What price do people place on nostalgia? Collecting items from one’s
youth is one way in which people can rekindle memories of a time long gone by.
As with any hobby, one must remember that sometimes your favorite recollections
come with a hefty price tag.
As an avid video game collector it is important to keep in mind
what goals a hobbyist of home consoles has when compiling their library of
electronic leisure. Oftentimes, it may come down to an argument of quantity
versus quality. Here are a number of methods to keep in mind if you want to
curate your cartridges.
The first of these collectors can be considered Showcase Snobs.
These are individuals who have a solid collection of games and consoles, but
also possess a number of rarities and oddities pertaining to the hobby. They
may have some of the popular titles of a console they may play, but then have a
number of games, consoles, or accessories kept in a separate space for the
purpose of a conversation piece. Oftentimes, these pieces are sealed in-box
games with original price tag still attached or consoles which are still in
their boxes. The primary goal of these collectors is collect all the status
symbols they can find so that their depository of games can reach some
mythological elite prestige and be the envy of other collectors.
In the second category are the Shovelware Slumlords. These are
individuals who primarily collect games as cheaply as possible. No matter what
generation of console a collector is seeking to build, there are number of
games for the system that were ported as an attempt at a money grab. The most
popular console for this is the Nintendo Wii, the highest selling console of
all time. Due to its popularity a number of companies ported their mobile games
onto the system and sold them in the hopes of picking up a few new clients.
However, these games generally do not sell very well and eventually end up in a
clearance bin with mark downs of up to 90%. Collectors of this ilk have a tendency
to purchase these types of games for two reasons: to bolster the number of
games they have in a collection or because they are fans of poorly designed
games and enjoy them ironically.
The final member in this list is known as the Completionist. These
individuals are a bit of a mix from the previous two groups. However, their
collections are built on the premise that they are going to complete a
collection for a specific console system. Most people who follow this line of
collecting are generally looking to get the job done with whatever available
condition they can get a game. Then there are others who attempt to complete
their collections with mint copies of games in order to bolster value.
Whichever way a collector goes about making their collections grow
they should remember that it is often more thrilling trying to find the game
than it is possessing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment