Does anybody have an idea how many people are collecting nes stuf worldwide? (is it big?)
And is the nes scene the biggest? or snes,atari?  :-?

thougt about it and find this question verry interresting

It all depends on what you call collecting really.  There are millions of people that still have an play there NES, and probably still pick up games for it.  But hardore collecting this some us, there aren't that many.  Maybe a few thousand at best.

I would say Atari has the largest collector base, so does SMS.  I say SMS and NES are about tied.  SNES and N64 don't get much love yet, but they will.....
~~NGD

All I know of is one.  Me.  My only buddy that collected got bought out by another collector.  Once again, Me.  So all I can name is One.

Turf wrote on 18. Apr 2007 at 23:09:

All I know of is one.  Me.  My only buddy that collected got bought out by another collector.  Once again, Me.  So all I can name is One.

What? N64? There were at least 4 of us here, but some mofo(s) decided to be aholes & hacked that forum including others.

My question is what percentage of NES collectors post on collecting message boards, versus those that don't.  I imagine there are at least 1000 serious NES collectors worldwide, but that's just a guess really.  If you know the percentage of collectors that post on message boards, versus the ones that don't, then you can get a rough estimate of the amount of active collectors.

I can a few on my fingers and toes

:P

There are exactly 3,452 collectors of NES.

Any other questions I can answer?  ;D

Why can't you replace your 72 pin connector? :-?

I thought the same thing Jedi ;D
~~NGD

Now's a great time to get started on N64 collecting....there's a majority of the entire library (which is only 290ish games, by the way) available sealed on ebay at any given time.  Couple that with the recent find of cases of Razor Freestyle Scooter and NFL Blitz Special edition (both rental-only), you can get both sealed for around $20.

I would have only guessed 500 NES collectors trying for a complete set (including unlicensed games)


Al

Thought Experiment: We can find out using Stadium Events NTSC. It's the number of people owning one, plus the number of people actively seeking one. Just count the trade lists :)

Defining "Actively seeking" is a different story. This can't include the $10.01 bids on each copy that comes up lol

Simple answer: Too many! hehe ;D

Heheh yeah indeed, too many! 8-)

I would say this is a loaded question.  It all depends on what you consider a collector.  If you consider a collector any person who actively buys NES games whether it be ebay, garage sales, thrift stores, game stores, ect.  to add to their library or "collection"   than I would say the number is in the hundreds of thousands.

Bryan

After reading this post I figured that you can get an estimate (by ebay). You need to see all the people bidding high amounts on the rare games complete or not. Not just the winner but who is close as well.

I dont see someone trying to bid $40 or more for an Action 52 just to play, And I think everyone can agree on that one.

If you were to ask me, How many nes collectors are there in ABERDEEN SCOTLAND, I would say probably just 1, ME

I have never met anybody else here that collects nes stuff.  2 of my old friends used to buy nes games sometimes from the 2nd hand shop, but they were not collectors.  

I too am also trying for a full UK set and am almost there.

yea it would definetly  be how you rate a collector.                            

TheFinalDayComes wrote on 27. Apr 2007 at 20:14:

After reading this post I figured that you can get an estimate (by ebay). You need to see all the people bidding high amounts on the rare games complete or not. Not just the winner but who is close as well. I dont see someone trying to bid $40 or more for an Action 52 just to play, And I think everyone can agree on that one.

This wouldn't be too accurate IMO, because there are collectors who already have certain games, sometimes all games, so they wouldn't be bidding.  Plus, not every collector collects on a continuous basis, and even those that do would not be checking eBay on a continuous basis.  Also, there are collectors who never use eBay either...and on top of everything it would depend on what a collector is defined as, since many consider themselves collectors, but I doubt every one of these would be willing to pay big amounts for the rarer titles.  

So what do you guys consider a collector.  Are there different "rankings" for a collector?

I know someone who was about 80 games away from having a complete (loose) NES collection including unlicensed games.   He stopped, sold off most and decided he would only collect the games he likes to play (around 200) leaving him around 15 left to get.
He considers himself a collector.  I would try to use a different characterization.  A sub-set collector perhaps.

I know someone else like me who needs about 5 games (6 including NWC or 7 including NWC gold) to complete his collection.  He's stopped actively looking for them and doesnt want to pay ebay prices for them.  I consider him a collector, but since his idea of a complete set doesnt include those 5-7 games, does that make him a sub-set collector as well?

Al

Speedy_NES wrote on 08. May 2007 at 13:50:

TheFinalDayComes wrote on 27. Apr 2007 at 20:14: After reading this post I figured that you can get an estimate (by ebay). You need to see all the people bidding high amounts on the rare games complete or not. Not just the winner but who is close as well. I dont see someone trying to bid $40 or more for an Action 52 just to play, And I think everyone can agree on that one. This wouldn't be too accurate IMO, because there are collectors who already have certain games, sometimes all games, so they wouldn't be bidding.  Plus, not every collector collects on a continuous basis, and even those that do would not be checking eBay on a continuous basis.  Also, there are collectors who never use eBay either...and on top of everything it would depend on what a collector is defined as, since many consider themselves collectors, but I doubt every one of these would be willing to pay big amounts for the rarer titles.

I can see your point, it won't be a complete accurate figure, but how are you gonna find people not buying stuff on ebay who is a collector. Im sure people here may no someone around town or from forums, but not everyone. I haven't seen or heard of a collector in my area, I'm sure there is so I can't be positive though. Thats why doing what I stated above will give you an estimate. Unless someone wants to post a sign somewhere calling all collectors then its gonna be just like licking a tootsie pop, how many licks.....how many collectors....we'll never know.

But I can say this, there is too many. When I decided to collect, I just wanted one of every NTSC format game. I didn't care if there worth squat. But there are enough collectors out there to drive these prices up.

Some definitions I'm making up off the top of my head since Al brought the topic 'round to it. Note these aren't specific to NES.

Collector: Someone who seeks, purchases or retains items based on their intrinsic (not necessarily monetary) value, with the intention to keep them for an undefined period of time.

That's pretty dense language but what I'm trying to convey is: we don't do it for the money, we don't know when we're going to "cash in" and most of us either keep what we always had, or buy more towards a personal goal.

Reseller : a similar definition, just replace "intrinsic" with "monetary" and "undefined period of time" with "until they turn over."

Investor: a similar definition as collector, just replace "intrinsic" with "monetary or potential monetary value" and the end stays the same.

Completionist: Someone who seeks, purchases or retains all items within a set of predefined parameters.

Note that this last one has nothing to do with time or value, the goal's the thing. This can be large-scale (all Nintendo-licensed products) or small (all KOEI NES releases).

There is of course overlap. I'd classify the person who sold all of his items to retain only his favorites as a former Completionist, turned Collector. One could argue that his desire to keep only "fun" games might be a complete collection, but classifying what is "fun" certainly could not be quantified within any measure or parameter, and therefore how complete his collection would be would slide depending on his opinion at any given time.

Anyways getting dense again. Any other types we can define?

Retrowhore: Shopped at Hot Topic to buy a NES controller belt buckle and a black SMB hoodie; system sits unplugged in a closet. :)

I think Nick's estimate of 1000 serious collectors worldwide is WAY off.  Wiht 6 billion people worldwide, there must be hundreds of thousands, if not more, NES collectors.

there tons of collectors out there.. but only true collectors go for the whole sha-bazz!

nes_king wrote on 19. Jun 2007 at 01:41:

there tons of collectors out there.. but only true collectors go for the whole sha-bazz!

Then I'm not a true collector.

so u dont buy nes games then...