What's your opinion on collecting sealed games or collecting for the sake of collecting

[needler420]

I know how this community feels about the VGA and the process and was wondering what do you think of people who collect sealed games or collect knowing that they will never play the games as there isn't enough time.

It seems some of these collectors play a game of commercialism rather then actually playing the video games themselves. Like it's become a bragging hobby. Who ever has the most income and the most disposable with the rarest and best stuff wins.

I bought this up because I seen a post from another site where someone had about 300 or so PSP games and half of them were sealed. The part that was stupid to me IMO was that person said he probably was never going to open them or play them.

That persons theory was I shouldn't care how someone else spends their money. Which is true. I went on to explain the silly concept about his collecting habits but someone is going to do what they want with their own money, I get that. I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks this concept is stupid like me.

People nowadays shop for video games more then they are playing them. Then they play pac-man for one hour a week and call themselves a hardcore gamer just beacuse they own a lot of video games.


IMO a hardcore gamer is the dude that comes to your house and plays one of your sealed games that's sitting on your shelf for years. Neither person have played the game before. And the person who owns the game gets their ass kicked by someone who's never even heard of the game. That guy that beats your high score 10/10 times and you can never beat his score or beat him in a particular game. That is the hardcore gamer to me.

When I think "hardcore" I think Billy Mitchell and hot sauce. Not some guy with a good income that can afford to buy a lot of games they are never going to play.

[Bojay1997]

I know how this community feels about the VGA and the process and was wondering what do you think of people who collect sealed games or collect knowing that they will never play the games as there isn't enough time.

It seems some of these collectors play a game of commercialism rather then actually playing the video games themselves. Like it's become a bragging hobby. Who ever has the most income and the most disposable with the rarest and best stuff wins.

I bought this up because I seen a post from another site where someone had about 300 or so PSP games and half of them were sealed. The part that was stupid to me IMO was that person said he probably was never going to open them or play them.

That persons theory was I shouldn't care how someone else spends their money. Which is true. I went on to explain the silly concept about his collecting habits but someone is going to do what they want with their own money, I get that. I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks this concept is stupid like me.

People nowadays shop for video games more then they are playing them. Then they play pac-man for one hour a week and call themselves a hardcore gamer just beacuse they own a lot of video games.


IMO a hardcore gamer is the dude that comes to your house and plays one of your sealed games that's sitting on your shelf for years. Neither person have played the game before. And the person who owns the game gets their ass kicked by someone who's never even heard of the game. That guy that beats your high score 10/10 times and you can never beat his score or beat him in a particular game. That is the hardcore gamer to me.

When I think "hardcore" I think Billy Mitchell and hot sauce. Not some guy with a good income that can afford to buy a lot of games they are never going to play.

Why does it matter? Do you go around seeking validation for the fact that you are a particular kind of collector or gamer? There are always going to be people richer than you, people who care about different things than you do and who lead their lives in ways you don't agree with. There is absolutely no point in spending even a second thinking about it. It has no impact on your life in any way.

[Parodius Duh!]

I use to be really against it but now I just dont care, people collect all sorts of stupid shit for even stupider reasons. Theres plenty of games to go around, loose and sealed. I buy new/sealed ps1 games and open them just because Im insane about disc condition and dont want a single mark on my disc games, It feels great to open up a 12+ year old game and get that nice whiff of brand newness. I just absolutely despise the asshats that get a common sealed game graded at like VGA 90 and think its now worth $500 when ungraded its worth about $40, those people are a disease upon game collecting.

[recorderdude]

The problem with game collecting as a whole by now is that people are trying to turn a single hobby into an industry (e.g., VGA). That will *never* work due to the fact that specialty collectors, as well as collectors as a whole aren't going to buy every game for its value (hell, most of us just frequent thrifts) and trying to make retro game collecting more about the profits than the games will only make the hobby die out faster.

[treismac]

I suppose my only gripe against sealed game collectors and collectors for the sake of collecting is that they more than likely drive up the asking price of video games I want to actually play rather than seal up like they were Han Solo at Jabba's pad. Other than that, whatever. There are far worse problems in other subcultures. I mean, hell, have you ever actually encountered a VGA collector in real life? I know I haven't.

[Atarileaf]

The argument that never made sense to me is when video game collecting is compared to something as mundane as say, stamp or baseball card collecting - items that by their very nature are collectibles who's only value is in viewing and displaying them. Video games are not static objects, they're interactive and thus are meant to be played.

I agree that "to each their own" however my opinion is that its a waste to collect video games that will never be played.

[recorderdude]

The argument that never made sense to me is when video game collecting is compared to something as mundane as say, stamp or baseball card collecting - items that by their very nature are collectibles who's only value is in viewing and displaying them. Video games are not static objects, they're interactive and thus are meant to be played.

I agree that "to each their own" however my opinion is that its a waste to collect video games that will never be played.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. It's like buying a hard-to-find movie you've always wanted to see but never watching it. If you collect sealed games and never play them, though, at LEAST play the games you buy in emulators or something, though that sort of undermines the whole point of collecting in the first place.

[Bojay1997]

The argument that never made sense to me is when video game collecting is compared to something as mundane as say, stamp or baseball card collecting - items that by their very nature are collectibles who's only value is in viewing and displaying them. Video games are not static objects, they're interactive and thus are meant to be played.

I agree that "to each their own" however my opinion is that its a waste to collect video games that will never be played.

Video games, at least physical release video games, are not inherently interactive nor are they meant to be anything other than a consumer product. They are just a piece of code copied onto some physical medium and packaged in either a box or a case for retail distribution.

The problem with your argument is that logically that would mean that nobody should collect anything but loose games or maybe just loose games and instruction manuals. Clearly, many collectors think the box and other materials are important. I fail to see any difference between collecting a box or inserts and a sealed game.

I also fail to see the difference between collecting sealed and collectors that have massive collections and can't possibly spend very long playing each game or maybe only play a game once and then never play it again and yet keep the game in their collection. The point is that there is no right or wrong way to collect and while you might think collecting anything other than what you'll play is a waste, for others it clearly isn't a waste.

[ProjectCamaro]

I don't understand it and will personally not buy a sealed game unless I get it for a good deal and can either turn around and sell it for a profit or open it up and play it. I have been building my collection lately but everything I own works and is meant to be played. I have friends come over for "retro night" where all we play are the retro consoles and games and don't touch the new consoles or computers.
I do have a larger collection than I could honestly play through but part of that is I buy in bulk when I can save a ton of money plus I enjoy having my brother's kids over and seeming them get excited when they see all the games and know they can play any one of them they want. They seem to enjoy the raw selection of games over the games themselves.

[needler420]

Video games, at least physical release video games, are not inherently interactive nor are they meant to be anything other than a consumer product. They are just a piece of code copied onto some physical medium and packaged in either a box or a case for retail distribution.

The problem with your argument is that logically that would mean that nobody should collect anything but loose games or maybe just loose games and instruction manuals. Clearly, many collectors think the box and other materials are important. I fail to see any difference between collecting a box or inserts and a sealed game.

I also fail to see the difference between collecting sealed and collectors that have massive collections and can't possibly spend very long playing each game or maybe only play a game once and then never play it again and yet keep the game in their collection. The point is that there is no right or wrong way to collect and while you might think collecting anything other than what you'll play is a waste, for others it clearly isn't a waste.

VGA collectors think they are sane when everyone else thinks they're insane. If you don't care what others think about you I suppose in theory you'd be right. You'd be surprised at how many people care and get butthurt about it though because they do care what others think.

[Mark1983]

I agree that "to each their own" however my opinion is that its a waste to collect video games that will never be played.

This, right here, is absolute truth. I mean, if someone goes out and finds a copy of a game that only 2,000 were made...wouldn't you get pretty pissed off if it's just going to sit around on someones shelf and NEVER get used? That just means one less copy to own, for us actual gamers, and the value will keep going up on it which will almost make it impossible for the average joe collector to snag one.

[Bojay1997]

This, right here, is absolute truth. I mean, if someone goes out and finds a copy of a game that only 2,000 were made...wouldn't you get pretty pissed off if it's just going to sit around on someones shelf and NEVER get used? That just means one less copy to own, for us actual gamers, and the value will keep going up on it which will almost make it impossible for the average joe collector to snag one.

Your argument lacks any sort of logic. Whether they play it or not has nothing to do with whether the average collector will have a chance to snag one. I know plenty of collectors who own and play really, really rare items and would never sell them. Chances are you'll never get to own their copies either, so it really doesn't matter if they play it every day or lock it in a vault never to be played again.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

When I think of "hardcore gamer" I think of a silly term that is completely meaningless.

[Rejinx]

When I think "hardcore" I think Billy Mitchell and hot sauce.

Can I put this in my sig?

This should be the quote on the box for King of Kong.

[needler420]

Can I put this in my sig?

This should be the quote on the box for King of Kong.

Sure can. I'd be honored to be in a sig about Billy Mitchell.

You also have to realize that people who collect stamps might think collecting video games of any type is foolish. The only thing that bothers me about game collecting is how some collectors really lie about how little they paid for certain things.

What's worse then that imo is when they lie about beating a game or in game achievement or lie about a high score etc. I've seen my fair share of grown people who won't only lie about it for whatever reason some of them even go out the way to hack PS3 trophies and xbox achievements.

A good example is in the movies with Billy Mitchell someone lies about beating his official score and it gets accepted. Years later the truth is revleaed and Billy is crowned the record holder again. The person that lies about it was a blue collar married middle aged man. The least type of person you'd expect to do something like that.

[bb_hood]

What's worse then that imo is when they lie about beating a game or in game achievement or lie about a high score etc. I've seen my fair share of grown people who won't only lie about it for whatever reason some of them even go out the way to hack PS3 trophies and xbox achievements.

And this bothers you why???
If you are such a hardcore gamer, why the hell do you care what other people collect, or that other people lie about high scores. Id think a true 'hardcore gamer' would shut the fuck up and play video games instead of whining about others..

[needler420]

And this bothers you why???
If you are such a hardcore gamer, why the hell do you care what other people collect, or that other people lie about high scores. Id think a true 'hardcore gamer' would shut the fuck up and play video games instead of whining about others..

Maybe you lie about what you play also just like that middle aged man that tried to lie about beating Billy Mitchells score on pac-man.

I mean how is the standard for being a hardcore gamer to STFU? At least try to make a practical realistic standard for being a hardcore gamer instead of coming off so butthurt.


And for the record I care a whole lot when people lie about scores and it affects leaderboards and tournaments and contests and even in Billy Mitchells case it affects the stealing of his title of "hardcore" I have integrity when it comes to my hobby. Nowadays with major league gaming cheating can be a serious thing for some people.

[bb_hood]

lol you're one of those people I talk about. I seen your kingsfield collection.

What? I dont even know what kingsfield is. You've never seen my collection, I don't collect sealed games. Im not hurt, I just think your opinion is retarded.

[bb_hood]

And for the record I care a whole lot when people lie about scores and it affects leaderboards and tournaments and contests and even in Billy Mitchells case it affects the stealing of his title of "hardcore" I have integrity when it comes to my hobby.

Why dont you just marry Billy Mitchell already, I think you two will make a great couple

[wiggyx]

I know how this community feels about the VGA and the process and was wondering what do you think of people who collect sealed games or collect knowing that they will never play the games as there isn't enough time.

It seems some of these collectors play a game of commercialism rather then actually playing the video games themselves. Like it's become a bragging hobby. Who ever has the most income and the most disposable with the rarest and best stuff wins.

I bought this up because I seen a post from another site where someone had about 300 or so PSP games and half of them were sealed. The part that was stupid to me IMO was that person said he probably was never going to open them or play them.

That persons theory was I shouldn't care how someone else spends their money. Which is true. I went on to explain the silly concept about his collecting habits but someone is going to do what they want with their own money, I get that. I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks this concept is stupid like me.

People nowadays shop for video games more then they are playing them. Then they play pac-man for one hour a week and call themselves a hardcore gamer just beacuse they own a lot of video games.


IMO a hardcore gamer is the dude that comes to your house and plays one of your sealed games that's sitting on your shelf for years. Neither person have played the game before. And the person who owns the game gets their ass kicked by someone who's never even heard of the game. That guy that beats your high score 10/10 times and you can never beat his score or beat him in a particular game. That is the hardcore gamer to me.

When I think "hardcore" I think Billy Mitchell and hot sauce. Not some guy with a good income that can afford to buy a lot of games they are never going to play.

You mean the rant on CAG that got you a nice little vacation from the site?

The part that is stupid to me is that you make it your mission to give people a hard time about their business practices, collecting habits, etc.

Is this all you do? Bitch and moan? I can't imagine many of us here care what you think qualifies someone as a "hardcore gamer".


With that out of the way, I collect more than play. I do not collect NIB, and I do not collect as a financial investment. I buy games that I like or want to have as part of my collection and with the intention of at least trying them at some point. I often have groups of friends over who are a mix of casual gamers, serious gamers, and not-so-much gamers all at one time. It's nice to have a backlog of stuff that's new to all of us so that everyone can participate and hopefully have fun. Plus, collecting games can be the hobby in itself, not unlike collecting comics or coins. Obviously games can do more than just sit on a shelf, but that doesn't mean that collecting just for the sake of collecting is intrinsically bad. The only time "collectors" bother me is when they grab up multiple copies of new, harder to find items with the sole intent of resale. That sort of thing just makes it tougher for others who want those games to attain them at or near to MSRP, which is lame IMO.