The Cover Project
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: madrocsz on August 31, 2013, 06:17:50 PM
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So, its been something thats been on my mind for several months now. I like to think of myself as a logical person and one that doesn't buy things that don't make much sense, then I look at my video game collection. Valued at over 40k, 2000+ games strong, tons of rare and hard to find titles, all cased, complete and shelved. The reality of it is that it's just nice to look at, all 14 shelves of it, but at the same time I keep asking myself why. So I have been thinking of downsizing, or even selling the majority if not the whole thing. Below are my concerns which I feel valid. Please weigh in and give your opinion.
- Cartridge games vs emulators.... (I could save 20k$ and put every single game in the thumb drive sitting on my desk)
- Space , which I am out of again
-Fear of damage, I live in New Orleans, hurricane/flood prone
- I don't have time, at all, and don't know when I will to play any of them
- extra money would be nice, pay off car etc
- Potential for it to devalue, I am concerned that market bubble is going to pop, soon, and my "investment" will plummet
Any other pros/cons?
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That sounds like a pretty big collection sounds worthy of some pix to upload, but if you really dont want it, put the collection on ebay with buyer paying all shipping? Thats my thoughts... or how much do you want for everything? lol
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So, its been something thats been on my mind for several months now. I like to think of myself as a logical person and one that doesn't buy things that don't make much sense, then I look at my video game collection. Valued at over 40k, 2000+ games strong, tons of rare and hard to find titles, all cased, complete and shelved. The reality of it is that it's just nice to look at, all 14 shelves of it, but at the same time I keep asking myself why. So I have been thinking of downsizing, or even selling the majority if not the whole thing. Below are my concerns which I feel valid. Please weigh in and give your opinion.
- Cartridge games vs emulators.... (I could save 20k$ and put every single game in the thumb drive sitting on my desk)
- Space , which I am out of again
-Fear of damage, I live in New Orleans, hurricane/flood prone
- I don't have time, at all, and don't know when I will to play any of them
- extra money would be nice, pay off car etc
- Potential for it to devalue, I am concerned that market bubble is going to pop, soon, and my "investment" will plummet
Any other pros/cons?
- Emulators never run games 100% perfect. But, you could go with flash carts and play em on original hardware.
- a legit concern. I'm pretty much out again despite having just built another large shelving unit. But, I know I can find/make more space. Even if I couldn't, I would likely be pretty hard pressed to sell unless it was just stuff that I really don't care about too much.
- insurance insurance insurance.
- nobody has time to play 2,000+ games. I didn't think that was the point of collecting to the extent that you have ???
- extra $$$ is never a bad thing. Can't really argue with that :)
- I guess I don't consider my collection a financial investment, so I'm not worried about the inevitable bursting of the bubble. For the stuff that you've paid big bucks for, selling now is probably a good idea if you're at all concerned about such things. I'm pretty sure that I haven't spent more than $50 on any collectible/retro game, so I won't be too upset if my collection's value falls through the floor (again, not why
I collect in the first place).
Other than that, if you enjoy your collection and can afford to keep it, then do so. If you're not getting joy from it, then move on (though I'd be sad to see a collection like yours be split up :( ).
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Personally, I would never sell off my entire collection. Have I thought about it? YES! Many of times. But always come back to the same conclusion. Even if I don't play them all, it's still really cool to have. Anyone whoever comes to my house is always really impressed with my collection, and what they see is only a tenth of what I really have.
So if you decide to get rid of stuff, I hope it's only downsizing and not selling everything.
Like wiggy said, I don't really consider my collection as investment, so even though I could prolly get $20k out of a lot of what I don't play, it's not really costinge a bunch of money to keep either.
Plus I find about 90% of my games dirt cheap anyway. So no biggie.
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this is always a hard thing. i myself am in the same boat where i am going to make a big move and the only thing i care about is my video game stuff. But at the end of the day i would pick my video games over anything because they are a big part of my life.
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It's not so much as I look at it as an investment but more so that I know it has value, which can increase or decrease. I'm just struggling with the fact that it's only going to grow and it's like having a second child lol.
That sounds like a pretty big collection sounds worthy of some pix to upload, but if you really dont want it, put the collection on ebay with buyer paying all shipping? Thats my thoughts... or how much do you want for everything? lol
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z192/Madrocsz/20130711_051453_zps82e7ab5a.jpg) (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/Madrocsz/media/20130711_051453_zps82e7ab5a.jpg.html)
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z192/Madrocsz/20130711_051826_zps080c4ba9.jpg) (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/Madrocsz/media/20130711_051826_zps080c4ba9.jpg.html)
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Wow, well if you do decide to sell. I see a few things I may be interested! Not that I'm pushing you to sell because I wouldn't sell ha ha. ;D :P
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"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything." - Tyler Durden
"Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may. " - Tyler Durden
...been watchin fight club and it seemed to fit lol.
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Nice reference from Fight Club. Here's a vid about that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P7CYZAQVjU
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It all depends what you paid for everything. I myself also only buy for low prices and so it doesn't hurt too much if prices go down (which I hope they will soon).
I'm with wiggy on this one. I never paid more than 35-40 Euros for any game (except for Neo Geo) and I got thousands of games (I'm standing at 3350 by now).
I would definitely keep it if you can afford. There's always space somewhere!
I already plan it like one child and instead of a second one my collection by the way. ;)
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I'd be sad to see your collection downsized.
You have my favourite collection / set up out of all the collection shots I've seen on this site.
My advice would be:
1. Get insurance
2. If you're still having fun collecting and displaying it then keep doing it.
3. If space is an issue you can always choose to not display everything at once. I recently moved about 200 nes games into a closet to free up space for some other stuff.
4. Don't worry about playing them all. My plan is to play lots of my games when I'm old and retired but I realize I'll probably never play them all.
5. If you don't need the money for something else then keep em
6. If you're going to sell a bunch of your stuff wait until early next year because I'm getting married in November so I'm broke right now and can't afford to buy any of it ;D
7. Do whatever will make you happiest
I'm thinking of doing a purge as well and getting rid of some high value items that aren't worth their price (ie Flintstones 2 for NES). I could sell that and buy something I'll actually play with that $.
Your collection has no filler in it from what I see so it may be hard to get rid of anything.
Good Luck !!
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I think you should do what you want to man, asking other's what you should do is pretty mute and void, as we can only talk for ourselves.
I think if you want to down size your collection mate, just sell the clutter of games that you don't/won't play, or haven't even played or have even a remote interest in playing. Be realistic, and completely honest with yourself. The "I might play it though" factor may come into play, but you have push past that man.
My collection has just reached 300 games. My want list has about 100 - 150 games on it, but I'm being realistic. Anything that's not new that's over 50, I won't be buying the physical copy. I'll just buy a digital download of it if I can, and if I can't, I'll go without. That's my outlook when collecting. I want I Ninja, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and Demon's Crest, but I can't afford to pay near €100 or more, for a used game.
I was going to collect for the Wii U and PS4 this generation, but the more I think about, the more I'm leaning to collecting for just one console, which feels very fucking liberating, I must say. I'm only collecting for PS4 this generation, only buying the MUST HAVE Wii U exclusives (Zelda, Metroid, Xenoblade), leaving everything else to the wayside.
Do what makes you happy man. Life is too short.
EDIT: I thought it worth mentioning that I'm not a collector. I don't buy games that I don't intend on playing. If you're a collector man, keep your stuff.
You said that you live in New Orleans, so with hurricanes and floods being a very real threat, you have to ask yourself; would you rather sell the game and make some money, or keep the game with the chance of that game being damaged and completely worthless? This obviously doesn't apply to any games that you absolutely adore, just to the ones that you're thinking of selling.
Again, I just want to say that I am not a collector, so I can't relate to your felling's towards your collection or collecting in general, so my opinion may be completely mute and void in regards to this topic. I suppose having the opinion of someone on the other side of the collecting poll might be insightful? (LOL).
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I think everyone goes threw this. Sadly I'm a huge classic RPG fan and that can get expensive.
I'm constantly selling things and just did an almost 200 item purge.
You would have to pry my SNES RPG collection and my Genesis tower from my cold dead fingers.
Besides that It's all novelty to me. Maybe you should just really think about what you want to collect and downsize. I know it can get really out of hand because one item can lead to another and suddenly you're collecting vaguely game related items like figurines/toys/etc.
I constantly have to make myself stop and think about what I'm buying
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Keep your collection, i personally am not seing my collection as an investment and not planning to sell any of them, but what i don't buy is toys, figurines, swords, masks, etc. Those are the ones that reduce the space that you need to display your games.
So if you desided to sell somthing in my opinion only get rid of the memorables things (toys, figurines, sword, masks, etc)
Just an opinion :P
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Maybe you should just really think about what you want to collect and downsize.
This is solid advice.
I was planning on collecting for both the SMS and DC, but after the novelty and the excitement wore off, there was only 5-6 games on the SMS I wanted, and 10 games on the DC that I wanted. I couldn't justify the purchase.
SnesGuy's advice falls into the same line as what I was saying, only collecting for one console this generation. It's pretty liberating, thinking that I'm missing out on all the expense of collecting for all three consoles. It means I have more time to play games, collect for the systems I already own, and more money at my disposal. I'm looking forward to a time where my want list consists mainly of PS4 games, with one or two Mega Drive, Game Cube, or PlayStation games thrown in.
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That is a cool collection you have there. I recently parted ways with a lot of things that I was not attached to. Sega CD and Saturn and DC stuff primarily. I think the whole time I owned the Saturn, I never played it. I recently started collecting the games that mean something to me. Games that I played as a kid, or games that I wanted as a kid but could not afford to own. Game collecting is super expensive. Sometimes I go through phases of wanting to get rid of stuff, but then it goes away.
Do what makes you happy. Collect stuff that means something to you.
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I've always liked that impressive collection you have.
Why not try out your games for 5 minutes each day and sell all the boring ones? You might get more for your games selling them individually. Maybe you'll realize after a few months of playing and selling the riff raff in your collection that you don't want play videogames anymore and you can sell them all and sink some cash into a different hobby or other needs. If you eventually decide you'd rather keep some or all of the collection then you won't have sold too much. no regrets.
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Thanks everyone for the input, ultimately was really just looking for solid reason behind either decision.
Insurance I have, but its super tricky to get them to replace a video game collection, even as well as cataloged as I have it, lots of issues due to so many items. Hopefully I may be moving soon which will solve that problem but limit me on space again.
Thankfully, I have pretty much completed everything I want for older systems, and a bunch of systems I chose not to collect for (anything pre-nes, sega master system etc). I already have all the rpgs, the rare games etc. Therefore collecting for new systems isn't much an issue, I for the most part don't buy many new but am fairly patient and can snag them super cheap a little ways down the road used, only exception being certain collectors editions ill buy day 1. I literally haven't bought a game that wasn't current gen in months, much less looked for any.
Again, not so much as I look at my collection and see dollar signs, I just know that unlike collecting something like bugs, it has value and thus it weighs on my mind a lot whether I should hold on to it or not. Not hurting for money, but I know it will stress me to no end if it dips to soon worthless. I'd say roughly 5% of the games I own did I pay full retail on, I usually had a rule that I would never pay more than 60% of going rates.
As far as filler, id say that least 80% of my collection are solid titles or those that hold nostalgia for me. I could easily collect 5x as many more games for these systems just to have more but I don't. What I need to get through my head is I need to get rid of redundancy, which is just me being anal. For example, I own god of war 1 and 2 for PS2 and both the PSP games, yet I have both of the PS3 collections. Do I need essentially two copies of same game? No, but I like having the originals and the new, don't know why.
Honestly, this may sound stupid, but I think the reason I dwell on it so much is due to my personal life, being busy working etc and most of my friends moved away. My wife just shakes her head, my son is only 4 and I never have anyone over to impress or even enjoy it with. My man cave is me being solo lol. That said, I enjoy the fact I get to share it with you all and have watched it transform over the years, thanks for all of the compliments
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Thanks everyone for the input, ultimately was really just looking for solid reason behind either decision.
Insurance I have, but its super tricky to get them to replace a video game collection, even as well as cataloged as I have it, lots of issues due to so many items. Hopefully I may be moving soon which will solve that problem but limit me on space again.
Thankfully, I have pretty much completed everything I want for older systems, and a bunch of systems I chose not to collect for (anything pre-nes, sega master system etc). I already have all the rpgs, the rare games etc. Therefore collecting for new systems isn't much an issue, I for the most part don't buy many new but am fairly patient and can snag them super cheap a little ways down the road used, only exception being certain collectors editions ill buy day 1. I literally haven't bought a game that wasn't current gen in months, much less looked for any.
Again, not so much as I look at my collection and see dollar signs, I just know that unlike collecting something like bugs, it has value and thus it weighs on my mind a lot whether I should hold on to it or not. Not hurting for money, but I know it will stress me to no end if it dips to soon worthless. I'd say roughly 5% of the games I own did I pay full retail on, I usually had a rule that I would never pay more than 60% of going rates.
As far as filler, id say that least 80% of my collection are solid titles or those that hold nostalgia for me. I could easily collect 5x as many more games for these systems just to have more but I don't. What I need to get through my head is I need to get rid of redundancy, which is just me being anal. For example, I own god of war 1 and 2 for PS2 and both the PSP games, yet I have both of the PS3 collections. Do I need essentially two copies of same game? No, but I like having the originals and the new, don't know why.
Honestly, this may sound stupid, but I think the reason I dwell on it so much is due to my personal life, being busy working etc and most of my friends moved away. My wife just shakes her head, my son is only 4 and I never have anyone over to impress or even enjoy it with. My man cave is me being solo lol. That said, I enjoy the fact I get to share it with you all and have watched it transform over the years, thanks for all of the compliments
To tell the truth, I'd say hold onto the stuff and sell it when you are in need of cash.
I own God of War 1, 2 and 3, I also own the recent collection which has all the games except ascension, but it lacks a disc for the PSP games, which are digital. Do I sell my PS2 GOW and Gow3 because I have the set? To save space, I'd say yes.
I also own MGS2 and 3 on PS2, and Peace Walker on PSP, and the MGS HD collection which has all three in one nifty package...but do I sell the originals? This is a case of preference. Peace Walker can not be played portable unless you have the PSP version or the Vita release.
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As far as filler, id say that at least 80% of my collection are solid titles or those that hold nostalgia for me.
if you have 2000 games, 20% is 400 games! that's a lot of games!
even if you could only bare to part with half you'd still have a fair bit of room for current gen/next gen games
I say downsize, but ultimately the decision is yours, go with what makes you happy!
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I just went through my stuff and parted with the ones that werent RPG and didnt see yself playing. Also got rid of PS3 titles I already have on 360. (FFXIII/-2, Bulletstorm, Darksiders/II) Only kept ones like Star Ocean and Eternal Sonata, which have a little extra. Got myself an extra $200 to put towards the Zelda WiiU.
Think of what you want the MOST and what you will be happy with. That's all that should matter in a collection.
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Thanks everyone for the input, ultimately was really just looking for solid reason behind either decision.
Insurance I have, but its super tricky to get them to replace a video game collection, even as well as cataloged as I have it, lots of issues due to so many items. Hopefully I may be moving soon which will solve that problem but limit me on space again.
Thankfully, I have pretty much completed everything I want for older systems, and a bunch of systems I chose not to collect for (anything pre-nes, sega master system etc). I already have all the rpgs, the rare games etc. Therefore collecting for new systems isn't much an issue, I for the most part don't buy many new but am fairly patient and can snag them super cheap a little ways down the road used, only exception being certain collectors editions ill buy day 1. I literally haven't bought a game that wasn't current gen in months, much less looked for any.
Again, not so much as I look at my collection and see dollar signs, I just know that unlike collecting something like bugs, it has value and thus it weighs on my mind a lot whether I should hold on to it or not. Not hurting for money, but I know it will stress me to no end if it dips to soon worthless. I'd say roughly 5% of the games I own did I pay full retail on, I usually had a rule that I would never pay more than 60% of going rates.
As far as filler, id say that least 80% of my collection are solid titles or those that hold nostalgia for me. I could easily collect 5x as many more games for these systems just to have more but I don't. What I need to get through my head is I need to get rid of redundancy, which is just me being anal. For example, I own god of war 1 and 2 for PS2 and both the PSP games, yet I have both of the PS3 collections. Do I need essentially two copies of same game? No, but I like having the originals and the new, don't know why.
Honestly, this may sound stupid, but I think the reason I dwell on it so much is due to my personal life, being busy working etc and most of my friends moved away. My wife just shakes her head, my son is only 4 and I never have anyone over to impress or even enjoy it with. My man cave is me being solo lol. That said, I enjoy the fact I get to share it with you all and have watched it transform over the years, thanks for all of the compliments
Not at all. Again, if it's not bringing you joy, then there's really no reason to hold on to it :(
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Thanks everyone for the input, ultimately was really just looking for solid reason behind either decision.
Insurance I have, but its super tricky to get them to replace a video game collection, even as well as cataloged as I have it, lots of issues due to so many items. Hopefully I may be moving soon which will solve that problem but limit me on space again.
Thankfully, I have pretty much completed everything I want for older systems, and a bunch of systems I chose not to collect for (anything pre-nes, sega master system etc). I already have all the rpgs, the rare games etc. Therefore collecting for new systems isn't much an issue, I for the most part don't buy many new but am fairly patient and can snag them super cheap a little ways down the road used, only exception being certain collectors editions ill buy day 1. I literally haven't bought a game that wasn't current gen in months, much less looked for any.
Again, not so much as I look at my collection and see dollar signs, I just know that unlike collecting something like bugs, it has value and thus it weighs on my mind a lot whether I should hold on to it or not. Not hurting for money, but I know it will stress me to no end if it dips to soon worthless. I'd say roughly 5% of the games I own did I pay full retail on, I usually had a rule that I would never pay more than 60% of going rates.
As far as filler, id say that least 80% of my collection are solid titles or those that hold nostalgia for me. I could easily collect 5x as many more games for these systems just to have more but I don't. What I need to get through my head is I need to get rid of redundancy, which is just me being anal. For example, I own god of war 1 and 2 for PS2 and both the PSP games, yet I have both of the PS3 collections. Do I need essentially two copies of same game? No, but I like having the originals and the new, don't know why.
Honestly, this may sound stupid, but I think the reason I dwell on it so much is due to my personal life, being busy working etc and most of my friends moved away. My wife just shakes her head, my son is only 4 and I never have anyone over to impress or even enjoy it with. My man cave is me being solo lol. That said, I enjoy the fact I get to share it with you all and have watched it transform over the years, thanks for all of the compliments
My son is 4 and loves playing my games. I'm surprised your boy doesn't have an interest in them.
I do the same thing with collecting multiple versions of the same game. To me, and bear in mind that my collection is relatively small, if a game is good enough to be in my collection, then I like to have every version of it for every system I own. It's neat to compare games on the systems or at least have the option to.
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Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I can't help but wonder if a similar fate awaits the retro game market someday. I don't have any plans to sell my collection off, but it would suck to some degree to find out in the future that it's considered worthless.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/those-comics-basement-probably-worthless-095537403.html
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Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I can't help but wonder if a similar fate awaits the retro game market someday. I don't have any plans to sell my collection off, but it would suck to some degree to find out in the future that it's considered worthless.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/those-comics-basement-probably-worthless-095537403.html
If you're buying games for the sake of resale, then you shouldn't be holding onto them (with the exception of a few gems). Games that you purchase for resale should be sold sooner rather than later, as certain things to depreciate in value. However, if you're collecting for the sake of having a collection, than the resale value is less important.
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Comic books went the same way as baseball cards. Once people started buying them simply because they thought that it would become valuable they become worthless.
Video games are an all together different media. Nobody buys a video game as a long term investment. And if you are then you're doing it wrong.
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I like having games and playing them too. I can't deny that there is an OCD side to my collecting as well. There is something very satisfying about crossing games off the list. As many others have mentioned, I probably enjoy the thrill of the hunt for the games on my want list at least as much as actually playing them (though I do like to play).
Definitely not into this trying to make money. It's just a hobby. It's not about reselling unless it's to further fund the personal game collection. It's just interesting to me that some of my more valuable games might not be so valuable one day even though I plan to keep them. Do you care about whether your valuable games hold their value? Would it bother you if you found out your games would fetch almost nothing if you sold them or is it irrelevant because you're keeping them anyway? Maybe it doesn't matter if you never sell your stuff, but I think about my son and it would be nice if he could get something for them should he decide to sell when he inherits it all.
I kind of doubt that people in the future without nostalgia for the old games are going to want collect big plastic cartridges to play. I'm sure people will still enjoy Mario 50 years in the future, but will they really care if it's on the original hardware like us?
I guess it doesn't really matter. I'm hording all my crap to the bitter end. If the collection really is worthless to everyone then maybe I can be buried with my games like an Egyptian pharoah. Maybe they can play the Mario theme at the funeral lol... ridiculous.
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I still don't have kids, but i will start soon :P, i don't see my collection in the future as a making money, i like to enjoy playing and will love to see my kids playing with me and my wife, and let them play games that we as a little kids like them play 25 years ago. Will love to see my kids enjoying the same games that i and my wife played as a kid.
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I like having games and playing them too. I can't deny that there is an OCD side to my collecting as well. There is something very satisfying about crossing games off the list. As many others have mentioned, I probably enjoy the thrill of the hunt for the games on my want list at least as much as actually playing them (though I do like to play).
Definitely not into this trying to make money. It's just a hobby. It's not about reselling unless it's to further fund the personal game collection. It's just interesting to me that some of my more valuable games might not be so valuable one day even though I plan to keep them. Do you care about whether your valuable games hold their value? Would it bother you if you found out your games would get almost nothing if you sold them or is it irrelevant because you're keeping them anyway? Maybe it doesn't matter if you never sell your stuff, but I think about my son and it would be nice if he could get something for them should he decide to sell when he inherits it all.
I kind of doubt that people in the future without nostalgia for the old games are going to want collect big plastic cartridges to play. I'm sure people will still enjoy Mario 50 years in the future, but will they really care if it's on the original hardware like us?
I guess it doesn't really matter. I'm hording all my crap to the bitter end. If the collection really is worthless to everyone then maybe I can be buried with my games like an Egyptian pharoah. Maybe they can play the Mario theme at the funeral lol... ridiculous.
Bro you said it perfectly on all accounts. Yes part of the fun for me is going to the flea markets and garage sales at 8am saturday and sunday mornings (kinda makes me fell like a kid when my dad took me to toys R us to get the latest SNES game). Truthfully I dont play a lot of the games I get, Ill clean them up and pop em in to make sure they work. Then they get sealed up and crossed off the list. So I guess alot of it is the process of getting them, but more its a continuous homage to the classic era which made me so happy as a kid.
Sometimes ill resell what I get like the other month I got 4 "Broken" (HAHA) NES and 1 SNES for 50$ and ill "fix" (HAHAHA) them and throw them on ebay but the money goes right back into the collection fund. Or if I get doubles ill resell them but beyond that if they get in my hands im keeping them. Would it suck one day if I found out they are all worthless.... well yea that would suck i guess but only on an internal level. If that happens Ill stick with what FritzWhite said and have that shit buried with me and ill challenge lucifer to N64 super smash bros and become the new demon king i guess
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Take it from someone who has sold his collection before that you will regret it in the future once you actually sell it. I can't speak for you but when i sold off the majority of my collection when I was 15, I felt regret the next day. Obviously its your collection and you can do whatever you want, but if its something that you don't get any joy out of anymore, maybe it would be time to move on. At least thats how I felt, and I ended up re-buying my collection all over again. But you have some very valid points. If your financial situation calls for you collection to be sold, then its totally worth it. After all, they are just video games.
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ebrugal: It's a lot of fun playing the games together with them. In moderation games can be good for their mind (puzzles) and they're also valuable as a reward for good behavior. My son loves Kirby and Yoshi's Island.
lordbritannia: That's how I feel. The thing I love about a good collection is seeing great games beautifully displayed together. I think that's what brought me here to TCP in the first place. 8)
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ebrugal: It's a lot of fun playing the games together with them. In moderation games can be good for their mind (puzzles) and they're also valuable as a reward for good behavior. My son loves Kirby and Yoshi's Island.
Yea, i know i have twin nephew and a niece and they play a lot with me and my wife, its a lot of fun and we all enjoy it.
Whant to feel that with a son or doughter when i have them