I was updating my list of PSP games yesterday and realized I have passed the 200 game mark for the system. I laughingly refer to my PSP game acquisitions as "adding another one to the pile", but I really do like having these games in my possession. Obviously, to end up with more than 200 PSP games, you can't be all that discriminating in terms of what you're buying, and the truth is I'll buy pretty much any PSP game I see for less than $20 if I don't already own it. And, of course, it's a given that I haven't played all of these titles to completion; there are a good many that haven't spent more than 10 minutes in a PSP since I acquired them. Still, I want to have them in that warm, acquisitive place inside that drives my "collector's urge", and it occurred to me last night that I haven't felt that way about any gaming platform in a very long time...

There have been two other systems that I remember feeling this way about before - the Atari Lynx and the Turbografx-16/TurboExpress - and despite the fact that I had significantly lesser means in those days (1989-1993), I managed to gather more than 80 Lynx games and well over 100 TG-16 titles before I felt compelled to sell my collection in deference to my (then) wife who insisted I "grow up" now that I was a father and husband. I've lived to regret that decision, of course, but have managed to replace my TurboExpress and Lynx (and, for that matter, my less-than-sympathetic first wife ).

Now, looking at my PSP collection, I can't help but notice some parallels with my Lynx/TE days. Like the Lynx and TurboExpress, the Playstation Portable is the most powerful gaming handheld available this gen, and the PSP is something of an underdog system, at least in comparison with the market leading Nintendo DS, though it has admittedly performed exponentially better than either the Lynx or TE managed in their race against the original Game Boy. Then there's the game media themselves: PSP's UMD is a unique and interesting format, as were the comparatively advanced (for their day) VG Cards and HuCards that the Lynx and TG-16 used respectively. And like the Lynx and Turbografx-16, the PSP's game library is largely perceived (wrongly, imho) to consist of a few gems and an abundance of sub-standard fair...

I think the comparisons run pretty strong, and I'm beginning to believe there is a healthy dose of nostalgia tinging my PSP acquisition impulse. But is that "collecting"? Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course! It's just... um... interesting...