How would you rank your overall collecting experience per console? It would be interesting to see viewpoints in how other collectors experienced collecting for certain consoles througouth them years Which ones are fun to collect for and obviously which ones are not that great. There can be a variety of reasons for it.
I'm personally ranking them on my overall experience, not just the last few years. I also won't include consoles that I just have a few games for. I don't really seriously collect for those
Gameboy/GBAThere isn't much like these consoles, they are underrated for being handhelds the supply is nice and quite some folks tend to overlook them, the libraries are pretty indepth aswell, the boxes look amazing and with gameboy classic even the shovelware titles look kinda sexy in cib shape. also for being handhelds original owners tend to forget their games more often since the games are cheaper. They are not games for your main tv, you have a higher shot for stuff to be in barely used if ever condition. it's not that uncommon to find premium quality condition stuff for these systems. There ain't much that beats adding allot of games for these consoles to the collection and sleeving them up it is very satisfying.
Super NintendoAs hyped and competitive as said console is. the supply is actually very good way more than most retro consoles and the library has a ton of depth that leaves plenty of space for error. condition wise since it is a console it ain't as easy to find excellent condition boxes as for them Nintendo handhelds. That being said, the sheer hype I always get from getting a good cib snes deal is unmatched, it has that right balance between having decent challenge to get good deals, while actually being doable. Plus the actual game boxes looking great and the games being excellent some of the best stuff in the hobby so to speak. The snes having good supply, depth and especially the hype for getting the good deals makes it borderline Peak tier for me. it is however not as ez to get the deals and stuff being in excellent shape which keeps it from being in the top tier. It is never a bad day when you add a few cib snes games to the collection.
Sega genesis/cd:Supply is actually slightly worse than snes but still pretty great. library has plenty of depth and was for the longest time decently underrated. stuff was cheap as hell. The reason why i'd place it below snes is that it loses out on the hype factor. it's easier to score them deals, although the sega cd portion and all them awesome imports do elevate the hype quite a bit. another thing is that them boxes don't look as good as the above Nintendo cardboard, plus another pet peeve with sega is that sunfade is a thing when you score stuff which is rarely an issue with any other retro console unless said conditions extreme. at the end of the day it's more impressive to find excellent nintendo cardboard than it is sega clamshells with nice manuals. it is what it is but getting that bronze medal is pretty nice still.
Ps1:For the longest time aside from the rpg's quite underrated ez to collect for. it's also far more common to score a whole bunch of games for this system. It's library is such a treasure trove even till this day I see games that I've never heard about. Very satisfying console to collect for just not as satisfying as the ones above. Still solid S tier though it has to many plusses.
ps2:Comparable to the ps1 but with more trash and more gems. It's inferior to the ps1 in almost everyway for me, the looks of the actual cases, the games, the hunt. It's a fantastic console to collect for still but it is a tier below ps1.
Sega saturn/ dreamcast:The supply is pretty bad but when you do score stuff it do be pretty hype. I've had a great experience collecting for these consoles it's definitely not something you come across often but when you do it's great. libraries for both consoles are really interesting aswell, not the biggest libraries but what's out there is very interesting and not just the popular stuff.
DS: Such a diverse library not that hard to collect for. I love the imports for said console. it's just generally not as fun to collect for as the consoles above but it still has a ton to offer for me. I would call it the ps2 of handhelds but with that also comes a lower hype lvl. it's just not as satisfying when you score stuff for this console.
Neo geo cd/pocket:Eventhough the supply was very low, these consoles where very underrated. I recall especially with neo geo pocket how nobody was looking for it. The games also just have pretty stylish packaging. Especially the neo geo pocket stuff with them clammshells look so nice. almost as good as Nintendo cardboard. I remember how you could lowball stuff for sale for weeks until they caved in and sold stuff for cheap since nobody was looking for it. good stuff. and in terms of cd it's always exciting to try and score english releases instead of japanese.
Master system:It's a sega genesis light for me. the library is a huge downgrade compared to anything 16 bit but it's still interesting enough. and as ugly as the boxes look it's oddly satisfying to collect for said system. It is pretty sad that in terms of imports there ain't much for master system. (tec toy sheninigans aside)
PspIt's a poor mans ds for my taste, supply is not terrible but there is so much trash for this system. in general majority is trash that's just par for the course but with psp you just add an extra layer on top of that. so much shovelware or just generic triple A titles that haven't aged well in the current era. I do like it's library and it does have depth it do however be a bit of an rpg sausage fest. it's not as varied as the ds sadly.
cube:If this where a gameplay tier list it would be at the very top but in terms of collecting cube has some huge issues. My biggest issue with cube is just that a majority of cube collecting is the first party stuff that everyone knows about. your mario's your zelda's it's just not that exciting. used to be easy as hell when I got most my stuff for this console. but cause of how 1st party invested the library is, everyone knows what they have and it is quite a hard console to collect for these days. overall though cool console but there is just not much of a suprise factor with this one as it's main downfall for me.
wii:There is way less focus on first party stuff compared to cube, quite a bit more 3rd party stuff with this one, but not as much as you might expect. The overall quality is also just less compared to cube. also compared to cube people abused the hell out of the wii. stuff being in lesser shape is far more common with wii. allot of stuff out there is not that interesting to score stuff for said system. on top of that just less wow factor compared to cube if you do score the good stuff.
N64:A yes N64. The supply isn't that terrible issue is that the N64 library is actually bare bones. 90+ % of the good stuff is first party stuff for my taste. Absolutely zero depth in it's library. also a really hard to collect for console. In terms of nintendo cardboard N64 boxes are some of the worst to get stuff for in excellent shape. cause it is so hard to get good deals for it and it's nintendo cardboard that is hard to get in nice shape. in those rare cases when you score a good deal, it does feel really good comparable to some of the upper tier consoles. ye just won't have those moments that often even if deals where easier to get, cause the console simply just doesn't have allot of cool/interesting games.
Nes:If I where in the states Nes could have gotten as high as S tier but in europe the nes supply is quite bad. During those times it was more of an amiga/spectrum party over here. Nes also has the worst kind of cardboard boxes they are very fragile/soft hence why it's allot harder to find good condition stuff if you'd ask me. we also are lacking allot of games in europe compared to the states so the library is quite a bit smaller over here. also generally you see allot of the same stuff when nes pops up it not that exciting. I'm lucky that I got the games that I do for this system but it's one the least fun to collect nintendo system for my taste. Very hard to collect/competitive boxes are terrible, library is somewhat limited. only strong point for Nes is the Chase if you do score a good deal cause it's so hard/rare to score good condition stuff
Xbox:From what I recall I was pretty much done collecting for said console in just a few months. I got most my stuff for it when I started. I guess you could say that the chase was a bit to ez. In terms of stuff what you can get from xbox there rarely is a moment in which I'm that glad to add stuff to the collection it just doesn't do much for me. The supply is actually lowkey bad for og xbox you can definitely notice that it hasn't sold to well. it has lesser supply than quite some of the actual retro consoles for my taste. There is not that much to say, But I can definitely see why allot of people skip on xbox. if your looking at the overall supply what pops up. allot of stuff tends to be samey your outdated triple A stuff or shovelware.
Game gear:The bottom of the barrel tier in terms of collecting. very weak library, allot of the stuff that pops up being samey thanks to said small library. it's saving grace is that it's a handheld so eventhough the supply is not that great the competition isn't that high either. so it's not the hardest console to collect for in cib shape as the silver lining.
3DSThe library just doesn't really speak to me. it's a massively downgraded ds in almost every way. Even allot of the 1st party spinoffs are pretty weak generic. definitely feeling that wii u quality with this one
Almost have no satisfaction when I get stuff for this console.
xbox 360:Nothing against said system it's just that I just want very specific games. it's mostly the shootemups that I'm after. in terms of collecting it's not that fun as a result, occasionally I get some stuff for the console but it's more like a side thing.
Trash tier Philips CDI:I'm only collecting for this console for them memes, the games are trash, the items don't look to hot it's just funny to collect such shitty games for a console that was made in my country. it do be pretty funny to play some of them boot leg esk mario zelda games. even the best stuff on this console is your shovelware elsewhere. collecting wise it is pretty cheap it's not that challenging so at the very least it ain't breaking the bank. While it is a cheap console to collect for, you should think twice before getting some.