you know you're a hardcore collector when...

[grimbal]

1. You get a loan to be able to buy 1900+ game boxes just so you can get one of each for your personal collection.

2. You drag your 8 and 5 year old kids out of bed at 7am on a Saturday morning to get to the local Salvation Army store hoping to find games.

3. You go and wait in the womens clothing section of a store just to meet Fabio and have him sign your copy of EGM #3.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3610/dscn0143mg7.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn0143mg7.jpg)

[anagrama]

...when you pay a 3-figure sum for a variant of a Mah-Jong game you already own and think "that's OK, because I know at least 2 other people on the internet who have paid more for it".

[98PaceCar]

You consider $600 for a PS3 cheap...

[dcescott]

Getting off work and hitting 4 thrift stores on the way home. Also I know when the electronic lady at one of my stops rolls out the last cart, usually filled with game/stereo stuff. I've pulled a few consoles right off her cart, pissed her off too. I call that day Super Tuesday, that day seems to be the best for finds at that store.
There is several collectors even here on these forums who I have to compete with in my area.

Or going to a couple flea markets every weeked, to find games/systems, them sell the stuff you already have on ebay to make back what you purchased to go out and buy more the next weekend. Nothing like a collection for free!

[dcescott]

Fabio?
Why didn't you bring a tub of butter too??

[djbeatmongrel]

Fabio?
Why didn't you bring a tub of butter too??

whats the butter for *wink*

[ProgrammingAce]

http://packy.dardan.com/walky/albums/gwalla/apc.jpg

[lurpak]

http://packy.dardan.com/walky/albums/gwalla/apc.jpg

I see, its for fisting !!

[Dreamporter]

- When you buy anything game related PERIOD no matter how cheesey it may be.

- When you heckle the guy at the flea market to sell you the classic nintendo glass case display from toys'R'us back from the SNES days so much that he has to have security escort you out...... -.- I'll be back..trust me...

[rbudrick]

1. You get a loan to be able to buy 1900+ game boxes just so you can get one of each for your personal collection.

2. You drag your 8 and 5 year old kids out of bed at 7am on a Saturday morning to get to the local Salvation Army store hoping to find games.

3. You go and wait in the womens clothing section of a store just to meet Fabio and have him sign your copy of EGM #3.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3610/dscn0143mg7.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn0143mg7.jpg)

A friend of mine had that issue signed by Fabio too. It was back in the early to mid 90s. He was the only guy in line. :-D When Fabio signed it, he looked at the mag and said, "Oh, I remember doing this." I should ask my buddy if he said anything else. Yeah, I know, that story was useless, but I wanted to tell it so you don't go thinking that there's only one Fabio-signed EGM#3 out there! HA HA!

-Rob

[MegaDrive20XX]

1.You're too hardcore when you have the same game on different systems. (Mega Man 8 on Saturn, PSX then the MM Anniversary Collection on PS2, Xbox, and Cube)

2. You know you're too hardcore when you can debate over which Street Fighter was better, Street Fighter Alpha 2 or Street Fighter Alpha 3

3. Diskoboy covered this one and I like it too, but you're a real hardcore gamer if you played "The Oregon Trail" back in Elementary School.

4. You're a real hardcore gamer, if you wake up in the middle of the night and your right hand is twitching in the motion of the last 2D fighter you played. (It's happened to me once, my hand was asleep, but it kept going X, A, Y, C motions...)

5. You know you're really hardcore if your hands hurt like hell after playing some of N64 Mario Party games.

6. You're a real hardcore gamer if you feel any RPG is less than 40 hours, then it is not worth your time.

7. Your real hardcore when your room looks better than the Video Game museum at the Smithsonian Institution.

8. If you still perfer Halo 2 over Gears of War by now, then not only are you hardcore, but you're hard-headed, but we love ya for that.

9. You're totally hardcore if you still demand for the release of Duke Nukem Forever.

10. You're hardcore if you got kicked out of Burger King for asking to buy too many Xbox 360 games that were $3.99 each. (Co-worker of mine did this, was pretty awesome)

11. You're beyond Hardcore if you have the original Kiosk Super Mario Bros. 3 McDonald's display in your house from 1990.

12. You're hardcore if you know someone personally working for a major video game company, like Sega, Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, etc.

13. You're hardcore if you have an autographed copy of Super Mario Bros. by Miyamoto himself.

14. If any of your loved ones (Pets and Kids especially) is named after a Japanese programmer, then you have reached sick in the head Hardcore.

15. You're stupidly Hardcore if you have ANY Tattoo of a video game related icon. "Sure I was gonna get a naked chick riding a dragon, but the Zelda called out to me!"

[Magnum]

When you're willing to goto a seedy flea market so you can barter and trade numbers with a nutcase that looks exactly like Andore from Final Fight.

[Nimrodil]

When you loan money from the bank to buy a car and found Yahoo Japan during same period and drive your old rusty vehicle 8 months later...(you know you are quite stupid as well...but happy;-)

[cyberfluxor]

You know you're a hardcore collector if you have tens of thousands of ROMs on your computer for many different game consules yet you still go out spending money on the physical copy and end up not even playing the ROMs you downloaded.

[CastNoShadow]

..when you pick a third job just to support your NES sickness..

[Poofta!]

You know you're a hardcore collector if you have tens of thousands of ROMs on your computer for many different game consules yet you still go out spending money on the physical copy and end up not even playing the ROMs you downloaded.

yup. i got full ROM libraries for every cart/tape system. yet i havent played any of them and still buy games.... fuck.

[KeeperBvK]

...when you see an EGM in a store, see there are two different covers, pick the one you like better, later realize that the other one is limited and start regretting your choice just for that, thinking about it every once in a while even though you're pretty sure that the limited cover edition really isn't worth anything more than the normal one, but you just regret it for the sake of being limited.

[bangtango]

...when you see an EGM in a store, see there are two different covers, pick the one you like better, later realize that the other one is limited and start regretting your choice just for that, thinking about it every once in a while even though you're pretty sure that the limited cover edition really isn't worth anything more than the normal one, but you just regret it for the sake of being limited.

Many hardcore gamers are stubborn enough to go back to the store the same day, or within a couple of days, no matter how far off it might be. All to get that limited edition cover.