Messages

1

General / Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?

« on: Today at 05:30:03 pm »

I never quite understood this either. XBOX was the first console I collected for where I reached a point where I was pretty much like, "yep, I'm done now." And what's crazy is it was pretty easy and pretty inexpensive. I bought the majority of my original XBOX games for under $5 each, and probably the most I spent on any of them was maybe $15 bucks. That's including all the heavy hitters like Operation Genesis too. Even now when I go to usd media stores, there are a ton of quality XBOX titles on the shelf that just linger there. Meanwhile, the PS2 section is pretty much just old sports games and shovelware, and the Gamecube section is literally non-existant 90% of the time. It's always been strange to me, but I guess it just didn't land with most collectors like Nintendo, Sony, and Sega stuff did.

In the spirit of this, I just decided to get back into my childhood 360. And it's still like you said. In 2 days I got a total of 42 games for 100 bucks! That's around 2.25 a game for 360. And we're talking minimum shovelware. Games like Viva Piniata and Halos and such.  I grew up on 360 and idk what caused me to segregate.  The only thing I can guess is my gf and I met in 2020. Shes on PS architecture and long distance occasionally so any game we play together was always on Playstation.  And I already had a big PS2 library. So continuity played a part.


I'm enjoying seeing lots under 40 dollars again in 2026 thats for sure. 


Like burning doom said

Great for me! It makes the games cheap and easily obtainable, most of the time. And the hardware is solid, plus it's backwards compatibility not only works great but also improves many games performance and graphics. So I have no complaints. In fact, my Series X is my main console for the current-gen; my PS5 and Switch are just for exclusives.

Maybe its something to do with the genres that dominate the consoles?  Nintendo is platforming and rpgs.  Xbox is heavy on first person shooters and racers.  Id assume they'd be nostalgic thus collectible but they often arent. Idk why.

2

General / Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?

« on: August 08, 2026, 05:44:46 pm »

I know this seems pretty straightforward but maybe i'm missing something because me and my gf were pondering this for a while. But i'll put it simple.  Why is Xbox just not as desired or demanded by collectors? Why does it's culture seem to not breed nostalgia?


My reasoning for saying this is because for every 6th gen and 7th gen release that came out on both PS3 and Xbox 360.  The PS3 version is more demanded. Commanding a higher price, resulting in more sales per day on VGPC.  Sony exclusive forums and Facebook pages garner more members and the overall collectors pursuit is more geared towards Nintendo and Sony products.  And I just am a little confused as to why.  Maybe some of you have an answer.  But me myself?  I just don't. And the more I pondered why. The more I don't get it.




I myself have 300+ ps3 games and only a handful of 360 games. But why? I didn't own a PS3 until 2015 and I grew up through my entire formative years playing 360.  I will try to ascertain why later.


What i'll do is lay out some of my suspected reasons and why I believe it doesnt hold up.



1. "XBOX sold less"

Initially I just thought. Xbox One got steamrolled by PS4 and Switch. PS2 bullied Xbox in sales. Maybe its just a player base issue?  But then I broke it down.

Xbox original sold more than the super Nintendo. It was pretty successful for a debut entry. Far more than master system.  More than SNES and Genesis. As we all know neither of those consoles have any issue with cult Fandom physical collecting passion.  Xbox 360 almost outsold PS3 and in the US? And Xbox one has outsold Gamecube. Another console with tons of desire despite being whooped by PS2. 360 dominated PS3 most of its lifespan.  I mean. A console that moves almost 100 million units and is talked about the way 360 is.  It is a cult staple. Why no buy? Lol.


2. "Playstation and Nintendo have been around longer"

Then I thought maybe its because Playstation and Nintendo as brands have been with people for longer. Decades even. But then I thought. I mean Xbox has been around for like almost 30 years.  Sega as a company had a shorter run. Yet no issue in collector market or desirability. Neo Geo, Turbografx and even things like the Playstation handhelds both vita and psp combined had shorted lifespan than Xbox as a company. Yet there are massive attention to these wares. 

 
3. Not as many exclusives worth mentioning

Sure.... but PS3 doesnt have as many first party exclusives as Wii. Yet is way more market saturated and collector scalped than Wii. And Wii is also a console that is dead retro interest wise. But that has a better excuse. Its mostly motion controls. A big turn off for casual gamers. But why 360? 


WHY 360 SHOULD BE MORE DESIRED

1. It runs most 3rd party games better because its infrastructure was easier to code for. Holds frames consistently better on average

2. It's kinetic system was vastly more successful than the PS Move peripherals and Kinect was revolutionary


I also have other analytics that I find fun but i'll prob post them in the general off topic thread thing.


My guess if I had to come up with one. Are


1. Xbox 360 is on DVD-R not blu ray. Making it not as durable or cool for collectors to care about.

2. PS3 has more JRPGs. It seems that genre is the most geeky and thus the culture of collectors and gamers flock to that historically. PS1, PS2 and SNES all dominate in this market because games like Final Fantasy, Chrono and more.


3. RED RING OF DEATH


What do you guys think?  Why is Xbox 360 never recieved the love in collector circles that PS3 and say Gamecube have.  Ive seen every major console have some sort of insurgence.  Except Xbox as a brand. Can't give this stuff away for most 3rd party stuff.


Thanks for sharing.

3

General / Re: August 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: August 07, 2026, 11:35:51 pm »

I want spiderman web of shadows but only to an extent and that extent is below 200 for sure lol.

Are you wanting Spider-Man: Web of Shadows specifically for PlayStation 3, or do you just want to play it in some form? The Wii version is identical and garnered similar review scores from what I've read, and it's a fraction of the current market value for a PlayStation 3 copy.

Really? I'll look into that. I am not fully locked into PS3 only. In fact I was even browsing the 360 copies which sadly have also skyrocketed into the 100s. The PS3 version also doesnt have trophy support so it would be of no lose to play it elsewhere. Thanks for this info.  I will maybe watch gameplay.  I am shocked the Wii is able to port it with good reception. I am intrigued by the symbiotic plot lines and overall eerie vibe of it.  But not enough to pay 250 bucks and such.

4

General / Re: August 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: August 07, 2026, 07:49:38 pm »

Got more PS3 games

Stuntman Ignition
Bionic Commando
Chronicles of Riddick Asault on Athena Bay
Rapala 2009
Deadliest Catch

I want spiderman web of shadows but only to an extent and that extent is below 200 for sure lol.

5

Site Feedback / Re: Modern Games

« on: August 06, 2026, 05:28:40 pm »

The debate of where modern games start and retro games end has been debated to death, including here. I think we can all agree that the current generation (PS5, Switch, Switch 2, and XB S/X) are all modern, but for me, modern pretty much includes the current gen and previous gen.

Personally, I think the only meaningful way to try to reach some sort of objectivity is to classify "modern games" as any library of games that's currently being sold new on markets. Trying to reach some other conclusion will be too subjective. Although even by this metric, there will still be dissenting opinions. For example, it's been long since PlayStation 3 games have been sold on store shelves brand new, but they're still currently (though for not much longer) being sold digitally on the PlayStation Network.

So perhaps the best approach is to instead define "modern games" as any library that is still being majorly supported with new titles.

What would your boundary be for say a console like PS2. That was releasing new media for purchase and hardware support as late as November 8, 2013. Despite being over a decade and almost 2 console generations detached?  Is that just an outlier that would be modern even then  For example.  Switch still gets new releases such as rythym heaven.  But it's going on a decade old and is a 1080p LCD tablet that runs Wii U games.  It's hard to argue its modern.  I think even PS4 and Xbox One are getting support and physcial releases while being much older than even that.  It's complicated. Kinda like how vague sub genres can get imo.



Maybe a combination of the two?  Like. (Any console that is receiving modern market releases but also is part of.the most recent console generation)   I feel is probably the only fair middle ground there.  Solely because some of these consoles just refuse to die lol. 

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Site Feedback / Re: Modern Games

« on: August 05, 2026, 06:10:48 pm »

The debate of where modern games start and retro games end has been debated to death, including here. I think we can all agree that the current generation (PS5, Switch, Switch 2, and XB S/X) are all modern, but for me, modern pretty much includes the current gen and previous gen. I know many would argue the 7th gen (PS3, 360, and Wii) aren't retro, but going back and playing almost any game from that time period feels like a time capsule of culture and game design that simply does not exist anymore. It's crazy just how old games from that generation feel now.

I know this is a bit old but I feel anyone arguing that a 20 year old console that came out 4 years after 9/11 isn't retro is completely just either ignorant or trying to be edgey.  I agree with you though.  My PS3 transports me. Something about the graphics feel comic like. I cant put a word on it. But this pocket between amazingly realistic and ugly that is so cool.


For me PS4 is not retro but not modern either. I dont think I can call a 12 year old item "modern" in the world of tech.  Tech moves so quick.

7

General / Re: August 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: August 05, 2026, 01:27:43 pm »

Hit 300 PS3 games officially.  Its crazy to think just how massively amazing the library is because I only have maybe 20 games id consider shovelware. And thats only if you consider Just Dance and madden games to be.


Today I got a lot of 8 games from a San Mesa thrift store. All in Japanese.  I had to use google gemini to even read the titles. (I knew the franchises)

These include

1. Blazblue Calamity
2. Blazblue Continuum
3. Blazblue Continuum II
4. Blazblue Continuum Extend
5. Dynasty Warriors 4 (PS2)
6. Yakuza 4 (sealed)
7. Yakuza 4 (CIB)
8. Dragons Dogma


All with protectors and some sealed and new.  For 3.25 a game!  My logic was. I didnt care if they were unplayable in English because that's just cool.



Upon research

1. Dragons Dogma has full English subs and dialogue options in the menu
2 the blazblue games do not have English support but are typical fighting games that are easy to guess and navigate.

3. Yakuza on the other hand is dialogue riddled and will require translation apps to understand plot and objectives


I'll take that.

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General / Re: August 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: August 04, 2026, 08:17:05 pm »

My PS3 quest continues. I've discovered Canadians have certain games cheaper and many share NA versions. Even with conversion rates, import fees included and shipping ive gotten offers of as low as 10 dollars off a similar American copy.


I've recently gotten

1. Spec Ops - The Line
2. Enslaved
3. Saboteur
4. Godfather the Don's Edition
5. Saints Row 2
6. MVC3
7. Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 1
8. GI Ioe Cobra
9. Transformers Fall Of Cybertron
10. Shadows of the damned
11. Adventures of Tin Tin
12. Jurassic The Hunted
13. Heavenly Sword
14. Alien Vs Predator
15. Blitz the league II
16. Silent Hill Homecoming
17. Green Lantern
18. Full Frontal
19. Air Combat
20. Pacific Storm
21. Batman Arkham City Special Edition
22. The fight
23. Killzone 3

PS4

1. Alien Isolation
2. Evil Within
3. Infamous Second Son
4. Uncharted 4
5. Dark Souls III
6. Destiny
7. Air Combat Vietnam
8. Aeero
9. Dying Light
10. Killzone Shadowfall
11. Evolve

PS1

1. Driver
2. Army Men Heroes World War Land Air and Sea


If any of you have Saw II for PS3 cib for sale or other big hitters. Please note I have good trade bait such as Alice Madness Returns, Clock Tower 3 and Driver as well as money.

9

General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: August 04, 2026, 01:34:25 pm »

Picked up my Switch 2 today, and went with Pokopia for my game, so that'll be me for abit.  I'm also gonna replay Breath of the Wild, enjoy the performance boost as I've been meaning to replay it for a long while now.

Only thing that sucks with the Switch 2 is that it's like the same exact menu system as the Switch and they still haven't offered up themes, I don't get why they don't want themes on their systems, it's such an easy thing to add and would make the menus look so much better.  This is certainly meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but it's just something nice to have.  Playstation 5 has themes, even if they permanently removed the PS1 theme, the only good theme lol

Congratulations! Do you have any intent on DK Bonanza. For me that was the big console seller. I have never played a game so long at a kiosk. Usually kiosks im like eh i'll try it quick.  My momma woulda had to pry me off the thing like the 90s lol.  It's really fun.  Colorful too.  Someday i'll get switch 2. Tbh if Xbox or Nintendo claim physical next gen i'll jump ship. Fingers crossed. If they all go digital i'll either not buy at all or go streaming only. No way im paying 70 dollars for a code.

As for your complaint. I feel they played it safe with the switch 2. That comes with pros and cons.  Pros are they dont mess anything up. Cons are you dont get much new. Its hardly a successor at all. It's an updated Switch 1. Same Menu. Same overall vibe.  Mostly same UI and even games. In fairness though Sony and Xbox have been mostly the same console for a decade now and people didnt notice.  Nintendo is playing it smart. But they do need fresh ideas. Next gen wont be so forgiving.


I think id probably have been a full Nintendo all the way guy if they had trophy support. It took us 2 decades to get viable party chat support.  They rolled it out for Switch 2 like it was new tech.  Dude its a party chat. We were doing that in 2006.  And on top of it.  No themes like you said.  Sometimes it feels the things fans want most Nintendo intentionally doesnt do out of spite.   They're also insanely prideful and hate copying competitors.

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Classic Video Games / Re: PS3 and Vita stores being shut down July 2027.

« on: August 03, 2026, 03:48:48 pm »

With the added knowledge that PS6 will be digital only, I decided to rebuy a PS3 slim and download all my digital titles from the era before the nuke is detonated.

Imo it's the greatest console ever made. It got off to a shaky start. But the Bluetooth support was genius which is why it still supports literally PS5 controllers till this day. Unreal forward support for accessories. Blu ray.  Insane library.  PS2 and PS1 backwards compat on the og model.  And my Goodness was its ecosystem fun.  360 as well. It was a time to be alive.  Imo the final console war that was actually a war. You really didn't know which console to buy. Tbh if you didnt own all 3 you were missing out.  Now a days between Xbox and Playstation you pick whatever your wife likes best and its the same crap lol..  Except switch hence switches sales. (For now)



With that.said I just got Rain and Outland because the English dub is digital only on ps3 store exclusively for the former.  Not including an extremely rare 300 dollar HK English/asia import of Rain which I will never be buying lol. 


I also am considering a few others but most are available on Xbox and PS4 classics digital storefronts. Rain and Outland as far as I can tell are games you can't play elsewhere as of now aside.from.the import.exception I mentioned. 


RIP ps3 store

11

Modern Video Games / Re: It's officially over.

« on: August 02, 2026, 08:18:03 pm »

Apparently Sony acknowledged things abit more, at least in the case of retailers, and their answer is just to take the old PC game path of putting codes in empty boxes lol I always hated this when PC went digital only, like I have a few games that had this, but to me, if you want to pretend to care about retail, and you are gonna ship boxes to retail anyways, just put a disc in there.

That offends me more tbh.  Id rather them tell me  they give 0 shit and that we are all clung to an antiquated way of life. I think if they tweeted "cope harder" it would have been better than to say they'll throw us a fortune cookie slip in a empty case. Id rather just blunt rejection than to be told this.  If you're gonna go digital only at least stand 10 toes down about it.    I never got the code in case stuff. It's almost wasteful morally. 


At least digital only isn't environmentally classless.  A code in a case is for whom? Cult members who live off grid? People who have a rare disease that makes them allergic to the coating of a PSN gift card that they could buy within the same store?  People who like the smell of cellophane?  Just buy it at home.


Plus they'll still bleed production costs. Like you said. Just add a disc.

12

Modern Video Games / Re: It's officially over.

« on: August 01, 2026, 04:54:05 pm »

You're overlooking key details from my previous post.

But to sit here and say strreaming is a medium that can be fully eliminated without "any significant loss" is looking at things solely from the perspective of a physical media curator and it directly seeks to effect the quality of my life and is why I get so defensive of it.

By all accounts, physical items, digital files, and premium streaming services can coexist. The third, though, is most unnecessary and could be entirely removed without anything significant lost regarding content itself.

Like the opposite now with some physical media, the entire removal of any means of access is problematic—consumers should be able to choose how they engage.

When I mention that there would be no significant loss should paid streaming services cease to exist, it's in regard to content and the means to access that content—not the secondary nature of what some consider to be more readily accessible. Of course, there are now certain pieces of media exclusively available on streaming platforms, and there are even times when it's removed and becomes difficult to access elsewhere through other means or may even become lost entirely. However, none of those outcomes must exist and could easily be avoided.

Such content could be made accessible through physical items or digital files to purchase, as those forms of ownership will never go away in practice. So yes, if streaming were to end, content can always be made available to consumers through other methods. Physical media and digital distribution will always remain as options for creators to publish their works, as they still are today. So that some media is bound to paid streaming services exclusively and can be deleted on a moment's notice without consumer input is especially problematic and entirely avoidable, and it would ultimately be in consumers' best interest.

I mean I see a lot of people blaming Sony as if they are a boogeyman but where is the self blame? Societal blame? It's always boycott.  Why not in April?  Gamers waited till the fire become a 5 alarm now they run for the hose?

You're not wrong. The average consumer will accept any form of whatever they want, so long as it's offered and usable all the same as what's been replaced. Though I suppose I'll respond to some other parts of your post.

How many people bought a switch 2 or are considering doing so by show of hands? The console literally makes you sign a contract that states you don't physically own the hardware let alone software. If you move the wrong way, they can brick your entire console. Not from online.  From GAMING AT ALL. What stops them from doing that when the next console drops?

You may or may not have read my previous response to when you said this before.

And some of the games are key card only. If anything did they not start code in case?

Product keys have long been associated with physical games, though its early history exists with physical PC games throughout the 90s. For console games though, Sony began selling a subset of items in 2015 called Digitales that were game cases containing voucher codes without a disc. That's the earliest example I've been able to identify for console games providing a code only with physical products. And that example is for first-party items published by Sony, whereas "Download Code Only" copies of Switch games were for third-party titles only, and that remains true for Game-Key Cards for Switch 2 as of the timing of this post. Of course, Sony is also guilty of removing discs from boxed collector's editions starting with Horizon Forbidden West announced in September 2021.

Did they not start the 70 dollar price increase for physical with totk?

Nintendo did not. It was actually NBA 2K21 published by Take-Two Interactive Software (the same publisher as upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI), which released in November 2020. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom released in May 2023.

I agree with all of this and appreciate some of the corrections. It figures itd be NBA 2K. Maybe I need to start looking into just how influential take two is with rockstar games and any monopolies they run. Because NBA 2K is as close to a digital fraud as you can go while being legal.  They released the same exact game for like a decade. Only changed textures and rosters and added high VC prices.  Pay to play brainwashing. Even slightly more predatory than cosmetic sales. I will say this though as.a small add to my points


I believe if we were to pick a area to finger point its digital only purchasers.  Because ultimately physical media cant fulfill the niche streaming does and vice versa. It's not even the same business model. But aside from a small wait and maybe a drive to a store.  A 70 dollar physical game gives thousands of benefits over a 70 dollar digital only game.  And like I said. Aside from a 24 hour prime wait (sometimes not even) digital does nothing greater.  Not having to swap discs?  Is this what we've become? Lol. I mean I guess I cant tell people how to game. but strictly subjectively I seriously can't even after all these years grasp someone paying the same exact amount for a game they dont own.  I mean you can even sell the disc right after you beat it and make 40 or so of your dollars back.  Digital media in that sense is also kinda fiscally bizarre to me.  At least streaming is it's own world.



Does anyone here have a personal plan to maybe rescue physical or do you just think its dead?  I mean can enough of us emulate, go dry wallet and boycott that itll actually matter?  It feels like the cool kids planned the pep rally and us nerds dont get a part in the marching band lol.

13

Modern Video Games / Re: It's officially over.

« on: August 01, 2026, 01:27:18 pm »

I mean I see a lot of people blaming Sony as if they are a boogeyman but where is the self blame? Societal blame? It's always boycott.  Why not in April?  Gamers waited till the fire become a 5 alarm now they run for the hose?

The numbers aren't skewed. Its not sonys digital store having more digital only content. Capcom released pragmata and resident evil Requiem physical. And released their sales analytics. They literally sold 93 percent digital anyway. 6.3 percent physical? Are we serious right now?   Does it make me mad? Sure. But why blame the farmer because the government made groceries go up.

Even with backwards compatibility pushing many people to buy a disc drive model of ps5. It still does only like 27 percent physical sales and thats heavily liberal estimate.


Like 65 percent of xboxs user base is on gamepass.


If every dollar spent on micro transactions in gaming would have been spent on another physical game. The physical industry would be saved.


The top selling games for last gen were almost entirely Royale games with micro transactions with 4 percent physical play shares. Free to play. Pay to win games.  Sports games with VC currency.


Gamers didnt do shit when games required internet on disc only.
Gamers didnt do shit when games required patches day 1
Gamers didnt flip the lid like in 2014 with kinetic always on when switch dropped with 80 dollar key cards and dodgy user agreements.


How many people bought a switch 2 or are considering doing so by show of hands? The console literally makes you sign a contract that states you don't physically own the hardware let alone software. If you move the wrong way, they can brick your entire console. Not from online.  From GAMING AT ALL. What stops them from doing that when the next console drops?  The company literally went after children for doing lets play content and violated creative commons laws.  And some of the games are key card only. If anything did they not start code in case?  Did they not start the 70 dollar price increase for physical with totk?.  How was that company punished? With your 400 dollars?  And were supposed to boycott Sony?  Nope they got "inflation is normal. Games should actually be 120"   any excuse in the book.  When their ROI soared, market cap tripled and IP values raised.  Sales did well.   Dont forget gaming systems were the price of a used car in 1990s.  Should a Switch 2 be 3,400 dollars today because a console was 400 in the early 80s?  Hey.  TVs were 1000 dollars. A major luxury.  Why are those 150 now?  See thats how people get suckered.  They look at inflation rate but not weather that actually led to less ROI for the company.  A disc is like a penny to make and 10 cents to print.


By show of numbers how many of the physical only community are you gonna check in on November 24th and not find their profile has a damn GTA 6 trophy on it? I'm gonna out every single one on instagram.  A digital only game poises to sell 50 million copies in a damn day.  So where were gamers? 


How many people bought the leaf green and fire red bundle?  I seen every collector doing it. Digital only media of 2 decade old software for premium rates. A rip off both in price and medium. Why didnt we emulate to protest them not putting it on cart?   Where was the petitions?


He without sin cast the first stone.  Im the reason physical died. Not as much as a digital only guy. But Ive contributed.  And more so the gaming community spoke with their wallets collectively and killed physical media.  Dont blame a company for doing what is financially responsible for their brand.  Tbh its sad to say.  But we are on rotary phones getting mad at Apple.  That's really what this is.     And sure in this site. We are a solution.  But gamers?  They destroyed the hobby for us.  They spoon eat shit and call it chocolate mousse. Always did. 


So the real question becomes how do you make that 85 percent into 60 or 50? And save physical? Either


1.  You dont...
2. You cant...
3. You shant... 


We are playing violin on the titanic my dear friends.  Love be with all.

14

Modern Video Games / Re: It's officially over.

« on: August 01, 2026, 12:57:44 pm »

YouTube is a streaming platform though and so is band camp and I certainly wouldn't own any song I stream on it. So you kinda made my point.  Of course there are ways to access music online without paying but solely because streaming exists. You just proved why its so important. And the people im arguing against dont want those either. Physical only. Youtube is good. It's a very useful public tool like Wikipedia. Wikipedia doesnt destroy physical encyclopedias and the need for them. Its a completely different resource. They coexist. Without all streaming. Free or otherwise.  Id have to literally source all my music physically. Pirate it illegally. Or hope the radio plays it so I can record it.  Just like the 90s.  Pre internet music was almost purely physical and public radio. 

I think some of the convo here is missing the context of the people im referencing so i'll add that to see your stance on it  They basically are saying everyone should live a physical only existence because all digital consumption is theft and killing physical. That includes all streaming both paid and free. They have called to boycott tubi, disney, and even steam. And digital gaming as well. Some are calling to intentionally hack switch 2 because since they made soke games digital only it is justified to pirate them games" Calling to take physical media and basically form.your own platforms where you can access these medias as a family with no contact with things you dont actually own.  That to me is something I intend to do as well.  With my physical stuff.  I dont even mind people mentioning doing it though. It's cool advice. My issue is where they insinuate most people have the means or wish to do something like that.  Or that it fully can replace my need for all digital media. I cant afford that. It requires a lot of money, patience and time. The average consumer is not like us even let alone an extreme curator.

The people that I am referencing are not counting digital as a alternative either.  They say if you dont own it they wont support it and nobody else should either or "you are part of the problem" its physical or nil to them. And that hysteria has gotten loud.  I just think it's pretty preachy lately.

As for your lending games.  Maybe I misread. You just said it cost 800 dollars to send them insured safely? You just said that this was meant to be a cost effective option for people to consume media. That's big money talk lol. That alone already makes what you did impossible for like 80 percent of middle America. And even if you dont insure the games. It's costly to ship stuff.  But to me what is more likely to make that hard is the trust aspect. That's a beautiful thing you trust a person enough to lend them games that cost so much but i'm sure you do admit that both you and your friend are in a very specialized circumstance there.  Id be lucky if my own brother would do what you did. Most people arent part of a community like this dealing with specialized friends.  If I want to borrow silent hill or say rule of rose. Maybe I could message you.  If you wanted to borrow one of my games. I'm sure that could be arranged. But that requires having a friend that not only collects games but has that level of commraderie with you.  Which is pretty hard.   Harder even more so in the digital age post pandemic.  You can't just meet someone at a game convention and be like "hey can I borrow your 200 dollar survival horror game. Trust me bro" lol.  You have trust I assume because you know this person.  Also its a collector forum so you assume we all are good at taking care of games. What about some new comer you meet on reddit?  Would you do the same?   I just think that idea takes a level of socializing and networking most introvert gamers arent willing or cant do.   But I do agree what you are saying should be part of our community. We last the community aspect of this hobby. It should be organized and more help eachother.  Soon im gonna give all my doubles away to collectors.  I want to benefit the communities as well.

Not once throughout any of my posts have I argued that streaming is unimportant. My argument is against premium, pay-to-access subscription services—so not examples like YouTube or Bandcamp—being viable alternatives to physical and digital mediums that I think I've already made clear. Concerning Bandcamp specifically, you are wrong. When purchasing music from Bandcamp, users are given a permanent link to download their digital library in various file formats to save locally; so yes, users have access to whatever is uploaded and sold for an indefinite amount of time. By all accounts, physical items, digital files, and premium streaming services can coexist. The third, though, is most unnecessary and could be entirely removed without anything significant lost regarding content itself. Like I said before, there was a time before any streaming existed at all, and things were fine.

I've not encountered anyone arguing against digital media altogether, let alone streaming. I'm sure those arguments exist, and maybe they're gaining some sort of social media traction, but it's not as if those people themselves have any sort of control over how entire industries function. Only if some sort of wide consumer change would those sorts of internal decisions be introduced, so it'd be (slightly) warranted if that were the case. Like the opposite now with some physical media, the entire removal of any means of access is problematic—consumers should be able to choose how they engage.

You did misread, although perhaps I could have worded that statement better. The games I lent were approximately valued around $800 at that time, so extra money was spent on shipping for that much insurance. That extra money was something like $20. But yes, I agree that my personal experience I've recounted with lending games most recently is more of an extreme. And again, I acknowledge that most people would not be willing to part with items with that sort of market value attributed to them without some sort of collateral. However, the principle of lending, borrowing, and trading remains. Just because the items in my scenario were valued high doesn't mean that every item wanting to be borrowed will be. Long ago—and especially in people's youths when a larger social circle was more available to them—it was far more common to encounter instances like these, when some common game was exchanged for another over the weekend or a holiday break. That sort of community could still exist. It's something I think should and likely will grow in these changing times regarding physical and digital ownership, but it's largely dependent on where one lives and the social connections they've cultivated. I wouldn't expect someone to lend items with a total stranger they've just met, and that includes me too. So, naturally, forming those good-faith communities online is difficult to do. Nevertheless, local institutions like libraries offer opportunities to rent items.

I agree with most of this. Esp the terms of borrowed media and the need for it.

But to sit here and say strreaming is a medium that can be fully eliminated without "any significant loss" is looking at things solely from the perspective of a physical media curator and it directly seeks to effect the quality of my life and is why I get so defensive of it. It's just not true. I hate how physical only as a movement is not seeking to lift their media but kill all the other ways people consume theirs. The permanence of the content itself is not the only thing that matters and to some? It doesnt matter at all.   It seems you keep putting so much subjective.emphasis on a medium existing in permenence of ownership which is physicals advantage but so much so downplay the advantages of streaming.  "there was a time before streaming and we were fine"  I mean there was a time before electricity too, doesn't mean those times were superior. If the electric grid goes down a candle is forever. Do you not use the light bulb?  There was a time before the cellular phone.  I never once said you can't live without streaming but let me emphasize how it'd personally harm my life.


On my morning commute to work, I have a Playlist of 2000 of my favorite childhood songs on apple music, black screen on trains, on my car. This scientifically and personally alters the quality of my mood and performance on my work which brings me a living.  Without streaming (apple music)  id have to what?  What is your alternative?  Either buy 2000 CDs for like 5 grand and move them in a wheelbarrow?  Pirate the files illegally and rip them into folders on my phone requiring massive amounts of space.  Or do what I do normally. Pay 10 dollars a month to have all my music in one spot permanently.   Without streaming I and millions if not BILLIONS of people would lose ease of access to music and art. Educational resources. College textbooks. No way around that.  In the 90s you had to hold a microphone to a radios speakers to record a song because without paying 20 dollars for a CD disc you were locked out of music entirely.  Streaming yes even paid streaming makes an ocean of content available at the price of one CD a month weather you own it or not.   And you cannot tell me it's a thing that can be extinguished and we just move on.   Music as a medium from artist to consumer is far more dependent on streaming than physical in today's age.  And I think its a good thing.


No other physical collector would have paid my 5 thousand dollars in educational resource text books. Maybe I would have failed. Maybe I would have even dropped out on top of brutal tuition debt. All of these books I got on Amazon kindle unlimited for 5 dollars a month?   


Perhaps you mean it more from a place of "its important but not as important" and I can accept that but the way you worded it seems you said its basically disposable. No I dont want streaming to die just because I want physical to live.   And if streaming went away.  Would we survive? Of course.  But to say no loss? I can't agree.  And the more people push to take things I like the more i'll rebel even if its against the other thing I like. 

15

Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: July 31, 2026, 09:04:34 am »

OBSESSION




SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS DONT READ IF HAVENT SEEN FILM



I mean... that was just a brutal movie lol.  Like I feel terribly bad for every character involved. And throughout a good portion of the film I felt the accusations towards Bear were a bit overzealous. I see the internet jury all the time. but that changed half way through and now I grasp the scope of the RP angle.  Yucky stuff here. Quite brutal.  Weather it were the toys curse. Or my assumption that Nikki was a bipolar scitzophrenic which turned out to not be true. Either way was a power imbalance. It seemed he often times put his own mirage of a life he fantasized above the reality of what Nikki actually wanted. And I mean.  It shows the fleeting and fickle nature of not only awkward love, consent but possessive tendencies.  It's a tough look into the human nature.  Sadly it's a lot more reflective of real life than we pretend. Which is why its so important to emphasize intent and boundaries early.  This entire movie could have been avoided if he just told her he liked her at the beginning when she asked. I am not pretending that's easy to do of course but man.  What a lot of preventable disaster.   


I also love how it shows him ALMOST buy her the crystal she dropped.  An action that was much more likely to actually serve the girl or at minimum be sweet but he chose the other way. Tiny lessons to trust your heart not self serve.  Which put him in extreme aura debt. Clever "what if" hindsight directing. I love it. .  Like he had some charm. He wasnt all bad.  He even had homegirl that liked him as a fallback.  Its actually crazy to think how this all turned so bad. 


Id say my only confusion is how was her outburst at the party not completely flagged as a mental crisis by the 30 people in attendance. No way irl that doesnt end with an ambulance or cops lol.  There were some plot inconsistencies. But overall nothing major. 


Some of the scenes in this thing were F-ing brutal.... like so awkward my body clenched lol.  There seemed to be no winners in this thing.  Everyone loses.  And I think each character has their own sad tale. 


I mean outside of the popularity and conversations. Inde Navarette gets her flowers.  She's quite dynamic. I can smell a new scream queen on the rise.  What a absolute visceral performance but what isnt be talked about as much is just how stellar her co-lead Michael  Johnston acted.  He really nailed the whole crushing on the popular girl but being wierd angsty ass cat dad thing.  It made me feel sticky and I'm not even there.  Which is sad because many people with social anxieties really have trouble with this stuff.   Idk man.


I will say.  It's sad.