Retro Game Excel Sheets - For Collections

Hi guys,

Wasn't sure if anyone has done this before, but I've started compiling game lists (from Wiki lists of the console games) that I use personally to log the collection, log the condition and link to a photo on the HDD for easy access.

I'm not exactly that experienced with Excel nor how to make this easily transferable to mobile, so I figured I would share what I have been working on in case people have some ideas on how to make it better/how to adjust it to be better than what is is.

For instance, there must be a way to run a code in Excel to search a given directory for a game title and add the hyperlink by itself... Rather than doing it manually... Which is what I have been doing... :-/

Anyway, some screens below of what I have been doing, basically I get the list from Wiki (which usually has a lot of errors and various inconsistencies between game systems making it a one-on-one task with each one...) and make Excel separate it into PAL/NTSC (simple and basic) - obviously this can grow into whatever people want really, specific regions, specific variations etc but I figured people could modify the list to be whatever they want to be themselves as we all collect different things. I've heard of applications that log collections but I haven't used them so I don't know if they cover everything. The lists I've come across online typically are missing a lot of variations/other regions as well.

So.. as I mentioned this is very basic, there will always be stuff to improve. I know these "files" aren't specific to scans of games or anything like that but being a shared file at some point it seems to fit under the "share" area haha

The full list has everything, game list is so that the region code is visible (NA, PAL, JP etc.). List then gets split. The empty lines can obviously be hidden, I've left them visible because of the amount of times I've come across games that were incorrectly listed in the Wiki so I was always hiding and unhiding, I figure I'll hide them at the end... Accessories tab can be added so everything can be listed.


Cheers!

Paul

 

What you're best doing, is have two spreadsheets with the costs of the items, you never know something might happen to you sadly. Love ones will not be sure what to do with your big collection, and may call a "professional" to value it. In other words a neckbeard reseller.

Pretty much I've told my parents and my sister about the documented list. I do the same for hardware too.
With the hardware, I print the auction/listing out and place it in the box.

 

That's actually a good idea, I can't recall what I have paid for some of the stuff personally but I should start doing it.

I could always put a link to an eBay search in there as well though, so the most up-to-date sold listings show up.

It's taken ages just to compile the lists out of Wiki, I've done Master System, Mega Drive, Mega CD, 32X, SNES, N64, PS1 and starting on PS2.

When something is put in as "Complete" under comments, it automatically adds a 1 at the end, these tally up so it's an easy count of the quantity you have on hand.

 

Well, that's really the issue when it comes to backdating your auctions. Why as soon as I get something I add it in.

 

I use a Google Doc (so I can easily look it up on my phone), with different pages for each console I own, with a "Wanted" page at the front, of the games I'm really looking for. That way when I go to a game place I can easily look for whichever specific games I'm hunting down without trying to remember a bunch of names.

 

There's an app for that to keep the collection good and when you go out buying stuff you can look on your phone to see if you have it or not. For my excel thing, I have the name of game, how much i would sell it, ebay price, rating that i give the game, would i sell it, where I got it and how much I got it for. I also have the same for consoles. I sell my butt games because I am only 17 and I live with my parents and I don't have enough room for all that.

 

Nice. That's the nice and simple way of doing it, if you really want to get technical you're probably better off with Access though, or better yet some sort of HTML/SQL database you can store on a free domain so you can access it on your phone.

 

Thanks for uploading this

 

Nothing has been uploaded, didn't even read the post.

 

Excel should be on all three major mobile operating systems now, so that's a simple option. I haven't used Excel in a few years, so I can't really help you with your problem (because I've managed to forget half of what I knew), but there is indeed a way to do it. If I could remember the function, I'd tell you, but I can't. Google is your friend, I guess. It'll be some kind of lookup function.

Oh God. Don't even get me started on that. I have plenty of other words for those sort of "professionals". Or the "professionals" who have IT jobs and are clueless. Ugh.

Anyway, this makes me feel that I should make my own lists, but man, it's a huge chore. Not once you have it done and only have to update it periodically, but initially, it's a pain in the ass.
I personally wouldn't bother with putting a "genre" column, and I'd personally list which regions I have of each game as opposed to a universal note but I just like being very specific.

I'm curious as to how you guys gauge the value. From my experience, eBay is a very bad place to gauge pricing from, even for sold items. I could go into a whole separate rant on that, but I won't.

As for dedicated apps, it does seem most are incomplete to some degree. There is a suite on iOS (not sure about Android or Windows Phone, and I don't think they're on any desktop OS) that supposedly is pretty good, though. There's one app per console. The price isn't too bad for the whole package. Two are free (Virtual Boy and 32X), so I've tried out the two free ones and they're pretty good, but I don't know if something with a much bigger list (e.g. SNES, NES) is complete. You can always have a look, though.

 

I initially documented my collection on MS Word, which I realized partway through was an absolute mistake on my part. Working on moving everything over into Excel. I like the purchased for/esteemed value part, HEX1GON. Initially when I would purchase multiple titles from multiple places I would visit a restaurant, search and write value next to each title. Unfortunately receipts get misplaced and mismanaged. I haven't integrated those metrics yet, but I will now.

The Google Docs usage is also a good idea, Sean. Instead of frantically searching 34867498 titles while I'm at a Buybacks or an Exchange I can quickly scan values and make a better purchasing decision. I'll have to get Google Docs for my phone.

 

The only annoying thing is that Google split the Sheets into a separate app (I hate when they do this), and it gets a little cumbersome after a few pages going back and forth. Also I haven't been assed to actually put all of them in the list yet, especially older carts.

 

Nice work and another great idea!!!! Be sure to check out sonicsean89's Sega Lego project too!!!!