Messages

31

Modern Video Games / Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?

« on: January 22, 2024, 12:08:28 pm »

Ubisoft does not deserve most of the hate they get. If you hate Ubisoft for making online focused games, the same franchises over and over, microtransactions, whatever then why not support Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown? First non-mobile Prince of Persia game in 14 years, many 9/10 reviews, $50 launch price, free demo across all platforms.. if this is the direction people want from Ubisoft it's out now ready to be bought and owned physically or digitally.

I do want to get the new Prince of Persia. I'm certainly not a full boycotter, but Ubisoft is one of the biggest offenders for releasing physical single-player games with an Internet requirement, which don't have a sound reason to require it, they're just being buttholes about how their games work, like The Crew Motorfest. You can play it single player, but you've GOT to have Internet connectivity just to do that because of they way the game relies on their in-game sales model, I guess. I'm almost positive that if you'd don't have Internet connectivity, you can't even launch the game. That kind of thing supremely sucks. Every game should be playable without Internet, even multiplayer focused games, if you so wanted. Ubisoft and EA are the leaders in doing this, and also in giving the general public the impression that games nowadays don't work anymore without Internet, but it's largely just their greed driven endeavors of in-game sales and massively bug ridden day one releases. That's where the hate comes in, and I think it is a bit deserved.

32

Modern Video Games / Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?

« on: January 22, 2024, 01:21:33 am »

I don't really think it's gonna happen, in the sense that there's absolutely zero physical games. So it becomes a niche market, but it's not the end. They still print books, they still make CDs, DVDs, there's a vinyl boom still happening in 2024. I can only foresee the biggest of greediest corporations going scorched Earth on physical, and ultimately trying (as Ubisoft and others would clearly prefer) moving to a purely subscription based "you own nothing" model, not even a download. But to Hell with them, I don't really care.

I know there will always be publishers of physical media, even if it's niche and limited. I'll probably continue to buy those sorts of products. I have Steam, so if I absolutely need to experience a release or two per year, I might make a purchase on there. I certainly don't collect downloads, and never will.

Simple as that, really.

I've seen no reason to believe the figure of physical PS5 games which require an Internet connection would be anywhere near 90%. Perhaps when your PS5 is connected to Internet, 90% of your games will download instead of installing, but I'm more inclined to believe 90%of PS5 games don't require it for one reason or another to be playable. I think there's a misconception that all physical games today come with the equivalent of Cyberpunk 2077 quality assurance for the version that's on the disc, but I don't think that's true either (in fact, there's a new and improved edition of Cyberpunk on PS5 that just got a physical release). And again, you can always let your games download and store the latest revisions on an external hard-drive, as another means of preserving them.

An interesting watch on modern game preservation - https://youtu.be/E40lcitQoAs?si=gz1S8jjoE0bTC7Xp&t=246

33

Classic Video Games / Re: how would you rank your collecting experience per console

« on: January 19, 2024, 06:57:31 pm »

PS5: I struggle to even call myself a PS5 collector since I know full well its physical games are more or less glorified CD keys. I don't think there is any future in collecting for the PS5 since I know these games will have no longevity in a decade or so from now when Sony pulls the plug on its servers. Nearly every PS5 game I've played requires at least half the game be downloaded, if not way, way more than that. And I've never been able to have more than a dozen or so games downloaded onto my PS5 at a time given how much space they take up and also there being no way to update the HDD in them. If not for the games being petty fun, this would be a straight up F Tier console in terms of collecting for me.

Wait a sec. I've actually updated the SSD in my PS5, adding 1TB of storage to the system. I think it supports up to 4TB or more now after firmware updates. So you can upgrade the amount of internal space. Then you can also use external HDDs to hold install data for your games. You can transfer those files from the HDD to the internal SSD for use when you want to play them again, and then transfer the install data back to the HDD for long term storage when you want to free up space to play something else. While not convienent, it's surely do-able if you're wanting to play games on the PS5 20 years from now.

So, say your PS5 blows up into a fire ball. You have to go get another one, can you then move your stored games back to your new PS5's internal SSD?

34

Classic Video Games / Re: how would you rank your collecting experience per console

« on: January 19, 2024, 06:14:59 pm »

PS5: I struggle to even call myself a PS5 collector since I know full well its physical games are more or less glorified CD keys. I don't think there is any future in collecting for the PS5 since I know these games will have no longevity in a decade or so from now when Sony pulls the plug on its servers. Nearly every PS5 game I've played requires at least half the game be downloaded, if not way, way more than that. And I've never been able to have more than a dozen or so games downloaded onto my PS5 at a time given how much space they take up and also there being no way to update the HDD in them. If not for the games being petty fun, this would be a straight up F Tier console in terms of collecting for me.

I often hear this argument being tossed around. My question to those who espouse this - couldn't the same logic be applied also to PS4 and even PS3 games, since there are quite some games even from that time period that saw updates and patches not included on the game disc? When Sony shuts down the server for those legacy platforms, and you can't get the patches directly from them, is there no point in collecting those either? I think the downloads included with many disc games are just a prioritized method of getting the latest version, when you have an Internet connection. Not that there isn't any version on the disc.

I acknowledge that it can be worse now when developers release a beta on disc and then patch it day one, but that's usually the exception and not the rule. It mostly applies to rushed triple A games, which is far from being every PS5 physical release. Sometimes there are definitive edition physical releases, if the game is a big enough success, but there's also a lot of smaller release and indie titles which are complete on the disc. I think too much is made of the issue. SomeOrdinaryGamers once did a video demonstrating that yes, you can in fact install and play games like Demon Souls remake and others without any Internet connection at all to his PS5. So there certainly is something on the disc with the physical games, more so than the hearsay is leading people to believe. Sometimes EA or Ubisoft will pull some crap in pursuit of their bottom lines, and screw the consumer of a complete or accessible product. But it's not a reason to write of PS5 collecting enitrely, IMO.

You are absolutely right, it does apply to the PS4 and PS3. The key differences is I can update the HDD to accommodate most, if not all my games plus all the patches and content. I did exactly this when Sony was threatening to shut down the PS3's servers a couple years ago or so. Given, this will not be as easy with the PS4 since the download sizes are much larger, but with a few PS4's and cloning the HDDs, I can have some reassurance that I can preserve those games. The PS5 on the other hand has everything tied to the specific console. In other words, you can't repair, replace, or upgrade any of the internal hardware on your own. Only Sony can. Maybe someday, someone will find a way around this, but I found this out the hard way when my PS5's disc drive crapped our after just one year. Luckily Sony did a good faith out of warranty repair on it for free, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth that I'd either have to own a dozen or more PS5's to fit all the game data for a moderately sized collection, or accept the fact that the games will be useless in another decade or so.

Interesting. So when you store a PS5 game on a external, those games are only accessible from the specific console they were first installed on, and not verifiable through your actual PlayStation account? That's odd. They had to consider that people might not have the same console over time. I have to assume you can access the games that were digitally downloaded, but why not the ones you installed while on your account, and then stored?

35

Classic Video Games / Re: Is my copy of Link to the Past a repro?

« on: January 19, 2024, 01:49:04 pm »

This is why you don't buy from sources where you don't get to see the copy they're sending. You're paying collector's price for a sub-par copy.

A quick glance at eBay and there are current listings of ALttP for better prices, with plenty of good pictures.

Sorry to double-post again, but I've had not so good experiences with EBay.

I bought a copy of Mega Man 7 there, and it was the most obvious repro I'd ever seen.

Every seller is a different story, you have to look closely at the listing. Yes repros are sold on eBay, usually listed as "new" condition, but they can't call it a repro as it tends to violate eBay guidelines. Reputable sellers will mention "authentic" in the description, or will good detailed pictures, not generic.

Amazon sellers brutally over-charge for everything and usually don't even factor in condition, or have any pictures.

36

Modern Video Games / Re: Like a Dragon: The Game Without a Disc

« on: January 19, 2024, 11:27:21 am »

The Man Who Erased His disc-based launch?

I wonder why Infinite Wealth is a getting a standard physical release?

37

Classic Video Games / Re: how would you rank your collecting experience per console

« on: January 19, 2024, 10:51:56 am »

PS5: I struggle to even call myself a PS5 collector since I know full well its physical games are more or less glorified CD keys. I don't think there is any future in collecting for the PS5 since I know these games will have no longevity in a decade or so from now when Sony pulls the plug on its servers. Nearly every PS5 game I've played requires at least half the game be downloaded, if not way, way more than that. And I've never been able to have more than a dozen or so games downloaded onto my PS5 at a time given how much space they take up and also there being no way to update the HDD in them. If not for the games being petty fun, this would be a straight up F Tier console in terms of collecting for me.

I often hear this argument being tossed around. My question to those who espouse this - couldn't the same logic be applied also to PS4 and even PS3 games, since there are quite some games even from that time period that saw updates and patches not included on the game disc? When Sony shuts down the server for those legacy platforms, and you can't get the patches directly from them, is there no point in collecting those either? I think the downloads included with many disc games are just a prioritized method of getting the latest version, when you have an Internet connection. Not that there isn't any version on the disc.

I acknowledge that it can be worse now when developers release a beta on disc and then patch it day one, but that's usually the exception and not the rule. It mostly applies to rushed triple A games, which is far from being every PS5 physical release. Sometimes there are definitive edition physical releases, if the game is a big enough success, but there's also a lot of smaller release and indie titles which are complete on the disc. I think too much is made of the issue. SomeOrdinaryGamers once did a video demonstrating that yes, you can in fact install and play games like Demon Souls remake and others without any Internet connection at all to his PS5. So there certainly is something on the disc with the physical games, more so than the hearsay is leading people to believe. Sometimes EA or Ubisoft will pull some crap in pursuit of their bottom lines, and screw the consumer of a complete or accessible product. But it's not a reason to write of PS5 collecting enitrely, IMO.

38

Classic Video Games / Re: how would you rank your collecting experience per console

« on: January 19, 2024, 01:39:04 am »

I have to base mine on the collecting experience as per the title of the thread, and not a commentary on my views of the library itself. What I think of the system or library, really is a separate tier list all together.

S Tier - During the 7th gen, the games were so damn abundant and cheap, you could literally find them for sale in a drug store. Everybody was selling the games then, and you could get them used for really cheap, sometimes brand new on clearance prices cheaper than used. It was a buyer's market.

A Tier - These were your common video game pickups, often times could get good deals on them, nothing too hard to find at the time. Retro platforms in this tier were prime in my area for the picking and were not valuated high in the least when I first started. A $2 SNES game was not uncommon. I once picked up a SNES console with DKC 2 & 3 included for a whopping $5.

B Tier - These were the consoles that seemed like they should have been easy to collect for, especially in the early days, but they were a little bit tricky to find or if you did find them, the selection was always the same stuff again and again nothing you were specifically looking out for. Occasionally I'd catch a break and find some better sources for these, but not often. Prices weren't terrible, but finding them was the tricky part.

C Tier - These were pretty hard to collect for, but not impossible. I feel like I mostly got lucky when I did come away with any scores on these, some of the stuff you stand very little chance to find. When you'd find a source with lots of other inventory, they'd rarely have anything notable for these. Had to be persistent in poking around or traveling to find stuff, and just go online half the time because you couldn't find it.

D Tier - Basically impossible to find locally, or anywhere within reasonable distance. For the most part, had to go online or to gaming expos to find people selling this stuff, and then pay through the roof to get it. Collecting for these has been a long and painful process. In fact, I gave up some time ago on collecting Game Gear or Master System. Literally everything would have to come from eBay in addition to everything else I'm always hunting for, it just becomes too excessive. For the other consoles in this tier, I tended to get maybe 2 to 5 games for each per year? It was tough.

I do own a few other platform, but I don't consider myself a collector of those, so not shown on the tier list.

39

Classic Video Games / Re: Is my copy of Link to the Past a repro?

« on: January 19, 2024, 12:47:27 am »

This is why you don't buy from sources where you don't get to see the copy they're sending. You're paying collector's price for a sub-par copy.

A quick glance at eBay and there are current listings of ALttP for better prices, with plenty of good pictures.

40

General / Re: 2024 Gaming/Collecting Goals

« on: January 15, 2024, 02:03:25 pm »

My intention is to "finish" my retro collecting. That means satisfying the remainder of all want lists, either by acquiring the elusive remaining ones, or admitting to myself that some aren't worth the effort and crossing them off. I'm somewhat close to achieving this across many platforms, but a lot of those remaining are not easy gets. For a lot of it, I can't rely on local or even remote hunting to find any of them. Most are eBay only. I estimate about 250 games across 15 or so platforms, and they are completely exhaustive for these retro libraries so there's no rabit-hole of discovering more later. That averages about 16 games a platform (although a few will be much fewer and some are quite a bit more). It's still a lot yes, but I think I can do it.

I never plan to quit modern collecting, so long as they keep making physical. I will continue adding to my PS5 and Switch libraries.

I may or may not start recording some let's plays, mostly as a means of documenting the journey of playing so many of these games I've acquired over the years, many of which are brand new experiences to me. My favorite kinds of gameplay videos to watch are when people don't know everything about the game they're recording, a blind play-through I guess. I could possibly see myself doing that. Don't really care if anyone watches, it would be mostly just for the fun of it.

I'd like to spruce up the game room and add a bit of personality to it. I'm not big into merchandise or trinkets, but a few here and there wouldn't hurt.

That's about it.

41

General / Re: Would you replace a Greatest Hits/Reprint game?

« on: September 11, 2023, 12:17:52 pm »

I used to think that way, but now I don't really care. If I already have it from years ago I keep it, especially my childhood copies. I can't just toss those away because they don't match up to my snobby adult collector standards. Those are authentic pieces of my history. If I'm out shopping for some new game, then sure I'll still hold out for the OG copy, but I'm not going back and rewriting my own history.

42

General / Re: Your Own Opinion About Collecting Today

« on: August 27, 2023, 11:29:54 pm »

Since the start of this thread, I've felt like I have had a bit of a revelation. I've decided that I want to accelerate my "end goal" plans for retro collecting. Going through my various wishlists, there's just a lot of shit on there that honestly doesn't need to be. I really wanna go through, and trim my wishlists (of which I have multiple written up). I wanna nix a lot of the stuff that I added just because "it looked kinda cool". I've had a tendency to do that, a lot of it just sits on my wishlist and I won't admit to myself that I don't need it.

When the 3DS eshop closed, I did this thing I do where I go researching through a console's entire library and add anything that looks cool and I can see myself playing to the wishlist, but in all honesty 90% of my 3DS wishlist is just shit that I would never loose sleep over not owning. Not that I think the stuff is bad, but I think I compiled that list due to FOMO and the need to feel like the 3DS has this extensive library of good games, but the truth is it doesn't. It has plenty of good games sure, and I think I own most of them already. So there's a lot of other stuff that maybe looks cool I guess, but why do I need those? Here I am with 33 games on my 3DS wish list, and can't justify my desire for nearly any of them. Story of Seasons? As someone with an infinitesimal interest in the Harvest Moon cliche who already owns other Harvest Moon games and knock-offs, do I need yet another iteration of the same damn thing on a tiny 3D screen? Absolutely not. Trash Pack? What the hell even is that? An aptly titled waste of time and resources? It's time to put the collecting crack pipe down. I don't even really like portable gaming. DS is just a rare exception because I like the gimmicky features of two screens and "3D effect". I'd be surprised if I ever play the majority of my DS stuff, because it's a tiny portable, where I like to play games on a giant TV screen.

I just think it's time to be more brutally honest with myself than I have been, if I'm going to take exiting from the mental slavery of being a retro game collector seriously. I don't want to be a retro game hunter all of my life, and I also don't just want to give up on the things that I truly seek after, or I have wanted for a long time. Those are the things that will stay on the wishlist, and I will focus intently on checking them off.... but I think it's really time I go and cut a lot of the baggage out of my wishlist, make some maybe tough decisions, and really streamline my collecting goals even more thoroughly. It's been a good 15 year run, but I am serious about reaching the peak, and very soon.

I more or less did this same thing about a year ago. My video game want list, even after the years of accumulating games, was still easily a 1000+ games. However, when going through that list, I'd say 2 or 3% of those games actually excited me at the prospect of owning them someday, while the rest were "yeah, that game looks kinda fun, maybe I'd play it some day." This allowed me to trim down that list considerably to where I just have games on there I genuinely really wanted. And even then, I found ways to trim it down even more to where there are less than 20 games on there I'd still like to own someday.


I think it is admirable that you're willing to put your foot down and say, "this is it." I don't necessarily have a distinct line in the sand like this, but for me it's knowing I'm done hunting for games, spending insane amounts of money on rare retro titles, and going out of my way to feel a few minutes of joy, only to put the game on my shelf and forget it's even there until I just happen to glance at it months later. I'm happy with what I have for the most part, and it sounds more appealing to have one large shelf with all my favorite games someday rather than the 7 or so I currently have with a bunch of games I deluded myself into thinking I'd have the time or motivation to play someday when I first bought them.


On a side note, it's kinda crazy seeing so many of us long time VGcollect users being at this point relatively around the same time. I've certainly seen little glimpses of this in my personal life too with the various local groups I follow. Still, there are always new people jumping in to replace the ones that leave, although I feel like I see far fewer hardcore NES or even SNES/Genesis people coming in now, and it's more younger collectors looking for Gamecube, PS2, or even Wii and PS3 games. I'm still wondering if the hobby will slowly crash someday, although the ironic part is if it does, I won't be the enthusiastic collector swooping in and buying games for a fraction of what they used to sell for like I thought I'd be. I want my collection to be small and personal, although I am grateful I got to have a large collection and know what it's like to fulfill a childhood dream of owning every video game you'd ever wanted. It was fun while it lasted, but it's time for a change, which is what I'm hearing from a lot of people on here.

Precisely. My ambition is to whittle it down to just those games which excite me at the thought of owning and playing, and really focus on that. Of course, what those games are is always something very specific to each person. My personal must-haves, might not seem like must-haves to other collectors. But for me, they're all games I have a strong desire for and have neglected to bite the bullet on. Admittedly there's even a couple of super expensive retro grails in there. PDS is not one. I've cut it from my list for good, it's not my type of game anyhow. However, I do still really want to snag OG Klonoa, and Cannon Spike, just to name a couple of pretty crazy ones. Who knows, maybe even some of these will get cut, at a certain point it just becomes too lofty an ideal.

I think you're quite a few steps ahead of me in terms of the cool down. I still do believe that I will get around to most of my 2500+ games at some point, most likely when I am no longer buying and hunting for more, and don't have to constantly think about what my next purchase should be before the price of something gets worse. I haven't felt what it's like to not be thinking about that stuff in so long. I actually don't have too much of an issue with my current collection size, like there isn't a whole lot that I regret buying, or feel like I need to get rid of. Most of it I'm happy to keep, but it's hard to justify much more beyond this point, as a lot of what I don't already have is well represented by 20 or 30 other games like it already in my collection. So my focus going forward is strictly for those games I've always held a spot on the shelf for, and those which seem worthy of the remaining time and money I care spend on the hobby.

43

General / Re: Your Own Opinion About Collecting Today

« on: August 27, 2023, 04:14:12 am »

Since the start of this thread, I've felt like I have had a bit of a revelation. I've decided that I want to accelerate my "end goal" plans for retro collecting. Going through my various wishlists, there's just a lot of shit on there that honestly doesn't need to be. I really wanna go through, and trim my wishlists (of which I have multiple written up). I wanna nix a lot of the stuff that I added just because "it looked kinda cool". I've had a tendency to do that, a lot of it just sits on my wishlist and I won't admit to myself that I don't need it.

When the 3DS eshop closed, I did this thing I do where I go researching through a console's entire library and add anything that looks cool and I can see myself playing to the wishlist, but in all honesty 90% of my 3DS wishlist is just shit that I would never loose sleep over not owning. Not that I think the stuff is bad, but I think I compiled that list due to FOMO and the need to feel like the 3DS has this extensive library of good games, but the truth is it doesn't. It has plenty of good games sure, and I think I own most of them already. So there's a lot of other stuff that maybe looks cool I guess, but why do I need those? Here I am with 33 games on my 3DS wish list, and can't justify my desire for nearly any of them. Story of Seasons? As someone with an infinitesimal interest in the Harvest Moon cliche who already owns other Harvest Moon games and knock-offs, do I need yet another iteration of the same damn thing on a tiny 3D screen? Absolutely not. Trash Pack? What the hell even is that? An aptly titled waste of time and resources? It's time to put the collecting crack pipe down. I don't even really like portable gaming. DS is just a rare exception because I like the gimmicky features of two screens and "3D effect". I'd be surprised if I ever play the majority of my DS stuff, because it's a tiny portable, where I like to play games on a giant TV screen.

I just think it's time to be more brutally honest with myself than I have been, if I'm going to take exiting from the mental slavery of being a retro game collector seriously. I don't want to be a retro game hunter all of my life, and I also don't just want to give up on the things that I truly seek after, or I have wanted for a long time. Those are the things that will stay on the wishlist, and I will focus intently on checking them off.... but I think it's really time I go and cut a lot of the baggage out of my wishlist, make some maybe tough decisions, and really streamline my collecting goals even more thoroughly. It's been a good 15 year run, but I am serious about reaching the peak, and very soon.

44

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

« on: August 25, 2023, 12:25:35 pm »

You know what's mind blowing? NES really is still the king of being over-priced, when it comes to retro games. There are almost 80 games for the system over $100 in NA. I believe there's at least 10 that are over a grand. No other console can touch that, not Saturn, not the SNES. Power Blade 2, is a thousand dollar cartridge. Can you believe that shit? All of my info comes from Price Charting, btw.

Who knew Atari 2600 has regained so much value? It's one of the more valuable libraries out there now. Neck and neck with GameCube.

Nintendo 64 did something really weird, where the value fell off of cliff in 2022, and then spiked all the way back up where it was, just this year. Very strange, wonder if some manipulation is a factor with that one. Literally regained all of it's lost value in June of 2023.

There's got to be a lot of manipulation that goes on. Take for example, Starshot Space Circus. Really obscure game, no one cares about it, never been super rare. It saw a gradual increase over the years, even after Covid still just a steady increase over time. Then in January of 2023, people decided it was time to pay double it's previous price at $150, and not just a handful, but many, many sales at that new price. Why? How? People have collected N64 for a long time, there was never a rush on Starshot Space Circus before. It makes no sense, who was the first person to decide they didn't like the old price and instead wanted to pay double? Nobody would do that. It's got to be manipulation, as they don't think people are paying attention to games like that, so they'll just accept a new price that they've established most likely through fraudulent sold listings. I swear, I've seen the same thing happen many times. Nobody just decides a game is worth double or triple in one sale to the next.

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General / Re: Your Own Opinion About Collecting Today

« on: August 24, 2023, 12:48:30 am »

If I can be blunt, it's a bitch. I'm diligently working towards an "end goal" plan, where I call myself finished with retro buying for good. Modern games, I'll probably continue collecting as they release. I consider my collection to be purely a curation of stuff that I like, nothing more and nothing less. I never want to own full sets of console games, or something sealed or rare because of it's notoriety or value. No interest.

It's very hard to be a collector today, prices are just so insane on so many things that just don't feel like they're justified at all. Expensive price tags no longer shock me, it's the cheap ones that do. A lot of people can't realistically afford a good deal of this stuff anymore, and that's unfortunate. I'll even admit, that I tend to spend way more than I should trying to manage this "end goal" I'm pursuing. Going through old wishlists, where items were put there when they were still reasonable but at their current prices, I'll never consider them again. FOMO is real game collecting because it's true. You will miss out. Things will get too out of hand expensive... which is why I'm still buying a lot at the moment, on lower prices wishlist items. Even considering a few "whales" that are soon departing into the sea of rich idiot speculator territory. Once they crest 3 bills, I'm almost always out.

My objective is basically to rage-buy my way to the end of this decades long saga, because I truly want to move on to the next chapters of my life. I've been so heavily focused on this hobby for over 10 years. While I feel that the state of my collection is good, it could be better, and while I still have the chance to make it better, I'm going to pursue that.