Not in a negative way, just a question. Collecting is a lifestyle, and I am wondering how many people here live it. Do you live for collecting? When you go places, do you check every store you are in for old stock games? Do you check garage / boot sales daily?
Yes I do, I can't pass my local charity shop without pooping in to check if they have anything which is right next to the supermarket I use or anywhere else that might have anything worth picking up.
Ive sold off collections countless times. My only regret is that I never took photographs so nobody ever believes some of the collections I've had.
Its not the only thing in my life, but a large part of it. I have other interests and hobbys but my collection has main priority in the end. Its not a bad life
I love my collection, don't get me wrong, but there are things I love even more and I would sell everything off in a heartbeat to save those if necessary.
Collecting stuff is fun and gaming (including hunting, buying, looking, researching, discussing) is such a diverse and interesting field that I couldn't imagine to ever give it up. It invades all of my other interests, mainly films (I always try to find references or gaming objects in the background!) and music (vg music is awesome, I prefer the fast arcade techno/trance/hard rock style because some of those sound so incredibly original!). When I hit the highway I usually try to figure out what the other car's plates could mean in the gaming world. Abbreviation mania, really... some examples of the best plates that I can remember: "KB-BG 2991" -> Oh god, it's a Battle Garegga "Kiban" (jap for PCB) and the highscore is 2,9 million (superplayers often lose their credit here since they don't get the 3m extend for the flamingos trick) "H-KT 3460" -> I thin I even took a photo of this one. HKT is the Dreamcast serial and 346 means san + shi + roku in Japanese: SANSHIRO!!111 This told me that Segata Sanshirou never died to save Dreamcast and I bet this was his car! "D-CO 1981" -> one of the best plates ever, it means so clearly "Deco 1981" (the arcade tape system from Data East!") ! I don't know what's gotta happen that I'd sell it all, but it had to be something very very bad. I'd never ever sell it because for instance I just felt the other day like 'I'd love to become a rockstar and I need that awesome guitar'! I know where my preferences are and I want to be an expert in one hobby, not a noob in many, thus I'm not that easily distracted by other interesting but costly things that could tempt me to sell off my shit.
Yes. do I check sales daily? no. Can I go months without absolutly buying games? yeah. Is it my passion? yes. Do I love it? Yes. Could I sell it off? Not if I needed some scrap cash but if I needed to do it for a bigger reason...yes. Is it my life? Yeah. But I go through phases where I'll be checking ebay and garage sales daily for a few months, and then just play what I've accumilated and occasionally pick up a new title here or there for a few months. (right now is one of those phases)
No middle option? I enjoy collecting, but I don't go crazy. Of the two extremes I'd lean toward selling some of it at some point. Emulation helped to make me less of a collector as I would collect games I wanted to play as playing them is more important to me than collecting.
I'm also in between. Collecting isn't all my life is but I also wouldn't sell off all of my stuff. I selected the fist option though. Yakumo
Same here. Anyway, i just got a PS3 but i didn't bought anything game related for quite some time, since i was actually saving money. Still, games are something that i always liked and will continue to like, but it's not the only thing in my life.
Collecting, for me is a seasonal thing. most intense pursuits occur in the absence of more important activities. When I'm "on", I'll look around online a few times a day, everyday for a month or two, then quit for.... a while, then do it all over again. Enjoy shopping at flea markets too, but mainly find things for other people. Hunt, covet, hunt more.
Yes. It could be worse if I was rich, I think. =P Somethings I don't plan to sell. Somethings, maybe. Also, I check some places almost everyday, but for me it's not that hard because I just buy new (factory sealed if applied) things. So no garage sales or something like that. But I've already found factory sealed things in places different than shops, of course.
:lol: At this point in my life, I probably would have to say yes. Maybe that will change eventually. Either way, I wouldn't imagine being able to sell it all away. Spent many hours waiting for the opportunity and tracking down a lot of what I have and am still trying to get, it would put all those hours to complete waste if it was all eventually sold, and most likely it wouldn't even get in total what I had to pay to get it all.
It used to be, but now I just want shot of it all to make space and try to get some of my money back.
i'm leaning more towards everywhere i go i look for games i used to feel bad for spending most (if not all) of my money on games but not anymore, well only if i over-do it games have had a positive even therapeutic effect on me. nothing alleviates my depression more so why stop i always had this fantasy where i'd sell my collection off for a good cause, like to buy a really nice present for my girlfriend with the money... but luckily that never eventuated and i actually feel sorry for the poor bastards that do- have you noticed every now and then a big sale pops up on ebay of really cool and rare games and the seller is usually female (the wife of the gamer)... that's just wrong
Well, for me it is a part of my life, one I like a lot I must say! I can share this hobby with my girlfriend without her freaking out so that's very cool. Anyway don't check for games everywhere I go because I live in fucking URUGUAY, so there's not much to see game-wise, though when I travel it's one of the things I love doing. I believe the web killed part of what was the fun in hunting for a certain game, but we can't complain either. @ave: You forgot to mention organizing and re-organizing one's collection , that and taking pictures is one of my favorite parts of collecting, trying to have everything nicely organized, and keeping a good track of my collection. I could not imagine selling my whole collection unless it was extremely necessary (health emergency of someone in the family or something like that).
I want one of every piece of official and unlicensed hardware and software of for the NES, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, SNES, N64 and Dreamcast. I'm always on the lookout. eBay customized searching has become my bitch. Craig'sList is a daily part of my breakfast routine. Garage sales -- not so much. I know there are a lot of great deals to be had at garage sales, but I've never bothered to take the chance. Goodwill, Value Village & other thrift stores are a weekly, usually saturday, loop. I bring my checklists and rarity/price guide binder with me on my excursions. It's a lifestyle. I enjoy it. I'd gladly sell it all for my health and not much else.
Considering how literally broke I am, I really should be selling some of my volume. But as for giving it up completely? Shit, that would be tough. I do go to thrift stores and pawn shops soley to look for games. I keep a list of things I might want and the last time I saw them at CD shops and what location, in case I feel like getting them. I don't have anything amazing left... The money makers have all been turned into food. For eating.