Re: What the Next 30 Years Will Hold for 360, PS3 and Wii Owners
The PS3 / X360 generation was unique in the sense that it created the Collector's Edition boom. Before this generation, we had only seen a few dozen such editions for long-serving franchises like Metal Gear or Final Fantasy. This generation just blew us all away with the constant deluge of LE's and CE's, which started off as a trickle (like a stream) and evolved into the behemoth it is today!
At the beginning of the PS3 / X360 generation, I was buying every LE and CE on both formats. They were few and far between, and there was very little else to spend my money on at the time. A SteelBook edition would cost no more than the regular release, and if it did, it would only be a fiver more and would include some bonus DLC. CE's would cost around £50-£70 depending on size, as it was generally accepted that collectors wouldn't pay more than that and most people couldn't afford to pay that kind of money. As time went on, CE's became more elaborate, and also more expensive! Nowadays it's not uncommon to see a CE costing £80-£130, with some huge editions (like Titanfall) costing almost as much as the console itself (£250)!
We have also seen the rise and fall of peripheral-based games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Tony Hawk, and we have also seen various forms of DLC boosting the prices of various CE's - sometimes in the form of exclusive in-game content, or more commonly now as a season pass. To collectors in the future, such items are worthless as they will have long since expired and may not be able to be redeemed. For used collectors, DLC codes may have already been redeemed, also devaluing the edition.
I personally believe that the only games which will be worth money in the future are those which are exclusive to that generation, and those from popular franchises. RPG's will remain at the top of the most sought after pile (unless re-released as HD versions on modern consoles), and also those obscure quirky Japanese titles no-one bought
If I had to predict a game / CE which will increase in value over the next decade, it would probably be Catherine, as that game attracted somewhat of a cult following, and the CE is one of the finest from that generation
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