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Like some of you, when I was a kid, I distinctly remember seeing all of the ads on television for the Nintendo Entertainment System and several of its games. Each time they came on, I was filled with excitement and longed for the day when I would own a square, gray box of my own. It wasn't until my grandparents' Christmas gift of a faulty telescope in 1987, that I was able to turn "misfortune" into gaming gold with the help of my older cousin and via the Customer Service Department at Brendle's. My parents were not pleased, but somehow my crafty maneuver paid off and I was able to keep it. And so began, not only my love for the NES, but a kind of gaming resourcefulness that would last a lifetime.
Enter 2015, a 38-year old gamer with a wife, two kids (another on the way), a new dog, a mortgage, and the same zest for gaming since he gave up the ability to look at the stars. Though unable to peer into space, several years ago, instead I began filling space with a collection that now consists of approximately 2,585 games across 35+ systems, and a great deal of accessories and controllers. Collecting has become a hobby and being able to now own systems and games I could only dream of during my very humble childhood and share them with my friends and family gives me great joy. As I've gotten older and earned greater responsibility, money has to be disbursed through various necessary channels and the appeal of buying new systems and games with my disposable income has greatly waned. Some might call this being "cheap," but that's really not the case at all. For me, there are various reasons why I choose to wait to purchase systems and typically stay a generation (and sometimes two generations behind).
Continue reading Why Wait?: A Collector's Guide to Patience
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I'm a fan of the British author, Nick Hornby. His style is very approachable for all readers, it's humorous and has a nice way of making the reader reflect upon his/her own life. If you're not a reader, you may still be familiar with his works through their screenplays. Some of Hornby's more well-known adaptations include About a Boy, Fever Pitch (sadly Americanized to replace soccer with baseball...), and my personal favorite, High Fidelity. High Fidelity tracks the diminishing relationship of record store owner, Rob and his girlfriend Laura. After they separate, he reflects on his past relationships to get a better understanding of "what is wrong with him," even going so far as to meet with his old girlfriends to grill them on his hang-ups. What ensues is quite comical and is really worth a viewing if you haven't already seen it. So what does this have to do with gaming you ask? Well, stick with me here a little while longer if you haven't veered from the page already.
Continue reading Your Video Game Collecting Autobiography
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As many of you on the site know, I'm an avid collector of Atari 2600 and NES titles. While I'm going for a complete, licensed collection of the later, I am very realistic about my collecting goals for the 2600. For those of you who love and collect for this system like I do, you know that this goal is impossible for the Average Joe. During the days of the 2600, licensing laws were quite more lackadaisical and it seems like anyone and everyone with programming skills tried their hand at developing games for the 2600. Many of these games saw small production numbers, and this has resulted in astronomical prices in today's market due to the high demand of serious Atari collectors. And let's face it, I'm not one of those guys who can justify paying ridiculous amounts just to have a game in my possession. On the other hand, I'm not the kind of guy who wants to play an emulated version of a game on his PC. So what's a guy like me to do?
Continue reading Dr. BrazilLove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Clone
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