How do you feel about variants?

[Luke]

I'm with cheese head, it depends on the game. I'll purchase 5-pins of 3-pins I already own simply for the fact I love the smoother look. I have no idea why, but I like owning both the Gold and Grey Zelda carts. I even bought an extra copy of OOT because one's "E" esrb rating was outlined, the other "E" rating was solid black.

Besides Zelda, the only variants I own are probably Maximum Carnage (red and grey carts) and FFVII (Black label, and black label w/ misprint).

[BoneSnapDeez]

This is one thing I've never cared about. If I'm physically shopping at a store and I find original and Greatest Hits copies of a game at the same price, I'll get the original. But if I'm shopping online I never go out my way to find a specific variant, I just want to play the game.

[theclaw]

I tend to do something like that. An opportunistic mix with best value, or whatever.

It doesn't seem like actually hunting for lesser condition games to save money would net me much success. Though I haven't given that a serious try.

[ExedExes]

This is one thing I've never cared about. If I'm physically shopping at a store and I find original and Greatest Hits copies of a game at the same price, I'll get the original. But if I'm shopping online I never go out my way to find a specific variant, I just want to play the game.

I'm glad someone brought this up. I read somewhere (maybe here or someplace else) that if you ever got the Players Choice/All Stars/Million Seller version of a game, it wasn't as good as say, having the original, from a collector's standpoint. This never became an issue until Nintendo started doing that with their SNES titles and I noticed a few Dreamcast games had them too. Of course, go to a site like RF Generation and you'll notice all the other "variants" of older games very quickly as I saw when putting together my Atari 2600 and NES collections.

I've been very proud of the fact that out of the nearly 20 games I've got for the Gamecube this year, only *3* of them were Player's Choice editions. I guess I feel a little less dirty now even though these games play exactly the same As BSD says, you just want to play the game, and I need to realize that fact.

[isiolia]

I'm glad someone brought this up. I read somewhere (maybe here or someplace else) that if you ever got the Players Choice/All Stars/Million Seller version of a game, it wasn't as good as say, having the original, from a collector's standpoint. This never became an issue until Nintendo started doing that with their SNES titles and I noticed a few Dreamcast games had them too. Of course, go to a site like RF Generation and you'll notice all the other "variants" of older games very quickly as I saw when putting together my Atari 2600 and NES collections.

I've been very proud of the fact that out of the nearly 20 games I've got for the Gamecube this year, only *3* of them were Player's Choice editions. I guess I feel a little less dirty now even though these games play exactly the same As BSD says, you just want to play the game, and I need to realize that fact.

I think in some cases it's due to the rereleases having a different, usually lower standard for artwork. PS1 Greatests Hits are all black text on a silver disc far as I know.
They also tend to stand out on the shelf, and the "Greatest Hits" branding is usually anything but subtle. For collecting purposes, I can easily see where black labels would be preferred.

For -playing- the game, if anything, a Greatest Hits release is usually preferable. I don't know of a case where content was removed, but there have been plenty where things got fixed or added.

[BoneSnapDeez]

It's worth noting that most online distros don't seem to distinguish amongst different variants - not that I blame them, that would take far too much time and manpower.

If you order from, say, JJGames or estarland, you'll have to email them ahead of time to know exactly what you're getting. A little while ago I ordered two copies of Super Smash Bros. Melee from JJ (one for me and one for my seester) - I ended up getting one Player's Choice copy and one Best Seller copy.

Collectors need to be wary of places that keep their discs behind a counter. I've purchased games with original packaging only to realize I got a Greatest Hits disc sometime later on (and vice versa).

[BurningDoom]

I only buy the variant if there are changes to the game itself like new levels, upgraded graphics, bonus characters, etc. If it's just different artwork or a different sized box, I don't really care. I already spend enough on collecting as it is.

[Gamerforlife]

I hate variants, both video game variants and comic book variants. It's just an extra headache for you as a consumer, having to decide which to buy or whether you should buy them all. I'd rather not have to be bothered with such annoying decisions.

In my perfect world:

"Here you go sir, the one and only version of this thing, because you live in a perfect world where everything is simple."

[elmagicochrisg]

"Here you go sir, the one and only version of this thing, because you live in a perfect world where everything is simple."

"Here you go sir, the one and only version of this thing, and it's 100 percent complete too."

[ninjainspandex]

For -playing- the game, if anything, a Greatest Hits release is usually preferable. I don't know of a case where content was removed, but there have been plenty where things got fixed or added.

well the greatest hits version of zelda ocarina of time removed some music from the fire temple that was deemed offensive, and changed ganons red blood to green.