The Future Of Video Game Collecting

[ashleyescort]

Hi Everyone,

I was at work last night and I was thinking about my collection and other peoples too and it got me thinking about the future!

I've asked a lot of people about the lifespan of video game cartridges and 99% of people think that they will outlive us!

That may be the case but even if video game cartridges did start dying in 10 years time then I still think there will be a lot of collectors! I really enjoying looking at the complete packaging of video games i.e/ The boxes, manuals, carts and even if a video game didn't work any more due to old age then I would still buy it because of the history behind it and I'm sure that some others would too?

Put it this way, in 30 years time I could possibly start thinking about collecting a full PAL Atari 2600 collection! 99% of the games wouldn't work any more but I wouldn't let that put me off because it would be the "collecting" I enjoy rather then "playing" the games! They will probably be extremely rare too because so many would of been thrown away because they didn't work any more!

What are your thoughts? Let's say we're in the year 2050! Would you buy video games from the 1970's - 1990's even if they didn't work any more?

Bit of a random question

ASH

[orkney]

I really enjoying looking at the complete packaging of video games i.e/ The boxes, manuals, carts and even if a video game didn't work any more due to old age then I would still buy it because of the history behind it and I'm sure that some others would too? [...] I wouldn't let that put me off because it would be the "collecting" I enjoy rather then "playing" the games!

I'd probably still buy CIB games even if I knew they didn't work As you say its good to have the artwork/manuals to look at. I wouldn't bother picking up carts on their own though.

Most of my retro gaming is done through various emulators on the Wii already but it hasn't stopped me buying the original versions just to have them. It's easier than having to get up and change cartridges every 5 minutes, playing with a wired controller, and in the case of the Master System (my fav console) having to get up just to pause a game.

[Pondis]

I actually tend not to play a lot of the games I collect.

But yes, having the case and the book to flick through is the best part.

I worry more for the future of games where there will be no physical game, where either downloading or streaming takes over and people stop producing discs / flash cards. In this case I expect that memorabilia will take the place of game collecting, but thats just my view

[Tyron]

You could compare it to people who buy Royal Doulton. They don't buy to use them, just to appreciate.

There will always be a market - and one day we'll be seen as crazy for loving 16-bit consoles when the new "retro" is nothing earlier than 64-bit.

[Residante]

Firstly, yes I would also still collect even if some of the games stopped working. Secondly, I think the future of video game collecting looks good. When the current generation (people who experienced gaming first on a ps3 or 360) reach a earning age, there will be lots of people buying up all the games they ever wanted! Forums like this will buzz with people trying to obtain certain collectors editions. And kids of the 80's will still be around! Hopefully by then I will be finished with my Saturn collection!

[MRCL]

When the current generation (people who experienced gaming first on a ps3 or 360) reach a earning age, there will be lots of people buying up all the games they ever wanted!

Yeah and they will be payin mad bucks for the stuff we now get from Gamestop for a dime

I don't think collecting would cease as it is now, but I'm certainly excited for the shifts in demand and prices. As otehrs in other threads pointed out, things that demand high prices now maybe won't in the future due to low demand. Many of us grew up in the 16bit era (SNES and stuff) so we want that, but the new generation is coming, and price increases of N64 games and such are noticeable.

[maD_mAN1983]

i would collect just to have it as eye candy, most part of my collection i havent played, and i collect mostly gamecube now, before that generation get old enough to want the games they missed in their youth and prices rise also picking up some N64 titles before the prices start to rise there, and hoping that snes and nes prices will sink a little so i can get more of the once i want from my youth on those systems, but i want them on my shelves even if they won't work, just so i can look at them, and remember the old days

[gunstarhero]

Part of the enjoyment of the game for me has always been having the fully packaged game, getting the card/cd/cassette/cart out of the packaging and looking through the manual. TRK put some pics up of recent Spectrum games in her collection here the other day and just seeing all those games by Ultimate together brought a whole load of memories and nostalgia, so there's definately something in the physical games packaging as much as the game itself.

[gamesgaryjp]

I wouldnt mind, i mostly dont even playtest games to check if they even work! If they look ok, they go in the collection

[DesertTurtle]

I'm sort of with you, most of the games I grab I don't actually play. I just like to sit back and admire them. Unless they'e really good games, but for the most part I'll grab any game to add to my collection as long as it isn't an awful licensed game.

[dadopson]

I would say the collecting of modern stuff wont be the same.
the things we collect now from our past are worth something because people didnt collect them when they were current (I think this applies to all collectables and antiques).they have been thrown away over the interveening years, so making them less available and rare.The things that people collect now are made to be collected. There are too many oif them around, and they will never be worth as much.

[MRCL]

I would say the collecting of modern stuff wont be the same.
the things we collect now from our past are worth something because people didnt collect them when they were current (I think this applies to all collectables and antiques).they have been thrown away over the interveening years, so making them less available and rare.The things that people collect now are made to be collected. There are too many oif them around, and they will never be worth as much.

I sort of agree. Thats especially true for PS3 and Xbox360, however for the Wii there are quite a few titles than can be future sought after rarities, simply because they're either dismissed as shovelware, kids games, or other reasons. The fun in collecting modern games lies in guessing which games will become rare and sought after. And especially with the Wii, there are some possibilities. Also with the DS, for the same reasons. I doubt a Wii game can reach a thousands worth tough.

[MattK]

A major problem with modern collecting is what will happen when Xbox Live and PlayStation Network get switched off. It's a big issue facing video game preservation at the moment, cos all of that stuff is proprietary, yet in many cases represents a large chunk (and in some cases, all) of a particular game's content.

We've already seen it to a small extent on the Dreamcast, and a larger extent on the original Xbox, though user servers and tunneling keep some games alive.

There are plenty of high price targets already on the PS3 and 360, but you're not seeing quite as many low print run games go for big money yet (the Chinese version of Aquanaut's Holiday with English language option is the only one I can think of right now that commands close to a hundred quid) - it's more super limited collectors editions like Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition.

Wii has a few that have held their price (like One Piece: Unlimited Adventure), and like everyone has said, there are bound to be a few games that are perceived as shovelware that shoot up in price.

[hhc]

i'd never buy "new" old games if they wouldn't even work.. i wanna play them, otherwise they're useless - just my opinion: i also sell the ones i really don't wanna play cause they're so damn ****

[Cauterize]

A major problem with modern collecting is what will happen when Xbox Live and PlayStation Network get switched off. It's a big issue facing video game preservation at the moment, cos all of that stuff is proprietary, yet in many cases represents a large chunk (and in some cases, all) of a particular game's content.

We've already seen it to a small extent on the Dreamcast, and a larger extent on the original Xbox, though user servers and tunneling keep some games alive.

There are plenty of high price targets already on the PS3 and 360, but you're not seeing quite as many low print run games go for big money yet (the Chinese version of Aquanaut's Holiday with English language option is the only one I can think of right now that commands close to a hundred quid) - it's more super limited collectors editions like Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition.

Wii has a few that have held their price (like One Piece: Unlimited Adventure), and like everyone has said, there are bound to be a few games that are perceived as shovelware that shoot up in price.

Couldn't agree any more. There is a fantastic article on the worrying future for digital downloads and why software piracy is actually helping us archive it.

http://technologizer.com/2012/01/23/why ... re-piracy/

[BigHurt]

I feel that most of my collecting on modern formats are well known franchises from the past, or my new favorite Limited/Collectors Editions.

So many of them are so fracking cool, that I just have to have them

[Superh]

Most collectors don't play 99% of the games they buy for more than a few minutes if that, so i'm sure it wouldn't really change things much.

some people spend £100 or more on a game that they will never play so why would it change anything