do you ever get annoyed at cartridge collecting?

[Mindcircus]

It gets frustrating sometimes. I hate driving out somewhere looking for games only to find a store that has 20-30... and they're all in really ratty shape! I'm not going to buy a game with missing/torn labels... and I used to be really anal about Actiplaque too (although I've learned it's just unavoidable).

 

As far as games not working, I think it took me 4 tries to find a Berserk that worked, otherwise I've had pretty good luck. I have no idea what the deal is behind that game.

 

Joysticks and paddles are another matter entirely.....

Edited February 22, 2007 by Mindcircus

[Ross PK]

collecting 2600 cartridges is really starting to annoy me. this is why:

 

1. It is insanely hard to find them in average condition, the labels are nearly always in a terrible state usually ripped or plaqued. Sometimes the cartridge cases are cracked or broken, one cartridge I have has a hole bored into it for some reason. Of my collection of 50 or so carts i only have about 5 or so that are in good condition.

 

2. A few games rattle because something is broken/loose inside and to remove it you have to damage the label to get to the screws. Sometimes the actual PCBs are loose.

 

3. The games stuff up too easily. I only have a small collection and there are two cartridges which don't work, one of them is an R6 and the other is a fair bit rarer because it is not even listed in the PAL DB (which has many games listed).

 

4. It's very difficult to find them with the box and manual in the wild, when I do they are hardly intact. Although the same can be said for other cartridge based consoles, but the other consoles games work and the cartridges are often in decent condition.

 

5. Other miscellanious problems such as the dust cover on my Obelix cartridge which prevents me from playing it because it stays locked in the closed position. It is very difficult to use an object to push it up then put it in the cartridge slot before it gets locked closed again.

 

On the plus side though there are a lot of good games, and a lot of rare ones so its easier to find a good deal on a rare game than on the other consoles. Does anyone else have as many problems as me with the 2600 or am I just really unlucky?

 

Because of how old all the carts are most are going to be at least, a bit tatty. You've just got to except that otherwise you're always going to be dissapointed.

 

I used to get obsessive about trying to keep all my games in new condition, and would feel really gutted if a mark ended up on anything or a manual got creased, etc and would be thinking of all sorts of ways to put it right, even to the extent of tracking down a new manual, poster or case on ebay. But I realised that when having plenty of games, it's just going to be impossible to keep all of them perfect for ever. So then I just accepted it and it doesn't really bother me now.

Edited May 26, 2007 by Ross PK

[Hoodoo]

No, but I'm a little different than most collectors....I've actually HAD all my stuff this long, and keep it IMMACULATE (trust me, I'm Obsessive-Compulsive when it comes to my "Bertha" and her games), nothing is plaqued, nothing is broken, nothing rattles. Mine have been nestling together in the same bookshelf they always WERE in. I LOVE each individual cartridge,as I can say, pick up MY copy of Frogger and think "Gee, remember the day I was sick,and stayed home from 2nd grade and played Frogger all day?" or...."Remember, the first time a girl kissed you was because she FINALLY outscored you on Missile Command?" To me, each of my individual games,peripherals and everything else that goes with it (boxes,manuals,all that jazz) was a big part of my life and continues to be to this day, because each one has some sort of emotional attachment. I only feel this way about MY Frogger, if it were broken, another copy just would not be the same anymore. To me, ALL my games are R10s....because there IS only one copy of these for me, whether its Asteroids or Quadrun.

[dwh]

I gave up on ebay a while back;although I got pretty lucky in the two years I was buying games off of ebay.Buy games from an online store that is honest and shows pictures of the item.You will be able to buy more games this way due to lower shipping than e(vil)bay.

[jbanes]

Buy games from an online store that is honest and shows pictures of the item.You will be able to buy more games this way due to lower shipping than e(vil)bay.

Which is to say, hit up the well known regulars like:

 

http://www.atari2600.com

http://www.8bitclassics.com

http://www.atariage.com

 

I and many others have bought from all of the above, and can vouch for them being excellent sources.

[Rik]

The ONE thing thats annoys me to the utmost degree,is finding games with names written on the label,or the screw holes punched in on an otherwise mint label!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[darthkur]

Sure, I get terribly annoyed..............when I run out of money.

Edited May 27, 2007 by darthkur

[bretthorror]

I don't have a huge Atari collection, mostly because I enjoy the Atari and Activision Anthologies on the PS2 as much as the original game, so I only really buy games not on those sets (or ones needing paddles/driving controllers) and rarity doesn't mean anything to me. But I got 99% of my collection off Ebay or off someone on this very site and the games I have I think are in very good condition, considering. The only problem I ever ran into was my Halloween/TCM double ender wouldn't work on one of my 2600s, but it works on the Jr. I always use, so it's not a big deal.

 

These pics aren't all of them (6 months or so outdated, they're all the first Atari carts I've ever bought, though) and for buying whatever I could find cheapest, I don't think they're in bad condition at all. It's odd how you had bad experiences with carts when I've had good luck, usually I'm getting the stick jammed up my ass...

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?a...st&id=64305

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?a...st&id=64306

 

Or maybe you hardcore collectors consider games of this quality bad shape? Either way, hope your luck turns around.

[shadow460]

If I were to take a cross section of my collection, that's probably what it would look like.

Most of the carts I have just lying about look terrible. Bridge, Megamania, Maze, and Atlantis II look kinda bad. Megamania looks terrible, actually. Fire Fighter looks great, though.

My Starpath collection, on the other hand, is almost immaculate.

[Dusk2600]

i get annoyed when i get a lot of them because there space consuming and lots of times they fall and that annoys the hell out of me as well, im out of room for everything

[BigO]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I always have to wash my hands after looking through 2600 games. At my local video game store I always pick up that same cart I don't have and then put it back because it doesn't have an end label. It's still a lot of fun of course, but it does get frustrating sometimes.

 

More than once, I made my own end label. I print the scan from AtariAge onto an adhesive label (after cropping and sizing appropriately with graphics software). I laminate the label with some adhesive "frosty clear vinyl" that I got one time from some professional graphics people. Some of the labels I've made are difficult to detect as remakes. I need to do this with my Thunderground, but the wrap around labels require a bit more finesse.

[Shroo-man]

Game collecting in general can be disappointing. I'm too cheap to use ebay much, so I hunt in the wild and I've got some decent finds (up to R6).

 

Still, though, there comes a point when you've already gotten everything you can find in the wild and your searches increasingly turn up nothing. That is the point of frustration, and the point at which it's time to back off and play what you've probably neglected since you got it. Many of my frustrations with the hobby melted away in a round of Pitfall II the other night.

Shadow is right, you should join the High Score Club. I just did and it is totally cool man Sometimes people get so caught up in collecting they forget to play, I think that happened to me for a while

 

Havent been to AA for a while, surprised to see this thread right at the top. I'm still collecting but beleive me I play my atari games. Heres a link to my high score album I posted a while ago http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?a...m&album=158

bet you can't beat my Mario Bros score, unless youre that guy that got 800 000 in a HSC post. I've got a fair few more good scores now though. Btw regarding the dust flap on the obelix cart, I got a 7800 now and I don't have that problem when I plug it in the 78 (strange yes?). What annoys me the most now is the lack 7800 games on australian eBay! I did manage to get a pole position II for 3 bucks at a second hand store though (2600 carts usually are $5 around here).

Edited May 30, 2007 by Shroo-man