--- description: Michael Thommason is certified as having the world's largest collection of video games. Guinness confirmed that Thommason had 10,607 games last year, but he's since... title: This Is How Much It Costs to Be the World’s Biggest Nerd image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28cc248f40142815/6986967c810bbbe5b8c920f9/video-game-consul-deconstructed.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is How Much It Costs to Be the World’s Biggest Nerd by [Matt Vella](/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 10:51 AM CUT  Old console Old consoleGetty Images by [Matt Vella](/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 10:51 AM CUT Michael Thommason is certified as having the world’s [largest collection of video games](http://gamepolitics.com/2014/06/05/largest-game-collection-world-sale#.U5GbC5RdUdJ "undefined"). Guinness confirmed that Thommason had 10,607 games last year, but he’s since acquired a few hundred more, bringing his collection to some 11,000 games. Now, Thommason is putting his collection—and his title—up for auction. Current bid: [$50,250](http://www.gamegavel.com/item.cgi?show%5Fitem=958029 "undefined"). Thommason built his collection up over the last 25 years and says 2600 of the titles are “factory shrink-wrapped” and “over 8,300” are complete with box and manual. WHy is he selling now? “I simply have an immediate family and extended family that have needs that need to be addressed,” he said. “While I do not wish to part with these games, I have responsibilities that I have made to others and this action is how I will help meet them.” \[[GamePolitics](http://gamepolitics.com/2014/06/05/largest-game-collection-world-sale#.U5GbC5RdUdJ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2837241/biggest-game-collection/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2837241/biggest-game-collection/"},"headline":"This Is How Much It Costs to Be the World’s Biggest Nerd","datePublished":"2014-06-06T10:51:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:25.225Z","description":"Michael Thommason is certified as having the world's largest collection of video games. Guinness confirmed that Thommason had 10,607 games last year, but he's since...","url":"https://time.com/2837241/biggest-game-collection/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Auction","Guinness Book of World Records"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28cc248f40142815/6986967c810bbbe5b8c920f9/video-game-consul-deconstructed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Vella","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-vella/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28cc248f40142815/6986967c810bbbe5b8c920f9/video-game-consul-deconstructed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Deconstructed video game consul","caption":"Deconstructed video game consul","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2837241/biggest-game-collection/","name":"This Is How Much It Costs to Be the World’s Biggest Nerd"}}]}] ```