Game accumulation and time management

[Tanooki]

I'm sure enough people here have made their own post(s) or comments to others posts how they have 100s or 1000s of games and never use them all, some ever. Then I see our new thread about not getting over it being an adult and it got me thinking more about things bugging me for a time now. Management.

Let's say you don't desire to quit, but you do want to quit the problem of management of obviously too much stuff and no time to do it. What do you do? My situation isn't unique so it could be interesting to see what people do other than just sell it off entirely and get flash kits.

I've got console/handheld alone (PC, lcd handhelds, coleco tabletops excluded) around 370-380 games currently. There's stuff I'd like to make time for I haven't touched in awhile, some so long it might as well be new. What would you do? Sell off part of a collection and just show strong will and not buy it again even if it's interesting (and no flash kits, same distraction in 1 cart instead of many) to solve it? Force yourself to commit an hour a night to something until it's over?

As for me right now I'm stuck. I quit buying PS4 and 3DS games pretty much all year yet I still can't seem to make head way as I bumbled into both a Genesis and a Game Gear in the last 10 months. I like them, a lot really, but what do you do...just say screw it and sell the stuff to minimize distraction? Sell off other things (kill another hobby) to help with the issue? I'm kind of curious to see what others have done. It's a bad game of being distracted by one thing or another in the end I think.

[TEKTORO]

Keep the games you just love sell the other stuff, having mass library to show off is played out. On the other hand collecting is a fun hobby and nothing wrong with it, some like the achievement and have the money for it. Collecting CD based games are a bad idea if your not gonna play them, disc rot is real with older disc games and can't be repaired, stay away from premium sealed games cause of this. Another offender of bad disc are 360 games they are cheap and center hub cracks over time even if you don't touch them. Bluray seems like a durable choice. Digital is gonna take over with a more reliable ownership and a certain game store will be done by the next 3 years. This probably belongs in the random thoughts thread (my reply)

[Tanooki]

You're fine, it fits, and I was being more general, not directly going for advice but wanting to see how everyone else dealt with it in their own way.

Personally speaking there's some guilt there. I almost feel like despite not even being a year or even a half with the game gear of just selling all the sega stuff off, and then culling the Gameboy herd a bit if possible from where it is now. The other Nintendo stuff is as low as I'd allow it to be at this rate. But it's not even about going back but forward too. I'd think someone here would almost feel left out of certain thins they enjoy not at the least snapping up a modern console or handheld, or at least being a GoG/Steam shopper. Each buy equals more cash and more time commitment out the door.

The topic is kind of just there for debate much like the communication one I did on forum people not liking longer actual sentences and paragraphs versus random small twitter-esque like gibberish trash or they get adhd and offended by it.

[Exhuminator]

Keep the games you just love sell the other stuff, having mass library to show off is played out.

I agree with this 100%.

I am in the process of selling off tons of stuff in preparation of a move. But even after selling lots of stuff, my dork cave presently has shelves and shelves full of tons of games, and just thinking about moving all this stuff puts a real spotlight on "what's the point?"

About a year ago I accepted that I rarely ever replay a game. Usually once I beat it, I'm never touching it again, so I might as well sell it. Now if it's something I absolutely adored, yeah, I might replay it someday, so I'll hold on to it. But that's a 1 outta every 100 situation maybe. For the rest there's just no real personal impetus to maintain libraries of hundreds and hundreds of games, just for the sake of "being a collector". So I gave up the "collector" status and just wear the "player" mantle now.

Also I like the thought that me selling a game I already beat, improves the chances of somebody else out there getting to play it. Rather than it just sitting around gathering dust until I die, and somebody else has to figure out what to do with it.

[dsheinem]

I'd echo largely what was said above. I am selling off lots of things at present and probably will sell off more before the year is out. Systems, games, accessories, etc.

As was said - aside from saving space and getting some cash, the other nice benefit is that the games I am selling will hopefully go to people who want to play them instead of have them sit on a shelf. Like Ex, I tend to beat a game and be done with it, never to return.

The other thing that I have realized is that pretty much any game I may ever want to play is available either digitally or via eBay. I think both are better options for me at this point in my life. For digital - the chance of Steam, PSN, etc. going away is no greater or lesser than the chance of my house burning down, of disc rot hurting my old games, of my family accidentally breaking them, etc. For physical stuff that I can't get digitally (or digital stuff that disappears), I can basically treat eBay like a rental store. If I am really itching to try out Panzer Dragoon Saga or MUSHA (or even something cheap like "The Lion King" on the SNES) on original hardware, I can buy the game (and a Saturn, or Genesis, or SNES if need be) on eBay, play them, and then sell them again once I am done. Sometimes I will make a little doing this, sometimes I will lose a little, and sometimes I will break even - but I think that this is a better approach to playing retro games if you aren't really interested in collecting for its own sake. It has taken me a while to come to this realization, and I have only started the process of doing things this way, but I think that it is a pretty viable plan.

[Xeogred]

I think people need to relax and remember that moderation is key to many things and hobbies in life.

I have probably in the extremely wild and vague ball park of probably about 300-500 or so physical games. It's kind of stalemated over the last decade, because I know I tracked about 300 some games when IGN's collection feature was actually decent. But since then I have tracked down most of the games I really wanted on some of my most valued consoles, the SNES and PSX. Overall my collection takes up one 6 shelf and the rest like handheld stuff, or some consoles I don't care to much about are boxed away. I'd hardly say that's an invasion or out of control problem for me personally.

I had a lot of regret about selling tons of games as a kid. From a Sega JVC, to 30 some SNES games I rebought, to 30 some N64 games that are probably why I haven't had that out in over a decade now, etc. And gaming is my number 1 hobby and almost literally the only thing I spend money on for entertainment, so I put a lot of value into it thesedays. I've thrown out TONS of useless junk since I moved into an apartment a few years back. Even cleaned out the clothes closest for like the fourth time recently. So I have no problem detaching myself from things. But with that said, games are the one thing I like to consume and keep around.

I replay games a lot which I think helps me keep a good pace. I don't care about keeping up with AAA stuff anymore and only get a few new games I'm really pumped about at release a year thesedays. Probably 1-5 a year. Other than that, I scoop up ultimate editions nowadays for a third of the price and it's a win in the end. It's not a race for me.

Beating games is a big deal for me. Gotten a little meticulous about it nowadays keeping track with backloggery or How Long to Beat, and my own notepad files. BUT, if I don't like a game, guess what, I'm not going to beat it. So it's nothing too obsessive. I do have a small pile of games I bought for some newer systems that I gave a shot and could probably do without and with no regrets. It's only about a dozen or so games though over the course of a few years.

For my entire life I've constantly been playing both old games and new. Always keeping a nice balance there and I'm never bored. Sometimes a little phase will take over and I'll get sidetracked sucked into something else for a bit, but 25 some years later I'm never going to tire of gaming, and I don't see it ever getting out of control.

Guess that's a lot of rambling. My brain just doesn't compute these issues other people seem to have with the hobby.

[Exhuminator]

I can basically treat eBay like a rental store.

That's actually a really great way to think about it.

[ElkinFencer10]

I'm one of the hold-outs here for hoarding. Disc rot terrifies the shit out of me tbh, but I love the collecting aspect. I love the hunt and the excitement of finding a rare or personally sought after game in the wild. I also just love having a lot of them. Like Exhuminator said about backlogs once, it's a library. It represents possibilities. I may never play my some of my games, but the possibility is there. I love walking into my house and before anything else, seeing my collection (the side door leads immediately into the game room).

Disc rot is real, I know, and eventually, I'll put a game into a console and find that the disc just won't read anymore. That scares the shit out of me with my really rare games like Panzer Dragoon Saga and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, but the fear and knowledge of eventual loss just can't overpower the joy of the collection for me. I see my house as a private museum of sorts. It's impractical on both a space management level and a financial one, but it brings me unparalleled joy to see the collection I've amassed and see the reactions of awe on my friends' faces when they first walk in. It may not make sense logically, but nothing's worth losing that for me.

[laurenhiya21]

As of late, I only buy games that I'm interested in playing and get rid of games that I don't like. The only time I keep games I don't like is if my boyfriend wants to play them. While I do like looking at my nice shelf of games, I wouldn't feel that great about it if it mostly consisted of games I didn't enjoy.

I would also consider getting rid of games that I've beaten, but I often have a hard time deciding whether I'll replay a game or not. Games that I absolutely love and hate are easy decisions, but it's the games that fall in the middle that I sometimes have trouble with. I tend not to worry about that too much though, since I've been getting rid of plenty of games I played but didn't enjoy. I'm still figuring out what kind of games I enjoy to play, so there are plenty of games that very quickly leave my collection once I try them

[Exhuminator]

Nothing wrong with having a library, and if being surrounded by games makes you feel happy, so be it.

Personally I'm just trying to cull the fluff out of my various libraries, and really narrow it down to only the games I'm truly interested in, or truly love (as in already beaten). For example with my OG Xbox collection, a year ago I had like 300 games, but now it's down to 100 or so. And I wouldn't mind getting that down to 60. I did the same thing with my Wii collection, had like 250 Wii games and now it's down to around 90 or so. Gamecube was at 50 or so games, now it's down to just over 20. Just trimming the fat really.