Do you buy same games across multiple platforms?

[sloan]

Like Gyruss on 2600, 5200, and Colecovision, or Phantom 2040 on Genesis, SNES, and Game Gear?

Or do you just buy a single copy for any one of the systems and that's enough?

[Edmond Dantes]

Normally I only collect multiple versions if they're actually different in important ways. Several RPGs that originated on computers but later got ported to the NES for example are almost completely different games between platforms.

Other times, I own a game in a compilation but set out to get a stand-alone version simply because there's something about the compilation version I don't like, or else because the stand-alone has more collectors value or sentimental value.

Sometimes I own both a Japanese and an English version of a game on the same platform, but as I don't know Japanese I haven't seen a lot of reason to do this.

I've recently learned to appreciate one benefit of owning multiple versions: since I have more consoles now, I can't keep them all hooked up, but if a game I like is available for multiple consoles (say, Street Fighter II for example) then problem solved.

[Ace]

I do this quite often, mainly when arcade games got ported to multiple different systems as the ports are all different from one another. It's the same with Japanese versions and US versions of the same game, especially if they have some things cut out from the US release. One game that immediately comes to mind is the Famicom version of Salamander. The main game is the same, but due to a custom Konami mapper chip which is non-existent in its US counterpart, Life Force, Salamander has several different things that are different or outright missing from Life Force, such as:

-The ability to carry 3 Options instead of two
-An animated title screen that looks MUCH nicer than the static Life Force title screen
-A completely different status bar
-Different endings depending on how many continues you use (MUCH better than the stupid static Konami logo in Life Force)

I even like to get compilations released for multiple different platforms as the quality of the ports varies from system to system. I can think of 3 examples: Gradius Deluxe Pack, Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus and Midway Arcade Treasures 3. Gradius Deluxe Pack was released for the PlayStation, Saturn and Windows 95 PC and every version has its differences. The PlayStation version has higher quality sound and is generally more faithful to the original boards (but plays like absolute crap on a PlayStation 2), the Saturn version has horribly degraded sound quality and the PC version has terrible music and very quiet sound effects, but is editable as the sound files are just renamed WAV files. Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus got a release on the PlayStation and Saturn as well (not for PC, though), and again, the PlayStation version has MUCH higher quality sound (it sounds horrible on the Saturn and has some sound pitch issues) and the graphics are closer to the original board than the Saturn version. Midway Arcade Treasures 3 was released for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube and PC (as Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition, which also has Midway Arcade Treasures 2), and the quality of the ports varies greatly between the 4 versions. The Xbox version is quite good, though I did hear about San Francisco Rush 2049 corrupting your save data at times (never had this happen, though), the GameCube version has some slowdown issues and missing menu music in Race Drivin', the PC version has no analog control whatsoever and missing sound effects in San Francisco Rush the Rock, and the PlayStation 2 is a glitchy mess FULL of speed issues, graphical errors and audio glitches.

So there you have it. I do buy multiple versions of the same game, and each version I get is a different experience.

[Griking]

Like Gyruss on 2600, 5200, and Colecovision, or Phantom 2040 on Genesis, SNES, and Game Gear?

Or do you just buy a single copy for any one of the systems and that's enough?

For older cartridge based systems I'll but them all since I collect them.

I stopped collecting for CD based systems however and will only buy a game if its a sequel and not just the same game with just better graphics.

[Rickstilwell1]

I even did this on newer systems where different ports were the same. I mainly did it to give myself extra reasons to re-play my favorite games. Just to use a different controller each time gave it a different feel.

[buzz_n64]

I buy a game across multiple platforms because of the differences, but I tend to only buy a game on one platform for modern consoles. For modern consoles, most games are identical enough where it really doesn't matter.

[kedawa]

I bought Shadow of the Beast II three times; first for Amiga, then for Genesis, and finally for Sega CD.
The Amiga version I bought for the badass cover art, and it turned out to be an excellent, but extremely difficult game.
The Genesis version was cheap and I figured 'why not?' and it turned out to be a lot easier than the Amiga version.
The Sega CD version was also cheap, and featured completely redone graphics and sound, and it was worth it just to experience the game again with a fresh coat of paint.
If I owned an FM Towns Marty, I'd probably buy that version as well, just to see how much of an improvement it is over the Sega CD game.

[dukenukem]

Only game i have gotten for multiple systems is mortal kombat trilgoy which i have for psx,saturn and n64.I mostly try not to get the same game across multiple systems.

[hellraiser]

Only game i have gotten for multiple systems is mortal kombat trilgoy which i have for psx,saturn and n64.I mostly try not to get the same game across multiple systems.

Funny, the only game I've ever bought cross platform was mk1 for snes and genesis. The snes version looked and sounded better to me while the genesis played better and had blood. That's my opinion anyways... Funny thing is I just picked up the original arcade trilogy on psn.

[sloan]

With the older systems, I have to think I am missing out on some real differences if I leave out a copy. Also, the hardware and controllers were highly different between those consoles for a different look and feel in playing each copy.

Newer (current gen) games are similar enough that I don't know if I'd bother, that is if I collected current gen.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Yes, but that's usually because the PC and console versions were different.

Well, used to be different.

[o.pwuaioc]

I buy a game across multiple platforms because of the differences, but I tend to only buy a game on one platform for modern consoles. For modern consoles, most games are identical enough where it really doesn't matter.

Same with the last two generations. I try to get the best of the three versions (assuming the GC got one, but more realistically, the best from between the Xbox and the PS2). Since my PS1 is unmodded, I have to rely primarily on Youtube and reviewers, because getting the wrong game can be costly. :/

[treismac]

I have Okami for both the Wii and the PS2 because I was curious about how it would play on the Wii- plus I grabbed the game new for like $12 online.

Pac-Man and his clan stretch across multiple systems in my collection.

I have the Famicom version of Kung-Fu (Spartan-X), which I snapped up for kicks for the cartoonish Jackie Chan cover art. I also have the Commodore 64 version with "Master" tacked on to the end, just like the arcade version.

Karate Champ is on both my NES and iPod Touch.

For both the Atari 2600 and the NES I have Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Joust, Q-bert, and Popeye. I also have the first two on the Commodore 64.

Space Invaders for the 2600 and SNES.

I also have a bunch of Virtual Console games on the Wii that I have the physical carts for.

[Steve W]

I've done this several times over the years. Desert Falcon on the Atari 2600 and 7800, Basketbrawl on the Atari 7800 and Lynx, Shadow of the Beast games for the Amiga, Genesis, Sega CD, and Atari Lynx, Todd's Adventures In Slime World for the Lynx and Genesis, Commando for the NES, Atari 7800, Intellivision, and Atari 2600, and far more recently Roadkill for the Xbox, GameCube, and PS2.

The game has to be something I really liked in its original release, enough to see how it compares on different platforms.

[Zionmaster]

I always get copies on different older consoles, because they always tend to have a decent amount of changes to make the game feel different. On modern consoles though I buy all Multiplats on X360, and only exclusives for PS3 and Wii. That will probably change when we get the next generation though, because there are still differences in games nowadays, like system exclusive characters in fighting games, and pretty much everything on the Wii is very different from the X360 or PS3 versions.

[Shulamana]

The only time I have really ever done this was with the Final Fantasy and Ogre Battle series ports/revamps on the Playstation, GBA, and PSP. I wouldn't bother with games/series that I don't really really love.

[Razo00]

I'm a sucker for getting street fighters for multiple systems. Till this day I still enjoy playing Street Fighter II CE (Genesis) and Street Fighter II turbo (Snes).

[kedawa]

Yeah, I've owned every SF game for SNES, SFC, and Genesis, despite them being largely redundant.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I buy multiple copies of games that I really like, but generally speaking I'll only get it for a preferred platform unless I happen to have it for something else and get it again just so I can play it on a preferred system. I've done that for several 360 games that I've bought the PS3 counterparts for just because I've come to appreciate the DuelShock 3 as a superior controller to the 360 one. Plus, it saves me from having to hook up my 360 except on rare occasions.

[MarioMania]

I have most Street Fighter 2 Games on every system..including on the Master System

[Mr Mort]

I've done this a number of times as well. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes it just sort of happens by coincidence. I can tell you that I have Street Fighter Alpha/Zero 3 on every console & handheld it was ever released for because it's my favorite game of all time. (Yeah, I said it) I also have multiple copies of various other Street Fighter games, Metal Slug games, various fighting games, and some other random things. Prior to the current generation, there were usually enough differences in the console ports that made some games worth checking out on more than one system, but as already discussed here, the current generation of consoles offers little differences aside from the occasional exclusive character.

[Drixxel]

My most common of all double dips are to do with the portable versions of consoles game I enjoy if only out of curiosity to see how well they were downsized. The Game Boy received a number of worthy NES ports, for instance, that stand quite sturdily against their console predecessors. As far as owning games across multiple home consoles, though, that's a bit rarer, unless 1) there's something remarkably different about particular versions that make them worth having (new or rearranged content, a pretty normal reason for multiple copy ownership), or 2) the game is a rarer sight on one particular platform and I happen across that version despite owning it on another.

[Sysop]

I always find it interesting to what differences are within the different versions of a game.

[Sanriostar]

I tend to make a point of this.

I've got many of the home versions of the big name Pre-Crash arcade-to- home ports, and many of the Activision multi-system games. They're not always the same game from system to system.

[The 1 2 P]

Back during the PS1/Saturn/N64 days I rarely did this except for stuff like Castlevania: SOTN since the Saturn version had extra stuff the PS1 version didn't. Way back when I never did this for Genesis and Snes games. And today I have a few games on both 360 and PS3 but I usually get rid of the PS3 version unless it has some extra content that I have to have.

[Edmond Dantes]

This is the second time I've heard someone state a preference for 360 over PS3. Is there usually a difference of some sort that makes the 360 version better?

[Rickstilwell1]

This is the second time I've heard someone state a preference for 360 over PS3. Is there usually a difference of some sort that makes the 360 version better?

Usually just because they like the 360's version of the online service better. I don't play online at all and just care about the controller so I usually stuck with PS3 unless it's an exclusive. Favorite games I still bought on multiple platforms just for replays though. Certain kinds of games are just addicting enough. I grew up playing a lot of PS1 & PS2 so I didn't really care to change controllers and thought it was awesome PS3 used the same one.

[kedawa]

I was under the impression that XBOX360 games were generally better than their PS3 counterparts until recently, and now the PS3 tends to get the better version.

[joshnickerson]

No. Absolutely not. Never.
http://images.wikia.com/egamia/images/a/a4/256px-Super_Mario_Bros_box.jpg
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/588737_40432_front.jpg
http://www.gaminator.tv/data/gameedition/27/3860.2.jpg
http://www.themariobros.net/images/media/boxart/gba/classicnes_smb/front.jpg
http://a404.idata.over-blog.com/3/29/00/19/Super_Mario_Bros._japan_box.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2010/11/gamsmbaslimited530.jpg
Dammit.

[o.pwuaioc]

I think I have Galaga the most, PS1, Xbox, Xbox again, and NES.

[Aussie2B]

If we're talking about getting a game for the first time, then I just pick what sounds like the best version or whatever I have access to (with newer games, for example, I'll get a 360 version over PS3 even if the PS3 version does have an advantage simply because I don't have a PS3 yet). In rare cases, I'll forgo a potentially better or cheaper version because I have more affinity for another console, especially in cases where it serves a greater collecting goal. I'd like to have every PC-FX game someday, so I'll opt for a game on that over versions on PS1 and Saturn. Or with N64, I'm collecting every non-sports Japan-exclusive, so again I'll go for the N64 version of, say, Puyo Puyo or Taisen Puzzle-dama rather than the cheaper (and better?) versions on other systems.

But a collector is bound to get multiple versions of games eventually, whether we're talking ports/remakes made years later or just multiplatform releases, so, yeah, I've ended up with plenty.

Oh, and I also have plenty of different regional versions. Some games I've imported first, and then picked up a localized version later. In rare cases, I'll pick up Japanese versions after the US versions, just because of differences or because I love the game so much.

[Rickstilwell1]

I was under the impression that XBOX360 games were generally better than their PS3 counterparts until recently, and now the PS3 tends to get the better version.

The differences are usually only just videophile nitpicking though and won't make a difference to the average gamer. When I see HD I see HD. I can't really tell the difference between 1080P and 720P and I have a TV that's 1080P

[The 1 2 P]

This is the second time I've heard someone state a preference for 360 over PS3. Is there usually a difference of some sort that makes the 360 version better?

Most versions are pretty much the same these days between the 360 and PS3, other than a few cases of exclusive content for one or the other. The main reason I choose 360 versions to play over PS3 versions(besides XBL) is because I had my 360 first and I like the full integration of the achievement and gamer score system. The PS3's version(trophies) doesn't do it for me, as they were more of a tacked-on after thought. I still don't mind getting trophies in games that support them but in the case of third party titles I'd rather get achievements added to my overall gamer score. But as far as which version runs or looks better, it's pretty much a toss up.

[RulerStabInTheEye27]

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[Lerxstnj]

Yes, I do.

Soul Calibur II is a great example. There are different characters for each of the 3 systems it is on.

[Guntz]

When it comes to multi-platform games I'm a bit weird; I usually buy the game for the lesser, more underappreciated platform. If I were into Saturn right now I'd get Tomb Raider and Resident Evil for it instead of the PS1 versions.