is this jut a fad?

[fattyuk]

does anyone else think this generation of collecting is just a passing train of what collecting is about?


the whole game collecting genre we're all in at the moment? latest collectors editions, VGA items, the rare"press kits" that aren't really rare? all collecting the mass produced CEs etc, collecting everything of one certain game that's only been out for a few years?


it's just that watching and seeing and prices etc, alot of big collectors of these recent games and recent CEs are selling up and whilst it's easily to fall in the hole of loving what we/you do/collect/buy/sell.

is it really worth it? yes it seems worth it at the time...but the on the long run is it?

ok all the ps3 exclusives and the press kits yeah they cool, yeah there great to collect..but it seems abit tad boring now.

I can name many games I've loved / still loved from this generation... loved collecting them items... but it only goes so far surely??

uncharted bioshock red dead redemption call of duty heavy rain infamous etc efc

great collectables from great games of this generation,

5 years time...... same circle of collecting the 15 collectors editions of the new "fad"... the must haves,

it reminds me of being in school...football stickers,pogs,Pokemon etcetc.

is this not just in the same level as that but in a more "mature" and more expensive scale?

I spent loads collecting what I wanted for games I loved of this gen, then another game came out and I collected that... and then looked at the old lot and thought "now what?? played that game to death, loved that game and always will, got loads of stuff...job done?? sell it and on to the next

I mean give it some years and "rare sealed games" ain't gonna be rare or hard to get, "rare press kits" ain't rare cause you can buy them left right and centre, "collectors editions" are being knocked out in mass production for every game - even if the games crap with no following and people will still pay alot of money just because it's a "collectors editions"

[Likey]

I wanted to post something along these lines when I first joined, but didn't because I was new and would come across as a troll.

It's true, you can definitely see it as a fad for some. I haven't been here that long but have seen several that are leaving the community because they are selling their collection to fund something else such as their wedding or religion related.

It is definitely an expensive hobby, I wonder who here has been collecting the longest or who has profited the most from it.

I'd love to hear more from you guys.

[kittychloe]

I wanted to post something along these lines when I first joined, but didn't because I was new and would come across as a troll.

It's true, you can definitely see it as a fad for some. I haven't been here that long but have seen several that are leaving the community because they are selling their collection to fund something else such as their wedding or religion related.

It is definitely an expensive hobby, I wonder who here has been collecting the longest or who has profited the most from it.

I'd love to hear more from you guys.

At 24 I think I lose both battles, I'm not in it for profit if I was I wouldn't have given away 2 Nintendo 64's, though I have one or 2 sealed for the rainy day chance..

As for fads, yea it does tend to come across a little like Pokemon cards, like the rare movie mew that everyone had 12 of cause the cinema overstocked or the damn foil cards kids would have thier parents find for them.. Less stealing with this version of collecting though

[tallkid123]

CEs are kind of a second priority to me. I have a good amount of them (more than the average gamer) but I'd rather go down and hunt rare, obscure games for the PS2/PSP/current consoles instead anyday.

[HIPPEEDUDE]

If collecting games,consoles etc is or was a "fad" then its lasted along time so far.
To my mind game collecting is in the line of toy collecting,just a collecting of modern
toys,electrical items etc. In that perspective its lasted even longer than most people
even realise. On top of that,if you think about it the average collector that does
collect these things would probably be about 30,youngest would be about 20.
Simply because of the money that is sometimes required to buy some of the items.
Persons of these age groups arent really susecptable to "fads" but buy or get things
for a variety of reasons from simple enjoyment,re-capture ones youth or even just
simply becasue they can. The list could be endless of reasons why,everyone of us
would have in some way a slightly different reason or story as to why they collect.
I think very few would have started to collect for the dollar profit that may or may not
be made. They collected for the enjoyment of a particular game or genre,because it
looked pretty or had cool stuff,was something unique they hadnt seen before or new
werent very many of. The problem is that you get some people thinking its a fad or riding
the gravy train of resellng,buying something for 50 pounds & selling it 300 pounds,
buying a newly released item then getting it VGA graded(wtf?),buying something from
a store like irrational games for $100 then selling it for $150 the list goes on. These sort
of things make somethings more exspensive than they really need to be or should be.
They buy up all the pre-orders with only intending to re-sell at a profit or sell something supposedly rare when they have 150 of them available because they bought up all the pre-orders(wankers).
At the end of the day if you enjoy something,are passionate about something you dont
care if its a "fad" or not,you only care what you think not what anyone else does

[comaamen86]

like anything it is down to the individual, a moment for some, a lifelong hobby for some, a profit making excersise for some fatty.

people collect ce, just as others collect things such as stamps

[vhal_x]

Yeah, I agree with Coma in the sense that it's all down to the individuals themselves.

I expect that most younger CE collectors are into it in a more "faddy" way than elder collectors (now before any young'un jumps on me for that, I'm a young CE collector myself!). I don't mean every case though, as I am young, but I'm pretty serious about my CE collecting habit addiction.

As I expect with most of us here, we'll all have collected something at some point in our lives (prior to CE collecting). I know I did.

First it was TY Beanie Babies, My Little Ponies, Bratz dolls, then it was Pokémon cards, then it was Crazy Bones, then Beyblades, then Build-a-Bears, then Me to You bears (if you didn't realise I was a girl yet, you'll probably realise now!) and finally CEs.

I have quite an addictive personality though, so maybe it's all down to that? I don't know.

But for everything else I've collected in the past, it's been a passing phase. I think only 2 other things in that list spanned longer than a year, the first being TY Beanie Babies - I was a kid, and my parents would give me pocket money, and that's what I'd spend it on :shrug: The only reason that lasted so long was because I never really did much else when I was little (all my friends moved house, so I was the only kid in the street *sob*) So collecting those gave me something to do. Then Me to You bears, which is a more recent one (just before my son, AJ, was born) started because I thought they were cute and then I started to buy ones for AJ and it kinda took off from there :shrug:

But both of those "hobbies" if you could even call them that died out eventually, as I grew bored of buying them as let's face it, they were just teddies that are sitting there gathering dust. And it's not like I could really do much with them.

And again, before anyone points out "aren't CEs essentially just sitting there gathering dust?", well - yes and no. Yes, in the sense that the contents of a CE go out on display, and I don't really touch them much once they are on the shelf, but I enjoy looking at them and they are a nice focal point in my house. And no, in the sense that, although the CE contents are on display on a shelf, I actually get use out of a CE by getting to play the game.

I think this is the main reason that this "hobby" isn't just a fad to me. I love my games, and I love to have all the little trinkets that come with a CE. Having them on display, and the hunt to find more things from the games I love are two great things about CE collecting. And of course getting all of the games I'd normally have bought anyway.

I'm really sorry for rambling LOL, but I can't help it. I honestly just enjoy CE collecting so much. I mean, £40 for a game, but an extra £20+ and I get a variety of goodies to go with the game I love/am potentially gonna love? Awesome!

I think I'll stop now! Wrote far too much already :rotf: xx

[Wheeks]

It's a fascinating and important question and it's definitely right to be asking it.

I always think that most CE collectors will have fallen into it after a history of gaming from a relatively young age. It will have a very strong personal element which will quite possibly stay with them most of their lives. In that sense, it is less likely to be a short-term fad or trend for a given individual.

Others might start for other reasons - they are habitual "collectors" and gaming is something that interested them and seemed relatively collectable. Quite often that type can become quite involved in re-selling or collecting only sealed editions etc.

The latter can also tend to focus too much on the "value" of their collection, the relative rareness of their collectibles versus others and on the extrinsic value placed by others on what they have collected. That type of collectors is going to be more vulnerable to shifts in societal attitudes and may find their interest wavers as the next big things come along.

Ultimately, I think if you are collecting for the "right" personal reasons then the external environment, societal trends, fads and fashions are all totally irrelevant. I'm not going to enjoy my collection less because it's no longer well catered to or particularly relevant to current industry trends. It's something just for me - I have always gamed and loved the paraphernalia that surrounds it. I open everything I buy, never buy to re-sell, display everything and never, ever worry about "completing" sets. I only buy what I want, if I really want it and if it's at a price I can afford.

I guess what I am saying is judge the value of something by what it means to you, personally, and whether it makes you happy, not by any extrinsic measure. If you do that, it can never be a fad!

Also, I wish I had kept my pogs :)!

[kittychloe]

:O you had build a bears... Australia doesn't have them, I wanna build a bear :(

Only thing I ever really collected was Pokemon and games.. And Lego, Lego was fun

[SquirrelRaper]

I collected My Little Ponies, Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, Trolls, TY Beanies and Pokemon stuff. Haha...yeah you can tell what era I was from lol. Now, Im on to video game collecting, though I want to still collect for my other collections, I dont now. I plan on it once I can finish school, move, and build a big enough hose for all of it. XD I'm not one for fads, Im usually stuck liking it forever. Uhh except the TY beanies, I only collected them because everyone else did.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I believe that the rarities will still shine through. Certain CE's will be more sought after than others, especially those for popular franchises

I also believe that sealed Nintendo games will hold their value more than any other, as has always been the trend. We're now seeing sealed GameCube and GBC / GBA games increasing in value just like N64, SNES, NES, and GB games before them, so it's a matter of time before Wii and DS games go the same way

Some Wii games are already quite sought after, considered rare and fetching high eBay prices for sealed copies. In comparison, very few non-CE X360 or PS3 games are as sought after by collectors right now - RPG's and exclusives being the obvious ones that are.

By the time the next generation is upon us, we'll still be able to buy games for PS3 and X360 quite cheaply, and there will still be a good supply of most of the multi-format games for a good few years yet. Expect eBay to be flooded with EA, Activision, Ubisoft, and THQ games for the next five years!

[evilvort3x]

well ive always been PS3 only but had the odd wii item on occasion... never delved into retro collecting... as long as its nice.. i will buy it..