Sold my first cabinets. Kinda sad and happy.

Dervacumen

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Dear Abby,

Weird. I sold my first two cabs today and I thought I'd be happy because I made a few bucks. Thing is, I'm not all that thrilled about it. I mean it's nice that I sold them for $$$ but I feel kinda empty inside. Like seller's remorse but for no reason since one of them I've never even played and the second I've played maybe 10 hours over the past 4 years but I love it when I do.
What gives?
On the plus side, when I told my daughter I sold those machines she asked if I would keep the TRON because she thought that was fun. At least that's cool.

- confused in Cali
 
what were they?

There's always more cabs and for me... it's all about if it's going to a good home.
I want them to be played.
 
I've learned from watching A&E's Hoarders (lol) that memories are what's important, not the actual items. So even though the items are gone (to a better place, probably) you still have the memories, no use to keep the items too.
 
I've learned from watching A&E's Hoarders (lol) that memories are what's important, not the actual items. So even though the items are gone (to a better place, probably) you still have the memories, no use to keep the items too.

Gotta say I disagree with that. I still like playing the games so they have value to me as more than a memory.

I think your assessment applies to stuff like kids toys/clothes and other similar stuff. My wife has kept quite a bit of that stuff that my kid has outgrown.
 
I was once told that you should never sell your first game. Mine was a Final Fight that I reconverted back to Phoenix. I only got rid of it because it had no side art and I was sick of the ugly woodgrain where there should have been artwork. As luck would have it, replacement side art was made available right after I sold it. However, I still have two games that date back to when I first started collecting. In May, I will have had my Pac and Ms. Pac for 10 years and they are here to stay. If I end up in the nursing home in 40 or so years, I have them put in my room.
 
Gotta say I disagree with that. I still like playing the games so they have value to me as more than a memory.

I think your assessment applies to stuff like kids toys/clothes and other similar stuff. My wife has kept quite a bit of that stuff that my kid has outgrown.

Yeah, but that's B.S. because you already said you dont' play them. Let 'em roll, get some you'll like better!
 
Dear Abby,

Weird. I sold my first two cabs today and I thought I'd be happy because I made a few bucks. Thing is, I'm not all that thrilled about it. I mean it's nice that I sold them for $$$ but I feel kinda empty inside.

- confused in Cali

Dear Confused,

Your post illustrates the difference between a game collector and a game owner. We can use this hardcore collector for illustration:

page26-06.jpg


This guy doesn't take his collection of Beanie Babies out that case, no matter how bad he wants to wants to feel their soft plush against his freshly shaven chest. He is a collector, and increasing his collection brings joy just as selling part of his collection would cause pain.

You sound like you have some collector blood in you, Confused, and that's a good thing. Collectors drive this hobby, whilst owners come and go.
 
According to his sig, I think they were Asteroids and Tron. Correct me If I'm wrong.

I had already changed my sig when I posted. So those are current.
I sold an NBA Max Hangtime and Smash TV. God it kills me to type that. Two games with almost infinite replayability IMO.

Dear Confused,

You sound like you have some collector blood in you, Confused, and that's a good thing. Collectors drive this hobby, whilst owners come and go.

Well said. I guess that's why I held on to my Atari 800 collection for 20 years before basically giving it to another collector.
 
Well, around here it's taken me years to get what I have together. The local market has a lot of collectors who go after games posted on CL very quickly. Recently a new arcade opened and they've been paying asking price or higher for good titles. My point is these aren't easy to replace at fair prices. Maybe a little of that is occuring in your area?
 
I went out to the garage and took a long hard look at what I have out there last week. Some games that I thought would be keepers are going to be up for trade or sale. Out of the 11 vids and 3 pins out there, only 5 and 1 are definite keepers. As someone posted above, there is a difference between collectors and owners. I think I am finally starting to become less of a collector. I have collected various things as long as I can remember, and it usually boils down to owning a bunch of stuff that you never use.

Turns out that I don't really play APB, Paperboy, or Asteroids much (I haven't actually even turned on the Asteroids yet and it has been here for almost 2 months). My Neo Geo is going because it just seems too cramped to play 2 player games on. My MAME cab is way more comfortable to play.

I think the two games you got rid of are good ones to rotate out of a collection. I don't think either will be played often but both are fun in short bursts. I don't think either are too hard to find again if you decide you want them down the road.
 
Yeah, I guess part of the sadness comes from Smash TV being my first cabinet purchase. Both that and Max Hangtime are going to people not in the hobby so I think they'll get a decent amount of use before the new owners finally get bored. Usage will taper off after a while. Maybe they'll ask me to buy them back at a discount in a year or two :).

Collecting is nice but these just take so much room it's sort of self-limiting.
 
I still have my first purchase and restore. It was a DK cocktail table. It takes up more room than a stand up version, but it has sentimental value as I cut my teeth on this cabinet and built it from the ground up. It's also the perfect height for my kids to play. I will not be parting with it any time soon.
 
Yeah, I guess part of the sadness comes from Smash TV being my first cabinet purchase. Collecting is nice but these just take so much room it's sort of self-limiting.

Don't sweat it, the more games you collect, the closer you'll be to understanding what games are really worth the limited real estate you have that they occupy. Both of the games you sold can easily get re-gotten.... just play the ones you like, amass as many as you can, get rid of the ones you thought you'd enjoy but don't.

Due to life changes, I dumped out of about 35 or 40 games from a collection that I thought I'd keep for a long time. Seemed tough at first to part with them but the benefits outweighed the negatives and with enough time you can acquire "most" games back.

I think some of us collectors go through phases where we have to have every game we played, even if it was a game that we were curious about. It's great to acquire games, it's easy to do but as many can attest to, it quickly takes over. What good are having 60 games if you can't play them all....

Rest easy in your decision. Just play them and have fun.
 
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