Learning to let go of your physical collection

[Tanooki]

That's what I'm largely at now, if I can pick it up locally and for a price some joker/store thinks they can pull ebay on it I'll grab it if I know I'd play it.  That said there are a few games that never made it on a cart I'd pay to have one put on it, such as uCity (Sim City Classic) home brew for Gameboy Color.  That would be utterly fantastic to have for real.

[TheGameCollector]

On 12/7/2021 at 6:26 PM, neogeo1982 said:

I'd say a 179min speedrun for 96 exits is a similar mentality though.

That wasn't even a speedrun for me. That was a casual playthrough using a PS4 controller with input lag. I'm pretty sure the actual SNES playthrough from a couple months ago was shorter.

 

But yeah that's what keeping games does. You replay them over and over and get better at them all the time.

[+jgkspsx]

Here are samples of why it's probably for the best I am mostly too lazy to sell games.

 

 

(Selling for $300 now. I did buy it for $18...)

 

 

(I completely forgot I sold this. Noooooooo whyyyyyy. Actually I probably sold it after I bought a copy of Gunstar Heroes for the Game Gear and figured I didn't need it anymore. I also completely forgot my PS2 was dead... shoot.)

 

 

(I just rebought this earlier this year for... way too much.)

 

(Not as bad as the others, but $10??? Sheesh.)

[+neogeo1982]

4 hours ago, Punisher5.0 said:

Flash carts made it easy to stop collecting games. Every once in a while I'll get a new release but I have no desire to blow hundreds on a classic anymore.

They have but look at the flash carts themselves. $500 for a Jag Game Drive is crazy on ebay too. Hopefully with the next batch it settles those prices back down.

[adamchevy]

I recently strayed back into Vectrex. I’ve purchased 3 flash carts for different reasons. Ones an SD cart, the other is a Pi-trex, and the third is a Super Multi Cart that has an Led on it.

 

I’ve purchased remakes of all the original overlays and many Homebrew overlays. I’ve repurchased all of my favorite homebrews physically and will continue to collect those.

 

I purposely chose the Vectrex because of its uniqueness. It’s the one console I don’t think will ever be fully appreciated under emulation. I also really enjoy the Homebrew scene on it.

 

It’s a great time to be into Homebrew no matter what retro console you love, and it’s a wonderful time to sell your games for amazing prices.

 

I plan on purchasing a PS5 next year and slowly building a very tiny physical collection for it. I would do it right now, but we all know what that’s like.

[Keatah]

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

Hi all, I wanted to make a post which is half-rant, half-question. Today I think I'm finally on the process of letting go... of my physical game collection, of sorts. In limited situations. Which might become a snowball.

That is not a bad thing.

 

I've kinda been thinking the same thing about condensing and richifying my Apple II stuff. Over the decades since about 1987 - when I bought my final expensive bit of Apple II kit - I have been accumulating all things "II". And I think it's getting close to the time that I yank out all the ebay fluff (2 rooms full) and get back to the essence of what made the II the II.

 

The keeper material is easy, the stuff I had as a kid, from 1977 to about 1988/1989. After that it would be things I wanted to have as a kid but couldn't afford. This would include IIgs accelerators, 3.5 SuperDrives, MicroBuffer memory modules, Graphics Tablet, Bubble memory cards, fully populated RamWorks, and various other high-end hardware of the time. Things I enjoyed vicariously through catalogs and magazines.

 

After that the sentimentality tends to drop off rather quickly. And the stuff has little or no use to me in any capacity.

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

I would be particularly interested in viewpoints of others who have gone through this dilemma, regardless of the outcome and whether they felt relief or regret from their decision.

You asked!

 

In the 70's and 80's I had a tons of then contemporary systems. All 8-bitters and a 16-bit too. Started more or less with discrete Pong and Tank consoles, got into cartridge-based rigs like the VCS & Intellivision & Apple II, and ended with sometime in 1985/1986 when the Amiga came about.

 

As I grew from a teen into my 20's I lost interest in keeping track of and maintaining all the stuff I had accumulated. It was either thrown out in the real trash or sold via Trade'n'Times - a local Chicagoland buy/sell "newspaper".

 

Sometime in the early 90's and late 90's I thought about re-collecting everything I had. I had regretted disposing of it all. I honestly truly believed I would never ever ever play these games again. And the same applied to the arcade cabs, of which I had a few too. But I never played the cabs at home. Mine were always in storage. So I relied on going to the arcades. And the arcades were getting rid of all the 80's classics to make room for those dumb-ass fighting games.

 

So in a futile attempt to "re-build" I discovered it becoming depressing rather quickly because it was all piecemeal and garbage. Thrift-store junk. Nothing pristine. No manuals. No boxes. It seemed totally not worth the effort. Put $2.00 of gas in the car and spend 3 hours visiting the stores on the weekend. Come home with a haphazard pile of games, wires, controllers and more, shit that I was not interested in. None of it had character. None of it had style. None of it had meaning.

 

The richness of my former collection was completely absent. All of it was shallow filler material.

 

I got into PC gaming and Doom and Raptor and other DOS games of the 90's with a real supercomputer that could do a bazillion instructions per second and had a special math co-processor built right into it! Actually it was a 486. But coming from the Apple II and Amiga, it felt like a supercomputer!

 

And emulation crept in there too. At first emulation seemed like a gimmick. College computer science projects. Simply a way to play Galaxian, Amidar, Frogger, and Pac-Man at home. There was Microsoft Arcade featuring Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, and Asteroids. And a few offerings from Digital Eclipse like Robotron and Defender. All this was still a novelty. But it seemed to be gaining steam. Activision Action Packs 1 & 2 came out and William's Arcade Classics.

 

MAME hit the scene in good time. And so did Col-Em and other console emulations. Once MAME's support grew above 15 or so games I got to thinking this is going to be a thing. And maybe, just possibly maybe, turn into a way to re-experience and forever have all my old games at the ready. And in an All-In-One unit too - another childhood dream.

 

Sometime in the very early 2000's I got the itchies and scratchies telling me this is going to be the way forward. It didn't happen overnight. But rather it was like a vague fog that was clearing without any discernible gradations. Took like a year or so. Maybe two or three even.

 

I think it's safe to say that by 2010 I was fully in the emulator camp. No ambiguities.

 

I did keep my vintage Apple II material from the 70's and 80's, the 486 and Pentium II/III stuff, and TRS-80 Pocket Computer things. Those are sentimental and I have no intention of getting rid of any of that. Everything else I gradually lost desire to have physical representations of.

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

There is a lot that has led me to this place, but the ultimate power that is probably effected a lot of us in the last few years is this: As a hobby owning legitimate copies of games for original hardware is something I'm increasingly priced out of, alongside continued rareness as number of collectors go up and number of copies of games in the wild go steadily down.

Yes I will agree that prices are ridiculous. My spending money doesn't cover frivolous purchases like arbitrarily high-priced games. It's just dumb. Hollow. Shallow. No deep pond.. But I always did imagine games becoming a form of currency. A currency among speculative collectors.

 

IDK.. The reward for the effort isn't worth it.

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

My game purchasing not that long ago was scatter gunned - I would buy anything that was cheap even if I didn't want to play it. Early consoles I justified to myself as "finishing a collection" and to be fair these are ones I intend to keep - they are ones I'm most nostalgic about even though many I only played as an adult (videopac, intellivision, coleco, 7800 etc). Like many people, I grew up through the phases of 2600, NES, Sega then moving on to Sony/Microsoft. It is perhaps ironic that many of those consoles - the NES, Master System, SNES, Mega Drive and PS1/2 are likely the ones I'm targeting games to get rid of.

My short-lived "rebuild" attempt was all scattershot. There was no plan. No nothing. A bit here and there. And I ended up with a soulless pile of crap.

 

It should be noted that my original collection, as grand as it was to a kid, didn't really top more than 1500-2000 games (pirated Apple II material excepted). And the effort to maintain a completionist-grade collection was wholly untenable. Money, time, space, and other factors conspired against me. And realizing that was a hard thing to digest. That in the mid-80's after the not-crash market reorganization.

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

Today I went through those consoles, looking at what games I wouldn't miss, and put them into 'storage'. I think I will sit on them for a few months, and if as I suspect, I am completely unbothered by their hidden existence, I will likely look to part with them.

That is an excellent way of conducting affairs.

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

Recently I came to the mental decision of stopping myself from buying retro games - I will probably pick up the odd retro game here and there, but not hunting for them on a week to week basis.

Indeed. This 2022 I'll be picking up ROM releases, provided they are reasonably priced and come with a PDF manual or something. Not interested in filling shelves and shelves of cartridges with more cartridges.

 

The past year I was tending to accumulate some Apple II manuals and such. But some of them have gotten to be ridiculous at $50 - $200 so I'm not chasing after those either anymore. My shit is rather complete as it is now anyways.

 

I may browse on ebay for fun from time to time. But I'm not doing any bidding. I'm happy to wait for the right buy-it-now price. Last vintage game thing I got from there was over the 2021 summer. Nothing since then.

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

To even think of selling some (other than doubles) was unthinkable even a few months ago. I was able to pluck out about 75 games from these consoles, which makes less than 5% of my entire physical collection - but it was a good start. I hadn't even looked at copies of the same game such as lemmings, cannon fodder and theme park that I have on multiple consoles for no good reason (that might make it up to a hundred, I could probably filter out some more PC games to double it further).

I never understood the need to have doubles. Unless it was for something that could experience wear and tear or was an absolute favorite. But to have random piles of doubles? It's just fodder.

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

I find myself increasingly buying homebrew, or finishing off collections close to being 100%, but other than that, I'm now choosing not to buy games I would have bought before.

I plan on getting some homebrew Apple II hardware, and maybe even some PC accessories. But no high-priced vintage stuff. I have emulation and my pedestrian Apple II collection.

 

I may, like I just said, get some homebrew ROMS if the price is right and I like the platform and who's making the stuff.

 

On 12/5/2021 at 2:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

I know some users on here have gone to full emulation, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet, I like my physical hardware, and I still see romcarts largely as devices for unofficial ports, hacks, mods, translations and homebrew.

I say I'm full-on emulation - because despite having a good Apple II stash - I play it all on AppleWin anyways. The physical Apple II stuff remains sentimental. Don't want to wear it out. And it serves as a good reminder of what early computing and electronics were like. Easy to work with. Near bare metal. Learned so much about computing with that platform. Stretched my imagination farther than I even thought possible.

 

Some of my best hi-scores came through emulation. Not because cheats or savestates or slow-motion & pause, but because of convenience and comfort. Being able to play my best when I'm at my best without having to trek 10 miles to the arcade in blizzard conditions. Just having ergonomic controls is a boon in and of itself.

 

But to answer your original request. Regret or relief. I say it's both. First came regret. A depressing lot of it. Believing you'd never play your fav games again. Ever ever ever. Then emulation was the band aid. Then relief, but only recently, as emulation accuracy increased to what we're rocking today.

 

Additional spats of relief come in seeing and understanding how futile it was having tried to be a completionist. Way too difficult financially and time wise to get it all. Then there is the space and maintenance. With emulation, maintenance is reduced to the occasional file verification/backup, individual emulator update, and disk defrag. Organization can happen in as large or small a time slot as I choose. It's all very convenient and getting going and stopping doesn't involve any setup or prep. Just. Get. To. It. Power on, power off.

 

 

[Keatah]

On 12/5/2021 at 5:34 PM, Tanooki said:

Focus on less stuff, enjoy what you have, re-enjoy what you have, and find a few new things almost entirely locally, and actually play to enjoy.  That's the key...they're games, not trophies.

That's right.

 

And like I just alluded to in the previous rantpost I'm about to do that with Apple II stuff. The keeper material is what I had as a kid, and some special exotic items. The rest of the stuff can go into a holding pen for 6 months to help insure I don't dispose of anything I'd regret or actually require as a 2nd piece of something else.

 

Quote

Around that, get flash kits.  Do NOT pay into these scumbag prices run by filth that caused all this damage.  Buy a kit, load it with what you want, a little or a whole library, actual period games, hacks, homebrew, your own projects, whatever.  Do that, and buy little.  Enjoy what you want you can find, then enjoy what you can't without paying a prick.  On the reverse, if the old game is back into the market (Piko style licensed old goodies, homebrew, public domain former sold goods, etc) buy or use those correctly.  Why not right?

That makes sense. Flashcarts and everdrives are great intermediaries that can make some consoles very practical and affordable in this day and age. Not to mention a spat of convenience.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Keatah

[Clint Thompson]

I used to have an entire Dreamcast collection, complete Jaguar and Lynx collection and about 700 2600 games, now only have the base hardware and a few loose games that I absolutely must have. Obviously no single person really has that much time to ever play the majority of games, most going unplayed outside of a quick test run.

 

More is never a good thing in almost any situation and my mindset had changed from collector to user or player once I really realized it. I think the key is to keep the system or systems that you love but rid the rest. Now vs. then, my only real regret is the value of selling games 20 years ago vs. seeing them worth 20x more now than what I had sold them for but I suppose that's how the market works and fluctuates.

 

Outside of that, letting go of tons of games you don't use or need is without question for the best. Focus on what you actually do want/need is key.

 

As far as emulation, I always prefer the real thing. Which is why I say keep the base systems but rid the rest of what you don't really use or love. I ended up extending this to some hardware that I once loved but just didn't use anymore or have time for and let those go as a result as well. Sometimes I miss the idea of being able to access it all at any given time but doing so once or twice every few years doesn't warrant the space or need to have them.

[Steven Pendleton]

I just watched Sega Lord X's review of Tempo. At the end, he noted that the Japanese version of Tempo is insanely expensive. My reaction, of course, was "WTF no way", so I checked ebay and apparently it's true. I paid like 7000 yen for this decent-but-not-outstanding game a few years ago, but it's apparently now possibly the third~fifth most valuable game that I own since I guess people want $370~$600 for it on ebay, which is absolutely ridiculous. When the hell did this become so expensive? No sold listings that I can see for the Japanese version of the game, but it's really weird to see this topic and then find out that some random-ass game that I own happens to be listed on ebay for more than a month of my rent.

 

I like my real games and real systems and absolutely prefer them over emulation, as I've had multiple frustrating instances of emulated games clearly not working properly at all in the past, but with stuff like hardware failing (especially the older systems that use discs, like the PC Engine's hilariously unreliable CD-ROM², which breaks its own gears just from regular use over time), the Analogue systems and the MiSTer, and the general improvements to software emulation in the past 15 years, I'm starting to see why people are becoming far more willing to sell their games and systems.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Steven Pendleton

[Keatah]

46 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

When the hell did this become so expensive? No sold listings that I can see for the Japanese version of the game, but it's really weird to see this topic and then find out that some random-ass game that I own happens to be listed on ebay for more than a month of my rent.

It (like many other things) became expensive when some random seller on ebay saw other random sellers arbitrarily pricing random games higher and higher. Because. Now. Videogames = $$$ because someone is seeing someone else try the same thing.

 

You know.. Videogames are no different than any other mass-produced item like cards or knick-knacks or electrical insulators (yup there's a club for collecting electrical insulation)! If something can be called "collectible", and many things can be, high prices are automatically attached. Because. Collectible!

 

46 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

I like my real games and real systems and absolutely prefer them over emulation, as I've had multiple frustrating instances of emulated games clearly not working properly at all in the past, but with stuff like hardware failing (especially the older systems that use discs, like the PC Engine's hilariously unreliable CD-ROM², which breaks its own gears just from regular use over time), the Analogue systems and the MiSTer, and the general improvements to software emulation in the past 15 years, I'm starting to see why people are becoming far more willing to sell their games and systems.

Software Emulation & FPGA are only going to get better as time rolls on. Both started out as computer science projects in colleges. But the scene grew to practical replacements of the real deal.

 

Going forward SE and FPGA are going to be the go-to method for players more and more. If not already. And not just because of high prices. There's many other advantages.

[adamchevy]

Software Emulation & FPGA are only going to get better as time rolls on. Both started out as computer science projects in colleges. But the scene grew to practical replacements of the real deal.
 
Going forward SE and FPGA are going to be the go-to method for players more and more. If not already. And not just because of high prices. There's many other advantages.

I’ve owned an NT Mini Noir for about 6 months now. I play games on it almost every night. It is such a wonderfully convenient console that still has my original NES feel. I’m sure it’s the same feeling the Collectorvision Phoenix crowd have. I don’t use the physical cartridge slot very often, but it’s nice to have the option when I want to use it.

Over the years of being an AA member Ive dabbled into many other 8 bit consoles and have grown a fondness for the Colecovision, Odyssey 2, Intellivision, and Sega Master System. Its so convenient to have access to these and many other consoles at the push of a single button. I like that they are all playable via RGB on my Trinitron. If theirs one thing I loathe about older hardware it’s the constant mods that become available to try and fix the old RF/composite output.

I’m a picky bastard when it comes to a clean video/audio signal. I love the HDMI/RGB output that emulation and FPGA provide. It trumps the modding of old consoles by 1000%.

I appreciate the new consoles such as the PS5 continuing to push visual fidelity and Frames per Second. But 60 frames per second has been available on consoles since almost the beginning. Also, the crispness of early 8bit pixels on a nice display looks better to my eyes than what a PS5 or any modern console can produce. Not to mention the Unlimited Resolution/Crispness of Vector Graphics.

The gameplay aspect under Emulation/FPGA is enhanced for me because it looks so wonderful. I can stop spending money collecting carts and focus on controllers that I like. The options companies like 8bitdo are providing has been an amazing boon to the retro emulation/FPGA crowd. Also, Steam supports a large variety of controllers. I think Steam may become the emulators hub over the next few years.

In Steam you can add your emulators of choice as a Non Steam game. Then you can map your Steam controller of choice with custom key bindings and save them forever under your Steam account and save them as a template for the community to have access to.

The first time I added the Cemu emulator to Steam and Configured my Steam controller with Gyro aiming for games like BOTW I was blown away. I also was amazed at how Zelda looked in 1440p running at 120FPS with ultra textures and shaders. That’s another thing emulation can do that FPGA doesn’t focus on.

FPGA is about accuracy to the original console. Emulation has that as well, but it also focuses on enhancing the original experience. I think this is where emulation will really continue to shine as time goes on. It also lends itself to massive controller support that FPGA consoles also sadly lack.

Emulation is really what will stand the test of time, not FPGA. I like FPGA immensely but again you are locking yourself into some type of console. You need a Mister or Analogue type device. I think FPGA has its place with original hardware accuracy, but it also doesn’t really matter because emulation can have that option as well.

We live in a very spoiled time when it comes to gaming and entertainment. We really have had to limit ourselves materially for not just financial reasons. It mainly comes down to time. Human life spans are deceptively short. Spending alot of your time curating a massive physical collection is ridiculous in todays world. We have to many systems over a short amount of time to do that with. You also have a short window of what I see as full health/full money to experience life with. You have to be really picky what you choose to do with that window.

[Steven Pendleton]

2 hours ago, Keatah said:

It (like many other things) became expensive when some random seller on ebay saw other random sellers arbitrarily pricing random games higher and higher. Because. Now. Videogames = $$$ because someone is seeing someone else try the same thing.

 

You know.. Videogames are no different than any other mass-produced item like cards or knick-knacks or electrical insulators (yup there's a club for collecting electrical insulation)! If something can be called "collectible", and many things can be, high prices are automatically attached. Because. Collectible!

I did some more research and it looks like it's just people trying to rip other people off. No copies on Amazon right now, but it's pretty easy to find copies of the game for considerably less than that

 

https://jp.mercari.com/item/m11430878574

https://jp.mercari.com/item/m62624331020

https://jp.mercari.com/item/m27129594356

^ with a Super 32X included! I paid about 30000 yen just for my not-quite CIB Super 32X (missing the spacer and those metal clips) when I bought it 2.5 years ago, so not a bad deal!

https://www.suruga-ya.jp/product/detail/164003047?tenpo_cd=400408

 

So yeah, as usual, ebay can go to hell.

 

2 hours ago, Keatah said:

Software Emulation & FPGA are only going to get better as time rolls on. Both started out as computer science projects in colleges. But the scene grew to practical replacements of the real deal.

 

Going forward SE and FPGA are going to be the go-to method for players more and more. If not already. And not just because of high prices. There's many other advantages.

It took me like an hour to figure out how to set up MAME to get R-Type Leo to work properly earlier this year when I played it. Or maybe it was last year. I don't remember. I do remember still questioning the accuracy of MAME while I played the game, as I have a general distrust of software emulation. With things like inaccurate sound reproduction and the ridiculous 11 frames of lag on the Cotton Guardian Force Saturn Tribute that make the games on that collection extremely awkward to play, yeah, I distrust it in general.

 

Still, there are things like the Sega Ages games on Switch and especially the incredible M2 ShotTriggers releases, which are just plain better than the original versions of those games, so I am starting to trust software emulation a lot more recently, especially with those M2 ShotTriggers games, which are incredible in every way and are now easily the best way to play every game that's been released as part of that program. Some of the Sega Ages releases are also the best versions of those games, like Thunder Force AC, so those are also very good. M2 did those as well, so I suppose that should be expected.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Steven Pendleton

[jhd]

 

Unlike many (most?) people on AA, I have never felt the desire to amass a huge and diverse collection of video games. I quickly realized that I would not be a completionist collector as that would mean buying sports games, children's games, and other genres that just do not appeal to me just to that I could "catch them all".

 

I had an Atari 2600 in the early-1980s. I sold it in 1983, and that is the system that I restarted collecting with in about 1990. This collection has been in storage since Summer 1998. Around 2004 I purchased an original PlayStation and in 2008 I bought a PlayStation 2. I have amassed substantial collections for both, including (almost) all of the vintage arcade and console compilation disks. 

 

Those three game consoles constitute my entire collection -- except for two Pong consoles, a handful of small Famiclone systems, and an Atari and Coleco Flashback.  

 

I have had various vintage PCs and even a non-working ColecoVision console pass through my hands. All of this hardware was donated to various local charities as I did not wish to keep it, and it was no worth the effort for me to sell. 

 

I have passed on purchasing many other consoles at garage sales, thrift shops, and game stores. Aside from my generally reluctance to spend money, I am also unwilling to buy a console for which I will never find any games at local retail. (I utterly refuse to use E-Bay.) 

 

So, having never amassed a large collection, I have never been forced to downsize it. I recently moved cross-country, and my entire game collection fits comfortably into four boxes (well five boxes if you include the strategy guides and magazines). I have moved to a much smaller city (with significantly fewer retail options) and my financial priorities have shifted (e.g. I need to buy a vehicle), so I do not expect to be growing my collection anytime soon.  

[Keatah]

5 hours ago, adamchevy said:

I’ve owned an NT Mini Noir for about 6 months now. I play games on it almost every night. It is such a wonderfully convenient console that still has my original NES feel. I’m sure it’s the same feeling the Collectorvision Phoenix crowd have. I don’t use the physical cartridge slot very often, but it’s nice to have the option when I want to use it.

Very good.

 

5 hours ago, adamchevy said:

Over the years of being an AA member Ive dabbled into many other 8 bit consoles and have grown a fondness for the Colecovision, Odyssey 2, Intellivision, and Sega Master System. Its so convenient to have access to these and many other consoles at the push of a single button. I like that they are all playable via RGB on my Trinitron.

Yes. So many appealing systems were made in the 80's that 1 or 2 consoles don't cover everything one may want to experience. It's only a natural progression that some sort of consolidation happen. It's that All-In-One appeal for me.

 

I liked Sea Battle on the Intellivision, but Demon Attack on the 2600, and Pepper II on Colecovision. And it's great to be able to play all on one system at the click of an icon.

 

5 hours ago, adamchevy said:

If theirs one thing I loathe about older hardware it’s the constant mods that become available to try and fix the old RF/composite output.

They're so variable and don't always work right - let alone designed right. IMHO just good enough is NOT good enough.

 

5 hours ago, adamchevy said:

I’m a picky bastard when it comes to a clean video/audio signal. I love the HDMI/RGB output that emulation and FPGA provide. It trumps the modding of old consoles by 1000%.

It does indeed. I also want and expect a clean signal, and if the signal stays in the digital domain I can have that. But at the same time I do like the look of old RF for the 2600 and Intellivision. So synthesizing all the artifacts is something I look for in every vintage emulator. Stella and MAME are pretty good when comes to that. So is Classic99. And Altirra if you use the right shaders.

 

Sure it's a little different than a real CRT. But each CRT is also different from the next. So it's simply another flavor.

[Tanooki]

11 hours ago, Keatah said:

That's right.

 

And like I just alluded to in the previous rantpost I'm about to do that with Apple II stuff. The keeper material is what I had as a kid, and some special exotic items. The rest of the stuff can go into a holding pen for 6 months to help insure I don't dispose of anything I'd regret or actually require as a 2nd piece of something else.

 

That makes sense. Flashcarts and everdrives are great intermediaries that can make some consoles very practical and affordable in this day and age. Not to mention a spat of convenience.

Yeah most definitely, both parts.

 

I saw the rant you're right, I'm right, just did it a little different.  I never really made an actual dump box to hold stuff in.  I kept mental tabs on things since my closet isn't as well climate controlled.  Eventually I decided things had to go, so I just went creeping along throughout the year offing this, then that, taking more pictures, etc up until I hit a level I was comfortable leaving a buffer not to get hit with 1099s from ebay or paypal.

 

I went with the kits years ago (5+) when prices started to infuriate me when it got all toxic, stupid, and predatory, the whole WATA/HA FTC level scam going on now is just icing on the cake.  As you said they work great for equal parts trying new projects, homebrew, hacks, translations, but even more so no to play into this bs any further while still getting to use that nice hardware you have already too.

 

I'm honestly kind of keen on how you can get all these so called multicarts up on ebay and the rest now around $20-50 where it says the pack had like 500-1000+ games in 1 on there, when it's just a more reliable copy of the various everdrives with a pre-loaded memory card installed to it.  Years ago I would not have been too amused by the sketch of that, but now hell I hope they spread even more until this cools off.

[Blazing Lazers]

On 12/5/2021 at 3:08 PM, Mikebloke said:

Hi all, I wanted to make a post which is half-rant, half-question. Today I think I'm finally on the process of letting go... of my physical game collection, of sorts. In limited situations. Which might become a snowball.

 

I would be particularly interested in viewpoints of others who have gone through this dilemma, regardless of the outcome and whether they felt relief or regret from their decision.

 

There is a lot that has led me to this place, but the ultimate power that is probably effected a lot of us in the last few years is this: As a hobby owning legitimate copies of games for original hardware is something I'm increasingly priced out of, alongside continued rareness as number of collectors go up and number of copies of games in the wild go steadily down.

 

My game purchasing not that long ago was scatter gunned - I would buy anything that was cheap even if I didn't want to play it. Early consoles I justified to myself as "finishing a collection" and to be fair these are ones I intend to keep - they are ones I'm most nostalgic about even though many I only played as an adult (videopac, intellivision, coleco, 7800 etc). Like many people, I grew up through the phases of 2600, NES, Sega then moving on to Sony/Microsoft. It is perhaps ironic that many of those consoles - the NES, Master System, SNES, Mega Drive and PS1/2 are likely the ones I'm targeting games to get rid of.

 

Today I went through those consoles, looking at what games I wouldn't miss, and put them into 'storage'. I think I will sit on them for a few months, and if as I suspect, I am completely unbothered by their hidden existence, I will likely look to part with them. Recently I came to the mental decision of stopping myself from buying retro games - I will probably pick up the odd retro game here and there, but not hunting for them on a week to week basis. To even think of selling some (other than doubles) was unthinkable even a few months ago. I was able to pluck out about 75 games from these consoles, which makes less than 5% of my entire physical collection - but it was a good start. I hadn't even looked at copies of the same game such as lemmings, cannon fodder and theme park that I have on multiple consoles for no good reason (that might make it up to a hundred, I could probably filter out some more PC games to double it further).

 

I find myself increasingly buying homebrew, or finishing off collections close to being 100%, but other than that, I'm now choosing not to buy games I would have bought before.

 

I know some users on here have gone to full emulation, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet, I like my physical hardware, and I still see romcarts largely as devices for unofficial ports, hacks, mods, translations and homebrew.

 

 

I've been in similar situations lately. I have everything from full system sets to stacks of commons and random pickups from out in the wild to very personal items that I've had for decades and will never sell. I game, collect, preserve, sell, and trade in equal measure. I have gone to emulation (modded Xbox or controller adapters for PC emulators) for some things and for others have a mix of multicarts and original hardware. I'd offer the following bits of advice:

 

Wait to sell stuff off for a bit, as there's significant tax changes coming to online selling, to include money in PayPal and Venmo accounts. The exception is if you can get stuff sold, shipped, and paid for within this very Month. The following is why:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/A-big-change-to-federal-tax-reporting-laws-that-will-affect/ba-p/32508057

 

...if you really don't need stuff and would rather have money in its place now might be the time to act. It's a shrinking window.

 

For what to keep, anything of sentimental value, anything irreplaceable (either literally or which is unaffordable at modern prices), anything that cannot be adequately replicated via emulation such as a Vectrex (vector monitor experience) or special controllers (Astrocade, Channel F, most pre-NES systems), and of course at least one good CRT TV. Especially a CRT set. They haven't been made in years, they likely won't be made again, and they are essential to the gaming experience. Also, don't be too quick to sell off really rare stuff, particularly for niche systems, as exploding prices for them only seem to be going up soon and even if you don't plan to keep them forever they will likely only gain in value over time. 

 

For what to still buy, after you've cleared out all your commons and unnecessary spares take some of that money and look into having your hardware serviced, getting it cleaned, recapped, modded, and get quality cables and flashcarts, multicarts, and ODEs where you can. The parts and people with the knowledge to work on them are not always going to be available or easily accessible. For additional games, there's no point in collecting physical copies of many modern platform games given all the patches and mandatory installations, and most older systems have already been hit by the price spikes, but good titles for PS3, Wii, and the 360 remain affordable and easily obtainable for now. They won't be for much longer. 

 

Basically, figure out what you have, what you want, and what you don't want but which you do have. Adjust accordingly, but do it while you still can. 

 

[Tanooki]

That last sentence I've been at that for some years now, but did it into overdrive knowing the disgusting stunt they slipped into the (hah) virus "relief" bill in March, and I'm now where to be comfortable just offloading stuff into second hand shops and even the trash for random bits and pieces at this rate as I'm over it and they're not getting a slice as they already got two from paycheck taxes and taxes buying the stuff in the first place, don't going to pay a death tax as well getting rid of it.

[RJ]

Dump it all

SET YOURSELF FREE!!!!

[RJ]

Mikebloke wrote:

"I would be particularly interested in viewpoints of others who have gone through this dilemma, regardless of the outcome and whether they felt relief or regret from their decision."

 

 

I've made several (partial but substantial) purges over the years & never regretted any of it. I was giving stuff to Goodwill knowing that someone else would be thrilled to find it there.

 

it's all just stuff. Things. Items. Objects. They should have no bearing on how to live life.

 

Go outside. Meet people. Talk. Interact. Live.

[youxia]

S'funny, I went in a totally opposite direction in the last couple of years - from a Retropie & some emus on a laptop (plus PSX/PS2 in storage), to 2 wardrobes full of old consoles and microcomputers, plus several hundred original ZX Spectrum games. It started with "just one" for the old time's sake, then snowballed because of a project I'm working on, Covid world travel restrictions, and the fact that the hardware itself is still quite affordable (and the prices do not go down, like with new stuff, so it's a safe investment).

 

I absolutely love these old machines, for various reasons, and am actually hungry for more, though have now hit the price barrier - the more obscure ones cost too much to import (and Brexit was a serious blow to this hobby too). But this little hoard is not causing me any mental anguish - the only one perhaps stemming from the fact that I will eventually have to clear out most of them, since I will need liquid capital again somewhere mid next year.

 

Having said that, I can see how it all can become a rabbit hole for some folks, especially those with compulsive traits. And console, or rare micro game collecting admittedly seems like a rather ludicrous and impossibly expensive proposition these days. In these case I guess it is good to downsize and try to find some balance.

[Mockduck]

I recently considered dumping my ok but not great NES collection as I just am not as interested in it, and I suspect I'll get pennies on the dollar all said and done...

[Keatah]

9 hours ago, Tanooki said:

That last sentence I've been at that for some years now, but did it into overdrive knowing the disgusting stunt they slipped into the (hah) virus "relief" bill in March, and I'm now where to be comfortable just offloading stuff into second hand shops and even the trash for random bits and pieces at this rate as I'm over it and they're not getting a slice as they already got two from paycheck taxes and taxes buying the stuff in the first place, don't going to pay a death tax as well getting rid of it.

That's right. Virus relief bill my ass. And if you sell through ebay you pay taxes again, and the buyer pays taxes. That's just too much. And too much record-keeping. Throw in VAT on international transactions.. Don't wanna bother with it!

 

Now I have full justification for putting stuff curbside for the dustcart! Who cares about carbon emissions and pollution in landfills? One erection of Bezos's dick-shaped rocket emits at much CO² as common citizen does in an entire lifetime! So. Just. No.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Keatah

[Mikebloke]

On 12/5/2021 at 11:34 PM, Tanooki said:

I didn't have to learn, I was forced into it and ever since up until recent times it has been this weird effect much like the tide.

 

This year thought with the tax scam going next year on selling your own property and being triple taxed on it now (tax on your job, tax on items bought, now tax on selling not trashing stuff...) I reset my gears hard for the last time I think.  I sold off damn near the allowable amount for reporting this year both to get some wants, but have a nest egg for a PC replacement.  And on that reset I gave up selling on ebay a week ago entirely, and am now for some months now ONLY buying to PLAY...PLAY not resell, trade, or bundle off.  IT IS LIBERATING.  I'm walking a walk I talked an addicted friend into, KID ON A BUDGET.  Pretend it's the 80s/90s again ok?  Get you can have some form of allowance per month, you buy within it, and it's a relatively(reasonable) amount, and otherwise gifts.  Focus on less stuff, enjoy what you have, re-enjoy what you have, and find a few new things almost entirely locally, and actually play to enjoy.  That's the key...they're games, not trophies.

Around that, get flash kits.  Do NOT pay into these scumbag prices run by filth that caused all this damage.  Buy a kit, load it with what you want, a little or a whole library, actual period games, hacks, homebrew, your own projects, whatever.  Do that, and buy little.  Enjoy what you want you can find, then enjoy what you can't without paying a prick.  On the reverse, if the old game is back into the market (Piko style licensed old goodies, homebrew, public domain former sold goods, etc) buy or use those correctly.  Why not right?

 

First off thanks for everyones comments, I have been reading and it has helped form some of my own opinions on things, I'll try and respond to some of the comments I feel I have something to say upon, but thanks to everyone who responds. 'Thanks' has gone out to everyone who contributed to this topic!

 

Budgeting was something I started to do a little while ago, I used to set my 2nd job income as a marker, if I was spending more than that, then it was pointless doing my 2nd job. Due to circumstances largely related to the "great resignation" of the COVID-19 experience, I just wanted to rest instead of destroying myself working all the time, so now I'm back to 1 job for the first time in about 6 years.

 

The more I look at it, my move towards into getting romcarts is something of an eyeopener in terms of cost; I had none before the introduction of the R4 card, and it slowly went from there. I'd be lying if I haven't played games I could have in theory paid for, but a lot of them are those that are beyond the bounds of my income. Having said that, I do buy modern collections of old games, and I wishlist new ones and grab them when I can, hell I'll even buy the Konami collections that came out recently once I'm done with my current playlist! I am definitely broadening out my homebrew collection, and while I've never bought anything from AA directly before it became problematic to send to the UK, its the sort of stuff I now look at and think about seriously buying.

 

On 12/6/2021 at 1:01 AM, jgkspsx said:

I very nearly started selling off everything in 2012. But I didn’t have anything set up to test my games, so it all remained in the attic or the storage unit. Then the pandemic happened, and I have since all but stopped playing modern games and have gotten out virtually all of my games and put time into darn near everything I own except the Saturn games (because I have misplaced the system…)

 

I find it hard enough to stick to one game as it is, and for whatever reason having a physical object makes it easier to focus on it than having an SD card. I don’t have any “full library” sets on multicarts (except for the Vectrex) - I only try to put stuff I will play on there - but I still find myself less likely to stick with it without a real cartridge involved. It’s weird.

 

This was definitely a thing for me in the early days of me getting romcarts, the choice is too broad, which led to me buying games alongside romcarts to ensure I finished them. I think romcarts are a genuine distraction from keeping 100% to a game. I was already cataloguing games and if I finished them by this point, which did help, but wasn't a guarantee. I think I've just learnt to either enjoy one-session games, or keep to playing a game before moving on to something else. Long term it might be an issue if I do get rid of substantial parts of my collection, but I'd probably make sure I've finished it first anyway.

 

On 12/6/2021 at 2:09 AM, Steven Pendleton said:

I only buy games that I actually want to play, but I also live in a tiny 1-room apartment, so I do not have space for lots of things anyway. All of this old hardware is old and will fail eventually and likely become increasingly difficult to repair as parts become increasingly rare due to not being made anymore, so the best option is to use the MiSTer, especially since that allows/will allow you to play all kinds of rare arcade games that have never gotten 100% accurate home versions and MAME is well-known for being inaccurate for some games. Might as well switch to MiSTer or software emulators now if you are thinking about it, especially since the DE10-Nano already became more expensive recently and I suppose it's possible that it could become more expensive again in the future.

 

Still don't think I'm fully all the way there when it comes to hardware emulation, but I do think its something I'll seriously consider long term. Whether that is in replacement or alongside original hardware being stored, I don't know - but now I'm going down the route of selling software, hardware isn't much of a stretch either.

 

On 12/6/2021 at 5:29 AM, fiddlepaddle said:

This "evolution of a collector" thing is interesting. It's also apparently being revealed again in a younger generation of collectors (look back and you can find numerous threads of this nature). I made the decision to only keep games I actually play about 12 years ago, and am still divesting. It's part of the fun, I think.

 

Yes, I hunted for a few topics as I know they already existed, but hoped starting a new one was different enough from existing threads and linked partially to current world events. Although I didn't really cover it in my initial post, I've long been behind a generation of consoles anyway, only recently getting a PS4, Xbox One and a Neo Geo AES in the same month (that was quite a bit of cash I splashed that month!) And realistically, the AES gets the most varied play, while Xbox gets a lot of Minecraft played which could literally be on anything modern, while the PS4 gets limited play with console exclusives. The PS5 / Series X supply issues is not something that was ever going to effect me in the immediate term, but they will be things I would want to get eventually. With the further expansion into "download only" consoles and most disks requiring further download anyway, my redline I set long ago back in the PS2 > PS3 days is nearly here: If a game cannot run on its stock disk without a download, then it isn't truly a console that can be plug and played. This was going to be my line I stopped at (and realistically, I think there is enough arguments to be said about the current gen where that can be argued we've past that line), and I was going to start sweeping up as many games I could from that point to the dawn of video games as I could. Of course, its now turned from an improbable dream to an impossible dream.

 

On 12/6/2021 at 5:40 PM, Flojomojo said:

I think it's part of the human life cycle. Acquire, amass, divest, die. 

 

 

 

Haha, I think one of the things that woke me up to this is that I am from a low income family with little to no education. My dad in a sense broke the mould for my family and went into early IT before computers were miniaturised. A recent conversation with him highlighted the fact that when comparing myself to my siblings, despite them being self employed - I'm the only one who like my parents - own their own home and may be considered "middle income". Knowing that actually I have uplifted from when I was born to where I am now, and that my "poor person's hobby" is now unattainable for non-poor people which I would put myself under now - means my desires for a large ever increasing collection is unattainable regardless of the reasons for doing so (I swear I do actually play most of the games I buy, though a number of my "I must buy everything I don't own" purchases has gone unplayed...). I'm possibly at that point of life most people get to where the disposable, finite things for sale feel more valuable than the things that last a heck of a lot longer. I'm not motivated by the idea of increasing value, and I know that I can always be caught out by the 'bubble popping' and not a gambling man. Priorities change, and I always thought my video game collecting habit would roll past everyone else. But ultimately, 1,500 games + is nothing these days - notable collectors have 10,000 + and that isn't a likely figure I'll ever hit.

 

On 12/7/2021 at 3:43 AM, Tanooki said:

Great so many of us are dying now with that train of progression. 

XD

 

On 12/7/2021 at 3:55 AM, BawesomeBurf said:

I was forced to part with my collection in 2010. Was a bit bummed at first, until I saw how much some of the stuff was worth. Got back into collecting in 2013 and was having fun with it for about 6 years or so. However, I reached a point near the end of 2019 where I was sick of all the games and consoles taking up so much space, so I sold most of it again. I also realized that it's the games themselves that I love, not the plastic they are housed in. Now I just own a small collection of about 50 or so PS3, PS4, and 360 games. Everything else gets emulated.

Yes, I'm getting to that point regarding the games. Things like the Capcom Mega Man collections have been real eye openers, I only ever owned MM2 + 4 for the NES, the most common ones (certainly by PAL standards at least) - which I still have. But playing the ones I never had I still get those same sparks whether its on a console or my laptop playing on keyboard (I totally abuse the backtrack feature, my God how did I beat NES MM's back in the 90s!).

The "feel" of a real console and real controllers is still a thing for me, and the CD-i and Amiga CD32 feel much better with their best controllers - there is still something for me in the consoles, but I think I have let go of the need for physical software.

 

On 12/7/2021 at 4:37 AM, TheGameCollector said:

Can people just stop collecting but be happy with what they already have and keep that? I think it's possible. You don't have to have an all or nothing attitude toward collecting.

 

Totally useful advice, I foolishly went into a "I'll own everything one day!" because it felt like I had the most games of the people I knew, and although even I thought a full library collection of the PS1 era onwards was highly unlikely, I thought going some way towards it would still be an accomplishment - realistically, those that can afford it, go for it, those that have targeted collections, can go for it with time and patience. 1st and 2nd gen consoles, and select 3rd and 4th gen console libraries are what I'm gunning for long term, and I had that goal in my head a few years, but I've now learnt I don't need to have everything else AS WELL as that. I don't think any console I intend to keep all my games for has more than 60 games in its library, its a doable and achievable goal which still ensures the games actually get played - and I do really enjoy these consoles and they are out quite regularly and played.

 

On 12/7/2021 at 10:25 AM, Skippy B. Coyote said:

It's been a many year process for me, figuring out what to let go of and what to hold onto and what really matters to me. I first did a really big collection purge about 3 years ago when I was feeling severely depressed and just burnt out on collecting. The first bit of wisdom I can give you is to never sell stuff when you're depressed, because that's pretty much a guaranteed path to regret and it'll come back to bite you later when life gets better and you're not feeling depressed anymore.

 

In any case, I sold my big collections of around 120 Atari 2600 games, 100 or so Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, my Atari 7800, NES, and GameCube systems and game libraries, and probably a few others I can't quite remember now. I quickly regretted it a few months later when I started feeling less miserable; especially the Game Boy stuff since that was the first system I ever had that I could call my own growing up and the Atari 2600 games since that was the first system I ever played at all as a kid.

 

Over the next year I noticed some of my original PlayStation games starting to succumb to bit rot and with the massively rising prices of PS1 games I decided it was time to cash out on that collection as well as my Wii collection, since disc based games seemed doomed to rot away into unplayability over the coming years and a sizable chunk of cash in my bank account seemed preferable to a bookshelf full of unplayable games. So, off to new homes another couple hundred games went.

 

I took the money from those sales and ended up buying EverDrives and similar flash based devices (like the XStation disc drive replacement for my PlayStation) so I could still play games on the systems I had left, and feeling the itch to collect again I put the rest of the money into building a rather  nice Sega Genesis collection... and then the pandemic happened. Since the pandemic started I haven't been to a single used game store or done any collecting at all (aside from buying one Atari 2600 game lot from a fellow AtariAger), partly because collecting didn't seem worth risking getting COVID and partly because over the last couple years game prices have skyrocketed so high for almost every system that I simply cannot afford to collect anymore. More than anything the rising prices and lack of availability of games killed my enthusiasm for collecting, because it's just not fun anymore when you have to search high and low to maybe find a game you'd like and if you do find it then the seller usually wants an arm and a leg for it. These days the game collecting scene feels less like a hobby for nostalgic 80's and 90's kids and more like an investors market for speculators hoping to make a happy buck.

 

That said, you know what's happened to all those Sega Genesis games I spent thousands of dollars collecting a couple years back? They've sat in a drawer out of sight and never played even once over the past year, while my EverDrives have seen frequent use whenever I get the itch to play an old favorite game or try something new. I don't miss my old Game Boy collection either now that a few years have passed and I've been really happy just playing everything off an EverDrive, though I do still regret selling my Game Boy Camera and Game Boy Printer since those were really neat to play around with and not an experience you can have with a flash cart.

 

As far as my collection of Sega Genesis (and Sega CD & 32X) games goes, I think I'm ready to let it go. I haven't played any of them in over a year and I know I'm not going to collect for the Genesis anymore simply because game prices have gotten too rich for my blood, and I could really use both the space and money for my other hobby of tarantula keeping. I think if I sold all my Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and 32X games and hardware (keeping my Genesis Model 1, 32X, and EverDrive) as discounted lots I could probably get around $1,600 for everything; which is definitely nothing to sneeze at and I could still play all my Sega games off the EverDrive same as I have been doing contentedly for the past year. 

 

I do still get the itch to collect sometimes though, and for that I've started casually rebuilding my old Atari 2600 game collection. The 2600 is one of the very few systems that hasn't succumbed to massive price spikes for loose cartridges, probably because it's too old of a system for most collectors outside of this forum to care about, so it's still possible to find loose 2600 carts with nice labels for $5 or less, and since most 2600 games are short arcade style affairs I can actually make the time to enjoy playing the games I collect. There's a lot of variety to 2600 cartridge styles too so it's just an all around fun system to play and collect for that doesn't require much in the way of money to enjoy... unless you want H.E.R.O., Pitfall II, or Montezuma's Revenge; all of which I still want for my collection

 

Thanks for this, I think there is some really good points here, especially about being in the right frame of mind to make a long term decision before getting rid of things. I think there is something to be said if the collecting itself is unhealthy and is causing depression - I don't think that is directly my issue, but I think the knowing my silly childhood goal is unlikely is depressing in itself - and learning to let go of such a silly goal is a mental strain taken away. Since I started this post, and reading everyones comments including yours, has made me realise I am heading in a) the right direction and b) the direction I want to go in. Realistically, I will keep my RPGs, Strategy games, WipEout collection, mainline games of the usual franchises such as Mario, Sonic etc, but there is a lot of trash I don't need taking up space and I could very comfortably get rid of.

 

While a number of users here are up for full hardware emulation, I think we're in the same boat of wanting to keep hardware but without the cost of buying the software at inflated prices. I still think one day I may go all the way, but knowing what I probably knew deep inside already - that things on my shelf don't need to be there - many things doesn't even have an emotional or childhood connection - they are there because I saw it cheap and it added a number to my collection - they can go.

On 12/7/2021 at 11:56 AM, Cobra Kai said:

Simple. Only sell the games you don't play. 

Yep, good advice, and represents most of the games I've already earmarked to go - and a few I'm eyeing up joining them.

On 12/7/2021 at 2:55 PM, Draxxon said:

I sold all my rare stuff years and years ago. 3D0, Jaguar, Nomad, Virtual Boy, stuff like that.

 

My only regret is that I didn't get to sell them when prices are ridonkulously high like now. I don't miss any of it, btw.

My idea was that I always wanted to have the systems, so when I was older, I could play them. Now that I'm older, I find that I don't want to play them. I keep a few games that I play competitively and that's all. The rest is emulation, which is just fine to me.

TBH, it was fun to collect systems and games before it was popular. Nowadays I have more fun collecting roms and box art images. I used to care about owning games, not so much anymore.

Bottom line, I'm weird and always have been. I move the beat of my own drum. I collected rare consoles when they were going for 20 bucks or less in the mid to late 90s. Now that everyone thinks mario 64 is worth a million bucks, I'm out. It's stupid. I don't want to do what everyone else is doing. Kind of like now, people shit on emulation, IDGAF, I'll check it out!

 

Yes, definitely some interesting hardware coming out, I think another thing that is leaning me towards a full emulated experience in the future is things like the Analogue Pocket and the Polymega, These things I should be snapping up! But instead I'm holding off. These things are built for people like me with huge physical media! Without having to rely on dying hardware that need parts replaced! But I'm not going for it, and I know deep inside that once my hardware starts failing, I'm more likely to move to full emulation than to find a modern alternative - especially if I've reached the point of getting rid of physical games. But, I will burn them out for as long as they survive first! The feelings attached to physical hardware is still there, but full emulation devices will seemingly only get better with time. I imagine the jump will happen for me at some stage.

 

On 12/7/2021 at 4:47 PM, MrBeefy said:

I'm wanting to start selling some of my things. About the only games/systems I won't touch would be ones that me and my siblings both had. I don't feel those are just mine to sell.

 

Yes, I think there is somethings I would never sell even on the consoles I'm looking to part some stuff with. I might get rid of some NES games, but the ones I grew up with and the console itself is not likely to be on that list. I'm still holding on though, I don't think I will get rid of my PS1 console, even though I really have no need to keep it specifically - there is still some peculiar things PS2 and 3 does to some PS1 games.

 

On 12/8/2021 at 8:50 PM, KylJoy said:

I gave my entire collection to Goodwill 20 years ago.  I had lots of stuff and it took multiple pickup loads to get it to them.

 

This purge was due to life changes including children, needing the space, job changes, etc.  I've since re-collected many things and my current collection far surpasses my original collection although I still don't have some things that I once had.

 

My take on this?  If you don't want the stuff and you are SURE you don't want it then go ahead and purge it.  But...  If it makes you happy then don't purge it.  I am very frustrated about many of the items I dumped.  I miss them very much and some of them are now almost unattainable.  I say this as a person that spends a LOT of time on collecting.  I DO indeed regret dumping my collection.  And, in the long run, I gained nothing from doing so as I did not need the space after all and there would have been no negative impact to my family that I am aware of.  In the end I simply lost my beloved toys.

 

Materialistic?  I suppose so.  Did it physically hurt me to be without them?  Nope.  Would they have mostly sat on a shelf or in a box unplayed and with no one enjoying them?  Yep.  But collecting, playing and sharing videogames has been a passion of mine since childhood and I really miss those now difficult to obtain, nostalgic items.

I know that when it comes to video games, I have been very materialistic. Another big thing for me was finally accepting the dominance of Steam and online libraries. I avoided it like the plague, saw it as almost criminal, immoral. Then I had to register Fallout New Vegas, one of the best games ever made, and now I have more games on steam than I do in Physical. I've had various computer switches since then, and all I need to do is press download.

 

I think this topic has helped me get to a place I'm happy with, there will be some purging, but it will be slow and steady. I think I will stop and think about each before I do it. I've already had some experience of this - I used to have a massive book collection. At its height it was at the 2,500ish mark, and I think now I'm under 300 or 400, it used to be in piles on the floor stacked, with oddball bookcases everywhere. Now me and the Wife can fit all of it on 2 bookshelves.... and the rest is hidden. Lol.

On 12/9/2021 at 12:14 AM, Punisher5.0 said:

Flash carts made it easy to stop collecting games. Every once in a while I'll get a new release but I have no desire to blow hundreds on a classic anymore.

Yes, definitely at this place now. it helps that most of the games I want to play never released here anyway, and romcarts is the only way to play translations.

On 12/9/2021 at 1:33 AM, NeonSpaceBeagle said:

Flash carts were def a game changer for me. I sold off all carts and just used those.  Thinking about doing the ode route for GameCube and selling my GameCube games.  I only play racing games and I'm thinking about unloading all but my racing games and shmups. I have a lot but still able to keep it all in the room I rent without it being too much of an issue.  I also don't want to be embarrassed when I die and watch from above as people toss it all in a dumpster. Might as well cash out before then.  

I'm starting to think about PS1 and PS2 solutions, and will likely get something for the Saturn for the fact that its drive does appear to be failing at longplay situations, and Saturn is a typical console for me to play long sessions - where as other systems for the time such as the Amiga CD32, CD-i, 3DO etc are more casual one session experiences so it never has to run adequately for very long. I think I'm known enough about my collection though that it won't be dumped - though I have personally salvaged some good book and VG hauls from others where this nearly happened...

On 12/9/2021 at 4:55 AM, adamchevy said:

I recently strayed back into Vectrex. I’ve purchased 3 flash carts for different reasons. Ones an SD cart, the other is a Pi-trex, and the third is a Super Multi Cart that has an Led on it.

 

I’ve purchased remakes of all the original overlays and many Homebrew overlays. I’ve repurchased all of my favorite homebrews physically and will continue to collect those.

 

I purposely chose the Vectrex because of its uniqueness. It’s the one console I don’t think will ever be fully appreciated under emulation. I also really enjoy the Homebrew scene on it.

 

It’s a great time to be into Homebrew no matter what retro console you love, and it’s a wonderful time to sell your games for amazing prices.

 

I plan on purchasing a PS5 next year and slowly building a very tiny physical collection for it. I would do it right now, but we all know what that’s like.

Vectrex is definitely something I wanted to get into. It was always slightly out of my price range when I was looking into it. If I could trade the space of several hundred of my games for one I would probably do so. Things like the Magnavox Odyssey, its not a perfectly working unit but those are super rare now, and it is an experience that although emulatable, fits the uniqueness you talk about for Vectrex. I wouldn't mind taking a stab at Vectrex homebrew one day myself, and I'll need a system to be able to play it on! Your position on PS5 is likely going to be a similar one to mine. I'll get the Final Fantasy games, I'll get the exclusives, and I will ignore pretty much all the rest.

 

On 12/9/2021 at 6:40 AM, Keatah said:

[PS, some snipping involved for length and sanity]

 

That is not a bad thing.

 

You asked!

 

In the 70's and 80's I had a tons of then contemporary systems. All 8-bitters and a 16-bit too. Started more or less with discrete Pong and Tank consoles, got into cartridge-based rigs like the VCS & Intellivision & Apple II, and ended with sometime in 1985/1986 when the Amiga came about.

 

As I grew from a teen into my 20's I lost interest in keeping track of and maintaining all the stuff I had accumulated. It was either thrown out in the real trash or sold via Trade'n'Times - a local Chicagoland buy/sell "newspaper".

 

The richness of my former collection was completely absent. All of it was shallow filler material.

 

And emulation crept in there too. At first emulation seemed like a gimmick. College computer science projects. Simply a way to play Galaxian, Amidar, Frogger, and Pac-Man at home. There was Microsoft Arcade featuring Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, and Asteroids. And a few offerings from Digital Eclipse like Robotron and Defender. All this was still a novelty. But it seemed to be gaining steam. Activision Action Packs 1 & 2 came out and William's Arcade Classics.

 

MAME hit the scene in good time. And so did Col-Em and other console emulations. Once MAME's support grew above 15 or so games I got to thinking this is going to be a thing. And maybe, just possibly maybe, turn into a way to re-experience and forever have all my old games at the ready. And in an All-In-One unit too - another childhood dream.

 

Sometime in the very early 2000's I got the itchies and scratchies telling me this is going to be the way forward. It didn't happen overnight. But rather it was like a vague fog that was clearing without any discernible gradations. Took like a year or so. Maybe two or three even.

 

I think it's safe to say that by 2010 I was fully in the emulator camp. No ambiguities.

 

Yes I will agree that prices are ridiculous. My spending money doesn't cover frivolous purchases like arbitrarily high-priced games. It's just dumb. Hollow. Shallow. No deep pond.. But I always did imagine games becoming a form of currency. A currency among speculative collectors.

 

IDK.. The reward for the effort isn't worth it.

 

My short-lived "rebuild" attempt was all scattershot. There was no plan. No nothing. A bit here and there. And I ended up with a soulless pile of crap.

 

It should be noted that my original collection, as grand as it was to a kid, didn't really top more than 1500-2000 games (pirated Apple II material excepted). And the effort to maintain a completionist-grade collection was wholly untenable. Money, time, space, and other factors conspired against me. And realizing that was a hard thing to digest. That in the mid-80's after the not-crash market reorganization.

 

That is an excellent way of conducting affairs.

 

Indeed. This 2022 I'll be picking up ROM releases, provided they are reasonably priced and come with a PDF manual or something. Not interested in filling shelves and shelves of cartridges with more cartridges.

 

I never understood the need to have doubles. Unless it was for something that could experience wear and tear or was an absolute favorite. But to have random piles of doubles? It's just fodder.

 

I say I'm full-on emulation - because despite having a good Apple II stash - I play it all on AppleWin anyways. The physical Apple II stuff remains sentimental. Don't want to wear it out. And it serves as a good reminder of what early computing and electronics were like. Easy to work with. Near bare metal. Learned so much about computing with that platform. Stretched my imagination farther than I even thought possible.

 

Some of my best hi-scores came through emulation. Not because cheats or savestates or slow-motion & pause, but because of convenience and comfort. Being able to play my best when I'm at my best without having to trek 10 miles to the arcade in blizzard conditions. Just having ergonomic controls is a boon in and of itself.

 

But to answer your original request. Regret or relief. I say it's both. First came regret. A depressing lot of it. Believing you'd never play your fav games again. Ever ever ever. Then emulation was the band aid. Then relief, but only recently, as emulation accuracy increased to what we're rocking today.

 

Additional spats of relief come in seeing and understanding how futile it was having tried to be a completionist. Way too difficult financially and time wise to get it all. Then there is the space and maintenance. With emulation, maintenance is reduced to the occasional file verification/backup, individual emulator update, and disk defrag. Organization can happen in as large or small a time slot as I choose. It's all very convenient and getting going and stopping doesn't involve any setup or prep. Just. Get. To. It. Power on, power off.

 

 

Haha, glad you joined the thread, when I think of the debate of physical or emulation, I always think of you. And although I predicted most of what you were going to say, I was nicely surprised it wasn't a simple answer either. I think I look at how you see things as my "ultimate place of content" of the situation of giving up the completionist mentality and the futility of holding on to physical collections. Despite that I am still a hypocrite, I still want the "stuff" and I've got some more deep thinking to do before I am fully prepared to let go, but I will always read what you have to say - you are in a sense my "emulation Buddha" and while I may never reach your level of attainment - its still almost an aspiration of mine to be able to 'let go'.

On 12/9/2021 at 6:54 AM, Clint Thompson said:

I used to have an entire Dreamcast collection, complete Jaguar and Lynx collection and about 700 2600 games, now only have the base hardware and a few loose games that I absolutely must have. Obviously no single person really has that much time to ever play the majority of games, most going unplayed outside of a quick test run.

 

More is never a good thing in almost any situation and my mindset had changed from collector to user or player once I really realized it. I think the key is to keep the system or systems that you love but rid the rest. Now vs. then, my only real regret is the value of selling games 20 years ago vs. seeing them worth 20x more now than what I had sold them for but I suppose that's how the market works and fluctuates.

 

Outside of that, letting go of tons of games you don't use or need is without question for the best. Focus on what you actually do want/need is key.

 

As far as emulation, I always prefer the real thing. Which is why I say keep the base systems but rid the rest of what you don't really use or love. I ended up extending this to some hardware that I once loved but just didn't use anymore or have time for and let those go as a result as well. Sometimes I miss the idea of being able to access it all at any given time but doing so once or twice every few years doesn't warrant the space or need to have them.

I do wonder long term what the validity of keeping systems like CD-i and the 3DO, 2 systems I do own which aren't really in tip top condition are when I'm not prepared or knowledgeable enough myself to fix them, so I think you are a step beyond me at least in terms of getting rid of the slack - but I think I am on that first step of withholding buying new things, and the second step of getting rid of games I don't need or want. I still can't imagine letting go of my complete UK/PAL collection systems, but I imagine one day even those may feel unnecessary. 

On 12/9/2021 at 8:24 AM, Steven Pendleton said:

I just watched Sega Lord X's review of Tempo. At the end, he noted that the Japanese version of Tempo is insanely expensive. My reaction, of course, was "WTF no way", so I checked ebay and apparently it's true. I paid like 7000 yen for this decent-but-not-outstanding game a few years ago, but it's apparently now possibly the third~fifth most valuable game that I own since I guess people want $370~$600 for it on ebay, which is absolutely ridiculous. When the hell did this become so expensive? No sold listings that I can see for the Japanese version of the game, but it's really weird to see this topic and then find out that some random-ass game that I own happens to be listed on ebay for more than a month of my rent.

 

I like my real games and real systems and absolutely prefer them over emulation, as I've had multiple frustrating instances of emulated games clearly not working properly at all in the past, but with stuff like hardware failing (especially the older systems that use discs, like the PC Engine's hilariously unreliable CD-ROM², which breaks its own gears just from regular use over time), the Analogue systems and the MiSTer, and the general improvements to software emulation in the past 15 years, I'm starting to see why people are becoming far more willing to sell their games and systems.

I think my reasons are slightly different from some others for getting rid of some things, but I think you are right in that physically these systems will just stop working without maintenance and essentially new parts. With new devices able to do it better, and without the same locks in place as old systems - its a convincing argument that I think I will succumb to with time.

On 12/9/2021 at 5:18 PM, jhd said:

 

Unlike many (most?) people on AA, I have never felt the desire to amass a huge and diverse collection of video games. I quickly realized that I would not be a completionist collector as that would mean buying sports games, children's games, and other genres that just do not appeal to me just to that I could "catch them all".

 

I had an Atari 2600 in the early-1980s. I sold it in 1983, and that is the system that I restarted collecting with in about 1990. This collection has been in storage since Summer 1998. Around 2004 I purchased an original PlayStation and in 2008 I bought a PlayStation 2. I have amassed substantial collections for both, including (almost) all of the vintage arcade and console compilation disks. 

 

Those three game consoles constitute my entire collection -- except for two Pong consoles, a handful of small Famiclone systems, and an Atari and Coleco Flashback.  

 

I have had various vintage PCs and even a non-working ColecoVision console pass through my hands. All of this hardware was donated to various local charities as I did not wish to keep it, and it was no worth the effort for me to sell. 

 

I have passed on purchasing many other consoles at garage sales, thrift shops, and game stores. Aside from my generally reluctance to spend money, I am also unwilling to buy a console for which I will never find any games at local retail. (I utterly refuse to use E-Bay.) 

 

So, having never amassed a large collection, I have never been forced to downsize it. I recently moved cross-country, and my entire game collection fits comfortably into four boxes (well five boxes if you include the strategy guides and magazines). I have moved to a much smaller city (with significantly fewer retail options) and my financial priorities have shifted (e.g. I need to buy a vehicle), so I do not expect to be growing my collection anytime soon.  

I do wonder whether I created my own issue when it came to the completionist factor. I bought games cheap because I was too poor to keep up with the other kids, my age means I sit just after the generation where copying cassette tapes was common practice (though I did have some for my Amstrad 464 which was my first microprocessor system...). Gaming was getting popular as a mainstream activity. I never resold anything, so things started amassing. Although I did buy lots of things over time - I probably didn't go super crazy until I divorced and remarried. Instead of saving money I started spending it, I was no longer the main earner and probably allowed myself the luxury of buying things for the pleasure of buying them. As things start to tighten, I wonder if that opened my eyes to the idea that I shouldn't be doing it. I don't want to blame my new wife for enabling me, but she certainly didn't stop me lol. I think allowing myself to go unchecked has got me to the position I am in now. I've tripled or possibly quadrupled my collection in that time and got every console under the sun whereas before I only had the major consoles. Ebay has a lot to answer for, and I won't lie, most of my stuff since I remarried has come from there. Its accessibility is definitely an issue for me and getting rid of the app on my phone did help. I still get alerts for some specific things, but I deleted most of them, and I certainly don't go looking for games like I used to. I used to search my list of 'wanted' games about once or twice a week. I now don't even click on the few email alerts I do get except for one console. Its a sign I'm managing my bad habit if nothing else.

On 12/13/2021 at 12:04 PM, RJ said:

Dump it all

SET YOURSELF FREE!!!!

Hahahahahaa, not there yet, but thanks to people here - I think I'm on a path now.

On 12/13/2021 at 1:53 PM, RJ said:

Mikebloke wrote:

 

I've made several (partial but substantial) purges over the years & never regretted any of it. I was giving stuff to Goodwill knowing that someone else would be thrilled to find it there.

 

it's all just stuff. Things. Items. Objects. They should have no bearing on how to live life.

 

Go outside. Meet people. Talk. Interact. Live.

My job is going outside, meeting people, talking and interacting, I need the ability to shut down XD but I have learnt that I don't need to spend increasingly large amounts of money to do that shutting down like I used to. Easier to spend £200 on a device to play a whole library than it is to spend £200 on buying, 2-3 or even 1 game.

On 12/13/2021 at 2:45 PM, youxia said:

S'funny, I went in a totally opposite direction in the last couple of years - from a Retropie & some emus on a laptop (plus PSX/PS2 in storage), to 2 wardrobes full of old consoles and microcomputers, plus several hundred original ZX Spectrum games. It started with "just one" for the old time's sake, then snowballed because of a project I'm working on, Covid world travel restrictions, and the fact that the hardware itself is still quite affordable (and the prices do not go down, like with new stuff, so it's a safe investment).

 

I absolutely love these old machines, for various reasons, and am actually hungry for more, though have now hit the price barrier - the more obscure ones cost too much to import (and Brexit was a serious blow to this hobby too). But this little hoard is not causing me any mental anguish - the only one perhaps stemming from the fact that I will eventually have to clear out most of them, since I will need liquid capital again somewhere mid next year.

 

Having said that, I can see how it all can become a rabbit hole for some folks, especially those with compulsive traits. And console, or rare micro game collecting admittedly seems like a rather ludicrous and impossibly expensive proposition these days. In these case I guess it is good to downsize and try to find some balance.

Yes and I think some people have mentioned even in the states too, selling collections comes with its own tax headaches, we have something of a looser system in the UK, so loose that most people probably don't even know about it. We have a £1,000 limit a year on general purchasing and reselling kind of things, but its not enforced harshly for most small hobbyists. I don't think I've ever risked going anywhere near it and I don't think any of the games I'm thinking of selling in my first cull of games will hit it either!

On 12/13/2021 at 4:52 PM, Mockduck said:

I recently considered dumping my ok but not great NES collection as I just am not as interested in it, and I suspect I'll get pennies on the dollar all said and done...

Its funny, the NES was the first console many years ago I realised I had no chance of getting 100% in, despite the fact that the systems I do have 100% in are arguably rarer. There is a level of demand on the more "common" systems that make these much harder. For those who have committed goals of a single console, or single genre, this may well still be possible. But for those that want it all, look at the NES situation. If anything was the first step to me getting to where I am now, its the thought of how much and how long it would take to get a full NES collection. I will keep some of my NES games, but I could probably half mine easily.

 

Final thoughts:

 

Thanks everyone who has responded to this thread, there is a good sense of people at different levels, some who are still building collections, others like me going the way of romcarts, those who have taken the larger step of getting rid of all but nostalgic collections, and those that use virtually 100% emulation. I genuinely don't think I harm the video game industry much, because I always bought 2nd hand, and rarely kept up enough to buy the handful of 1st hand games I have bought in the past. They get minor sales from me from the likes of steam etc, but in the last few years most of my income has been heading towards private sellers of old tat - stuff the developers and publishers never see sight of. Since the pandemic, I have leant more to homebrew and the AA / AAA companies releasing their collections on steam - the irony is I spend more now supporting the industry whether its on PC or to homebrew developers than I ever did in the last 30 years with exceedingly less number of games.

 

I've decided I will part with the 75 games I've earmarked out. I think coming up with alternative solutions for PS2, Saturn and other systems I will likely purge some of them too. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of 2022 I am 250 or more games down, instead of up. Another purge before long is probably likely. I will probably put them up on the marketplace here first, if anyone is interested, I'd rather sell to people here than ebay who I've gone off mostly since the changes anyway. I'll probably do that early in the new year, after I've checked in with myself that I'm happy with that plan. I do not see a situation right now where I wouldn't be, and that is a big step for me in the first place.

 

As a young person, I thought I'd one day own everything, that everything would be as cheap, if not cheaper than when I started this journey. I was a fool, and the collecting business has been infected by "investors" with very different outlooks to video games than I do. I remain committed to playing and completing every game I buy, and I will likely continue to buy a select few games out of nostalgia, or completion in limited circumstances. But the likelyhood is, this is the end for me of buying retro games, and the beginning of a more tailored collection of love rather than lust. I collect for the thrill of gaming, playing enjoying and understanding games in their place of time and as a throwback to how things used to be. My childhood dream I've woken up from, its time to be something closer to that of an adult.

[Tanooki]

@Mikebloke Wow hell of a post, not sure I've seen such detail for years in a single shot so I'll stick with the final comments part.

 

Sensible, very sensible.  ROM carts are just wise, you get a nice beautiful middle ground of the right experience without the wrong asinine price sharking under it.  One hit, and not much really even more so in the last nearly 2 years due to the disgusting behavior.  $100 kit or $300 game that was $75-100 before??  Yeah no brainer, more or less, really have to be engaged or insane, probably both.  You, me, others, we're not stealing the current for sale (physical or digital) stuff largely, sure a few ROMs my guess probably in the big picture 0.1% of what is desirable can be had...and?  It's not going to harm them, odds are if you're emulating already you'll either throw them a bone but likely not bother anyway so 0 in 0 out isn't a loss, it doesn't exist.  The only harm you do is what they hate we do, second hand even of this gen, because if the price can't be justified for what is perceived to come out of it, they're not getting paid anyway, same as the ancient roms.

 

What you're parting with fits, and if that moves to more, that fits too, conversion to one from another.  This year I upped my cuts large and I cut that off at the end of november, no more selling at least digitally speaking due to the taxation boogieman next year being dropped.  I see no harm still sticking to the hobby, keeping largely just which you grew up with over the years, decades even, but adding is minimalist now... kid on a budget for the old, and yet even then the reasonably well low priced stuff, otherwise, kit it or forget it.  I don't still care to add up what I have, it's probably around 500 and that's way down, but it's also an accumulation that started in 1985 over 15-20+ formats so split a bit here and there on each it's not much, little libraries really and I'm fine with that to play, not to collect.  Even today I took another step, my 60in1 multicade cocktail, I sold it to a local, so that loss of square footage is returned too.  Of all the arcade/pinball stuff I had, one remains and will, the Neo Geo, it and its large shells are it.

[DJ Clae]

Simplifying to just a mister or flash carts is compelling, but don't get rid of them if you might change your mind later. If you like the nostalgia of having them. You'll just regret it and start collecting some later.

 

Personally, I really like looking at my games on the shelves when I'm feeling crappy, especially the ones I've had a long time. It's comforting to be surrounded by objects I've loved since childhood.

Edited December 21, 2021 by DJ Clae