Downloadable Classics taking away from Collectors?

S

Strubes

So I was thinking, alot of people who owned consoles from NES through the N64 pretty much prided themselves on collecting games. At a time (before the 360, PS3, and Wii), some games on these consoles became extremely rare, and sold for a pretty high price. Now that clear-cut classics are being sold over the VC (Wii), PSN (PS3), and XBLA (360) for a mere fraction of their selling prices, it seems that all the hard work and cash that collectors have dished out for these titles have become null. Eventually, more classics will be released for download that were once rare. Instead of selling a game for $100 or more online, you'll be able to download them for $5-$10 over the VC, PSN, or XBLA. So, I wonder. As a collector, do you frown upon rare games being released for download? Or do you welcome the fact that almost anybody can play these masterpieces?
 
As one of the eldest here at EGA who's pretty hardcore about original/retro gaming. I have to say, no it doesn't take away from collector's. However I do notice a spike in value of the original games. Mai is a primary example with her recent purchase of Earthbound. Last year, just the cart was worth $60. Now thanks to Smash Bros. Brawl, it's over $215 on Ebay. Astounding and very bizarre I have to say, but watch. As soon as it shows up on Virtual Console, the value will drop some. Same thing will happen to Mario RPG I'm assuming.

However, some cases, like for example, Super Mario 64, when it showed up on VC, it's value kinda bounced up and down between $20-30. So it depends on the title, yet not quite? The market is very iffy imho. Hard to tell what they will do, since if it's not Mustard today, then it must be Ketchup, right? Maybe.

Yet I like the fact these classics are offered in this format, that way all newcomers can understand about their history of their favorite series or understand how some games came to be.
 
i honestly think that if i own the original version of the game and i still have not sold it then i will never sell it... so i don't really care if the price goes up or down.

and i do like the fact that VC PSN, XBLA come out as mega pointed out i missed some games from past eras that i wished to play and to know their story, so too bad for collectionists/merchants, they should sell their games while they can.
 
In response to your value of the game vs. a downloadable game. The fact is, "Ain't nothing like the real thing baby." A psychical object has more value in it, than some little copy of it. That's just plain ol' truthiness.

You can't sell me a true Addler 1950's Genuine Leather Jacket without making sure it's the LEGIT thing, you know? Not many people still have the real deal, since there are many mimics and revised editions.

So basically, a cartridge is true gold in the hands of a collector, you can't show off a "Virtual" object.
 
Yes, IMO... it can actually make the game even rarer. Most people collect the game not so they can say they have the ability to play it, but rather for their value as pieces of gaming history.

Trust me... if this were an issue, we'd have known about it before the VC thanks to all the roms and emulators out there of classic games.
 
It's not hurting me any. I agree with Mega. The "virtual" game may be okay, but to me it's an authorized knock-off.
 
Roms haven't hurt collectors as much as some people claimed they would, neither will legal DLs. If anything, I think both of those things help to revive interest in classic gaming. When I discovered emus a couple of years ago, it reinvigorated my interest in finding and collecting old gems, as well as hunting down games that I'd never heard of or had long since forgotten.
 
I have some games that are selling for $150 or more in the present market. But I do not have those games because they are worth that much. I bought those games when they were new. I am not a collector, I'm a gamer. I buy games because I find that they are fun to play. I do admit that I hoard what I have and can't let a game go once I own it. So I have games boxed up in my closet in plastic containers. So something like the VC for the Wii, PS3, or XB360 don't really have any affect on me. I personally would not want to do my classic gaming that way. I like holding it in my hands and I like the original hardware type gaming. If I do happen upon a game I want and it is complete, it is like Ooooooo to me. :lol To put it another way, I like the original donuts, not some cereal that is shaped like one.
MegaDrive20XX said:
"Ain't nothing like the real thing baby." A psychical object has more value in it, than some little copy of it. That's just plain ol' truthiness.
Click to expand...

So I fully agree with Mega that having the physical piece in my hands means a lot to me. But as far as value of that object, I could care less if it is worth $1 or $100. To me, the value is in the playing and enjoying. I really don't think that the VC would impact collectors and the value of their collections. We are talking the original physical stuff vs. a bunch of non tangible numbers.
 
Strubes said:
So I was thinking, alot of people who owned consoles from NES through the N64 pretty much prided themselves on collecting games. At a time (before the 360, PS3, and Wii), some games on these consoles became extremely rare, and sold for a pretty high price. Now that clear-cut classics are being sold over the VC (Wii), PSN (PS3), and XBLA (360) for a mere fraction of their selling prices, it seems that all the hard work and cash that collectors have dished out for these titles have become null. Eventually, more classics will be released for download that were once rare. Instead of selling a game for $100 or more online, you'll be able to download them for $5-$10 over the VC, PSN, or XBLA. So, I wonder. As a collector, do you frown upon rare games being released for download? Or do you welcome the fact that almost anybody can play these masterpieces?
Click to expand...

I'd imagince it would go in reverse actually. Physical copies are still pretty rare. I still remember when I got Super Metroid for $20 from BV. Even though it's not super rare, like say the earlier Final Fantasies, it's more then most SNES games of its times.
 
Yeah, there's a big difference in having the cart, and in having a ROM of it(which is what the VC is).
 
Download all they want,you have physically got the game in your hands,whether it's a disc or cartridge,that's worth more isn't it?
(IF I'm Understanding You Correctly)
 
MR.KAZ said:
Download all they want,you have physically got the game in your hands,whether it's a disc or cartridge,that's worth more isn't it?
(IF I'm Understanding You Correctly)
Click to expand...

Even though I own a ton of classic games I still emulate most of them just because it's quicker and easier. The "Room of Doom" clutter gets old really fast.
 
FrakAttack said:
Even though I own a ton of classic games I still emulate most of them just because it's quicker and easier. The "Room of Doom" clutter gets old really fast.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's true.

A lot of games that I have on the VC are ones I also have in my physical collection; however it's just more convenient to play them through the VC than to get out my classic systems and hook them up. Even Earthbound, I haven't had a chance to get my SNES out for, so if they added it to the VC soon I would probably still buy it for the VC as well.
 
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