PixlBit

In my previous blog post, I talked about why I got rid of most of my old video game collection, and later had regrets about doing so.  It also turned out to be somewhat of a bummer to read for some of you dear Pixbitters.  Sorry about that folks. I actually intended for this to be just one blog post that would also mention the brighter side of matters recently, but I apparently wanted to talk at length about my decision to sell of my stuff. I also felt my post was getting too long, and I decided to save it for another day.  And today is that day. Let’s get to it.

About a month and half ago, my wife and I were driving in her car. As I’m surfing the web on my iPhone, curiosity gets the better of me and I visited this online game store I used to buy old games from. I hadn’t visited that website in years. I browsed their selection of NES, Super NES and Sega Genesis\CD games and accessories. At first, I told myself that I wouldn’t bother with stuff anymore.  “I couldn’t…...I shouldn’t”, I told myself.  But kept browsing the site for things once familiar to me, I realized that I had to just come out with it, and tell my wife how I really felt.

I turned to her and said something to the effect of “Honey, I’d really like to have a Sega Genesis again”. I also included the NES and Super NES in conversation as well.   She was surprisingly open to the idea. In the time since we moved into her parents house, we eventually were given an extra spare room so we could have a little more space. I assured her that I wasn’t interested in building a huge collection of game and systems.

I wanted to keep things simple, but at the same time I told her that having the Nintendo and Sega systems were just apart makes me, me. She understood and more or less agreed that it was okay. BUT-- there’s always a “but”-- it wasn’t planned in the budget we started a couple of weeks prior to then, and we were just beginning to make plans to save money to help her parents renovate certain parts of the house in the Spring time of next year.  So after taking that into consideration, my wife wanted me to wait until at least we knew how much the renovations would cost (which we still don’t know as of the time of this writing).

While I was happy that she was okay with me getting into my retro gaming groove again, I really didn’t like the idea of having to wait until god knows when to do it. But hey, I wasn’t about to rock boat anymore than necessary.  As it turned out though, I would have to wait for long. About a week or so after our conversation, a miracle happened-- I remembered something that would turn the tables in my favor.

In the garage was storage tub full of stuff that my brother-in-law no longer used.  I remembered he had an NES system, but I wasn’t sure if it was still there.  One late night, I went into the garage and started digging through the tub.  And sure enough, the Nintendo system was in there-- along with Super Mario Bros.\Duck Hunt, Section Z, Bionic Commando, and Super C (!!).  But deeper in the storage tub was another surprise-- a Super Nintendo system with Super Mario World and a like-new Super Metroid (!!!) cartridge.  Upon seeing these things, my heart leaped for joy!  All this time, these systems were right here under my nose.  So I asked my brother-in-law if I could have the Nintendo systems and he agreed.  But wait-- there’s more.

There was also a dusty old Sega Genesis 2 system sitting in the TV cabinet in the living room neglected, waiting for someone to care for it.  It also had Sonic the Hedgehog 1(boxed), 2, and 3 (box and manual), along with a weathered-but-still-functioning Ms. Pac-Man cartridge.  After showing my wife the consoles and games, I asked if could put it in the spare room we have.  She looked at me with my grin from ear-to-ear and knew that there was about to happen.  She simply sighed briefly and said “okay”.  And just like that, I was back in business.

The best part about this whole thing is that I didn’t pay a dime for any of the systems and games that came with them.  I was especially fortunate to have Super C and Super Metroid because games now cost more than I’d ever feel comfortable paying nowadays (especially Super Metroid). Not a bad way to get things off the ground if you ask me.  It felt like a small reward for the sacrifices I made two years ago.

Looking back on it all, I never thought I’d reacquire some of the old favorites I sold off. I assumed that it was over for me. But I later realized that it was an important part of myself that was missing. I'm glad that I spoke candidly with the wife and admitted to her (and myself) that retro gaming deserves a place in our home. I reached the happy middle ground of having what makes me happy without going overboard with the collecting. If it's one thing this whole experience has taught me, it's that I don't need to have it all. But I also don't have to completely deny myself the pleasure of owning a few relics of my childhood.

It's good to be back.