20 replies to this topic

[Xtincthed]

Hey everyone,

There are different types of video game collectors, but I think most will agree that it's about quality in a collection, not about quantity.
Quality can be in rarity, price, gameplay, memories you have with a game or the way you acquired it for your collection.

In this video i showcase the top 5 items in my collection and explain why I picked them.

With this video I hope to inspire other collectors to make a (video) reply in which they show their top 5 items, with the story behind them.

The video:

I'm looking forward to see your replies!

[Reaperman]

Since I've got no time to do a vid:

• Sealed North American Pier Solar 1st ed. - As near as I can tell, it's far and away the most pricey game in my collection in terms of resale value (at least the ebay nuts think so), but I can't see myself parting with it. I have a japanese copy that I play, but I'd imagine it's value is considerably less.
  
• Heckendorn consolized MVS system - The only system I have that was made just for me, which gives it the edge over my MVS cabinet as far as this list is concerned (though I use the cabinet more). Occasionally I truck the CMVS to somebody's house and bore the hell out of them. Philistines.
  
• sealed Gameboy Micros (2) - When it became obvious that 'winter was coming' at the end of GBA's lifespan, I stocked up on micros. Of the four I've bought, two are still sealed, and since I haven't seen a GBM replacement button rubber kit, the two remaining sealed units are quite valuable to me.
  
• Virtual Boy rental unit - The rental units consist of a standard VB in a fancy case, but it's still a pretty neat system. Not my most expensive standard system (JagCD?), but the rental/storage aspect really adds to it for me. Sadly it's ribbon cables are starting to let go so I'll have to open it up when I get time.
  
• Blast Arena Advance, GBA - while completely worthless to most others, I really enjoy this title and am happy that I got in the last of it's two low-volume production runs. It was a total fluke that I happened past the site during one of the brief moments it was for sale.

Edited by Reaperman, Sat Feb 4, 2012 1:27 PM.

[BydoEmpire]

I sold most of my rare or collectible stuff and have been focussing on fewer systems and only buying games I want to play. Of what's left, in no particular order:

1) Adventure 2 for the 5200, CIB. Love the game. While I didn't have a 5200 back in the day, it quickly became my favorite pre-crash console.
2) My family's Inty 2 and game collection. Not that it's rare, but high sentimental value since I've had it so long.
3) My 7800 - it gets used a lot, particularly for 2600 games, but I bought it at Kay Bee when it was still commercially viable so I've had it a long time.
4) My SMS - I was one of the few kids who had a SMS, but I loved the machine then and still do. Love the quirky games. I sold my original one, but bought a new one on ebay quite a few years ago and I'm glad I did.
5) CIB copy of Might & Magic for the Apple 2, complete with hand drawn maps of every level. I loved the game, but my brother loved it more. He actually finished it (on c64) and drew awesome maps on graph paper of every single dungeon. Very cool for nostalgic reasons. The discs still run, and I tried to play it earlier this year but man, is it tough! Forgot how hard that game was. Pretty impressive on the Apple ][, though.

Edited by BydoEmpire, Sat Feb 4, 2012 2:35 PM.

[Lord Thag]

1. White Bally Astrocade. Which doesn't grow on trees

2. Boxed 8-bit SSI collection. Wargaming at it's best.

3. Neo Geo AES with MVS converter: Never thought I'd see the day I'd be pushing 80 Neo Geo games. Love that system!

4. All of the pacmanplus 7800 homebrews. Because they're so damned fun.

5. PC Engine Duo RX w/ all my import games. Shmup nirvana!

[Seob]

This is very difficult for me, since i like all my games and consoles.
I guess i have to pick the few items i contributed to, to get it released;
1. Mission Impossible / Programmed trip for G7000; did the dutch translation for this game. Shows how bad i'm at writing.
2. Nightfighter for G7000; did the cover art for the game.
3. Robot City for G7000; did the cover art for the game.
4. Power Lords for G7000; did the cover art for the game.
5. ... i really can't pick.

[Ransom]

1. My entire A8 software collection. It's something I've had for decades, and through all the purges I've kept all of it. Also, nearly all of it is CIB and in great condition.
2. Vectrex. (Actually it's my wife's. I bought it from an AAer as a gift for her.)
3. Yurkie modded CV. It works wonderfully, and has helped me appreciate all those great CV games even more.
4. A MIB Intellivision an AAer sold me. It's absolutely perfect.
5. My platinum Apple //e setup (most of which was also bought from AAers).

[BassGuitari]

I don't know if I can choose a "Top 5." I have many items, and if I didn't care about them or think they were special in some way, I wouldn't have them. I'll just kind of riff off some things that stand out to me, how I got them, and why I think they're special. Pick five, then, I guess.

Item: TRS-80 Model II (badged "Tandy 2;" the only one I've ever heard of like this) w/ Disk Expansion Unit
How obtained: I helped a certain well-known video game historian move his collection last summer, and he apparently didn't feel like moving these items (very large, very heavy, no software, no place for it), so he gave them to me as compensation for helping him move.
Why: I got it basically for the price of hanging out with a good friend all day and helping him out, things I would happily do anyway. Also, it's a pretty unusual model. There aren't really any games for it to speak of, but I'm hoping to put together some simple BASIC or CP/M conversions. (If anyone has or can point me in the direction of program listings for some Roguelikes, hit me up!)

Item: TI99/4a Peripheral Expansion Box
How obtained: In a lot of TI99/4a stuff on craigslist (system, P-Box, dozens of cartridges, other accessories), all for $10.
Why: Instead of ~$50-$100 (or whatever they go for these days), I only had to pay $10 to discover I have pretty much no use for a P-Box, other than for it to look cool in a TI setup.

Item: Stadium Mud Buggies (Intellivision)
How obtained: A freebie in a lot of 12 Intellivision games (Buy 5, get one free, x2) that also included the likes of INTV Pac-Man, Diner, Pole Position, Centipede, River Raid, and Sewer Sam...all for $10 at a local game/card shop. (Not making that up!)
Why: Do I really need to explain?

Item: Apple IIe + Color Monitor + DuoDisk unit
How obtained: Goodwill. All for $2.99.
Why: Damn good deal. The IIe turned out to have a cooked motherboard (D'oh!) and the DuoDisk is a deskweight (D'oh! D'oh!), leaving me with a perfectly good Apple Color Monitor (Woohoo!) for $3. I'd make that deal all week.

Item: CIB Aquarius computer with boxed Mini-Expander, CIB AD&D: Treasure of Tarmin, CIB Tron: Deadly Discs, CIB Snafu, and boxed Astrosmash.
How obtained: Craigslist, $30. Also scored Miner 2049er (Colecovision) in that same haul.
Why: Another damn good deal, I'd say. At the going rate, the Aquarius wasn't a system I'd have gone out of my way to get, but I'm glad I was able to get this weird cousin of the Intellivision. I look forward to snagging an Aquaricart one of these days!

Item: Boxed Fairchild/Zircon Channel F System II
How obtained: eBay.
Why: It WORKS. I've owned four or five different Channel F systems, and this is the only one that works 100%.

Item: Channel F Dustcloth
How obtained: ebay, with a defective "untested" Fairchild VES.
Why: I don't know of anyone else who has this. I'm sure there's got to be someone out there, but I don't know about it.

Item: Boxed Sylvania Intellivision
How obtained: Bought it with 12-15 CIB games from a friend of my brothers at the time for $40.
Why: It was my second-ever "retro" system (after the Odyssey 2) I got when I started collecting. Didn't know it was rare, and for years it was my only Intellivision, and was used extensively; it has since been retired.

Item: Anti-Aircraft arcade game (Atari, 1975)
How obtained: Bought at MGC 2010 for $175
Why: My first arcade machine. The previous owner added a toggle switch on the board for airplanes or UFOs, too.

Item: Odyssey 2 system w/ a dozen or so games
How obtained: Traded a friend a handful of Playstation games for it in the late '90s
Why: It was the first system I got when I started collecting. I have fond memories of going to my friend's house after school to play it (even at the expense of the Playstation), before deciding I had to have it. Luckily he actually had two (one came from an aunt who had no use for it), so it didn't take much arm-twisting.

Item: My first copy of Star Ship (Atari 2600)
How obtained: A nearby game store, for a buck or two.
Why: I only knew of it vaguely, but I became smitten by it. It got played for hours that night by me, my sister, and my now-fiance. Good times. Star Ship is still one of my all-time favorite 2600 games.

Item: Boxed Atari Super Pong Pro-Am Ten
How obtained: eBay, for just under $50.
Why: Nostalgia, I guess. I remembered seeing one of these forgotten and covered in dust at my aunt and uncle's cottage about 15 years ago, in my pre-collecting days. I was fascinated by it.

Item: CIB Odyssey 500
How obtained: eBay, for $15
Why: Part nostalgia, part cool factor; I remember reading about it in an old EGM article about retrogaming, and then wanting one. And, having actual graphics instead of just blocks for paddles (in color, no less!), Odyssey 500 stands out in the ocean of mostly-identical pong systems.

[famicommander]

I am going to list my "weirdest" stuff in the collection. Keep in mind this is not a "favorite" list.

1. LG portable CD-i player. It's an LG-branded device but the manufacturing date places it in a time when LG was still going by Goldstar. Additionally, it has a lithium battery and a d-pad and buttons on the TOP of the system's disc tray (toploading style in the same vein as PS1 or Saturn). I have only seen one on eBay once, and it went for 650 euro at auction.
It looks like this:


Except with LG logos instead of Goldstar. I have never seen another one in person, or anywhere else except in the aforementioned eBay auction.

2. Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet with the most recent UNIBIOS installed, beautiful 27 inch CRT monitor. Just replaced the sticks and buttons and changed the layout.

3. Nintendo Game Boy Light. Basically a Game Boy Pocket, except with an odd blue backlght like you'd find in a 1990s Casio watch. It was only released in Japan and as far as I am aware only 12,000 of them were produced.

4. Vectrex. My Vectrex has a beautiful monitor, it came in the original box, the controller is in pristine condition, and the "Vectrex hum" is present but not nearly as obnoxious as I have seen it with other machines.

5. My Nintendo Game and Watch Ball game from Club Nintendo. Basically just a scaled-down remake of the original hardware. Very cool thing to own.

[Giltygear]

1. My arcade collection w/ supergun - being able to say that you can play arcade games in your own home is always awesome
2. Consolized MVS - same as above, but 10x more awesome because its Neo-Geo
3. PC-Engine Duo-R - bought it boxed and mint a few years back and havent regretted it
4. Genesis II/Sega CD/32X combo - Works FLAWLESS, and came with 2 of all of the connections (even the ones for the first model Genesis)
5. Rolling Thunder for NES - This is more sentimental to me: This was the only game that I was able to save from my orginal collection when the rest of it got destroyed in storage

[Skarrj]

#1 NIB XEGS
#2 NIB Jaguar
#3 Master Gear converter so I can still play my old Master system games
#4 The 1040 ste bundle I found for $40 at a garage sale
#5 Dreamcast...I loved that little machine

[cryptik76]

I'm not really a collector so nothing I have is all that valuable or interesting. So I'll mostly pick stuff that I enjoy the most:

1. Atari Lynx (mk II). I bought this in 2002 or so after 12 years or so of wanting one. It came with a bunch of games and a pouch, and although I've played it a lot I've taken good care of it and it still looks and runs like it did when I got it.
2. backlit Gameboy Advance SP (3rd generation?) - Not valuable, but it was hard to come by sealed. I play it, so it's not sealed anymore, but it's in mint condition and I plan to keep it that way.
3. NES Gameboy Advance SP - I'm not a collector, but I bought this out of nostalgia. I play it on occasion, but I mostly keep it in a case and use either my old cobalt blue SP or the newer one.
4. Activision Anthology for GBA - Not valuable, either, but it's the GBA cart I play the most and it's great fun (though the emulation on certain games isn't so great).
5. Vectrex - It's beat up because I bought it on Ebay, and the controller that came with it needs a lot of TLC, but I bought a nice multicart and a modded SNES controller so I have a lot of fun with this.

[AlvinKarpis]

1. Space Harrier 3D for the SMS: Its not super rare, but I played it back in the day with the 3D glasses at my friends house and being a huge Space Harrier fan/player back then I fell in love with it. Im glad I found a mint condition complete copy and own it today

2. Micheal Jackson Moonwalker Genesis: Again its rare but not super rare, the reason I love this game is because I owned it back in the day and played it to death

3. Boxed mint 4 port Atari 5200: I own 2 5200s and use my 2 port to play games while my 4 port sits in the original box in mint condition complete with everything

4. Sega Master System: It was the system I loved back in the 80s but didnt own, I spent so much time at my friends house playing his SMS while all he ever wanted to do was go to my house and play my NES

5. Tower of Doom/ Thunder Castle for Intellevision: The first rare games I ever found in the wild. I paid $2.00 each for the games and had a huge smile on my face while walking out of the game store

Edited by AlvinKarpis, Thu Feb 9, 2012 11:14 AM.

[hunged13]

1) a CIB Funtech Super A'Can (also the 3 games that i own for)
2) my Atari Lynx collection which is still growing
3) my "fat" playstation 2 which works flawlessly for 10 years now ,i haven't even cleaned the lens yet
4) my Sega Game Gear collection,it's still quite small but growing (i try to purchase separate games and not lots)
and last but not least 5) a pirate copy of Phantasy Star 2 for sega megadrive,just for the chick on the picture

[Desfeek]

1) Commodore 64 setup - Found a complete boxed 128 collection at a garage sale for FREE and traded it all for a great boxed C64 setup. Boxed computer, boxed disk drive, boxed monitor, for free. This find catapulted me into the collecting I do today.

2) Vectrex collection - In a relatively short amount of time, I have been able to amass a near-complete boxed NTSC set (minus Lightpen and 3D games), with multiple multicarts, homebrew controllers/games, and oddities like a copy of the Passport Magazine, a NIB sealed System, the carrying case and original dust cover, etc. On a minimum-wage salary, mind you. Its a blessing and a curse to have so many valuable things when you can barely pay the bills.

3) Autographed Halo 2600 - Ed Fries made an appearance at Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2011, long story short, he personalized my cartridge after a great conversation. The simple fact that he created this oddity meant a lot to me (HUGE Halo fan here), but to have a copy addressed to me is an honor all its own. Now I just need a box from Al!

4) Popful Mail (Sega CD) - This is my all-time favorite game, and (I believe) my first eBay purchase. I will never forget the day my little brother stepped on my original copy (yes, it was on the floor, no I didn't know any better) and scraped it across the floor. This was in the early 2000s, and I was blown away at the near-retail prices ($70 sealed LOL) this game commanded even then. I bought a brand-new copy, but I learned something important that day: video games can retain value.

5) Harmony Cart/PowerPack/Everdrive MD - I'm lumping these all together, because they've all revolutionized my collection. To say I love them would be an understatement. To say I want to marry them would be closer to the truth.

[thegoldenband]

Off the top of my head, in no particular order:

1) My Vectrex
2) My copy of Vector Pilot
3) My flashcarts and multicarts (if I had to pick just one: the Everdrive-MD, with the Harmony running a close second)
4) My copy of Stonix for Intellivision
5) My copy of Marble Madness (Tengen/JP) for Mega Drive

These items represent the best intersection of "collectiness" (value, rarity, whatever) and enjoyment in my collection.

[gliptitude]

1) vectrex system
2) 5 original vectrex overlays (I think these are essential and I value them more than the CIB games I have them with)
3) ICO ps2
4) I, Cyborg cart #290
5) Marvel v Capcom ps2 (will be replaced on list by older vectrex multicart with dip-switches if I ever get one)

[Xtincthed]

there have been a lot of video responses, be sure to check them out!

[SEgamer]

Currently my top 5 are:

1) Tie between my N64 and SNES systems. The two systems I played the most growing up

2) Tie between Star Fox 64, Pod Racer (N64), and Donkey Kong Country 2 - played these games more than any other growing up

3) My Atari 2600. This and the games I have with it were the first things I ever bought when I started collecting 4 years ago.

4) N64 kiosk. #4 due to the rarity and because the N64 is my favorite system ever.

5) SNES kiosk. Again, due to the rarity and because the SNES is my second favorite system.

Edited by SEgamer, Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:38 AM.

[bomberpunk]

#1 - Entex Adventure Vision with all four cartridges, an engagement gift from my now-wife.

#2 - my ridiculously large VFD tabletop / LCD handheld collection

#3 - sealed copy of NES Bomberman II (rare as balls)

#4 - my limited edition Zelda 3DS which i had to hunt down myself after Black Friday. hell, it was after Christmas.

#5 - my VCS Harmony cart. how can one live without owning one??

[Taskmaster99]

1. Neo Geo MVS and AES
2. Mark of the Wolves for AES (100% Complete)
3. NIB Dungeons and Dragons Collection for Saturn
4. Earthbound for SNES (100% complete)
5. My entire 2600 collection

[Dirty Harry]

1) Vectrex with 3 CIB games
2) Atari 5200 with 2 working controllers, many games some CIB
3) Sears Super Video Arcade (intellivision) with, the voice module and close to 60 games good many CIB
4) Atari 2600 (first game system I ever owned), 120 games, almost all manuals, and 20 or more controllers
5) CIB NES system around 30 games, contra has to be my favourite game ever spent so ouch time playing this game at my grandfather's house as a kid