question for the old timers.

[GPX | 1,403]

This feels like group therapy for the late 30s and above. Ok, I’m in!

I think there are 2 separate issues. 
1. “midlife crisis” - where you personally start to have medical issues or a declining health, or are witnessing in your close ones. Hobbies become less meaningful than as before, and the meaning of life you start to ponder more.

2. Is collecting games a “waste of time?” If it sounds like @final fight cd, you’ve been collecting for a fair while, it’s probable that’s a built-in part of who you are. If at any times you’ve enjoyed the hobby then it’s never a “waste of time” in my opinion. However, as with any hobby, we need to realize it’s important to re-evaluate ourselves routinely to see if we need to modify what we do, collect something else or find new ventures in life. 

Also, maybe it’s not the hobby itself that we’re unhappy about, but to do with dealing with people we don’t enjoy dealing with. Personally, I still love touching mint stuff, but I’m not liking to deal with some sellers that made me start up a recent thread..I’m still going to collect for life, but I choose less time dealing with A-holes, and picking up more sports along the way.

 

[PII | 2,030]

3 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Welp, I feel better. All these names Ive seen all these years, I always just assumed you guys were all my age. I just turned 33 and I thought I had been at this a long time but all you crackin over 40?! 

With an awesome name like "LeatherRebel", I always figured you had to be over 40.   

Edited July 26 by PII

[PII | 2,030]

@final fight cd You are of course more than welcome to rebuff me if this is way off base but I get the sense that your current feelings for your game collecting hobby may have less to do with your connection to said hobby and more to do with something else you perceive as currently lacking in your life, leading you to consider the possibility that this hobby may have been an obstacle to attaining whatever else it is that you're after.  

Fictitious Example: You've always dreamt of becoming a Cowboy-Astronaut-Millionaire / you're about to turn 40 / you find yourself asking: Is the reason I haven't become a Cowboy-Astronaut-Millionaire by now because I spend too much time/energy/money on my game collecting hobby?

Only you could answer such a question of course.  But the answer may be as simple as recognizing whatever that other thing is and figuring out what you need to do to attain it.  At the same time, doing what you need to do may involve reallocating time/energy/money from other pursuits.

Heck if i know.  The only thing I know for sure here based on your activity on this site is that I'd practically wade through a river of raw sewage if it meant getting to spend a few hours looking through your collection of what must be in the running for "Greatest Sega CD Collection In The History Of The Known Universe."

[jonebone | 1,329]

40 hit me fairly significantly this year too.  Not a mid life crisis but I did think it was a great time to step back and evaluate all aspects of my life... financials, retirement strategies, health, diet, hobbies, mental / emotional wellness, etc.  So I think that's perfectly normal at big life events.

In terms of how it has affected my collecting, I've been in a long trim for a couple of years now.  And while I'll always be a collector, I also know that I don't want to collect items that are losing value if I can help it.  I've stopped set collecting and stop collecting just to collect, I'm much more focused. 

I also decided to get into some vintage baseball cards as I thought that was more age appropriate than video games.  Not to mention I do have kids and if I one day die, would I rather pass down 1,000 items worth $10 each or one $10,000 item?  Not to say that I only need $10,000 items in my collection, but the point is that low value stuff may as well be garbage in an inheritance.  I'm actively looking to increase the "average value" of an item in my collection and get it down to much more manageable levels.

End of the day: No right or wrong answer.  I do think it is important for everyone to take a step back every now and then and evaluate your priorities though.  Whether it's a big birthday, change in life circumstances (becoming a parent / changing jobs / losing someone / etc.) or something else, it's good to hit the pause button and think things over.   You aren't the person you were yesterday and you might not be the same person tomorrow either.

[Sumez | 3,153]

Games are fun, don't feel bad about that. Your focus on life should be on having fun, otherwise it will be truly wasted.

But I will say that if it's actually taking up such a sizeable portion of your budget that you feel that money could be better spent, then... stop doing that. Buying video games shouldn't have to be expensive, and honestly compared to nearly every other gear-focused hobby, I feel that video games are still in the cheaper end. My girlfriend probably spends more money on photo stuff than I do on video games, and that's covering notably less amounts of hardware

There are plenty of exciting video games, old or new, that can be had without breaking the bank. I have well over a hundred arcade games myself, and I don't feel like it's been weighing down my budget that bad.

[Code Monkey | 2,129]

You don't want to do things you enjoy when you're 60? I don't understand, can you explain this to me some more?

[AirVillain | 534]

15 hours ago, final fight cd said:

my 2nd half of my life could be spent doing more meaningful things, both in terms of time and money.

Then do it.

If there's something more "meaningful" to you than video games/anything that you're doing in life, then you 100% should be doing that.

[RH | 5,206]

To put a bit more substance to my joke, I do want to say that I don't see anything wrong with this hobby, so long as  you're doing it for the right reasons and you're not going into debt or putting a burden on your family about it.  Hobbies are hobbies and so long as it's not dangerous, the point is to have fun and to do something personally enriching for you.

I do still enjoy the hunt.  I have very little time for gaming, though I wish that were different. My personal free time is limited and usually when it comes around, I'm a bit too tired to play the games I'm more interested in.  Or, if it's a story-based game, it's hard to really get into something like that if all you play is about one hour a week.

So... I've considered pivoting hobbies.  I'd really like to just sell it all and have a very sizable nest-egg to sit on.  Heck, I could take the family on a nice European vacation (which is something we've wanted) and still have money left over to get into something new, starting about where I started with when I got into game collecting...

However that's not quite true.  For me to maximize the worth of my collection, I need to go and list and sell stuff like a side hustle that could probably consume 20-30 hours a week, taking photos and posting stuff to eBay.  I mean, I can do it slower than that, but if I'm also in the middle of all this, I feel the pull to stay into it.  I don't hate this.  I'm not ambivalent, I just kind of want to do a cold-turkey pivot... but I can't do that and get the fast-value out of it that I'd like to be able to pivot into the more expensive hobbies I'd like to get into.

So, I stay where I am and I continue to collect.  I'm not unhappy, even if I feel locked in.  Regardless, if it ever does stop being fun (and let me reiterate, I do still enjoy this), then yes, I'll start listing this stuff strategically on eBay and I might even do the unthinkable of opening an FB account just to sell this stuff. I know I'm not dumping all of this stuff at a local shop.  I think the way they price large lots is fair considering they have overhead and make it easy.  That said, I want better than 25% of what Price Charting lists my games as, since I know I could easily get double that, even if I wanted quick-sell prices on my stuff as I listed it on eBay.

[Rhuno | 163]

It's good to evaluate your life from time to time and figure out what's really important to you. I'm turning 43 in a couple months, and while still early, I've thoroughly enjoyed my 40's. I'm more at peace with who I am, and who I'm not. I love my family, my job is good and I have hobbies I enjoy. If nothing else changes for me, I'm good.

We're not particularly well off, but I've just learned to appreciate what we do have. Video games aren't always in the budget, and that's okay. In recent years I've found a lot of enjoyment in playing the games I already have.

I still enjoy games, and collecting, but if it all disappeared in a fire over night, I'd be just fine. I've never collected as an investment or for value, just for fun.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,918]

I just want to add that I don't need to be an empty nester with 3000 games, so I've been trying to give my games to my kids now, and not 30 years from now when they may not want them.  Still a gamer, still a collector, but not essentially drowning under a hoard of games.

...instead I'll be empty nester with only 1500 games 

 

[fcgamer | 5,006]

I've been collecting video games since 1997 or 1998, and in terms of actual gaming, I have been gaming since I was three years old. 38 years old now, turn 39 early next year.

I've thought about this question at length over the years, especially as I have seen my peers get married and have children, whilst I remain in the stage of casually dating (this is my choice as by this stage in the game I'm not going to seriously date someone if we get along fine and enjoy each other's company, yet are similarly on different wavelengths that would make marriage or a long-term union less than optimal). Tonight this situation was spinning around my head, as I went out with my kindergarten students and their parents for a celebration dinner together (my students graduated from kindergarten this past Monday), and this similarly coincides with me leaving the industry for a career change.

After dinner I went to one of the parents' apartments, worth 1.2 million or whatever. In size it's about the same as the apartment I'm renting, but it's more modern, and quite devoid of clutter aside from in a play room for the kids. As the wine flows and we get to chatting, one of the mothers compares her husband to a car - "He's like a Toyota," she says, "Not much romance at all but at least he's reliable." Another mother tells the group how she just got breast implants and asks me if I want to touch them, to which the parents all cheer and egg me on. I respond, "Well what guy wouldn't want to touch them, but I think I'll have to decline." I then head into the bathroom and there's a urinal there, yet there's no men residing in the home, aside from the dad who is frequently away on business...

On a completely different note, I also run around in the local music circles in my city. Some of the guys I'm jamming out with are in their 60s, literally. These guys are expats, the age of my parents. When they go out they tone it down a bit and don't get as drunk as younger folks would, but they are still going out and socializing, having drinks, and jamming (some even perform in bands), despite being 65, 69, whatever. I also don't want to forget to mention that many of these folks have wives, even children, but they're family men, don't shirk their responsibilities either. It's a good balance of hobby and responsibility.

I guess the point I am getting at is as follows: If you enjoy what you are doing, I don't think you should be worried about whether it is "age appropriate" or not. If you enjoy what you are doing, and it isn't harming anyone or causing trouble, where's the harm? Video games are still a young medium, in fifty years when something new comes along, will they be as respected as books, old films? Furthermore, I have seen a TON of people following the expectations of society, yet these folks aren't truly secure or happy in their own lives. 

For me, I hope to prune my collection in the next year, as I know which machines I actually care about and what is fluff. I'm over full sets for the most part, and my goals have changed. At the same time though, I think video games will always be a part of my life, in one way or another, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. 

Edit: Just wanted to expand a bit and say that I know a lot of people who have given up their "childish" hobbies for the sake of fitting in or acting age appropriate, but it just seems odd to me. If you are not causing harm to someone, and enjoy what you are doing, why in the world would you be concerned about how your actions are perceived? Similarly, a lot of the folks that have given up their hobbies for the sole reason of feeling the need to grow up - idk, but a lot of these folks don't really seem particularly happy in life.

Edited July 27 by fcgamer

[fcgamer | 5,006]

4 hours ago, RH said:

So... I've considered pivoting hobbies.  I'd really like to just sell it all and have a very sizable nest-egg to sit on.  Heck, I could take the family on a nice European vacation (which is something we've wanted) and still have money left over to get into something new, starting about where I started with when I got into game collecting...

However that's not quite true.  For me to maximize the worth of my collection, I need to go and list and sell stuff like a side hustle that could probably consume 20-30 hours a week, taking photos and posting stuff to eBay.  I mean, I can do it slower than that, but if I'm also in the middle of all this, I feel the pull to stay into it.  I don't hate this.  I'm not ambivalent, I just kind of want to do a cold-turkey pivot... but I can't do that and get the fast-value out of it that I'd like to be able to pivot into the more expensive hobbies I'd like to get into.

I have some friends who really admire my collection and I tell them, "Trust me, if I had it to do again I likely wouldn't be doing THAT." If I could sell the vast majority of my collection to a museum or private collector for 80 or 70% value, I probably would, but that's not happening and thus it stays.

[Tanooki | 5,113]

Am I the only one insulted here calling someone over 40 into various hobbies, or just being over 40 being 'twlight years?'  That sounds more like some personal problems, mental trauma, or whatever it is than video games(or fill in the hobby) being the problem there.

If you don't want to collect and want to waste time, then log off here, sell your crap and move on.  It really is that simple, it'll be a loss but drop the shit on some local person/persons/shop and they'll be happy to give you like 10-20% of what it's worth.

Or maybe be rational and learn some self control.  Get rid of what matters less than others one by one until you feel enough is enough, the system, the entire hardware makers stuff if necessary and every scrap of game/goods tied to it.  Get to where what you have is like that happy little study people kept for years in homes with a selection of books, vinyl, or whatever just to chill to rarely adding to it only when the pieces and time were right.

[Gloves | 12,251]

"Twilight years" is typically old age, referring specifically to retirement age, or 65. 

That said, while calling people 40+ as being in their "twilight years" is a bit early to be doing so, I'd certainly never see it as insulting. I imagine people are just being loose with the term. And even if not, there's really nothing at all insulting about it, I'm afraid you may be alone there @Tanooki. 

[Hammerfestus | 4,100]

6 hours ago, fcgamer said:

 

Another mother tells the group how she just got breast implants and asks me if I want to touch them, to which the parents all cheer and egg me on. I respond, "Well what guy wouldn't want to touch them, but I think I'll have to decline."

 

[Andy_Bogomil | 861]

I'm 37, going on 38 in a few weeks, and similar feelings hit me pretty hard a number of years ago after buying a house in 2018-2019. I was able to dedicate a room to my collection and had the setup I had always thought about during my heavy collecting years while living in a smaller apartment with limited space. After having everything setup for a few months, a lot of the same thoughts dawned on me almost overnight. I realized how much time had passed since buying some of this stuff and that I'll probably never get to it and what was the point of owning things I'll never use. Sure, the display of the collection had its perks, but it didn't really excite me like I thought it would and I was gaming a lot less than I used to. I dismantled my entire game room (literally ripped out a wall to open up my basement) and only kept two shelves of stuff that I wasn't ready to store away for sale. Once the prices went bonkers during the pandemic I sold a number of heavy hitters and few sealed/graded games and put the money towards a pool table and a fence for our yard for our new dog. I can tell you both bring me much more joy than having these games collecting dust on the shelf as well as getting rid of the liability of owning expensive games. I have zero regrets and don't even remember a lot of games I sold.

As I get older it becomes easier to separate myself from wanting to hold on to these items. If things aren't bringing you joy, as others have said, it's a good idea to take a step back and think about what you want from life. It might be easier for me as I don't actively collect, but again, not sure if I was burnt out or if it was because the market is/was so stale, but I don't miss it(collecting) at all and actually have some regrets about the time I dedicated to the hobby on the tail-end. I'll keep on selling in bursts when I have the time and motivation until I'm left with a handful of NES/SNES/64 games that started it all and use the money to fund other hobbies and experiences.

I recommend taking a break for a bit and use the time for other things you may be interested in. Try selling some stuff you won't really miss but put the money into something outside of gaming/collecting. It's up to you to take action and make the changes you want in life.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

I know a guy who sold off the vast majority of his huge collection, and now he is still involved as ever, posting pictures to his IG every few days of stuff. Now he buys stuff for the sake of his IG posts, then sells it a few weeks later. I guess it's a happy medium for him, but I'd rather just make a break of it if I got out.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

On 7/26/2024 at 6:17 AM, final fight cd said:

it's not that i am losing interest or feeling burned out, but the big FOUR-ZERO is just making me question WHY. why am i doing this? what is the purpose? like, my 2nd half of my life could be spent doing more meaningful things, both in terms of time and money. 

I felt that a lot, which is why I ultimately decided to quit my job and become unemployed. Work is a huge-ass time sink, and for what benefit aside from putting food on the table and clothes on one's body? To buy pretty toys like new Apple watches and fancy gadgets, designer bags and caviar? It all seems so pointless to me.

If you are looking for something meaningful, go volunteer at a soup kitchen or at an animal shelter or something. Help underprivileged kids or teach some classes at a literacy center. Help people after some sort of natural disaster. 

[DefaultGen | 5,723]

4 hours ago, fcgamer said:

I know a guy who sold off the vast majority of his huge collection, and now he is still involved as ever, posting pictures to his IG every few days of stuff. Now he buys stuff for the sake of his IG posts, then sells it a few weeks later. I guess it's a happy medium for him, but I'd rather just make a break of it if I got out.

Deleting social media gets rid of so much FOMO, it’s incredible. I have no idea what the cool people are collecting anymore and don’t see new shiny toys literally every day. Before, The Algorithm was like “Oh you’re interested in Commodore 64 games? Here’s the biggest C64 collector in the world, he posts the rarest, most obscure, most interesting games every week that you definitely don’t have” for every topic.

[final fight cd | 227]

i've read every comment.  i appreciate the opinions and personal insights posted posted. 

without quoting every single comment i'll just give some highlights:

what else what i do? i have no idea.  honestly, if i would force myself out i would just do something else that would cost money and time.

just to clarify, i am not burned out or hate my collection. i still very much like it and it and still enjoy partaking in the collecting community: CQ discord, this forum, watching auctions, the CU Podcast staring Pat the NES punk and Ian,  etc.  but it does make me wonder if the attachment of material things is flaw that i should look deeper into; i'm acting as my own therapist here.

but at the end of the day i've accumulated this stuff.  now what? deep down i want to think there is a purpose for the heap of plastic that i've accumulated and that there is something i can do with it.  to be clear, i exclusively collect the sega cd.  that is it. my goal, which started over a decade ago, was to collect every sega cd game factory sealed.  and damnit, i got to 3 away. and given the prices today, unless my income would DRASTICALLY change, there is just no way i could justify finishing it.  Snatcher and Keio, man; Snatch and Keio. I've actually had thoughts of about offering it up for donation to the gaming history foundation. do they take games? i have no idea. would i actually do it? who knows. like i said, it's just a thought at the moment.  

but i've just had these thoughts that i will forever be chasing this uncatchable dragon and at the end of the day it all means jack shit.  

 

 

[wongojack | 314]

I'm 48, so I think that makes me the oldest person to confess their age on the thread.  There are lots of responses here, so I'll try to keep this short.

• Collecting, playing, repairing, and creating games are all different hobbies.  Intentionally pivoting between them can bring back some energy
• Collecting video games (while expensive) is actually one of the cheaper hobbies "out there."  Depending on how you do it, it also takes up less space than pool, golf, cars, pinball etc.
• General life observation.  In terms of the time they spend on things, people get what they want.  if you really want to spend your time doing something else then you will.  You might have to intervene and MAKE yourself change your behavior, but if you really want that then you'll get there.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

15 minutes ago, final fight cd said:

just to clarify, i am not burned out or hate my collection. i still very much like it and it and still enjoy partaking in the collecting community: CQ discord, this forum, watching auctions, the CU Podcast staring Pat the NES punk and Ian,  etc.  but it does make me wonder if the attachment of material things is flaw that i should look deeper into; i'm acting as my own therapist here.

I guess that's what I'm a bit confused about. If you like what you are doing and enjoy the bits that go with it, I'm not sure what benefit there would be to just get out for the sake of "growing up", especially if it impacting your / your loved ones' lives negatively.

I've seen a lot friends over the years who gave up their hobbies and interests by the time they got to their thirties, and while often the situations were understandable (one is taking care of their sick mother, for example), these people end up becoming a bit of a shell of who they once were. For me personally, I feel that hobbies are very much an important aspect in one's life. If you lose interest in something, then that's a totally different story entirely.

Regarding materialism and attachment: I often rationalize things as such in my own mind. If there were a fire and my residence burnt down, I'd be most devastated about what would likely be the demise of my cat, and I'd also likely feel some sadness towards the resident geckos and roaches. To say that I wouldn't care at all about the loss of the other things such as my game collection, books, guitars, sentimental things, etc. would be a lie, but in the end, I'd get over it and move on. I think that as long as you aren't at a Golem level of materialism, you're probably okay, 

[final fight cd | 227]

27 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I guess that's what I'm a bit confused about. If you like what you are doing and enjoy the bits that go with it, I'm not sure what benefit there would be to just get out for the sake of "growing up", especially if it impacting your / your loved ones' lives negatively.

I've seen a lot friends over the years who gave up their hobbies and interests by the time they got to their thirties, and while often the situations were understandable (one is taking care of their sick mother, for example), these people end up becoming a bit of a shell of who they once were. For me personally, I feel that hobbies are very much an important aspect in one's life. If you lose interest in something, then that's a totally different story entirely.

Regarding materialism and attachment: I often rationalize things as such in my own mind. If there were a fire and my residence burnt down, I'd be most devastated about what would likely be the demise of my cat, and I'd also likely feel some sadness towards the resident geckos and roaches. To say that I wouldn't care at all about the loss of the other things such as my game collection, books, guitars, sentimental things, etc. would be a lie, but in the end, I'd get over it and move on. I think that as long as you aren't at a Golem level of materialism, you're probably okay, 

let me see if i can maybe better clarify my position.

i've been collecting since 2008ish; near 16 years.  i've probably been focused on the sega cd for 12ish years.  so i was a young buck in my mid 20s when i started out.  and at the point it was easy in my mind to project myself in the future and say things in my mind like, "wow, it'll be so cool if i finish a complete sealed sega cd set!" and 12 years later i am still projecting myself in the future and envisioning myself with a complete sealed set and i still saying those same things in my head: "how cool and awesome would it be to finish a sealed sega cd set!" but at the age of 40 it got me thinking: am i still going to be having these same thoughts in another 12 years? in another 24 years?

even if i would spend the money to purchase snatcher and keio and the 3rd unassuming game that i shall not mention actually pops up for sale and i would buy it who cares, right?.  i'll feel excited for maybe a couple days, i would make a post here about it, and i would 100% make a post on reddit so i can get the "you're stupid! you're not a real collector! i can actually play my games!" comments; i hate reddit. but at the end of the day i will still be the EXACT same person i was.  there will be no pre-sealed-set-final-fight-cd and no post-sealed-set-final-fight-cd; just normal-final-fight-cd.  which leads to the questions that Age-40 asked me: why am i doing it? 

im not saying 40 hit me hard, but it definitely got me thinking about things.

[Gloves | 12,251]

1 hour ago, wongojack said:

I'm 48, so I think that makes me the oldest person to confess their age on the thread.  There are lots of responses here, so I'll try to keep this short.

• Collecting, playing, repairing, and creating games are all different hobbies.  Intentionally pivoting between them can bring back some energy
• Collecting video games (while expensive) is actually one of the cheaper hobbies "out there."  Depending on how you do it, it also takes up less space than pool, golf, cars, pinball etc.
• General life observation.  In terms of the time they spend on things, people get what they want.  if you really want to spend your time doing something else then you will.  You might have to intervene and MAKE yourself change your behavior, but if you really want that then you'll get there.

Wise words from the wise old man of the thread. 

[Tabonga | 2,533]

1 hour ago, wongojack said:

I'm 48, so I think that makes me the oldest person to confess their age on the thread.  

Eh?

^______^