I was curious what everybody here thinks about video game collectors, specifically the ones that aim for multiple complete collections and numerous rare items and consoles.
I've come across several collectors over the years, via Instagram and Facebook, that I've had an appreciation for that slowly turns to jealousy, then to just plain disbelief. Like, owning a few rare Dreamcast consoles is really cool. But then they have another, and another, and pretty soon it looks like they have one of every single variant you've ever seen. Even the ones that are one offs for some regional contest in 1999. Or those who, over the course of six months, get it in their head to own every Dreamcast game and then they just do it. Then, they think "why not the 32X, and Genesis, and Game Gear" and so on. I've also encountered fans on Twitter who seemingly buy every single Japanese exclusive SEGA item, from shirts to figures to keychains, often getting multiples of them.
I realize its their money and they can do what they want, but surely this level of collecting is costing them a lot of money and is eating into other aspects of their lives. It's not as though they're James Rolfe or JonTron where they're are being overwhelmed with fan donations. As a collector myself, I think I spend a decent amount of money each month on retro games (maybe $100?) and even then over the past 10+ years all I've accumulated could fill
one Ikea bookcase and a few small plastic bins.
My dad is a Disney collector, specifically Donald Duck, and he knows some collectors who get stuff at the level of some game collectors I've seen where it eats into their savings and credit and fills their homes. Sure they're happy, but they do little else but work and buy Disney merch.
I used to look up to the crazy video game collectors, but now with a job and all those adult responsibilities, it's really hard for me to look at massive collections and be impressed. If anything, it kind of scares me.
