Retro Gaming Culture

Are you one to count all the money you spend on your hobby? Are you in it for the enjoyment the hobby provides or the money it may make?

Hardcore collectors seek to procure ‘Complete In Box’ items as a hobby, with a view that the item will appreciate in capital value due to its condition and desirability amongst other collectors or retro gamers. I personally buy gear to play with, not to have it sit in a box and gather dust.

By definition, hobbies don’t need to generate money. For that reason, I never keep track of how much I spend on retro gaming – It would probably freak me out!  I also have a very understanding partner and she encourages me to embrace and enjoy my chosen hobby.

With finite disposable income, we have to pick and choose what we can afford and what we will leave for those more affluent. I do get emotional sometimes over certain ‘hard to get’ items and push myself beyond set limits, but luckily this seldom happens.

I judge the worth of the items I buy according to the nostalgia and enjoyment they bring, not by their monetary value. Heck, sometimes it is just the thrill of the chase that brings me joy – even if I leave empty handed. I do not have regrets about any items I have procured over the last 30 years. I just wish I had kept most of the gaming gear I had as a kid, but I’m sure that could be said for most of us, and there is no point crying over spilt milk.

With the intoxicating allure of nostalgia, we embark on replaying games we enjoyed as children. We like to recapture that exhilarating feeling when whacking that chunk of plastic into our favourite console(s). For that reason, the joy of playing old video games will always be priceless to me.