Games Collection: To sell or not to sell

[Simonsloth]

Basically I have boxes and boxes of old games mostly ps1 and ps2 era with a few exceptions.

Some of these carry sentimental value but the majority are games I put in the might play again category but as yet haven’t.


I just wanted to know the general feeling you guys and gals have over your games collection. Space is a premium in my house so my old games have been stored in boxes at my parents for the last ten years who have given me an ultimatum to clear my old stuff from their loft.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[KSubzero1000]

Personally, I'd recommend against selling off anything you might want to play again in the future, no matter how slight that possibility may appear at the moment. It's exactly the kind of decision that begs to be regretted later down the line. I have sold games off in the past, and if I had to give a rough estimate, I'd say I ended up regretting about 10% of those sales. Despite them all seeming like a reasonable decision in the heat of the moment.

I think it comes down to this: Do you view videogames as an important part of your life that you plan on continuing to enjoy as you grow older, perhaps even share with your children one day? If so, then I think you would end up regretting selling anything off. Even without added sentimental value, good old games have intrinsic value and aren't automatically being substituted by newer ones.

Then again, I'm a digital-skeptical luddite who often finds more value in replaying old stuff than in pre-ordering the latest blockbuster, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Perhaps a strict selection of what to sell and what to keep might be a reasonable compromise?

With that being said, I get the space concern, I really do. Should you choose to keep your collection, my advice would be to invest in tall cupboards with customizable shelves. You'd be surprised as to how much of a difference proper storage solutions can make. Efficiency over aesthetics is a pretty good rule of thumb.


Hope this helps!

[Chopper]

...stored in boxes at my parents for the last ten years...

Realistically speaking, are you ever going to play these again? Do you have time to play even your current backlog?

It might be an idea to set aside an evening or two and set up your old consoles and go through some of these games - you'd have an enjoyable evening and maybe a clearer view of what you want to do with them (sell them all ).

[Simonsloth]

...stored in boxes at my parents for the last ten years...

Realistically speaking, are you ever going to play these again? Do you have time to play even your current backlog?

It might be an idea to set aside an evening or two and set up your old consoles and go through some of these games - you'd have an enjoyable evening and maybe a clearer view of what you want to do with them (sell them all ).

The funny thing is that I had no interest in replaying a lot of old games until I stumbled across this podcast. I was keeping them purely with my son in mind and as a piece of history. I always liked looking at my dad’s old vinyl records and playing them on a Sunday afternoon. This was my equivalent.

Working my way through the old resident evils and other pieces of nostalgia has brought all the joys of the past flooding back.

I’m also a bit worried about what happens in the future as already my digitally owned ps3 games don’t work on my PS4. The Wii shop is closing but my old copies of poy poy 2, Tombi and winky the little bear (No joke) live on.

My backlog is huge and growing every day but my physical collection is over 500 strong too. I think I’m going to have to be brutal.

[Whippledip]

I'd say hold on to them, unless they're cluttering up the place and taking up a ton of space that you need, or you need a quick injection of emergency cash and you need to sell. You could even minimise the space issue by getting one of those big disc wallets (my brother and I in the days of the discman used to put the booklet in front and the disc behind, the pockets were usually pretty accommodating) and most consoles are pretty boxy so I find them easy to store.

[Suits]

Coming from someone who keeps everything and continually adds to my game collection - I get the stress and issues of storing things.

Personally, I’d encourage you to keep and store them.

However, if you want to get rid of them, unless you have some gems in your collection, you may not get what you want for them. Although it seems that your desire to consider getting rid stems from a lack of space over need a few quid.

There’s a plethora of options regards getting rid of them, cash will always command less and trade albeit with an independent game shop or CeX will generally grant you more if you go for some of their in store stock.

Generally speaking, from my experience, people always think that their game collections are worth more than they actually are, or are offered. When they hear/see the figure they decide to keep them, for multiply reasons.

90% of video games are worth more in sentimental value than they are cash I’m afraid.

[Simonsloth]

It’s mainly storage rather than money related.

I’ve got a few plans like getting rid of my crash bandicoot originals and upgrading to the remastered trilogy. Doing the same with a few others. Also I don’t need ten versions of FIFA or smackdown although some would beg to differ.

Where I’m struggling is with the peripheral/gadget dependent games. Am I really going to get 4 people willing to sit down for a game of micro maniacs requiring 4 controllers and a multitap. Do I really imagine ill ever play Sega bass fishing with fishing rod peripheral. Do I keep resident evil outbreak 1 and 2 despite not being able to play it properly anymore.

[Whippledip]

Generally speaking, from my experience, people always think that their game collections are worth more than they actually are, or are offered. When they hear/see the figure they decide to keep them, for multiply reasons.

This is the most important thing. Everybody overvalues what they've got. I used to work at an auction house, basically selling stuff on consignment, and the amount of shit people brought in to sell was staggering because they thought old=expensive. Some guy brought in a chair and table built in the 30's (or so he says, there wasn't a single makers mark or anything on there) and wanted a ton of money for it. Maybe it would be worth that much if it you'd looked after it but it's covered in giant scratches and gouges and mug stains, the wicker is all missing, half the chairs don't have 4 legs or have huge cracks through the timber, you've clearly kept this uncovered somewhere in the garage because there are weird damp spots. He got very indignant when the boss told them that it's only good for landfill.

It’s mainly storage rather than money related.

I’ve got a few plans like getting rid of my crash bandicoot originals and upgrading to the remastered trilogy. Doing the same with a few others. Also I don’t need ten versions of FIFA or smackdown although some would beg to differ.

Where I’m struggling is with the peripheral/gadget dependent games. Am I really going to get 4 people willing to sit down for a game of micro maniacs requiring 4 controllers and a multitap. Do I really imagine ill ever play Sega bass fishing with fishing rod peripheral. Do I keep resident evil outbreak 1 and 2 despite not being able to play it properly anymore.

FIFA iterations and stuff like that I reckon are fine to get rid of, but I doubt anyone would buy those kinds of games anymore though?