How do you collect your games?

[hex65000]

I'm not talking about where you go. That one seems pretty obvious where you should look for stuff. The question is more along the lines of do you look for variants? Specialize in one specific platform or do you just grab what you can all over the map? If you collect titles for more than one platform what do you do with games where the same title exists for many different platforms? Keep them all, keep the best implementation of the title or the one that takes up the least amount of space?

 

Honestly, I'm more of a best implementation / least amount of space kind of guy. (IE: I have the Jaguar version of Rayman so I don't care about the PSx version and I have Marvel v/s Capcom2 for Xbox so I don't care if I ever get the Dreamcast version.)

 

Also, how do you folks set up / display your stuff?

 

My collection (nest of wires):

NES , SNES , N64 , Gamecube , Genesis , Saturn , Dreamcast , 2600 , 5200 , Jaguar , Colecovision , X-crate, PS2 , PSx , Lynx , Game Gear , Nomad , Gameboy , GBA

 

Hex.

[ Capn' Cramped... ]

[snorlaxnut]

I just get whatever I can get. I have systems I don't have games for and games for systems I don't have. I get all I can find.

[maibock]

I'm trying to get every Genesis sports game, then I could move from there either getting more Genny games or getting other system sports games. Yeah I think I'll do the latter, get more sports games.

[Jasoco]

Whatever I find cheap enough, I grab.

 

So far I've found a modest collection of NES, SNES, DC and Genesis games to join my N64, GCN and Xbox collection.

 

Now, many people like to collect "complete" games. With boxes and manuals and such. I don't really concentrate on that, but if I find a boxed game, I'll grab it if I can. Today I found a boxed Street Fighter 2: Special Champions Edition for Genesis with the manual in the plastic case and cover. Sweet. But if I concentrated on getting boxes and such for everything, I'd probably spend way too much.

 

Currently, I'm mostly after NES games. As they seem to be the easiest currently. But I'll grab a good SNES, Genesis or DC game if there is one.

 

As for cross-platform duplicates. Yes. Even if I own the best version of a particular game, I will grab the others just to have them.

[chrisbid]

i look for cheap

 

other than that, if i see any games for uncommon systems (jag, lynx, neo geo pocket, TG16, sega master system), ill always pick those up first

[Jasoco]

Yeah, if I stumble onto some old games like that, I'd grab them for as long as funds will hold out. So far, none though.

[hex65000]

As for cross-platform duplicates. Yes. Even if I own the best version of a particular game, I will grab the others just to have them.

= = = = =

I can appreciate that to a degree. However I really don't care if I ever find the NES version of Klax again; I have it for the Genesis and the Lynx (which I thought was a great game for the system). I will grab 'similar' items if I like the series (IE: Bomberman, Tetris, Mr. Driller, Pokemon, and Medabots) I've actually imported a few GBA titles just because the publisher was too lazy to bring the titles to the US. I do hope that Namco released Mr. Driller for the Gamecube domestically, I just don't want to crack my cube open to add a dipswitch. However, I have no interest in the Gameboy color or PSx version of Mr. Driller. (Unless there is something exceptionally good about those versions...)

 

Hex.

[ Colored blocks pop up everywhere... Mr. Driller and Co. are on the job! ]

[Ze_ro]

When I buy games, the most important thing is whether the game is fun or not. I found Pokemon Snap for $5 at a thrift store, and I didn't even consider buying it. It may have been cheap, but I'll never enjoy playing it.

 

I'm also extremely cheap... well, it's not that I'm not willing to spend the money, it's that I don't have the money to spend I'd gladly spend $160 on Battlesphere if I could afford to dump that much money at once.

 

As for duplicates, I generally only bother if they are either very cheap, or there is some significant difference between the two versions. For example, I have Donkey Kong on the 2600, INTV, ColecoVision, and Gameboy... the Gameboy version is quite a bit different than the other three, and all the other three were dirt cheap, so why not? It also helps that each of the four games is actually different enough that they're not the same. I try to limit myself to getting the best version of a game and forget about the rest. However, I don't see myself buying Crazy Taxi or Sonic Adventure DX for the Gamecube, since I already have both games for the Dreamcast, and I don't see any difference worth paying for. I consider label variations a waste of time except for extreme cases (the only one I can think of is when I purposely bought a "01 combat" because I didn't have one... I only bought it because I knew it was the original pack-in for the Heavy Sixer that I had bought the same day).

 

As for display, I have all my video games crammed into my room along with my computer. They're all hooked up at once (11 in total at the moment... the Saturn is waiting for a spot, the 5200 is waiting for some working controllers, the 32X is waiting until I get some games, and my ColecoVision is on loan to a friend), and all my games are stored in different manners... Most are stacked on shelves in various locations around my room, my DC discs are in a rack, and my 2600 games are in shoe boxes. Considering how small my room is, it's really quite impressive that I've managed to fit so much in it and retain as much functionality as I have. I really should take some pictures, if only for insurance purposes.

 

My handheld systems are a little different. I built some little "boats" out of cardboard that I use to hold the cartridges... I made a black one with a Lynx logo on the side specifically to hold my Lynx games (although it also has Game.com and Game Gear games in it... Lynx games are mighty thin), and I have a less impressive white one for my GBA games. I have a seperate plastic tray that holds all my original GB games (I'm not sure what it's meant for, but GB carts fit in it nicely).

 

My manuals are sort of all over the place, and I've been trying to think of a good way to store them, but nothing has come to me yet. Most of them are stuffed in a record hole in one of my shelves. Some others are stuffed in a drawer, and my Jaguar and Gameboy manuals have their own seperate places. It's a good thing that I know where everything is, because a stranger wouldn't have a clue. Everything is tidy and neat, but not laid out particularly wisely.

 

I also have a seperate room downstairs that is devoted to all my old computer stuff. At the moment, the only computers that are set-up and usable are a C-128 (which sees moderate use), a Macintosh and an Amiga 1200 (both of which almost never get used). There are a whole host of other computers that are stacked up waiting to be hooked up (Apple IIe, Apple IIGS, Atari 400 (need to replace the RF cord), Atari 600XL, Atari STFM (Broken I think), Amiga 500, Amiga 3000, TI-99/4a, VIC-20, a bunch of C-64's, and maybe more that I forgot). This room also happens to be a sort of storage room for any video game stuff that happens to spill out of my room. It currently houses stuff like my crate-o-joysticks, and cartridges for systems I don't have yet (SegaCD, Leisure-Vision, etc).

 

--Zero

[hex65000]

I'm also extremely cheap... well, it's not that I'm not willing to spend the money, it's that I don't have the money to spend

= = = = =

Amen! I tend to top out at around $45 for a title... and when I spend that much I _REALLY_ want it. (It was Ikaruga for the DC) Under normal circumstances though $20 and under is my typical range -- preferably under.

. . . . .

However, I don't see myself buying Crazy Taxi or Sonic Adventure DX for the Gamecube

= = = = =

I can understand that for Crazy Taxi, But I am under the impression there are some minor improvements for the two Sonic Adventures for the cube. Not that they are actually WORTH $35-$50. But if you see em' complete for $15 or so it is probably worth the bother. I was really mixed when I bought Crazy Taxi 3 for the Xbox. First of all it only has 3 maps in it and two of them are modified versions of maps from Crazy Taxi 1 and 2. My other complaint was that they changed most of the voices of the west coast cabbies. BD-Joe doesn't sound as much fun, Gena sounds a bit more like a stoned southern belle, and Gus sounds like Lurch the hitman. The eye candy is there though...

 

Hex.

[ Simplicity and actual planning... such a great formula... ]

[eric_ruck]

Before I had kids I pretty much picked up anything I came across with the name Atari on it, regardless of the price. Then I started collecting complete systems (7800, Lynx, Jaguar and almost 5200). I decided complete means stuff originally produced for the system, not later hobby releases (although I have plenty of those).

 

Now since I'm short of funds I mostly look for good deals and trades, not necessarily for systems that I have. Also with kids brings space shortages so I've been considering paring down the stuff from my collection that I don't really enjoy as much. If I can get a good deal on things I need to complete my collection I go for it.

 

(Speaking of which, anyone want to trade for Vectrex Fortress of Narzod instructions?)

 

Eric

[ROBOTRON]

I only collect what I play....what I happen to be interested in at the time.

 

I have:

 

Atari 2600

NES

SNES

N64

Gamecube

Genesis

Dreamcast

Saturn

PS1

PS2

TG-16

Neo-Geo home console (Over 40 carts)

Neo Pocket B/W

[SteveW]

I've gotta confess, i'm cheap too. If it doesn't look like something i'd enjoy, I won't waste my money on it. I've never cared about rarity guides or label variations. I've passed up several Virtual Boy consoles in the past. And when I buy new games for the GameCube (and very rarely for the Xbox), i'll wait until the games drop down to $20, unless it's something that I just can't wait 6 months for a price drop on, like the new Futurama game! (I'm still pissed off that they cancelled the GC version so I have to buy the Xbox version. I feel dirty giving my money to Microsoft.)

 

I've bought the same game on different consoles just to compare them. Mainly Atari 2600/7800/XE games, like Desert Falcon, Dark Chambers (the 2600 version sucked!), Food Fight, and Ballblazer.

[Jasoco]

(I'm still pissed off that they cancelled the GC version so I have to buy the Xbox version. I feel dirty giving my money to Microsoft.)

Me too, but really, I don't see it as giving money directly to Microsoft especially when they lose money for each. And Microsoft isn't making the game, so that's more they don't get.

 

And why did they cancel the GCN version? Not that it matters since I have an Xbox too, but would have liked to support my Cube buddy.

 

I'm also looking forward to Simpsons Hit 'n' Run.