Any Real Life Collectors?

[DietPepsi]

I've been collecting older games on and off for roughly around a decade, and it's honestly one of my favorite hobbies and is part of why I'm here in the first place. There’s something about tracking down a game that I used to rent as a kid, or finally hunting down a decent deal on a complete copy of something obscure, that's just unbeatable.

Over the years, I’ve built up a neat lil collection across a bunch of systems. A good chunk of it, ironically, is mostly the consoles I emulate: PS2, PSP, SNES and GameCube. Some games I pick up purely for the nostalgia, others because the box art is just too cool to leave behind, and a few because they’re classics and I really wanted to own them before prices blew up.

It’s a hobby that kind of adjusts with life, but I've always found myself coming back to it. Whether it’s hunting for hidden gems at a yard sale or scrolling eBay at 2am convincing myself I need another game I can very easily emulate and save $40 on... there’s just something so cathartic about it.

All this was to say, is anyone else here into collecting old games? Would love to hear what systems or genres you’re into, and/or what your favorite find has been!

 

[NotGodlike]

I wish I could collect consoles more, but they take up many space and cost a lot, which is why I very much prefer going for portables at least, like how I got PSP-3000 in near-mint condition recently

 

[Sheepy765]

I'm trying to collect all the physical Kingdom Hearts games I can, so far I only got the Greatest Hits versions of the PS2 games, 358/2 Days, Re:Coded, a japanese boxed copy of Chain of Memories alongside the KH Gameboy Advance SP 100, but I'm getting there slowly.

 

[Vebent]

I've been collecting for awhile. I don't know if I should continue though because everyone is at the point where we're starting to worry about disc rot and deterioration of boards. I'm not trying to scare anyone out of collecting. If there's a good way to avoid this then I sure would like to know. Either way, Nintendo Switch is the last console I'll be collecting for. All current gen consoles are not friendly towards physical collectors.

 

[Hourai]

I've collected an awful lot, and quite a bit of it's pretty valuable. I even have Kuon. The issue is just...it's so much stuff, and I'm doing a big move. :/

 

[Eclipse14]

I used to, and reached a pretty decent size. Over the past couple years, it slowly evolved by taking out the cheaper stuff to get my hands on more interesting stuff. Of course, I collect to play on actual hardware. The ones doing it for the Grading insanity? Thanks for making it hard on those who are actually interested in it.

Note that I say "used to". Long story short, things got really rough at this time last year, and I've yet to go anywhere of interest, let alone game hunting since then. The 14th last year marks my most recent buy to date (cartridge only copy of Stella Glow for the 3DS). I hope to be able to buck that trend before too long.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I used to, before adulthood and the extra responsibility of feeding seven (my kids and other family) put an end to that.

I own a few Famicom, NES, SNES, Genesis, Gameboy, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, and Dreamcast games, plus the consoles to play them on.

 

[Boog111]

I've been collecting since the early 2000s. The largest classic game collections I have are the PS1 and PS2 but I have some games for the NES, SNES, Saturn, Dreamcast, Gamecube. I used to love to go to flea markets and pawn shops. Some of my best finds from back when 1 started were Metal storm for the NES at a flea market for $5 and Xenosaga Episode III at a pawn shop for $10.

 

[Frickinfrik]

I’ve been collecting for a long time. I’ve been collecting mainly PS2 and Wii games. I’ve also been collecting VHS tapes mainly because you can get those for very cheap nowadays. Since I have a PS2, i might start collecting PS1 games. GameCube is also a maybe.

 

[7eve70rd]

I've come to a realization about collecting.

I like to have a physical object because of the artwork and my ability to display it.

I will have copies of VHS movies I love and then watch a digital copy. This is okay for me.

Video games are better when emulated due to convenience, save file backups, save scumming quick loads, and other hacks and mods. It makes the sandbox more fun to play in for me. Lessens the frustration.

 

[DietPepsi]

I'm trying to collect all the physical Kingdom Hearts games I can, so far I only got the Greatest Hits versions of the PS2 games, 358/2 Days, Re:Coded, a japanese boxed copy of Chain of Memories alongside the KH Gameboy Advance SP 100, but I'm getting there slowly.

I believe in you

Post automatically merged: Apr 25, 2025

I've collected an awful lot, and quite a bit of it's pretty valuable. I even have Kuon. The issue is just...it's so much stuff, and I'm doing a big move. :/

I feel that, I definitely have a lot more games than I need or have room for, but it makes me happy every time I look at my collection and that's all I really need

Post automatically merged: Apr 25, 2025

I used to, and reached a pretty decent size. Over the past couple years, it slowly evolved by taking out the cheaper stuff to get my hands on more interesting stuff. Of course, I collect to play on actual hardware. The ones doing it for the Grading insanity? Thanks for making it hard on those who are actually interested in it.

Note that I say "used to". Long story short, things got really rough at this time last year, and I've yet to go anywhere of interest, let alone game hunting since then. The 14th last year marks my most recent buy to date (cartridge only copy of Stella Glow for the 3DS). I hope to be able to buck that trend before too long.

Man, having just gotten out of a significant financial hardship myself, I sympathize with you friend. I also have some... inflammatory feelings about graders. But I'll leave those unsaid lmao

 

[Eclipse14]

Man, having just gotten out of a significant financial hardship myself, I sympathize with you friend.

The finance part is the least of my issues. The less said of what goes on, the better.

At least the time off gave me a while to think about what I really want to go after, on top of things simmering a bit more. Though, I'm not sure how long that'll last.