Author: Masamune
I love video games. If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you do too. You and I know gaming is an expensive hobby no matter how you slice it. Whether you want to talk about the cost of current systems, their games, and the relatively new concept of nickeling and diming us with downloadable content, or, if you’re like me, you’ve been seriously into collecting the retro stuff, gaming ain’t cheap. But how much is too much? When does a hobby transform into an obsession? Read on and try to figure out if my recent experiences are those of an enthusiastic hobbyist or an addicted madman…
Resurrected Hobby
I got back into video game collecting this year. One of the first things I brought was a Super Nintendo system. But it couldn’t be just any ole system. I have a tendency to like my video games mint and complete. It’s just the way I am, I don’t know why. This means the Super Nintendo system I brought couldn’t be yellow or have any other type of disfigurement. It had to include a box (mint condition), all paperwork (mint condition), and all hook ups.
How much would you be willing to pay for a like new complete Super Nintendo system with the Super Mario World pack-in? I bid on an Ebay auction and won. Cost? $292.95. A little higher than what I was expecting, but I was elated. I’d be one of the few people to own a pristine condition Super NES system with all the pieces- even the twist ties:
Considering the appearance of this set, I thought how often could I come across a SNES in such exquisite condition? Then I did some more research on the seller. This Ebayer posts immaculate condition NES and SNES systems every week! Past auctions of this seller allowed me to see similar conditioned sets going for about $200. After realizing this, I felt like I overpaid for it. The bidding went out of control as they sometimes do on Ebay. Unfortunately, I was the one left holding the bag.
Oh well. Live and learn. I’m very happy with what I got. It’s a real collector’s piece for sure (Gotta look on the bright side of things)!
Video Game Fever
The Super Nintendo purchase spurred into many game purchases on Ebay and Amazon. I developed what I like to call video game fever; An obsessive compulsive condition where you almost can’t stop yourself from buying and playing video games. I hate when I have this fever. It usually leaves me much lighter in the wallet. My fever didn’t constrain itself only to Super NES games. Oh no. Not by a long shot. I decided to purchase a Wii system:
I bought Wii games:
I bought Super Nintendo games of course:
I bought Playstation 2 games:
And Playstation 3 games:
Gamecube games too:
Even Genesis games:
Mind you all of this gaming goodness was purchased within a three month window! I almost can’t believe it myself. However these purchases separately are peanuts compared to my latest purchase…
On the Hunt for Rarity
There are some highly sought after SNES games that happen to be on my wishlist. There’s Hagane and Earthbound, for example. Another on my list is Pocky & Rocky 2. Thing is I like my games mint and complete. I’ve never in my life seen a mint and complete copy of Pocky & Rocky 2. That is until recently…
I just happened to do a search on Pocky & Rocky 2 on Ebay. I’ve done it dozens of times over the years. This was the first time however that I found for auction a complete copy of the game. Starting bid was $90. I knew I wanted it. I also knew it would come at a high cost. I still had the fever. When I initially saw the auction, I started pondering what my highest bid would be. I settled on $700. However, having thought about it some more, I decided my max bid would be $600, no more. After all I can’t spend ALL my money on games, right? 
Like every good Ebay bidder, I waited until the final moments before bidding. It was up to $255 before I put my hat into the race. Five seconds left and I put my max bid of $600 in.
Guess what happened next? I won!
Auction ended at $305 before shipping.
Yup. What can I say? When I get that fever I go all out. When it dawned upon me what I have done these past 3 months, it had a sobering effect on me. I spent around $1000 on video games. Wow. That’s intense.
Luckily for me (and my wallet), my fever has just about gone away now. If I can get this passionate about video games, what else could I do if I were passionate enough? The sky’s the limit I suppose.
All’s Well That Ends Well
This isn’t the first time I contracted video game fever. It probably won’t be the last either. With now over 120 video games in my collection spanning many systems, I must ask myself how much more? I guess as long as I enjoy playing, I’ll continue to buy games.
This was just my own story about how a hobby can get wildly expensive. Does anyone else out there sometimes suffer from the dreaded video game fever? If so, tell us your story. Maybe we can commensurate together!
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Youre not alone! I too have an unhealthy obsession, though mine is confined almost exclusively to retro gaming. Most I ever spent was probably on my Mario RPG CIB with Guide. A close second was a cart-only of R2: Rendering Ranger.
…….Both of those made me re-evaluate how I spend my money.
I’m glad I’m not alone! How much did you pay for that Mario RPG CIB w/ guide?
720 Dollars and 59 Cents.
A Steal Whne you consider the going price today. Still…ouch…
Wow!! This reminds me of my Sega Saturn collecting days when I paid whatever the price for rare Saturn titles. Panzer Dragoon Saga was the most expensive title I ever purchased at $180 in mint condition. Love the pics of the mint Super Ninty, nothing like good ole video game porn! = )
We’re three of a kind I guess huh?
TK, don’t be shy, check out the forum on the site and start making some posts. That place could use some activity!
Will do!!!
If you have a love and passion for something that fever will never die. It may subside for a day, week…. or maybe a month but you will still catch yourself spending here and there and not even notice. Hey you only live once. live life and enjoy gaming!! lol
My younger brothers and I grew up competing together through video games. It kept us from beating each other up with brotherly affection.
Our love for vidjah games comes and goes in cycles. “Hey, do you have the NES?” “John’s got it. Wait…no, it’s at mom and dad’s.”
Recently I borrowed the Super NES from my brother, and when I couldn’t find all our games in his room, I became suspicious.
“Hey, where’s Mario RPG?”
“I hid it somewhere. I was afraid you’d sell it.”
What’s crazy is he’s right. I’ve been known to sell retro games to a used media store and buy other ones.
Sometimes brothers know best.
He saved you from a fate almost worst then death – trying to re-buy Mario RPG in this era would cost a boat load.
I go through cycles too but over the years I’ve come to realize it’s folly to get rid of stuff I’m not currently using as I only want it back a few months down the line.
sadly my fever has come to a little bit of a road bump. money is very tight and my wife definitely does not like it when I come home with a new Super Nintendo game. now before I was married I would have had a lot of time to do all of this collecting, so I am trying to find a good balance.
Getting married definitely puts a damper one one’s collecting. I have to make sure my collection stays to a reasonable size, to avoid taking up too much space.
One thing that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is how focusing too much on collecting takes away from actually playing games. Perhaps there’s an article there?
My goal for 2013 is to not buy any new games and simply focus on the games that I have.
By the way, nice collection Masamune!
How is Pocky & Rocky 2? I always wanted to try those games back in the day (they looked like Legend of the Mystical Ninja, which I loved) though I never got around to it.
I haven’t played it yet. I buy all these games and don’t play them, although I always promise myself I will someday …
I understand how you guys feel. Although my budget seems to be much more limited than you guys, I get these moments when I buy numerous video games in a short time and I kind of have to force myself to stop this buying/hunting frenzy. I’ve been thinking like RushDawg lately.. I guess I’ll try to focus on the games I already have and complete a bunch (if not all) of them before thinking of buying some more for my collection.
Good thing is, I’m only buying games for 2 systems at the moment (PS3 and SNES); my other old consoles are either collecting dust (N64, PS1/PS2/Gamecube) or have been sold (xbox, xbox360). Let’s hope I wont contract a fever for these too. It should most likely happen with my N64 with which I mainly grew up with, but I luckily already have about 30 games among which sit a fair amount of N64 classics. Seems like I already had good taste back then.. or maybe my parents did.
Anyway, I think I’ll try to slow down before I get overwhelmed by the amount of games I have yet to complete. I mainly decided to focus on playing Super Nintendo because to me, this system is more likely to be played casually than the newer ones. I prefer its philosophy. I fear having too many games will eventually damage my perception of the SNES and the way I play it.
At least you only have two systems to worry about primarily.
How do you mean having too many SNES games would damage your perception of the system?
Because with the Xbox I would always buy games then toss them on my shelf after playing them for 1-2 weeks. Or with the PS3, I have a ton of titles I bought on PSN and I barely played them.
Although for my Super Nintendo collection, I only want quality titles that mean something to me.. Titles I know I would take the time to play and enjoy. By keeping a small collection, I would mainly focus on the games I have. I don’t want my Super Nintendo to become like my Xbox. I know I know.. my explanation doesn’t really make sense but it’s hard to put words on these kind of inner thoughts/feelings.
I get what you’re saying. You don’t want to cheapen your perception of the SNES by buying a lot games that you probably won’t play.
Kind of fun to read a whole article and your own comments again a year later.. My SNES collection only grew by 1 (F-Zero) during the whole year until about 2 weeks ago when I ordered online about 5 new SNES games + a Super Retro Advance (GBA player for SNES) + 3 GBA games.
I also bought a Wii at the end of last summer along with 5 games… Then a Sega Genesis Model 2 with 12 games… And then a Wii U also with 5 games. I’m pretty sure I also bought 6 or so PS3 games too!
Did I play all my games during the past year? Surely not… Not even close! Ouch.
This year my plan is to focus on my SNES, making it my main gaming system. My SNES games collection is still very much ”pure”: it only contains games I want to play and will surely play. Hopefully I will only buy SNES games this year (and perhaps a few Wii U games to keep my new system alive). Collecting for fewer system seems to be the best way to keep some money in my wallet.
But then again I will most likely read this comment in a year from now and see how much everything didn’t go according to the initial plan. Oh well 🙂 ..
It’s really hard not getting games especially when you see incredible deals on things. But as long as you intend to play the games you buy eventually, I see no harm.
Antarch,
How did you do this past year? Did you stick to the plan? I’ve always struggled with buying too many games myself.
Masa,
Apparently the going rate for a complete Pocky and Rocky 2 is $700 these days! Looking back on things, you actually got in at a good price.
That’s crazy Rush. I wonder how far the price for Pocky and Rocky 2 will go before it drops? I’m hearing Sega Genesis games in general are going up too now.