What Are the Worst Collecting Strategies? - Retro Bird

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Games played: Diddy Kong Racing (0:04), Goof Troop (0:29), Mega Man X4 (0:42), World of Illusion (1:07), Alien Soldier (1:15)

[@TenOfZero1]

I Appreciate this !

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Glad to hear. I used to not do this and noticed people would ask which games I was playing quite a bit. So, I started doing this and it must be working because people don't really ask at all anymore :)

[@ringfitmaster3079]

@Retro Bird, Awesome video as always. Loved the segment of you sneaking around. Personally I think a bad strategy is buying game bundles where the seller sells 5 games or more for a single price on eBay or any online store. They may have 1 or 2 games we may want but then we are left ones we don't care about. Usually sports games. XD.

[@dr.decker3623]

@@RetroBirdGaming worst strategy ever is to just buy what is "popular" or expensive,.. check out some emulators and buy the ones you like, Emulators can be used like a catalogue wide demo disk. that's how i do it really.

[@Shishkebarbarian]

@@RetroBirdGaming this is great, i really appreciate you doing this to your vids. I was particularly curious about Goof Troop and ALien SOldier and while i suspected those were the right games, i'm happy to have confirmation... now off to ebay!

[@scottlinux]

My strat has been: 1: games I owned as a kid 2: games I wished I had as a kid 3: cool games I now know are cool and should pick up :)

[@latt.qcd9221]

That's basically my NES strategy. My NES and games all ended up in a yardsale, when I was a kid, and I've been trying to rebuild my collection ever since. It's unfortunate because I had tons of games for it and now they're like $20 a pop.

[@mrkarbon]

Count me in… a very fun and satisfying approach without throwing out tons of money just for the sake of owning things (ok, don‘t exactly know how many games you wished to have as a kid… 😃). 🆙

[@johnbowles5399]

Yeah man, that's exactly my strategy when collecting for my Mega Drive, Mega CD and Sega Saturn.

[@jmpopa]

This is a great strategy and how I started collecting the games my mom gave away when I went off to school

[@jandrem]

I tried that, but my OCD had me added new levels of descriptors. Started with games I had, then games I rented or borrowed, quickly became “every game I ever played.” That’s when I stopped, lol

[@NoMereRanger73]

Buying multiple games in a series can be a bad habit if you aren’t sure you’ll even like that franchise or genre. Try out one game in a series. Then if you really like it, go for one more, and so on.

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Yes! Great advice!

[@DominiqueDeMann]

I'm Guilty of this, must be an OCD type thing

[@soundred1254]

I bought 2 Tomb Raider Games without knowing I would like the franchise or not. It was Tomb Raider Angels of Darkness and Tomb Raider Legend. Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness when I first played it I had a hard time getting into it and gave up on it. Then I played Tomb Raider Legend and absolutely loved the game. Now I have Tomb Raider Anniversary and most of the games released in the franchise and I even went back to give Angel of Darkness another try and I liked Angel of Darkness the second try.

[@NoMereRanger73]

@@soundred1254 Nice man! If you do go with a series it can turn out that way, which is probably the best case scenario. I tried the first Ni No Kuni and thought it was alright, but grindy. But the second Ni No Kuni has been amazing. I’ve probably only played Skyrim, Minecraft, and Black Flag more at this point.

[@spyrojoe4721]

@@soundred1254 yeah angel of darkness is an unfinished game made by different team as those who worked on 1-5 on the ps1 and really disappointed both me n my mum when it came out as were such fans of the originals, havn't had any interest in the newer tomb raiders since

[@Bandinthesky]

This is one of my favorite KZbin channels! All of your content is enjoyable and I love it. Keep up the amazing work!

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it :)

[@dcents5458]

Yeah, I agree good stuff talking about the game collecting. Would like for you to talk about (cough)... emulation as well.

[@letsplayclassicgames5024]

I think the worst habit I've had is buying a game because: A- It looks interesting or unusual and B- Buying a game because you couldn't find anything you really wanted, but would feel like it was a waste of a trip to come home empty handed. Habit A carried over from my record collecting hobby, because it usually worked out for me when buying records, but I have learned that doesn't carry over well when buying video games. Habit B is one I still struggle with from time to time. As a collector I have three tiers when ranking games. Teir A is the classic heavy hitter that is kind of exspensive and always eludes you, that you have wanted for years. When you see this game, if it isn't trashed and/or over priced, you are going to buy it immediately. Tier B goes to your solid classics that are in the more affordable 15-50 dollar range, insert Mario/Zelda/Ratchet and Clank/ect. Tier C goes to the games that are left over after a store has been picked over to basically nothing, and instead of walking out with nothing, you pick up something with fingers crossed it's going to be a hidden gem. Except it's not a hidden gem. Metal Jesus and Reggie would have told you that by now. Just go home and you will have twice as much money to game hunt with next time. In short. Stick with Tier A and B games is the advice I have given myself and try to follow as much as possible.

[@ExtremeWreck]

Habit A happens sometimes because of poor quality back in the day. Since the internet wasn't really "around" per se, it made it easier for terrible, low quality & low effort games to be released.

[@brianhatcher2799]

My bad strategy is continually buying games in general when I don’t even have the time to really play and enjoy all the ones I have.😞 I feel like I’m slowly getting better though, and sticking with just playing a few games at a time(with the prospect of beating them soon and playing other games)

[@vvanasperen]

You are not alone. But I'm also getting better at it. 🤭

[@ExplorerAUDIO]

I alway say to myself: Just one game at a time. And I stick with it. I play a game until it's beaten and then I decide what do play next. And again: I stick to it until it's beaten. In some cases (RPG'S for example) it might be that I play a second game simultaneously. A Plattformer or Puzzle Game or a game I know it's relatively short. For me it works pretty well. No anxietys and one after another.

[@brianhatcher2799]

@@ExplorerAUDIO Hey, thanks for the good suggestions!! I will definitely try to implement that!

[@DilRyeMaster]

How is your wife not laughing her butt off with you “sneaking around” like that? Did that require 100 takes or does it happen so often she’s just completely over it by now? 🤣

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Oh, that's kind of just how we are around here :)

[@dannys1392]

Haha I was gonna ask the same. Him waltzing around like he's Linda Blair from the Exorcist while his wife just casually lounging around with such a straight face. Haha classic🤣 keep up all the great content Retro Bird!

[@killhacker5776]

@@RetroBirdGaming I love how she peeks over a shakes her head slightly had me chuckling.

[@nickwallette6201]

@@killhacker5776 LOL... yeah. "sigh... When I said I wanted children, this is not what I meant."

[@richardfosterII7575]

My bad habits of collecting was I would buy new games and not play them right away and in a few months they were alot cheaper. So I should of bought it later. I collect full sets of alot of comsoles I have. Great video.

[@cultofdis]

Yours is one of the few channels where if I see a new upload, I stop what I'm doing and watch right away.

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Thank you for that!

[@sonicmaiden2871]

I would suggest emulating the games before buying them physically to see if you like it. I think of this strategy like playing a demo before buying the game.

[@jamesaitchison9478]

Watching Retro Bird on a windy and rainy Saturday morning is just perfect to cozy up to.

[@brandonhiggs88]

The Nintendo switch made me fall in love with collecting again. There's so many retro and new games that are just gaming staples. Company's like limited run, super rare, strictly limited, playasia, etc really makes collecting for the switch really fun because it's a mix of classics and new games that are do much fun to play. Like just having a physical copy of games like scott pilgrim vs the world in physical form

[@VideoGameOwnage123]

I love the switch but collecting for it is terrible imo. It's BECAUSE of those companies bloating up the physical game library with all those indie games is what makes it unfun. There's also a near constant stream of limited editions and collector's edition that obtaining nearly a fraction of it is crazy expensive and most of the time it's filled with crap you don't want anyway. Sorry about the rant btw. I can see why somebody would love it for all those reasons I mentioned.

[@brandonhiggs88]

@@VideoGameOwnage123 I totally get your point for someone wanting a complete collection but when you just buy the games your passionate about besides PC the switch is the best console to turn to in my opinion. I do get the false rarity with the limited print company's tho which does suck but at the same time it's good we actually get it in physical form and with things like owners manuals which seem to have died sadly. I remember the days of getting a game and reading the manual on the way home in excitement for playing the game

[@InkfinityOkamix3]

Limited Run is a scam. Artificially limited games aren’t actually “limited”. It just takes the mystique out of collecting or collections when you have Limited Run games. Not to mention the majority of the games they release are crap, games that most people wouldn’t buy anyway if they weren’t labeled “LIMITED” and “RARE” by resellers and marketers

[@brandonhiggs88]

@@InkfinityOkamix3 I don't care about resale value I care about having phsyical copies of games I enjoy. I don't buy every single release but some are games that wouldn't have a physical other wise. I do understand your point like play Asia releasing grandia HD collection after limited runs "limited run" same as the old star wars games. I honestly don't care if it's worth more or less than when I bought it. Like I will never sell super rare games physicals of lovers in a dangerous space time, shelter or worms wmd. Value isn't really important to me as they are games I love and will never leave my collection

[@inputfunny]

Eh. A lot of Switch games require internet access to download patches or big chunks of the game, so they may be much worse off or even unplayable 20+ years from now when the servers are closed. Also they use flash memory, so they have a limited number of times they can be read by the console before they stop working. They aren't the same as old NES/SNES games that may last 100+ years. This probably won't be an issue unless the game is played a lot over the years, but it's worth noting.

[@Malcoladdin]

Trying to find games in the wild! It takes much less time, and is often cheaper to buy from local retro gaming groups

[@coryrabbit]

A lot more places around me have been picking up old games. I'm loving it. Lol

[@RetroBirdGaming]

I've always found searching in the wild to be tough. Even like 10 years ago. Some have much better luck than others.

[@RetiredGamers]

A bad strategy of mine is to sell my collection for other game systems only to find out I want to play those sold games 20 years later.

[@nickwallette6201]

That's a very common strategy.

[@LeftLeaningPinko]

I have been bitten by this one before. The trouble is that as a kid, this was often my only viable way to experience said newer game systems. The good news is that most of them became cheap (digitally, at least) years later.

[@playafly316]

That ending though, and when she shakes her head at him! 😂😂

[@rbatesmotel]

Watching this video was like a braindump, almost to a T. Always passed the same strategies on to my buddies when they started out collecting. Collect what you like/love, dont buy bulk, just to buy bulk. If you do this you will end up with Quality over Quantity and you will be happier with your collection, as you bought games/items that you were vested in. BTW, love your videos

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Glad you like the channel! Thank you :)

[@arcanismajoris]

You absolutely hit the nail on the head with this. For some, falling into game collecting can be an addictive and stressful endeavor. The overwhelming urge to search for video games high and low can be maddening. It seems sad to say this but sometimes we need to hear that it's okay to not buy every junk game we find for the sake of building our collection and to make it our own, no matter how large or small it is. Thank you for providing such therapeutic advice.

[@TT-jl1qs]

For me the hunt the the most fun part of it. Once you find everything you were looking for what else are you going to do? It's not like you can't play them without physically owning them.

[@littlelum9773]

One bad habit that I've haven't heard people talk about is over researching games. It's entirely possible that in the end it could spoil your experience with the game, auch as stumbling on a plot twist in an rpg

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Good point! There's something to be said about getting to experience a game fresh.

[@nickwallette6201]

I'll take the consensus (or a random one-off heart-felt recommendation) as a guide to what I should look into, then check out the Wikipedia article. If the reception is generally good, the handful of screenshots looks interesting, and a skim through the overview seems compelling enough, into the queue it goes. :-) Any more than that will probably not lead to a better outcome, since our tastes all vary anyway. I will usually have a pretty solid "huh" or "ehhh" feeling in my gut by then, and as long as it isn't a ridiculously expensive title, it's worth a shot. If it does't work out, it goes on to the next guy.

[@NegativeGamer418]

Buying a huge bulk of retro games in one shot and playing them later, is also a bad strategy. It takes time away from playing the games you already have and you spend money at a rapid pace. Instead you should buy them as you beat the game you already have. You should be having more views man, great topic and a great retro channel 👍

[@BigChunkySkates]

Lots of great tips I’ve learned the hard way: buying games in bad condition, ignoring a console, and buying every cheap game I see in the wild all hit home. I look at a lot of it as the natural progression of collecting. Since you can usually sell things back for what you paid for or more, it’s a uniquely forgiving hobby if you have the patience. I’ve said this before on here, my number one suggestion is making a list or phone note and rating games/hardware/software that you want on a scale to remind you where your priorities are. Now if I could just stick to the list….

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Haha. The struggle can be very real!

[@cd4playa1245]

He’s! The! Retrobird-YEAH! And he’s talkin-talking about games!

[@Demokirby]

One defense of buying somewhat random games for super cheap is for just something new to play. Very cool feeling to buy something you don't know much about that is cheap and discover it is enjoyable.

[@Rain-wu1yv]

I fell into buying retro games at a rate that outpaced my time to play them. Games starting to rise is cost is what started it. I got worried if I didn't pick them up now the prices would jump even more. I've since corrected that thankfully and have actually downsized my collection to what I refer to as my core collection. I've also decided if it's a game I want to play, but the cost for an original copy is higher than I really want to pay, I'm fine with buying a digital version of that game just to be able to experience it. If a physical ever comes down to a price range in comfortable with I'd pick it up at that point. I feel that took the pressure off of "needing" to buy the game in it's original form. With that said, I'm still pro physical as much as possible.

[@TheUncommonValley]

Good to know that there are people who use their Virtua On twin sticks as decor for their bathrooms. Helps to brighten up the mood with some Sega around!

[@megamob5834]

I can relate to the “don’t buy broken stuff thinking you can fix it” segment. Got a couple very clean “as is” consoles recently (including a fat reverse compatible PS3) thinking if they were indeed broken I could maybe revive them. Long story short I couldn’t! 😂 luckily managed to sell them for parts and got my money back, but lesson learned! 😅 I’m also a firm believer in quality over quantity and doing your homework before buying! (Gameplay footage, recent sold prices, etc.) great advice all round RB 👍 P.S.- I now have a strong urge to replay X4 for the 300th time 😎

[@RetroBirdGaming]

X4 is a great game. I'm a huge sucker for train stages too!

[@nickwallette6201]

Buying a clean, but broken, console is not a bad strategy, IMO. You can always replace the guts with a not-so-clean, but not-so-broken console. :-)

[@megamob5834]

@@nickwallette6201 very true, as long as the price is right! :P

[@sushi_donut]

That head shake from Mama Bird 😄😄

[@eymed2023]

When I hear "next video", my brain immediately expected to hear the ending theme, but *this time*... ...OK, with that ending gag, I'm further convinced you're not done outdoing yourself just yet. Somebody needs to do a compilation of "Best Retrobird Visual Gags". This stuff is gold!

[@Groglor]

My bad habit is not selling off games to pay for the hobby. But I also buy stuff if its a good deal or if I can double up.

[@catvideojogos]

My "strategy" is a full set of Megadrive/Genesis and Master System PAL, I didn't go after EVERYTHING in the field of video games, I see that over the years buying a little bit of everything ends up being "a little bit of nothing" that others don't. In a Full set I "find" games that don't exist in all collections, (not because they are rare or expensive) but because they are games that many people ignore exactly because they Collect/Play a little bit of everything, and they have (Of course) to be selective because money isn't enough for everything and choices have to be made! Certain video games. On Megadrive / Genesis, like: Generations Lost or Ex-Mutants are ignored by many people (who have to be selective and buy only the best known titles from the MD/Genesis system) such as: Sonic Street of Rage You will never play or collect games like: Alien Soldier or Mega-Lo-Mania that are excellent games and very complex to play.

[@TurboNutterBastard]

I really enjoyed Generations Lost, it's just a shame that it's such a short game.

[@sneakingelephant]

Love the comedy of your channel! Really wish I was as comfortable on-screen as you

[@Dav3Campb3ll]

Third! Wife bought me Lawnmower man and Last Action Hero Snes. Worst games I've ever played.

[@ShadowJuanathan]

I gotta be honest: that Alien Soldier boss fight had me stressed out.

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Right? I screwed up early and just barely made it.

[@idxman01]

You also bring up a great point about buying broken gear. Admittedly I’m not hardcore with fixing hardware, but am handy enough and got my NES and GBC on the cheap as they needed work. (thankfully minor). Was basically a calculated judgement call and some luck. 👍

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Yeah, it can work out if the fix seems doable enough and you're confident you can handle it. I've done it myself :)

[@janinebrittanica4314]

Many of us in the film collecting community could stand to follow these strategies!

[@sauce7670]

your words on waiting to buy games you really want is super accurate. Obviously I agree that you shouldnt spend above your means but for sure sometimes I wish I had just bought something when I knew I could afford it and I just thought "id find it cheaper" now I either cant find them at all or their so expensive its just not worth it to me any more

[@matthewmartin4602]

Hilarious! Why is this channel not more popular?

[@Deadite8593]

I used to buy a lot of stuff that was broken or partially working, but these days the prices aren't worth it. You used to be able to pick up these items for pennies on the dollar, but now the prices are usually only 20-30% less than a fully tested functional item and it isn't even worth the hassle, let alone the risk.

[@tretrotrotre]

Yeah i buy broken consoles and games then fix them but lately Even things in Bad condition are expensive, it sucks.

[@tahustvedt]

My strategy is "That random game footage looks like it has interesting technical features" and then try to find the cheapest one online.

[@SuperNicktendo]

I've been using the strategy found in a guide book from the early 2000s - collect games you know you want to play first and then branch out from there. Some games that are expensive are expensive because they were terrible. Also emulate the game before plunking down the cash - sometimes all you want to do is play for a little bit and then you get your fill. Also try not use whatnot to buy games if you're new to the hobby. Especially from big creators. People overpay like crazy. Try local and then go on eBay next.

[@megamob5834]

Lol, not going to name any names, but was just watching a big KZbinrs whatnot auction before this. Could not believe the prices he was getting for stuff. But hey, if people want to pay more for the “prestige” of buying from a bigger KZbinr, power to them I guess 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@latt.qcd9221]

Emulation is a huge benefit when it comes to determining what to buy. Heck, I would never have even gotten into JRPGs at all, if it hadn't been for emulation. One thing I've also done to "strategize" is to prioritize games I want that *_can't_* be emulated, either because it's difficult to emulate, or because it's simply not possible without the proper hardware, like games that use motion controls or 3D effects like the 3DS. Games like Yoshi's Topsy-Turvy simply can't be played without extra hardware.

[@SuperNicktendo]

@@megamob5834 we might have been watching the same one tonight lol. Definitely games going for more than $10

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Uh oh! That sounds like trouble brewing.

[@amdll112]

Great stuff! Love the energy you have in all your vids, love the setup with the controller and the game being showcased and how it’s all lit up, the way you can make anything you’re talking about interesting… I’d love to see the channel grow a great audience and getting the recognition it deserves. Keep it up!

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Thank you for that! Very kind of you :)

[@chrispodesta8105]

It's interesting for me to be coming back to collecting retro games after a good bunch of years away. I know what social media and KZbin specifically has done to collecting other stuff, but I'm still figuring out what the effect has been on games. The height of my collecting was probably right before KZbin was even a thing, so the landscape has definitely changed and the assumptions I used to have about what was out there doesn't necessarily carry over

[@vantastic4191]

Going for a complete set seems to be a good strategy. It's been working for John Hancock, who says he's doing it for "preservation" and he's going to "build a museum", so people just mail him games. Not a bad idea! Although I don't understand how keeping a video game sealed in a box behind a locked glass door is going to preserve anything. It's kinda hard to play an original NES game without using the cartridge.

[@luliby2309]

Doing your research and knowing what you want ahead of time really is key. I've always been good most of my life about being sure about what I want. Not just for gaming, but in general.

[@callmebender]

Great video!! I think it is a bad strategy, at least for me, to buy big mayor AAA releases at MSRP, when I could be saving 15, 20 dollars down the road. Specially on brand new games, there is money to be saved just by waiting.

[@jetpackindustry]

Good work, I don't think she saw you sneak those sweet nanners

[@Simoss13]

A bad strategy I used is buying a game that people said it was good but never appealed to me. An example (but not the actual game) is Crono Trigger, people would say its great, but if I don't like turn based combat it will not appeal to me no matter how great the game is. So you buy the game hoping it will change your mind, and well it doesn't. The pressure of the community instead of following my gut led you to where you are now and makes you feel foolish, adding salt to the wound

[@Deadite8593]

I can definitely relate to ignoring certain consoles. I picked up a Neo Geo AES about 20 years ago with a handful of mediocre to decent games, and haven't picked up a single new game for it since haha. I fire it up every once in awhile to play Magician Lord or Baseball Stars, but I don't see myself forking out the cash to play Metal Slug in my lifetime.

[@luiscortazar6291]

My bad collecting strategy is based on impulsive decisions. If I see it get reviewed or hear someone like it then I need it too. Most of my expensive games we're those impulse buys.

[@AnthonyFlack]

I'm one of those with an unusual perspective because I'm a game designer. Any game is potentially worth it if it gives me a useful idea, and as crazy as it sounds sometimes bad games can be an inspiration for something better. Or even just to serve as an example of what to avoid. Maybe you're thinking of doing something, and then you're reminded of a bad game that tried something similar, and how that went wrong. After all, you can't just study the successes or else over time everything starts to look more and more the same.

[@collectingonthecheap56353]

I have a few "games" for the DS that many would ignore, but I do enjoy occasionally are Personal Trainer Math, Personal Trainer Cooking, and its sequel America's Test Kitchen Let's Get Cooking. The math I originally bought for my kids, but I ended up keeping one copy as they weren't into edutainment. The cooking ones, I actually do enjoy cooking, and thought why not. The personal trainer cooking even has a banana fritter recipe, which is basically beer battered deep fried bananas. I have learned some new skills and recipes from them, but the hidden gem of those cooking games are the Game And Watch game included on each title, Chef on the original, and Egg on the sequel. I have wanted to get the entire Touch Generations series for DS at one point, but ultimately decided it would be a waste of money to get other titles that I won't even play like Brain Age and Nintendogs. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is one of the best for that series.

[@RichDuckKing]

You hit the nail on the head. My best friend has a complete US N64 set and Wii U set. I don’t like either console very much, but they’re special to him so who am I to judge? For me, personally, I made a conscious decision to go for the more expensive games early on. Let me tell you, buying Panzer Dragoon Saga, Magic Knight Rayearth, Shining Force 3, and the other Saturn rarities 10-12 years ago was a GREAT decision. I paid less for all of my Saturn rarities then than Saga costs by itself now.

[@idxman01]

Great video and it’s not just because I’m partial to goof troop. Full disclosure: From a quick estimate I’ve easily spent $1200 over the past 8 months starting up my retro collection. It started with “I just want a snes since I never had one” and ended up adding a 64, nes, super gameboy, GBA, GBC and a slew of games. The sad part is that I kind of ignored snes games and still haven’t built that side the collection much. I got the super gameboy right after the console and went down that rabbit hole… Another bad habit is getting excited about a game from reviews, obsessing until I find it, but ultimately it might not be my cup of tea. It’s best for me to demo via emulation first. I’m also trying to hold off on physical copies of games I can play via Switch online, mini consoles or Wii/WiiU VC. Basically use what I have first unless I happen to find a really crazy deal.

[@GRORGvideot]

0:15 my cat once swallowed a rubber halloween snake and then moved like that until threw up the snake, then back to normal

[@gooby1926]

Starting a new collection for retro is so expensive right now.

[@princegoatcheese9379]

From my experience, eBay auctions are cut-throat. Some people adopted the Sniper Bid tactic to secure auctions at the very last second. Sure, it's annoying, but it sure beats increasing your bid to outbid others only to realize that you're paying a little bit lower than actual resell value. Let's say you're bidding for a copy of Chrono Trigger and the highest bid is $90. You don't want to overpay for it if you were looking for a lower price because, chances are, the highest bidder has also secured their max bid higher to ensure they win the auction. So if you're hoping to outbid someone, be smart and know when to take an L and find a new auction.

[@overnightdelivery]

@Rex Warden Yeah I'm a EBAY sniper too. If you bid early you're just inviting a bidding war. You're more likely to win the item and pay less for it by bidding big at the end. If you still get outbid, you're glad you saved your cash.

[@ianhadlock2405]

I actually enjoyed the 27 dresses video game. With the game shark you can unlock the 28th one. So worth it.

[@eymed2023]

Which game is that? What system is it for? How much did it sell for?

[@Jimpy88]

The worst "cost saving strategy" I've used..... Was..... Buying Disc games without cases!.... Embarassing but alot of my collection used to be stored in disc folders It's so great to see a KZbinr with a big collection. Talking about how ways to enjoy games, without the oringal hardware or a big collection

[@denystyshchenko3573]

Great video, maybe even one of the best for me. It’s like pretty much all thoughts that I had compressed into one informative video

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Glad to hear it!

[@WonderWilson]

i finally am getting to this point in my snes and genesis collections at least where i am getting much less picky about what i add to it as long as the price is low enough

[@philosophyoftrucking]

This should be required viewing before plunging into video game collecting.

[@veniteo]

Interesting take. :-) Regarding complete collections, it's definitely not for most folks, but if that's what they genuinely want, I don't see why it should be considered a "bad strategy". One of the goals of my collection is to share it with others, and through them learn different ways of enjoying games. So having a library of games to choose from and study is interesting to me. Also, while finding space for things can be a problem, I actually find it enjoyable to tetris my large collection into limited space in my apartment while still maintaining a good amount of comfortable open space. I feel lucky that most of my original ideas have panned surprisingly out well, and I'm rather proud of what I've accomplished.

[@apexanomaly]

Yeah I can relate to buying something in a condition that I didn't want and regretting it later. I bought a used copy of Shadow of the Colossus back in the day from GameStop that was just the disc and had that hideous generic box label. Later went back and bought a CIB off eBay for it. Felt kind of silly about it.

[@mausmalone]

I keep looking at your collection and thinking "man I wish my collection was that nice" and actually the problem with my collection is it's much LARGER than yours. I have to keep my games in totes in the basement because there's just no room to display any of them. So I think one strategy I need to get away from is hoarding. Yes, all these games were interesting to me at one time or another, but I should probably spend some time figuring out how to slim down to just the stuff I actually want.

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Consolidation can be a beautiful thing! I can't recommend it enough. Allows you to focus on the stuff you like the most :)

[@erneststackhouse1133]

One thing you didn't cover was COOL COVERS! The art just sings to you & you buy it without looking into it. Never judge a game by it's cover! I'm one of them $5 dollar buyer in the wild without looking into it too. It really does add up after awhile. My wife told me there is a reason why it is only 5 bucks. But she hardly follows me when I go game hunting, so majority of the time I forget her strategy! Then I play it & go...D'Oh! Thanks for the Bird Seeds of Strategies out there! Let's see if I learn to duck to save 5 bucks! Ha-Ha!

[@cartridgegamer5224]

I love that take of you putting the console box on the top of the toilet, I suppose if you cling like plastic wrap around it that's pretty practical. They do take an awful lot of space, I mite do the console box on the toilet. Thanks for another cool video

[@Shishkebarbarian]

limited space and money has always been the reason i am so selective about my purchases... but that didn't stop me from amassing thousands of games. the thing is... a lot of the games i wasn't interested in when they were $5... are now 50. and the ones that were $20, are now 200. so i got into the habit of picking up cheap games that are unique or just interesting, even if i'm not particularly interested in them at the moment. As far as bad habit, i couldn't agree with you more on full sets and only sticking to certain consoles... but there is a huge wonderful world out there and limits suck

[@RestorationRelaxation]

My worst strategy was buying games without the manual to save a few bucks. Now I want the manuals and I can’t find them anywhere

[@DominiqueDeMann]

Aww man I know exactly what you mean!

[@yusofplayed]

Just here to say that Mr. nuts joke had me rolling on the floor 😂

[@PKInTheUniverse]

I’m definitely guilty of the buying games just because of the curiosity. I’ve definitely gone away from the whole getting a complete set of anything just for the sake of it. I have so little interest in owning bad games that I will never play.

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Buying games out of curiosity isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think you just need the right balance to it. It can be easy to get carried away.

[@joeg4707]

One thing I stopped doing quite quickly was purchase CIB for consoles I don't have. 🤣 The quick flash of Xenogears hurts bad. It's the only game I've ever lost!

[@RetroBirdGaming]

That sucks. I'm sorry to hear that :(

[@retrokelpie7606]

not being able to fix it and wasting your money - absolute gold!

[@ProjectGameVault]

You made a good point about having the great games on lots of consoles I’ve been selling off some of the games that I don’t play enough for better ones on consoles I don’t play enough

[@SkyScourgeGod]

A very interesting topic since everyone's concept of what's good strategy and what's bad strategy will always differ from person to person. For me, a bad collecting strategy is buying games in bulk, at least in most cases. Most bulk sales for games will have shovelware, worthless sports titles like Madden or just titles in general that you know you don't want or care about so your investment isn't going to be very good unless you're going for complete collections. Some bulk sales are pretty decent, but they're rarer and usually cost much more so unless you want every title in the lot it's still a bit of a gamble. I've done some bulk sales before, but I'm very selective about them and usually I'll trade in stuff to my local retro store to get credit towards another game or two they have that I do want. Typically, however, bulk sales should be avoided all together. Just go for what you want specifically. I have to contest against getting games in less than your own desired condition as being a bad strategy, but only to a certain degree and only for those who fall into the "fix broken stuff" camp. For me, I don't mind finding my games that have stickers on them as long as the artwork and manual are unaffected. I actually get immense satisfaction out of cleaning those evil stickers and other residue off of my games, it makes the hunt easier to. I used to not mind having no manuals for some of my purchased games but these days I'll only buy those if they're incredibly cheap like Goodwill finds or something. Finding spare manuals is often much harder than finding the game itself, so this endeavor is not for thew faint of heart. Damaged cases can be a bit tricky for me. DVD cases I'm fairly picky about since good quality replacements aren't in good supply, but older jewel cases like on PS1 and Japanese Saturn games I'm more lenient on since good quality standard CD cases can be bought relatively easy to replace broken ones. Whatever you do though, don't buy games that are missing the artwork or have really damaged artwork in them. Those are by far the hardest to replace. GameStop, Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are notorious for having no artwork or their own terrible inserts in their games and that's a shame.

[@RetroBirdGaming]

I agree with you about cleaning stickers! That's something I feel confident about being able to get rid of (assuming it's not on a game's label or anything too tricky). I've had some very satisfying labels that I've removed!

[@kevinrempel4059]

Hilarious video!! Your sense of humour is incredible.

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Thank you!

[@chrissolum8323]

My bad strategy has been to keep buying games at a rate quicker than I can complete them. At the start it was ok because I got a couple of bulk lot deals for extremely cheap, but it quickly grew into a backlog that will take 10 years to complete. I’ve now had to set myself goals to control my spending (e.g. no more Switch games until I’m down to my last unplayed game, no PS3 games until I remove 60 from my backlog, etc.)

[@pheria]

My worst strategy when I first got into collecting was buying games based on what I thought I'd like based on what I already had, but hadn't played at any point to confirm that. I was getting games faster than I was playing them, and getting games I thought I'd enjoy. If I saw a game from a series on genre I thought I liked, because I thought I'd like the other game I also bought, but also hadn't yet played or tried it to confirm - I ended up in a weird position of buying for what I thought my tastes were rather than what they actually were. Really strange! Take your time and make sure you play stuff instead of just buying it.

[@StellawasaBicycle]

I would say I definitely bought more than my share of bad games due to cost, staring directly at games purchased for 3do. Wow, there were some stinkers on that system. Your content is fantastic btw!!!

[@coryrabbit]

I have to admit that I do, on occasion, buy terrible games on purpose. Watching my son and friends play the Japanese version of Jekyll and Hyde is priceless.

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Haha :)

[@backloggamereviews]

I just like to collect games in general good or bad. If the back of the box or the cover looks interesting I’ll pick it up

[@mangaymer]

Man, so many of these points hit home. I’ve been re-evaluating my collection and replacing quantity with quality ❤️

[@freddysandoval4252]

This could be an idea for a video about collecting. One thing I found during my time collecting was that I would sometimes pony up the cash for a rare and/or expensive game I actually loved (Often Complete in box), but I felt kind of empty after getting it. It felt like I was misinterpreting what I really wanted. The thrill of hunting for it at the cheapest price I could find was fun, but once I had it I rarely jumped in and ran through it, almost like nostalgia for the era itself overtook my reasoning and what I really cared about owning . I've since reduced my collection significantly down to the games I have the most personal connection to, and the rest I prefer to just emu*cough*ate.

[@nubatman]

My bad habits tend to be bulk buying and just outright buying games way under cost. I've been pitted a few times on buying lots and it's always for a few specific titles. I'm not one to immediately sell/flip games to weed out the ones I will not enjoy. So I end up with doubles or even triplets of games I have no use for. The other is buying games on the cheap. I usually set a goal of getting, at least, one game per week. I try not to purchase any games over $5. Sometimes I miss out on getting a game I want even if it was sold for $6.

[@DominiqueDeMann]

You can go a little higher than $5 bucks bro its ok! but I know what you mean

[@metaldiceman]

Bad strategy that lasted 1 and only 1 shopping trip : Oh hey, here's an uncommon, niche type of PS2 game, jet fighter / air combat, will be a nice gem to the collection, oh here's another, and another, what a treasure trove! // * walks to cash register with foot and a half tall stack of PS2 games belonging to a genre I've never even played before or know whether or not I like * // Yep, that group of games quickly wound up in a box like a sad club of misfits. Maybe I'll try one of them out someday. Maybe.

[@slamshift6927]

It's okay to only own two games for a system! I only have two games for my Saturn! Both of them Virtua Cop. Now as to how many games I have that I can play on my Saturn,... well my attorney has informed me that I shouldn't answer that question.

[@sneakingelephant]

I think a complete library is overkill and a money sink that won't see much return in either monetary value or more importantly personal happiness value. I think its better to be willing to shell out for pricey games if you keep the mindset that you are willing to sell it again to acquire other games. That way you won't feel it too hard on your wallet. Half of my games were acquired through the years from just trading in. There's a lot of gems I bought day 1 and then sold on kijiji(sort of like craigslist) after beating. If I really wanted the game still I would end up rebuying it down the line for much cheaper.

[@GameplayandTalk]

Tons of great points as always! I'm definitely guilty of the "quantity over quality" approach to collecting (and playing). I like to think of it as a positive because it's at least gotten me to try a lot of games a lot of people probably normally will not have.

[@BlankSpacePub]

Your facial expression at 2:13. Physical comedy at its best.

[@Butterism]

There's only 1 game in my collection that I bought knowing it wasn't good' and that was Thundercats 2011 for the DS. As I kid, there was so many shows I loved that my mom wouldn't buy me the games for. Since licensed games are typically cheap and I have disposable income, I figured why not. Anywho, back to Thundercats. I really liked the show so I was super happy when I saw there was a DS game for it. That was until I started looking at reviews and gameplay videos. I was disappointed, but I still really wanted a video game about my favorite version of the Thundercats. To make a long story slightly shorter, I still bought it because "it was only $5." The gameplay? Just as bad as the reviews say. But I still like it because I like the Thundercats.😅 The only other bad strategy I had for collecting was picking up games that I thought was popular/rare. I'm not a Pokemon fan. I've never been a Pokemon fan. And I tried for years to get into the games and always found them boring. When I saw a Mystery Dungeon game at GameStop, I picked it up because I thought it was rare and tbh, I just wanted to flex. Whelp having that game in my collection that 1, wasn't that expensive as I thought it was, and 2, was just a slog to play, I ended up trading it back in, in like a month. I learned that lesson the hard way and I don't need to learn it twice.

[@mr.horseshoe2301]

I emulate everything and buy the games I enjoyed, but only if they're a reasonable price. Suikoden II was amazing, but I ain't paying the exorbitant price for it.

[@bananieldiamonds1921]

One Time me an My Brothers went to go hike on some trails. we brought a gameboy and several games, but it turned out the backpack had a small hole. we lost all of our games on the trail. we turned back and found all but one, pokemon blue. a few years later we were on the same trail and FOUND IT! the battery was dead but it was so cool to find the game after all those years. similar things happened with a wario game in an alley way and Lego racers for N64 in a bush for 12 years

[@luiscortazar6291]

So a few months ago. I went to an Arcade fell in love with Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Within a few weeks I impulsively bought a Dreamcast and a copy of MVC2. I have a few other games for Dreamcast like Jet Set Radio, and a burned copy of Castlevania but it's easily the game I play the most on the console. And I am just not good at fighting games. I love the music, I love playing with friends and I love it when I win by the skin of my teeth but I'm not good at fighting games. So trying to unlock all the characters the right way is gonna be a struggle. Getting better at the game and understanding how to do combos and infinites is gonna take a lot of time I don't have. But I want to.

[@FinnSwede906]

Probably "Buy whatever's the most expensive to say I have it!" Or "Everyone online is in love with (insert game title here) so I'm sure I'll love it too!"

[@FinnSwede906]

Imo the worst collection strategy is to go full blown Pokemon: "Gotta (Buy/Collect) 'Em All!"

[@rodgyretro]

Entertaining and thought provoking as usual, keep the great vids coming 😉

[@RedNeon942]

Collecting for a system you don’t really have a connection to. I once wanted a full NES set, which is crazy because I decided that before I even played the thing. Also never buy sight unseen, that leads to ripped labels, no boxes or manuals etc… I’ve learned the same lessons to go after what you want before you’re priced out and Phantasy Star IV costs $400 instead of just $60.

[@chm77777]

I have a 'complete by my standards' collection for a few consoles. I'm very happy with it. That standard is games I played growing up which means ones I rented, borrowed, played with friends, found through emulation or wanted but never got. My SNES collection doesn't have Zelda or the big name RPGs but I don't care. I never played them growing up. I'm happy for them to be on my Snes Mini as I played them later on in life.

[@rockguitarist931]

I was buying a lot of SNES games when I got back into it last year, partly for the sake of buying them and partly for the sake of building up a decent library. I made a master list of what I wanted based on some "best of" and "most underrated" lists I found online. Most of the titles have been worth it so far.

[@adamdenardis5438]

I once found Tetris Plus in a Goodwill but inside the case was the disc for Frogger 2. 😂

[@emmawagner8915]

I actually bought a ds lite to try to fix it because I think it would be cool to learn how to do that stuff. But it was only $5 so I won’t feel bad if it doesn’t work out. Sometimes it’s just a simple battery replacement like on my sp. I was so happy to see it turn on

[@RetroBirdGaming]

Yeah, at $5 the risk-reward equation is in your favor.

[@HeyHedgehog]

Bro… Ketchup water???? I’m so dead. 💀 Your comedy and timing is golden.

[@stuartleckie]

Great topic. Personally I find I get frustrated trying to hunt out specific things. So, I’ve pulled back from looking as hard, and try to make myself happy, and not try to keep up with what you tubers suggest 🤪 I looked at my collection. I have more games than I have gaming time left in my life! So, I can afford to wait for the exact stuff I want. 😆