How many games did you have before you started "collect

[Mind Master]

...My guess is that most people on these boards (not all) got their games as follows: As a child or adolescent, you received most of your games as gifts and perhaps bought a few with your own money. Then a long period elapsed when you no longer played atari, or at least no longer were getting more games. Then in later years you started collecting.

 

My question is, how many games did you have at the end of your "childhood" phase? For me the answer is 45. I'm wondering what the average will be.

[Lemmi]

this is my best guess

 

from 82 to 90 is when i got a few as presents and i bought alot myself

 

i had about 80 atari 2600 games

then my atari 2600 died and i bought a 7800

and in 1990 i found a ton of cheap 7800 games at big lots

and i had 38 atari 7800 games

 

 

i didnt start collection seriously untill 94 or so

[AtariDude]

It is hard for me to remember for sure. I do remember giving my Atari 2600 with all the games that I had to a family who had 2 young kids that had moved from Cuba. I think it was probably around 25 to 30 games. By that time, I was playing with the Sega Master System and my Atari was just sitting in a box.

[sku_u]

Around 200 between the 2600 and 5200.

[theaveng]

PRE-1984 CRASH: 60 games... all bought at full price

 

POST-CRASH: None. I was too busy spending my money on "newer" games for my Amiga and later Playstation.

[ubersaurus]

I started collecting back in 92 or so, when Big lots was selling all their atari games cheap...so I'd estimate we had about 90-120 games at the time.

[Albert]

While I had a 2600 and probably around 30 games when I was younger, when I started collecting I had none of that. And I didn't really "start" collecting, I initially just picked up games I remember playing as a kid, as well as some games I never played before since I couldn't afford to buy all the games back then. I'm not quite sure when the collecting mentality actually kicked in, probably when I had over 50 or so titles. This was back around 1996..

 

..Al

[scmor92]

I got my first 2600 around 1979-80 (age 9-10), by 1984 or so had just over 100 games, had those same 100 games until a few months ago when I started selling and trading.

 

Now, I still have just over 100 games, but there are about 25-30 that are different. I've traded off some of my more rare games to get some more fun games. So, I've maintained quantity while improving quality! (thanks to all you Atariagers)

[scmor92]

double post - sorry

[+Atarius Maximus]

I just started collecting last year, after I found my box of Atari stuff when I moved in February 2002. I remember counting the games when I found them, it was exactly 72. That number is now in the 400's.

 

AM

[CPUWIZ]

While I had a 2600 and probably around 30 games when I was younger, when I started collecting I had none of that.  And I didn't really "start" collecting, I initially just picked up games I remember playing as a kid, as well as some games I never played before since I couldn't afford to buy all the games back then.  I'm not quite sure when the collecting mentality actually kicked in, probably when I had over 50 or so titles.  This was back around 1986..

 

..Al

 

When did you stop collecting ?

[Albert]

When did you stop collecting ?    

 

I screwed up in my original message, which I have since edited. It was supposed to be 1996, not 1986!

 

..Al

[ATARIPITBULL]

At best guess I had about 10 games when I was a little boy, but my friends had other games so we would share. I stoped collecting games when I was about 13 years old and just started re-collecting about three years ago.

 

:wink:

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I originally got my 2600 Xmas '82. Anyway, I continued to play my 2600 until I picked up a 7800 in '88. Then I still played all my 2600 games plus the few 7800 games I had. It wasn't until I got my first IBM compatible computer that I finally shelved my Atari systems. At the time I had right at 100 carts or so total between my 2600 and 7800. None of them were duplicates since I wasn't collecting at that time and only wanting to get what looked the most cool to play back then.

 

I didn't start collecting until about 98 when I finally discovered emulation. One of the first emulators I played with was actually for the Sega Genesis. I had always thought the genesis was a cool system but never thought about actually wanting to own one. Well playing Sonic the Hedgehog on that emulator sparked the fuel for me. I then picked up a complete but used Genny off ebay for like 10 bucks. Drove around everywhere in town to look for games for it...mostly pawn shops at the time. And then finally picked up two games that made me have to continue on. Sonic the Hedgehog and TMNT:Hyperstone Heist. I then called my mom the next weekend to inquire about my 7800 and all the games and fine out where it was. I rescued them from her garage about 2 hours later and hooked it all up to only be surprised that while it did work..most of my games needed major cleaning.

 

the rest is history...and since I have aquired over a dozen other systems and some portables I didn't have before. I also now have just over 200 2600 carts...and like 38 7800 games.

 

And I ain't nearly done yet...

[Brian R.]

When I was a kid, my family had a 2600. We never had many games, maybe no more than a dozen. We at some point replaced our 2600 with a Colecovision. I think we sold the 2600, games and all.

 

After that I totally fell out of video games. I had a 600 XL and a few carts, a 1010 recorder, and a book of BASIC games I'd type in, but that was it.

 

My brother got an NES. I never really liked it much.

 

When I was in college, around 91-92, I picked up a Game Gear. And after graduation in 93, got a Genesis.

 

It wasn't until 95-96 that I got back into Atari. At first I limited myself to the 2600 - boy, I passed up a lot I wish I could go back and snag - and figured I'd just be lucky if I could find the games I remembered. I didn't think I'd get past 50 games. Now I've got 234.

 

Then I broadened out to other Atari systems - 7800, Jaguar, Lynx, XEGS and finally a 5200. I also managed to find my long desired 800 XL (64K, baby!) and a 1050 drive.

 

I'm glad I have what I got, because I don't see ANY Atari stuff in the wild any more. Seems it has dried up.

[san-d-2000]

I had about 40 games, including some Supercharger games, I had quite some US only releases because there was this import shop in Amsterdam.

years later I found out I had jawbreaker in an Activision casing and Beany Bopper in an Atari casing, that shop must have been pirating games back then.

 

-Sandy

[gulag picture radio]

I'm one of those guys who really never stopped. I had 10-15 games for a long time post-crash, but I'd look for them at thrift stores etc. and pick them up through the early 90's. There was a thrift that I go to that's only open twice a month, and nearly every time they were open, they'd have a 2600 in a box full of games for $2-5. that's probably where the bulk of my collection came from.

 

I picked up an NES, Coleco, and Intellivision from the same place for about the same money so perhaps that would be the beginning of my officially colelcting for various systems. My friends and I had Atari parties all through the 90's. I guess that it's the last 3-4 years that I've become somewhat more maniacal... er... serious about it, and I've got nearly every console you can get. All for a couple of bucks.

 

All the way back to the 80's, I remember saying to friends who'd ask why I still collected atari, I told them that it's a mega-cheap hobby. It still is!

 

I know that folks spend lots of time and cash on Ebay to get the real rare stuff, but I'm not THAT interested in getting super serious. I don't want to have too much stuff around that I actually have to worry about - if someone spills a coke on Warlords, no big deal... but if I had a Chase the Chuckwagon or similar I'd be too much of a spaz to let anyone play.

 

So I guess that I've been more or less collecting for *gasp* twenty years? No wonder my storage space is full.

[Big Player]

My original collection was 22 games. I know because one day I bored at work one day and tried to write down all my original games from memory. Only missed Realsports Tennis. Not sure why, since I did play that game a lot.

 

I still have all those games and my system as well. However, I am burned out on the games and never play them. Just played them too much back then.

[Video]

We had an Atari and a couple of games, Combat, and later Pac-Man from the late 70's and early 80's. But as a poor family, we never had much. I always played my friends atari, he had something like 30 games. In the mid eighties '86 I think, He finely got a NES, and I bought his 2600, 30 games, and a buttload of old controllers for $80. Nobody around here actually carried used games for the 2600 though, so that was the end of my collecting, till about 94, some more people moved in next door with some old Atari stuff that I bought off them bringing my total number of tames to 70, and I started actively searching on the net for games around then. I'm still collectiong today, though I only have about 200 unique titles, I got more than double that of dupes.

[MattyXB]

0, because we sold our Atari as I was a child. Later I want to collect Atari and buy it again and start my collection.

[Clock]

I never had a console when I wa a child. I always had computers since 1981 ->

 

My first console was the Playstation. I currently own an XBOX but it dawned on me that games are never going to be like they used to. They always have to have 3d graphics etc. So this meant classics like Donkey Kong and Pac-man would be missing from life, so I got to thinking and remembering a friend of mine as a child had a VCS woody. I thought that must be the oldest console and it has lots of games so I bought one off ebay in Feb this year and now have over 100 games for it. I now also have 2 7800s and a Lynx.

 

So I started collecting with zero games.

 

[ussexplorer]

I believe it was 12 Atari 2600 games that came used with the used wood grain Atari 2600 I picked up at the yard sale. Now to be honest if you are talking end of child hood. I did pick up a few more games. So to be honest let just say around 25. Got to include the few Nes games I had.

 

Laters,

 

Josh

[Ed Siegler]

I probabally had about 110 before my Atari "hiatus". Restarted collecting again back around 1992 and went up to about 225 or so, and went back into hiatus until the beginning of 2002 when things really started to pick up. Up to 460 now.

[MattG/Snyper2099]

Back in 1986 I had around 50 or 60 2600 games. I had a list floating around here somewhere... I remember selling all my atari games for $20 back in 1988 to buy a NES. That was a mistake!

 

Today, I have a quired all those games plus a bunch more (up to 465 US 2600 releases I think???) I never knew existed. I started collecting seriously back in 97-98 but I guess you could say I started in 96 with the NES. I am 23 if anyone was wondering.

 

BTW, I am very happy with all I have been able to aquire as an 'adult' owner of classic systems.

 

MattG.

[Brad2600]

I started with about 9-10 games when I was younger.

 

They were in a closet for a couple years until 1995.

 

I took them out and used the 2600 for a while and then put it back in the closet..found that humongous 2600/INTV find in 1996 and didn't start collecting again until Oct/Nov of 2002.

 

At least I was smart enough not to throw out any of my games.