The future of collecting.

I was driving yesterday and started thinking about the collection of games I've collected over the years.  I can't stop buying them and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.  It got me thinking about some of the older system and games like Atari.  Those games aren't worth very much at all.  I sold a collection of new and sealed Atari games on Ebay and only came away with $150 and I had good games.  I had Mario Bros., Yars Revenge, Pacman, Pitfall, and 30 or so more.  Does anyone think that in 20 years playstation 1 games will suffer the same fate or will they always have a certain level of value?  I don't know, just something to think about as we all buy games and systems.  I know I won't stop.  

People with buyers guides would be more informed that I on the topic, but I have to think that games are produced in such high numbers these days that there is no way for them to retain their value unless they are the rare few titles that are both high in quality and produced in a low quantity ('cult clasics').

On the other hand, cartridge based games, regardless of how hopeless the original owner was, are much more durable than these shiny disc games -- so perhaps less of them will make it into posterity.  Additionally, there were more players involved in the PS1 era forward, so there will be more nostalgic buyers out there in the future.

So there are the two sides of the argument.  Of course, like all collectors are advised, collect what you love, if it appreciates in value, great, if not, then no loss, you got to enjoy your collection. (It's clear from your statement you have the right attitude about collecting).

There are games from every generation that, for some reason, keep or exceed their original value. In the 2600 days, it was things like Magicard and VideoLife, for the NES it's Stack-up and Hot Slots, for the Neo Geo it's Metal Slug, and now it's things like Border Down, Disgaea, and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. Some games are not going to lose their value, even though the majority of games on every system are cheap, whether we're talking about that $0.50 copy of Space Invaders, or the $7 copy of Gun on the Xbox that I picked up a few days ago.

This touches on a subject of importance to me. Most games are not particularly good. If you look at the entire release catalog of the U.S. Playstation, all 1270 or so games, you'll find an awful lot of mediocrity. I'm not picking on the PSX here, but it has been the most published-on platform to date. Games like Largo Winch are going to be lost to history, while gems like Intelligent Qube are not, as has been the case from the beginning of this medium as well as others. There are an overwhelming majority of comic books that are roughly worth their original cover price, even though we focus on the Amazing Fantasy #15s and the Action Comics #1s of the world.

My advice is to buy the "good stuff" of whatever medium you collect, and let the mediocre stuff find its own level, the bargain bin.
gmsnpr

[QUOTE="gmsnpr"]There are games from every generation that, for some reason, keep or exceed their original value. In the 2600 days, it was things like Magicard and VideoLife, for the NES it's Stack-up and Hot Slots, for the Neo Geo it's Metal Slug, and now it's things like Border Down, Disgaea, and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. Some games are not going to lose their value, even though the majority of games on every system are cheap, whether we're talking about that $0.50 copy of Space Invaders, or the $7 copy of Gun on the Xbox that I picked up a few days ago.

This touches on a subject of importance to me. Most games are not particularly good. If you look at the entire release catalog of the U.S. Playstation, all 1270 or so games, you'll find an awful lot of mediocrity. I'm not picking on the PSX here, but it has been the most published-on platform to date. Games like Largo Winch are going to be lost to history, while gems like Intelligent Qube are not, as has been the case from the beginning of this medium as well as others. There are an overwhelming majority of comic books that are roughly worth their original cover price, even though we focus on the Amazing Fantasy #15s and the Action Comics #1s of the world.

My advice is to buy the "good stuff" of whatever medium you collect, and let the mediocre stuff find its own level, the bargain bin.
GAMECAMILLER

Collectors are a diverse lot.
gmsnpr

In the end, I guess we're just a diverse lot, and we all have our own preferences.gakon5

That's the truth.  If you ever go and look through someone's collection you always learn something.  I have like 700 games and G-Snipe has about 2,000 games, but when you really look at them there is not a lot of overlap -- I'm surprised by what games some people don't have, as I am sure some people are when they look at my stuff -- hell I just broke 700 the other day and got my very first wrestling game!

That's what I like about our union, we are a diverse bunch and not judgemental at all

[QUOTE="gakon5"] In the end, I guess we're just a diverse lot, and we all have our own preferences.aspro73

That's the truth. If you ever go and look through someone's collection you always learn something. I have like 700 games and G-Snipe has about 2,000 games, but when you really look at them there is not a lot of overlap -- I'm surprised by what games some people don't have, as I am sure some people are when they look at my stuff -- hell I just broke 700 the other day and got my very first wrestling game!

That's what I like about our union, we are a diverse bunch and not judgemental at all

I think alot of the future of collecting hinges on what direction digital distribution goes. As of now, it isn't a big factor- there are some PC games you can get off of Steam, and XBLA and the virtual console allow for downloads of SOME older games (how popular the VC will be remains to be seen). However, it is possible that digital distribution for older games could take off on a grand scale. This would, hopefully for many of us here, lead to less people buying hard copies of old games and more people selling them (Assuming that the hardcopy is more expensive than the digital copy, which at least currently isnt always the case), because while many people, me included, greatly prefer the original, hard copy, I definatly see at least a good portion of people prefering the ease of having their old games accessible on their new, wirelessly controlled, system that does not require you to blow on the cartrige.

On the other hand, it seems like there is a possibility that future console, as well as PC, games may be primarily distributed digitally - due partly to the arguement of ease (I understand that) and partly due to cost-effectiveness (Thats one of the reasons everythings on disks nowdays). This would lead to future titles not being available for resale and ultimately not able to be collected (at least not in the traditional, disk in hand, sense).

I think alot of the future of collecting hinges on what direction digital distribution goes.

On the other hand, it seems like there is a possibility that future console, as well as PC, games may be primarily distributed digitally ... This would lead to future titles not being available for resale and ultimately not able to be collected (at least not in the traditional, disk in hand, sense).

Working_Stiff

[QUOTE="Working_Stiff"]

I think alot of the future of collecting hinges on what direction digital distribution goes.

On the other hand, it seems like there is a possibility that future console, as well as PC, games may be primarily distributed digitally ... This would lead to future titles not being available for resale and ultimately not able to be collected (at least not in the traditional, disk in hand, sense).

aspro73