Going Exclusive

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BobbyNewmarkiii
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Going Exclusive

Post by BobbyNewmarkiii »

I need to declutter my life. Looking at my hobbies, I spend time playing (and generally being interested in) Video Games, and SHMUPS in particular. I want to cut the Video Games, but keep SHMUPS. I want to go exclusive on SHMUPS. Has anyone done this, and if so, what were your experiences?
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Plasmo »

Noone has ever dared to try this before.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Xyga »

It's possible with some surgery.
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Mero
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Mero »

Seems like it would require monk-like dedication. What if you want to play something else?
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BareKnuckleRoo
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Only one man in the history of the forum has ever gone full shmup.

To this day, the lesson we can learn from him is this: never go full shmup.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Kollision »

I'm mostly a console gamer.
Years ago I sold everything that wasn't a shmup, bar a few classics I hold dear (NFSU, XM Legends, MvC 2), and never looked back.
Since then I haven't purchased anything that's not a shmup.
People enter in my gaming room and get a bit shocked at the amount of games once I say they're all like Sonic Wings or Gradius. No Call of Duty here, no God of War, sorry. Want to play those, you'll have to bring your game.

The only purchase exception I recall now was that Tetris game for the 3DS I got for my wife, but never once did she play it, nor did I. :?
I also dug out a few PS3 titles from a sales bin for my nephews to destroy my PS3 controllers, and then the console itself.
yes, my PS3 is bust now :cry:

Anyway, the decision to stick to shmups only came naturally.
I only feel the video game rush with shmups and enjoy myself a lot, even though I might ocasionally play a fighting or racing game with friends.
Another plus of sticking to shmups is the time factor.
Sometimes 20 minutes is all I have to game, and 20 minutes is just fine for the shmup of the week I guess.
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CKR
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by CKR »

I made a similar decision to hone my gaming tastes. I did not limit myself to shmups. Here is my simple criteria. It is not as much for decluttering as discovering and only purchasing what I like the most.

1. The game must have good scoring system.
2. It must have a mode that can be completed in 20 minutes to a little over an hour.
3. Exceptions are competitive fighting and card games. Those are both quick types of gameplay, as well.
4. I limit myself to one game (currently own 25 games..I am getting old) per year. I am a slow learner and need time to properly learn the game.

These criteria allow me to play games such as Ninja Gaiden II (Mission Mode), Sin and Punishment; as well as, shmups. In the end everyone has a choice to play what they like. If you feel like playing only shmups, by all means go for it.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Strikers1945guy »

I made this move when I had children, thinking that I could focus my limited time in my favorite genre. Sure, it worked but if you have any interest in other games you'll slowly come back.

My advice - keep what you love but declutter. I got rid of 80% of my collection and it felt great
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Square_Air »

There's quite a few people here who have done this for certain periods of time in their life. I've gone for months where I've only dumped my gaming time into shmups, but there's just too many quality games out there to just go full shmup forever IMHO.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by brentsg »

My problem with decluttering is that it takes so much time and effort. I have plenty of things I'm trying to get rid of but it's just a slog.

I sold my Neo Geo home cart stuff all in a (huge) lump sum transaction when I had kids and didn't want stuff around they couldn't mess with. I took a big financial hit by doing it this way (and another by not waiting).
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by FRO »

Square_Air wrote:There's quite a few people here who have done this for certain periods of time in their life. I've gone for months where I've only dumped my gaming time into shmups, but there's just too many quality games out there to just go full shmup forever IMHO.
Yeah, I go back and forth. I love the genre, but I like too many other genres to go all in, and there have been times when I've cooled on the genre somewhat, preferring to focus on other things. My sporadic posting on this forum over the last decade speaks to that.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by KAI »

never go full shmup, it's bad for your health
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by mikejmoffitt »

I have most of my old console stuff packed in a box, or sold and gone. I really prefer now the social experience of having people over for a game night on some arcade cabinets, and don't really like to play games sitting on a couch in front of the TV any more. I can't argue that having games is less clutter, but you might feel better about games taking up space and time if they provide a different experience you might enjoy more.

The majority of the games I play now are STGs as well.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Shepardus »

Every game's a shmup if you think about it hard enough, or you don't think about it too hard. Congratulations, you've already achieved your goal.
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BobbyNewmarkiii
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by BobbyNewmarkiii »

Thanks all for your valuable responses.

I had a half hearted attempt at going full shmup a couple of years ago, but had just bought a shiny new graphics card for my PC, which I felt I needed to get my money out of. Two years and a decent amount of games later, there's only one non shmup I can honestly say I am glad I played in the intervening period, and that was Doom. The rest I'm not bothered about at best, or pissed me off at worst for taking up too much of my time. I think I'm ready to try again.

I've packed away two consoles, leaving me with just my shmup machines; a dreamcast, a J360, a psp and my PC. I've packed away or uninstalled all non shmup games (including wipeout pure on the psp, unlike last time). So it's on.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by guigui »

Going exclusive ? I can help : Bloodborne, Odyssey, Vanquish, Fallout, Sega Rally, One Finger Death Punch, Hollow Knight, King of Fighters, Outrun, A Link To The Past, Portal, Subnautica, Shining Force II, Lemmings, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Chrono Trigger, Tetris, Puzzle & Dragons, Contra III.

Help me, I'm out :arrow:
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Gamer707b »

You know what, Ive actually thought of this myself. Ive accumulated 300+ games over the years and a lot of them are games and genres Im not interested in anymore. Like RPGs, adventure or just long games in general. These days I like mainly like arcade style action games. My thing is , if I sell my other stuff, I may regret it down the road or I could one day want to play Final Fantasy 7, 8 or 9 again. Plus, Ive had most of these game for years, so there is a bit of attachment to them.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by BAD »

The responses here are hilarious! I need a shirt that says, "Never Go Full Shmup".

Seriously, though, this is a good topic, and a tough one...
FRO wrote:
Square_Air wrote:There's quite a few people here who have done this for certain periods of time in their life. I've gone for months where I've only dumped my gaming time into shmups, but there's just too many quality games out there to just go full shmup forever IMHO.
Yeah, I go back and forth. I love the genre, but I like too many other genres to go all in, and there have been times when I've cooled on the genre somewhat, preferring to focus on other things. My sporadic posting on this forum over the last decade speaks to that.
This is what I do, too. Absolutely love the genre and still support it with purchases even when I'm not playing, but it goes across so many types of hardware that I just can't dig it all out whenever I want. It takes a lot of time to dig everything out, and it almost feels like I spend more time digging it out and repacking it than actually playing. An example is this weekend, where I really wanted to play Ketsui Extra, but I didn't want to deal with digging out the Japanese Xbox 360, so I just played the most recent Cave stuff I had on mobile and Xbox One. The box for the Japanese Xbox 360 is a pain in the ass, and I hate repacking it, so I usually only unpack it if I can play for more than just a weekend. Before I know it, I've spent so much time getting everything prepared, play a bit, then it's already time to get to bed for work the next day. Damn space limitations! Should I be taking more days off? In the generations that had a lot of shooter releases of my interest for current-gen machines, though, I played the genre much more because I didn't have to worry about changing hardware out, unpacking/packing, etc.

Never went "full shmup", though, since I love other genres, too. Anyone who has seen any of my sites knows that my favorite genre is actually side-scrolling fighting games (beat-'em ups), so shmups are more secondary to me. Anyway, if you like shmups, it would seem difficult to resist something like Dragon's Crown, Gundam Versus, Gravity Rush 2, DOA, Nier Automata, Metal Slug, or the Yakuza games. These are just some examples, though, and everyone's different.

I got a feeling you'll go back to some of the stuff you got rid of to "de-clutter". The trend now is to "de-clutter", but I've seen so many go back to the very stuff they got rid of. I wouldn't, to be honest. Just put it in storage if you don't need the money from selling it. Perhaps you'll have a family member some day who would like to have it! Also, keep the ones you might have memories tied to. If you have games that you played with a departed family member or friend, you're getting rid of more than just games; you're getting rid of memories. There are some games I have that bring back memories that I nearly forgot about when I hold or play them, and if I have gotten rid of that game, those memories may have been gone forever. For some of us, they really are a part of who we are.

I can say that during the PlayStation/Saturn and DreamCast/PS2 eras, I played more. In this gen and the last, though, I never feel like I've devoted enough time to the genre, despite my love for it. I'm not a big fan of most "indies", and the devs I like haven't released as much as they did in the past. Perhaps M2 can increase the amount of time I spend with the genre this gen...
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by anzhar »

BobbyNewmarkiii wrote:I need to declutter my life. Looking at my hobbies, I spend time playing (and generally being interested in) Video Games, and SHMUPS in particular. I want to cut the Video Games, but keep SHMUPS. I want to go exclusive on SHMUPS. Has anyone done this, and if so, what were your experiences?
Just go all digital

I had a problem with limited space, too much unused stuff, and needed money to do a restoration on a car that had been rotting in a friends garden for 5 years

Still in process of selling off collection, 60% done, freed up a whole room in my house, raised almost 5 figures which has gone to the car, should be ready in 6 weeks

Slow process, but as I started selling, I started buying digital games on flash sales, I only have a ps3 now, 1.5tb hdd, and about 250 games. Most cost under £15,, only full price game I bought was from psn Japan store, worked out to about £60 Ketsui,

I have all the ps3 digitally released fighters and shmups, and the best from the digital ps1/2 and pc engine
Also have quite a few of the racing games (most go on sale regularly for around £7 with all dlc etc), have some of the HD Remaster compilations and all the Sega am2 releases

Well actually have 2 ps3 because I download games twice in case ps3 goes faulty.



PS probably cost around £2500 for 250+ games from all genre. Which is bargain because these will last me easy 10 maybe 20 years, some games I am yet to play and have been on hdd for 18 months.

I like to play fighters online vs, and also some racers and sports games, also use for paid subscription streaming like Netflix

However if you don't care for this, you can have all for free with jailbreak but you lose online capability and also good to give to developers for games you enjoy

Probably better and cheaper to do all digital on pc, but I prefer console ease of plug and play and some games are not on pc like street fighter 2 hd remix etc
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Marc
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Marc »

Pretty much this. I know a lot of people on here are collectors and have issues with digital, but for me, there's simply nothing like the convenience of switching on and booting up.

Especially so with the Switch - buying physical for that would almost defeat the point for me, which is access to a ton of great coin-ops and shooters wherever I happen to be taking the thing.

Also, be wary of 'full shmup'. There may be now way back.
I was only re-reading that thread over the weekend, brilliant stuff :D
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by pandoraXhunter »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:Only one man in the history of the forum has ever gone full shmup.

To this day, the lesson we can learn from him is this: never go full shmup.
And then said man went on to play some random shit like Just Dance :lol:

OP: The real question here is why would you want to play exclusively shmups? What do shmups have that the other genres don't?
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Gamer707b wrote:My thing is , if I sell my other stuff, I may regret it down the road or I could one day want to play Final Fantasy 7, 8 or 9 again. Plus, Ive had most of these game for years, so there is a bit of attachment to them.
I believe such a sentiment is not to be trampled on. There's gotta be the noble side of collecting items to it. Within the scheme of things, much of the culture - so prized in more civilised times - would not have been preserved at all if some of our ancestors were not persistently stubborn in hoarding their clutter. No legend of the old days can substitute for simply reading any newspaper from the era. Those are the flesh of continuity.
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BobbyNewmarkiii
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by BobbyNewmarkiii »

pandoraXhunter wrote:OP: The real question here is why would you want to play exclusively shmups? What do shmups have that the other genres don't?
It comes down to the age old conundrum of time being finite. Work and family currently take priority over gaming, and I want to make best use of the gaming time available to me. I have found that having interest in 'video games' generally is too broad a church, and I find myself spread too thin - there is simply not time for me to enjoy an FPS, an RPG, a online game, a strategy game, a racing game, and a shmup, as well as keeping abreast of developments across the whole spectrum.

Further, I’ve found myself actively seeking to devote too much time (i.e. time that I could ill afford) to particular games (recently Elite Dangerous, Ride 3 and Total War: Warhammer). Some games manage to hook me, maybe with a grind mechanic or a story, and I don't want this.

There’s also the desire to acquire, which I would like to tame. Hunting for what’s new and interesting in video games takes time which could be better spent elsewhere, and then when a target is found, will often involve spending money which could also be better spent elsewhere. Thereafter, the acquired game will take many hours to play, and may end up intruding on other priorities (see above), or just being time wasted on a game that is not as good / interesting as I thought it would be.

I don’t want to turn my back on video games altogether, though.

Shmups, as other posters have mentioned, I can pick up and put down at will, and a small chunk of play-time (20 mins) will be plenty to scratch an itch. They don’t seem to hook me with any grind mechanic or story, and offer the most engrossing and bang for buck satisfaction of any genre. I like that they are typically all action, have no BS story. They make very effective use of playtime.

They are also the coolest games on the planet. The art style, aesthetic and subject matter of my favourite shmups just suit me down to the ground, especially games like Mars Matrix, Muchi Pork, and others.

The other conversely good aspect to shmups, is that as they are still quite niche, its relatively easy, and not too time consuming to keep abreast of what is happening, and so long as I avoid the rabbit hole of PCB’s, not overly expensive.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by BurlyHeart »

I can get that, though focusing solely on shmups could get a bit boring after a while (for me anyway). I generally limit myself to one fighting game, one arcade-style game (often a shmup of some sort), and one story-driven game (such as an RPG, Visual Novel etc). The fighting game takes up most of my time, the arcade game is for when I want a different challenge and the RPG is just so I can turn my brain off. It works pretty well.

It's weird though. Since getting married, I seem to have more time for games then I ever did when I was single.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by gray117 »

You haven't made clear exactly how you want to declutter - what is it you want instead?
It actually sounds more of a focus thing, than a space thing? Is any part of this an excuse for something?

...

Picture it. Make a decision.

Don't just arbitrarily imagine it's something you should/should not do.
Take advice, but don't assume it'll be the same for you.
Hopefully avoid anything unexpected.

...Apply to everything.

...

Personally, I like to think I'm fairly mentally de-cluttered, but a bit of a physical prepper/hoarder. I've got a fair amount of shit and a farily wide range of interests. But if anything gets in the way of what I want to do, its either tidied away properly or gone. I'd typically prefer to throw something away than worry about it. I'm privileged enough to have a nice sized study. I can't have everything I'd like because I only have a study.

I've just annoyed myself realising we've still got a bunch of dvds stashed away in the front room that no one watches. My garage is also mess. Out of sight, out of mind? Until now... There's usually room for improvement :)
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by stryc9 »

These days, I only tend to pick up the decent shmup releases for the current gen consoles, although I make exception for any top-tier arcade orientated games as well. In other words, 95% of my playtime is 2D stuff.

Sometimes I think I would like to expand my horizons a bit (the new Ace Combat looks good, should really hit up the Souls series at some point etc), but as it all comes down to time and money, I've more or less made my choice. I wouldn't want to play STG exclusively though.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by MrShotia »

I'm pretty close to getting rid of all but Shmups as getting older I only have time to indulge in the best games.
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Shelcoof »

Marc wrote:Pretty much this. I know a lot of people on here are collectors and have issues with digital, but for me, there's simply nothing like the convenience of switching on and booting up.

Especially so with the Switch - buying physical for that would almost defeat the point for me, which is access to a ton of great coin-ops and shooters wherever I happen to be taking the thing.

Also, be wary of 'full shmup'. There may be now way back.
I was only re-reading that thread over the weekend, brilliant stuff :D
As much as I hate the idea of digital only... I must say the convenience of digital games is what gets me to actually play a game.

GDEMU, HD Loader, STEAM, PSN games, Xbox Live Arcade, Soft Modded Wii have all made gaming soo much easier for me. Boot up your console and select your game and you begin playing.

I can't count the number of times I passed on playing a game because I had to walk over to my shelf and pull out a disc or a cart and insert it into one of my consoles. It's unbelievable how lazy I am honestly lol.

I am a collector and I love owning a physical copy of the game. With games these days not being complete in physical form due to updates and patches there really isn't a reason anymore to buy physical.

It's going to come to point where I'm going to give up on consoles altogether and move onto PC
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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by MJR »

Only shmups matter! Don't play false games! FULL SHMUPS FOR LIFE!

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Re: Going Exclusive

Post by Stevens »

Was that a...a...Man O' War reference?
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