goldenpp72

I started collecting about 12 years ago, though I don't recall it being popular when I began, a lot of the stuff I got was very cheap or junk to many. I remember being able to amass a large amount of 32x titles for very little. I regret not having more money at the time to deal with it, but in fairness I also went well beyond my initial dream too. Interestingly I began collecting only because my Fiancee had skipped the generations between 2600 and N64, so I bought Genesis/Snes stuff and we had fun with it, so it just kinda spiraled into a thing more and more.

In my effort to get as many systems wireless as possible.. Added the Nes and Snes today. If they ever do N64 and Dreamcast I'll be happy as a clam. Gotta wire them all now so they can all charge at once..

One interesting thing is that the Xbox stuff doesn't seem to get very expensive over time. I imagine the 360 will end up getting some pricier stuff just because people will have nostalgia for it in the US, but otherwise the Xbox brands don't seem to carry a lot of devoted oldies fans so far. My original Xbox collection is amazingly good yet worth very little at the time, it's raised some but not like one would suspect.

2 hours ago, Tekdrudge said:

I know this is the PS2 thread, but I like that everyone is pointing out to be on the look out for PS3 games NOW. Get'em cheap while you can, it won't last that long. I started stocking up on PS3 about a year into the PS4 life cycle. A year from now I will be doing the same with PS4 games. Always think ahead.

I feel like PS3 has a lot less stuff that will go into 'super rare' territory, I wonder what could do it?

7 hours ago, Mr. CIB said:

Be prepared to spend thousands on them since you have a sizable collection. I’m embarrassed to say how much I’ve spend over the years since I decided long ago to have every game I own in a protector (and amiibo) or acrylic case (based on value). With that said they are awesome and I don’t have any draw backs using the case BUT they eat shelf space. For example, if you use a standard Billy bookcase from Ikea you can only get 44 games DVD style games across in a single row with the protectors on. I forget what it was without them .... 49-51 I would assume. 
 

Retroprotection.com I have found to be the best source. 

Yeah with the volume of stuff I own it would certainly be pricey which is why I hesitate, I did inquire on a bulk discount but one issue is they don't have all the different ones in stock. It would drive me nuts to get a bunch and not be able to do them all then.

I also like how you have the number of games on a shelf in your head, I do too  

This is something I've never bothered with but I'm thinking about it. Anyone have pros and cons? Does it make dusting and such easier? I would need a lot so I guess i never bothered. 

1 minute ago, BortLicensePlate said:

What's that pong table @goldenpp72

It's a mechanical pong coffee table, it's very novel but kind of fickle. Like, having to clean it in special ways, open it up, tighten tracks and replace felt/teflon tape kind of deal. I like it a lot but it's a bit of work to keep it functioning well, and expensive.

11 minutes ago, Tekdrudge said:

I was very close to having a very similar setup as yours, then realized I don't have the space, nor the money to afford it. So, I downsized a few years ago. More power to you though. I do love to just look at it.

Also, bonus point for the Genesis/Sega CD/32X combo there. I had the same setup in '95. My friends were very jealous.

Thanks, I even have a special adapter to do all 3 of those in one brick  Very handy.

3 minutes ago, Tekdrudge said:

@goldenpp72 It seems it might be easier to list the consoles you DON"T have then the ones you do. Lol. Love your setup.

It's a slippery slope to be sure, I bought any console that had series I liked, and that happened lol.

3 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

The fat PS2s that couldn't read blue bottomed discs correctly and the slims just randomly dying turned me off on PS2.

I still enjoy some stuff too, just got into Burnout 3.

I remember having to gut my PS2 to fix it, I forgot the technique but it was always a temporary fix unfortunately.

Just now, Gloves said:

I've played it, it's pretty good. I believe though that the primary reason for the high price is that it's a FROM Software game. Pair that with it being a PS2 horror title (which are always in high demand) and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Ah, that'll do it. I always wondered if the King's Field games will ever jack up in price. I don't suspect the obsessive fanbase is aware of their souls nature

I will admit I never heard of Kuon until today, so I am missing one expensive one but it also doesn't look very good? Is it a hidden gem or just, obscure?

7 minutes ago, Mr. CIB said:

PS2 running in 480i looks horrible on a OSSC because of the way it deinterlaces. It's one of the systems that actually look better on a XRGB Mini. The new OSSC Pro is suppose to address this but who knows how far that is off.

Yep, I have a Framemeister and was going to use the OSSC for everything but the PS2 looks horrifyingly bad through it for the stated reason. PS2 is interesting because the system was intimately designed to work on CRTs but it translates into a less good result on modern stuff. The Framemeister handles it quite well, if the Pro ever addresses that i'd consider it but, unfortunately some of my very old systems are only S-Video modded, so I have a bit of a Frankenstein thing going.

1 minute ago, Gloves said:

I still need to pick up some of thooooose. T_T

Might be ugly friend, lol. I don't know if you go for full sets or curated sets, but I spent many hours researching this particular system and have a really nicely curated list on my spreadsheet if you'd ever want to see stuff that might interest you, before it has a chance to creep up further. While I don't tend to go for the games that are already holy grails, I do have a good eye for things that will more likely become expensive

PS2 is really great, as for things to look out for before they become expensive, it's kind of hard to say. I bought a bunch of stuff years ago under the idea they would be cheap now and not later, and I was right.

Rule of Rose is the pricey one, but Haunting Ground is another and I feel the more people discover it's connection to Clock Tower, the more it will creep up. .hack, Xenosaga, Blood Will Tell, Shin Megami titles, Silent Hill stuff.. Stuff like Chulip, Skygunner, Klonoa, really any of the 'cult classics' that didn't sell much, and PS2 has likely 100+ very good games no one played.

I think my PS2 collection sits at around 500 games and i'm very grateful I took the time to hunt everything when it was like, 10-20 bucks a pop at most. I'm still missing like 8 games but they are of the 'so cheap I can't justify buying on eBay' variety.

I like dark cabinets myself, I don't feel they wash anything out really. I posted this pic in another topic, right now I'm about 1-2 weeks out from 'final' stage which just means everything is tight and tidy, obviously more to add over time, but i'll share this pic here in the meantime. Please pardon the mess as this was just when trying out the pong table, i'm currently letting a wire cover melt outside so I can manage the wires and such running to it, so it'll be a bit before I can be too proud

Consoles with small libraries are tempting for sure, like under 100.

10 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I guess that's why I never get the desire to sell:  I DON'T collect for nostalgia, I DON'T collect for the thrill of the hunt, and I DON'T collect for investment purposes; I straight-up collect because NES is my primary gaming console and I want to have a really big library of games to choose from every time I go to do some gaming.  And that's it!  If I sold, I'd be selling from my actual gaming selection, which would inhibit my choices next time I sat down to do some gaming.  I guess if I collected based on feelings or future retirement plans, I might get the urge to "play the market" sometimes with my games, but I don't, I collect video games so I can play video games as the end goal in and of itself, so the thought of selling never crosses my mind.

I think everyone has a slightly different reason for their collecting, but I do feel some are healthier than others. I know that sounds judgmental but it's important to know why you do something and understand how it impacts you. For me, the thrill of the hunt as it were comes from either finding something I actually want, or finding something I didn't know I want but upon research discover something new I might like. This boils down to my method though, I collect on most systems but I only collect the titles that fit into my interest (which happen to be broad, but still). This creates a sort of personalized library to choose from, it fits me to a T because it is me hobby wise.

The lines begin to blur though because some people get addicted to just amassing a thing, a manager at a game store I knew collected things just to have sheer volume, and didn't distinguish anything with it. 10 copies of one game, even if it's 10 copies of Madden 08, just seems more like a mental problem than a hobby to me. Many people just collect to collect though, it's important to note that divide in the community. By nature, people who collect sealed titles are likely only doing so for all reasons that don't relate to actually wanting to partake in actual gaming. Collectors for the sake of collecting, most likely bred by nostalgia, hype and perhaps some investment mindset, but not a passion for why these items exist in the first place. 

It's a pretty cool site, only issue being needing more users so keep posting

5 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Had a good laugh at the bolded.   At no point in the last 30 years has Jordan's true rookie card "trended under $20".   

Agree with the sentiment of your post.   What killed most of the things that time passage hasn't killed off were things specifically marketed to be collectible.   Comics and cards both got flooded around the same time.   Beanie Babies slit the golden goose's throat and watched it bleed out.

The scarce items are still doing okay, even Beanies (like the original dinosaurs).   You just have to find the true scarce items, and that takes some research.

This is actually a sentiment I agree with to some extent, videogames were not designed to be collectible and are actually still not recognized as one by many places that should at this point. Gaming kind of became a collectible naturally which I do think will help it retain value over time, but I do still feel that the relevance will diminish as time passes. Handing a kid today a copy of Ninja Gaiden just isn't going to elicit a response from them to want to collect it in 20 years, and you can kind of see that with systems like the Atari 2600. Culturally very relevant, but the people who were into it, weren't INTO it like Nintendo/Sega/Sony/etc fans, they just don't fit well within the scheme of who is after this stuff right now.

Evidence is mounting that a lot of it depends on the age and resources of the base, systems like the N64 and Gamecube are going to keep climbing as the people who grew up with them get older and nostalgic, but do people who were born and raised with say, Halo and beyond, really care to go back before that? Almost every collector I know of has been in a similar age range to me, so perhaps it's anecdotal. I began when I was 23 or so lightly, and am near 35 now. The only difference in my style was I went for the cheapest, common and high volume approach which ended up being the right move in hindsight, even if people made fun of me back then for worrying about 10 dollar Gamecube titles rather than the Little Samsons of the world.

Years ago when my nephew came to visit, even though he grew up playing N64, he really only had interest in going back as far as Xbox 1, and if I had to guess, had I not began with the Atari 2600 due to my family being poorer, I don't think I would own stuff for it either, i'd just not care. I simply happened to be alive and present in the hobby during most of its relevance, so I am a key target for this sort of thing. I suppose it boils down to are you collecting to own things you had or wanted, or are you collecting to collect, and I do feel almost every game collector I have ever met has sentiment for the era and systems they buy for, the connection usually has to be there.

As usual, looking for black label and nice shape, doesn't have to be mint but still. Here is a list of what i'm hunting on both  I will pay you fairly, and I don't try to get discounts based on volume so even if you have 20 games to sell expect individual pricing since I consider it to my benefit to get large lots too

Playstation Portable

Activision Hits: Remixed
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Astro Boy: The Video Game
Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship
Brothers in Arms: D-Day
Dante's Inferno
Def Jam: Fight for NY: The Takeover
Dirt 2
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai: Another Road
Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core Plus
LEGO Batman: The Videogame
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
ModNation Racers
MotoGP
Mytran Wars
Namco Museum: Battle Collection
Pac-Man World 3
Pac-Man World Rally
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man Friend or Foe
Spider-Man Web of Shadows
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials
Toy Story 3
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: The Game
Undead Knights
Warriors, The
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Game Boy Color

102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue
1942:
3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrillride
Action Man: Search for Base X
Aliens: Thanatos Encounter
Arcade Hits: Moon Patrol / Spy Hunter
Arcade Hits:Joust / Defender
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Cannon Fodder 
Cruis'n Exotic
Galaga: Destination Earth
Grand Theft Auto
Inspector Gadget: Operation Madkactus
Legend of the River King
Lego Alpha Team
Lego Island 2:The Brickster's Revenge
Lego Racers
Lemmings & Oh No! More Lemmings
Looney Tunes: Carrot Crazy
Magi Nation
Missile Command
Monster Rancher Battle Card GB
Monster Rancher Explorer
Mortal Kombat 4
Mr. Nutz
NBA Jam 2001
NBA Jam 99
Paperboy
Qix Adventure
Return of the Ninja
Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse Horror
Space Marauder
Space Station Silicon Valley
Speedy Gonzales: Aztec Adventure
Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six
Star Wars Episode I: Obi-Wan's Adventures
Star Wars Episode I: Racer
Star Wars: Yoda Stories
Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams
Super Breakout
The Emperor's New Groove
The Jungle Book: Mogwli's Wild Adventure
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Saves the Day
Tom & Jerry
Tom & Jerry: Mouse Hunt
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
V-Rally 99
Wacky Races
X-Men: Wolverine's Rage
Xtreme Sports
Yar's Revenge
Zoboomafoo: Playtime in Zobooland

Game Boy Advance

Aladdin
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Batman Rise of Sin Tzu
Battle B-Daman
Battle B-Daman: Fire Spirits!
Bionicle - Matoran Adventures
Bionicle - Maze of Shadows
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
Charlotte's Web
Defender
Desert Strike Advance
Digimon Battle Spirit
Digimon Battle Spirit 2
Digimon Racing
Disney's The Lion King 1 1/2
Donald Duck Advance
Frogger Advance: The Great Quest
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup
Jackie Chan Adventures
Kao the Kangaroo
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
Lego Bionicle
Lego Knights' Kingdom
Marble Madness & Klax
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2
Monster Force
Mortal Kombat Advance
Moto GP
NBA Jam 2002
Need for Speed Underground
Need for Speed Underground 2
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Paperboy / Rampage
Pong & Asteroids & Yar's Revenge
Rock 'N Roll Racing
Sega Rally Championship
Sim City 2000
Smuggler's Run
Space Invaders
Spider-Man 3
Spy Hunter / Super Sprint
SSX 3
Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles
Tak and the Power of JuJu
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
Top Gear GT Championship
Ultimate Spider-Man
V-Rally 3
Wakeboarding Unleashed Featuring Shaun Murray
X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse
X-Men: The Official Game
Zapper: One Wicked Cricket!
Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars

7 minutes ago, Shmup said:

I think you’re simplifying the stock market a little too much. It isn’t as simple as clicking a button and instant profit. That may be the case over the last 2-4 years but that is due to multiple reasons, mainly US money printing and low interest rates.

People will always tell you about their Apple purchase but forget to mention their losses like GE or Ford. Stock picking over the long term is hard and the reason why there aren’t many Warren Buffett’s around. It would be better to look at index fund returns over the years which average 10-11% with dividends.

Had you bought every game released in the US on the NES in 1985 and kept them sealed vs the equal amount of money invested into the Dow Jones you would be way ahead with the games. 
I do agree with you that it would be wiser for most people to just invest in the stock market, but I do think that video games are just as valid for investing and will be going  onward into the future. 

I'm not simplifying it at all, there are risk to it but it's very much safer than banking on videogames, how many games that released on PS2 for example, or Xbox, are worth anything? As someone who owns about 1000 games between them it's very few, with Gamecube getting some impressive traction but certainly not something i'd think, I can for sure buy 10 copies of this and 20 years later make a ton of money. Stocks have much more obvious patterns and systems involved and can be more immediately beneficial. I think saying going for them right now as an investment is even more risky, I think people over estimate how much this stuff will matter to people who didn't grow up playing it. Unlike some lost relic from a thousand years ago, when all the people who played some of this stuff are old or dead, I assume the market will dwindle quite a bit and the stuff people are buying on modern consoles, not much chance most of that will be worth much anytime within 10-20 years, especially as more and more people seek to minimize.

Not saying we're at the ceiling so to speak, but if someone is getting into it right now and has 5k to burn and ONLY wants to earn money, you'd be an idiot to start running out and buying whatever is out there right now imo. People are using hindsight way too much with this stuff, no one knows any retail releases today that will be worth thousands in 10 years, assuming that is even a possibility at all. Anyone who is saying they made a lot of money in the last 10 years, did so by buying games much older than that and likely got lucky. We're just now seeing some legit inflation for systems like PS1 which came out 25 years ago, and that's still a very small piece of its library, with most games still running a cool 20 bucks or less.

Sometimes its kinda obvious, I mean if you were an adult and knew virtual boy was flopping, you could on good guessing assume it will be worth something someday, but even then it's not that crazy even today.

50 minutes ago, doner24 said:

You could say the same exact thing about stocks. 

Perhaps if you're really, really bad at it.

33 minutes ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

Collectibles are definitely investments. I made plenty of money in vintage toys and pre/post war baseball cards back in the 1990s before games were even worth money.

They are investments, but not wise things to focus on for the sake of financial gain. That's really the point, and why I don't understand people selling them unless they either grew out of it, or really need the cash. If it's merely a money issue, you'd invest in things designed to make money and proven to do so more so, right?

Putting it another way, my copy of Shantae may be worth 2000 dollars now, at no point did I think "well this is it, this is the time to sell it" because I want it. It could become worth 10k and i'd still keep it, but if it were something like say, 100k, which could help alter the course of life, sure.

If 2000 dollars alters the course of life though, it would be silly to be collecting anything. It's just so weird to see people so easy to part with stuff that they supposedly love having. When I think back to how much time I've used collecting, I can't imagine losing all that for an ok profit I guess.

27 minutes ago, DeuceGamer said:

RE: comparison to stocks...in some ways it easier to amass a collection on the cheap than it is to amass stocks under market value. Further buying lots and reselling allows people to build collections for a fraction of the value they bring in the market. I know for certain I have only spent a fraction of what my games are supposedly worth.

In the end, there are arguments on both sides. Some people are going to view them as straight collectibles regardless of the value and others are going to see them more as a commodity, while others probably see it somewhere in between.

I feel like there is no universe where amassing games is easier than buying stocks, even back then. No one is buying huge volumes of games that will become worth a ton more easily, unless their tactic is 'buy out walmart' or something and they get ridiculously lucky. In comparison to today, I could buy 5000 dollars worth of shares that could grow a ton with a few clicks, meanwhile, i'm still hunting about 800 games and can not for the life of me actually find them complete and in decent shape. I have the money but the supply is simply not there, and if you consider the supply a bunch of switch or xbox games which are attainable, the chances of them gaining any real value will take years if not decades.