Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle
General Chat => Arcade Lifestyle => Topic started by: Superully on August 06, 2014, 02:43:32 PM
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ok guys, as some of you MIGHT have noticed, i haven't been active at all over the course of the last few months. apart from the fact that i organized - once again - our local school event of the year, i've become kind of "arcade-bored". i haven't touched any of my restoration projects for a good quarter of a year - let alone played a game. i'm reading this (and other) forum(s) on a regular basis, but that's it. one huge factor is that i still haven't been able to figure out what to do with my games gameroom-wise, but on the other hand this has to do with something which is both a good and a bad thing at the same time: containers!
while i really appreciate the time and effort that thomas spent (and is still spending) on getting those games and containers over to germany, the containers have somehow killed the hobby - at least for me and for now. don't get me wrong: i have greatly benefited from those containers and i would probably have never got games like major havoc or tapper, BUT they also took away what was - to me - the most interesting factor of our hobby: the thrill of the hunt! back in the days, how many hours have we spent on various sites trying to find new games, how important was it to have good connections and how thrilling was it to go on a roadtrip without knowing what to expect. nowadays, it's more like ordering something online from a catalogue (that is: KLOV), waiting for a ship to bring the stuff over and then either pick it up or have it delivered to your doorstep. as simple as that! nothing seems to be impossible anymore and the guy with the deepest pockets brings home the coolest games - basically without having to do anything! this somehow makes me sad ...
(almost) gone have all those great roadtrip reports, those discoveries which were (and still are) to be made on our continent and personally i have lost interest in those things myself, because why should i spent countless hours on the net and on the road when i can have everything with a few emails? once again, don't get me wrong: the containers opened a whole new world for us and our hobby, but they also closed one which was really important - at least for me. i still have a few games over in the US which i'm looking forward to already, but somehow it doesn't (and I don't) feel as enthusiastic anymore as it did years ago ... i really hope it will come back in the months and years to come! i've sold quite a few games, but i'm still on the lookout for a select few. i will eventually get them and they will be transported over here on ships in a container and they will make me happy for sure, but they won't bring back what has been lost ...
what do you guys think? too dramatic, partially right, you don't give a shit, superully's lost his mind, spot on, you couldn't care less, so true, what the hell is he talking about, i need a drink, ...
please share your thoughts!!!
p.s. thomas, hope you're still bringing my remaining games over! 8) as i've said, nothing personal, just something i've been experiencing and wanted to share with you guys!
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what do you guys think? too dramatic, partially right, you don't give a shit, superully's lost his mind, spot on, you couldn't care less, so true, what the hell is he talking about, i need a drink, ...
please share your thoughts!!!
p.s. thomas, hope you're still bringing my remaining games over! 8) as i've said, nothing personal, just something i've been experiencing and wanted to share with you guys!
yeah.. far too dramatic. it seems that you are in it mostly for the roadtrips...which is absolutely ok. but for me it is all about the cabs. it is the excitement to own what was a dream of my childhood. it is the joy that i get every time i step into my basement. it is the eyes of the people that visit me. it is the smell, the looks, the sound, the lights when my arcade is fired up. it is my passion to own the machines... to save them for the future.
and it never had anything to do with the biggest pockets. i only buy if the price is right... if the cab is worth the amount for me. just like you did with major havoc. we are still lightyears away from the american market and let´s face it... all containers together did only bring around 200 to 250 cabs to europe... which is nothing compared to a normal day at ebay us. and they all came to people who share a dream... at least most of them.
road trips are cool... and no matter how often you mention that there are still places with hidden stuff... for me and for most of us they are totally out of reach because I have absolutely no idea how to get in touch with those people, how to find those places. and chances are rare to find the cabs that i am looking for, even if i would discover such a place.
i love the fact that arcade machines are back... and admired by so many people. a few years back they got thrashed. that´s what makes me sad... not the fact that we all have the chance to complete our collections now.
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I totally agree with you Ully!
I love the hunt, and to organize the roadtrip! I think it is part of the hobby.
For me it is easy to say, because the zaccs i need have no chance to be in a container to europe ;)
Cu
Joerg
PS. Two weeks ago i got my first Pinball F14 tomcat, claimed as not working.
So a small roadrtrip, paid 50€, added new batteries, a fuse, some bulbs.
I love this feeling ;D. And some weeks ago i said i never will buy a pin ;).
I think that it what Ully misses!
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I also have to agree with Ully.
If I may compare it to collecting home console games, it's the same with going to the fleamarkets not knowing what to expect (-> exciting and fun) vs. opening the ebay page and simply choosing what to buy (-> booooring).
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I think that it what Ully misses!
might be... but that´s not gone by any means. nobody is forcing him to quit the hunt.
of course it is far more easy to buy them in the states... but if that´s a problem for you that destroys your feeling... don´t do it.
for me it is the complete opposite. it would leave me out from everything arcade related because I can not spend those "countles hours".
i do understand that Ully misses it. i just don´t see the real problem cause it is a mental state of mind... and since so many people claim that there are still hidden places... it is up to you what you do about it. :)
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I also have to agree with Ully.
If I may compare it to collecting home console games, it's the same with going to the fleamarkets not knowing what to expect (-> exciting and fun) vs. opening the ebay page and simply choosing what to buy (-> booooring).
oh come on, guys. those container-deals are not the same.
i got a few games from c1 to c4... and all the cabs came from Thomas offers to the community. Only in C5 it happened that I bought 3 machines from Klov... and in C6 i bought one machine (nearly impossible to find here) because Ully showed me the offer. I never checked Klov before.
As I mentioned before... I like your romantic view on those things. But somehow this puts so many people behind closed doors.
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I'm on the side of Tyrem ;)
Even if those containers opened lots of opportunities, it's nothing new... you could have order a special cab from Paul50 in the past... I got my mspacman from him almost 5 years ago.
And still, it didn't prevent us to still do the "hunt" and find good deals and gems.. but now, the situation has changed, people are more aware of the value of the arcade cabs and the retro stuff is "fashion", and it's harder now to do good deals on the continent.
But the hunt is one thing , restoring and sharing games with friends is another one. and i way prefer the sharing to the hunting ;)
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Ully you need a road trip.
Bring a game to Eurocade/RGE 2014 and we will fill you with so much arcade enthusiasm (you're going to love the people's repsonses) that you'll get back to restoring in no time :)
I fully understand what you mean and I agree. There is nothing better than having a great story behind a cab, how you found it, the road trip etc. F.I. The strange way how I got my Gravitar.....having helped Erik to pick it up, keeping on teasing him that it's not a game for him and he finally agreeing with me and selling it to me....that is just epic. It adds character to the game.
However, if I could get my hands on a Mad Planets for a good price via the container thing I wouldn't hesitate.
So I am not judging anyone but man, it shouldn't hurt your motivation for your machines.
Loosing interest for a while is part of the hobby. I haven't worked on my machines for a long time, did a lot of vector board fixing but I had problems getting back going. Now I restarted on my Ms.Pac seeing it making steps to getting ready really got me back on track.
yes I do miss roadtrip stories just like you but fact is that there are only so many machines in Europe and it seems we've found most of them ;)
So, do we see you in September ? IF only it is to hang out with the guys again....which is a lot of fun by itself.
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So, do we see you in September ? IF only it is to hang out with the guys again....which is a lot of fun by itself.
actually THIS is a HUGE factor for me in the whole arcade-business.
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I fully understand what you mean and I agree. There is nothing better than having a great story behind a cab, how you found it, the road trip etc. F.I. It adds character to the game.
exactly! there's a story behind all my cabs up in my apartment - and it's a story that I created / wrote myself. that's what makes cabs unique ...
but of course i also understand the desire to complete a collection (although a collection is NEVER complete) and to have games in your basement (or wherever), but there's nothing like a roadtrip into the wild (https://www.dragonslairfans.com/smfor/index.php?topic=3823.0) - not knowing what to expect / find. or take andre's star wars cockpit for example: he was one lucky guy to find that, but he didn't know until he finally brought it home whether it had a 19'' or a 25'' monitor in it, right? that's the excitement which is an important part of the hobby for me! i will be back on track eventually and i'm pretty sure i will discover secret locations in europe eventually, they just have to wait a little while longer!
So, do we see you in September ? IF only it is to hang out with the guys again....which is a lot of fun by itself.
as i've told you before NO, because it's the weekend right before school starts all over again and unfortunately all the teachers have to meet there to work out the coming school year - and this takes HOURS!!! therefore, i can't make it ...
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I am 100% with Ully.
Nowdays nobody would grab a F@cked up cab from a abandoned waterleaking warehouse in another country and restore it like Ully did with his Jungle king.
heck, i remember the days that people take empty cabinets and mame it so they have it working because the electronics are missing.
i guess things change, i dont Judge anybody, and have respect for everybody that go through the process of importing cabinets, but i 100% understand the feeling and the hunt beeing gone..
again no offence to anybody.
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Nowdays nobody would grab a F@cked up cab from a abandoned waterleaking warehouse in another country and restore it like Ully did with his Jungle king.
oh of course i would. i would kill for such an opportunity. i just consider them not as a realistic, common scenario these days.
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I like you romantic guys, love to read your stories on great trips to weird forgotten places. But for me personally it doesn't matter at all. I'm just glad I got me a DK cab from the US to play on.
For me it's even more about the games then about the cabs. I have some great dedicated originals I love to look at and play on, but I also have generic cabs to play games like (i.e.) Bomb Jack and Green Beret. Those games don't even have dedicated cabs.
But hey, just share the fun, everyone in his own way :)
I wouldn't mind going on a roadtrip, but how would I ever find such places
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Road trips were and are great, not only to experience, but also to read about. I miss them. But for me road trips were mainly only 'necessary' to collect games to get them in my house/gameroom, I did not and still do not care that much about the hunt and stories of how cabs came in my possesion. The road trips were still exciting though.
For me the hobby is about having the games and holy grails that I want, in my gameroom. The games are the story, and having fun times with fellow cab-collectors and arcade friends makes it complete. I am glad that we have container deals (although, price erosion because of it is less nice. ;) ), otherwise I would have had little chance to get Gyruss, or Juno First, or Tempest. Those games are pretty rare here in Europe.
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what do you guys think? too dramatic, partially right, you don't give a shit, superully's lost his mind, spot on, you couldn't care less, so true, what the hell is he talking about, i need a drink, ...
please share your thoughts!!!
i' understand what you mean, i' had quite the same feeling when my gaming room was finaly finish and all the cab inside, working and lit
and now...
i' spent 3/4 month without playing or even spending time inside my Gaming room
and suddenly it came again
the pleasure to play and to collect.
sometimes you get bored and it's like arcade got no more taste,
my advice, take a break, stop reading forum and you will see, it will come back again
you just need a good break
;)
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what do you guys think? too dramatic, partially right, you don't give a shit, superully's lost his mind, spot on, you couldn't care less, so true, what the hell is he talking about, i need a drink, ...
please share your thoughts!!!
i' understand what you mean, i' had quite the same feeling last year when my gaming room was finaly finish and all the cab inside, working and lit, and you ask yourself,
And now...
i' spent 3/4 month without playing or even spending time inside my Gaming room
no arcade at all !
and suddenly it came again
the pleasure to play and to collect.
sometimes you get bored and it's like arcade got no more taste,
my advice, take a break, stop reading forum, and you will see, it will come back again
you just need a good break
;)
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I do agree with old school a break is a good thing . I make it every year but it last only 2 months ;D
Personnaly the most exciting stuff for me in arcade is road trip.
Indeed you drive to a forgotten place and during the drive with your mate you speak about what you may find and start to dream that you will find a space harrier DX(my dream) under of bunch of old jeutel or midway/emerit cartons . You feel like indiana jones but in an arcade grave ;D .
Sometime you are also pleased to find a cab that you did not want but that's the one your friend is willing since his childhood . you call him and say :"guess what ! " .
The thrill of the hunt and the reward you get from your friend is priceless .
One other stuff that I like; is to seek such place for old papers of old parcel containing games . Sometime the game in it, is shit but the name on the parcel is a reward itself as it will give you the next road trip address ;D .
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Road trips are cool but it's not everything.
There are so many parts of the hobby I enjoy from the restos to the competitive game play and chasing high scores I don't think buying cabs from containers makes much difference
You can still do the road trips as well
Also getting any cab from abroad is fun if it needs a resto you can hunt down all the art work and parts
So there are many parts of the hobby to enjoy
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So, do we see you in September ? IF only it is to hang out with the guys again....which is a lot of fun by itself.
actually THIS is a HUGE factor for me in the whole arcade-hobby.
corrected that for you ;D
I agree !!! From The very start I went out abroad to party's, meeting people in the hobby. Having direct contacts is a lot of fun and often can be rewarding too because people will help quicker if they know you (well most people ;);)) and it's also good if they know what you are looking for. That's how I gained a for instance Joust cab (something I couldn't dream of at that time !) AND (more important) two great friends, Thorsten & Dirk, but also many others on other occasions.
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So, do we see you in September ? IF only it is to hang out with the guys again....which is a lot of fun by itself.
actually THIS is a HUGE factor for me in the whole arcade-hobby.
corrected that for you ;D
I agree !!!
since i love my business... i did never notice a difference between hobby and job. i guess i am fortunate. ;)
and by the way... i can't wait to meet you all again soon. ully.. you are missing out on so much. :(
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Yeah Ully, about that Star Wars, the most exciting (in a bit negative way) was all the time it took between my first discovery of it on marktplaats and the final pick up. it was nervous as hell that someone else might have been ahead of me and snapped it before my nose.
I kept it 100% secret until I had my hands on it......yes finding a game like that locally seems to be getting more and more unthinkable, although the Namco Galaxian was still not that long ago.
We have to focus on the thing that binds us, the love for the classic arcade videogames, everyone has a different approach to it.
By the way, that teachers meeting lasts three day? In the weekend ? and you've been teacher there for how many years, you should know the routine by now ;D
just call in sick buddy..... ;D ;D
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Well, I must confess I have somehow the same feeling than Ully regarding the road trip.
For having being in more than ..50 road trip all over the Europe during these 10 last years (time flies :oops:), I can tell you the hunt for all these cabinets, the road trips and how to report them on the board is for me... let's say 40% of the fun! Finding a rare game over the contacts, through the websites or via forums were almost a full time job for me all these years...especially at the beginning ;D Discovering new locations, sometime new cabinets we didn't expect... to meet new arcade friends, to road trip with them...wow...and what a great reward when you finally got your dream games! Even without importing games via containers, it was possible to catch everything with time, research, patience, luck of course, and yes sometime with a little bit more money than expected ( :roll:)... We were also so happy to find our graal games than we had to get it whatever its condition, whatever the free space left at home, whatever the distance to drive... no question... that were somehow the 'rules' back then...
Things are more easy now. And I'm really happy everyone can catch their dream cabinets for decent prices. I also had benefit with these containers for few games still missing in my 'must have list', so don't get me wrong. Now I'm more curious to discover 'arcade oddities', like an obscure french Pac Man boot or any special/rare/ obscure games... sure, we have all in mind our favorite games in their 'official' shape, meaning in their US dedicated cabinets, but we have in Europe a real heritage, thanks to the licensed games or even boots. I'm sure they are still gems to discover in Europe :)
But if most of the road trip side is badly missing these last months, they are still great things to follow, like meetings, game room construction, and of course killing cabinet restoration!
Game on & share the fun!
:spaceace:
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Amen !
Funny thing I just realized: the Gravitar I own now was on e imported from the US by Alpha1...... :)
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AMEN ST Bruno
oops Level 42 is to fast for me
;D
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Humour a noob for a moment, I'm new to the hobby, < 12 months since I got my first machine, a non working Jamma cab. Now I have 6 and 3 in restore, still a noob pestering the world of arcade collectors on most of the forums.
In this short time I have looked at my cabinets and thought - why am I doing this? - Is this my midlife crisis? I thought you had sports cars or had an affair...I chose water damaged bug infested wood with mad art that could kill me if I touch the wrong parts inside...wise move grasshopper.
I've taken time out and repaired zx spectrums and relived my 8 bit console days too.
But I always come back to it. It's an infectious hobby, I suppose I got into it alone fumbling about in MAME, watched a few John's arcade videos, and the rest is history.
What gave me a reboot a few months back was having some friends over, childhood friends, they saw the arcade and we fired it up (3 machines), we were kids again, and that was a real magic moment. When I say infectious, one of my friends is getting his first machine this week, so we will keep each other in check and I know this will be gentle healthy competition.
I've never experienced a road trip / operator raid, but that seems magical. I have a story behind each of mine, the collections and the characters I've bought them off, blood sweat tears and money into some of them.
So, what is this noob saying...we're not children here, but we're still playing these games, we've taken long breaks I'm sure, but came back.
My advise here, get some friends over. Play, and that spark may come back that makes you realize why you do this, and should continue to do so.
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I love finding stashes of old games and saving them :spaceace:
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I road trip, barn raid + I buy from containers and I'm very happy about that.
Different cabs call for different methods which bring different kind of excitement.
Hell, even container buys can turn into road trips, last time I picked up cabs in Germany, dropped some at 2 different locations in UK and bring mine back to Belgium. Met very cool arcade people in Germany and UK and listened to Arcade Outsiders during the whole trip, don't tell me that's not arcade lifestyle.
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I road trip, barn raid + I buy from containers and I'm very happy about that.
Different cabs call for different methods which bring different kind of excitement.
Hell, even container buys can turn into road trips, last time I picked up cabs in Germany, dropped some at 2 different locations in UK and bring mine back to Belgium. Met very cool arcade people in Germany and UK and listened to Arcade Outsiders during the whole trip, don't tell me that's not arcade lifestyle.
+++1
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Build a project together with friends like we did at Coin-op Legacy is really different from collecting on our own, for a personal collection.
Arcade is an experience of sharing.
It's the path that is exciting, not the end. Because it never ends. :)
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I may agree with Ully.
The arcade newcomers are more into a buying process rather than an hard search of a grail cab ... that looks like buying cakes in the supermarket for me !
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I may agree with Ully.
The arcade newcomers are more into a buying process rather than an hard search of a grail cab ... that looks like buying cakes in the supermarket for me !
you're right i'have the same feeling
but on other hand , when they will be bored with their new toys
they will sell them
;D
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Indeed ;D !
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anyone want to buy a Mortal Kombat?
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NO
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I may agree with Ully.
The arcade newcomers are more into a buying process rather than an hard search of a grail cab ... that looks like buying cakes in the supermarket for me !
you're right i'have the same feeling
but on other hand , when they will be bored with their new toys
they will sell them
;D
never sold one single dedicated cab so far. bought quite a few from collectors though.
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NO
+1 :D
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:P subtle subject. bat968, i dont agree (more) with the path way. i'm in for about 13 years yet.. started with mame setups, motivated numerous people, even showed some who became huge junkies ! a certain path of lifestyle for it..
this path, this "wip", i could years ago.... but when my goals are near and i cant assemble my parts of dreams, it's a frustration you cant handle :-X. i have about various 85 machines separated who need love & repairs, and i want to breathe happily about this goal and "live" it. it's a part;
important, but too, arcade is not arcade without pals, fun & discussions, (i miss zamoth & numerous people for the fun we had & their extra motivation) !! when yesterday i responded to "olisan" about our memories of "cote d'azur juan les pins"... hey.. i forget that i could match the quantity of that cult arcade ! (not their cultist games so far : streetfighter 1 DLX, arm wrestling, starwars cockpit..) :P
bruno has nearly accomplished it. he's one of the rarest (on a big scale) to have succeeded ! :spaceace: . i like much too the attitude of "oldschool" and his choices of 80's memory & bootlegs :D
i dont know about the usa containers. for me, it's still a grail i didnt see or cant. long distance from germany too.. it's not so easy to get something on arcades out of this area.. usa requires motivation, a good seller motivated too !! and so esoteric steps.. (and in france alone it's a pain to even just motivate the seller when he's not a hobbyist to send something when you're so far..)
important thing is trace of memories. i'm of the very few to nearly always had filmed in DV camera my, and friend's roadtrips & events i came in. it's a magic tool, to enhance motivation for others or remind them when there's hiatus..(but at a point; times consumes everything....)
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I may agree with Ully.
The arcade newcomers are more into a buying process rather than an hard search of a grail cab ... that looks like buying cakes in the supermarket for me !
you're right i'have the same feeling
but on other hand , when they will be bored with their new toys
they will sell them
;D
not true for me
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100 % agree with Ully, my biggest experience in the hobby was to find an abandoned warehouse and pickup cabs for myself and for other forum members from various hidden places. ;)
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Well, there is some truth to Ullys concept. The pain to not get what one craves for is gone more or less. It might not be a constant sting motivating collectors anymore. Maybe.
The thing is that this only goes for non-rare/non-local games. Instead of craving that Tempest or Donkey Kong one sees on klov all day, one can go and get it. And play it.
In times of globalized shopping and shipping, the rare stuff is rare everywhere and the common stuff is common everywhere too.
Leaves you with all the local and rare stuff the american collectors would like to get there hands on too, but can't. If you are not interested in finding what you have here, the stuff you can't get in the US or Japan, the stuff that needs your attention to get preserved, then I don't get what this hobby is about, especially the hunt and road trip part.
My guess is, collectors are temporarely distracted and the situation is just changing. Road trips are not gone for ever. It's just a phase for some of the most active road trip guys that went on a shopping spree lately. When the shopping is done and the dust is settled the local hunt is gonna start gaining traction again.
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i've been collecting Atari 2600 games for some 30 years now. I see a major parallel and a major difference.
95% of all US (NTSC) games are readily available for all collectors around the world, through the internet. When the mainstream part of collections is complete, people start to collect niche games (sealed games, local games, weird boxes, etc etc). Some also lose interest and quit the hobby.
An interesting difference, at least as I've experienced it, is that there is little interest from the US in European games. Exchanging PAL Atari 2600 games with (a part of the) US collectors is a big part of the fun and challenge in that hobby. Finding games "locally", building up a network, selling / trading games is like a new variant of the local quest, with the thrill of 'finding' new stuff in several steps (something like: find game A, trade it for game B, sell it for $$, buy game D and trade it for game E, the game you actually need for your collection).
What's happening to European arcade collecting seems to be a regular cycle / phase in collecting. Pioneers and early adapters wonder what's happening to their hobby, and will enter and make the next cycle, reminisce about the past, or move on to something new and exciting. Have fun!
Cheers,
Marco
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I believe that container thing is exactly like when eBay arrived VS Flea Markets.
Old school guys were like "Oh, before eBay, it took me 5 years to gather a complete set of Star Wars figures, now, newcomers can buy the same set on eBay in 5 seconds.
It was so great back then, we had to wake up at 3 AM and dig into dirty cardboard boxes and negociate the price, after that we'd often go for a nice meal"
Guess what: both Flea Markets and eBay are still alive and kickin'.
I really don't see what's the big deal: "barn raiders" please keep on "barn raiding" and "container buyers" keep on "container buying".
I guess uncurable nostlagics are only experiencing what specialists already call "pre-container era nostalgia",…
Hey, maybe one day crazy collectors will re-enact the roadtrips you did BITD... :)