Collecting PlayStation vs Sega

I've owned pretty much every console over he years give or take a few. Sold most of them throughout time. I only have PS3 and PS4 now. I am for sure going to be collecting PlayStation systems and games. I really got into gaming with the Genesis though and have owned every Sega system at one point.

Is it worth collecting games and systems from both companies? I know the Saturn and Dreamcast have a lot of games that overlap with the PSOne and PS2, so I'm not really sure if it would be worth the time and money to collect both. Really the only games that hasn't been ported to a Sony system that I am really interested in playing again are Shenmue and Shenmue II. Wouldn't mind playing some of the Genesis games again, but can live without if it wouldn't be worth it.

Collecting for the Genesis is a bit hard now, and the Dreamcast has a few sought out games that are rare, but far more interesting common titles in 3D. I would recommend these games for the Dreamcast:

• Soul Calibur - a very common game that is still exclusive.
• Test Drive Le Mans - a great racer that is still cheap.
• Ultimate Fighting Championship - simulation fighter.
• Soul Reaver - better than even the PC version.
• Samba de Amigo - playable without the maracas.
• Test Drive V-Rally - the best rally game on the Dreamcast.
• Crazy Taxi - I guess that it doesn't need an introduction.
• Daytona USA 2001 - It looks closer to the Model 3 Arcade game.
• Aerowings 2: Air Strike - great flight simulation with combat.
• Draconus Cult of the Wyrm - very underrated Western hack and slash.
• Deep Fighter - underwater adventure in FPV with more degrees of freedom.
• Maken X - it existed before Metroid Prime as a FPV action adventure game.
• Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage - preceding Devil May Cry as a beat em up.
• SEGA Marine Fishing - the best fishing game that isn't simulation based.
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 - I thought that it was better than the first.
• Power Stone - Cheaper than the sought out sequel and still worth it.
• Tokyo Extreme Racer 2 - the last of its series on the Dreamcast.
• Spider-Man - a port of an essential Spider-Man game.
• Starlancer - like Freespace 2 and very functional on a gamepad.
• Record of Lodoss War - a console and gamepad Diablo before the newest entry.
• Trickstyle - a mix between futuristic racing like Wipeout and hoverboard tricks.
• Red Dog Superior Firepower - very good tank controls and vehicle physics.
• Gundam Side Story - it plays a lot like Mechwarrior 3 with the Gundam universe.

That's up to you.

There's a number of factors to consider. Your own taste in games, your budget, and what region you live in all come to mind.

Retro consoles tend to have their own identities in the sense of what genres they tended to cater to most. For example, platformers or party games, can't go wrong with Nintendo. 32 bit fighting games, Saturn is the closest to arcade you'll likely find. JRPGs, SNES or PS1 are likely going to be your best bet. Just do a little bit of research on what kind of games you like, and you'll find trends with each system on whether or not it will be worth your time.

Budget is a big one. I'm a Nintendo guy, so 1st party games tend to cost a bit more than other systems. For example, Super Mario World or Donkey Kong Country can sometimes run you about $15-$25, despite not being rare games, whereas on Genesis, the classic Sonic games only usually go for around $5. As for your systems in question, Genesis and PS1 tend to be on the cheaper side, whereas Saturn and Dreamcast are a bit more pricey.

Finally we have region. Depending on where you live in the world, there's going to be some differences on what is more available and what is more rare. The Sega Master System is good example of this, as it sold miserably in the US, due to the dominance of the NES at the time. Over in Europe, however, the same cannot be said, as the Master System sold much better, and is far easier to collect for.

I love collecting for the Dreamcast and Saturn, if you're a fighting game fan you NEED those systems.

If you collect for multiple systems, then you can at least choose the best multiplatform options for specific games when they come up. So there's one advantage to having multiple consoles.

Aside from that, my suggestion - especially to save money - is to target exclusives. If you collect for Saturn and Dreamcast, there are plenty of great exclusive titles that are really worth owning. You'll find that some exclusives get a bit pricey - especially on Saturn - but you can do what I do, and just collect slowly (at the moment I'm buying one or two retro games every couple of months; I try to go for CIB stuff where possible).

It depends on what you're looking for. If you want pure bang for buck, then I think it makes sense to start with the PlayStation - it had a much bigger library than the Saturn, and where ports are concerned, the PlayStation versions were usually superior.

Going the Sega route is very rewarding, but for different reasons. With Sega stuff, you're more likely to find unique console exclusives that are really wonderful to own - games like Burning Rangers or Panzer Dragoon come to mind (the latter, in particular, is pretty cheap - unless of course you shell out for Panzer Dragoon Saga).

So it depends how big the budget is. If you want to stay focused on something that is going to give you the most hours of play for your dollar, then I'd recommend starting with PlayStation. But if you want some more unique gems that might cost a bit more money (especially if you want stuff that's closer to mint condition), Sega is a great way to go.

Either way, I doubt you'll be disappointed. I personally really enjoy buying retro stuff and giving it a good home. :-)