When Is a Game Collection Considered Complete? Discussion - Adam Koralik 

Starting an epic Dreamcast collection all from a silly rumor is a great origin story.

When it’s your collection, it’s complete when you don’t want to buy anything else in that set. If you’re showing it to others as complete, I’d say it’s when you physically have all that is needed to have all of the original gaming experiences

I'm a tabletop RPG collector (white wolf WoD) It started as a nostalgia drive as it was something important to me on my teen years, and later became something serious. I made a ruleset for my collection, a spreadsheet and went on. I had to make a small rule ammendment later on (there were european exclusives!) but I was able to complete my collection on my rules. Never had the drive to do that again, but it was hugely satisfying getting the final german only book that was missing

Love your ability to talk to the camera so naturally and be entertaining Adam absolute g

Good timing as a month ago I ironically came to the realization that my collection is finally complete! But that's not to say that I won't discover a new game I didn't know about to add or find a handful of others I would like but gave up on finding. There's naturally room for additional games or strategy guides to add to my library, but the distinction is that I'm content with where my collection is at currently.

I don't have too much to add to this topic, but something you said towards the start of the video made me realize something, keeping up with modern games and collecting then playing old games that I find almost feel like two completely different hobbies.

There was a time when I was an extreme retro video-game collector... However, I no longer have that itch to collect everything. Not only is it near damn impossible (financially speaking and by definition) this hobby will drive some insane. Fortunately, I have found other avenues such as emulation and devices created by Krikzz a.k.a. EverDrives... Thanks to my collection of EverDrives, I now have the ability to play damn near everything out there "retro" and for micro-pennies on the dollar... Thank you Adam and Krikzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adam, I don't know if you know this, but Nintendo used to have archives of every game (that they would acknowledge ever existed) ever released for the NES, SNES, N64, GB, GBC, and VB hosted on their website. They were unfortunately taken down in August 2016 but they can still be accessed through the Wayback Machine. I wish that all game companies did this for their game console collections because, for me, that is when a collection is complete: when you have every game that the company will acknowledge the existence of for their platform.

Hats off to people who go for complete sets ets that's a lot of dedication and a lot of grafting, I mainly collect for nostalgia purposes, but I do like to hunt for them hidden gems 💎

Your Dreamcast collecting stories are really cool, and to me, it kind of answered the question in my eyes: Collections are 100% personal. Everyone has their history with gaming, and what really defines it as "complete" is what "complete" means to the collector and personally, I find that to be what makes collecting truly interesting, it's such a case by case basis. For example: I know of someone who strictly collects every Sonic game for every console, even for consoles they do not own, like SonicN for the N-Gage. This is also including collections, regional variants, ports and stranger stuff like if a game just includes Sonic like a Smash Bros game or Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams. That's what interests them, and that's what they try to go for and they check each console off that has Sonic, off the list.

What ever I can find at thrift stores / garage sales that I would want to play I get more of a thrill seeing what kind of stuff I can find for as cheap as possible

Hi Adam, haven’t watched your channel for several months. You inspired me to become a collector. You’re one of my favorite people and I hope to thank you one day.

Put simply, I enjoy people's passion, I love these kind of discussions. I do play video games but only buy the stuff I play, like you do with blu-rays. I actually collect cds obsessively and I go for full artist or full compilation 'series' sets ;p

Part of the fun of being a game collector is seeing what's out there and not restricting yourself to only certain kinds of games. I once bought all 3 Burger King games, sealed in original plastic, for 5 bucks total. Am I gonna play them? No, but just the fact that something that weird exists is pretty cool and serves as a sort of time capsule of its era.

Great video Adam, I myself gave up collecting once I realized Australia essentially got gimped versions on most platforms (50hz or 480i)

Man, Adam, I love this topic! And I love hearing your personal collecting rules/habits because of how vast and diverse your collection is. For me I really enjoy a curated approach to explore the medium to build my own, little library of games. There are many games I'd love to one day own for the sake of experiencing them, and upon doing so I determine whether the game is worth having based on whatever criteria is appropriate--oftentimes the replay aspect is a major element. I also play through games very slowly, a little like some folks read books where it's as little as 10 to 15 minutes a day. I end up getting a great deal of mileage out of a single game because of this, and that's something that also keeps me very particular about acquiring another title. I was given a copy of FF Tactics for the PS1 back in 2019, but just played it this past January through April for the first time. To your point about the Dreamcast collection, though, I do feel that sort of vibe with the PS1. It's my favorite console, so I find myself feeling much more willing to explore games in genres I wouldn't normally play simply because I value the experience of that console. And as a result, I think it would be the one console I would enjoy going for that 'full set' one day for the sake of it should I ever find myself in that place. Sorry for a ramble, but I just really love these sorts of discussions! I guess if video responses were around I could've rambled to you that way instead, haha. Enjoy your weekend!

A collection is complete when the goal you set out to achieve with the collection, has been reached. Then you can choose to expand the collection, but that doesn't make the original collection incomplete.

On stickers present on games within a collection, I loathe them so having a sticker-free library of games is paramount! The best kept secret for safe sticker removal on any game case, cartridge or on delicate printed inner sleeves like on a PS2 or original Xbox game case insert is "Bestine" Rubber Cement Thinner, found at Graphic Arts stores or online. It will not haze jewel cases or see through clear plastic sleeves on DVD cases like other thinners or Goof Off will. You can safely remove virtually any stickers & have your games & cases like new, if that's your obsession like mine.

You got me into Xbox collecting. I tried to buy the mountain dew Xbox from DewU 2004 I had the points but it sold quick and my parents didn't trust only purchases at that time to cover shipping. I think I have about 300 Xbox games I collected from 2015-17

Great discussion topic, I‘ll make one of those oldschool video responses to them in the next few days! For me, I started „collecting“ because in 2009, I was 15, I played Shenmue II on Xbox and loved it. The only way to play the first one was to get a Dreamcast, so I got one for my birthday (my parents thought I was crazy). That opened the floodgates for me. Tons of online shops still had now old stock or used Dreamcast games for a few euros each. So for my 50€ pocket money I got at that time I could have bought 1 brand new Xbox 360 games… or 10 Dreamcast games, all brand new to me as well. So that’s what got me started in collecting retro games. Mega Drive Games were 3€ each at a local store… yeah, I cleaned that one out. So I got lots of cheap games to keep me busy. Of course, nowadays I have money to buy new games. Or to buy expensive retro games I couldn’t afford back then. And PLAYING games on old consoles has gotten so easy through Everdrives, or softmods that I have started curating my collection a lot more. Since I don’t need the physical games to play anymore, I treat my collection more as a physical representation of my interests. If I want to try out a game, I can simply… „acquire it elsewhere“. So now my collecting is a lot more focused. And while I don’t have any specific collecting goals I am „working on“, I pick up what makes me happy.

I'm in the camp of "I buy what I want to play". I've never really worried about if it's complete or not. Every time I think I have everything I want, I see something on a youtube video and want to buy it

Was in Chicago a couple weeks ago for the clinical research conference, didn’t leave the area really but seems cool enough of a city. Although the Canadian wild fires was doing a number on the sky.

We were on vacation & I walked into a Circus World Toy Store & was the 1,000 customer that day. I won a one minute toy shopping spree or a NES! This was 86 & I was still a kid & only had Atari to judge from, so i remember quite well I yelled: ONE MINUTE SHOPPING SPREE. I regret my choice to this day. My parents were trying to teach me a lesson & would not buy me a NES later on when I realized how awesome it was, so my 1st console was a Game Boy & now I am a Portable Collector. However I do own newer consoles due to Credit Cards attached to them.

Great discussion. What I consider a complete video game collection is the game systems & games I grew up on, enjoyed, loved, & physically (not digitally) want to own/cherish it to eternity. I do my best to get all games completed with manual (no tear), in like new conditions (NO SCRATCHES on discs, no dirt in cartridges), & no tear in boxes/cases. I'm no where the collector you are Adam. I just got main great systems, and get the best hits as well as some underrated gems on it. As of right now, I just have the SEGA GENESIS Model 2, SEGA Dreamcast, 2 PS2's (one RARE white & black slims), N64, & Nintendo Wii (that's also GameCube backwards compatible). I'm getting XBOX Series X soon because their's some re-releases of older games i loved back then that's been HD remade. Sorry for the rant, but just wanted to explain clearly my take on completed collecting.

I love your shirt Adam!

Thanks for the video, this explains very well how to collect, avoid obsticles, make decisions and so on. This is how I work on my Dreamcast collection: 1. Region: if it is not my region (EU), I don't care too much. 2. Region: if it is in my region - I do care mostly about the language (english) - if possible. 3. Standard or Special: Standard Edition before Special Edition (e.g. Bass Fishing as a single game or as a Package with the controller). 4. Take a risk: I once bought a collection of ~28 games - most of them I already owned. It contained additional 8 different White Label editions which were not even mentioned in the auction (I don't collect White Labels but they are in my collection now). 5. Search for games randomly: Latest I searched for a game and found an desirable object out of my scope - which I bought. It was just a japanese Shenmue Flyer - I didn't even knew that it was missing in my collection. 6. Get organized: setup a list of rules. I have setup a small web page for my Dreamcast with "all" Games, Special Editions, White Labels, Merch and so on. Based on that list I can make decision of what to purchase next, what is missing etc. Your favorite Spreadsheet tool will just do fine‼

Love your shirt Adam!

It's complete when you're happy. I realised that I was accumulating a lot of games, and I wasn't getting happier as a I acquired more. Now I still collect, but only specific games that I've been looking out for, or that really jump out and say 'buy me!' I've picked up some really nice gems across formats, and each of the few classics I pick up these days feels really special. I'll be selling the filler off, or giving some away to clear space for certain classics over the coming years.

For me it's complete when I've collected all the games I rented or received on my birthday and Christmas growing up. Also games my best friend played growing up since we still hang out often after 30 years of friendship. But I know it's a different opinion for everyone. Thank you as always Adam.

Thanks for sharing 🙏 your DC story & I want that shirt you're wearing!

I've recently been collecting for the PS1, PS2, and GameCube. I really only collect games I want to play, I don't want to get every game per console since that would cost way too much time and money (even more so If were including games from different regions) and there are games I just don't want to play. I don't know how to really classify a complete collection since they are so many different ways to collect. This is a great topic to talk about. Keep up the good work Adam!

When Is a Game Collection Considered Complete? Figure it out!

Without having watched the video, there's different tiers to complete collections in my opinion, for example Nintendo collecting all first party Nintendo games could be considered a complete collection tier one, and then you go on from there, we're at the same time a complete collection can also be one of every game of a released physically and or their variants. Anyways thanks for the content as always Adam when you upload i click.

22:40 imagine being a Sega Saturn collector who DOESN'T have OREGON and BASIC but owns the home it gives the virtual tour of

Hi, Adam! 😎 I have a ton of DVD's, Blurays, Vinyl's and video games of course! I hope they never get rid of physical media

I used to collect in odd subsets. Examples like "I've gotta have the full Mario Kart series complete in box", because that was a series that I was really interested in and had spent a great portion of my life playing. I used to "stupid" collect...or what some would call "shelf collect". I had dozens of NES, Super NES and N64 games on the shelf that I'd gotten in eBay lots or in bargain bins at what used to be our local retro game store that I never played and never had any intention of playing. I eventually kind of stopped and asked myself "why am I spending all of this money on these eBay lots just to fill out the shelf with even more crap that I'm not going to play?" My collecting journey certainly didn't start that way. I've always been a gamer first and foremost since I was a tiny kid in the 90's. Once I got into high school in the mid-late 2000's, I was spending my minimum wage high school job money on more curated things - like getting all of the Mario Kart games complete in box as mentioned above among other more specific things like that. Eventually, it morphed into having post-college career money which meant that my collecting habit also morphed into just buying stuff by the fist-full before my interest just kind of hit a brick wall. The culmination came when my "passion" for collecting console boxes and CIB consoles really just kind of exploded. I had purchased several hundred dollars worth of console/handheld boxes - Virtual Boy box, Game Boy Pocket, Color and Advance boxes, etc., etc. all to accompany my loose consoles. That was really what did me in....several hundred dollars collectively on cardboard to sit on my shelf broke my guilty conscience and I started analyzing how I ended up in that position. I ultimately downsized my collection twice - once in 2020 and again in 2022. I'm down to a very small amount now compared to what I had before. I've also adopted things like the GC Loader and Everdrives for various consoles, which has aided greatly in my transition from the impulsive need to collect to no longer needing to have physical things on my shelf anymore. Now I can focus on just playing the game rather than needing to have it sit on my shelf. I still completely get and respect the collecting game - especially for those that do it tactfully and tastefully. It's just not for me anymore. However, one thing I've ALWAYS wanted to complete is my Nintendo Power set. I have probably...70+% of the entire set, I'm missing a bunch in the Super Nintendo/N64 timeframe and a few from the Wii/DS era. Nintendo Power's hold such a special place in my heart as being a kid and anticipating each issue's arrival in the mail is a feeling that cannot be replaced. I still have all of my childhood issues, and I've acquired some of the gap-filler's over time, but that's probably my one thing that I'd REALLY like to get completed.

This is really a very simple question of classification: you define the set, and you have a complete set when you own everything that fits within that set. We're used to video game collectors trying to get a complete set of games that were released for a specific console, but that's really only one example of a video game "set." I could decide that I want to get my hands on every video game released in the US between 1997 and 2005 with the word "dragon" in the title -- that's my set, and a complete collection would mean buying/owning every title that fits the description.

When I have all the games and systems that have been important to me over my life, and the games/systems I wanted but couldnt get as a child and teen.

I look at it in terms of generations. So for example, when the “Tomb Raider”games came out for the PS1 era and Angel Of Darkness on PS2, that would be the “end” of the series before TR Legend era and then the Survivor series on PS4. Movies for me I collect them on DVD and Blu-ray and UHD only IF its a movie I know I wanna watch over and over and on every common format. If its a movie I don’t care for I choose DVD as opposed to any other format primarily because everything can play DVD nowadays. Sometimes when it comes to blu-ray or UHD, its a little harder to go for them for me simply due to color grading being the way it is 😎

If one ever completed the entire thing then it would be all over. With nothing left to collect collectors would be left with a void in their soul, a true feeling of emptiness when they realize that they have reached the end. They bought every game on every format from Punch Tape\HuCards\Carts and Discs...."This was my life..." The camera slowly moves to the left and you hear the hammer click.... Then POP. the credits roll.

This is an interesting subject. I would say for me personally a complete collection of a game system would be owning every single official released game for that system in some form, loose or CIB. But obviously there are certain sub sets and groups to collect for as well. So if someone collects a certain sub series of games and they have all of those, they might consider that complete for them. It is really just subjective and depends on the person’s own beliefs and opinion.

Not only did I replace my non-Japan games, but I also replaced my art books. There is a drop in quality when Japan art (games, etc.) is localized. This is even noticeable in box art.

I'm sitting here and I'm just amazed how many rare Items you have on your table🤤 Games I never heard of actually😅 I'm just collecting Games I like or have great memories of. Like Games I played with friends in the 90's or I saw in our local videorenting Store that I couldn't afford back then😁

My definition is simple. My collect is complete when I have everything I want for a console. I’ll still add games if I come across them and they interest me. I mainly try to get all the games that I had as a kid for a particular console.

Me myself have never been thinking i have to have the full collection of games from a console, just the ones i have owned as a kid or does i find interesting and want to play, sometimes i have bought some games just for their artwork on the cover. I think it's up to yourself where your limit goes for your "complete" collection, you set your own limit and goals for what you want.

I collet transformers, and it applies exactly the same, where you draw the line. thanks for this important discussion! very optimistic very realistic. people tell me hey, do you have this, do you have that, no, I don't is the collection is complete for me? well yes... can't get enough of your content. thank you!

You made some good points and ask good questions. I guess for myself, in terms of game collections, I would consider anything outside of one's region a bonus. So like, if someone asked me about my collection of WiiU game for example, and in theory if I had all the NTSC-U/C games, I would reply and say I have the complete collection, because I'm from the US and anything in the US I would consider what we would be expected to get. If I owned every game for more than one region, I would say something like "I own the complete WiiU collection, as well as the complete PAL region collection." I would also consider cover variants and stuff like on the WiiU where they released New Super Mario Bros. WiiU and New Super Luigi U separately then re-released as a 2 - in - 1 as a bonus (if you own the games separate, technically you own those games. getting them repackaged different doesnt change the fact that you already own them). For an analogy, like in Spyro the Dragon, you cant beat the game and get 100%. After that, there is actually bonus content you can play and actually get up to 102%. This is how I see variants, different covers, etc.

Nice Question buddy. For me not being a collector but have friends that are. "Not watched the video yet but im sure u will mention this answer" But most of them say there just going for a full region collection (Like PAL ect)

I find that my collecting habits ebb and flow. Once I decide on a goal (usually a subset of some kind), I go hard at that goal until it is reasonably done. I say reasonably because even subsets have weird/rare/unofficial releases. I encountered this a lot when going for Megan Drive shooters, there were a bunch of unofficial imports that were annoying to track down. I only very briefly considered going for a full Genesis set, but that didn’t last long. Subsets are the way to go for me.

I just bought the Dreamcast last night, and it'll be my first video game console from Sega. I played games on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo platforms, but never on a Sega console, although for many years, I had Sega Genesis games and a controller. To this day, I still don't know for sure who previously owned them, but I was told that possibly my cousin did. Still, I'm excited that I'll finally own a Sega console very soon.

That's 100% subjetive. It depends of your own goals or rules like you said.

I am almost a full NA Wii U set (just missing Twilight Princess HD, Shakedown Hawaii and Axiom Verge if I count them, Mario/Luigi U combo disc, and a bunch of Just Dances) because it was the first system I got on launch day and followed through for its whole life, as well as got 30-50 games along the way. I was already roughly 25-30% of the way there. I have a soft spot for it. I usually specify if the region for complete sets (I don't have any, but if I did). So like "Complete PAL PS2 set" or "Complete NA Xbox 360 collection" for example

- Babe, stop wasting money, your game collection is already complete! - We're done when I say we're done.

Very interesting topic, Adam! For me, as long as I have all the NTSC region games, I'd say it is a complete set. Games can be loose, game&Manual, or CIB....doesn't matter for me.

Ha. Love the shirt!

Fun fact: Daemon Vector also came out for the PC, though this version in particular suffers from a degree of audio compression. The Xbox version has higher-quality sound.

For some reason (And I have no clue why), I can’t consider any of my GameCube or N64 titles CIB unless is has the manual, disc and the little precaution booklets that came with every game. I’ve actively gone out of my way to buy cheap GameCube games solely for the precaution booklets then trading or reselling the actual game

For me its complete when i have everything i like, or want to play. If i play something and dont like it then its out of the collection. Works for me. 😊

The logic you have for collecting movies is similar to how I was doing it, though it wasn't for me. My mother had a big DVD collection, and years ago I decided that from then on, every mother's day, birthday, Christmas, I'd get her blu-rays of movies she already had on DVD, or asked for. By now the DVD collection has pretty much been replaced. I was considering doing similar with 4k blu-rays, but there's a few issues with that. 4k blu-rays exist in a sort of late-stage physical media period where they are more for aficionados. It seems like they are more expensive, less reliably available, and generally twice as expensive. When I started this years ago, blu-rays were 10$ pretty often, and many times for double features. 4k blu-rays are generally 20$, and the box sets can get very pricey. Maybe at some point they will be more viable for collecting like regular blu rays became, but for I'm still cool with regular blu-rays.

I don't collect video games, but I do collect some books. I got a copy of Juvenal for 50 cents once that was printed in 1850 which I'm pretty proud of.

Great video mate. I some how got talking too the guy who sold you that copy of Deamon Vector. He was selling another copy on Facebook for £190 a couple of years ago. I couldn’t believe I seen another copy on sale. I mentioned you video and he said oh yeah that was me who sold Adam it. He said he had found a few copies of it over the years where he lives.

Well for me it depends on console but as you stated Adam. I am a ‘collect only what I’m interested in playing’ collector. I have other interests and only a finite amount of time for fun things. Examples- Have an N64 and use an Everdrive. My ED cannot play Pokémon Stadium 2. So I’d like to pick up that and the Japanese Train SIM game with special controller some day, then it’ll be complete for me! I’m mostly collecting light gun games for NES. And I have a few OG carts but I use a multi cart that doesn’t have duds nor repeats. I feel like once I have all light gun games I’m good! Collecting on a budget!

Never, I just wanted to collect a few of my favorites that I lost years back when I had to sell off my collection and now I have over 1000 games and still buyer. It’s a hobby and it’s fun to find what’s in your list.

I've been on and off collecting every version of Ocarina of Time (my favorite game of all time) on just the N64 for a few years now. This includes every regional version, every revision, and every different edition. As for every region, there are the obvious ones: North America, Japan and Europe. But there are also Taiwan, Hong Kong, Brazil and Australia versions. Out of these four, the Australian is the most common, while the other ones are pretty rare, especially Brazil, that one is exceedingly rare. At least I *think* I know every regional variation there is, so I don't have to worry about that. As for every revision, every region has its own. North America and Japan have 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 (1.2 is the infamous censored version). While Europe has 1.0 and 1.1 (Which are different from NA/JP 1.0 and 1.1). This is where it gets tricky. Do the other regions I mentioned before also have different revisions? I have NO idea! Now for every edition, there is standard gray, Collector's Edition (Gold cartridge), Player's Choice, and the holy grail: Not For Resale. NFR is very expensive, upwards of $500. I would LOVE to have it, but I'm pretty sure I might never be able to. Fun fact: 1.0 Gold is actually much more common than 1.0 Gray. It actually took me years to find a gray cartridge that was 1.0, which was very recently, around two months ago. Gold cartridges are ALWAYS 1.0. Although there are people that have said 1.1 gold cartridges exist, I have never seen one in all my years of investigating each version, so I'm not sure if they're extremely rare, a rumor, or they have simply been board swaps that people thought were legit variations. Also, Player's Choice is ALWAYS 1.2. This is 100% confirmed. Although there are regular editions that are 1.2 too (My childhood cart was actually a regular 1.2). The fact that NFR is so expensive, there is no info as to whether there are multiple revisions for Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Brazil, and I have no idea whether Gold 1.1 is real, means I probably will have to settle for simply having every revision and edition of NA, JP and Europe, plus the Australia version. I would love to have Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brazil and NFR, but they will probably be way too difficult and expensive to acquire. So... to answer the question: In MY personal opinion, a collection is considered complete when you have every *reasonable* game you can acquire. Unless you're really hardcore and have the money to spare, I don't think it's worth spending a fortune on a game, even if it's one you really love. As long as you're happy and proud of what you have (and don't bankrupt yourself) then that's enough, I think. Sorry if this comment was too lengthy, by the way.

I set small goals for things that really interest me and take my time. I have a full US retail SEGA Dreamcast set, however, along my journey collecting for the DC, I picked up some of the All-Stars variants. For the longest time I was missing Ready 2 Rumble to consider it 'complete.' It's not required, at least to me, for the full DC US Retail set, as it was just the same game with a different cover and disc image. I found it at MGC this year and pulled the trigger, so now I have the full All-Stars set variants. Was it necessary? No, but I still love the DC and it was just something I didn't have for the system and I missed the excitement of getting another Dreamcast game. Subsets, I feel, are fun to collect for any system, no matter the size.

I made a major collecting decision 1 year ago. I decided to collect games primarily for the developer’s region. This is because I believe that due to censoring, localization and poor translation, I’m not getting the authentic experience. So I’m learning Japanese, loving Japan game prices and box art.

I have sold my collection twice. Every time I start a new one, I’m more selective. For me I want the games that I like or had/wanted as a kid. Mainly 4th gen CIB.

I mostly now pickup random games on the ps2 and original xbox when I go to my favorite video game stores. I only pick up games that look fun. Movie collecting is another beast, I am mostly looking for B-rated movies.

I just got Daemon Vector about a few minutes ago, as of the time of this post, and I will get it on the 7th of September. The overall price was $475 plus change. Update Just received it in the mail, so I finally own a copy of the game. I'm glad that I found it.

This is a question/topic that has been discussed to death but is never old or not intriguing to some degree. The short universal answer is that it depends on the individual's definition of "complete collecting" which comes in so many shapes and sizes that it would be impossible to find a "size fits all" answer to it. But that's what makes it such an entertaining question to ask everyone. It's like food; even the most commonly recognized dishes can have variations that make it different from another example but in the end, it's still delicious. My personal definition of "complete collecting" is to take only what I truly want or just find interesting either to play or just for some nostalgic sake until there's nothing left to acquire that fits that description. Full collections of an entire console's library are pretty much ruled out just by this alone because many libraries have so much garbage filler that I have no interest in, though my one exception is the Neo Geo CD library. Out of all the Neo Geo collections possible, the CD is the one I feel is still relatively possible to acquire in its entirety with a few extras sprinkled in from indie devs like Xeno Crisis. Out of the 90ish titles that exist on the CD, I have around 30. Since I love this console so much due to how interesting the consoles history and the history of SNK is I decided to go for the full set. This doesn't include any regional requirements since NTSC versions of these games are often 3-4 times the price of a Japanese copy while having no regional restrictions other than a possible language barrier for 10% of the library, so I just get whatever comes my way. I'm also personally counting the titles that weren't officially released by SNK like Xeno Crisis, Andro Dunos, Bang Bang Busters, Treasures of the Carribean, Last Hope, Hypernoid and anything else that comes out. It will take a while and it's still got some stupid expensive titles that I wish I didn't have to open my wallet for, but I'll get it done eventually. My last and probably more unique example of a "complete collection" I'm going for is to collect every single Yu-Gi-Oh game that ever got a physical release regardless of what system it is on. I used to be a pretty big Yu-Gi-Oh card game nut back in the day before essentially quitting back in 2016 due to just not having any fun with the modern cards, but even back then I used to play several of the video games. I still have a good time playing them every now and again and I respect the franchise a lot, so I decided to get all the games. I have most of them, but I am missing a few from the GBA and all the ones released on the PC.

So, let me lay it out - my collecting skills are on point. I've got my sights locked on snagging items that won't put a dent in my wallet - we're talking keeping them way under the 10-buck mark (back in the day, this was practically a walk in the park). But here's the kicker - if I stumble upon something that I'm dead sure a true-blue collector would fork over some top-dollar bills for, count me in, I'm game to sell it to them! Picture this: I'm dishing out these gems to the collectors who practically have dollar signs in their eyes, ready to go all-in on my finds. It's like I've cracked open the vault of self-financing my entire game collection passion. And while I'm at it, I'm making sure not to get trapped in the collector's labyrinth of wanting every single piece, because let's be real, even a mad scientist might raise an eyebrow at that obsession. Now, my ultimate strategy? To make my gaming love affair pay for itself, without laying a finger on my own wallet. Wrap your head around this - my complete stash of retro gaming goodness? It's practically cost-free, all thanks to my talent for transforming any discovery into cold, hard cash. It's like I've tapped into a secret formula that keeps the gaming high alive and kicking, while my wallet stays slim and content. I figure, why not let the enthusiasts chip in for my collecting escapades if they're game? But hold up, I totally get it - some folks are all about amassing a tower of titles, ready to put down their hard-earned bucks for those rare gems that light up their world. And you know what? I'm grateful to them for bankrolling my game treasure hunts. Speaking of which, let's talk Atari 8-bit computer games - they're my jam, and I'm not shy about breaking the budget for them. That console has its own corner in my heart and collection. And before you ask, no, I'm not going to chase the elusive 'complete collection' dream with all the rarities or the hard-to-finds. Heck, there's a price I wouldn't turn down to part with a game from my collection. Besides, flash cards keep the gameplay going strong. So, there you have it - my collecting saga in a nutshell. Remember, it's fun to collect, sure, but let's face it - all of that, as you know, will ultimately end up in someone else's collection, because, well, life's little joke one day. So, there's no need to be a crazy collector simply throwing money around like confetti or to be that starry-eyed collector pouring money into a pit of nostalgia either. In the grand scheme of things, there's a finish line somewhere down the road, and those prized items won't really matter when the show's over. I understand it's a bit of a downer, but alas, that's the harsh truth!

I miss these types of videos.

Generally a collection starts and ends when you get all the desired games in that set that you believe makes it "complete". For myself it varies, typically, I only collect specific franchises rather than systems. I also tend to collect for the JRPG genre as a whole. For instance, by the time it's all said and done, I hope to have a complete collection of the entirety of the Megami Tensei Franchise games, so everything from Jack Bros for the Virtual Boy to Megami Tensei Famicom to Catherine for the PS3. Another collection I would like to act on is collecting a majority of the Falcom library. This stems into The Legend of Heroes, Ys, and Trails/Kiseki franchises. Among those series/franchise Ys has multiple iterations of Ys 1-6. For instance, Ys 1 released on: PC-88, PC-98, FM-7, MSX2, Famicom, Master System, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, Sharp X1, X68000, along with enhanced re-releases where Ys 1 & 2 are bundled together under a single which released on the PSP. While Trails has a pretty linear release of games making it relatively easier than Ys, but then there's TLoH which is also straightforward but the games are absurdly rare/expensive. Then that raises the question: "Where do you draw the line?" For Ys, I simply plan on getting at least 1-2 iterations of each release of Ys 1-5, guaranteeing I at least have a original and a modern version. With TLoH, it's something I'd have to chip away at since everything is so obscure/expensive, and Trails is by far the easiest since while it can be pricey, it's more straightforward and understandable. So in general collecting is a strange hobby, at times I can feel content without completion, while other times if completion is reasonably feasible, then that takes priority.

Getting a complete set for any console is just out of my reach money wise. I love collecting consoles and some of their cool accessories. ODE's/Everdrives have been a Godsend and have allowed me to buy the og hardware and still be able to enjoy their respective game libraries! I try my best to also buy the physical games especially for the consoles that I haven't made a transition to an ODE/Everdrive yet. For some of the CD consoles I own I go the CD burning route. Sega CD, PS1, Sega Saturn, (Pseudo Saturn Kai cart) Sega Dreamcast and PC Engine Duo. For the PS2 I got my hands on a hard drive and explore the library that way and intend to do that for my og Xbox one day as well. For the GameCube I got the SD2SP2 exploit and replaced the disc drive with the GC Loader. In total I own 11 consoles and the "newest" ones I have are from the 6th generation. At the moment I have no interest in looking into the current gen scene because of the sheer amount of amazing gaming experiences that are available from the 3rd to 6th console generations. In closing Adam I have always been a fan of your content since Highschool and I'd say that you've definitely influenced my love and passion for retro gaming. I also love the Shenmue series! I got my hands on a complete copy of Shenmue I and have collected the Japanese Dreamcast, Xbox and Fan dub releases of Shenmue II. Shenmue II is my personal favorite game of all time! Thank you for being such an awesome content creator, may God bless you always!

I only started considering myaelf a collector when I realized I have more games than I can reasonably play. Using How Long to Beat, I estimate it would take 4,000+ hours to get through the ones I haven't started/finished. However, I don't have the time, money, or compulsion to get deep into collecting. I collect things that are unique, not extremely expensive, and I would likely enjoy. The most specific-to-me thing I want to collect is the Fire Emblem series, but only on systems I have (GBS and newer) and not Revelation because it's bad and a physical copy costs over $600, I believe.

It's an interesting topic because it can change as you're doing it. For you & Dreamcast games it expanded to other territories. For me with one of my collections it was the opposite. I tried to get a full Working Designs collection. Managed to get half of the games before prices hit the "Nope!" mark. Thing is originally I was going for EVERYTHING. Some games had multiple disk variants. I got all of the ones for Lunar 1 on Sega CD which was a giant pain in the ass and took years to complete. Or so I thought. I thought there were 6 variants when there are 7. The 7th is the exact same thing as another one but ONE cloud in the background is purple instead of dark blue (or the other way around. It's stupid either way). That started to make me not care but when I learned that Alundra on PS1 had NINE variants (and to this day I've only seen 2 in person or on ebay) I went "I'm done with variants. One copy of the game and that's it!" Which if I had done so from the start I'd have 5 more W.D. games in my collection than I do today. A lesson learned that you can handicap your collection sometimes.

This might seem a bit off topic because they're technically not video games, but I have a complete collection of Nintendo Power magazine. I have all 285 issues, including some variants. There are many newsstand specials and strategy guides from Nintendo Power that I don't own, but my goal with collecting them was only to get the numbered issues, so I consider my collection complete. As far as actual video games are concerned, I consider every commercially released video game for a single console to be part of a complete set, including the regional exclusives.

I never heard of this "dirty collector" idea - I mostly collect OG Xbox in the UK/Europe, some PS2, a lot of 360 (undervalued atm) - and yeah the first thing I do with a lot of games is scrub them up and make them look clean and new, so there's often that question of "do I peel this off or just leave it?" And a lot of games come from shops, rental stores, that don't even exist any more and to me that does add to their historicity and their story. Sometimes it's just garbage stickers, sometimes it's holograms, sometimes it's Toys R Us or GAME or Electronics Boutique in the UK (I think GAME shut down recently), and those things have their own nostalgia attached to them. So I actually keep them a lot of the time - but that's because I'm a "dirty collector" apparently :D

I consider a set complete when you have 1 version of every game that was released officially. There was a point where I purged superfluous copies of games because it feels wasteful in limited space. I think having the european and japanese games is also bonus round imo. I don’t have a complete set /library of any system, but I am close to a full platinum hits collection on the original xbox. I love subset collecting. Greatest hits/PS1 long box/launch titles etc.

I think the NES is the most infamous for 1000 different ways to define complete collections. Some people only go for the licensed US games, some consider all unlicensed including huge rarities like the porn games to be necessary for a complete collection. What about variants like Stadium Events that only a few hundred are known to exist? Or the competition carts like Nintendo World Championship where only a low double digit exist and were never even sold? Some consider the European games or even the obscenely obscure HongKong games because hey, they’re NES games too. I agree with everything you said, a complete collection is defined on a personal case by case basis.

I also have a set of rules when it comes to collect stuff. Some games I rule out and I also collect games I want to play. But there is not really a define rule on complete collection since I have a set rule on what I want to collect. On paper, 100% complete collection would mean all games, all consoles, all game varations (includes regions, releases, rereleases , Platinum or OG, bundles, collectors editions etc.), all consoles variations (includes colours, regions, releases, rereleases, revisions, bundles, prototypes etc), all accessories (controllers, memory cards, multitaps and you name it), all game demos, all game previews, press kits, game prototypes and prereleases and optionally various stuffs such as merch. I have a goal to collect those stuffs too but for the moment I have a selective collection pattern and I cannot afford all of that. Good video topic I love your shirt BTW, funny!

Collecting drove me crazy at one point. At one point I realized I wasn't really collecting but hoarding. Buying games for a bunch of systems without really having a system or goal like "I owned or wanted those as a kid" or "every game within a specific franchise". It was just larger quantities of games for about 10 systems without ever having a realistic chance to have every game. So I downsized dramatically. I still own several consoles but no variations if they don't matter to me. On my shelf are both Master Systems and both Mega Drive/Mega CD variants but only one Saturn because I don't care enough about that. I sold most of my games and only kept only one or two for each system for testing pruposes and went for everdrives and ODEs to play games. The only system I kept collecting was the PAL Master System because I actually care for that but I'm 100 games in and I don't see me completing this one either. So, I'll leave it as is.

It's a tough question... As you say, I think you had always to specify what kind of collection you're in. A "complete collection" should be the most large one: all the hardware and all the software released officially, for every region so including regional variants, versions and updated reprints. But I think it's an impossible task for one single collector... About me, I only collect games that I like or are entries of certain franchises. For example I bought Final Fight Streetwise or a large number of FIFA games just because I liked the first Final Fight and FIFA '98...

im glad i never wanted a "complete" set from any system , for me once you have all your "must have" titles your collection is complete for that particular system. Ill still impulse buy from time to time if i find something out in the wild and of course new stuff for new systems but for me, my collection is complete.

For the most part, I only count normal retail releases (nothing like LRG, mail-in releases, online only, etc) and having atleast 1 variant of each. Uness it's something like a full greatest hits set, it doesn't matter which specific variant it is, only that it's the full game and I could experience everything on the system. Minor variations don't really matter to me

I'm the "I only collect what I play" but I also get games that I used to have that I no longer do & and I re-buy what I have loose so that way they have the artwork at least I'm not really picky if it doesn't have the manual for the systems that I have at least collect for and only collect which is PS2, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 & OG Xbox Games that work on 360

For myself I'm about mostly getting the games that I mostly want for a console. I was lucky to get some dreamcast stuff back in 2006 and around 2018 I went on a quest to buy almost any game that was $40 or less and now I have almost 40 DC games, some really rare. Emulation has really changed things for my collection goals, while I still want the physical copies of some games that mean alot to me I mostly just wanna play games and discover missed classics. I only have the flash cart for my Genesis model 1 and play with a retrobit controller for the genuine experience, yet other consoles I'm not as nostalgic for I'm totally ok with picking up my Anbernic handheld and having the games in a higher resolution. I want to get a few more consoles like a PC Engine and a 32x but for now I'm happy picking up things like period correct 3rd party controllers or the odd game here and there

That What's Shenmue Famitu demo was limited to 3,000 copies if I recall correctly, not 50. There's quite a few for sale on Japanese net auction sites right now.

I WILL have that Hi Saturn Navi screen one day. I hope… 😢

I have a lot of thoughts on this topic. So much so that it's hard to put into words. Maybe one day I'll pin down my thoughts on what it means to have a complete collection in this era of gaming. It's just to long of a thought thread to put in here. Maybe I'll post it in the Discord one day.

Very awesome story. I've been collecting since 2003 and have similar stories. Will make a reply video on my new channel account! Will tag you

My complete collection is having a version of every game I want to play. Version meaning I'm perfectly fine with repros of games that are $100+

For me, my collection is complete when I run out of games I'm genuinely interested in & can afford to buy & or willing to buy. I love the Dreamcast too, it's definitely my favourite console but I don't want a full collection in the slightest. There are some games I want to get from Europe or Japan (Headhunter, Sega Tetris, Shenmue 2, Planet Ring & a few others) & there's around 45 to 50 official Canadian Dreamcast games I want to get, but the rest I have no interest in buying. I go by rating, & genre per game. If it was rated highly & it's a genre I enjoy (racing, adventure, open world, platformer, FPS, Arcade, Rhythm) then I'll probably pick it up, if it's a poorly rated game & a genre I don't care for (RPG, any other variant of RPG, Visual Novel, Simulation, Point & Click) then I won't pick it up. There are exceptions I make like Seaman because it's incredibly wacky, but for the most part I make a list of all games I'm interested in & know are highly rated & a genre I like & then I slowly chip away at that list. Once I've gotten ahold of every game in the list, it'll either be my version of a complete console library, or I'll check around the console again to see if there are any other enjoyable games I missed.

I got pepsiman and Fighting Street the other day. I think I'm slowly getting there in terms of picking up weird stuff

Full sets imo. That's the direction I'm going towards at least. The idea of having a full og 360 and one xbox sets seem pretty cool to me, and actually fairly plausible as well

I think for the sake of my own sanity, wallet and space in my apartment, my collection will be "complete" when I have every game that I want to play enough to warrant the purchase.

I have a Japanese saturn but I'd definitely be happy with just owning every game that supports the external ram carts (since I picked up a pseudo saturn kai partially for that reason!) currently only one I have is real bout fatal fury but definitely on the lookout for the others.... only one that may give me trouble is the saturn version of D&D, that one's going for quite a bit so don't know that I could justify dropping that much on one game, lol. but collecting for me is focused mostly on stuff I remember liking as a kid, or stuff I saw in like game mags and stuff that I never got to play (especially in the case of Japanese stuff!)

Tbh I sometimes get tempted to go for a full Platinum Hits Xbox or Greatest Hits PS1 collection

For me I am a full set guy for the system I really like or love. Like I want every sega console and get full sets of them but like saturn I just want the US set bc the Japanese exclusive is crazy so dont need all of them. But after sixth gen dont want a full set for any of them except for the wii u want a full set of that. So just depends for me. A full set for me is to get every region of games for that console but first I get just the ntsc versions and that has to get done before I go for the pal and Japanese exclusives. I am no where near close in any console I have. I think og xbox I am at 340. Great video.

i have both versions of Whats Shenmue, I didn't know it is that rare... I used to have 50 Hello Kitty DCs, I imported them for all my Game Nation friends. I have 2 now, 1 pink 1 blue.