The Console Slayer for 3/4/14.

   I  figured this week I'd delve into a subject I know a lot about and love, game collecting. In my collection I have about 1,000-1,200 games, about a few dozen systems and countless accessories/peripherals for those systems.

   I started collecting games about three years ago thanks to some online shows/websites I follow such as ScrewAttack.com, The Game Chasers and The Angry Video Game Nerd. They rekindled my love of games I used to have as a kid. For me collecting is as much about getting back that feeling I had as a kid (and more) as much as anything else. I have far more now than I had as a kid but there's still a certain nostalgia I have for that time.

   I mostly collect via local pawn shops, a swap meet and our local Goodwill. I do purchase online (from the Amazon Marketplace and eBay) but rarely. The game collecting market has been severely damaged by resellers. They're people that buy up games and resell them at vastly overinflated prices, many times what games are actually worth. They do this because they know some unsuspecting/uneducated fools will pay the prices they ask. For collectors such as myself, it's almost pointless most times to buy online. If one does, the better bet is to buy in lots.

   I typically go game chasing two to five times a week. I buy mostly from Goodwill because the prices are always low on games (some times high on consoles though). For me, besides actually playing the games, one of the funnest parts of collecting is going out and rummaging through stuff and looking around because you never know what you can find. It's kind of like gambling in a way I suppose. Some of my best finds have come this way.

   My favorite systems to collect for are the PS1 and NES because both have a ton of great games in their libraries and they're relatively easy to find & cheap to collect for.

   Are there any collectors in the group? Does anyone have any memories of collecting or even just buying games when you were young? Do you guys or gals have any questions about collecting or games? Send them my way. I'd be happy to discuss them with all of you.

   The tune this week is courtesy of CrimzonWolf777 of OC Remix. It's an amazing remix/remake of several of the tracks from easily one of the best games, if not the best in the Metroid franchise, Super Metroid.