How do you describe your collection?
It’s Nintendo focused — the games, systems, accessories, figurines, and most things Nintendo.
I originally started collecting everything. I actually grew up with Sega Genesis, but I always wanted Nintendo so I eventually bought an N64 with my own money. I realized that not only are the Nintendo items some of my favourites, but they also tend to maintain value over time. Then I just dedicated everything I was collecting to Nintendo.
The N64 is a favourite. It doesn’t always hold up, but some of the games are my all-time favourites. Games like Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And also the GameCube. Those are definitely the most nostalgic for me, and they’re also the most fun to collect because there are so many different console variations and controller colour variations. The N64 had more than 16 different colour variations and the GameCube is about the same. There’s a lot to collect for the systems.
I’ve never done a count for individual pieces, but I have about 1,500 games, approaching 200 systems, and maybe 1,500 figurines. I used to have a really good Excel document of almost every single item, but it just became too much to maintain.
When and why did you start your collection?
I was about eight years old when I got a Sega Genesis. Almost all my friends had Nintendo or Super Nintendo. Then around 1997, my cousins got a Nintendo and whenever I went to their place, we played the N64 games. That ignited my interest in N64 and Nintendo even more. I saved up my own money and bought an N64 sometime around 1998.
In terms of collecting, though, I started collecting more seriously in 2007. I was in my first year of university and it’s been about 16 years now. I started collecting at garage sales, on Kijiji, and Facebook Marketplace. Those were really good resources to find deals. I would find a GameCube with 30 games for $100. There was a seller of video games at my university — it was kind of like a flea market. It was pretty easy to go every day to look at some games. I kept what I needed or wanted and sold the rest. I made some money and just kept flipping and growing the collection.
I was watching other YouTubers — this was before I started posting gaming content. One particular channel I watched was finngamer. His name is Janne. I loved his way of doing videos and the passion he had for the hobby of collecting. He collected everything. I had some of my own games from my childhood that I had kept, and I decided to share a video. I did my first room tour around 2009 to show the small collection that I had.
Early on, my parents’ fear was that I was spending a lot of time, money, and energy on gaming and collecting. They asked what the end game was — did I want to open a store? I never really wanted it to be a job. I always just wanted to be a fun hobby on the side. My YouTube channel — Nintendo Collecting — really got going because of the room tours. I created a line of videos about collecting tips called Collecting Tips 101. I posted new videos weekly or biweekly, which helped the channel grow.
Once you acquire a few things, you remember other games from your childhood. You want to buy them because you missed out or you had them as a kid. I think that’s probably what made me into a collector. Once I started finding the N64 system colour variations, that kind of transitioned me from just collecting and playing games to actually collecting system controllers. Then it branched out to figurines and magazines and things.
How do you display and store your collection?
The most recent room tour on the channel is actually four years old. The collection has expanded and now takes up even more of my basement. Close to 700 square feet is exclusively Nintendo. It features a Mario wall with games and posters from the series. It’s the same thing with Zelda, Pokémon, and Super Smash Bros. I have a wall dedicated to some of my favourite series. The basement also features all the home consoles from Nintendo’s history that play cartridges or discs. I haven’t collected the Color TV-Games because they are a little bit before my time. There are handheld systems, games, and accessories; for the systems and controllers, I display them out of the box and place the box beside them. The games are on their side so you’re reading the spine except the ones on the Mario wall — I have the games spaced out because I like looking at the art.
Displaying things is one of the joys of collecting.
What do you consider to be the Holy Grail of your collection?
That’s a really good question for any collector.
The Holy Grail of my collection is the Nintendo 64 Millennium, 2000 controller. There are only 1,000 of them in the world. It was released as a giveaway from the Nintendo Power magazine in 2000. The controller has a different colour scheme that’s unique just to the controller — it’s silver on the top, black on the bottom, with black matte buttons, and it says Millennium 2000 on the face of the controller. The only way to acquire it was by winning the contest. When I bought from eBay at the time, it was less than $100, and now that controller is easily over $1,000. I did have a second one in my collection for a little while, but I don’t love having doubles, so I traded it away a few years ago. That’s probably the Holy Grail item I’m really happy to have.
The other Holy Grail for me is an N64 factory-sealed, watermelon-red, transparent controller that was part of the Funtastic series. They also came in jungle green and fire orange. It was a series of six consoles. For whatever reason, a watermelon-red, factory-sealed controller is really hard to find. There may only be three or four that are still sealed. I’m lucky to have one.
The item I don’t have in my collection is probably up there for many Nintendo collectors. It’s an N64 game called ClayFighter: Sculptor’s Cut. It was a Blockbuster exclusive. I don’t have the box or the manual, but I’m lucky to have the cartridge. The cartridge alone is well over $1,000, but the manual and the box are $1,000s on their own. So, the Holy Grail item that I would like to get is the box and the manual.
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a Nintendo collection?
Number one: Start with what you love. That’s probably one of the first collecting tips I shared in the YouTube series. You have to do something you’ll love for a long time. It shouldn’t be something that is just a flash in the pan that you like for a short period of time. Pick your favourite system or series and start collecting games. It could be Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart, or it could just be a certain genre, like RPG or adventure games.
Secondly, have a budget, and try to stick to it because you could easily spend too much money early on.
Lastly, you have to be creative in where you’re going to look for items, especially in 2024. Look not only online — Facebook Marketplace can work as can Mercari in the US or Kijiji in Canada — but also go to garage sales, flea markets, and retro-game stores. And then, honestly, message your family, your friends, and anyone you know to let them know that you’re interested in retro gaming. A lot of my friends are finding things in their parents’ basements, and they always think of me. Sometimes I’m even gifted those items. You never know what people will find.
You could also post wanted ads online. Those have been successful for me; in 2024, the market’s so saturated with collectors that most people know what they have.
See more of Dan’s collection on his Nintendo Collecting YouTube channel.
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