Have you become more collector than gamer?
I don't play my NES games or New games all that much because I'm always looking for for the next great find and trying to complete my list....wondering how you guys balance collecting and playing?
I don't play my NES games or New games all that much because I'm always looking for for the next great find and trying to complete my list....wondering how you guys balance collecting and playing?
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I don't play my NES games or New games all that much because I'm always looking for for the next great find and trying to complete my list....wondering how you guys balance collecting and playing?
If you feel like playing video games, just play them. If you feel like searching, go search for games. I play my games ALOT more then I search for them. I actually never search for games really. I am a CIB person. Nothing is loose in my collection, and it is sooo much harder to find cib stuff in the wild then loose stuff. I only look for stuff when there is a game I want to play really. Or when something drops in my lap, like someone posts something I want on here or someone replys to my adds on craigslist.
Another thing is, I used to try to collect for way too many systems at once and this made me feel stressed actually, like there wasn't enough time. I forced myself to focus down my attention to a few systems that I really love and set more manageable boundaries. No I try to focus on NES CIB (all games), famicom CIB (jap exclusives only), a pruned down list of just 50-100 of "the best" genesis and snes games (also CIB), and the occasional new Wii title. Still might sound like a lot, but I've also prioritized my collection goals so that I'm not spread too thin.
Anyhoo, I do know the feeling but I've found that goal-setting and prioritization has helped a lot, and I'm much happier now that I play more... after all, the joys of gaming are what drew me into collecting in the first place!
I initially started getting games from when I was a kid just to play for nostalgia purposes. But the purchasing has definitely taken over the playing & it is an obsession for sure. I can't imagine stopping collecting, I search nearly everyday for stuff even though i can't really afford it.
Life's a bitch ain't it? I haven't played any games in about a month but it's okay because I enjoy being outside in nice weather. I have been itching to play something lately though, I might try to beat a SNES game in the near future.
And now you realize the irony of video game collecting. When you are an adult, you can afford to buy as many games as you want, but most of us have hardly any time to play them between work, girlfriends, housework, etc. For those of you with kids, probably even less free time.
Life's a bitch ain't it?
Obviously I cut up your post, but this sums it up well. I almost think that now with my large variety of stuff to play, im a little overstimulated as well. Combine that with the fact im so damn tired after work and all, I would rather sit and do nothing. Plus nothing beats the feeling of finding something new! I keep telling myself that one day I will sit and do nothing but play one day, knowing that will probably not happen. But as long as collecting (versus playing) still brings me joy and alleviates every day stress, then it is still serving a purpose.
When you are a kid, you can only afford a new game every so often an $50 is a several weeks of allowance or a special occasion like a birthday. Yet you have all the time in the world to play them and thoroughly obliterate them for your money's worth. When you are an adult, you can afford to buy as many games as you want, but most of us have hardly any time to play them between work, girlfriends, housework, etc. For those of you with kids, probably even less free time.
I am currently in the process of working through this exact dilemma. I have a few ideas on how I plan to combat the problem (if you want to call it that), but it's taking a lot more thinking and effort than what should be such a simple solution.
Anyways, playing works out well for most as they are games I really like, but when I start focusing on the one system then I'll probably get a huge backlog.
I have to admit though, it is addicting looking for that next game, it's more exciting bringing something home and putting it on the shelf to display
I agree, it's easy to get obsessed with collecting, and it's definitely bitten me too. I do my best to only buy games that I will actually play someday. But honestly I've not been able to follow that rule completely. I'll buy a cheap game just because, it's only a buck or two, or it's a good deal, I can resell it and never do.
I have a priority list of the next games I'll play, about 90% of games I own, I probably will not complete.
I keep going back and forth wether or not to go for a complete ntsc set, I very well might on accident, buying a few games here and there till I am only a hundred away or something. Coming up with places to stash the games keeps getting harder for me.
But, I still play my Wii (and occasional PC title) quite a bit, so I suppose I'm more of a current gen gamer, even though many of the newer games I play look somewhat old-school (i.e. Cave Story, Mega Man 9, Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth). I think I only have around 15 Wii titles, but I've played the crap out of them all.
I might make an occasional run to a couple game stores (every couple of weeks/months/when I'm near one for another reason), but for the most part I'm only on here during my down time at work. The only time I ever sign on NA at home is when I'm waiting to hear back from someone or to close a deal.
On the opposite side, I make time almost every night that I'm home to play whatever game I'm currently working on. One of the main reasons I got into collecting was because I loved having so many choices of what to play next. I also like to jump around from system to system. As my favorite console is NES I tend to play a few games in a row before moving on, but then I might play Wii next or Genesis or Gameboy, etc.
That being said, my backlog of games is humongous, but as I mentioned before I love the options. I'm nearing the end of my NES collection and at the moment I don't plan on collecting for another system so I would imagine gaming will take an even larger hold over collecting. Granted, I still have a laundry list of games for pretty much every system that I don't have but would like to play someday and I don't see that changing. With so many systems I like to play and so many games out there, I'll never run out of options. Plus I love talking about gaming so I'm 100% sure I'll always be around the collecting scene, but for me gaming comes first.