You (Yes, You!) Can Buy The Largest Video Game Collection In The World

At the time of their 2013 appraisal, Guinness World Records counted 10,607 individual video game titles in Michael Thomasson's personal collection. By the time you read this post, the Buffalo, NY-based independent game store owner and operator will be closer to 12,000.

By the numbers: over 8,300 games come in their original boxes, complete with manuals. 2,600 haven't ever been opened. He's got Game Boy knockoffs. He's got every game for the Neo-Geo Pocket Color and the Atari 7800. Casio Loopy, the failed game console geared towards girls? Check. He's got a veritable archive and compendium of video gaming history in his own house, created on a meager (by today's gamers' standards) budget of $3000 a year to spend on games. And that isn't even the craziest part…

This past Wednesday evening, Michael Thomasson put his entire collection up for auction, starting with an initial bid of $1. At the time of writing, the most recent bid for Thomasson's collection was for a cool $50,500— a number quite shy of the $700,000-$800,000 the amateur game designer, archivist, educator, and gaming historian estimates his collection is worth. For that price, it's a steal, the kind over which savvy collectors, including Oculus Rift founder, Palmer Luckey, may have taken note. Below, Thomasson's spread in the Guinness Book Of World Records:

So why would Thomasson ever sell a collection like this? According to Ars Technica, Thomasson claims, "responsibilities that I have made to others." Don't count this collector down and out, though— while his current collection took him 25 years to curate, this isn't his first rodeo:

"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," he claims.

Below, a quick GIF tour of Thomasson's personal collection. To explore more, check out this excellent behind-the-scenes video.

To learn more about Thomasson's world-record video game collection, visit Thomasson's Good Deal Games website, and visit Game Gavel to get in on the bidding action. h/t Ars Technica

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