Do you remember when people said CD based games wouldn't be collectible?

[Technosis]

I recall people saying years ago that the N64 would be one of the last systems that would have any games that held value to collectors. There reasoning was that the CD digital media didn't hold the same "material" value as a ROM cart. I guess the high price of some of the PSX games today would kind of disprove that old theory. Does anyone remember this? Did the old theory hold any truth for you?

[boatofcar]

There reasoning was that the CD digital media didn't hold the same "material" value as a ROM cart.

I don't recall that particular argument...I do remember people saying that CD games would be less collectible because of their susceptibility to scratching, even with care taken to protect them.

[darkcat]

this is one of the things that could never be true. When CD midea came along a new bread of gaming was created. Therefore more fun/type game play is highly increased. Therefore people will pay big money for the games that are hard to get that are fun. Such as panzer dragoon etc

[udisi]

well, I'm not saying that CD stuff won't be worth it to collectors in the future, but really,the most exspensive PS1 game is about $150, other than Suikoden II and Valkyrie Profile, no other PS1 game regularly breaks $100. Look s Saturn... Panzer Dragoon Saga regularly hits $150-$200, but other than that maybe 1 or 2 other titles MAY hit $100. I'd hardly put any of these titles in the same breath as say Stadium Events for the NES, or any of the R7-R10 Atari games.

Now it may also be too early to tell on CD based things. The Turbo Duo actually has about 4 or 5 titles that can bring over 100, and of those a couple that can pass $200, which is rare amongst CD formats. I suspect the Duo games sell for so much just based on small print run combined with a loyal niche following, similar to Neo Geo fans.

Compare these prices to cart games of which, there are plenty of examples of games selling above $100, $200, and several over $1000-all the way up to the Euro Kizuna Encounter for the Neo Geo AES that sold for $12,500.

There could be several reasons for this though

1) Many of the most popular classic systems are cart based. The Atari 2600 and the original nintendo have the most number of collectors. These systems were just more popular and have more demand which drives prices up

2)Disc based games are produced in much larger numbers. There's was something like 70,000 copies of Valkyrie Profile for the PS1, and say at most 10,000 of certain Nintendo games. There's just more Disc stuff out there.

3)Give it some time, NES stuff didn't even really take off until a few years ago. Wait till the kids that grew up with PS1's, N64's, and PS2's get old and nostalgic. In 5 years, good condition PS1 stuff may be like gold.

4) Devil's advocate to #4, The disc based stuff like ps1 and ps2 may eventually be virtually worthless. The kids growing up today are very used to having MP3's, and Digital Downloads, etc...They may get nostalgic for old ps1 and ps2 games, but may be just as content to have ROMS or some sort of new re-release technology.

[clarkkr79]

Nice post Udisi.. I totally agree...especially with point #1... As time goes one and even the CD based games become a thing of the past (in terms of retail availibility and trashed by unknowing owners) they'll also become more collectible as the cart based games are now.... Just a matter of time...

As for repro's and VC games impact on older games, well I think people will still want to have the original (as I do).... take for instance the dreamcast games.. The first system I can remember just pulling games online and ripping them because it was so easy.. Although they're the exact same game, they're worth virtually nothing, while the "original" game could be worth something notable..

To sum it up, CD games I believe will be just as collectible as the carts are now, just a matter of time....

[DefaultGen]

.....

[RugalSizzler]

Personally Discs are still below the belt shit.

Unlike cassette games.

You can't put special chips in.

You can't put beautiful cover art on te cover. ( with the western carts they are not even trying anymore )

If I threw a disc into a wall it will break faster then a cart most likely on the first throw.

You have the retarded memory cards. I mean for the extra security like the Saturn it was cool and the idea of storing saves on computer and flash is great.

But the first thing they do wrong is charges us money for so little space. Your going to have at least Two memory cards by the time the next system comes out and both of them is going to be lowest amount you can get.

Look at the PS2 with there offficial cards being so god auwful costly at 30.00 dollars a pop I could probably buy like four games brand new.

Then you have the people who will defend the almighty Disc and talka bout floopy this and that and card puncher this telling me blah blah special layers and then get a magniefiying glass to show me the layers. NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE MICRO ALUMNUIM THAT A CD OR DVD USE. If you leave any Disc in water for awhile the data will peel and leave you with a thin piece of plastic and if not paper.

Lastly the number one thing I hate about Disc is that the moron who said wow CD's we can put mp3 on these and wav and they can be big files has to be the most dumbest person out there.

Then the other moron who said Video Discs never turned out good let me convert it and compress it to MPEG and video on CD Yuck Yuck.

Over %50 of Video/Music sales is DVD and most people who is buying them is buying bootlegs since the qaulity is no diffrent from the original and plus it is a lower price and your supporting a person who needs the money more.

In order to copy Videos you had to record the original Video threw like ten or twenty VCR decks and even then you had to rewatch ( if you gave a darg about the buyer ). And still those videos are worth gold today.

Every disc is so easy to copy and is so easy to recreate. When I buy Disc anything I feel so strongly the case and instruction is worth more then the game itself.

I can see the future and tape is going to make a huge comeback folks and then we are going to charge an entire run for one CD or Mp3

[Gapporin]

f I threw a disc into a wall it will break faster then a cart most likely on the first throw.

Well then, don't throw your games against the wall, and I think you'll do fine.

"And this one time, I made coasters out of some old Sega tapes..."

[starfox316]

I really only worry about condition with discs. Personally, I'm not convinced that disc resurfacing works all of the time and I'd hate to drop a grip of money on a disc game only to have it never work because of some gashes and scrapes. Carts work, period. That's the most important function of a game, to be able to be played.
I personally could care less about burning games and having copies on discs; I collect games because I enjoy playing them not because i enjoy having the original version for collecting sake. So disc games seem highly enjoyable and collectable to me. I just have nightmares about scratches and games that get ruined forever from mistreatment, especially when i'm the one buying them for 100$+ bucks off of ebay.

[KeyserSoze61]

For what it's worth, I think cartridge games hold a more palpable appeal over CD-based games. They're remarkably durable and lend themselves to being collected. Aesthetically, cartridges are instantly recognizable; to me at least, they are iconic of console gaming.

CD/DVD based media just seems (and is) cheaper. You can go to any store and buy a spindle of media for dirt cheap. Plop a modchip in a system, you can play all the games on the original hardware. Naturally people would rather have the original software, but the line starts to get a bit blurred.

[Push Upstairs]

I never heard anyone say CD games would not be collectible.

The game itself is more important than the medium that stores it.

[sabre2922]

I have to respond to this.

Ill try to do this in the most respectful way possible since all the fellow gamers here have my utmost respect and I luv this little forum of ours.

here goes.

I have been a gamer for well over 25 years (yea im an old fart) my first system was the venerable Atari2600 the colecovision then NES etc etc.

Now stating that I have to point out that I simply DO NOT GET THE BLIND LUV THAT MANY RETRO GAMERS HAVE FOR CARTIDGE BASED GAMES AND SYSTEMS.



I will say that I do think that disc based games are just as collectible as any other game format.

disc games -specifically PS2- for now are just about all that I collect on a regular basis.

I luv the NES cartridges and I REALLLY luv the old Turbo cards but the fact is that CD and DVD based games are THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO GAMING PERIOD.

This is the ONE issue that I agree to disagree with many of the very well respected gamers and collectors on this forum as I truly believe that any gamer that still hates on CD/DVD based games or consoles and wants to scream to the heavens CD BASED GAMES WILL NEVER BE COLLECTABLE as cartridge based games!!! is stuck in the past and still looks at the old cartridge based formats through rose-colored/beergoggled lenses and MIGHT still be pissed that the N64 was the last cartridge based system and cannot accept the fact that CARTRIDGES were even then an outdated format that should have went the way of the dodo after the 16-bit generation.

Im not going to go into more detail atm im too tired for that and that is probably best left for another thread anywho.

-no disrespect intended

sabre

[sabre2922]

I never heard anyone say CD games would not be collectible.

The game itself is more important than the medium that stores it.

Push u have moments of genius my friend WELL PUT

far better than my above incohesive ramblings lol.

[goemon]

I always thought that CD-based games would end up being more collectable than cart-based games because of the vulnerability of discs to scratches, destruction, etc. After a long enough period of time, many of the discs will eventually be rendered unplayable, raising the rarity of the working ones. Of course, this is just theoretical.

[starfox316]

Goemon touches on a good point. Only the strong (or the anal gamer/collector) shall survive.

[RugalSizzler]

Well then, don't throw your games against the wall, and I think you'll do fine.

"And this one time, I made coasters out of some old Sega tapes..."

Back then me and my cousin would throw our games out the window over and over and over. I even had a couple of my games dunked in water for some time and they still work.

If drop a Disc out the window from a four story flight will it survive?

Can I pick up the pieces of a DVD and transplant the data to another case like we do with our VHS and Cassete tape data?

That is the major flaw of disc besides me being able to put it on my HD and play from a HD.

After a long enough period of time, many of the discs will eventually be rendered unplayable

Like my old boss would say maintain, maintain, maintain........

As lonas you keep it safe and clean they will remain playable.

Regal Sin
whem me and my freinds along time ago drop a MegaMan X4 CD and I fell to the floor with my Knee directly on it everybody was like OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!! with there hands on there head and I was like wow I am going to get it now.

Tell me the above has not occured at least once with your dealing with CD?

[Griking]

I really don't have a desire to collect for any of the current consoles any more with the exception of the Nintendo DS. Even then I refuse to buy crap like the Hannah Montana games. There really aren't truely rare games any longer. It's too easy for companies like Game quest Direct to come in and re-print a run of older uncommon Playstation games, something you don't see (yet) with cart bsed games. I don't know, perhaps its just that i'm getting older but I tend to doubt it since I still enjoy the hunt for old cart based and PC games.

[walrusmonger]

I don't remember the cd argument, but I think keeping a cart game mint and complete is harder than keeping a cd game mint and complete. The label can get damaged, the manual can get bent, the box can get crushed, etc etc etc. Hell, just opening the box to a gba or snes game can result in damage if you're not careful!

[scooby105]

I personally don't collect for the CD/DVD systems. It just doesn't hold the same appeal to me. Not quite sure why.

I think being able to mod systems and burn CDs and DVDs makes them somewhat less collectible in my eyes.

[Chris]

If drop a Disc out the window from a four story flight will it survive?

Yes, why not? Out of anger, I've thrown a disc through my room and against a wall, bent it till the edges connected and scratched the thing with my fingernails and the damn thing was still working fine after that.
Those discs are much more durable than one might think and in contrary to those cheap rewritable discs, most of the games are pressed on high quality material, that stands the test of time way better than some other things like Floppy Disks.

The data I'll store on the Taiyo Yuden DVD-R's I purchased recently is said to be safe for a century, when archived and handled with a minimum amount of care.

And how long do those cartridges last exactly? Any tests? I heard that it can be a chore to get some of those old NES games running.

The only thing that is lowering the collectible value a little, is the fact that making and playing a copy on CD/DVD-based consoles is way easier than on a cartridge based system.


But at the end of the day, you won't live long enough, to see your CD-based videogame collection melt away (if you're not living in the sahara at least^^') and nothing lasts forever anyway (not even cartridges).