Does anyone go for full sets anymore?

[NostalgicMachine | 235]

I know others may be all about it, but I certainly let go of that goal about a decade ago now. I commend those with the time, patience, and funds to go for it! I just collect and play what I want these days, no pressure.

[TheGreatBlackCat | 20]

17 minutes ago, NostalgicMachine said:

I know others may be all about it, but I certainly let go of that goal about a decade ago now. I commend those with the time, patience, and funds to go for it! I just collect and play what I want these days, no pressure.

I'm with you, I used to want complete libraries, but the hobby isn't as fun as it once was. Besides, like I said, that's an enormous amount of space in one's home dedicated to a console.

I don't know what happened or when it happened, but collecting stopped being fun for me a long time ago. Maybe I've been going through the motions? Maybe it's because I'm down to the final ten of the video games I wanted on the list that I created years ago?

Once my list is complete I think I'm going to buy CIB-only Famicom games and make it fun again with no goal in mind. I feel like I've been a slave to my vintage game habits for too long and I'm admittedly relieved that my list is nearly finished.

Edited January 1 by TheGreatBlackCat

[Foochie776 | 1,052]

I’m sick in the head so I’ll see this NES set through and I’ve toyed with the notion of a N64 set but outside of that, there’s nothing that I care enough about to fullest. 

[NostalgicMachine | 235]

I agree completely about collecting getting un-fun somewhere, somehow. I think a large part of that for me was just having more games than I could feasibly play. I remember being enamoured by the idea of a room full of shelves, floor to ceiling, with just NES and SNES and Genesis stuff, especially seeing particular YT influencers from the bigger old school channels flexing their collections.

While I definitely never held on to the delusion of a a complete CIB NES set, I'd still love to own as many of the carts as possible at some point.

[TheGreatBlackCat | 20]

NostalgicMachine, it's funny, I think it's simply a part of life. Things change (however begrudgingly I admit). I can tell that even Pat Contri and other more established retro personalities are tired of game collecting themselves. A part of retro game collecting for me was about getting older and a refusal to let things go. I suspect that may be the case for many of us in the hobby. When we get over that hump and accept change I don't think preserving our youth in such a way matters as much. Anymore, lately, I want to enjoy my collection and to not try to distill a time and place in my life when I was (sometimes) happier.

Nearly completing my wish list has killed most of the desire to collect anymore. I have everything I ever wanted as a kid and now I don't know what to do with myself. I guess I'm being a bit pensive on the heels of a new year and I don't mean to bring in such a heavier vibe to the thread.

[greenthunder | 115]

3 hours ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

I would love to go for a full set of 3DS games but the cornering of the market of completely useless and garbage titles makes it impossible. I still keep every game I find in the wild that I don't have as long as it's reasonably priced but those "halo" trash can titles really put a damper on the prospect of a full set. 

I think generally, the idea of a full set for any modern console is just too daunting and muddy with all the bouquet releases. With the size of modern libraries, it's no wonder full sets aren't even on incoming collectors radars. 

Same here, I've vaguely entertained the thought of going for a 3DS full set one day but it's hard to actually want to commit to it when you could probably get 20+ good games for the price of the most expensive shovelware game. Maybe it if just happened to fall into my lap for five bucks one day. For me at least, I've been exploring imports more to pick up more games.

[jettgogaming | 41]

Definitely a full set collector here. I finished both my NTSC Licensed NES full set earlier this year as well as a full Wii U CIB set too. The next two full sets I am working on now are Atari Jaguar and PS1 Longbox. I love the adventures along the way when collecting for full sets! 

[NostalgicMachine | 235]

14 hours ago, TheGreatBlackCat said:

NostalgicMachine, it's funny, I think it's simply a part of life. Things change (however begrudgingly I admit). I can tell that even Pat Contri and other more established retro personalities are tired of game collecting themselves. A part of retro game collecting for me was about getting older and a refusal to let things go. I suspect that may be the case for many of us in the hobby. When we get over that hump and accept change I don't think preserving our youth in such a way matters as much. Anymore, lately, I want to enjoy my collection and to not try to distill a time and place in my life when I was (sometimes) happier.

Nearly completing my wish list has killed most of the desire to collect anymore. I have everything I ever wanted as a kid and now I don't know what to do with myself. I guess I'm being a bit pensive on the heels of a new year and I don't mean to bring in such a heavier vibe to the thread.

Well said and I agree. You can see the tired in their eyes, lol. I feel like the sweet spot was 2007-2013ish for me.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

15 hours ago, TheGreatBlackCat said:

Even if I wanted to brag about it, no one cares about my collection and it's even less likely that one of my friends would be impressed with a complete library.

I see a variation of this comment made a lot and I don’t get it. Why does one assume that bragging/showing off has anything to do with collecting full sets? It comes off as envious when someone brings this up more than anything.

Look at all the people who answered here saying they collect full sets, I had no idea that there was literally anyone left here doing it. So not a whole lot of showing off or bragging going on or I would have been more aware of the bunch of people collecting like this. 

Sorry but that comment always drives me nuts when people talk about collecting full sets

[AirVillain | 489]

 

Haha, jokes.... I mean, of course "they" (full set collectors) never went anywhere. Not surprised to see so many people chime in.

 

16 hours ago, TheGreatBlackCat said:

Even if I wanted to brag about it, no one cares about my collection and it's even less likely that one of my friends would be impressed with a complete library.

If you feel the need to "brag" about it then of course it's not for you. And I bet you'd be surprised how your friends would react if you SHOWED them the collection... not "brag" about it, but actually have them over for a "game night" and enjoy the collection with you. I'm sure it would melt people's brains.

And I understand what you mean that people change and given space constraints, etc. there's just "no point" for some people to collect full sets. It makes sense. But it makes just as much sense as those people who DO have the space/time and want to collect full sets.

To each their own. Collecting a full set is not for me, but that's because I decided a while back that I was only going to keep/seek out games that I liked. I basically got rid of any games that I didn't like and kept all the games I enjoyed/were nostalgic and those that were "rare" (as I already had them, why not keep them?).... but the others, gone.

Why the fuck do I need a copy of Castelian? I'm NEVER going to play that shitty game. Same can be said for many others, and like you said... there's a ton of shovelware on other systems that is pointless to keep, to me.

Someone else wants to stack the PS2 collection and make sure they got all the basketball and Madden games.... then have at it.

I legitimately admire the dedication... my brain could not handle it.

[jrmrbcax | 62]

Had a full CIB N64 set many years ago, sold it… going for it again

[O.G. CIB | 415]

It takes a different type of breed to go after full sets, even in the past. You have to be ok with spending your hard earned money on a quite a few games you’ll never play BUT the trade off is worth it. If any friends comes over, remembers a game they played as a kid and if I collect for the system …… BOOM…..I’ll have it on the shelf or if I ever watch a video and they recommend a game it’s right there on the shelf

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

The other thing about full sets is the assload of space they consume. Virtual Boy not so much but like 677 NES carts? I think I calculated that at 22 feet of needed shelf space. TG16 isn’t so bad either, I’ve got a lot loose so they all fit nicely in a binder. 719 SNES carts? Another like 25 feet lol

Edited January 1 by a3quit4s

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

40 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

The other thing about full sets is the assload of space they consume. Virtual Boy not so much but like 677 NES carts? I think I calculated that at 22 feet of needed shelf space. TG16 isn’t so bad either, I’ve got a lot loose so they all fit nicely in a binder. 719 SNES carts? Another like 25 feet lol

Oh if you think just the cart space is bad, Ive been slowly getting my N64 set into custom game cases. A shelf that used to fit 100 games now fits 40. 

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

I think a more pertinent question would be: Do any new collectors go for full sets anymore?  Back when I started, it seemed like it was more common to go for full sets than not, and even the respondents in this thread that are still doing it mostly started years ago, and/or already attained most of what they were after in the first place.

New blood, on the other hand, seems to never go for full sets, which may be a generational issue (owning physical entertainment media isn't really a thing in our world anymore) along with the fact that devices like the powerpak now exist, and then of course there's the outrageous prices that most popular games go for nowadays.

I also don't get the whole "bragging rights" reason that always seems to rear its ugly head; am I the only guy here who just wants to have a giagantic library of physical games to pull off the shelf and play?  It's like having a study with thousands of books: sure, you could never possibly read them all, but reading any one book while in a room surrounded by thousands of others would be a pretty cool feeling if books were your number one thing...

Edited January 1 by Dr. Morbis

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

1 hour ago, Dr. Morbis said:

also don't get the whole "bragging rights" reason that always seems to rear its ugly head; am I the only guy here who just wants to have a giagantic library of physical games to pull off the shelf and play? 

Seeing this serval times in the thread, I don't think I've ever seen anyone in here beag about having a full set. Maybe something happens in the pursuit of the set where you get the 1000 cart stare and it's a total personal thing.

 

[TheGreatBlackCat | 20]

13 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I see a variation of this comment made a lot and I don’t get it. Why does one assume that bragging/showing off has anything to do with collecting full sets? It comes off as envious when someone brings this up more than anything.

Look at all the people who answered here saying they collect full sets, I had no idea that there was literally anyone left here doing it. So not a whole lot of showing off or bragging going on or I would have been more aware of the bunch of people collecting like this. 

Sorry but that comment always drives me nuts when people talk about collecting full sets

I think people are misconstruing what I said. It was a hypothetical, I'm not the type to brag nor would it mean anything. I was only trying to illustrate how in the grand scheme of things we should be collecting for ourselves and I hope that we all are.

[Prime2099 | 176]

Thought about doing full sets when I started collecting years ago, but decided to go for a more tailored approach and get the games I wanted as a kid and others that were highly recommended. It's been a pretty good strategy to take. I've been able to add to the lists as the years go on and I've no desire to spend loads of money on stuff I would never play.

[GPX | 1,369]

I used to go for full sets of everything I collected for, but over the years I find myself trimming most of the sets and focusing only a select few for my full set goals.

I see some comments about collecting for full sets is no longer as fun as it once were. I don’t think it’s just the price issue, but I believe it’s also having to deal with snobby sellers and A-holes. Having to deal with too many arrogant/dodgy sellers really can wear you down, which makes the full set collecting an exponential challenge compared with 5-10 years ago.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

I wanted to go for a cart only SNES set about 10-15 years ago but then someone on NA offered to sell me 200-300 filler games and it dawned on me that it wasn't for me. Once NES/SNES and 64 stuff became stale and overpriced, especially locally, I moved on to collecting a full Wii U set which I still have. I might try to dump that in one go here in the future but we'll see. It was a fun little set to collect as there are a few oddball games that I was able to get cheap at retail and the used market was abundant once the Switch was announced/released.

[The Count | 527]

::Cries in Game Gear::

[jonebone | 1,307]

21 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I think a more pertinent question would be: Do any new collectors go for full sets anymore?  Back when I started, it seemed like it was more common to go for full sets than not, and even the respondents in this thread that are still doing it mostly started years ago, and/or already attained most of what they were after in the first place.

New blood, on the other hand, seems to never go for full sets, which may be a generational issue (owning physical entertainment media isn't really a thing in our world anymore) along with the fact that devices like the powerpak now exist, and then of course there's the outrageous prices that most popular games go for nowadays.

Funny, this is the exact thought I had while reading this thread.

And no, I don't believe there's a lot of new collectors doing full sets.  The full set collectors usually got in many years ago when prices were cheap and set collecting was more feasible.  New collectors of today already see everything as expensive so they start with their favorites... just as many of us did many years ago.  The difference is that it's much more difficult to pursue that set so a lot people fan out to other platforms and such.

[sp1nz | 612]

Since I already answered this before I'll link to that:

Not much has changed in the amount of missing games, I've just focused on modern games in the past years. Also I have no problem owning bunch of filler games for consoles I love but if I started collecting today I probably wouldn't dream of owning the full sets I've been aiming for and would just do a full-on gamer selection (due to price, not due to general interest). I guess N64 and Dreamcast are possible sets too and but if I get Dreamcast set done maybe I start wanting a Saturn set, then Mega CD and 32X... oof.

Could also be that I stop going for certain sets or never cross some of the final thresholds even when very close and I'm not stressed about it at all. To be honest I can't even tell, if a full set I have or aim for is truly a region full set on paper, since there are weird imports and things that count or don't count depending on who you ask, what release area you are considering as a region or some games are just not very public knowledge or known in general. Also I started collecting with the intention of "playing everything", which was a silly thought in hindsight, collecting is collecting and playing is playing, there is a lot of overlap for many collectors/gamers but they are different interests at the core. For certain platforms I do wish to beat every game or at least play every game, but we'll see - at least for retro platforms the games are generally shorter endeavors, especially with enough skill.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

I think when collecting blew up in the early 2010s, full set collecting was just part of the fad. I'm not saying people didn't collect for full sets before (or after) but there were a lot of collectors back then who were gobbling up games as fast as possible to get a complete set and let their wallet lead the way. This is where I think it got muddied a little with bragging rights as it was almost a race for some. There are even a few people I knew locally who complete full NES sets within a year or two (minus SE) and 64 even more so. I couldn't imagine starting fresh today on basically any set, especially CIB. I respect the grind for those continuing on their journey though.

Edited January 2 by Andy_Bogomil

[Bonanza125 | 55]

On 1/1/2024 at 1:24 PM, Dr. Morbis said:

I think a more pertinent question would be: Do any new collectors go for full sets anymore?  Back when I started, it seemed like it was more common to go for full sets than not, and even the respondents in this thread that are still doing it mostly started years ago, and/or already attained most of what they were after in the first place.

New blood, on the other hand, seems to never go for full sets, which may be a generational issue (owning physical entertainment media isn't really a thing in our world anymore) along with the fact that devices like the powerpak now exist, and then of course there's the outrageous prices that most popular games go for nowadays.

I also don't get the whole "bragging rights" reason that always seems to rear its ugly head; am I the only guy here who just wants to have a giagantic library of physical games to pull off the shelf and play?  It's like having a study with thousands of books: sure, you could never possibly read them all, but reading any one book while in a room surrounded by thousands of others would be a pretty cool feeling if books were your number one thing...

Based on the people I have been talking to and just looking at my personal numbers there really isn't anybody looking to complete a full set anymore. With every year that goes by less people are into physical copies. The newer stuff and retro stuff have both taken a hit. The people who want stuff just want a few games and with everything digital it's much easier for people just to purchase that stuff direct. Back in the NA days I would get tons of response from people who want to start a collection. Now just individual games here and there.  When you ask "am I the only guy here who just wants to have a giagantic library of physical games to pull off the shelf and play?" That really varies from person to person but I can imagine that a lot of stuff in collections just sit until a person decides they want to cash out and get rid of stuff. I've seen a lot of that going on. More people looking to sell collections than buy them.