When is a complete collection a 'complete collection'?

[tom]

I was just going to complete my Lynx collection, I am missing 5 titles:

PA2088..Battlezone 2000, PA2091..Fat Bobby, PA2046..Hyperdrome, PA2078..Raiden, PA2093..Super Asteroids/Missile Command

But then there is Songbird, bringing out more and more games. eg:

CF2006..Championship Rally, CF2008..Crystal Mines 2: Buried Treasure, CF2002..Ponx, CF2007..Cybervirus, CF2003..Lexis, CF2005..Remnant, Ultravore

and homebrew:

#61..Othello, SIMIS, Sokomania

Protos: AvP, Loopz, Road Riot 4WD

Demos: PA2054..Blue Lightning Demo Card, CF2001..SFX

So what's the deal, collect the rest 5 titles, and claim 'complete', or continue to collect the rest, and then claim 'complete'?

[anagrama]

Basically, it's "complete" when you say it is - every one has their own criteria for what does or doesn't count, and trying to find a general consensus is almost impossible.
I'd personally call it "complete" if I had every title released during the system's lifespan and, while I'd be interested in getting them, wouldn't count aftermarket stuff as being "part of the set". Having said that, the Songbird Jag/Lynx games probably walk the line closer than most other aftermarket releases... :/

[jajaja]

I wouldnt count unreleased proto in a complete collection.

[squidblatt]

Homebrew definitely doesn't count for completion, and neither do demos. I probably would count independent aftermarket releases, but most others wouldn't. My point of view is that there are complete collections, and there are authoritative collections. Authoritative collectors get into homebrews, demos, protos, label variants, and different kinds of ephemera. These collections can probably never be complete since homebrews are often released in very limited quantities and more are always being made. It's also pretty much impossible to collect every proto that's been made. Sometimes games, like NES World Championship, are considered essential for completion by general concensus even though you can argue that they really shouldn't be.

No matter who you are, if you advertise that you have a complete collection, someone will find something missing that they consider essential. Once you get to the point where people begin splitting hairs about things you don't have, you can pretty much consider your collection complete. :)

[GrandAmChandler]

After having this same conversation in the "DC complete collection" thread. It really is up to you when it is complete. Protos are usually not included in a complete collection, but are nice to have. But it's done when you say it's done.

[fishsandwich]

Basically, it's "complete" when you say it is - every one has their own criteria for what does or doesn't count, and trying to find a general consensus is almost impossible.
:/

Agreed. For instance, what counts as a "complete" 32x collection amoung the following?

1. Every USA release
2. Every PAL release
3. Every Japanese release
4. Every USA release plus DarXide, FIFA Soccer, and ROT3K4
5. Every PAL release plus Spiderman, BC Racers, and ROT3K4 (and whatever else was a USA exclusive)
6. Every Japanese game plus the non-Japanese games
7. Every game released in every region: USA, Japan, PAL (expensive and hard!)
8. Every single title plus the two known protos that are floating around
9. Every single game plus any future homebrews

ANSWER: They all are. It all depends on what you call "complete"

:D

[Tan]

i figure a collection is complete when your satisfied with it, and no longer spend loads of money and time searching for them and can sit and enjoy them.

i figured that out when it got to the point where i had every game i had ever wanted and that i didn't have to run around town searching or hunting online.

[goatdan]

The answer is that a complete collection is totally up to you. In fact, of the games that you are missing three of those are Telegames aftermarket releases that you could decide to not include and that would be fine. Or you could include them, and that's cool too.

Just to point out one thing that I know from having gathered some Lynx stuff in the past......


Protos: AvP, Loopz, Road Riot 4WD

The "protos" of Loopz, Road Riot 4WD and Marlboro Man were released in larger numbers as "proto copies" of the games. They were not actually protos however, but copies of beta games that were put onto carts. You could count them as an independant releases or something, but 'protos' isn't the exact right term, as Atari wasn't the one who made them.

I used to own a copy of Road Riot which when I bought I was told was a proto, and I found all that out when I listed it as a proto on some site where I was selling it.

[mills]

complete is every licensed and released piece in your region, no more no less. Protos and unreleased things were never meant to be in anyones hands so they dont really count.

[anagrama]

complete is every licensed and released piece in your region, no more no less.

So Tengen or Codemasters NES games and Accolade Genesis games don't count? Or the huge portion of the 2600 catalogue that wasn't licensed? What about the NTSC SNES ISS Deluxe?


Like I said above, "complete" is wherever you draw your own line. It's impossible to give a blanket one-size-fits-all definition.

[mills]

I used to collect sports cards. To constitute a complete set is to have every card that was officially licensed and released in that series, cards that were made by a few guys in an asian factory that were not licensed were not necesary to consider your set "complete".

[anagrama]

But videogames are not sports cards. A series of sports cards are all printed in a single run by a single company, not over a 5-10 year lifespan by dozens of different companies. Your comparison simply doesn't work.

[CosmicMonkey]

See, this is one of the reasons why I'll never have a complete collection of anything (aside from the cash and family issues). You see, to me, a complete collection would be just that: complete. All Japanese region games and hardware, mint boxed. Then all US and PAL soft/hardware mint and boxed. And then as much proto/beta material as I could lay my hands on.

But that's the thing. These are Japanese games and there's lots of stuff we don't know about. I'm sure there still crazy PCE/Famicom peripherals in Japan no-one's ever seen. And PSone games that had such limited Japanese releases, you'd never get one ever. And much other stuff that's never leaving it's homeland.

It'd do my head in. I'd drive myself crazy knowing that, no matter what, my collection wasn't quite complete. So to me, attempting a complete MD/Genny collection would be mental suicide. But even relatively small collections, such as VirtualBoy or NeoPocket, that'd drive me mad till I had it all. Every limited release game or console, every variant, everything.

As an example, my mate collects vintage toys. He has an incredible Starwars collection; protos, test shots, cromalins, proof cards etc. But he also has a complete Captain Power collection: every carded figure, every boxed vehicle and the Japanese released popy box figures. But it's not quite complete: no one's sure if Dread Commander and Dread Trooper were ever released, but 1 loose example of a Trooper is know to exist. That would drive me insane! I'd sell the collection and be done with it.

Before I started my Indiana Jones collection, I said to myself I didn't want a complete collection. Just the 4 carded Indys, the Kubrik and whatever cool carded bootlegs I come across. The reason I don't want a complete collection, aside from no interest in the other figures, is that a carded Bellok in Ceremonial Robes is stupidly rare. $8000 worth of rare. And that would cause the Missus to leave me.

And that's why I just buy the games I'm gonna sit down and actually play.

[fishsandwich]

I used to collect sports cards. To constitute a complete set is to have every card that was officially licensed and released in that series, cards that were made by a few guys in an asian factory that were not licensed were not necesary to consider your set "complete".

Yeah, this isn't a good comparison. Example: The Tengen releases for the NES appeared during the time when the NES when at its peak and the games were hardly produced by "a few guys in an asian factory." They were available all over the US and many unlicensed Tengen carts are as common as dirt. Same for many of the Accolade games for the Genesis. You can have a "complete set of licensed NES games" without them, but few people collectors would leave all of the Tengen (or Wisdom Tree, or Color Dreams) carts out of a "complete set of NES games."

It's all relative.

ps. A collection that is both "small but modest" is kind of redundant. Example: a person can be of "small stature" or "modest stature." Both terms mean pretty much the same thing. Maybe your collection is "Small but growing" or "Modest but impressive" or "Large but boring" or something like that.

Sorry. English major.

[davepesc]

Staying on the sports cards, wouldn't you also need any error variations and all the special "chase cards" that drove me away from collecting.

As for a complete collection, again, it is whatever you want it to be. For my tastes it includes:

* All games publicly released in your region of choice during the system's lifetime, with box and documentation (ie "complete" :P ).

It could include:

*Homebrews: I hedge on this because the line between "Homebrew" and "Aftermarket release" is blurring. Take Beggar Prince for the Genny. The game was produced during the Genny lifecycle, but it has been translated and improved for release this year. At worst, this constitutes a "Hack." At best, it's the newest "Official Release." For 100% original homebrews (true homebrews) they are publicly released using - in some cases - new parts. Where do these fall?

It does not include:

* Prototypes: Nice to have, interesting part of history, but not part of a "complete" collection."

* Label variations: with the exception of games released by other companies with different names (ie. Sears 2600 games) You can argue other exceptions like the late Genesis rereleases (like Castlevania: Bloodlines) by a different company with different packeging.

[tom]

Thanks for all the detailed info, guys.....

[davepesc]

[quote="fishsandwichps. A collection that is both "small but modest" is kind of redundant. Example: a person can be of "small stature" or "modest stature." Both terms mean pretty much the same thing. Maybe your collection is "Small but growing" or "Modest but impressive" or "Large but boring" or something like that.

Sorry. English major.[/quote]

An English major should know that "modest" in that context would imply that the collection was not very impressive, regardless of size.

Of course, a small collection of extremely rare titles could be quite impressive, so saying a collection is "small and modest" is not redundant in the least.

Sorry, professional writer.

[GarrettCRW]

I agree with everyone who says that the collection is complete when you say it is. At present, I have 272 NES games, with duplicates of the following:

-Super Mario Bros. 3 (original pressing and revised translation)
-Gauntlet (licensed and unlicensed)
-Tecmo Bowl (with and without Eric Dickerson)
-Pac-Man (licensed, unlicensed, and Namco)
-R.B.I. Baseball (licensed and unlicensed)

So, other than scoring repros of games like Sweet Home, Final Fantasy II, and Just Breed (read: good Japan-only titles that require reading and don't have special chips inside them), I'm done. However, for some, this isn't even a half-finished collection.

[fishsandwich]

Bah. Professional writer my ass.

:moon:

[MASTERWEEDO]

i say that everything released and lisenced is a complete collection, not to say that you cant a "complete tengen collection" for the nes, or a complete homebrew collection(have fun). but i dont think that its ever really complete because there will always be something new coming out, ir being found.

[NESaholic]

What i find is that collect all official released games and pick up some obscure stuff along the way.

[goatdan]

Staying on the sports cards, wouldn't you also need any error variations and all the special "chase cards" that drove me away from collecting.

As for a complete collection, again, it is whatever you want it to be.

Agreed. One interesting thing that pops into my mind about this is my dad is has two huge collections -- non-sports cards and Star Wars figures. With the non-sports cards, his favorite set of all time is Mars Attacks, which he has in nice condition. Relatively recently, Topps re-released the set with updated cards, a few more new ones and other stuff (shortly before the movie). While this set is pretty nifty, it isn't the original. Finally, there was a set of cards released along with the movie.

His complete Mars Attacks set consists of the original set from 1962 and the newer set from 1994, which he likes both almost equally -- but the original Mars Attacks cards sell for a LOT more than the newer ones:

One original card at auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/1962-MARS-ATTACKS-CARD-46-PSA-8_W0QQitemZ6246023232QQcategoryZ219QQrdZ1QQcmdZVie wItem)

20 newer cards (http://cgi.ebay.com/Topps-Mars-Attacks-Archives-1994-cards-no-67-to-99_W0QQitemZ6246208765QQcategoryZ219QQrdZ1QQcmdZVi ewItem)

His collection does not include either the movie cards or the movie itself. It does however contain some of the toys that were based on the movie and cards that came out at the same time. Is his, "Mars Attacks" collection complete? Yes. Does he own everything that said, "Mars Attacks" on it ever made? No. He's missing things that he didn't feel were part of the collection he was trying to obtain.

I learned collecting from my father. I take the exact same stance. You're never done with a collection unless you decide you're done with a collection, and whatever you think qualifies for that collection is all that you need to get.

In the case of games, I think that if you are looking for a system, you need to get all of the licensed games that came out for the console, and in the case of the 2600 this would specifically be the ones from Atari. If you want to get anything else, it's up to you. My collections contain homebrews, new releases, imports, packaging variations, demos and just about whatever else that I find that interests me. It's up to everyone individually, as it is with every collection.

[mills]

What I personally meant by "small but modest" was that although it is small I have alot of not rare but very playable and well sought after titles.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ha, so far my only Lynx software is the AvP "proto" and some RPG game "proto" on boards. There isn't even a case for the damn things.

If anybody wants 'em, write me up...

[PapaStu]

Its only complete when your dead. That is unless someone takes over your collection and continues to aquire more items for it. That or when you say it is.

[zerohero]

It's complete in MY MIND, when I have collected all the games that I enjoy for the system. I guess I collect different, but thats how I am. I have no real hunger to collect games that I will never play.

[vincewy]

I was just going to complete my Lynx collection, I am missing 5 titles:

PA2088..Battlezone 2000, PA2091..Fat Bobby, PA2046..Hyperdrome, PA2078..Raiden, PA2093..Super Asteroids/Missile Command

But then there is Songbird, bringing out more and more games. eg:



As much as I give Carl credit for all his work on Atari games, the aforementioned 5 titles will complete your collection, for most collectors, complete collection is every game that's officially released,. ie - for Neo-Geo AES, having every game made for it by SNK will count, coversions from MVS only titles don't, unless you ask people selling those games of course, neither does variants count.

[Tron 2.0]

It's complete in MY MIND, when I have collected all the games that I enjoy for the system. I guess I collect different, but thats how I am. I have no real hunger to collect games that I will never play.
Well said that's my view on it also :)

[JerseyDevil65]

It's complete in MY MIND, when I have collected all the games that I enjoy for the system. I guess I collect different, but thats how I am. I have no real hunger to collect games that I will never play.

I agree. I will only keep what I play, but my goal is to play every NES game at least once. I know there are games that I know I will hate (Dance Aerobics, etc) but I still want to play them.

I have never owned the 3 Panesian games, but I have played them.

I figure Stadium Events will be the hardest to play, since I don't know anyone who owns it and its way out of my price range. :)

[Ed Oscuro]

Hello old topic! But yes, I think that's a decent goal. I wouldn't BUY all these games, though, even if you can sell them later you're ending up spending some money on stuff you didn't keep, and there's emulation for that.

[bangtango]

As for homebrew titles, I don't think they are necessary. Unless somebody is on the internet regularly, they will never even know these games exist. How is a person who maybe had a bunch of Lynx games supposed to know about them if they don't bother researching it online?

Sure, there have been stories in major gaming magazines but those are few and far between. It isn't fair to classify a collection as incomplete if the collector never even heard of later day Lynx titles.

It really should be based on games or accessories that the average person was able to walk into a store and purchase while the system was still being sold commercially. That is not an unreasonable classification. Even Tony Hawk 3, supposedly released months after the N64 was presumed "dead", made it into Walmart and K-Mart.

[Papa Geno]

I would say all of the games for a given system in your language and each of the games that weren't translated to your language including any games with changes such as Zelda for FDS and Super Mario 3. For the nes I would include all the FDS games as part of a complete NES collection.

I would also include important official controllers and devices for the system.

[darkangel]

it seems there is never a "complete" collection, but who knows maybe there can be.... you can always think of something else that would make it "complete"

[MachineGex]

It's complete in MY MIND, when I have collected all the games that I enjoy for the system. I guess I collect different, but thats how I am. I have no real hunger to collect games that I will never play.

^This is how I collect. I kinda rate each game and try and get each title that rates around 7/10.

As far as when is it complete....you have to decide that when you start to collect. Take NES for an example. Are you going to collect every offfical NTSC released(licenced & unlicenced) game or collect repos and homebrew. You could collect just the sports games or just Tengen games. It is what ever you decide you are collecting. Then you have the issue of boxes, instructions and inserts. You should decide that up front.

Personally I considered a complete NES collection every officially released game. Without box/instruction. Most people say I have a complete collection meaning just cart. If they have box and instruction, they say I have a complete collection INCLUDING box/instruction. You wouldn't have to say box/instruction if it was included as a complete collection.

Alright, now I am confused. :eek 2:

[steveant1636]

I have to agree with most of the other people and say it's complete when you have all the games that were released "for sale" in retail stores when the system was still being sold. After market and homebrew's are cool don't get me wrong but i don't count them as games to have to count your collection as complete.

[Iron Draggon]

It's only complete when it's complete. ;)

Seriously though, for me it's complete when I have all the games that I want. I see no need to own every game ever released for a system. That to me says that you are too indecisive to choose which games you really don't want.

But if I did think that it was necessary to own every game ever made for a system, then I would say owning every official release during the system's lifespan is sufficiently complete. Owning every official release after the system's lifespan as well is sufficiently complete and dedicated. And owning all of the above plus every proto is insane, unless you happen to work in the industry and so had reasonable access to all of those protos. But really, if you're a proto collector, shouldn't you have every beta version of every game ever made? And what about the build numbers for betas? Shouldn't you have every build of every beta also?

Back to the subject of aftermarket releases, if you are a true fan of a console, or even just a true collector of a console, you will find out about all the aftermarket releases one way or another. So just because it was never sold in brick & mortar stores is no excuse not to own it as well.

I would say the only aftermarket releases that don't really count would be ones that were released in such limited quantities that even the most dedicated of collectors shouldn't be expected to own them. Like all those ones that were only sold at CGE and there were like 25 copies. Screw that bullshit. That's just a few hobbiest geeks who wanna have something that hardly anyone else has. It's obviously not intended for most to be expected to own it.