General Category > General Discussion
Why do you collect?
segamer:
I'm an older gamer. I've been gaming since the 80's. Back when the Genesis and SNES where at their peak, I had a unit called a Super Wildcard. It would record games on floppy disk. I was a teen and couldn't afford to buy games in volume. However, after acquiring this unit for $600, I eventually had all Genesis and SNES games on floppy disc but they weren't real.
When I was old enough, I started buying the real roms. I eventually open my own video game store with I ran for years. There came a point where I had amassed a gigantic collection which included 20 arcade machines. To make a long story short, a few years ago, My home was burglarized and my entire game collection was taken. I had to start my game collection all over from scratch. Why do I collect? I only collect games that have meaning to me, and for the fun of having the real roms. One day, when I pass away, I expect my daughter to sell my collection but while I'm on Earth, I'll enjoy them.
Megatron:
I started collecting to play games that I never got around to when I was younger. I had an NES and eventually a Genesis. Neighbor had a SNES but I didn't buy one until I finished high school. So I started getting all the great games I played briefly but could never devote lots of time to (mostly RPGs). That was 12 years ago and I've since just kept going. It kind of died off for a little while, but with the discovery of the cover project 6 months ago I have renewed my interest, mostly in getting what I feel belongs on my shelf (for instance, I had Double Dragon I and II, but no III, it just looked wrong). I have almost all the major systems of the past and try to find some iconic and memorable games for each. Some months I pick up more than others.
I never liked emulators and digital downloads are ok, but I like having the game on my shelf or in my hands. Feels right.
Nacho3:
I never had the newest system as a kid, got NES after SNES came out etc. Until I had a job and bought a Dreamcast for myself and pretty much every system since. But, I still didn't collect them, most of them were given away or traded for very little money. I really started collecting about a year ago when I felt like playing some N64 games that were not available on Virtual Console so I bought an N64 and so many game systems since then. Some, like the Saturn I recently bought, I did not even play as a kid. I have gotten pretty good at buying low and selling high so I can afford the stuff I want to keep for my collection, especially with the N64. I can pretty much tell how much every N64 game is worth and then go from there. I really love collecting to be able to play the games but it is actually way more fun to me to find something at a good price then sell it for a profit. Since none of my friends care about collecting, this community lets me "show off" what I have and that keeps me going too.
JDavis:
I'm 26 years old.
I was a toddler during the NES days, but played it at relatives' houses.
I grew up on the Gameboy and SNES, but with a fairly limited selection of mostly first party platformers and licensed games.
The N64 started to open my eyes to the bigger world of gaming, and got me starting to read Nintendo Power.
In 1998 I played my first Zelda (A Link to the Past, though Ocarina was already out) and first RPGs (Pokemon and Pokemon)
In 1999 I began to dive head first into all I had missed in the NES and SNES days... Megaman, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Metroid, etc., etc.... mostly through emulation, but I did obtain my NES and a handful of cartridges that year as well.
In 2005 I graduated Highschool and headed to college, where I was receiving enough scholarship money to end up with one to two thousand dollars in my pocket each semester; still living at home with parents so next to no expenses. I began to re-rediscover retro gaming through actually buying the games.
At the end of 2009 I graduated college and after a couple false starts I've got a full time job... as a customer service manager at a retail entertainment store. Not the most glamorous of ends, and certainly not using my CS/Art degree, but with no significant other or kids and living in low-cost-of-living Oklahoma, I've got my share of expendable income to feed my gaming habit.
Why do I collect?
I collect to play the games (though I admit there's plenty of games on my shelves that I've barely touched, if at all)
I collect to relive old memories
I collect to experience great games that I missed out on through youth, ignorance, or just not owning the system
I collect to amass a library (a term I prefer to use over collection) of good games that I can plug in and play whenever the mood strikes me (the sort of experience that emulation spoiled me to)
I do not collect for value, though I've got some decently valuable games on my shelves, and will always buy a game if I find it at significantly less than market value (Super Turrican 2 for $20? Absolutely!)
I do not collect to sell, though I'll trade a game in towards other games if I don't feel like it's work keeping
I do not collect for collection's sake or to work toward any sort of "complete" state.
I collect, but I'm not a collector. I'm a gamer. A gamer with more spare money than spare time.
Moviefan2k4:
I don't consider myself a "collector" of anything, as in having something for its own sake. Almost everything I enjoy has some kind of other purpose. I'm not the kind of person to buy a game, and leave it sitting on a shelf for years on end. If I buy it, that sucker's getting played; the same is true for my movies, music, books, and film memorabilia. I have a book of autographed 8x10s, and most of them were received in person. Some of my favorites are from Christopher Lloyd, Sarah Douglas, and John Wesley Shipp.