Rethinking My Media Collection and Consumption
I've been collecting physical media for over 5 years at this point. It started as exclusively games, then became music, and then movies. However, my love of collecting has kinda dwindled or has made me outright anxious, which means I'm doing something wrong.
I got to a point where I was kinda collecting whatever, albums that I wanted to listen to, but after listening didn't really care for. Owning games that were hot collector items, but ones I'm not super passionate about. Buying games that were strange, but not actually worth playing. Buying games that were just the disc or disc + case, and so on. Buying movies that were only worth a 1-time watch.
Collecting lost its luster after I started to just pirate everything. At that point it became a guilt. Why am I spending money on something that I could just get for free? So, I sailed the high seas and snagged a LOT of media. Games, movies, music, and so on. My library got huge. Tons of movies, Hundreds of games, thousands of songs. But I started to get decision fatigue every time I opened up my library. Music was easy enough, just hit shuffle and you're off, but stuff that takes a time commitment like games and movies was a lot harder to make a choice on.
The games stopped feeling special, and it felt like something was missing. My collection wasn't satisfying, and was filled with a bunch of games I really had no interest in. I decided I needed a change.
I traded in a lot of the games I had into a retro game store and used the credit I got to buy my wife a Switch 2. I traded in every game that didn't hold nostalgic/sentimental/enjoyment value. I essentially cut my collection down to 1/4 of its size. I've also traded the handful of movies/CDs that I didn't really care to own.
I then decided to set rules for collecting.
Setting Ground Rules
So, with wanting to restart my collection. I decided to set some rules for myself to keep it from getting out of control.
I first started by (re)moving most of the games I had pre-installed on my system. Putting them in an archival folder on my 4TB HDD. I've set the rule that I'm only keeping games that are way too expensive ($70+) or games I want to demo before purchase downloaded onto my jailbroken console. So games like Parappa the Rapper on the PS1 (which costs $100+) would get downloaded onto the console, but games like GTA III (which costs like $10) I would own physically. This rule also applies to movies/music that is way too expensive (seriously, $800 for "Anyone For A Doomsday?", I know it's rare but goddamn!"
The budgeting side is already figured out. With being the sole financial provider in my house, I already don't have the expendable income I used to. Which means I have to think REAL hard what I wanna spend my money on. I can really only afford 1-2 additions anyway.
When acquiring games, I have a few rules. Games have to have their case and manual in good condition. No manual, no purchase. If the game in question has a steel book variant, I opt for that. I also look for the more "definitive" version of the game. GTA: San Andreas looks "better" on Original XBOX, but the PS2 version has that iconic orange hue to it which adds way more atmosphere. Also, if a game is multi-platform, I'm not buying it on multiple platforms, one and done. If I want it on another platform, it is getting downloaded.
I also wanna prioritize collection a game in a series for the console it was originally home to with some exceptions. Spyro for example started on the Playstation, so any game in the franchise I buy, I buy for Playstation. Series like Need for Speed started on the 3DO... I'm not buying a fucking 3DO, so I just buy for whatever console "feels" best. I bought NFS: Underground the other day for the OGX for example.
I am also limiting buying games/movies/music online. This forces the "hunting" aspect of collecting which is like half of the enjoyment in collecting.
For example: I had the Halo 2 Volume 2 soundtrack on my list for a while. I hesitated buying off of eBay because prices were kinda absurd. I went to one of my favorite music stores for my birthday one day, and what do I find? That exact CD. I was over the fucking moon. Same thing with my Hybrid Theory Deluxe Box Set, prices were at like $500 at the time, but I saw it at a local record shop for $225. I scrounged up money and got it.
If I'm deciding on if I wanna buy a new console, I've set the rule that I have to have at least 5 games that I would play on that console before I do. I ran into this problem when I got a GameBoy Advanced... had the console, but only really had 1 game on it that interested me... it was Tetris.
For music, my rule goes as follows. If I'm discovering the album for the first time, I give it an initial listen on youtube while at work, or I burn it to a CD to listen on my drive up. If I like most of the tracks on the album, I'll buy it on CD. If I LOVE the album, I'll buy it on vinyl. This method has saved me from buying an album I think I'll like, but only end up liking maybe 1/3 of the tracks. The Essential Simon and Garfunkel comes to mind, I only like about 4 of the songs on there.
For Movies, I opt for DVDs. Why not blu-ray you may ask? Because A) I like watching movies on my CRT. B) the DVD tends to be cheaper and have more bonus features than the Blu-Ray version. C) If I cared about audio/visual quality I'd download the 4K UHD variant online (which buying physically is pointless as they tend to not have any special features). If I buy blu-ray, it's because it also comes with a DVD copy in the case, which is the case with my copies of Zombieland and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
Now I also collect the odd VHS tape (I have 1), where does that fit in? I put that on a more vibes-based feel. Campy horror movies and 80s classics (like back to the future) would feel right at home on VHS. I did grow up with VHS more than I did DVDs (DVD was NOT cheap in the early 2000s), so some acquisitions would be nostalgia-focused. I wanna get the classic Disney VHS tapes, the Star Wars VHS tapes I had as a kid, and so on.
I'm also following a rule of "not getting the same format twice in a row". This basically means if I bought a DVD most recently, I'm not buying a DVD again the next time I'm in a spot to add to my curation and am instead going to go for a game or album that's on my list.
Rules for Consumption
I've set a few rules of consumption for myself to prevent me from doing the perpetual "I'll get to it later". When buying a game, that is THE game I play for the week. Nothing else. Exception being if I'm doing a game event like for my weekly Wednesday Halo 3 multiplayer with friends. When buying a new album/movie, that is the next thing I watch/listen to.
If I have an album on multiple platforms, I consume it this way. CDs I play in on my console w/ the music visualizer or in my car on my commute, this rule forces me to actually use my CDs more frequently. If I have it on iPod, that is strictly for home/train commute/on-the-go listening. Vinyl is easy because I can only play it in one place, and my daughter loves listening to records.
Anyway, that's my plan. I've enacted some of this already and it's brought back the fun in curating my collection again.
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as of writing this...
I'm heading to the record store after work. I wanna grab a DVD and a CD, I have a couple of options on my list, so it's gonna come down to which one speaks to me the most. I'm kinda thinking "Dirt" or "Facelift" from Alice in Chains, or maybe something from Soundgarden. Not sure yet. I wanna get home and play some of the games I got too. It's my wife and I's anniversary tomorrow. Mrs. Pirate and I will have been married for 4 years, and have been a couple for about 8 years. We don't have anything too special planned, we're planning on getting sushi for dinner and then over the weekend my MIL will be taking my daughter to give us some time without having to be parents.