When Does Collecting Become a Problem?

[johnny turbo]

People can suck it. I have a 1,500 square ft. Basement with nothing but turntables, video games, speakers, LD players, TV'S, ect. It's clean and everything is meticulously organized. I get much more enjoyment out of owning video games then actually playing them. I've spent days just looking at manuals, box arts, ect. Most of my peers don't play video games, but they still find it interesting. After all, I have no kids and live in a 3,000 square ft. home. What else am I going to use that space for? The day I quit collecting is the same day I stop smoking cigarettes.

[Balasubbie]

In my experience, if these extreme-end folk (I'm refering to the kind who end up alone and broke over it) weren't buying video-games, it'd be some other form of shopping-bulimia. It's all just about the distraction from whatever deeper struggles plight their days.

Hey, it's still better than skag. Mind, I'm such a tight-fisted bastard; I don't see how I'd ever let a collection get outta hand.

[Zodd]

I think some of the responses missed the point of the topic......Instead of providing similar experience of the downside of collecting....some people simply passed over it and are still promoting it.

Slowing down hoarding is still hoarding......the speed in which you collect does nothing to fix the problem at the end of the day.

I am just wondering how many folks have had their collecting create negative effects on their personal/professional lives. I have collected on and off for many years. I picked it up again about a year ago after taking about five years away from it. I was in a better financial position to start again, I felt like I missed out on a lot in my time away from the hobby, and frankly I was bored and needed a hobby. I got pretty obsessive and compulsive about it.

My fiancé decided it was too much to deal with and felt I spent more time and money on buying games than I did on her so she left earlier this week without even wanting to discuss it. She felt like I couldn't stop buying crap even if I tried. Maybe she was right. That was a wake up call for me. I am now boxing everything up and in the process of getting rid most of the stuff that isn't tied to my childhood. This has been pretty daunting. I hadn't realized how much stuff I really had. Half of my living room is littered in large boxes. It's going to take forever to sell this stuff off. I have well over 1,000 games and maybe 40 or so systems. I'm pretty disappointed in myself for letting things get so out of control. I bought a lot of stuff just to have it knowing I'd never play it. I simply wanted to get my collection to grow as large as possible.
It seems like the culture of game collecting pretty much embraces a hoarders mentality. Does anyone out there actually feel like mass collecting is a bad thing? Anybody got any experiences to share about overcoming the negative effects such heavy collecting has created for them? I can't be alone here.

I think this rush to collect games have escalated due to Youtube, Ebay, Forums, and all those Top 10s & Hidden Gems list all over the internet. Before this rise of collecting, many people simply bought what they liked and kept what they liked......50 games here, 3 consoles there, some merchandise, etc. Now it seems everybody need EVERYTHING just to showcase it on the internet and feel accomplished. As you stated, you took a break and now decided to jump back in and went overboard......1000 games and 40 consoles? Why?

Many do not want to admit it.....but collecting becomes a HUGE problem when you are spending money on games without even playing them...... Video games simply becomes an excuse to splurge or travel to buy anything to hoard.

[AppleQueso]

EDIT: This post was initially very knee jerk. I've tried to make it better.
DOUBLE EDIT: Not that it matters because you quoted the old post anyway

I think some of the responses missed the point of the topic......Instead of providing similar experience of the downside of collecting....some people simply passed over it and are still promoting it.

Slowing down hoarding is still hoarding......the speed in which you collect does nothing to fix the problem at the end of the day.

Do you mean that if the original poster is letting the hobby consume his life like that, then slowing down alone probably won't help it? Or are you suggesting that collecting in itself is a sign that someone has issues? If it's the latter, I find that kinda offensive.

Many do not want to admit it.....but collecting becomes a HUGE problem when you are spending money on games without even playing them...... Video games simply becomes an excuse to splurge or travel to buy anything to hoard.

Do you specifically mean buying games you have no intention to play? I.E. "collection filler" stuff? I think if you've got a specific collection focus (say, you're a huge fan of the Super NES and want to get a complete US library for that), it's a perfectly legitimate reason to buy games you'd otherwise not care about. A focused hunt like that requires budgeting, planning, research, etc, and you have a defined goal and stopping point.

If someone's just buying up random games they don't actually want because it makes their shelves look fuller, they should probably stop and consider exactly what they're wanting out of their collection.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I think this rush to collect games have escalated due to Youtube, Ebay, Forums, and all those Top 10s & Hidden Gems list all over the internet. Before this rise of collecting, many people simply bought what they liked and kept what they liked......50 games here, 3 consoles there, some merchandise, etc. Now it seems everybody need EVERYTHING just to showcase it on the internet and feel accomplished. As you stated, you took a break and now decided to jump back in and went overboard......1000 games and 40 consoles? Why?

You make a fair point. Before the internet reviewing boom I considered someone with maybe 6 consoles and 100 games to have a "large collection." I just about crapped myself the first time I saw the game rooms of AVGN and other folks. Now it seems like too many people get caught up in a "who can have the most games?!" pissing contest.

[Luke]

People can suck it. I have a 1,500 square ft. Basement with nothing but turntables, video games, speakers, LD players, TV'S, ect. It's clean and everything is meticulously organized. I get much more enjoyment out of owning video games then actually playing them. I've spent days just looking at manuals, box arts, ect. Most of my peers don't play video games, but they still find it interesting. After all, I have no kids and live in a 3,000 square ft. home. What else am I going to use that space for? The day I quit collecting is the same day I stop smoking cigarettes.

Half of your house is the basement?

Shot in the dark: You live in the Midwest don't you?

[isiolia]

You make a fair point. Before the internet reviewing boom I considered someone with maybe 6 consoles and 100 games to have a "large collection." I just about crapped myself the first time I saw the game rooms of AVGN and other folks. Now it seems like too many people get caught up in a "who can have the most games?!" pissing contest.

I don't think it's as negative as all that. You have greater awareness, and greater accessibility due to the internet, but those aren't bad things in and of themselves.

[Zodd]

^You're conflating Hoarding and Collecting. They aren't the same thing. Hoarding is a disease, collecting is a hobby. If your entire point is to suggest that all collectors are inherently mentally ill, then fuck you buddy.

Collecting is a problem when it becomes a problem. It's entirely possible to enjoy this hobby without having it interfere with your other life responsibilities, and numerous experiences shared in this thread reflect that.

Like I stated in my post.....when you begin to buy video games without even playing them.....it no longer becomes a collecting hobby (You are not even experiencing the product you brought, how can it be a hobby at that point?)

Your hobby is going out and acquiring Video Games.....NOT video games itself

When someone buy clothes without even wearing them and the price tags are still on.....what do you call them? A collector of clothes?

There are people with long backlog of games, hundreds of games just sitting on the shelves collecting dust, thinking in their minds that they will have the time to play all of them, yet, continue to buy more games.

You are no longer a collector at that point

A Collector (of any kind) seeks rarity.....Current Video Game collectors think the more you have the better....that is hoarding.

You make a fair point. Before the internet reviewing boom I considered someone with maybe 6 consoles and 100 games to have a "large collection." I just about crapped myself the first time I saw the game rooms of AVGN and other folks. Now it seems like too many people get caught up in a "who can have the most games?!" pissing contest.

I was caught up in that web as well.......Wrote down all the top 10s, hidden gems, youtube reviews, etc.

Eventually, you have to come to terms that you can't play every video game made....and that some of the so called "classics" are not really "classics" to everyone.

[Retrogamer0001]

^You're conflating Hoarding and Collecting. They aren't the same thing. Hoarding is a disease, collecting is a hobby. If your entire point is to suggest that all collectors are inherently mentally ill, then fuck you buddy.

Collecting is a problem when it becomes a problem. It's entirely possible to enjoy this hobby without having it interfere with your other life responsibilities, and numerous experiences shared in this thread reflect that.

Like I stated in my post.....when you begin to buy video games without even playing them.....it no longer becomes a collecting hobby (You are not even experiencing the product you brought, how can it be a hobby at that point?)

You hobby is going out and acquiring Video Games.....NOT video games itself

When someone buy clothes without even wearing them and the price tags are still on.....what do you call them? A collector of clothes?

There are people with long backlog of games, hundreds of games just sitting on the shelves collecting dust, thinking in their minds that they will have the time to play all of them, yet, continue to buy more games.

You are no longer a collector at that point

A Collector (of any kind) seeks rarity.....Current Video Game collectors think the more you have the better....that is hoarding.

I don't really agree with this...hoarding is a mental illness that doesn't necessarily revolve around wasting time/money, as the OP seems to be having issues with, but an inability to let things go while also picking up new things they have no use for. It seems similar, but there are differences. Would you consider any of the big internet gaming personalities to be hoarders? Avgn, Happy Console Gamer, The Game Chasers? Pete Dorr (well, maybe this guy, his collection is out of control) but I guess my point is that people CAN be collectors and not have to enjoy it every second of every day.

I personally have over 1000 games and maybe 20 different consoles and simply do not have the time to devote to play eight hours of some game a day. As I've gotten older, I don't have the attention span anymore either. I still pick up a few games here and there, especially rare titles I happen across, but I don't let it ruin or control my life and finances. That being said, I usually find an hour or two a day during the week to play a few levels of a game, old or new, with the hope of someday completing my backlog. I fully expect this to take a few years, maybe even five or six, and I'm ok with that.

[AppleQueso]

^You're conflating Hoarding and Collecting. They aren't the same thing. Hoarding is a disease, collecting is a hobby. If your entire point is to suggest that all collectors are inherently mentally ill, then fuck you buddy.

Collecting is a problem when it becomes a problem. It's entirely possible to enjoy this hobby without having it interfere with your other life responsibilities, and numerous experiences shared in this thread reflect that.

Like I stated in my post.....when you begin to buy video games without even playing them.....it no longer becomes a collecting hobby (You are not even experiencing the product you brought, how can it be a hobby at that point?)

Your hobby is going out and acquiring Video Games.....NOT video games itself

When someone buy clothes without even wearing them and the price tags are still on.....what do you call them? A collector of clothes?

There are people with long backlog of games, hundreds of games just sitting on the shelves collecting dust, thinking in their minds that they will have the time to play all of them, yet, continue to buy more games.

You are no longer a collector at that point

A Collector (of any kind) seeks rarity.....Current Video Game collectors think the more you have the better....that is hoarding.

This whole post basically reads as "People who enjoy the hobby in different ways than I do are flat out wrong and terrible people."