What's the lifespan of somebody staying in the hobby?

[Atari The Jedi]

My friend and I were yapping about people that were here in the Hobby and here on klov and other sites who are gone now. Got me wondering what the average span might be. Don't know if there's a way that the admins could figure that out based on accounts but then sometimes you get people that come back. Also, we were talking about how the average if we could figure it out would probably drop because when the hobby gets hot, you get a lot of newbies jumping in and a lot of times people just dive in head first buy everything they can and burn out.

 

[vintagegamer]

I'm not sure how to answer but I've been dedicated to this hobby for 20 yrs and will be 55 next year. I also cringe typing that.

 

[SNESNESCUBE64]

People either seem to be in it for the long haul, have one machine they care about and want to get it going, or go all in and burn out quick. Not a whole lot of inbetween.

And then you got the group of people who are only in to buy and sell...

 

[Atari The Jedi]

I'm not sure how to answer but I've been dedicated to this hobby for 20 yrs and will be 55 next year. I also cringe typing that.

You got me beat on both those numbers not by a ton in the hobby for like 15 or 16 years this time around I was in it before for about a year and then went to college. In addition I'm 48 now

 

[vintagegamer]

I just act 5 so it also cancels out

 

[Alpha-tron]

I'm not sure how to answer but I've been dedicated to this hobby for 20 yrs and will be 55 next year. I also cringe typing that.

Annoying kid. Laughs. Talk to me in another 20.

Still here.
Still helping out a few..
Still collecting games.
Still not interested in grail people.
Still not interested in selling games.

I haven't gone away from my arcade hobby. I just go anti social.

Laughs

 

[Atari The Jedi]

Annoying kid. Laughs. Talk to me in another 20.

Still here.
Still helping out a few..
Still collecting games.
Still not interested in grail people.
Still not interested in selling games.

I haven't gone away from my arcade hobby. I just go anti social.

Laughs

You taught me how to work on a few things down in Banning. I'm indebted to you for it. You also reinvigorated my love for Vector machines. I was getting burnt out trying to repair some of mine and it was nice to be your Padawan for a hot minute cuz it gave me the energy to go back and fix my Red Baron and BattleZone

 

[Mattspad]

I know 20+ people personally that all have just one or two machines and are not members of this forum or considered part of the hobby. They're also not technically savvy either, everyone has their own unique story how they acquired their one machine. The only good deals I've ever got have been from people outside this hobby I prefer dealing with non collectors. Anyways if you're a rager keyboard warrior like Andrewb I'd imagine that could decrease your lifespan though being in this hobby

 

[mecha]

I know 20+ people personally that all have just one or two machines and are not members of this forum or considered part of the hobby. They're also not technically savvy either, everyone has their own unique story how they acquired their one machine. The only good deals I've ever got have been from people outside this hobby I prefer dealing with non collectors. Anyways if you're a rager keyboard warrior like Andrewb I'd imagine that could decrease your lifespan though being in this hobby

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@Mattspad has been on the site for over 10 years. the posts he makes would suggest that he was about 7 years old when he joined.

try computing the analytics on that one.

 

[Mattspad]

@Mattspad has been on the site for over 10 years. the posts he makes would suggest that he was about 7 years old when he joined.

try computing the analytics on that one.

3 years old at best. Don't oversell me.

 

[Olexo2424]

I came in after buying my first house out the Army at 25 in 2022. I had always wanted to own arcade games since I was a kid. Was always enthralled by them. Grew up with a dad that was 6-12 years old during '78-'84 so the Golden Age is what I came to learn about early on and a lot of Namco games, etc. have a lot of nostalgia for me believe it or not because of the compilations and things that were around on consoles when I was like 3-5 years old in 2000-2002. I don't see myself getting out. It's a dream come true that I have an arcade in my house and I never thought I'd see the day and here it is. So I'm grateful for that.

 

[Phetishboy]

Normally, I don't like posting on threads like these, but because theres always been something that's bothered me about this subject, I'm going to. I joined the site back in 2006. I remember lots of people talking to me as if I was going to be a flash in the pan and be out of the hobby within two years. I remember people burning out and leaving almost monthly. I remember some people would just sort of fade off the forums and you'd never see them post again. And I always thought back then how the hell can you be interested/obsessed with these wonderful machines one day, and then just not care about them anymore the next? I mean I get it if you start when you're 30 and you get tired of them by age 80, but when you start at 30 something and then get tired of them while you're still 30 something, what in the actual fuck is wrong with you? When you get into a hobby like this, it's not like a Mexican Cocksuck where you commit yourself for a weekend or 2. In a hobby like this, you need to be in it for the long haul or don't even bother. It's kinda like the guys that completely leave the Arcade hobby for pinball. I trust them about as much as I trust motherfuckers who won't eat a bun with their burger.

 

[mecha]

3 years old at best. Don't oversell me.

shit.

 

[vintagegamer]

I get that life issues can impact your involvement with the hobby. I for one have been there. But yes I think some ppl learn that it requires effort and is not like owning a Wii, so they bail. All kinds of reasons.

I think if it was part of your childhood, it has a higher probability of staying with you.

 

[mecha]

I get that life issues can impact your involvement with the hobby. I for one have been there. But yes I think some ppl learn that it requires effort and is not like owning a Wii, so they bail. All kinds of reasons.

I think if it was part of your childhood, it has a higher probability of staying with you.

work issues here. lol

 

[VectorCollector]

You can be in the hobby but not an active participant on KLOV (nor any social media associated with the games).
So, the question, IMHO, has no definitive answer.

 

[Mattspad]

I get that life issues can impact your involvement with the hobby. I for one have been there. But yes I think some ppl learn that it requires effort and is not like owning a Wii, so they bail. All kinds of reasons.

I think if it was part of your childhood, it has a higher probability of staying with you.

My wii broke about 5 years ago, stopped reading discs. Made me very upset because I had that thing since launch and played the ever living shit out of it. Found a guy selling brand new drives for 35$ and tore it down very carefully and fixed it myself. My wii took some effort Still play it a lot though to this day I think I beat mario galaxy one and 2 100% like 10-15 times each.

 

[Olexo2424]

I get that life issues can impact your involvement with the hobby. I for one have been there. But yes I think some ppl learn that it requires effort and is not like owning a Wii, so they bail. All kinds of reasons.

I think if it was part of your childhood, it has a higher probability of staying with you.

This one's true. I have a lot of different hobbies admittedly and it can be tough to balance with a baby and a toddler. I have to squeeze in minutes when I can. If I invest in a repair, I have to know that could take away from actually playing any games for a bit. Or a project like I'm doing now.

 

[ArcadeTechGW]

Most people seem to die out.

I bought my first game in 1984. Still collecting and fixing stuff.

 

[Phetishboy]

You can be in the hobby but not an active participant on KLOV (nor any social media associated with the games).
So, the question, IMHO, has no definitive answer.

I also don't trust Arcade game 'collectors' who don't frequent websites and forums dedicated to arcade games. What kind of self-absorbed loser do you have to be to collect arcade games without wanting to share and talk about them with other arcade game collectors? A big one that's what.