I don't think there's anything wrong with this. Film buffs collect movies. English teachers collect books. And gamers collect games. Of course, I fall into all three examples, so maybe I'm bias.

I collect movies and books, too, but not to the extent that I do video-games. Most of my books and movies are keepers, though; I can't say the same for a lot of my games.

Don't get me wrong -- I still want a healthy collection of games. But I'm wondering if I should trim the fat and get rid of games I know I'm never going to play again.

actually, I'm watching that A&E show as of this comment, "Hoarders."

I typically just go through my collection and look at them with a critical eye. I loved Lost Planet 2 when it came out but Red Dead Redemption is way better plus it has DLC on the way. I'm very critical of my game stash.

For some bizarre, twisted reason, I like to think that I have developed a "museum" mentality about the whole thing.   I try to weed out the absolute bottom of the barrel, but I still justify keeping most of the games purely for whatever historical importance I might convince myself that they have.  Even poor Far Cry Instincts is special to me because of what it did with lush jungle landscapes long before Just Cause or Mercenaries 2. 

Ultimately, if I try to really analyze what I'm doing, I think that for me it comes down to whether or not I have beaten a game.   If I quit half way through, I never look back on a game fondly.  BUT if I did fight my way through the entire game, my brain has that feeling of accomplishment hidden somewhere deep.   I almost ALWAYS end up waxing nostalgic on those game a few years down the line.   I rarely reboot the game, but just knowing I could go back and relive those memories fills me with warms and fuzzies. 

Where's Typing of the Dead?

Ben: I feel the same way you do -- for every game I own, I can probably think of a reason to keep it. Whether that reason is good is another matter.

Bryan: Haha, Typing of the Dead is one Dreamcast game I don't have (though I do own House of the Dead 2). I bought the keyboard so I could type easier in Phantasy Star Online. And that Dreamcast arcade stick in the picture? I bought it for Soul Calibur after hearing how much better arcade sticks are than controllers. I used it only two or three times, though; something about the hand positions on an arcade stick throws me off.

The way I figure it, you've only got a problem if your games are in the way: underfoot, taking up valuable table space, or blocking the shiny panel what receives the laser beam from your TV remote.  It looks like you've got some solid organization there, and as long as you can keep it like that, you'll be fine.

I don't own half as many games as you, but my whole life changed when I got a couple of those giant plastic tubs and stored all my gaming stuff in them.  Suddenly, I had room to put down a delicious slice of toast while I played Super Metroid.

I remember when I discovered FuncoLand as a kid, I sold a TON of games.  I regretted it, and to this day, I'm still tracking them down to buy again.  I hold on to my game collection like I hold on to my music collection (which pales in comparison).

Although, I did throw out all those old, giant PC game boxes.

EDIT: Actually, pretty much all of the storage space in my room is devoted to media: games, CDs, DVDs...but as long as there's a place to put it, I don't see a problem.

Looks like a pretty average collection for a middle aged gamer.  About what I have. I keep all my old systems and never sell games, even if I hate them.  

I'm not a hoarder. I'm a collector. Having a game collection is like having both a library and a museum at once.

Are you going to list your collection for us to bid on? I'm always up for adding new items to my collection... :)

Yeah, I'm the same way. As my family moved out of my parents' old place, we carefully transported a dozen empty console boxes. Why? Beats the hell out of me.

I went through a similar phase last year. The amount of games grows past the reserved “game” shelf space and sprawls without bounds. I decided then to make the leap from simply amassing clutter to maintaining a collection. I found that if I put forth the effort to build custom shelves, clean off those used game cases, and create an organization system that would make any librarian blush, my collection becomes a thing of pride. Of course, this is all said without knowing any context to your situation. If you’ve got a one bedroom apartment above a bowling alley and below another bowling alley, then priorities should change. If your girlfriend can’t sit on the couch with you to watch a movie because the Steel Battalion controller is setup and taking up two cushions, then priorities should change.  I say embrace it if you’ve got the space. If not, hold off until you’ve got the room.

Hi Nick,  I joined just so I could respond to your article.

I know you feel strongly about your games but  I think you've got to do what your heart says to do, & what feels right for you.

Look,  in the old days(I'm 57 now) I had the Atari2600, a Intellivision, & a Colecovision console with loads of games to go with them. But foolishly, I was young & dumb & sold them all.

And you know what? Now I regret doing it every single day.

So, every since then, I've kept every console I've gotten my hands on. And I still play all of them(except for the SNES, which I had to pack away for lack of space & input/output jacks)

Yes, that one mistake early on turned me into a gaming collector, and right now I own 20 consoles & handhelds...

SNES,  

Panasonic FZ-10 3DO(the sleek model), 

Jaguar w/64 bit CD apapter, 

Genesis, 

Saturn, 

Dreamcast, 

2 GameBoy Colors, 

Gamecube, 

Xbox, 

250 GB CODMW2 360 bundle, 

5 PSP's , 

PS1,  

PS2, 

& a PS3 (fat 60GB)

I also own 1716 game......er......I better strike that......make it  1720 games now,  because  I forgot I bought 4 cheap "used" PS2 games this week..

Anyway, one day I'll probably will/donate my whole entire collection to the Smithsonian Institute so it can keep our gaming history alive. forever. But until that day, I shall keep on collecting & accepting more gaming donations for all consoles &/or games to fill out my collections, and besides, I still want to play most of them at least once before I kick the bucket, LOL  Plus, I want/need to amass a much larger collection than I have now, before I wind up donating it all.  

 But alas, my funds will  never ever be enough to afford even 1/16th of what consoles, handheld, & games are still out there over the last 35-40 years.   *HUGE LONG SIGH*

Anyway, like I said before, do what your heart tells you to do & you'll be fine, no matter whatever your decision turns out to be.

BikerSaint

30+ consoles, old computers, and tons of games in various states of functionality fill my house. Bitmob is like a magnet for people who love collecting. 

Nick, go with your heart.  I've personally sold/traded off about 400 DVD's.  Why? Space for one thing, but mainly beacause DVD's have given way to Blu-ray's and I'm only keeping my absolute favorite films.  Games, on the other hand, don't typically get re-released on another format.  And for that reason, I keep all my games so I can return to those old memories anytime I feel like it, even if the game may now be considered mediocre at best.  :)

So many different opinions! I think I'm going to keep most of my games, getting rid of only the ones that I have no attachment to. I can do without games like Mafia and UFC: Tapout. It's the Final Fantasy Xs and Ocarina of Times that I can't part with.

I should view this as a form of stamp collecting: Those that don't collect, don't understand; those that do collect understand all too well.

I'll respond to everyone more in-depth tomorrow. Right now, it's officially bedtime on the East Coast.

This reminds me of my weird collection of Nintendo and N64 games. I sold the old Nintendo system and games because I don't like blowing into my system just to get it to work. And I sold two N64 games because:

a. Wizpig in Diddy Kong Racing really freaks the hell out of me.

b. The announcer in F-Zero X creeps the hell out of me, with quotes such as "YOU'VE GOT BOOST POWER!" and "TOO BAD! YOU LOST YOUR MACHINE!"

With all that said, I still love collecting games. Regardless of what anyone thinks, if you think it has value, save it. I found all sorts of treasures in my old games. For instance, my Taito Legends compilation has the arcade version of Operation Wolf and Bubble Bobble. And I can't help mentioning my favorite game in the compilation: The Ninja Kids. Nothing beats playing as ninjas fighting satanists.

Nick, I am in the same situation.  My name is also Nick and I horde video games.  Because I have no room to horde, I have two empty HDTV boxes that games that I complete go into.  It makes for a fun and compelling reason to keep going through a game, but they tend to collect a lot of dust on top of one another.  It does seem pointless to get rid of them when you consider how much you spent and how much you will get for selling them.  If anything, just give them to a younger person or relative so they can in turn enjoy.

If I took the time to go through the stacks of plastic cases, jewel cases, cardboard boxes that contain old games that I've held onto over all of these years, I might have some real shamed moments. Thankfully, as one of the previous comments mentions, there's a good chunk of it that's safely tucked away in boxes, out of the way and out of trouble.

Of course, that does lead to the question: if I'm OK with sticking something in a box, never to be seen again, then what's the point of holding onto it in the first place, just to say that I still have it?

Kevin: My games aren't impeding my path to the fridge or bathroom, so I guess that's a plus. I have my games organized pretty well, so I guess I'm not like a hoarder in that instance.

Christian: I'm hesitant to get rid of my games for the reason you mentioned -- what if I want them back? You can't find a lot of my older games in stores like Gamestop. And I really don't want to scour eBay for games that I once had.

Michael: My collection may be modest compared to the collections of other gamers, but I still have some stuff that I could probably do without.

A.J.: I still have the boxes for all of my consoles. But I don't know why I still have them. They look cool, I guess.

Matt: I like your "embrace if you've got the space" mantra -- I do have a good amount of space to store my games. My issue is whether I should get rid of the games that I know I'll never play again. You know, give someone else a chance to experience them.

Gus: Whoa, that's quite a collection. One question: Where's the Wii and Xbox 360? :) Kidding. I would probably hyperventilate if I walked into a place with that many games and systems. It sounds like a gamer's paradise. Thanks for sharing your story. And stick around! Lots of cool, intelligent people hang out here.

Jasmine: 30 consoles? I didn't even know there were that many. I own around 15, including handhelds.

Daniel: Even games that are rereleased, whether it's in downloadable format or otherwise, don't have the magic that the original does. There's just something about playing the game on its original system.

Jonathan: You know what scared me? The announcer in Star Wars Episode I: Racer for the N64. I still hear "NEW LAP RECORD!" at random times during the night.

Nick: Yeah, if I do get rid of some of my games, I want to make sure other people will enjoy them. But I'm not sure about the best way to go about that.

William: Your last sentence hits on exactly what I'm feeling. At what point does a collection become clutter?

Nick,  Thanks.

BTW, I did list my 360 above,  it's the 250Gig Call Of Duty; Modern Warfare skinned bundle.

As for the Wii, that collection will probably start next year, and hopfully with the re-buying of my old Atari 2600, Intellivision, and Collecovision consoles & games.  Plus I still want/need to add the Turbo-Grafix & the old Sega handhelds into my collections too, along with any of the other systems I missed along the way.

But, I just need to either come up with lots & lots more money somewhere, or start begging for donations of all things gaming related, :-)

Oops, I totally overlooked the Xbox 360. Seeing somebody that owns both the 3DO and the Jaguar must have distracted me. :)

Good luck with your collection.

I'm in the same boat as you.  Less, but still.  I could probably get rid of half of my collection, but getting maybe $60, (including current gen games,) doesn't sit well with me.  What I'd say is try to find a charity that will take older games and donate them.  Get an itemized receipt and claim what they're actually worth on your taxes.  you feel better and get more out of it too.