Topics

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Modern Video Games / Nintendo Switch 2

« on: February 28, 2024, 12:09:43 am »

I feel like rumors of the Switch 2 have been circulating for several years now, which supposed "leaks" claiming it's going to come out soon, or at least be announced, yet nothing has materialized so far. However, with Nintendo being a lot more quiet recently, especially on big first party releases, I have to wonder if this is the calm before the storm. Personally, I don't think the Switch 2 will be released in 2024, but I do think it will get officially revealed this year. Assuming the Switch 2 does come out in early 2025, it'll have been 8-years at that point since the Switch came out, which is long past the typical console lifecycle we usually see with consoles. Likewise, 2025 would place the other two competitors at their end of cycle date too, meaning we might start seeing PS6/Xbox Edition XXX (or whatever dumb name they end up calling it) news that same year with a possibly launch in 2026.


But anyhow, what do you think about the Switch 2 getting a reveal this year? Or do you think since the Switch is still very popular, it'll continue to receive support from Nintendo for another few years before we get a successor? Also, what games do you think Nintendo is holding back right now to release on the Switch 2 as launch games or games that''l bee released within months of launch?

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Modern Video Games / What are your plans when everything goes digital only?

« on: January 21, 2024, 09:56:07 pm »

This topic has come up numerous times recently in various Facebook groups I belong to as well as in a livestream I was watching this evening. Being a collecting site, I figure most VGcollect people are not happy about the inevitable digital only future of modern gaming, but I thought it would be interesting to see what everyone's feelings are towards this topic, and how, if at all, will this change the way you purchase and play modern games?

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General / January 2024 - Recently Added to Collection/Recently Purchased New

« on: January 01, 2024, 05:47:03 pm »

I'm surprised no one else has started this thread yet. But anyhow, new month, new year, let's see what you picked up!

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General / 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: December 25, 2023, 08:06:34 pm »

Another year, another 52 games to knock off our backlogs!


In case you've never participated in the 52 Games Challenge, the purpose of this challenge is to reduce your backlog of games by aiming to beat at least one game a week on average, or 52 games in total before the end of the year. Each time you beat a game, you can track it in this thread, and if you feel so inclined you can write a mini review about your experience with the game to share with everyone else. The 52 Games Challenge is super fun, and the one thing I enjoy more than anything on VGcollect these days. It's nice having others to share your journey to 52 games beat and beyond, and at least for me helps me stay motivated throughout the year.


See you at 52 everyone! Good Luck!

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General / 2024 Gaming/Collecting Goals

« on: December 22, 2023, 04:38:14 pm »

We aren't far off from the end of the the year and I was curious what people's gaming goals are for 2024?
Mine are mostly non-collecting based and have more to do with playing games rather than acquiring them, although I do have a few things I'd like to accomplish when it comes to collecting too. Here are my 2024 Gaming Goals.

1. Play at least 10 games from franchises I've never played: There are a lot of franchises I've been meaning to try out, some more recent, and others for literal decades that I really want to give a shot. I don't have a comprehensive list of franchises, but a few that I can name off the top of my head are Tomb Raider, The Witcher, Yakuza, Diablo, and Dragon Age.

2. Attempt to play more longer (15+ hour) games: I play a lot of arcade style games, partially because I love these types of games, however they are easy padding to complete the 52-games challenge we do here every year. I often have a cadence where I'll play a longer game, play 3 to 8 shorter games that can be completed in under a few hours, and then play another longer game. I enjoy playing games this way, however I'd like to try and no more than 4 shorter games in between longer games instead of just binging arcade games for an entire month before playing another longer game.

3. Complete the 52 Games Challenge: This is a staple of every gaming goals/resolution posts I've ever posted in for a while. I intend on hitting 52 games again next year despite whatever else I have going on.

4. Get back into console modding: A couple years ago I got heavily into this. I learned how to solder and enough about electronics engineering to start modding various older consoles, as well as doing repairs. I installed some really sweet mods for myself and a few other people, which I'm still enjoying to this day. I have 90% of everything I need for an ultimate Gamecube build, as well as a few uninstalled mods for the Saturn and N64 I never got around to installing. I'd like to install all these, plus anything else that strikes my fancy over the next year, just as long as I start modding again.

5. Try and post videos to my youtube channel more regularly: I posted a whopping 4 videos in all of 2023. I'd like to maybe double this amount in 2024.

6. Continue to downsize collection: this is really the anti-collecting goal, but its one that has made me happier as a collector over the past year or so. I'm finding more and more that I enjoy having a small, curated collection of games rather than the massive collection I once had. Still, there isn't too much fat to trim off my collection as is, but it would be nice to trim a good 50 or so games from the collection this year.

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General / Amiibos - your experience

« on: December 18, 2023, 07:59:05 pm »

Yesterday I preordered the very last Smash Bros Amiibo I needed to complete the entire set, Sora. I became an Amiibo collector day one when they first came out. I had preordered Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire from Toys R' Us in late 2014, which also happened to be the same day the Amiibos launched. Originally I was just going to purchase the Amiibos I cared about, but decided at the last minute I wanted them all. I ended up buying the 2 or 3 Smash Amiibos I originally wasn't going to buy, completing my Wave 1 set. Just a few days later, I'd find out that everyone wanted the Amiibos, especially Marth, and they were now being scalped and resold like crazy. I joined an Amiibo subreddit back in the day to keep track of store release schedules, and how to ensure I was able to get all the Amiibos I wanted. I had some interesting experiences over the years including watching a middle aged scalper almost get in a physical fight with a Target employee, camping out in front of Target for 4 hours in freezing temperatures for Rosalina, and Gamestop having to break up a fight over their last Pit Amiibo. It was pure chaos, and I'm so thankful the hype around the Amiibos died down considerably after that first two years or so, and they became way easier to obtain.


While I have bought various other Amiibos from other sets, the Smash set was the one I primarily was into and the one I've been committed to completing all these years. It's almost surreal that nearly 10-years after I started collecting them, that I'll finally be finished with the Smash set, which more or less will end my quest to actively collect Amiibos. Nintendo occasionally announces new figures for games like Zelda or Splatoon that get me excited about some that are coming out, but in general I've been way less enthusiastic about Amiibos than I was over 5-years ago. I don't know how many times I saw the Loftwing Skyward Sword Amiibo and thought to myself, "I'll pick that up next time" and never actually did. In a way, I'm relieved to be out of the Amiibo game finally, but part of me will look back fondly on the whole thing as a fun, ridiculous, and pretty irrational hype train that I rode on for the better part of the 2010s.


What are other people's experiences with Amiibos or any interesting stories you have about acquiring some of them?

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General / Good Retro Gaming Youtube Channels

« on: November 08, 2023, 11:25:33 pm »

It's been a long time since I got into a good retro gaming youtube channel. I still subscribe to a few (AVGN, Gmanlives, ShoryuGame, NEScomplex), but I've had a hard time finding anymore that I'm able to get into. Unfortunately there are a decent amount that I once subbed to that reached their expiration date a long time ago, or they just don't create content anymore. I'm looking for some good retro gaming channels, preferably ones that have either good, insightful reviews or countdowns, or are actually funny. I'm not interested in pickup or game hunting channels, commentator/podcast channels, or lets players. Also, no Metal Jesus Rocks; been there, done that. I guess a good example of what I'm looking for are channels like Gametrailers back in the day. I'm aware there is Easy Allies, but as enjoyable as some of their content can be, it's just not the same anymore since they don't have the resources or team they once did.

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Modern Video Games / Limited Run Games Showcase 2023

« on: July 12, 2023, 02:10:18 pm »

It starts at 4pm ET today. What's everyone hoping for?


For me, I really hope they announce Castlevania Advanced Collection and Also Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown. As of late, I don't feel like LRG has brought their A-game when it comes to physically releases. For a while I was having a hard time keeping up with how many games I wanted to order from them, but now I don't think I've bought anything from them in around 6-months or so. Here's hoping they can tempt my wallet with whatever they have planned.

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General / Anyone else suck at finishing RPGs?

« on: July 08, 2023, 11:10:28 pm »

Each year, I usually complete no more than 2 or 3 RPGs. Whether that's WRPGs, JRPGs, more action oriented RPGs, it doesn't matter. If a game is over 20-hours long there's a pretty good chance I won't finish it. I've really tried to figure out why this is, however my best guess is most of my life, including my formative years as a gamer I primarily played and enjoyed platformers, action games, racing games, and arcade style games. I'm still mostly drawn to these genres and offshoot genres associated with them. I enjoy games that are focused, action packed, shorter, and don't have any long, drawn out elements, at least at this point in my life.


What's even more sad is I used to LOVE RPGs, especially JRPGs. I remember enthusiastically playing anything Final Fantasy related I could get my hands on in the late 90s and early 2000s. I was also into Lunar, Pokemon, and Legend of Dragoon to name a few. However, as I got older, I found myself starting and not finishing RPGs more and more. I honestly feel like I only complete 1 out of 5 RPGs I start anymore.


I'm currently playing through FF XVI, which is the first new FF game I've been excited about since XII. I am mostly really enjoying it, however I've found myself struggling to get motivated to play it a lot which seems weird since I swear I've liked it so far for the most part. I guess in a way it just feels daunting and like it will never end. That probably sounds silly, but honestly I'm at a loss for while I struggle with these games so much despite really wanting to like them more, and genuinely liking several of them quite a bit.


Does anyone else have this issue with completing RPGs?

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General / Best Video Game Rental Memories

« on: June 18, 2023, 11:48:43 am »

Back when you could drive, bike, or walk up to your local Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, or independent rental shop, what are some of your most fond memories of renting video games from these bygone establishments?

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General / Your Top Video Game Franchises

« on: May 29, 2023, 03:17:53 pm »

What are your top 3, 5, or 10 video game franchises? I was thinking about this the other day and I was surprised to see that some of my favorite gaming franchises don't have a single entry in my top 10 games of all time. Still, I love these franchises and thought it would be fun to see everyone's picks.

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Classic Video Games / Super Mario World CIB prices....WTF?!?!

« on: May 06, 2023, 11:58:28 pm »

I belong to a local retro gaming group on Facebook, and pretty much like all of them, people often post what they recently picked up. Someone posted a CIB Player's Choice copy of Super Mario World and I immediately noticed the $350.00 price sticker on the top corner of the box. My immediate reaction was, "wow, I hope he was able to talk the seller down from that...that's waaayy overpriced." It turns out that was actually a fair price, maybe even a pretty good deal compared to what it's currently selling for online right now. I literally could not believe my eyes when I saw that it was worth that much, not because I'm somehow not used to how insanely expensive retro games have become, especially in the last 3-years, but because it's frickin Super Mario World.


Super Mario World sold 20-million copies on the SNES, and while i understand it was a common pack in game, it was still sold in high quantities as a standalone release as well. I am aware that the first run of black box copies are harder to find (more on those too in a minute), but the player's choice copies were still being sold in stores long after the pack in version of the SNES was discontinued. I know because i remember seeing this game in stores, and as a collector I've seen it CIB more times than i can count over the years. And let's not forget it's a $20 loose. So what has me scratching my head is how on God's green earth did this game's CIB price shoot up so dramatically? Which youtuber blew the lid off this game's supposed rarity as a CIB game and caused a feverish demand that now has these game selling for $350+ or $#@%ing $750+ for the black box version? Or is this some sort of normie speculation bubble created during the pandemic?


I get how rare games can shoot up in value so quick, hell, we've seen it happen countless times over the years. Or how a slightly uncommon game that has proven to be an overlooked gem can shoot up in price, but this is Super Mario World, one of the best selling, if not the best selling SNES game of all time. Super Metroid, A Link to the Past, Final Fantasy III, Mega Man X, and so many other must have SNES games could never dream of such a dramatic bump despite selling less than Super Mario World. This one just seems super weird to me, with speculation being the primary cause of its surge in price, and not an organic supply and demand situation like what we see with 99% of all other retro games.

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General / The gamer you were when you joined VGcollect vs. the gamer you are now in 2023

« on: March 04, 2023, 12:38:31 am »

I mean this completely in the sense of you as a gamer and/or collector, not necessarily how different you are on a personal level. What was collecting like for you when you started, what were your collecting priorities, interests within the hobbies, favorite places to find games, pretty much anything that defined you as a gamer or collector back when you joined versus right now in 2023? Obviously this questions is meant more for people who've been on here for at least several years, but anyone can chime in if they'd like.

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General / Strange, Funny, or Creepy stories you have as a game collector

« on: January 14, 2023, 08:53:41 pm »

What sort of interesting stories do you have that came about in your pursuit of video games, deals, or just building your collection. Specifically, do you have any weird, creepy, or hilarious stories about people you've bought games from or where you may have found some games? Any Craigslist or FB Marketplace deals that ended up being more than you bargained for, or possibly more entertaining than you thought they'd be? Share your stories, I'm sure some of us who've been doing this a while at least have one or two.

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General / Strictly Limited Games is a %$@#ing JOKE!

« on: January 08, 2023, 10:24:40 pm »

Do not order anything from Strictly Limited Games! They are bunch of lying, unprofessional douche hats that will take your money and may or may not decide to fulfill your order.


I ordered over $200 worth of games from them back in November 2021 in a single order. This last September I emailed their customer support and asked when my order would ship, in which Hanna from SLG replied "sometime in October." Content with their response, I thought, "okay, well I'll keep an eye out for a shipping confirmation in October then."


October came and went, so did November, and so did December, and there was nothing. Finally right after the new year I emailed them back pretty pissed off and asked where the hell my games were since I'd received no order confirmation up to that point. The same support rep Hanna emails me back and says they'll be shipping my games "soon" giving no hint as to when the hell that would be. I ask her if they've had my games the whole time and if they'd have just held off on shipping them to me had I not messaged them again. A week later she gives me a snarky response saying they can't ship people's order out the same day they get them in, completely ignoring my questions.


It's like, wtf happened to October, or even communicating that they would be delayed. Regardless I still don't have a shipping confirmation. I know many others who have ordered the same games that are in my unreceived order so this isn't a matter of waiting for one of the games to come out still. So yeah, it appears Strictly Limited Games has been sitting on my order for months and has no intention to fulfill it unless one day they feel like it.


I get they are part of the whole "limited" production of physical games business model like Limited Run Games, Special Reserve Games, and various others like them. In other words, I expect to have to wait months to see my order fulfilled since after the preorder window closes the games need to be manufactured, shipped to the company, and then shipped out to the customer. But when I reach out to you and you set the expectation around a specific month, and three more months go by with no confirmation or even a follow up being like, "hey we're backed up, it'll ship in another 2 or 3 months" you have no right to act like a piece of shit just because your customer had the audacity to ask when their fucking order is going to ship!


Unfortunately I have three other orders with them that were all placed before this shit started. But regardless of what games they announce in the future I'll gladly pay slightly more to a scalper or someone on Ebay for a copy. Fuck Strictly Limited Games!


I just wanted to rant and warn others of how unprofessional they are and also how dodgy they are about answering basic questions about when a customer order is going to be fulfilled.