Reading over this thread on game backlogs (http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=99342&page=1 ) has had me wondering about what someone had said in the past, and my game collection.  I am not sure anyone sets out to be a game collector, but they eventually do end up that way.  Myself, I wanted to experience different games and play them.  Somewhere along the line short-attention span renting switched over to short attention-span purchasing.  And I have now games I will likely never get to.  I doubt I will be able to play through all the games I own actually.  But, my mind goes to buying more games and feeling a need to fit games into about every genre to own, own unique stuff, and also up supposedly rewarding quality by owning the best stuff, across a range of genres.  Throw in I go back to old arcade days, and have seen a lot, so my interest in different game genres is huge.  And I also have the "curse" of being a game designer, so I have an interest in seeing new play mechanics.  By the way, it isn't just videogames either, I have a large collection of boardgames and cardgames to.

Ok, that is my story.  Anyone else here found themselves ending up being a game collector, when that wasn't their original intent?

I´m a game collector since the i got the Spectrum 2048 in 1988. Since then, it´s quite natural to me buying, playing games and keep them organized and clean in the bookcase shelves. Selling a game it´s like a sacrilege to me, it becomes like a part of my life and i can´t let it go. I used to collect Marvel/ DC comics back in the 90´s, no cards or anything else.
I´m always carefully following prices in websites and real stores, to get some good deals, because i can´t afford buying new games.
I don´t think i will ever stop loving and buying games...

Yes, very much so nonintentionally mind you, can I openly call myself a game collector (however not so much of this gen's games). While I've only catalogued owning two consoles, one of them being portable, of this generation, I'm the proud owner of the following systems:

NES (top-loader), SNES, N64, Gameboy (original)/ Gameboy Pocket/ Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Gameboy Micro, GameGear, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, Playstation 1, PS2, Gamecube, Wii, Nintendo DS Phat, Nintendo DSi, an exuberant amount of peripherals.

Granted it has become a joint-venture with my brother, but after listing all that I've come to the realization that Nintendo definitely berthed me at their port, even to this day, and I really really miss having a new Sega console (Dreamcast being second only to NES).

Actually, I was just reflecting on that myself. I have always enjoyed collecting things and over the years it's gone from comics to dvds to PC games (which ended abruptly after my last PC died and was never replaced - I have a laptop but it's s--t for playing games) to collecting Wii games.

It wasn't even my Wii. It was my sons' but I started with Tiger Woods 07 as I really wanted to play that with Wii controls and knew my son wouldn't care about it, then some joint purchases, Godfather, SSBB, then a few unique games I wanted - Dewy, Zack & Wiki and then fast forward to today, I own the damn Wii and over 30 games for it. WTF? I don't even have time to play them!

I started on this site purely out of curiousity of the potential success of Nintendo's blue ocean strategy. Feel in love with the Wii personally and in a combination of my desire to collect and getting caught up in this sites microcosm I ended up building a large games library which has been growing faster than I can possibly play them.

Just yesterday I slashed my 'games wanted' list here in half, bought a bunch of them that I know without question I'll play, will pick up SH:SM, TvsC, Sam & Max 2 and Endless Ocean 2 and then that's it for the rest of the year (unless something new get's announced that I just have to have, or I see an awesome deal on an interesting game). Just picked up Cursed Mountain for $10 for instance, and it's worth every single penny and then some but I'd have been so mad if I had bought it full price like I had originally intended. Once I clear out my Wii backlog, I'll get to Dragon's Age (which should be cheap by then) and that'll keep me busy for a loooong time.

I guess so. I have dozens and dozens of games that didn't even intend to play when I bought them. Sometimes I look at my collection, looking for something to play and despite having games that I haven't even made it to the title screen yet. I guess "collector" is a better word than "dumbass".

Comic books, magazines, porn (haven't bought any in years, though), games. I'm a pack rat!

I remember attending an auction of Sid Sackson, who designed boardgames and ended up passing away. To pay the medical bills, his entire collection went up for auction. The games should of ended up in a museum but didn't. It made me stop and pause and think about the big picture regarding ending up accumulating a large number of items like I had been.

Another thing also, and this may sound like heresy here, but I am finding that I am more distracted by other things now, and don't play as much as I used to. Not sure what is up, except I have been trying to keep busy with non-profit work I am doing, and end up with less of a desire to play things. Go figure.

I came into this gen broke with a PS3 and a DS, over 2 years passed and I had only bought 10 games. Then I get a high paying job at 18... a year later I now have 54 PS3 games, Xbox 360 with 12 games, Nintendo Wii with 4 games.

Then came my nostalgic period when I bought a Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Super Nintendo, Gameboy Colour and a modded Xbox. I also bought a PS3 Slim, a new PS2 and a PSP. Played games all my life, but this is the first gen where I've had the money to go crazy.... I do have some regrets about how much I've spent, but my collection sure does look spiffy next to my new TV. =)

Well, there are more important and rewarding things than games.   I have much the same problem.  The games that tend to get played are ones I can play is short bursts, or while eating/drinking/doing housework.  Rarely am I able to sit for a long period and play.   Strike that, I'm able, I just have other priorities.

I happen to have games where I Build an empire or a community as most interest to me.  With myself now, I am working on a non-profit that is trying to get chess and other games like it (Othello, Go, etc...) to matter more and hopefully show up the way poker had, but be sustainable (talking craze).  This has nearly and totally suck off my focus.  It is still games, but focused.  It ends up making me a collector more than a player.  Plus I am out of work now, so I need to do something to make an impact that would result in employment.  Then add me posting on here.

Aww, skip it.  I should open up Mass Effect 2 tonight