*PAUSE* temporarily stopped collecting *PAUSE*

[Iron Draggon]

I just started buying games again after taking a 6 month break from buying them, and I was just wondering who else has done something similar, either recently or in the past. Why did you put your favorite pastime on pause?

My reason for taking a break from collecting wasn't intentional at first, but it became a necessity for a while. Initially I just got bored with the whole cycle of constantly looking for new games and waiting for new releases to come out. It seemed like that's all I ever did with my time and money, and after 20 years of it, I needed a rest from it. I didn't lose interest in gaming, I just lost interest in the game of collecting. I was tired of never doing anything else.

So I started collecting jade carvings from China instead. I didn't plan on doing it at all, it just sort of happened. I went to Chicago for vacation last year, and while I was there I bought a jade tiger from an import shop on Navy Pier. Then I started looking for other jade tigers on ebay. Then I started looking for other animals carved out of jade. Then suddenly I was spending all my time and money on jade collecting instead of game collecting. I stopped even looking at games, and strangely it felt good to be doing something different for a change. I was no longer a slave to new releases and preorder lists. I had something new and exciting to do with my time and money, instead of the same old routine that had been pretty much my whole life for 2 decades.

Of course, the more I collected jade instead of games, the further behind I got in my game collecting, but somehow the timing seemed right. I was at a point where all I was doing was placing preorders for new games as they appeared on Amazon.com, because I already had everything else I wanted. So it seemed like a good time to let myself fall behind a bit, so I'd have some catching up to do later. Maybe that would prove to be a huge mistake, but I stopped caring. I just wanted to do something different, so that's what I did, and I must say it was pure joy to have a holiday season without any games!

I know it sounds crazy, but I honestly reveled in the fact that I didn't have to care what new games did or didn't come out in time for Christmas. I was still getting packages delivered to my door every week, but they actually contained something other than new games for a change, and I loved it.

Anyhow, after the holidays were over, I finally got curious just how many games I had missed out on since I stopped buying them, so I started making lists again, and amazingly I hadn't missed out on as many as I feared I did. Out of all the new releases for PC, there were only half a dozen that I really cared about, and I quickly got caught up on all of those with my Christmas money. I even had plenty of money to spare to help me catch up on some of the new releases for Wii. It's still gonna take me a lot longer to catch up on Wii games though, but mainly only because more new ones are sure to come out before I get caught up on all the ones that I've missed out on already.

However, as of now I have no regrets about taking a break from collecting. On the contrary, it's actually intriguing. For the first time in history since the great crash, sales of new games tanked at the same time that I stopped buying them... HMM... I always thought that if I ever stopped buying new games, the entire industry would be severely affected by it, and now I have proof that it's true! Coincidence? Maybe, but I think not. We'll see what the numbers say when the sales report for the first quarter gets posted, which will include all the new games that I've bought since the first of the year. So if there's a sudden spike in new game sales that occurs then, which is about the same size as the sudden drop in new game sales that occurred at the same time I stopped buying games, I'll have even more reason to believe that my collecting habits directly affect the industry as much as I believe they do.

In any case, I'm very happily back into collecting games again now, and with the added joy of having a shitload of new jade carvings to enjoy as well. So I think my decision was a wise one for me, and I didn't have to sell my entire collection just to come to the conclusion that I regretted doing so either. All it took was a brief pause to divert my attention to something else for a while, and I'm as into collecfting games as I ever was before, if not even more so.

So what's your story? Did taking a break from collecting renew your interest in it, or did it reaffirm your lack of interest in it? Did you end up regretting it? What did you end up doing with all your time and money when you stopped?

[aclbandit]

When this summertime hits, I think I'm gonna put my collecting on pause also while I save enough with my ladyfriend to hopefully buy a house. This means no games new games for probably a couple of years, but between the two of us (she collects too), we have enough games to be entertained for a while to come. And, should we run out, we can swap and play each other's games.

[Muscelli]

Interesting topic, I had a similar situation. Took a break, and eventually decided to get rid of the collection. Great decision for me. It was fun to do, but looking back were are so many other ways to spend my money and get 10x as much enjoyment from the investment I put into my collection. I probably only played like 10% of my games I collected. I buy some games here and there, though not to collect anymore.

I made money selling my collection on ebay, though really regretted buying garbage games just to own them. I don't wanna knock anyone who collects but the concept of buying games you have no real desire to own solely because it fits into a certain category of gaming consoles sounds trivial to me now. Hopefully, those who do so are passionate about their hobby. I guess I wasn't as passionate as others are.

I use the money for random things here and there, and haven't pursued any other collecting hobbies. Ill prob dump a chunk of my collection $$ on a Zenith watch this summer, which in my opinion looks 400X better then my wall of jewel cases did.

[Fuyukaze]

I've stoped for a couple months from time to time. Taking time off is a good thing as it helps to keep things in perspective. Having a second hobby is also a good thing. I like to have more then 2 hobbies. One is for enjoyment while I'm doing it, the other is for doing stuff I enjoy after it's finished. Sure, they could be expensive but having many always keeps it interesting. The problem with gaming to me is the same for everything. Do something long enough and often enough without any breaks and it eventualy turns into work. We work because we want to enjoy life, not to buy stuff that equals more work.

Jade figures looks to have been your second break. Mine was beed work and ink stamps. Just remember which one gives you the most pleasure.

[PapaStu]

Your collecting should never be a job. Once its become one (and/or a chore) I'd think that the enjoyability would have completely been sucked out of it and you should think about moving on from it forever. That wouldn't mean to stop playing games, but to give up that forced gotta buy em all experience that you were wrapped up with.


I've stopped buying before, shifted focus and put my primary stuff to the wayside. It's never been an issue and I don't think that it ever will be.

[j_factor]

I'm taking a break right now, so I can save some money for CGE.

[GarrettCRW]

I've had to largely put things on hold in order to get my financial house in order (which, despite issues with not getting enough hours every week, seems to have finally sorted itself out), though the tax refund has allowed me to splurge on some stuff.