How do you keep track of your games?

I'm annoyed right now because I dug out my PCBs to add my arcade games to my airtable, but I can't seem to find my Cadash and Cyberbots. I also saw I have two entries for Dragon's Revenge which can't be right, so I'll have to check everything against my list again. Keeping track of games can be a pain, especially when you've acquired and sold so many over time. You forgot what you have and what you don't. I swore I had the Genesis Moonwalker and didn't think to check when Michael Jackson died. :/ I have a good bit, but I can't imagine how these super collectors I see on YouTube all the time deal with it. What do you do?

Think my brother said he found an app where he can just bar code scan things to keep track, but may be remembering it wrong and the bar code app is for something else.

I have tried everything, from pen and paper, to Microsoft Office (Word/Excel), to every variety of phone App out there. After years upon years, what have I found to be the absolute BEST way to keep track of my collection?

...GOOGLE DOCS!!!

VIA GOOGLE DRIVE.

Gameye is what I've been using for the past 6 months or so. I really like it!

VG Collect, mostly. Used RF Generation at one point, which I kind of liked better because it's just text list. But overall I'd recommend any sort of method that doesn't require internet access to get to it.

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Originally Posted by QuickSciFi

...GOOGLE DOCS!!!

VIA GOOGLE DRIVE.

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You're using just a plain text list? That seems like it could get messy.

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Originally Posted by CrossBow

Gameye is what I've been using for the past 6 months or so. I really like it!

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Gameye looks like a great concept, but it looks as if it struggles with import games. That's enough to scare me off.

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Originally Posted by WarmSignal

But overall I'd recommend any sort of method that doesn't require internet access to get to it.

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Internet access is actually part of what I like about airtable. It's handy when you're out and see a game at a store you want.

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Originally Posted by Benjamin

You're using just a plain text list? That seems like it could get messy.

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How so? 'Couldn't be simpler. It's as easy as adding each title to each list. I do CIB or Loose.

I can access it from my phone on the go, my Tablet, my work computer, etc. It is also the fastest way to add or edit items. Apps look neat with stock photos and what not, but those are not my actual games, nor representative of their condition. And apps tend to get tedious with added features and options that I don't care to use or implement in my collecting habits. I also make it very simple for myself. I add CIB or Loose. No condition necessary, bc I only collect mint condition items. And if I have doubles, I just state it as such. I have found it to be much easier to sort through (I can do it alphabetically as well as do a word search; or simply just scroll down the list).

Here is a sample:
https://i.imgur.com/PsRXhoh.png
https://i.imgur.com/ZE9fvVB.png
https://i.imgur.com/Lz9NWsT.png

I see. I was just picturing one giant list. Makes sense to split text lists by system. How do you denote region though? Do you just append it to the title if it's not an NA release? I see your Aaahh!! Real Monsters has a breakdown due to having multiples, but do you distinguish between the various releases of a single entry the same way? Like "Castlevania Bloodlines (Konami Classics release)?"

I just use a spreadsheet with columns for system, game title, completeness, and notes. That last column says where/when I got it, how much I paid, etc., and if I acquired more than one game in a batch I put a two-character code in those entries so I can find them quickly.

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Originally Posted by Benjamin

Internet access is actually part of what I like about airtable. It's handy when you're out and see a game at a store you want.

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It's nice, sure. Except when you're out in bumpkinville, or you're inside of some signal inhibiting structure, and you've got no service and no access to your lists (hence required access). That's why it should be written to memory, and not simply left to someone else's server. I think most apps do that, but I'm not totally sure. As far as I'm concerned there are no good apps right now. All the ones I've seen are clunky, counter-intuitive and cumbersome as can be.

VG Collect had a nice app once, and it was very simple. A text list of each console, tap the console and receive another text list of your games for said console, alphabetically. Unfortunately they gimped it and just gave up on ever fixing it.

I keep a text file with the names of the game, and numbered, as well if it's a Japanese game. I keep it backed up on Dropbox if something ever happens to my PC. I used to also have a list of what games I want to get, but when my old external HDD died, so did that list sadly.

No it's not the best way to keep track of games, and I need to one day print the thing, so I can carry it with me, but I usually tend to have a good enough memory not to buy the same game twice. However I don't go game hunting nearly as much these days as I buy a certain number of games each year during certain periods off of Ebay. I try to get a good enough price on games, so I sometimes keep track of games for a long time till one falls in at the right price when I have the money for it. That has worked on a number of occasions.

I just use an excel (but it could be a google sheet so I can access it anywhere, or a office online doc FAIK) so I can sort by any column:

name - meg count XX- year XX- cost XX - where (ie "17 ebay") - region (J-U-E-W) - Box (just an x or caps "X" if CIB) and a notes column for things like PAL optimized, EA cart, EEPROM, etc etc

it's leaner and I can just print it vertically oriented so my whole collection fits on two double sided A4 (200+ MD games). I would just include another column with the system if I actually had any non MD game. You can then sort first by system then by name then by year, etc etc.

I have games for the PS1, Dreamcast, PS2, GameCube, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 laying around in boxes somewhere. All my Sega stuff I keep together in one room minus the Dreamcast. I don't have many Saturn games so they're easy to keep track of and I continually update the very first post I made on this site three years ago, in the 'post your game list' thread, to keep track of all my Mega Drive and Mega CD games.

very simple. just make an excel file with all the information in it. that's what I did.

Simple Google Docs spreadsheets listing name, region, developer / publisher, date released and my own extremely simple completeness/condition chart (Yes=complete, No=Game only, 1=Game and case only, 2=Game and instructions only, 3=some element needs to be replaced). Easy enough to access if I'm out and about shopping.

I'm very, very lazy, so I am a little lackadaisical about noting the developer / publisher and date info, but other than that, I'm always very up to date with at least making sure every game I take in gets added.

I use VG Collection Tracker Pro on Android. You can add games via barcode scan, or manually.

You get also have boxart added automatically, or manually.

It backs up to dropbox and/or locally and can be saved as a .csv file for an easy import to excel or Google Drive.

https://preview.ibb.co/fzVNLw/Screen...113_130804.png

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Originally Posted by Benjamin

I see. I was just picturing one giant list. Makes sense to split text lists by system. How do you denote region though? Do you just append it to the title if it's not an NA release? I see your Aaahh!! Real Monsters has a breakdown due to having multiples, but do you distinguish between the various releases of a single entry the same way? Like "Castlevania Bloodlines (Konami Classics release)?"

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Regions I do as a separate numbered list down the same system list. First the US NTSC games, then the EU and JP games I own. I don't mix regions amidst my main US NTSC collection. Basically my list reflects what you would see on my shelves, separated alphabetically and by regions. I also separate the newer homebrew, or likewise games from the main US NTSC collection (i.e.-Sega Genesis, Dreamcast, etc.). Like so:
https://i.imgur.com/ne1uBwi.png

And yes, I also distinguish between each variant within the same title. Basically "regular edition" vs. "greatest hits", or "regular edition" vs. "Collector's edition", etc. The end result is that I have a numbered list and a total of unique titles that will not be affected by the number of variants. Like so:
https://i.imgur.com/BSJ7K7p.png

I am both ridiculously OCD with my games and ludicrously unorganized. I have stacks and stacks of notes detailing the date and purchase price of most of my games. I also try to keep receipts for them tucked in with the manual. I also systematically enter them into Excel spreadsheets. I also try to keep lists on my phone’s notepad.

All of this hinges on one caveat: when I think about it. ...So there are huge holes in my cataloging system.

Anything but actually playing the games, cause what a waste of time would that be. Oh boy I so miss the non collecting years...

I used to keep track of everything via a thread on my personal forum, buuut it's been forever since I did that. I still use it so I don't re-buy games I already have for the 2600, as I have enough that I can't remember which ones I have at any given moment.

Damn this thread. Now I just have this nagging urge to literally catalog every tiny little thing in my collection and see how much of it I can produce an exact price/DOP for.

Between all the errant receipts & notes I have squirreled away and my frequent usage of the Haul thread, I think I could come pretty close to 75%.

It's work, but also a habit you can make for yourself. Games in my collection don't get put on the shelves until they go through the usual ritual: Clean, test, catalog, then the shelf.

VGCollect for games.

The text lists on Google Drive is what I use for other things. I have lists there for
- Movies
- Comic Books
- TF media (video formats)
- TF books
- TF toys (Generations and the like)

I just use my memory, but I probably have fewer games than most people here. I'm generally pretty good about remembering where I got games and about how much I spent for them. Also, I only really ever buy games that I know I have an interest in playing, and I'll get rid of games if I end up not liking them/cannot justify any reasons for keeping them.

Yeah, since I started buying Everdrives, I've given more games away to friends and more distant relatives who have kids in need of PROPER video games. Can't call yourself elite unless you started with 70s and 80s games.

I use Google Docs as well. If you've got a smartphone as well, then you can have the app cached certain files and keep them downloaded and up to date on your phone so you don't always need internet. It has worked for like the last 10 years or so maybe? Before I was using an Access database.

Like others though, stuff is separated by system. That's what makes it manageable. However, like MrMatthews I am really bad about updating unless I am focused on a system.

All my Sega stuff except Genesis is cataloged (mainly because there are so many Genesis games I'd need to sort and I don't have time). My Nintendo collection is like not tracked at all, and my TurboGrafx PC Engine stuff is partially tracked through PCEdaisakusen but it's rather out of date. Playstation and Xbox are untracked too, lol it's a bit of a mess but I have a good enough memory there.

For my tracked stuff, I normally have a spreadsheet of ALL releases for a given system, then mark them off if I have them. Instead of having a list that I continue to add to, it seems easier for me that way since I don't have to type up name/info when adding. Just add a number in the Cart/Instructions/Box column and go.

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Originally Posted by Raijin Z

Yeah, since I started buying Everdrives, I've given more games away to friends and more distant relatives who have kids in need of PROPER video games. Can't call yourself elite unless you started with 70s and 80s games.

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I was introduced to gaming as a kid during the 16-bit era and although I've played some 8-bit games and classic 80's arcade games from the previous generation, and enjoyed them, I don't have much interest in them nor the desire to collect them. I guess it boils down to how old you are, the generation you started gaming in and nostalgia etc.