Whats the point of collecting sealed games?

[chrismb]

I'm the type of gamer who will buy a game (that I plan to play) as long as the game works, I honestly could care less if the game is sealed or if the box is even in good shape (obviously if it is it's better tho lol). I'm a gamer on a budget so the only games i'll buy sealed (which i'll open) are new games.

I don't really see the point of having a sealed video games collection but do you as long as it makes you happy 

[wartoy]

I never intend not to open a game I open alot of new games but some I put aside to play later and never get to it. If a game becomes to expensive to open I'll use one of my son's copies instead of opening mine. They go buy the same rule and use mine if mine is open. But only if the game becomes expensive. I won't judge people on what or how they collect it's fine just don't be a dick it's only for fun.When this stops being fun for me Ill stop.

[hatkid]

I don't  buy sealed games unless they're a recent release because A. Money and B. I intend to play the games I buy most of the time.

[undertakerprime]

As a toy collector, this is a question that comes up pretty often. The mint-in-package group just likes to have a perfectly new copy on the shelf, sometimes arranging them as if they were on a store shelf.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that kind of collecting (seriously, there’s no “wrong” way to collect), even though I don’t get anything from it. Believe me, I experimented with it by having a few MIB toys on my shelf, and it did nothing for me. Same thing with games; it’s all about playing the game for me, not about just owning a box with a product inside I can never experience.

[shfan]

To most of us who actually post on the forum here this might seem like a strange thing to do, but this is a collecting site after all and the apex of 'collecting' anything is to build a collection of items which are in the best and most complete condition possible, for video games this is usually new and sealed.

With video games, a lot of us end up with a 'collection' because we want a library of games to dip into and actually play. That's very different than wanting to build and display a collection of, say, model cars, where the collecting and display is the ultimate aim, not to take them out of the box and push them around worksurfaces making brum brum noises. That's all new and sealed game collectors are doing - collecting in the real sense.

I don't like braggarts either, which is why I avoid talking games to most people apart from folk on this forum, with my nephew or with some of the owners of game stores I frequent.

[oleks]

Thought 1:

It's not that hard to seal a game really. I have some sealed games I'll probably never open but all of them I obtained for less than they costed at retail when new so I don't care if the seal is a fake.

Thought 2:
I collect for the thrill of hunt and the thrill of completing. "Gotta catch them all" as they say. When I buy games, play them and put them on a shelf I can't call it "my collection", it's "my havetion". On the other hand when I want all jak and daxter games - now that's a collection started for me. And guess what some of them jak and daxter games can be universally recognised as shitty and are dirt cheap sealed - I'll keep them sealed, who cares. Collecting games is a game in itself.

[undertakerprime]

Thought 1:

It's not that hard to seal a game really. I have some sealed games I'll probably never open but all of them I obtained for less than they costed at retail when new so I don't care if the seal is a fake.

Seeing this reminded me of another thing.
Just because you bought a game at the store doesn’t mean it’s “factory sealed”.

I worked at a Software Etc store in the late 90’s, and we had a shrink-wrapping machine in the back room. We would open games and remove the discs to use the boxes for display, then replace the disc and shrink wrap it if someone was buying the last copy.
Also, Software Etc had a “check-out” perk, allowing employees to take games home to try them for a few days. Then we’d re-wrap them.

Just a note to MIP collectors, you might want to check the wrapping on your game.
Just another headache I avoid by not collecting MIP 

[burningdoom]

Thought 1:

It's not that hard to seal a game really. I have some sealed games I'll probably never open but all of them I obtained for less than they costed at retail when new so I don't care if the seal is a fake.

Seeing this reminded me of another thing.
Just because you bought a game at the store doesn’t mean it’s “factory sealed”.

I worked at a Software Etc store in the late 90’s, and we had a shrink-wrapping machine in the back room. We would open games and remove the discs to use the boxes for display, then replace the disc and shrink wrap it if someone was buying the last copy.
Also, Software Etc had a “check-out” perk, allowing employees to take games home to try them for a few days. Then we’d re-wrap them.

Just a note to MIP collectors, you might want to check the wrapping on your game.
Just another headache I avoid by not collecting MIP 

Not a big deal, unless you're GameStop and decide that it's okay to take out the digital content that is part of the price. That's some B.S. that shouldn't even be legal.

[oldgamerz]

What if you keep a video game sealed for years and years. and whoever opens that game finds no game in the box or sealed case?


Or in my case a defective PS1 disc that is bent from the factory

[oleks]

What if you keep a video game sealed for years and years. and whoever opens that game finds no game in the box or sealed case?


Or in my case a defective PS1 disc that is bent from the factory

What did you ended up doing with the box and the disc?

[turf]

seriously, there’s no “wrong” way to collect

There's the answer right there.

I'm not a sealed collector, but if I do find a sealed (older/out of production) game, there's no chance in hell I'll open it.  I have 3 sealed games, and they'll stay that way.

[oldgamerz]

What if you keep a video game sealed for years and years. and whoever opens that game finds no game in the box or sealed case?


Or in my case a defective PS1 disc that is bent from the factory

What did you ended up doing with the box and the disc?

I threw it out and now I feel sorry for it. It was a copy of Ford Racing for PlayStation 1. the CD was thicker then usual and the CD was slightly bent to the point that my PS2 slim could not
spin the disc. But I always could have tried it in a PS2 phat model but I never did.

[oleks]

What if you keep a video game sealed for years and years. and whoever opens that game finds no game in the box or sealed case?


Or in my case a defective PS1 disc that is bent from the factory

What did you ended up doing with the box and the disc?

I threw it out and now I feel sorry for it. It was a copy of Ford Racing for PlayStation 1. the CD was thicker then usual and the CD was slightly bent to the point that my PS2 slim could not
spin the disc. But I always could have tried it in a PS2 phat model but I never did.

Yeah. I usually tuck these in storage. Sometimes you can find a disc for dirt cheap online or in thrift stores. A lot of people are looking for box and manual too so you can trade.. With regards to PS1 disc there are also Bleem discs floating around (I have one) and with bleem you have a much wider variety of CD drives you can try to read bad CDs.

[armani]

Because it's cool, think about it. A sealed game has never been touched, and is new from a factory from way back then.

However that's my reasoning, outside of that I'd say it's mostly for bragging purposes, but I never open anything sealed which I buy, unless it's a newer game.

[shadowzero]

seriously, there’s no “wrong” way to collect

There's the answer right there.

I'm not a sealed collector, but if I do find a sealed (older/out of production) game, there's no chance in hell I'll open it.  I have 3 sealed games, and they'll stay that way.

It's all about the individual and one's collecting parameters.  For example I have failed many times in the past at collecting video games.  I would buy up everything I could, burnout, feel guilty and then sell most of it away only to regret it years later.  I decided last year to rebuild but before I did I setup some personal rules and guides about what I would keep.  For me I focused solely on loose copies of NES and SNES with a secondary focus on loose Gameboy, BOXED Sega Genesis, and cased PS1.  Now I have bought sealed games and complete in box systems when the price was right and in turn sold those to feed my focus areas.  In addition I only keep games that I had as a kid or wanted but never had the chance, no completion sets. 

This my seem silly but its kept me out of trouble and away from burning out.  Not everyone is like me (thank goodness) and you just have to find whats best for you...even if that's a sealed experience.