Over 10,500 video games have gone on sale today on an online game auction site and this is all one mans single collection! There isn't a single duplicate copy (or backup) amongst the massive collection of games that took over 25 years to collect. The listing reads: "The collection consists of all 10,607 games that were verified by The Guinness Book of World Records during the official count performed on December 3rd, 2012, as well as four hundred plus more games that I have acquired since. In total, OVER 11,000 GAMES!! Guinness did not count duplicates, so every game is unique with no repeats." View the video of the Guinness Book of Records verification of the collection. The collection which went on sale on 'GameGavel' is in fact a Guinness World Record holder and the winning bidder will receive the official world record certificate as well as "LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION to RETRO MAGAZINE, including all back issues and an autographed copy of the premiere issue that features this very collection." The Guinness Book Of Records took over 260 photos to verify the collection, back when it was 400 titles smaller, you can see all the images here. Around a quarter of this impressive collection is "New Factory Sealed" which accounts for a whopping 2600+ factory shrink-wrapped titles in the collection! "Over 8,300 are complete with box and manual." The starting press for this awesome collection of gaming memorabilia was a mere $1 with the current bid at $5,678 by someone called 'Bottomless_pit' who may need just that if they are to meet the reserve price which hasn't yet been met, but there is 10 days left on the auction. So just how do you end up becoming the owner of the worlds largest video game collection like Michael Thomasson? It all started for him in 1978 whilst going for a refreshing Mr. Misty but instead ended up sinking all his quarters into a Space Invaders, from there on he was hooked and I'm sure a lot of you reading this can empathize right? The current collection equates to Michael having brought 2 games per day for the past 30 years and he claims he didn't get a collection this size by buying games on release dates at $60 a pop, but instead waited for sales to build his collection. Interestingly Thomasson runs a website that publishes "Homebrew Games" - A homebrew title is a new game created for a classic game console such as the original Atari consoles that traditional software publishers have abandoned. Basically, new games for old consoles. Here is a link to the website: http://gooddealgames.com/ which Michael say's he will continue to run after the sale of his collection. Michael Thommason, wrote a note explaining his reasons for wanting to finally sell his collection: "Although I am selling this collection, please do not misunderstand and come to the conclusion that I am leaving the hobby. That is definitely not the case. I love games and they are pivotal part of my identity. I will continue to champion them. I will continue to write for periodicals and publish books, teach my college gaming classes, occasionally partake in competitive gaming, operate GDG’s Homebrew Heaven, publish new games and gaming products, write business plans, make appearances on television, film and radio, manage retail gaming stores, help with trade shows, work as a consultant for third parties, et cetera. I simply have an immediate family and extended family that have needs that need to be addressed. While I do not wish to part with these games, I have responsibilities that I have made to others and this action is how I will help meet them. No worries, I’ve sold my collection many times in the past and still managed to capture Guinness’ attention, and it is entirely possible that I may again." We will of course update this article with the final sale price in 10 days, and XPG wishes Michael the best of luck with the sale of his awesome collection of video games...
