“The NES Club” may soon become the most ambitious retro game collecting project ever.
According to the Kickstarter page, short film director Rob McCallum and his film crew will follow retro collector and gamer Jay Bartlett into the wild as he attempts to collect over 700 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games in 30 days.
The goal is set at $15,000 by June 21 of this year. The money collected through Kickstarter will help fund the video production side of “The NES Club,” as all the money spent collecting games will come out of Bartlett’s pocket.
The young collector will visit game stores, flea markets, thrift stores and pawn shops to cross off every retail NES game on the list, including titles like Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak and Little Samson which have been known to fetch up to $1,000 in the right condition. All games must be purchased in-person without the assistance of eBay.
“The NES Club” will be made in a time when television programs like the History channel’s “American Pickers” grow in popularity. McCallum’s film will likely follow a similar structure.
“The NES Club” is more than a documented game hunt. The film crew behind “The NES Club” plan to explore not only the history of the most influential video game console ever created but also its massive cultural impact.
When the creators of “The NES Club” aren’t out hunting for rare games, they’ll talk to other retro gamers about their opinions on the 8-bit console.
“There will be plenty of fanboy discussion too as Jay, Mike and others determine the best Mario game, the best Nintendo franchise, if games are the same today as they were 20 years ago, and generally what made the NES the most memorable system and more,” according to the Kickstarter page.
The film makers have already run into a few obstacles. Many have taken to online forums to prematurely accuse McCallum and Bartlett of planting games, to which the guys posted a video response. With any project like this, criticism is inevitable, so the staff behind “The NES Club” try their best to address these problems as early as possible.
McCallum has also continued to reach out to big names in the gaming community, particularly those who claim to have complete NES collections, for advice and participation in the making of the film. These collectors are notoriously private about their collections and often don’t actively look for attention, which may negatively affect the production of the film.
Still, McCallum describes the unpredictability of the hunt as the biggest obstacle he expects from the creation of the film. To put that “over 700″ number into perspective, Bartlett must find 24 games per day. Most collectors who have complete NES collections haven taken years to complete their collection.
Nevertheless, Bartlett remains hopeful that the feat is not only possible, but worth attempting on camera.
If Kickstarter can help these film-makers gather $15,000 by June 21, Nintendo fans may soon be able to watch to see if Bartlett can scratch 709 NES titles off the list and join the exclusive “NES Club.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Barry Falls Jr has no affiliation with “The NES Club.” This article should not be confused as an endorsement of this project. This article was originally published on My Vinyl Muse.