Game collections grow by accident and get expensive by accident. Choosing a boundary early is most of the skill.
Where the first money should go
One console, and games you actually want to play, complete in box where you can.
Complete costs more at the start and far less in the end. A loose cartridge you intend to "complete later" means buying the box, the manual and the inserts separately at collector prices — which usually costs more than the complete copy you did not buy.
The expensive beginner mistake
Buying loose to save money, then paying three times to finish it.
The second is buying untested hardware as a bargain without reading the word untested. What games are worth.
How to learn without paying for it
- Learn the regions. The marking is on the spine and it decides whether a disc will even run for you.
- Learn the completeness vocabulary — sealed, complete in box, loose. It is the price, more than condition. How games are graded.
- Test everything you buy and say so when you sell.
- Ask sellers to boot it. The ones who do are the ones to buy from.
Pick a focus
One console, one series, one genre, one region. A complete library of something small beats a shelf of unrelated discs.
Store it from the start
Upright, out of light, dry — and take the batteries out of anything stored long term, because alkaline cells leak and kill the device. Storing games.
Questions people ask
Are sealed games a good investment?
They are a gamble with a storage problem attached. Buy to play first.
What about cartridge save batteries?
They have a life. Replacing one is a common repair and should be declared.
Is a boxed console worth the premium?
For collecting, usually. For playing, rarely.
More: buying games, questions to ask.