RF Generation Message Board

Some things that were said in the Milestones thread made me decide to start this. The general idea is people who just "don't get it" and being mocked because of your collection. What I'd like to know is, what kind of reactions do you guys get? Anything in particular that stands out? Something you hear often? Tell us about it!

I get laughed at and mocked all the time. It's strange cause I can walk into a few game stores in Pittsburgh and the folks that work there know me on a first name basis. They know I'm a collector and we talk about games and related stuff all the time yet... They still just don't get it! The other day I picked up some PSX games. I was laughed at for buying crap, blah blah blah but the games I picked up aren't crap! Not from a collector's standpoint anyway. I seriously think that most of the game store folks around here think I'm a total whackjob and they prolly laugh at me when I leave the store. I met one other collector here once. I thought the guy was a total jagoff though...lol

I get laughed at for my N-Gage QD all the time too. Until I hand it over and show off the NES and Genesis emus I run on it. Some folks get that but most just think I'm an idiot for having an N-Gage. It IS a gamer friendly phone and 95% of N-Gage games really do suck. Still it's awesome cause of the non-standard things it's capable of. The shit you normally don't hear about.

Lastly, Sauza mentioned that 99% of girls mock guys because of collecting. Lemme clue you boys in - most guys mock me and think I'm a total loser. I'm aware that most game collectors think chicks that collect games rock but when we're talking general population I'm just as big of a mock-target as you boys. Maybe even more. I prolly rank up there with Trekkies or something in terms of geekiness and my chances of getting laid are app 1 in 5000...lol

I use to get allot of shit from people at school both guys and girls.  They always said things like "that's pathetic you play that many games" or "why don't you do something worth doing" bullshit like that.  No one really laughed at me, just insults.  Now mostly everyone is afraid that I'm going to snap and bring a gun to school so not very many people give me shit any more.  

I've noticed that I get two reactions when I talk about my games.  1. is what most people give me which are the insults and 2. is something like “that is so cool” but that one is pretty much only given by my friends or people in games stores.  

I don't really got any shit from people actually. I'm sure they think it's silly, but they're mature enough not to say so.
I think the most shit to be had is from fellow gamers though. Non gamers (or at least non-hardcore gamers) seem to understand the concept of collecting better, while hardcore gamers see games as nothing more to play with. I post at a sega message board and a lot of people just can't wrap their mind about people buying bad games just to put them at a shelf.

Yet they might collect stamps themselves, while never sending out a postcard or letter.

heh - retro-gamers don't understand why I collect calculators.

Mostly, people I meet, I tell them I collect retro technology, and then explain that it's vintage electonics - including video games.

i have more fun collecting that I do playing.

I am getting to that point.

My brother pokes fun at me for my collection. He thinks I need collectors AA because I have always collected stuff. Most people that see my game room are like wow. And like Arr even if they think it is weird that don't say any about it.

I dont really care what other people think about my collection. Its a hobby and its far better than hanging out at a bar ;) And if I ever needed money badly enough I could sell it and cover most anything that came up (but I would try not to sell my collection)

Me and Scott had this discussion a while back about being a gamer or collector and I have decided that I am both.

My thoughts exactly....well put.  8)

The only people that openly mock me are people who hate video games anyways, or people who are just trying to be dicks.  Most people that find out I collect games might wonder why at first, but after talking about the games that I have and how fun it can be reliving your youth with games you played as a kid, they usually end up seeing my side of things.  I've even had people try to borrow a couple of my systems and games after I talked to them about games.

Collecting is more fun, becuase it is more socibale.

I get to meet people, some are interested in similar things, others are interesting people, who might have worked in the I.T industry in the early days, and want the stuff to go to a good home.

It gives me something cheap. and easy to do. Well., it's not always cheap, but actually hunting is, and it gives me a purpose when I go to a flea market or junk shop etc... much moreintersting looking for things, than just looking.

I like playing but I really am more of a collector. I even enjoy CLEANING my games...lol People think I'm a whack job to begin with usually but I am truly the cliche gamer - antisocial, geeky, and obsessed. Someone asked me the other day what I thought the best console is and when I replied with a tie between 7800 and NES well, you can prolly imagine how that went...hehe

OK I can't defend that. You are a  huge geek. I liek games but cleaning them is a pain in the ass.

I get mixed reactions to my collection. Some think it's very cool and say stuff like "I loved my old 2600, wish I still had it.", others just think I'm a pack rat. The most common response is "wow" quickly followed by "why?".

I'm not shy about my hobby at all. Everyone who knows me knows what a huge game geek I am. It's served me well. I could make a HUGE list of the stuff I've been given and I've even got a few friends hooked up with some classic consoles.

I guess like THX and I'm sure MOST of us here I'm just fascinated by retro technology. Video games and old computers are the bulk of it but I'm also into outdated video formats like Beta, Laserdisc and CED.

I love to play games but going out hunting is the biggest thrill for me. Hell I was geeked when I found a Donkey Kong skateboard yesterday.

I think generally the reason people might slate you for liking/collecting games is because it's normally far easier to be cynical about things you don't know about.  There's also jealousy, or some those sheep-minded individuals who only go by what someone else has told them is cool.

Also, although I do like going out on the town a fair bit, I can't fathom why people think they're somehow better than others if they're going out and pissing 40 or 50 quid up the wall at the weekend (or more), just so they can be idiots or get into fights.  I often wonder how much stuff I personally could have bought if I went out about half as much as I have in my life.

I did used to get a bit of stick for being into games at school, but ironically, someone said to me recently when I was talking about Codemasters and so on - 'people used to take the piss because you played games a lot, and now you have like the best job'.

Just do what you love, and don't care about those too small minded to understand what it's like to be into the thing you love doing.

that's good advice to live by. it's harder to do when you're younger though. sticking to your convictions when you're the object of ridicule ain't no walk in the park when you're a teenager. I'm just glad I'm older and don't have to deal with all that petty "high school" nonsense anymore.

besides anyone who mocks or laughs at someone because of their hobbies or interests is stupid and should be ignored.

It was funny because while reading this thread in school my friend asked me "What are you researching?
Me  "Videogames"
Him "Man your totally obsessed."
Me  "More or less."
Him "You mean more?"
Me  "Actually i mean MUCH more."
We then chatted about him beating Bowser half a million time.
Some people just really don't get it some people think it is a bit obsessive and some people think it is cool.
I like talking with people about games though.
It really uprizes me some of the people i know who will just start talking to me about games. Sometimes it is the peoplpe who you would least expect.
Like the hardcore muscle head jocks. That was the funniest.

Oh come on. Everybody nowadays plays games. We don't live in the early 80's anymore. NOT playing games would be suspicious and odd. It would surprise me if I were to start talking about videogames with someone younger than 30 and he/she wouldn't know what I'm talking about.

Not so much the games they play now but the games they played as a kid.
Some really good clasics sometimes kinda obscure games can come up in convo.

Most of the people play games but they only play the HUGE releases, like Halo and GTA.

i was in GAME in Bedford, last year. An older lady, maybe 60, was in. Buying violent light gun games. :)

I was listening, assuming that she was buying them for a grandkid., Nope, they were all for her - she wanted one with zombies in.

I gotta second that, I have always liked playing games but now it's much more the thrill of the hunt that keeps me in it.  When I tell people about it most seem to understand the games more then the vintage computers I collect (I have over 200 systems).  Some people ask stupid things like "Do you use all of those computers?" or "Why do you need all of those computers?"  I have learned that if you get a question like that don't even bother trying to explain.  I even used to get comments from the people at work, then I hired a guy the collects comic books (he has almost 18,000 of them), now they give him shit and leave me alone.  I have met lots of people doing this, I can't make a quick stop at the local thrift store because I know everyone and end up talking with them for 15 or 20 minutes when I stop in.  Not many people understand my other hobby either, performing in musical theater, but you don't get a lot of computer geek, gamer, collector types doing theater  :jester:  I wonder why that is?

I am also getting to the point where it is becoming more fun to hunt than play.  I also share Anti's joy of cleaning the games to.  It's like somebody said "Hey, I'm gonna sell this game, but I'm going to dirty it up so bad that no one will ever buy it." and I prove them wrong.

I get a kick out of cleaning games too. It's fun finding that old Colecovision that looks like it's been stored behind the garage for 20 years and making it look like it just came out of the box.

Indeed. I also rather enjoy coming up with storage options for my stuff. None of my games and memorabilia is really stored in the typical shelves and/or binders. I'm really anal about my magazines too. Those I put in the bags with boards (like comic books) and then sort by issue number in magazine holders on a bookshelf.

The main issue with my game room and I'm sure I'm not the only one, is dust. Keeping my things nice, shiny, and dust free is equally as important as having them in the first place. Everything that isn't in a case of some type lives in a ziplock...lol

@ THX
Its funny because me and my Grandmother trade of games and memory cards sometimes.

And Freak is right most of the people who play games but not really only play major releases and don't know much about anything else.

I used to get a lot of ridicule for my game collecting, but that has slowed down a lot since I got out of high school.    Even then, though, people very quickly dismissed my game collecting when they found out that I helped write a book on old video games, and that I ran/help run a website on them.  Collecting might get me a few nasty comments, but when you helped write a book on games and run a website on them, suddenly your geek factor jumps beyond measurement for most people.  That's the real reason I sometimes get treated like a bit of a freak.

Random Person: So, what are you working on?
Me: Oh, I'm editing a proof copy of this book I helped write.
Random Person: Woah that's amazing!  [eagerly] What's the book about?
Me: It's sort of a collectors' guide about old video games.
Random Person: [frightened gaze] Oh....  cool.  [walks away]

The website thing is a lot worse though.  Combine a shy person with an old video game collecting and an internet dork and you get something very scary.

I've been interviewed on local radio about my retro collecting.

That is so cool.

Does everyone in the whole town know you?
It sure seems like it.


As a side note
I was showing my collection pics on the site off to some kids the other day and they thought it was pretty cool.

it is cool. I get a kick out of it because I was there for all of it. I had the LED hand held games when they were new. Same thing with Pong and the Atari 2600. I remember going to friends house to play Intellivision. I watched the old commercials with George Plimpton, saw all the cool game ads on the backs of my comic books. I worked in a toy store at the height of the NES and the waning days of the Atari 2600. I sold people SMS's and NES's and 7800's and the Atari Lynx. Had marathon Blades of Steel tournaments in my basement, then NHLPA Hockey when Genesis was king. My first computer was a VIC-20 then a C64. I played Space Invaders in a corner greasy spoon and Defender at 7-11. I went to REAL arcades. Now I'm just filling holes, getting all the stuff I saw but never played or played but never owned. I have all the state of the art stuff too but I'm old enough that everything out there was state of art to me at some point.

It's cool stuff and a cool hobby. don't let anyone tell you different. if they think you're a dork so what, it's their loss.

sorry for the long rant but I'd guess anyone here get's it.

I hear ya Den! Love getting all nostalgic :girl:

I remember the days of good arcades and I miss them terribly. That's why I'm so thrilled that my local arcade has a retro room that is reminiscent of the good ol days. Come to think of it, most of the arcade is like that! When asked what my fav console is I respond with a toss up between 7800 and NES. The greatest games ever made came before some of our members were even born and -nothing- will ever top them.

Yesterday, after drinking a few beers in a bar in town. I went to the local "arcade".

"arcade" is a joke name. Theonly machines they have are Fruit Machines (slots?). That's it. Just full of sado's gambling their social security away.

There is a pool table.   They used to have a  couple of  shoot em ups, and a pinball table.  The pinball was "ADAMS FAMILY". The replay was set to high score, and the high score was always reset to 50,000 every morning. I cold stay on that table for over an hour with £1 (which got me three plays).

Now they have all gone.

I spent half hour, wasting £4 on the cheaper slots, but it was not the same, there was no fun for me. They don't even have video poker.