Slipping behind in collecting for DS ~ My plan for Q4 2007

History ~ Collecting habits of late

Lately I have found that, for whatever reasons, I have been slipping behind in my collecting. It may be due to working so much, or going out and socialising too much, or just plain laziness, but lately i've noticed i'm not really buying as many games as I once was, or as often as I was.

There's been quite a few new consoles released in the last year / year and a half, and i'm still pre-occupied with collecting older games (PlayStation / Dreamcast / N64 etc), which tend to be quite exensive as a lot of those games I have been buying are reasonably rare and expensive. I have also been buying quite alot of PS2 titles as well, but not really focussing on newer consoles like the X360, PSP, DS etc. I do own a handful of games for each though. The Wii and PS3 have only really just been released, and I have yet to still a game for either.

I am also lagging behind in my consoles too. I am yet to buy an Xbox 360; PlayStation 3; Nintendo Wii; PSP; Or DS Lite!!! Five consoles which are now the current generation! I do have my reasons though. I am waiting for the X360 Elite (Which hopefully has all the bugs from the original fixed); And am waiting for the alternate coloured PS3's and Wii's to be released. As for the PSP and DS... I am still waiting for a decent LE model to be released in the UK, as the have had previously in Japan. Still holding out for these.


The collecting so far...

I have pretty much kept on-top of my collecting for previous consoles from the 'Last' generation. I have almost all the Xbox and GameCube titles I want, having bought them at the time, so aren't chasing too many titles now. Which is a good thing, as many are getting hard to get hold of now. I find myself still buying PS2 titles which I missed out on though, and I have a huge list of PS2 games I still want / need for my collection. Same goes for GameBoy Advance games.

I have been buying the occasional X360 game here and there since the console's launch, but these have predominantly been Limited Edition or Collector's Edition games which could be hard to get in the future, with only one or two 'Normal' games to speak of. I also have a handful of PSP titles that I believe are "Must own" titles, but have an increasing list of PSP games still to get.

PS3 and Wii can wait as far as I am concerned, as they are both newcomers and both have yet to release enough games for me to be interested in. The X360 I already have about a dozen games for, with a list of about the same size of games still wanted, but I don't consider this to be a priority yet, as the games are still reasonably expensive but still easy to get hold of. I also have a list of PSP games still wanted, but again, these are generally easy to find cheap in stores or on eBay, and I can pick up on this collection at any time.

As for DS games, I have only recently started buying them believe it or not! I don't own a DS console (Yet), and the prices of DS games is still quite high (Especially for first party titles!) ~ The games I am mainly interested in are the first party titles and other DS games that are exclusive to the system or part of a sub-collection (Ie, Final Fantasy; Pokemon; Resident Evil etc)...


The pledge

Until about two months ago I had no DS games. None at all. I have a long list of games that I am interested in, and want to 'Tick off' as many of those as I can in a reletively short period of time, to bring myself "Up-to-date" with this console. Unlike the PSP, DS games tend to get a bit harder to find after a while. Especially UK releases, as there are many US imports flooding eBay at the moment, with stores still charging full RRP in most cases for most DS titles.

So, the pledge I am going to make is:

I hereby pledge to buy at least one Nintendo DS game per week for my collection! I vow to buy, each week either in store or online, one or more DS games.

How long I can keep this up though is the main question. I have a long list of games wanted, and a shorter list of the priority titles I want ~ These titles are games which perhaps belong to a specific sub-collection, IE, Pokemon. Hopefully, if I can stay true to this, I will have a pretty decent looking DS collection by the time Christmas comes.

I am especially keen to get hold of all the first party Nintendo titles, as I have already been doing with the GameCube, and attempting to do (Unsuccessfully) with the GameBoy Advance. I also want any RPG's and any third party games, such as Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, which would compliment my existing collection for other formats.


Here I will chronicle my collecting and list the DS games I aquire:

• Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin
  
• Cooking Mama
  
• Final Fantasy III
  
• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
  
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team ~ (Added 20th June 2007)
  
• Pokemon Ranger ~ (Added 21st June 2007)
  
• Wario: Master Of Disguise ~ (Added 23rd June 2007)
  
• New Super Mario Bros ~ (Added 30th June 2007)
  
• Age Of Empires II ~ (Added 4th July 2007)
  
• Diddy Kong Racing DS ~ (Added 7th July 2007)
  
• Metroid Prime: Hunters ~ (Added 7th July 2007)
  
• Harvest Moon DS ~ (Added 14th July 2007)
  
• Pokemon Diamond ~ (Added 28th July 2007)
  
• Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow ~ (Added 1st August 2007)
  
• Y's Strategy ~ (Added 1st August 2007)
  
• Pokemon Pearl ~ (Added 2nd August 2007)
  
• Starfox Command ~ (Added 13th August 2007)
  
• Metroid Prime: Pinball ~ (Added 20th August 2007)
  
• Resident Evil: Deadly Silence ~ (Added 31st August 2007)
  
• Yoshi's Island DS ~ (Added 31st August 2007)
  
  
• Contact ~ (Added 5th September 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• New Zealand Story Revolution ~ (Added 5th September 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Children Of Mana ~ (Added 21st September 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Pokemon Dash ~ (Added 21st September 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Pokemon Link! ~ (Added 21st September 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Yoshi Touch & Go ~ (Added 21st September 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Mario Vs Donkey Kong II: The March Of The Minis ~ (Added 11th October 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass ~ (Added 24th October 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Animal Crossing: Wild World ~ (Added 7th December 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland ~ (Added 7th December 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Super Mario 64 DS ~ (Added 7th December 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Super Princess Peach ~ (Added 7th December 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Heroes Of Mana ~ (Added 12th December 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Luminous Arc ~ (Added 12th December 2007) (Not pictured)
  
• Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings ~ (Added 1st March 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker ~ (Added 9th May 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring Of Fates ~ (Added 20th May 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Mario Kart DS ~ (Added 28th June 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Mario Party DS ~ (Added 28th June 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Darkness ~ (Added 5th July 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Time ~ (Added 5th July 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Guitar Hero: On Tour (Box set with guitar grip peripheral) ~ (Added 29th July 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Lost In Blue II ~ (Added 29th August 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Final Fantasy IV ~ (Added 20th September 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Dragon Quest: The Chapters Of The Chosen ~ (Added 20th September 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Pokemon Ranger: Shadows Of Almia ~ (Added 22nd November 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades (Box set with guitar grip peripheral) ~ (Added 29th November 2008) (Not pictured)
  
• Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire Of The Rift ~ (Added 17th December 2008) (Not pictured)

Sub-note: I started this task back in June on a few other forums, and have been updating it as I gain more DS games. I have been buying games both in stores and on eBay, but due to the recent postal strikes here in the UK I haven't been able to keep up to my original plan for one game per week, but it is usually offset the following week by two or three titles arriving.

So far I am ahead of schedule, and have found a source that is supplying me with a regular supply of titles on a weekly basis now until such time I feel that I have "Caught up". I am also buying certain titles upon release as well, such as the recently release Pokemon Diamond and Pearl games which I managed to get on offer at my local Tesco's during the week of release

Really nice selection G-P . I also thought about a DS sealed collection but i do not have enough money for two different collections at the same time. I spend my money only for one console system.

Added Resident Evil: Deadly Silence and Yoshi's Island DS yesterday, which I bought off eBay

can you make picture of your collection?

Undead wrote:can you make picture of your collection?

I could do. The main reason why I have not yet made a picture is because it is constantly being added to, so as soon as I make the effort to do a picture, it will be obsolete within a few days. Plus, twenty games isn't much to look at to be honest. I was going to wait a little while for the collection to fill out a little first, or wait until my collecting had slowed down before taking a decent picture of it all.

Gemini-Phoenix wrote:

Undead wrote:can you make picture of your collection?

I could do. The main reason why I have not yet made a picture is because it is constantly being added to, so as soon as I make the effort to do a picture, it will be obsolete within a few days. Plus, twenty games isn't much to look at to be honest. I was going to wait a little while for the collection to fill out a little first, or wait until my collecting had slowed down before taking a decent picture of it all.

Added a handful of pictures of my collection so far ~ 20 DS games (Upto 31st August 2007)

Currently got three games per week on order every week for September 2007 from a trusted eBayer who is supplying me at the moment! Watch this space!

Yesterday's DS photoshoot was a complete waste of time, as the pictures are now obsolete! Picked up Contact and New Zealand Story Revolution this morning from Tesco's for £16 each in their bargain shelf bit. With my ClubCard vouchers, I paid about £20 for the two of them, which isn't too shabby!

New Zealand Story has always been one of my favourite 8bit games, and this is actually the first incarnation of it I have ever owned!

Four more games added this morning!

* Children Of Mana
* Pokemon Dash
* Pokemon Link!
* Yoshi Touch & Go

I see you've got yourself pokemon dash
I wen't to add my local highstreet and broused the games there, I chose Mario Slam Basketball to add to my collection, it was quite cheap at £19.99 and i was quite pleased as this is the price you'd be looking at if you purchased off ebay.
I took it to the counter and watched in horror as the shop assistant picked out a copy with half the seal opened and hanging down, i asked for a different one, looking a little bermused she picked out two more, both with damaged seals, after seeing this i chose a different game, yoshi's island was my choice only to be told they were out of stock... I gave up at this point and walked out of the shop with my £20 in my pocket.
Off to brouse ebay then i guess.....

Wow that is what i call systematic collecting^^.

pandaholic wrote:Wow that is what i call systematic collecting^^.

At the moment I have a list that is prioritised by "importance" to me. I also do have a system of some sorts, and am trying to obtain games which belong to sub-collections first, such as Resident Evil Deadly Silence or the Pokemon games. I then aim for games that have had sequels. For example: Children Of Mana & Heroes Of Mana; Both Kirby games; Both Yoshi games; Both Castlevania games; Both Metroid games; Both Final Fantasy games... And so on...

This is then followed by whatever other first party Nintendo games are available to me at the time, such as Mario 64 DS, New Super Mario Bros, or Super Princess Peach. There are very few third party games I am interested in, and I just pick these up as and when I spot them cheap, such as New Zealand Story or Contact which were both found in the bargain bin section

Added a few more titles to the collection, which although they haven't been bought every single week, I have made up for it later by buying multiple games in one go.

Added:

Mario Vs Donkey Kong II: The March Of The Minis (11th October 2007)
The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (24th October 2007)
Animal Crossing: Wild World (7th December 2007)
Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (7th December 2007)
Super Mario 64 DS (7th December 2007)
Super Princess Peach (7th December 2007)

I also have a second copy of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass which came bundled with my Limited Edition Phantom Hourglass DS console

My original plan was to obtain at least thirty DS titles before Christmas 2007, which I have now done, albeit not exactly how I had planned, as some weeks I would go without buying a DS game, and then others I would buy multiple games

Added Luminous Arc and also Heroes Of Mana today

Not added many DS games this year i'm afraid. Finally added Mario Kart DS and Mario Party DS to the collection yesterday (28th June)

There's not many more DS games that I want at the moment, and not too many due out that appeal to me except Guitar Hero On Tour and Final Fantasy IV (Remake). The two Kirby games are proving to be exceptionally hard to get hold of though, as is Superstar Saga II and Warioware Touched. Apart from that, the DS collection is being put on hold so I can focus more on obtaining some of the X360 and PSP games I have been putting off lately

Added the two new Pokemon games: Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Time and Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Darkness

Recently added Guitar Hero: On Tour, which brings the total now to 42!

There's eight more games on my list labelled as "Must gets", and i'll be happy. There's also a handful of forthcoming releases I am interested in, including the new Final Fantasy IV game and Pokemon Platinum. Games listed as "High priority" include:

• Cooking Mama II
  
• Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber
  
• Kirby Power Paintbrush
  
• Kirby Mouse Attack
  
• Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga II: Partners In Time
  
• Mario Slam Basketball
  
• Tetris DS
  
• WarioWare Touched!

Today I added Final Fantasy IV and Dragon Quest: The Chapters Of The Chosen

Added the new Pokemon Ranger: Shadows Of Almia game today, retaining a full set of all UK released Pokemon games minus one

Picked up Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades (Box set with guitar grip peripheral) last Saturday.

I have found that despite the amount of DS games released, my DS collecting has slowed down somewhat compared to the same time last year when I was chasing older titles I had missed. There's still about a dozen or so games I want to add to my collection, but there isn't as much pressure now as there was when I started to collect them.

I tend to pick up most new releases on the day of release, or a few weeks afterwards, which means most of the games I still want are the same ones that were on my list a year ago, which are mostly early releases such as Kirby or Mario & Luigi II.

Today I added Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire Of The Rift ~ I now have all six Final Fantasy games for the DS

It had slipped past me until I spotted it half price on Amazon.co.uk. I don't usually buy from Amazon, but it was too much of a deal to pass up, and it paid off, luckily!