How many shmup games do you need for Collectors credibilty?

[Oniros]

a credible fan

How many cats must a lady own before she can consider herself a true cat lady?

Flawless response.

On topic: the second you start importing you're at home here.

[GaiaSeed]

you need them VGA graded

Please please please, for the love of all that is sacred, please no.

at least 50, everything below that number is just some1 who likes games and play them occasionally

Shoot. I'm not there yet. My friend even criticizes me for not having Raiden 4 yet. Where did you come up with the number 50?

I'm going to guess he's pulling your leg.

I consider myself to be a fan of shmups, somewhere in the ether between hardcore fan and casual fan. I collect shmups, and started a small collection of Saturn and PSX shmups, along with some from other consoles. Your friend made fun of you for not having Raiden IV yet? LOL - I don't even have a 360 yet, which seems to have been the most recent console with any number of shmup releases on it. I may be only 2 or 3 titles away from having the entire library of North American released PSX shmups (minus compilation releases that include arcade conversions, ala Namco Museum, etc.), but I still have a long way to go before I own all the Genesis, SNES, NES, and other console shmup libraries. Heck, I still don't own a domestic copy of In The Hunt on the Saturn either, even though I nabbed most of my US Saturn shmups years ago. I don't know that there's an arbitrary # of games you need to be considered "credible" as a collector. If you're buying the games as you have available money and aren't creating a mountain of debt for yourself by doing so, I'd say you're doing alright. I think the only shmup-related games I've purchased in the last year and a half are a used copy of Xyanide on the Xbox, and a cheap copy of Sin & Punishment: Star Successor for the Wii (great game). Most of the retro shmups have reached price points that make it hard for me to pull the trigger, and most Japanese Saturn stuff is still too pricey for me to even consider, given my limited budget for gaming and collecting. Right now I'm concentrating on PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and PSX stuff, mostly because there's a pawn shop (and Goodwill stores) near me that sell the stuff at rock bottom prices. I can pick up 10 games at a time and barely pay anything, so even if they're crap games, I'm not spending much. I was fortunate enough to have been a member of this forum 15 or 16 years ago when I really started to buy and collect stuff, so when Saturn stuff tanked in price, I picked up Galactic Attack and Darius Gaiden for dirt cheap. Same with PSX shmups - most of them went for cheap back in '99 or 2000, so I grabbed as many as I could for cheap. I was able to get a lot of good Genesis shmups, and a couple Sega CD shmups w/o spending too much either. If I was just getting into the genre, and by extension, collecting for it, I'd have a much higher mountain to climb because there are fewer copies floating around, and they're all so much more expensive. You didn't have eBay/Amazon price gouging to deal with like you do today.

Is it better to get as many shmups as you can or to get the ones you love? I certainly won't love everyone of them. My friend is always asking me how many of these types or that type of game do you have? Sometimes I feel like he looks at what I don't collect, not what I have. Like he will always look at my shelf and say well this is great, but.... You forgot to add a very important game. And he would even find it offensive, unless he's joking. But it's my money so I feel bad sometimes that no matter what i buy it's never enough. Someone will always question your credibility.

[Neorebel]

Entertaining satire, for sure.

[Shepardus]

Maybe instead of more shmups, you need better friends.

[Lilium]

Yeh okay. Nobody collects stuff to impress their friend and if they do then they have no credibility lol. You're probably trolling us. If you're not though, then start collecting high scores and hard clears and shove those down your friends throat until he shuts up, is my advice

[GaiaSeed]

Don't know why you think I'm joking. Would someone doing this for fun ask these very specific questions? I will admit that I love collecting but am a little insecure. Of course I will play for scores. My friend collects a lot of games but never spends more than 4 dollars on a game. He still goes to designated gamestops and gets PS2 games. And then gets in fights with other stores when he returns them because they don't believe those even exist in gamestops. So he treats this like it's collecting baseball cards and even puts the discs in binders. Whenever I'm missing a game that he thinks I should have, he acts like I'm overlooking a game. So whether he's joking or not, it does put some pressure on me. There is no satire here, just my life.

And as far as credibility, it is something that people think about. Over at the Cover Project, where you see a lot of collectors, they usually state how it's important to collect for credibility and collect in certain ways.

[plasticxo]

I can't believe you seriously ask this kind of questions...

My answer : it depends on how many pics of them you put on facebook, tumblr, and other social network nonsense.

[Lilium]

It sounds like you're letting your friend push his collector mania on you and that you for some reason needs his approval. Insecurity is definitely something I can get but that is an entirely different situation that would be much too difficult for me to help you with. For this particular situation though, I can only suggest that you learn to not let your friend control your life and what you do with it and how you spend your money.

He might not understand that there's no merit to owning something you won't ever need but you should be able to understand this I'm sure. There's no point in owning a videogame that you don't want to play. So for example, if you don't have Raiden 4 as you mentioned earlier, simply state that its because you don't WANT Raiden 4 and don't NEED Raiden 4. I for one wouldn't want Raiden 4 as a gift since it would just hog up space and never be used. If you're too insecure to tell that to your friend, I don't know then I guess you allow people to push you around way too easily.

Don't be a doormat and assert yourself a little!

[Despatche]

As vaguely hinted to throughout this thread, the real strat is to collect games that you're also really good at, so you can really bust out the "this is my hobby, I'm good at it, and I'm proud of it" line.

Aside from that, collecting games but never playing them sounds far more desirable than all the horror stories I hear about people stockpiling literally hundreds of games through Steam sales and then forgeting those games even exist.

[FRO]

Don't know why you think I'm joking. Would someone doing this for fun ask these very specific questions? I will admit that I love collecting but am a little insecure. Of course I will play for scores. My friend collects a lot of games but never spends more than 4 dollars on a game. He still goes to designated gamestops and gets PS2 games. And then gets in fights with other stores when he returns them because they don't believe those even exist in gamestops. So he treats this like it's collecting baseball cards and even puts the discs in binders. Whenever I'm missing a game that he thinks I should have, he acts like I'm overlooking a game. So whether he's joking or not, it does put some pressure on me. There is no satire here, just my life.

And as far as credibility, it is something that people think about. Over at the Cover Project, where you see a lot of collectors, they usually state how it's important to collect for credibility and collect in certain ways.

I meant that I thought mnneurope was pulling your leg on the whole "50 games" thing. But yeah, I don't think credibility should even be a factor. Collect the games you think you might enjoy, OR collect because you like the collection aspect. Don't spend too much money and put yourself out to get games, especially if you're not entirely sure you're going to enjoy them or not, and you'll be doing well. As much as I'd like to have Souky or Radiant Silvergun on the Saturn, I'm NEVER EVER EVER going to spend $100 or more to obtain a copy. Sorry, but no single video game is worth that kind of money - at least no game that received a widespread commercial release and IS IN NO WAY RARE, despite the fact that eBay sellers, and some collectors might purport otherwise. Unless you're talking about MVS carts, or games that are TRULY rare, i.e. only a handful of copies were ever produced, it's not ACTUALLY worth twice original retail. I'm a firm believer in the notion that something is only worth what someone else will pay for it, so if someone is willing to pay $250 for a game, good for them. I'll never be willing to do that, so it's not worth that to me. If I can score a CIB copy either under $100 complete, or even an incomplete copy for $50 or less, I'd be happy with that, even though that's still more than I'd realistically like to spend. I know I'll never get there unless I was buying from someone who didn't know what they had. I'm assuming the chances of that are about a million to one.

[trap15]

Sounds like your "friend" is an asshole.

[Shepardus]

See Lilium's post above.

It's not like there's some universal rulebook that lists the criteria of what counts as good collecting and what doesn't (if there is, I'm not aware of it). The answers you're going to get depend on who you ask; if you're really worried about satisfying your friend, ask him what he's expecting, as he's the only one who can tell you. Keep in mind that whatever he says is simply his opinion and it's perfectly reasonable, even expected, to not share the same opinions as a friend or some community on the internet.

Collect all of them, collect none of them, collect an interesting subset of them, keep them wrapped in their original packaging, play them to death and go for high scores, it's your choice, not ours or your friend's.

[BIL]

My friend collects a lot of games but never spends more than 4 dollars on a game. He still goes to designated gamestops and gets PS2 games. And then gets in fights with other stores when he returns them because they don't believe those even exist in gamestops. So he treats this like it's collecting baseball cards and even puts the discs in binders.

Wait - is your friend Chris Chan?

[Doctor Butler]

Real-talk: Do you consider yourself a collector?

Because that's the only answer that matters, really.

Wait - is your friend Chris Chan?

I don't know, he didn't say anything about macing people.

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

This thread sucks.

[NightSprinter]

Here is my (probably wildly-unpopular) thought on this: getting what you'll have fun playing. I find that to be more than credible.

[Skykid]

Sounds like your "friend" is an asshole.

And six years old.

[Kollision]

collecting, as much as actually playing the games, should be about having fun

it does get old pretty fast though, that's why you always see these humongous collections being dumped after a few years of people hoarding like there's no tomorrow
and that's when real gamers and less obsessive collectors take the chance to get stuff

[chempop]

I only respect collectors who actually learn how to play the games they buy. I don’t understand why people would spend so much time and money a the hobby, yet play casually. GO FULL SHMUP (or not it’s your choice), but buying more games to look at on a shelf only makes your credibility dwindle into a puddle of shame.

It’s like if you were a car collector and didn’t really know how to drive.

[gray117]

I think I can only look at credibility in terms of collecting as to how credible a buyer/seller you are... As for how impressive a collection is I think it comes down to first rarity, and secondly condition in terms of collecting. Many people have quantity - who cares - the real interesting thing is seeing something rare/different, past that a particularly fine example.

Being a collectorusually goes hand in hand with acquired knowledge, and often experience or expertise in play, but not necessarily so - there's probably room for someone to have an impressive collection without really knowing how/why it's so impressive... but I don't think that's a question of credibility in terms of the collection itself, only if the collector was trying to establish his/herself as an authority.

Not opening threads asking how many purchases equals credibility also gains you credibility.

... Skykid has a point - it really doesn't sound like you really know what you're doing, nor why your doing it - seeking validation through others really is opening yourself up for a kicking. In all seriousness I get why this can be a repeating circle - insecure -> seek validation -> insecure again ...

You're not going to buy your way out of that.

... Being insecure is not an excuse, it's a symptom of being unhappy about something. Sometimes this means just changing your perspective/expectation, sometimes it can require more drastic changes.

[Pointman]

Worrying about video games isn't the way to go, there are many more important things out there to treat with more importance. I'd much rather get enjoyment out of one game than look at a shelf full of games I'd never play. I used to have a pretty sizable collection that hardly got used and when it gets that big it starts to have a hold over you. You continue to collect stuff you don't need to add to a collection that is already oversized for one person's usage in the first place. OCD then kicks in and then you worry more about what you have and other people's opinion rather than enjoying the games. I eventually got rid of nearly all of my retro collection and didn't look back. A friend of mine bought most of my SFC games and I still get to see them occasionally (I make it sound like a custody battle), but I never pine for having them back. If anything it felt a release.

My advice would be to downsize to some games you'll play and actually get good at and don't worry about what other people think.

[ProjectAKo]

I respect anyone who is good at their games more than some guy who bought a bunch of crap. But hey, if buying stuff is your true passion then that's just who you are and it's fine by me.

[Satan]

I like that you are passionate.

[d3vak]

[louisg]

Also remember that most collectors grabbed a lot of stuff early when it didn´t yet force you to sell both kidneys .

This mainly. Collecting games these days is really unaffordable.

I'm with BIL though. A collection should be about quality and taste, and you should have an intention to play what you buy or else you certainly won't be getting your money's worth.

To that end do yourself a favour and sell Gaia Seed and spend the money on a good game instead.

Yeah, thank god I started my collection around 2000. And RIP Wolfgames, source of affordable imports. There's Tokyo Shmups though!

I'd worry about playing more than collecting though. I only collect a lot because I don't have the time to game as I used to, yet like to experience the same # of new and different games as I did when I had free time

[Strikers1945guy]

I agree with the majority here - quality over quantity. At one time a had a big SFC collection but sold most of it (especially the valuable stuff) due to student debt among other things. I only own maybe 30 games across a few retro consoles and maybe 10 PCBs. Just keep the games you actually enjoy playing

[GaiaSeed]

collecting, as much as actually playing the games, should be about having fun

it does get old pretty fast though, that's why you always see these humongous collections being dumped after a few years of people hoarding like there's no tomorrow
and that's when real gamers and less obsessive collectors take the chance to get stuff

I think I agree with you. But I think those collectors who sell everything have a different mindset than me, for the most part. They were all collecting games they may or may not like. It was a phase for them. I like to collect games that I like. They were just trying to reach their goals as collectors, partially to impress other gamers. I don't want to impress other people, but I would like to show some that I have some really good shmups. But the truth is everyone has a different opinion on what is good. I love Gai Seed Project Trap Seed. A lot of other people think it's a really outdated, piece of crap. But I love the game and so I spend money on it. It just has this really obscure, Japanese old PS1 feel and I love the music. Everyone is different.

[Kollision]

everyone has a different opinion on what is good. I love Gai Seed Project Trap Seed. A lot of other people think it's a really outdated, piece of crap. But I love the game and so I spend money on it.

It might be a pice of crap, but it's one you like, so what the heck
I for one love everything about Heavy Nova even though it's one of the most hated Mega Drive games going by what you see online.

caring about what others think is just silly and also source of suffering and disappointment
let it go
this world? it's yours to play the way you like

[trap15]

everyone has a different opinion on what is good. I love Gai Seed Project Trap Seed. A lot of other people think it's a really outdated, piece of crap. But I love the game and so I spend money on it.

It might be a pice of crap, but it's one you like, so what the heck
I for one love everything about Heavy Nova even though it's one of the most hated Mega Drive games going by what you see online.

Similarly, I like Ashura Blaster and Master of Weapon, games most people would swear are total ass. If you enjoy it, that's all that really matters~

[Satan]

I recently sold some of my games and yet I still retain the credibility which exists in my own brain.