Good topic! I've been thinking about this a lot over the last couple of years.
My collecting goals are really more parameters.
- I have four 1x3 ft shelves. All of my collected games and consoles must fit.
- All games must have at least one "partner" game in order to create a group.
- Groups should be made up of games from different consoles.
- Games must be those that I actually play or have substantial nostalgia for.
- Console games must be from the '90s. PC games can go out to 2005. Arcade games must be from the '90s, but since I collect console ports and not cabs or PCBs the port can be from a console of any era.
- Preference for complete games.
- I should be able to dump each game into my digital collection and catalog it on No-Intro or Redump. (Dreamcast discs are my current struggle...)
A few notes about my parameters.
I do have more games than fit on my shelves at present; I'm in the process of dumping, cataloging, and curating. The consoles that I still have (Genesis and N64) are mostly retired, and are included in the shelf space. Controllers, mini consoles, and Switch stuff that I actively use aren't included in the shelf space; they hang out on their own peg board.
When I create groups I try to select games that have some facet in common that's meaningful to me. They don't have to be from the same genre or series, though they certainly can be. Here are some examples of game "groups" that I create:
- Street Fighter Trifecta
- Street Fighter II Turbo (Super Famicom)
- Street Fighter Zero 3 (PlayStation)
- Street Fighter III: Third Strike (Dreamcast)
- -
- Obligatory Epics
- Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
- Shenmue (Dreamcast)
I find that collecting like this helps keep things in check. I can actively work on collecting and curating without trying to be a completionist, which would inevitably frustrate me. It also introduces a good deal of variety to my collecting and makes me consider not only what would make good groups, but what games should be included in groups. I end up doing a good bit of mulling things over when I get an idea for a group, and I still have a number of games from my childhood that don't fit in groups yet so it's an ongoing process.
Eventually I hope to catalog my game groups on my website along with commentary on why I put the group together and images of the games' assets like boxes and manuals. Going to have to decide to what extent I can include imagery of assets and still feel comfortable claiming Fair Use...