What started as a way for Matthew Bencharski to relive his childhood has morphed into a collection of over 3,000 video games.

The Stonewall resident has a basement that most gamers can only dream of, with four TVs, every console and gaming accessory you can imagine, and shelves displaying his massive game collection.

"I guess I got into it just to sort of relive my childhood with certain games but then when you're in there you start to discover new games and other things that are out there and then you meet people, you trade, and it just goes from there," he said.

"So it never really stops."

Bencharski says he started collecting video games in the '90s when he was a teenager. (Cory Funk/CBC )

Bencharski's collecting days started when he was a teen in the '90s, going to flea markets and garage sales, buying up old games no one wanted.

"They were like a dollar, sometimes 50 cents," he said.

"I would go there and I'd buy one or two or three and every week I'd sort of build them up."

Bencharski's collection also features many gaming consoles. (Cory Funk/CBC )

He gave up the hobby in university, but took it up again about 10 years ago.

"My goal was to get every game. It didn't actually work that way. I'm missing a few, but I got pretty close."

How close? Bencharski now has 3,400 video games in his collection.

The avid collector now has close to 3,400 video games. (Cory Funk/CBC )

Included in his collection is a rare copy of NHL 12 by EA Sports, signed by former Winnipeg Jet Evander Kane during an event shortly after the team returned to the city.

"There's only a hundred of them so it's very, very rare," he said.

"To me that's kind of a cool thing, it's one of those kind of oddities in the collection that like no one outside of Winnipeg would even care about."

One of his prize games is a copy of EA Sports' NHL 12 signed by former Winnipeg Jet Evander Kane. (Cory Funk/CBC )

Bencharski said he's thought about selling his collection off, or at least paring it down, but has never been able to let his items go. He says it's never been about the money for him.

Bencharski also owns many handheld gaming consoles. (Cory Funk/CBC )

"I still get that feeling when you put an old game, like there still is that moment of nostalgia where you're like, 'Hey I remember being, you know, eight or nine years old,' and playing this game in your basement for the first time," he said.

"You get those memories coming back."