Does the diversification of a Gaming Franchise's Collectibles bother you?

[toxicatom5]

One other thing on a related topic (at least for me) is that I was spending so much time scouring the web to find obscure items (since there are so many) that I didn't have any time to left to play the games. That's not the case anymore, but I've got a huge backlog of games to get through now!

[MadMan5]

Originally Posted by SwiftDeath

I didn't know how best to say it

Basically with modern games it seems that more and more are going with the "Mario" approach to things

Any thoughts?

Spoiler!

Besides Coma who will no doubt tell me to be happy with what I have and that I should donate it all to save the pandas

Mr SwiftDeath I think you have a case of CE fever, and it has been spreading fast these past few years (bug for buying) and the online shopping experience has taken a lot of us down with it. Sadly we have become addicted to information for some that's power and take it way beyond good will.

There is so much information on people's game habits the marketing guru's are trying to stay ahead of us hence to junk overload. If games did not have all the lights these days they would not sell as many copies take GTAV (hat and a hand bag not for me but what did sell that was the DLC that came with it) to to get any where or even surpass the sales will be a tough challenge for GTAVI (real gold bar would be nice)

I get what your are trying to say here, (Titanfall being what you is getting at?) so you do what you need to do to keep your wallet happy, for some we just can't buy everything we want others just get what they want as someone else is paying at he end of the day just ask yourself do I really need this most of the time you don't you just think you do.

[KnightOfTruth]

Yeah I hear ya barkin big dog!

I used to be so happy with my AC limited edition USA CE... Until I saw what places all around the world (errrr...UK) got. It really did a wallop on my pride and my wallet. But with so many things to "collect" for so many games I've had to put a limit on which franchises, and to what extent I can collect them. Used to be just a "gold cartridge" on release day (never even knew gray ones existed for years), but now it's gone crazy!!

And yes, remember me fondly if you win the lottery - even 1% will do just fine!

[Dr_Jengo]

I knew that this topic would come out sooner or later.. It's been at the back of my head for quite a while in fact..

Yes Assassin's Creed is the obvious one in recent years that have gone wild with marketing merchandise. So I'll use it as an example.

It's fun to collect everything when the game releases, all pre-order stuff, CEs, promos, etc etc but it's becoming a year-long thing with all kinds of things with the AC brand logo on it. Shoes, bottles, keychains, iPhone cases.

It's cool to have one or two to show your "fanboyism" for that franchise but to collect every single item is not my thing. I only stick to figures, statues, novels, comics, and things that look like they belong in the game (replicas) and recently art books and some cheap lithos.

I think my selection of collecting choices keeps me interested in my collection. When I look back at some of the things I have, it has some meaning because of the connection to the game. I don't want to see something that has 0 relevance to the game but just with the AC logo. Also makes me feel more passionate about collecting as I don't want collecting to feel like I'm just buying something to make my collection "complete" even though I don't really like it.

Just my 2 cents..

[JRPGFan]

I like to collect stuff for niche JRPGs (Also they are my favorite genre of games, duh!) because they have less stuff to collect and the stuff like Promos are much rarer due to being an niche. They also have cooler stuff that feels unique.

Expect for the big series like FF, DQ, MH, Tales ect. When sticking to one of big ones (Tales of Symphonia for me) STICK TO THAT ONE GAME ONLY OF THE SERIES AND NEW VERSIONS STUFF DOESN'T COUNT! So that at least you can sort of finish collecting it. Don't collect everything tho because some of it isn't really that interesting, don't collect for the sake of collecting. Just collect the stuff that interests you.

Because it's always cool to have an art book, game guide, some sort of poster, soundtrack (full soundtrack or at least has 95% of them, not some teaser soundtrack that has 5-10 songs when theres like 30+. 1st edition or rarest full soundtrack version if there is one) and some sort of unique center piece. That being some sort of cool promo item that is really big or has an limited print run or an Press Kit or an Standee. Or hell! Something you haven't seen anywhere else that isn't in someone else's collection on the net or the net itself. That you haven't seen on Ebay before and you buy it. Or something like the Wizard's Companion from Ni No Kuni. You get the idea. (Figures if you're into that sort of thing)

[ouroboros]

Originally Posted by Cosmic_Link

Yeah, I like the occasional little extras. Love pre-order bonuses. Always have and will, but I'm getting sick of the multiple CEs for one franchise. What happened to the days of the being either 1 CE or, 2 CEs in tiers, where the most expensive CE for that game has everything the cheaper CE does?

Sick of giving publishers loads of money for multiple copies of the same game just because there are loads of different CEs.

While we're pointing fingers, this year, I have chosen 1 AC CE and that will be my lot. Ubisoft got enough of my money last year and the year before and now I'm putting a stop to it. Gonna try and focus my budget on one franchise and only pick up a CE for games I REALLY want.

If I'm honest though, this forum has ruined me. XD Before coming here I was pretty oblivious of regional exclusives so I was always just purchasing the top tier CE and was happy with that. However, since coming here and discovering regional exclusive CEs and the ease of getting said exclusives because of the great members here, my wallet has died.

I wish CEs were made in fewer quantities too. I love it when stuff are numbered, but only when they are numbered and they mean they are limited. I think the last numbered CE I got which was actually limited was the Risen 2 Keg.

Speaking of the Risen 2 Keg, I do love the obscurity of some regional CEs. Eastern European CEs and Russian CEs tend to be quite obscure, cool and good value for money.

The same thing happened to me, no worries.

Originally Posted by JRPGFan

I like to collect stuff for niche JRPGs (Also they are my favorite genre of games, duh!) because they have less stuff to collect and the stuff like Promos are much rarer due to being an niche. They also have cooler stuff that feels unique.

Expect for the big series like FF, DQ, MH, Tales ect. When sticking to one of big ones (Tales of Symphonia for me) STICK TO THAT ONE GAME ONLY OF THE SERIES AND NEW VERSIONS STUFF DOESN'T COUNT! So that at least you can sort of finish collecting it. Don't collect everything tho because some of it isn't really that interesting, don't collect for the sake of collecting. Just collect the stuff that interests you.

Because it's always cool to have an art book, game guide, some sort of poster, soundtrack (full soundtrack or at least has 95% of them, not some teaser soundtrack that has 5-10 songs when theres like 30+. 1st edition or rarest full soundtrack version if there is one) and some sort of unique center piece. That being some sort of cool promo item that is really big or has an limited print run or an Press Kit or an Standee. Or hell! Something you haven't seen anywhere else that isn't in someone else's collection on the net or the net itself. That you haven't seen on Ebay before and you buy it. Or something like the Wizard's Companion from Ni No Kuni. You get the idea. (Figures if you're into that sort of thing)

I have crossed certain products off my list. I don't buy the clothing, bags, hats, patches, or key rings. I usually stick to stuff I can keep on a shelf or hang on a wall. I think that as video games become more and more mainstream, so does the memorabilia. Kids don't just want superhero t-shirts they want posters and shirts of video games too. What I hate is that as demand goes up, quality shrinks more and more. I refuse to buy products that fall apart in my hands simply because of the logo. It eats at me not finishing out a collection, but to me, it just isn't worth it.

I tend to stem my buying by sticking to franchises and quality controlling everything I buy.

[JRPGFan]

Originally Posted by ouroboros

The same thing happened to me, no worries.



I have crossed certain products off my list. I don't buy the clothing, bags, hats, patches, or key rings. I usually stick to stuff I can keep on a shelf or hang on a wall. I think that as video games become more and more mainstream, so does the memorabilia. Kids don't just want superhero t-shirts they want posters and shirts of video games too. What I hate is that as demand goes up, quality shrinks more and more. I refuse to buy products that fall apart in my hands simply because of the logo. It eats at me not finishing out a collection, but to me, it just isn't worth it.

I tend to stem my buying by sticking to franchises and quality controlling everything I buy.

What do mean by "fall apart"? Do you mean in terms of clothing?

[ouroboros]

Originally Posted by JRPGFan

What do mean by "fall apart"? Do you mean in terms of clothing?

Both clothing, but also figurines, collector's edition exclusives and other memorabilia. To me at least, a lot of "collector's edition or limited edition" exclusives are highly disappointing based on quality alone. I can think of countless CE Strategy guides, art books, etc that's pages come loose even as you lightly flip through it. We are leaving the era of numbered quality books and it shows. I also see this with figurines. I constantly check reviews and they are riddled with "his arm fell off when I opened the box".

I dunno, maybe it is just me, but I preferred spending a little bit more money for a product that I knew would last more than five years.

[JRPGFan]

Originally Posted by ouroboros

Both clothing, but also figurines, collector's edition exclusives and other memorabilia. To me at least, a lot of "collector's edition or limited edition" exclusives are highly disappointing based on quality alone. I can think of countless CE Strategy guides, art books, etc that's pages come loose even as you lightly flip through it. We are leaving the era of numbered quality books and it shows. I also see this with figurines. I constantly check reviews and they are riddled with "his arm fell off when I opened the box".

I dunno, maybe it is just me, but I preferred spending a little bit more money for a product that I knew would last more than five years.

Try stuff from 90s-2007? I haven't had any problems with stuff from that time period with art and guide books. Japan books are pretty high quality!

I would avoid figures, they are too fragile these days.

[underfox]

I basicaly don't buy CE if they have a figure inside. I find them useless and are real dust catchers. I rather focus myself on artbook since I can use them for inspiration for my work.

What really pisses me off, is seeing 4 diferent version of a same game. steelbook version, normal version, limited edition version, collector edition ( yea i'm looking at you metal gear ) I basicaly have more or less 5 ot 6 copy of a metal gear game containing metal gear solid 3 in it. metal gear solid 3 normal edition, steelbook limited, subsistence, subsistence limited edition, HD limited edition, 20th anniversary, legacy edition, And the dumb guy I am have to catch'em all.

f***ing pokegears.

now I can already see the ground zero and phantom pain thing coming. in 1 or 2 years after the release, they will release a " goty " edition having the 2 games combined in 1 game and of course, the 30th anniversary collection will be out in 3 years. ( I wish I had the 25th anniversary edition just for the massive artbooks booksets. )