Do you have a collecting finish line?

[AirVillain | 490]

EVERY. GAME. EVER. 

And you can bury me with them too. 

[Brickman | 4,000]

6 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

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??

I had no idea what a PDP-11 is so googled it. I wish you luck 

Do you have a PDP-11 if you ever find one?

[AirVillain | 490]

I guess to answer seriously.... 

If I bought Samson when it was $60 I'd say "yes", which I still remember vividly being SHOCKED at how "expensive" it was. 

I wish I bought it at $500 at this point, hahaha. 

But I'd still buy random stuff here and there of course. Now that Samson is stubbornly too high a price for me to pay, I guess I'll have to live with that regret for the rest of my life.

Or just pay the money and get the damn game. 
 

Also had no idea. Incredible.

Edited April 6, 2023 by AirVillain

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

Let's face it. Every freakin' time I create a goal for my self, I find a reason to do a major detour.

I mean let's face it. If I tried to build a new finish line, I might be too busy doing that instead of me enjoying what you guys do. Which is why I am going to have one until I find you guys to be boring. 

[DefaultGen | 5,415]

11 hours ago, Brickman said:

I had no idea what a PDP-11 is so googled it. I wish you luck 

Do you have a PDP-11 if you ever find one?

I think I'm thinking of the PDP-1 but there's like 1 working one in the world and another one used for spare parts. Don't know about the PDP-11. I assume they are rare! I just like owning historical pieces of media I'll never use!

[GPX | 1,371]

Funny answer:

my finishing line changes whenever a poster talks about their finishing line!

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,014]

I gotta admit I never really had a finish line. There are games that I still want and don't have but I'm just not indiscriminately smashing BINs and running through cash to get games. I don't really think I will ever get like that unless I stumble onto a fortune. I just assume to go slow and steady. Sure I would've liked to buy a bunch of games 10 years ago, or hell before COVID but it won't stop me from still buying them now if I find myself in a good position, comparatively to aquire them. 

I remember back in 2012 it was all about the full sets and that idea always seemed cool but never was for me. It would be cool to have a full set, don't get me wrong but I would rather stumble onto new games and fall backwards into low ball offers on games I've had on a watch list than just check boxes and fill selves.

It's always been about the journey for me and after 14 years of collecting, it still is.

Edited April 7, 2023 by RegularGuyGamer

[Renmauzo | 1,203]

I have a pretty defined list of things to get though I have added things as I've discovered them, but the list is still sub 100 titles. The down side is that most of what I still need is in 4 figure territory, so I save, then buy, save then buy...etc.; I think it'll still take me 3-4 years to finish up with the North American stuff (Game Boy and NES...tall mountain to climb for the couple dozen titles left).

When I'm done with the games, I have some very specific kiosk/signage wants to complete a project I've had in mind as my end game: to create a cross section of a Nintendo-merchandized video game section, department store style.

In the meantime, the final frontier for me on the game front will be putting together a killer X68000 setup and game collection...but I'll fall down that rabbit hole once I finish rounding out the other Japanese games I'm hunting for (mix of Saturn, SFC, Famicom, and a few randos for other systems).

It's been fun these past 30 years of playing and collecting games, and although pricing has made the journey drag at times, I'm still having fun and get excited like a kid at Christmas when new games show up that I get to have and experience!

Edited April 7, 2023 by Renmauzo

[final fight cd | 187]

i feel like i am always moving the goal post so i can keep buying shit i don't need.

first it was buying all sealed sega cd games.  if it wasn't sealed i didn't want it.   i currently have 5 to go, but they either rarely make an appearance or when they do show up it is at a price i can't justify spending.  

but because i like the dopamine hit, i decided i'd start buying mint cib games of the variants.  the variants are either very hard to find or finding copies in the condition i want is a pain in the ass.

so i moved the goal post again and started buying books and guides associated with the sega cd.  then it was cds and vinyl.  the process continues.

as long as i still have an interest in the hobby i'm gonna keep finding ways to modify my collecting criteria.  

there is no way i'd start to collecting for another system.  im sega cd-4-life at this point.  i have no idea how some of you collect for so many different consoles.

 

[Super Nintendo Chalmers | 53]

For me it's about the journey and not the destination, the process of collecting is fluid, flexible and subject to change. I'm in it for the long haul, nearly 20 years and counting, collecting and enjoying retro games is a part of my fibre and identity so I don't think I'll ever have a finish line to be honest. However there have been times where I've held off on buying things and taken a small hiatus, especially when I bought my first home a few years ago pre covid.

Once upon a time I did have an N64 full set and, plus some smaller console sets (no more than 10-15 total in a set) but interests and focuses change, I'm pretty content with my collection after a bit of realigning, now I've got all my childhood, personal favourites across SNES, GB, PS1, N64, GC which I originally built on in my first 8 or so years of collecting. After "trimming the fat" I'm focusing more on Donkey Kong stuff and any neat promo and merch pre Wii which catches my eye and that I have room for that will compliment what I have.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Super Nintendo Chalmers

[Nes Freak | 584]

i do.  but im just walking to it.  i doubt my wallet will get me there but i'll try to get close lol.

[Quaze | 342]

No. The goalposts just keep moving back lol.

[timfsu2k | 19]

My goal is to hit 400 NES games.  I'm at 387 as of today.  I have three games incoming so I'm down to 10 games and then I'm out!

[AirVillain | 490]

I fucked up... Right now I do have one.

Mega Man Boxes... I WANT THEM ALL then I'm done.

My brain is preoccupied with that. So much so that I saw Mega Man 7 and bought it. 

[Tulpa | 3,526]

On 4/5/2023 at 10:16 PM, AirVillain said:

EVERY. GAME. EVER. 

And you can bury me with them too. 

I'm sure at some point the piles of games will topple over and bury you anyway, saving us the trouble.

[PapaStu | 47]

Do I have a finish line? Sure. Do I move the goal posts? Yep. Have I just outright stopped some of those chases as well? Yep again.  Have I finished anything? Sure, but then add to it, so it's back to the races.  Do I enjoy the hunt more than the finish line? Without question, because once it's all 'gotten' then what?


 

[AirVillain | 490]

47 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

I'm sure at some point the piles of games will topple over and bury you anyway, saving us the trouble.

I'm getting there.... 

[Sydpinkfloyd | 12]

I’ve found over the years that my tastes have changed in collecting. When I first started I bought everything, especially if it was a deal. Over the last couple of years I’ve been much more focused. I went through a large collection cull of what didn’t resonate with me, then I bought games that I actually wanted. I now go through the same exercise every year to ensure what I have I still actually care about. I was never a full set kind of guy, but doing it this way makes me happy. It’s nice to reflect every j note and then so you don’t up with a warehouse full of stuff that you just think is ok. So I guess to answer your question, no real finish line for me. 

[NZCollector | 107]

All done yep! Paired everything down to the really good stuff and love what I have way more now. Went from about 1400 games to ~300. Don't have any spare cash though, when you have an old BMW and it's almost $3 a litre for petrol, the spare change kinda vanishes   

Edited May 7, 2023 by NZCollector

[re4mat | 65]

I've got a few finish lines, one of which I'm about to cross. I'm going for a full CIB Zelda set, which I'm actually a good amount into. Also going for a full CIB Metroid set, which I have I think only two more to get. (Until, of course, the next game comes out!) I've got my own criteria for what constitutes "full", though. For example, I don't tend to collect variants, like the yellow cart NES Metroid, but I do get releases on other platforms, like the GBA Classic NES Series Metroid. I generally don't get Player's Choice releases, with the exception of Super Metroid because I still have my boxed copy from when I was 18. And I'll do spinoffs, like the Tingle games, but not cameos, like Link in Soul Caliber II or any of the Smash Bros. games. But games like Nintendo Land and NES Remix I'll get because there's enough of a game in there that I'll count it.

Beyond those two sets, I have a long-term goal of piecing together boxes/manuals/etc. for all the loose cartridges and discs that I already own. Those three things are probably the only finish lines that I've defined, but overall I don't think I have a collecting finish line. I'll probably keep buying homebrews, probably keep buying other random games here and there, and I could see myself getting other wild hairs like maybe a full Sierra Mac set or a full Infocom set. Who knows?

[wyansas | 131]

Yes.  Now it's all about my two focused collections which are international Super Mario Bros variants and rare NES variants.  I'm limiting my search for the rare variants to just major variants, which I define as screw, seal and part # variants.  No trademarks or Made in Japan's except when those signify a variant of a major variant.  I'm almost at the point in both collections where all I have left are the super rares.  Got about 5 Marios and 10 rare variants left before I'm satisfied, but that doesn't mean the finish line is close.  I'll probably never get ahold of a 5 screw Stadium Events, for example.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

@wyansas Hey, another Montana guy @acidjaguar.  We're multiplying.

[SuperNES Paul | 3]

Everyone is different, but having a "cut off" for what you collect is very important. I have my focus, but the cutoff for full sets (in my opinion) is the PS3/360/Wii+Wii U era. I haven't decided on what to do with Nintendo Switch, but I will continue to purchase the quality titles for now.

I try to limit on what i pick up for modern stuff, but it's hard to say no when games are released on a Nintendo platform for the first time or if a game has been a japan exclusive, but finally comes over to the west.

Edited May 9, 2023 by SuperNES Paul

[Jynx | 140]

I don't have a finish line, but now I only buy for certain systems. I like the NES, Wii, DS, Game Boy, and Genesis.

I collect and play games, but playing games is more important to me than collecting. I'll never be done playing games for the systems I love.

[Vectrex28 | 366]

Ever since moving to Japan my main goal for now is a complete HuCard set for the PC Engine. I think I have like 18 to go now.

I'm still looking for NES stuff on and off though, I've been wanting a complete set since forever and I'm down to 19 carts, most being PAL exclusive/variants and unlicensed

I'll still be doing the CD set for the PC Engine probably after I'm done with the cards, but after that I really don't know . Maybe get into the X68000? After playing Bubblegum Crash on the PC Engine I do want to get into playing some more Japanese text adventures (No not just *those* ones... More like Snatcher or Onryo Senki)

Edited May 17, 2023 by Vectrex28