Do you have a collecting finish line?

[Brickman | 3,983]

I've been thinking about this over the last few month or so. Do I have a finish line?

I sort of break my collecting into different tiers. Tier A is finishing my full retail set for Japanese GC & N64 collection (almost finished both), Tier B is my full retail set for Japanese GBA and Famicom collection and Tier C is full of other systems that I might not go full sets for but grab deals and items when they come along.

I used to think that once I have completed my Tier A and B I would just pickup a few things here and there for the other consoles but mostly call it a day. But now I'm considering going for a full PSP and maybe grabbing a best of for the PS1. Which means I just keep moving the finish line.

Do you guys have a finish line or do you keep moving the finish line too? Or have you already finished and now have so much spare cash you don't know what to do with it?

[RH | 4,903]

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

I completed my NES, SNES, and N64 loose sets and now I’m just happy buying whatever I want. I completed the Moonshake set not that long ago which was never even on my radar until I got one by chance. It’s kind of nice not spending so much money on games, especially filler games. I don’t think I’ll ever be done, there is always something cool to buy but I think my days of spending major cash on things is over. The last bit of that came with getting Xbit Xmas 2008/2009 and starkeeper and the expensive moonshakes

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Nope. 

[guitarzombie | 924]

Already finished.  Haven't gotten anything new in a LONG time, nor have I had the desire to get anything new.

[Hammerfestus | 3,837]

When I’m dead.

[Gloves | 11,776]

1 minute ago, Hammerfestus said:

When I’m dead.

[Khromak | 768]

Similar to guitarzombie, I haven't gotten anything new (except some homebrew) in a long time. Partially this was because I moved into a much more expensive home and wanted to make sure my finances were good before spending frivolously, but I haven't gone back to it even after the dust settled.

I think my finish line was completing the loose licensed NA NES set (minus SE), though I've still sorta got my eyes on unlicensed and manuals. I think CIB is just too much space and hassle.

I'm sure at some point in the future this may change, but for now I'm really content where I'm at.

Except sealed DW3. Sell me your sealed DW3.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I'm not sure what my goal is in terms of full sets, but I certainly don't want to go after anything later than 360/PS3/Wii U. I would consider that the modern gaming cutoff and I only want to buy what I intend play at that point. Cartridge based (prior to Switch) would also be a great cutoff point.

Edited April 4, 2023 by DoctorEncore

[Reed Rothchild | 9,523]

In a loose sense?  Yes,I have a finite number of shelves in my game room.  They're mostly filled.  There's a very defined list of games remaining that I'd like to own for DS and PS2 and PS1 and so forth.

Can I cheat that a bit?  Or continuously refine what I put on those shelves?  Sure, kind of.

But I'll be as close to the finish line as I'm likely to get here in a few years.

But I'll never cross it.

Maybe in 20 years when I'm an emptynester I'll want to treat myself to Kuon and Panzer Dragoon Saga.  Maybe I'll start buying the odd big box PC Game.

[Brickman | 3,983]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

In a loose sense?  Yes,I have a finite number of shelves in my game room.  They're mostly filled.  There's a very defined list of games remaining that I'd like to own for DS and PS2 and PS1 and so forth.

Can I cheat that a bit?  Or continuously refine what I put on those shelves?  Sure, kind of.

But I'll be as close to the finish line as I'm likely to get here in a few years.

But I'll never cross it.

Maybe in 20 years when I'm an emptynester I'll want to treat myself to Kuon and Panzer Dragoon Saga.  Maybe I'll start buying the odd big box PC Game.

You could always start planning phase 2 of your collection. Once your kids grow up you’ll have a lot more places to put shelves 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,523]

2 minutes ago, Brickman said:

You could always start planning phase 2 of your collection. Once your kids grow up you’ll have a lot more places to put shelves 

I just assume my wife will have killed and buried me in the yard by then

[Ankos | 436]

I do not have a specific end goal in mind, but there are a few things I'd be very reluctant to call it quits before getting

[Tabonga | 2,317]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I just assume my wife will have killed and buried me in the yard by then

Be sure to give her a list of some of the faves you would like to be buried with!

[goldenpp72 | 1,234]

Sort of, I have a retro finish line, but I still collect on modern things which is tough to put a finish on until it becomes all digital I guess. 

[Brickman | 3,983]

54 minutes ago, goldenpp72 said:

Sort of, I have a retro finish line, but I still collect on modern things which is tough to put a finish on until it becomes all digital I guess. 

I will probably go back on this when the Switch 2 comes out but I do feel like the Switch will be the last console I collect for and I don't know if I will go for a full set on that one or just get a best of collection. I feel like there's no point in collecting PS5 and Xbox because most of the game isn't on the CD.

[Sumez | 2,950]

If I have one, it keeps moving

[GPX | 1,369]

I’ll answer this topic in an indirect way. Yes, I used to have a finish line - to collect a complete set of games for the Sega, Nintendo, Xbox and PS1 platforms from the 90s. 

Now, I don’t really have a finish line, but rather, my finishing aim is to collect until the age of retirement. So the challenge now becomes the longevity as a collector, the journey to become more focusing on quality over quantity, and to maintain passion without burnout. The initial full-sets aim is a side bonus and no longer the main attraction.

[Friendsfa35 | 35]

 

i do, but the prices these days and the sudden fact that all the games you could pretty easily find until like 2? years ago, or perhaps even still last year, all seem to be gone now..... makes collecting quite annoying.

all my wants are harder to find now, and suddenly 3 or 4 times more expensive.....

can we please go back to 2012/2013 era prices? pretty please.......

 

[Moondog | 19]

Absolutely. Once I realized how out of hand this was gonna get, I started to cut back. Now I just collect the things which are most personal to me; the biggest obstacle being the super hard-to-find stuff. I am content with quality over quantity.

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

I put up more barriers for myself as I go on because I already have more than I could ever want.

There's a bunch of really hard to find to find stuff I'll probably never turn off my saved search for, so I don't know that I'll ever be done even if I stop buying games. An original PDP-11 copy of Zork has never been found. How can my collection be finished without it??

[nrslam | 475]

Nope. I keep finding new things to make the hunt interesting.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

@Brickman Wow, full Famicom? If you're going for CIB, that's insane.

[Brickman | 3,983]

28 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

@Brickman Wow, full Famicom? If you're going for CIB, that's insane.

Nah cart only haha. CIB is way too hard now for that system.

[Link | 2,709]

No, but I never set goals like that in the first place. I like what I want and I want what I like. I try not to spend too much money. So there will always be something interesting. Maybe I'm out of buying more SNES cartridges for example. But collecting games or other items I like, I might change modes as time goes on but overall, no, I have no complete stopping point.