1. Nope.Blu wrote: 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?
2. To the extent I collect at all, I have narrowed my focus to Atari. I have a 2600, a 7800, and a 800XL home computer. I like to collect Atari because I like the aesthetics of the hardware and the games themselves (blocky as they are - they are pure gameplay). Plus it's pretty cheap outside of a very, very few rare carts that aren't terribly good games anyway. Occasionally, I will buy a Genesis cart; I have most of the games I actually want to play but there are a few more I would like to add (even so, I only have 15-20 games for it).
3. I actually use small rubbermaid containers for my games. It helps keep the contacts clean-ish and they are cheap and stackable. I keep the Atari games I like to play the most all in one container so I know where they are.
4. I have no qualms about emulation/ROMs - and I'm a lawyer out here in the real world. Sure, it's technically illegal to download ROMs (emulators are perfectly legal though). It's also technically illegal to drive 5 mph over the speed limit.
Copyright law is largely intended to protect companies from other companies and commercial interests, to keep another company from profiting off of the work of your company - its effect on the consumer is largely incidental. The companies are simply not concerned with the fact that people download ROMs from time to time. And law enforcement basically doesn't give a shit at all. Even if they did, proving who DID have the rights to a given game might be a REALLY difficult undertaking in many cases.
I am not advocating that anyone break the law (I am professionally obligated to say that, but I do mean it) - everyone must make their own decision on this issue. But my personal and professional opinion on the subject is that the fears/qualms/etc. of the end user when it comes to ROMs are frequently overblown.
Edit - Websites that distribute ROMs get taken down from time to time. There are two primary reasons for that. One, because those sites are making money from the presence of the ROMs through advertising that is usually all over those sites. Two, because under the law, rights holders need to be able to show that they have taken steps to enforce their claim on their IPs. Nintendo of America sending a nasty letter written by their attorney to a ROM site is an easy and basically free way of doing that.
one game or movie at a time! Yes, it's harder than it seems. The eXtra room is nice. I really like this route from a preservation standpoint as well.