How many consoles do you collect for. how many is too many

[RodimusPrime]

Do you just concentrate on one console, or maybe just one companies consoles ( atari, Nintendo, Sega ) or do you actively pick up games for loads of different machines.

I am currently buying games for 20+ systems and I am starting to think its time to concentrate on maybe just a handful of systems and sell the others to fund buying games for the ones I want to keep.

I already have sold off my complete CDi collection, and am deciding which consoles are next.

[Megamixer]

Best just to have a few. Handhelds aside, my main consoles are the PS1, PS2 and PS3. I have those plus the Wii under the TV with Gamecube, Mega Drive, SNES,Saturn, Xbox and 3DO in storage for whenever I get the chance to play on them. To be honest, I'm struggling to find the time for the four platforms I have set up let alone collecting for any more.

I don't really have a lot of space to store games themselves anyway so I tend to only keep the very best and just sell/trade anything else away once I'm done with it.

[RodimusPrime]

Best just to have a few. Handhelds aside, my main consoles are the PS1, PS2 and PS3. I have those plus the Wii under the TV with Gamecube, Mega Drive, SNES,Saturn, Xbox and 3DO in storage for whenever I get the chance to play on them. To be honest, I'm struggling to find the time for the four platforms I have set up let alone collecting for any more.

I don't really have a lot of space to store games themselves anyway so I tend to only keep the very best and just sell/trade anything else away once I'm done with it.

Thats becoming an issue for me as well, I just do not have the space or time.

[The Laird]

I have complete Jaguar, Lynx and 7800 collections so just buy new games for when when they come out.

Have near complete collections for Saturn (PAL), 2600, CD-i, Mega CD (PAL) and TurboGrafx so just pick up the odd title I am missing if I see for a decent price.

More recently started collecting for Dreamcast (have about 100 games), Systema 2000 and Atari XEGS and Wii so buy games for them when I see them at a good price or if they are ones I really want.

The kind of odd one out is the Mega Drive as I have only ever bought games I wanted for that system, mainly because the library is so damn big. Have bought games steadily for the MD for about 8 years now probably as I discover games that I want. I have bought a few games though just because I saw them dirt cheap in the wild.

I also have small collections for the Game Boy, DS and Master System. I will probably fill out the SMS collection a bit in the near future and get more Japanese Saturn games too (have about 50).

I also have a huge ST collection that I don't plan to increase and some Spectrum stuff, but I sold all my Speccy games and just kept the hardware.

[RodimusPrime]

I have complete Jaguar, Lynx and 7800 collections so just buy new games for when when they come out.

Have near complete collections for Saturn (PAL), 2600, CD-i, Mega CD (PAL) and TurboGrafx so just pick up the odd title I am missing if I see for a decent price.

More recently started collecting for Dreamcast (have about 100 games), Systema 2000 and Atari XEGS and Wii so buy games for them when I see them at a good price or if they are ones I really want.

The kind of odd one out is the Mega Drive as I have only ever bought games I wanted for that system, mainly because the library is so damn big. Have bought games steadily for the MD for about 8 years now probably as I discover games that I want. I have bought a few games though just because I saw them dirt cheap in the wild.

I also have small collections for the Game Boy, DS and Master System. I will probably fill out the SMS collection a bit in the near future and get more Japanese Saturn games too (have about 50).

I also have a huge ST collection that I don't plan to increase and some Spectrum stuff, but I sold all my Speccy games and just kept the hardware.

Some good ideas in there, I could reduce the collections down to just games I really want ( quality over quantity ) and save space that way. Plus it could free up some funds.

Having full collections probably helps a lot as it is less machines to worry about.

My jag, 3do, pc engine library is quite small at the minute and could do with adding to but I have just not got round to it yet.

[learnedrobb]

I collect for maybe a dozen systems on an ad hoc basis.

[ToxieDogg]

I don't go for complete collections as such (asides from PAL Saturn, though I've slowed down a lot recently as I've got nearly all the games for it that I actually want as apposed to just buying them to fill up gaps on the shelf) but I do like to have all the best/most critically acclaimed games on a system if I can help it, and anything else that I just really really like the look of anyway. Where a game is multiformat, I'll just read a load of reviews and player comments and go with what general consensus says is the best version to go for.

It's one thing me having a huge 'pile of shame' of games that I like the look of and want to play at some point, but it'd be another to just have a huge pile of games just for the sake of owning them....not a route I'd want to go down really as it'd just be a huge waste of time, space and money.

[AmigaJay]

Have owned and collected for dozens of systems over the years, In a perfect world I'd have a massive room and still own them all, sadly in harder times I've had to sell most, along with lack of space means I'm only collecting for 1 or 2 systems at a time.
But of course it's upto you how many you want to collect, why should there be a limit and why should anyone dictate how much is too much?

[nokgod]

I started out just like you. 20+ systems and buying games madly. Soon worked out that wasn't a good approach for me.

Now i concentrate on just a couple....the Gamecube, primarily. Even though i have the complete PAL set....there's still lots and lots of GC stuff i want to get from the ntsc regions as well as hardware paks, accessories, promos, oddities etc, etc. Don't think i'll ever have everything i want.

Other than that i'm currently concentrating on PS2 rpg's. I wouldn't want a complete PAL set for the PS2 so i thought the rpg subset was a more achievable goal. Also like to pick up the more adult horror/suspense themed titles when i see them.

I do still have a lot of other machines, especially handhelds....but i now carry no more than about 25-50 titles for any of them, even the PS1.

[Timothy Lumsden]

i used to collect for about 8 systems, but it all got out of hand. now i just have about 12 titles on my 'hit list' for Megadrive & Gamecube - and thats it.

[Shinobi]

Do you just concentrate on one console, or maybe just one companies consoles ( atari, Nintendo, Sega ) or do you actively pick up games for loads of different machines.

I am currently buying games for 20+ systems and I am starting to think its time to concentrate on maybe just a handful of systems and sell the others to fund buying games for the ones I want to keep.

I already have sold off my complete CDi collection, and am deciding which consoles are next.

Well you could sell me that Colecovision mine is missing a power supply

I own
Atari 7800
Super Famicom over 100 CIB Super Famicom games and 15 boxed pal games and a American Arcarna
Commodore 64 x 2 100's of tapes 15 + carts
Commodore + 4 lots
Coleco
DS lite R4 and 4 original games Giana Sisters, Castlevania Order of Eclessia etc
Vita
Chipped PS2 with hard drive phat and boxed pink Singstar slim PS2 about 100 games all rare no sports or a hovelware
3D0
Wii
Wii U
360
PS3
Caanoo
Vectrex and 4 games including Spike which is rotting in the attic
Megadrive )had this for free of Nokgod) about 15 games includng pal and jap Shinobi's
CDI boxed mad dog with Justifer about 10 other games
I collect Super Famicom, C64 and C16+4 and boxed GBA games also any Shinobi games.. Started buying up all the Gamecube games as charity shop has loads all £1 each would buy CDi and 3DO if I can get them cheap.. Megadrive not bothered if there not Shinobi games did buy Jap Areo Blasters for cheap crap game way too hard and Art Master in Stolen Goods generator.. Would love to get all the Atari carts and manuals awesome art Games stopped selling PS2 stuff so lost my supply of cheap PS2 games and 25p GBA games..

I don't smoke or drink and rarely watch TV and still don't seem to have that much time as I'd like.. Space that is a problem god bless the attic

[Tinsair]

I collect for:

GameCube
Saturn
Master System
Mega Drive
Mega-CD
32X
Nintendo 64

I have full PAL collections for the Dreamcast & 32X Mega-CD.

I also own but am not actively collecting yet for the following consoles/handhelds:

Neo Geo Pocket Color
SNES
NES
3DO
Philips CD-i
Game.com
Atari Lynx
Atari Jaguar
Nokia N-Gage
Game Gear
Amiga CD32

I might consider collecting more for these when I've completed other collections though!

[DPrinny]

I dont, I just buy what I have played and liked

I already have sold off my complete CDi collection, and am deciding which consoles are next.

Good choice

[kiwimike]

I have complete Jaguar, Lynx and 7800 collections so just buy new games for when when they come out.

Have near complete collections for Saturn (PAL), 2600, CD-i, Mega CD (PAL) and TurboGrafx so just pick up the odd title I am missing if I see for a decent price.

More recently started collecting for Dreamcast (have about 100 games), Systema 2000 and Atari XEGS and Wii so buy games for them when I see them at a good price or if they are ones I really want.

The kind of odd one out is the Mega Drive as I have only ever bought games I wanted for that system, mainly because the library is so damn big. Have bought games steadily for the MD for about 8 years now probably as I discover games that I want. I have bought a few games though just because I saw them dirt cheap in the wild.

I also have small collections for the Game Boy, DS and Master System. I will probably fill out the SMS collection a bit in the near future and get more Japanese Saturn games too (have about 50).

I also have a huge ST collection that I don't plan to increase and some Spectrum stuff, but I sold all my Speccy games and just kept the hardware.

Lucky Bastard

I don't actually collect anymore, preferring to just collect books/mags/DVDs on retro gaming instead. I had pondered collecting for one console, but struggled to make up my mind which one!
So I generally keep a modern console with a pile of games to play- which I don't consider a collection though by definition it probably is.

I still have my G&Ws in the cupboard though, I'd love to continue collecting those but the prices are silly now, it was more fun when you could wander old junk shops and garage sales and pick em up for a few dollars. These days that's a rare find

[Liamh1982]

The scattergun "just buy what takes my fancy as long as it isn't too expensive" approach has served me well so far and if it ain't broke...

I've just switched to a much larger bedroom too so space isn't a problem whereas before trying to traverse from the door to the bed was like the Krypton Factor assault course.