In Too Deep: A Collectors Reflection Upon Life

[Xtincthed]

After the big succes of PlaystationCollecting.com's article about the only collector in the world with a full sealed PS2 set we've decided to put more attention into the weblog.
Our newest piece is written by the well known collector Gemini-Phoenix who reflects upon his life after more then a decade of collecting video games.

In my opinion this piece really covers the motivations, inspirations and doubts every collector has and I think a lot of people will recognise some of their feelings and/or doubts in this article

link: http://www.playstationcollecting.com...eep-no-regrets

enjoy the read

[Queen of Mudcrabs]

A good read *thumbsup*

[twistedsymphony]

interesting read.....

I can relate to some aspects of it, but on a whole I'd like to think I have a good balance in my life.

I'm in my late 20s, I have a wife, we own a house together. and collecting games is really my 2nd hobby... my first is building cars, and general electronics tinkering.

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I've only collected games since the end of 2004 when I got the Halo 2 metal pack and though "this is cool, I want to own more of these" I've collected other things in the past, transformers, legos, playing cards, etc. In nearly all of those instances I got bored of the hobby and sold off my collection.

In a lot of ways collecting games for me has been a way to consolidate my collecting habits, it gives me an outlet where I can exercise my collecting habits but at the same time not let it spread into every other aspect of my life.

Starting CE.o was a big part of this for me as well... it gave my collecting somewhat of a purpose and a societal value beyond my own personal satisfaction.

[asiak75]

Nice read...I agree. And you guy's make me feel extremely old...since I am in my mid 30's.
I also have a wife and a kid and it never was a real problem to collect stuff as far as i remember...its well said your doing it more for the rush to have something just a few have.
At least for me that defines the idea of collecting.
Funny you mention the Lego...hehehe best invention ever I am still wondering if the new generations are collecting these kind of things.

[Mike1888]

Nice read, I certainly know what you mean when you say sense of completion. I can't just have 1 thing, I have to have them all, the hole set. Its been that way since I was an 8 year old collecting hockey cards, lego and beer caps lool...

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I know the author of that article personally, so I can totally relate to everything he says!

[vhal_x]

Great read, I'm 19, have a son and a boyfriend, and rent (although want to get a mortgage but our addiction to CE's prevents that!) and have only been collecting myself for about 6 months (but been helping my boyfriend for about a year and a half) but I can totally relate to that feeling of completion, hence the fact I've preordered basically every game that's coming out this year and have been on the hunt for many more xx

ETA: I think I have an addictive personality, as I am way more obsessed with collecting CE's than my boyfriend is, even though he's been doing it longer. And come to think of it, I've always collected something at any stage of my life. As a kid, it was pokemon cards, then TYs (beanie babies) and then books, then normal games, then Me To You bears (just before my son was born) and now CE's. But this is one that has truly gotten a hold over me, the rest weren't anywhere near as addictive as CE's! xx

[mosavon]

Interestings Im not too sure where i place myself amongst everyone here...i sure know i dont have a fraction of a collection to "fill a room" but way to go Gemini i hope someday i can fill a room, im also late 20's Vhal makes me feel old , been gaming 25 years, i have owned at least 1 console from every generation, i sense you feel collecting to this level is somehow weird or whatever, like a waste of time? well there are worse things to throw money at in life

Keep up the Good Work

[AJLareneg]

I am not sure how I feel I fit into this either. I guess I have a much more specialized collection though. I do like collecting other CE/press kits for games I really enjoy. I definitely do not have enough to fill a room.... i don't think enough inFAMOUS stuff exists even if i managed to get a copy of the game from every region.

I've been solely collecting inFAMOUS for a year and a half now, but I've always had some kind of collection... none as much as this though.

I also wasn't as much into gaming as I was after I got my PS3 in late 2008, most of the games I had were just a title here or there per console (of which, were never mine, but the family console i would share lol) so it doesn't really count, I don't think.

there is a lot of people that do not get collecting though. i've seen some threads on other forums where people made fun of me because of my inFAMOUS stuff, saying it was a waste of time and that it wasn't worth anything so what is the point. (and others saying things about me personally that were kind of out of line) ...so there's always going to be the negative people no matter what. but anyway there are worse things to spend money on...and everyone has some kind of hobby.

plus, i like it, and as long as it isn't hurting anyone, why does it matter?

[twistedsymphony]

It seem to me that most people don't "get" collecting... but I look at my belongings, not just my collection but everything that I own... and it's clear to me that I value quality. Most of the things I own, be it furniture, electronics, tools, etc. are all good quality items that will hold their value.

I look at the belongings of the people who typically don't get Collecting and it's all cheap stuff from Walmart, the discount DVD player, the off-brand HDTV, the cheap couch that doesn't hold up and looks 10 years older than it actually is.

Who is REALLY wasting their money? Sure I paid twice as much for my stuff, but 5-10 years down the road most of my possessions still retain a respectable portion of their original value.

Take a lot at our grand parent's generation and the generations before them. A lot of them owned furniture, jewelry, and other things that were high quality and they were able to pass down to their children... They valued quality... look at what most people buy today, do you think those cheap things that people buy will even last long enough to be passed on, never-mind have any use?

In 50 years how much will your CEs be worth? in 50 years how much will those downloaded games be worth? how about the grungy standard edition with the cracked case and the missing manual?

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Another thing... CE.o isn't the only forum I run, I run a car forum, I'm also on the staff of a few fairly large gaming forums....

This forum has, without question, the kindest, most modest, and most level headed people I've ever seen ANYWHERE on the internet. I never see any flamewars, I never see fanboy arguments, I never see anyone talking down to anyone else, I never see people typing up illegible and unintelligent posts. Everyone here is interested in helping each other and enjoying the company of like minded people.

It's damn refreshing, and even though this isn't anywhere near the largest site I've created, it's my most proud because of the attitude of the community we have here.

What I'm getting at... if someone makes fun of you because you're a game collector: don't let it get to you. I'd rather be associated with game collectors than any other group on the internet.