I'm about to break my old record of $100 by about $50, and I'm planning to shatter that record shortly afterwards, so I'm just curious, what is the most that you ever paid for a game? Please tell us what your record is, what game caused it, and why it was so important to you to merit spending that much. You can also tell us what games if any could cause you to break that record, if you want to. I know we have some high rollers here, so confess your sins!

My current record of $100 is a tie between Phantasy Star IV & Virtua Racing for the Genesis. I was just crazy enough and gainfully employed enough at the time to spend that kind of money on any new Genesis game that came out, and I didn't even blink an eye about it. In fact, I bragged about it, as it was somewhat of a status symbol for me to be able to spend that kind of money on just one game. My friends called me crazy, but I wasn't ashamed.

The game that's about to cause me to break that record is a factory sealed copy of Battle Garegga for Saturn. It's gonna cost me $150 plus shipping when it finally arrives, and I've already placed a deposit on it to preorder it. I know that I could get a used copy a little cheaper, but why settle for that when I can get it brand new for just a little more? So I have no regrets at all.

There are currently two games that could cause me to break that record, once I've actually set it. The first one is a used copy of Pengo for MegaDrive for $250, and the second one is a factory sealed copy of Space Invaders for Virtual Boy for $300, but I'm still very hesitant to spend that kind of money on just one game right now. I'm sure that I will at some point in the not too distant future, but right now those two games are just a bit too far out of my league to get them just yet, so I'm gonna let Battle Garegga hold the title for at least a little while before I go breaking anymore records like that.

So why were/are these games so important to me? Well, Phantasy Star IV should be self explanatory. It's Phantasy Star, part IV! Need I say more? Virtua Racing was really only for the status of being able to do so, but also because it was the first and as it turns out the only SVP chip game for the Genesis. I was a total Sega fanboy with bottomless pockets at the time, so I had to have all the latest Sega gadgets and gimmicks as soon as they came out, and Virtua Racing for the Genesis was one of them. Still no regrets yet. Battle Garegga should be self explanatory to any shmup fan. I missed this one back in the day, so when I got the opportunity to buy it brand new again, I decided that money would be no object this time. I must have it! Pengo is just one of those things for me. I always loved the arcade game, and this version is an ultra rare import update of the original, for 4 players! Space Invaders is kinda the same type of nostalgic reasons, it's a perennial classic, and this version is an ultra rare import update of the original, in 3D!

So that's all of my confessions for now. I've just reached a point in my life and my collecting habits where I'm ready to take my hobby up to the next level, and join the ranks of the more elite. I know that I'll still be a small time player compared to some people here, but my motivations are not so much for status anymore as they are for a simple desire to own some ultra rare games that are far more rare and valuable than any of the other games that I currently own. I have alot of super rare games already, so I know that I'm already more elite than alot of people here, but I'm not really seeking glory. I just want to have these things, like any other games that I decide I want, but it just so happens that these particular games are prohibitively expensive.