The modern console collecting topic (PS2 to PS3)

[The 1 2 P]

I collect for all mentioned systems(including the Dreamcast). The Xbox is far and away my favorite system to collect for. It has an awesome collection of games not available on any other system and they were made even better due to XBL(another experience none of the other systems came close to last gen). Xbox live pretty much filled the void left by the death of arcades in the US and we no longer had to be in the same room/building as our friends in order to be able to play with them. XBL also gave multiplayer games such as Halo 2 and Burnout 3 infinite replay value. Even when you factor in third party multiplatform games the Xbox received several PC ports that neither of the other two systems got. Collecting wise the Xbox's games don't hold their value as well as Nintendo's first party games but theres a handful of titles that still go for $20+. Plus that also means that now is a great time to complete your game library on the cheap.

I didn't get my Gamecube until after that gen ended. I have a small collection of games for it but most of them are still sealed(you see where I'm going here). Like the N64 before it the GC does have some good games worth playing, especially if you're into their first party offerings. But for me I like a nice mix of first and third party titles. The Gamecube's third party titles were few and far between and the kiddy image was made even more visible in comparison to the other two systems. But collecting wise(if you are just in it for money) it's definitely the system to pick up games for, specifically first party games. And since 90% of my GC library is still sealed I expect to do pretty well once I cash out.

I always liked the PS2 and that was the system I was set to get after rocking my PS1 for the previous six years when preparing to make the jump to next gen. It had a huge collection of games, both third and first. And it was the most mainstream system of it's time. But I always felt it was missing something. No, not Halo. Well yeah it was missing that too but what it really lacked was a unified online multiplayer system like XBL. You could still play games on PS2 but it just wasn't the same and thats probably because Sony didn't base their console around the idea of online mutiplayer like Microsoft did. Not that this takes away from any of it's single player games but I've always felt the PS2 would have been so much better had Sony taken online multiplayer serious back then. For instance, if Tekken Tag Tournament had online multiplayer at launch I might have gotten the system at launch instead of waiting so long. As far as collecting for it, mine is mixed between US and Japanese games. It also doesn't have as many money worthy games as the Gamecube. Where as almost all PS1 rpg's were worth good money at some point in time that isn't the case for PS2 rpg's. You really have to pick and choose. Still, the PS2 currently goes down as Sony's last good system(I prefer the PS1 over the PS2 but both are good systems).

As for the handhelds, I collect for the Psp but it doesn't have much worth playing that didn't also get ported to the PS2 or PS3. The GBA and DS both have an overabundance of good games, made even better by the region free nature of each system. I also collect for all current gen systems but most of my gaming takes place on the 360. I haven't touched my Wii since 2011 and(no surprise) most of my games for it are still sealed. Thats actually a good thing as far as Metroid Prime Trilogy and a few others are concerned. Same with my PS3. Last year I gave it a good run with beating several of it's exclusives but this year I've pretty much only used it for a bluray player. Knowing that this gen isn't over and that all three systems already have some pretty big money games I think that people should start picking up games for each as soon as each systems libraries start to get clearanced, which I suspect will be in another 2-3 years once all the other systems have been out long enough to become established.