Minimalism and Retro Gaming

[Xeogred]

Videogames though? They are, and forever will be my #1 hobby and the exception. Some of my biggest regrets have been from all the trade ins I did growing up. I'd probably lose track of how many games I rebought as an adult because of these earlier mistakes.

I totally get this. I had very little money growing up, so I would often trade away games I didn't play any more at the pawn shop here in town. (This was when I didn't live here, though, we drove an hour, usually to stock up on groceries.) I actually went on an eBay spending spree just before all the insanity with NES prices hit, so I actually recaptured all of my NES collection.

I also remember trying to sell some of my games, but only ended up parting with one of them, Super Mario Bros. 2, whilst set up at a flea market around Christmas time. My Mom was selling a lot of her artwork. (The coolest thing she sold was a ceramic Civil War chess set. We've still got another set that she did, too.) I had actually tried to sell TMNT: Tournament Fighters, along with some other games, at a yard sale. Boy, am I glad that one didn't go anywhere!

As for me, it's a strange one because I can't pinpoint when and where I sold it, but I know for a fact there was a time when I owned Mega Man Legends 2... ouch. There's been some other bad SNES trade ins from my past and one game I rebought is Mario RPG and the cart is in terrible condition, last time I played it several years ago I beat the game, then the next day loaded it up to do the Culex stuff and my save file was gone. I blame myself for selling my original cart in the first place! lol

I think like you though, as a kid with no income... it was a way to get new games.

I sold like 20 some N64 games for Armored Core 2 when the PS2 was new. Now, I loved Armored Core 2... but I think this event is a big reason why I don't think I've touched my N64 since. Like there's this sense of guilt that I self destructed it, lol. And I haven't looked into it much, but the N64 seems like an expensive one to collect for now I think?

The weird thing was how my dad kind of laughed and was like "Are you really sure you want to do this?" ... and my dad has never been very supportive of my gaming hobby, but that one time sticks out. Even he wasn't seeing the logic in giving Gamestop 20 some games for dollars just to get one in return.

[Anayo]

Almost every time I've gotten rid of retro gaming stuff, I've regretted it. I'm pretty spartan with most other stuff in my life, but it doesn't burden my conscience to indulge myself when it comes to retro gaming.

[Jmustang1968]

I like to collect. I like to be able to grab things off my shelf and hold them, and I also enjoy the cataloguing and organizing aspect of collecting. I can appreciate that clean minimalist look, but I know I would regret getting rid of my games. One thing I am looking forward to with my new house is setting up the new gameroom and thinking up of some shelving ideas for the collection.

[noiseredux]

it's funny, now that I have an Xbox One I find the act of swapping discs... weird. It feels antiquated to me when I have to put a disc in to start a game. I dread saying I almost feel lazy about it. #digitalgamerproblems

[Jmustang1968]

it's funny, now that I have an Xbox One I find the act of swapping discs... weird. It feels antiquated to me when I have to put a disc in to start a game. I dread saying I almost feel lazy about it. #digitalgamerproblems

I also like digital. Having a Steam library is so convenient to manage installations and addonsee etc... I appreciate and enjoy both.

[noiseredux]

Videogames though? They are, and forever will be my #1 hobby and the exception. Some of my biggest regrets have been from all the trade ins I did growing up. I'd probably lose track of how many games I rebought as an adult because of these earlier mistakes.

I totally get this. I had very little money growing up, so I would often trade away games I didn't play any more at the pawn shop here in town. (This was when I didn't live here, though, we drove an hour, usually to stock up on groceries.) I actually went on an eBay spending spree just before all the insanity with NES prices hit, so I actually recaptured all of my NES collection.

I also remember trying to sell some of my games, but only ended up parting with one of them, Super Mario Bros. 2, whilst set up at a flea market around Christmas time. My Mom was selling a lot of her artwork. (The coolest thing she sold was a ceramic Civil War chess set. We've still got another set that she did, too.) I had actually tried to sell TMNT: Tournament Fighters, along with some other games, at a yard sale. Boy, am I glad that one didn't go anywhere!

As for me, it's a strange one because I can't pinpoint when and where I sold it, but I know for a fact there was a time when I owned Mega Man Legends 2... ouch. There's been some other bad SNES trade ins from my past and one game I rebought is Mario RPG and the cart is in terrible condition, last time I played it several years ago I beat the game, then the next day loaded it up to do the Culex stuff and my save file was gone. I blame myself for selling my original cart in the first place! lol

I think like you though, as a kid with no income... it was a way to get new games.

I sold like 20 some N64 games for Armored Core 2 when the PS2 was new. Now, I loved Armored Core 2... but I think this event is a big reason why I don't think I've touched my N64 since. Like there's this sense of guilt that I self destructed it, lol. And I haven't looked into it much, but the N64 seems like an expensive one to collect for now I think?

The weird thing was how my dad kind of laughed and was like "Are you really sure you want to do this?" ... and my dad has never been very supportive of my gaming hobby, but that one time sticks out. Even he wasn't seeing the logic in giving Gamestop 20 some games for dollars just to get one in return.

I remember selling a bunch of my Genesis games to Funcoland to get some Sega CD games. Monkey Island was one. My dad was furious. And from that day on said he'd not buy me any new games. To some extent I learned my lesson, but Monkey Island was rad. Haha. I mean you do what you need to do when you're strapped for cash and fiending for new games.

No worries on your part - N64 sucks.

[TSTR]

Did you type that post from your log cabin, TEESTER? I appreciate it.

Haha, no log cabin, but I do get by with a little help from my friends.

[Blu]

Thanks for all the replies. Keep them coming!

I think I'm in the somewhere in between crowd. For example, I'm having a hard time objectively saying that I'll go back and play through many of my Xbox 360 games. I have close to 30 games for it, and have beaten them all. Do I see myself going back and playing through Gears 1 - 3? I doubt it. Assassin's Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood, Revelations, and 3? Probably not either.

However, I've gone back and played a LOT of my other consoles. I think I've played most of my consoles, sixth generation and backwards pretty much evenly over the years. Even if I'm considering something that my future kids could play, I think the classics are more appealing, from the 8, 16, and 32/64 bit generations. There's so much enjoyment from TMNT: The Arcade Game, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Zelda. I doubt I could ever part with those. There's something just really cool about those cartridge / early disc eras.

Here are some variables that I hope spur some more debate. I'm curious on people's thoughts:

1. Do you have a lot of games you purchased or own to try out the multiplayer if and when friends come over? I've found that I occasionally do this, and we usually end up playing something else. So I'm thinking I can be more deliberate and thin out some of these titles.

2. Do you limit yourself to collecting for one main console? Or does your love for gaming and/or collecting know no bounds? My Dreamcast collection accounts for a third of my entire library. If I collected for anything, it's Dreamcast and the jewel cases are all pretty well form-factored, so I'm not upset about having to lug them, other than they fit into a single box and are heavy.

3. I like a minimal aesthetic, but I can also appreciate the appeal of having a library of games to go and play. Do you use shelves that display the titles? or do you enjoy the aesthetic of shelving units that have mounted doors to keep things hidden?

4. The emulation sweet spot between emulating purely and keeping original software seems to be with Fast's blissbox 4 play. Keep the original controllers if you want the tactile appeal of the original inputs, though you're not running it natively from the original machine. I know the copyright issue can be dodgy for folks if they still want to be in compliance with the law and/or still like having original cart or disc. (I know this one is debated to death here already). BUT, do people think it's sometimes a crutch we lean on to justify owning the original, pure software?

[Tanooki]

Brutal but wise. Depends on each individual how far you wish to take it.

I've been under the process with gaming and spreading into other stuff too for some years now whittling away at things. I need to mentally process it slowly (around ebay fees mainly too) and allow myself to let go of stuff. I have to ask: Do I really want this? Will I ever use it? Is this something I grew up with that just stays shelved for me and the kid or not?

I'm finding by not being a minimalist, it makes me a minimalist in another way. Too much crap and too little time if any to ever enjoy it. Frustration of things being there being more active as a dust bunny farm.

It's funny I just caught this post now and not yesterday. I'm sitting here at my desk surrounded in games I've made the call to put to bed. The last higher dollar (some) 10 Genesis games I own, and another 4 DS games and about twice that many from the Gameboy family.

Baby steps seem to work well, but at some point it'll come to a stop unless I just mentally give up on it entirely and I don't know if I could get there with it. As it is now I'm keeping my classic Nintendo systems of the past (GC back) and they can just let be. Actively only bothering with the Dreamcast as dealing with one vs many is a plus and more of a relief.

Retro gaming aside, I'm doing it with the modern now too. I no longer will place my money with more than one modern gaming system at a time. I put the PS4 to bed, the Switch for better or worse will be it.

[ExedExes]

I'm still a "I like to have a large library" guy.

Stay strong Sarge, I feel you're becoming the minority... even here at RB.

Your guide for downsizing a retro gaming lifestyle