John-ShepardHe started fresh twice: He first sold his collection 1989 to raise money for a Sega Genesis and then sold it again in 1998 to pay for his wedding.
Now, Michael Thomasson is selling his massive video game collection, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest in the world. The whole lot – all 11,000 titles – is up for sale at GameGavel , where the current bid sits at $90,001.
That may sound like a lot of money, but Thomasson previously estimated the net worth of his collection to be between $700,000 and $800,000. Well, there are nine days left on the auction, and you never know how high it could go… Thomasson's collection does include rare systems such as the Casio Loopy and Apple's Pippin console, and as Thomasson wrote:
"Win this auction and you will have the largest recorded collection of games in the world–or Universe, even! I'm handing over the baton and the winner will instantly become the new crown holder, without three plus decades of meticulous hunting."
About a quarter of the collection (around 2,750 games) are factory-sealed, and over 8,300 are complete with the original box and manual. As for why Thomasson is selling, he says his immediate and extended family "have needs that need to be addressed" and while doesn't really want to ditch his collection, he has "responsibilities." Yeah, reality can be a bi*** like that.
some people seriously have WAY too much time on their hands!
really could not justify this at all, i mean not only the difficulty of finding everything, and the sheer expense, but whats the point of going to all that trouble and expense just so you can look at them?
you will never have enough time to play even 1/10th of all those games, so whats the point!?
i mean if you have already splashed out on the several mansions, several wifes and toys on the side, every supercar under the sun, holiday houses around the world, a massive luxury RV, limo, several rollers, a massive luxury yacht, fine.
but if not, id rather spend my money on something actually worth it, something i will actually be able to use and enjoy!
not something thats just going to sit there reminding me of how much a idiot i am!
reminds me of a friend of mine, i get so pissed off with him at times the amount of money he pisses away!
he spends easy 1000 dollars a WEEK on torches!
torches for crying out loud, a thousand bucks a week on freaking torches!
hes whole room is a freaking mess he does not even have enough room for a small cabinet for a small TV because hes taken up all the room with shelves for his freaking torches!
now that, MR vas, that is the definition of the term INSANITY!
Last edited by ___________ on 6/7/2014 5:20:06 AM
"you will never have enough time to play even 1/10th of all those games, so whats the point"
This is pretty much why I'm avoiding collecting PS4 games this gen like I had for the PS3. All that happens is I get a couple shelves full of games I'll likely never come back to once I finish them, because it's not like I'm going to stop playing the new for any lengths of time to play the old. I don't want to be a pack rat and feel burdened by it all.
EDIT: but of course there's an exception for my all time "closest to my heart" games (there's not too many) that I will come back to. I pretty much play all the NG games on an annual basis. Well, at least for the last many years.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 6/7/2014 10:54:17 AM
In as much as I shake my head at this collection and if anyone actually buys they have more money than they know what to do with. They can give me some.
I would say the Smithsonian might want to by this collection as representative of pop-culture and a huge industry that it has become today. Sad yes, but no one can argue the affect this industry has had on culture, particularly in North America and Japan as an examples.
Anyway, whatever money he gets from it I hope it goes to good use towards his family.
Keep playing… within reason.
He's trying to help his family?
I have a sense that his family might be going through hardships thanks to the fact that he funneled a good chunk of their money to amass such a collection.
He got his 15 minutes of fame. And now he has to get back to taking care of his family.
Videogaming is no a cheap hobby. There is a reason as to why most of us don't hang on to a huge collection for very long. We have to sell some of our games to buy new ones. Not always because we can't afford to buy new games. But because we have responsibilities that are a bigger priority to us and our families than buying a new game.
There is no shortage of games these days. They keep coming and coming. Some take too long to appear. But they'll get here eventually (except if said games are from S-E). So it makes no sense to get a huge collection like that. Since you won't have time to play them all. Never mind the new games that you get for current consoles.
I wish him luck. Maybe the buyer will open up a videogame museum and that way everyone will be able to enjoy that collection.
Last edited by Bonampak on 6/7/2014 8:01:59 PM
I not only commend this guy for his passion but admire him for the judgment he receives.