A generation (or more) behind - The smart way to game?

[KaiserWAVE]

The downside is that you risk missing out on some games because by the time you can get them they're Out of Print and hard to find... or, at least, it's harder to justify spending $50 on a used copy of Mario Tennis for the 'Cube....

True, true
Especially when you have more than one console. You can't buy it all and some games slip under your radar, and as luck would have it these are coincidentally always the games that are the most expensive. Try Ikaruga for Gamecube or Marvel Vs Capcom 2 for Xbox 

[Ragnarok2103]

i myself have a backlog of well over 400 games i need to play through.  i'm hoping that i can strike it rich early, and then spend the rest of my life playing through every game that i own.  its a nice hope, but probably not.  a big chunk of the games i own, i own more for the sake of collecting, than to actually play.  thats not to say that i dont play them all, but only around 200 or so are ones that i have or am planning on getting completely all the way through.  number one on that list is to beat is the legend of zelda.  i can't bring my self to do it, even though i have gotten to the final dungeon in the game for just about every version there is (nes, gameboy advance, gamecube.)
i usually wait until the system is older before i start buying most of the games.  i've built my collection of older games mostly recently, off of ebay.  i'm also now going through and buying all the good games for ps2, gamecube and xbox.  the only system that i've been actively buying current games for consistently is the 360, but thats because i have a problem with needing achievements, as can be witnessed by the fact that i've only the 360 since june, and my gamerscore is over 20,000. 

[KaiserWAVE]

20k in just 6 months is impressive I'm addicted to achievements as well but I'm not buying games just to get them. I usually try to get all the achievements in one game before I move to the next except when I think it's no fun to get them or nearly impossible. Even bought Guitar Hero III for PS2 instead for 360 because I thought clearing all songs on expert will be hard enough for me but going for achievements will instantly kill the fun and make it more of a chore

[Ragnarok2103]

i didnt buy all of them just for the achievemtents... there are a handfull that i bought just cause i wanted to play them.  but there are some, *coughfuzionfrenzy2cough* that no human should every have the misfortune of owning, let alone playing.  achievements are a brilliiant marketing strategy by microsoft, and they are in an essence of no real meaning, but yet i still buy shitty games to get them.  i should just rent, but i feel like thats kinda cheating.  i should get the achievements in the games i already have, and thats what i've been trying to do during my break from college. during this break i've gotten through at least 7 of them, and i'm trying to not buy many more until i get through most of what i have.  hopefully, that'll actually work this time...

[wshbrngr]

i'm hoping that i can strike it rich early, and then spend the rest of my life playing through every game that i own.  its a nice hope, but probably not.  a big chunk of the games i own, i own more for the sake of collecting, than to actually play. 

and my wife thought it was just me......   

I am still buying games that I do not particularly want, however, I feel compelled to finish the N64 covers with TheValeman.
I just bought another N64 game just for the box today. Its a compulsion.

Most of them I pickup on the cheap.... i.e. sports games for the DC for $.98 still shrink-wrapped and I only buy complete games (non-GH versions) these days.

I play some of them, but I have grandkids that are working their way through the ones I have, and the duplicates (mostly N64) are given to the them as they all have N64/DC/NES/PS1 at home.

Mostly I prefer to play games on the PC...  BF1942/BF2/AOE III

[Doom]

I play some of them, but I have grandkids that are working their way through the ones I have, and the duplicates (mostly N64) are given to the them as they all have N64/DC/NES/PS1 at home.

Lucky grandkids... I don't have a DC or NES and my PS1 collection is mostly shitty sports games with basically all of the good games belonging to my brother. He has FF VII, VIII, and IX and barely played any of them. Apparently he doesn't like RPGs. Although I can scan his game covers when he's gone I don't think I could finish an RPG in like 3 hours.

[Ragnarok2103]

wow doom... love the sig. its different everytime! i've just been sitting here, refreshing the page and reading them.

[satoshi_matrix]

Myself, I spend 80% of my gaming time on the NES. There are so many NES games I never played or beat as a child and I'm tackling them one by one.

[Conn]

It's certainly a smart thing to do, financially. Right now I'm mostly buying GBA or PS2 games, because of the large amount of games I missed out on, and because they're generally pretty cheap. It is, however, sort of frustrating- and, well, disheartening- to never find certain games. This is mostly because I can't buy things off of the internet yet, but still.

[satoshi_matrix]

Might I suggest the Famicom a system of choice? See, there were literally thosands of games made for it, and you can find quite a few games that are import friendly and never saw the light of day on the NES. There is also the Famicom Disk System which has such things as the original Legend of Zelda, musically enchanced Metroid and Zelda II among others, and of course the endless pirates for it. You know the ones. "150 in 1" or "Super Mario Bros. 16" or Super Mario Sunshine featuring Tetris. All good times!

[shark]

There is no question one can save huge amounts of dough by not going with the latest technology. I just moved up to N64 and Dreamcast last year  .

[Doom]

I think I'm going to get a PS2 to see what all of the fuss is about.* See you in a couple years DS when you become affordable!

*I've looked, and it looks very much like there should have been way more fuss. I wish GC had developers pushing it to the limits. PS2 is technically inferior but you have developers trying to fit so much in a game you have much better graphics in PS2 land.