Not sure if it's worth building up my collection again...

[Jungell]

You should definitely build up your collection again!

Other people have already given good advise on how to keep it focused and within a certain limit.

But you're not only collecting for you! Us retro collectors are caretakers of the past. The art, the technology and the thoughts of a world that was, how ever recent, would otherwise sit in a moldy attic or basement and eventually just fall apart.
We keep it alive. This is more than just games, this is history, this is a big part of our legacy.

We have countless volumes, paintings and notes from different times. These games will some day be as old as the Mona Lisa, the words of great poets or Citizen Cane. It's up to us to make sure that it stays alive.

...And it's fun.

[TrevorF]

The way I see it is that you have two options:

1. Focus on one console at a time. This was my problem, it was too overwhelming to be all over the place, so I made a list of needed games/likes and dislikes of each system. After I hashed everything out, I turned my focus to SNES.

Pros
-It's not as stressful.
-You're building up something that you can brag about.

Cons
-You don't get to buy that hard to find game for the ______ that's been nagging at you for some time.
-You will have a lot more dusting to do.

2. You buy one of every console and only get the games you will play. Some of my very good friends are taking this path. I would have a hard time doing this as I have a thought in my head that I could be missing out on something if I ever want to play it.

Pros
-You'll get what you play and play what you get.
-You'll never be on that show "horders" showing off your sweet collection.

Cons
-You'll never be on that show "horders" showing off your sweet collection.
-"My collection is bigger than yours."

[harper]

Good advice TrevorF. I do a little bit of both like I said before, I focus on my N64 collection but I have other consoles that I have a handful of games for (mostly for nostalgic reasons). However, these are things that don't/shouldn't really matter:

-You're building up something that you can brag about.
-You'll never be on that show "horders" showing off your sweet collection.
-"My collection is bigger than yours."

Yeah, I know those statements were a little playful but I think those are things that people really are worried about and they shouldn't be. You should do what makes you happy. As much as I would love to have a kickass collection that people could "ooh and ah" over, I personally would go fucking nuts if I were to hoard as much crap as I've seen that some people here have (don't get me wrong, I LOVE seeing other people's collections- I just don't think I could handle a huge one myself). My collection may not be very impressive to anybody else but I'm really proud of it because it consists of games that I've played in the past and love and/or am excited to play in the future. And I no longer have any games that I'm like "meh, I kind of hate that game, why the hell do I still have it?"

Another thing that I think gets in the way is simply the word "collection" it leads people to believe that they should have huge hoards of stuff or else they have failed, and that is not the case. A collection is something you can be proud of for many other reasons other than just size/quantity.

Long story short: When you worry about things like what other people think about your "collection" you're losing sight of the really important things like um, I don't know, your sanity. haha

[AppleQueso]

And I no longer have any games that I'm like "meh, I kind of hate that game, why the hell do I still have it?"

...but you're building a complete N64 collection

the very nature of that means you're gonna have a LOT of crap games

[harper]

And I no longer have any games that I'm like "meh, I kind of hate that game, why the hell do I still have it?"

...but you're building a complete N64 collection

the very nature of that means you're gonna have a LOT of crap games

I like the crap N64 games, that's why I chose the N64. haha

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I've pretty much decided on collecting again. I don't really want to stray from Sega and some Sony stuff though. In a week or so I should have a room to share with everybody.

[TrevorF]

When you worry about things like what other people think about your "collection" you're losing sight of the really important things like um, I don't know, your sanity. haha

This is true for many things in the world. Wants are derived from inequality and it's hard for some to break away from this. In this situation the best thing to ask yourself is "Would I keep these things around if acessability wasn't an issue". In essence, would you have these things in your home if everyone in the world had one in the same?

It's a race to the top. Scarcity drives the economy, the economy says that you can't have all these things unless you have the means, the means are what set us all apart, hence: Inequality.

33% of this is ingrained in me and the reason for collecting (what I would say are) "shitty games". 33% is the fact that I like to play and enjoy the art work many of the boxes have. I guess the final 33% is preservation. A lot of my collection isn't being produced in this form anymore. It's history and a big part of who I was and the good times I had. It's my link to the past, it's my youth and everyone of us have this instilled in us.

RyaNtheSlayA, this is something that you're going to have to decide on your own. And it looks like you already have your answer.

I've pretty much decided on collecting again. I don't really want to stray from Sega and some Sony stuff though. In a week or so I should have a room to share with everybody.

[Breetai]

...2. You buy one of every console and only get the games you will play. Some of my very good friends are taking this path...

Me?

[JsGameRoom]

I've pretty much decided on collecting again. I don't really want to stray from Sega and some Sony stuff though. In a week or so I should have a room to share with everybody.

Oh God

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I've pretty much decided on collecting again. I don't really want to stray from Sega and some Sony stuff though. In a week or so I should have a room to share with everybody.

Oh God

What?