As we move towards a totally digital age, the attraction of collecting physical gaming media is going to become even more unusual - pretty soon, there will be kids who don't understand the concept of actually buying a physical cartridge.
Thankfully, so long as people like Isao Yamazaki exist, the art of collecting is never going to entirely die out.
Yamazaki's obsession began 30 years ago with the Game & Watch range, and he now owns a sizable selection of Nintendo memorabilia. He develops websites for a living, but has also authored books on Nintendo's history, co-written with French enthusiast Florent Gorges. In 2007 he even curated an exhibition in Osaka entitled Nintendo Museum.
Recently interviewed by beforemario for its "Meet the Collectors" series, Yamazaki revealed that his life won't be complete until he has the signature of former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi.
Be sure to check out the full interview and gaze longingly at Yamazaki's astonishing mountain of goodies.
[source blog.beforemario.com, via kotaku.com]
Comments 40
Wooow 0.0
Awesome, awesome collection!
And everytime I see a picture of a SNES, I always wish that Nintendo would make a console as kick ass as it was...
Im jelly..... awesome collection though I didn't even know the nintendo playing cards existed anymore !
Its a great collection for sure! He's definitely got me licked in japanese stuff(obviously) and vintage stuff. Overall though, I'm pretty sure that my collection could go toe to toe with his in raw value. As my swapnote friends already know, my collection is also quite the spectacle
I want that 64DD! Please, somebody!
@bboy2970 Post pics mate,would love to see it
I would hate to have collections like that. Imagine moving
look at all the color n64 on the top pic at the top of the page
If I had such a collection, my apartment would be filled to the brim with games.
"He developers websites for a living."
I want all of those game and watches!
All I have to say is just WOW!! By just seeing his Game & Watch collection in one of the pics. , I'm guessing he probably has practically ALL the Game & Watch games ever made in existence. Another thing that I think is awesome that he owns is the N64 DD. You don't see much of those around anymore. Very awesome collection INDEED!
is that a nintendo 64 DD?!?!
Nice! As I collector myself, I can really appreciate this:)
@Jaz007 Fixed
This guy is awesome. And because he's from Japan, he has easier access to all of the older stuff, like the cards, than Western gamers do.
Absolutely amazing.
So many unplayed games To me, I won't ever understand why people collect games yet never play them. Sure, it might be deemed as "less valuable" money wise than a new copy but I see the real value of a game as how much fun I can have playing it, not how much I spent on it. Oh well.
What an amazing collection but nintendo games should be played not stored.
wooow, Thats an amazing huge!!!! collection, He has the game & watch collection, I would love to have those.
Wow, his consoles are in perfect condition. The color on that SNES is like brand new.
Just proves how rich japanese people are =_=
pretty nice collection
Fantastic collection. Nice retro consoles display and hanafuda card sets!
I'd love to see a video or short documentary on this dude and his collection.
@a_binfahad lol im pretty sure this guy amass it over time rather then buy it in the bulk
That guy actually owns Nintendo playing card decks, and even several ones?
Four questions.
1. How much everything would cost nowadays?
2. How much everything costed him?
3. Just how much free time he has on his hands?
4. Has he played everything (Excluding, of course, some non-playable items)?
The jealousy is too much to handle.
Pretty much blows away my collection... Love seeing stuff like this!
http://lolsnaps.com/upload_pic/SimplyFaucetnating-7790.jpg
A Famicom Disk System, Super Famicom Satellaview, N64 DD... Nice, very nice.... but does he have.... THIS!?
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2007/10/donkey-kong-country-auction.jpg
http://tengokugame.free.fr/dossier_collector/donkeykongcountrychampionshipII.jpg
http://www.destructoid.com/ul/240152-offbeat-hall-of-fame-the-super-power-supplies-catalog/SPS-FulgoreMask-noscale.jpg
Ah, the days of the Power Supplies Catalog... This cartridge is the gem of my own collection.
Also, he's going to be hard-pressed to get a signature from "The One Within the Mountain", himself... because Yamauchi lives up to his name! That's like a real life journey of entering Death Mountain... Ever wonder where the name might have come from?
So he wants my signature, huh? Let's talk about money...
@HiroshiYamauchi WOAH IT'S REALLY YOU! Quickly~ Contact Yamazaki-san! Hayaku! 早く !
I wander how much its worth?
@WiiLovePeace
I wholeheartedly agree. A game or console should be valuble to the owner because of the fond memories they had playing it. Not the amount of money it took to buy it, and set it on a shelf or put it under glass only to never play it. To me that's what being a fan of something really is.
New generations of people will gradually enter the hobby as old veterans exit and sell their collections. Cartridge collecting will not die anytime soon. I started colecting Nintendo NES in 2002, and as recently as September 2012, I bought a rturntable and started collecting vinyl records (new as well as vintage). Also bear in mind that new homebrew games fot NES and Atari also exist, so the hobby is far from dead. But the million dollar question is, does he play the games he collects?
Freakin' amazing!
I myself have been recently collecting rare/underappreciated/sleeper-hit Wii games (and there are a lot of 'em), because I know they'll be worth something one day.
Like Yamazaki, I also cannot rest until I have Yamuchi's autograph...
...but replace 'autograph' with 'urine sample'.
I wanna pay the guy a visit
Cool collection!
Where does he live
Thats alot of nintendo 64s lol XD
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