Are Video Games Collectible?

It is human nature to collect, if something exists, someone WILL want to amass large quantities of it. There are the standard collectibles that have an established community (with websites, price guides, auctions …), like baseball cards, wine, art, and antiques (to name a few) and then there are the not so standard like belly button lint and socks. As video games continue to grow, so does the sub segment of users who both play and collect; I guess this puts them somewhere around stuffed animal heads on the collecting spectrum. The video game industry has even bought into the trend and started releasing “Limited Edition” (LE) versions of some of their premium games; any Halo fan who bought the legendary edition and lives in a small apartment is probably cursing Microsoft as we speak. Does the collectible trend in the industry bode well for publishers and developers or are we heading down a dark path that could set the industry back years (remember the comic book implosion in the early to mid 90’s when the collecting craze took off).

The proliferation limited collector’s edition version of games is a significant trend in the gaming industry, more games are being released with high end versions and the publishers are adding more goodies to the mix. Ten years ago you might have gotten a bonus CD (with music from the game) if you ordered early or maybe even an extra game disc that had a playable version on an older game (i.e. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time shipped with LOZ: Wind Waker), but now you get t-shirts, action figures, posters, and life size replica helmets (thanks Mr. Softy). This is a win-win for everyone: publishers get the added revenue from the collector’s versions (which usually sell for $10-20 more than the standard release) and players get the much valued swag they crave; or is it? Collector’s editions take up a lot of space on retailer’s already crowded shelves, often time 1 LE version of a game might take up as much space a 5-10 normal games (or close to 50 as with Halo 3’s legendary version). Also the added money that the LE costs, comes out of the finite budget most gamers have; if you buy 2 LE games a year (extra $40), that means you can buy 1 less regular game. Ultimately the LE craze squeezes (from a space and $ standpoint) out other less established product; why would a retailer stock Kororinpa: Marble Mania when they can stock the less risky (but infinitely more bulky) Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition (for both the 360 and PS3 versions).


The other end of the collecting spectrum is propagated with people who crave rare out of print (OOP) games, usually in their pristine factory sealed condition. If you have played video games long enough, you will eventually hear some second hand story of the person who spend $250 on Ebay for a complete copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn) or the guy who plunked down $90 for a used copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (PS2) @ Gamestop (disc only!!); although both games are fantastic (I have spent many house with each), paying 2-5 times retail seems ridiculous (even wasteful). The fact that these games command such large sums of money in the secondary markets, suggests that there is plenty of demand to warrant a re-release or even an updated version on a newer system like Valkyrie Profile on the PSP or Final Fantasy IV for the DS; publishers are throwing money away by letting their old code (games) sit on the shelf and gather dust. The video game industry should take a page from their older and larger brother: cinema; Disney is always re-releasing their animated films, pulling them, and then re-releasing an updated version (with more content), or the multitude of versions of Lord of the Rings that New Line Cinema released (I can think of at least 3!).



In the end I do not like the collectible craze and feel it has the potential (if not already) to substantially damage the video game industry. The LE version of games takes up space on crowded retail shelves and takes significant dollars out of player’s strapped budgets (that could be spent on other games). People will collect video games; there is no way to stop it (like I said before, it is human nature), but the industry should not pander to it. The paraphernalia that comes in LE edition version of games should be given away through the mail to loyal customers (similar to what Nintendo does with their new “Club Nintendo”). OOP games should be kept in print through either digital distribution or several older games packaged together on 1 disk/cartridge (i.e. Square’s Final Fantasy I & II or Namco’s various arcade collections). Collecting is not inherently bad, but the video game industry’s reaction to it is.