Shmups.org collector BIO, habits/preferences

[Skykid]

SHMUPS.ORG COLLECTOR BIOGRAPHIES

Curious about how people are about their gaming stuff. Do you consider yourself a collector? Are you very particular about certain consoles or gathering a specific series? Do you stick to one region, or multiple?

VGA, sealed, loose cart, CIB, mint, reasonable, busted up, not fussy? Mame?

To make it a little more organised and fun, here's a criteria list for your collector biography:

FORMAT/S: The formats you favour, consoles, PCB's etc (can be everything, if that's the case)

REGION/S: Which you favour.

CONDITION: Fussy about shape, or just don't give a damn?

WEIRD HABITS: Particular things that you make a fuss about. Put N/A if there's nothing to say.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Those titles or genres you feel define you as a gamer/collector.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: One of those buy-everything-just-because people, or do you actually get a buzz from playing the things you obtain?

PERSONAL STATEMENT: An overview of how you treat your gaming hobby from a personal perspective.


-> My Biography Here

[jasoncslaughter]

I suppose someone has to go first.

FORMAT/S: I generally prefer PCBs mainly because my TVs are 10+ feet away from the couch, so playing on my cabs is much easier (shmupwise, anyway). For console games, I generally look for ones that are "console specific" if that makes any sense. Console games for me are a different experience from arcade titles.

REGION/S: Doesn't matter too much as long as I can play the game.

CONDITION: As long as it works! I do prefer games to be in decent condition, but I'm not going to pay twice as much just so the game can be in mint condition.

WEIRD HABITS: N/A

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Player, definitely. I started to go down the dark path of becoming a collector until I realized that having a bunch of games I'll never play doesn't make too much sense to me. I've actually been clearing out quite a bit lately in favor of a lean and mean collection.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I'm not out to have the largest collection, or even a complete collection for any one system/developer. Ideally, I'd like to just have some of the best games for each system without too much in the way of "filler" games that most people end up getting in lots. Quality over quantity.

[dcharlieJP]

Some what moot as i've sold almost everything but :

FORMAT/S: Everything pretty much except AES - just don't see that much value in it.

REGION/S: If the game is text/story heavy then whichever region it was developed primarily in. If it's an arcade PCB : US simply because the cost is so much lower.

CONDITION: I was "as long as it works" but i switched over to being fussy about condition.

WEIRD HABITS: peeling back X360 seals so they remain intact, color coordinating games (especially SNES/SFC)

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: bit of both - huge OCD collectionitis, but if a game grabs me i'll give up sleep to play it

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I am reducing my gaming life pretty much into a small cupboard and a laptop - i'm down from around 4,000 physical complete games to around ... i dunno ... 150 complete boxed games. Family, study, career are just taking up all my time so i need to be realistic about what i play and when i play. Swung heavily to portables so thankful the Vita is around and that the 3DS library is great. Also - iOS - yeah... you know you love it really

[Wonderbanana]

FORMAT/S: Almost exclusively PCB's in Japanese arcade cabinets. Exceptions are the XB360 and the constant yearning I have to acquire another PC Engine.

REGION/S: Japanese preferred.

CONDITION: Clean PCB's a must. Don't care about kits/artwork. You won't find me paying £100 for a bloody box. I also hate scratched discs.

WEIRD HABITS: I must play my cabinets using coins and they must not be recycled through (ie: JPY). I therefore convert all my coin mechs to run on 20 pence coins. This is quite literally essential for me; coining up to play is how I played back in the day and how I insist on playing now. I don't empty them unless their full/I'm skint/I want money for a pcb, but they never get put back in the cab.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES:Shmups/FPS mainly but I do like a bit of everything. I'm still discovering great games all the time but there are a few that will always remain my favs & I'll always come back too: Flying Shark, Rez, Outrun 2, Futari 1.5, Ketsui, Halo (series), Half Life (series), Radiant Silvergun, SMW2: Yoshi's Island, Advance Wars 2. I find it near impossible to walk past the still quite prevalent Outrun 2 cabs in the UK without playing - much to the annoyance of my missus!

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Player. I used to have the mother of games collections - gave it up as I realised I got no enjoyment admiring stuff on the shelf. I've never regretted it and I get more enjoyment from my games by having fewer - too much choice spoils the fun. This is also the reason I got rid of my Naomi net boot stuff too.

PERSONAL STATEMENT:Forums like this are a great part of my hobby. I get great pleasure from the fact I feel more secure purchasing items on forums like this than eBay - I love the communities almost unwritten code of conduct & trust. I greatly admire the skill sets & knowledge of numerous individuals whether it be technical or playing skills. I value people's rights to their opinions and I like the banter here; just don't get personal & for fucks sake don't take anything I say too seriously

[Wonderbanana]

The bio would be better with a favourite/defining games bit.

[Skykid]

The bio would be better with a favourite/defining games bit.

Good FB, have added. Feel free to edit if you posted already. I'll do this myself in a bit, just busy suddenly!

[CIT]

FORMAT/S: Console and PCB. I tend to only buy PCBs that are unported or have not been ported well enough. Good console ports are more cost and storage effective, so I will generally prefer them over the PCB.
Systems I currently own: FC, SFC, N64, GBA, DS, SMS, MD+CD, GG, SAT, DC, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, PCE+CD, NGCD, NGPC, 360. I have an Egret II cab to play the PCBs.

REGION/S: For older stuff: NTSC-J, because of 60Hz, no edited/changed content, better box art, etc. With current gen I find most PAL localizations sufficient.
For PCBs it only matters if there are gameplay changes between regions.
Of course there are also games that are exclusive to one region or that were improved when they were localized (a bunch of NES action games come to mind, for example).

CONDITION: Console games need to be CIB and at least in very good to mint condition. I like things that I spend money on to sustain value, and an excellent condition collectable is just a much more liquid asset.
Also: I am a big fan of old videogame artwork, and the packaging design and manual illustrations simply add to the overall enjoyment of a game for me.
I'm a little less strict on condition with Famicom games, since they can be quite difficult to find at all in top condition.
PCBs are OK without box and artwork, as long as the PCB is clean (if it's sold dirty I will just clean it myself though).

WEIRD HABITS: Where applicable the spinecard needs to be included, otherwise I don't consider the game to be complete.
I try to avoid owning doubles, but with a lot of my Neo Geo games I have both the MVS and CD versions. MVS to play on the cab, CD for the cover artwork, manual, and CD soundtrack. I sold my AES and games a couple of years ago.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: I'd say a bit of both, although I will never buy a game only because it's a collectible. It has to be a decently playable game, be of aesthetic interest or at least carry some sufficiently entertaining weirdness factor for me to want to buy it. I've cleared about 1/3 of the games in my library, and put decent time into 2/3.
Also, I generally stay clear of merchandise articles, limited editions, etc.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I like to think of myself as a kind of curator who is assembling an exhibition of excellent, mostly Japanese and mostly arcade-style action games from the mid-80s until today. This also includes assembling a deeper understanding of the gameplay intricacies of the games, hence I really enjoy working towards clearing games (for arcade style games this always means clearing on one credit).

FAVORITE/DEFINING GAMES: My favorite genres are shoot 'em ups (obviously) and arcade action games. Also action-RPGs and puzzlers.
Defining games: Castlevania series, Darius series, Battle Garegga

[trap15]

FORMAT/S: Legit PCBs are my preference (none of that PC hardware nonsense), but consoles hold a special place as well, particularly Super Famicom and Famicom.

REGION/S: Original release/development region is almost universally preferred. Sometimes I'll pick up alternate regions if they have interesting changes, or if I need to be able to understand the text and the original isn't English.

CONDITION: If it works, I'll take it. For games I particularly care about, I often want an aesthetically pleasing condition: no discoloration, clean, no/little damage.

WEIRD HABITS: I like really bad games with tons of character.

FAVOURITE/DEFINING GAMES: I'm all about the STG and the belt-scrollers. Defining games would be Thunder Dragon 2, Battle Bakraid, The Combatribes, and Denjin Makai 2.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Definitely a player. Leaving games sitting on a shelf never to be enjoyed isn't really my style.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I buy what I like, and what I like is almost always underrated and amazing. Marverous!

[TransatlanticFoe]

FORMAT/S: No room for arcade cabs, so exclusively console-based. I'm only really interested in adding a Mega CD to my collection of retro consoles

REGION/S: I'll always go native (currently I only have PAL consoles) if the game was released here

CONDITION: Must be complete, JP games need their spine cards where applicable. Only really fussy about the state of disc based media and general condition of more expensive games (why spend big on something in shitty condition?)

WEIRD HABITS: If there's a special edition with extra stuff and/or fancy packaging, that's the version I need (this applies to other media too, mind)

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Loosely defined as shooting games (i.e. not just shmups but anything where the focus is generally on shooting stuff), they make up most of my collection. I have a few prized possessions, such as Under Defeat LE, Power Strike II and Thunder Force V Special Pack (dat soundtrack CD)

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: I'm really not interested in collecting for the sake of collecting - like having a full set of releases for a console or getting variations. I'll buy the games I want to play and that's that

PERSONAL STATEMENT: It's really sprung from not getting rid of the games and consoles I had when I was younger. Retro websites helped show me what I was missing out on by not having owned certain consoles, so my interest grew from there. The reason I got a Saturn was not its shmup library but its light gun games and the only way to play the original House of the Dead without a cab. Sucker for being able to own a copy of games I love, really. I'm sure there will come a point where there are no old games for me to discover that I want to own and frankly I am incredibly happy about that!

[BIL]

FORMAT/S: I gravitate towards Japanese consoles from the FC onward. I was too young for anything earlier, and haven't found a reason to go any further back besides.

Going by era, I currently collect for FC/MD/PCE/SFC, SAT/PS1/N64, DC/PS2/XB/GC, and 360/PS3/WII. All of those consoles have at minimum two or three games I consider must-haves, and typically dozens more that I want. I'll never own something like the Jaguar - there has to be something I want to play. I don't collect consoles.

Have been tempted to get into PCBs and may do that in the future when I've got more disposable income, but for now I'm more than happy with the many quality ports available across the aforementioned formats.

REGION/S: NTSCJ by far, generally better artwork and I just prefer the original format (95% of my games are Japanese). Conversely I also get a weird kick out of seeing Western stuff in JP format, and above all it keeps thing simple to have the majority of my library single-region.

Willing to make exceptions for better content or balance as long as it's still 60hz (see: NTSCU Shinobi PS2, extreme difficulty removed from JP/EU). Naturally most PAL stuff is therefore out of the question.

CONDITION: Definitely a condition fiend, in the sense that I'll always go after the CIB copy in the best nick. I love older (pre-CD) game packaging, and quirky stuff like the little superdeformed characters in the back of MD manuals warning you to not leave your cartridge in the middle of the Sahara.

WEIRD HABITS: I guess being a militantly no-nonsense gamer who's also obsessed with CIB collecting is weird, or perhaps a fatal character flaw. The whole reason I own stuff in the original format is so it'll run perfectly, as intended, sans glitches, but as I said I love the presentation too. The iron rule is that no matter how nice something's presentation might be, if it's not a game I like, it's out.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Contra, Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania (NES) set my nerboner ablaze as a little kid, and I was doomed from that moment. Sidescrolling action is still my most beloved genre overall.

Ninja Ryukenden is probably my most defining game, for reasons elaborated on here. It established much of the ground rules for stuff I'd get into later. Challenging, fair but uncompromising, responsive and technically sound... also stylish and atmospheric.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: If I own something, it has to be because I enjoy playing it, and re-playing it. Otherwise it's sold on, or more typically, not bought to begin with. Also, I'm probably the worst displayer ever, it's all about practicality for me. I keep my stuff stowed away in dark closets within inert polypropylene storage boxes to keep heat and moisture at bay. Keeps the place tidy, too.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: Tototo chichipapap. Nahranahraaa. Store discs vertically!

[jonny5]

FORMAT/S: PCB

REGION/S: Original region, usually Japan

CONDITION: I generally buy bare boards unless all I can find is a kit. Long as it works and isn't covered in crap, I'm good.

WEIRD HABITS: I can't have finger prints on my screens, and I have to restrain myself from smacking people upside the head when they touch the screens. If I notice a finger print while playing, I have to stop and wipe it off or I can't focus on the game.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Shmups, rally games, arcade racers, puzzle games, beat em ups, weird fighting games

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Player. I don't collect, I only have games I like to play. If they aren't getting played, they get sold.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I play games I enjoy

[Herr Schatten]

FORMAT/S: Anything that has good games on it. I currently own about a dozen different systems, which I all keep hooked up permanently to my trusty CRT-TV.

REGION/S: Doesn't matter. If different versions are available, I usually prefer the ones with better box art, provided they are not much more expensive.

CONDITION: I don't really care as long as the package is more or less complete. I can live without spine cards, sometimes even without manuals, but I couldn't buy a cart-only game. I need the box. Thus, my NES and SNES collections are much smaller than those for any other system I own. Strangely enough, people seem to have treated their Nintendo games with much less care than any other systems' games. For example, it's easier to obtain complete Amiga games than complete SNES ones, even though their boxes are mostly made of cardboard, too. (It can be difficult to get the floppy disks in working conditions, but that's another story.)

WEIRD HABITS: N/A

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Mostly 'acrade-y' games, shmups and platformers specifically. No racing, no simulation, no strategy, nothing that doesn't have an ending or a set goal and goes on forever, only very few stuff that's not 2D. I do enjoy the occasional RPG, but I find myself not really having the time and patience for those anymore.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Player, most definitely. Instead of a collector I'd rather call myself something like an 'amasser'. (Is that a word?) I buy the things I want to play, and the games piling up is a necessary side effect of that. However, I rarely get rid of games, even after I've beaten them, even if I know I'll probably never touch them again, so I might have a little bit of a collector in me.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I have no motivation to start a collection of anything, with one exception: I'd love to have a complete collection of all the games for the Sega Master System that came on Sega Cards. I can't even explain why. I just think that those cards are cute. I know most of those games aren't actually very good, but there's something special about them. Besides, since there aren't all that many of those, collecting all of them seems like an achievable goal.

[Ji-L87]

FORMAT/S: All I can get my hands on (not that many yet). I do have a bit of a problem with really old systems, like the Atari/similar for example. 8-bit is mostly fine.
Saturn & PS1 have become my main consoles of choice. Also like the PC Engine. PS2 is great, but I would love to have a JP import unit.

REGION/S: Prefer NTSC-J - because sucker for colorful manuals and illustrations. I do have a lot of PAL stuff but mostly just as a result of living in PAL territory. NTSC(-J) stuff is real hard to come by locally, so I'll just have to settle sometimes.

CONDITION: I do want the manual. Box too. Don't need no spinecard. Sealed? That's for me to open!

WEIRD HABITS: In case of CD games, I like to have the CD perfectly level, as in, not upside down etc.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Action, adventure, racing, shmups & shooters. Also action-oriented flight games (read: Ace Combat). DO have a few pretty girl-games which I enjoy, and will probably get more. Really drawn to colorful games with anime aesthetics - but generally, give me some blue skies and I'm good

Really, really suck at fighting games and find no enjoyment in learning the moves - do love the visuals, however. Which is why I keep GGX2 around. That, and Bridget

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: PLAYER ONE. With worrying hoarder tendencies.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: After missing out on console gaming for a number of years, I'm steadily growing my collection. But it's not really that kind of collection. I don't dream of having a house full of games & hardware, because I would never touch half of it. I'm trying to focus on titles I actually think I would enjoy for one reason or another (doesn't always have to be because of the gameplay - also sucker for pretty visuals & good music) but I do sometimes buy games just because they're cheap.

[KAI]

FORMAT/S: Anything goes. Loved the N64 in my crazy days.

REGION/S: Jap or fuck.

CONDITION: no care.

WEIRD HABITS: Doing lists and talking alone when I'm playing and there's no one around (恥ずかしいいいいい).

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Arcadey Racers, Ace Combat, Fightans, IIDX, Shmups, Gundam VS, Arcades in general. I'm ashamed of my RPGer past.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Dis-player.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: In my opinion, playing games is like (insert bad analogy here).

[charlie chong]

FORMAT/S: pcb,saturn,dc,ps2,xbox 360,mvs,psp,mame and p.c at the moment.i was a big megadrive and atar s.t fan back in the day but have got rid of all that stuff

REGION/S: Jpn mainly but i will buy pal if they have 60 hz and it's a cheap good version.(i have lots of pal ps2 games for some reason)

CONDITION: no care as long as it works.also perfectly happy to play arcade classics from 80s and 90s on mame.

WEIRD HABITS: like to smoke and play and also only really stick to one game at a time.i've been playing dayz for a year and the only other games i've seriously played in that time are x men vs sf and marvel vs sf on psp for my bus commute

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: shmups,2d fighting,platforming,puzzle and open world sandbox games

:FAVOURITE DEFINING GAMES final fight,streetfighter 2,dodonpachi,battle garegga,metal gear solid 3,grand theft auto 3,dayz mod

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: player.i have a decent sized collection but any games that weren't to my taste or have no personal attachement to have long been sold.ALL KILLER NO FILLER

PERSONAL STATEMENT: i will never sell my dodonpachi pcb

[Svovl]

FORMAT/S: PCB

REGION/S: No preference, but most of my boards are jap.

CONDITION: I don't care for full kits, but I prefer the PCB to be nice and clean.

WEIRD HABITS: I like to keep a game in my cabinet for longer periods of time, it somehow feels wrong to change game often.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Genre: Shmups. I mostly play horizontally oriented games as I only have one cabinet at home. Favourite shmups: Progear and Soukyugurentai. Favourite non-shmup arcade game: Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: I only buy games for playing, and if a game isn't played enough I will consider selling it.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: Given the time (and skill) I have for playing, I am definitely a casual gamer. Even though I have tried, I have never 1cc'ed a shmup I am, however, very passionate about arcade gaming, and try to do what I can to spread the interest. I have together a couple of friends established an arcade game association in my local town, and we regularly host events.

[CptRansom]

FORMAT/S: Xbox 360, PC/MAME

REGION/S: Anything I can play.

CONDITION: I try to keep my stuff looking good.

WEIRD HABITS: It's getting to a point where I have to play everything on a pad. Even PC games. No pad support = I lose interest. It's fucking weird.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: STG, obviously. I also enjoy casually playing FPS, platformers, RPGs, whatever (I tend to stay away from racing and sports games, though, as I am terrible at them). I've been wanting to get into more beat-em-ups/belt-scrollers and taking them seriously, so maybe I'll get to that... someday.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Player. I don't have the money to collect shit just to sit on my shelf.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I get frustrated with games incredibly fast which almost always leads to me giving up after a few days and switching games. Then I get frustrated because I don't stick to any one game long enough to ever get good at these games. Then I get frustrated because I'm completely aware of this fault and never seem to fix it. The longest I've ever spent on a single STG is a month and a half for Mars Matrix, followed by 360 Mode for SDOJ at two weeks, followed by seven days for PCB Lunatic. Any other score or clear I've done is within 2-3 days because I just get burned out/angry too fast. I lack discipline, and I've been told several times, "The skill is there. You just really need to start actually trying." I've got serious respect for people who are able to stick to games despite the frustration and slow progress regardless of their scores.

[njiska]

FORMAT/S: Any

REGION/S: ANY, but my collection is primarily NA with some JP and EU titles.

CONDITION: As good as I can have it, within reason. Preferably complete if possible.

WEIRD HABITS: My collection is meant to be a library. This confuses some people. My desire is to have as many games as I can, in good condition, so that if the desire ever strikes me to play anything I can take it off the shelf and go. As such my collection is regularly cataloged, with as many details recorded as I can. I also care a great deal about gaming history and it's preservation.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES:
Genres:
- Point and Click Adventure
- Adventure
- Platformer

Games:
- Deus Ex
- Burnout 3
- Mega Man/Mega Man X
- The Walking Dead
- Mushihimesama Futari
- Jackal (NES)
- Metal Gear Solid 3
- Killer 7

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: I buy a lot of games, but I'm trying to play the bulk of them. I regularly see what series I have in my collection and marathon the lot, filling in missing games as needed. Of the 1000+ games I own, I've probably properly played close to half. An additional third have been played, but not for extended periods of time.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: Video Games represent a defining part of our generations culture. It's important for them to be preserved, but preservation does not mean keeping them in plastic wrap. Games are meant to be played, but you should take good care of them and try to keep them as mint as possible while enjoying them. Sealed games are fine to have and collect, but they should be duplicates of games you already have and are playing and you should want them for preservations sake, not for market resale. FUCK THE VGA!

[Wonderbanana]

Just to say, nice idea for a thread Skykid. I'm genuinely enjoying reading peoples entries on here.

PS: where's yours?

[MX7]

Taking a break from filling out forms to fill out another form. Also I collect more than just games so I'm going to mention that as well.

FORMAT/S: Physically all console games though I have been gravitating towards emulation because of fan translations and that. Would really like to start collecting for a particular console, but I've probably missed the boat on Mega Drive and SNES collecting.

REGION/S: Wherever the games are.

CONDITION: If it's a corker, like Umihara Kawase or something then I care. I'm pretty anal about the condition of most of my stuff but I'm not some madman.

WEIRD HABITS: None that I know of.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: 1st person dungeon crawlers, 32 bit RPGs, Mega Drive action games, shooters, arcade games.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: These days I will only buy a game if I want to play it. All I really want to play at the moment are dungeon crawlers, so that's all I'm buying. God bless 3DS.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I wouldn't consider myself a videogame fan so much as an avid fan of a few select videogame genres. The current generation of videogame consoles has pretty much destroyed my interest in videogames. I always prefered to be at the zeitgeist. Now I find much more pleasure playing the games I desperately wanted to play when I was 13. Games are now a somewhat morose, bittersweet pastime. I hope something happens next generation to pique my imagination. I can't think what that could be.

FILMS: Mainly DVD and the odd VHS, but mulling over getting a blu-ray player when I get a full time job. Also have a very well organised digital collection, which is advantageous for getting hold of extremely rare stuff. Film is my true love, but I don't really feel a desire to 'collect' them in the same manner as LPs and (and to a much lesser extent) games. I generally buy DVDs in bulk from shops like Fopp. My favourite genres include pinku, giallo, punk, gore, teen and whatever. My favourite directors include Gregg Araki, Michael Haneke, Hisayasu Sato, Dario Argento, Shinji Imaoka, Koji Wakamatsu, Hitchcock, Truffaut, Godard, Walerian Borowczyk and whatever.

Music: LP and MC all the way. Gave up on CDs a few years back, unless there's a bargain I can't resist. I also have a large and obsessively sourced digital collection, 2500 albums and I have an opinion on each and every one of them. I have about 600 CDs, 200 records (only started seriously collecting a few years back) and about 70 MCs. Unless it's something exceptional, I tend to plump for G+ condition. If I'm bargain bin diving I tend to care less. All my LPs are organised by (sub)genre, with cardboard dividers like a record store because I'm a cunt. I mainly collect noise, power electronics, noise rock, classical, post-punk/coldwave and 80's Japanese pop (etc). I'm tempted to sell a lot of my game collection to make way for records. Film is medium I have invested the most in appreciating, right down to my occupation, but when it comes to collecting things, music and books are by far the most important.

Books: in the preliminary process of moving house and have realised how many hundreds of books I have. Maybe 'collecting' books might seem strange, but when I see all my Routledges and FAB Press and Creation Cinema I get far more excitement than anything but perhaps LPs. Because of my job I mainly read theory, so media, film theory, feminism, socialism, Israel/Palestine conflict, consumption, beer, psychoanalysis etc etc etc etc. Non fiction-wise I like cyberpunk, sci-fi, horror, lowlife fiction, beat, transgression, dunno. Books are probably the most satisfying thing to collect, as a full bookshelf is so intrinsically wonderful to look at.

[njiska]

Just to say, nice idea for a thread Skykid. I'm genuinely enjoying reading peoples entries on here.

PS: where's yours?

I agree. This was an unusually interesting thread for a forum in general.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

FORMAT/S: Both consoles and arcade PCBs side of the gaming hobby. There's nothing like playing the original arcade PCB for that awesome and unique experience that console gaming doesn't have. Occassionally, I dabble in those classic VFD (Vacuum Florescent Display) tabletop games as well (as they're a part of the video game hobby indeed).

Systems and handhelds I currently own: GCE Vectrex, Atari 7800, Atari Lynx II, Atari Jaguar with CD add-on unit, NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, DS, 3DS, Genesis 1 & 3, Sega Nomad, DC, PSX, PSOne with official Sony LCD screen, both JPN and USA region PS2 consoles, PS3, PSP, TG-16 with Turbo Booster unit, Turbo Express with Turbo Vision TV tuner adapter add-on, Turbo Duo, PCE Duo-RX, NGPC, both JPN & USA region 360 Slims, Wii and the oddball Dingoo A-320 handheld for emulation purposes. Have an ol' Egret II cab to play my PCB favorites from time to time.

REGION/S: It's a mixture of JPN, USA and the occassional PAL game console titles to spice things up. It's preferred to own the original JPN region PCBs if possible, otherwise owning the USA, South Korean or Chinese PCB version counterparts will suffice. Plus it's nice to have the accompanying original arcade paperworks if possible and if not, then copied arcade artworks will do just fine to complete those treasured barebones PCBs. Most arcade PCB resellers/flippers won't take the extra effort to source those copied arcade artworks when selling their barebones PCBs these days. That's just sad and just a bit of going the extra mile in those instances, certainly, doesn't hurt to make a potential PCB buyer happy.

CONDITION: If it's possible to buy it new, then that's the way to go. If it's in used condition, then mint condition would be better. Sure, I've bought used games from the local Gamestops where the general condition is less than stellar but still is playable nevertheless.

WEIRD HABITS: If said import games don't come with an OBI, it's no big deal but if it does come with said game, I consider it a bonus. Many of my games are stored in protective plastic storage boxes for posterity.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: I'm a player alrighty. Sometimes, I've been known to buy games new and they'd sit on a shelf for months on end before finally cracked opened & played for the first time.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: As a grizzled veteran of the early 1980s Golden Age of Arcades era, it's always a pleasure to go back to the roots of arcade gaming at the once-a-year California Extreme shows for a whole two days of solid arcade gaming & pinball gaming as well. You never know what'll appear at a CAX show. Plus, some of the local arcade hangouts back in the '80s and into the '90s, they had the classic arcade STGs that were ace for their time (i.e. Scramble, Vanguard, Interstellar, Xevious, Defender, Stargate, Galaga, Galaxian, Gorf, etc).

FAVORITE/DEFINING GAMES: I personally enjoy the classic and latest STGs of the yoko and tate variety, the arcade puzzler genre, pinball, and racing games.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Skykid]

Just to say, nice idea for a thread Skykid. I'm genuinely enjoying reading peoples entries on here.

PS: where's yours?

I agree. This was an unusually interesting thread for a forum in general.

I'm glad it's working out well, I felt it was high time we found out how we all view our little hobby, and what we all put in/get out of it as individuals. It's nice to see so many familiar traits and funny habits I can relate to.

As for my bio, will do! It's 2:30am now and I went to see Man of Steel, which was absolutely shit incidentally. So tomorrow.

[RoninBuddha]

FORMAT/S: Consoles. Currently no room and money for real arcade cabinets and pcb's.

REGION/S: NTSC-J, but in the case of console ports, whichever is the most accurate/complete port/has more bonuses.

CONDITION: I am very critical about cover/box conditions for games, not so much for console/peripheral boxes. Not necessarily sealed, but still good, if i can get a sealed/mint condition copy at a reasonable price, i'd opt for that. Overall just as long as it is usable. But for Arcade Sticks, i want things to be as fresh as possible, i tend to be obsessive about that.

WEIRD HABITS: I am starting to be tempted into hack or modify things, especially consoles and arcade sticks. If there's something I can improve about a console/peripheral, i'll find a way to do it. Also manic collecting of arcade sticks.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Fighting Games and STG/Shmups. Anything that uses arcade-joystick controls.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER:I collect games I find interesting, which means, things I would find myself playing.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: If a game uses arcade joystick controls, it's probably worth your time.

[null1024]

FORMAT/S: Disc based consoles. If it's not on disc [or handheld], it's definitely getting emulated. And even if it is on disc, I might just pop it into my computer and play it there.
Too poor and too little space for PCBs.

REGION/S: Anything I can boot in what I have. Mostly US region. My Saturn stuff is 40% JP region though.

CONDITION: As long as the disc isn't scratched. If I can, I will go for standard jewel cases [ie, I'll get a JP region Saturn game over a US region one]. Most of my US Saturn games come in slim jewel cases because the original plastic boxes are disgustingly fragile. I prefer complete stuff of course, but if cost is a factor, I will just buy the game bare-disc.

WEIRD HABITS: Disc consoles only, probably not a conscious decision. I have a handful of N64 games still, but I'm tempted to just sell the whole lot, and they're not on my shelf, they're just lying in a box. If I had a PC-Engine, I'd probably make an exception because the games come in jewel cases.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Shmups and fighting games are ideal. I've been getting into arcade racing too. My outright favorite games at this moment are KOF 2002 and Ridge Racer: Revolution.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Mostly a player. I think I got Pu-Li-Ru-La [enjoyable but I barely play it] and Keio Yuugekitai [great, but I've played it all of 5 times, sitting down long enough to get to the end once] for the Saturn just because I could though. I have been too lazy to sell stuff off though.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: The state of the industry is worrying at times, but fuck it. There are thousands of games and hundreds of great ones, so I can relax.

[Ganelon]

FORMAT/S: Console systems, handhelds, computers, and arcade.

REGION/S: Whichever has most features first, US when possible, then Japanese, then Europe and other regions.

CONDITION: Brand new for every system PS2 and after. Complete for every system before.

WEIRD HABITS: I peruse my game manuals once and never again to prevent accidental damage.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: RPGs and fighting.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Player. All my games are kept out of view to prevent UV damage.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I buy games I like.

[EmperorIng]

Cool thread. Funny how it should coincide with roughly a year of me posting here, and while I haven't posted in the score/strategy threads as much as I'd like, I've been nonetheless reflecting on my time here + the state of my love for the shootin'.

FORMAT/S: At this point, the Sega Saturn is my console of choice, followed by the Playstation 2. The Saturn has been a joy to collect for, on account of getting to experience so many games that a Nintendo kid never got the chance to experience.

REGION/S: If a game is in English, I will try to opt for that before any importing shenanigans start going down. I like being able to enjoy games in my native language, or some rough approximation of it.

CONDITION: My father before me was a huge audiophile, and cared about having his vinyl collection in pristine condition at all times. I feel that I've inherited this sensibility with my games - always, no matter what, I try to get the disc, case, and manual (I can live without spine cards, whose only purpose is to drive up the price!). But with those three down, especially for the Saturn collection, I'm big in to looks, and a nice, organized shelving unit with games is a big plus for me. A few games I own disc-only for the Saturn (some Working Designs games), but all-in-all I try to get the "full experience," which as BIL pointed out, is very fun with older games' manuals and art (especially Working Designs!) drawing me in to the game-world before I even pop things in.

WEIRD HABITS: I have a predilection towards anything Taito - I am almost guaranteed to like any game they do. I think it's probably because my first Taito experience was Darius Gaiden, and ZUNTATA knows how to deliver. I suppose I'm pretty biased in that regard, and am often surprised by the malaise (or sometimes hostility) towards Taito shmups. I tell myself that you all just don't know how to have a good time! Though at the same time, I'm pretty blase towards most Cave and Yagawa games, which might count as minor heresy.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: 2D Platformers, first and foremost, are my all-time favorite genre. Call it the result of growing up with the Super Nintendo and the Mario All-Stars and Donkey Kong Country games. Ever since the Saturn, I've been drawn into the world of shootemups, and have found myself fitting in to the genre quite nicely, despite only one 1CC to my name. Third-place genre would cRPGs, a genre I've grown more in to as I've matured and wanted longer, enriching game experiences to balance out my quick-burst arcade fix. I've been wanting to get in to beat-em-ups though!

Defining games for me would be (two for each of the three genres):
-Super Mario World
-Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest
-Darius Gaiden
-RayForce
-Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role-Playing Game
-System Shock 1&2
-Super Metroid (as an added extra thrown in)

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: A few times I've bought games that I really haven't had interest in playing, which ultimately doesn't jive with me because I play games first and foremost, before any display tomfoolery. I like showing off my collection (not that any of my friends care!), but I always try to buy something I'll have fun with. If I don't enjoy them, I sell them.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: I like shorter games these days, and seem to often gravitate towards arcade-style games. Perhaps it's the sign of a shorter attention span, or maybe I've been brainwashed by this forum. Either way, I'm only 2.5 years into the whole shmup scene, and I'm pretty happy with what I've seen and what I've been able to play so far.

In video-games in general, I've always loved detailed, distinct worlds to explore, challenging enemies, and harrowing boss-fights. It's for these reasons that I always felt I've "gotten" the most out of platformers, and recently, shootemups, which provide those aspects in spades.

[BulletMagnet]

Guess I'll give this a shot too.

FORMAT/S: Consoles and portables; don't have the space or technical know-how for PCBs, and my computer is too junky to play anything very well (I do have a handful of PC downloads and a couple of physical discs sitting around, but don't really plan on getting into them until I get a better setup).

REGION/S: I live in NTSC-U territory, so most of my stuff is that, but I also have a fair amount of NTSC-J imports. I've also gotten my mitts on a small selection of PAL stuff, but only for innately region-free consoles, as the voltage difference has given me trouble playing them on "import-enabled" machines (I'm sure there's a way around this, but I've got too much in my backlog as it is).

CONDITION: "Semi-fussy", I suppose - I tend to like stuff with its original case and instructions (where applicable, of course), and in decent condition; mintiness isn't necessary, but I'm always nervous with product that doesn't seem to have been taken care of very well. Having the boxes also makes them easier to arrange on shelves.

WEIRD HABITS: People tell me I'm weird for not only sorting my games by system but alphabetizing them by title, so it's easier to find one that I feel like playing...I dunno, is it really that odd? I also have hung onto boxes for controllers and other things that I don't actually keep stuff in for some reason...that one I'll admit is a tad off, heh. Oh, and I'm very loath to actually bring my portable games anywhere; occasionally I'll cart one around, but for the most part I only play them at home the same way I play my "full-sized" consoles. And I've also reserved games for systems I don't yet have.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: I do have a semi-expansive shmup collection, though I also enjoy platformers, JRPGs, 2D fighters (though I'm utterly terrible at them), puzzlers (I did a write-up series on some of my odder ones awhile back, starting here) and the occasional rhythm game. I'll try other stuff too, though I tend to avoid racing (I hate driving in real life), strategy/simulation (too impatient), adventure (too stupid), sports (not much for realism), and third/first-person shooters (not really sure why on this one...on second thought it might be because most of them are "gritty", and I play games to avoid "gritty", not indulge in it).

If I had to name the "defining" games I've played over the years, my best guesses would be Super Mario World (SNES), DoDonPachi (Arcade) and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2). I always seem to come back to those three whenever the topic comes up.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: I always buy stuff with the intention of playing it, and tend to sell stuff that I don't have much inclination to touch again, but I must admit that I sometimes hang onto games that I don't like all that much, due to either a) "Maybe I just need to give it another chance after I finish the other stuff I'm playing now," or b) "It's not that great, but it's also got something unique/intriguing about it that makes it hard to let go of."

PERSONAL STATEMENT: For whatever reason, I find myself less and less attracted to most other forms of media as I get older: I very rarely watch TV or movies these days, don't read (at least outside of the internet) as much as I ought to, and haven't been to a live show in years. Gaming, for whatever it's worth, is pretty much What I Do When I Have Free Time - this could change, of course, but as of now it's what gets me from one daily slog to the next, and pretty much the only regular "splurge" I indulge in.

[stryc9]

Well, I just lost a page of text.

Quite a well written page of text it was too. Go to submit, and it asks me to log in again, which I do, and poof, the text is gone
Fuckin' horseshit mate.

[drauch]

FORMAT/S: Everything. Emphasis on PC and SNES.

REGION/S: Whichever has the best port, and on occasion, the cheapest.

CONDITION: Not picky, just absolutely no "discs only." Prefer PC games with boxes.

WEIRD HABITS: I bought a 3DO and a 32x.

FAVOURITE GAMES/GENRES: Platformers, FPS, Sidescrollers, RTS and RTT.

PLAYER OR DISPLAYER: Player all the way. Nice having a collection, but only if you play them. Otherwise it's wasted goods in the wrong hands.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: Another escapist hobby.