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Which systems/collections do you take most seriously?


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Many systems come and go for us. Which do you take the most seriously. I have 20-30 consoles, maybe more, but I really take 2-3 super seriously and have dedicated a lot of time and money to making them EXCELLENT collections.

 

My top 1 is probably Jaguar, because i've been able to craft it as an adult with money and time and love of it's coolness and obscurity.

 

My N64 is probably second...because i've owned the stuff since new and just built on it; and play it regularly by myself and with friends and have for years.

 

My third is probably a tie between Saturn and Genesis, but I think i'm moving away from optical formats (too risky, high fail rates) towards collecting more seriously for just cartridge bases systems and preferably 8-16 bit systems with thriving homebrew scenes. So I think the Genesis is going to be moving up the ranks shortly as my Jaguar collection is more or less "complete" at this point.

 

Anyway. What collections/systems of yours do YOU take the most seriously and why... I'm talking your top 1 to 3 systems.

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1- Apple II.

..because I had it since I was a kid. It has genuine historical value, everybody knows Apple. New things are being developed for it today. And preservation is kicking into high gear recently - including visual analysis of the magnetic surface of disks where each bit is plotted out. It is easy to understand many aspects of the machine. The engineering stories about how certain things were done on a budget are really enlightening. New discoveries are being made all the time, like that the cassette port can be really high speed, as well as the SuperSerialCard - stuff not thought of or used back in the day. it is built well and easy to fix. I had good times with it when I was a child. Perhaps the best of times. Programming it was straightforward and full of satisfaction. And much much more. Having most all my original Apple II stuff just makes it more special.

 

2- Ti-59 calculator, TRS-80 Pocket Computers 1, 2, and 4.

..because these made me feel like I was in the future with all this computing power in small sleek futuristic packages. They are "small systems" in terms of physical size and amount of material in their library, most of which is on cassette and printed paper or tiny memory modules. It's possible to have it all and be a completionist with these. I learned more of programming on these in conjunction with what I was doing on the Apple II.

 

3- Classic 486 DX/2-50 & Pentium III @ 1.4GHz.

..because these systems were the beginning of the PC for me. The 486 had DOOM and Raptor, games that once I played I said, "PCs were the future of gaming." Little need for anything else. These games were like super advanced console games. It was fun to explore levels in 3D, something which hadn't really been done before, other than in simpler games like Wolfenstein or WayOut. Raptor was a simple shooter with good elements and would have ported to consoles quite effectively. It bought the feel of consoles to the PC. The 486 was my first PC. It was with that rig that I fully grasped the versatility and importance of standards and file formats. I was also able to have games that had arcade graphics or better. The PIII was my first homebuilt rig, but it started out as a PII-266 and was upgraded piecemeal from there. The configuration hasn't changed on it since 2006'ish. These are likely the only 2 vintage PCs I'll have now and in the future. I power them up on occasion and actually use the PIII sometimes because it has legacy ports and connects to my Zip Drive. These don't consume too much space, about the equivalent of 3-4 RubberMaid tubs worth of space more or less. I also enjoyed being sold a professional package when I got my 486. Everything came together very smoothly and just worked. That and all the cool pro level things I could do with it. Real Microsoft Word, Real Microsoft Windows, Math co-processor built in, running 2x clock speed, this was serious stuff!

 

4- A couple of modern rigs for contemporary computing and emulation, among other daily tasks.

..not really part of a collection or anything. These are workhorses and subject to trade-in or upgrade or eventual disposal. The hardware is no more than a means to an end. What is important are the software franchises. This encompases high quality emulators like M.A.M.E., Stella, Altirra, WinUAE, and more. Other long-lived (+20 years) software I keep up with would be X-Plane, Microsoft Flight Simulator - PrePar3D, Orbiter Spaceflight Simulator, Microsoft Office, PhotoShop, and many others. So I believe it more important to think of the software when thinking of modern PCs.

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I try to give attention to all my consoles/systems (45 to 50 and counting including handhelds) but to me, it just depends on the mood of what I feel like playing. Someone brings up the topic of let's say, 32X or N64 games and then I'll remember a game I've been wanting to play and before you know it, I'm playing and searching for other games for that console. I know this topic is about Systems Taken Seriously so for me, the "Top Attention Grabbers" would be

 

1) Atari Jaguar---Always looking for that right deal on a game that I don't have. Love playing it, still have a small way to go to complete this one though. (Prices, prices!!)

 

2) Atari 5200---55+ games, most are cartridge-only as finding these with boxes in good condition is a task.

 

3) Sega 32X---An attachment that didn't get high praises and a small library of games...Yep I'm in and trying for a complete collection.

 

Plus the assortment of homebrews and conversions coming out for the Jaguar and 5200 makes it even more interesting to collect.

Edited by K-Rod 13
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I used to focus a lot of effort on the Nintendo stuff, and second to that back at its peak also the Dreamcast/Genesis Sega stuff and the NEC Turbo Duo HuCards and US/JP discs on the console side. Handheld, basically just the Game Boy brand over its three generational upgrades. The market went to hell, so my focus went with it.

 

Right now all I focus on and have for awhile has been getting Game Boy games I want when I find them, and getting Switch games to play that's basically it in the last year. Most recently add the Core Grafx (PC Engine) to that list, and nothing too picky as it's a fun new slate exploration type of fun with that and its byproduct of getting stuff I'd like to play it is collected too as I don't flip them.

 

That said for this year as for now #1 PC Engine, #2 Switch, #3 Game Boy (GB/C/A.)

 

 

Anything else is a one off after thought for the systems I have and still buy for.

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A couple of decades ago, it was the Vectrex and Colecovision, but my interest in the Vectrex has faded over the years, although I still really admire it. As far as the Colecovision goes, I've moved more into playing my favorite games than collecting for that system and have even sold off some good stuff I never used.

 

Ten years ago, I was active with the N64. I still play it occasionally, but not that much, really. I still have boxes of good stuff, but I haven't gotten anything new in a few years.

 

These days, my collecting is less about completing any particular system and more about just focusing on those games that I really enjoy playing. This last couple of years, I've even sold off lots of SNES games I only purchased in the first place to "complete" my collection. I've also gotten rid of my fairly large Saturn collection. Next, maybe my Ascrocade collection.

 

I've been spending lots of time on my AtGames Genesis handheld just playing various games and paring down the SD list to those games I enjoy... also playing the AtGames AFBP with the similar list I worked through last year. I still have an extensive collection of carts for both these systems, and I will probably keep these for a long time.

 

Lots of other systems, but I don't really add much to my collection any more except an occasional GB title.

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I'd say, Apple II and Intellivision because I grew up with them. I know their history, I know what it felt like when they were current machines, and I still have a lot of the actual stuff I owned as a kid. I've just added to it.

 

Other than that, Dreamcast, because I just think it's the culmination of everything I loved about game consoles to begin with. After the Dreamcast, things changed. The Dreamcast is really the last system to take its primary inspiration from arcades, and where its main selling point was its arcade ports. Most other consoles followed that philosophy up to that point, but the Dreamcast being the last obviously meant it had the best graphics. And being released in Sega's most creative period, it also had some of the best games, both arcade and non-arcade.

 

I guess third would be Genesis, for kind of a combination of all those reasons. I do love the Saturn too but I can't say I play it as much, mostly because early 3D graphics just haven't aged well IMO and also the Saturn has always felt like a fragile system to me. I bought one new when they were being cleared out for $50 at retailers and I'm afraid to break it. I used to have a beat up system that I'd actually play on but I think I might have lost it somehow. I actually can't find it, so I haven't played Saturn in a while. I need to get another one.

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It's varied a lot for me over the years. There was a time in 2016 when I was really into the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color and had curated a collection of over 100 great games for them with mint condition labels, and the year before that in 2015 I had amassed a collection of around 120 really good games for the Atari 2600. Both of those collections got liquidated in the years that followed though and these days I'm pretty happy just playing Atari 2600 games off a Harmony Encore cartridge, and I'm planning to get an EverDrive GB X7 for my Game Boy next month as well.

 

From 2017 to now the system that I've been most focused on collecting for is the original Wii, since it's probably my favorite home console has a fairly large library of 120'ish games that I know I'd enjoy playing. I've already got all the accessories I could want for the Wii, including two Wii remotes (one with MotionPlus built in) and nunchucks, two Nyko Perfect Shots, the official Zapper, CTA Sure Shot shotgun, two DJ Hero turntables and microphone, a Classic Controller, and a heavily customized MadCatz TvC arcade stick. The only thing I'm really missing hardware wise that I'd like to have for the Wii is an official component cable but other than that I think I'm set, and I've already built up a good library of 25 out of the 120'ish games I'd like to play on the system.

 

There is one other system I've been really excited about this year though, and that's the Sega Genesis / Sega CD / 32X. I've always had a Genesis of one kind or another since I was 7 or 8 years old but it wasn't until recently that I got a Sega CD and 32X, and now that I've spent some time playing games on them I'm feeling more enthusiastic about the Genesis than I've felt since I was a little kid growing up during the 16-bit console wars. I'm not actively hunting around for Genesis / Sega CD / 32X games online right now, since I'm pretty content playing burned copies Sega CD games and getting a Mega EverDrive X5 to play all the cartridge based games, but I have been picking up good games that I want to play on the Sega trifecta when I've see them for reasonable prices at local game stores. Nothing too wild price wise, just $5 here and $10 there, but I have been enjoying adding them to my collection and playing them. I used to have a pretty sizable collection of Genesis games many years back before having to sell them due to unemployment, so it's been nice getting some of those old favorites back and discovering new games that I've never tried before along the way.

 

I think that about covers it for the systems I'm feeling excited about collecting games for right now, though I'm not sure you could really call my interest in buying more games for the Wii or the Sega trifecta "serious". I'm just having fun trying new games and revisiting old favorites, which is just fine by me since I think having fun is what this hobby is really all about. :)

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Well...all of them. I wouldn't have them otherwise, right?

Generally speaking, the Atari 2600 has always been my Number 1. It was my first retro love, it's far and away my biggest collection, and it's one of the few systems were, funds permitting, I'll grab just about anything for the system that I don't have yet. It is the definitive retro game system as far as I'm concerned.

 

Years ago, systems like the Atari 5200, Odyssey 2, and Intellivision would rank very highly as well, but I've long since hit the wall with those, where the only things left to collect are in pretty rarefied air, which the confluence of financial realities and other interests dissuade me from pursuing. Of course, I nevertheless built very substantial, if not quite complete collections for these systems in the meantime, and overall I'm pretty happy with what I have there.

 

As far as my collecting habits, I keep my eye on a few things but I mostly pick off targets of opportunity. A Channel F cart here, some TS1000 cassettes there, a CoCo cart or two somewhere else, etc. I'm most passionate about videogames and computers from the '70s, and consequently I've put a lot of money into my Channel F, Studio II, Astrocade, TRS-80, and Apple II+ collections over the years.

 

Lately I'm definitely more focused on my computers than my consoles. At the moment I'm really into collecting cassette games for Apple II, Atari 400/800, TRS-80, TRS-80 Color, Timex 1000, and VIC-20 (I'd add TI-99/4a in there, too, but there don't seem to be very many), but I also periodically check for VIC-20, CoCo, and Atari 400/800 (or XEGS) carts.

 

I grew up with the NES, Genesis, SNES, N64, and PS1, but I don't actively collect for them. I have all the games I had or would have wanted as a kid and that's good enough for me (and the way Nintendo prices are now, that's for the better!). I still have gobs of them, but many of them came in lots that I was able to get cheaply many years ago. I'll still pick up an interesting-looking title for these systems once in a while if I stumble across one, but that's pretty unusual for me. Sad fact, though: the Genesis is easily one of my least-loved systems. So much for nostalgia.

 

I agree with the comment about consoles generally not being as interesting after the Dreamcast. Can't really put my finger on why. There's some great stuff for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, don't get me wrong, but nevertheless I kind dropped out of the whole console thing by the end of that generation. I have maybe a dozen titles for the PS2, GC, and XB combined and I'm okay with that.

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PS1. I'm old enough to have been gaming since the Atari 2600, but the PS1 was the first system where I was old enough to start buying my own games with my own money and start my first really game collection. While I buy and play games from over 30 different systems, PS1 is the only system where I actually want a full set for. To this day, I will enjoy many systems, especially the ones I played when they were active (like NES, SNES, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4), but PS1 will probably always be my favorite.

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I can't say I take any of my collections seriously, but I did hunt down everything I could for the PS2, so it's my most complete collection. Complete in the sense I got most of what I wanted before the price started rising, and to be honest there really is at this point only a handful of games I want for the PS2 that I don't already own.

 

Now there is one thing I'd love to have, that is a Hori Real Arcade Pro S.A. second version, but damn, those are hard to find and when they pop up they're really expensive. So I'll just keep dreaming. I might just mod one of my good sticks one day. Till then I do have a Namco stick, and A Real Arcade Tekken 5 stick that's good enough for my scruby self.

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Now there is one thing I'd love to have, that is a Hori Real Arcade Pro S.A. second version, but damn, those are hard to find and when they pop up they're really expensive. So I'll just keep dreaming. I might just mod one of my good sticks one day. Till then I do have a Namco stick, and A Real Arcade Tekken 5 stick that's good enough for my scruby self.

I feel your financial pain on that one! :lol: If you ever want to try modding your Tekken 5 stick though I can walk you through it. There are is a lot of soldering and desoldering to be done and you'd have to do some drilling and filing as well but you can put 30mm Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons in it and change out the cheap original joystick for a JLF. It takes a good bit of work but you can can turn the Tekken 5 stick into one that plays just as well as a RAP for 1/3 the cost. :)

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The Intellivision, first and by far foremost.

 

I always felt,and this is a fact in my eyes,that Atari did have the most great Arcade games,no question. I played Pacman for hours on end...and many others in the arcade.

 

But as a home gaming system,the intellivision was the most unique and certainly without a doubt had the best sports games by far. :) :thumbsup:

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Over the weekend I got this for $70. I've cleaned it up inside and out entirely, not pictured was +1 standard NES original style controller I'm not done with.

 

Going to get this HDMI'd once I can get the kit.

 

 

 

Sweet Pinball Photobomb. Is that Black Hole? Pinbot?

 

I'm most proud of my Revenge from Mars Pinball machine. I've done a lot of work on it, and it needs more, but that gets a lot of attention from the casuals when they come to my house. Unlike many people, I was NOT bitten by the bug and immediately motivated to add 7 more pinball machines to my house (not that there's anything wrong with that).

 

I honestly think I'm at a place where I've bought everything I really want. I'm closest to completing an Intellivision loose cart collection, but I don't care if I ever get that. I would buy a Channel F if I stumbled across it, but other than that, I really just want to keep repairing stuff and playing the games I already own.

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The Lynx is easily #1 for me. It was the system I grew up with and have collected for the longest. My collection of commercial releases is very nearly complete, but I'll keep collecting the obscurities. I don't think I'll ever get sick of playing Lynx games.

 

The Jag is #2. While I've come to see it differently in the last decade or so, the Jag will always have a special place in my collection. I'm just a handful of games away from a complete commercial set. I lost interest for a bit and didn't play it for a few years, but lately I've been getting back into it and have been replaying the games I grew up with as well as new acquisitions. I think Syndicate and Baldies have some great long-term replay value.

 

There's nothing else I really take "seriously." I have small collections for all the major platforms and over 1000 games overall, but I don't have any desire to get a complete set of anything else.

 

Until the Ataribox comes out, that is. *snicker*

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I went with pure numbers on this, because I feel like I could justify all (well, most) of them.

1- 2600

The first video game I ever played, Video Olympics with my cousin. He had pitfall, but I wasn't old enough to appreciate it, but we got really competitive with Pong. I was 7 or 8 he was about 5 years older than me, and he got so mad at me. I still remember him getting his mouth washed out with soap a few times. I'm currently a little over 200 into the collection, and it's getting harder to hunt for.

2- With about half of my 2600 collection is the N.E.S. This is where I cut my teeth with the whole neighborhood gang. We would do weekend marathons of super mario, zelda, castlevania and whatever we else we could rent. I can't believe how much money my folks shelled out for this stuff. We were as broke as anyone could be and not starve or lose the house, but I never had time to see it or know it. We had quite a few "power outages" that my friends didn't have. Mom worked her tail off in a meat packing plant, dad was a trucker and all I ever had to worry about were my shoes and video games. They were magicians at painting rosy pictures. When the world is as big as your living room, a bank repoing three beaters in a few years (as you later learn) is just normal maintenance. My mom was one heck of mario master, by the way...

3- ColecoVision

Probably my favorite without any sentimental ties for a console. It's got such an arsenal of great arcade ports. If the controllers were a little more friendly it would more mileage.

(4)- Wii U

It's just such an orphan system that I have to adopt it. I think it's got a great library (especially when you figure in backward compatibility). It's somewhat inexpensive to collect for the best thing is, my kid is really good at a lot of games and he likes most of the games I don't, which is good because one of us will play about anything we can find. It is optical though...

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PS1. I'm old enough to have been gaming since the Atari 2600, but the PS1 was the first system where I was old enough to start buying my own games with my own money and start my first really game collection. While I buy and play games from over 30 different systems, PS1 is the only system where I actually want a full set for. To this day, I will enjoy many systems, especially the ones I played when they were active (like NES, SNES, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4), but PS1 will probably always be my favorite.

Wow, this is my answer almost verbatim! I also grew up with the 2600, Colecovision and the NES, but the first system I was ever able to buy for myself was a PS1. I maxed out my first credit card buying the system, a few games, and a memory card at Sears. So I will always have a sentimental attachment to the PS1 collection I've built up over the years. I've got about 330 titles at this point and there are still tons more I'd like to someday own. But I think the system I'm the most serious about, or at least most dedicated to, would be the Sega Genesis. It's my second biggest collection after the PS1, with about 280 titles. The Genesis software library is fantastic, but I think the thing that makes it a particularly collector-centric system is all the hardware add-ons and iterations. It's one of the few systems that is both backward and forward compatible through all the crazy attachments. It's also my favorite cart-based system, so it's definitely the one I'm most serious about...

 

post-27092-0-24370700-1517976583.jpg

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Sweet Pinball Photobomb. Is that Black Hole? Pinbot?

It's a home use only PinBot. Sorry missed this post. I goofed that post, was going to say I still take Nintendo/SNES most seriously when I can find things, but really all I care about now is all things Game Boy, PC Engine, and for the new Switch. The pic was just an example as I had just found it and cleaned it up.

 

Currently and I won't be expanding, I'm at 1 pinball, 1 arcade cab, and 1 cocktail, though both arcade are a multicart setting between being a neo geo and an icade 60in1 board on the cocktail so I'm well equipped for varieties of fun.

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Lots of systems have come and gone throughout the years, but these have remained staples:

 

Atari 2600 - lots of extra controllers, handful of systems and parts. The games I have left and still like to play, generally need to be in excellent shape and CIB. No longer collect for the sake of collecting, so am down to a large bookcase filled with 2600 & 7800 boxes on display.

 

Atari 7800 - much like above, but am not as obsessive when it comes to collecting game boxes. Didn't really start collecting or took the system as seriously until the mid 2000's. No coincidence that was around the time great homebrews started appearing and have spent a LOT of money on since.

 

TI-99/4A - lots of books, mags, cartridges, software, a few systems, some peripherals and spare parts. Besides a great selection of unique and excellent quality games, was my first computer so will always have a nostalgic tie to it.

 

My Amiga collection - while I'm no longer sitting on a bunch of spare systems, down to a handful with plenty of spare parts, tons of software, books, peripherals and magazines. So much so, that I've dedicated a room in the house as an Amiga-only room. :)

 

Other systems currently in my collection include the C64, Jaguar, PS2/PS3, PC Engine and Intellivision. Don't take quite as seriously as the above, but important that everything I have be in mint or near mint condition. Optical media especially... can't have (m)any real scratches or fingerprints - really, really bugs when CD's/DVD's are in bad shape, so will have it professionally resurfaced when appropriate or simply pass if they're that bad. Selling many Jaguar, PS2 and PS3 games now, so people should know just how well I take care of these things, right down to their cases and manuals too. No exaggeration when I say most everything is in like new to new condition.

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