Favorite aspect of collecting retro games

We all collect retro games for varying reasons eg. nostalgia, rarity, mint items etc. Though as retro collectors, we generally go through the same steps. For example:
- browsing online/offline
- spending cash
- receiving purchased items
- buyers remorse/ecstasy
- stare/touch/sniff old retro games just purchased
- display on shelf or store in boxes/draws
- flip/resell
- get told off by partner for spending too much time/money on the hobby/obsession
- ignore partner's rants, repeat steps from the above

Question is, what is your favorite aspect of the retro collecting hobby?
«1

Comments

  • I love displaying my boxes. Getting a new game added to the collection and rearranging everything is pure bliss.  
  • Originally posted by: Gloves



    I love displaying my boxes. Getting a new game added to the collection and rearranging everything is pure bliss.  

    ^ This.  Plus its a nostalgic factor for me.

     
  • I posted this chart earlier in the year and it applies more than you think. Got it from a card forum discussion which is a bit different though... cards aren't interactive like games. But on the pricey games you typically aren't buying them for their play factor anyway.



    http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=171562



    image
  • I like how none of that included "playing".



    Thats my favorite thing about collecting, is playing games.
  • Reading about a game online then already having it on the shelf to play. I like rare games, nice boxes, and unique oddities as much as anyone else too, but just a big library of games to browse is the most exciting part to me. That's the childhood dream come true.
  • Originally posted by: MrWunderful



    I like how none of that included "playing".



    Thats my favorite thing about collecting, is playing games.



    Last time I said "playing my games" the OP replied "yeah but I'm talking about the collecting of games, not playing!" like they're two totally separate things lol.

     
  • Originally posted by: MrWunderful



    I like how none of that included "playing".



    Thats my favorite thing about collecting, is playing games.



    What do you mean playing games? Like investing in rare games then hyping them up or flipping NES Classics for $400? Is playing games like playing the stock market? I guess that sounds like a fun thing to do with these games.
  • I enjoy going through the boxes on my shelf, looking at the art, reading the back until I decide what to play. Playing the game is fun too I guess 
  • Originally posted by: Gloves

     
    Originally posted by: MrWunderful



    I like how none of that included "playing".



    Thats my favorite thing about collecting, is playing games.



    Last time I said "playing my games" the OP replied "yeah but I'm talking about the collecting of games, not playing!" like they're two totally separate things lol.

     

    They are two entirely separate things.  A pure gamer would play a game, beat it and then trade it in for something new.  A pure collector would buy a game and never play it.  Most people are hybrids, whether 50/50 or some percentage towards one or the other.



    The OP is a sealed collector, hence why playing isn't part of that argument.  You aren't buying a sealed game to play it. 
  • Originally posted by: jonebone

     
    Originally posted by: Gloves

     
    Originally posted by: MrWunderful



    I like how none of that included "playing".



    Thats my favorite thing about collecting, is playing games.



    Last time I said "playing my games" the OP replied "yeah but I'm talking about the collecting of games, not playing!" like they're two totally separate things lol.

     

    They are two entirely separate things.  A pure gamer would play a game, beat it and then trade it in for something new.  A pure collector would buy a game and never play it.  Most people are hybrids, whether 50/50 or some percentage towards one or the other.



    The OP is a sealed collector, hence why playing isn't part of that argument.  You aren't buying a sealed game to play it. 



    I buy sealed games to play all the time. I unseal them!



    To be more clear, I suppose I meant to say "as though they HAVE TO BE two separate things" (for everyone).

     
  • Originally posted by: Gloves

     
    Originally posted by: jonebone

     
    Originally posted by: Gloves

     
    Originally posted by: MrWunderful



    I like how none of that included "playing".



    Thats my favorite thing about collecting, is playing games.



    Last time I said "playing my games" the OP replied "yeah but I'm talking about the collecting of games, not playing!" like they're two totally separate things lol.

     

    They are two entirely separate things.  A pure gamer would play a game, beat it and then trade it in for something new.  A pure collector would buy a game and never play it.  Most people are hybrids, whether 50/50 or some percentage towards one or the other.



    The OP is a sealed collector, hence why playing isn't part of that argument.  You aren't buying a sealed game to play it. 



    I buy sealed games to play all the time. I unseal them!



    To be more clear, I suppose I meant to say "as though they HAVE TO BE two separate things" (for everyone).

     

    Touche... though you can't really be a sealed collector if you opened all of your sealed games by definition   
  • Originally posted by: GPX



    We all collect retro games for varying reasons eg. nostalgia, rarity, mint items etc. Though as retro collectors, we generally go through the same steps. For example: - browsing online/offline - spending cash - receiving purchased items - buyers remorse/ecstasy - stare/touch/sniff old retro games just purchased - display on shelf or store in boxes/draws - flip/resell - get told off by partner for spending too much time/money on the hobby/obsession - ignore partner's rants, repeat steps from the above Question is, what is your favorite aspect of the retro collecting hobby?

    Wow. I literally feel like you know me perfectly. That was awesome.



     
  • Originally posted by: jonebone

     
    Originally posted by: Gloves

     
    Originally posted by: jonebone

     
    Originally posted by: Gloves

     
    Originally posted by: MrWunderful



    I like how none of that included "playing".



    Thats my favorite thing about collecting, is playing games.



    Last time I said "playing my games" the OP replied "yeah but I'm talking about the collecting of games, not playing!" like they're two totally separate things lol.

     

    They are two entirely separate things.  A pure gamer would play a game, beat it and then trade it in for something new.  A pure collector would buy a game and never play it.  Most people are hybrids, whether 50/50 or some percentage towards one or the other.



    The OP is a sealed collector, hence why playing isn't part of that argument.  You aren't buying a sealed game to play it. 



    I buy sealed games to play all the time. I unseal them!



    To be more clear, I suppose I meant to say "as though they HAVE TO BE two separate things" (for everyone).

     

    Touche... though you can't really be a sealed collector if you opened all of your sealed games by definition   



    I can call myself whatever I like, thank you very much!  

     
  • The plastic squares.
  • playing the games I collected
  • Originally posted by: Mega Tank



    The plastic squares.



    Total waste of time. I'm outta here!!! :-)

     
  • I've been through and enjoyed about all of those phases of collecting, specifically in regard to NES licensed set collecting.



    Early on I put what games I had in shelving and spent a lot of time just admiring my games. I had them all in totes prior to that so I was really motivated to expand my collection and enjoy what I already had.



    I loved winning auctions or finding good bulk deals, then admiring my new games in person after only having seen pictures of carts online. I loved rearranging the shelves too after every 10-20 new games.



    At about 60% through the set, one night I completely rearranged everything and put all the games in their final place with empty sleeves to fill in the gaps of games I didn't yet own. That was fun in its own way because then I had these small milestones of getting every game within a section of my shelf, and also looking forward to getting the expensive games already knowing where they would be placed on my shelf.



    I was also tracking games by cost brackets, as well as by letters of the alphabet. Within those categories, I also kept track of which game was the cheapest and which one was the most expensive. That gave me targets to aim for, and it was fun seeing some of these subsets come together once I started knocking off the higher end games.



    Now that I've gone as far as I'll go with NES licensed cart collecting, I'm not much interested in fullsets anymore. So I don't get to enjoy those breakdowns and acquiring carts over such a large set. However, I do have one final fun way of tracking these games and that's by beating them. For every NES game I beat for my site, I'm placing a little gold sticker on the shelf underneath the game, so at a glance I can see all the games I've completed. Since it's so early on, it's fun working toward seeing each section of games on my shelf having at least one sticker, or putting stickers by consectuive games on the shelf. Many, many years from now, I'll be completing entire shelf sections and rows of games, and it's gonna be fun seeing all those gold stickers and reflecting on my gaming accomplishments that way.
  • Originally posted by: arnpoly



    I've been through and enjoyed about all of those phases of collecting, specifically in regard to NES licensed set collecting.



    Early on I put what games I had in shelving and spent a lot of time just admiring my games. I had them all in totes prior to that so I was really motivated to expand my collection and enjoy what I already had.



    I loved winning auctions or finding good bulk deals, then admiring my new games in person after only having seen pictures of carts online. I loved rearranging the shelves too after every 10-20 new games.



    At about 60% through the set, one night I completely rearranged everything and put all the games in their final place with empty sleeves to fill in the gaps of games I didn't yet own. That was fun in its own way because then I had these small milestones of getting every game within a section of my shelf, and also looking forward to getting the expensive games already knowing where they would be placed on my shelf.



    I was also tracking games by cost brackets, as well as by letters of the alphabet. Within those categories, I also kept track of which game was the cheapest and which one was the most expensive. That gave me targets to aim for, and it was fun seeing some of these subsets come together once I started knocking off the higher end games.



    Now that I've gone as far as I'll go with NES licensed cart collecting, I'm not much interested in fullsets anymore. So I don't get to enjoy those breakdowns and acquiring carts over such a large set. However, I do have one final fun way of tracking these games and that's by beating them. For every NES game I beat for my site, I'm placing a little gold sticker on the shelf underneath the game, so at a glance I can see all the games I've completed. Since it's so early on, it's fun working toward seeing each section of games on my shelf having at least one sticker, or putting stickers by consectuive games on the shelf. Many, many years from now, I'll be completing entire shelf sections and rows of games, and it's gonna be fun seeing all those gold stickers and reflecting on my gaming accomplishments that way.



    The gold star is a fantastic idea!

     
  • Originally posted by: BigHero1006

     
    Originally posted by: arnpoly



    I've been through and enjoyed about all of those phases of collecting, specifically in regard to NES licensed set collecting.



    Early on I put what games I had in shelving and spent a lot of time just admiring my games. I had them all in totes prior to that so I was really motivated to expand my collection and enjoy what I already had.



    I loved winning auctions or finding good bulk deals, then admiring my new games in person after only having seen pictures of carts online. I loved rearranging the shelves too after every 10-20 new games.



    At about 60% through the set, one night I completely rearranged everything and put all the games in their final place with empty sleeves to fill in the gaps of games I didn't yet own. That was fun in its own way because then I had these small milestones of getting every game within a section of my shelf, and also looking forward to getting the expensive games already knowing where they would be placed on my shelf.



    I was also tracking games by cost brackets, as well as by letters of the alphabet. Within those categories, I also kept track of which game was the cheapest and which one was the most expensive. That gave me targets to aim for, and it was fun seeing some of these subsets come together once I started knocking off the higher end games.



    Now that I've gone as far as I'll go with NES licensed cart collecting, I'm not much interested in fullsets anymore. So I don't get to enjoy those breakdowns and acquiring carts over such a large set. However, I do have one final fun way of tracking these games and that's by beating them. For every NES game I beat for my site, I'm placing a little gold sticker on the shelf underneath the game, so at a glance I can see all the games I've completed. Since it's so early on, it's fun working toward seeing each section of games on my shelf having at least one sticker, or putting stickers by consectuive games on the shelf. Many, many years from now, I'll be completing entire shelf sections and rows of games, and it's gonna be fun seeing all those gold stickers and reflecting on my gaming accomplishments that way.



    The gold star is a fantastic idea!

     



    I did this with my PS3 games back when I was trying to play through them all. It definitely helps!

     
  • Originally posted by: Gloves

     
    Originally posted by: BigHero1006

     
    Originally posted by: arnpoly



    I've been through and enjoyed about all of those phases of collecting, specifically in regard to NES licensed set collecting.



    Early on I put what games I had in shelving and spent a lot of time just admiring my games. I had them all in totes prior to that so I was really motivated to expand my collection and enjoy what I already had.



    I loved winning auctions or finding good bulk deals, then admiring my new games in person after only having seen pictures of carts online. I loved rearranging the shelves too after every 10-20 new games.



    At about 60% through the set, one night I completely rearranged everything and put all the games in their final place with empty sleeves to fill in the gaps of games I didn't yet own. That was fun in its own way because then I had these small milestones of getting every game within a section of my shelf, and also looking forward to getting the expensive games already knowing where they would be placed on my shelf.



    I was also tracking games by cost brackets, as well as by letters of the alphabet. Within those categories, I also kept track of which game was the cheapest and which one was the most expensive. That gave me targets to aim for, and it was fun seeing some of these subsets come together once I started knocking off the higher end games.



    Now that I've gone as far as I'll go with NES licensed cart collecting, I'm not much interested in fullsets anymore. So I don't get to enjoy those breakdowns and acquiring carts over such a large set. However, I do have one final fun way of tracking these games and that's by beating them. For every NES game I beat for my site, I'm placing a little gold sticker on the shelf underneath the game, so at a glance I can see all the games I've completed. Since it's so early on, it's fun working toward seeing each section of games on my shelf having at least one sticker, or putting stickers by consectuive games on the shelf. Many, many years from now, I'll be completing entire shelf sections and rows of games, and it's gonna be fun seeing all those gold stickers and reflecting on my gaming accomplishments that way.



    The gold star is a fantastic idea!

     



    I did this with my PS3 games back when I was trying to play through them all. It definitely helps!

     



    I bought a roll of like 800 stickers.  That should be enough I think.   

     
  • This may sound a little corny. I really enjoy being surrounded by things I had when I was a kid. The art on the games, the colors, sound and smell. Sometimes after a stressful day at work I pick a NES game sit down and just play. The memories of when I was younger pop into my head as I play along. I was off for Columbus Day and spent a few hours in the game room playing Robocop and looking at Garbage Pail kids. When my wife came home she asked how was my day off? Awesome I told her with an ear to ear smile.

    Some people get these feelings from the gym, food or drugs...mine just happens to come from "little plastic squares".
  • Honestly my favorite aspect of collecting is to take all my games, throw them on the floor and dive naked into em Scrooge McDuck style and rub em all over my body.
  • I love learning about the history.
  • I enjoy the pre-buying aspects of collecting. Discovering what's out there, doing further research, searching out variations, etc. The research and learning is what does it for me, up to and including searching out how to obtain something. I've never really displayed or organized things. Many things will sit for years before I get around to playing them, and it is a very different experience in terms of emotions. Playing a game carries with it all sorts of expectations, hopes, and goals, whereas seeking something out prior to that is a different type of excitement. Same goes for book buying and reading. Finding something that I've wanted to read for years is very different than finding out if it is going to be an epic read.
  • There's multiple parts for me.



    - The hunt (only when I actually find something though): The kick of adrenaline is amazing. Probably why I like going on roller coasters as well...the rush of it!

    - Owning it: I get pleasure out of being able to say this game is MINE.

    - Cataloging it/organizing collection: Probably the second favorite part of collecting for me is adding it to my catalog of games and organizing it into the rest of my collection. Something soothing about seeing all those games on my shelves...knowing I did this, I collected these games, I spent YEARS on my collection.



    Another part (though it doesn't happen often since I try to buy CIB as much as possible) is frankensteining a game together. Where the game, instructions, and box all came from different places/people to be combined into a whole CIB game. I've done it a couple of times and it's so much fun! I love making games complete again. Feels like I'm actually restoring the game and bringing back history...
  • Now I'm getting days off I can start enjoying the fruits of my hording er...labor and play my unsealed games.
  • Originally posted by: Brock Landers






    Nobody else likes to clean them? I love drinking some beer while listening to music and cleaning up a dirty lot of games. Just don't take any names/"art" or stickers off. 

     
  • That dip after arrives is too real. like Yay!!! I got a thing! and then... I'm bored what else is there?
  • Originally posted by: Gloves

     
    Originally posted by: MrWunderful



    I like how none of that included "playing".



    Thats my favorite thing about collecting, is playing games.



    Last time I said "playing my games" the OP replied "yeah but I'm talking about the collecting of games, not playing!" like they're two totally separate things lol.

     

    I can understand how there might be some misunderstanding on my topics. I guess because this is "Collector's Corner", I'm writing topics with the aim for collectors in mind. I'm not purposefully being ignorant of the gamer amongst us. Personally I still play games myself, but mainly on Xbox360 (Arcade Live games, and downloadables). The games I collect are purely for collection and not to be played. They are to be looked at 99% of the time, and handled 1% of the time (for storing/displaying).



    In respect to my favorite part of collecting retro games, I'd say the aspect of building steadily a unique collection and admiring it from a visual standpoint the accomplishment and reminiscing on the nostalgia. 





     
Sign In or Register to comment.