Collecting Goals - Genesis

[SEGA-Jorge]

So, I've been collecting Genesis games since... It came out. I think I got my console the first Christmas it was available, and have been collecting on and off since I was a child.I'm at the point where I'm trying to think about where this is going. I don't think I'll ever stop collecting, but I'm not going for a complete set, nor am I looking to have my collection CIB. I tend to buy games that are recommended to me, or that I see here or in other groups. And I tend to sort of make my own little sub-sets. (Shooters, tennis games, golf games, Renovation games, Mentix games, anything by Hot-B... Etc.) And seem to always find some new part of the library to keep my interest.

So all that being said, what are some of your collecting goals? Have some of you reached them, then started something else? How often do you play your Genesis? (It's almost daily for me. Seriously, I play almost every day, or at the very least, listen to music on real hardware) I tend to do a lot of research on the console as well. I find that really enjoyable, and it introduces me to new games, or reminds me of games I need to look into more.

Anyway, I thought this would be a fun thing to toss around.

[Raijin Z]

I used to pick up every game I saw that I didn't actively dislike, that didn't have stupid reseller prices (like $20 for Atari 7800 games). Right now, the only games I would seek would be those that have special functions or hardware that don't mesh with flash carts. I only fire up a Genesis when something new needs testing, but I'm long since done with playing games to enjoy them. I blame that more on my old job than anything else, though, so I'm not the best metric for comparison. While I have a bunch of boxed Genesis and Master System games, those were acquired through without specific intent. I think the most time and effort I spent with Sega stuff as of late was when I was making the case insert and cartridge label for my Mega Everdrive.

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[SEGA-Jorge]

I tend to find a lot to enjoy in the library. I move from one genre to another, looking for stuff that I might like, and it hasn't disappointed. Recently, I've been focusing on collecting more RPG's, and although I totally understand that the Genesis has less RPG's, there's an awful lot of fun RPG's to play. I don't think it was suffering from a lack of titles in that genre, as it's been so commonly suggested.

I tend to look at any genre in a vacuum. There were not a lot of people that owned more than 30-40 games on these consoles in their prime production years. As such, even SNES owners might have owned 20 or 30 games while they played it in its prime. Of those, maybe 10 were RPG's. You can pick 10 RPG's on either console, and have a really rich, enjoyable experience.

I've been playing Starflight recently, and although it's not an RPG in the most strict sense, it was great. (I guess it's more of a space sim, but I digress)

I keep finding enjoyable games to play on the console, so I keep getting titles for it. Now I need to track down Rings of Power... I'm not looking forward to how much I'll need to pay for that.

[Silanda]

I have no goals, I simply buy games that take my fancy at a particular time. If I've played a game through emulation and enjoyed it, I will try to obtain a copy. The exceptions to that are games where the price is above what I'm prepared to pay. Battle Mania Daiginjou, for example, is a game that I'd love to own but there's no way that I'm spending more on a game than I'm spending on upgrading my PC.

[Tower of Power]

I'd like to have all the Renovation games some day.

[Lync]

My overall goal has been to own games that I thoroughly enjoy playing.
And my secondary goal is to play to completion every game that I do own.

Otherwise I really just have preferences/rules:

My interest in games begins with the NES and ends with the Dreamcast.

If a system has only one game I feel is worth playing, then I feel it is also worth owning.

I will only ever buy a reproduction of a game that did not have an official release here in the US. If I can import it and understand it, I will do this first.

My only particular with Genesis has been complete games: Cartridge, manual, and case (with the hang-tab!)



That's about it. My only control over the years for all of this has been space. I have one large and two smaller furniture pieces for shelving games. Once they're all full, I'm done. Although this has helped me be somewhat deliberate in what I acquire, and I've figured I will have a few hundred games, the problem I've started to recognize is that no one person was meant to own so many games. Perhaps it's age, but it doesn't feel like there is enough time...

[SEGA-Jorge]

Yeah, I found that not having a CIB only rule really helped me expand my collection. My intention is to have the games. If I really like a game, I can get the separate parts piecemeal. As far as repros, I only get them for games that were not released here, or that require a translation hack.

[avlon]

In my case, I'm happy to pick up whatever I enjoyed and was curious about growing up. The better the deal, the more likely that I'll pick it up.

[Lync]

Yeah, I found that not having a CIB only rule really helped me expand my collection. My intention is to have the games. If I really like a game, I can get the separate parts piecemeal. As far as repros, I only get them for games that were not released here, or that require a translation hack.

The only consoles I do not own, or want to own, CIB for has been NES, SNES, N64, and Jaguar.

Which reminds me of one other rule of mine that I completely forgot to mention:

NO CARDBOARD BOXES. NO CARDBOARD BOXES, EVER!!!

I really hate cardboard boxes. Every Genesis or 32X game I own that came in cardboard, I've put together a clamshell for.

And although it'd be nice to have my loose Nintendo games in plastic cases, I'd then feel compelled to buy manuals also.

And Nintendo manuals are ratty as sh!t.

[Raijin Z]

The neatest thing about collecting Genesis games in the 21st century is that you can laser print your own case inserts. Shame that getting not-garbage cases isn't super easy, though. Even crowd-funded games tend to have brittle cases, and the cases you can find on ebay are even worse.

[SEGA-Jorge]

Yeah, since I don't plan on selling my collection, making covers, or collecting cases after the fact is totally an option.

[thesegadude]

I do have a few rules. I only buy complete Genesis/JP MD and Master System games. I like having CIB.
That doesn't mean all my games for those system are complete, but pretty close.

I use to buy loose carts for NES and SNES but lately I've been thinking about unloading all but the what I consider the essentials. And then getting CIB for those that I really want. Right now I have maybe 40 games in each of my NES and SNES collection.

I don't want every single Homebrew or Indie game that comes out on a physical cart. Tanglewood and Pier Solar have set the bar. And I'm speculating that Xeno Crisis and Phantom Gear will reach that level too.

In the late 90's and early 2000's I would buy any complete Genesis/MD and Master System game I could find. My first Master System pick-up was a banker box full of complete games for $20 CAD. They were dirt cheap back then. I continued to buy any title for many years so long as the average cost per game was $20 each all in. Of course in the last 9 or 10 years I have paid a lot more for a select few games (Examples: ~$195 USD for Gleylancer and $90 USD for Panorama Cotton), but those are not the norm. The only games that I really want now in my Sega Collection are all holly grails like, Battle Mania 2, Twinkle Tale, Snow Bros, Space Adventure, Keio Flying Squadron, etc. <- I once passed on a CIB Keio for $200 CAD cause I thought that price was insanely high.
But I'm not willing to pay those grail prices... so I'll have to do without.

I never intended on going for a full set of anything... but my Master System collection ended up getting about 50 titles away from a full US and Euro set (mixed).

As for playing? I try to play a video game every day. It doesn't happen but I try. I'd guess on average I get to play about 3-4 times a week.
That time is spread between my PS4 and my retro consoles. Sometimes something like Horizon Chase Turbo comings along and scratch both the modern and retro itch. Last weekend I found myself playing Tanglewood again. We had a lot of friends over with their young kids and they were getting into Tanglewood. The kids would come running to find me every time they got stuck. Or if a particular DJakk was just too scary.

[SEGA-Jorge]

I do have a few rules. I only buy complete Genesis/JP MD and Master System games. I like having CIB.
That doesn't mean all my games for those system are complete, but pretty close.

I use to buy loose carts for NES and SNES but lately I've been thinking about unloading all but the what I consider the essentials. And then getting CIB for those that I really want. Right now I have maybe 40 games in each of my NES and SNES collection.

I don't want every single Homebrew or Indie game that comes out on a physical cart. Tanglewood and Pier Solar have set the bar. And I'm speculating that Xeno Crisis and Phantom Gear will reach that level too.

In the late 90's and early 2000's I would buy any complete Genesis/MD and Master System game I could find. My first Master System pick-up was a banker box full of complete games for $20 CAD. They were dirt cheap back then. I continued to buy any title for many years so long as the average cost per game was $20 each all in. Of course in the last 9 or 10 years I have paid a lot more for a select few games (Examples: ~$195 USD for Gleylancer and $90 USD for Panorama Cotton), but those are not the norm. The only games that I really want now in my Sega Collection are all holly grails like, Battle Mania 2, Twinkle Tale, Snow Bros, Space Adventure, Keio Flying Squadron, etc. <- I once passed on a CIB Keio for $200 CAD cause I thought that price was insanely high.
But I'm not willing to pay those grail prices... so I'll have to do without.

I never intended on going for a full set of anything... but my Master System collection ended up getting about 50 titles away from a full US and Euro set (mixed).

As for playing? I try to play a video game every day. It doesn't happen but I try. I'd guess on average I get to play about 3-4 times a week.
That time is spread between my PS4 and my retro consoles. Sometimes something like Horizon Chase Turbo comings along and scratch both the modern and retro itch. Last weekend I found myself playing Tanglewood again. We had a lot of friends over with their young kids and they were getting into Tanglewood. The kids would come running to find me every time they got stuck. Or if a particular DJakk was just too scary.

Yeah, I'm pretty much in the same boat. I keep getting stuff, but I'm not paying crazy prices for stuff. For the most part, I only collect for the Genesis now. I buy lots of other games, but it's the only console I'm actively looking for games for. I'm not chasing a full US set, and as it is, I might have nearly half the collection. I really kinda like the hobby now as an enthusiast of 4th generation hardware and videogames. It's enjoyable to go back and play a lot of this stuff.

[ichbinian]

I primarily collect for Genesis. It’s the large majority of my collection. All my Genesis games are 100% complete in original boxes with all inserts and hangtabs intact. NA compatible stuff only. I’m open to repros, but they have to be with a case and instruction manual and not games that had an NTSC NA release. I’m not going for a complete set either. There are some subsets I’d like to complete though: Konami, Rennovation, all the Disney games and every shooter for the Genesis.
For Master System; CIB. For the NES I do cartridge only with dust sleeves. Any SNES stuff I find I give to my brother. PS1 and PS2 are CIB as well (not concerned with inserts) but only if I find them for a good price.
The real goal for my collection is just having the dream collection of games I always wanted as a kid as well as finding stuff I never knew about. The great thing about the Genesis is that there are so many excellent games I never knew about as kid. I also enjoy collecting the contemporary releases and homebrews. Tons of great, new stuff has been coming out within the past few years and it looks like more is on the way.
Currently, I’m much less focused on finding and buying games and more focused on enjoying what I have. There’s definitely still stuff I’m looking for but I have more than enough to enjoy for a while. I’m not able to play everyday because of the crazy hours with my work but definitely every weekend or when I have some time or while I’m drinking my coffee in the morning.

[Eazy]

I had a complete NA genesis collection for about 3 months this year then I slowly started selling them off and keeping the essentials. Been focusing on the neo geo and saturn lately and once I get all the games I want for those systems, I can see myself quitting collecting entirely.