Want to start collecting, worried about decay

[CosmicDwarf]

Good afternoon gentlemen. I'd just like to say that I am completely new to this kind of thing - although I've always been a gamer and I've been gathering up games over the years I've never "collected" properly, but I'm quite interested now in building up a good collection of games and gaming hardware/consoles.

However, I understand that problems exist such as the demagnetization of hard drives and CDs/DVDs and the general decay of hardware across the board (cartridges, casettes for stuff like the sinclair spectrum etc). I really want to just go out and start buying myself an NES, SNES, a Saturn with Quake 1, all sorts - I'm just so worried that in about 20 years time it'll all be scrap.

I know it wouldn't be the same as me spending all that money for nothing, seeing as I'd enjoy the hell out of it (I'm not going to collect with the aim of increasing its value, rather I just want to play the games) but if I start collecting something like that I'd like it to last.

Do you guys have any advice?

Yours sincerely,

CosmicDwarf

[Dreamcazman]

You can't really do anything about it unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.

Good thing is though that old consoles don't seem to die. My Neogeo & Megadrive consoles are over 20 years old and they still work great. I don't expect my 360 or PS3 to last as long, probably because technology is much more complex nowadays and more problems can arise.

If you want to just play the games, you might be better off experimenting with emulators to begin with. It'll be far cheaper, but having said that, some purists insist that there's nothing like playing on the real thing.

Most of us here are into collecting current games moreso than the retro stuff.

[kittychloe]

If your worried about things dieing from age then listen dream and stick to emulators, but i have consoles from the 70's that play fine.. Although it only 10 versions of pong

[twistedsymphony]

Demagnetization only really effects tapes... and AFAIK there aren't any major consoles that use tapes


Most consoles will last longer than you do if you don't use them and you keep them in a climate controlled environment (read: your house, not some swampy or freezing garage). Humidity is important in the long run too, too dry and paper will become cracked and brittle, to too damp and paper will get soggy and warped and metal will rust (this includes the electronics inside the devices as well)

It should go without saying but also make sure you keep the consoles and boxes away from areas where they'd be effected by cigarette or other kinds of unnatural air pollutants, and keep them away from direct sunlight (this, given enough time, will fade the print on boxes and change the color of plastic).

The best thing you can do is find ways to seal items... seal them when they're in an ideal environment and leave them sealed and you wont have to worry about a lot of the above problems.

Beyond that each consoles has it's own unique problems that are effected by time.

old cartridge based systems have internal batteries for saving games these tend to die eventually, Hard drives will generally last a very long time as long as you don't drop them or use them... laser arrays and mechanical parts (like disc trays, springs, and gears) will generally be fine as long as you don't use them)

in many of these instances repairs can be made to fix the items... hard drives batteries and springs can be replaced with newer non-original hard drives batteries and springs. finding replacement laser arrays however is nigh impossible, you'd have to hope to find another console with one that is still in good condition.

After all the above the next thing to break would likely be capacitors in the power supply (or for the screen if we're talking mobile devices) these can be replaced if you know what you're doing with electronics, but again it's only a problem if you're using the device.

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If you're a serious collector and collecting for profit you'll only buy things that still have the factory seal around them, and in that case who cares what the condition of the items inside is like, as long as the seal is good and the box looks good the item will be considered "flawless".

Unless the item is unbelievably rare, or when it was new it was never shipped from the factory, then you should only ever buy things that still have the factory seal... in the instances where it came unsealed or you find something that is rare and pristine but unsealed, you should make sure everything is in good shape and then seal it yourself and treat it like a sealed item from then on out.

If you're collecting for your own enjoyment and to use these items then buying unsealed is fine... if you want the item to increase in value then don't waste your money on anything but factory sealed items.

[kittychloe]

Ive found when hdds die its usually a permanent situation as the magnetics die in the process never seen aftermarket hdd parts personally

[twistedsymphony]

Originally Posted by kittychloe

Ive found when hdds die its usually a permanent situation as the magnetics die in the process never seen aftermarket hdd parts personally

hard drive technology is well documented and pretty standard, so guys with a bit of programming and electrical knowledge can generally work out a solution for getting an alternative to work.

the original Xbox for instance can have it's Hard Drive replaced with any standard PC IDE hard drive, the only requirement is that you would need to run a special program to format the drive properly.

Some systems are more locked down such as the hard drives used in original "Ultra 64" arcade machines. where the drive was serialized and locked to the hardware. Even in these cases people have found work-arounds where the eprom with the serialization was modified to accept alternative storage devices... alot of people with these machines have used these modified eproms and replaced the original hard drives with flash media as it's much cheaper, faster and less prone to failure.

I worked in arcade machine repair for a number of years... it's pretty rare you'd come across a hardware failure that couldn't be overcome... typically the older the device the easier the electrics are to fix using modern parts.

There are of-course exceptions... usually when the materials themselves are unobtainable... for instance I'd be willing to bet that in 20-30 years any old machine that uses a tube-based display will be very difficult to "fix" without just replacing it with a more modern display.

[Gazereths]

I'm not a console or old skool collector so my input may be worthless to you but I have a couple tips for games.

• I've found that sealing items in some kind of poly or cellophane is good but they need to breathe, if you seal things, especially already factory sealed items, you'll want to allow some air flow. If you don't do this any moisture buildup will be trapped inside. I usually cut 2 or 3 very small holes in the poly/cello bag...Usually at the corners.
  
  
• Keep them out of direct sunlight, I have a few in my collection that have discoloured quite badly because of this. There are UV protective cases available but they are very expensive and only worth buying for very valuable games that you want to display.
  
  

As for old consoles/computers I have an Amiga 500 and an Atari STe 520 that are almost as old as me (30) and are still in perfect working order. I keep them and their respective game discs in modded suitcases

[CosmicDwarf]

Thank you very much for the replies, everyone. I'll definitely persist with this even if things are going to decay a bit - I can always buy extra copies of certain things if I'm worried they might decay from overuse.

I will also try to create the right kind of environment for storing games and consoles and the like. I mean, overexposure to sunlight isn't exactly going to be a problem... not in the Highlands anyway, but I'm concerned about damp. I'll see what I can do.

When it comes to tape demagnetization though, what could I do to preserve something like a Sinclair Spectrum/Commodore 64 game casette?