Chasing Down New Rabbit Holes to Collect

[fcgamer | 4,728]

This one has always come easy to me, gotta be a pioneer rather than a follower. So many times I spot something and think to myself, "Now that is something worth collecting" whether it be a variant, some kind of hardware revision, an obscure, overlooked console, or even a sticker set of variants. The best part is, generally a few years later I see other people become interested in the things that I initially began chasing down, though by then the supply has dwindled, the prices have gone up, and it has become trendy.

This whole situation had just come to me tonight when I made a purchase for the latest subset of Famicom games that I'm going for. So I wonder, how many of the VGS collectors are pioneers, and how many are just followers? For the pioneers, what sort of things make you chase a set that no one else ever went for or documented?

[final fight cd | 187]

100% a follower.  Didn’t know what a left bro was until like last year and now I can’t stop calling everybody bro .
 

I think it is easy to validate and justify what we like by following what the masses do. 

[a3quit4s | 4,102]

Oh yeah 100% a follower but to an extent. I never got on the sealed or graded train but I’m fully onboard the homebrew scene. I didn’t get into the collecting game early enough to where there was still like a bunch of unknown things like variant collecting. I like to think I got in before everyone and their mother was on the scene hitting up yard sales and what not and buying up every single game someone was selling. I like to think of collecting in eras like pre 2010, 2011-2016ish, 2017-2020, 2021-present. Pioneers to me are pre 2010 for sure and the 50/50s are 2011-2016 and everyone else that came onboard is a follower, which isn’t a negative term for me it just means a lot of history is uncovered at that point and all the weird stuff has been documented. I came in around 2014 so I’m probably still mostly a follower but early on the homebrew scene lol

Edited March 7 by a3quit4s

[spacepup | 2,405]

I don't really like classifying myself or others as pioneers or followers.  What I can say that is somewhat related I suppose, is that I have a variety of niche interests which have led me to collecting and preserving content that maybe isn't as popular or mainstream.  I have a lot of different interests and I enjoy preserving items that are likely to be lost to time or less documented.  There are benefits in some cases, as often these items aren't ridiculously expensive, compared to super popular NES carts, for example. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong at all with collecting popular stuff or even hopping on bandwagons - really it's whatever makes you happy.  I suppose I do a little of both, but lately a lot of my purchases have been quirky Japanese or international items that most people don't know much about.

However, the thought of calling myself a 'pioneer' feels weird and a bit self-indulgent for me personally, so I can't think of myself that way.  But I would definitely classify myself as having some pretty niche / ecclectic interests at this point.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,545]

I'm a contrarian reverse purity test pioneer.  I look at what @OptOut collects and then do the complete opposite, but also make sure to do it faster and better, all while waging a campaign of harassment against him to ensure he knows I'm better at collecting than him, and that he'd best stay out of my lane if he knows what's good for him.

It's working out pretty well.

[Tabonga | 2,322]

I can't say I really fit in either camp.  I will collect something because I like it - not because someone else collects it.  Case in point:

On the other hand I was probably one of the first people to start collecting the variants of Lunar the Silver Star Story (Sega CD) and Dragon Force (Saturn).

I also collect fantasy/rpg cloth maps from games and other sources - started way back when with the old Ultima games.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 7 by Tabonga

[Reed Rothchild | 9,545]

4 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

I will collect something because I like it

You're doing it wrong.  Other people should be the primary factor in what you do.

[Tabonga | 2,322]

3 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

You're doing it wrong.  Other people should be the primary factor in what you do.

  Heh - no  longer married!

Edited March 7 by Tabonga

[OptOut | 8,889]

30 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'm a contrarian reverse purity test pioneer.  I look at what @OptOut collects and then do the complete opposite, but also make sure to do it faster and better, all while waging a campaign of harassment against him to ensure he knows I'm better at collecting than him, and that he'd best stay out of my lane if he knows what's good for him.

It's working out pretty well.

I know you are, but what am I? Goddim. 

[Tabonga | 2,322]

20 minutes ago, OptOut said:

I know you are, but what am I? Goddim. 

You're a reverse barometer.....

 

[fox | 1,667]

I’m VGS’s original Z-bots collector.  Don’t even try to step to me.

[Mega Tank | 964]

I nominate @Hybridfor misprint pioneer. He has such a passion for misprints. Some could confuse them for trashy bootlegs. Even has a nice website to keep record of them!

https://iamerror.gamehacking.org/

 

Edited March 8 by Mega Tank

[spacepup | 2,405]

Hybrid's collection is great!  It's a really good example of a more niche interest.  I think a lot of the different interests and niche / less common paths, make everything much more interesting.  If all of us just collected a set of NES games and nothing else, it wouldn't be anywhere near as fun and interesting to talk about collecting, gaming, etc.  So when different people have different goals and different collections to talk about, it makes everything better, more interesting, and varied.

[fcgamer | 4,728]

4 hours ago, spacepup said:

Hybrid's collection is great!  It's a really good example of a more niche interest.  I think a lot of the different interests and niche / less common paths, make everything much more interesting.  If all of us just collected a set of NES games and nothing else, it wouldn't be anywhere near as fun and interesting to talk about collecting, gaming, etc.  So when different people have different goals and different collections to talk about, it makes everything better, more interesting, and varied.

So why do you feel sick about the concept of some people being pioneers and others being followers? No one said one is better than the other, it's just a personality trait. But your post to be honest made me feel sick in my stomach to read.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,545]

34 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

So why do you feel sick about the concept of some people being pioneers and others being followers? No one said one is better than the other, it's just a personality trait.

"Hey, you see this part of your resume where it says you're a 'pioneer in your field'?  Yeah, we're looking for more of a 'follower.' A real 'lacking leadership' kinda guy.  Sorry."

There are inherent negative and positive connotations in those words.

[CT | 93]

I collect what I like (NES), which happens to be what others are interested in.

Perhaps I was a mild pioneer when I started, as collecting NES is way more popular now than it was when I started 10 years ago.

[Tabonga | 2,322]

22 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

"Hey, you see this part of your resume where it says you're a 'pioneer in your field'?  Yeah, we're looking for more of a 'follower.' A real 'lacking leadership' kinda guy.  Sorry."

There are inherent negative and positive connotations in those words.

 

[Kguillemette | 1,545]

On 3/7/2024 at 12:53 PM, Tabonga said:

  Heh - no  longer married!

Possibly the darkest joke I've read on here that made me laugh. Omg.

[Tabonga | 2,322]

24 minutes ago, Kguillemette said:

Possibly the darkest joke I've read on here that made me laugh. Omg.

Mrs. Tabonga and I shared a sense of black humor- and the joke really says nothing about our relationship - more of an acknowlegement of my change of circumstances.

Edited March 8 by Tabonga

[Kguillemette | 1,545]

30 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

Mrs. Tabonga and I shared a sense of black humor- and the joke really says nothing about our relationship - more of an acknowlegement of my change of circumstances.

I figured as much and I love it.

[Tabonga | 2,322]

1 minute ago, Kguillemette said:

I figured as much and I love it.

I would much rather be in a position where I couldn't make that joke - but reality sets in and I don't want to spend the rest of my life grieving (not that I will ever forget).

[Ankos | 442]

Perhaps a more flattering term than follower would be pilgrim. Going for an established full set is sort of like going on a long journey to a place of widely accepted significance, or in other words, a pilgrimage. The experience in this case would not be spiritual, though I think anyone who wants to make the trek all the way to the top of full set mountain would feel the experience was quite special, and would be able to have plenty of fascinating tales of their adventures along the way

With that being said I don't think I'd ever want to reach the finish line on something like that, I'd get too attached to the journey. I'd keep finding excuses to keep going and keep on adding stuff to the list of games I am hunting (not that I have all that clear of goals in mind to begin with, I enjoy the mystery of knowing that there is more stuff I'd like, I just don't know what it is). Maybe I'll feel differently one day but those are my thoughts right now

[GPX | 1,370]

I’ll try and answer this topic with my own collecting trajectory.

Initially, I just wanted to buy some cheap games for nostalgic thrills and pieces that I had missed out that I had always wanted to try. Mainly stuff from the 90s. Then I started noticing sellers on eBay with humongous amounts of listings and I both admired and envied their collections. Effectively that lead me to the path of “follower” where I wanted to emulate others’ full sets, subsets etc. 

Somewhere along this collecting path, I branched out into my own variant desires as well as started to trim and add games that had fitted better with my collecting tastes and circumstances. Eventually, it’s got me now to the point I don’t care what others have, and I just keep doing my own trimming and adding to my collection, and at my own pace. I certainly stIll enjoy seeing others stack of goodies, but I now no longer feel the need to emulate anyone.

[The Count | 527]

To be succinct, I'm a follower. By now, I'm not sure what new paths could even be taken. I chase full sets for systems including major variants. 

[PII | 1,886]

On 3/7/2024 at 9:28 PM, fox said:

I’m VGS’s original Z-bots collector.  Don’t even try to step to me.

I knew I didn't imagine seeing this show as a little kid and I knew the letter "Z" was somehow involved.  I've been casually wondering from time to time what the name of it was and going so far as to type things like "name of show similar to Voltron" and the like with no luck, but now I finally know, it's Z-bots!