Modern gaming from a collectors prospective?

[hellraiser]

So I'm just now cracking into modern gaming. My question is with the multiple versions of some games out wich will be sought after in the future.

20 years from now what will be worth more? The original releases or the more complete editions? Who knows, maybe it's the greatest hits or game of the year editions?

My wild guess would be that the completed editions would be because dlc may not always be available.

The oldest game I can think of that did this was resident evil for ps1. It had a first copy then a dual shock version then a directors cut. There was the two different labels for metroid on Nes but the content was the same.

Anyways I'm curious what you guys think...

[Dr. BaconStein]

There was a thread like this a while ago. Supposedly the rare stuff is usually near the end of a console's lifespan and doesn't have a lot of praise. I really don't think it's something worth attempting, though. Just play what you enjoy and don't worry about what will appreciate. Chances are the opposite will happen with most games and you'll find yourself in the hole.

I do wish I had that "video games are not an investment" pic from the last thread right now...

[kupomogli]

If I know there is or is going to be a Game of the Year Edition, then I won't buy the regular version. The Game of the Year Editions also have all the most up to date patches pressed on disc. Or atleast most up to date since their time of release which is usually going to always be the most up to date.

Certain games like Uncharted 2 or 3 it doesn't matter as the only extras are DLC which doesn't come on disc, but a voucher instead, and other than Eye of Indra is multiplayer only. If Uncharted 3's Game of the Year edition adds all the extra bonus single player content, like Mirror World, etc, then it'd be the better one.

I think once this gen passes and you can no longer purchase these games that most are going to be found everywhere as cheap as the cheapest PS2 games. Either collect for a complete set or collect only the games you like. The rare and hard to come by games are rare and hard to come by(pun intended.)

[mailman187666]

I think the only ones that would really hold a value these days are limited edition set that actually have a limited print run such as dead space ultra limited, Mass Effect 1, Tales of Vesperia. You can't really predict the future of collector's values are going to be. I'd say keep your eyes open for limited edition sets that can only be ordered through the company's website and just buy what you want to play for normal realeases.

[Nebagram]

Basically, unless a game had a limited print run, it's not going to be worth shit in years to come. Even the limited editions are only going to bring in money if they're still sealed. I remember seeing a Gears of War 2 limited edition in my local cex for the whopping sum of £8. And I passed on it. The CoD limited editions with the night vision goggles, remote-controlled car and tactical suitcase nuke (or whatever this year's doodad will be) might appreciate in value in years to come, but let's face it- would you be buying those for the game? I doubt it.

[Greg2600]

First party stuff usually holds value, like Zelda and Mario for Nintendo. Not much value though. Also, any title that is re-released several times as best selling usually isn't worth much for any version.

[hellraiser]

I really don't think it's something worth attempting, though. Just play what you enjoy and don't worry about what will appreciate. Chances are the opposite will happen with most games and you'll find yourself in the hole.

I do wish I had that "video games are not an investment" pic from the last thread right now...

I totally agree with you. And trust me, I have no where near enough modern games to warrant the word "investment". Maybe 5 in all.
It just had me thinking, considering there seems to be 3 or 4 versions of some of these bigger games.

I

[Robocop2]

I tend to think a good, working console 20 years from now will be more difficult and at least as valuable as some of the more hard to find games at least with regards to this generation. Reliability hasn't exactly been a strong suit this go around.

[samspade]

I tend to think a good, working console 20 years from now will be more difficult and at least as valuable as some of the more hard to find games at least with regards to this generation. Reliability hasn't exactly been a strong suit this go around.

Yeah, no shit. I can't even imagine seeing a working Xbox 360 in two decades that still runs.

[The 1 2 P]

I think the only ones that would really hold a value these days are limited edition set that actually have a limited print run such as dead space ultra limited, Mass Effect 1, Tales of Vesperia. You can't really predict the future of collector's values are going to be. I'd say keep your eyes open for limited edition sets that can only be ordered through the company's website and just buy what you want to play for normal realeases.

Thats probably the best advice. People were so use to not expecting limited editions to actually be limited that releases like the limited editions of Mass Effect, Bioshock and Assassin's Creed slipped right by the majority of people. Going forward, even they aren't a safe bet because the majority of them still aren't exactly limited. Ultimately I think people should just collect what they want in their collection without always worrying about how much it may or may not rise in price.

[xelement5x]

NISA exclusive store sets almost always seem to sell out so I jump on them as soon as they're available. One needs only to look at the price on Neptunia Mk2 where it was sold for $60 from the store, and sold out directly from them only to wind up being sold at triple the price online after release.

Most modern special editions are overproduced though, walls of Halo 3 helmets and Skyrim statues abound in the videogame graveyards.

[Bojay1997]

NISA exclusive store sets almost always seem to sell out so I jump on them as soon as they're available. One needs only to look at the price on Neptunia Mk2 where it was sold for $60 from the store, and sold out directly from them only to wind up being sold at triple the price online after release.

Most modern special editions are overproduced though, walls of Halo 3 helmets and Skyrim statues abound in the videogame graveyards.

Ok, but for every Neptunia MK2, there are plenty of Atlus and Xseed and other niche publisher special and limited editions that either drop in value or are readily available for about MSRP years after release. The point is, nobody should be buying modern games as any sort of investment as the return is incredibly poor.

[Cornelius]

I know this is all tied in together in the discussion going on here, but I'd like to re-frame and/or focus the OP's question a little bit. If you know you are going to go for a full set on a current gen console, what's the best way to go about it? I suppose that could also read "what is the most economical way to go about it?" I know we have a couple people around that have this goal. DS is the only one I can think of right now, but I think someone is after Wii and another PS3. What say you?

I suspect the most economical is the wait on everything to purchase discounted or preferably used at the end of the console's life. That runs some pretty big risks, but the price tag of getting everything as it comes out (or even on sale) is so daunting to me that I couldn't even imagine going that route. Not to mention the cringe-inducing prospect of paying real money for so much of the libraries that are shovelware. Of course, the irony is that some of that shovelware will one day be the hardest stuff to find.

[Bojay1997]

I know this is all tied in together in the discussion going on here, but I'd like to re-frame and/or focus the OP's question a little bit. If you know you are going to go for a full set on a current gen console, what's the best way to go about it? I suppose that could also read "what is the most economical way to go about it?" I know we have a couple people around that have this goal. DS is the only one I can think of right now, but I think someone is after Wii and another PS3. What say you?

I suspect the most economical is the wait on everything to purchase discounted or preferably used at the end of the console's life. That runs some pretty big risks, but the price tag of getting everything as it comes out (or even on sale) is so daunting to me that I couldn't even imagine going that route. Not to mention the cringe-inducing prospect of paying real money for so much of the libraries that are shovelware. Of course, the irony is that some of that shovelware will one day be the hardest stuff to find.

I think it really depends on your budget. Personally, I keep a list of stuff that I know I want for each modern console as games are announced (I literally check Gamestop.com and Amazon every few weeks for upcoming games and update my want list) and I try to pick up every title within a year or two of release unless there is some specific reason not to (i.e., I'm not ever in a rush to pick up sports titles as I know those are plentiful and easy to find at the end of a console cycle). Having said that, there are times when it becomes pretty clear early on that a title will be hard to find. Those titles are the ones where I may pay closer to MSRP for while I try to keep other titles in the under-$20 and hopefully under $10 purchase range. Admittedly, I have made some errors over time and overpaid and the days of rare Atlus or XSeed or big publisher titles seem long over. It will be interesting to see what happens with collector's edition values over time as things like Borderlands 2 Loot Chest and Witcher 2 CE sold out before or at launch so who knows how easy they will be to find and for what price long term.

[hellraiser]

I tend to think a good, working console 20 years from now will be more difficult and at least as valuable as some of the more hard to find games at least with regards to this generation. Reliability hasn't exactly been a strong suit this go around.

Holy crap... I never thought of that. My ps3 just came out of the shop. I highly doubt it would last 20 years even with light use. From what I've read the xbox aren't much better.

Well let's hope Sony won't scrap the idea of "backwards compatible" forever.

[Rickstilwell1]

Yeah, no shit. I can't even imagine seeing a working Xbox 360 in two decades that still runs.

Mine will probably still work by then because I don't really play it much at all. I've probably only had a serious gaming session on it about 10 times and I've had it since 2008.

[The 1 2 P]

I know this is all tied in together in the discussion going on here, but I'd like to re-frame and/or focus the OP's question a little bit. If you know you are going to go for a full set on a current gen console, what's the best way to go about it? I suppose that could also read "what is the most economical way to go about it?" I know we have a couple people around that have this goal. DS is the only one I can think of right now, but I think someone is after Wii and another PS3. What say you?

I suspect the most economical is the wait on everything to purchase discounted or preferably used at the end of the console's life. That runs some pretty big risks, but the price tag of getting everything as it comes out (or even on sale) is so daunting to me that I couldn't even imagine going that route. Not to mention the cringe-inducing prospect of paying real money for so much of the libraries that are shovelware. Of course, the irony is that some of that shovelware will one day be the hardest stuff to find.

From my experience with this generation I have learned that the best deals to be had are the ones that happen thru out the duration of the gen as opposed to waiting for the end of it. I have somewhere between 150-250 combined 360, PS3, Wii, DS and PSP games and the majority(90% or more) have been bought for $20 or less, with atleast a third being $10 or less. And most of these were new during various sales and clearances. Going that route one could acquire a good majority of a system they were collecting for. The only things you would probably want to get upon release are certain limited editions. The problem of course is that you don't know which limited editions to get. For every Bioshock LE, Mass Effect LE and Crysis 2 Nano edition there are literally 20 other non-limited limited editions like Halo 3 Legendary.

So you are never going to guess which limited editions you should get upon release and which ones you should wait until they drop down to $20. But beyond that little snag I think that acquiring atleast 50-75% of a current gen systems library at affordable prices is much more reasonable now than it has ever been during any other generation. And while there will be alot of good stuff to pick up on clearance at the end of this gen, some of the harder to find titles(Metroid Prime Trilogy, Star Wars TFU USE, etc) will be even harder to get for a reasonable price.

[Zing]

I remember seeing a Gears of War 2 limited edition in my local cex for the whopping sum of £8. And I passed on it.

Think about how many people regret passing up the bin of $15 Earthbound from Best Buy.

[duffmanth]

There are very few games that will appreciate to the point where you could sell them for a nice profit. The only games I can think of that have actually sold for some good money on eBay and elsewhere are Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence Limited Edition for PS2 and some of the rarer RPG's for the PSone like Suikoden 1 and 2. Also some rare gems from the NES, SNES, and Genesis days occasionally fetch some big $$. I would just buy games that you're actually going to enjoy playing and don't buy games looking to profit from them.

[xelement5x]

Ok, but for every Neptunia MK2, there are plenty of Atlus and Xseed and other niche publisher special and limited editions that either drop in value or are readily available for about MSRP years after release. The point is, nobody should be buying modern games as any sort of investment as the return is incredibly poor.

Yeah sorry if that came out wrong but I don't buy video games as an investment, that's what I have a 401k and other assets for. There are plenty of NISA bombs too, the Disgaea 4 Figure set Edition was there for quite awhile and it still looks like they are selling copies of the figures, plus I normally only grab stuff I'm interested in.

It seems like a lot of the niche publishers are doing nice first run prints that are smaller, but come with bonuses. Then they have the rest of the release just be the stand alone game. Radiant Historia is one example of this with the soundtrack, Meruru and Catherine came with an artbook, and I think only the first run of The Last Story has the cool book case and bonuses.

Regardless, for me it comes down to just buying games I want to play. But with some titles I'd rather jump on them fast so I don't have to worry about picking them up at inflated prices in the future in case they become hard to find.