What is wrong with me?

[Rick Dangerous]

When I first got into Jaguar, I told myself I would only get the good games, and avoid the crap. Now that I've been collecting Jag for about a year and have a solid collection I find myself starting to want everything, mainly for the following reasons.

 

1. I am very close to a complete collection, so why not?

 

2. I might need the games for the high score club someday.

 

3. Simply cannot resist owning anything associated with the Jaguar, good or bad.

 

What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I starting to want to spend hard earned money on games that more or less everyone acknowledges aren't good? I think it's also that i've heard someone say something good about just about every jag game at this point..

 

Anyone else hit this point in their collecting long ago, and live to regret it?

[Bryan]

Every system has tons of crap. You're either a gamer who is after the fun titles, or you're a collector who is willing to spend big bucks for a rare game even if it's so stupid it causes brain damage. Red pill or blue pill.

[+save2600]

What you're experiencing has hit most of us who are into and have been into the Jaguar. There's just something about the entire experience of it that sucks you in that way.

 

Just be careful you don't over do it.. find yourself with a near or complete collection, and suddenly some of the turds start to devalue your collecting AND playing experience. Been there, done that.

[Rick Dangerous]

suddenly some of the turds start to devalue your collecting AND playing experience. Been there, done that.

 

This is what i'm worried about. I'd hate to love my collection but start thinking less of the Jaguar because of my experience with a crap game.

 

After playing Bruce Lee, Dino Dudes, and Supercross 3D i just felt cheap, used, and dirty. I'm worried the same thing will happen but worse if I pick up Checkered Flag, Club Drive, Highlander, etc. etc...

[masematte]

Hey it,is the jag i Love this System, and that is the reason, why i have a complette collection. And there is only a handfull of crap games .

 

By the way , dragon and dino dudes are cool games

[Guitari]

I've had this addiction and now have a complete Jag collection minus BSG and certain betas. It feels great to have a complete collection. Same goes (nearly) for the lynx, just one or two after-market games to go. I wouldn't even dream of collecting every Mega Drive title though, way too much. for Jag it's do-able.

 

A lot of these games get a try to see if they're working and never played again either as they are rubbish or I just don't like them like Syndicate or I just don;t have the time. But hey my sons might be into them one day and for me having them for the collection is enough so I think I describe myself as a collector and a gamer.

 

Just do make sure you prioritise when you get to the end and face that final Battlesphere/Gorf hurdle. I was lucky to sweep up most of my outstanding and rare titles from two sellers and then came across Gorf at the very end.

 

All the best.

[82-T/A]

When I first got into Jaguar, I told myself I would only get the good games, and avoid the crap. Now that I've been collecting Jag for about a year and have a solid collection I find myself starting to want everything, mainly for the following reasons.

 

1. I am very close to a complete collection, so why not?

 

2. I might need the games for the high score club someday.

 

3. Simply cannot resist owning anything associated with the Jaguar, good or bad.

 

What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I starting to want to spend hard earned money on games that more or less everyone acknowledges aren't good? I think it's also that i've heard someone say something good about just about every jag game at this point..

 

Anyone else hit this point in their collecting long ago, and live to regret it?

 

 

 

Same thing that's wrong with me.

 

Also... realizing that I could probably sell my whole Jaguar collection and pay for half of a new car outright is also tempting. Truth is... Jaguar games are at a high... if I was smart, I would sell them now, and then in 10 years when no one gives a damn anymore about Atari Jaguar (even in the slightest), I can turn around and buy all this stuff back for inflated pennies on the dollar.

[Martianman]

I have the same feeling. I'm so close to completing my Jaguar CD collection though that I feel at this point I may as well just finish it off. All I'm missing is Space Ace, Baldies and Robinson's Requiem. At first I thought I would just stick to the good games but...I got curious about the others lol. Also, Club Drive isn't that bad. Its a fun little tech demo, there just isn't much to it.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Martianman

[LynxJagLunatic]

Glad I'm not the only one. I also have a great love for this system and even own the so called crap games. In my opinion crap is in the eye of the beholder. I have found that if you have patience and stick with the crap games long enough they start to grow on you. I often find myself playing Checkered Flag and Kasumi Ninja more often then I care to admit.

[BigO]

Same thing's true of me with my 2600 collection. I didn't get 300+ cartridges piled in the closet by being a discriminating buyer. Thankfully, I've mostly grown tired of buying cartridges just because I don't already have them.

 

Realizing that there really isn't any such thing as a "complete 2600 collection" helped me break out of the pattern.

But, as I understand it it's possible to have a complete Jag collection, so you might just be left to your own devices; no hope; pitifully wallowing in your addiction.

[Keatah]

When I first got into Jaguar, I told myself I would only get the good games, and avoid the crap. Now that I've been collecting Jag for about a year and have a solid collection I find myself starting to want everything, mainly for the following reasons.

 

1. I am very close to a complete collection, so why not?

 

2. I might need the games for the high score club someday.

 

3. Simply cannot resist owning anything associated with the Jaguar, good or bad.

 

What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I starting to want to spend hard earned money on games that more or less everyone acknowledges aren't good? I think it's also that i've heard someone say something good about just about every jag game at this point..

 

Anyone else hit this point in their collecting long ago, and live to regret it?

Every system has tons of crap. You're either a gamer who is after the fun titles, or you're a collector who is willing to spend big bucks for a rare game even if it's so stupid it causes brain damage. Red pill or blue pill.

What you're experiencing has hit most of us who are into and have been into the Jaguar. There's just something about the entire experience of it that sucks you in that way.

 

Just be careful you don't over do it.. find yourself with a near or complete collection, and suddenly some of the turds start to devalue your collecting AND playing experience. Been there, done that.

 

 

This "phenomenon" applies to all but the smallest of systems - like those trash 80 pocket computers or TI or hp calculators. You might even fit Microvision in here too. Lynx? Maybe.. That's pushing it.. The point is is that these systems are small enough in scope that it is possible to have every bit of software ever made.

 

For those of you conducting virtual/emulation collections, the problem is a sharp double-edge sword. You can rearrange, trim, expand, and play with your collection using only mouse clicks, and that makes things physically neat with no space consumption. Instantly. Anytime. Anyplace. There is little worry about failing hardware or finding something unobtainable. AWESOME!

 

The downfall is you have the whole internet to pick from as a source of materials. You can spend years mirroring, downloading, defining categorizing, analyzing, organizing, renaming, updating, configuring, downloading, verifying, and executing many "librarian-like" activities.. And when you think you got it all set, you have a brainstorm, and all-of-sudden you discover a new way to "re-do" your whole layout!

 

And then there is maintenance including:

1- backup operations

2- verification of file checksums

3- migration to bigger disks or new storage technologies

4- ensuring compatibility across past-present-future host hardware

 

Eventually you can get overloaded in the worst way. And since this is virtual, it's all in your head which makes it 2x as dangerous as baggie-chasing physical items. Getting clear and unstuck can be a welcome relief, but could require a psychiatrist. Granted that's extreme, I've seen it time and time again. Furthermore, it is possible to amass so much material you'll never have enough time to play it all or read it all.

 

But when you're going good you can divide your virtual collection into a few sections with ease:

1- the stuff you like and play every day.

2- archival material which you may refer to from time to time.

3- low-grade filler material for the completist.

4- the stuff you had when you were a kid. Ties in with #1. Nostalgia. The memories.

 

The archival material (#2) is important.. Because you never know when something will disappear from the internet. You never know when you'll need some bit of obscure reference material. It also makes for good random walking and discovering things, browsing.. And you might have something somebody wants.

 

1 and 4 give meaning to your collection. It is the cornerstone, the heart and hearth.

 

And #3 is the natural garbage that accumulates. The shit that you can't decide what to do with.

 

And there you have it.. Some things to think about..

[Austin]

It's probably the fumes from the plastic..

[phoenixdownita]

I decided that I care for the software and not its support so flash cart for me is the way to go, in general I mean.

For the CDROM as long as the console can read "backup" I am all set (it includes JagCD).

 

I made peace with the fact that I cannot pay the authors of "way back when"/"yesteryears", and in the vast majority of cases I wouldn't want to given the low quality/low fun factor of the vast production of videogames of the past 3 decades ... let's be honest we are lucky if 1 in 10 is something worth playing.

We are talking 20Y old stuff (Jaguar) or more with very few and far between gem-status title, the rest are just fillers that I am very curious to see and take for a spin but I wouldn't want to pay for, even more if they are lost to oblivion so be it and good riddance. In all honesty after I took a look for say 20 minutes to many games I'll never ever want to play them again. So those too I don't want to pay for.

 

I am not for or against morals, but paying for games without having had the chance to play with it in demo/limited form for a little is not right. I can test drive a car, I can return clothes I don't like, but when it comes to games once I open the plastic wrap I'm stuck with it .... so my logic is focus on systems that are at least 10Y old, if you can buy cheap originals then select some here and there, for the rest flash/backup is the way to go ... if I really like it I can always track down a copy as long as the price is reasonable ... I am not in collecting per se ... well my wife would disagree given the amount of old console related stuff lingering in the house .... nevermind different disease trying to catch up with 30Y of "can't afford"!!!

[Rick Dangerous]

Glad I'm not the only one. I also have a great love for this system and even own the so called crap games. In my opinion crap is in the eye of the beholder. I have found that if you have patience and stick with the crap games long enough they start to grow on you. I often find myself playing Checkered Flag and Kasumi Ninja more often then I care to admit.

 

This is definitely true. I like Kasumi Ninja, and a lot of people don't. Pretty much every jaguar game out there that has been widely acknowledged as "bad" has it's fans and champions somewhere on this forum. DoctorClu got me into bubsy, I feel like I might enjoy Club Drive because people pointed out the two player mode is fun. Talk of Dino Dudes and Bruce Lee have even got me interested in giving those games another run (Gulp.) It really is interesting because I feel like some of these games people would make no apologies for were they on SNES or PS1, but since they are on jaguar, a niche console with a limited library, people feel they are worth another go.

 

At any rate, I've decided to wrap up my collection, and we will see how far the jaguar rabbit hole goes. Last night I picked up sealed copies of fight for life and space ace, so now begins my race to the bottom of the barrel

 

I'm decided to collect protos (Brett Hull, Space War, Phase Zero, Arena Football, Cyber Golf, Etc.) but not Alphas/Beta's. If I already have a copy of Rayman or Fight for life I see no point in owning a less complete game just because it exists. Other than that, I'm going for it!

[SuperDork3000]

I have no interest in collecting crap games unless I come across them super cheap, like under $5 cheap.

[+remowilliams]

At any rate, I've decided to wrap up my collection, and we will see how far the jaguar rabbit hole goes.

 

When you hit the 'Aircars level' you should seek serious professional counseling. When you hit the 'Skycopter II & Speedster II level' it's probably in everyone's best interest if you are locked away from the rest of society...

 

[Ransom]

For me, there is always the lure of having a "complete collection" of any given system I own, and I've gone in that direction in the past but always regretted it. I fight against it for the most part, these days.

 

As has been said, the crappy stuff just cheapens the whole experience. Better to have 20 great games for a system you love than to get all 50 (or whatever) and have a shelf that's dominated by garbage.

[NeoGeoNinja]

I'm in the 'only get the good stuff' camp when it comes to collecting games for play on gaming platforms. However, what you consider to be good vs anyone else is always going to be subjective.

 

I'll be honest though, when it comes to the Jaguar... I like the Jag because of my history of owning one way back when and have nostalgia for the few games I owned back when I did first time around.

 

However, I have REALLY enjoyed many of the titles I only picked up in the last 5 years or so, titles that I had never played before.

 

And, my ultimate point being... a game on the Jaguar has to be REALLY bad for me not to want to own/play it

 

I will mention though, I am now in the process of 'trimming down' my Jag collection to alleviate myself of the curiosities vs stuff I actually want to play - long term...

[minux]

All valid points, but the economics of life in America gives us a certain degree of freedom, when it comes to purchasing a small fortune. My grandparents that lived through the depression spin over collecting.

 

All around DC are neighborhoods filled with 6,000 sq ft homes. Homes that are modern interpretations of brownstones for no other reason than someone wants to have a contemporary brownstone. Obviously, many Americans have a sense of economic freedom, even in this depression.

 

As long as a collection serves some sort of utility (enjoyment, fun, hobby, etc.), then they are beneficial. If the collection is simply filling cardboard boxes that are placed in storage, a line is drawn between hoarding and collecting.

 

I adopted a different approach to where I was years ago. Buying a house and taking on the family has placed a different approach. I still buy, collect, etc., but if I am not using that piece of my collection, I sell it. With antique books, once it is read, I resell it.

 

Part of the fun of the hobby for me is using the item, then passing it onto someone else for their enjoyment. If you can make this process worthwhile economically, then all the better. If not, then it is still fun interacting and meeting people. Heck, I was the best man for someone that I sold some antique books to through the years.

Edited December 28, 2014 by minux

[+xucaen]

 

What the hell is wrong with me?

 

You're a collector!

[DinnerMan]

This console is addicting. I can't stop playing Club Drive.