# Are you a video game collector?



## matt (Jun 4, 2018)

There are many types of gamers, some only buy their games to open and play, whilst other gamers like to cherish their games as precious valuables, and aspire to have a massive video game library on their shelf. Theres people like a certain someone of my friends (not saying any names) who buys two of everything...one to keep new and sealed, and another to open and play (especially when it comes to amiibo). Aaaand then theres scalpers, buying 10 of everything and listing half on eBay for double the price.

So what are you when it comes to gaming? Do you strive to collect major rare titles and limited print runs (such as those from Super Rare Games .com who produce indie games in limited physical runs - well worth checking out) or do you just buy your games to play ?

Personally, Im a gamer but only a little bit of a collector. I have some nice games from Super Rare Games .com which have a limited print run of indie games such as Human Flat Fall and The Flame In The Flood new and sealed with certificate of purchase etc, whilst games that I like such as Pokemon, and Professor Layton, I open and play although try to keep it in excellent condition.

So how about you?


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## Garrett (Jun 4, 2018)

I only buy games to play and enjoy them. I keep a small collection of my all-time favourite games, but only if I think I would replay them.


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## Midoriya (Jun 4, 2018)

I’m actually pretty hardcore, with a large collection spanning Nintendo’s consoles (excluding the Switch for now).  I enjoy it.


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## Katelyn (Jun 4, 2018)

I chose the last option, but I've been buying every game that has a physical release for the Switch and I keep them sealed if I don't play them.


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## tiffanistarr (Jun 4, 2018)

I'm quite a collector but I inherited that collection from my mom. I have all her games from when she had a couple atari consoles all the way to a snes which is when I started collected. So we have boxes and boxes of carts even some floppy's from old DOS games we had. 

Although most of them aren't sealed they have been played and still get played. I also have all the original consoles that she had and that I grew up with.


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## Hellfish (Jun 4, 2018)

I'm not sure where I fit within the poll... I'd never buy a physical game just to keep it sealed but I have an addiction for buying steelbooks and limited editions (only if they're cool or include a steelbook). In terms of steelbooks I'll buy them online for games that I have digital copies on steam or if they weren't released in my country. For example I purchased my Pokemon Alpha Sapphire all the way from the UK (I live in NZ) just to get the steelbook for it. Thankfully moon released with a steelbook here in the following years ^-^

Does anyone else fit into my preference of collecting special limited editions of Games?


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## betta (Jun 4, 2018)

I buy games to play them not sell, I bought Fatal frame 1 & 2 off Amazon in their sealed Ps2 packaging & i still opened them & played them lmao & i tend to miss old games so i try to find new alternatives, like I really wanted the old dynasty warriors orochi ( can't remember which one but it was also for ps2) then I found that there's a new orochi game for the ps3 & i got that instead 
so I think I'm not a hardcore collector really


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## hestu (Jun 6, 2018)

I only buy games to play them, though if I could afford it I would probably be a bit more of a collector as well haha


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## Ably.Saucey (Jun 6, 2018)

I don't fall under any of your categories, I'm a casual collector, I'll buy a game if I want it and it's a good price, but I really don't aggressively seek games/


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## Mr. Cat (Jun 6, 2018)

I mainly like to find rare used retro games for cheap prices to collect (and play). I collect certain series and genres, but they're always opened. So I picked casual, even though I collect more games than I actually play.

That last poll option made me giggle.


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## ILikeFroakies (Jun 6, 2018)

I buy games I want to play and play them. I don't spend money on games I'm not going to use


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## Loriii (Jun 6, 2018)

I used to buy every game like until maybe 2 years ago. I've gone through that phase when I buy two of special/limited edition releases then keep the other sealed or just buy one LE to keep then one regular version to play. My interest have slowed down a bit over the years, so nowadays I just buy what I want to play. Then there's my little daughter who has to have her own stuff so we could play the same game (usually online multiplayer) together. Also, I own multiple units so that's something to consider when it comes to expenses, not to mention, those expensive controllers and accessories. On Nintendo Switch, I think right now I have the same number of joycons/pro controllers and games lol I'd say my collection as a whole is kind of messed up. I still have them all though.


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## Raayzx (Jun 7, 2018)

I have a pretty good collection of games especially my Xbox one but for the 3ds there are not much. I'm looking forward to buy a lot of 3ds games because I have a big wishlist so yeah i am a video game collecter in a way. Probably not the hardcore one.


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## uwuzumakii (Jun 7, 2018)

I have a decent collection, but I wouldn't say that I'm a hardcore collector. I do have a few rare games, however.


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## xSuperMario64x (Jun 7, 2018)

I wouldn't say I'm a hardcore collector (I don't collect rare/limited edition games rn), but I'm always up for buying old NES/SNES/N64/Gameboy games. I'm mainly focusing on my N64 and NES collection right now.

Sometime in the future, when I have more money, I want to start collecting more N64 stuff, like game boxes, new-in-box stuff, and rare stuff like that blockbuster game and the 64DD.


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## Croconaw (Jun 8, 2018)

I guess you could say I collect sports video games. I always want the latest release of the NHL franchise. I also play other sports video games such as the NCAA Football franchise, that unfortunately got discontinued, and the Madden games.


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## Halloqueen (Jun 14, 2018)

I've always just purchased games that I want to play. If they just so happen to become highly sought after collectors' items, that's neat, but I don't seek to own games just because they're in demand. I sometimes seek out retro games that are more rare, but still, it's just because I actually want to play the games.


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## SolarInferno (Jun 14, 2018)

Hellfish said:


> I'm not sure where I fit within the poll... I'd never buy a physical game just to keep it sealed but I have an addiction for buying steelbooks and limited editions (only if they're cool or include a steelbook). In terms of steelbooks I'll buy them online for games that I have digital copies on steam or if they weren't released in my country. For example I purchased my Pokemon Alpha Sapphire all the way from the UK (I live in NZ) just to get the steelbook for it. Thankfully moon released with a steelbook here in the following years ^-^
> 
> Does anyone else fit into my preference of collecting special limited editions of Games?



I'm pretty much the same as this, although I don't generally tend to buy a physical copy if I already own the digital copy unless I really, really like the game. Anything special or limited edition I'll usually buy if it's available and not more than 30% more expensive than the regular edition. But more than buying limited and special editions of games I tend to have a rather large available library on each console/PC that I own, although 3DS is an exception because there's not that much worth playing, and if it is, it's often on Steam anyway. That said, I'd never buy a physical game unless I planned on playing it.


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## DJStarstryker (Jun 15, 2018)

People would probably call me a collector because of the sheer number of video games I own. But I don't go out of my way to collect them. I've just learned that I tend to regret selling my old video games because sometimes I want to replay them, so I generally only sell ones I hated. I can't tell you how many video games I have because I haven't counted, but it's definitely in the 3 digits (hundreds).

I'm in my 30s and gaming has been my major hobby for most of my life, plus my husband's a gamer too.

Edit: Oh, about the sealed thing - nah. I play my games. I don't really see the point of buying something and keeping it sealed. The only reason to do that IMO is if you want to use it as a future investment, but I don't do that. I play my games. Err, at least, that's the intent. I definitely have ones that I haven't played yet, unfortunately.


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## Elin1O (Jun 15, 2018)

No I don't really see the point in buying a game I won't play. And I have other stuff to waste my money on, like ebay, lol.


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## Sakura625 (Jun 15, 2018)

I really only buy the games that I want to play, instead of the more sought-after ones 

but I enjoy placing my game cases on display regardless *v*


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## Alienfish (Jun 16, 2018)

No, not nowadays. I used to be though, especially with Neptunia stuff but fortunately I left that dark hole lol.


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## Romaki (Jun 18, 2018)

I wouldn't consider myself as one. I only pick up digital copies when they are very cheap, but that's still like 300+ games.
I kinda started collecting GBA games nowadays, but for me it's more about playing a game than having some collectible.


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## Rupleteaser (Jun 25, 2018)

I'd call myself a collector, but certainly not in the 'Mint Condition' kind of way. I generally won't buy things unless I intend to play them, but I'll also not pass up a good deal on something rare/flashy that I care about. A good example being the Blue Badger DSi I recently imported.

Like others, gaming is basically my major hobby so it's natural to end up with a pretty impressive collection if you're not the type to sell things.


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## Kotori (Jun 26, 2018)

I would LOVE to be a hardcore collector, but I'm underage and broke Hahahahaha..... ha.... ಥ_ಥ


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## nintendofan85 (Jul 1, 2018)

Not really, and even less than in the past.


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## Sweetley (Dec 23, 2018)

I'm not a collector, I just buy the games I like and maybe sometimes some merchandise 
of those games but that's pretty much it.


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## Tao (Dec 23, 2018)

I only buy physical copies of my favourite games and games that are part of a series I like, such as how I own physical copies of the Final Fantasy XIII despite thinking those games are garbage because I own a physical copy of all the other main series games. 

As for special editions, I'll only get those of my favourite games (unless there's little to no price difference between normal and collectors/special/limited editions). Yes I open them, otherwise how do I get to the neat collectable crap that's inside?

The only exception to any of this is Twilight Princess HD collectors edition which still remains sealed. It's not because I want to keep it in mint condition or anything, I had just recently completed it on the Wii and haven't had the urge to replay it again yet.



Otherwise I'll just buy/"""acquire"""" digital copies. I've got basically every major console from as far back as the Megadrive, with the amount of games I get through I just don't have the physical space to waste on anything but what I regard as 'the best'.


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## Snowesque (Dec 24, 2018)

I use to collect Sim games, but then I got disinterested in the series.
Now I mostly just collect memorabilia and things relating to Animal Crossing that's usable.


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## oath2order (Jan 5, 2019)

I play the games that I want to play. I wouldn't exactly say "collector".


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## cornimer (Jan 5, 2019)

I'm a super casual gamer, I only buy games that I want to play (which isn't a whole lot)


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## Mr_Persona (Jan 9, 2019)

I just get the games just to play on


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## Sinmenon (Jan 9, 2019)

I'm from a country in which games are very expensive, so whenever I get the opportunity to travel abroad I go to the game stores and amass a bunch of pre-owned games, get from online giveaways or buy when they are on sale, even if I'm playing something else in the moment on consoles or my computer can't currently handle it. 
But I also play a lot of games. I'm among one of the first 15 to beat Persona 5 when it was released in English, for example.


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## Marte (Jan 9, 2019)

Not a collector at all. I only buy the games I'm 100% sure I would enjoy and that I would spend a lot of time playing (or if its animal crossing lol).


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## Jakerz (Jan 9, 2019)

I only ever buy games that I plan on playing immediately, sometimes though I?ll buy some of the cheap games just to add to my collection and try out something new every once in a while.


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## Tao (Jan 10, 2019)

Sinmenon said:


> But I also play a lot of games. I'm among one of the first 15 to beat Persona 5 when it was released in English, for example.



Just curious to how you would know that.


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## dizzy bone (Jan 10, 2019)

I'm definitely not a collector. I only have a few select games that I play. Even after owning the 3ds since 2013, I only have like 6 games for it, with animal crossing being the only game I still play actively. Same with the switch. I have 5 games for the switch and I keep going back to the same game on that too (BOTW). However, I do like collecting things related to franchises I enjoy, like animal crossing or LOZ figurines.


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## Chris (Jan 13, 2019)

I can't stand clutter. I buy games when I intend to play them (although that doesn't always work out) and then sell them on once I've 100% completed them. The exception being _Final Fantasy_ games as I usually buy collectors editions.


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## Soot Sprite (Jan 18, 2019)

I prefer physical games so I normally buy my games that way and I display the cases. I definitely am I collector of pokemon games and old n64 games, and almost any nintendo console, but usually for the newer things I only buy games that I enjoy. I recently moved, but before I had to pack everything up I had a big collection of games displayed in my office.


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## Bluebellie (Jan 18, 2019)

I don?t know ven know what I am. I definitely do t consider myself a collector...however, I have like 10+ 3Ds games and pretty much the only one I play is animal crossing. So all the others are just put away in perfect care and not being played with.


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## Lady Timpani (Jan 18, 2019)

I think by the definition of this thread no. I'm definitely not the type of person to buy every single game that came out on a console, regardless of interest, because I want to own the entire catalogue. But I do like to have the original cases for games and buy limited editions of games when I enjoy the series/game already.


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## Stalfos (Jan 27, 2019)

Not really. I try to get physical copies of games if they're available in my region. Otherwise I'll just get it digital. Not gonna jump through hoops by importing or trying to get a hold of Limited Run-like releases. I do have a small retro game collection but I'm not actively collecting since a lot of retro games go for a small fortune nowadays. Not really worth it for me anymore.


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## Croconaw (Jan 27, 2019)

I’m not hardcore by any means. If a game sounds interesting, then I will purchase the game. I’m mostly into sports games, so I guess I would be a collector of sports games.


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## G0DFlesh_88 (Feb 3, 2019)

Casual
I only collect what I bought throughout the years (or decades) lol or what was given to me. I don't sell my games. I don't even buy retro games that are worth more now than what they were back in the day.


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## Keystone (Feb 11, 2019)

None of the options apply to me too much, I have a good collection of games (especially older Nintendo) but I like to play them. I have a good size library but it?s all used, I enjoy games not just to have but for fun anytime. With a variety


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## easpa (Feb 12, 2019)

Not actively, but I guess I've built up a nice little collection over the years. Especially with Pokemon games actually! I have copies of every main series game from Gen I-IV besides Blue and Ruby. I'd be lying if I said I haven't been tempted to drop some more money on completing the set though.


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## Buttonsy (Feb 24, 2019)

I'm not really rich enough to buy games only to end up not playing them, so the only games I have that are entirely unplayed are ones I received for free.


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## Peg (Mar 17, 2019)

I buy games that I, or a family member, intend to play. I haven't sold, and am not planning to sell, any part of my game collection.


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## Coach (Mar 17, 2019)

I'm much more casual, although I have a decent collection of games since I tend to keep my games and not sell them. I open and play all of my games, too, or even buy second hand for the right price.


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## moonbyu (Apr 13, 2019)

i used to, until i just decided to give some of them away. now i just buy whatever i can.


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## Hayleigh_1 (Apr 14, 2019)

I would say I am a video game collector with certain games such as mario, animal crossing, pokemon and even zelda. Apart from those I will buy games as I want them and if they intrigue me.


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## Rusolando-Kun (May 16, 2019)

In a way...
I always keep the games that I like a lot, if they're just okay or not for me - I'll sell them without a doubt. 
One thing I dislike about the current age of gaming is that with all the technological progress... we still can't figure out how to preserve games, particularly the ones of this generation. Games are often treated as some product that is going to be forgotten the moment a new "product" comes out. I mean, every game has a ton of patches, DLC and they're necessary, some fix game-breaking bugs. If PSN, Xbox Live or Steam go offline one day, how would one download all the updates and DLC? Then there are some games that go out of sale because of licensing issues or developers disbanding their studios.

For example, Wii is not that old of a console but its online services are disabled, they still allow downloading patches but there were some messages that suggest that feature will be turned off in the future. So, some games would be unplayable unless you did download the patch when it was possible.

Switch is good with that because of the cartridges, 3DS is flawless and most of the games didn't even have any patches for them. PS2 and PS3 games are good with that, too but PS4 generation? Almost every game has a day-one patch, DLC... I actually had to delete some installed games from PS4 because it had no storage left. So, I'll probably need to replace its hard drive to be able to download all the patches for my favorite games, just to be 100% sure those games will remain playable for years to come.

Another example: Final Fantasy XV. It made me download... 60Gb of data, I think.


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## Pellie (Jun 26, 2019)

Not a collector at all, I only buy the games I would like to play and sometimes sell them if I'm done 
with them (depends however which game it is and of course if I didn't bought them digital).


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## MayorMissy (Jul 14, 2019)

Nah, I could never collect cuz I'm dirt poor.


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## Romaki (Jul 20, 2019)

No, I buy games to play them and when I'm done with them I like selling them if they're physical. Like I kinda feel bad when I buy a game digitally because it's there forever and I'll only play it once, but 10 bucks is cheaper than buying for 60 and selling for 30.

But it's interesting though. Like on one hand DVDs lost all of their value. On the other hand games from the right period have gone up in value (mostly old DS games from popular series that didn't have a long shelf life from my experience). But then I find PC games from 2009 in a second hand store and they're being sold for a buck. Like, gaming prices are all about perception and I feel like people shouldn't be tricked into buying things just because they don't want to miss out on something. To me it's only cool if you like collect all games from an old console or all games from your favorite series.


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## Blood Eclipse (Sep 28, 2019)

I'm not sure which to vote on. I like buying all sorts of titles and looking up their reviews to see if they're worth the purchase. Sometimes I buy games I don't normally buy just to experience something new.

If they come in a really neat box or come with limited edition items, I take double care to preserve them, so I can come back to look at them later. I wouldn't go as far as buying more than one copy of the same game, though. unless you include Pok?mon, which I normally buy both versions of (e.g. Heart Gold & Soul Silver), but stopped doing so with X and onwards. So I'm not sure if that would make me a casual gamer or a hardcore one.

I like collecting cartridge games over discs, as they tend to last longer, are more portable and give you less errors, so most of my game collection consists of cartridge games and a few I own digitally (only if they're strictly digital games). With digital games, you don't get any cool perks like game boxes, manuals or collectible items (not to my knowledge anyway) and you still have to pay the same price or nearly the same price and if your 3DS breaks you have to send it in for repair, which can cost you almost as much as just buying another 3ds, but you have no other choice bc your games are on it, so I'd rather avoid that headache. Also it's easier to lose all your games at once.


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## Alyx (Sep 30, 2019)

I don't really collect games. I find games I want to play, I open them and play, but if I don't like them, I resell them or trade them for something else.


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## MapleCake (Sep 30, 2019)

I wanna say at some point I had accumulated lots of games for difference systems but I've moved so many times in the past 8 years, that I've lost them all. At one point, I owned 64 games for the NES alone. I have a bunch of games for PS2 that I gave my sister, and I at least had every pokemon game for DS up till Pokemon X/Y among plenty of other games and titles (I was just really proud of having all the Pokemon games.) saved in storage, but that was the year the Houston flood happened so now i currently just have a couple copies of animal crossing. I'm really sad about it but what can you do.


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## Corrie (Sep 30, 2019)

I only buy games that I know I'll play. They're extra expensive nowadays and I can't afford to have unopened games or games I end up not liking. I've turned out to being very picky with the games I buy. I do research on them before buying to see if it's something I'd like.


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## therandompuppy (Jun 26, 2020)

Not really but I’ve always been really interested in starting!


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## Manah (Jul 17, 2020)

I collect games, but I don't care about value and stuff at all. I just like to have them on my shelf and play most of them.


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## ReanimatedSorceress (Jul 17, 2020)

I used to be a big collector and I had tons of valuable games, most of them complete. I sold almost all of it for money several years ago and while it helped me at the time I do kind of regret it seeing some of my old games worth there's times as much. At this point, I don't enjoy having massive collections of anything. I'd rather have an intimate collection of my favorites, though I am still picky about condition sometimes.


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## DarkDesertFox (Jul 17, 2020)

I only buy games to play, not for collecting purposes. However, I still collect them in the sense I never plan to sell them. Like even though I don't play the Genesis anymore, we have a couple boxes of cartridges. They have good nostalgic value and look good to display.


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## Jhine7 (Jul 17, 2020)

Not a video game collector, but will go for physical copy over digital copy whenever possible to collect it.


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## xTech (Jul 17, 2020)

For me at least, the only reason i'd ever buy a video game is to play it. I've never really been interested in any of the infamous 'deluxe' editions that companies like to charge through the nose for now either, although I know some people are really into that sort of thing.

However, since my brother has ASD and can get really obsessed with some things, he likes to collect all of the mario games and is slowly starting up a gamecube collection on the side as well. Right now he does play the ones he gets, but game-play doesn't really seem to be the driving factor in which ones he chooses, and rather from what I can see he likes completing certain series and then jumping to the next. My god is it an expensive hobby though


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## InstantNoodles (Jul 19, 2020)

I feel like none of these apply to me. I buy games that I'm interested in but prefer digital for PS4 / Xbox and physical for Switch (due to resell value and simply because I don't want to buy an SD card for the extra memory). So far I've amassed 200 on Xbox, maybe around 20 on PS4 and another 10 on Switch. Majority of these I have played but probably ~30% will have been for a good amount of time (>100 hours or so).


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## DinosaurDumpster (Jul 19, 2020)

Mainly just casual, although I do collect amiibos from time to time.


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## Belle T (Jul 19, 2020)

I used to be a pretty big collector for select series that I was quite big on, but these days, I've mellowed out of that.  Now I only buy games if I intend on playing them or have some fond attachment to them, but I don't go for completionism anymore.  I do still like collecting things like merchandise and figures and books.  But games are just too expensive and these days I can't justify the price compared to the amount of satisfaction I actually get out of them.


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## xara (Jul 19, 2020)

i’m personally not. i buy games that interest me and that’s about it lmao - i do regret throwing out my older games, though. they were all for the DS and pretty outdated but it would’ve been nice to keep them around for memories aha


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## CasualWheezer (Jul 19, 2020)

I'd say that I'm a game collector but I'm not really actively pursuing rare games or specific titles. I usually just get games that I feel are good and I'll enjoy and have them on display and I'll try to get some more in the future.


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## LuchaSloth (Jul 22, 2020)

I gave up on physical collections for Xbox and Playstation. But, I still collect very regularly for Switch. Been kinda limited in what I could afford in 2020, because of the pandemic. But, my Switch collection stands at around 80 physical games...bunch of limited run/special reserve/super rare games...some peripherals like the NES and SNES online controllers, different colors of joy-cons, etc. Everything I own is stuff that I buy to play. I don't buy things just to be a competitionist. Like...if something is clearly a bad game...I don't need that in my collection "just to have it". I do have some physical games that I've kept sealed...but, those are all games that I originally bought in digital format and then purchased a second time in physical. I do that pretty often, sadly. Lol.


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## Cosmic_Crossfade (Jul 28, 2020)

matt said:


> There are many types of gamers, some only buy their games to open and play, whilst other gamers like to cherish their games as precious valuables, and aspire to have a massive video game library on their shelf. Theres people like a certain someone of my friends (not saying any names) who buys two of everything...one to keep new and sealed, and another to open and play (especially when it comes to amiibo). Aaaand then theres scalpers, buying 10 of everything and listing half on eBay for double the price.
> 
> So what are you when it comes to gaming? Do you strive to collect major rare titles and limited print runs (such as those from Super Rare Games .com who produce indie games in limited physical runs - well worth checking out) or do you just buy your games to play ?
> 
> ...



Oddly enough, back in the day before I sold my thousands of dollars worth of games spaning across many platforma, I have never realized nor stop to think about how many were actually considered collectable material  I at one point lover seeing my tons of games on the shelves as a kid, never really having an affinity to actually "collect" them, but moreso end up doing so as I bought games.

I was always a typical casual player who would buy a game that I personally thought was worth my time and money. I really never really bought a game to just simply collect (Unless, you mean that while buying games that I was indirectly "collecting" them,then I suppose I was?)


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## TemalRustic (Mar 17, 2021)

matt said:


> There are many types of gamers, some only buy their games to open and play, whilst other gamers like to cherish their games as precious valuables, and aspire to have a massive video game library on their shelf. Theres people like a certain someone of my friends (not saying any names) who buys two of everything...one to keep new and sealed, and another to open and play (especially when it comes to amiibo). Aaaand then theres scalpers, buying 10 of everything and listing half on eBay for double the price.
> 
> So what are you when it comes to gaming? Do you strive to collect major rare titles and limited print runs (such as those from Super Rare Games .com who produce indie games in limited physical runs - well worth checking out) or do you just buy your games to play ?
> 
> ...



I collect a few titles, mostly final fantasty and N64 related. My prized possessions are my base set of pokemon cards and my pikachu N64 with gold zelda ocarina of time.


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## Merielle (Mar 21, 2021)

I only buy games to play them, but I do prefer to buy physical copies and display the cases on my shelf, and I rarely consider selling them.  It's nice to look at my collection and think back fondly on the games I've played!  Sometimes I'll get limited edition copies if I'm interested in the extras that come with it.


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## Blueskyy (Mar 21, 2021)

Honestly I collect merchandise more than I do games. I have the Mario pin sets, Nook bag, keychain, posters, and zip pouch from MyNintendo and around 320 AC amiibo cards (many from trading extras on here). There’s just something I like about collecting.


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