Board 8 > Board 8 parents: how do you share your gaming collection with your kids?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I feel like this is a very novel conundrum for our generation, since (for me at least) my parents didn't really have video games of their own.

I have a pretty solid collection of 500+ games and a dozen or so consoles. Does that just become shared with the family or are they "dad's games"? Will my son's new consoles over the years be his own or do they merge with the larger family collection?

Not looking for the "right" answer per se, but just curious what others have done. I have no siblings so this is completely new territory for me.

As long as they are old enough to treat your stuff with care why would you not let your family play your video games.

Individual ownership would be its own story but sharing games between family is not unless you are a jerk.

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The kids are allowed to play the Switch.

They are not allowed to touch Dads collection of NES and SNES games

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red13n posted...

As long as they are old enough to treat your stuff with care why would you not let your family play your video games.

Individual ownership would be its own story but sharing games between family is not unless you are a jerk.

Oh I'm not saying I wouldn't share my stuff. It's set up after all. This is purely about ownership. Like if my kid gets a PS6 for his birthday, is there an understanding that it's his to do what he wants with it? Or does it get added to all of my systems as well as one big shared family game room?

i would treat it the same way my dad treated his sci-fi, fantasy, d&d, and comic book collection

they were clearly his. however, outside of anything that is explicitly intended to be re-sold, they existed to be enjoyed by anyone who would appreciate them

maybe keep it all packed away somewhere in your room, and only bring any specific thing out when you want to share or your kids are asking for it

it can help engender some excitement about the past/now retro gaming. your kids will be into things because you are into them. i remember feeling a sense of pathos when i sifted through my dad's old jack vance collection. i also decided i liked the games missile command, asteroids, and space invaders because my dad had played them.

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ChainLTTP posted...

This is purely about ownership. Like if my kid gets a PS6 for his birthday, is there an understanding that it's his to do what he wants with? Or does it get added to all of my systems as well as one big shared family game room?

oh. if it's a present for someone, it's a present for that person 100%

you can buy YOURSELF a console on YOUR birthday (or on christmas/other holiday addressed to you from santa or whatever) and let your kids use it, but if you're getting a kid something it's theirs

you can always set rules or whatever if it's a house item & not exclusively theirs, to prevent them from bringing it to a friend's house (scare them into thinking it'll fall apart the instant it moves)

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That's kinda what I was thinking, and I like the comic book analogy for when we were kids.

I know as a child it's definitely important to feel like something is yours, so anything we buy him specifically will probably go into his room.

yeah. i imagine all of this depends on the age of the kid as well

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Just remember when they go to college, if they become a big gamer, they may want to take their "old" (ps4/5 gen and up) with them and you will lose that. Double up if this thought frightens you

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Aecioo posted...

Just remember when they go to college, if they become a big gamer, they may want to take their "old" (ps4/5 gen and up) with them and you will lose that. Double up if this thought frightens you

Good call on this. I can't see myself having too much attachment to something that came out in my 30s but you never know.

Theyre just going to play Minecraft and Roblox dont worry about it

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neon knows the truth
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ChainLTTP posted...

Like if my kid gets a PS6 for his birthday, is there an understanding that it's his to do what he wants with it? Or does it get added to all of my systems as well as one big shared family game room?

Might be wise to introduce household gifts [consoles] in addition to individual gifts. That way, their games can be theirs and the console itself can belong to the family. This is, of course, open to negotiation once college/moving out enters the mix.

You don't wanna have to revisit 'this is ____'s PS6' when/if you have additional children, or if you want to use it yourself. As a 90s kid, I compare it to the VHS player - that was understood to belong to the family, for the family's use. Each individual negotiated time on it, or we all watched together. Certain tapes were mine, certain tapes were my parents', and those that weren't super family friendly were stored elsewhere. Like, The Hunt for Red October wasn't right next to Disney's Aladdin.

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My kids are only 5 and 3, so I dont really have to deal with this yet, but theyll be Dads games.

Theyll be able to play any thing want of course, and if in 15 years they want to take some to BE theirs, then Ill probably let them have them? but not if theyre just going to sell them.

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Like someone else said, if you buy a child a gaming system for Christmas or their birthday, then that should be theirs and they should be free to take that with them to college or whatever. Be prepared though that they might attempt to take some of your systems with them. I was able to somehow convince my parents to le me take the "family" wii system.

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