Man sets world record with 11,000-title collection worth an estimated $800,000

A New York man is the new world record holder for the largest personal collection of video games. 43-year Michael Thomasson has a library of 10,607 games stored in his Buffalo, New York home, dethroning the past record of 8,616 from 2010, The Associated Press reports today.

The figure may actually be closer to 11,000 or more, he said, because he discovered more games in his home after the official Guinness World Records counting crew completed their documentation.

Thomasson's record is detailed in a two-page feature in the recently released Guinness World Records 2014 Gamer's Edition. He estimates his game collection is worth between $700,000 and $800,000, but it doesn't appear he has any intention to sell.

"I have games on cartridge, laser disc. I have VHS-based games, cassette-based games," Thomasson said. In addition to traditional consoles like Xboxes and PlayStations, Thomasson's collection includes rare systems like the Casio Loopy and Apple's Pippin console.

Thomasson's trek to the world record featured two start-overs. He sold his collection first in 1989 to raise money for a Sega Genesis and again in 1998 to pay for his wedding. He now buys an average of two games per day on a $3000 per year budget.

Thomasson teaches courses on 2D animation, game design, and video game history at Canisius College in Buffalo and has time to play games for around three hours per week.