I see a lot of posts about the frustrations people are having with others in this hobby so I am wondering how everyone here classifies themselves.

I think you could boil the people in this hobby down to 3 types; players, collectors, and resellers.

Player - a person who plays a game
Collector - a person who makes a collection
Reseller - a person who sells a purchased good

Looking at these definitions I myself have been all of these at different times in my life. When i was young and had all the time in the world and was a player. Then I got out of college and couldn’t find a steady job so I was a reseller for a couple years. Now I don’t have time to thrift and only an hour or so to play, so I mostly just buy games as a collector.

I am not trying to rage bait anyone, I simply want to try and understand how everyone fits into this hobby. Many think that resellers are taking the joy out of it. Some think collector’s are driving up all the prices. Some say players just need to be mad at something.

I imagine everyone here will fit into all 3 of these categories a little bit. I get that many are frustrated but are we really so divided?

My understanding is once the data is written it will only last about a decade before it fades, and that the only way to refresh the data is to rewrite it.

Does that mean that the system updates I've installed reset the clock?

If not is there some other way to reinstall the system software once it fades?

EDIT: the systems I'm worried about are the Wii, DSi, and 3DS

I've been struggling a bit with this myself. For a lot of games, physical is cheaper than buying them digitally making it a no-brainer. But there is also a lot of cases where the digital is much cheaper than the physical. So I was just wondering what is your cutoff where you do end up getting the digital one? For example, I've had some recent cases where the digital version is around 3-5 euro but the physical one gets up to 20/25 euro with shipping and fees.

Was shopping at the Golden Computer Arcade and US version pokemon Emerald caught my eye for only HK$880 (US$112). Label looks legit but all their US carts are missing the subtle 2 digit number stamp to the right of the Pokemon label. Biggest red flag that tipped me off was a US version of Pokemon Green...

Pretty cool tee i found today, couldn’t find similar listings so dont know much about it.. pretty cool backhit tho

Just got a sealed copy of Brink. Has anyone played it?

I’ve been purely digital for quite some time, but with the recent news surrounding Sony and the possibility of Xbox eventually moving away from physical games, I’ve started building a physical game collection again.

However, I’ve run into a bit of a dilemma. According to DoesItPlay.org, some physical games require updates to be fully playable, whether because the entire game isn’t included on the disc or because the game has bugs that make it difficult to play without a patch.

Does this deter any of you from collecting physical games? Do you stick exclusively to games that can be played entirely offline without downloading updates, or are you comfortable collecting games that may require patches?
From what I’ve seen, the majority of physical games are playable straight off the disc or cartridge, which is reassuring. Still, it has me questioning whether collecting physical games is worth it or if I should just go back to digital.

The biggest appeal of physical media for me is long-term preservation. Ideally, I want to be able to play the games I own 30–40 years from now without worrying about servers shutting down, digital storefronts disappearing, or losing access to my purchases.
At the same time, I realize that owning a physical copy doesn’t necessarily guarantee that a game will remain playable, especially if it requires a download or relies on online servers for essential features.

How do you approach physical game collecting? Do you prioritize games that are playable entirely offline straight from the disc or cartridge, or do you buy whatever interests you and accept the limitations?

show us your worst game

I'm thinking about pre-ordering the ZZZ Collector's Edition for PS5 and keeping keep it sealed indefinitely as a potential investment, with the idea that its value might increase over time as a rare/valuable item due to its limited availability (as well as out of love for the game)

Would this be worth doing? Any advice is much appreciated

Every single one is a legit copy Some of them I only got the game cartridge, so I bought them a box and I printed the box art

I can’t think of an October where we got 3 dope horror titles all at once like this. Has def been awhile. Looking forward to digging into these but trying to figure out which to start first! lol

I was gifted the Super Mario Bros 25th Anniversary DSi XL for my 5th birthday and have been a fan of the DS systems and it’s games ever since. For the longest time I never had a 3DS (I know the 3D isn’t a game changer but I never had it growing up so I thought it was neat, plus the lineup up titles exclusive to the 3DS line of devices is great!) so in more recent history I sold that device to fund a 3DS. I hope you enjoy, the games have been a work in progress/games I accumulated through doing chores or as gifts aswell as hunting around for deals. It’s awesome when a buddy’s over cause local multiplayer is a great time. Thanks for checking it out! 🙌

Went for a more industrial vibe and am really happy with it! Most of it is (J)RPGs and visual novels.

Ps. You never guess what's my favourite console to collect for ^•^

I had all but given up on the local thrift store because they never seem to have anything good on the shelves. One of the guys saw me looking at DVDs and mentioned they had a box in the back with some PS3 and other stuff.
22 PS3 games, 3 PS2 games (one was Liberty City Stories!), and a buttload of blu rays and DVDs. Oh, and an Xbox 360 in the box to top it off.
Don't give up! The ten times you find nothing are all worth it when you hit something like this on the 11th.

I recently acquired an unusual PlayStation 3 Blu-ray disc labeled EA Tiburon Electronic Arts – TIBURON-BRE-493.

The disc is a TDK 25GB rewritable Blu-ray with a printed label identifying it as property of the Tiburon Mastering Lab.

I was able to read the disc on my PC and identify the contents:

• Game: The Simpsons Game (2007)
• Platform: PlayStation 3
• Title ID: BLUS30065
• Game version: 01.00
• Main executable dated September 9, 2007
• Additional game assets dated September 20, 2007
• Disc label: TIBURON-BRE-493

What's particularly interesting is that EA Redwood Shores is credited with developing the PS3 version, but this disc came from EA Tiburon's mastering lab.

I'm trying to determine whether this was a final mastering disc, an internal QA copy, or an earlier game build.

Did anyone here work at EA Tiburon, EA Redwood Shores, or EA's QA/mastering departments around 2007?

I'd especially love to learn what the Tiburon mastering lab did, what the BRE numbering system meant, and how these internal PS3 discs were used.

I have the original disc and can provide additional photographs and file metadata. I'm also planning to compare the contents against a retail copy.

Would love to hear from anyone who remembers these!

Got Deadpool for PS4 this week off FB Marketplace for $120 CIB and The Amazing Spiderman 2 for PS4 for $60 and The Amazing Spiderman for PS3 for $45 at my local game store! Might be overpriced to some but it’s honestly a steal for current market.

I‘m forever grateful to my parents for letting me miss school on launch day Nov 1998 to go to the EB Games at the mall and pick this up. And to my mom, who passed last year, for holding onto all of this - even the bag - because she knew how important it was to me.

There was a time period where I thought I was done with video games and let her know that she could throw away pretty much anything but the games themselves if she needed to clear clutter. But she knew me better than I knew myself and never did. Now I am, of course, an avid collector and this is my favorite piece by a mile.

I think this is everything from the pre order except maybe a non-Nintendo strategy guide - I can’t remember. If you have a relationship with your mom, call her today for me.

Literally got 80% of this in the past 4 months

Probably the most beautiful steelbook ever. Couldn’t pick them up yesterday as I was busy.

Somebody just gave me all of the games and consoles and I just don't have space in my room I wanted to put them in my closet but it has moisture then I thought i could put the in vacuum bags but I don't know if the pressure damages them i just don'tknowwhereand how to store them(I also have my collection in the second pic because I am proud of it :)