When does (did) the fever start to die?

[armi0024]

For me I get all excited when I find a deal and that rush get's me all worked up again. It's just like addiction and it's just the limitation of space and money that keeps me from going crazy. I mean seriously, my wife puts up with this:

and yes those are PC10 carts I just got in the mail, even though my pc10 is in MN
or this:

The fever for me comes and goes. I meet an idiot and I never want to touch another game, then I find a good deal and I end up with a drive way that looks like this (yes I built a custom shed at the apartment I rent in Hawaii, there should be surfboards in there!!!)

I guess the only cure for me will be meeting a long enough string of bad deals to finally just make me get out. It is funny though, I used to get excited about seeing any game, now it's only the ones around 100. I also have fixed and sold way more than I own, and that is one thing I'm truly getting tired of. I've paid a lot of my mortgage and rent over the last year by selling games. But you put all that work into a game, recreate something to be proud of, and poof, it's in someone else's game room. Kind of breaks my heart a little bit each time, the money makes it easier, but I also have second thoughts about selling machines I build.

Maybe someday, when I finally finish residency I'll just have to buy a large enough property for a barn and make an over sized man cave so I can hoard lots of fun stuff. Games, pins, tv's, cars, power tools and beer....DPTwiz you are welcome to come, as long as you promise to show me how to run that cnc router, I'm drooling for one of those!

 

[modessitt]

My wife would be ecstatic if our apartment was that orderly when referred to arcade stuff.

I am no where close to owning all the games I want, and I have many that will never leave even if I don't play them for years. But I get a lot of free cabs or projects that I don't care to keep, and I will eventually fix them up and sell them, but I don't have the time, space, money, and sometimes even the energy to get to them right now...

 

[armi0024]

lol but notice the game in our kitchen

 

[ixtlann]

I am on the downward side of the hobby. I much more enjoy making cabinets for others than even messing with any of my games. I make 15 different arcade cabinets, yet i don't have a single one of them in my collection. I have no room to work out of, so i am selling off about everything to turn my arcade room into a cabinet assembly/storage area.

Another reason to put it bluntly, is the woman won't shut the fuck up about it. She doesn't like arcade games, she doesn't like me in the garage, she doesn't like me working on games, she doesn't like me playing games. Well, really she just doesn't like me, but we have small kids so we stay together.

So, with any luck, by the end of the year, i will own no games. I'm sure i'll get more someday.

Been there done that! Sounds like some one needs a pinball machine! Im more of a pinball junky myself, Ladys love em as well!

 

[ixtlann]

Collecting is a word I try to avoid.
I only like to have stuff im gonna use/play etc, get use out of etc.

 

[Black Matrix]

I'll have to say my buying has wained. But thats only because my space is running out....er maybe already runned out. But I still have an awesome collection that takes up more time, space, and patience than I can provide. My philosophy is no man's reach should exceed his grasp. Whats the use of having a warehouse full of arcade machines if they're all busted, or too piled up to enjoy. The trick is, once you are full up, sell out all your games. Then, either build a dedicated arcade or buy a bigger house. Then fill it up again. Right now, I am focusing on getting all my vintage games running and keeping them that way, getting my various Jamma cabs looking presentable, and finding cool rare titles to put in them. Projects include converting a red radar scope cab from VS to DK, having my pain in the ARSE Qbert fixed to 100%, and getting ESB back up and running. If all that gets done in 2010, it should be a very good year.

 

[demogo]

I'm only 2.5 years into this crazy hobby so maybe I'm not the best judge.

I have limited space -- room for about 5 cabinets.

That's acted as a restraint so I've been very careful about what I've bought and all 4 of my current cabs are "keepers" for me. I enjoy the heck out of them and either are or will someday be playing them at competitive levels. I really enjoy playing them all.

I haven't had the acquire-get rid of- acquire stages that many of you have had; maybe that's what's keeping me from burning out?

My enthusiasm for the hobby has been pretty steady except for the periods when something is broken and I can't fix it and it looks like it's going to turn into another long ordeal. The more I learn hopefully the less I'll run into these...

Maybe slow but steady is the answer?

 

[zfcamaro]

My fever hasn't died but I've gotten a lot more picky.... Game pretty much has to be MINT for me to buy it now. I don't have time to restore any more because I like to spend all my free time with the family.... So I pay a little more to have a game I can just plug in and wheel into place.

 

[chris25810]

The fever died for me a couple hundred machines ago. This is my 7th year and the most credit has to be given to my wife for putting up with a shithole garage and endless stories of "we'll spend time together soon", "i just gotta go here", "I gotta check this website" or "I gotta get one more thing done before i come to bed" 100+ restorations, thousands of monitor rebuilds, thousands of hours on the phone and more time spent in front of the computer searching Ebay/Craigslist and shipping packages than any human should be allowed has definitely taken a toll and really, who benefited from all of this? At this point all i'm doing is scrapping machines left and right to restore a handful of games that may be rare and valuable to some but in reality, you'll never get back what you have into it. I'm 40 years old with a daughter out of the house, a son about to go to college and when the kids are all gone what's gonna be left? A room full of games that nobody plays, a wife that can't forgive your lack of participation (in many aspects) and thousands of hours that could have been better spent. The hardest part (for me) of getting out of this hobby will be cutting ties with all the connections that have made alot of this possible. I've somehow managed to keep pushing an end date farther into the future but at this point i'm figuring it will take 2-3 years to wrap everything up hopefully then i can devote my time to where it probably should have been spent all along. This was a great day to respond to this thread as the wife (for the millionth time) has asked me to take a night off and once again i'm in the garage.

 

[armi0024]

Chris,
Thanks for giving Susan elegant words to attack me with... well said

 

[Deadly]

I've realized in the 4 short years that alot games I played as a kid really sucked. All but a couple games I've wanted to obtain I have. When I get the other two I am done.
Most of the games play excellent on dare I say it "MAME" and the ones I want do not and those are the ones I'm after. I now see good deals pop up and I think to myself, "Self that's a damn cheap game" and these days I have no urge to even try.

 

[caiphnaraya]

Huh, what a depressing thread

 

[simpsons99]

Lack of Money/Space is a real Killer. Plus around here the same persons keep getting all the games.

 

[Paul Olson]

Lack of money and space has really slowed me down. Also, a couple of realizations have contributed. I like working on the electronics, but I absolutely hate the cleaning and cosmetic fixes. I have also grown to hate selling. I was trying to make my my hobby self supporting for a couple of months, but that just isn't fun to me. I also realized that I can't compete with the resellers. They have more time to search for deals, and more money to buy them when they find them. Now I only sell when I absolutely need the money. I would rather trade for another game at this point.

 

[mudmantim]

Another reason to put it bluntly, is the woman won't shut the fuck up about it. She doesn't like arcade games, she doesn't like me in the garage, she doesn't like me working on games, she doesn't like me playing games. Well, really she just doesn't like me, but we have small kids so we stay together.

So, with any luck, by the end of the year, i will own no games. I'm sure i'll get more someday.

I think you should offer to get rid of all the game stuff and concentrate on snakes Brett, that will make her happy I'm sure, lol.

-Tim

 

[TOK]

There is kind of a trend here that a couple of people mentioned... When you take on so many projects that it becomes a burden to work on them, burnout isn't going to be far behind.

There are two main personality types when it comes to this type of situation. The first is the person that will put personal stuff aside to get things done on them, sometimes at the cost of relationships.

The second who will amass the crap until it becomes a burden, then ignore it.
I know I'm this second personality type, as I always have at least 5 60% completed projects going on, arcade or otherwise.

Either leads to burnout. Just remember to keep it fun. I feel that if you have a garage full of stuff to the point where you have to move crap to get to your projects, its not going to stay fun for long. With a wife and a young kid, I'm pretty much relegated to a couple nights after hours to work on stuff. It has to be *right* there and convenient to work on for an hour or so, or nothings gonna happen.

 

[ixtlann]

Ice kinda gotten out of the car hobby stuff becuz this is more family oriented.
Collecting "stuff" can always become an issue like many have described.

There are a few things that can help keep you grounded to the same reality people experience after the buy.
Tell yourself, this is another $500 or whatever ill never see again, this is even more true to playing with cars, but still holds true with arcade machines.
Like I was looking at carnevil for about $800. And it was a nice one. Granted they never made a home bversion and I lcant get it working on mame, that leaves one way to get to play it

For instance I told myself, carnevil is pretty cool, but I can buy one helluva pinball for $800.

Also was looking at some pinlballs, decided even though I like some of the pinballs I found deals on im oughta room, so instead im buying a duplicate machine to replace mine that has issues and no back glass

Quality not quantity.

Doesn't hurt my wifey likes all the machines. But believe me she still wouldn't want to have as many machines scattered working non working as she has shoes and purses

 

[Tronic]

I have limited space -- room for about 5 cabinets.

That's acted as a restraint so I've been very careful about what I've bought and all 4 of my current cabs are "keepers" for me. I enjoy the heck out of them and either are or will someday be playing them at competitive levels. I really enjoy playing them all.

I haven't had the acquire-get rid of- acquire stages that many of you have had; maybe that's what's keeping me from burning out?

My enthusiasm for the hobby has been pretty steady except for the periods when something is broken and I can't fix it and it looks like it's going to turn into another long ordeal. The more I learn hopefully the less I'll run into these...

Maybe slow but steady is the answer?

I at the same point you are demogo, but I have been collecting since 1999. I was out of space years ago but I squeezed a few more in in 2008 and I have been winding down my spending. Mostly now I am following the repro projects that people have been doing, that's where most of my money goes now days.

I have no use for any new video arcade games, but I would like to get a pinball at some point.

From here on out I plan to just use my electronics degree to keep them running and start playing them to get high scores.

 

[cleverlyj]

you know, the space issue is a weird thing for me. every time i run out of space, inevitably the wife will say "you know, we can put XXX in the house" and then i'll get space. next, i'll get another game and she'll say "this is the last game, no more space..."

it's a vicious cycle.

 

[jj mann]

It's full throttle for me. I am still checking Craigslist and Ebay every hour or so. I am a true addict. But, I am having fun and my wife is starting to get it. Sell some of your older stuff that is not getting much use and buy other ones.