Slipping behind in collecting for DS ~ My pledge for Q3 2007

[Gemini-Phoenix]

History ~ Collecting habits of late

Lately I have found that, for whatever reasons, I have been slipping behind in my collecting. It may be due to working so much, or going out and socialising too much, or just plain laziness, but lately i've noticed i'm not really buying as many games as I once was, or as often as I was.

There's been quite a few new consoles released in the last year / year and a half, and i'm still pre-occupied with collecting older games (PlayStation / Dreamcast / N64 etc), which tend to be quite exensive as a lot of those games I have been buying are reasonably rare and expensive. I have also been buying quite alot of PS2 titles as well, but not really focussing on newer consoles like the X360, PSP, DS etc. I do own a handful of games for each though. The Wii and PS3 have only really just been released, and I have yet to still a game for either.

I am also lagging behind in my consoles too. I am yet to buy an Xbox 360; PlayStation 3; Nintendo Wii; PSP; Or DS Lite!!! Five consoles which are now the current generation! I do have my reasons though. I am waiting for the X360 Elite (Which hopefully has all the bugs from the original fixed), And am waiting for the alternate coloured PS3's and Wii's to be released. As for the PSP and DS... I am still waiting for a decent LE model to be released in the UK, as they have had previously in Japan. Still holding out for these.


The collecting so far...

I have pretty much kept on-top of my collecting for previous consoles from the 'Last' generation. I have almost all the Xbox and GameCube titles I want, having bought them at the time, so aren't chasing too many titles now. Which is a good thing, as many are getting hard to get hold of now. I find myself still buying PS2 titles which I missed out on though, and I have a huge list of PS2 games I still want / need for my collection. Same goes for GameBoy Advance games.

I have been buying the occasional X360 game here and there since the console's launch, but these have predominantly been Limited Edition or Collector's Edition games which could be hard to get in the future, with only one or two 'Normal' games to speak of. I also have a handful of PSP titles that I believe are "Must own" titles, but have an increasing list of PSP games still to get.

PS3 and Wii can wait as far as I am concerned, as they are both newcomers and both have yet to release enough games for me to be interested in. The X360 I already have about a dozen games for, with a list of about the same size of games still wanted, but I don't consider this to be a priority yet, as the games are still reasonably expensive but still easy to get hold of. I also have a list of PSP games still wanted, but again, these are generally easy to find cheap in stores or on eBay, and I can pick up on this collection at any time.

As for DS games, I have only recently started buying them believe it or not! I don't own a DS console (Yet), and the prices of DS games is still quite high (Especially for first party titles!) ~ The games I am mainly interested in are the first party titles and other DS games that are exclusive to the system or part of a sub-collection (Ie, Final Fantasy; Pokemon; Resident Evil etc)...


The pledge

Until last month, I had no DS games. None at all. I have a long list of games that I am interested in, and want to 'Tick off' as many of those as I can in a reletively short period of time, to bring myself "Up-to-date" with this console. Unlike the PSP, DS games tend to get a bit hareder to find after a while. Especially UK releases, as there are many US imports flooding eBay at the moment, with stores still charging full RRP in most cases for most DS titles.

So, the pledge I am going to make is:

I hereby pledge to buy at least one Nintendo DS game per week for my collection! I vow to buy, each week either in store or online, one or more DS games.

How long I can keep this up though is the main question. I have a long list of games wanted, and a shorter list of the priority titles I want ~ These titles are games which perhaps belong to a specific sub-collection, IE, Pokemon. Hopefully, if I can stay true to this, I will have a pretty decent looking DS collection by the time Christmas comes.

I am especially keen to get hold of all the first party Nintendo titles, as I have already been doing with the GameCube, and attempting to do (Unsuccessfully) with the GameBoy Advance. I also want any RPG's and any third party games, such as Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, which would compliment my existing collection for other formats.

Here I will chronicle my collecting and list the DS games I aquire:

IGN List ~ Gemini-Phoenix's Nintendo DS Collection

• Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin
• Cooking Mama
• Final Fantasy III
• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team ~ (Added 20th June 2007)
• Pokemon Ranger ~ (Added 21st June 2007)
• Wario: Master Of Disguise ~ (Added 23rd June 2007)
• New Super Mario Bros. ~ (Added 30th June 2007)
• Age Of Emipires II ~ (Added 4th July 2007)
• Diddy Kong Racing DS ~ (Added 7th July 2007)
• Metroid Prime: Hunters ~ (Added 7th July 2007)
• Harvest Moon DS ~ (Added 14th July 2007)
• Pokemon Diamond ~ (Added 28th July 2007)
• Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow ~ (Added 1st August 2007)
• Y's Strategy ~ (Added 1st August 2007)
• Pokemon Pearl ~ (Added 2nd August 2007)

[Steve W]

I personally don't see anything wrong with not jumping on the 'new generation' bandwagon right away. I did break down and buy a 360, but as for the others, I haven't bothered. I see it this way: They're going to be around for a good while. They aren't going to be disappearing from shops suddenly (like the Neo-Geo Pocket Color did), so I can sit back and let their libraries build up more games that I'd be interested in. And considering the price tags on the latest generation of hardware, waiting until a price break or two would be a good idea.

There's another reason why I haven't jumped on the next generation yet. The 'old gen' games are dropping drastically in price right now. Since January, I must have bought at least 60 Xbox games. Many stores are dropping a lot of them down to the 5 to 6 dollar range around here, just to clear the shelves for more next generation software. And not lousy games either, we're talking about good and sometimes hard to find games. I can wait until the libraries of the PS3 or Wii fill out more, I have plenty of great games to play right now.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I think this is what my main worry is all about. The X360 has been out for a year and a half already, yet I have still to buy one and only have a dozen games for it. The Nintendo DS has already been around for quite a bit, and has such a great library of games already, and has had two incarnations of the actual console. What I am most afraid of is being left behind and having to "Chase up" all the titles that I want for my collection, only to find that most are hard to get hold of at a later date.

I kick myself every time I miss a Collector's Edition or Limited Edition game that later becomes uber-rare, and from my GBA collecting I know that certain games are just impossible to track down after a console's demise, hence why I am eager to get my DS collection started whilst the games are reasonably easy to find.

As a general rule, I try not to "Jump on the bandwagon" as soon as a console is released, and there's really only a handful of X360 games that appeal to me. Ive bought most the titles I want, and am happy that my X360 collection is "Growing" reasonably well. Ulike most people, I have a selection of console sto buy for, and not just the one specific one, so I have to spread my purchases between a number of platforms, whereas others may only own an X360 and have far more games for it than I have.

As far as the PS3 and Wii are concerned, they both have promising futures, but so far I have yet to find a handful of games for either which warrant buying the console. That will soon change, but for the time being I am happy to wait in the side-lines and "Jump into the game" a bit later on.


Where the DS is concerned though, it seems to be rising in popularity, and the A-list game releases are coming thick and fast. Unlike other consoles, DS games come from all directions in random succession, and it's easy to fall behind if you are a serious collector. I made that mistake with the GBA, and under-estimated how quick it would be to fall behind! Lol! As a result, I find myself chasing after titles, with little luck. I am happy with the GBA collection I have, but I feel it could be more "Filled out"


The DS is coming up to it's second anniversary already, and I feel it is the time to start focussing on the software for it which I seem to have been neglecting over the last year and a bit. Grade A titles that I would have bought in a second if it wasn't for the £29.99-£34.99 RRP prices. For a handheld system, I just cannot justify those kinds of prices for games, new technology or otherwise. I am glad to see prices dropping to something more "Average", and feel that the time is now to start collecting the older titles that I have previously neglected

[Trebuken]

I don't think there's any concern. The games are not going to get more expensive, even most of the limited editions. They will become tougher to find but not likely more expensive. If you look at the PS1, there aren't too many games that sell for more than their original retail. The N64 has few of any. The Dreamcast has few. Now some of the older systems have a bunch, but games were not produced in the quantities they are today.

I think the weisest thing would be too go after everything Xbox (It's fading fast) this year. Next year will be the time to go after PS2, and likely Gamecube some time after that. Nintendo systems have a longer life-cycle. The price of Nintendo systemed games holds longer.

Keep trying to get titles you know or guess will be rare (Electroplankton for the DS for example), and RPG's if you care about them (they hold their value too).

This is about what I am doing though I have the current gen systems I only buy the blockbuster titles or titles that drop to dirt cheap quickly.

[Iron Draggon]

I need to get off my ass and start buying all the DS games I want while I still can... I still don't have a DS yet, but I've never let that stop me before...

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Picked up Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Pokemon Ranger in the last few days.

Seems Tesco have a nice selection of DS titles at the moment, with most between £19.00 and £24.97. Mario Kart DS is the most expensive DS game at £29.97 still, with Animal Crossing: Wild World being £27.97. Other games they have which are on my list include: Yoshi's Island II; Diddy Kong Racing DS; New Super Mario Bros; Wario Master Of Disguise; Harvest Moon DS; And Mario Vs Donkey Kong II March Of The Minis ~ I'll probably pick one title up every visit

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Another day, another DS game for the collection. Today's addition is Wario: Master Of Disguise, seeing as how it seems to be fairly cheap all around, especially in the supermarkets!

Brings the total now to SEVEN ~ And now ahead of my original plan. At this rate, i'll have aquired all the titles I want by Halloween, if not sooner!

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Eight DS games now. Picked up New Super Mario Bros Saturday for just over £20

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Age Of Empires II arrived in the post yesterday morning! Bought off eBay for a tenner, which isn't a bad price! One of my favourite games of all time, and hope the DS version does it justice!

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Bought Diddy Kong Racing DS yesterday for around twenty quid. I bought Metroid Prime: Hunters off eBay at the same time as Age Of Empires, and came through yesterday morning!

That's now 11 DS titles in the space of 4 weeks. If I can keep this pace up, then I should be close to my target by the end of the summer!


After the DS, I plan on fast-tracking the Wii, and securing a reasonable sized collection (About a dozen or so titles) before considering buying the console. The PS3 can wait though, as there's nothing really that appeals to me just yet. Perhaps if the GTA IV Limited Edition is cheaper than the X360 version, then that may be my first PS3 purchase. But from what I have seen for PS3 release schedules so far, my first PS3 game may end up being in 2008...

[Trebuken]

I loved Age Of Empires on the DS. It was greatly simplified as compared to the PC version of course, but it was the most fun I have had with a non-PC strategy title since Military Madness.

Rumor has it that a number of other strategy titles will be heading to the DS in the future as well.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I loved Age Of Empires on the DS. It was greatly simplified as compared to the PC version of course, but it was the most fun I have had with a non-PC strategy title since Military Madness.

Rumor has it that a number of other strategy titles will be heading to the DS in the future as well.

I hope so. I would really like to see a Command & Conquer or similar RTS style game on the DS, as I think that genre of game is ideal for the touch screen. Sim City and Theme Park have both also been quite successful so far, and I would also like to see a port of Theme Hospital appear at some point

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Harvest Moon DS is today's addition.

Bidding on quite a few DS games on eBay at the moment, so hopefully next week should see a slight boost in titles with a bit of luck.

Question: Does anyone know if the Metroid Prime Pinball package is any "Thicker", in the same way Perfect Dark, Pokemon Pinball, and Star Wars came in slightly "Fatter" boxes due to the rumble features of the carts... Or is the package the same size in teh same way that Pokemon Fire Red / Keaf Green were which also included the wireless adapters

[PapaStu]

Well I can only 'assume' that UK DS carts are in the same clamshell cases that the US/JP carts are (since I don't have any UK regioned DS games). If they are you should notice a slot for a GBA game when you open up any of your DS cases. Metroid Prime Pinball is just a normal DS cart. The Rumble is tied into a GBA sized 'Rumble Cart' that needs to be in the DS for any rumble to happen at the same time.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Due to Royal Mail's latest strike action, a lot of games I have bought on eBay in the last week and a half have as yet still to materialize, hence the lack of posting in this thread lately. I am expecting asmall package of DS games to arrive any day now though...

I did purchase Pokemon Diamond from Tesco last Saturday though, only to find that shortly afterwards Tesco had lowered it's price from £24.97 down to something like £22.47... Had I had more cash on me at the time though, I would've grabbed Pokemon Pearl too, but that can wait until next time I visit there


Also, unrelated, I have finally managed to find someone on eBay who has a UK supply of Final Fantasy V and VI sealed for the GameBoy Advance!!! As mentioned elsewhere on the forums, these are particularly hard to find in this corner of the country due to stores no longer stocking GBA games

[Windy Miller]

Also, unrelated, I have finally managed to find someone on eBay who has a UK supply of Final Fantasy V and VI sealed for the GameBoy Advance!!! As mentioned elsewhere on the forums, these are particularly hard to find in this corner of the country due to stores no longer stocking GBA games

I know some shops (& even Gameplay online) don't do much in the way of GBA games anymore, but Play.com have had FFVI in stock since it was released & their GBA games are always factory sealed. I'm guessing that you can get them cheaper on eBay ?

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I know some shops (& even Gameplay online) don't do much in the way of GBA games anymore, but Play.com have had FFVI in stock since it was released & their GBA games are always factory sealed. I'm guessing that you can get them cheaper on eBay ?

If and when I can find actual factory sealed UK versions, they are usually at decent prices. The person I am getting FFV and FFVI from is a well-known member of the game selling community on eBay, and someone I have dealt with many times before. He managed to secure a handful of each game, and sells them at a respectable price

Due to Royal Mail's latest strike action, a lot of games I have bought on eBay in the last week and a half have as yet still to materialize, hence the lack of posting in this thread lately. I am expecting asmall package of DS games to arrive any day now though...

At long last, last week's games have finally made an appearance first thing this morning!

Added today: Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow and Y's Strategy

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I went back to Tesco today, and they seem to have had more stocks of Pokemon games. Grabbed the last Pokemon Pearl they had for just over £22, Not a bad price, considering the GameStation website has Pokemon Diamond and Pearl priced at full RRP (£29.99)