The gamer to collector ratio here on DP.

[XYXZYZ]

Where are you?

100% Gamer- You buy games to play them, and for no other reason. To hell with manuals, boxes, complete collections, or anything you don't care to play.

Gamer with collector interests- You're in it for the thrill of saving the princess, but it's also fun to own nintendo bed sheets and have all your favorite games in the box with the manual, so you can display them with your Atari lunch boxes.

50/50- Your collection is just as important as the fun you have playing games.

Collector with gamer interests- You spend more time searching for games to add to your collection than you do playing them. You have stacks of complete, boxed games you don't actually want to play or maybe you think you'll get around to playing them some day, but never do...

Specialist collector- You love playing Zelda games, own every Zelda game, own Zelda figures, Zelda towels, Zelda coloring books, stickers (still in the package) three official 1987 Legend of Zelda electric toothbrushes, in the boxes. You have the Phillips CDi Zelda games, but don't have a CDi. Someone offers you a complete Intellevision with 20 games... "naaah." Doesn't interest you.

100% Collector- You live for building your collection, never get around to playing them because you don't have time, or you don't want to own a system that isn't still sealed.

Oh, and if you think one of those titles applies to you, but don't like my description, just post your own.

[RCM]

I keep the boxes to my stuff but that's about it. Above all I'm about playing great games.

[CosmicMonkey]

Funny how this topic has just popped up. I had a bit of a revolation the other night. I've decided there's no point having shelves rammed with games I'm never gonna play.

So it's all going: the Megadrive/Mega CD, PSone, Saturn and PC Engine. The only console I'm gonna have connected to the telly is the beloved Dreamcast.

Everything else is going to fund the purchase of a cabinet to put the MVS and PGM in. I'm then getting a second cab in a couple of months for the CPS2 and an Atomiswave.

When it comes down to it, I'm gonna get more play out of a 90 quid Armed Police Battrider PCB than 90 quids worth of PC Engine games: my gaming tastes have changed a lot over the past year or so.

So yeah, gamer.

[gjb-sensei]

I'm definitely a gamer first and foremost, but I also like to be a collector at times.

[Aussie2B]

I'm a gamer with collector interests since, while I like adding to my collection (even sometimes games I really don't have much interest in), there's no way in hell I've ever going to place buying and owning games above actually playing them and appreciating what masterful works of art they are (the good ones, at least).

I am a bit of a specialist collector, though. Since my favorite games are all from tri-Ace, I collect anything and everything related to all of the company's games. For some companies, that could probably just be labeled as general collecting since it would be so broad, but since tri-Ace only has a few franchises, it's limited to two series (Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile) and one stand-alone game (Radiata Stories). Playing the games comes first and foremost, but I also get a massive amount of enjoyment out of the comics, soundtracks, art books, and other stuff.

[Nebagram]

I voted 50/50, although I lean more toward the gamer side of things. There are games that are just nice to have but I'll never get around to playing- my Japanese Shining Force games for the Saturn, for example- but in at least 90% of cases, I don't buy a game unless I intend to play it. Eventually. Very eventually.

[Synergy]

50/50 here as well. I only want games I like playing, but I also like them in good condition to display too. :)

[Kitsune Sniper]

I'm a gamer, but prefer to have my games in complete condition if possible. You could say I collect them in that regard, but I have no need to actually own all titles or such. Maybe an entire series on a system. (As in the five Final Fantasy {1+2,4,5,6, Tactics} games on the GBA, or the two KOF:EX games.)

However, I want to own all the games I've translated for nostalgic purposes. Maybe one day I'll be able to do that, but that's completely out of my reach for the moment.

But if we're talking about DVDs... man, don't get me started! LOL

[Damaramu]

50/50 here as well. I only want games I like playing, but I also like them in good condition to display too. :)

Ditto. Voted 50/50 as well.

[scooterb23]

I don't game or collect, I'm just here for da h0t ch1x 8-)

[cyberfluxor]

I really don't know anymore. I originally decided to hop into buying lots of games so I can play them, but over time I now own more than I can play. I guess this means I'm a half gamer, half collector. After doing quite some thinking over the past few months I might begin selling/trading games I beat and only a select few consules/handhelds I will keep all my games as a collectors tribute. It just feels like I'm getting overwhelmed at times and spending too much on the wrong things I really need right now.

[Daria]

Wow. I'm still the only vote for specialist. Go me. :Þ

[dreamcaster]

Gamer with collector interests

I buy games that I want to play, and nothing else. I have no interest in owning 'zomg rare' games, unless they are worth playing.

Boxes and manuals are important to me for the most part, but even then, for some consoles I don't bother with them (NES, SNES).

[Jumpman Jr.]

Well, I picked '100% collector', but simply because that was the answer that most closely matched me.
I do play games though, so I'd be more of a 95% collector - 5% gamer if anything.
I have and play all the games that I enjoy playing. All the others are strickly for the collecting.

[starsoldier1]

I'm 50/50 because I love collecting games even if I know they are going to but that also means I can give out nastier reviews on my site so yes I do like to play as well.

[NE146]

What am I who has a big collection but got it from over 25+ years of buying games to play and then kept them all.

[MarioMania]

I like playing my games what I buy..But I bought Doubles to have..like I have Super Turrican loose to play & Super Turrican Complete, Is that Normal

[doomedpeasant]

I picked 50/50 as well because i like playing most games that ive been buying at least for a little while, but then i keep them, and my games always have to be complete!!

[Videogamerdaryll]

Gamer with collector interests

[Bronty-2]

Well, I picked '100% collector', but simply because that was the answer that most closely matched me.
I do play games though, so I'd be more of a 95% collector - 5% gamer if anything.
I have and play all the games that I enjoy playing. All the others are strickly for the collecting.

that's like me. I picked 'specialist' (before I read the definitions) but I'm 90-95% also.

[heyricochet]

Voted 50/50 because I definitely have those games that I bought just cause I wanted them but truthfully I knew I really wouldn't play them, but I do buy a lot of games with the intention of playing them, and do play a bunch.

[keiblerfan69]

I refuse to use the marketing term that is "gamer."

[smork]

I put 50/50, though I might be a gamer with collector's interest. I definitely wasn't much of a collector before, just a retro gamer. Now I have enough games that I really can't say I am going to play them all anytime soon. Plus I collect LE hardware and such, too -- if I were just a gamer, I'd just need one good complete system.

The clincher is that I am trying to complete a JP Neo CD collection now. I do or am going to play all of them (they interst me quite a bit, and are very few games I don't want to play much in the entire, but small set), but going for a complete collection is definitely not gamer activity.

I'll never even consider going after a complete collection for something like JP Saturn or US PS2, even though I have alot of games for those systems. Too many games, and too many that I don't want to play. So, I don't think i'll ever be more than 50/50.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I like playing my games what I buy..But I bought Doubles to have..like I have Super Turrican loose to play & Super Turrican Complete, Is that Normal
I actually like it when collectors do this. :P

[×FR3DD×]

I refuse to use the marketing term that is "gamer."

Me either..but I'll say Player with Collector interests!
http://www.myteespot.com/images/thumbs/t_6083.jpg

[-hellvin-]

I choose gamer with collector interests. A few months ago I probably would have picked the opposite, but I haven't been into collecting that much anymore. I used to thrift damn near 2 or 3 times a week or more and was always on the hunt looking for stuff. Not anymore. I guess you could say I finally got burned out on going on hunts. I occasionally go to one or two stores near me but that's it. I've been doing a lot more gaming now than I have in some time. It's rather refreshing to sit back and FINALLY get to some current gen stuff I've had for such a long time instead of looking for more crap in the scorching Arizona sun.

[Kroogah]

Collector, Gamer, or non-gamer, depending on my current income level. :D

[Jestr]

No point in denying it anymore...
Collector with gamer interests. It usually takes a gimmick to pull me in now. Viva La Wii :)

[Captain Wrong]

63% Gamer
17% Collector
29% Packrat/Too lazy to put stuff on eBay

[the 5th ghost]

I am definitely a serious Atari collector. I have a lot of oddball vintage Atari items, like an Atari promotional baseball bat for example (given out at the Three Rivers Stadium at a Pirates game RIP)

But, I am also a highly competetive gamer, so I prefer my games to be playable, not sealed. Although I do try to collect everything CIB.

[mezrabad]

Part Gamer / Part ACCUMULATOR!!!

For me, collecting and nostalgia have less to do with it for me than playing the all the games, even the bad ones. If someone came and offered me what I paid for 95% of the stuff that I've already played, I'd sell it to them in a heartbeat, simply so I could then go out and get others that I haven't played.

[atomic]

I used to jsut get the game throw the rest away, now when I look back o those days I want to punch myself in the nutz. I wish I had kept the boxes manuals etc. to all of my old snes games and stuff but I didnt. I now collect snes games but also love playing them. So I put gamer with collection interests.

[googlefest1]

i chose 50/50 even though i collect more than play games

my plan is to eventualy get through all the games but that is a slow proccess

i have many games still sealed and many games i have only tested

i enjoy playing games so thats why i chose the 50/50 - i just dont have the time to play all the time

[B - Mark]

I´m 100% Gamer.

I collect only the games with interest me.

I´m worry with the state of this game.

[keiblerfan69]

I refuse to use the marketing term that is "gamer."

Me either..but I'll say Player with Collector interests!
http://www.myteespot.com/images/thumbs/t_6083.jpg

That works. I say I am 50% Player 50% Collector.

[miaandjohnrule]

I'd have to say that I'm close to 50/50. :)

[snes_collector]

75% Collector
25% Gamer

Need to have a sell to get rid of my extras though.

[AMG]

I voted 50/50 game player and collector.

[Anthony1]

I definitely put myself in the Gamer camp. I only collect a few things. For example, I collect Game Mags from 1988 till about 1997 or so, especially GameFan, VG & CE, EGM, Game Players, GamePro and stuff like that. Hope to have complete collections of all the earliest issues of those mags at some point in time. I also collect loose SNES carts that I'm interested in playing. Why loose? Cause I'm a cheap ass bastard, and again, I'm more of a gamer. I want to play the games eventually, and I don't really care about the boxes and all that, and I only want games that I actually have an interest in playing. I also collect loose 32X carts, Jag carts, Genny carts and the few affordable AES carts. Again, only ones that I'm actually interested in playing.


So I really don't consider myself much of a collector, and I know eventually I'll sell alot of these loose carts that I'm collecting. Eventually I'll probably just be happy with emulation at some point, althought I'm not right now.

[SeGaFiEnD]

I love to play games but I am definitely 50/50. I buy all my games to build my collection. I intend to play every one but its more about collecting. I buy them all bad or good. I play them all bad or good.

[Luke]

Same, about 50-50, but if you're happy with the way you go about this wonderful hobby of ours then more power to you:)

[XYXZYZ]

I refuse to use the marketing term that is "gamer."

Hmm, that's interesting. Come to think of it I'm kind of tired of seeing it used everywhere myeslf...

Howabout "video-gamist"?

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

At this very moment, I'd classify myself as a collector with gamer interests.

[christhegamer]

Collector with gamer interests; you just hit the nail on the head right there.

[Sparky]

Collector with gamer interests… but somedays i wish i was more of a gamer, it feels like i have a "to do list" that i never get around to doing :roll: it bugs me sometimes.

[RetroYoungen]

I play, but not as often as I used to. I voted collector with gamer interests. It seems I talk more about games than playing them.

[bangtango]

100% gamer/game player, whatever you want to use for a term. I don't "collect" anything, including video games 8-)

[X SMF X]

I picked 100% gamer myself. I still check out flea markets and yard sales in search of a good deal, but if I don't intend to ever play a game, I just don't bother to pick it up.

[Arthur-Otaku]

I'm collector with gamer interests, but I really play my games, some games more than others

[segarocks30]

Gamer with Collector interests.

[Retsudo]

As of right now, Im 100% gamer. At one time I was leaning toward gamer if interest. I used to care about having games complete, but now I dont really care much. That all started when I was buying back some PS1 games I traded in years back. I just want them so i could play them.

As for Snes games, I never cared about having those games with boxes and manuals.

I also must add, if I come across something rare and worth a lot of cash, I would buy it.

[Alucard79]

I'd say 50/50 but it does seem that I buy a lot more than I play. But when I do get time to play, I'm really into it. Granted, a lot of games look better on my shelves than on my systems...as in they suck. But those games even though they are shit, will never leave my collection.

[Ed Oscuro]

Second option. I'm starting to regret some of the money I've dropped :D

I don't mind the thought of dropping lots of money on a single game, but it'd better be good.

[RegSNES]

I voted Gamer with Collector Interests. I want to have a nice collection but I love to play games and the only games I really collect are the ones I think I'd enjoy. While I do prefer to have my disc games with a game case and instructions, I will buy disc games only. Never know when I'll come across a complete copy.

[Chadt74]

New guy here, but I'm more of a gamer than a collector. I like to play fun video games or games from my youth like Ghost and gobblins which I never beat and I am trying to beat now (NES).

Games I enjoyed like Tomb Raider I'll 'collect' but I'll never have a full collection or pay $200 for a rare demo cart. It is nice to know how much 'stuff'' is worth when I am looking at it or making an offer.

[TurboGenesis]

I'm a video game player who just happens to have a collection of video games.

I like to play my games. About the only thing I'll "collect" for would be Turbo Grafx and Sega Master System. Those two consoles seem to have a wide varity of game titles and and seem to be the most "fun" for short play periods sans RPG games.

As for specialist - I am currently working on amassing a collection of certain games as well as other misc. things that go with these games - of note I do play all the games in this "special" collection. I got the idea earlier this year to do this little special thing to add some spice to my purchasing of games and should be done by the end of the year.

[scooterb23]

What's funny about this question is that I mentioned to a guest that I collect video games, and the guy jumped in "Are you a gamer or a collector???"

To be honest, I don't game as much as aI should, and I'm almost embarrassed by my collection at this point.

[XYXZYZ]

I'm bumping this because Vectorman locked that other guy's topic, and I think it's an interesting discussion.

So if you only get things that interst you or games for playing purposes only, and you've built up a whole lot of them, can you still call that a "collector" or is that reserved for people who get stuff just to have it in the collection?

[50s Brawler]

Gamer with collector interests- You're in it for the thrill of saving the princess, but it's also fun to own nintendo bed sheets and have all your favorite games in the box with the manual, so you can display them with your Atari lunch boxes.

However, I would say I don't care much about bed sheets and stuff. I'm the guy that expects a USED disc based game to have no more than maybe a few hairline scratches, and ppl think I'm weird when I make a game store pull out every used copy of a game and hold the disc up to the light, look at it from different angles and what not to make sure. I also will not buy the last "opened" copy of a game from stores like EB or Gamestop 9.5 times out of 10 either. When I buy games on the cartridge format (especially Mega Drive) I don't dig on loose carts... I want the insert as mint as possible, and the box had better be at least in good condition, however, I have never really given a damn about instruction manuals. Strangely enough though, when collecting 8-Bit Famicom games I prefer them just bare cartridge though. If it's a disc based game from Japan, I usually want the spine card but it's not a deal breaker if it doesn't have one.

[goemon]

I thought I already posted in this topic back in August... guess not.

I would say that I'm a gamer (player, whatever) with collector interests. I only buy games that I want to play, but along with the game I want the guide books, the soundtrack CD, any marketing or promo items, and the obi. I'm not too picky on the obi, though -- if it's a game I really want at a good price, I'd rather buy it than hold out for a little piece of perforated paper.

[DigitalSpace]

I thought I responded back earlier as well, but I didn't. I know I voted for "gamer with collector interests" though.

I'm mostly a gamer that buys too much shit. Though I do have quite a few collector interests - I have nearly 150 SNES games (and once considered going for a complete set), and I have over 30 pinball sims, and over 160 racing games.

[Steve W]

My gaming tendencies tend to come and go, depending on my moods. Lately, I've been collecting a lot of modern games, and I haven't really played very many of them. I loaned my Xbox out, but I'm still buying up heaps of games for it whenever I find good ones at a great price. So right now, I'm a collector. Maybe in a few months or so, my mood will change and I'll probably be more of a gamer.

[Keir]

What am I who has a big collection but got it from over 25+ years of buying games to play and then kept them all.That was me up until about '97 or '98 when I "discovered" collecting (and this site). Then I moved to about 50/50 where I stayed for a few years. Over the past 2 years, having kids changed my life to a point where I lost interest completely and was neither a gamer nor a collector. About a month ago the collecting urge started to come back and I now consider myself a collector with gaming interests. I'd say probably 90/10, but only because I don't have time to play more.

63% Gamer
17% Collector
29% Packrat/Too lazy to put stuff on eBayand 1% ???

[Cambot]

I clicked 50/50.

I try to find boxed games, but I also play them. I'll also buy an old scuzzy cartridge if I'm really interested in playing the game. On the same token, I also recently bought a complete Jack Nicklaus golf for SNES in excellent condition which I still haven't fired up.

[kedawa]

I just play the games, and truth be told, I'd rather have a game perfectly emulated on my computer than play the real thing. I have one USB gamepad that is absolutely perfect (except for the fact that it's getting a bit worn out and I have yet to find a replacement) and I have neither the space nor the inclination to collect carts and consoles.
I know this forum is geared toward collectors, but I find it very informative on gaming in general, and having owned dozens of consoles and hundreds of games throughout my life, I believe I can contribute at least some knowledge to the community here, so I'm not entirely out of place.

Having said all that, I do have a weakness when it comes to bargain bins. I often find myself tempted by the silliest games and hardware just because it's cheap or has some potential to be hacked/modded for other purposes.

[NinjaJoey23]

Def. gamer with collector interests. I love the thrill of hunting down a hard to find game that I want to play, and then conquering it.

I usually "collect" games that I like to play, or could play. Of course, I won't pass up something that is more collectible than playable, but I usually end up trading or selling for something I'd rather have.

[Steven]

Voted gamer w/collector interest. These days, I play way more than I buy, mostly due to the fact that my want list is under 10 (YES! Finally)

In 2004 I think I became a collector though, even if I didn't admit it. I was buying lots of games I never even played, just to have... like Soviet Strike, the original SF Alpha, etc. Also, if I played the game, I tested it for 20 minutes and moved on.

These days, I find myself sticking with a game til I beat it, or get to the point where I've exhausted it and can no longer advance. It's a good feeling. And I know from now on, I'll be by and large a gamer first, collector 2nd...