Coulda been a score...

[King Atari]

Stopped by a new game place today, I figured they had the standard NES-on-up stuff. Nope, they had a bunch of crap I've never even seen in person before, including what could have been a decent 2600 score. Problem is, they knew what their stuff was worth. Things worth mentioning:

 

-Turboduo- $100

-Coleco Combat Console- $100

-Quest for Quintana Roo (Sunrise)-$30 (yeah, I know, a decent price for an 8, but I didn't feel like wasting nearly all of my money all at once, especially since I don't like the game)

-Double Dunk-$9

-Alien-$12 or $9, can't remember

-Ramapage 2600- $12

 

And other assorted stuff. I realized something when looking at all of the 2600 stuff: I'm more into it for the fun now, instead of the rarity or uniqueness. Quest for Quintana Roo was there, I could have bought it, but I didn't want it. Alien is, IMO, repetitive after awhile, and Double Dunk is okay, but I'm not paying nearly $10 for it. As for the two $100 systems, screw that, the only console I truly want right now is an NES top loader. The only 2600 rares I want are Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, neither of which were there.

 

Most of the stuff was common, and for someone with more cash than me, it would be a decent (okay, amazing) haul, but I don't know, I just don't feel the same kind of love for the stuff right now (no doubt brought on by the recent flood of nostalgia for my childhood favorite NES).

 

Besides, right after, stopped by a thrift shop, and picked up complete & boxed copies of SMB 2 & 3 for $5 each (though thye kinda smell like smoke, which pisses me off, but whatever).

 

Soooooo... To make this post worthwhile, I'll ask: Are you more for the fun of the system, or for the collecting? Personally, I'd much rather play 8 hours of Asteroids or Space Invaders than 10 minutes of 90% of the rare titles.

[SteveW]

I've always been in it for the fun, not just for building a collection. That's why I don't have a lot of rarities, I don't shop on eBay and pay hundreds for a single game, and i'd never buy a pricey game without trying it out in emulation first, to see if it's got the gameplay to back up the price tag. I'm not the kind of guy who displays my games in a glass case, they're always next to my console, ready to be used.

 

$100 for a Turbo Duo? I've always wanted one, but i've never seen a good price on one locally. I wonder if $100 is a good price? I'd much rather get a PC Engine Duo module for my Pioneer LaserActive, though. Just for the coolness factor.

[keilbaca]

I have sold all of my "10 second" rares because my parents needed cash to last them the month, and my brother needed books for college, but I kept my "8 hour" really rare game, Crazy Climber.

 

Now I just collect for the fun of the games, but sometimes I get in the moods to where I want to get a game for just the rarity... but mainly for the fun.

[MattG/Snyper2099]

I do both. It's better that way. Really though, the only two games in my collection I've spent a lot of cash on are quadrun ,river patrol, and rescue terra I, and they are all really great games. After I find a cheap out of control, I'll pretty much be done collecting 2600 unless I sell all my arcade games.

[Cassidy Nolen]

100 for a Duo is MORE than fair. If it has the control, the cables and the little cart door over the HuCard opening, its a good deal. Sold my last one on ebay, and bidding went like 150 for it.

 

As for collect/play question, for me its a little of both. I have games that fit both categories. Could not justify the Computer Space in the basement otherwise

 

Cassidy

[sku_u]

The completist in me wants all Atari games and Atari related items, but the gamer in me has started separating his game collection into games I like playing and games I don't care for. I guess you can say I am both a collector and a gamer.

 

BTW, $30 for QFQR Sunrise is an excellent price. You could probably resell it for more than that. (Sorry, had to say it )

[Red 5]

I love collecting as much as I love playing.

 

I got just as much joy finding Guardian last weekend at a flea market and adding it to my collection as I do playing hours of 'Escape from the Mindmaster' or 'H.E.R.O.'

[King Atari]

BTW, $30 for QFQR Sunrise is an excellent price.  You could probably resell it for more than that.  (Sorry, had to say it )

 

I know, but I'd still rather have a top loading NES .

 

Oh, and I take back saying the only rares I want are Halloween and Texas Chainsaw. I'd pick up a 10, or a Crazy Climber or Quadrun.

[DJ Badger]

I wish I could say that I was into it just for the fun of it, but I have an obsessive-compulsive nature and I have tended to pay quite a bit to add rarities to my collection.

 

I've only had a couple of times (okay, maybe three) that I paid over $200 for a 2600 game. I'm not swimming in money, so those have been very substantial investments for me. They weren't really "fun" games, but important for the collection. The games that have been the most fun, for me, have usually cost me between $5 and $35 over the years.

 

I have very few really rare/expensive games that I still need to acquire for the collectors' values. Sadly, the two games that I most want to acquire were two that I passed up the chance to purchase brand-new in the mid-to-late 1980s for a whopping $12.95 each.

 

Those would be (a complete) Track and Field and Swordquest: Waterworld (which, yes, was available on the shelves of Kay-Bee Toys for a limited time. RIP Kay-Bee...)

 

With each of those two games, I have a few deep regrets and multiple eBay horror stories... but I won't go into either of those at this point. However, I've been insanely lucky (in retrospect) more times than I'd care to count when it came to my Atari collection, so things kind of even out.

 

I love the Atari 2600 for the good memories (the campiness and the warm fuzzy nostalgia), but I'll freely admit that I collect the rarities for the bragging rights. If I were introducing the 2600 to friends who'd never played it before, I would start by showing off a lot of the really common but fun games. (Let's face it: Combat is hilariously common, but it can still be a ton of simple, goofy fun.) Then, after a few games, I'd show off my really rare stuff.

 

"Oh, yeah... that's a boxed Chase the Chuck Wagon. The gameplay blows, but it's just about impossible to find. Let me tell you a story about dog food..."

 

Badger

Amount paid to purchase 2600 Texas Chainsaw Massacre with manual, mid-80s: $12.95 + shipping.

Amount paid to purchase 2600 Texas Chainsaw Massacre complete (to get the box), 2002: $205 + shipping.