Why the hatred towards video game collectors on CAG?

drfrielgood

drfrielgood

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Every few weeks or so there seems to be a new thread popping up to discuss a recent Game Quest Direct reprint. While I feel that reprints are a great way for newer games to try out a game they may have missed, I also believe that GQD should somehow distinguish the reprinted copies from the originals. I wouldn't care if it's a small GQD logo on the back of the package, or a stamp that says "2nd print", just something that would not be obtrusive and ruin the coverart.

Of course, each of these threads contains a post in which a game collector expresses his frustration over the reprint, because his once-highly sought after game will now once again be available to the masses. This poster is usually flamed for his response by CAGs that condemn the very practice of collecting video games, and often lump the word collecting in with the word "hoarding".

People collect everything; stamps, baseball cards, Pez dispensers, action figures...the list goes on and on. If a stamp maker reproduced a stamp, or if Topps remade a hot baseball card, they would be sure to differentiate them from the originals. The problem with Game Quest Direct is that they don't remake games for players, they simply list them on their website and hope that consumers don't put two and two together and realize that a reprint has been done.

Aside from the hundreds of games I have owned and played, I have a moderately-sized video game collection. I've managed to find copies of PS1 RPGs that I'm proud to own. I have no intent on playing them, but I have no intent on selling them either. I've also set aside sealed copies of some desirable games, including World of Outlaws, Futurama, and Ikaruga. I do get upset every time another GQD reprint surfaces, as more of my collection becomes easily available through GQD and resellers that purchase from their website.

If there is any positive to take from the GQD reprints: some of the games do regain their value. Persona 2 and Resident Evil 2 have rebounded since the reprinted copies dried up. However, there are still stacks of Rhapsody, Rez, Gitaroo Man, and Resident Evil 3 that have not been sold. There are a reason these titles became valuable in the first place: there was low demand for them. You can reprint them, but after the collectors and resellers buy their copies there is little demand from actual game players to own these games.

So I guess my question is, why is there so much venom towards video game collectors? All we ask for is a differentiation between the original copies and reprints. I love playing games too, and it's great that new gamers get a chance to play long out-of-print titles. However, GameQuestDirect needs to be honest and, well, direct, about the reprints that it does.
 
The answer is simple, we would rather spend less money on them because we actually want to play the game. I think what GQD is doing is great.
 
I see the argument from both sides. Personally I collect as a hobby, I have no illusions of retiring off of selling my collection someday. That being said I still hope it increases in value. I also believe that people shouldn't be forced to pay crazy amounts of money if all they want to do is just play a game. I think a good way of satisfying both sides would be to have all reprints clearly labled as such, kind a greatest hits style bar on the cover of all the reprints. That way people that wanted to pay less just to play a game could and people that wanted to collect could tell the difference between original releases and reprints.
 
Typically it's the good games that get a reprint. There's still a bunch of rare games out there that GQD won't reprint simply because they're terrible games. I'm all for collector's buying games. I just really don't care when they bitch and whine when a game like Gitaroo Man games some notoriety and gets reprinted so more people can actually play it.
 
I have no problem with publishers differentiating between various printings, and I like to hang on to games that mean something to me, even if I know that I'll probably never play them again. But to be honest with you the idea of saving games unopened really doesn't make sense to me. Games were meant to be played, not put up on a shelf in pristine shrink wrap. And since games can be perfectly replicated, I don't really understand how people can get so caught up on what printing they are. They're bit-for-bit the same game, and usually have the exact same packaging. So it seems like people are inventing little distinctions between products that are for all intents and purposes identical. ("This one has the sticker on top! It's obviously superior to the later stickerless versions!)

Maybe it's a generational thing. I can understand someone wanting to collect cartridge-based games a lot more than the disc-based ones, for example.
 
I think it's human nature to be upset if something happens that causes something you own to drop in value.

I agree that reprints should be noted in some way, you'd think video game makers would want that to happen as it would enhance the collectibility of video games. The message here frankly is that the people who make video games don't consider them to be collectable. Of course GQD has no incentive to do this if not forced by some rights owner or whatever as making their reprints idential to the original releases makes them as desirable as possible.
 
Games are meant to be played, not stored away and looked at once a year. That's like buying a brand new limited edition crazy rocket car and never driving it. It's just crazy

You can't equate these with baseball cards or any collectible card since the very purpose of cards are to look at or play and you can still do that through its plastic sleeve.

Games are meant to be played not stored away and stroked once a year in your closet.

I think GQD is great. These games deserved to be enjoyed by more people so that the company can bring over more cool stuff.

How happy would we all be if Atlus or Niis or Natsume went out of business cause they never made enough games and the ones they did make were all stored safely away in someone's closet just because they wanted money out of them?
 
I personally collect games because it's fun, not to sell them. But also, I agree that they should put some sort of logo to help people distinguish them.
 
[quote name='drfrielgood']Every few weeks or so there seems to be a new thread popping up to discuss a recent Game Quest Direct reprint. While I feel that reprints are a great way for newer games to try out a game they may have missed, I also believe that GQD should somehow distinguish the reprinted copies from the originals. I wouldn't care if it's a small GQD logo on the back of the package, or a stamp that says "2nd print", just something that would not be obtrusive and ruin the coverart.

Of course, each of these threads contains a post in which a game collector expresses his frustration over the reprint, because his once-highly sought after game will now once again be available to the masses. This poster is usually flamed for his response by CAGs that condemn the very practice of collecting video games, and often lump the word collecting in with the word "hoarding".

People collect everything; stamps, baseball cards, Pez dispensers, action figures...the list goes on and on. If a stamp maker reproduced a stamp, or if Topps remade a hot baseball card, they would be sure to differentiate them from the originals. The problem with Game Quest Direct is that they don't remake games for players, they simply list them on their website and hope that consumers don't put two and two together and realize that a reprint has been done.

Aside from the hundreds of games I have owned and played, I have a moderately-sized video game collection. I've managed to find copies of PS1 RPGs that I'm proud to own. I have no intent on playing them, but I have no intent on selling them either. I've also set aside sealed copies of some desirable games, including World of Outlaws, Futurama, and Ikaruga. I do get upset every time another GQD reprint surfaces, as more of my collection becomes easily available through GQD and resellers that purchase from their website.

If there is any positive to take from the GQD reprints: some of the games do regain their value. Persona 2 and Resident Evil 2 have rebounded since the reprinted copies dried up. However, there are still stacks of Rhapsody, Rez, Gitaroo Man, and Resident Evil 3 that have not been sold. There are a reason these titles became valuable in the first place: there was low demand for them. You can reprint them, but after the collectors and resellers buy their copies there is little demand from actual game players to own these games.

So I guess my question is, why is there so much venom towards video game collectors? All we ask for is a differentiation between the original copies and reprints. I love playing games too, and it's great that new gamers get a chance to play long out-of-print titles. However, GameQuestDirect needs to be honest and, well, direct, about the reprints that it does.[/QUOTE]
Hey, at least "collecting" rather than "playing" gives you plenty of time to write really long posts...

;)
 
GamequestDirect is doing absolutely nothing wrong. When *insert Japanese luminary here* sets out to create his funky, offbeat PS2 game, he does it so that the game can be PLAYED and enjoyed by EVERYONE, not so that 1,000 people can gaze at their factory sealed copy and act all high-and-mighty about how they are the only one they know that has even heard of the game, let alone owns a limited edition first run print. It's kinda like, if Tarantino made a movie, but then said "I only want 10,000 people to see it. No, wait, I don't even want them to SEE it, I just want them to collect the DVD, never open it, and store it in an airtight case, so that whenever their buddies come over, they can brag about how awesome they are."
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']GamequestDirect is doing absolutely nothing wrong. When *insert Japanese luminary here* sets out to create his funky, offbeat PS2 game, he does it so that the game can be PLAYED and enjoyed by EVERYONE, not so that 1,000 people can gaze at their factory sealed copy and act all high-and-mighty about how they are the only one they know that has even heard of the game, let alone owns a limited edition first run print. It's kinda like, if Tarantino made a movie, but then said "I only want 10,000 people to see it. No, wait, I don't even want them to SEE it, I just want them to collect the DVD, never open it, and store it in an airtight case, so that whenever their buddies come over, they can brag about how awesome they are."[/QUOTE]

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']GamequestDirect is doing absolutely nothing wrong. When *insert Japanese luminary here* sets out to create his funky, offbeat PS2 game, he does it so that the game can be PLAYED and enjoyed by EVERYONE, not so that 1,000 people can gaze at their factory sealed copy and act all high-and-mighty about how they are the only one they know that has even heard of the game, let alone owns a limited edition first run print. It's kinda like, if Tarantino made a movie, but then said "I only want 10,000 people to see it. No, wait, I don't even want them to SEE it, I just want them to collect the DVD, never open it, and store it in an airtight case, so that whenever their buddies come over, they can brag about how awesome they are."[/quote]

My god...your right.

*Goes off to tear off factory sealed Panzer Dragoon Saga, Suikoden II, Final Fantasy VII and Valkyrie Profile black labels.*
 
[quote name='icecubedx5']My god...your right.

*Goes off to tear off factory sealed Panzer Dragoon Saga, Suikoden II, Final Fantasy VII and Valkyrie Profile black labels.*[/QUOTE]
Hey 'nilla, I think he's trying to impress you.
 
Well, I definately don't brag to my friends about the sealed World of Outlaws games I've got stored away! I own and play games on all of the systems, and I've been playing games for 20 years, so I really wouldn't consider myself a collector over a gamer. I, however, much prefer playing games like of Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4, and hell, Mario Tennis, than I would any of the games I've got stored away.

It's good to see the variety of opinions on this issue. I know I made a long original post, but I wanted to talk about as many angles as I could have. I agree though, that GameQuestDirect really has no financial or legal reason to distinguish their reprints. Hopefully the original publishers will realize the potential of reprinted some of their older, in demand titles, and maybe package them with some new coverart or something.
 
[quote name='Apossum']Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.[/quote]

yeah, but I think I'll go on the retreat anyway.
 
[quote name='Apossum']Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.[/quote]My newsletter contains offensive images that may not be suitable for people under the age of 18. If you're still interested, just drop me a line at [email protected]
 
They hate collecting because they want all games to be available to them as cheaply as possible.

And though collectors don't actually wield any power over a game's availability (Collectors can't make a company shorten a production run), they do represent expensive video games. It's apples and oranges, but it gives them something to lash out at - especially when collectors start complaining, which causes defensiveness and legitimate hard feelings - which is understandable.

A person may not have an opinion about collectors, until they get excited about the prospect of finally being able to afford XYZ game and a collector beats them over the head with their frustration towards the reprint. It's a frustrating circle, but understandable from both perspectives. I've changed my mindset over the last several months. I used to be completely against reprints. Now I'm disappointed when a valuable game I have gets reprinted, but I have come to appreciate why non-collectors get so excited about being able to afford a game they couldn't have before.
 
[quote name='chosen1s']They hate collecting because they want all games to be available to them as cheaply as possible.

And though collectors don't actually wield any power over a game's availability (Collectors can't make a company shorten a production run), they do represent expensive video games. It's apples and oranges, but it gives them something to lash out at - especially when collectors start complaining, which causes defensiveness and legitimate hard feelings - which is understandable.

A person may not have an opinion about collectors, until they get excited about the prospect of finally being able to afford XYZ game and a collector beats them over the head with their frustration towards the reprint. It's a frustrating circle, but understandable from both perspectives. I've changed my mindset over the last several months. I used to be completely against reprints. Now I'm disappointed when a valuable game I have gets reprinted, but I have come to appreciate why non-collectors get so excited about being able to afford a game they couldn't have before.[/quote]
No, I just don't like them because, whenever they take pictures of their collections, they always have better carpeting in their house than I do.
 
i think many people on CAG confuse collectors with resellers. they're two completely different things. true collectors, myself included, enjoy playing, owning, and viewing their games, but understand that their collection is also an investment. it's like anything, really: comic books, toys, cars... hell, Barbie dolls, even. it's funny -- when people collect comic books, they'll often buy one to preserve and one to read, or sometimes just one or the other. they don't get any static from anyone for it, usually.

i think people get their panties in a bunch over collectors because they can't stand seeing someone else with something nice, or perhaps, something they don't have. i see people throwing around complaints like "they suck because they just hoard games that they don't want to play, they just want it to sit on a shelf". well, guess what? they're not hurting the video game industry, they're helping. any copies sold make the publishers happy. if the pubs see big numbers being sold, they'll produce more copies. now there's more of a game to buy, and everyone's happy. mad because MGS3:LE was ultra-limited and goes for a Faberge egg, now? it was meant to be collected, smarty.

another scenario: someone's upset because collector's pay top dollar for obscure older titles, like Suikoden II, and now they can't play it without paying more than they like, or maybe they don't like someone else making money while they stare at eBay and rub their empty pockets. well, guess what? you HAD your chance to buy it back in 2000. oh, you say you missed it? too bad. i missed buying a copy of Action Comics #1, but for some crazy reason, i'm not upset. so yeah. get over it. no one owes you any games. if someone else can afford something, and you can't, you have two choices: save your money until you can, or get the hell over it.

on the topic of GQD, i think reprints are fine. if it devalues a game, that's too bad. that's a capitalist system. that's life. that's your fault for expecting something to last forever. nothing does.
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']GamequestDirect is doing absolutely nothing wrong. When *insert Japanese luminary here* sets out to create his funky, offbeat PS2 game, he does it so that the game can be PLAYED and enjoyed by EVERYONE, not so that 1,000 people can gaze at their factory sealed copy and act all high-and-mighty about how they are the only one they know that has even heard of the game, let alone owns a limited edition first run print. It's kinda like, if Tarantino made a movie, but then said "I only want 10,000 people to see it. No, wait, I don't even want them to SEE it, I just want them to collect the DVD, never open it, and store it in an airtight case, so that whenever their buddies come over, they can brag about how awesome they are."[/quote]

Just an "observation" i have had.

Gamestop Used Price before GQD reprint

Persona 2 - 24,99
Rhapsody - 24.99
Shadow Hearts - 24.99
Gitaroo Man - $17.99 (might have been 24.99)
Zone Enders 2nd Runner - $17.99 then $24.99


Gamestop price after GQD reprint

Persona 2 - 39.99
Rhapsody - 39.99
Shadow Hearts - 39.99
Gitaroo Man - 44.99 then 39.99
Zone Enders 2nd Runner - 39.99

I might be mistaken but i think Shadow Hearts Covenant was a reprint also and they even have that for 39.99, though you can get it for 15 dollars cheaper on ebay. I can't remember the price of Rez at gamestop before the reprint
 
Okay, my turn. I've been into and around the collecting world even before gaming became gaming (i.e. pre-Atari 2600...yes, THAT long). My mother had a modern and antique doll business in the 1970s. It was from there that I learned a good bit about collecting/etc. (even as a kid) by going to events where people bought/sold dolls...kinda like a comic convention in the ball room of a hotel sorta thing.

In the 1980s I got into collecting comic books. During this time both baseball cards and comics had a BIG boom in their industries. And, just like many booms, they were followed by big BUSTS. Just like the bust of the video game market (post Atari 2600, pre NES), it was due to a glut of too many (often sub-standard) products on the market thanks to everyone and their brother thinking they could get rich on the stuff.

Long story short...some comics/cards lost values (many of which had been greatly inflated by the "collector boom"...just think Ralph Cramdon get rich quick types), and yet, some others were able to retain their value...even if reprinted. I'm not saying collecting games is EXACTLY like comics/cards/etc., but, there are some similarties in collecting anything. Some items will retain their value longer/better than others. Another aspect that changed for collecting was ebay. The ability to have access to items beyond your normal stomping grounds (i.e. supply and demand) cause a LOT of collectables to decrease in value (like some comics, action figures, etc.). Ebay really helped to level off some of this type of thing for a good many collectables. However, with the greater access by people (more eyes on the prize), some items increased in price thanks to ebay. Go figure...

In any case, with that out of the way, onto why some people have a problem with "collectors". While collecting can be a fun hobby, for all intents and purposes (as someone who has collected stuff in the past, thus speaking from experience) collecting IS a type of hoarding (at the very least when considering limited availability items). Buying something simply to put on a shelf and not use the way it was intended does have an "interesting" air (of weirdness?) to it. For the people that want to actually play the games, collectors (who are into collecting, sometimes rather than playing) do make it harder for game players to enjoy the experience when the price of a title is greatly inflated due to the limited number of copies available (driving the price up).

Granted, it's all a supply and demand economics sort of thing. But, if the supply is not being used as intended, which could make it back into the market even if used at a "fair" price (i.e. not inflated simply due to the diminished supply), then there is a hoarding aspect to it. Collectors of video games need to understand one thing. The DATA is what's important to most of the gamers out there. The actual code/graphics/etc. that they can play...not the box, manual, etc. associated with it. This has a down side for collectors as games that are reprinted ARE usually the same data as the original. At that point, only the collectors are really going to care which "version" they get.

I got out of collecting when I started noticing the comic/non-sports card/action figure markets making things "collectable" (i.e. numbered editions, limited supply, etc.). As I had been around collectables for many years by that point, I understood that something BECAME collectable over time due to it's neatness/etc. Things were not supposed to start out (and marketed) AS collectable when new on the shelf. The funny thing is, shortly after getting out of collecting like that (having seen the handwriting on the wall if you will), a good many of those markets were hit pretty hard with busts. I don't see this happening for video games in the same way as it is the data (game being played) that most people are after. However, when people "collect" games (more specifically instead of playing them), it can abnormally inflate the costs of certain games.

The thing most gamers (even if collectors) must keep in mind is that the majority of games out there are STILL cheaper on the used market than when originally released. If you were to buy every SNES game when released you would likely have spent more to collect them new than if you purchase the same games now on ebay. Some are SO cheap that they can help offset the cost of those higher priced ones. Just look at a game like Mech Assault for XBOX when it was released new compared to what it can be had for on ebay now. Sure, a few of the titles are higher priced (some due to collecting, limited runs, recalls...The Guy Game for example). But, SO many others are vastly cheaper than when orginally released that it's hard to feel too much pain when considering those starting an XBOX game collection now...as an example.

The Good: Overall, game prices for every title are usually cheaper than when originally released.
The Bad: Some games will increase in price due to their limited status/supply.
The Ugly: Collecting (especially when not playing) IS a type of hoarding.
 
I like playing and I like reselling in order to play more. I hate when people bitch about either.

I also hate it when people bitch about ebayers-- its the buyer's fault prices are so high. Ebay is a buyer's market. Then these same people always have exceptions to their rules-- people who have bitched about ebayers in the past are now openly posting "Lolz i'm gunna sell a ps3 for the wii!" :roll:

but I mostly ignore the whiners.
 
I just dont like when people hear theres a bunch of copies of a rare game somewhere for cheap, then ONE person buys all 10 of them. that's pretty lame. get a job? :/
 
I consider myself a collector, and as a collector, I want all game prices to stay low so I can afford to own them all. I feel the same way about comic books. I have maybe $50,000 worth of Golden Age 1930-1950 and Silver age 1950s-60s comic books in my collection. Now it would suck if suddenly the market died and all these old comic books were suddenly worth $1 each, but on the other hand, I'd be pretty damn happy because I could buy a copy of every Golden/Silver Age comic in existence and have a collection of hundreds of thousands of books to read and enjoy for the price of what a few thousand books used to cost.

I feel the same way about video games, sure my collection of vintage games may be worth several thousand dollars, but I wouldn't cry if they suddenly became worth pennies on Ebay...I'd just go into serious buying mode. I've sort of seen this with Genesis games already...they are practically worthless right now...I sold most of my Genesis collection off back in the late 90s when they were going for good money still, and now that they are worth around $1 a game I've been buying them back by the box load. I'm not worrying about the Genesis games I kept being practically worthless...I'm more happy about being able to buy 50 games in a lot for $1-2 each. I wish NES prices would drop again because it's getting too expensive to collect them these days.
 
I sold off most of my collection for the reason listed above...eventually, almost EVERYTHING will get reprinted and i'd rather be buying and playing new games than tracking down some rare piece of crap to put on my shelf just so people can say "dood! You own a copy of world of outlaws, OMG, you roxor!"

No, sorry, I'd rather have that copy of Tales of the Abyss up there instead.

I mean, to the OP, you have sealed copies of world of outlaws and futurama, but those games are shit... even if they were sealed, I don't want them anywhere near my Okami or Resident Evil 4.

The problem I have with most collectors on THIS site is they go for quantity over quality, and they have collections with no cohesion. I've seen collections on here that were only 100 or 200 games but every single one of those games was something worth playing. Most people buy 100 $2 games on clearance and say "omg my collection is so awesome because it's so biiiiiiiiig!".

Someone, I think Warner, posted up a complete PS1 RPG collection, and that was awesome, because he had a point to it, rather than just buy every cheap games that goes on clearance. I've got my own Metal Gear collection that I slowly add to every once in awhile.

And oh, GQD won't add ANYTHING distinguishing it's games for the first print run's because they would effectively be crippling its own prices. No one will pay as much for a second run copy so GQD would have to charge alot less for its games... the point of GQD is to make games accessible to everyone and to drive down the prices on games because they believe games should be played and no one should spend $100 + on a game.

If they did have markings distinguishing a first print run from a second print run the initial print it would just cut into their profits.

It's hilarious the people that bitch EVERYTIME a reprint comes along... games are meant to be PLAYED, I'd love to be able to have more conversations with people about something like Suikoden 2, instead you hear "oh, it looks cool, but I don't have $100 + for it".

More people should experience MvC 2 and Nocturne and Disgaea, so let's see the reprints start coming (and in Disgaea's case, continuing).

For the record, I love collectors, because they are stupid enough to pay good money for shitty games on Ebay... stupid collectors pretty much bought my HDTV, my 360, and almost all the games I'm playing right now.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']And oh, GQD won't add ANYTHING distinguishing it's games for the first print run's because they would effectively be crippling its own prices. No one will pay as much for a second run copy so GQD would have to charge alot less for its games... the point of GQD is to make games accessible to everyone and to drive down the prices on games because they believe games should be played and no one should spend $100 + on a game.

If they did have markings distinguishing a first print run from a second print run the initial print it would just cut into their profits.

[/quote]

If the point of GQD was to make games playable for everyone they wouldn't use deception to begin with and charge high prices. The point of GQD is to deceive buyers who are looking for a rare game. THey pay the high prices before anyone realizes it was reprinted. Then once it is found out they will drop it.

Though i will say the gouging has some what gone away now that their practices are out in the open.
 
If GQD was actually honest about their reprinting they wouldn't make nearly as much money. Their basic tactic is to sell as many copies as possible before everyone realizes a remake occured, then they discount their own price to sell off the rest.

Although I wouldn't call it a general hate as up until GQD most rereleases came in the forms of ports to different systems and Greatest Hits/Players choice releases, all of which clearly distinguish between the original and the new version.

On this site most of the hate is due to people constantly gloating about all the rare games they have and never play or hoarding 5 copies of the same rare game and posting pictures of them (someone actually did that with Disgaea last year).
 
[quote name='schuerm26']If the point of GQD was to make games playable for everyone they wouldn't use deception to begin with and charge high prices. The point of GQD is to deceive buyers who are looking for a rare game. THey pay the high prices before anyone realizes it was reprinted. Then once it is found out they will drop it.

Though i will say the gouging has some what gone away now that their practices are out in the open.[/QUOTE]

Bullshit. You have no idea what it costs for them to get the games reprinted. They are done in small quantites compaired to all other titles and is most likely expensive. They probably don't make much profit off them at all.
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']Bullshit. You have no idea what it costs for them to get the games reprinted. They are done in small quantites compaired to all other titles and is most likely expensive. They probably don't make much profit off them at all.[/quote]

Small quantities? Why does every Gamestop/EB have 2 or 3 copies of each of these games that GQD sold them? It's not expensive to do at all. They don't have to spend any money on development, advertising, artwork design, manual writing, etc...(all the things that are the main cost of games). All they have to do is stamp CDs, print artwork, and put it in a case - then sell it for what a brand new game would cost. That's very inexpensive to do.

And they probably get a heck of a deal from the developers/publishers of these games because this is stuff that was just sitting around making the publisher no money.

GQD is making a good bit of money off of this or they wouldn't be trying to reprint marginally rare titles that weren't selling for that much prior to them reprinting them like Zone of the Enders 2.
 
Well to answer the original question. If this Game Quest Crap is making reprints and people are buying these games to resell as original then they are doing a heck of a lot wrong.

As a collector I would like to play the original 101 game thaty came out not a collectors edition or some Best Seller which is just Bull Shit. To know that anybody is reprinting anything just sickens me.

I went in the store to find rez this game that was rare and then bam reprints all over the place. The used box probably has the originals. Again this sickens me to find out any company is doing this.

If they made a reprint during the original production then I would be Okay with this. But NO and NO.

If I sold a car that I recently built yesterday as a 1950's model. Would that be okay to collectors. If games are crap why am I buying reproduced crap.
 
If the point of GQD was to make games playable for everyone they wouldn't use deception to begin with and charge high prices. The point of GQD is to deceive buyers who are looking for a rare game. THey pay the high prices before anyone realizes it was reprinted. Then once it is found out they will drop it.
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The point of GQD, like any business, is to make money, period. They aren't philanthropists, they aren't demons, they're capitalists.

They will do whatever they can to make the most money as possible without breaking laws. Are they dishonest at times? Sure. But they make it possible for poorer gamers to play rarer games without having to resort to piracy, which I think is good.

They probably don't make much profit off them at all.
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No one really knows how much they make, and you're just guessing like the rest of us. The point is, if they didn't make money from doing it, they wouldn't do it.

I think generally why people hate "collectors" on this site is because many people on this site that call themselves collectors are not collectors, they're speculators.

The undespised collector collects things because he loves them, not because of potential financial gain. He is a collector, the keyword being collect. He collects them and holds onto them, and has real plans to benefit from them financially. He collects them to have them, not to sell them.

On this site, we have speculators. People who buy things and keep them sealed with the explicit purpose of reselling them later in the hopes they go up in price (e.g. FFXII LE thread). They don't hide this fact at all. The motivation is completely financial.

The reason why they're hated on this particularly site is because this is a site devoted to buying video games as cheaply as possible. Speculators disguised as collectors are here to make money.
 
[quote name='shipwreck']Small quantities? Why does every Gamestop/EB have 2 or 3 copies of each of these games that GQD sold them? It's not expensive to do at all. [/QUOTE]


Ok so if there are 1000 EB/GS's that got 5 copies each that is only 5000 copies of the game. If GQD can sell 5000 off their website, they had 10000 games printed. I'm betting that these are pretty generous numbers. A 10 thousand game printing is a very small number in the video game industry. Do you know how much it costs for a small independent website to get that many numbers of a game printed? I don't, but I bet it isnt cheap.
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']Ok so if there are 1000 EB/GS's that got 5 copies each that is only 5000 copies of the game. If GQD can sell 5000 off their website, they had 10000 games printed. I'm betting that these are pretty generous numbers. A 10 thousand game printing is a very small number in the video game industry. Do you know how much it costs for a small independent website to get that many numbers of a game printed? I don't, but I bet it isnt cheap.[/quote]

Well, EB/GS actually has about 4500 stores worldwide (the vast majority of which are in North America). But regardless, it's extremely inexpensive to stamp 10,000 CDs. It's all automated, the materials are cheap, and it's a big enough order that companies would be willing to do it.

Here's an ISO 9002 Certified company that will stamp and put label art on 10,000 CD's for 35 cents each: http://www.proactionmedia.com/cd_replication.htm
 
As I said, it all comes down to what people think they "deserve". Collectors think they deserve protection for their investment - much like someone who drops $200,000 on a Ferrari expects that they will not see the market flooded with Ferrari's at a $25,000 price point 5 months later.

Anti-collectors believe games should be available to everyone. I think both are right, but to single out video game collectors as the only collectors who are "stupid" about what they collect is hypocritical if you are a collector of anything. At the end of the day whether it's cars, comics, stamps, baseball cards, Pokemon, Disney movies, it's all just stuff. Just because it's not "collectible" to you though doesn't mean it's not collectible to someone else.

So if you're a collector, accept reality that a large portion of your collection is going to be devalued by a marketplace that does not place a lot of emphasis in protecting your investment. If you're a non-collector, stop rubbing the collectors faces in it. And be sure and smile real big for the rest of us when something you have suddenly loses its monetary value because of an opportunistic company out there.
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']Ok so if there are 1000 EB/GS's that got 5 copies each that is only 5000 copies of the game. If GQD can sell 5000 off their website, they had 10000 games printed. I'm betting that these are pretty generous numbers. A 10 thousand game printing is a very small number in the video game industry. Do you know how much it costs for a small independent website to get that many numbers of a game printed? I don't, but I bet it isnt cheap.[/quote]

I've got a general idea how much it costs...about $5 less than what they charge per copy of the game. Pretty standard video game profit margin. When prices drop, they first try to sell the remaining inventory at cost, then if they have to, at a loss, just to get the capital back in so it can be invested into new product. Your 10,000 copy estime is probably fairly close, and if they sell them all at full price, then, yes, they make around $50,000 before other expenses. However, if they sell half at a profit, 20,000 at cost, and dump the remaining at below cost to move them out...they might only be making $20,000 before other expenses. Of course, any copies they sell to EB/GS they aren't getting the full $5 or whatever profit on...probably closer to 50 cents or a dollar a copy.
 
[quote name='shipwreck']Well, EB/GS actually has about 4500 stores worldwide (the vast majority of which are in North America). But regardless, it's extremely inexpensive to stamp 10,000 CDs. It's all automated, the materials are cheap, and it's a big enough order that companies would be willing to do it.

Here's an ISO 9002 Certified company that will stamp and put label art on 10,000 CD's for 35 cents each: http://www.proactionmedia.com/cd_replication.htm[/quote]

The production cost is the LOWEST cost in reprinting a video game. These companies charge an astronomical fee for using their license. If it was cheap, everyone would be commissioning reprints. Hell, I've got a couple hundred thousand in stock I'd liquidate right now to throw into the business if it was that easy or profitable. I know for a fact that it isn't.
 
[quote name='Rictor']The production cost is the LOWEST cost in reprinting a video game. These companies charge an astronomical fee for using their license. If it was cheap, everyone would be commissioning reprints. Hell, I've got a couple hundred thousand in stock I'd liquidate right now to throw into the business if it was that easy or profitable. I know for a fact that it isn't.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I know production is the lowest cost, which only leaves them with striking a deal with the publishers to do the reprint. The publishers have the option of licensing these games out or just letting them sit there and not make them any money. I think GQD gets a pretty good deal on getting the rights to reprint the games because the Publisher/Developer has no out of pocket expenses. Any money the Publisher makes off of this is strictly gravy on top of what they made originally. Now convincing the Publisher that you are capable of properly handly a reprint that has their name and product, that is the tough part.
 
I'm a game collector so I figure I should chime in here..

I agree that reprints CAN BE a great thing, but I also think that there should be some way of distinguishing originals from reprints. I don't buy my games to re-sell them, I buy them because I enjoy collecting things. As a kid I started with cards, moved on to coins, wasted a summer or two on pogs, spent a good chunk of my life on action figures and now I've finally settled on video games. Sure some people might think collecting stuff is boring, but a lot of us don't feel that way. So when we spend hours/weeks/months/YEARS searching for a "rare/valuable" game, buy it, and find out a short time later that there is a reprint that completely nullifies the time we spent searching for the game and the happiness we felt upon finding said game, it kinda sucks.
Honestly, something as simple as a logo stamped on the back of the reprints would solve everything here. Collectors could still be happy with their originals and everyone else who just wants to play the games could nab a reprint.

So if anyone at GQD is reading, please consider stamping your reprints to save everyone a lot of grief.
 
I have no problem with collectors. I wish that if videogames were going to start being treated like comic books then we should have more reprints. That there are not greatest hits editions for popular games like Valkyrie Profile and Suikoden II from the PS is a good example. "Limited Collectors Editions" are fine because they come out with the understanding that these editions will be limited production.
 
[quote name='MadFlava']I have no problem with collectors. I wish that if videogames were going to start being treated like comic books then we should have more reprints. That there are not greatest hits editions for popular games like Valkyrie Profile and Suikoden II from the PS is a good example. "Limited Collectors Editions" are fine because they come out with the understanding that these editions will be limited production.[/QUOTE]

To be honest What you just said as a buyer of games is heart renching but as a seller your my kinda person. The fact is if they did have reprints of any game without no evidence of the reprint being commited then that game would lose value or be worthless to the buyer.

Collectors edition is just trash to be honest. I mean give me a break it's just the game in a fancy cover. I call it a collectors edition when they give books and VHS tapes along with extra games then sed game is collectable.

Still as a seller I would pass off the reprints as originals.
 
Found this article:

King of Fighters 2002 2003 looks to be next. This is getting to the point of ridiculousness. That game is $17 at Gamestop and can still be found new. You can still get it from G-stop website.

As for MGS2 Substance see above minus the new copy part and change the price to 24.99. These games they are doing now aren't even hard to find or expensive.

http://www.siliconera.com/index.php/2006/09/18/more-reprints-from-game-quest-direct/

I wonder if they ever stop to think that maybe there isn't demand for these games and that's why they didn't sell well or are scarce? How much demand really is there for King of Fighters 2002 and 2003?

I know it seems like there is a ton of demand for ZOE 2nd Runner on this site, but face it, lots of the people on here are more than your avg. gamer. Is there really that much demand for it when you look at everyone who buys games? I wouldn't think so.
 
Ugh, King of Fighters has been plentiful on amazon and ebay for less than $40 for a few months now. Can't wait til Gamestop gets their shipments from GQD, opens them up, and raises their used price to $40. If Game Quest Direct's margin was so low they wouldn't bother reprinting games with relatively little demand.
 
I am proud to say the only sealed games I own are because I haven't gotten around to opening them and playing them, not because I think they're some nifty collectible that will pay the down payment on my house someday.

There's a reason sealed NES games are worth money...no one bought video games 20+ years ago at $50 a pop to save in their closet as a collectible. The few sealed NES games that have survived have mostly been large warehouse finds where some one stored a bunch of unsold cases of games in a warehouse somewhere because they couldn't sell them at the time. I remember all the wholesale outlets selling sealed NES games for $5-10 a pop in the mid-nineties around the time N64 came out. Whatever didn't sell got packed up and sent to a warehouse somewhere to make room for new product. This stuff is being rediscovered and trickled onto the Ebay market...sometimes making games that were once extremely rare (Aladdin Deck Enhancer games) and making them a lot easier to find. Still, the sealed NES games are worth money because there aren't very many of them.

The reason your sealed PS2 games probably won't be worth sealed NES money in 20 years is because these days there are THOUSANDS of collectors buying extra copies of games to keep sealed in their closet with the intention of selling them for a profit some day. If people had done that when the NES came out, NES games wouldn't be worth much at all sealed right now. A sealed copy of Zelda would be around $20 instead of $200-400. So will Disgaea sealed be worth $400 (or the equivalent after inflation) in 20 years? I'm betting...no...because there will be more sealed copies than vintage collectors with big cash to spend.
 
[quote name='schuerm26']Found this article:

King of Fighters 2002 2003 looks to be next. This is getting to the point of ridiculousness. That game is $17 at Gamestop and can still be found new. You can still get it from G-stop website.

As for MGS2 Substance see above minus the new copy part and change the price to 24.99. These games they are doing now aren't even hard to find or expensive.

http://www.siliconera.com/index.php/2006/09/18/more-reprints-from-game-quest-direct/

I wonder if they ever stop to think that maybe there isn't demand for these games and that's why they didn't sell well or are scarce? How much demand really is there for King of Fighters 2002 and 2003?

I know it seems like there is a ton of demand for ZOE 2nd Runner on this site, but face it, lots of the people on here are more than your avg. gamer. Is there really that much demand for it when you look at everyone who buys games? I wouldn't think so.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for this, I'm going to make it into its own thread because I feel it should be one... I think I'm going to dump my KoF 02 / 03 now.

Game dosen't even go for that much on Ebay, dosen't even break the $30 mark on a used copy.
 
[quote name='drfrielgood']People collect everything; stamps, baseball cards, Pez dispensers, action figures...the list goes on and on. If a stamp maker reproduced a stamp, or if Topps remade a hot baseball card, they would be sure to differentiate them from the originals.[/quote]The difference is that games were meant solely for playing, unlike stamps, baseball cards, etc. Using a collectable stamp is pretty much wasting it, since any old stamp can do the same thing, and what can you actually do with a baseball card? Read it?

When a game becomes highly saught after, rare, and valuable, collectors snatch them all up and deny people from playing them. If a stamp collector hordes all the 1965 Elvis stamps (pulled that out of my butt), he isn't hurting anyone. There will always be stamps readily available that do the same darn thing. If I don't have A-Rod's rookie card, I can still print out his stats online. But when a game collector goes out and buys every Gitaroo-Man in sight because he can make a killing off of eBay, he is not allowing people their chance to play it at a normal price. They must wait/beg for a reprint or pay through the nose to get it.

I don't care too much if people buy and sell rare games at an inflated price. I do care when a collector masturbates to his prized, sealed copy of Suikoden II while some kid breaks down and just downloads it.
 
[quote name='Rictor']I am proud to say the only sealed games I own are because I haven't gotten around to opening them and playing them, not because I think they're some nifty collectible that will pay the down payment on my house someday.

There's a reason sealed NES games are worth money...no one bought video games 20+ years ago at $50 a pop to save in their closet as a collectible. The few sealed NES games that have survived have mostly been large warehouse finds where some one stored a bunch of unsold cases of games in a warehouse somewhere because they couldn't sell them at the time. I remember all the wholesale outlets selling sealed NES games for $5-10 a pop in the mid-nineties around the time N64 came out. Whatever didn't sell got packed up and sent to a warehouse somewhere to make room for new product. This stuff is being rediscovered and trickled onto the Ebay market...sometimes making games that were once extremely rare (Aladdin Deck Enhancer games) and making them a lot easier to find. Still, the sealed NES games are worth money because there aren't very many of them.

The reason your sealed PS2 games probably won't be worth sealed NES money in 20 years is because these days there are THOUSANDS of collectors buying extra copies of games to keep sealed in their closet with the intention of selling them for a profit some day. If people had done that when the NES came out, NES games wouldn't be worth much at all sealed right now. A sealed copy of Zelda would be around $20 instead of $200-400. So will Disgaea sealed be worth $400 (or the equivalent after inflation) in 20 years? I'm betting...no...because there will be more sealed copies than vintage collectors with big cash to spend.[/quote]

You are 100% wrong about this. Look at Final Fantasy VII. There were a billion of those games made. Look how much it fetches brand new. Will Disgaea be worth $400? Who knows, maybe, maybe not. Very few games ever get that high. That's not to say it isnt going to be worth a lot of money though.
 
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