Need Advice from Saturn Collectors
[NOTE: Yes, you might immediately notice how RIDICULOUSLY unnecessarily lengthy this post is. Feel free to skip the first two paragraphs of non-sensical rambling and get right to the questions in paragraph 3.]
Just got a deal that may forever be the best pickup of my gaming life. No, it's not the same as a single big find (like finding a NES prototype at a yard sale, marked for $2 with the rest of the games in a big box of commons), but in terms of a huge pickup of games all at once, I don't know that I'll ever be able to top this one. I saw an ad that was for "Collection of Rare Sega Saturn Games" for $200. I was skeptical at first because these days people call every old game "rare" with no basis whatsoever. But I got in contact with the guy and he wasn't kidding at all. The package easily topped $500-$600 in eBay value. I was even more excited because the Saturn has always been my favorite system to collect for; and because I was able to pick up a bunch of the Saturn games I've always wanted but couldn't afford. I've been gaming my whole life, but I didn't become a hardcore gamer until the 32-bit era, so I've always had an affinity for systems from that time period. Like everyone I had a PSX but that system was so common that collecting for it now is boooooring. The Saturn was the system that kicked off my collection of older systems, so that adds to it as well. Picked one up on eBay circa 2001 and haven't stopped since. Today, games like NiGHTS and Panzer Dragoon Saga rank in my Top 5 all-time favorites.
But blah, blah, blah, that's all well and good, but let me get to the point now. I'm not a completist like some collector's out there. My preference is to pick up only the best games available for each system, rather than attempting to get a complete set of every game released for the system. It's just not worth the investment to me to buy bad games and 100 sports titles just for the sake of having every game for a system. However, the only one I have considered completing is the Sega Saturn (and maybe a few of the dead-on-arrival systems with no real games library, but those don't count). Usually this wouldn't be feasible because I wouldn't want to invest in all the high-priced titles for the system. But now that I have a few of them, it looks much more reasonable. But I know that once I sell these I will NEVER complete the Saturn collection; I just wouldn't want to have to go through the time and financial process of attaining them again. Since the decision I need help on here is: do I profit off these, or do I hold on to them and go for the entire collection?
Now the questions. First, how big is the U.S. Saturn library? Anyone out their have a complete collection and know what kind of financial investment it takes to get there (or know an approximate dollar amount even if you don't have a complete collection)? Basically, I'm trying to find out if it's even reasonable to make the attempt. Also if you have free time, please check the list below and tell me what other expensive titles I'm missing. Guardian Heroes, House of the Dead, and Saturn Bomberman come immediately to mind, but can't think of many others (I will be getting Radiant Silvergun too, but other than that I'm not too interested in imported games). And finally, any other people on here have the Saturn as their top system to collect for? From my experiences in the Buying/Selling forum it seems like the SNES is the big collectors console on here (and maybe the NES too)! I love those too, but the Saturn has just won me over too much through the years.
Here's what came with the package (a few are disc-only, but all the rares are complete):
Sega Saturn system (with the ugliest custom paint job ever; the lid and bottom half of the console are painted GREEN!)
Official Sega Backup Memory cart
Model 1 controller
NiGHTS in original box with 3D controller
Dark Savior
Resident Evil
In the Hunt
Mass Destruction
X-Men: Children of the Atom
Virtua Cop 2
Gun Griffon
Command & Conquer
Skeleton Warriors
Three Dirty Dwarves
D
Albert Odyssey
Magic Knight Rayearth
Shining Force III
Dragon Force
Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon II Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Saga
And over 25 other common titles
Yes, only several of those are of really high value, but the ones that are definitely rank up their at the top of the Saturn price range, so it's a major head-start. I have maybe 30 various titles myself but none over $20 value (I've sold all my more valuable games over the years; including my previous copy of PD Saga). I know I am a LOOOOOONG ways away from the complete collection, but can you guys enlighten me as to what big-money titles I would be lacking here? I have hundreds of titles left to go but if the majority are commons with only several rares mixed in, I can handle that. But if I still have a major investment many more expensive titles, than I probably have to stick to collecting only the best games and pass up on going for the whole thing. And hey, I'm also open to any game recommendations I might not already have for the system (even imports)! There's a chance I already own it with all my commons, but who knows.
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Originally Posted by segagamer
