the crap into a non display storage. Sorry about your cousin, its nice to know that a relative that likes gaming got the goods though rather then the games being tossed by another relative.

[Simply Dave]

I'll throw in another vote for function. Once your collection reaches a certain size you have to maintain some sort of practicality. For me boxes are always the first to go to the attic. Now that I am running low on room again, magazines and guides will be the next to go in an effort to free up space.

[video_game_addict]

Boxes, magazines, guides, Oh my! Fresh food for the rodents!


I'd question why the need to hang on to something if you're gonna toss it in the attic. I agree with DR above, just sell the crap you don't want/need. You obviously can't truly want it, if it's been reassigned to the attic. @_@

For me, I found that I had lots of systems that I didn't really play, so I started unloading them one by one, until I was left with a much smaller collection. Maybe some people are afraid to part out, as they like saying, yeah I have 2000 games, or 5000 games, or whatever, but if you have no reason to play or really keep around then why bother? No one really needs a CD-i or Vic-20. No one needs 100 Sega CD games, when's the last time you played each of those??

I'd rather have functionality as far as what's on the shelf, in that they are mostly enjoyable titles. And keep the aesthetics with organization, and limit the amount of displays & posters & whatnots you keep around, to allow as much space as can be to the actual games.

Boxes I collect, as I've parted out most everything that was loose. In the larger collections assuming most are loose, maybe sell off the random box to save space (a little bit) and keep the aesthetics going. Why someone hangs on to 15-20 boxed Nes games out of a collection of 400 loose I don't know. But unless they are really meaningful, sell those boxes off, and make the whole lot look more inline. Keeps all the shelves set to the same height, and will look better than an anemic box here or there.


Once I got rid of the unplayed systems, and then the lesser played games, and alot of other crap I didn't really need, I found I had much more room for what I did want. Once you're to the essentials, and you've done what you can to unload all the clutter, then you start deciding on boxed vs unboxed for games. For platforms where most are boxed, I would hope you'd keep them that way, & allow them to stay in their homes. For the collections of mostly loose, maybe it's time to unload the random box & make them all loose. For system boxes, if there are never going back into the box, then maybe sell the boxes? I wouldn't want to, but I'd make room for them somehow before shoving into the attic. You may be forced to throw away in a few years if you're not careful & the attic isn't as safe as you originally thought.

[Goblin]

Definately function over form. Over the past few months I've begun moving things out to the garage and with those shelves filling up, moving stuff to the attic isn't too far off.



I'd question why the need to hang on to something if you're gonna toss it in the attic. I agree with DR above, just sell the crap you don't want/need. You obviously can't truly want it, if it's been reassigned to the attic. @_@


I agree but there is a certain point where the systems aren't worth too much. Like my intellivision, colecovision, pong, and 5200 collections. If I sold them I'd probably be lucky to get $300, but the hassle of finding a buyer for the "starter" sets is tough, plus shipping it a pain. Now if I could find a buyer local I'd get rid of much of it. Otherwise I'll store them in the attic until I want to play them again.

[Aussie2B]

Sorry to hear about your cousin. :( Must be crazy to inherit 700 games, though. o_O That's more than my entire collection. I couldn't imagine suddenly having to work in that many games (although I would gladly take them). It must be pretty cool to inherit stuff you actually want. When my family members have passed away, we're just left with a ton of crap that we don't know what the hell to do with. :/

Anyway, you just have to organize it whatever way works. You can't keep everything pretty and decorated if you have no place to keep hundreds of games. As others have said, maybe consider selling off some items that aren't very important to you.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Function all the way....some people on DP live by the boxes, but you need to have everything organized without cardboard cluttering everything up.

I'm really sorry about your cousin man, I bet he knows you are enjoying his collection.

I'd write what DrWily008 said..so Ditto..

[WanganRunner]

I honestly store a lot of my bulkier stuff at my mom's place. She's got tons of basement/attic space, and I have NO space.

I just moved into a small 1-bedroom apt from a house I was renting. MUCH less space. I'm consolidating my collection a bit, getting rid of some of the crap I never use in favor of a more concentrated "players" collection rather than, say, a "collectors" collection, if that makes any sense.

I'll still buy up everything I come across, but mainly to resell or trade for things I really want. For instance, I'd buy up 40 Genny games or whatever, but then trade them for one or two things I really want.

[fahrvergnugen]

I guess I'll be the first to vote for 'form.' I think having a nice-looking collection with a specific theme is much more important than clutter density.

I'd rather see a shelf of 75 boxed, complete NES games than 350 loose carts.

[john_soper]

I organized the garage last month and came up with an idea I really like so far. Put some astroturf down in my house's crawlspace and then stored old books and stuff in plastic crates (to keep termites and bugs out).
It's more more temperature controlled than the attic and only takes a couple minutes to get to by lifing up a section of a hall closet floor. The astroturf keeps you from getting dirty. No spider problems yet, knock wood. I haven't put any games down there yet probably will after the next baby.
Guess that's no form at all :)

[boatofcar]

I guess I'll be the first to vote for 'form.' I think having a nice-looking collection with a specific theme is much more important than clutter density.

I'd rather see a shelf of 75 boxed, complete NES games than 350 loose carts.

Ditto. I collect to display. If I'm not going to play it and it would be in a drawer or unseen on a shelf, I get rid of it. Looks like we're in the minority, fahrvergnugen....

[fishsandwich]

FUNCTION!

I live in a 600 square foot studio. Unless I want to look like the biggest nerd ever with my entire decor motif being videogames (which is kind of cool to be honest but still geeky as hell) so I have to make due with the space I have. I have stuff in the kitchen, in the closet, and yes, UNDER UNDER UNDER MY BED :hmm:

I wish I could do form like some people, but that's not my life right now.

Cheers

:D

[XYXZYZ]

Ditto. I collect to display. If I'm not going to play it and it would be in a drawer or unseen on a shelf, I get rid of it. Looks like we're in the minority, fahrvergnugen....

Count me in, actually. I only collect fun stuff I like to play,which I can be rather picky about so that keeps the volume down. Other than that I collect Nintendo/Atari/ etc. memorabilia which is primarily for display purposes anyway. So I kinda get function and form at the same time! But I feel the same way; I don't see any value in something you're never going to enjoy interacting with in some way.

[neuropolitique]

I'm all about the aesthetics. In fact, I'm in the process of designing some storage units that will almost completely hide my collection. I like things to be clean, very minimalist. I also like the idea of a James Bond style collection, which is hidden unitl you reveal it. :)

The only way really to do that though is to concentrate. Pick a couple systems you prefer over others and collect only for them. I've been struggling lately thinking about which systems to keep, and which to sell. It's not easy, but sometimes you have to do it.