Your Own Opinion About Collecting Today

[pzeke]

My opinion on this matter remains the same: unless your pockets are deeper than the Mariana Trench, emulate. For anyone new to the hobby and genuinely intending to play the games they're interested in, then emulation is the way to go, for as far as Gen. 6. Emulation is the best thing there is in the current landscape of the hobby, not only for newcomers, but veterans as well, especially considering it can help broaden your outlook by possibly discovering something new, as in games that were out of your reach, and even help in deciding if a game is worth getting or not.

[randomstranger]

My honest opinion is that it only exists for older/retro games. Anything that requires online activation and/or internet connection is no longer owned so it can't be collected. A game library on a content delivery platform, like Steam, PSN, Uplay and the rest is just a catalogue of games you have access to right now, but the games can be altered against your will or taken away whenever the publisher or the platform owner feels like it.

[oldgamerz]

Wrong everything computer wise is owned by Will Wright and his merry men. next time he hacks my stuff I'll burn another one of his 4k hard drives with a virus scanner. 4k well that is what he calls them. expensive but Who gives, he's got enough money let him buy another one. He hacks me constantly, and all I need to do is use my instincts to burn another one of his computers..

[Cartagia]

Wrong everything computer wise is owned by Will Wright and his merry men. next time he hacks my stuff I'll burn another one of his 4k hard drives with a virus scanner. 4k well that is what he calls them. expensive but Who gives, he's got enough money let him buy another one. He hacks me constantly, and all I need to do is use my instincts to burn another one of his computers..

Ludicrous nonsense.  Knock it off.  Seriously.

[bunnybear]

Wrong everything computer wise is owned by Will Wright and his merry men. next time he hacks my stuff I'll burn another one of his 4k hard drives with a virus scanner. 4k well that is what he calls them. expensive but Who gives, he's got enough money let him buy another one. He hacks me constantly, and all I need to do is use my instincts to burn another one of his computers..

I say this without mocking or rancor:

Your paranoia is not simple kookiness. You need professional therapy, and you need it yesterday.

[dirtydan]

I started collecting in late 2023, I focus on PS1, PS2 and PS3 because I have a PS2 and a PS3 and as you know PS3 can read PS1 games. I have a Nintendo 3ds and a Wii too but I don't collect games for them because nintendo games are so overpriced nowadays... Plus I prefer PlayStation. I usually find awesome PS3 and PS2 games for 1€ to 5€. PS1 games on the other hand are more expensive so I only buy those that I really really want. I collect because I like the feeling of buying games not knowing how they play, check the box at the store to see if I like them and go home and play them. If I don't like then I don't lose much, they are really low price and I can just resell them or give them to friends for free. It's more about the feeling of being a child again and less about spending loads of money on a glorified hunk of plastic. Man... I bought a copy of demon's souls black phantom edition (full pack) for 100€ on a local store and I was really happy with that... Then I see older games (gameboy, saturn, N64...) near that one, all loose and beat up for the same price of what I bought. All of this to say that I don't agree with the prices old games have nowadays. If all this sounds confusing sorry but my english is not the best...

[gf78]

As far as finding games for past generations,  I've pretty much given up. The prices are beyond unreasonable and hoarders with no interest in video games are snatching everything up to turn a quick buck. Trying to get anything new is a nightmare now as well. Collector's Edition games and new consoles get snatched up by resellers and rheir bots before the fans even get a chance to snag one. My wife spent an entire day tring to get Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Special Edition went on sale.  As a fan, I wanted the game but greedy a-holes make it a nightmare where I don't even want to bother. Things only got worse when Covid struck.

Now, I tend to focus on certain games or franchises I really love cZelda is probably my biggest. Microsoft was so nice to help me save money in their move to all-digital this gen. Man...I love Halo for the last 22 years but f*ck MS for all the shit they are pulling.

[soera]

Gonna start this with saying What's up GF? Haven't seen you post in a while!!! I've always said f*ck MS. 

As far as the actual topic here, I've completed collecting. There is not a single item out there that I have been after that I haven't found and acquired eventually. I liquidated a lot of my collection also to make room for what really matters to me. Which is -

Falcom games and stuff
Dragon quest stuff
PlayStation consoles, controllers, and stuff
All the retro RPGs I enjoyed in my younger years.
F4F statues and the like.

I have a bit more stuff to eliminate from my storage but after that, it's only looking to the future for new stuff I want.

[ferraroso]

I started collecting in late 2023, I focus on PS1, PS2 and PS3 because I have a PS2 and a PS3 and as you know PS3 can read PS1 games. I have a Nintendo 3ds and a Wii too but I don't collect games for them because nintendo games are so overpriced nowadays... Plus I prefer PlayStation. I usually find awesome PS3 and PS2 games for 1€ to 5€. PS1 games on the other hand are more expensive so I only buy those that I really really want. I collect because I like the feeling of buying games not knowing how they play, check the box at the store to see if I like them and go home and play them. If I don't like then I don't lose much, they are really low price and I can just resell them or give them to friends for free. It's more about the feeling of being a child again and less about spending loads of money on a glorified hunk of plastic. Man... I bought a copy of demon's souls black phantom edition (full pack) for 100€ on a local store and I was really happy with that... Then I see older games (gameboy, saturn, N64...) near that one, all loose and beat up for the same price of what I bought. All of this to say that I don't agree with the prices old games have nowadays. If all this sounds confusing sorry but my english is not the best...

Good to have you around, dirtydan. Welcome to the gang and to the world of collecting games!
It's always interesting seeing how different gamers/collectors have distinct ways of collecting. For example, I'd happily pay the equivalent to €100 or so on a Saturn, PC Engine or MSX item I really wanted, but I don't ever see myself spending near that amount on a modern game (be it a limited/collector's edition or not).
Well, that's all part of the fun of collecting! So, don't forget to register those games you're buying to your collection here, so we can take a look at what you have there.

And don't worry, I'm pretty sure your English is much better than mine. Haha

[gf78]

Gonna start this with saying What's up GF? Haven't seen you post in a while!!! I've always said f*ck MS. 

As far as the actual topic here, I've completed collecting. There is not a single item out there that I have been after that I haven't found and acquired eventually. I liquidated a lot of my collection also to make room for what really matters to me. Which is -

Falcom games and stuff
Dragon quest stuff
PlayStation consoles, controllers, and stuff
All the retro RPGs I enjoyed in my younger years.
F4F statues and the like.

I have a bit more stuff to eliminate from my storage but after that, it's only looking to the future for new stuff I want.

What's up bud?!  I lurk the forums but my work schedule, family and lack of access to an actual keyboard keeps me from posting. Hate typing on my phone!

I've got a pretty decent, but way too bulky collection. I've been mulling over selling and/or trading quite a bit of it. The main hurdles are time to do it and where to actually sell the stuff. Ebay has become an absolute nightmare with ridiculous fees, hoops to jump through and a ton of scammers. There is a local used game store with a nice selection that does buy, sell & trade. I've considered loading up a haul of Xbox stuff to take in, get some money and maybe some older games that are a bit pricey. It would make room for me and I'd be able to pick up some stuff I actually DO want.

My main collecting these days focuses on Nintendo and Playstation. I tend to stick to Nintendo-published games and Sony-published games unless it's something 3rd party that's  really, really good such as Cyberpunk or Baldur's Gate.

I spend more on merchandise than the actual games. I've actively been buying Amiibos since many of them have been re-released. The European ones are pretty easy to snag for $20-25 which is ok for one here & there.

[pzeke]

[...] All of this to say that I don't agree with the prices old games have nowadays.

Emulate to your heart's content, my friend; it's all fair game.

If all this sounds confusing sorry but my english is not the best...

As I once said to another member around here, I love it when someone excuses their English for not being "good", yet they will often show a better grasp and understanding and even better grammar than most native speakers. So yes, it's good; it's just a matter of structuring your posts better, which I'm certainly not going to hold against you.

[sworddude]

I started collecting in late 2023, I focus on PS1, PS2 and PS3 because I have a PS2 and a PS3 and as you know PS3 can read PS1 games. I have a Nintendo 3ds and a Wii too but I don't collect games for them because nintendo games are so overpriced nowadays... Plus I prefer PlayStation. I usually find awesome PS3 and PS2 games for 1€ to 5€. PS1 games on the other hand are more expensive so I only buy those that I really really want. I collect because I like the feeling of buying games not knowing how they play, check the box at the store to see if I like them and go home and play them. If I don't like then I don't lose much, they are really low price and I can just resell them or give them to friends for free. It's more about the feeling of being a child again and less about spending loads of money on a glorified hunk of plastic. Man... I bought a copy of demon's souls black phantom edition (full pack) for 100€ on a local store and I was really happy with that... Then I see older games (gameboy, saturn, N64...) near that one, all loose and beat up for the same price of what I bought. All of this to say that I don't agree with the prices old games have nowadays. If all this sounds confusing sorry but my english is not the best...

You are a brave guy starting to collect today.

If you want a shot at cheaper prices your better off at sites like craigslist, mercari or the occasional ebay snipe. and if you are planning to go to fleamarkets or garage sales you gotto go a bit earlier than opening times at the very least (aka wake up at 5:00) to get a shot at the good stuff. Or get extremely lucky that people just put out stuff way later on during the day if your late. (I wouldn't recommend the latter, if you feel lucky try it but low odds)

see how it goes and if all hope is lost emulation exist. It's pretty competitive out there for the good deals.