Another one of those threads about overwhelming collecting

[o.pwuaioc]

I asked my dad what he thought, and he gave me some sound advice from an old quote from the Chinese that basically amounted to "If you're going to collect something, collect one thing."

And you know what? I think that's about the best advice I've ever heard when it comes to collecting. When I sold everything off but my Saturn about 6 months back, I loved it and had no issues. I found collecting enjoyable and having a nice row of those awesome Saturn cases just felt awesome. Every time my collection branches out, I seem to get sick and tired of all the games.

Sorry about the rambling, this thread got me thinking about it the last few days, and I'm in a tired and rambling mood.

Don't apologize - that's solid advice! Well said.

[noiseredux]

@Ryan's dad: I really think this is me. Yeah. I find I have the most fun collecting (and playing) games when I'm focused on a single console (or in my case PS1/2/3 that all play on a single console). I feel like the overwhelmingness came in when I then started also getting DC games and NGPC and thinking about other consoles, etc.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Besides that, your single PS3 plays 3 generations of games which amounts to collecting for 3 different consoles. That's still a lot, especially considering the amount of awesome games came out for the PS1/2.

[noiseredux]

Besides that, your single PS3 plays 3 generations of games which amounts to collecting for 3 different consoles. That's still a lot, especially considering the amount of awesome games came out for the PS1/2.

totally how I look at it. My personality doesn't like a whole lot of clutter. But having a single console out that allows me to collect for 3 gens is no nice. Not to mention, a majority of my favorite games are available this way.

--> NGPC - I'm definitely gonna get rid of this thing. It's cool, but just taking up space. I'm really just not all that into it.

--> Dreamcast - I don't think I'm going to "collect" for DC. I'm gonna keep it around for Typing of the Dead and some exclusive shmups. But I've found that really a majority of games I want for it are on other systems (honestly if HOTD Overkill on PS3 had including a Typing mode, I probably wouldn't have bought a DC). And really, for a while, I need to be a cheap collector. So actively collecting DC shmups... it's not cheap to do that.

--> Wii/NDS/Genesis/SCD - I basically consider my wife's consoles.

[Nutty]

All of the backwards compatibility talk makes me want to go buy another slim PS2 for all my PS1 rpgs. I'm addicted to Digaea at the moment and feel like it's going to destroy my current PS2.

I'm also in love with the look of the PSOne, but finding one of those (with LCD) in good condition seems to be getting harder and harder.

[Zing]

I'm also in love with the look of the PSOne, but finding one of those (with LCD) in good condition seems to be getting harder and harder.

I assume you mean "finding one at my local pawn shop seems to be getting harder" as you can buy these new-in-box anytime you wish from Ebay.

[o.pwuaioc]

All of the backwards compatibility talk makes me want to go buy another slim PS2 for all my PS1 rpgs. I'm addicted to Digaea at the moment and feel like it's going to destroy my current PS2.

I'm also in love with the look of the PSOne, but finding one of those (with LCD) in good condition seems to be getting harder and harder.

I see them all the time around here. What's your price range?

[Nutty]

I'm also in love with the look of the PSOne, but finding one of those (with LCD) in good condition seems to be getting harder and harder.

I assume you mean "finding one at my local pawn shop seems to be getting harder" as you can buy these new-in-box anytime you wish from Ebay.

Indeed. I've occasionally seen the console at Goodwill or at a random garage sale. Never seen the LCD screen though. I would also prefer both be new for longevity's sake, and it's tough to find both on eBay for less then $120. I'll bite the bullet at some point.

[dunpeal2064]

Gah, I really REEALLY need to pick a console and stick with it.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Great posts here.

I got big into game collecting sometime in 2009. At first I had huge lofty goals, basically to "GET ALL THE GAMES"! As silly as it sounds, I wanted to create a game room like the one I see on AVGN, just wall-to-wall consoles, games, accessories, etc. Back then, I wanted to own things simply for the sake of owning them. I wanted "collectors items" like an Atari Jaguar, Colecovision, and Virtual Boy, even though I would not get much use out of them personally. I also wanted super rare shit: CIB Sega Saturn/Sega CD RPGs, AES games, etc.

Eventually it hit me that my goals were impractical due to financial and spacial constraints, and that collecting was actually starting to feel more stressful than enjoyable.

I decided to tone things down. A lot.

I'm buying a lot of current-gen stuff now. I keep an Amazon wishlist of about 40 in-print or upcoming games that I'd like to acquire sometime in the next year. I try to buy one item from that list every couple of weeks, and I've asked for a few of those games for Christmas.

As far as old/rare/out-of-print stuff goes, I now operate on a "if I see it" basis. These days, I don't scour the internet looking for deals on Panzer Dragoon Saga or Magic Knight Rayearth. But if I do happen to run into such a game at a flea market or pawn shop, you better believe that I'd scoop it right up. If I never obtain these games, life will go on and maybe someday I'll see a re-issue, compilation, or find a decent emulator.

I think the point is: game collecting should be fun and easy. If it isn't, you need to re-assess what you're doing.