I don’t know about you, but my retro collection is less like a hobby and more a carefully managed obsession.
Looking for a particular game is often stressful, even if you enjoy the thrill of the chase. Tracking sales across a dozen sites, trying to figure out if a rare Amiga game is a good deal, and maybe even maintaining a list — perhaps on a spreadsheet — to keep track of prices and availability so you can strike when the deal is best for you.
Sumthings, the platform built by indie studio FULLSET, could be the solution. Just officially launched, this community marketplace aims to be the definitive hub for retro game collection management and commerce. This is specifically for us collectors who need a single place to track, buy, discuss, and sell our favourite systems and games.
Sumthings isn’t just another price guide
The sheer scale of the database is the biggest selling point, with around 150,000+ items spanning over 150 systems. That should cover everything from the obvious Nintendo and Sega classics right up to the most niche computer hardware.
(And Amiga games and hardware, everything from an Amiga CD32 to TheA500 Mini.)
But the features go well beyond simple listing:
- Smart Tracking: You can easily mark items as “got,” “wanted,” or “selling,” giving you a clear view of your library and your grail list.
- Transparent Pricing: Instead of relying on a single source, Sumthings uses a calculated “Thing Value” that aggregates sales and offers from its own marketplace and external sources like Facebook Marketplace and online forums. This is key for getting a real-world price, not just an idealized one, and could prove very useful.
- Bulk Management: If you have a huge collection, the sheet-based view for bulk entry should save you countless hours of data entry.
What the future holds for collectors
The roadmap shows a clear focus on making life easier for serious collectors. We can expect bulk imports via CSV (thank goodness!), photo AI auto-detection (finally, the end of manual entry!), and even barcode scanning.
Crucially for a marketplace, they are planning built-in marketplace transactions with buyer/seller protection—a feature that could make it a true alternative to existing auction sites.
Yes, that could mean the end of trawling eBay for rare Japanese Super Famicom carts with over-inflated prices.
Add to that per-item wikis and discussion threads, and it really starts to sound like the community-driven platform we’ve been waiting for.
If you’re keen to jump in and support the project early, the Early Supporter Subscription is available for a couple of bucks a month, giving you perks like unlimited wanted/for-sale alerts and early feature access. For anyone dedicated to the hobby, this unified hub for tracking, valuing, and trading could be a game-changer.
Check it out and learn more at sumthings.com.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through those links. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
