The Hobby of Reminiscing

[2Dskillz]

As I have read more and more on these forums and talked with game collectors I have noticed collecting beyond games. For some it is old vinyl and others it is television series, even some that search out discontinued sodas. This hobby really seems like a catch all of people who really just enjoy reminiscing. I have been wondering what makes us this way.
Could it be that we had childhoods that were so wonderful that we do not want to let them go, or perhaps we missed out during our childhood and are reclaiming those things now? Maybe we do not like the direction some things are going and want later generations to see what made us what we are, and maybe those stories of our grandparents throwing out our parents comic books have frightened us to much to let loose of anything.
I think that any of these are great reasons for this hobby we have chosen. I would really like to know what everyone else’s thoughts are on the collecting. Why do you think we do it? Why do you do it?


I am really glad that I have found DP and all of the great people here. Thanks for the haven and game on.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I guess one of the reasons I do it is because when I was a kid, I remember constantly telling my friends:
"Imagine if you got every Nintendo game ever made!"
And my friends would usually say: "Pfftt, that would never happen, there's probably like 200 NES games alone, you could never do that."
I've always wanted to own every NES/SNES/N64 game, and now I'm actually trying to do it.

[AKay]

thats awesome jumpman!
I actually am new to the trying to start a collection scene.
I have at one point or another owned all the major systems and i would like to just collect all the major systems and have them on display in a nice entertainment center
AKay

[s1lence]

Its totally a blast to the past for me. Its the I remember playing that when I was a kid, or I remember that game but I never got it. Granted that for the older systems. Granted I just like to play games so I guess thats part of it too.

[KingCobra]

What makes this Hobby soo great is the variety, from early mecanical style claw games to Pinball or arcade cabs from 4 decades, and the home consoles, Handhelds, tabletops ect... No matter what kind of gamer you are? it's got something for just about everyone

You can ver off from games and go after Atari patches, posters, Buttons ect...

Besides Reminiscing, it's challening and exciting IMO.

[xfrumx]

I collect games because i like them, i remember when i was a kid i would not sell or throw out anything.(i'm stil the same way!)

[Anthony1]

The day that I got into retrogaming was when I happened to walk into a GameCrazy about 3 or 4 years ago. I had never been to a GameCrazy before, never even heard of it, but I walked in to see what XBOX and GameCube games they had. While in there, I noticed they had tons of Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo games in their display case, and I remember saying to myself, "Hmm, that's funny, they even have those old Genesis and Super Nintendo games". Then I started looking at the games they had, and I saw Madden 93 for the Genesis, which was one of my all time favorite games. I think it was like 45 cents or something. So I bought it. I also bought NBA Live '95 for the Super Nintendo.


It's funny, cause I didn't have a Genesis anymore, or a Super Nintendo, and I wasn't really sure why I bought those carts. Part of it, was the fact that they were so cheap, and I think I was just going to have them sitting on my computer desk like decorations. Well, one thing led to another, and it sent me down a path of retrogaming, but I can trace it back to that original day when I first walked into a GameCrazy.


I would say the real underlining reason for me, is that it takes me back to a happier time. A more simple time. Some of my best years were during the whole Genesis and SNES run. So it was nice to think back upon those fun loving days. I discovered that if you really want to reminisce about the old days and the classic games of your past, the best way to do it is with old gaming magazines from that time. Old game mags really transport me back to those days.

[Blanka789]

Mine is definitely realted to how good my childhood was, waking up on saturdays, watching cartoons while eating sugary cereal, and then playing some video games.

[smokehouse]

The same goes for me, it does remind me of my childhood. For me though, there was never really a time when I stopped gaming. Once I got my first NES it was game on. There has never been a time in my life that I did not have some kind of gaming system in my house. I’ve had a SNES since release (the same one to be exact) and the same goes for my NES. I started buying older NES games back in 1995 (my Junior year of high school) and let me tell you, those were the glory days. You could walk into a pawnshop and get a copy of Final Fantasy or River City Ransom for $2. I know because that's what I was doing at the time.

I love feeling like a kid again. I guess that sums it up in one sentence.

[2Dskillz]

I had an original nintendo growing up and I loved going to my cousins and friends houses to play super nintendo and genesis. Then in high school I had gotten into computer gaming and rode that through college. I then picked up a N64 from a friend for about $30 shortly before the PS2 released and that started me back into console gaming. I would have to say I started collecting when a guy at work sold me a genesis with 20 games for $20. Then I discovered this website and the addiction grew.

For me, I remember that even when I did not have the consoles (not much money growing up) I still had subscriptions to magazines and played anywhere I could, and I was called on for helping people with games in middle and high school. I like having this bizarre expertise, and would not change it for anything.

[Rejinx]

I only owned Mario/duckhunt and Duck Tales for 13 years. My parents were the rent, not buy type. Then I realized I could buy all the games I wanted 10 years ago for $1-$5 a piece now. I buy 10 games at a time and only spending $25 bucks it was awesome. and the EB by the house has really cheap bargin bin games for PC and it's all the games I love that everyone else hates. Computer sims rule!! Anyway thats how I got started.

[FlufflePuff]

I've always been a collector. From baseball cards, to stamps, to comic books, to magic, to video games. It's always been about amassing, displaying, and oggling. The kick I get out of video games is the look on people's faces when they come over, sit down, and play games they haven't played in years. For example, Im organizing a Tecmo Super Bowl tournament at work. Many of these guys haven't touched this game in 15 years, but everyone is pumped. I love that excitement and the way people get when they remember games they love. I recapture some of my childhood and take pleasure in providing that service to others.

[boatofcar]

Two words. Selective Memory. Whatever you reminisce about, you do it because people tend to view their past through rose-colored glasses. Not that there's anything wrong with that

[Niku-Sama]

i am basicly just buying what i want because now i have cash (not very much but some) to do it where before when i was a kid i couldnt...my only real goal was to collect all the Megaman games, the real games not the crap ones like soccer and what not...i haave all the domestic for NES SNES PSX, now i just need to get the last for for PS2 and GB and then start on the imports

[Bloodreign]

Oh, it's just the games that I really wanted to play/ or enjoyed in my youth, stuff from the 8 and 16 bit era. I rarely got a chance to play a TG-16, although there are games I'd love to play, but being so poor, I can't afford a TG-16 (although I once heard there was one for 50 bucks at a local classic games store, something I didn't find out till a year later when the lady that ran the store, wound up as a coworker of mine at another store).

So yes it's basically a second chance at childhood, plus having fun games to play is a bonus.

[Rejinx]

Bloodreign, Your from lafayette? We need to do some game trading sometime.

[drwily008]

I started collecting at a very young age (like 10 or 11) because my mMom would never let me trade my games as a kid.

The first system I ever traded was a Sega CD & a Lynx for a Jaguar when they were brand new.

I think I just continued because I loved being a kid still in junior high with every game that I wanted.

I was never spoiled though and ALWAYS did work for the cash to buy them though.

As to why I have Comics, toys, music, DVD's, etc...well I think it's just my obsessive/compulsive behaviour!

[Nirvana]

Currently, I'm replaying a lot of RPG's I beat when I was young, yet didn't fully grasp the storyline. For example, I was fairly young to completely grasp the FFVII storyline (I believe I was 7 when I played it, I got it when it first came out, now I'm 15), now I'm replaying it. It's amazing hearing the music to this game again, it reminds me of when I used to play it.

Whenever I reminisce about anything involving games in my childhood, I just get a very touchy feeling. I love doing it.