There is a very specific joy in walking out of a gaming convention with something you did not plan to buy.

Over the years, that has meant a small army of standees and figures, most of them grabbed at events across California and Las Vegas, and they now stand guard over my shelves like tiny, ceramic bodyguards for the collection.

Here are four of my favorites, and the story behind each one.

Mega Man: the Blue Bomber on Guard Duty

First up, the Blue Bomber himself.

This 7.5 inch Mega Man, picked up at a gaming convention, stands watch over my Mega Man X shelf: Command Mission, X7, and X8 on PlayStation 2, plus the Mega Man Anniversary Collection on Xbox, all framed by that gorgeous Mega Man X key art in the background.

There is something perfect about Mega Man personally guarding his own games.

If you want the deeper Blue Bomber nostalgia, I have written about my Mega Man collection before.

Link: A Zelda Spread From San Diego

Next, Link, sword drawn and Hylian shield up, from a convention down in San Diego.

He is flanked by a proper Zelda spread: the GameCube Collector's Edition and Four Swords Adventures, Twilight Princess, the Ocarina of Time Master Quest bonus disc, and, standing tall on its own like a little trophy, an original A Link to the Past cartridge on the SNES.

That Pac-Man papercraft peeking in from the corner is just showing off.

Sackboy: The Most Stylish Member of the Shelf

Then there is Sackboy, decked out in a green cap and a giant dollar sign chain, straight from a PlayStation gaming event.

LittleBigPlanet was always about making the little guy your own, so a bling covered b-boy Sackboy lounging next to a lucky bamboo plant feels exactly right.

He is easily the most relaxed member of the entire collection.

Jin Kazama: The Man Who Did Get His Credit

And finally, Jin Kazama, locked into his iconic crossed arm pose, a roughly 10 by 5.5 inch standee I grabbed at a Tekken convention in Los Angeles.

Jin makes a fitting centerpiece, because as I wrote recently, he is the fighter who officially got credit for beating Ogre, unlike poor Paul Phoenix, who did the hard part and wandered off.

Why a Shelf of Standees is Really a Shelf of Memories

Half the fun of these pieces is not the standees themselves, it is remembering the convention floors, the lines, and the exact weekend each one came home.

Every resin cutout is a bookmark for a specific trip, a specific crowd, a specific era of gaming.

A shelf full of standees is really a shelf full of memories, which is why I cannot bring myself to pack a single one of them away.

FAQ

What is a video game standee?

A standee is a flat cutout or small figure used to promote or display a game, often handed out or sold at conventions, launch events, and stores.

Some are life sized cardboard cutouts, others are oversized ceramic display pieces like the ones here.

Where do you get gaming standees?

Mostly gaming conventions and publisher events, plus the occasional store promo. Rarer ones show up later through collectors and resellers.

Are gaming standees worth collecting?

For gaming fans, absolutely. They are affordable, they display beautifully, and event exclusive ones can become genuinely collectible over time.

Best of all, each one comes with a memory of where you got it.

Related Reads

• Mega Memories: A Blast from the Blue Bomber's Past
• Paul Phoenix: The Man Who Beat Ogre and Got No Credit [Coming Son]