Most Neurotic Collecting Habits?

[SparTonberry]

What's bugging me is that, while I don't know much about VGA grading, shouldn't those score 100? How the heck is a game going to get any more mint than that?

Break into the factory and slab it right off the assembly line?

[Swamperon]

I only get mildly neurotic about my games. Games on the shelves are organised by console, and those games are then organised alphabetically. Unless they're in a series which means they are organised chronologically, followed by spin-offs.

I also tend to ignore the usual prefixes such as 'The' but I also ignore 'Super' for Mario so they go in M, 'Legend' in Zelda so they go in Z etc.

These days I also reject cart only games, unless they are given to me for free or come as part of a bundle.

And I hate slabbing. It's just so rage inducing. It's why I tend to avoid the Racketboy forums as there is a good number of people there who positively salivate over them.

[Aussie2B]

I also tend to ignore the usual prefixes such as 'The' but I also ignore 'Super' for Mario so they go in M, 'Legend' in Zelda so they go in Z etc.

I'm the opposite. Even though I know proper alphabetizing would ignore "The" and such (I even once worked as a library shelver), there's so much silliness going on with many game titles that I alphabetize exactly as they are, including putting all the "The" games under "T".

[Bojay1997]

Well, as far as buying and keeping a sealed game, I can see it in a limited fashion. I guess something with a really "artistic" and relatively big box used for display could make sense. Like, lets say you have a huge Mario collection, I could see wanted to own something like a sealed NES Mario3 to display.

But with newer CD jewel case games or DVDs? I mean there is little charm to the packaging to begin with so who cares between sealed or not.

So if someone wants 5 of their favorite sealed games to display thats great.

The OCD idea that I am referring to are people that literally just collect tons and tons of sealed games. Straight up mental illness.

And I don't think it relates that well to things like figures. Honestly, action figures usually look the best when displayed with their packaging. It also has the type of package where opening ruins the actual package. You can buy a PSX game and be extremely careful about opening it, and keep it completely mint—and buy used games in this condition without resorting to hoarding sealed games.

I'm sorry, but that's a completely absurd argument. Action figures are made to be played with. In fact, they are meant to be played with by small children. That doesn't change the fact that many adults have large sealed action figure collections. Sealed games are no different. If you take your argument to its logical conclusion, everyone here should be collecting loose games only since apparently the packaging has no value to you. Sealed collectors just appreciate the appearance of the packaging more than other collectors. It has zero impact on anyone else's ability to collect whatever they choose to collect. It's certainly not any more or less neurotic than collectors who only collect complete games or collect Japanese games despite the fact that they can't read or speak Japanese. To each their own.

[Swamperon]

I'm the opposite. Even though I know proper alphabetizing would ignore "The" and such (I even once worked as a library shelver), there's so much silliness going on with many game titles that I alphabetize exactly as they are, including putting all the "The" games under "T".

Ohhh but doesn't that really annoy you? With my system I can automatically locate any given game, or tell someone where one is without looking when they ask. I think something would really grate me. All Mario games belong under 'M' dammit!

I suppose you would just get used to it though!

[Aussie2B]

I'm sorry, but that's a completely absurd argument. Action figures are made to be played with. In fact, they are meant to be played with by small children. That doesn't change the fact that many adults have large sealed action figure collections. Sealed games are no different. If you take your argument to its logical conclusion, everyone here should be collecting loose games only since apparently the packaging has no value to you. Sealed collectors just appreciate the appearance of the packaging more than other collectors. It has zero impact on anyone else's ability to collect whatever they choose to collect. It's certainly not any more or less neurotic than collectors who only collect complete games or collect Japanese games despite the fact that they can't read or speak Japanese. To each their own.

Wait, what does collecting sealed games and collecting complete games only have to do with people who import Japanese games? How is collecting imports in order to simply play games not available elsewhere neurotic in the slightest? If you're collecting sealed/complete games, you're being picky about condition, which could go along with having some kind of emotion/anxiety/phobia/whatever driving you to do so, hence neurosis. Someone can be neurotic about imports in some way, sure, like being obsessive about having spinecards or importing everything the second it comes out in Japan out of a need to have every game as early as feasibly possible, but simply importing a game because you'd like to give it a try, even if that means tolerating Japanese text without understanding it, isn't neurotic. That would be like labeling people neurotic for liking music from other countries even when they can't understand the lyrics. If if there's a language barrier, it doesn't mean that there isn't something still left to be enjoyed.

I also have to agree that action figures can't be compared to video games. Even if a sealed figure isn't being used as intended, it's still a lot closer to its purpose than a video game. With a figure, what you see it what you get. It's just a lump of plastic. It's not storing electronic data meant to be played or anything like that. All that a sealed figure is missing is a hand wrapped around it, which is what the outside world can offer it, rather than what else it itself has to offer. Also, with a lot of figures, I'm not so convinced that they're meant to be played with. There are plenty of figures out there that are fragile and can't take much normal childhood playing and plenty of others that seem to be marketed more to an audience in its late teens or adulthood. I doubt that audience is much inclined to play with a figure and imagination stories for it. Some of those figures very well may be most intended to stay in their plastic, or at least just sit on a display shelf, and the difference between being displayed in clear plastic or being displayed outside of said plastic is negligible.

Ohhh but doesn't that really annoy you? With my system I can automatically locate any given game, or tell someone where one is without looking when they ask. I think something would really grate me. All Mario games belong under 'M' dammit!

I suppose you would just get used to it though!

Nope, doesn't bother me at all, never has. It's just the way I've always done it, and I can find everything with ease.

[Bojay1997]

Wait, what does collecting sealed games and collecting complete games only have to do with people who import Japanese games? How is collecting imports in order to simply play games not available elsewhere neurotic in the slightest? If you're collecting sealed/complete games, you're being picky about condition, which could go along with having some kind of emotion/anxiety/phobia/whatever driving you to do so, hence neurosis. Someone can be neurotic about imports in some way, sure, like being obsessive about having spinecards or importing everything the second it comes out in Japan out of a need to have every game as early as feasibly possible, but simply importing a game because you'd like to give it a try, even if that means tolerating Japanese text without understanding it, isn't neurotic. That would be like labeling people neurotic for liking music from other countries even when they can't understand the lyrics. If if there's a language barrier, it doesn't mean that there isn't something still left to be enjoyed.

I also have to agree that action figures can't be compared to video games. Even if a sealed figure isn't being used as intended, it's still a lot closer to its purpose than a video game. With a figure, what you see it what you get. It's just a lump of plastic. It's not storing electronic data meant to be played or anything like that. All that a sealed figure is missing is a hand wrapped around it, which is what the outside world can offer it, rather than what else it itself has to offer. Also, with a lot of figures, I'm not so convinced that they're meant to be played with. There are plenty of figures out there that are fragile and can't take much normal childhood playing and plenty of others that seem to be marketed more to an audience in its late teens or adulthood. I doubt that audience is much inclined to play with a figure and imagination stories for it. Some of those figures very well may be most intended to stay in their plastic, or at least just sit on a display shelf, and the difference between being displayed in clear plastic or being displayed outside of said plastic is negligible.



Nope, doesn't bother me at all, never has. It's just the way I've always done it, and I can find everything with ease.

I suppose I could have been more clear. I know a number of collectors who can't speak or read Japanese and yet insist on importing RPGs and other Japanese games which have been translated and released in English in the United States. I support their decision to buy and collect whatever they want, but I don't see any point in those purchases personally and in at least a few cases, it is because they just want to have a complete subcollection of a particular game series from the original country of origin.

Frankly, collecting in general can be considered neurotic as you can't take any of this stuff with you someday when you die and yet many of us have rooms and closets and storage units full of video games. Collecting and hoarding are not that different from the psychological perspective and whether it's sealed collecting or complete game collecting or loose game collecting, there are neurotic aspects to all of it. I really don't understand why every one of these discussions turns into a sealed collector bashing session. People collect all sorts of things I will never understand, but I don't look down or criticize them for doing it. We're all collectors and we all have different reasons for what we collect. There really is no point in attacking each other and collecting one particular thing is not objectively better or superior to collecting anything else. Heck, I'll even go so far as to say I was wrong in the past for criticizing rom or download collectors. They collect just like the rest of us do despite some differences in what they can do with their collection.

[allyourblood]

Well spoken, Bojay. Couldn't have said it better myself. Unless people are stealing the sealed games from your personal collection, there's just no reason to be upset over it. Life is way too short for that kind of stuff. As long as we're all enjoying games in some form or other, that should be enough.

[Aussie2B]

I suppose I could have been more clear. I know a number of collectors who can't speak or read Japanese and yet insist on importing RPGs and other Japanese games which have been translated and released in English in the United States. I support their decision to buy and collect whatever they want, but I don't see any point in those purchases personally and in at least a few cases, it is because they just want to have a complete subcollection of a particular game series from the original country of origin.

I still don't see neurosis there. There are valid reasons to import Japanese games even in the presence of an official US release. The US version might be much more expensive (often the case with RPGs), the localization might be so bad that it ruins the experience (bad script changes or terrible dubbing), or the collector might simply like looking at the alternate packaging. There are definitely some neurotic importers out there, no argument there, but I think you have to go more into the specifics of what they're doing and why to pinpoint neurosis.

[Bojay1997]

I still don't see neurosis there. There are valid reasons to import Japanese games even in the presence of an official US release. The US version might be much more expensive (often the case with RPGs), the localization might be so bad that it ruins the experience (bad script changes or terrible dubbing), or the collector might simply like looking at the alternate packaging. There are definitely some neurotic importers out there, no argument there, but I think you have to go more into the specifics of what they're doing and why to pinpoint neurosis.

I think maybe none of us are using the term neurosis properly. It seems like this is just a thread of people complaining about other (mostly sealed) collectors who do things they don't do or dislike for some reason with a few examples of what could be borderline self-reported OCD thrown in.

A neurosis is a serious medical condition which can include behaviors or symptoms such as OCD, anxiety, anger, depression, etc..By its very definition, almost anyone, collector or not, could have a neurosis or the symptoms of neurosis whether they are collecting sealed games, rubber bands, Japanese games, piles of dirt, etc...Just because a person collects any particular thing or even a particular thing in a particular way doesn't make it a neurosis. It's when that collecting behavior crosses over into some type of uncontrollable symptoms that bring harm to the person or others that a neurosis exists. I haven't seen any examples of truly neurotic behavior in this thread other than the aforementioned self-reported obsession with organization and cleanliness, but again in and of themselves, those behaviors don't necessarily rise to the level of a neurosis.

On the other hand, I have personally met a collector (although admittedly not of video games, but of coins) who became addicted to Ebay and live auctions, ran up huge credit card debts and even when they were on the verge of losing everything including their home and family, still continued to buy things they couldn't afford. That is a neurosis and eventually it had to be treated with therapy and medication. As far as I know, nobody here is in that position and assuming that sealed collectors or any other video game collector does what they do because of some mental condition is ridiculous. There are lots of good reason to collect sealed games and lots of good reasons not to. Neurosis has nothing to do with it.

[Family Computer]

I'm sorry, but that's a completely absurd argument. Action figures are made to be played with. In fact, they are meant to be played with by small children. That doesn't change the fact that many adults have large sealed action figure collections. Sealed games are no different.

I am assuming an adult collector isn't buying action figures to play with any more than a coin collector would buy a mint condition graded coin to go out and spend. My point was that if you do decide to collect action figures, the very way they are packaged makes them extremely displayable. You have to actually destroy the package if you open them. It would be like if opening a boxed NES game meant ripping the box art—if this were the case then collecting sealed games for the box art wouldn't be a mental illness.

Games are not the same way. A sealed game is no better looking than a complete mint opened game. It is purely a neurotic collecting habit.

If you take your argument to its logical conclusion, everyone here should be collecting loose games only since apparently the packaging has no value to you.

This isn't logical because I never said that games don't have aesthetic value. I said that the difference between a game being sealed, and a game being mint makes no difference to is aesthetic value. In fact, it is less appealing because you cannot see the manual, the cartridges/discs or any other flyers or inserts.

And with modern games with standardized cases it makes even less sense. Hence, why I think being a sealed collector of cardboard boxed games makes slightly more sense.

Sealed collectors just appreciate the appearance of the packaging more than other collectors. It has zero impact on anyone else's ability to collect whatever they choose to collect.

Unfortunately they value a thin piece of plastic around the game, not the actual art. I agree that you are free to collect what you want no matter how neurotic it may be.

It's certainly not any more or less neurotic than collectors who only collect complete games or collect Japanese games despite the fact that they can't read or speak Japanese.

Of course it is. For one, sealed collectors pay this absurd OCD tax to buy a sealed game. If there was very little price difference, it wouldn't be so sick to be addicted to collecting sealed games. Not to mention the game can actually be played.

To each their own.

I agree, but this is a thread about neurotic game collecting behavior. Sorry but collecting sealed games is certainly one of the most neurotic video game habits.

[Baloo]

Has anyone mentioned spine cards yet?

Now that I really don't understand. What makes some card with a barcode on it any more complete than if that was the only thing missing from a game with box and manual?

[Family Computer]

Has anyone mentioned spine cards yet?

Now that I really don't understand. What makes some card with a barcode on it any more complete than if that was the only thing missing from a game with box and manual?

For one, having it increases the games value. So if you wanted to trade or sell the game later that's a reason.

Second of all it sometimes has specific artwork, subtitles etc. Kind of like a mini flyer.

Obviously, it's mostly just an obsessive collecting habit though

[Bojay1997]

I disagree with you on a number of levels. First, unless they are doing something new with action figures, none of them come in a 360 degree clear tube, so by not opening the box or card/bubble, you are never going to be able to see the entire figure. Indeed, I know many adult action figure collectors who build elaborate displays of their opened figures and could care less about the box. Moreover, there are indeed video game boxes that require at least partial destruction to open them. Any of the glue sealed Colecovision boxes would fit this description very well. Similarly, any cardboard box game which has been opened will start to bulge slightly and show tell-tale signs of whitening along the flap as it is opened and closed.

While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, I imagine that to many sealed collectors, a sealed NES game is better looking than an open NES box. You may disagree, but your opinion is no more or less valid than a sealed collector's opinion would be. You also have no basis for claiming it's a sickness. Some people just choose to collect different things than you do. There is zero basis for claiming that it's a neurosis. The truth is, you don't like it and you don't agree with it and instead of just accepting that others make different choices, you resort to name calling and judgment. It's fine, but it's just not a strong argument.

I am assuming an adult collector isn't buying action figures to play with any more than a coin collector would buy a mint condition graded coin to go out and spend. My point was that if you do decide to collect action figures, the very way they are packaged makes them extremely displayable. You have to actually destroy the package if you open them. It would be like if opening a boxed NES game meant ripping the box art—if this were the case then collecting sealed games for the box art wouldn't be a mental illness.

Games are not the same way. A sealed game is no better looking than a complete mint opened game. It is purely a neurotic collecting habit.



This isn't logical because I never said that games don't have aesthetic value. I said that the difference between a game being sealed, and a game being mint makes no difference to is aesthetic value. In fact, it is less appealing because you cannot see the manual, the cartridges/discs or any other flyers or inserts.

And with modern games with standardized cases it makes even less sense. Hence, why I think being a sealed collector of cardboard boxed games makes slightly more sense.



Unfortunately they value a thin piece of plastic around the game, not the actual art. I agree that you are free to collect what you want no matter how neurotic it may be.



Of course it is. For one, sealed collectors pay this absurd OCD tax to buy a sealed game. If there was very little price difference, it wouldn't be so sick to be addicted to collecting sealed games. Not to mention the game can actually be played.




I agree, but this is a thread about neurotic game collecting behavior. Sorry but collecting sealed games is certainly one of the most neurotic video game habits.

[StealthLurker]

Cleaning up any thing that I bought used. Sometimes it means breaking out the toothpicks to get inside crevices. Cleaning up the contacts of carts before use (not with toothpicks, but q-tips). Mr Clean magic erasers work great for the flat surfaces. Then remove residue with a water dampened cloth/paper towel.

Putting things in little plastic baggies or clear boxes when possible.


Over at neo-geo.com, the owner of the site (Shawn) was considering or actually had really expensive, specialized window tinting installed in his house to prevent sun fade/damage to his stuff.


.

[Jorpho]

or the collector might simply like looking at the alternate packaging.

Oh come on. Spending tens of dollars (or who knows how much more) for the sake of looking at packaging? Something you could produce with practically any printer for the same utility?!

[Family Computer]

While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, I imagine that to many sealed collectors, a sealed NES game is better looking than an open NES box. You may disagree, but your opinion is no more or less valid than a sealed collector's opinion would be. You also have no basis for claiming it's a sickness. Some people just choose to collect different things than you do. There is zero basis for claiming that it's a neurosis. The truth is, you don't like it and you don't agree with it and instead of just accepting that others make different choices, you resort to name calling and judgment. It's fine, but it's just not a strong argument.

WTF?

do you realize how defensive you are being? I literally haven't called anyone names nor have I said anywhere that I "dislike" it or not. I simply responded to a thread about neurotic game collecting behavior with pretty much the first thing that exemplifies it.

[tubeway]

WTF?

do you realize how defensive you are being? I literally haven't called anyone names nor have I said anywhere that I "dislike" it or not. I simply responded to a thread about neurotic game collecting behavior with pretty much the first thing that exemplifies it.

If memory serves me correctly, Bojay has a number of complete sealed game sets. I'm sure all this negativity towards sealed game collectors struck a nerve.

[Family Computer]

double post sorry

[Emperor Megas]

Yeah, Bojay does seem to be really defensive and reactionary. It's not like people were going off and insulting sealed game collectors or anything.