To Sell or Not To Sell?

kingkiller33

CAGiversary!
Let me preface first by saying that I have an insane backlog of games. My last count, I have about 160 Xbox 360 and PS3 games with 90% of them still in the wrapper or never played. On top of that, close to a hundred Xbox 1 and PS2 games that I never got around to playing.

My backlog came about for several reasons. First, I would go hog wild on sales. Almost all the PS2 games are from Gamestop's B2G1 free sales. Secondly, as a working adult, my available game time is limited, mostly to the weekends. And finally, I suck at games. Am I the only one ever challenged by games? Seems like everyone just blows through them never having to repeat a section. It took me 6 months and 130 hours to finish Fallout 3 with all the DLC. And that's sticking mostly to the main quest! I stick to my rule though of not starting a new game until I beat the current one I am playing.

Which brings me to my current dillema. Last weekend, I beat GOW Ghost of Sparta, and was ready to start a new game. I decided to crack into my PS2 games this time. My reasoning was that I have an aging backwards compatible PS3. If it dies, no more PS2. I picked up Shadow Hearts Covenant and sat through 15 minutes of intro movies. Finally , some gameplay. I was stunned at how piss poor the game looked. Do I really want to spend 30 hours of my game time looking at shitty graphics?

I bought PS2 JRPGS years ago because I thought there would be a high demand for them like with the PS1 generation. I had hoped to see the rarity value go up. To my dismay, the value of these games has dropped big time. Most of them are worth less than 10 bucks. I thought I could still get some entertainment value out of them by playing and beating the games, but so much time has gone by, I fear they are all an eyesore.

SHould I just sell the load, cut my losses and work through my current gen games, or hold onto them in the hopes they become more valuable?
 
Shadow Hearts Covenant is actually a really great game, you should give it another chance! It is a shame how crappy many of those PS2 games look on a modern HDTV though.

If you're primarily interested in value though, and not going back and playing them, you should probably just sell them now. I don't think many PS2 games are gaining in value.
 
SH: C is a freaking amazing game. You are doing yourself a disservice to not give it a go.If value is your drive though like Ryu said. I'd go ahead and sell them. Get what you can while the getting is good.
 
Shadow Hearts and SH Covenant are probably the best PS2 RPGs but what did you expect of the graphics? They're PS2 games, of course, they'll look shitty compared to PS3/360 games.

If the graphics bother you so much that you quit after 15 minutes, chances are that you've mentally made up your mind that you don't want to play the game-- so you might as well sell them now.
 
[quote name='62t']Shadow Hearts Covenant is probably better than 90% of the RPGs on PS3/Xbox 360[/QUOTE]

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Covenant is incredibly overrated. You're actually not missing out on anything unless you REALLY like shitty battle systems.
 
I couldn't get into SH Covenant so I sold it as well.

I'd say just sell all your last gen stuff OP. Sounds like you probably won't get around to most of it.
 
might as well sell

also expensive ps1 does not make game good. i wish i did have them though, even though they be uglier than ps2, look at legend of dragoon, worst player models in any video game ever
 
I am in a similar situation to you. I am holding on to my games though. Sure, the graphics look bad on some of the games, but if you can get past it, there are still plenty of last gen games that offer enjoyment. I'm not into JRPGs, but I still enjoyed playing aging games like No One Lives Forever and the Champions of Norrath series on the PS2. XBOX 1 games seem to hold up better, especially since some of them are in 720p. Go ahead and grab a cheap PS2 as a backup to your PS3 since you have already made the investment in the games.

As far as time, try working through shorter games one at a time and wait to buy new games until they have really dropped in price. I enjoyed Fallout 3 and finished the core game, but sinking 130 hours into one is the same as beating 13 games that run 10 hours. I'm sure that would start eating into your backlog. Maybe try stickinng to 20 hour or shorter games.

If you sell, you are not going to get anything for them and may end up regretting it down the line. Good luck to you my friend!
 
The higher print runs plus reprinting (Disgaea, Nocturne etc.) killed a lot of the value and I don't see it returning for a long time. Personally I'd keep the sealed ones and dump the rest of ebay, sealed copies will slowly increase in value as people open them over time.

Also I hated SH, you might want to try a different PS2 RPG before you dump everything on ebay.
 
At over 100 backlog, it's more of a collection then a "backlog". Backlog implies you plan to beat them all, and with a job and social life it seriously seems like you're not going to get to half of them.

I'd honestly sell anything that isn't hailed as a great game/amazing game and sell all the mediocre stuff.
 
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Gaming is meant to be fun.

If it feels like a chore, you're doing it wrong.

I suggest cutting your losses, don't let your possessions end up owning you.

 
[quote name='HaLLuZiNaTiOnZ']I'd honestly sell anything that isn't hailed as a great game/amazing game and sell all the mediocre stuff.[/QUOTE]

This.
 
Some games will become more valuable, especially sealed. Do you need the money? If not, there's no need to sell, you'll just be kicking yourself later.
But if you need the money, or you feel overwhelmed by the backlog and it hurts your enjoyment of gaming, sell and don't look back.
Eventually many ps2 games will be sold digitally, at prices similar to the ps1 games now. And some games may get graphical overhauls or remakes (though some games are great even if the graphics don't hold up).
It gets to a point where time is more valuable than a game. If you have a game that is 30 hours long, but only 10 hours of that is enjoyable, it is basically too expensive. If a game gets ripped in reviews because it is great, but too short, that's an ideal game to play.
Rpgs end up being way too expensive in this view, because their 30, 40, 50+ hours of gameplay are a double-edged sword. As you mention 130 hours with fallout 3, is that a better deal than 130 hours spread over 10-15 great, tight games? Covenant can clock in at 35+ hours, in that time you could fit in some amazing, but shorter games. At the end of the day, if you are enjoying yourself, it doesn't matter. But I played Fallout 3, it's fun, however, there were moments that were not fun, and when you start adding up all that downtime, the loading, the padding, the waiting- in terms of time, it gets very expensive.
 
I was somewhat like that. Of course I game all the time but i dont chew threw a game every week like i see a lot of people do. it's more like 2-3 weeks for something like GOw, and about a month and half for castlevania or darksiders type of game. It's not that i suck that badly or anythign like that it's just i cant play those games exclusivity 6 hours at a time. One day i'll be like ya its wow time then maybe log in for an hour and do some castlevania, the other umm i want to do some Street fighter and i might do another hour of castlevania , the next K im going to finish ninja giden, the next of course i maybe i feel like watching a movie hehe.

What happened was i get them steam or buy 2 get 1 free deals and a lot of games would pile up faster than i could finish. i think i had at least 20 games in my back log at one time that i was jugleing. i think steam was the worse tho because some of the stuff was discounted so much that i got it fo rthe heck of it knowing i'd never play it haha.



I since stopped that lol. Broke what i like to play down and how mcuh time i can spend and made up a queue of about 4-5 games i try to manage at any given ttime. mostly 2-3 multiplayer games ranging from a fighter to rift, a story or RPG game, and maybe have an action or puzzle game in there too like an xbox arcade game. After that i simply dont buy anymore till something opens up in that queue. stuff might be on sell but in the end you're blowing more money if you're not playing it.
 
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[quote name='kingkiller33']Let me preface first by saying that I have an insane backlog of games. My last count, I have about 160 Xbox 360 and PS3 games with 90% of them still in the wrapper or never played. On top of that, close to a hundred Xbox 1 and PS2 games that I never got around to playing.

My backlog came about for several reasons. First, I would go hog wild on sales. Almost all the PS2 games are from Gamestop's B2G1 free sales. Secondly, as a working adult, my available game time is limited, mostly to the weekends. And finally, I suck at games. Am I the only one ever challenged by games? Seems like everyone just blows through them never having to repeat a section. It took me 6 months and 130 hours to finish Fallout 3 with all the DLC. And that's sticking mostly to the main quest! I stick to my rule though of not starting a new game until I beat the current one I am playing.

Which brings me to my current dillema. Last weekend, I beat GOW Ghost of Sparta, and was ready to start a new game. I decided to crack into my PS2 games this time. My reasoning was that I have an aging backwards compatible PS3. If it dies, no more PS2. I picked up Shadow Hearts Covenant and sat through 15 minutes of intro movies. Finally , some gameplay. I was stunned at how piss poor the game looked. Do I really want to spend 30 hours of my game time looking at shitty graphics?

I bought PS2 JRPGS years ago because I thought there would be a high demand for them like with the PS1 generation. I had hoped to see the rarity value go up. To my dismay, the value of these games has dropped big time. Most of them are worth less than 10 bucks. I thought I could still get some entertainment value out of them by playing and beating the games, but so much time has gone by, I fear they are all an eyesore.

SHould I just sell the load, cut my losses and work through my current gen games, or hold onto them in the hopes they become more valuable?[/QUOTE]

Seems like a pretty sound post to me; I'm in your same dilema, although I have more free time - it's not enough.

I'm thinking of opening a B&M game store in 10 years if such a business is still viable in this age of downloading, so my hoarding is for inventory.

In the meantime, I'll be selling my games online or ebay.
 
I trimmed the fat about four years ago and have very few regrets about it. That said, I did limit myself to redundant titles. For example, thanks to Circuit City clearances (yes, the huge one of 2004) I had Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on PS2, Xbox, and DC. I found out that the DC version was the best one, and let the others go. Same story for stuff like Splinter Cell, etc...

Bottom line, I still had all the stuff, I just no longer had multiple copies of stuff. As it stands, I realistically have maybe 20 PS2 games that I'll play in the future but like 180 others that are just taking up room. I could sell them all, but like you said, prices have dropped and I don't know if it's worth it to dump them. I don't need the space they're currently occupying.
 
[quote name='vherub']Some games will become more valuable, especially sealed. Do you need the money? If not, there's no need to sell, you'll just be kicking yourself later.
But if you need the money, or you feel overwhelmed by the backlog and it hurts your enjoyment of gaming, sell and don't look back.
Eventually many ps2 games will be sold digitally, at prices similar to the ps1 games now. And some games may get graphical overhauls or remakes (though some games are great even if the graphics don't hold up).
It gets to a point where time is more valuable than a game. If you have a game that is 30 hours long, but only 10 hours of that is enjoyable, it is basically too expensive. If a game gets ripped in reviews because it is great, but too short, that's an ideal game to play.
Rpgs end up being way too expensive in this view, because their 30, 40, 50+ hours of gameplay are a double-edged sword. As you mention 130 hours with fallout 3, is that a better deal than 130 hours spread over 10-15 great, tight games? Covenant can clock in at 35+ hours, in that time you could fit in some amazing, but shorter games. At the end of the day, if you are enjoying yourself, it doesn't matter. But I played Fallout 3, it's fun, however, there were moments that were not fun, and when you start adding up all that downtime, the loading, the padding, the waiting- in terms of time, it gets very expensive.[/QUOTE]


You're absolutely right. I enjoyed a great deal of Fallout 3, but parts like Mothership Zeta were so boring and took forever to get through. In the end, I was only playing so I could feel I completed it.

Part of the reason for my big backlog is I kept putting in so many hours on Starcraft online. I played thousands of games, and had a lot of fun, but I missed out on more unique game experiences. Time definitely is precious.
 
I started "trimming the fat" as well after my wife and I moved to our new home. Like almost everyone has suggested I have started selling games I can't see myself playing (plug: search for my Xbox gamertag on eBay ;) ) and keeping a select few previous gen games. I have a crapload of PS1 and PS2 RPGs, I've made a killing selling those. I'm also way more selective about what games I buy now, due to wanting to conserve space, but also I don't have the disposable income I used to.

Anyway, I would say sell everything you're not going to play. Otherwise, it's just clutter. Make sure you research before you sell too, so you can get the most possible out of the game (while still being competitive).
 
I'm to the point where I play a fantastic game like Red Dead Redemption and I'm exasperated it's so long.

Only games I can play non-stop are puzzle games - they're great because they are so discrete and relaxing.
 
[quote name='camoor']Gaming is meant to be fun.

If it feels like a chore, you're doing it wrong.

I suggest cutting your losses, don't let your possessions end up owning you.

[/QUOTE]
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.:applause: Games are meant to be fun to play, not some pretty eye candy.

I can still go back and play classics from the Genesis era with no problems whatsoever, but it's because I played them back in the day and I still enjoy how fun some of them were.
 
You know thats sort of why i only buy pc games from steam, i end up losing or damaging the cd anyways but at least on steam it's mine till they go out of business. I love the steam system is being adapted somewhat by consoles but i bet like Old games being relaunched i sort of question it they'll it wont work on the next gen of consoles. bet at least the arcade titles will hehe. :)
 
Personally, I get frustrated when I have 2 or 3 games backlogged. I say sell the mass, pick up 1 or 2 new games, and enjoy those until you feel the need to buy something else you might actually play.
 
[quote name='looploop']Pick out what you can seriously imagine yourself sitting down to play in the next couple of years and sell everything else.[/QUOTE]

This.

And stop buying more games aside from absolute must play games that you'll play through immediately after buying.
 
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