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Collecting Vs Playing

martineatworld

Just wondering what are peoples thoughts on collecting versus playing?

I guess I'll have to flesh this out a bit. As time goes on I seem to be drawn more to the collecting side of games than playing. Mainly due to time constraints, it's easier to have a quick search for a game online on the move than to sit down and play one. Coupled with living with housemates who have little interest in videogames as opposed to TV, and my opportunities are limited. And that's just me, I don't even have family responsibilities or anything to look after like some here!

But has anyone ever thought of full set collecting?
Or has anyone ever bought anything that they'll more than likely never play/use?
I've a Q-cube there that I've never taken out of the box. It's sat in my room for almost two years, mainly due to the hassle of setting it up only to have to put it back away an hour later.

These thoughts were just sparked as I seen on another forum, a megadrive game (Lakers Vs Celtics) go for £750, and all I could think was is it ever possible to justify that, in the name of collecting? We've all an attachment to games we grew up with on the 8-bit and 16-bit consoles, but what will happen with the next generation?

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o1s1n

I love playing games, but I think I love collecting them even more (if that's possible)

I've always been a collector though, so it's a run on from that. The rarer the better!

Myrddin

I'd definitely fall into the collector side more, for mostly the same reasons as yourself - time. I also buy & collect without necessarily having time to play said items...actually owning them can be reward enough for me. Weird, but it's like any form of collecting I suppose.

I do actively still play, but nowhere near enough to be actually called a 'gamer'. The love for buying & collecting though never gets old

o1s1n

I think there's an element of seeing so many cool games and things when you were younger and never really being able to buy them due to costs.

Now you can buy them all for (in most cases) little or nothing. I mean you can get an arcade cab for under €100. The idea of owning an arcade cab when I was a kid was one of those pipe dreams along with owning an army tank or driving a fighter plane to school.

martineatworld

o1s1n wrote: »

I think there's an element of seeing so many cool games and things when you were younger and never really being able to buy them due to costs.

Now you can buy them all for (in most cases) little or nothing. I mean you can get an arcade cab for under €100. The idea of owning an arcade cab when I was a kid was one of those pipe dreams along with owning an army tank or driving a fighter plane to school.

I can definitely understand that angle.

It's just that, now, there's some games and systems I'd never heard of growing up and I've an urge to start collecting for. Maybe it's just a continuation of that idea, look what I could have been playing at that age? And what if it's a game that's pricier? Is it ok to be spending 50+ on a game that you realistically might not play that much?

Steve X2

Personally I'm more a collector than a player at the moment. Again, because of time constraints.
But, much the same as o1s1n I've always been a collector of many things and as time goes on that seems to increase. I do like the feeling of knowing I've got some nice stuff stored away(and a lot of it on show as well).

.

johnny_ultimate

Limited finances mean I'm far more of a 'player' (dawg). I might be judged retroactively for stating it won't be t'other way around some day, but there's only a small handful of games I own that I haven't committed time to. Of course, there's loads I haven't 'finished', but I've never bought a game without the intention of playing it one day. That sealed copy of Little King's Story will be opened one day...

Oddly, my largest collection of unplayed games aren't physical copies at all, but rather remnants of those cursed Steam sales

Retr0gamer

I only buy the games I want to play now. Always been that way. Even if I never get to play them I have good intentions of doing so. I'm actually running out of space now so I have to be a lot stricker.

I don't see any point in getting a complete set when you are buying mostly utter **** you will never play. I do try to get every game I want for the system, so far only succeeding with the NGPC, but it's a start.

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I don't see any point in getting a complete set when you are buying mostly utter **** you will never play. .

To really understand it, you have to stop looking at them as games and instead as items to collect. We're actually kind of lucky in that way, that we can actively use our collections. Many other collections can only, at best, sit idle while being appreciated for their aesthetics. Something which videogame collecting can be too.

I always bring it back to stamp collecting. What you're saying literally boils down to -

'I only collect stamps of countries which I plan on sending an envelope to. I don't see any point in collecting stamps of countries I'm never going to post to'

But what if those other counties stamps have nice artwork? Are rare? Have some other appreciative factor? Games, for me anyway, are exactly the same.

There's nothing like the buzz of having a collecting grail (for whatever reason, be it a good game, **** game, rare etc) and finally getting it.

The Last Bandit

Its a combination of collecting and playing.
I've a real interest in the hardware design so collecting differing consoles appeals to me, the games then fill the roles of actual enjoyment in playing them and also as a demonstration of hardware capabilities and of the engineers ability to polish a turd in some cases.

It's nice to have a shelf full of original media but realistically I find myself going through various 'Top 50' charts and peoples recommendations whenever I get a new console and more or less limiting purchases to that.

Done with console purchases now for a while as 3DO has arrived and I've spent a fair whack recently in getting the units I've wanted for a while, so will be limiting my purchasing to collecting games I plan on playing.

Odd thing is, was looking at some SNES cart on ebay last week debating whether or not I should spend a tenner on it, doorbell rang and I handed over €15 for a takeaway that I didn't particularly want or even like...

Retr0gamer

o1s1n wrote: »

To really understand it, you have to stop looking at them as games and instead as items to collect. We're actually kind of lucky in that way, that we can actively use our collections. Many other collections can only, at best, sit idle while being appreciated for their aesthetics. Something which videogame collecting can be too.

I always bring it back to stamp collecting. What you're saying literally boils down to -

'I only collect stamps of countries which I plan on sending an envelope to. I don't see any point in collecting stamps of countries I'm never going to post to'

But what if those other counties stamps have nice artwork? Are rare? Have some other appreciative factor? Games, for me anyway, are exactly the same.

There's nothing like the buzz of having a collecting grail (for whatever reason, be it a good game, **** game, rare etc) and finally getting it.

Well maybe that's just me because stamp collecting sounds like a waste of time :P

I prefer the buzz of hunting down a hard to track game, finally getting it and then realising when you play it that it's great.

Optimus Prime

I play my games when i get time, but i do buy a lot of NES in bunches if i dont have them already and they are boxed, just to build up the collection, i dont really do this with any other system. on the snes or megadrive id only really buy games id play, i seem to lean more towards collecting NES games.

so i guess id be more of a collecter, There is nothing like going to a car booth sale and walking around. Finding that console or game hidden under a bunch of cables and getting it for cheap, i love that part of collecting, though i dont get to go to these things as much as id like.

Retr0gamer

When I was younger I didn't have many games and was usually well behind the curve with regards owning the latest console. I was always looking at magazines and pining after all the games I'd never have, for my own systems, for other systems I didn't own and from japan. I was also getting worked up by the magazines complaining about awful PAL ports and being annoyed that PAL was the only way I could play my games.

I guess my reason for collecting is to play all those games I missed out on. In fact I avoid games I've beaten in my youth, screw nostalgia there's too many other games out there to enjoy to play the ones I already have played.

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well maybe that's just me because stamp collecting sounds like a waste of time :P.

Sacrilege!!!!!

I was an absolute stamp addict when I was a kid. Really weird thing to be hooked on, but that was my heroin. Until my first videogame consoles came along that is.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I prefer the buzz of hunting down a hard to track game, finally getting it and then realising when you play it that it's great.

Well that the thing, I don't only collect crap games. There's nothing like firing up Panzer Dragoon Saga for example and marveling at how such a wonderful game hasn't been played by nearly enough people.

But then there is also a great buzz from firing up an unfinished game and knowing you own a part of the development process. Maybe the cart you're playing had some role in whether the game was finished or not.

There is also a weird, almost masochisting feeling to playing through crap games. It's really hard to explain, which I'm sure people who also enjoy it know what I mean. You have to wonder at how such a bad game made it past QA. It's just mistifying.This finished project. All that development money. For this cart sitting in your hand. So much potential - and it's beyond crap.

I'd be the same with failed consoles too - I love em

CiDeRmAn

I only buy games I want to play, consoles I always wanted to own, and I'm pretty close to having them all now.
Of course I started collecting in 98 so some of the stuff out then is now becoming retro!
And so it will be with the current gen, but even then I won't be in panic to buy Folklore or Haze, which is what some people do with dreadful games on older formats simply because they are old or had a limited run due to them being muck!

Retr0gamer

Isn't Folklore meant to be good though?

Also you're not a real collector unless you own Legend of Dragoon and Superman 64.

Myrddin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Isn't Folklore meant to be good though?

Also you're not a real collector unless you own Legend of Dragoon and Superman 64.

johnny_ultimate

o1s1n wrote: »

To really understand it, you have to stop looking at them as games and instead as items to collect. We're actually kind of lucky in that way, that we can actively use our collections. Many other collections can only, at best, sit idle while being appreciated for their aesthetics. Something which videogame collecting can be too.

I always bring it back to stamp collecting. What you're saying literally boils down to -

'I only collect stamps of countries which I plan on sending an envelope to. I don't see any point in collecting stamps of countries I'm never going to post to'

But what if those other counties stamps have nice artwork? Are rare? Have some other appreciative factor? Games, for me anyway, are exactly the same.

There's nothing like the buzz of having a collecting grail (for whatever reason, be it a good game, **** game, rare etc) and finally getting it.

It kind of boils down to what the most important aspect of a certain item is. The only thing I 'collect' (well, when I have money, which isn't often) are Kubricks: plastic collectibles that to me solely exist for collection and display sake. Their purpose in life is clear, and I am cool with that.

With games, they are primarily IMO something to be played and enjoyed. The 'collectible' aspect is a distant second in that regard, so it's highly unlikely I'd buy a game that doesn't fit criteria one. It's why I don't mind downloadable games all that much, as playing the game is all that really matters to me. It'd be the same with film: the joy of watching is vastly superior to the joy of owning (and this coming from someone with an unhealthy DVD collection :pac:)

Not to say that a nice collection isn't an extremely welcome perk to buying games! And yes, I still think the discovery of a retro gem is a very pleasant experience. As long as the game is good

A somewhat related point: to me, the joy of retro game collection is not spending large amounts of money on Ebay for a rarity. It's about the discovery of bargains, and unexpected ones at that (although, yeah, that can be on Ebay too). Finding that copy of MUSHA in the RAGE was so much more rewarding then if I had bought it for triple or quadruple the price on the bay, even though the end result is the same. The discovery of a real one-off (which I've never experienced) likely has that same buzz. That's when 'collecting' for me has a real and unbeatable 'kick'

o1s1n

That little kick you got from picking up MUSHA for cheap is what spurs a lot of collectors on.

The greatest possible scenario we can get from the collecting side of this hobby is finding a rare game in the rough somewhere for nothing.

Paying the going rate for a game on ebay has absolutely no reward whatsoever!

Myrddin

"That's the way Game Chasin' Go"

The thrill of the hunt for sure

johnny_ultimate

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ghostchant

As I think I've said before on this forum, my favourite part of collecting games/consoles is browsing real-life locations for them. I've still never bought anything from eBay in my life, although I do buy online from time to time.

The highlight for me so far has probably been finding and buying Astro Boy for the GBA in Tokyo. Not particularly rare or anything, and I certainly have rarer and more interesting stuff, but I had looked in every single game shop I went in to for 3-4 years for it, including a ridiculous amount of US gamestops. Got to the point where I was determined to find it without resorting to online purchases. Took a long train journey to a very dodgy area of Boston due to their site saying a copy was available in a nearby store, only for it to be a clear fake. Bought it anyway (for $5) to justify the trip

anyway when I eventually found it in Akihabara I bought it without thinking, wasn't until I got home that I realised I'll no longer be hunting through game shops for it, the end of an era.

Need to find a new game to obsess over finding, as looking for this one led me to picking up over 50 great GBA games I wouldn't have otherwise

Pyongyang

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The discovery of a real one-off (which I've never experienced) likely has that same buzz.

I can attest that it does. Finding the Darius Gaiden Laserdisc was completely satisfying. Although being a wild-eyed Darius maniac fan I would say that, but, the Darius games are mostly very common. My Laserdisc is very much a rarity.

It was the entire reason I bought a Laserdisc player, just for that one disc. Which I guess is rather extreme, but in another way it spurred me to start collecting Laserdiscs (and in an odd roundabout sorta way, it's resurged my interest in collecting IDM, Warp and Axis records). Thus I ended up picking up the super rare Gunhed widescreen print Laserdisc.

As far as gaming vs collecting goes, as I've always said, I buy to play and collect. However 95% of what I buy is SHMUPS.

That's not to say it's cheaper if you just focus on one thing, jeez, anyone that knows a bit about the SHMUP scene knows that of any specific genre to want to focus your collecting on, shooting games has to be one of, if not the most expensive to buy and collect (as well as containing some of the hardest items to find thanks to the doujin scene and the super low print run of a lot of titles). Remember I'm talking software here, not hardware. Heck, even a lot of SHMUP merchandise is ridiculously expensive (I believe I see a Dangun Feveron set of original trading instructions for sale presently for 100's of €'s). Superplay DVD's anyone?

But feck it, I'm happy to pay €100 for Battle Garegga, because I'm playing the bejeezus out of it and it's value for money for me. What pisses me off is someone spending that kind of money to a) let it sit on a shelf unloved, and usually sealed (although we'd be talking €300 perhaps for a sealed Garegga) and b) try to flip it for a profit and in turn artificially inflate the market values.

Whatever you are in to. Buy it, play it, treasure it.

Pyongyang

ghostchant wrote: »

The highlight for me so far has probably been finding and buying Astro Boy for the GBA in Tokyo.

Just sharing the love for this game.

Steve X2

Collect whatever you like, play whatever you like, spend as much as you're comfortable with.

Everyone is going to be different in how they do things. Personally I'm quite happy to pay the asking on a lot of items if they're something I really want in my collection and I don't want to wait for them to pop up for a bargain price years down the line(for example, I grabbed Ikaruga Jap/Sealed today for about the normal non bargain price and was happy to do it as I wanted it). But if I do see a bargain I'll snap it up and be happy with that as well.

That's just the way I do things anyway. When I was a student or not working or just generally short on cash then of course my/your views on how much something is worth change.
As my mum does say "Cut your cloth to your measure" or something like that :rolleyes:

.

Pyongyang

Steve SI wrote: »

As my mum does say "Cut your cloth to your measure" or something like that :rolleyes:

My mum always said to me "make sure you go before you leave the house".

Retr0gamer

Steve SI wrote: »

Collect whatever you like, play whatever you like, spend as much as you're comfortable with.

Everyone is going to be different in how they do things. Personally I'm quite happy to pay the asking on a lot of items if they're something I really want in my collection and I don't want to wait for them to pop up for a bargain price years down the line(for example, I grabbed Ikaruga Jap/Sealed today for about the normal non bargain price and was happy to do it as I wanted it). But if I do see a bargain I'll snap it up and be happy with that as well.

That's just the way I do things anyway. When I was a student or not working or just generally short on cash then of course my/your views on how much something is worth change.
As my mum does say "Cut your cloth to your measure" or something like that :rolleyes:

Also, buy two of everything

OwaynOTT

I tired so be brief.
Playing them is a big plus for me, especially multiplayer with the siblings it's a joy.
But I do have a thing for a solid bit of cardboard and something like keithgeo I tend to gravitate towards Snes games a lot, carts no more though and that is surely a sign of collecting.
Also like retro said. I was always a few consoles behind mainstream, uncles hand downs, and read and re- read the gaming mags I could get, again mostly my uncles do I'd be reading a mag that was two to three years out of date, and the desire to have done of the stuff found in those pages never went away.

It's not a nostalgic thing either though, as I kept all my old games from my youth and regularly played them. So for me it's to get games I would of loved to of had before, to play them and have fun but also to have a lovely line of nintendo cardboard boxes in all the square and colourful glory lined up along the shelf.

I can't be arsed with getting a complete collection though but my want list is big enough that it will never be worked through
For Snes that I'm actively looking at:
Super BC Kid
Super Probotector
Cybernator
Super Mario RPG
Chrono Trigger
Bomberman 3
A good box if Secret of Mana
An English box of Secret of Evermore
Super Marioworld
Super Turrican
Big box Donkey Kong 3
Big Box Yoishi Island
Super Punch Out
Darius Twin
Sunset Riders
Rock n Roll Racing
Megaman X
Vampires Kiss (some chance and no chance)
Super Ghouls and Ghosts
F-Zero
Street Fighter Turbo not the tin but the box

Amongst more. All them games would be played, some I've never played in fact the majority. Will never gave the time to play them though and thats a sad fact. Same with books not enough time to read them.
I do collect books as well. 1st editions and that can get expensive fast but luckily I've restricted myself to fantasy and sci-fi

Rambling post over

Steve X2

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Also, buy two of everything

Well, at least two anyway :cool:

.

CiDeRmAn

I picked up Astroboy for the GBA on a Gamestop shelf , preowned! Glad I didn't have to do all that traveling for it!
But, you're right.
The journey to finding the game of your dreams is often as important as the game itself, strangely.
The fun I had finding Tempest 3000, and a Nuon to play it on, then a compatible donor dvd posted when the Noun needed part.... Brilliant!
The craic, some 10 years ago, to import my Vectrex from... The Isle of Man!
My Virtua Racing fetish

All good, the hardship and adversity makes the love stronger!

80s Synth Pop

In reality it's a form of compulsive hoarding and an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Off to the doctor with you all