The Basics of Video Game Collecting as a Hobby Presented By Idiot Radio Network

By: TONY MATHEWS

The Basics of Video Game Collecting as a Hobby - Video games have become increasingly popular among the youth – from one generation to another. When it first came out, video games were a niche hobby that only a select few kids were really able to get into. Nowadays, it is so difficult to imagine a kid, or even an adult, who does not play a video game of some kind.

What most kids do not understand about video games is that some people actually go so far as to collect them. The biggest difference between today’s video games and yesterday’s video games is that the games of today do not usually need a physical storage device. Even big name console manufacturers like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are making it easier and simpler for people to download their favorite games.

However, there are a select few who take their video games so seriously that they have begun to build a massive library of video games. For these people, video game collecting is as much of a hobby as playing the games themselves. Here are some of the basics of video game collecting.

Buying the original release

Some console manufacturers have adopted a scheme for selling some of the bestselling titles on their platform at a cheaper price. The best example of this would be the Sony PlayStation. A video game becomes part of the Greatest Hits collection once it sells enough copies. The greatest hits collection is cheaper than the copies that were produced prior to hitting the record mark.

Some video game purists do not consider such re-released video game titles to be worthy of collection. The reason for this is that the re-release has a higher production volume. Furthermore, there are those who see it as not being suitable since only a select few games are considered to be a part of the Greatest Hits.

Buying for the rarity

Some people collect video games based simply on their rarity. Almost every collection hobby has that sort of niche sub demographic that delights in getting the rarest collectible items ever. For these people, rarity or scarcity is what gives their items any sort of real value. That said, the same also applies to video games.

What most people do not understand is just how ridiculous prices can get for a video game. To illustrate, the video game King of Fighters 2000, English edition, was the last installment of the King of Fighters series. It was developed by the now bankrupt SNK. The game had a very limited production run of 100 copies. Copies of this game have only been sold through auctions on the internet. It is considered to be one of the rarest games today and usually runs for somewhere between $3,000 and $6,000. But this is just the tip of the ice berg. There are video games that are so rare and also have such a rich history that they can command prices of up to $50,000.

Collecting games by the genre

The most usual form of game collection that people engage in is the collection of video games by genre. This is expected considering how there tends to be huge diverse subgroups among the gaming community. There are gamers who like roleplaying games. Then, there are those who exclusively play fighting games. Whatever the case might be, some gamers like to collect games by the genre.

The completionist

In video gaming nomenclature, the completionist is the gamer who likes to complete every single task that the developer has put in the game. They consider completing the game, not finishing the game, to be the greatest challenge. Some video game collectors are the same. They would prefer to collect every video game that was ever developed and released for a particular platform.

Game collection based on popularity and culture

Video gamers have a place on a scale where one side is allocated for the casual gamers while the other is for the more hard core and serious gamers. Some gamers take their video games so seriously they consider that almost every aspect of their life is dominated by it. From the friends that they play with and the websites that they visit, video games are at the very heart of the choices that they make. It is the subculture that they have chosen to become a part of.

Keeping that in mind, the gaming community has different subcultures. Each subculture considers certain video game titles to be gems that deserve to be cherished and bought even when the rest of the video game community could not care less.

A perfect example of this would be games produced by the developer Nippon Ichi games. Their games have simple graphics and are always turn-based strategy games, a genre that is slowly dying out. That said, there are plenty of turn-based strategy gamers out there who understand and value the amount of depth and gameplay that’s involved with the developer’s titles. Fans of the genre are not considered to be hardcore or real fans if they do not get to play it.

Video game subculture plays a huge role in whether or not a title is worth adding to a person’s collection or not.

Collecting whatever

The last type of person who collects is someone who collects games simply because they like what they play. These people do not discriminate. They play a game, they like it, and then they add it to their library of video games.

This is as simple as a video gamer can get in terms of collecting video games. This is, in fact, the most common kind of video game collector out there. Most people just buy as much games as they can when they think that the game is worth the buy. In layman’s terms, these are the people who collect video games for the simple reason that they find the title so much fun. For them, there is no other reason to collect the games other than the fact that it is worthy of their playtime.

Check Out The Idiot Radio Network