a lot of people here, are collectors so this makes wonder...what kind of collector are you?the collector that needs to have EVERY game (even if he doesnt like the game) or you just collect the games and system that you like?:confused:
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a lot of people here, are collectors so this makes wonder...what kind of collector are you?the collector that needs to have EVERY game (even if he doesnt like the game) or you just collect the games and system that you like?:confused:
I'll pretty much collect anything that seems fun, and interests me. I'll never own every game in existence, but as the years go by, my game collection will continue to grow, no matter what. I also love the fact that there's so many great games out there that I'm only just finding out exists, so collecting will always be fun for me.
I collect games and hardware because I want to play them in their original form. If a console has little to no appeal for me, I won't even bother with it unless it's REALLY cheap or free (Atari Jaguar comes to mind - there's barely anything I'd play on a Jaguar). When it comes to different variants of the same hardware, though, it boils down to three things:
1) Being able to say I own different variants of the same hardware (especially when they're not North American)
2) Curiosity (seeing how variants of a particular console differ from one another)
3) Extra features not found in some variants (especially true of some Japanese consoles like the Master System)
I pretty much just buy what interests me and have no desire to own every game for every system. I just want to get the games that I want to play, and honestly I don't think i'll have all the ones I want to play for a long time because i'm always discovering more games that seem interesting.
I buy what interests me. I rarely get anything i dont really want to play unless its a great deal on something that i can sell for more than I bought it for.
I love my Genesis, and I love last gen, so the vast majority of my collection consists of Genesis-era Sega (GG, CD, 32X, and Genny), and almost anything last gen (XBOX, GC, PS2).
PSX is another system I'm slowly trying to expand my collection on, although I do a ton of procrastinating whenever I start thinking about collecting for a new system. I've been on the fence about getting a Saturn for over a year - the prices on the games of personal interest just feels like a major chore whenever I start thinking about it.
I only collect the games that I find interesting. Unfortunately, that's an exorbitantly large number of games.
Another one for only what interests me, I have no desire to collect everything for any one system. I have a list of wants I intend to shrink to nothingness, then maybe do imports after, but even that will be limited.
Mine is based on 4 principles:
1) History: It is sort of having a personal museum with me, for me and my friends. Giving them brief histories behind games. Like how PSIV was supposed to be on Sega CD. Or how the Commodore Amiga brought A-class gaming/computing to the common consumer as early as 1985.
2)Physical Rarity: Having holy-grails in your room is a nice thing to have. Dracula X, Panzer Dragoon Saga, all of them and being able to say, "I played that, and it is as good as people said." Almost like bragging rights, a collection infested with sports games is not going to fetch the eyes of people as well as one with more variety.
3)Enjoyability: Back when I was a kid I had a Sega Channel and borrowed games from friends. Some were amazing and beautiful, enjoyable to the end. I search for these games to take me back to the past and remember what it was like to be a kid.
4)Curiosity: Unfortunately I am curious. AVGN said not to buy Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and I did. So I like to experiment around and mess with games. I play all of them for at least 20 minutes, then they get archived into the collection. At least they get a good home where they get cleaned on an annual basis.
I think most people who go for full collections are not real gamers,although their are people who have a genuine passion for a particular system and want the full library which i respect but i see a lot of people asking "what system should i collect for??" or announcing some wild dream of a full ps2 collection or something.
Myself, i buy and collect the games that i personally enjoy,if i dont like it i sell it regardless if everyone else likes it,Although my collecting is a bit out of control and is costing me a lot of money.
Theirs an incredible amount of games out their and you will never own them all so why buy crappy games you dont like just for "the collection" when you can spend your money on the games you really like.
I don't collect. I simply buy/trade for everything cheaply, and sell high ;)
For the most part, I only collect note-worthy games (rare and/or enjoyable), although I'm pretty sure I'll go for "complete" with one or two of my systems.
I'm more of a hoarder than a collector. I like to have a variety of obscure machines that are not readily available. The thing is, I won't pay more than chump change for anything, so it's hard to find things in the wild.
EDIT: Oops, wrong thread.
Edit 2: Might as well write something:
I collect mostly for nostalgia, games I've missed out on and games that have multiple format releases.
i collect every game i might conceivably ever want play
I collect everything.
I just buy stuff that I actually plan on playing.
Everything for every system, short of ridiculously high priced stuff. I even have Barbie games or PSX that I will never touch, but my PSX collection will never be complete without them, so they remain in my collection.
I am a very picky collector. With my budget I don't have any choice. I operate mainly on store credit with a retro place called Hi-Score Video Games, which if you're ever in Minnesota is definitely the best game store in the state. For everything I get I like to trade something else in. I haven't collected much the last year or so...I have most of the games and systems I really wanted, but once in a while I pick up something new. For example, Kamahl's recent comments in my Midnight Resistance thread have convinced me to try Atomic Runner. :)
I'm also a lazy collector. I've gone out of my way to get some games I haven't even played yet: Headhunter, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and I'm embarrassed to admit, Shenmue.
I buy games to play them, which means that I don't buy sports games and so forth (except tennis, golf, and a couple of others). And I buy cheap whenever possible -- I'm very reluctant to pay more than $15-20 for any game, especially since I have flashcarts for most systems.
The lone exceptions are Intellivision and 32X since I'm aiming for a complete collection for both systems. But even there I'm not paying more than a couple bucks for the Intellivision's edutainment titles, nor am I buying the games that are just compilations or rereleases of other titles. And if I find WSB or DarXide for 32X in a flea market, fine, but otherwise I'll forgo the former until I find it for under $5, and get a repro of the latter.
I'm a Sega Genesis/CD/32X + Saturn + Dreamcast Mint CIB to Sealed collector. I'm going for a complete collection in all of those.
As for everything else (including the Game Gear and the Master System), I only go for the stuff I like.
I collect anything retro-gaming related i can get. Either consoles or games. Maybe old magazines too. As long as i can get them for free or very cheap. Half of the stuff i own comes from people who would throw their stuff away. I could never pay tons of money to buy retro stuff but that's mostly because i don't have enough money to support such a hobby.
I also collect newer generation stuff, as long as i can find good deals. There aren't many new games that i like anyway.
Systems: Genesis, 32X, SegaCD, Saturn, Dreamcast, oXbox, Xbox 360. Absolutely nothing else.
CIB only, no exceptions.
Good condition+. No sealed games, no exceptions.
What I collect:
Bad Games of Personal Interest (e.g Wisdom Tree games)
Soon-to-be rare (e.g. Master of Monsters and other Renovation titles)
Rare Games (e.g. Snatcher)
"Good" games (e.g. stuff known to be good - 90% of my collection. Ranges from Gunstar Heroes to Battle Garegga)
Technical Achievement games (e.g. Chronicles of Riddick Xbox, Zero Tolerance, etc.)
Classic Must-Haves (e.g. Revenge of Shinobi, Die Hard Arcade, etc.)
I'm with you on this one. I don't trust "sealed" games. And I don't believe in the sacred "H-seam," since to me this isn't some technical marvel that someone with the right amount of gumption and ingenuity couldn't duplicate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Genesis Knight
I'll buy sealed stuff if it's similar in price to a good condition CIB copy, but I would never go out of my way to have a sealed copy of a game. I'm always going to open them anyway, so a sealed game is kinda pointless to me. But I'm not against them on principle or anything. And obviously if a game is still available at retail I like to buy a new copy to support the developers.
Yeah, that's pretty much how it is with me, too. I'm never gonna get a complete set of games for any console; waste of time and money in my opinion, especially considering every gaming console under the sun has loads of crap titles that I have no interest in playing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Olls
I pretty much go for CIB in most cases (all of the games I have for my disc-based consoles are complete with the exception of three of my PS2 games; Ico, Zone of the Enders and Final Fantasy X are missing their manuals), although I do have a number of loose Genesis carts of stuff that I've picked up on the cheap. Sometimes it's just a game that I'm curious about, and sometimes it's a good game that I do want/that would fetch a decent amount on eBay. In those cases, if I really end up liking said game I'll replace the loose cart with a CIB copy at a later time, and then give the loose one to a friend or use it for credit at the used game store that I go to.
The only exception so far is NES games... every single one I have is loose. I think I'm just gonna get CIB copies of a few favorites like Kirby's Dreamland, otherwise I'm happy with just the cartridges. Especially since they display pretty nicely on a shelf just on their own, unlike Genesis carts or CD games.
I'm also a gaming-type collector. I'm not interested in sealed games, complete system libraries or extreme rarities - but I understand why they are desirable. I only buy stuff I'd like to play. Right now I've limited my collecting to just two systems/platforms, Neo Geo and N64... Collecting for any system was getting to be too complicated and irritating. I ended up with more cheap games than pricier quality titles. With just two systems, it's easier to focus on the good stuff.
Yeah, who needs other systems to make collecting complicated and irritating when you have the neo geo! :p
I want the best games for every system, ever. I avoid the extremely common games that tend to be trashy and go for the harder to find, better received stuff.
im a ROM collector.
i could care less about all that "Real Hardware" BS, i just wanna play the games :D
I mainly collect games I am pretty certain I will like (or the kids).
However, when I was researching the Cinepak codec, I went a collecting frenzy buying too many Sega CD games that I didn't want to play but instead have a copy to dissect for their code and movies. Also, I went in one day to buy a few 25 cent pro football loose Sega games, and instead bought 20 unique pro football CIB Sega games for $10. It has been six months and I have only played four of the games. I also keep any games that are bundle with something else I actually want (like wrestling games that came with the second N64 I bought for the controllers and memory upgrade). I also bought a second Sega CD not to play but as a backup for if my current one dies.
Very conservative,
I have a small list of Genesis and 32X games...I only get games I really want to play and only own a Genesis/32X. Nothing really excites me too much, just getting games I enjoy. I'm not a huge gamer and I don't play video games all the time but I want something I enjoy to play when I do. I just don't have the time or the disposable income to collect hardcore anymore.
Thats probably the best way to be,you save a hell of a lot of money.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThugsRook
I believe games are meant to be played, and infact that's where most of the value comes from as well, so I try my best to only buy games that are very good or better, and that I plan to play.
The only instance I would buy a factory sealed/special edition version which I won't play, is if I have a copy to play already, and it needs to really be a special game for me to buy a version just to collect.
I collect everything Megadrive (or Genesis!) that I can. Preferably CIB, but not essential in most cases. It'd be nice to have a complete Euro collection, but I struggle to muster the will (and spend the ££) to get hold of the remaining games I'd need anytime soon - most of the stuff I'm missing is sports games, or titles I own for other regions already. Still buy the occasional Jp game whenever I feel like it or find a bargain, as well as Chinese / Russian games if I come across any. Also "proper" collect Euro Game Gear, want the full set of these. I'm nearly there, not all CIB (especially "rares") but again, I don't care too much about that.
Aside from these, I will give any game / system I find a try - loose or CIB, mostly doesn't bother me as long as they're cheap enough. The only thing I'll rarely buy loose is games on disc - probably make exceptions, but there doesn't seem too much point in those. In general I will wait a long time to get hold of the games I want for decent prices. This can be frustrating sometimes, but it's necessary; i've never been rich (just really persistent!) so I'm fairly proud of how big my collection has grown without having to spend over the odds on more than a few things.
As for sealed games - mostly I'd rather not buy these (as I want to play all my games, but can't bring myself to unseal retro stuff), but I will buy them if they have special items included, or very occasionally if I already own the game opened it can be nice to keep a shiny sealed game as well.
When you have Neo Geo, nothing else matters. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by AlecRob
When you have a neo geo, you'll be in debt for life! :D
I've pretty much turned into someone who only collects game they'll like or play. The exception is for N64, as I'd like to one day have all 296 games CIB.
I may be obsolete and picky, but I only collect one genre
Oh Edward, you and your love sims.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kollision
What kind of collector am I? The nostalgic, biased kind of course.