To be clear, in the case of vintage video games I'm not concerned the creators might be out some cash if I don't buy a legitimate copy. It's the principle of the thing.
I used to feel that way too. Then I read about how copyright used to be limited to like 30 years... (exact limit I'd have to look up) and how Congress keeps extending it for the big companies everytime Mickey Mouse's Copyright is about to expire, just to keep Disney profits up. The same Disney that makes $billions off stuff in the public domain, because back then, the Copyright expired... (winnie the pooh, snow white, cinderella, the list is pretty extensive...) Copyright was never meant to make $$ for a corporation forever. It was meant to allow an author (a person) to profit from their creations for a limited time. Apply the same theory to these 20+ yr old games... and I honestly don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong, even in principal. If I can't still get it new at close to MSRP or less from a retail outlet, then in my mind, the author has made his go of it and I'm in the clear.
There is, however, something to be said for the "complete package" when buying a game. I like to have a real-life, paper manual I can hold and flip through, among other things.
Agreed, tho with a lot of my purchases, I find myself having to print up old manuals, because buying the games "complete" costs so damn much.
Zeta touches on another good point, one that I wanted to mention in my earlier post but I ran out of time. There are two kinds of "collectors," really. Those who collect games they like to play, and those who collect games because of perceived value.
maybe. I'd argue that the ones "collecting" because of perceived value are not really collectors, more like investors, or resellers. If you have no intent to keep it, it's not really collecting.
My definition of a collector (looking in the mirror here, somewhat) is someone that looks at a list, with lots of empty checkboxes, and wants to "finish the list" and check off all the boxes, to "complete the collection". My wife tells me I have a disorder here... heh, and she's probably right. I like to have one of each game for my favorite systems, even if it means buying some games that suck and I'll probably never play more than 10 mins. I always start with my favorites, then I move into buying ones others recommend, and by then the "collection" seems so within reach that I find myself picking up all the rest of the crap just to finish it out.
I've never purchased a game because I thought it was worth money. I never plan on selling any of them, so value never enters the equation for me. Sure, I do end up selling games here and there when I pick up duplicates or get something I really hate, but I'll often sell to the first person who makes an offer, and rarely do I even try to ascertain "current market value" before doing so.
I definitely have. Trading and flipping games and systems here and there is how I fund the purchases of the ones I want. I don't have a huge disposable income, much like many folks here, but I do have enough sense to know that if I can get a good deal on something I don't particularly want, then sell it, and then use the funds to buy something I do really want, I'm not doing anything wrong. I think the wrong comes in when you mislead someone into giving you the good deal in the first place. I've made several offers on the large lots in the buy/sell threads, but every time I've been up front that I would be keeping only a couple of the items, and reselling the rest.
side note: $1800, $250, $100... it's all relative. Some ppl make $1mil/yr and $1800 is pocket change. Some ppl make $10k/yr and $100 is a stretch. Everyone's "omg that's a lot of cash" scale is different.
* So it kind of pisses me off when some folks judge others based on how different their "omg that's a lot of cash" scale is from their own.
** It also kind of pisses me off that noone takes inflation into account when pricing this stuff, and instead passes judgement on people who do. Does no one realize that 3-4 years ago there was ~850 billion in circulation and now there's ~1.8 trillion? The (private company) Federal Reserve essentially printed money to bail out wall street. All else being equal, something "worth" $85 in 2008 is now worth -at least- $180, just because our money is worth half as much. If you apply that to the pricing of a lot of our turbo gear, in real world terms, the actual value has dropped significantly. (so stop complaining already! or, I suppose, complain to your employer that your pay hasn't kept up with inflation, if you really feel the need to complain?)
haha, whew, got that out! I feel so much better. ;-)
Back on the price list topic... I think it's a bad idea. Just because it'd be impossible to keep up to date, not because I don't think it'd be a good service to gamers trying to get a feel for how much they should pay for XX game they loved when they were 13 yrs old, never should have sold, and now want to buy again.
