What collection methods or criteria do you use when buying games?

[maximo310]

First, I check what system it is. First picks for games are Gamecube and Wii. Next, I check to see if it is available at a retail store nearby and if its on my wishlist,. Then, I compare pricing and see if I have any coupons, and make sure that the game is preferably complete( i make exceptions for disc only if I can't find it for a decent price). Then I check the price, and most of the time if its $5 or less, I will usually pick it up. Sometimes I pick up rare stuff for possible trades/reselling.
Sales/trades also help as well.

[kashell]

Someone answer me how. How is it that people obtain these fantastic collector's titles such as LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and somehow end up NOT HAVING a manual that is the size of a Buick. Or maybe they're missing one of the CDs even though they all CAME IN THE SAME DAMN FUC*ING JEWEL CASE! Or maybe they're missing the other accoutrements but somehow still feel the need to sell them as IF THEY WERE NEW.

Drives me nuts. I recently realized that my copy of LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete was far from "COMPLETE." Indeed, it was missing the pendant. Now, I would never wear this pendant. But I want it. And the assholes didn't have it even though they said the game was complete! Like the game's namesake.

Can anyone else tell that it's Friday and I'm posting my first world problems and not working?

[gf78]

Someone answer me how. How is it that people obtain these fantastic collector's titles such as LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and somehow end up NOT HAVING a manual that is the size of a Buick. Or maybe they're missing one of the CDs even though they all CAME IN THE SAME DAMN FUC*ING JEWEL CASE! Or maybe they're missing the other accoutrements but somehow still feel the need to sell them as IF THEY WERE NEW.

Drives me nuts. I recently realized that my copy of LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete was far from "COMPLETE." Indeed, it was missing the pendant. Now, I would never wear this pendant. But I want it. And the assholes didn't have it even though they said the game was complete! Like the game's namesake.

Can anyone else tell that it's Friday and I'm posting my first world problems and not working?

I feel your pain.  Apparently, nearly everyone who bought Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete felt the need to take Lucinda's Pendant out, play with it and subsequently lose it.  Nearly every eBay listing for this game is "complete" sans the pendant.   

But I think what pisses me off more than that is people selling games piecemeal.  They list the discs, case, booklets, etc all separately. 

I'm in the market for Lunar, Lunar 2 and Arc the Lad Collection for the PS1.  But there is certain criteria they have to meet:
1)  The box has to be in pretty damn good shape.
2)  Everything has to be included and again, in pretty damn good shape.
3)  The price cannot be outrageous. 

For the Lunar games, I would pay upwards of $100 each if they met this criteria and included the official strategy guides.  Unfortunately, most sellers list auctions that match my criteria and ask $200 or up a piece.  That's a bit over the top. 

I kick myself every time I think about these games.  My parents bought me Lunar Silver Star Story Complete for my Birthday the year it was originally released.  I picked up Lunar 2 Complete myself when it released.  These were cream-of-the-crop copies.  My anal-retentive OCD-self was so paranoid about something happening to them, I put each one individually inside a mylar magazine bag and kept them on a shelf.  The one my parents bought me was luckily pretty flawless and I went through each copy of Lunar 2 at Toys 'R Us and cherry picked the best one.  No bends, no fingerprints, no color chipping around the edges of the delicate cardboard front flap.  I also used a exacto knife to slit the sticker/seal on one side, then gently pulled it away to avoid damage to the artwork.  Ugh...I miss my Lunar games.   :'(

[betelgeuse]

Someone answer me how. How is it that people obtain these fantastic collector's titles such as LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and somehow end up NOT HAVING a manual that is the size of a Buick. Or maybe they're missing one of the CDs even though they all CAME IN THE SAME DAMN FUC*ING JEWEL CASE! Or maybe they're missing the other accoutrements but somehow still feel the need to sell them as IF THEY WERE NEW.

Drives me nuts. I recently realized that my copy of LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete was far from "COMPLETE." Indeed, it was missing the pendant. Now, I would never wear this pendant. But I want it. And the assholes didn't have it even though they said the game was complete! Like the game's namesake.

Can anyone else tell that it's Friday and I'm posting my first world problems and not working?

I feel your pain.  Apparently, nearly everyone who bought Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete felt the need to take Lucinda's Pendant out, play with it and subsequently lose it.  Nearly every eBay listing for this game is "complete" sans the pendant.   

But I think what pisses me off more than that is people selling games piecemeal.  They list the discs, case, booklets, etc all separately. 

I'm in the market for Lunar, Lunar 2 and Arc the Lad Collection for the PS1.  But there is certain criteria they have to meet:
1)  The box has to be in pretty damn good shape.
2)  Everything has to be included and again, in pretty damn good shape.
3)  The price cannot be outrageous. 

For the Lunar games, I would pay upwards of $100 each if they met this criteria and included the official strategy guides.  Unfortunately, most sellers list auctions that match my criteria and ask $200 or up a piece.  That's a bit over the top. 

I kick myself every time I think about these games.  My parents bought me Lunar Silver Star Story Complete for my Birthday the year it was originally released.  I picked up Lunar 2 Complete myself when it released.  These were cream-of-the-crop copies.  My anal-retentive OCD-self was so paranoid about something happening to them, I put each one individually inside a mylar magazine bag and kept them on a shelf.  The one my parents bought me was luckily pretty flawless and I went through each copy of Lunar 2 at Toys 'R Us and cherry picked the best one.  No bends, no fingerprints, no color chipping around the edges of the delicate cardboard front flap.  I also used a exacto knife to slit the sticker/seal on one side, then gently pulled it away to avoid damage to the artwork.  Ugh...I miss my Lunar games.   :'(

LOL I wrapped my Lunar copies and Arc the Lad in cellophane. Glad to see I'm not the only freak out there. I get a crazy look from the BestBuy employees when I ask them for a different copy of a game they just got outta the cage that has a razor slice on the spine. I'm constantly checking my DVD's and games for those cuts.

[foxhack]

But really, who buys a new game and tosses the case, manual, etc. out?  Especially in the day & age where the games are in CD or DVD style cases??

Kids and GameStop.

And parents.

*still sore over losing the boxes to most of his PC games back in 2006

[MJMaranan]

still sore over losing the boxes to most of his PC games back in 2006

Ouch...

As for pre-owned game criteria:

Is the game complete?  Case, manual, disc/cartridge, and other items, if possible.
Does everything pass my accepted condition requirements?  No scratches, tears, or writings, none-too-evident water wear, and playable.
Is the price within my range?  If so, add the game into its respective platform cabinet and update my VGCollect.

[gf78]

Someone answer me how. How is it that people obtain these fantastic collector's titles such as LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and somehow end up NOT HAVING a manual that is the size of a Buick. Or maybe they're missing one of the CDs even though they all CAME IN THE SAME DAMN FUC*ING JEWEL CASE! Or maybe they're missing the other accoutrements but somehow still feel the need to sell them as IF THEY WERE NEW.

Drives me nuts. I recently realized that my copy of LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete was far from "COMPLETE." Indeed, it was missing the pendant. Now, I would never wear this pendant. But I want it. And the assholes didn't have it even though they said the game was complete! Like the game's namesake.

Can anyone else tell that it's Friday and I'm posting my first world problems and not working?

I feel your pain.  Apparently, nearly everyone who bought Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete felt the need to take Lucinda's Pendant out, play with it and subsequently lose it.  Nearly every eBay listing for this game is "complete" sans the pendant.   

But I think what pisses me off more than that is people selling games piecemeal.  They list the discs, case, booklets, etc all separately. 

I'm in the market for Lunar, Lunar 2 and Arc the Lad Collection for the PS1.  But there is certain criteria they have to meet:
1)  The box has to be in pretty damn good shape.
2)  Everything has to be included and again, in pretty damn good shape.
3)  The price cannot be outrageous. 

For the Lunar games, I would pay upwards of $100 each if they met this criteria and included the official strategy guides.  Unfortunately, most sellers list auctions that match my criteria and ask $200 or up a piece.  That's a bit over the top. 

I kick myself every time I think about these games.  My parents bought me Lunar Silver Star Story Complete for my Birthday the year it was originally released.  I picked up Lunar 2 Complete myself when it released.  These were cream-of-the-crop copies.  My anal-retentive OCD-self was so paranoid about something happening to them, I put each one individually inside a mylar magazine bag and kept them on a shelf.  The one my parents bought me was luckily pretty flawless and I went through each copy of Lunar 2 at Toys 'R Us and cherry picked the best one.  No bends, no fingerprints, no color chipping around the edges of the delicate cardboard front flap.  I also used a exacto knife to slit the sticker/seal on one side, then gently pulled it away to avoid damage to the artwork.  Ugh...I miss my Lunar games.   :'(

LOL I wrapped my Lunar copies and Arc the Lad in cellophane. Glad to see I'm not the only freak out there. I get a crazy look from the BestBuy employees when I ask them for a different copy of a game they just got outta the cage that has a razor slice on the spine. I'm constantly checking my DVD's and games for those cuts.

LOL...your not alone.  I'm not so anal retentive these days unless the game has an outer card board sleeve.  But even today, I would do the same for the Lunar and Arc games.  The packaging of those games and the items inside were a pure work of art.  It's like the biggest fan/geeks in the known universe lavishly designed and created them.

Which brings me to the sad state of gaming today.  Now games are slapped in eco-friendly, thin ass cases with holes cut out of the plastic and flimsy, tissue-thin art inserts.  No manuals, half the game hidden behind a DLC paywall.  How I long for things to return to the golden age of gaming when companies put out these great special editions that also didn't break the bank.

[stethebubble]

1. Do I want to play it?

2. Do I already own it?

3. Is it in working condition?

4. Is it reasonably priced?

And that's about it.

What he said and will my wife or daughter play it

[koemo1]

I have to be lucky finding games at all, except 7th gen FPS or 6th gen shovelware ^^

[insektmute]

It varies. Usually, I buy based on a mix of in-game footage, gut feeling about whether it's something I'd be into, whether I like/trust in the developer, and so on. Reviews rarely ever factor into the process.

For older games, there are some additional factors. If it's a long-running series with a lot of games, I'll generally try to narrow down the ones that really stand out or are regarded as particularly noteworthy. I look at whether it still holds up relatively well for its age and relative to the time period it came out, or if it's something that's just too clunky to be more than a nostalgia piece. It's usually a developer I'm familiar with too, so I'll often try to gauge where their brilliance started rather than just blindly grabbing everything they've done.

Quality is always a factor, and so I'll never try to buy every game on a particular system regardless of their individual quality, or try to get all the misprints of something, that sort of thing. It has to be something I'm interested in playing.

I try not to buy multiple editions of a single game too often, but tend to make an exception for series I really like, though I've got some games that I'm not rabid about on both Steam and console due to Humble Bundle deals or a sudden impulse buy. I'm still debating whether I'm going to keep the physical versions.

TL;DR - Quality over quantity whenever possible, no extraneous crap that I don't even want to play.

[dashv]

1. Is it a game I'm interested in?

2. How much does it cost?

3. How complete is it?
3a. If it's a cart-based game it doesn't matter.
3b. If it's a CD-based game in a DVD case it needs the case and disk at least.
3c. If it's a CD-based game in a jewel case, it needs to be 100% complete.

Same here only for me "interested in" = play.

And for 3a I am an odd mo fo.

If it's a game I can get complete for just a couple dollars more then I will get it complete.

I got Renegade, Target Renegade, and Metriod (all NES) complete for that reason.

Bare minimum I want manuals for ALL my cart games. My ColecoVision collection breaks this rule and also my heart.

Disc games MUST be complete.

As gf mentioned I have Mega Man III for the NES but none of the others.

In my case Mega Man III is the same copy I've had since I was a kid. Because prices now are ridiculous on the other games I went the easy way and bought the compilations for PS2.

[deftommo]

Pretty simple. I tend to buy games that:

a) I know I will enjoy or used to own but don't now (e.g. Megaman Collection on PS2)
b) From series I know I enjoy
c) Are highly recommended by friends that have similar taste (e.g. Dark Souls)

[mrnikon]

Depends on the system.

For my classic systems.
1. Did I want the game as a kid?
3. How much is it?
3. How much badly did i want it was a kid?
4. if rule 3. is in effect. ignore rule 2.

For my more modern systems (Game Cube and newer)
1. Does it have LEGO in it?
1a. If it has LEGO in it buy it.
2. What do the Reviews say?
3. How much?
4. Does it require using more then 3 buttons at once?
5. Get discouraged and not sure if I would like it.
6. Start to look a a used Neo Geo
6a. see the price of one...
7. Start to look at games for one of my classic systems.

And after all the Video Game shopping, ask my GF to buy me lunch since I spent all my money on games. Most likely a Gyro or an Itallian Beef.