How do you typically build your collections?

[ShenmueFan]

Hi, I've just recently begun pouring quite a bit of money into my game collecting hobby. I was forced to sell off most of my collection to pay for college and now that I'm finished, it's time to rebuild it (costly!).

Anyways, my question for all of you collectors is this:

When building your collections, did you focus on one particular system or TYPE of game / series at a time or did you just buy any random thing you found cool as you came across it?

I know the end result may be the same but I'm wondering if you'll feel more accomplishment if you say, "Hey, now I have an entire N64 collection!" or "Hey, now I have an entire Neo Geo Pocket collection!"...


Does this make any sense? :)

[s1lence]

Personally I try to focus on a certain system, or systems in case games are hard to find for one. Example was i was working on a 32x set, but because I was having trouble finding a couple games I was working on NES titles as well. I normally get the popular common titles so I have something to play while I get other titles, it to paticular order, other then titles I don't own.

[Windy Miller]

My focus is puzzle games, so fortunately there's not too much to collect over various systems. Whilst I'd like to build up other collections, I really want to stay focused on my puzzlers & I'm sure that I'll get more enjoyment personally doing it that way. I'm always tempted to buy other 'stuff', but so far I've managed to restrain myself.

[GillianSeed]

I don't really look at it as a collection per se, I just buy games that I think I will enjoy.

For example, I've recently gotten on a bit of PC Engine CD bug -- it started when I played Military Madness again on the VC. I never knew that there was a CD sequel to the original game (Nectaris in Japan) called Neo-Nectaris, so I picked that up. And it turns out that they released a digital comic game for the PC Engine based on the Patlabor anime series featuring the original voice cast and tons of extras. Saw it on eBay for $20 last week so I bought that.

I'd rather take that approach than focus on acquiring a complete library of games for any particular system. Spending money on games that suck, simply to fill a hole in a collection, isn't something that interests me.

[theshizzle3000]

I am currently working on the PSone for the most part, but if I see deals for other things I can't pass it up.

[Windy Miller]

Spending money on games that suck, simply to fill a hole in a collection, isn't something that interests me.

I'm in a constant battle with myself over that issue. I'll see a puzzle game on eBay that I know is poor & not worth buying, yet I still find myself thinking about it for days at a time.

[Nebagram]

I mainly go for the games that are part of a big series (i.e. Sonic, Final Fantasy) or have received good reviews. I try my best not to buy bad games, but I do occasionally get bothered by holes in my collection that need filling... :-/

[Daria]

I follow tangents. I buy all sorts of games that I know I'll enjoy playing, but I collect RPGs. I'll start off targeting a single system, but one game purchess frequantly leads to another. Having bought say, Rocket Slime renews intrest in compleating my DW games and I'll seek out a box and manaul for DW2. I try and stick to one major system at a time for my wallet's sake, but of course there are some games I'm always on the look out for. Faria, Suikoden II, and that sort of thing.

[GillianSeed]

I'm in a constant battle with myself over that issue. I'll see a puzzle game on eBay that I know is poor & not worth buying, yet I still find myself thinking about it for days at a time.

When it comes to a specific genre I can see the attraction -- maybe it's not a great game overall but it has some unique features, appealing graphics, etc. I'm getting into the whole PC Engine CD semi-animated cut scene thing, so I'll probably end up buying some games that aren't exactly stellar in the process.

I just can't relate to the desire to own every single game for a system. I love my Sega CD(X) for Snatcher, Silpheed, Wing Commander and Lunar, but I have little desire to track down Marky Mark and the Funk Bunch: Make my Own Music Video.

[Xexyz]

I'm completely random in my collecting. I just can't limit myself to a particular system or genre at a time. Doing so will most likely have me missing out on something I know I'd want eventually. I generally just buy anything for any system I have, as long as it's in a genre I like.

[ecresto]

I'm completely random in my collecting. I just can't limit myself to a particular system or genre at a time. Doing so will most likely have me missing out on something I know I'd want eventually. I generally just buy anything for any system I have, as long as it's in a genre I like.

yeah me too . i just get anything i can find , cheap . i dont like to spend too much , unless i know its rare . i really only spend lots on newer games .

[Superman]

I just like collecting games. Some are good and some are bad.

I like to collect them all because you never know when you might feel like pulling a game out that you used to think was bad and finding out it is not so bad.

[PentiumMMX]

I manily focus on the games I like. Once I can't find anything else for the system that I like, I move onto another one.

[RadiantSvgun]

I have lists for every system I collect for. And if I see a good deal, I pick it up. The only problem is, you get to a certian point where everything left on your list is really expensive.

[cyberfluxor]

I use to buy anything and everything that is a low price. If I already own it then I buy a second copy only if really dirt cheap so I can resell one for the best possible profit. I've slown down quite a bit though, and on purpose. I now only buy complete Genesis and am trying to do the same for NES and SNES, which are far less common and help me cut back on spending. If I stumble across a less common game and it's in great condition then I'm willing to fork out the money, but not if it's a bad game.

Oh yeah, and I generally don't buy Dreamcast, PS1, 32X and a bunch of other systems games unless they are $2 or less (unless once again they are über rare) because I'm not really concentrating on those systems ATM. Saturn is my main concern, and I haven't bought a game for it in about 2 or 3 months, but once again I'm trying to cut back on game spending.

[snes_collector]

I buy it as I find it. If its cheap and I don't already have it(only time I'll buy doubles is if its complete or a really good deal). Works good for me, I'm not in a hurry to complete my SNES or any other collection.

[TurboGenesis]

First and foremost, I can't really say I am a collector in the completest sense of the word.

I generally buy games that I will sometime in my life play and play for more than once.

After spending time on the internet (especially this place :p ) I thought I might collect games for a console. I looked at what I already had and what console would offer the most of games that I would actually play. I ended up going with the Turbo Grafx 16/Duo. I already had a good amount of the games and the vast majority of games were titles that I wouldn't mind playing (best thing about Turbo - only 1 madden game :LOL: ) The other collection I worked on building and this crossed into the Turbo path was compiling every Working Designs game (plus miscellaneous things from WD such as guides). Other than an elusive Elemental Gearbolt Assassins case, I've got that done.

Otherwise collect what you like, the way you like, any way you choose to go about it. In the end have fun doing it and have fun playing the games!

[7th lutz]

First and and foremost, I am more of a game player then I game collecter due to the fact I get games that I like to play.

What I do is buy what games, I think I will like and try to do research(like reading online game reviews) in the game systems for how good the game is.

I also look at the price of a game system for deciding If I want to buy the system. I also look at the price of the games, but at the same I go for games that are very rare and buy the rare game first from a store, or a flea market or now on the internet if I see them at reasonable price for the game. Otherwise, I buy common games first.

I have been collecting games for 19 years. Until a couple years ago, I went by flea markets and stores.

[Trebuken]

I let the market decide. I collect for whichever system I can get the most games for cheapest. When EB clearanced PS1 games I went in with my credit card and bought every game they had for less than a few dollars. Then went to the next EB. I then bought nothing for a cople months to pay for it.

A couple years ago Game Crazy had their firts Classic Plastic sale. I went to all their stores in the area and bought every N64 for game I could find ($5 each). I then filled the missing ones from ebay. The more expensive ones I would by one at a time here and there as I was able to determine their value.

I have been going after a Sega Saturn collection over the last few monthgs and am down to the last 15 titles or so. They are all in the $20-$80 range so I feel I can pick them off one at a time; as I see a good deal on ebay for them have not seen one in the wild for a long time now).

You can get a ton of NES games off ebay dirt cheap if you pay attention to combined shipping.

[BocoDragon]

Are you the curator of a game museum or something?

Buy what's most fun first, and go from there.

[Gorez]

dang, Trebuken sounds like the man with the plan.

i buy whatever is a good deal, but ive been trying to narrow it down to 32X, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, PS1 Longbox....as you can see im not really good at narrowing my hunting down.

[bangtango]

I try to limit myself to whatever I can find in person. So it is mainly the thrifts, flea markets and lawn sales for me. That way I am not victim to temptation by Ebay. While it forever limits what will be in my collection, it also keeps my spending down.

Going the thrift route only isn't so bad. As you may have saw in the Buy/Sell forums in a thread that I later cut the cord on, I managed to find a complete-in-box Magnavox CD-I system for $20 today at the Salvation Army. The beautiful thing about the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores is that, on a good day, you never know what you'll find. Shit, a CD-I today for $20 and 2 weeks ago I grabbed a top-loading NES and dogbone controller for $5 at the Salvation Army.

Back to the CD-I........Talk about an impulse purchase. I never saw a CD-I in person before today, unless we are talking store shelves when they were still being sold retail. So I had no plans of EVER seeking one out to buy. It just fell into my lap. Some cynics may say that it might have been a good deal if it was $10 or less but $20 isn't too bad when compared to a recent Ebay auction I saw for the unit and when compared to the DP Guide right here on this site ($40). I doubt I'll ever find one that easily again. In fact, I figured the likelihood of me ever seeing one of those in my remote Maine locale was slim.

I don't totally ignore Ebay, though. I'll be using them again soon to find some software for the CD-I, since it came with only two discs. The only other thing I use Ebay for, besides selling, is to obtain boxes or manuals for games I have which need them. I know buying manuals that way can get pricy, with some of the inflated shipping costs, but it is the easiest way I can think of to piece together complete games when I need to do so.

[RegSNES]

Me, I really don't have a set method of going about building up my collection. When I'm hunting for games, I search for games on every sytem I own to see if there's anything on my list of games I want. Though, the only system I'm finished buying games on is my N64.

[ShenmueFan]

Are you the curator of a game museum or something?

Buy what's most fun first, and go from there.

No, I'm not opening a museum...but BEFORE I went off to college I had 30+ different systems (okay, a couple were multiples) and tons of REALLY good games like Lunar Eternal Blue, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Dragon Warrior IV, etc. and then I had to sell them off, piece by piece, to pay for housing, tuition or car repairs.

It sucks.

Looking back now, I could have gotten sooooooo much more for all that stuff had I just sat on it til' now.

But anyways,

Now I want to go about my collecting in a different way. I have a few systems I love more than others and I'd like to focus on them first. So what I've actually been doing is tracking down the hardest to find, rarest, most-expensive titles FIRST and then getting the most common ones sometime later down the road.

I wish I could do it the opposite (it'd be much cheaper!) but I've followed eBay and Pawn Shops for years now and I'm tellin' ya...you gotta act fast on rare or uncommon games because in a year or two the situation can be COMPLETELY different, if not almost impossible.

So in the past month I've acquired Panzer Dragoon Saga, Dragon Force, House of the Dead, Street Fighter Collection, Sonic Adventure Limited Edition and a few others (all R5+) for the Saturn & Dreamcast. I can't keep this up forever and it's been quite hard spending on two systems simultaneously.

So THAT'S why I was asking if it was smarter to just focus on one at a time rather than collecting at random.


I want full collections of my favorite systems so I don't have to be searching for some rogue title I want to play a decade from now when its nearly impossible.

[bangtango]

No, I'm not opening a museum...but BEFORE I went off to college I had 30+ different systems (okay, a couple were multiples) and tons of REALLY good games like Lunar Eternal Blue, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Dragon Warrior IV, etc. and then I had to sell them off, piece by piece, to pay for housing, tuition or car repairs.

It sucks.

Looking back now, I could have gotten sooooooo much more for all that stuff had I just sat on it til' now.

But anyways,

Now I want to go about my collecting in a different way. I have a few systems I love more than others and I'd like to focus on them first. So what I've actually been doing is tracking down the hardest to find, rarest, most-expensive titles FIRST and then getting the most common ones sometime later down the road.

I wish I could do it the opposite (it'd be much cheaper!) but I've followed eBay and Pawn Shops for years now and I'm tellin' ya...you gotta act fast on rare or uncommon games because in a year or two the situation can be COMPLETELY different, if not almost impossible.

So in the past month I've acquired Panzer Dragoon Saga, Dragon Force, House of the Dead, Street Fighter Collection, Sonic Adventure Limited Edition and a few others (all R5+) for the Saturn & Dreamcast. I can't keep this up forever and it's been quite hard spending on two systems simultaneously.

So THAT'S why I was asking if it was smarter to just focus on one at a time rather than collecting at random.


I want full collections of my favorite systems so I don't have to be searching for some rogue title I want to play a decade from now when its nearly impossible.

It sounds like common sense but I'd get the games that could go UP in price over time, if you are thinking a couple of years down the road. Meaning there are $20 games which may still be $20 a few years from now but there could be other games that may jump in price. The only trouble is determining what some of those games are.

[cosmicpsycho]

i don't think i could stick with just picking up games for one console. i started with the nes about two years ago and it just snowballed.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[NES_Rules]

I'll buy whatever I find, as long as it is cheap. When I first started collecting, I was only interested in NES, and I consequently passed up a dirt cheap Super Gameboy. So, now I buy whatever I can. I like doing it this way because it also keeps my collection balanced looking. Instead of having hundreds of games for one system and two for another.

[Steve W]

Traditionally, I hit thrifts and flea markets and pick up anything that's not too expensive that might be fun to play, or possibly hard to ever find again. There's certain consoles I tend to stay away from (Nintendo machines, mainly) but everything else, I'll pick up if it interests me. My collecting tendencies usually go towards stuff that was from my childhood, mainly Atari, Intellivision, and Colecovision. But if the game's not too expensive, and it looks like fun, I'll grab it when I find it in the wild.

I started thrift store shopping around 2003, which was a long time to wait to begin. I read about people having good luck in thrifts in articles in the Digital Press fanzine and the 2600 Connection, but I never pulled the trigger and checked those kinds of stores out. I regret that now, considering how much great stuff I've bought in just the past few years. If I'd started a decade or more earlier, who knows what my collection would be like.

[DarthKur]

...2 weeks ago I grabbed a top-loading NES and dogbone controller for $5 at the Salvation Army.

:o I am so jealous! It's funny actually, yesterday in one of the three thrift's in town I came across a NES with four controllers and a wireless satellite device for $5 and distinctly thought "why couldn't it be a top loader?". I didn't bother getting it since I already have three of the normal consoles. I guess I'm forever doomed to the cursed flashing screen and blowing on the cart ends.

As for the original topic, I just grab what I find. I own several different systems so there's never a lack of things I want to get. :-D