Thoughts on collecting digital games?

[Bojay1997]

I made a thread similar to this a couple years back. As I recall it got somewhat heated.

In my thread I posed the question of whether or not it is okay to count digital-only games in your collection. That is, should I lump in my XBLA and WiiWare games with my grand total of games owned? I see a lot of the same arguments here that I did there.

No, there's nothing to display. No, I can't resell them or let a friend borrow them. Yes, if for whatever reason they become unavailable and I lose my copy somehow I can't replace them. I understand all of this. But I still count my digital games because 1) I can turn my system on and play them any time I want, just like my physical games, and 2) They are official releases licensed by the game companies. That's the important one.

When I see someone argue that they are no different from ROMs, that I might as well just download a whole set of NES games and say I have them all, they're missing the point entirely. You don't buy a ROM. It is not a legal copy of the game. You do buy the WiiWare version of SMB, licensed by Nintendo and for sale through them. It is an official product. It's not just some pirate copy.

You're paying for the right to play those games on those systems, be it XBLA, WiiWare, PSN, or PC downloading services like Steam. So in my collection database I do count my downloaded games, and I give them their own section. I have 90 Xbox 360 games and around 40 XBLA games. And when the day comes that my hard drive dies and I lose those games, and they're not available for download anymore, then I will remove them from my collection database. I know that's going to happen eventually, that's just the way it is. Just like if one of my disc based games gets damaged beyond repair, and I can't replace it right away because it's hard to find or expensive, then I'll have to remove it as well.

I guess I still don't understand why it's so important to you that you "count" digital games or don't count them. Since you can't sell them and you don't need additional physical space to store them and they have no actual resale value and you don't need to keep them clean or maintained or really do anything but play them, what does it matter if you have five or a million of them? Those games are part of your library, but I can't see how they could be considered a "collection" any more than browser versions of arcade games would be counted in your arcade collection or MP3s of vinyl albums would be counted in your record collection. Yes, it shares the basic media elements of a video game and it can generate that enjoyment experience, but I just don't think most people would agree that you can have a collection of items which can't be sold or handled in some physical way.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I guess I still don't understand why it's so important to you that you "count" digital games or don't count them. Since you can't sell them and you don't need additional physical space to store them and they have no actual resale value and you don't need to keep them clean or maintained or really do anything but play them, what does it matter if you have five or a million of them? Those games are part of your library, but I can't see how they could be considered a "collection" any more than browser versions of arcade games would be counted in your arcade collection or MP3s of vinyl albums would be counted in your record collection. Yes, it shares the basic media elements of a video game and it can generate that enjoyment experience, but I just don't think most people would agree that you can have a collection of items which can't be sold or handled in some physical way.

... So why does an item have to be RESELLABLE to be considered COLLECTIBLE?

WHO. THE FUCK. CARES. IF YOU CAN RESELL IT?! I sure as hell don't. My digital game collection is mine and mine alone, I don't give a damn if anyone can't admire it on a shelf, I care because it's MINE AND THAT'S IT.

You don't collect stuff for financial reasons. YOU COLLECT STUFF BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE STUFF. Like the guy who collects bottlecaps, or AOL CDs, or rare paintings, or all of a certain actor's movies, or Criterion DVDs, or all of an artist's live bootleg concerts (on FLAC or MP3!)

We don't collect this stuff for the money.

[FxMercenary]

... So why does an item have to be RESELLABLE to be considered COLLECTIBLE?

WHO. THE FUCK. CARES. IF YOU CAN RESELL IT?! I sure as hell don't.

You don't collect stuff for financial reasons. YOU COLLECT STUFF BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE STUFF. Like the guy who collects bottlecaps, or AOL CDs, or rare paintings, or all of a certain actor's movies, or Criterion DVDs, or all of an artist's live bootleg concerts.

We don't collect this stuff for the money.

I hope you are trolling Kitsune...

Collectible:

collectibles - Physical objects found in limited supply that provide esthetic, psychological, or practical value to the owner. They are expected to appreciate as a result of inflation or through increased recognition of their rarity.

collectibility - Refers to the funding source's ability to collect future income stream payments once they are purchased.

Actually, if you do not collect for a physical sense of enjoyment and accomplishment, and a possible future financial gain, then you are not collecting, you are either a Hoarder or someone who gets a chemical high by spending money.

Value will ALWAYS be associated with collecting, unless of course you amount large piles of toe nail clippings and bottles of urine. If you do that, check yourself into a mental hospital.

You may have a Digital Game "Collection" but there is no collectibility in that collection. Only Physical Games are Collectible.

I made a thread similar to this a couple years back. As I recall it got somewhat heated.

In my thread I posed the question of whether or not it is okay to count digital-only games in your collection. That is, should I lump in my XBLA and WiiWare games with my grand total of games owned?

Yes, you can, They are part of your "Game Collection", but they are not considered Collectible.

[stalepie]

::throws out old jar of toe clippings::

[Kitsune Sniper]

I'm not (edit: not trolling, stalepie's reply got in the way of this post!)

However, I buy digital games because I play the games. I don't get a chemical high from buying an item and then encasing it in a slab of plastic and putting it on a pedestal. And I sure as hell don't consider my personal collection, physical or not, regardless of the category of items (DVDs, VHS, CDs, comics, physical games) to be something to be profited from in the future (though I HAVE had to sell parts of it to fund computer or home repairs.) Remember comics in the 90's, with the holofoils and shiny limited editions? Look at all the people who bought up those comics expecting them to be worth money in the future.

I don't put the "value" of an item first and foremost when I buy it for myself. Look at all the CDs I own. They're not worth a dime each. I still like them because I enjoy listening to music.

[Rev. Link]

... So why does an item have to be RESELLABLE to be considered COLLECTIBLE?

WHO. THE FUCK. CARES. IF YOU CAN RESELL IT?! I sure as hell don't. My digital game collection is mine and mine alone, I don't give a damn if anyone can't admire it on a shelf, I care because it's MINE AND THAT'S IT.

You don't collect stuff for financial reasons. YOU COLLECT STUFF BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE STUFF. Like the guy who collects bottlecaps, or AOL CDs, or rare paintings, or all of a certain actor's movies, or Criterion DVDs, or all of an artist's live bootleg concerts (on FLAC or MP3!)

We don't collect this stuff for the money.

This.

I don't have any plan to ever sell any of my games, so does that mean I don't have a collection at all?

I count my digital games because I like to keep track of how many games I own, no matter what format they are, and EULAs be damned. If you handle your collection differently, that's totally cool, it seems like most collectors have their own little ways of doing things.

[tubeway]

There is an infinite number of digital downloads available for x product.

Count them all you want. Include them in your "collection," who gives a crap. It doesn't make them a collectable though in the purest sense of the word.

If that reality somehow irks you then you have bigger issues.

[Rev. Link]

I don't give a shit if they're "collectible" or "worth anything" or not.

I don't collect cartridges or discs, I collect games.

[Kitsune Sniper]

There is an infinite number of digital downloads available for x product.

Count them all you want. Include them in your "collection," who gives a crap. It doesn't make them a collectable though in the purest sense of the word.

If that reality somehow irks you then you have bigger issues.

I'm too busy trying to figure out what is it about "digital collectors" that bothers physical ones so much to be irked, frankly.

Again, we're not in it for the value.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Ok hear me out on this one.

My biggest fear with buying digital games on say, the 360, is this... What happens when the service shuts down in say 5 or 10 years? Turtles in Time Arcade for example: What will happen to all the digital games I purchased on it if I have to reformat? or if the Hard Drive Dies? How will I re-download them? How can I verify I am the original owner if just the Console dies, and I pop the old HDD on the new 360?

Same goes for the PS3.

What if the Original X-box had Downloadable Arcade games? How would you get them back if ur console died 3 years from now?

See: MAME ROM fullset, 2600 ROM fullset, Intellivision ROM fullset, GBA ROM fullset etc. etc., and so-on, so-forth

In 5-10 years, when the digital marketplace gets the plug pulled and they shut the clouds down, there will be those in the circles that we travel in that have meticulously backed-up each and every commercial release that you may have at one time had on your 360 HDD.

When Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, etc. take away our ability to re-download what we've purchased, the gray market boys will figure out how to allow us to exploit our home systems in some way and re-install what we own (or, if you're feeling saucy, what you never paid for in the first place).

And for those of us who do like to contribute to the legitimate side of things, when companies do block all avenues to legitimate commercial sales of products, it tends to decrease the feeling of guilt in taking these types of steps where absolutely necessary.

Technically you can already do this on all three current gen consoles and both current gen portables (if we count 3DS as a next-gen), so, it's not some type of future fiction or wishful thinking ... rest assured, in 10 years you'll be able to play that copy of Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, you'll just probably have to minimally modify your console (and in the future it'll probably be as simple as running some type of custom firmware).

[Bojay1997]

I'm too busy trying to figure out what is it about "digital collectors" that bothers physical ones so much to be irked, frankly.

Again, we're not in it for the value.

Nothing about "digital collectors" bothers me other than the fact that it seems silly to keep track of your digital downloads considering that if you're playing them anyway, you probably have a good idea of what you have and don't have and presumably your console won't let you double download the games anyway, so keeping a separate inventory seems like a waste of time. Personally, the only reason I keep an inventory of my physical games collection is because it has gotten to the point where I can't remember everything I own and which box it's in, so it helps me avoid duplication of purchases.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Nothing about "digital collectors" bothers me other than the fact that it seems silly to keep track of your digital downloads considering that if you're playing them anyway, you probably have a good idea of what you have and don't have and presumably your console won't let you double download the games anyway, so keeping a separate inventory seems like a waste of time. Personally, the only reason I keep an inventory of my physical games collection is because it has gotten to the point where I can't remember everything I own and which box it's in, so it helps me avoid duplication of purchases.

So what you're saying is, we aren't allowed to make checklists of the stuff we've bought digitally? Because we're not allowed to keep track of it outside our consoles (or in my case, PC)?

It's no stranger than keeping score of how many copies of Super Mario / Duck Hunt you have. We're human. Our memories aren't perfect. And besides, you CAN purchase downloadable games, or download vouchers, at retail stores, you know!

[Richter Belmount]

Thats like if I downloaded roms onto my computer and called that collection that is worth something.

[buzz_n64]

It is a collection, but worthless. (I'm not just speaking monetarily)
If you're a gamer, and that's all that matters, then it's okay.

Am I materialistic, I guess, but at least I get some use out of my materials.
I don't collect to show off, or hope that the value goes up. I just like the thrill of finding the games, and having them in my collection. I'm not much into playing them, but occasionally I'll throw down on a game.

[teh_L0ki]

Thats like if I downloaded roms onto my computer and called that collection that is worth something.

Honestly if you want to collect roms I would say you can still do that and take pride in tracking down rare bootlegs / complete sets, etc.

A lot of people in this thread are taking it the wrong way because I didn't initially specify. I'm really talking about digital pc games at the moment. And yes I need a list to keep track because currently I have the 26th most games of anybody on steam according to one list. With over 500 games you tend to forget.

Maybe I am a purchasing junkie who gets a chemical high from buying the next great thing. But I think it's pathetic that some users here have such a narrow minded perception of what a collectible is. Really anything can be a collectible, because anything, no matter how asinine, as long as an individual cares about it, can be a collectible.

Value is not intrinsic to collecting because you can collect things that are essentially worthless. I personally think that if you are collecting video games with the intent to sell later when they appreciate in value, you are doing it for all the wrong reasons.

It is a collection, but worthless. (I'm not just speaking monetarily)
If you're a gamer, and that's all that matters, then it's okay.

Am I materialistic, I guess, but at least I get some use out of my materials.
I don't collect to show off, or hope that the value goes up. I just like the thrill of finding the games, and having them in my collection. It's not much into playing them, but occasionally I'll throw down on a game.

For me I get a similar thrill. While you state that digital games are always there with unlimited quantities and you can just purchase them any time, you are right. But for me the thrill is in bargain hunting and trying to get the best sales I can get. I have a digital collection that would be worth well over $7000 at retail but I've probably spent closer to $1500.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Honestly if you want to collect roms I would say you can still do that and take pride in tracking down rare bootlegs / complete sets, etc.

A lot of people in this thread are taking it the wrong way because I didn't initially specify. I'm really talking about digital pc games at the moment. And yes I need a list to keep track because currently I have the 26th most games of anybody on steam according to one list. With over 500 games you tend to forget.

Maybe I am a purchasing junkie who gets a chemical high from buying the next great thing. But I think it's pathetic that some users here have such a narrow minded perception of what a collectible is. Really anything can be a collectible, because anything, no matter how asinine, as long as an individual cares about it, can be a collectible.

Value is not intrinsic to collecting because you can collect things that are essentially worthless. I personally think that if you are collecting video games with the intent to sell later when they appreciate in value, you are doing it for all the wrong reasons.

Jaysis, and I thought I had a lot of games on Steam. Hah.

I've said it many times, I don't care about the monetary value of my collection. I care because they're MY GAMES. I don't know why the matter of price and cost, WORTH, keeps being brought up.

Worth doesn't have to involve a monetary value.

ETA: By the way, digital games do run out. Look at Prey, it's impossible to purchase digitally anymore because the keys ran out at all stores, and more can't be legally issued because of a rights dispute. Some games at GOG have been removed and can't be bought anymore because of similar issues.

[The 1 2 P]

Call me old fashioned but I actually like to "play" my downloadable games as opposed to just purchasing them and collecting them on my hard drive. I've gotten quite a few dlc games on XBL, although most of them were free with contoller or memory card purchases. But I get the cheap deals every now and then(especially at Xmas and the deal of the week) and even though I don't play them all right away I eventually get to them.

The last thing I want is for my assortment of dlc games to sit there unplayed like the majority of my retail games. But I have an excuse for that--it's hard to make time to play 500+ games. With dlc the number is less than 15 so eventually they'll all get played.

[Griking]

My digital game collection is mine and mine alone, I don't give a damn if anyone can't admire it on a shelf, I care because it's MINE AND THAT'S IT.

I agree with you but at the same time I find it amusing that you say that you don't care if anyone sees your collection when you have a signature that tells us to check out your collection.

[wingzrow]

Complete waste of time. You don't get a package, you can't backup your data, no manual, can't resell it, etc,etc,etc

I'm not a member of steam for a reason.

[maxlords]

Complete waste of time. You don't get a package, you can't backup your data, no manual, can't resell it, etc,etc,etc

I'm not a member of steam for a reason.

I'm a member of Steam for a reason. I've re-bought a BUNCH of games on Steam...because they're optimized for Vista and Windows 7 and otherwise running em would be a bitch even though I own physical copies. Good enough for me.

I'm starting to LIKE digital simply because of the filthy clutter it's cutting down on for me. That being said...you can also back up all of the Steam stuff if you want to keep disc copies...they let you DL the files and burn em for archiving or so I understand. I haven't bothered though. Yes, it sucks that there's nothing to really display...but what the hell do I care? I'm out of room as it is...I don't need even MORE stuff cluttering about!