What Do You Love About Collecting?

[turf]

People, myself included, love to bitch and moan about things they hate. Well, let's dig down deep and glow about things we love. What is something that makes you thoroughly enjoy collecting video games?

For me it is the fact that places like this forum exist. I can come on here and talk about something I love. My wife gets sick of hearing about games. No one I work with shares the passion I have for vintage games. My friends think it's a novel thing and love to look through my collection, but don't want to hear about every detail of a game. This forum scratches that itch.

VGCollect and RetrowareTV are two of my favorite places on the internet.  I'm glad our hobby is popular enough to sprout communities like these.

[stethebubble]

i love looking at the box art.
i love the way they look on shelves.
i love the fact that i can play one of 723 games at any time.
i find it amusing when someone sees the collection for the first time.
going to say this one again as its the most important. I LOVE TO PLAY GAMES!!!

[karyann]

Definitely what you said! It brings me closer to people who love the same things I do. Nobody really wants to talk with me about games, or at least not for as long as I'd want to haha. Otherwise, I also love the time spent going through garage sales, flea markets and the such. It gives me something to do outside of the house. And obviously, playing games gives me something to do IN the house too. And my boyfriend likes coming with me sometimes, so it gives us an activity together.

And the shelves look just gorgeous, can't forget that.

[bikingjahuty]

Video games are my own personal time machine, they remind me of the great times during specific periods in my life, friends I had, places I've been, and many other important things regarding my past. Popping in Super Mario 64 or Wave Race 64 makes me feel like I am 10 again, wasting away my winter break without a care in the world. This feeling of comfort and nostalgia is the main reason I got into collecting and it is probably what I love about it the most. I don't have to even play a game to feel this way either, just looking at it on my shelf or holding it is enough as well.

Other things I love about collecting is just my overall love and passion for gaming. I love just about everything having to do with video games, and having more of them just makes me feel even better. I feel like I am living the dream because I have nearly every video game I have ever or could ever want (minus about 250ish or so). Because of this, I carry tremendous pride towards my collection.

I'd say one more reason I love collecting is the preservation of gaming. This might sound silly, but I have great respect for every game in my collecting and I do whatever I can to ensure each game is clean, well kept, and enjoyed as it should be. Thousands of hours went into making each of them, and at the very least I can make sure they are playable and ready to play at a moments notice. In addition to that, just having physical copies of these amazing games makes me feel good in an era of DLC and digital distribution where more people probably own FFVII on STEAM or PSN than the actual PS1 discs. I imagine decades from now, some of these games, even the more common ones will be incredibly hard to find in working condition, but in my game room I will possess most of the greats that I can own and enjoy until I die or decide to pass my collection on.

Long live gaming!

[MJMaranan]

Nostalgia is definitely a huge factor for my love of collecting video games.  I remember playing some of the games as a kid and decided that when I would have enough money to buy the game, I would definitely do so.  Having complete or near-complete physical copies of games on my cabinet just makes my collection look almost like books in a bookshelf.  Opening them and playing them definitely takes me to adventures that I want to go.

[burningdoom]

Playing them (of course). And the thrill of the hunt. Finally finding that one game you've been looking for for the last decade is a great feeling. Also the more I learn about the history of gaming, the more I want to learn. It really is a unique an interesting industry. And finding like-minded people to converse with and trade games with is pretty cool.

[sin2beta]

I like the actual collecting part. I especially love the cheap bin stuff. THis is why I mainly collect Sega and Microsoft. I play all kinds of games. But these systems allow me to do 5 games for $10 all the time. I like stuff like that. (That's also why I love collecting X-Men comics. Being so popular in the 90s produces a lot of 25 cent comics).

Nostalgia is a big part of it. I don't have a lot of time to game as an adult. So, being a gamer who gets into Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, RPG this and RPG that is tough. But I always have a LOT of fun with a 30 minute game of Double Dragon. It fits the time management aspect well. And the nostalgia I get provides massive bang for my buck given the time.

I like the history of it. I'm on a quest to play, research, and review every SEGA game. This is something I won't finish, I'm sure. There is a lot. But it is fun while I do it. I just finished playing Congo Bongo. I never would have done this otherwise.

I like the community as well. Here and the youtube community.

[jcalder8]

I love it all really. I love going out and looking for the deals. I enjoy looking through all the CDs to see if any of them are games. I like finding the hidden gem mixed in with the sports titles. I go through long dry spells as most people do and I do get discouraged at times but if I put the time in I know that it will pay off with new games.

After I buy something I love coming on here and sharing what I've bought. Sometimes it's because I got a really good deal but other times it's just to share my excitement of my new game. Then I enjoy looking through posts of other people, seeing what they bought or what they are playing encourages me to head out and search for more games.

Then I enjoy adding the game to the shelves. I love just standing back and looking at it all and then when I want to play a game I get to study each game up close while I pick what to play next. Playing a classic, or not so classic, game for the first time, it is almost like my own personal rental store where I get to try a game for awhile and see what I think.

Lastly I write a little review of what I played and what I thought about it. I hope that I can help inspire someone else to look for the game. My goal is to eventually play all my games

[turf]

My goal is to eventually play all my games

I just looked at your pictures.  Good luck with that. 

[soera]

I think I love the final aspect of it. When I first started collecting years ago, my whole focus was finishing the collection. Now that its nearing the end of the gathering aspect of it, I enjoy going into my room and looking at what I have acquired over the years and feel like its all combined to be an amazing display of my tastes.
I love finally getting that piece I have been after. Xenoblade, Rhapsody (my final PS1 game), Panic rest/Bubble Bobble 2 (my 2 biggest NES games), Black tiger arcade, etc. After hoping to get certain items for weeks/months and finally getting it in your hand, its an awesome feeling of achievement. Also ...

My goal is to eventually play all my games

I just looked at your pictures.  Good luck with that. 

Ha! I second that.

[turf]

I think I love the final aspect of it. When I first started collecting years ago, my whole focus was finishing the collection. Now that its nearing the end of the gathering aspect of it, I enjoy going into my room and looking at what I have acquired over the years and feel like its all combined to be an amazing display of my tastes.

A lot of times, I just go in my room and sit.  I look around all all the stuff I've aquired, and wonder "What the Hell where you thinking"

I love finally getting that piece I have been after. Xenoblade, Rhapsody (my final PS1 game), Panic rest/Bubble Bobble 2 (my 2 biggest NES games), Black tiger arcade, etc. After hoping to get certain items for weeks/months and finally getting it in your hand, its an awesome feeling of achievement. Also ...

This is huge for me.  Since I started collecting a decade ago, I've been wanting Snow Bros.  I have never seen it out in the world.  It's one of the very few games that was like that for me.  I've even passed up Little Samson when I didn't know how rare it was ($50 was way too high).  Then this Christmas, my lovely wife found me a copy.  It is an amazing feeling to add that to my collection.  Now, I'm obsessing about the Jetsons.  Anyone have a copy they want to sell?

[jcalder8]

My goal is to eventually play all my games

I just looked at your pictures.  Good luck with that. 

Ha! I second that.

I have done the math! As of today if I play a different game every day.... 9.08 years I will have played every one.

[soera]

Heh thats if you do not acquire one single title in those 9.08 years and Im sure you would not be able to contain yourself.

[karyann]

I have done the math! As of today if I play a different game every day.... 9.08 years I will have played every one.

Well, you'll have something to do when you retire, that's for sure 

[MJMaranan]

Apart from wanting to collect and play them...  With the emergence of Achievements/Trophies, I also would like to complete games almost 100%.  There are some games that I just don't want to replay with a higher difficulty.  Not that hardcore!