Yesterday I took a road trip to Kitchener to meet up with some good friends and a few of my favorite game collector’s at CGCC’s annual videogame swap meet. I’m fairly certain that checking out stacks of classic videogames and shooting the shit for hours about collecting and playing them is what “good times” is all about.
It’s also earnestly refreshing to escape the new release cycle for an afternoon and remember where so many of us came from – there really aren’t that many places to soak in the nostalgia of the games that ruled my childhood and also talk with people about the titles that stood out for them. Every game has a story for someone, and picking up a copy of Megaman X or Castlevania IV and hearing how it came into someone’s collection is the kind of bonus you’ll just never get at a store. We even got to meet two very young kids that were collecting classic Mortal Kombat titles even though they had the newest consoles.
It’s also a great chance to catch up on filling some holes in one’s collection.
I can remember when my own collecting habits were guided almost entirely by the rarity of titles, grabbing them up to sit like fine jewels on the shelf. Lately however, I’m every bit as content finding a few common games that simply bring back good memories or offer a chance to play a game I missed altogether when it originally released. From the title picture it’s clear I have plenty to keep my thumbs busy today, but I did want to share two finds from yesterday that make me ridiculously happy, which is pretty much the guiding principle for any classic game I pick up these days.
From the category of Happiness Is – I knew I was grabbing this box before I even knew for sure there was a game inside of it. Admittedly I have a weakness for Japanese game packaging, but I think this one is pretty universal in spreading joy to anyone that catches sight of it.
Yoshi just looks so damn happy eating those cookies!
Throughout the day there were door prizes being raffled off, and near the end of the day my eyes locked on to this custom glass etching of a logo I’m a very familiar worshipper of. Imagine my head exploding when they called my ticket for it!
I didn’t have a chance to take a picture of it with the light plugged in yet, but this custom creation came to the show with one of the coolest collectors I’ve ever had the chance to meet, and I am absolutely floored to have it hanging in my living room right now.
Obviously I have quite a few games to get back to, so maybe we’ll cut this short for today.
Unless some of you want to share a few finds that have meant a lot to you of course.
Bonus Picture – I can’t remember what I was looking at here, but it appears to have been taking a lot of concentration…
Looks as though we both were holding onto something for dear life in this photo. Good thing it didn’t resort to fisticuffs!
I remember someone offered to trade me a valuable copy of NES’ Contra Force for my door-stopper copy of TMNT. I couldn’t trade this with her without her knowing that her game was worth 10 times more than mine and when I did confess this to her, she said she knew but didn’t care as it wasn’t as fun as the Turtles game. This transaction opened my eyes for the first time to look for quality games and not just rarities.
Comment by Matt — May 2, 2010 @ 1:37 pm
That SFC version of Yoshi’s Cookie has to be one of the coolest boxes I’ve ever seen, and balls out beats the fugly NES version. That Metal Gear glass etched light is insanely cool. I can’t even imagine the work that went into it. Jeez, I wish I had been able to attend the Kitchener swap – looks like y’all had a great time.
These days I’m finding that I’m enjoying listening to people’s stories about playing, buying, and collecting games more than I am playing the games themselves. Well, almost.
Comment by Chris Lepine — May 3, 2010 @ 3:12 am
The absolute best part about that box is that I’ve had people since think it has cookies in it. I’m a little astounded by the fact that people would want to eat cookies from the 90’s as an aside to that O_o
Also I picked up that copy of Out of the World thinking knowing that you would approve ;)
Maybe we need to set up some forums and hunt down more gamers in your neck of the woods and start having events all over.
Comment by Jamie Love — May 3, 2010 @ 9:20 am
And – nice copy of Out of this World for the Genny :)
Comment by Chris Lepine — May 3, 2010 @ 3:12 am
Chibi-Robo! is a mighty fine addition, so is that Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts! :) New releases are over-rated. Just think of all the awesome “old” games you can pick up for the price of one new release!
Comment by Ujn Hunter — May 3, 2010 @ 1:34 pm
Will Nintendo ever get around to releasing Chibi Robo on the New Play Control Series or is that dead already?
That Fox Hound piece pretty much made the trip worth it, right?
Comment by EdEN — May 3, 2010 @ 3:10 pm
A friend of mine found that copy of chibi in a walmart discount bin for $5, which surprised the hell out of me. I think if we were gonna see that play control version come over it would have happened by now, it released in Japan back in June 2009 right?
And yea, I love that fox hound piece so much I’d have driven just about anywhere :D
Comment by Jamie Love — May 3, 2010 @ 3:28 pm
So does that mean I won’t be able to add New Play Control Pikmin 2 to my collection either? Guess I need to place another import order soon…
Comment by Ujn Hunter — May 3, 2010 @ 4:03 pm
Have you tried Chibi Robo: Park Patrol?
Comment by EdEN — May 3, 2010 @ 5:37 pm