36 replies to this topic

[Ransom]

There are many aspects of our hobby, including "the hunt" (looking for new stuff at a good price), repair & refurbishment, creating game rooms or areas, making display areas (shelving, etc.), and more.

Aside from gaming, what's your favorite aspect of our hobby?

[jig_man2]

For me it's the hunt. I love going to the used game store looking for games I dont have yet. Then going home and playing them and getting to relive a part of my childhood.

[save2600]

While I no longer play games as much as I used to, I still love the artwork and marketing associated with the stuff from the 70's and 80's. The fronts and backs of old boxes, promo materials, whatever. Takes me back to the good old days when I was a kid, saving up hard earned cash and then enjoying whatever it was I bought with my family and friends. Seeing the old stuff around the game rooms really is a big nostalgia trip for me and someday, I'd like to devote even more space to properly displaying things like my 2600 and Amiga boxes. Would like an almost retail type setting with shelves on the wall, glass cases, et al.

Other than that, sitting down today and actually setting some time aside to game is always fun. Try to do it as much as I can, but it's never enough.

[jaybird3rd]

Classic computers and video games are a great vehicle for learning about technology, for those who are interested in exploring them at a deeper level. Repairing old hardware, designing upgrades (such as composite video stereo output mods), creating new cartridge boards and peripherals, developing homebrew software ... they're all perfect ways to get into electronics, digital logic, circuit board design, and software development, using the resources you probably already have in your collection. The old machines are easier to learn about than the newer ones, in fact, since their designs are very simple and very "accessible"; you can easily crack them open, identify the major components, find free documentation which describes exactly how they work and how to interface with them, and start experimenting!

[GroovyBee]

Further to what jaybird3rd said you can also go to retro shows and meet like minded people. For me, one of last years highlights was watching people playing my upcoming XM games (at Replay and eJagFest) and listening to their comments and feedback.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Well as far as classic consoles and computers two main things for me are getting what I had or experienced back in the day, takes me right back when these simple by today's standards devices were a source of wonder and awe. Secondly, getting things like 3DO allows me to experience a console I never had back in the day because of financial limitations but experiencing them now is just as exciting and interesting becuase I had only seen or read about it but never owned or knew anyone that owned one!

[retrorussell]

I like to collect images off the internet of the boxes/sleeves/jewel cases/etc. of the games/consoles, especially Sega CD ones. It's been a long time since I did that, since my last computer went tits up. I need to get back into that again.

[HatefulGravey]

More then likely the hunt. It takes me to auctions, thrift stores, and yard sales all the time. I end up learning about new things and meeting new people all the time so that is cool too.

It could be learing the history of the game, systems, and companies as well. There is a lot to learn. There was so much put into the older games to get them running and it shows even now.

[AlvinKarpis]

By far my favorite thing is the hunt

[BassGuitari]

Right now, I'm working on my game room (finally!), so I'd probably go with that.

The Hunt isn't what it used to be for me, so I don't go as much anymore. It's harder and harder to find new stuff I'm interested in. For the systems I primarily collect for, it's mainly rarer stuff I need now...and after ~10 years of the retro fad, thrifting has largely dried up, I think. BUT...there are some shops out there who still get stuff in from people who never saw that episode of Antiques Roadshow, and the store doesn't know or care what it is, and BassGuitari gets Stadium Mud Buggies for a dollar (technically free, actually). So I still go hunting from time to time, but I don't expect much. Usually I'll have better luck at someplace like Pawn America, where I can find some decent rare-ish games, but at roughly market price (sometimes slightly higher, sometimes slightly lower). Or there's always eBay. I do love getting new items, though. It's always exciting.

I also love meeting and hanging out with fellow retro gamers at events like Midwest Gaming Classic, which I've been involved with for over five years now. I've made some great friends from helping out with that, both from my own area and from other parts of the country. Each year is like a family reunion of nerds.

[DemonoidTentacle]

The hunt. But in my area there's only a small market for me to go to which has the same things every week, and garage sales don't normally turn up a lot of product. Really, eBay is my main option, but I hate paying the premiums.

[Reaperman]

There's not 'other than playing them' I prefer shopping for games to playing them any day. There are tons of days I don't play a single game, but I generally still order one or two.

Edited by Reaperman, Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:43 PM.

[BigO]

Tinkering with the hardware which includes building a custom controller now and then.

Almost got bit by the custom controller bug today when I was stashing some 5200 trak-ball controllers in the attic. (Gotta make room in the garage for my new drill press )

[fiddlepaddle]

I like the hunt, but there isn't much going on at thrifts any more. Lately, I've been enjoying discussions like this and exploring my collection via reviews and recommendations. I still find stuff from time to time at garage sales, but much less frequently than a few years ago.

[Mirage]

My favorite thing, by far, is just sitting down with the C64, A8, (and lately, the Amiga), or whatever, and just exploring software and games that I've never seen before. There's pretty much a neverending supply, and I'll never see all of it. I have the 1541-Ultimate-II loaded up with pretty much everything ever written for the 64, and just browse through it, randomly. Also, and similarly, I enjoy reading old computer books and magazines, especially the Compute! books and magazines.

-- I'm about done with "the hunt". No time for that anymore, and it's diminishing returns. Just not worth it anymore. Flash carts and the like are where it's at for me these days. Though I do enjoy all the boxed stuff, books, carts, etc that I have already collected over the past couple decades.

Edited by Mirage, Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:30 PM.

[thegoldenband]

I enjoy the hunt, since even before I got back into real hardware, I already enjoyed going to yard sales and flea markets.

I also really like writing music for these systems, though I haven't been doing much of that lately.

And I also like the feeling of finally getting to experience something I couldn't afford or didn't get the chance to have when I was a kid, like the text adventure games for the Color Computer, or the unreleased LOTR prototype for Atari 2600.

Similarly, I like the physical sensation of holding some sought-after object I've only seen from a distance, and seeing it in person for the first time. I remember getting a big lot full of pristine, rare Intellivision games, and the feeling of opening that box up was priceless.

And finally, I like the way that these games are a little window through time, both in and of themselves and when you experience the packaging, manuals, tactile feeling of them, and so on. I love the gentle naivete of the early Intellivision manuals, which seem at times to be written for someone who's totally new to video games and needs a helping hand to figure 'em out.

Oh yeah: and I like the fact that the Vectrex looks so freakin' cool in person. Those shapes look almost like real objects!

[Austin]

The hunt, as well as learning the history of platforms and obtaining a better understanding of what really happened (since most of the finer details were naturally oblivious to me when I was young).

[goldenegg]

There are a few things that keep me interested in this hobby:

- Nostalgia
- Finding new games I haven't yet played
- Learning about consoles and computers I've had little to no exposure to

I've also been gaming since I was 3, so gaming's in my blood (so to speak). It's not something I feel I'll ever grow out of. Just as I continue to listen to music created years ago, I will always play these games. You can bet that when I have a kid, the first games he/she will be exposed to will be 2600 and Colecovision games

[BassGuitari]

Mirage, on Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:25 PM, said:

-- I'm about done with "the hunt". No time for that anymore, and it's diminishing returns. Just not worth it anymore. Flash carts and the like are where it's at for me these days. Though I do enjoy all the boxed stuff, books, carts, etc that I have already collected over the past couple decades.

That's pretty much my feeling as well. There was a time when I just picked up everything I could find. Now, there are only four or five consoles I will buy anything for that I don't have, provided I can afford it (most of my gaps in those areas tend to be on the rare/expensive side). I'm definitely leaning toward flashcarts/cards for computer systems now, especially given the rate of failure I've experienced with old floppy/tape drives. I'd love to get my hands on a MaxFlash, a CoCo SD DrivePak(?), and the CFFAwhatever for Apple IIe, so I can obviate the need to pay far out the ass for software and drives that may or may not work. (Plus, I could trade/sell off all of my floppies! ) With cassette-based systems (specifically MC-10 and Timex/Sinclair), I'm okay with loading .wavs or mp3s via PC soundcard. CD-based platforms (Sega CD, 3DO, Saturn, Dreamcast), I'm cool with just burning discs for.

If I find desireable items (aka "sellable") at a thrift or wherever for cheap, I'll still pick them up. I'll throw them in my dupes stash, which I'll bring to gaming shows or put up here on AA to try to convert into items I want and find interesting.

But generally there's not much out there anymore, anyway. I've found LOTS of really good stuff while "on the hunt" in the past 10-12 years, but those days, sadly, are behind us. With the rise of eBay in the last decade, and the retro craze and increasing awareness of games collecting (thanks, ARS), I think most of the basements, attics, and garages that had all this cool old stuff in them have been cleaned out by now. I think anyone who was ever going to take their musty old Atari set to Goodwill has done so already (unless they've got Combat, Pac-Man, and Asteroids!). There will always be exceptions, but for the most part the hunt is over. The game is gone. (See what I did there? )

At least there's always eBay and craigslist "I know what this is worth" postings (translation: "This isn't worth nearly as much as I think it is.").

[so_tough!]

Having the systems and games you couldn't have as a kid

I also like reading up on the history of a console or game.

Edited by so_tough!, Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:45 AM.

[ACrystal2011]

My favorite part is going to the mail-box and finding a system or a game i'm waiting for. Then rushing inside to open it

[so_tough!]

ACrystal2011, on Sun Jan 15, 2012 4:31 AM, said:

My favorite part is going to the mail-box and finding a system or a game i'm waiting for. Then rushing inside to open it

We have letter boxes here, the post arrives at the bottom of my stairs. Unless you have to sign or the package is to big to fit in the letterbox, then the postman rings the bell

[Ransom]

The part of the hobby that I've most enjoyed is cleaning and repairing old equipment. Unfortunately, I don't have the chance to do that very often any more. I don't have much room left and there aren't many consoles or computers that I'm interested in acquiring anyway. But I used to love getting some crufty piece of equipment from a flea market or resale shop, bringing it home, disassembling it and then cleaning and repairing it. I got a great feeling of satisfaction from doing that.

These days, I just enjoy playing the games I own, using emulation to discover new games that are worth buying, learning new things about the history of consoles and computers, and discussing the hobby with my fellow enthusiasts.

[Rik]

There are several aspects of this hobby that i enjoy.I love cleaning up dirty, filthy neglected consoles and games to make them look new again.I also love reading about the early days of classic gaming and the numerous interviews by the numerous programmers/creators of games.Of the 2, i enjoy cleaning up games and consoles the most.To me, nothing is more satisfying than rescuing dirty, non-working games and consoles, to make them work and look new again.Hunting down games is great also.I find the best games when i least expect it.

[TwinChargers]

I'm going to have to go with the community here. If it wasn't for Atari Age, I would probably have less interest in classic gaming. Through reading posts on here, it revives interest in games long forgotten. I've learned so much pretty much each day logging on here. I've watched projects go from the planning stages to full releases. I love reading peoples thrift finds. The passion of some people here is infectious. This site is probably my favorite part of the hobby most days.