What do you collect and what is your goal?

I mainly collect the consoles and games that appeal to me. My goal is to one day have all the games I want, and to be able to wrap up my collection and sit down for the long haul of playing everything!

When did you start collecting?

Around late 2020. Before that I had a Sega Genesis & Game Gear with the boxes & games, but they were unfortunately sold & I needed to rebuild my collection again.

How did you get the idea to collect video games/consoles?

Was really bored and kind of depressed late 2020 after COVID, I didn't know what to do with all my spare time, but I knew I loved videogames. Eventually I decided to find my old 3DS XL, and after powering it on and realizing it still had battery after two years of sitting in a drawer, I decided to check out some things. I quickly began remembering all the fun times I had with it, specifically Mario Kart 7 when I was younger, I loved that game. I then began looking into re-downloading some of my old 3DS games I had deleted from it, but then realized I was signed out of Nintendo Network. After creating a new account, I began to re-download them, which sparked my interest in other games on the 3DS. That snowballed into my Switch and Wii I still had lying around, and that holiday season I picked up an NES and began my videogame collecting journey.

What's your favorite item in your collection and why?

My original 3DS XL. I got it when I was still pretty young for Christmas of 2013, it was the Luigi 30th Anniversary Edition model. Even though it took a beating from younger me and my siblings, that thing is a fighter and is still alive. In mid-2021, one of it's hinges broke and my dumbass thought I could hot glue it back together. While that actually somehow worked, I also glued the right shoulder button to the system, making it stuck unusable permanently. Still, the console continued to power on, I don't think I've charged it in four years. Unfortunately, about two months ago I decided to check all my handhelds lithium batteries, and I found that the 3DS XL had a spicy pillow inside, meaning it has finally passed on. By that I mean I removed the battery, however I still have it all I need to do is get a new 3DS XL battery online.

What is your most memorable collecting story/experience?

Went to a game store in the downtown part of my city, whilst there some big guy walked in and started opening things randomly without permission. When the guy working at the store told him to stop he cussed him out and left, slamming the door. That led to interesting conversations.