Check out Tadpole13's full room tour! It's about a month old, so it's fairly new and up to date.
Welcome to the forth edition of our game room series where we take a look at some of our site members gaming spaces! This month we are featuring longtime site member, Tadpole13. Join us as we explore this member's gaming space and learn more about how and what he collects, and how he makes his space work for his gaming needs.
**If you are a member and have a game room or gaming area that you would like to share, please send a PM to singlebanana and I will add you to our list.**
RF Generation handle:
Tadpole13
I just want to start by giving a shout out to singlebanana for hosting this segment every month. It really is a cool way to get to know the members of this great site.
Approximate dimensions of your game room (in feet, or meters if you prefer):
Game Room 1 (N64/Snes etc) 9 ½ Ft from front to back and 11ft Wide Game Room 2. (Modern Games) 11ft From Front to back 8ft Wide Lastly Where I keep the Japanese games: I just measured in the bedroom 9 ½ Ft
Describe your game room in a Tweet (140 characters, include spaces).
My own personal getaway and a place that brings people back to their childhoods every time they step into it.
How many distinct systems do you own (including handheld)? What are your favorites?
That is a good question. I have so many boxed and loose systems, so I don’t really know. I wanna guess anywhere between 50 to 100? My favorites would have to be the Super Nintendo and the Xbox 360. Both hold great memories for me and have some of the best games released.
How many systems do you have hooked up right now? What are they?
I currently have 19 systems hooked up and ready to go. I have three different TV’s with different functions right now.
The main 65" tv in the living room houses most of my American systems and with that set up I have:
1. Wii U, 2. Retro Freak, 3. Wii, 4. Xbox One S Gears of War, 5. PlayStation 4, 6. Xbox 360 Elite, 7. PS2 Slim, 8. Analoug Nt (Fancy Original Nintendo), 9. N64, 10. Super Nintendo, 11. Sega Genesis
What are the top 5 biggest collections in your game room? Are any complete?
1.Original Nintendo currently holds the title of the largest individual library with nearly 500 complete in box games and a handful of loose titles.
2.The Nintendo 64 comes in at second place. I currently have the complete North American N64 collection with boxes and manuals. I documented the journey to completion right here on RF Generation: http://www.rfgeneration.com/blogs/Tadpole13/. If you are new to collecting N64, you can check out the blog and see an easy reference guide as I went along about what I still needed. If you start looking for the games I had trouble with early on, this might help you on your journey. Lastly, I also made a YouTube video a while back of the complete set.
Then, according to RF Generation, the bottom three are my next biggest libraries. These can change significantly if I mixed in the Japanese games with the sets, but this mainly focuses on the North American games: 3. PlayStation 2 - 260 Games, 4. PlayStation 1 - 258 Games, 5. Xbox 360 - 255 Games
What is your favorite piece in your game room (game and/or non-game)?
While I have some pretty unique games and merchandise, I will have to say my favorite thing is my copy of Super Mario Sunshine for the GameCube. Reason being is because back in 2002 my brother convinced me to trade in a bunch of my old games to buy a GameCube. Problem was I did not have any games. I worked roofing with my buddies dad to save up some money and I was finally able to get Super Mario Sunshine. I still own that copy today and I consider that game to be the beginning of the collection I currently have.
What is the rarest piece in your game room?
Maybe not the rarest game in my collection but most likely the most historic is a complete in box copy of E.T. from the famous Almagordo, New Mexico dig that happened in 2013. It comes included with a certificate of authenticity signed by the man who coordinated the dig, the mayor of the city, and the creator of E.T. This was an urban legend I followed for many years, so when I had the opportunity to own a piece of history, I jumped on it.
Do you own any game cabinets/pinball machines? If so, which one would you like to add next? If not, which one would you like to be your first?
I do not own any game cabinets or pinball machines sadly. I would love to own a MAAM cabinet at some point as well as a few arcades such a Ms. Pacman, Joust, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. However, where I lack in arcades I make up in kiosks.
I currently own the following kiosks: PS2, Wii U (two different model kiosks), PSP, Nintendo DS, PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
What, if anything, makes your game room or setup distinguishable?
I think the wide variety of gaming systems and games makes it stand out. Also, I take pride in the attention to detail when organizing the game room and utilizing the limited amount of space I have to the best of my ability.
Who or what was the inspiration for your game room?
Not sure if there is any specific thing that was the inspiration for my game room. I am just really prideful of what I have obtained and I do my best to showcase it to the best of my ability while trying to avoid a cluttered look.
If your game room were an animal, which one would it be and why?
An elephant. With my job I move every few years, and while my company moves my stuff, they only do it to a certain weight. I have yet to exceed that weight, but I might exceed it on my next move so we will see how that plays out.
Did you have any plans for your game room that became too ambitious or expensive to implement?
None that I can recall. If I ever get a permanent house, I would love to do a set up similar to how the Angry Video Game Nerd made a little movie rental store in his basement. It would be really cool to make something that focuses on a specific era. However, I could see that getting expensive when trying to purchase legit old marketing.
What new section or set would you like to eventually add to your game room?
After I finished the complete American N64 set, I was kinda taken back by what complete sets do to cost associated with it. However, it seems I have not learned my lesson. I am currently after a complete Limited Run Game set and a complete Japanese Amiibo set. Sadly, both of these have no end in sight. I might get a complete Japanese N64 set as well. I have been purchasing the games as they come, so we will see how far I make it by the time I move from Japan.
If someone handed you $100 and you HAD to spend it on your game room (not on games or systems), what would you buy?
I really enjoy collecting video game banners. So if I could not spend it specifically on video games, it would likely go towards more banners or boxes for my games, if that is not cheating. Been wanting to get a Super Mario World and a Joe and Mac 2 box for years.
For may collectors, storing controllers is always an issue due to their cords and sometimes awkward shapes. How do you manage these?
I have bought multiple plastic storage bins and inside each one is a variety of controllers. The controllers are normally two to a zip lock bag and I have put end labels on the bins to specify what controllers are in what location.
What does your significant other or other housemate(s) think about your game room?
My wife is pretty supportive of my hobby. Even when purchasing high end games, she doesn't seem to mind which is really good. However, she still does not know much about gaming and how there is the joke out there that all moms refer to games as Nintendo. Well my wife refers to everything as Playstation (Insert Random Number 1-4 Here)
What was the funniest/coolest thing someone has ever said when they saw your game room for the first time?
Most people surprisingly just seemed overwhelmed and don’t really know where to begin. I have had some people come over that was just really excited to see it and that really makes the experience more fun opposed to someone just seeing it and not really having much of a response.
I have also had someone have the complete opposite effect where they came over to my house and within 10 minutes they seemed really frustrated and then said they had to leave and they took off. Turns out that individual really only collected loose carts up until that point and I guess got frustrated out of jealousy and then went to ebay that night and bought a copy of Little Samson in the box for $1500. It was so out of character for that person because they did not really collect boxed stuff, but at a later date admitted they just wanted to have something to try to one up my collection.
Tell us about your game room seating. Do you have a preferred spot?
So the game rooms just really house the games and then the living room has a nice L-shaped sectional that I sit at and game it up. But for the Japanese games that I normally play in my bedroom, I just sit on my computer chair that is in that same room.
Do you allow drinks and/or snacks in your game room? Explain.
I don't really have any restrictions on stuff allowed in the game room, but since we do not really game in there, most people do not bring food or drinks inside. However, I am sure if I had someone over with kids, I would ask that they leave the food and beverages outside of the game rooms.
What advice would you give to someone getting ready to set up their own game room?
I strongly encourage you to stay organized. You will be amazed at how fast the games will start coming in and can easily take over and make your place looked cluttered or disorganized.
Question from previous participant, shane: Have you ever had a situation where you purchased an item and couldn’t figure out a way to make it fit within your game room?
The first thing that comes to mind is a Legend of Zelda costume I bought that was from the 80/90’s? I got home and went to display it and it was at that point that I realized it was actually pretty creepy looking and did not fit the tone of the room. I currently have it in my closet tucked away.
What question would you like to ask the next participant?
If you had to get rid of everything in your collection and you were allowed to keep just one item what would it be? Assuming it is a game I will let you keep the system and controllers as well
@douglie007: The shelfs are not the greatest but they do well for what they are intended on doing. If you look up Atlantic 35435725 Media Tower Elite Large (Black) on amazon you shoud have no troubles finding it. I have a lot of friends who use book shelfs as well but I would find it to hard not to want to throw extra stuff on there as well so it keeps me in line by using the shelfs that only will allow my games really.
Amazing collection and setup!! That story about your friend rushing out to buy a CIB Little Samson is hilarious. Love that display case full of special editions and promo stuff. Looks really fantastic and well organized all around!!
@Crabmaster2000: Thanks man. I actually deleted that story about the little samson at the last moment but still managed to sneak into the post haha. he is a pretty good friend of mine now but it was a unique situation for sure and I am pretty sure I will not see anyone duplicate. Yeah I had a handful of promo stuff but it was all tucked away. Ended up finding this display cabinet for $80 bucks a while back and I am really happy I bought it as it has worked wonders for my displays. I still have tons of stuff tucked away that I hope to have displayed one day.
@Bear78: Thanks man, yeah I try really hard to keep it is organized as possible. But manages a collection this size at times can easily because a job in its own right.
@tactical_nuke: Yeah it is a chore for well worth it.
@Voodoo Monkey: Thanks Voodoo I appreciate you check out the post.
@Addicted: I honestly havent updated my profile on this site in a long time. Just now when you asked this I noticed I am still showing living in Italy and I have been in Japan for 2 1/2 years now haha. I am a slacker for sure. In terms of Unrealtournament 2004 it is easily my all time favorite FPS. Only PC I have ever really gotten into as well and I was addicted. I played it pretty hardcore from 2004 to about 2007. Played it on and off after that but then moving to europe there was no good servers ping wise and here is Japan it is impossible. Not sure if it was ever released here honestly based off the server pings I am seeing.
@Tadpole13: I was in the beta for UT 2003 and played a lot of UT 2004 as well. I understand the addiction. I couldn't get in to UT 3 and gave up on the series around 2008. Have you played Unreal Championship 2 for the OG Xbox? Also I'm sure you know by now but the NAMCOT (Namco Home Entertainment) Star Wars in your video is a Japanese exclusive. It's the version made famous by AVGN with Darth Vader changing into a scorpion.
@Addicted: I played UT2003 briefly before making the jump to UT 2004 it was insanely fun. The people started dieing off which kinda killed it for me as well as moving around etc. I played one of the unreal championchampion games for xbox but never cared for it as much sadly. I figured that starwars was the exclusive but I already kinda dropped it off my radar since making that video. I am gonna have to throw it in and try it very soon.
@Tadpole13: Worth noting, but the Atlantic shelf just doubled in price on Amazon. My wife had it on her watch list and after she saw it in your picture, she ordered it just before it went up. Apparently the only place they didn't go up yet is Home Depot, for anyone in the US.
Thanks for contributing to the organization of my game room.
@Shadow Kisuragi: Aww that is a bummer about them going back up to $100. Sadly being Military living overseas no company is ever willing to ship it for free like they offer in the states. So last time I was home I bought three and shipped them my shelf and it ended up being $90 each in shipping. So I definitely have some money wrapped up into these shelfs sadly. But consistency makes everything look so nice when trying to appear organized. Glad you grabbed one of the shelfs before the price when up.
@Tadpole13: The first Unreal Championship is a port of UT 2003 and nothing special. The second Unreal Championship is unique and really cheap. From Wiki "Unreal Championship 2 adds melee combat to the series by allowing characters to switch to their respective weapon, such as a blade or staff. Players can also perform special "Fatality" moves very much like Mortal Kombat, another game series by Midway. Players can use melee weapons only in third-person mode, but can switch between first- and third-person mode on the fly while using firearms."
@Addicted: Wow that sounds pretty awesome. Midway is one of my all time favorite companies but after trying Unreal on PC I never tried it again on console. I will have to give that one a try sometime. I am pretty sure I own it as well which is a plus.
What an amazing collection -and really clean organized. I am afraid you will run out of space for amiibos What area you live in Japan and do you follow J-League Soccer?
@ericeskapade: Its no joke the amiibos are taking over. With the recent batch of amiibos I barly sqeezed them in the room haha. I still have some tricks up my sleeves but hopefully Nintendo slows down on them lol. I am currently in Okinawa which is pretty good for hunting games but nothing like mainland. Nope I do not follow J-Leage Soccer sadly.
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