There was a time Hyper Neo Geos were just big heavy old things companies were trying to get rid of, and I distinctly remember eBay sellers having multiple listings where you’d get the motherboard and the entire set of games, all new, for some ridiculously cheap price. I regret not buying that but as I’ve now got my own and 3 out of the 4 fighting games made for the hardware I can’t really say I’ve missed out.
I have similar feelings towards selling a good chunk of my Japanese MD collection a few years ago: I wish I hadn’t but as I put the money towards some other really cool games and I’m hardly short of things to play it doesn’t sting as much as it could.
I think I’m just aware of how lucky I am, really. The specific “nice gaming things” might shift and change over time, but I’ve always got “nice gaming things” at the end of it.