Is the hobby starting to finally die down?

[burningdoom]

Well obviously if I can get better for the same price, I'm going to (or if it's barely a difference). But when I have Contra for $10 because it's cart-only and has a rental sticker, vs. a complete boxed copy for nearly $100, I'm going for that $10 cartridge. (A car is hardly the same thing as a game. A car is something you rely on.)

I don't emulate for moral reasons. I'm a Christian and stealing is one of the 10 commandment ones. That and I still enjoy the collecting aspect of it.

And where did I call anyone crazy? I just said I'm that guy buying the sticker covered cart.

I'm just saying I'm crazy, so don't go by me. 

If a car has some nasty cosmetic damage, it doesn't necessarily mean you can't rely on it. It could still run well, and be dependable. But I still wouldn't want that one, I want the one that is in good shape overall, including the stuff that shouldn't matter, like the body and the paint.

As for emulation, I don't understand who you would be stealing from if the game in question is no longer on the market, the developers no longer attempting to gain anything from their work and they're the only ones entitled to reap the rewards. I don't quite grasp the concept of victimless crimes.

Ah, the collecting aspect. So it's not purely just to play the game. I get it, sometimes price influences a purchase, but, if it's effed up I'll just pass and look for another opportunity.

Personal decision. Everyone's morals and religious views are gonna differ. But in my case, I feel if I have to question if what I'm doing is wrong or right, then I probably shouldn't be doing it, whether or not someone gets hurt by it.

And yeah, it's not JUST to play games. But at the same time, I'm only gonna get ones that I am actually going to play. You won't find any traditional sports games on my game shelf, or a lot of stealth or fighting games. Because I'm just not into those.

[matimo]

It's definitely not dying down, people always end up selling their collections later in life for some reason or another it seems, It could be because prices are at an all time high now that people are doing the smart thing and are selling them. I know a lot of you probably don't want to believe it but Nes and Snes collecting is in a bubble and it will pop withing the next couple decades... It happens with every hobby and Video games are no exception. Once the Snes and nes generations approach their senior years the desire to keep and collect these games will diminish greatly, and im not saying they will become worthless because of this, but their value will lower drastically. Anyone who thinks the prices can only go up forever is rather foolish, no offence.

[maximo310]

It's defenitely become more difficult to find games; even some of my wants on 7th generation have already started to become hard to find and jump in price. I feel like that I sometimes have to jump on the stuff I really want or else it will become a lot harder to find in the future. This is especially true with imports, since most purchases are limited to online, and stuff like ps2 shmup imports are pretty expensive and range from $50-200 for each game.

[atarileaf]

If local prices are anything to go by, it's not dying down in my area. Personally it's slowing down for me a bit simply because I've been collecting for a long time and am running out of items I am really after.

[dashv]

Well obviously if I can get better for the same price, I'm going to (or if it's barely a difference). But when I have Contra for $10 because it's cart-only and has a rental sticker, vs. a complete boxed copy for nearly $100, I'm going for that $10 cartridge. (A car is hardly the same thing as a game. A car is something you rely on.)

I don't emulate for moral reasons. I'm a Christian and stealing is one of the 10 commandment ones. That and I still enjoy the collecting aspect of it.

And where did I call anyone crazy? I just said I'm that guy buying the sticker covered cart.

I'm just saying I'm crazy, so don't go by me. 

If a car has some nasty cosmetic damage, it doesn't necessarily mean you can't rely on it. It could still run well, and be dependable. But I still wouldn't want that one, I want the one that is in good shape overall, including the stuff that shouldn't matter, like the body and the paint.

As for emulation, I don't understand who you would be stealing from if the game in question is no longer on the market, the developers no longer attempting to gain anything from their work and they're the only ones entitled to reap the rewards. I don't quite grasp the concept of victimless crimes.

Ah, the collecting aspect. So it's not purely just to play the game. I get it, sometimes price influences a purchase, but, if it's effed up I'll just pass and look for another opportunity.

Personal decision. Everyone's morals and religious views are gonna differ. But in my case, I feel if I have to question if what I'm doing is wrong or right, then I probably shouldn't be doing it, whether or not someone gets hurt by it.

And yeah, it's not JUST to play games. But at the same time, I'm only gonna get ones that I am actually going to play. You won't find any traditional sports games on my game shelf, or a lot of stealth or fighting games. Because I'm just not into those.

I can identify with a lot of folks here.

Like Burningdoom I am also a Christian. (we can leave the religious aspect of the discussion at that. Just wanted to let you know you are not alone on here )

While I do view emulating to avoid paying for games I enjoy that are available by other means (virtual console, psn, etc) as stealing, I don't have a problem emulating stuff I already own. Or emulating stuff that is still unobtainable and ridiculously overpriced.

I play burned discs (for stuff I already own) on my CD-i because the originals are too brittle and actually come apart while playing due to their age.

I won't try to claim my emulation preferences are based on any kind of moral high ground. For me it's a case of "don't piss where you sleep."

I work in the software/tech industry. If people don't buy the products of my labor I end up being told to look for another job. It's kind of a double standard for me to expect other people to pay for utilizing the fruits of my work if I'm not willing to pay for their efforts.

Mighty Final Fight nes cart fetches over $100 on ebay. It's $5 on WiiU VC. Hardly a bank breaker to emulate legitimately. Duck Tales 2 is also over $100 for a cart. Only other option on that one is non-legit emulation or miss out entirely.

As far as being a completionist I can identify with Kashell in that I want as much of the full experience as I can get. For Disc based stuff I go complete or not at all.

For cart based stuff I want a decent looking cart with a manual that's still intact. I don't care too much about a fragile box.

At the end of the day I only get something if it's stupid cheap or I plan to play it.

[atarileaf]

I don't emulate for moral reasons. I'm a Christian and stealing is one of the 10 commandment ones. That and I still enjoy the collecting aspect of it.

So then I assume if I were to peruse your collection I'd find no violent or supernatural titles eh. All puzzle games, sports games and family friendly games I'd assume

[gf78]

I can identify with a lot of folks here.

Like Burningdoom I am also a Christian. (we can leave the religious aspect of the discussion at that. Just wanted to let you know you are not alone on here )

While I do view emulating to avoid paying for games I enjoy that are available by other means (virtual console, psn, etc) as stealing, I don't have a problem emulating stuff I already own. Or emulating stuff that is still unobtainable and ridiculously overpriced.

I play burned discs (for stuff I already own) on my CD-i because the originals are too brittle and actually come apart while playing due to their age.

I won't try to claim my emulation preferences are based on any kind of moral high ground. For me it's a case of "don't piss where you sleep."

I work in the software/tech industry. If people don't buy the products of my labor I end up being told to look for another job. It's kind of a double standard for me to expect other people to pay for utilizing the fruits of my work if I'm not willing to pay for their efforts.

Mighty Final Fight nes cart fetches over $100 on ebay. It's $5 on WiiU VC. Hardly a bank breaker to emulate legitimately. Duck Tales 2 is also over $100 for a cart. Only other option on that one is non-legit emulation or miss out entirely.

As far as being a completionist I can identify with Kashell in that I want as much of the full experience as I can get. For Disc based stuff I go complete or not at all.

For cart based stuff I want a decent looking cart with a manual that's still intact. I don't care too much about a fragile box.

At the end of the day I only get something if it's stupid cheap or I plan to play it.

I apply my own set of scruples to my buying/gaming/viewing habits.  I've never believed in bootlegging.  I don't put myself on some pedestal, but I believe that if people spent their time, money and passion to create a product that I want to use, they should be compensated by me buying it. 

That being said, I'm more than fine running emulators for old games that are no longer available for sale physically and/or through an official e-store.  I also have no qualms about running emulated games when I own the game in one form or another.

For example, I own Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black on the original Xbox.  Locked away on these two discs are the entire original NES trilogy as well as the arcade game.  I've got these games downloaded on an emulator on my phone.  In my mind, I already "own" a licensed copy of this copyright work so emulating it is just running a copy for personal use.

[burningdoom]

I don't emulate for moral reasons. I'm a Christian and stealing is one of the 10 commandment ones. That and I still enjoy the collecting aspect of it.

So then I assume if I were to peruse your collection I'd find no violent or supernatural titles eh. All puzzle games, sports games and family friendly games I'd assume

Christian or not, is it really that unreasonable to try and have morals? (It is still illegal) Just because someone doesn't see you doing it, doesn't make it any less wrong. A kid shoplifts a candy bar at a store; the company really won't miss that $1, and no one is hurt by it, but it's still stealing. Like I said, personal decision.

And the Bible is one of the most violent books in human history. Reading (or playing) something is a lot different than doing that thing for real.

[rayne315]

although I do not emulate, doing so to an older game is not technically wrong. The reason That I say this is because the originator of the game is not receiving any money for it anyway because the only way for them to receive money is to continue to make more physical copies to sell or to translate it into data and sell that data. lets take an example... mobile light force 2 for the ps2 is a game that is no longer being produced so it is no longer being sold from the publisher, It has not become available to purchase online so there is no revenue stream there. so it is technically not wrong to emulate it. now ducktales (nes) on the other hand Is no longer being physically made so no revenue there that I know of, But it got transferred onto psn so It exists as a revenue stream for someone. so technically if you were to emulate ducktales It would be wrong.

The reason I say "wrong" and not "moral" Is because "wrong" by my definition is according to the law and "moral" is just a code of personal conduct that varies from person to person and as such a morally ok thing for someone may actually be an illegal thing. as an extreme example someone may find It to be morally ok to run over a pedestrian who is j-walking because they weren't in the designated cross walk but as we all know that action is very highly illegal.

also please refrain from bringing religion/politics into conversations please. It always seems to spark unnecessary conflict.

[burningdoom]

Seriously, why do I have to keep defending my position? Is it hurting or offending anyone?

[gf78]

Christian or not, is it really that unreasonable to try and have morals? (It is still illegal) Just because someone doesn't see you doing it, doesn't make it any less wrong. A kid shoplifts a candy bar at a store; the company really won't miss that $1, and no one is hurt by it, but it's still stealing. Like I said, personal decision.

And the Bible is one of the most violent books in human history. Reading (or playing) something is a lot different than doing that thing for real.

Well said. 

That aspect aside, you are 100% correct that reading a book, watching a movie or playing a game that contains violence is not the same as perpetrating acts of violence, committing theft, etc.  In gaming, I would be considered a mass murderer on par with Adolf Hitler for all the kills I have made in video games over the past 30+ years. 

[gf78]

although I do not emulate, doing so to an older game is not technically wrong. The reason That I say this is because the originator of the game is not receiving any money for it anyway because the only way for them to receive money is to continue to make more physical copies to sell or to translate it into data and sell that data. lets take an example... mobile light force 2 for the ps2 is a game that is no longer being produced so it is no longer being sold from the publisher, It has not become available to purchase online so there is no revenue stream there. so it is technically not wrong to emulate it. now ducktales (nes) on the other hand Is no longer being physically made so no revenue there that I know of, But it got transferred onto psn so It exists as a revenue stream for someone. so technically if you were to emulate ducktales It would be wrong.

The reason I say "wrong" and not "moral" Is because "wrong" by my definition is according to the law and "moral" is just a code of personal conduct that varies from person to person and as such a morally ok thing for someone may actually be an illegal thing. as an extreme example someone may find It to be morally ok to run over a pedestrian who is j-walking because they weren't in the designated cross walk but as we all know that action is very highly illegal.

also please refrain from bringing religion/politics into conversations please. It always seems to spark unnecessary conflict.

Like you said, emulating a game that is no longer being produced, sold or available for sale in any form is not stealing or wrong in my eyes.  It's a gray area in the law, but as far as I am concerned, if none of the above applies and you aren't trying to copy and resell the game(s) yourself, it's no big deal. 

I also don't have a problem running an emulated game as long as I have one legally owned copy of it, in one form or another as I stated before with the Ninja Gaiden titles.

[koemo1]

I hate resellers who just jump into the retro game scene for the  money without ant knowledge of the games.
The only thing they know is the highest eBay price and add 15 bucks to the price.
Hope the prices crash and they all go bankrupt then all would be in balance.

[gf78]

I hate resellers who just jump into the retro game scene for the  money without ant knowledge of the games.
The only thing they know is the highest eBay price and add 15 bucks to the price.
Hope the prices crash and they all go bankrupt then all would be in balance.

Bubbles have a habit of bursting.  I was an avid comic collector from around 1981 to 2006, give or take.  Around 91-92, the "chromium bonanza" was in full swing.  Comics were getting more and more ridiculous variant covers made out of wacky crap and speculators were running prices through the roof.  Recently released stuff like Spider-Man #1 (the Todd McFarlane series), X-Force #1 and X-Men #1 (best selling single comic of all time) came out guns blazing.  Shortly after, all the "all-stars" artists left to make Image comics.  It wasn't long after that people realized that the prices were artificially rising and like the housing market, it popped and died.

I too hope that the greedy bastards hoarding up copies to sell above online prices regardless of condition choke on their inventory (not literally, figuratively).  A game like Klonoa or Tomba being valuable and expensive because it is rare with few copies out there is understandable.  But these jokers have the prices of old NES carts that you could buy for under $5 two years ago through the roof now.  There are a bazillion copies of all the Mario, Zelda and Metroid games out there.  But now they are being hoarded like Smaug's gold stash in the Lonely Mountain.

[atarileaf]

I don't emulate for moral reasons. I'm a Christian and stealing is one of the 10 commandment ones. That and I still enjoy the collecting aspect of it.

So then I assume if I were to peruse your collection I'd find no violent or supernatural titles eh. All puzzle games, sports games and family friendly games I'd assume

Christian or not, is it really that unreasonable to try and have morals? (It is still illegal) Just because someone doesn't see you doing it, doesn't make it any less wrong. A kid shoplifts a candy bar at a store; the company really won't miss that $1, and no one is hurt by it, but it's still stealing. Like I said, personal decision.

And the Bible is one of the most violent books in human history. Reading (or playing) something is a lot different than doing that thing for real.

Just having a bit of fun, hence the