I'm a game collector

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:32 pm

There I said it.

At one time I was all about just playing my games but now it seems I buy and either install and play for a couple hours or buy and the game sits on the shelf unopened.

As I got older and my income increased I could basically afford to buy any game I wanted to buy. Any time. Those gaming budget days are in my distant past. Of course with a family, incresed job demands and some other worthwile activities my gameing time has dramaticaly shrunk. Funny how things balance out isn't it?

A couple years ago on Gone Gold someone did a survey about this very topic. I was stricty a gamer then (albeit with a large back log) but now I look at my playstation RPG collection with pride (most barely played) and my now growing collection of unfinished PC games doesn't bother me when I think of my games as an interactive stamp collection that I can do more with than just look at.

Some future acquistions for my collection Space Ranger, Spell force 2, and The Fall.

Brother.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:38 pm

I started getting into the collection mindset but then I got a little poorer after high school and I barely buy half a dozen games a year now. My wallet thanks me.

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:30 pm

I'm a "throw away the box, may only play them for an hour, save all game related box contents but rarely if ever sell or give them away"er.

Kobra · Post by **Kobra** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:36 pm

I never understood the "Collection" logic. Essentially when someone says "I collect", it basically means they waste money on something.

When I go to friends houses that have various collections, I watch them stand infront of their collections - as if they want to show them off - but I get a wierd feeling, almost like i'm watching them masturbate or something. Seriously, nobody cares about your collection except you.

The main difference in collecting coins and games, is that in 5 years your coins will be worth more (usually), and in 5 years your game collection will be a useless heap barely fit for a garage sale. When my dad died a few months ago and I went and settled his estate, I found his coin collection. One of the coins in that collection just sold for $9300.00. If he had collected PC games i'd of been JIPPED.

With that being said, I amazon-sell every game I don't think i'll play again. If I haven't played a game in a couple months, I definately sell it. Because the longer I keep it, the more useless and valueless it becomes. Plus, if you resell, then gaming becomes one of the cheapest hobbys around.. I've got all the money i'll ever need, but wastefull is wastefull, no matter who you are.

Hope your collection makes you happy.

yossar · Post by **yossar** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:07 pm

I throw away everything but the disks. I think the main thing keeping me from getting rid of more games is that I think that maybe I'll want to replay it someday.

Kobra wrote:Seriously, nobody cares about your collection except you.

And other collectors.

I sort of feel the same way about blogs. Everyone has one, the vast majority are completely inane, so there must be a bunch that have virtually no readership, right? And yet people continue to write them. But as long as the act of writing about how your cat feels sick today or whatever is enjoyable, have at it

Kobra · Post by **Kobra** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:35 pm

Jesus Christ, comparing collecting old dusty PC games to blogging? Thats a real stretch of it there pal.

Jolor · Post by **Jolor** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:37 pm

Yup.
While I do buy games with the direct purpose to play them, I am also of the type that has to finish games.
that = backlog that I will never dwindle to zero.
But, of late, I've been considering firing up each of my games in turn if only for a night just to make a bit of the sheepishness and regret go away.

At GG once I swore that I would buy only RPGs in an effort to cut down on the backlog but then we hit the RPG lull and there was RoN, Painkiller, Far Cry, Prince of Persia ...

Buatha · Post by **Buatha** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:44 pm

Personally, I started "collecting" after realizing that games disappear from the market completely. Of course, there's Ebay, but some old games actually increase in value. I remember thinking "I'll pick up the Ultimate RPG Archive later. " I paid more for it on Ebay since I couldn't find it anywhere. That is when I turned Collector, I guess.

So, yeah, if I see a game in the bargain bin, I pick it up even if I don't play it for a year or more. Unfortunately, I have to work for a living, so it takes a long time to finish even one game. It's even worse now that I have a child, so forget those long Saturday/Sunday gaming afternoons.

I keep thinking when I retire, I'll have enough to time to really play. Of course, I'll have to keep carrying forward all of my old machines. I keep a Pentium 133, and Pentium II 300 w/3Dfx card for those pesky old Glide games. Screw DOSBox! I've got the real deal. I'll keep on collecting, thank you.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:00 pm

Hi D.A. It's been 6 hours since I got my last game.

I'm not sure this 12 step thing is working......

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:27 pm

Kobra wrote:Seriously, nobody cares about your collection except you.

The main difference in collecting coins and games, is that in 5 years your coins will be worth more (usually), and in 5 years your game collection will be a useless heap barely fit for a garage sale. When my dad died a few months ago and I went and settled his estate, I found his coin collection. One of the coins in that collection just sold for $9300.00. If he had collected PC games i'd of been JIPPED.

That point is completely irrelevant. Gathering items for financial value is investing, not collecting. Collecting is about the pleasure of finding a rare item, or filling a hole in your collection that's been there for a long time. It is searching for hard to find items, and pleasure in finding them. It is comparing your collection with other collectors.

Lots of people don't find that enjoyable - no biggie. Claiming that somebody else's pastime is a waste because you yourself don't enjoy it seems a bit off, thought.

Kobra · Post by **Kobra** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 12:02 am

Blackhawk wrote:It is comparing your collection with other collectors.

Ok so it is basically a penis size competition? That explains it all the better for me. Thanks. Now I know what my friends are thinking when they show me their "Collections".

Spock's Brain · Post by **Spock's Brain** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:15 am

Collecting can be an obsession.

Saving every last penny (even if you don't need to) can be another form of obsession.

Either way, there's some form of pleasure involved and, after all, you can't take it with you.

SlapBone · Post by **SlapBone** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 2:15 am

yossar wrote: I sort of feel the same way about blogs. Everyone has one, the vast majority are completely inane, so there must be a bunch that have virtually no readership, right?

Speaking of bad blogs. Did anyone ever check out this blog when it was still online?

http://boredmofo.com/blog/index.php

I guess this guy figured out that no one cared about his blog but him.

ChrisGwinn · Post by **ChrisGwinn** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 10:51 am

Kobra wrote:I never understood the "Collection" logic. Essentially when someone says "I collect", it basically means they waste money on something.

Hope your collection makes you happy.

Your last paragraph is the explanation. Hell, people collect things that don't cost any money at all - matchbooks, air sickness bags, rocks...

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:33 pm

Kobra wrote:I never understood the "Collection" logic. Essentially when someone says "I collect", it basically means they waste money on something.

Hope your collection makes you happy.

I think Collecting is more of a passion type thing than a logical type of thing. A fair comeback might be,haven't you ever been passionate about something before?

I got turned around on the whole collection thing whenl I saw a news report about people who collect, save and exhibit Barbed Wire. Where is the value in that? Bottom line, there need not be a value to a collection and while you may think it's a waste of money to collect something, where is the harm? It's their money.

Kobra · Post by **Kobra** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:36 pm

SlapBone wrote:
yossar wrote: I sort of feel the same way about blogs. Everyone has one, the vast majority are completely inane, so there must be a bunch that have virtually no readership, right?
Speaking of bad blogs. Did anyone ever check out this blog when it was still online?

http://boredmofo.com/blog/index.php

I guess this guy figured out that no one cared about his blog but him.

No smartass, I changed blogging software.

http://boredmofo.com/blog/

Feel better?

I'd like to explore this "Collection" mentality more, I wonder if there are books on it? I don't collect anything, and I don't think money can be considered in that. My wife doesn't collect either. But i've always been puzzled by people that do collect, why they do it, and what drives them. I'm inclined to think it is just a obsession with having a ton of one type of thing that grows out of control - a form of mental illness. All obsessions are a form of sickness or mental trouble, and it could be collecting is just another one alongside things like Cronic gambling.

I wonder how my old pal that had a 1400 VHS tape collection is doing. o.O Haven't seen him in years, maybe he's moved on to DVD's.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 3:38 pm

dbt1949 wrote:Hi D.A. It's been 6 hours since I got my last game.

I'm not sure this 12 step thing is working......

And you want this thing to work because . . . . .? ? ?

raydude · Post by **raydude** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 4:34 pm

Kobra wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:It is comparing your collection with other collectors.
Ok so it is basically a penis size competition? That explains it all the better for me. Thanks. Now I know what my friends are thinking when they show me their "Collections".

This from the guy who brags about building a lan center in his house? And how he keeps buying the latest video card when it comes out? Talk about compensating for something.

Kobra · Post by **Kobra** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 4:43 pm

I found this interesting writeup on collecting.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/mr121

Also reading up, i'm finding that the collector mentality is fed, and propogated by corporations to feed their sales off of collector obsessions. They purposely seed the urge to collect with nearly everything they release/sell/manufacture - and it servers the purpose of getting people to buy something they don't really need. Or to buy and horde things that don't really get any use. For example when a company releases some figurines for a happy meal and says "Collect them all!" they insinuate your life won't be complete unless you have them all. Worse, they FEED the obsession by making certain ones rare - so you have to buy more and more happy meals to find that special one.

What i'm finding disturbing is that people collect everything from various feces samples, to pieces of shoe laces. I'm almost convinced it is a form of mental illness that is being exploited by our materialistic society.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 6:21 pm

This just in!!! Companies try to make money by producing products to sell to you!! Sometimes you might not even need it!!

Kobra · Post by **Kobra** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 8:25 pm

Octavious230 wrote:This just in!!! Companies try to make money by producing products to sell to you!! Sometimes you might not even need it!!

Hey i'm guilty of convincing people to buy shit they don't need. All i'm saying is collectors are like cattle going to the slaughter house. But they are great for sales.

Clanwolfer · Post by **Clanwolfer** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 9:19 pm

Kobra wrote:
Octavious230 wrote:This just in!!! Companies try to make money by producing products to sell to you!! Sometimes you might not even need it!!
Hey i'm guilty of convincing people to buy shit they don't need. All i'm saying is collectors are like cattle going to the slaughter house. But they are great for sales.

So mentally deficient people are your target market?

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 9:58 pm

Kobra quotes

when someone says "I collect", it basically means they waste money

a obsession with having a ton of one type of thing that grows out of control

the collector mentality is fed, and propogated by corporations to feed their sales off of collector obsessions

collectors are like cattle going to the slaughter house. But they are great for sales

And to think, I started this thread with the title "I am a collector".

Hrnac · Post by **Hrnac** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 1:26 am

There is absolutely nothing wrong with collecting so long as it remains harmless. It's when something crosses that fine line between hobby and obsession that one should start to get worried.

-Hrnac

SlapBone · Post by **SlapBone** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:32 pm

Kobra reminds me of the Cristopher Lloyd character in The Dream Team.

SlapBone · Post by **SlapBone** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:49 pm

D.A.Lewis wrote:Kobra quotes

when someone says "I collect", it basically means they waste money

a obsession with having a ton of one type of thing that grows out of control

the collector mentality is fed, and propogated by corporations to feed their sales off of collector obsessions

collectors are like cattle going to the slaughter house. But they are great for sales
And to think, I started this thread with the title "I am a collector".

See, now you're collecting Kobra quotes. You need to see a shrink about this collecting problem you have.

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 10:17 am

Hrnac wrote:There is absolutely nothing wrong with collecting so long as it remains harmless. It's when something crosses that fine line between hobby and obsession that one should start to get worried.

-Hrnac

So is my collection of body parts I keep in an attempt to build a whole new person something to be worried about?

back on topic...I had a nice collection a few years ago but realized it was serving no purpose because I was not enjoying the collection it was just taking up too much valuable space. So I started selling and giving a lot of it away. Not i only keep games that I know I'll play over and over.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 10:51 am

I used to collect coins, stamps, and books. I had to sell the first two collections for survival money at one point in my life. I didn't get back nearly what I had put into them. The books came to take up more and more space, and they deteriorate as the years go by. I have purged all but a couple hundred, and if I ever have to move again, I'll get rid of most of those. I started to collect games once, but the technology that supported them moved too fast; after a few years, old games became unplayable. I do still have a couple of boxes of old board games. They even see the light of day now and then.

My wife enjoys acquisition and seldom throws anything away, although she does periodically sell old crap on ebay to make room for new crap. She doesn't "collect" so much as hoard -- it's a family trait. I got out of the packrat mindset many years ago. When you die, somebody just has to throw away box after box of your valueless junk. I prefer to save them the trouble. The Bride accumulates more than enough clutter for both of us anyway.

Hrnac · Post by **Hrnac** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 1:25 pm

Lassr wrote:So is my collection of body parts I keep in an attempt to build a whole new person something to be worried about?

I would think that as long as you change the Formaldehyde once every few weeks you should be good to go.

-Hrnac

Cofcos · Post by **Cofcos** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:43 pm

Years ago, I had to choose a topic for my GED essay that was related to 'collecting'(they chose your topic)... I went with 'collecting games' and in 45 minutes I had to explain to someone who almost assuredly had no non-stereotypical knowlage of 'video' games why just collecting them wasn't even weirder than just playing them... I got a 7(of out 10) on it...

(I went with the more interactive than stamps angle and I guess it worked. Of course, I'm sure they wondered how someone who needed to take the GED could afford to 'collect' games...)

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who does this. Though, I go in for a more niche area, now: MMOs! I collect MMOs... I have all-- I said ALL the big ones. Plus many I'm sure you'd never believe existed, even if I gave you proof... I also consider the MMORPG.com list to be woefully inadequate. But, I will say the more popular MMOs are more popular for a reason... Though there are some good niche ones, most suck or are so weird they may as well been made by space aliens(Korean).

...Now that may sound rasist or something, but I mean weird in the classical sense. Without the different=bad connotations.

SlapBone · Post by **SlapBone** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 10:12 pm

Cofcos wrote:
I'm sure they wondered how someone who needed to take the GED could afford to 'collect' games...

I'm sure you already had a couple of diplomas and was trying to collect your GED equivalent

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:53 pm

I collect because when I read years later a thread bemoaning the fact that someone cannot find a copy of an old classic they threw away and want to play it again, I can just go to my shelf, pull down the original copy in its original box, and play it myself on one of my old machines...

...or sell it to him for $150.
I'm ashamed to admit that in the past I've made a small fortune selling games I doubled and tripled up on because I gambled (correctly) that they'd become classics. That bit of collecting got me through 6 unemployed months.

But nowadays, I'm elderly and nostalgia means more to me than money.

Buatha · Post by **Buatha** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:23 pm

I've never doubled/tripled up on games, but I know what you mean. Of course, sometimes weird shit happens where you will see something like Might & Magic VI Limited Collector's Editions suddenly start showing up everywhere. I was in Fry's the other day and there were six boxes.

I almost bought another one just because it comes with all previous five games with their respective printed color maps, in addition to the cloth map for VI. It also includes a mini-strategy guide.

My prides and joys are my Lost Treasures of Infocom Vol. 1, Ultimate RPG Archive, and The Ultima Collection.

ChrisGwinn · Post by **ChrisGwinn** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:49 pm

My wife's a librarian, so I doubt we'll ever manage to pare down the number of books we own. We haven't even managed to slow the rate of growth.

Kobra · Post by **Kobra** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:23 pm

Theres a guy at Stardock that has like 400 older games on his shelves at his office.. I used to hand out in there to marvel at them - not that they were worth anything - but the old and huge boxes filled with artifacts was pretty funny.

Too bad salvage pirates seem to sneak in there afterhours and take goodies, the boxes are becoming lighter by the day when I worked there.

One of the actual 'Rare' items around the Stardock offices was the expansion they did for Starcraft called "Retribution". Now that is a rare item in the USA.