I do get your point. Sitting there sealed I can't even play them. I guess it's like hanging a picture. You can't do much with it. But I'm sure you like looking at it.
That's an interesting analogy. And I did keep that copy of F-Zero sealed for awhile for that very reason...
However, the only reason I bought that copy was because I'm a big fan of the F-Zero series as a whole & having a sealed example of one of the games was exciting to me...but not as exciting as opening the game & pretending to experience it for the first time.
Y'see, pictures you can hang up on the wall & everyone sees them, and everything that can be experienced from those pictures is right there in front of your face. However, if you display a MISB video game, you've basically turned your display into a storefront - nobody that sees it will know what it's like to play the game.
You're better off buying/making some cover art posters of your favorite games, and playing the rest when you can, with that logic. Between my job & my kid, I haven't found as much time to play video games recently either...but if it's something you care about, you make time.
The only conceivable reason I'd see owning video games, but not playing them, is showing off how much self-control you have. It'd be like displaying a hermetically sealed, delicious cake. Sure, it looks tasty, but nobody will ever know that for sure because they can't eat it. All of your friends will be like "omg that looks delicious, how haven't you eaten any yet?"
Every object made by human hands serves some kind of purpose. Sometimes it's just sitting there & being looked at. That's for things like antiques & porcelain dolls. Cars are meant to be driven, toys are meant to be played with, cakes are meant to be eaten, and video games are meant to be played. I never understood the point in collecting any of those things if you can't experience & enjoy them, unless doing so absolutely destroys them.
