Nearly all my consoles are as new boxed etc even my sc-1000 MRK 1 and II consoles..

I do play them and really enjoy the old school more than todays garbage.
Who cares what people have to say..
Collect what ya want when ya want!

It is a service to everyone except the collectors, and if you’re after software just for the monetary value, those of us who aren’t collectors don’t appreciate you either. There is nothing wrong with the price of a game decreasing, as it makes that game more accessible to people. The high price you collectors charge just serves to draw attention to some older games that were in small numbers of production. Games like Tales of Eternia just weren’t widely known because the publisher never bothered to advertise them, and then spares were recalled before word of mouth could spread. That doesn’t justify the high price people have to pay for the game now that they learned about the series because Nintendo did a major advertisement campaign for Tales of Symphonia.

With reprints having a higher chance of happening, the price of games can fall to what they are worth for actual content, instead of what they are worth just for being rare.

he feels bad about his dead end job so he resorts on picking on companies that are actually doing good things for the industry.

one word loser STFU

I have to say I largely disagree with LoT and agree with the above commentors. Games ARE meant to be played, regardless of price. I’m interested in great games, not expensive ones. That’s why a NES cart like Bubble Bobble will also have a higher value in my mind than some junk like Bubble Bath Babes. While I would love to have a copy of BBB, I’d only buy if it were a deal. What constitutes a “deal” is different for every collector, but I think you get my drift.

I’m a collector who loves playing games on the original hardware; and I have NO interested in just getting a bunch of emulator ROMs. That said, I have no problem with re-issues — so long as the re-issued packaging contains some kind of identifying mark that lets you know it’s not original. It’s got to have SOMETHING, however small, that clearly labels it as a repro.

Famous and/or collectible coins, comic books and baseball cards all have been reproduced over the years and collectors have ways of telling fakes from the genuine article. A REAL collector will still be interested in obtaining orginal copies. Meanwhile, people who can’t shell out a bunch of money wil get to play great games though the efforts of people like Game Quest. So long as the repros are clearly marked and so long as collectors continue to take their hobby seriously, then the value of the games shouldn’t decrease by much, if at all.

Metal Slug 1 on Neo Geo AES isn’t great because it’s a 1000$ on Ebay, but just because it plain rocks and still is the most enjoyable Metal Slug game today.
And it wouldn’t get greater or worse just because it’s 15$ in the bargin bin at EBGames.
Same goes for Super Mario World which is sometimes just a handful of dollars – it’s an amazing game, endless hours of fun, and it’s not worse than REZ just because I payed 1,50 instead of 80 Bucks. Heck, what about games like today’s Psychonauts – it’s amazingly great, yet nobody cares for it… and I don’t think people would find it more amazing if it was twice as much or just half the price it is now.
People who buy games just because they are expensive are plain weird… I never bought a game and thought it was awesome because I had to spend 5x as much money on it than on my other games… what kind of logic is that!?

All his arguments just circle around earning money, dropping and raising prices, and whatnot… what about the games?

I actually feel some kind of pressure when I get game after game, and just don’t know how I should ever play them all… it feels wasted, and unfair towards the games in some way (yeh, silly me). Because what good is having a game when you put it on your shelf and leave it there to rot? It’s ment to be played – not stashed away so 3 collectors with too much time and money on their hands can slobber over it and admire each other for having obtained a copy.

And about re-releases – imo they’re mankinds greatest invention (even beating sliced bread) – I have 3000 ZX Spectrum discs on a handsome little DVD (legal) that fits nicely with my other games. Where would I store 3000 discs – where would I put 3000 cardboardboxes!? I don’t want to rent a warehouse, just because I enjoy old games. And nowadays emulation lets me emulate shitty screens and whatnot… and even the Competition Pro returned from the dead – it’s like the good old times, but better!

Or take CAPCOMs Classic Collection – it just spares me the trouble of obtaining those annoying CPS1 pcbs which are mostly broken in one way or the other (and are a pain to restore back to former glory). And don’t even get me started on those goddamn CPS2 “suicide” boards… annoying to shell out quite a bunch of bucks to see the game die in front of your eyes (or being dead already after hearing from the seller that it like… totally worked)!
Doesn’t happen on MAME or on the PS2/Xbox/whatever…

Collecting is great fun, and so are videogames – but collecting for the sake of just having a “big, fat, expensive collection” and just having games because they are rare and go for big bucks on ebay is actually very sad.

In fact, I think Mr. Collector might be better off with stamps after all.

I really just wanted to play those games on my ill-fated 2D powerhouse. Whatever special pride I may feel by having those games that countless others did not was eclipsed by the joy of actually playing them.
That said, I decided I’d just steal the little bastards back. But the copy protection on the Saturn is a stunning thing and I refused to “disc swap” or get a mod chip.

Now I hear rumors that GQD may in fact reprint some of these games, with the help of SEGA or whoever, and I rejoice.

Video game collectors are a sorry lot. Not because of their temprament or their penchant to call others “moron.” No. They are a sorry lot because of the items they collect and the industry that spawns them.
Unlike Wizards Of The Coast with their Magic cards or comic book publishers with their, well, comic books, the publishers of video games make no money off the secondary market. Were Wizards to reprint the Black Lotus and Juzam Djinn tomorrow, the backlash would be extraordinary. Card shops that hold Wizards-sanctioned events would stop paying their fees, players that enter tourneys in hopes of winning one of those ultra rare cards would feel no need to submit their $50 entry fee, collectors would go on murderous rampages, etc.
Wizards has an obligation to their collectors because the cards, after all is said and done, are labeled a “COLLECTIBLE Trading Card Game.” Indeed, Wizards and similar companies financial futures depend on not re-issuing.
This is not true of the video game industry.
The industry in general and their publishers in particular depend solely on making money. As retro-gaming becomes more and more popular as a subculture it only stands to reason that these companies will feel a buck can be made.
Don’t blame GQD for they are only part of what you feel is “the problem.” Sega is a partner of theirs. Whoever owns the Atlus catalog is a partner of theirs. Sony is a partner of theirs. And why?
To make a buck.
Make no mistake, the joy that have-not gamers and the rage that hard-core collectors feel is purely incidental.
It’s all about the money.

And I for one, happen to think that’s a great thing.
Especially if it means I can play Panzer Dragoon Saga without selling my sister into white slavery.

Holding onto old technologies and being ignorant to new methods of using it is like holding onto your old car. Sure, you can fix up the old car and make it look like a ‘classic’ but most of us don’t have the time for that so it rusts. What I’m getting at here is that you expect everyone to have the money and time to be a true retro gamer. Personally, I’d rather have reissues as it helps the original game publishers. Atlus is a fantastic publisher but it seems so easy to miss their new releases even if you wait just a couple months! It’s a losing situation for everyone when that happens (except of course for the collector who gets to sit back while his mint copy of Persona 1 gains value.)

In closing, kudos to all of you that are retro collectors. You want to play Kirby on the original NES, please do. But please don’t call for boycotts or impede in the way of rereleasing classic games. Value and money are the main factors in your arguement and you are forgetting that reissues help the game market. Without them, people would just emulate, leaving no old-games for anyone.