I feel privileged to be able to show you all this latest collection from the retro gaming legend Pat Beil (@PatsGameReviews) of Pats Retro Game Reviews (www.planetarbitrary.com) fame. Occasionally you stumble upon a collection that completely blows you away. This is one such collection, especially notable for the inclusion of its unusual signed video games.

The collection

Click on images for titles and to enlarge

Sega Family — Here is the book shelf that holds a majority of my games. On top, I have the family of sega consoles from the 90’s. There just extra systems so I put them out like this to make a neat little display.

Asteroids closet — This is the closet in the game room. I recently put up these asteroid wall clings that a friend of mine gave me for christmas. Next to the closet is another book shelf with some game collectibles on it.

Console setup - Right Side — This is the right side of the console setup. On this side is the following: Top – PS3, PS2, PSX, Neo Geo CD, Atari Jaguar with Jaguar CD, Middle – Commodore Amiga CD32, Panasonic 3DO FZ-10, Atari 7800, Atari 400 Bottom – Intellivision, Media Megadrive(bootleg system), Atari 2600 jr.

Console setup - left side — Top – Sega CDX, Sega CD (1st generation), Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Xbox 360. Middle – Sega Master System with power base, Sega MegaDrive, JVC X’eye, Xbox. Bottom – Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Game Cube, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, Super Famicom, NES. SIDE NOTE – I realize that I have a second generation Sega Genesis hooked up to the Sega CD/32X. I have about 6 second generation Genesis systems and only two first generation systems so I have them set aside for safe keeping. Just thought I would mention it since I ALWAYS get asked about it when other gamers see it.

Console setup — This is the setup as a whole. The book shelves are from Ikea and they work perfectly for this setup. I have 20 feet of vinyl tubing mounted to the back of each bookshelf to run all of the video and power cables through. All of the systems that have RCA plugs are hooked to 5 A/V hubs which are pictured in the middle of the two book shelves. The older systems that run through the antennae are hooked up to a UHF splitter. Everything is lit up with LED tap lights from Ikea. They’re battery powered as I have maxed out the electrical plugs on this side of the wall. Each side goes to its own surge protector and wall plug so I have everything split up as much as possible. All of the power cables have cord extensions plugged into the AC bricks so they’re not all crowded on the surge protector. I haven’t figured out a pretty way of setting up the surge protectors so I didn’t take a picture of them, it’s embarrassing.

Controller Drawers — These small drawer units on each side of my game book shelf have two drawers each that I use to store all of my controllers, helps me keep the game room clean and clutter free.

Game Couch — Um, just a couch, very comfy for long game sessions. The pictures on the wall I had printed my self and I purchased the frames from a frame shop. Left, Intellivision poster, Middle, Neo Geo CD magazine advertisement, right, Commodore logo.

Game shelf — Book shelf with various game collectibles on it.

Sega corner — Just another shot of the sega corner, you can see my virtual boy along with one of my 12″ vintage mint condition Kenwood KL-888Z speakers. The other speaker is on the other side of the couch. ALL of the game systems go through these, sounds excellent!

Handhelds — This is my Turbo Grafx Express and my Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Comics — This is one of my favorite Saturn games, Iron Man and XO Manowar in Heavy Metal. I have it displayed with the actual Iron Man and XO Manowar comic books. The XO comic is a #1.

C’mon, it’s the Neo Geo X, I love this thing.

Street Fighter The Movie The Game The Record — This is my copy of Street Fighter The Movie The Game for Sega Saturn along with my copy of Street Fighter The Movie The Soundtrack on 33 RPM vinyl.

Collectibles — My copies of Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure for NES and Atari Lynx. The Lynx copy is factory sealed. The hotwheel cars are limited edition Atari cars.

Wrestlemania - The Arcade Game (Sega Saturn) — This is my copy of Wrestlemania signed by Ted Dibiase and Virgil. They signed it together at the Chicago Comic Con a few years ago.

This is my signed copy of Adventures of Tron for Atari. Cindy Morgan, the actress from the original Tron movie, signed this at the Chicago Comic-Con two years ago.

Top Gun for NES — This is my copy of Top Gun signed by Val Kilmer from the Top Gun movie. He signed it at the C2E2 Entertainment convention last year.

Daedalus Encounter for 3DO — This my copy of Daedalus Encounter signed by Tia Carrere.

This is Tia Carrere from Waynes World signing my copy of Daedalus Encounter. This was a few years back at a theater outside Chicago.

Evil Dead for Xbox — This my copy of Evil Dead for the Xbox signed by Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, and Sarah York, the actresses from the actual movie “Evil Dead”

The women from Evil Dead — This is the convention I was at when these three signed my Evil Dead game.

Mortal Kombat 3 signed by actress Kerri Hoskins Branson.

My friend and I with Kerri Hoskins Branson aka Sonya Blade from Mortal Kombat 3 — This is a picture my friend and I got with actress Kerri Hoskins Branson from Mortal Kombat 3. We interviewed her on the Play On! Podcast on PlanetArbitrary.com

Q and A with Pat Beil

When did you become interested in video games and what was the first video game you played?

Pat: I became interested in video games when I was around 6 years old. That’s when I saw my older brother playing Pitfall on the Atari 2600. That is also the first video game I can remember playing. I remember playing a lot of Combat and Night Rider also but Pitfall was the first.

What was the first games console or computer you owned and how old were you?

Pat: The first game console I ever owned was a Super Nintendo that I got for Christmas when I was around 11 or 12. My brother and I already had an Atari 2600 and NES but those were hooked up in my older brother’s room, the SNES was all mine.

What got you into collecting videogames, computers and consoles?

Pat: As a kid, I used to go to a lot of my friends houses to play video games. Like me, they all had older brothers which owned the latest and greatest video game console of the time but since they always belonged to the older brother, my friends and I were never allowed to play them. Sure, we could play the Genesis or Super Nintendo but the Atari Jaguar or Sega CD that the older brothers had were always off limits. Sometimes the systems were just sitting in a box in a closet not being played and that used to really drive me nuts to know that some new and awesome game console was just sitting there and we weren’t allowed to play it. I said to myself at an early age that one day I would own all of the video game consoles I want and they would all be hooked up and playable.

Where do you source most of your retro purchases from (ebay, flea markets etc) ?

Pat: All over the place, online (craigslist, amazon), game stores, used CD and movie stores, flea markets, thrift shops and fellow collectors. When you’re collecting retro video games you have to look all over the place. A majority of my consoles did come from a fellow collector though that I met online.

What is your most prized retrogaming possession and how much did it cost you?

Pat: Probably my Neo Geo CD, it was in the neighborhood of $300. I know there’s other more rare and valuable systems out there but that doesn’t matter to me. I’ve always been a huge Neo Geo fan.

What is your favourite hardware manufacturer (Sega, Nintendo, Atari Commodore etc.) ?

Pat: Hmmm…that’s a tough one. Probably SNK. I love the Neo Geo and I’ve always considered it the holy grail of home consoles.

What is your favourite console or computer?

Pat: Again, probably my Neo Geo CD though I did just pick up a Neo Geo X and that’s definitely running a close second.

Where do you want to go now with the collection?

Pat: Well, I have almost every game console that was on my wish list when I first started collecting. I’ve been shifting my focus more and more on import systems or video games that weren’t released in the US.

Have you any tips for budding retro games collectors?

Pat: Yes, Play your stuff. Unless you have something incredibly valuable or rare that you want to keep in mint condition, play your stuff. I see a lot of collectors that just buy any game or accessory they see and it ends up just sitting in their collection collecting dust. Everything in my collection is something I’ve wanted to play since I was a kid so that allows me to be very selective about what stuff I pickup. It also helps keep my collection lean and keeps me from game hoarding. Play your stuff people!