Octopus Overlords

So I'm thinking I've always suffered from some kinda compulsive collecting habit...Let me give you a scenario...

So I'll come to Octopus Overlords, hear all the raves about a new PC,PS2,GBA game that just came out, and I'll rush out and buy it, thinking it worth while to add to my ultimate gaming collection.

As I play the game, I'll really enjoy it and so on, but then as the initial bang starts to wear off, I find myself looking over to my bookshelf that holds my small supple collection of the greatest PC games, where titles like Ultima 7 and X-Com sit... and I'll wonder if the game was worth the $$$ and even belongs in my collection. So I'll sit there and ponder forever on whether I should keep the game, or If I should just ebay it...Usually I'll end up ebaying it...I also find myself running through my collection on almost a weekly basis, going through each title, pondering on which ones just arent "classic" enough to be in my collection. Anyone else find themselves doing this? This also carries over into just about anything I collect, including books & DVD's.

My current target at the moment is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for PC. I'm trying to tell myself I love it, but it's just starting to feel like other two games, which I got bored of also after about two weeks.

If anything I have the opposite probem - I refuse to part with any game I've bought, no matter how crap they turned out to be. Probably because I don't buy many games....

While I have hundreds of games, I don't have this problem at all. I only buy games I know I will like, not just because the prevailing wind is blowing in their favor (ie, forum buzz). Furthermore, I will not buy a Starforce-infested game, further limiting my options.

Same applies to books and movies. I have several thousand books, but most of them are history or science books in my particular fields of interest. The novels I read (which isn't all that often) are from either authors I'm long acquianted with or otherwise. Movies are the same way - I might rent a movie everyone raves about, but I only buy those I either really like or again intersect my fields of interest (I have a lot of war or historical movies, for instance).

Consequently, I've never been moved to sell any of my games, books or movies on Fleabay or elsewhere. Rarely do I ever feel I've made a mistake in my purchases, and this hasn't happened at all since I stopped buying games day-of-release.

What Jeff said.

Sell?

I like to keep my possessions to a minimum, and I don't get sentimental about objects. Other than one copy of each game that I worked on, I only have about a dozen. I usually sell them or give them away as soon as I'm done with them. When the industry was healthy, I considered games disposable. Lately I'm more inclined to hang on to older titles as PC gaming dies out.

I have hundreds of PC games.
But I realize that if I sell just ONE that I don't think I'll play, it will later become a classic, and I'll have to re-purchase it at twice the price I sold it for.

So far, this would not have happened, as my instincts are pretty good as to which ones are classics.

So now, I am thinking of tossing the boxes that came with a jewel case inside and nothing else. I'll keep prisine boxes for the 'classics' (such as Freespace 2 SciFi Sim of the Year, X-Wing Collector Series, Thief Gold and 2, etc.), but toss the other boxes. Two years ago, this would never have crossed my mind, but space is now at a premium around here...

Giles Habibula wrote:So now, I am thinking of tossing the boxes that came with a jewel case inside and nothing else.

I did that a couple of years ago. Now, I'm thinking about buying a couple big 200 count CD holders and putting my games in there, as I'm running out of space for my jewel cases too.

Much the same as Jeff.

My collection was carefully picked for longevity and replayability. As such I play new games, but I also retro game.
So my collection is always revolving and being played even as new material is added.

And I have the systems and games to play everything right back to Colecovision. So lots of fun if you can find the time.

I'm addicted to opening boxes, installing games, and playing the first level.

I have dozens of games that have suffered that fate. I always say I will get back to them (especially the ones considered to be classics), but I never do.

Examples:

Deus Ex
The Longest Journey (this one may actually get play time this summer )
KOTOR
Planescape Torment
Silent Storm
Thief I and II (the engine... oooh, how I hate it).


and going further back...

Blade Runner
Zork: Grand Inquisitor
Fallout (yes, I admit, however much I love this game, I never finished it).
Baldur's Gate


Come to think of it, I haven't made a new PC game purchase in quite a while (the one that comes closest is WoW, but that's months after everybody else).


I never sell or trade any of my games either.

Few years ago I trashed everything but the discs and manuals. I put all my games in (2) 220CD Case Logic binders and wrote the CD Key on the sleeve that held each game. You wouldn't believe how much space was freed up.

I also did the same thing with my DVDs. Trashed all the cases and just kept the movie discs in a Case Logic binder.

I`m really careful how I spend money on games and I mainly divide it into categories.

- Must haves ,titles that suits my genre(s) and that I have followed in development and that will be played in my clan.


- Classics, the ones that frequent VERY often on lists and forums


- Budget titles for a rainy day: Some cheap games that I will probably play only once or twice

Never really had the problem you refer to, guess I`m lucky

Do I feel and do the same? Yes.

Do I hate myself for it every time? Yes.

Will i continue to do it? Unfortunately, as long as i still come here and and CG.