Trevor

Ok, hopefully I can keep this brief and not have it come off as just an internal monologue wanting validation. But I actually really think that a lot of you here can identify with my situation and offer advice. Bolded my main questions for a 5 second read if preferred.

I'm 43, but much younger in practice, and have been an off-and-on heavy gamer since the Atari 2600 days. I'm also a collector with OCD-like tendencies, and have hundreds of games for a dozen or so systems, many unopened.

I kind of feel like my main gaming days are behind me, but still occasionally go on buying and playing sprees, recently buying 5 new Xbox 360 games but only putting in about 20 hours on one of them, Borderlands. Does the gaming itch come in waves as you get older? Will I someday get back to where I spend a good chunk of my free time gaming? I used to, but now spend all my time on films, and rarely game outside of my iphone for a few minutes here and there every few hours. I used to game at least 10 hours a week, all my life pretty much until a couple years ago, but barely any now.

I'm firmly in the camp of only wanting physical media, and part of my enjoyment of the hobby is in the packaging, shopping, and collecting of franchises I enjoy.

I keep thinking that I will someday return to all of these older games and systems, playing or re-playing classics like Sundog for my Atari ST, Shenmue for the Dreamcast and Xbox, Crimson Skies, Half Life on the PC, and dozens and dozens of others. But in reality, am I ever going to touch even half of these games? It's probably well over 1,000 titles actually, Dozens each of original Gameboy, Lynx, Dreamcast, 7800, and Gamecube titles; hundreds of PC titles; maybe 100 original Xbox titles, and at least 50 for the current gen.

Yes, I know that my main problem is some aspect of compulsive hoarding, but lets forget about that for now.

If I decide to get rid of most of these things, which I'm leaning towards, what's the best way to do it? I'm too lazy to list things individually on ebay. Don't really care about the money, mainly want the stuff to go to a good home.

Let's get specific on the Xbox for example. Two systems, lots of controllers, the Steel Battalion set, 100+ games including 10 or so doubles for system link play, a complete collection of the official magazine with discs. I know most people would consider most of it worthless, but I know there are hardcore collectors out there, and someone would appreciate it, right?

But then, everytime I have gotten rid of anything substantial, I have regretted it.

Any advice? Will the gaming bug bite me again? Do our reflexes diminish as we get into our 40s? Is being able to finish most of these games not in my abilty anymore?

Michael Corvin

Fail.

Michael Corvin

but seriously, look at your games and weed out the shit you KNOW you won't ever play again. Surely you can't feel like every game you own is worth revisiting down the line. Hang on to the rest and see what kind of pile you have at that point.

starman9000

Give your Steel Battalion set to me and chuck the rest.

orangecrush

Do you have any younger relatives who are big gamers? Do you have any kids who like to play games? If you really don't care about getting money, you could make a nephew or cousin extremely happy. Though if it were me, I would make a relative do something for it (like mow my lawn for the summer). People tend to value things a lot more if they work for them.

chuckd21

Yay, I get the rest!

Kedrix

Trev, you sound a lot like me. I'm nearly 35 (next month), have collected video games since the NES/SMS days and have a huge collection. And a lot of it is unfortunately still unopened or never played and merely acquired to say I have it I guess. My favorite thing to do is get a system that is essentially dead (Turbo Duo, SMS, Sega Saturn, Original Xbox to name a few) and collect games for that system. Since it is a fixed library (and games are usually cheaper than retail), I feel like I'm working towards something. But I'm never quite sure what.

However, I do still play, I would say 10 hours a week is probably about valid but for me to start a new game is rare. (I also write dvd/bd reviews and a game column) Heck, my current pile of unplayed is ridiculous, I know that and my wife knows that. She knows I'm a gamer through and through as is she...but she is nowhere near my pile of shame and nor does she ever want to distract me from playing or buying. She doesn't think it would hurt for me to slow down though . I'm also a big time cheapskate, I'm a sucker for bargains. I have bought a $10-$20 game for the simple fact it was $60 a few months ago on the idea that I think I might enjoy it. Even though I might never do so.

Sometimes I wonder about myself (as I sit here looking at an unopened copy of Final Fantasy XIII I purchased today because it was...you guessed it, $20) and I do see myself slowing down but I can't see a day where I don't want to play video games in some capacity. I would imagine when I turn 50's and 60's, I'll want to put some additional money towards retirement and might sell a good chuck of my collection. But I honestly don't think (unless I'm physically unable) that I'll stop playing. Maybe my skills will diminish, maybe they already have. But I'm okay with that. I have been, ever since I realized that there are people out there who are okay with who I am and love me for it. My wife is a large part of that.

It is perhaps interesting that I have no close friends around my age. All of them including my wife are younger, at least under 30 (my wife is 26 in fact). I simply think I will always have the gaming itch and don't see why I should magically grow up, grow out of them simply because of responsibilities or anything else.

Here is my advice, you need to do what makes you happy. More than likely if you are seriously considering giving up a large part of your collection, go through it and sell some of the less important items to begin with. If you are okay with what you did, then keep going. When it starts feeling like you did something you regretted, stop. You are a gamer, just as I am, or anybody is on this board. Don't stop being that if you enjoy it, regardless of your pile of shame.

The best way to do it, sounds like would be going to something like Amazon third party or Half.com where even though you have to list individually, it's care-free selling and doesn't require you to take pictures and design auction listings. Or list some here, there are plenty of us who know that you are reliable and will be happy to trade or buy from you.

But...seriously don't do something that you might regret. You might just be going through a slow period. If you go through with selling a good chunk of your collection, then do it slowly. You put a lot of work into collecting it, you might as well do the same to sell it.

starman9000

Honestly, I'd hold onto the stuff, but try to go through some of the chaff (non SNES generation sports games, last gen FPS save for a few, etc...just hold onto the gems, I know that's hard to define, but it's doable)

I have a lot of old stuff too in boxes, once I get the space I plan to make a little game room. If I come to terms that I'll never be able to set up a game room, I'll dump the stuff, because I'll never dig out a box, hook it up, play, put it away.

FatTony

I went through a similar scenario with my DVD collection a few years back. Had well over 1,000 at one point and realized I was unlikely to ever want to watch about half of them again. I've slowly been trimming away at my collection and now have less than 500 (and will still probably sell a bit more). In that time, I've still been buying and watching movies, but at a greatly reduced rate. I thought I'd miss the collector's mentality of it, but in truth I really don't. That's not to say that'll happen for you, I'm just sharing my experience.

Anyway, it sounds to me like your time is being spent on other things as you're getting older and it really comes down to whether you're willing to cut back on those activities in order to spend that time on gaming. As for selling the stuff, you might consider posting some of the older/more collectible stuff (7800, Dreamcast) as a complete bundle as that could fetch a pretty penny from like-minded collectors. Like me and my DVD collection, there's a very real possibility that you'll never actually go back and play all that old stuff.

K&AJones

"Age is irrelvant in the World of Gaming...but having fun is mandatory"

Trevor

You should have seen my first draft.
Good point. For example, I doubt I'll ever hook up my two Xboxes and play Counterstrike again. Serious Sam, Crimson Skies, and Halo, maybe.
That's a tough one. Loved the hour or so I spent on it, and need to hook it up someday and try to get my money's worth out of it. But tell you what, if I die it's your's, unless there was foul play....
None all that local, so no getting tasks done for stuff, but good idea. I have a nephew who's big into gaming and has kids now, so he would probably love some of this stuff.
Well, no promises, but with that smiley you can have my Super Monkey Ball games if I get rid of them.
My plan has always been to someday have a gaming room, with one corner dedicated to Atari, the two xboxes networked, etc etc. But in reality that may never happen, so I've been storing boxes for years, rarely delving into much of this collection.
Great post Kedrix! I'll reply more later.

Thanks to everyone for the input. Overall I'd prefer to keep everything, but I'm running out of space and trying to make those tough decisions of what I'm sure to re-enjoy someday, and what someone else will appreciate more.

maxfisher

Gaming lost its luster for me about three years ago. I was going through a bit of a rough spot, other things brought me more enjoyment and I just didn't feel like playing. I kept my Wii because it was a gift and I would've felt guilty getting rid of it, but I sold everything else game-related. A year later, I had a 360, PS3, DS and PSP to accompany the Wii. I'll still have periods where I don't feel much like gaming for a couple months, but I eventually get pulled back in and probably always will.

As for your situation, I second Corvin's suggestion. Go through your collection and pull everything you know you're not going back to. If it's stuff that'll pull a fair price, put it up for sale. Otherwise, donate it to a charity. After you've gone that far, figure out what to do with the rest.

foxdvd

This is a great thread...and I will give a bit of look into myself.....

I am 40, and have been playing games since the dawn of arcades/home consoles....when I say I have owned just about every system, I really have....my life has gone through these phases....


Before 10: early interest in games, text adventure games and the like...I really started to become a bit of a game nerd...

10-13: I started drifting away from games, got into sports heavy...

14-17: I noticed titties...

18-24: I still noticed titties, but college freed up a lot of time, and I started heavy back into video games. I had never given them up completely, but during the age of 10-17 it was mostly a side thing and not a major part of my life. At the age of 20 I bought a Genesis, and then after that a SNS...and I officially got hooked again hard.

24: Opera scene from Final Fantasy 6 (3)

25-30: Got married, started a family. I still played a lot, and bought every new system, and updated my pc, but it was always in the background, never in the front.

30-36: As friends moved away, and work and family took over my life, I started playing more and more. It actually started to put a strain on my relationship with the wife as she would blame our marital problems on games.

37: I noticed someones titties other than my wife's.

38: Divorced

39-40: I play more than I ever had in my life. My son is 10, and we play a lot as well. I actually enjoy games more now than ever before. The quality is amazing and I never tire of the experience.


While life has forced my game playing to come and go, I always held a passion for games. I don't think I ever once felt I was tired of them (though I do get tired of types of games from time to time) So I would say if you are even thinking of getting away from it, do it. It is not like you are giving up something that you can't come back to in the future. Step away and if you feel the need to come back the games will be waiting for you....

Rob V

As I get older - 37 now - and my kids, job, personal actiivities take precedence, I can only find maybe 5-6 hours per week for gaming. I still love the concept and follow new games coming out. Unfortunately the desire is there but the time is not... I think I'll always game to some degree.

As far as all the old shit you have, why not donate it to less fortunate kids or a Big Brother / Big Sister organization? They don't care if it's not an Xbox 360 or the latest PS3 slim, they'll just be happy to have it.

starman9000

That's not a bad idea. Another thing you could do is offer them up as prizes for the fundraiser CAG does every year.

orangecrush

That is a really good idea. If you are going to give them away, don't give them to Good Will or a Thrift Store. They will just end up with one of the employees. You could also look into donating them to a hospital or children's hospital. That is pretty much what Childs Play does (the charity CAG donates to).

This thread has inspired me to get rid of some of my games. I don't really think I am going to play my gameboy player on my gamecube anymore and I am not likely to ever play I-Ninja on the PS2. There are just too many really good new games coming out that make some of the titles that were very good in their day not as appealing now. The only thing that holds me back is the possibility of my kids playing some of the marginal games (I think I am going to keep all of the truely great games).

Anubis2005X

For me, it just depends. Some games I could never part with, and I've kept all my old systems. Just a few months ago I had the urge to play through Double Dragon II: The Revenge. Awesome, loved it!

But some games I just never have a desire to ever play again. Case in point, Resistance 2. I feel like they took away everything that made Resistance 1 great, and turned the franchise into an empty and frustrating experience. I sold it as soon as I finished it, along with Resistance 1. Plenty of other great FPS franchises out there to keep me happy...

vballboy51

I laughed when i read this because i currently have 5 SNES's in my "office" that are all torn apart trying to get one working one, which i finally manged to do. Why am I doing this? so i can play all the old RPGs of course! i guess its a childhood thing of wanting all the "good" rpg's for SNES (though im sure my list is in no way all inclusive). i'm one away (earthbound). will i ever go back and play chrono trigger, secret of evermore, mario rpg or anything else (which i've mostly obtained in the last 3-4 months?). no. do i want to, yes. I miss it, its my childhood.

keep what you want to remind yourself of the good old days, play it or not at least you have them. No way i'm getting rid of Final Fantasy II, III, secret of mana. Shining force for Genesis. any of those. because they remind me of some really great times in my life. maybe if i have kids they will appreciate them, maybe not? who knows.

as for the rest, i think you could have good luck selling them here, ars, cag. maybe donate as they said to the cag auction or something like that. All i ask is that if you have Earthbound, or any other cool SNES stuff, you keep me in mind.

I think the biggest realization i came to recently was that i got away from having "fun" gaming. It shouldn't be a chore, you shouldn't feel like you HAVE to do it. Metal Gear Solid 4 felt like a chore, so instead of chugging through it because i "should", i got rid of it don't regret it for a second. play what you want because you can. FFII is awesome, i don't care that the graphics are 16bit. make a game have that story now and i'll be happy.

/end rambling

mugwump

I hit a similar wall with DVDs a few years ago and realized that I would likely be dead before I ever got around to watching some of them again and thus began the great sell-off. As for video games I don't play them nearly as much as I used to but I still like having the latest systems as well as a few golden oldies (Sega Genesis, C64 emulator) at the ready. I couldn't give away a launch PS2 and original Xbox but there was a surprising amount of interest in the old Atari Lynx which seems to have been way before its time.

Chris_D

When I moved 4 years ago I ditched every previous generation console apart from the PS2, including titles still in shrink wrap. I just knew I'd never get round to them. These days I don't game as much as before but I've reined in my spending quite a bit. Still, it's nice that I still have every current gen platform, apart from the Wii, so I can try whatever takes my fancy.

murray731

The last couple of years, I've gotten away from collecting and more in the habit of selling/trading a game when I finish it and I know I'm not going to go back. Being 35, life has certainly changed in the last few years and I just don't have the time or motivation to go through games multiple times any more. As my daughter gets a little older, I could see myself becoming more of a casual gamer if she gets into gaming.

davidh777

I never had a console as a kid (envied my friend's Atari 2600 and Intellivision) so I didn't really get into gaming till Wolfenstein 3-D and Civilization for Windows on the PC. I got annoyed with running DOS games and gave up till I got an Xbox and got hooked on Halo. Now I have a 360, a PS3, and a Wii, and I play sporadically. I'll play the hell out of a game multiple times rather than bothering to learn something new, and stay up way too late doing it. Then I won't play anything for a month. But I can't resist buying newish games once they hit the $30 mark, so I have unopened versions of Assassin's Creed I, Modern Warfare 1 (after I had already finished a borrowed version, but I figured I'd want to play it again), Arkham Asylum, Infamous, the new Wolfenstein, and my newest treasure, Borderlands plus the add-ons. I played a level of Gears of War and haven't gone back. I also borrowed someone's GTA IV, got barely started, and haven't gone back. The fact that I have multiple consoles makes it easier to find deals as well.

So I have a backlog with not nearly enough time to play, but I really enjoy the games when I get a chance to play them. Best is when I can play with my kids like Rock Band or Lego Star Wars, and I get hooked on the occasional game for the Touch as well (and I have a bunch of those that I've gotten for free and never played).

And yeah, I still have some old Xbox games I've never played, some bought used and some bought new (like the LOTR RPG, which sounded more exciting before I actually owned it). I guess I should try to dump them if they have any value at all, but I also remember digging up my Halo 2 and really enjoying it on the 360.

I'll probably still buy compulsively but I'm trying to keep it under control. But I can't imagine finding much more time to play without drastic job or life changes.