Why Do People Collect outside their region?

[Tyree_Cooper | 771]

I collect South African NES stuff because when I was a kid, I had a map of the world and there was South Africa on it. Then one day I saw Mandela on the TV news. So you could say I have a very intimate relationship with South Africa.

[Tanooki | 4,950]

You know another good reason, the lazy random easiness, and/or rarity of it happening too in your own community.

Perfect example, went into a store today and a dude was dropping a lot of his 2nd 3rd...5ths of stuff, and had a small pile of things the store refused to take.  I saw a Famicom game I wanted, but he had two, so I grabbed them, plus another thing as well.  In this state Japanese games turn up in stores in this area probably in a year so little you could count the stuff using your fingers.

[AirVillain | 490]

Since getting more into TurboGrafx 16 I notice a lot of people (in North America) say "I collect PC Engine"..... which seems odd to me? 

I mean.... Like Tanooki just said, sometimes those foreign games just fall into your lap.... but to actively seek out a different regions system...? 

[Gex | 121]

5 hours ago, AirVillain said:

Since getting more into TurboGrafx 16 I notice a lot of people (in North America) say "I collect PC Engine"..... which seems odd to me? 

I mean.... Like Tanooki just said, sometimes those foreign games just fall into your lap.... but to actively seek out a different regions system...? 

It's because there's 4x the amount of games released on the JPN PCEngine than the NA Turbografx 16. If you like the system than the PCEngine library is definitely the way to go, as very very few games were NA exclusive. Darkwing Duck was one of them, forget the rest. Beyond Shadowgate maybe? Besides text heavy games most of the library playable, perfect for shooters.

[360collector | 289]

Exclusives and shooters on megadrive for the framerate. I Would like a hong kong oot just for fun

[360collector | 289]

15 minutes ago, Gex said:

It's because there's 4x the amount of games released on the JPN PCEngine than the NA Turbografx 16. If you like the system than the PCEngine library is definitely the way to go, as very very few games were NA exclusive. Darkwing Duck was one of them, forget the rest. Beyond Shadowgate maybe? Besides text heavy games most of the library playable, perfect for shooters.

it is actually insane to me that on such a collector focused forum people dont know about exclusives lol

[Philosoraptor | 468]

For me, the Retron 5 opened the doors to experience a lot of import libraries, both with translations and as a way to enjoy lots of Japanese exclusives that don't require translations.

I imported a LOT of stuff from Yamatoku Classic, who was a massive seller back before the pandemic. He had thousands of Japanese games, gaming-related items, and consoles up for sale at any given time, and he always started every auction at a cent. He'd also give you two weeks to run up a tab before shipping them to help reduce shipping costs.

Looking through the auctions, I ended up becoming more interested in games for region-free consoles I owned, like the PSP. I then went on to buy a Japanese PS2 and an Action Replay for the Saturn. Even though Yamatoku has stopped selling for now, the passion has carried over to European-, Japanese-, and Asian-region PS4 and Switch exclusives that look interesting to me. Nowadays importing even more from Europe because of Super Rare Games, Red Art Games, and Strictly Limited Games.

Of course all the exclusive SHMUPs and platformers are great, but I ended up really liking a lot of Banpresto's stuff, especially Compati Heroes, and other series that have licensing issues outside of Asia or Japan, like Super Robot Taisen or Gundam. The SRT games we get over here are OG series, which don't have characters from licensed Japanese series like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Gundam, Mazinger Z, Magic Knight Rayearth, Full Metal Panic, and so on. If you like big robots, it's hard to live on the Armored-Core-Flavored tablescraps we get in the States.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,017]

On 10/31/2022 at 12:19 PM, fcgamer said:

So it looks like a bunch of dank collectors to me, honestly 

I gotta agree with the way it looks. Having the same handful of games from another region as all the other collectors in their IG, FB group and as the influencers they watch on YT have is really what it comes down to. They're mostly surface level games that are accessable and are the first couple hits when you search, hidden Famicom gems, or something to the effect.Especially from you perspective, since you have such a depth of knowledge of eastern releases. 

Not that I have anything particularly against the dank collectors, but I do think the more furfilling route is looking for truly obscure items or sticking to a particular genre and branching out to different regions that way as opposed to just a collection of greatest hits.

[8bitsupremacy | 208]

I collected every North American licensed NES game, then got every PAL exclusive...suck me.

[TrekMD | 1,434]

I have, on occasion, bought games that are not from the US because the game may be unique or the presentation may be different.  For example, I have some Japanese cartridges for the Lynx because the physical carts are different that those from the US.  The game itself plays the same and it is playable on any Lynx.  I also recently purchased a He-Man and the MOTU game for the PS2 from Europe that was only released there only because I like that franchise.  Sadly, I won't be able to play the game but it is cool to have it.  It wasn't expensive to get either. 

[AirVillain | 490]

On 11/10/2022 at 5:18 PM, Gex said:

It's because there's 4x the amount of games released on the JPN PCEngine than the NA Turbografx 16. If you like the system than the PCEngine library is definitely the way to go, as very very few games were NA exclusive. Darkwing Duck was one of them, forget the rest. Beyond Shadowgate maybe? Besides text heavy games most of the library playable, perfect for shooters.

Thank you for the simple explanation.

 

On 11/10/2022 at 5:34 PM, 360collector said:

it is actually insane to me that on such a collector focused forum people dont know about exclusives lol

Haha, settle down man... I'm sure FCGamer knows about exclusives, and so do I.... but it's not like just because I understand something exists for one system, doesn't mean I understand it for what I'm commenting on. ( at my own ignorance)

That's why I come here. Because I am but a young Padawan.

Sure, I could go ahead and research both (TGFX16 vs PCE) libraries and create a spreadsheet to compare the differences, but that would take up a lot of time and sounds boring. I'd rather ignorantly go about the internet asking questions and get fast answers from guys like Gex who know this shit off the top of their head.

Plus then I can get the professional insight that goes beyond what hours and hours of research would determine.

Now... The PC Engine is STILL not my deal, but I do now understand better why these people would "collect outside their region", which I believe was the topic of discussion.

[koifish | 560]

It seems like this thread has ironed out the matters pretty well. If I may attempt to summarize:

• some people collect "the originals" like Japanese releases of Nintendo games
• some people collect games from a region they have connections to, like a person who spent part of childhood in a foreign country wanting to buy stuff from that country
• some people just have specific niche reasons that satisfy some craving, such as matching labels or having esoteric releases of a favorite game

While some have expressed general frustration with the shrinking of game pools due to the increasing popularity of the hobby, it seems to me that FC's beef is with people buying up full sets of unusual regions for seemingly no reason. I guess the short answer is you'll have to ask them why they are doing it to figure it out, but surely it can look pointless, maybe even performative, from an outside eye.

The subject of "game hoarders" is a tricky one and I don't feel qualified to answer, but I suspect that the grievances in this thread are about that subject, what might be called conspicuous collecting; The sense that people are buying up games because they feel like it's a status symbol to have a set of this or a rare variant of that. I remember a thread either here or on NA where people were roundly mocking an auction for a rare baseball card, because its description text mentioned how the card was a "rare opportunity to become part of the haves and leave behind the have-nots of the baseball card collecting community," or something to that effect. The starting price of the card was $130,000.

I think we mocked it because it gave off this very smug affectation about what being a "real collector" meant. To me, the group was a bunch of people who just spend ridiculous amounts of money to try and be respected in some illustrious inner circle. I am not sure, but I suspect that this is what @fcgamer is really annoyed by; He sees people talking about getting an esoteric fullset, maybe even out of the blue, and thinks they are mere status chasers, hoping to exchange money and get respect in return. Perhaps FC can elaborate, but that is what I suspect may be the case here.

[Strange | 1,700]

Because I want them sick JPN-exclusive Saturn and MD games.

If my goal was to look dank on the internet I wouldn’t even collect Sega, I’d just stick solely to my Nintendo collecting. (Is PlayStation dank yet?)

EDIT: I did feel pretty dank posting my N64 Sin & Punishment though

Edited November 14, 2022 by Strange

[360collector | 289]

3 hours ago, AirVillain said:

Thank you for the simple explanation.

 

Haha, settle down man... I'm sure FCGamer knows about exclusives, and so do I.... but it's not like just because I understand something exists for one system, doesn't mean I understand it for what I'm commenting on. ( at my own ignorance)

That's why I come here. Because I am but a young Padawan.

Sure, I could go ahead and research both (TGFX16 vs PCE) libraries and create a spreadsheet to compare the differences, but that would take up a lot of time and sounds boring. I'd rather ignorantly go about the internet asking questions and get fast answers from guys like Gex who know this shit off the top of their head.

Plus then I can get the professional insight that goes beyond what hours and hours of research would determine.

Now... The PC Engine is STILL not my deal, but I do now understand better why these people would "collect outside their region", which I believe was the topic of discussion.

you dont need too do that just go on ebay and click buy it now untill your out of money based on awesome covers you have never seen before, its awesome

[Gex | 121]

5 hours ago, AirVillain said:

Haha, settle down man... I'm sure FCGamer knows about exclusives, and so do I.... but it's not like just because I understand something exists for one system, doesn't mean I understand it for what I'm commenting on. ( at my own ignorance)

Wait a minute.. are you telling me you haven't memorized every region exclusives game for every console released in every region of the world ??? Let alone not know everything about video games??

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,017]

5 hours ago, Strange said:

Because I want them sick JPN-exclusive Saturn and MD games.

If my goal was to look dank on the internet I wouldn’t even collect Sega, I’d just stick solely to my Nintendo collecting. (Is PlayStation dank yet?)

EDIT: I did feel pretty dank posting my N64 Sin & Punishment though

Sin and Punishment is a dank ass game, no questions about it lol. I think when it comes to PS1 that only RPGs are dank games. Other genres get the eye balls buts nothin' makes the masses smash the link button like a full row of black spined PS1 RPGs. 

I would say tho JPN Saturn games are old news. Everyone knows that's the main way to collect if you care about money and want to experience the entire library. The Western Saturn library is just really limited and I would venture to say that everyone who collects for the Saturn knows one day they'll be getting a RAM cart and some imports. 

[AirVillain | 490]

22 hours ago, 360collector said:

you dont need too do that just go on ebay and click buy it now untill your out of money based on awesome covers you have never seen before, its awesome

Shit... why am I wasting my time here??? eBay here I come!!

 

20 hours ago, Gex said:

Wait a minute.. are you telling me you haven't memorized every region exclusives game for every console released in every region of the world ??? Let alone not know everything about video games??

Yes. That is EXACTLY what I'm telling you. 

I'm working on it. 

 

17 hours ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

Sin and Punishment is a dank ass game, no questions about it lol. I think when it comes to PS1 that only RPGs are dank games. Other genres get the eye balls buts nothin' makes the masses smash the link button like a full row of black spined PS1 RPGs. 

I would say tho JPN Saturn games are old news. Everyone knows that's the main way to collect if you care about money and want to experience the entire library. The Western Saturn library is just really limited and I would venture to say that everyone who collects for the Saturn knows one day they'll be getting a RAM cart and some imports. 

And they'll be stupid poser losers when they do!!  

Also, whenever I post something I think myself to be impressive (or super dank as the kids would say), of course I want the recognition of being awesome myself, but really I'm just posting it to let other people know they can't have it.

It's mine. Forever. 

Edited November 15, 2022 by AirVillain

[Tanooki | 4,950]

I got another answer, because you live in an area and it just happens to randomly albeit rarely walk into a store which just doesn't happen every day (month, year.)  If you're capable of using it, and it's interesting, grab it.  I did that over a week ago when F1-Race famicom along with mahjong(I'd like to figure it out) came into a store that reject it, so I bought it off the person instead.

[PekoponTAS | 171]

I imagine it's just a desire to keep enjoying the thing you love. Once you have all of the English games you want for your favourite systems, I imagine some people have a hard time moving on from that. 

Of course the exclusives are a nice gateway, as well as the games that have major changes between regions. Once you start getting into games that are basically identical though, it's a slippery slope of just being unable to move on I think.

[cartman | 195]

For me it is because NTSC in particular has games running in it's correct speed as opposed to PAL being 13-17% slower. So even if the artwork would look the same and even if i won't play the game anyway, because it's sealed or whatever, i still don't want it. Because that copy is inferior regardless.

Other reasons might be an excitement that simply expands because you have an underlaying appreciation of something. Then you see something that's in the same category but different, and you might like that style also or the novelty of owning something unusual. 

[koifish | 560]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

I got another answer, because you live in an area and it just happens to randomly albeit rarely walk into a store which just doesn't happen every day (month, year.)  If you're capable of using it, and it's interesting, grab it.  I did that over a week ago when F1-Race famicom along with mahjong(I'd like to figure it out) came into a store that reject it, so I bought it off the person instead.

Not to downplay your purchase of famicom mahjong, but if you want to play riichi then to be honest, the 8-bit versions aren't all that. I'd recommend downloading tenhou instead, its a free online riichi game and you can run it on numerous platforms. Then check out some tutorials online. The hardest part of the game is learning the rules and the scoring, but I think you'll enjoy it once you do. Sorry to veer off topic.

[Tanooki | 4,950]

9 hours ago, koifish said:

Not to downplay your purchase of famicom mahjong, but if you want to play riichi then to be honest, the 8-bit versions aren't all that. I'd recommend downloading tenhou instead, its a free online riichi game and you can run it on numerous platforms. Then check out some tutorials online. The hardest part of the game is learning the rules and the scoring, but I think you'll enjoy it once you do. Sorry to veer off topic.

It's fine, I read a little when I had a moment, what you're saying about it with points and rules line up.  The thing was when I got it, it was just being in the moment.  I wanted F1-Race and it was $2, then showed me that and I offered another $3 since I didn't have any ones.   I couldn't complain about 2 FC games locally for that, couldn't even get them free paying for only shipping for that little these days.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Tanooki

[koifish | 560]

22 hours ago, Tanooki said:

It's fine, I read a little when I had a moment, what you're saying about it with points and rules line up.  The thing was when I got it, it was just being in the moment.  I wanted F1-Race and it was $2, then showed me that and I offered another $3 since I didn't have any ones.   I couldn't complain about 2 FC games locally for that, couldn't even get them free paying for only shipping for that little these days.

True! I hope you can still enjoy it even if it's outdone by newer riichi games. They can still be fun even if the AI isn't very good. Just think of it as a more forgiving game to learn on.

[FireHazard51 | 2,051]

My first reason for collecting out of my region was because it was cheap and like a piece of video gaming history.  How could I NOT buy it when it was so reasonably priced.  Any more the reason why I do it is because it's the only place I can buy a physical copy of the game.  Given how consoles are more and more region free and include English subtitles, I see no reason not to buy them other than the potential high cost from shipping.  I mean I'm trying to collect things cheaply when possible and trying to avoid buying stuff that cost a lot unless I REALLY want it or it's part of my full set NA PSVR collection.  

[koifish | 560]

52 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said:

My first reason for collecting out of my region was because it was cheap and like a piece of video gaming history.  How could I NOT buy it when it was so reasonably priced.  Any more the reason why I do it is because it's the only place I can buy a physical copy of the game.  Given how consoles are more and more region free and include English subtitles, I see no reason not to buy them other than the potential high cost from shipping.  I mean I'm trying to collect things cheaply when possible and trying to avoid buying stuff that cost a lot unless I REALLY want it or it's part of my full set NA PSVR collection.  

 

I'm curious about the PSVR fullset, what games are particularly hard to get? The only one I've heard about before is Job Simulator, because I guess they only made one print run and then switched to digital-only sales.