The State of Our Collections

[Tanooki]

Unsure how I feel to be honest. I've burned through the nostalgia now and what I'm left with is more games than I'll probably ever get round to playing. I don't care about completing sets or whatever either, I just bought stuff I wanted to play.

 

A return to late 90s/early 2000 prices would be nice but I'm past caring at this point, anything I buy will just rot on the shelf anyway.

 

Part of me wishes I could start from scratch with something simple like a PSX, small TV and a copy of Ridge Racer for example. Something about that just sounds very appealing.

 

You know I kind of took that same angle a little last year, and again this year. The prices are dead and done, not until a hard wall gets hit and enough get offended off of it to drop the prices will change it and only a LONG many years at this rate would do it. I had and probably still have more than I'll get around to. I have to rationalize it into basically 2 columns if I put games on a spread sheet. Column A would be the NEVER finished games and the Column B would be the classics I've always kept/got back and will mess with or not in my own time so they really don't count.

 

My column A list is short as I killed off so much. And I wanted to start from scratch with the rule of NOT collecting but PLAYING. Last year I snapped up a PSOne+LCD setup and in all that time I've grabbed maybe 15 games and currently have 10 and in that Castlevania SOTN, Diablo, R4 and Medal of Honor are buy back, the others are mostly new (though I had Dune 2K on PC.) I bought them to casually play, and while I've seen more I resist buying unless I'll use it. The other this year is a Core Grafx II and I've been picking up HuCards JP vs of US I've had, but also experimenting with well researched good looking stuff mostly in bundles to minimize costs and have fun being an all new market/toy to experience yet again to play not sit and rot with.

 

it's quite fun, almost refreshing as there's a motivation there the other stuff lacked. I get the appeal as I put that plan into action.

[keepdreamin]

5- time to get serious about flashcarts.

Yep,that's where my gaming $$$ has been going to. Focusing on the gaming experience, not the shelf (Its got solid doors, anyway...)

 

GDEMU, Rhea, Mega Everdrive, Everdrive 64 v3, SD2SNES, OSSC, Framemeister, soft mods etc.. I don't care about today's game prices, we didn't have those devices I listed 10-15 years ago. I much prefer the options now

Edited January 29, 2018 by keepdreamin

[Cepp]

I've been thinking about this all week and also reading Marie Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying. I don't think I can be as extreme as she is but it's given me the kick up the arse I needed. Both the Xbox 360 and PS2 are going as are all of my spare PCs/PC parts except for my Windows 98 gaming rig and spare Voodoo 1. I donated a ton of books, DVDs and clothes to the local charity shop today and finally culled a bunch of games I don't care for across various systems. I've gone from a closet filled with old computer stuff and three tubs of games to having everything I want to keep stored on my bookcase and shelving included with my PC desk which feels quite nice.

 

I still have a PS3, PS4, Saturn, NES, SNES Mini and MD1/MCD1 combo hooked up to the main TV mind you. I'd ideally want three systems max connected but I'm not quite there yet. The PS3 and Saturn might go in the future. I actually am thinking of getting a small TV and PSX to put in my gaming room upstairs. I've got a small corner that would be perfect for it and could pair it up with a 2600 jr if I ever get round to buying one again.

[RVG_Steve]

I feel super fortunate. The SNES bug bit me over 12 years ago (January 2006) and I more or less finished my boxed SNES collection in 2012, so I've been "retired" for nearly 6 years now. I also lucked out in that when I got back into the SNES scene things were extremely affordable. I just recently started up a Switch collection (48 games and counting through 2 months). But between the SNES, Saturn, Dreamcast, GBA SP 2, NES and now Switch... I think I'm set for life.

Edited February 5, 2018 by RVG_Steve

[Gamemoose]

My collection has been culled quite a bit over the last few years. One of the main reasons is I don't get to play my games. My new wife of two years has some baggage regarding video games as her ex was hooked on them but never let her join him (from what she says, a "just sit and watch me like a good woman" mentality). So I know I'm fighting a mentality thats been there for over 20 years.

 

Second is we have quite a brood and I have little ones that want my attention when I get the controller or I need to tend to someone. Some of the older kids will try and jump in to help me so I can get a try, but that doesn't happen often. Plus my kids weren't all that big into my retro games, so it's hard to share some history with those who aren't interested. Even my own flesh and blood daughter loves modern more than retro and she grew up with it the first four years of her life.

 

Third is space. I can't dedicate space like I did. Which leads to fourth: when I did have room, I didn't play what I had.

 

What I have now is a hacked Wii and a bunch of games, a PS3 that sees some action beyond Netflix and DVDs, an Ouya that just came out of storage for some love, a hacked Xbox with some games, my original NES and a bunch of games and my Atari VCS with games. I delved into a DS collection so the kids can play together (and me when I can) and a New 3DS LL that sits at work. The DS collecting has been fun and the games quirky and fresh.

 

The main thing is I want to play and not collect for the sake of collecting. I think I'm starting to go in that direction. I do have thoughts of culling the collection more but I also don't want to get game-sick and pick up thibgs I got rid of.

[Keatah]

I think there has to be an interim holding-spot when conducting culling operations. Put the stuff over at a neighbors or relatives house, wait a year or so, and if you don't want it back by then, you may never want it back.

[chuckwalla]

With the exception of my all-time favorite games (that I still have complete in box) my Genesis and SNES collections have been sold and replaced with EverDrives.

 

So I now have space for other stuff - and that space is going fast!

[Bill Loguidice]

All I can say is that getting rid of 99% of my 500+ system collection (plus tens of thousands of pieces of boxed software, accessories, books, etc.) was one of the best moves I've made (no matter how the auction in April or May turns out financially). Not counting commercially active modern computers, consoles, and handhelds, I have 12 vintage systems across 6 different major platforms. I could probably cull one or two more of those dozen vintage systems (Atari 800, for instance, because the small cartridge port is a PITA) and I've already identified a few other miscellaneous extra items I can cull of what little I kept (Apple II Mockingboard, Atari 600XL RAM expansion, etc.).

 

The available space in my basement is amazing and I can actually use the few systems I'm left with rather than stressing over piles of stuff. Imagine that.