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| Getting out of collecting (somewhat); the regression phase | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 19 2013, 10:30 PM (752 Views) | |
| warmsignal | Aug 19 2013, 10:30 PM Post #1 |
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Level 1
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Trying to not sound cynical with such a post, but I watched a video by ballinnick1982 and it struck a chord with me. Just wanted to talk about this reevaluation of my gaming hobby, and my regression phase of sorts. When I started, I was a lot like many enthusiasts, I wanted to just amass gaming merchandise and explore every avenue first hand. Building a game collection was in a way more important to me than gaming itself. So I spent several summers hitting flea markets, yard sales, thrift stores, or any place I could find cheap stuff. I won't say I was so desperate as to pick up like a Rock Band or Star Trek game just because it was there before me with a cheap price tag. But a lot of games, I did pick up because they were cheap and available to me whether I knew what they were or not. I did end up buying some filler. But my interest in the collecting aspect has dwindled as of late. I realize I could've had a lot fewer games, but better games had I just paid out the money for the stuff that's honestly better. Not to say that I'm dissatisfied with my games, most of them I enjoy, others I could let go of. I'm still without a lot of the key titles I'd really like to own across different platforms, because I've spent so much time, energy, and money chasing cheap stuff at the luck of the draw. You can find some pretty good stuff that way, but you don't control what you get to find. So it's more like you're just doing it to get more games period... If I had it to do again, I'd probably just buy a lot less stuff and buy it mostly all online. I guess that's what comes from being a seasoned gamer, you learn things you don't realize at first. I've never really had an interest in gaming collectables, and never wanted to build a game room. It's neat to look at online, but not really my style... I mean, did I really need to buy a trilogy of Hitman games for PS2? Nope. Might not ever play them. Did I really need to spend $80 on an Atari Jaguar? Heck no, worst $80 I've ever spent. Did I need to buy the limited edition Epic Mickey for Wii? Figure already broke, and the giant box infuriates me. These were all lessons slowly learned. I'm not really interested in having an all encompassing collection anymore. I just want to own the games that I've learned are right for me, quality over quantity as they say. So my focus is narrowing down, and as been for some time. I'm settling for less, yet more at the same time. It's easier for someone like me to say now that I've been there and done that, but I think it's really the better way to go about game collecting. Building a "game museum" style collection really isn't as rewarding as it might at first seem like. It can be addictive just buying stuff. Things you don't really enjoy, just to have it on a shelf. But when you've got it, you don't care anymore, you just want to go and buy more. At least for me, that's just not my style... even though I started out thinking it was. That kind of mindset held me back, and wasted a lot of my time and money in the end. And at this point I could really care less about values of games, or how many I have in one stack. It's not so much about collecting games, just collecting stuff I like. Researching titles and investing my money into games that serve me better. So when people ask me "are you a collector?", I really don't know how to respond to that. In a way, no. I just like games, and I like to own and keep the stuff I enjoy. That's really the way I've always been ever since childhood. I never got rid of any of my games, but of course that didn't mean I was a collector. So that's my soapbox I guess, just talking about how I've gotten out of collecting for the most part. Would be interesting to hear some thoughts from other gamers here, what is your philosophy on game collecting? Do you call yourself a proper collector? Are you more just a gamer? Do you even hold on to the stuff you like? Etc... Edited by warmsignal, Aug 19 2013, 10:31 PM.
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| TySoN_F | Aug 19 2013, 11:43 PM Post #2 |
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That's good you got what you needed out of your epiphany man  Gaming is that rare beast where you can go about what you want from it at different angles. It *should* be about having fun first and everything else second! As long as you're happy, you can go forward from what you learned!I collect because Video Games have been the constant escapist thing in my life that I always go back to. I regret not having played a lot of games that I know I probably would've enjoyed. I got into collecting about a year and a half ago when I was 17 (I'm 19 now). I wanted to collect because I wanted to have a library of games that I could go back on whenever I wanted, not just for the sheer size or anything like that. Something that I wasn't able to do during my childhood. When I was getting out of HS and slowly moving towards college. I wondered if collecting was something I wanted to do. And after sometime to think, the short answer is yeah! I did. I wanna be able to go back to my collection, I wanna be able to relive the glory days of Poke-mania or when Sega was actually a dominating force in the industry. If I noticed that a youtuber I follow is playing a game that I own and I get interested, I wanna try it out and I can! Mostly, collecting should have a purpose. My purpose for it is to have a library of games I can revisit and rediscover whenever. A lot of my favorite games have come out of randomly discovering it or trying it out because I got it for the cheap at a thrift store or I bought it in a lot with games I actually wanted. Again, the main purpose is to have fun and I get that from what I do xD (hah, I wrote more than I thought I would). |
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My Instagram >Follow My Instagram! I post videos and pics of my collection. My Twitter >Twitter, Don't know what to do with yet! | |
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| Unclever | Aug 22 2013, 04:07 AM Post #3 |
Level 5
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I have never considered myself a collector. I do end up keeping most games that I buy so some people I know think of me as one but that is only because they are amongst the multitude of gamers that sell games as fast as they can buy them. I have come to a very simple rule with the games I keep "If I can get out of the game what I spent on it I keep it". If I spent $5 on a game and got $5 of fun out of it I keep it, if I spent $60 on a game and think I only got $50 out of it I don't have a problem selling it. |
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| GameEscape | Aug 22 2013, 11:08 AM Post #4 |
Level 3
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The OP makes an interesting point with regard to addiction. I have definitely noticed the addicting side of collecting in my own experience, and have definitely picked up numerous titles that I have not yet had the time to play. Sometimes it is so alluring to just search ebay and pick up a few titles that look interesting, even if they may end up collecting dust on the shelf. But then, months or years later, you have some time and you start playing one of these titles, and it is actually quite rewarding. My rule for collecting is to collect genres that I love (jrpgs, action/platformers, and puzzle games) and to limit my scope to systems that I grew up with or have since acquired. I don't go after the rare consoles or the pre-NES stuff just for the sake of collecting. I do actually collect with an eye to future value, however, only because when you are collecting and investing reasonable sums of money in anything, you need to understand the market and act accordingly. Now, I don't think I'll get rich off of my collection or be able to retire after selling it, but I do treat it as an asset out respect for my investment in it. While I don't have an all encompassing gaming museum and don't aspire to build one, I do have a game room and a collection that represents a personally meaningful part of the history of gaming, and that is what I love most about the hobby. There are certainly days when I look at the collection and ask "What's the point of it all?"-but then I direct that question towards other aspects of modern life, and the happiness derived from the hobby seems rational again. But, we all have to do what is right for us and I respect the OP's assessment of the issue. |
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YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/wcladley Twitter: @Game_Escape_ | |
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| ShadowBlaze | Aug 22 2013, 11:34 AM Post #5 |
Hail the Sun!
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I also reevaluated my status as a "collector" about a year ago. When I first started about 2 years ago, I just kinda started buying anything that I thought looked good. After I had amassed tons of games, I stared to play through them and I didn't really enjoy most of what I bought. I started to realize that maybe I shouldn't try to be a collector. I had recently also gotten into collecting Pokemon cards, and it was becoming way too expensive to do both. So I decided to stick with video games. But not purely to collect them, to play and enjoy them like a gamer. I don't really categorize myself anymore. I just buy current gen games (though I will buy ps2 era games as well since I grew up with those) as soon as I see them at good prices or if they are on sales. I do the occasional game hunt every once in awhile, but I never scored much. A few months ago, I started getting very tired of waiting for games I really wanted to try to either lower price on amazon/ebay or find it in the wild. So I just started buying games online when I think I have found a good price. I will usually do a good deal of research on the game I am interested in beforehand on various review sites unless if the game is very cheap on ebay, then I will play the game and decide for myself. I usually wait til games drop til $20 if I am not super stoked to get them right away. If games are older, I usually try to win a bid on ebay so I don't break the bank. So far its been working out well. I have a plethora of games that I legitimately want to own and play. While my collection is not huge, it is adequate and I enjoy it. |
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Games I have for trade! Youtube Gameplay Channel 
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| Justin.A | Aug 22 2013, 03:46 PM Post #6 |
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We need to give Zaven an intervention and force him to read this thread. |
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| zaven1718 | Aug 22 2013, 04:13 PM Post #7 |
Level 7
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Hi Justin! |
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| Tr3vor | Aug 22 2013, 04:30 PM Post #8 |
This character does not exist
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^This. I never really got into collecting, I only bought the games that I enjoy playing. I can't see why anyone would want to collect video games really. |
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Youtube: Tr3vor42532: http://www.youtube.com/user/Tr3vor42532 | |
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| RockmanDash12 | Aug 22 2013, 07:13 PM Post #9 |
Anime Fan, Handheld Lover, VN Nut
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I think a lot of the people on these forums has this problem, where they buy more games than actually play, buy junk games because they are hard to find, and never play the games they have... (game chasers, ZAVEN). I've never been a collector, and i've only got the games i really want. I can see the appeal, but for me it's too expensive and it's not worth the effort.
Edited by RockmanDash12, Aug 22 2013, 07:14 PM.
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Video Game, Anime and Tech Fan 
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| hooflung128 | Aug 22 2013, 08:56 PM Post #10 |
Level 7
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I buy more games than I play because my 9 to 5 is serious business. I played a lot more when I was hot out of college a decade ago and even more prior to that. I am not even married and I have so little time to game the time I have now is half the time nodding off to netflix on my favorite gaming device, PS3, or reading these forums, neogaf or perusing youtube because I cannot commit to the immersion. But I have a plan. Buy now so I don't have to buy later. Eventually I'll get freed up again and work will slowly stop being the eater of time that it is right now. I make good monies so I don't really regret my purchases. While these games are going through a bargain bin phase as they get trotted off to the land fill their worth will excede what I might pay now. And when I do get 'that special game that eats away at my little free time' it is like xmas in july. Am I a collector? I suppose. I cannot say I am not. But I don't buy shit to just buy. I have too many interests to focus on just games that way. Do what you want and have no regrets mang. Edited by hooflung128, Aug 22 2013, 08:57 PM.
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Youtube page | My HeatWare rating.  | |
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| zaven1718 | Aug 22 2013, 09:09 PM Post #11 |
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Level 7
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(Enters intervention) (me) "Hi, I am Zaven and I dont have a video game collecting problem." (trevor, justion and rockman) "-_-" (me) " =) " |
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| RockmanDash12 | Aug 22 2013, 09:11 PM Post #12 |
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Anime Fan, Handheld Lover, VN Nut
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Rockman: You have a problem. Zaven: Nope! Rockman: *facepalm* 
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Video Game, Anime and Tech Fan
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| Tr3vor | Aug 22 2013, 11:18 PM Post #13 |
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This character does not exist
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Zaven: "How do I have a problem? I bought 600 games in 2 years." Everyone:   Edited by Tr3vor, Aug 22 2013, 11:18 PM.
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Youtube: Tr3vor42532: http://www.youtube.com/user/Tr3vor42532 | |
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| Subway2Saturn | Aug 24 2013, 09:23 AM Post #14 |
New User
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Sometimes its good to just stop, take a step back and ask yourself if what you're doing is right and not just being influenced by others. I had to take a break for a while from getting games, every weekend I would go out hunting and come back with dozens of games. Granted I never spent market value on anything I didn't REALLY want, I spent well below that, but still, I was buying more games than I was playing. I think I racked up 600 games in about 3 years until I said "okay, its time to take a break for a bit" I just started getting back into it because I miss the thrill of the hunt. I'm addicted but not as addicted, I'm a little more selective about what I buy now. |
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| Aerodynamisch | Aug 24 2013, 04:31 PM Post #15 |
Level 7
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Reading the original post is pretty much how I felt back in August 2011. It was getting out of control, so I decided to break down my collection. Have done so twice now and went from 1000 games to 410 now of which I am very happy. I vow to never go over 500 physical games again and only collect the series that I enjoy playing instead of bulkbuying. I am more picky with my purchases as well. Cant really justify day one buys for games I beat in 10-15 hours anymore and that only happens 2-3 times a year. (I am looking at you Code of Princess and Dragons Crown) In any case, feel much happier as a collector, having my own identity as well. In any case, follow your own heart/objectives/goals/likes etc. and you should be fine! If the current way is not the way, you can always change it! |
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Aerodynamisch - [Video Game Reviews, Retrospectives and Collecting] RPGibberish - [RPG Podcast for RPG lovers, by RPG lovers] | |
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| lol_pc | Aug 24 2013, 09:31 PM Post #16 |
\m/ (>_<) \m/
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I never really noticed I was collecting when I was a teenager, one day I just realized how many games I'd bought and how many of them I hadn't even played. Over the years though I've refined my collecting, and now there's only a handful of series I collect as much as I can for, wether it be games, merchandise or collectibles. I do have a few systems I collect obsessively for, mainly because I still play them quite a lot and because most games for the systems are still reasonably priced (Those systems being the NES, SNES, PSOne & PS2). Some games I might never play, but I like having the option, and it has paid off a few times, where I've had a game for years and never touched it, and then on a boring day I pop it in and get a nice surprise. I have gathered a modest collection of a little over 700 games over the span of many years, but I've never really felt pressured, I've seen a lot of collectors amass a huge collection in no time, and then get stressed out because the mere thought of playing all those games was intimidating. I think the art of getting a large collection is to take your time, don't buy a huge lot of games, buy a few games at a time and actually play most of them. That way, even when you have a large collection, you have a large collection of games you like, and in the end you'll appreciate your collection a lot more. Edited by lol_pc, Aug 24 2013, 09:36 PM.
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 Fin moron do Taazokaan fen kod zeim ul  | |
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| gelski12 | Aug 26 2013, 08:02 PM Post #17 |
Level 3
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would it be a problem if start buying games more than i could play them at the current time, though I have plans on playing and replaying most of the in the later part. one reason why I "collect" games is that I would like to share and compare games with my friends (whom I have so little of) and it could become topics on conversation. though i just get the ones I'm really interested in. I don't buy every 1 dollar game out there. i even rarely buy games outside of my preferred genre. |
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| gelski12 | Aug 26 2013, 08:03 PM Post #18 |
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Level 3
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*connection glitch*
Edited by gelski12, Aug 27 2013, 12:01 AM.
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| gelski12 | Aug 26 2013, 08:05 PM Post #19 |
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Level 3
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would it be a problem if start buying games more than i could play them at the current time, though I have plans on playing and replaying most of the in the later part. one reason why I "collect" games is that I would like to share and compare games with my friends (whom I have so little of) and it could become topics on conversation. though i just get the ones I'm really interested in. I don't buy every 1 dollar game out there. i even rarely buy games outside of my preferred genre. Edited by gelski12, Aug 27 2013, 12:01 AM.
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| RockmanDash12 | Aug 26 2013, 11:46 PM Post #20 |
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Anime Fan, Handheld Lover, VN Nut
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C-C-C-C-Combo Breaker! |
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Video Game, Anime and Tech Fan
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| gelski12 | Aug 27 2013, 12:00 AM Post #21 |
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Level 3
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really!? geez, it was just a fault in the connection, no biggy right? |
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| Richard | Aug 28 2013, 02:28 AM Post #22 |
Link
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I have gotten pretty deep into collecting and maybe even too far at times, but I have never bought "filler" games. I have never been tempted to just go out and buy every game I see just because it is there or it has a decent price. I collect JRPGs and a select few other games that I really enjoy or I am anticipating. I don't have to worry about spending a bunch of money on CE JRPGs because they retain their value and even go up. I will still buy CE versions of other games if they are meaningful. I am a huge collector of artbooks, so that is a sure fired way to get me to buy one. Statues just don't do it for me anymore. These CE edition statues are usually extremely cheap and the statue+some dlc is not worth $150 to me. Edited by Richard, Aug 28 2013, 02:28 AM.
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 In a realm beyond sight. The sky shines gold,not blue. There,the triforce's might Make mortal dreams come true. PSN: MicrosoftSnake XBL: xCKx Snake YouTube Gaming Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TriforceRich | |
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| Mamonuth | Aug 29 2013, 04:37 PM Post #23 |
Level 5
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Do any of you guys who have sold a significant part of your collection regret it? I've been thinking of selling all or most of the games that I'm pretty sure I'll never want to play again. I've never been a collector but I've never sold any of my games either so I have a decent amount. For example I liked playing through Driver: San Francisco and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West but am I going to play them ever again? Extremely unlikely. |
 
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| Richard | Aug 29 2013, 08:16 PM Post #24 |
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Link
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Yes, I still miss some of my stuff but in the end of the day I received a lot of cash. For the most part I have no regrets, but there are certain games I want to buy back. I regret selling my Link statue. My biggest regret is selling them too early as some of the items have doubled in value. You will not regret selling the garbage(I never had any), but you will probably regret selling some of your more valuable pieces. |
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In a realm beyond sight. The sky shines gold,not blue. There,the triforce's might Make mortal dreams come true. PSN: MicrosoftSnake XBL: xCKx Snake YouTube Gaming Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TriforceRich | |
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