Are you looking to get into video game collecting? Then please allow me to share my own experiences with you and give you a few tips on how to build up your own video game collection.
I have owned a fair number of video game consoles in my time, like the Nintendo NES and the Sony PlayStation (PSX and PS2), and my current video game console, the Nintendo Switch. I have always had a rather small collection of select games that mostly feature my favorite mustachioed plumber or pointy-eared hero and they were enough for me. Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda were my gaming mainstays, except on PlayStation of course. That was for my serious young adult games like GTA and Final Fantasy. Still, now that I am an adult and have moved out from the family home, my gaming collection has vastly expanded.
When I started running this blog, I had about a handful of Nintendo Wii U games and I was getting back into gaming again. I think I rounded out at around 25-30 games for the Wii U before the Nintendo Switch made its grand debut. However, I saw the Switch as a golden opportunity to start afresh with video game collecting as a new console means an all-new library of games to collect (well, mostly new but we will get to that later). I could build up my own collection as more games launched on the Switch rather than coming in too late to the party as I did with the Wii U.
Video Game Collecting Nintendo Switch Games
With the Nintendo Switch, I have picked up a lot of games when they first launched and I know that in most collector’s circles, that is a big mistake. Over time, some games drop drastically in price but the curious thing with Nintendo titles is that they very rarely do. Even now, the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are still around the original asking price and experience very little price drops in the pre-owned racks in video game stores.
Non-first party titles, on the other hand, do eventually receive hefty price drops a short period after release. Immortals Fenyx Rising for example. It was about $59.99 when it first launched and now its price is circling around $25.99 depending on where you look. The same can be said for Dragon Ball FighterZ and Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido. Both of these games can be found in bargain bins for around $9.99!
But Don’t I Get Given Games?
Since the launch of the Nintendo Switch, my current collection consists of over 140 Nintendo Switch games physically. All of these, with the exception of 2 or 3, have been purchased physically myself. Now I know what you may be thinking “But don’t you review games on your website? Surely, game developers and publishers give you games for you to review?”
Well, you are indeed correct, they do. However, being in the digital age that we are in, we are given 100’s of review keys to redeem and download games digitally. As reviewers and content creators, it is our privilege to review and create content for these games for our website. However, we like to go one step further for some developers whose games we have enjoyed so much and purchase them physically as well to further extend our support.
Physically or Digitally?
This really is the question of the current age of gaming “Do I want to own it physically or digitally?” I myself am quite ‘old school’ when it comes to gaming or anything really. I like to own things physically. I enjoy looking at my shelf and thinking “Which game would I like to play next?”
Of course, this isn’t limited to just video games, I also like to collect, books, magazines, DVD’s etc. My grandfather is quite a collector of books and DVD’s himself so I guess that I get my collector’s bug from him. On the other hand, my father loved his power tools (he was a carpenter by trade) and would constantly change and trade tools to make sure he had the best tool for each job. Another collector of sorts if you will.
Still, the beauty of owning something physically is that you physically own it. Though you can purchase and download digital games, if the server or the eShop delist the games after some years, they can become unavailable to download again. This is all well and good if you maintain your digital Switch library with an abundance of Micro SD cards. However, this is not the case for most of us and we rely on Nintendo maintaining the games on the eShop so we can redownload them should we wish to play them again.
Now, one of the setbacks for owning games physically is obviously space. Though I may have the space to store my video game collection, not everyone does and will probably have a shelf or a drawer dedicated for storing their games. Then again, Video game collecting is kind of like when you go shopping. If you have a small cart, you will only buy the absolute necessities and maybe a few snacks but when that cart is full, that’s your lot.
If you go shopping with a large trolley on the other hand, before you know it, the whole thing is full up and you only went in for a few groceries. So I guess what I mean to say is, if you have a restricted space reserved for your games, you are more selective with what you buy. If you have a large area dedicated for video games collecting, however, it’s open season.
So What Games Should I Consider Collecting?
This is the question isn’t it? Ideally, you should collect that games that you will most likely play. After all, what is the point of owning a game if you aren’t going to play it? That said, there are two ways of looking at video game collecting: Collect to Play, Collect to Own. Collect to Play is buying games that you will play and enjoy. These collections may be smaller but every game in the collection will see some screen time with your preferred console.
Collect to Own is that you are simply buying games solely to expand the size of your collection. Yeah, some of the games may get some screen time and provide some moments of enjoyment, a good number of these games though will probably never leave the cellophane wrap but that is the collector’s choice after all.
Whether you Collect to Play or Collect to Own, here are a few good tips to help you with video game collecting.
- Refrain from buying Day One: This one is a given and is common practice for collectors. A few weeks or months from a game’s release date, it could drop in price and save you a few pennies rather than paying full price on Day One.
- If you want the Collector’s Edition, get in before the Scalpers do: This is a little contradictory to the first tip but for good reason. Some Collector’s Editions get swiped up by scalpers who buy up all the stock and then sell it for extortionate amounts. If there is a game that has your eye and you don’t know whether you want to get the CE or not, do yourself a favor and get it. You could always sell it afterwards and in most cases, you can cancel a pre-order before it ships out at some online outlets.
- Bargain Bins and Pre-owned Games are your friend: A good number of games in my own collection have come from buying games secondhand at the likes of GAME (Gamestop) A lot of the time, you can find games that you may be interested in at a pretty good price.
- Wait for a sale: Every now and again throughout the year, most outlets have video games on sale. Amazon has it’s Prime Days. GAME has its weekly sales. MediaMarkt has its no VAT days. You can normally grab a bargain or two for games during these sales and usually on games that have been on the market for a good while. If there is a game you have had your eye on for some time, chances are it may just pop up in a sale.
Well, thank you for reading this article about video game collecting. I hope you have found it informative and it may help give you some pointers in how to build up your own video game collection. If you have some tips of your own, please do share them with us in the comments. We would love to hear them and may even post them in a future article (with citations, of course).
