Are you a COLLECTOR, or are you a GAMER?

[dtrack]

No, I think he's saying that REAL collectors spend money on expensive PCs so that they can properly emulate any game they want.

Finally someone got it.

[AppleQueso]

How on earth is emulating everything being a "real" collector?

[Erik_Twice]

We are being trolled gentlemen

[dtrack]

Jesus guys... you are the proof why video games are dumb, because if they wouldn't then most of you could be in trouble
I am not a "real" collector, nor gamer really, i'm mostly interested in the (retro)gaming culture as hobby and sometimes as study. When i started to collect i 've realized that is a neverending cycle and i won't ever be satisfied plus it takes a huge amount of time and money - I don't have neither since games are not my only interest.
Someone brought up piracy. Ok lets talk about how pirate i am when i fire up an emulator.
When you steal a car then you will be the new owner so you have +1 car while the one whose car stolen gets a -1.
Torrent a current game like Halo 7 or something and you have +1 while the publisher still has the same amount of copies. That is called software piracy or from a wider perspective: digital- or information piracy. This is a crime in a way that the publiser virtually has a -1. But it is still not exact becaue it is not precisely provable. The person might not buy even if he couldn't pirate it but okay count it as a -1. That is why publishers stating trading used current gen games is equally bad as torrenting them. And i agree.
Download a free emulator and a game for a system which left the marketplace like 10-20 years ago. You don't have any option to buy that cart from the market anymore and used goods is a no go piracy-wise. You are the same pirate when you buy used games. Same as emulating.
On the collecting side: Ebay killed collecting as a hobby or at least reduced it's original essence. Collecting games (or almost anything) was like hunting. You had to organize contacts, travel (including foreign trips!) to improve your collection. Now one's collection depends on how much money can he/she spend on the online marketplaces. There are no additional things needed.
I hope i am clear this time. And happy collecting/gaming!

[Gunstar Green]

Like dtrack said you never really get satisfied, it really does become a sickness, it's sort of a minor version of those horder people. Every time I think I'm done with a retro console I end up writing a new list of games I need to track down. Every time I go to a flea market I end up buying something that probably wasn't even on that list.

But I do enjoy playing them, a lot, my current gen stuff sits idle most of the time while I play a retro game almost daily. For the most part my collection is of stuff I actually play. I have almost no RPGs save for a few favorites for instance, because it's a genre I don't enjoy. I don't own a single RPG for the SNES even though most people would find this to be blasphemy since it's the most popular genre on the console (though to be fair I do own Chrono Trigger for the DS and Final Fantasy VI for the GBA). I usually don't buy games for the sake of buying them. If I add a game to my list it's a game I want to play. The rare or expensive titles that I own (I usually got them for cheap i.e. my entire Dreamcast collection was bought back in the day), I own because I play them not because they're rare and expensive.

Still I have more games than I'll ever realistically play, and I can't deny I just like looking at the collection sometimes and that there is more to the hobby than just playing the games. I have mixed feelings about eBay since its both made the hobby more accessible and done a lot of damage to it.

[dtrack]

Yes GunstarGreen, exactly, it can become some sort of sickness. A thing causing more frustration than joy.
Iam in the same boat with RPGs to the extent i also have Chrono for the DS and that's it. And with handhelds we've arrived to the point. Handhelds are still more valuable for a gamer (not collector) because playing a specific game on a specific handheld is something you cant intercharge with emulation. The layout, the controls. I tried to play Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance on the DS Lite instead of the GBA SP and it was just crap because the LR buttons layout not suitable for this game. And hell, this is still official, not the traditional emulation! Just an example but there ara more things.
But with usb adaptors you can get the same feel via emulation and this is the point when collecting could be totally separated from gaming - if we don't count the nostalgia factor for old machines:) So i have to the conclusion i should separat the two. I collect the machines and buy only the momstmost favorite games for them. Emulation is not my cup of tea since i don't have that much time. I mean to play my fav games on a dozen system i own PLUS play stuff on PC.

[Curlypaul]

Jesus guys... you are the proof why video games are dumb, because if they wouldn't then most of you could be in trouble
I am not a "real" collector, nor gamer really, i'm mostly interested in the (retro)gaming culture as hobby and sometimes as study. When i started to collect i 've realized that is a neverending cycle and i won't ever be satisfied plus it takes a huge amount of time and money - I don't have neither since games are not my only interest.
Someone brought up piracy. Ok lets talk about how pirate i am when i fire up an emulator.
When you steal a car then you will be the new owner so you have +1 car while the one whose car stolen gets a -1.
Torrent a current game like Halo 7 or something and you have +1 while the publisher still has the same amount of copies. That is called software piracy or from a wider perspective: digital- or information piracy. This is a crime in a way that the publiser virtually has a -1. But it is still not exact becaue it is not precisely provable. The person might not buy even if he couldn't pirate it but okay count it as a -1. That is why publishers stating trading used current gen games is equally bad as torrenting them. And i agree.
Download a free emulator and a game for a system which left the marketplace like 10-20 years ago. You don't have any option to buy that cart from the market anymore and used goods is a no go piracy-wise. You are the same pirate when you buy used games. Same as emulating.
On the collecting side: Ebay killed collecting as a hobby or at least reduced it's original essence. Collecting games (or almost anything) was like hunting. You had to organize contacts, travel (including foreign trips!) to improve your collection. Now one's collection depends on how much money can he/she spend on the online marketplaces. There are no additional things needed.
I hope i am clear this time. And happy collecting/gaming!

I think the thing that is confusing most of us is that people generally think that collectors spend lots of time and money finding the original article and gamers generally emulate.

[CRTGAMER]

Download a free emulator and a game for a system which left the marketplace like 10-20 years ago. You don't have any option to buy that cart from the market anymore and used goods is a no go piracy-wise. You are the same pirate when you buy used games. Same as emulating.

On the collecting side: Ebay killed collecting as a hobby or at least reduced it's original essence. Collecting games (or almost anything) was like hunting. You had to organize contacts, travel (including foreign trips!) to improve your collection. Now one's collection depends on how much money can he/she spend on the online marketplaces. There are no additional things needed.

I think the thing that is confusing most of us is that people generally think that collectors spend lots of time and money finding the original article and gamers generally emulate.

Agree with Curlypaul, part of the fun is discovering a game when digging thru a box of stuff at a Swap Meet. The Emulation route does help the "must have every title" of a console, but it is also great to get the actual game cartridge or disc. Even better, experiencing the game with a given console's unique controllers. For instance a Dreamcast Lightgun or the NES Robot.

@ dtrack - Disagree that buying a used game is in the same category as downloading a game rom.

[dtrack]

You can disagree but it's a fact from the point of business. The publiser doesnt get any money from either.
I disagree with Curlypaul. It's really the opposite in practice. I'm just speculating. In theory a gamer would do with emulators. However as i stated in my latest post i do game and i am not a collector but still i play on the consoles especially if a game made for a specific console for a good reason (control scheme, display, etc)). But most of the games are not like this. And if you have a shitload of carts and you dont't call yourself a collector for some reason, that is most likely going down to one reason.
The thing i brouht into the discussion can also apply to me as well. Possilby I would collect if i had the money.

[AppleQueso]

I like how you're completely ignoring the fact that most emulators aren't 100 percent accurate.