What's your focus area?

[sin2beta]

Started with "I want a complete NES collection!", hated buying crappy games so then I started buying anything and everything that I can find around here that I actually wanted to play. So no real focus.
People are crazy though, finding a deal is nearly impossible around here. Seriously: http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-video-games-consoles-older-generation-Super-Nintendo-avec-2-manettes-2-jeux-W0QQAdIdZ465892284 ... it's insane.

People are that crazy everywhere. Kijiji is the Canadian craigslist right? If that's the case we get it as well.

EDIT: NSFW due to a few pieces of language.

[jobocan]

Yeah, I occasionally see stuff like this from other places, but I've seen the most crazy stuff on here... except maybe for that Mario Land 2
That 175$ SNES with 2 games is actually not the worst I've seen.

I do get occasional good deals (I got really badass prices on my Vectrex, Colecovision and Odyssey (the person added an original Xbox with 10 games to that particular deal)), but this is like once every 2 years.

And yeah, kijiji is like craigslist. We do have craigslist here, but it's barely used.

[jobocan]

Double posting, but whatever.

This is the best example of what I mean when I say it sucks here:
http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-video-games-consoles-older-generation-NES-BUBBLE-BOBBLE-by-taito-WORTH-800-W0QQAdIdZ467181797

And the guy has multiple crazy ads like that, like 275$ for NES Open Tournament Golf, and for each of them he claims they sell for twice the price online.

[burningdoom]

Double posting, but whatever.

This is the best example of what I mean when I say it sucks here:
http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-video-games-consoles-older-generation-NES-BUBBLE-BOBBLE-by-taito-WORTH-800-W0QQAdIdZ467181797

And the guy has multiple crazy ads like that, like 275$ for NES Open Tournament Golf, and for each of them he claims they sell for twice the price online.

That is hilarious!

I couldn't help myself, I had to troll him. I just texted the following to the number he provided: "You want $400 for the completely common Bubble Bobble?! Are you high?!"

[burningdoom]

Double posting, but whatever.

This is the best example of what I mean when I say it sucks here:
http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-video-games-consoles-older-generation-NES-BUBBLE-BOBBLE-by-taito-WORTH-800-W0QQAdIdZ467181797

And the guy has multiple crazy ads like that, like 275$ for NES Open Tournament Golf, and for each of them he claims they sell for twice the price online.

That is hilarious!

I couldn't help myself, I had to troll him. I just texted the following to the number he provided: "You want $400 for the completely common Bubble Bobble?! Are you high?!"

From the text conversation I just had, the number is either a fake or it's mis-typed. And btw, the guy at the number is indeed high, lol.

[jobocan]

Double posting, but whatever.

This is the best example of what I mean when I say it sucks here:
http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-video-games-consoles-older-generation-NES-BUBBLE-BOBBLE-by-taito-WORTH-800-W0QQAdIdZ467181797

And the guy has multiple crazy ads like that, like 275$ for NES Open Tournament Golf, and for each of them he claims they sell for twice the price online.

That is hilarious!

I couldn't help myself, I had to troll him. I just texted the following to the number he provided: "You want $400 for the completely common Bubble Bobble?! Are you high?!"

From the text conversation I just had, the number is either a fake or it's mis-typed. And btw, the guy at the number is indeed high, lol.

Yeah, just checked another of his ads, he has the wrong number on the Bubble Bobble one:
http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-video-games-consoles-older-generation-NES-OPEN-Tournament-Golf-with-MARIO-W0QQAdIdZ467178296

[sin2beta]

Let's just hope he doesn't find a model 001 NES. 

[bikingjahuty]

When I first began collecting I was more or less a vacuum collector where I bought pretty much anything and everything I could get my hands on for a good deal that wasn't a sports game or something else that looked incredibly unappealing to me. The common thread however was the game had to be something I could see myself playing someday, although I did deviate from this occasionally if I came across a rare game.


The longer I've been collecting though, the more focused I've become as a collector. For example, back in 2012 (aka when this thread was created lol) I really wanted systems like the Neo Geo AES, Phillips CDi, 3DO, and Jaguar, along with several other odd, obscure consoles. Now, however, I've essentially resigned to ever owning these systems mostly because they don't interest me like they used to, but also because the consoles and games for them are so expensive and rare that it would be far too much trouble to get involved with collecting on those systems.


This focus has also resulted in me actually selling off a great deal of games that at one time I was really into, at least from a collector standpoint. For example, I was JRPG obsessed for the first 4 or 5 years I collected, however I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not the diehard JRPG fan I was in the early 2000s. As a result I've sold off a decent amount of my JRPG collection on certain consoles. I still have almost all the JRPGs I've collected on the SNES, PS1, Dreamcast, and PS2, but I pared down a lot of the newer ones quite a bit in recent years. I've also sold off a lot of retro games I had as well, knowing that beyond being retro, I didn't have a ton of interest in them. No console was hit harder by this than the NES, which is about a tenth the size it was at its peak about 6-years ago.


Right now, I'm sitting on most the games I've ever wanted on most of the consoles I've ever cared to own or play. My active collecting efforts are mostly focused on newer consoles like the Switch and PS4, however I'm also still collecting pretty heavily for the Saturn (both JP and US games) as well as trying to get CIB copies of SNES, Genesis, and N64 games, especially for the latter.

[wartoy]

It used to be mostly on Ps2 but there is not much left that I want for that system then Xbox 360 but im mostly done their too.Im either pretty close to completing or not interested in completing for alot of other consoles.It's hard to focus on them because the closer I get to the finish line the harder it is to find what I need.So mostly im interested in focusing on the Switch right now but im not going for a complete set on that either.

[Warmsignal]

All major consoles, and every genre which I typically like. Pretty psychotic, actually.

This focus has also resulted in me actually selling off a great deal of games that at one time I was really into, at least from a collector standpoint. For example, I was JRPG obsessed for the first 4 or 5 years I collected, however I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not the diehard JRPG fan I was in the early 2000s. As a result I've sold off a decent amount of my JRPG collection on certain consoles. I still have almost all the JRPGs I've collected on the SNES, PS1, Dreamcast, and PS2, but I pared down a lot of the newer ones quite a bit in recent years. I've also sold off a lot of retro games I had as well, knowing that beyond being retro, I didn't have a ton of interest in them. No console was hit harder by this than the NES, which is about a tenth the size it was at its peak about 6-years ago.

I think a lot of us had fallen into that trap. When I first hopped aboard the game collecting bandwagon, everywhere I turned made it seem like JRPGs were essential must own games for any collection, hence the rarity and value of many. Come to find out, I'm not a big fan of the game-play in this genre. I also ended up buying a lot more of them than I ever truly needed to own, all the while I ignored certain types of games which at the time I felt weren't worth picking up. Puzzle games, arcade collections, sports, racing, pinball, etc. Now these are the types of games I look out for in place of RPGs, generally speaking.

I've contemplated selling off some my more mistaken purchases from back in the day. I can see myself shedding a number of niche games which aren't for me, on the other hand I can't justify selling anything else that I honestly haven't given a chance to first. When all is said and done, I'd like to purge anything which makes no impact on me from the collection as I don't want keep anything I just plain don't care for. The days of me picking things up based on the hype of other collectors, is mostly over, with one known exception - PDS. Essentially a JRPG, but also regarded as one of the best games ever made. As much as I hate to admit, I do want to own it, and I think I will within the year.

[telekill]

My main area of focus is my Game Gear for collecting. I'm hoping to have my collection complete this year though. Not a full complete collection or anything but simply the games I wanted. The rest will go onto an Everdrive cart.

2019 was a great year for my Game Gear collection. I FINALLY bought myself a TV Tuner. Even managed to find one with the stand, instruction manual, and even the box. As for games, I added Earthworm Jim, Outrun Europa, Double Dragon and Road Rash. All in all, a pretty good year.

As for the "why", it's basically the system I took everywhere with me as a kid. I also had the car adapter though which made it far more easier to take on the go. Lots of fond memories. I had friends with Game Boy, sure, but it wasn't nearly as good. The only thing missing from Game Gear's library in my opinion was a Ninja Turtles game.

After that, it's pretty much modern games. I'm already saving up for PS5.

[bikingjahuty]

All major consoles, and every genre which I typically like. Pretty psychotic, actually.

This focus has also resulted in me actually selling off a great deal of games that at one time I was really into, at least from a collector standpoint. For example, I was JRPG obsessed for the first 4 or 5 years I collected, however I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not the diehard JRPG fan I was in the early 2000s. As a result I've sold off a decent amount of my JRPG collection on certain consoles. I still have almost all the JRPGs I've collected on the SNES, PS1, Dreamcast, and PS2, but I pared down a lot of the newer ones quite a bit in recent years. I've also sold off a lot of retro games I had as well, knowing that beyond being retro, I didn't have a ton of interest in them. No console was hit harder by this than the NES, which is about a tenth the size it was at its peak about 6-years ago.

I think a lot of us had fallen into that trap. When I first hopped aboard the game collecting bandwagon, everywhere I turned made it seem like JRPGs were essential must own games for any collection, hence the rarity and value of many. Come to find out, I'm not a big fan of the game-play in this genre. I also ended up buying a lot more of them than I ever truly needed to own, all the while I ignored certain types of games which at the time I felt weren't worth picking up. Puzzle games, arcade collections, sports, racing, pinball, etc. Now these are the types of games I look out for in place of RPGs, generally speaking.

I've contemplated selling off some my more mistaken purchases from back in the day. I can see myself shedding a number of niche games which aren't for me, on the other hand I can't justify selling anything else that I honestly haven't given a chance to first. When all is said and done, I'd like to purge anything which makes no impact on me from the collection as I don't want keep anything I just plain don't care for. The days of me picking things up based on the hype of other collectors, is mostly over, with one known exception - PDS. Essentially a JRPG, but also regarded as one of the best games ever made. As much as I hate to admit, I do want to own it, and I think I will within the year.

In all seriousness, if you do want to get rid of PDS I might be interesting in buying it off you; I actually owned the game for a month around this time last year. I played it, beat it, and decided to sell it to a local collector who really, really wanted it. Since then I've sort of wished I hadn't, but just throwing that out there.


But yeah, the reputation of JRPGs as being these almost sacred pieces of video game excellence has really bolstered their value and collectibility, especially on anything Gen 6 and earlier. I think up through Gen 6 they were so uncommon to be released in the US that it made them highly interesting and unique for the time. And then FF7 came out and the interest in the genre exploded. Most of my interest in JRPGs revolved around the PS1 and it's large library of JRPGs. This spread to other consoles like the SNES and PS2, but really my remaining interest in the genre is 90% about the PS1. I think more than anything having those games reminds me of how into them I was which gives them personal value to me, even if I don't necessarily like playing some of them anymore. It's also a bit of wish fulfillment since I wasn't able to own a lot of the JRPGs I wanted growing up, but now I can own then and play them if I want.


I feel like JRPGs sort of became a fixture of regular game releases in Gen 7 and has continued through this current generation. We get so many JRPGs now that I simply don't care anymore most of the time. A few years ago it was enough to peak my interest if I knew a JRPG was coming out, especially if it has some cool or odd looking anime style artwork on the case. Now, I could care less that another Atelier game is coming out, or if Atlus has another game they localized. JRPGs just don't feel as special as they used to, with a few exceptions.


I really hope someday, maybe when I have more free time in my personal life, I can maybe get into JRPGs again. I find that the best enemy towards my JRPG fandom is not having the time to properly commit to playing them; I'll essentially start them, sink between 3 to 10 hours into them sporadically before I just don't have the motivation to continue. This has happened with 90% of all JRPGs I've played over the last decade. There is also the fact that many JRPG tropes, themes, and gameplay mechanics that I once found super fun and endearing now either don't do anything for me or I find some of them downright annoying. Regardless, I'd like to imagine that someday if my life slows down a little, I can maybe become a born again JRPG fan and learn to love this genre like I did when I was 13.

[tripredacus]

2019 was a great year for my Game Gear collection. I FINALLY bought myself a TV Tuner. Even managed to find one with the stand, instruction manual, and even the box.

Now you just need to get yourself an Angile Modulator so you can use your TV Tuner! 

[kashell]

All this talk of Focus makes me think of FFXIII.

But, my area is still the same as always: I buy what looks interesting or fun.

[pzeke]

My PlayStation consoles for sure; I have the most games for them and keep getting to this day. I'm interested in other consoles, but the list of games I want for them don't go over 30, so collecting for them will have a speedy conclusion.

All this talk of Focus makes me think of FFXIII.

But, my area is still the same as always: I buy what looks interesting or fun.

I've yet to play XIII, but I'm guessing you meant XII.