An unexpected event
To begin with, we are going back to 2014-2015, and to put things in context, I have been in an apartment, studying in university, and in a relationship for a few years. At that time, I had other interests; between studies, odd jobs, friends and my girlfriend; I hadn't played video games on a regular basis for at least 7-8 years. After some time talking here and there about the good old days and the video games of my childhood with my entourage and my partner, the latter surprises me and offers me a Super Nintendo console with the game Donkey Kong Country for Christmas! So it was during the 2014-2015 holiday season that everything started (or rather, started again)!
A propensity to be a collector
Since I was young, I have collected and hoarded all kinds of things. Whether it's LEGO sets, Pokémon cards or even items signed by Montreal Canadiens players, I never got rid of one of my collections... I quickly realized that I could also collect video games from my childhood! So I started by accumulating and buying all game bundles at good prices with interesting stuff, limiting myself to Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 platforms. I had a nice collection in less than a year, including the majority of the most popular games for these three consoles. It's crazy how just finding a rare, coveted, or just great game in a bundle gives us adrenaline and satisfaction; after a while, you can't get enough of this feeling!
A flourishing community
What is thrilling in the world of a collector is to share his passion and his anecdotes with others who have the same hobby. In 2015, retro video games and social networks had been in vogue for a few years already. It was therefore very easy to integrate communities of retro game enthusiasts, to be encouraged to pursue this hobby and to be influenced by the discoveries of others... So it didn't take long before I started to diverge from my primary goal of collecting, and then, collecting games from all kinds of old consoles.
A childhood dream comes true
I still collect to this day, although I rarely acquire pieces for my personal collection. My collection now has more than 1200 games between Nintendo (NES, SNES, N64, NGC, Wii and Game Boy), SEGA (Genesis, Dreamcast and GameGear), Sony (PS1 and PS2) and others (Turbografx-16 and Atari 2600) . Since the launch of my online store, I've decided to refocus my attention more specifically on my Nintendo 64 collection; I strive to have the complete library of original games and accessories released in North America. I now have all the consoles and most of the games I always dreamed of having in my childhood, but I no longer have enough time to enjoy them… I consider myself more of a collector than a gamer.
"I created a MONSTER"
These are the exact words that my girlfriend likes to divulge in the presence of our relatives and friends. She's probably referring to the room full of games and accessories at our home, maybe also half of our very cluttered basement and probably me cleaning and fixing everything on the kitchen counter. Don't worry, we get along very well... most of the time!
Last word
Don't compare your collection to those of others, but tell the stories of your finds and the anecdotes of your childhood. It's much more interesting than the quantity or value of your collection!