Alright kiddies, listen up. I have a little warning for you.

So you've beaten God of War on every difficulty possible, you've collected every bolt and weapon in the Ratchet & Clank games, you beat Alien Hominid with your eyes closed, and you know every line of Dragonquest VIII by heart. Now you're thinking it's time to sell off those old games and buy something new. DON'T DO IT!

I've made some bad gaming choices over the years; spending $80 on Revolution X, shutting off Timesplitters 2 during the autosave, and lending Chrono Trigger to a friend who had a nasty habit of spilling mysterious liquids on his games. The biggest mistake, by far, was selling off my games. It all started with the release of the Super Nintendo. My brother and I, having spent our money on G.I. Joe's, and not having the benefit of hindsight, sold our NES and all the games to buy this latest-greatest system. Then the Super Nintendo and games got sold and I picked up a Playstation. Then came the PS2. I'm breaking the cycle here. I don't regret having bought the newest systems and games, but I do regret selling the old ones.

I know what you're thinking when picking out which games to sell. "I've beaten this so many times I won't ever play it again." Trust me, you're wrong. Ten years from now you're going to get nostalgic. You'll be flipping through the latest game magazine and think, "Wow, that reminds me of XXX. They don't make games like that anymore." If you sell your games, you end up like me, scouring Ebay, hitting up used stores, and looking through friends' basements in search of your childhood memories.

I'm not saying that you should hold on to those copies of Finding Nemo, Barbie Horse Tales, or Big Mutha Truckers that grandma thought would make nice presents. I'm talking about the good games that you really enjoyed. If you like them now, you will certainly have a soft spot for them in the future. Sure, you could always sell it now and then buy it again down the line, but why make the hassle for yourself? Life gets more expensive as you get older, so who knows if buying that old blast-from-the-past game will fit into your budget of food, rent, insurance, utility bills, etc? Then you get the uncommon and rare games. My favorite boxing title is Victorious Boxers. It's a niche title as it is, so just imagine how difficult it'll be to find in a decade.

Don't make the mistakes that so many of us have made. Keep your games. Maybe you're broke, but do you really need to buy that new Wild Arms or D.O.A. the week they come out? Get yourself a part-time job, deliver newspapers, or mow lawns. By the time you get up the cash, that game you want may very well have dropped in price. Now you have a new game, an old favorite, and a little bit of savings. Keep your games. 10 years from now you'll be glad you did.