[quote name='continuegaming']if his parents bought him a primo stamp/comic/coin collection worth 30K would you still feel the need to judge him? (why does it matter whether he worked for it or not?)...[/QUOTE]
Like I said above, if there is any jealousy, its because probably a lot of people would have to work on their own for that $30K, rather than have it handed to them. It doesn't matter what he spent it on. But all around America the wealthy just hand money to their kids to do stuff. I guess most of what they use the money for isn't newsworthy like this collection apparently is.
It would probably be a hell of a story if this kid worked his ass off in some crazy way to support himself, contribute to his family, and safely have the excess to have such a collection. But that doesn't seem to be the case.
Its sort of like being happy for a friend that they worked hard and saved up to go on a great vacation somewhere even if you'll never get to do the same versus some rich kid you went to high school with take their 10th vacation of the year to somewhere exotic. You're inclined to give a shit less about the latter.
And I think people have a valid opinion in saying that a sealed complete collection of video games is stupid. A lot of traditional collectors items are meant to just be tucked away for limited viewing like stamps, coins, easily breakable objects, etc.. Even with collecting action figures, once you open the package, the package is essentially ruined for collecting purposes. You can't re-put an action figure back in the packaging once you've ripped the plastic shell from the cardboard backing and have it all still be near mint.
But with video games, if you open them and play them, you can essentially keep the collection in near mint condition if you're careful and if your CD tray doesn't scratch the game up. So I think its a sense that the majority of people perceive little value or joy out of seeing sealed video games sitting there unplayed, versus other collector items which are essentially designed to sit there unused (ie even true for stamps and coins, because if you're going to use stamps or coins, that means mailing a letter or circulating the coin, at which point its out of your hands and you therefore have nothing, new or used, to "collect").
[quote name='continuegaming']who knows, in the future games could go the way of comics where he could have the equivalent to the
White Mountain Collection on his hands.[/QUOTE]
Video games are already like comic books. Certain ones will be valuable to collectors always, the rest are in the dollar bin. The rare PS2 games in this guy's collection are probably going to be worth quite a bit sealed, just like certain old comic books. No one is ever going to give a shit about some sealed Barbie game, just like all the holographic "1st Edition" comic books from the 1990s in dollar long boxes.
IF he were to sell the collection, either one of two things will happen:
1) The completeness of the collection will make the rare games worth more. Think of it like a collector seeing it and thinking "Holy shit, I've always wanted a complete sealed PS2 collection. And here it is, entirely in front of me. Now I don't have to track down rare games or the Barbie Quadrilogy on my own. Every game in this collection is worth $ to me, so I will pay you an amount that gives every game some reasonable value."
2) The completeness of the collection will actually make it worth less. Think of it like "Your collection is primarily valuable because A, B, and C are rare games in sealed condition. You want me to have the burden of transporting this whole pile of games where the so many of these of these aren't worth much. I'd give you X amount for a lot of these games including A,B, and C as a package, but if I have to take all of it off your hands including the complete Barbie Quadrilogy and mediocre Madden titles, I can only offer you the lesser amount of Y."
And regardless of if 1 or 2 were to happen, there is no telling if whatever amount he receives for it will be worth at least as much as he paid, adjusting for inflation at the time of sale. So in that regard, the whole collection might become as worthless as a complete collection of comic books published in the same 4 year span as all of these PS2 games were purchased.
And lets not forget digital distribution. Obviously the vast majority of these games will never see legitimate digital distribution, but if some of the rare titles are popular enough that they get a digital (HD) re-release (with bonuses), it effectively sinks the value of physical copy (which has already been happening), and now your buyer's market is limited to serious collectors.
I think its somewhat interesting that this kid has a complete sealed collection of PS2 games and indeed the collection is notable for being complete and sealed.
But past that, I personally don't find it very impressive since I'm sure the vast majority of that money didn't come from his own pockets. Give me $30K or whatever he spent and ensure my basic life necessities are handled too like I'm betting his were, and I'd wager I could probably accomplish the same feat in a similar amount of time. It's not like there was a skill involved in this. Its just money and free time, which are infinitely easier to come by when you don't have to work for the first which almost necessarily cuts down on the latter. Anyone can buy any pile of anything with a giant lump of cash. I'm much more impressed if a friend works his ass off to buy a vintage sports car he's always wanted than if some millionaire's socialite son wakes up one morning and decides he's going to spend pop's money on the same car. And don't take that as anything against the rich - if Bill Gates wants to wake up and buy an entire fleet of sports cars, great, because at least he earned his money through hard work and means that aren't criminal or a harm to society. Just don't expect me to think its awesome if Bill Gates had a 16 year old son who spent Bill's money to buy the same fleet of sports cars.