BoboFatt's collection and question/answer thread

[bobofatt]

Hello everyone,

I hope this is the right place for this type of thread.  I actually don't really see any other threads like this on the site. 

Let me start off by introducing myself and explaining why I'm here.  I'm an 80's kid and have grown up gaming.  I've never not had some type of gaming device since I was four.  When I was younger, I'd "trade up" my systems.  I started keeping my systems at the N64.  For last few years I've thought about getting all the old gaming stuff I ever got rid of.  My goal is to be able to instantly play any game I've ever owned at any time.  Recently I stopped thinking about it and started doing it.  I've got the retro gaming bug pretty bad.  I've grown my collection quickly and I've been learning a lot about cleaning and repairing systems and games.  So that's why I'm here.  I'm looking forward to getting to know the community, learning some things, trading, etc.

Let me give you a quick tour of my collection...

Here are all my game consoles, controllers, periphials, and portable gaming systems. 

I have 15 consoles that are set up in the following order from left to right:
1. Atari 2600 - I originally had  6 switch woody growing up.  I bought this Vader that was modded with a power light and A/V ports.  I already own over 20 of the games I had as a kid.
2. TurboGrafx 16 - I picked this one up, along with a turbo booster, recently.
3. Nintendo Entertainment System - Even though I couldn't stand it, I picked up one recently with ROB like I had as a kid.  I never played with ROB back then and I won't play with him now, but it's come to have him as decore.
4. SNES - I got rid of this over 20 years ago.  My wife reminded me that I sold it to a friend of my.  I texted him recently and long story short, he still had the N64 I sold him and all 19 of my games.  I was pretty stocked that I was able to buy it back from him.
5. N64 - This and the rest of the systems were always mine as I finely wised up and kept them.
6. GameCube
7. Wii
8. WiiU
9. XBOX
10. XBOX360
11. XBOXONE
12. PS
13. PS2
14. PS3
15. PS4

Portable:
1. Zaxxon mini cabinet
2. Donkey Kong mini cabinet
3. Gameboy
4. Gameboy advance - my oldest kid's
5. Nintendo DS - my youngest kid's
6. Electronic Baseball  (new retro version)
7. Electronic Basketball (new retro version)
8. Electronic Football (new retro version)

This is the set up in my basement.  The plan was always to finish the basement and have a game/collection room, but that never happened for reasons that I won't bore you with.







I've got two sets of drawers to hold my primary controllers for each system.  I custom cut foam order to give each controller a nice home.  Rechargeable controllers sit on top.







The systems:






With the all consoles, rechargeable controller docking stations, VR headset, headphones, etc, I had to have a lot of power.  So I bought two 16 outlet surge protectors.  I still had to use another six outlet surge due to all the fat plugs and sideways plugs.  You can see the mess in the back, but in the front, I have everything running through A/V and HDMI selectors to make switching systems quick and easy.  They are also labeled so my family knows what buttons to push when they want to play.







They're watching you!



No sooner did I buy the Vader Atari, my dad called me and said he found my original 6 switcher in his basement.  So not only did I get my original N64 back, I never actually got rid of my Atari (sears Tele-games system).  My next project is to clean that baby up.  The pics below will be my before pics.  So I'm the sole owner of everything pictured except for the TG16 and NES.  My dad also found my TG16 China Warrior game. 







Thanks for looking.  I'm going have questions and I'll update with new pictures as my collection grows.  So please stop by often.

[Flashback2012]

Nice setup you have there. 

One piece of advice though, put curtains up in those windows ASAP to avoid your stuff like R.O.B. and your table-top units from getting sun-faded. I personally use a slightly thicker curtain/drape made from sailcloth. They're white and I'm thinking of switching up to a slightly darker tone (like a taupe or maybe a medium blue?) but so far the stuff I have parked right by my window (no other place to put the shelf) hasn't experienced any fading that I can see.

Other than that, would love to see more in the future. 

[fauxshot]

Nice setup!  I see you even made cutouts in the foam for the controllers... very organized haha.

I imagine many people have a similar collection goal. I was just looking for a copy of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot 2/3, since I got rid of them as a kid, and it's ridiculous how much they want for 'em on Ebay. Yet we let those games go for quarters and dollars at a garage sale.

Well the good thing about Atari is it's super cheap to collect for! Never had one as a kid (a little before my time), but I love the cart art.

And welcome to the forums! What are you going to focus on collecting at this point? Oh, and if you're interested (shameless plug), some of us participate in various podcasts we put on ourselves, so always feel free to tune in and text chat with us during the shows!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTyhaE8LSCmQN7fiHxHjyWg  (Every Tuesday evening/night. There's also another podcast another group puts on, but I can't find it on YouTube right now.  )

[badATchaos]

Welcome to the site. If your interested in peoples set ups check out the Game Room thread.
https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,271.0.html

[ffxik]

That's a pretty sweet setup, nice and neat.  Definitely look into getting some covering for those windows.  Sunlight does a number on plastics.

[Nickkchilla]

Your story is like mine. Though I'm sure everyone at some point in their childhood got rid of or "traded in" systems and games to FuncoLand or EbGames and so forth just to get something new. Ugh. Still kicking myself to this day for dumping off my NES, SNES and N64. Buying them back slowly but surely.

You have a very nice setup. Looks like a fire hazard! I hope someday to have all of my systems on display like this.

[bobofatt]

Nice setup you have there. 

One piece of advice though, put curtains up in those windows ASAP to avoid your stuff like R.O.B. and your table-top units from getting sun-faded. I personally use a slightly thicker curtain/drape made from sailcloth. They're white and I'm thinking of switching up to a slightly darker tone (like a taupe or maybe a medium blue?) but so far the stuff I have parked right by my window (no other place to put the shelf) hasn't experienced any fading that I can see.

Other than that, would love to see more in the future. 

No multi-quote function here?  I'm to lazy to do it myself, so I guess I'll reply one at a time!

Thank you!  Yes, I have black out shades.  I like natural light for pics, so I only had them open for a brief spell.  Good looking out though.

The SNES that I bought back from my buddy has yellowed.  Just another one of the projects I'm gonna have this summer trying to reverse it.

[bobofatt]

Nice setup!  I see you even made cutouts in the foam for the controllers... very organized haha.

I imagine many people have a similar collection goal. I was just looking for a copy of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot 2/3, since I got rid of them as a kid, and it's ridiculous how much they want for 'em on Ebay. Yet we let those games go for quarters and dollars at a garage sale.

Well the good thing about Atari is it's super cheap to collect for! Never had one as a kid (a little before my time), but I love the cart art.

And welcome to the forums! What are you going to focus on collecting at this point? Oh, and if you're interested (shameless plug), some of us participate in various podcasts we put on ourselves, so always feel free to tune in and text chat with us during the shows!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTyhaE8LSCmQN7fiHxHjyWg  (Every Tuesday evening/night. There's also another podcast another group puts on, but I can't find it on YouTube right now.  )

Yeah, when I get into something, I go hardcore...I can hear the snickering now.

I've looked around at a lot of different collections and I liked the look of the custom cut form.  it wasn't expensive and it was easy to do.  Hopefully my attention to detail will help prevent my kids from destroying any more wired controllers.

Agreed, I'm finding out some games are a little pricey to replace, but for now, that's the next phase of collecting.  Getting all my old games.  It's tough since I rented a lot of games back in the day, so I'm finding it hard to remember which ones I actually owned vs. rented.

I don't typically do pod casts, but I'll check it out if I get a chance.

[bobofatt]

Welcome to the site. If your interested in peoples set ups check out the Game Room thread.
https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,271.0.html

Hello and thank you.  Yes I did look at all 67 pages of that thread already....research, haha.

Hopefully it's OK that I created this thread.  I have similar threads on other forums (non-gaming ones).  I find it cool to be able to go through the history of a collection, as they often do change over time.

[bobofatt]

That's a pretty sweet setup, nice and neat.  Definitely look into getting some covering for those windows.  Sunlight does a number on plastics.

Thanks.  Yeah, I have heavy shades.  Pulled them up just for the pics.

[bobofatt]

Your story is like mine. Though I'm sure everyone at some point in their childhood got rid of or "traded in" systems and games to FuncoLand or EbGames and so forth just to get something new. Ugh. Still kicking myself to this day for dumping off my NES, SNES and N64. Buying them back slowly but surely.

You have a very nice setup. Looks like a fire hazard! I hope someday to have all of my systems on display like this.

I would agree, that's why I joined here, to be with like minded folks that regret their childhood decisions!  The plan was to buy them back slowly for me as well, but with what I was finding and with the devil like ease of using credit cards, I went ape****.  I plan on buying games at a little slower pace.  Good luck on your hunt for completion.

As for the fire hazard, hopefully turning on only one system at a time will ensure the safety of my family.   

[hatkid]

Wow. That room is a TON more organized then mine! I have consoles stacked on each other and one partially covering my TV because I have no where else to put them. And cords are everywhere... Its a big mess.

[bobofatt]

Wow. That room is a TON more organized then mine! I have consoles stacked on each other and one partially covering my TV because I have no where else to put them. And cords are everywhere... Its a big mess.

Ha, it's a strength/quirk/obsession/flaw, of mine.  Space is an ongoing battle for most of us.  I actually had all my newest gen systems upstairs in the family room, but that was getting pretty cluttered.  Hence the move to the unfinished basement to give me some more room.

Don't give up though.  There should be a way to have your cake and eat it too.  I've built cheap and ease custom shelves before in an effort to bring order to a collection.  If you think about it enough and research it enough, I'm sure you can come up with some creative solutions.  Zip ties and twisty ties can be your friends.

[hatkid]

Ha, it's a strength/quirk/obsession/flaw, of mine.  Space is an ongoing battle for most of us.  I actually had all my newest gen systems upstairs in the family room, but that was getting pretty cluttered.  Hence the move to the unfinished basement to give me some more room.

Don't give up though.  There should be a way to have your cake and eat it too.  I've built cheap and ease custom shelves before in an effort to bring order to a collection.  If you think about it enough and research it enough, I'm sure you can come up with some creative solutions.  Zip ties and twisty ties can be your friends.

Yeah, I I have thought about cleaning it up... It doesn't help that a lot of the cords are in places where I would need to move dressers and such. I at the very least should label power cords, that would help a bunch. Thanks for the suggestions, I will keep them in mind as I contemplate whether I want to spend a few hours organizing.

[ffxik]

That's a pretty sweet setup, nice and neat.  Definitely look into getting some covering for those windows.  Sunlight does a number on plastics.

Thanks.  Yeah, I have heavy shades.  Pulled them up just for the pics.

I don't know why but I'm not surprised.  With a set up like that especially since everything is very meticulously organised, it would only figure you would have thought of that.  It never hurts to suggest though just in case.

I could only hope that I can get my video game/trading card game collection under control like this.