What's a good # of games to own per console?

[Gemini-Phoenix]

What do you guys consider to be a good number of games to own for a system? In other words, is it worth owning a PS2 if you only have five games? Also, at what point is it worth owning more than one of the same system?

Personally, I have always believed that you should own one game per system per month that you have owned it. Ie, the GameCube has been out since May 2003 (3 Years old), so most people should own at least 36 games for it if they bought it from release.

I believe that 50 games per system makes it really worth owning. If the next gen comes, and a system "Dies", i'd expect to have at least 50 good games for it by that time. A system just doesn't feel worthy, and a waste of money unless you have a decent amount of titles. Especially when you consider the percentage of titles owned against the number of titles released... In the UK there have been about 1500 PS2 games released, and I like knowing that I have about 1/15th of them. Likewise, I like knowing that I have about 70% of the PAL Dreamcast library.

Then again, I feel the £400 I paid for my Jaguar is a waste as I only have the four games I bought when I first bought it. Being quite young at the time, I saved up my paper round money to buy a successor to the Mega Drive, only to be disappointed. I couldn't afford new games (£60 a time when you are 13 is a lot of cash!), so I feel that is what lets my collecction down.

Pretty much most of my consoles I have had since turning 18 I have at least 50 games for, except the N-Gage which is loitering in the 40's. And considering how long the PS2 has been around, I consider over 100 games to be a good number to own. Likewise, the PS1 is 10 years old now, so 180 games is also a good number.


I also believe that when you get a decent amount of games, you should buy a second console. Especially if there is a redesign out there, such as the GBA or PS2. After all, it can't hurt to have a back-up console for years to come just in case one dies... Yo don't want to be stuck with a huge library of games, and nothing to play it on, having to rely on getting a pre-owned unit off eBay...


So, at what point are you content that you have a decent number of games for your consoles? When do you feel that you have enough games that the price you paid for your console was "Worth it"? Any X360 owners out there who have a handful of games that still feel that they have a long way to go before they feel that their money has been well spent?

[c0ldb33r]

I don't base it on the number of games I have for the system, but rather how much I like the ones I have. I've only got about 20 ps2 games, but I really like them all, so I'm happy with it.

Same with the DS. I've got like ... 6 games for it but I'm really happy with that too :)

[Joker T]

All that matters is that you have good games. My friend only has about 10 games per system at a time but he has fun with those games so it doesn't really matter. I mean

I would say over 25% of my games suck LOL

[Rogmeister]

Which games do you have for the Jaguar? Based on the price, it probably is a bit of a waste but if you got it for a a decent price, it's worth it if you can get the handful of really good games made for the system, especially Tempest 2000 and Alien Vs. Predator.

I think it's more a question of how much fun you get out of the system rather than how many games you have for it. I really enjoy MVP Baseball so if that were the only game I had for one of the current consoles, it might be worth it to me. I do have over 50 games for both the XBox and GameCube, though. I'm not sure how many I have for the PS2 but I know it's at least 30 and probably 40 or more.

On the other hand, I have about 200 games for both the SNES and Playstation...wow, I must really be having fun with those systems... :D

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Which games do you have for the Jaguar? Based on the price, it probably is a bit of a waste but if you got it for a a decent price, it's worth it if you can get the handful of really good games made for the system, especially Tempest 2000 and Alien Vs. Predator.

Troy Aikman and Dino Dudes: Evolution, which both came with the console as "Freebies", which I wouldn't have bought anyway. Remember that back then the console bundles were about £400 and games were £50-£60 each. I then bought Doom and Theme Park separately, which are two of my favourite games of all time, and are the two games that tempted me to plump for the Jaguar over the Amiga CD32, CD-i, and 3DO.

I wish I had saved my money and bought a Saturn or PlayStation (The latter I bought in 1997 after FFVII and GTA came out). But, Doom and Theme Park still remain two of my favourite games of all time, despite actually having both games on PC and various other systems. I keep meaning to buy some new Jaguar games, but just never got around to it. There are still hoards of brand new Jaguar games available on the internet as well, but I just can't be bothered. AvP and Tempest 2000 are two games that have been on my wishlist since day 1 though, along with Kasumi Ninja and a few other Jag games.

To me, I still consider the Jaguar a waste compared to my PlayStation and PS2. Both of which seem to have paid for themselves in enjoyment

[X SMF X]

I don't really think there is any set number. As long as you are happy with what you have, that is all that matters. For example, my wife and I have a PS2 (it is mostly hers as I hardly play it), we only have three games for it, but she really enjoys the three games she has for it, so that is a good number to her.

I myself have bought 7 360 games since I bought the system, but have only played 2 or 3 of them on a regular basis. It all depends on what you can afford and what you enjoy.

[soundwave]

I don't base it on the number of games I have for the system, but rather how much I like the ones I have. I've only got about 20 ps2 games, but I really like them all, so I'm happy with it.

Same with the DS. I've got like ... 6 games for it but I'm really happy with that too :)

Same here I usually limit my collection to games I know I'll play a lot. Typically if I haven't played it in 6 months I'll consider getting rid of it. I've got maybe 30 PS2 games and about 25 SNES games. But between me and my girlfriend they get a lot of play.

[keiblerfan69]

50 is a good number. I say at the least 20.

[c0ldb33r]

...my wife and I have a PS2 (it is mostly hers as I hardly play it), we only have three games for it, but she really enjoys the three games she has for it, so that is a good number to her.
what 3 games?

[Lothars]

I agree I don't think there really is a set number of games per system to own

as long as you have games that you love for each system than that is all that matters

[X SMF X]

X SMF X said:
...my wife and I have a PS2 (it is mostly hers as I hardly play it), we only have three games for it, but she really enjoys the three games she has for it, so that is a good number to her.

what 3 games?

Sly Cooper 2, Kingdom Hearts and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger (Can you see a platformer fan there?)

[whoisKeel]

I'd say at least one. Don't think I'd want a system if I didn't have a game for it. If you own one game for a system and really like that game, but don't want any others, I can't justify selling the system just because you only like that one game (so long as you can't get that game elsewhere).

But if I had to pick a number, I'd pick 7. Just because.

[jdc]

In the past, I've usually sat at around sixty titles per console once the Greatest Hits pricing comes into play.

I can't see myself owning sixty Xbox 360 titles for a long time both due in part to the newness of the console and the fact that I really don't want to spend that much money any more. I'm actually overly picky with my 360 spending habits. Unless the game is super stellar, I don't buy it. No more buying of "meh" titles. I've wasted far too much money on those over the years. I've had way more than my initial money's worth out of Oblivion, and the other six titles that I own are all keepers too.

[c0ldb33r]

I really don't want to spend that much money any more. I'm actually overly picky with my 360 spending habits. Unless the game is super stellar, I don't buy it. No more buying of "meh" titles. I've wasted far too much money on those over the years.
I'm a fan of quality over quantity myself :)

[tholly]

a good number of games to own for a system???

....i say, all of them....but thats the collector in me....

[Sylentwulf]

OHHHhhhhhh, I'm so sorry, 17.
Yes, 17 was the correct answer. Thanx for playing though, we have some lovely parting gifts. That's right, just follow susanne off to the left side of the stage.

17 folks, you just have to know the simple things.

[n8littlefield]

I tend to keep my collection on the current systems to around 20 games as well. I find that it fluxuates, but always seems to come back to right around 20. My classic ones are a bit larger (95 NES, 50 Atari) but for current, it stays somewhat smaller.

[Canadian Psycho]

I only have two games on my Dreamcast and that's reason enough to keep the system (Shenmue and Shenmue II in case anyone wonders). It depends on how much you value each game. I prefer having a couple games I love than 50 I find ok or simply "good" (quality > quantity*).



*Well, except on the NES and SNES where nostalgia has me purchasing quite a few average platformers/fighters/rpgs, etc.

[CosmicMonkey]

Before I buy a new console I consult reviews/game list to find games that I'm actually gonna play. A system really needs to have a selection of at least 10 very good games to make it worthwhile. For instance, it's no point getting game X, just because it's the only example of genre Y on the system if its crap.

For instance, before I got my Mega CD I sat down and added to my Ultimate List of Games and ended up with 20 really good Mega CD games.

Thing is, I have about 25 SuperFami games on the list, making it a worthwhile purchase but not atm.....

The only system I've broken this rule with was the PGM. It was a lot of effort consolizing the system for only 6 games, but it's worth it.

So 10 very good games is my answer.

[Spycee]

1 game per console is correct for me. Of course, it must be a very good game, and it doesn't mean that I will not buy more games ;) And I don't often pay full price for the console, so it is not a very big "waste" of money if I only have 1 game for it.

For example :
Gamecube : Metroid Prime
XBox : Morrowind
PS2 : Dragon Quest 8

With only these 3 games, I would be satisfied to have bought these consoles.

[cyberfluxor]

I do think the amount of games you own should be whatever you want instead of some random set number. I even own a few games for systems I don't own, but if I ever do get those consules I'll be able to play them. :)

There are a ton of crap titles everyone owns unless you are some elite gamer that knows exactly what they want and nothing else. I sometimes buy random games I see just to play them and then find out what they are like.

I only own a handful of Gamecube games but the bulk lies in PS1, Genesis, N64, and Dreamcast. To say the number of games you SHOULD own is roughly equal to the amount of months since the launch of the system seems crazy unless you're a hardcore collector trying to get everything.

With all that said, I just buy whatever, whenever, and looks like a good price. Personally I should just stop getting games for a good few years just because all the games I own could rob me of thousands upon thousands of hours of gameplay to beat... But I don't stop. :D

[alec006]

I know this may sound stupid but at least 1 game,i mean you dont want a block sitting there collecting dust. 10-20 games in my opinion is a good start.

[Daltone]

And the Lord spake, saying, "Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, thy collection will be of minimum size."

[ozyr]

Answer really doesn't exist. There are just so many factors, none of which I'm willing to get into... :hmm:

[Happy_Dude]

The only answer that makes any sense is 100% ;)

[lordnikon]

I own about 10 games for my 32X, but there is 1 title that makes the system worth while for me: Virtua Fighter

I think I could say this for all of my systems even though I own hundreds of games, all of which I love dearly. There are some games I am so passionate about that I need to own the system to play that specific game. And all of the money I spent on the system and game and memory card make it worth every penny, even if I didn't own all of the other titles I have.

When Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out, I will have no choice but to buy a Playstation 3. I really don't care what other games come out on that system. I must own and play MGS4, and continue to own it so I can play through it multiple times. It is sort of funny how some person will pay 15 dollars for a movie, but I am willing to spend hundreds of dollars to just play a single title and feel that I sometimes am spending too little!!! That is how much I value some titles.

I think using a math equation to justify your console and game purchases is counter productive.

You should follow your heart. Buy the games you enjoy playing, and the hardware required to play them.