From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


I'm often asked, "So how many video games do you own anyway?". It's a
question I am loathe to answer. Mostly because whatever answer I give,
it reflects an embarrassingly large amount of time and money spent on
a silly hobby. But also, I'm never quite sure if the answer I am
giving is entirely accurate. Because when it gets right down to it,
how many games I own can vary depending on how you define each game?

Now, in a simpler world I'd just go: "Oh, I own "Wolfenstein 3D" and
"Doom II" and "Mass Effect", going through each game one by one and incrementing the number by one for each title I list. But it's not
that simple, because I have been adding to the library for a long
time.

Like, take "Doom II", for example. I first purchased it in 1996, on
floppy disks. (Increment the number by 1!). Then I bought it again
when Id was offering it as a bundle on the Quake Shareware CD-ROM.
(How could I resist; all the Id games on one CD-ROM!). But does that
count as another game or not? And over the years, I also acquired it
again and again: on Steam, on GOG, as part of the Master Levels, the
2004 remaster. I even picked up the Gameboy Advance version. Do I
count each version as one extra copy or not? How many times do I get
to increment The Number upwards for "Doom II"? So here are some
considerations for counting. There is no right answer.

#

Does it count as one or more games if:

- you own the same game but on different media (e.g., floppy
and CD-ROM)?

- you own the same game on different media but they are
slightly different (e.g., the CD-ROM version has full-speech)?

- you own the same game but one is on physical media and the
other is a digital download (which themselves may or may
not have differences)?

- you own the original game and the GOTY version?

- you own the same game on different download platforms?

- you buy the game on one digital platform (e.g., Steam) but
it is linked (and shows up separately) on a second platform
(e.g., Ubisoft) and can play it on either?

- you own the game on multiple digital download platforms,
but one has all the DLC and the other doesn't?

- you own the same game for different platforms (but they are
functionally identical, barring platform specific changes, such
as options)?

- you own the same game for different platforms and there are
noticeable differences in gameplay or visuals?

- you own the same game, but one is the original release, and
the other is a remaster with updated QOL and visuals?

- you bought a compilation version which has multiple games
included (e.g., original "Command & Conquer" vs "Command
& Conquer 10th Anniversary" compilation set?

- you own the same game, but one version is more of a reboot?

- you bought one version of the game on physical media, but
then copied the game to image files and threw out the disks,
and then own it again (do I even own the originals at that
point)?

- do unregistered shareware games count, especially if they
are 'full' versions? (And it doesn't really apply to me,
what about pirated versions)?

- does DLC or do expansions count? What about fan-made
stand-alone mods or reboots?

#

These exceptions are just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure you can
think of more. (And, btw, no moaning about whether you actually really
'own' or not. That's a distinction for a different thread ;-)

How many games do I own? Because of the above considerations, I have
no way of saying for sure... except to say it's a lot.


How do you count your games?






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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:54:05 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Do I count each version as one extra copy or not?

No. Duh. That's cheating.
--
Zag

Give me the liberty to know, to think, to believe,
and to utter freely according to conscience, above
all other liberties. ~John Milton
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:12:49 -0500, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
said this thing:

On Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:54:05 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Do I count each version as one extra copy or not?

No. Duh. That's cheating.

As a general rule, I don't count duplicates of the same game
(regardless of medium). But different versions of the game (e.g., for
different hardware platforms, or remasters) do increment The Number.

So with my "Doom II", example: The Number went up by four: +1 with
"Doom II" (which includes the games on floppy, CD-ROM, GOG, Steam and
wherever else); +1 for "Final Doom" (which is "Doom II" plus extra
levels and stuff), +1 for "Doom II" on the GameBoy Advance, and a
final +1 for the 2024 "Doom II" remake (which used an entirely
different engine).


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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:12:49 -0500, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
said this thing:

On Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:54:05 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Do I count each version as one extra copy or not?

No. Duh. That's cheating.

As a general rule, I don't count duplicates of the same game
(regardless of medium). But different versions of the game (e.g., for different hardware platforms, or remasters) do increment The Number.

My hard and fast rule is namely this, I don't do anything Zaghadka does
or encourages. Like different platforms, not testing myself with a game,
not playing on easy god mode like him because I want to get better...

--
Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a
sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage.
The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath,
whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There
Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children.
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