Well the fact you're interest is fixated on the physical blocks these works were stamped on, rather than what is, for many, the transformative experiences these works of art & entertainment provide (or certainly their potential) seems more telling to your perspective on things than theirs. 'Hoarding' almost comes off like a kind of warning knell for you in that context

—double post—

Yes & No.

Having a differing opinion is fine.

It is when you state it as more than that, that you ask for severe criticism, especially if you have essentially accused those who believe otherwise as fools and hoarders.

And I made it perfectly clear, who should not participate in this thread, and derailing it with silly notions about what or who is a true collector, is as bad as saying we are all just fools with an addiction, especially if you accuse us as just being hoarders and not collectors.

So in essence they get what they asked for.

P.S. And really it just amounts to logic, which is properly following the trail of facts. No fact says that a collector can only be someone who collects physical stuff, and you can even be a collector of ideas. Even if you buy into the old idea that digital is inferior to analogue, you still cannot define true collector based on that, only some kind of value indicator ... as in a digital collection may be worth less. It is still a collection though, and the person collecting is still a true collector.

P.S.S. And at the end of the day, if we are discussing games, they are all digital anyway, all that differs is the media they are stored on. It's all 1s and 0s regardless. I am of course not talking about board or card games etc.

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If I was to venture an opinion, it would be that a true collector, is one who uses or intends to use what they collect, in a way the product was designed for. Far too often we get investment collectors these days, who just corrupt the whole thing, and they aren't true collectors, not as I see a true collector. True collecting should have no financial basis.

Thank you, and I always try now and then to start an interesting open discussion, even though I know there will always be those who want to derail it for one reason or another.

I well remember periods in my life, where I became less motivated with some things, often due to finances and or responsibilities as a husband and father etc.

Games can take a lot of your time and focus, that's for sure. And when you play some of them you kind of step out of your life for a bit. So it makes sense that you can really be in a position to do so and have the right head space or mindset.

It can also be about level of enjoyment. I stopped playing games for around 9 years, due to some life factors and the advent of Steam and its impact on my gaming experience. During that period, I mostly watched my kids play their console games, and on a rare occasion played something on the N64 ... usually Goldeneye or Diddy Kong Racing or Mario Kart, often with select friends or family. Part of the issue, and certainly with Steam, was my connection speed to the web ... 56K modem back then. I was also a bit suspicious of GOG back then, and hadn't even started doing internet purchasing, let alone for digital products which would be painful to download if large enough.

I got back into gaming in May 2017, because enough things had changed, especially web connection speed. I remain quite averse to Steam though, as I have always preferred to be self reliant, and not under the control of others ... not any more than I have to anyway, and some things you just have no control over, despite wishing otherwise.

Totally agree. Some folks I work with like to collect emotional traumas while others - reasons to be nasty!

If you ask me, nothing good comes out from all that 'collecting' thing. Only a headache... Look at the pharaohs! More stuff they ended up with at the day of being disassembled, more stone their minions had to haul.

By now, I don't have a count of games anymore. He has been promoted to duke!

Oooh, I like that response. :D Transformative may be going a bit far for me for some games, but art and entertainment definitely applies to pretty much every one I've bought. I wouldn't have bought them if they didn't look fun, right?

It has always bothered me how a certain segment of the population views gaming as a waste of time. That same segment often spends obscene amounts of money on things like sporting events, theatre, or whatever happens to float their particular boat. How is gaming any more of a waste of time than any sporting event? Both are rather meaningless in the grand scheme of things; not many games have a real impact on the world, but neither do many sporting events. Not beyond entertaining the masses, anyway.

But what's wrong with that? The entertainment I get out of playing the games I've collected keeps me sane.

My kupuna had this advice re "demon rum": 1 is too many; 2 ain't enuf. Indeed! ;--))

While I can relate to your entire OP, this part stands out. For me, I always knew I was never going to play all these games, but I looked at my collection as a way to have them all quickly available for me to play any time I felt the urge. And I'm not dependent on the internet to play them, as I have them already downloaded. And also paid for, usually purchased on discount. I buy 95% of my games now here on GOG, but in the last few years, I've also been buying DRM free from Zoom Platform and itch, which accounts for the other 5%.

So when I feel like playing something specific, I simply find it on the hard drive and install it.
It's the freedom to do so at any time that I most appreciate. No need to verify my purchase or run a client. Hell, I don't even need the internet once I have the game.

As to my games count: The number doesn't really matter. The important thing for me is to have all the games I want available to me at any time. Sure, I will never be able to have them all, but as of this moment, I do have most of them; enough that I am happy with my available collection.

I can't say I relate to that at all, but I have certainly come across, experienced it and had to deal with it now and then.

Some folk are just not nice people.

For me, it is all a matter of perspective, and by any measure of the stick we are modest indeed compared to the Greed and Corruption of pharaohs, and their lack of human care in general ... so we are not on the same page let alone wavelength.

To each their own, but for me it is a kind of hobby, and hobbies are good for you. They certainly help you when going through tough times, and generally we all have those at some point.

I could spend my money on booze and fast cars and fast women and smoking or truly hedonistic pursuits, etc etc.

But instead of that I spend a portion of my money on feeling a degree of richness and control. And games are very much a mind thing in many cases. They are certainly a connection to the minds of others. There is creativity, one of the great highlights of life, and there is discovery and learning etc etc.

And because there is no guaranteed point to existence, they help pass the time.

I certainly don't agree that having possessions is a sin. That makes no sense to me, unless having such means others go without. I'm not one of those selfishly holding the wealth and impacting others because of that. The very little I have is at the very least fair and reasonable. The whole world could benefit from a better balance, me included.

n+1 it is.... believing in future games, I have to, God help me.