Any sports video game collectors around here?

[DOAsaturn]

I feel like I'm alone (or almost alone!). There are SOOO many game collectors out there but I've found so very few that collect sports games (and different than just simply amassing a bunch of old sports games over time). I've run across a serious baseball game collector and a couple hockey collectors. I, myself, collect hockey fairly obsessively, though I'm only at around 100 games or so (I even go so far as to collect each version/variant and the European and Japan releases). I haven't counted up a full set, but I believe it'd be around 250, but variants and regional releases can push things pretty far past that. I've been surprised at how much value there can be in older sports games and some particular releases are in the triple digits (try getting a boxed copy of Pro Sport Hockey for the NES for less than $100...). Right now my most cherished items are Elitserien '95 and '96 for the Sega Mega Drive (European Genesis), basically Swedish league re-skin's of NHL 95 and 96.

Ultimately I'd love to have the entire hockey game library for a thematic man cave of sorts, but thats for when I move out of an apartment and into a house.

Anyone else on here collect?

[kehlis]

Re: Any sports video game collectors around here?

Man your avatar brings back so many memories I just feel complied to reply. I spent so many summer nights hanging out in the parking lot outside of Mustangs games down the right field line waiting for foul balls. Our friends (we would rotate) would sit in the top row down the right field line to let us know when a righty was up so we could be on high alert for a foul ball. Man, that was like 25 years ago.

Sorry for the off topic post but your only the second person I think I've ever seen with a Mustangs logo.



As for your question. I've never traded in any game I've had so I have a ton but wouldn't exactly call myself a collector.

[DOAsaturn]

Re: Any sports video game collectors around here?

Man your avatar brings back so many memories I just feel complied to reply. I spent so many summer nights hanging out in the parking lot outside of Mustangs games down the right field line waiting for foul balls. Our friends (we would rotate) would sit in the top row down the right field line to let us know when a righty was up so we could be on high alert for a foul ball. Man, that was like 25 years ago.

Sorry for the off topic post but your only the second person I think I've ever seen with a Mustangs logo.



As for your question. I've never traded in any game I've had so I have a ton but wouldn't exactly call myself a collector.

I feel I've run across you on here before many years ago. I have gotten a comment years ago about the Mustangs avatar as well. I actually worked there for ten seasons (2002-2011), the last five as official scorer. I don't even live in Billings anymore, it was mostly a college job that ended up running alongside my time being a sports journalist with the Billings Gazette.

I started going to games in the early 90s as a grade schooler, I remember the back-to-back-to-back championship runs with the Donnie Scott-led teams of 91, 92 and 93. I remember Aaron Boone, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and a bunch of other future major leaguers throughout the years as well.

[kehlis]

Re: Any sports video game collectors around here?

I feel I've run across you on here before many years ago. I have gotten a comment years ago about the Mustangs avatar as well. I actually worked there for ten seasons (2002-2011), the last five as official scorer. I don't even live in Billings anymore, it was mostly a college job that ended up running alongside my time being a sports journalist with the Billings Gazette.

I started going to games in the early 90s as a grade schooler, I remember the back-to-back-to-back championship runs with the Donnie Scott-led teams of 91, 92 and 93. I remember Aaron Boone, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and a bunch of other future major leaguers throughout the years as well.

Maybe you were the one other person I saw with that avatar then lol.


Were you there when Jerry Greeley (coach) was there by chance?

[DOAsaturn]

Re: Any sports video game collectors around here?

Maybe you were the one other person I saw with that avatar then lol.


Were you there when Jerry Greeley (coach) was there by chance?

Yeah he was a coach there when I started working there, I think my first year

[kehlis]

Re: Any sports video game collectors around here?

Yeah he was a coach there when I started working there, I think my first year

Small world and the stories I could tell about him.

He was my manager when I played in college in Wilkes Barre, PA (went on to be the pitching coach on his staff for a few years after that). He's a teacher and has drifted through the Orioles and Reds system coaching short season teams over the years for the summer.

Knowing him I can't imagine he was a favorite of yours if you were in the media.

[DOAsaturn]

Re: Any sports video game collectors around here?

Small world and the stories I could tell about him.

He was my manager when I played in college in Wilkes Barre, PA (went on to be the pitching coach on his staff for a few years after that). He's a teacher and has drifted through the Orioles and Reds system coaching short season teams over the years for the summer.

Knowing him I can't imagine he was a favorite of yours if you were in the media.

I wasn't in the media at that time (not until 2006). At that time I was just a lowly usher too. I became official scorer in 2006 as well, and got to interact with all the players/coaches. I always dealt with guys like Chris Sabo, Tom Browning, Delino Deshields and Rick Burleson. Sabo was a huge jerk, but never to me. Most people were friendly but I did have a couple players get in my face over calls (usually when I gave an error and they think they deserved a hit). Burleson was nasty as well, really nasty, but I'm lucky I never got into anything with him. I can't imagine Greeley was harder to deal with than Burleson or Sabo...

[BurghFan]

Re: Any sports video game collectors around here?

And I think this thread is irreparably derailed

I used to keep game where athletes from my favorite teams were on the cover, but I eventually traded them all in because all they did was sit on the shelf collecting dust as I quit playing them once the next years version came out.

There has got to be people on OS who collect sports video games though. I mean, this IS a sports gaming website for crying out loud.

[DOAsaturn]

Re: Any sports video game collectors around here?

And I think this thread is irreparably derailed

I used to keep game where athletes from my favorite teams were on the cover, but I eventually traded them all in because all they did was sit on the shelf collecting dust as I quit playing them once the next years version came out.

There has got to be people on OS who collect sports video games though. I mean, this IS a sports gaming website for crying out loud.

Haha, we did get pretty sidetracked, but that is certainly ok - I would like to really get a good tally of serious (or at least semi-serious) sports gaming collectors. I've even envisioned starting website of my own at times about sports game collecting (or maybe just about all the hockey games - but I never really get enough time or motivation to start any of that just yet).

There is a reddit that isn't frequented much r/SPORTSGAMECOLLECTING, but I did track down two very serious hockey collectors on there as well as a pretty decent baseball collection.

I feel hockey is probably the easiest to collect for since it has a fairly obtainable target, even if you go crazy and collect for all regions/all variants. If you ignore variants/regions you'd end up with somewhere around 215 games depending on how you count (each console's release as a separate game, so NHL '94 for Genesis and SNES count separately for instance...). I'm at around 95 games but am over 110-115 with variants. Other sports have far more representation. I've seen lists of all the baseball titles out there and it is jawdropping. Niche sports would make interesting side collections. I could see myself doing a college basketball set. I even thought about cricket after playing a ton of Don Bradman 14 and learning the sport - but I'd literally have to import every title from Europe or Australia...