Just curious.... Do people just get into game collecting on a whim?? I mean... "Been at this 3 months, best find yet"???.... So, you decided 3 months ago that collecting vintage gaming carts/everything was your thing?

Forgive me whoever posted the previous thread on "in the wild", but it got me thinking... this is no harsh on you, but more so just a curious inquiry into the collecting gaming community...

I've been "collecting" video games since I was a kid.... I never thought someone would just decide to start "collecting" like it's a thing to do.

I suppose I don't recall the day I started "collecting"... I guess it was when I realized that these games/items were being totally under appreciated and I needed to save them from their terrible downfall.... As in, no more of these games are being made so I might as well grab them when I can!

Not harshing here... just curious. I didn't even consider the idea of being a video game "collector" until I stumbled upon NA... so I'm curious about the motivations for getting into the collecting. There are some pretty high ticket video game items out there, so maybe that's it. For me, like I said, it was to save the games from destruction or poor treatment... for others maybe it's for money... I don't know....

It would really suck for me if I just started collecting games a little while ago... living in Canada, in a small town, doesn't lend well to video game "collecting"... maybe if I lived in Texas like the Game Chasers, I would be able to amass a decent collection quickly, but my god... to build a collection living in rural Canada is a nightmare. Ebay is almost the only way to actually find games you're looking for... and I'm talking decent, "easily findable" games... you can't just walk into a Game Stop (I've never actually seen one in real life) here and grab some oldschool games... just doesn't work like that.

And so, the question is this: WHY DO YOU COLLECT GAMES??

My ansmer is simple: I wanted to play them and I knew that finding them where I did (garage sales, thrift shops) was not doing them justice. At least I could own the games and they would be put to good use. After discovering NA I'm realizing that collecting games is more serious that I had thought....

I'm green with jealous rage of all those who are able to cruise their cities and hit a few used games shops... that's my dream.

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/...

I don't collect games. I collect consoles and play the games I have

I've been "collecting" since I was a kid and due to being poor, young, and in college I had to sell off %80 percent of my collection. I've been "re-collecting" for a couple years now. I do it because it's my favorite past time and it's quickly becoming my sons favorite too.

I collect for the freaking babes duh!

I don't care WHAT people are collecting...

There's a significant difference in these two threads.... I'm looking for the philosophical answer of WHY people are so intrigued with "collecting" now.... You could have easily NOT answered this thread, instead of taking the two clicks it took to copy and paste... thanks for wasting our time, though...

Cheers to K3VBOT, Chairs, and RetroSauce for actually entertaining the question... especially you RetroSauce, I'm in it for the babes too!!!

My OCD won't let me stop!
I don't know really. All this stuff is so much cheap to come by for the most part. I think when I was a kid, I would get about 5 games a year and rent maybe 10. Its fun now to finally get to play everything else. I know I'll never get a complete set, but part of me wants to see how close I can get. I think its just what I substitute for other bad habits. I don't smoke, drink, or cheat; I just fill up a room in my house with comics, toys, and video games.

I just picked up Spot for Nes. Never played it back in the day and now I can't put it down. I think one day I'm just going to put all of my carts on the gloor and put them in my order of preference. Like I said, OCD.

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/...=...

sorry, we've just never had a topic like this before, so i didn't really know what to do

In the more non-anal non-picky way people can get into collecting I don't get into it. I play games, but I also don't like getting rid of a game I like or love and would go back to. Because of me not treating them as disposables when finished I've always collected. When I think of when I started to 'collect' would be around 1995 when I started buying up old NES games I missed out on having moved to the SNES in 1991.

There is a significant comparison with the thread that was linked as well. Your response to him posting the link was a bit rude and unnecessary. Both threads are asking "why", maybe you missed that part of the other thread title. I thought you were trying to emphasize the collecting "GAMES" aspect. I'd have answered this thread and the other the exact same way.

Just my 2 cents

Well, growing up a very poor child in a trailer, I was very isolated from what was modern. I was playing Atari 2600 when people had NES consoles, and just was a very isolated and shut off type of kid for awhile. It wasn't until I started interacting with my cousin that I got a taste of newer games, funny enough playing stuff like Sonic before I got to own the old NES, but eventually I got a used NES and played probably 20-30 games through. Each must have been maybe 2 or 3 bucks at the time as well.

The series that hit me really hard though was the Mega Man line, it was the first thing I ever tried to collect, I did at some point succeed at collecting all of the original 6 NES games when I was probably 10 or so, but cart only, but once stuff like X2, X3, 7 and such came out.. I dunno, for some reason even as a kid these always seemed notoriously expensive. 70 bucks for a cart at funco land when I was used to 5 dollar games was just insane. Through years and years I sold all my consoles, games, etc to fund newer more modern ones as I had no means to afford the volume I enjoyed playing. I eventually met a girl who enjoyed playing video games but, also did not get to play most of them due to lack of exposure or interest, so I tried getting her into some stuff like Kirby or DKC, and it kind of triggered a notion that maybe I should try to reclaim my old collection but, in better, more complete shape.

After about 5 or so years, i'm over half way done finishing and hoping to finish within a year or 2ish, as we both hold down jobs the amount of money I can invest into it increases, but it's a shame the prices have gone so crazy lately. Now I one day desire to fill an entire room with games I played, wanted to play, or was recently exposed to existing, a sort of montage or library of what really mattered on various consoles. I'd like friends, family, and of course myself and the fiancee to be able to pick and choose any era and know what's being picked is, or was, a quality experience

Sorry for being long winded.

<3

anyway for the sake of saving the thread, i collect for something to do. when i get around to playing my games, it gives me something to get lost in for a little while. i don't feel like i'm "saving" games from "certain doom" or anything, I just like having them and stuff

I missed out on the 16 bit era and I want to go back to reclaim my childhood. Also games today are crap. I've been collecting action figures for over a decade now so collecting video games just feels "right" I guess I'm a hoarder at heart lol.

I collect just so I can respond to these silly little threads that pop up every day.

Guys I'm having deja vu again...

I searched super nintendo on kijiji and found 3 games for $5 each, when i picked them up they were mint and complete, thats when I decoded to buy the games of my childhood, then the ones I wanted, them the ones that were rare, then everything!

No sorry necessary, wasn't trying to be rude...

I see what you're saying Tanooki about not being able to get rid of a game... that's what I'm talking about, I am the same way...

Thanks for the insight goldenpp72, it's awesome just to get your hands on some of the old school games that were so illusive as kids. Fun to play and just crash and burn... Getting everyone together for a good gaming session is always fun.

I'm also think that games today are crappy... I mean, most of the clone games are... original stufff can be very cool and the graphics are killer.... but nothing will compare to kicking the crap out of dudes with blocky knees, elbows, and tornado kicks.

Haha, sounds like it was a slippery slope for you alekx...

I guess I was just getting at a more general approach to "collecting"... like, why would I buy Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt when I've already got a few? Well... because I know it'll go to a good home and know people who will appreciate it. Hell, I'll even beat the game a few times just for fun.... or... buy doubles of every game... or buy 18 controllers. To preserve the history is another way to look at it... some of this stuff is just sitting around in peoples basements, garages, and attics just waiting to be brought out again and enjoyed...

I collect retro games because retro games are awesome,most of the current gen stuff is pure crap!

I feel no need to explain my actions. Haha there's so many threads on "why do you collect!"

We just had this topic recently; maybe you'll find this one is similar enough to your question:

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/...

http://nintendoage.com/forum/mess...

Some people collect, some people sleep and the world just keeps on spinning.

We've had so many threads like this recently...

my answer would be because the NES era was a great part of my childhood even though at that time i only had around 10 games or so, another part would be to get all the games that were released here and find out (gameplay wise) what i missed out on as a kid.