Advise / Opinions on Collections

I am in a dilema!
I have decided that I am spending more time actually dusting my collection than playing it.

I keep looking at my collection on my shelves and I can't help but think that I am missing out. My collection consists mainly of Gamecube consoles, games and dev equipment, all of which hardly ever gets used.
I look at other peoples collections and they have alot of things that they can use/ play where as my stuff just sits there looking pretty.

I suppose my choices are to either cut a loss where I am now and off load everything I don't use (I think I would only end up keeping an NR reader and discs) and starting a fresh collecting something I have a passion for or sucking it up and carrying on along the path I am already going.

Basically, should I collect for looks or should I be collecting for use?

I was thinking that if I did change my path from collecting everything Gamecube maybe I would start with a Street Fighter collection! :icon_bigg

 

I don't get collecting 'for looks'. Seems a pointless waste of money to me, especially when there is so much more entertaining stuff that it could be spent on. Collecting for preservation I do get though, obviously its something you'd need to be really enthusiastic about to preserve with though.

With regards to dev stuff, it seems a lot of people buy it because its rare and therefore alluring, but then they don't do anything with it. When I had my Tool it was because I was interested in the history of dev'ing on PS2. I think I spent most of my time with it going through manuals and Sony Q&As...should have written up what I found out when going through them actually thinking about it. Unfortunetly time & money wasn't on my side!

 

For me I don't collect hardware. Just one of each system to play the games on. So my collection consists of a bunch of software. I'm really trying to change my mindset to quality over quantity. There are times I've bought games just to buy and not play them. It's rather embarrassing to look at my shelves count the number of games I haven't even played...

 

I recycle collections on a regular basis, the second something becomes pretty on a shelf and that's it eBay's URL is in the bar and it all goes.

The only reason it might be worth keeping is if you consider it an investment, this is why I have jumped into Neo Geo world, I never stop playing it AND I'm pretty much guaranteed a good return on what I have in the future.

 

I try to do a mixture of collecting for looks and for play. For example I have my Mega Man collection for both looks/play. I love playing Mega Man games from any series, but I will probably never play that abomination X7 or all of the battle network games. Not to mention I will never open my Mega Man 9 Press Kit.

Then you look at my CIB Atari 5200 collection which I haven't played much since I haven't bothered to track down another working controller. The same could be said for my NES controllers. Many of which I will never use, but I just love to look at all the different controllers made for the system by different companies.

I would highly suggest starting a Street Fighter collection if it's something you care about, and you know you'll enjoy.

 

I only collect what i like and play.

No money or space to waste on something i won't use.

 

my collection (if you can even call it a collection) is pretty much stuff i got to play/use it or old stuff that was once bought to play/use it.

there's only so few items on my shelves that are purely for looks but i do get those at times too.

i don't think it's a waste of money to collect for the looks tho, if you enjoy the fact that you own a sealed item or a rare edition of console which you don't use, it's just what collecting is about imo. Enjoying that collection.
Whether it's by playing/using it or just looking at it. It's all just preferences at the end of the day

 

Word!

 

Neither; you should collect because you want to collect. If buying games/hardware and leaving them on your shelf to look pretty makes you happy, go for it - there's nothing wrong with that.

I was/am in a similar situation: I have a reasonably large collection of games and systems spanning many platforms, most of which sit around on my shelves or in storage - bought just to be a part of the collection and not played.

Eventually, I came to the conclusion that there's no point in it all, so am selling off all games and systems I don't play. Then I can focus on my Sega Master System collection, since that's the only collection I really care about.

My advice: if your heart's not in it, sell it off and focus on something that you really enjoy. If you like having them sitting around on the shelf, stick with it.

 

I collected and played games a LOT in the 90s. I still collect a lot but have little time to play. However, whenever I look at my collection I'm extremely happy at the time I put into it and have no regrets. Maybe once a month I'll pull something off the shelf and enjoy the fruits of my labor. For me, it's a good feeling knowing I can enjoy my hobby at my convenience, and when I do have more time in the future, the collection will be waiting.

 

I think it really depends on where you are at in life. I personally am doing a thinning of my games do to the fact that I will be moving in less than a year, Lord willing. I hate moving, so it's a good time to consider "Is this crap worth taking with me?" Not that it's worthless stuff, but there's a point where your stuff owns you more than you own it because of the hassle of it all.

I'll probably hold onto my Rockman collection long after it's not even a legitimate investment, just 'cause I like the little guy. And of all my arcade stuff, I've already had my "wonder years" with it so if all I kept was my Thundercade PCB and a supergun, I'd be cool with that.

I guess the final wrap-up is: Don't let your stuff own you and/or put you in a financial bind, and be sure you are having fun with it. If you aren't having fun, it's kinda pointless.

Oh, and Skaarg, I want to see your Rockman collection :icon_bigg
-ud

 

I don't particularly care whether or not I'm using something in my collection on a regular basis. I think it is important to try and keep a collection to items that fit in with your "theme" though so that you don't end up with a bunch of random stuff just for the hell of it. My first SNES proto was a soccer game. I don't like soccer, but it was a good price and I wanted an SNES proto. I sold it recently because it didn't make sense to keep a game that I would not only never play, but was also not something I was interested in simply because it was a dev cart. I've done the same thing with other proto/dev games I've gotten my hands on that I decided didn't fit my "theme". Same thing with my sealed George Foreman Boxing on Gameboy, saw it cheap at a goodwill and thought "oh cool" and bought it, but it really didn't fit in with the "theme" of my collection, so I sold it on. Since I've began sticking to my "theme" for my collection, I've found that I'm much happier with it overall, and don't mind that some items are just there to look pretty.

 

Thanks everyone for your opinions on it.

I have decided that most of my collection can go as I have no use for it at all and although it does look nice on the shelf I am not 100% happy that there are items I cannot use.

I will be keeping my NR readers and software along with any documentation I have for the Gamecube and carrying on with my Gamecube Controller collection. I have also decided to start a new collection of what is probably my favorite game series, Street Fighter (I love resident evil and Zelda also but many people have this covered on here).

If anyone has anything they want to get rid of that fits my new collection theme then please drop me a line, I will have plenty to trade with soon enough.

Thanks again everyone. :thumbsup: