What do you collect and why?

[pook99]

What systems do you collect for? Why those systems? Do you collect for complete sets? Just games you want? etc etc use this thread to talk about your collecting habits.

For me, my general rule is to collect for things that can't be emulated easily. The main systems I collect for are xbox 360 and the wii. I also have a small ps3 collection that I randomnly buy for but I was never super into ps3. I also collect for OG xbox, but I only have about half a dozen or so games for that system that I still want, I got just about all the OG xbox stuff I wanted when it was new, recently added about 15 or so games to my collection and am just about done with it. Recently, I have developed this weird compulsion to collect for N64 which is kind of weird, since I never was into that system, but like the OG xbox I have a decent number of games from when the system was new and just want to fill in a few holes of games I want.

I collect only games I want to play and am not at all into buying trinkets, collectibles, collectors edition, all that other fluff that some collectors get into and I don't ever buy anything for the purpose of reselling it, even if it is a great deal on a game I have no interest in, I am way too lazy to take the time to sell games.

My 2 favorite systems to collect for, as mentioned above, are the xbox 360 and the wii, for a few reasons. First off, these 2 systems are generally dirt cheap to collect for, gamestop has buy 2 get 2 free deals on this gen so it is not uncommon to buy 8 games for less than $30 on this gen. The fact that these systems are so cheap makes them tons of fun to collect for as you could walk into a retro game store, spend 100 bucks and walk out with well over a dozen games. Both of these systems are also special to me for different reasons.

The wii was the first console I bought with my wife, we used to have wii parties and my wife would watch me play games like Mario Galaxy. In addition to the sentimental factor, the wii is the most unique console ever created and the experiences on the wii are unlike any other console out there making it a lot of fun to play, the amount of shovelware on this system is completely overstated IMO and the number of fun games is far greater than most people realize

The xbox 360 is the system that reignited my love of retro gaming. Thanks to the bustling xbox live arcade and indie game scene, this platform saw a huge resurgence of sprite and 2d based games. I played a ton of these which eventually led me to steam to discover the indie game scene which I am still in love with.

These 2 systems were also current gen during a period of my life when I had no money, I did use gamefly so I played a ton of games on these systems but owned very little (I think by the end of the systems life cycle I owned about 8 wii games and 6 xbox 360 games), now that I have money I feel like collecting for these systems is making up for lost time, and I enjoy buying back all the games that I played but never owned.

What about everyone else? Feel free to discuss all your collecting habits here

[Gunstar Green]

Mostly the consoles/computers (mostly DOS stuff) I had growing up, the games I have attachment to and the genres or titles and franchises I have an interest in. I don't really buy anything I don't know I will 100% never play or that I would have no fondness for if it were sitting on a shelf.

When I was in college I ended up buying N64 stuff just because it was available and I was collecting everything I could back when everything was practically being given away but later I realized I didn't want to keep around things I didn't care about. That was probably the only time I found myself collecting for the sake of collecting.

I find I'm content to explore through emulation if the game in question is on a platform I have no prior attachment to.

[o.pwuaioc]

If I add my thoughts, I will begin to 1. sound 2. like 3. a 4. broken 5. record, etc.

[Ziggy]

I guess when I started "collecting" is when I first started to buy games from my childhood. Either games that I once had, or games that I always wanted but never had. After I got everything on that list, then I just sort of kept getting games that interested me for the systems I like. This is probably very similar to most people, I would imagine.

What does everyone think about condition? I never cared too much about condition, personally. As long as it was in working condition, if I could get something a little cheaper because it was a little rough then I would go for it. Most of my stuff is in great shape, but I have a few carts with worn labels and stuff like that.

I think at this point you could say that I prioritize collecting hardware over software. I really don't mind using flash carts, ODEs or HDD solutions (like OPL on PS2 or USB Loader on Wii). In most cases, it's 100% identical to playing the software on the physical medium. But I love to play on real hardware, versus emulators. With the exception of current gen, I have backups for almost every console that I own. I don't mean "backup" games, I mean backup consoles. Some of them are for parts/repair, but a lot of them are just full working backups. Does anyone else do this?

Steam and GOG games on sale that I'll mostly never play.

I love getting Steam and GOG games when they're on sale so I can never play them!

[marurun]

Steam and GOG games on sale that I'll mostly never play.

I love getting Steam and GOG games when they're on sale so I can never play them!

And this is one of the many reasons you folks are "my people".

[Ack]

Ha, I actually have been playing through many of those Steam and GOG games. They're rewarding, you should actually try them sometime.

[Gunstar Green]

Steam and GOG games on sale that I'll mostly never play.

I love getting Steam and GOG games when they're on sale so I can never play them!

And this is one of the many reasons you folks are "my people".

Even more now that GOG Galaxy lets me put all of them on a single shelf to stare at and never play.

[pook99]

I left out steam and gog games out of my post but I also frequently buy tons of games that I will never play. I don't really use gog much but Steam sales are completely irresistable to me. I also tend to collect rom hacks and fan games whenever I could find them and will randonmly go on binges where I just mass download games that I will likely never play.

[Note]

As mentioned earlier, I like to purchase games for consoles that I had growing up. Mostly games that I played with my cousins or friends, rented, and occasionally games that I remember reading about, or games that I was deciding between at a store when I was young and picked something else.

Console wise, I mostly have been purchasing games for the Genesis and SNES the past year or two. When I was young, I sold my original Genesis console and a lot of games before the N64 came out. I totally regretted this shortly after. I had a goal to purchase all the games I sold at that time, and finally was able to get all those games last year. For Genesis, I like to purchase games CIB, as I'm a fan of the plastic cases, and preferably with the hang tab intact. I'm now just purchasing games I played and would like to revisit and a few titles I liked after testing out on an emulator and would prefer to play on actual hardware.

In regards to the SNES, I never sold my original console or any of my games that I had growing up. It was my first video game console (after a Game Boy) so I always wanted to hold on to it. I'm just purchasing games I tried and enjoyed, and would like to play on original hardware. Occasionally I'll purchase a game I never tried back in the day but it seems like something I can get into. For SNES, I just purchase loose carts.

In regards to condition, I always kept my games in really good condition, so I prefer to buy games that are in a similar state. If the label is damaged, ripped a bit, the cart has some cosmetic issue, or the manual is torn up, I tend to look elsewhere.

I'm also into the Saturn, N64, PS1, Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox 360. I haven't purchased too many games for these systems over the years, but once I'm happy with my collection from the 16-bit era, I'll probably focus on these a bit more, with the 32-bit era next up. The 360 is definitely fun to buy for right now, as a lot of titles are cheap and there's some good co-op games for me and my girlfriend to play on the modern TV in the living room. It's also the last console I purchased.

I'm not going for complete sets for any console, and I'm only interested in buying games I want to play. I don't have the free time to buy lots, break them up, and sell the items I'm not interested in, so I usually just grab single games here and there.

[Syndicate]

...I collect for pretty much every system that I'm interested in. I have a fondness for Sega platforms, especially the Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast. The Genesis was the first system I owned that actually had software support, I had a 7800 before that and it was no match for NES games wise that everyone else had. The Saturn was the first console I bought w/my own money and I wanted one since I learned about it in EGM and Sega Ages...and well the Dreamcast was just cool. I remember cutting class in college on 9/9/99 just so I could pick up my pre-order. I just got back into classic stuff last year once I found a way to enjoy my classics stuff on modern tvs and started picking up Genesis games I always wanted to play or only rented back in the day. The Genesis is currently my favorite console to collect for and I've gone from a library of 8 games to now having 62 for the system in a little under a year. I thought that I was done w/my Saturn and Dreamcast libraries but have started picking games here and there to round out my collection. I also collect for the NGC, Wii, Wii U, and Switch on the Nintendo side of things. For Sony everything from the PS2 on is fair game and for MS every XBox system is as well. Looking at hand helds it's GB, GBA, DS/3DS, and NGPC and I'm looking to really only add to my NGPC library there.

...I only buy games that I'm interested in playing though and if I'm buying used I really prefer clean CIB stuff. I don't really get the complete collection thing, every system has its fair share of suspect games and owning the bad ones isn't something I want to do...though I make exceptions for games I may receive as a gift though. Other than a focus on trying to pick up some shum'ups I missed and Genesis/Saturn stuff, I'm mainly buying games for my Switch, XB1, and PS4. I will pick up cheaper interesting 360, PS3, and Wii U stuff to again round things out as I come across those.

...I'm generally sucker for collector's edition/limited edition versions of the stuff I'm into and also recently fell down the Limited Run, Strictly Limited, and etc limited release rabbit hole. Honestly, these business models sort of suck imo, I can't stand paying for something I won't have for months just so I can have a physical version. Then if you wait for it to be available you're paying even more for it, it's almost a lose lose there. I'm also currently fighting an itch to buy a Super NT and build a SNES collection. I've always liked and wanted one but just kept putting it off. I'm hoping that my SNES Classic will scratch that itch though. Especially since I have a backlog of games that would take a long time to get through.

...anyways, I'm rambling here. TLDR...I really like Sega stuff but collect for most every console I own but only games I want to play and not for complete sets.