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Tech

The World's Largest Video Game Collection Is Up for Sale

Over 11,000 games, not counting the repeats.
One corner of the collection. Image: Brianna Blank, used with permission.

If you've been looking to get into gaming and also world-record holding, then you're in luck, because the Guinness-certified world's largest collection of video games is for sale. You're six days and $91,000 from killing two ducks with one hunt.

Michael Thomasson has been collecting games in upstate New York since 1982, and in 2013 his collection was recognized as the world's largest by the Guinness Book of World Records. At the time the collection consisted of an officially counted total of 10,607 games, and it has kept growing.

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Thomasson told Retro Gamer magazine that he buys an average of about two games a day, bringing the total to over 11,000 games (a fairly complete list is here) many of which are still shrink-wrapped. According to Thomasson's site, the most-represented platform is Playstation 2, which makes sense considering the unbelievable number of games produced for the console.

“I operated seven independent gaming stores during the nineties and have worked for another chain for the last decade. I also operated Good Deal Games online since 1998, having thousands of games cross my path,” Thomasson explained on the Game Gavel auction page. “Whenever I purchased a game that did not directly come from the distributor I was able to look through all our inventory and pick out the nicest copy of a game, including grabbing the nicest box and manual. As a result, the games in my collection are mostly PRISTINE—you WILL be pleased!”

Thomasson with the certificate and collection. Image: Brianna Blank. Used with permission.

While this is the largest crop of games Thomasson (or anyone) has ever sold, the collection has ebbed and grown according to Thomasson's needs. His first collection, a near-complete set of ColecoVision games, was sold to buy a Sega Genesis. He sold the full set of Sega Master System games to pay for his wedding, and this time the collection is being sold “to better support [his] family.”

Really, the hard work has been done for you over the span of the last couple of decades. Apparently if you put about $3,000 a year towards games over 20 years, you get the world's largest collection. Now that physical games are threatened by downloads, though, whoever gets the biggest collection the easy way (by plunking down nearly $100K) may never be surpassed.

“The STARTING BID is ONLY a SINGLE DOLLAR! Anyone can get in on the EXCITEMENT!” Thomasson wrote, although the lot had jumped to over $2,000 in two hours, so I, and I assume many others, will only be in on the excitement as spectators.