If you are a game collector, how are you handling this gen?

[Gamerforlife]

To put it another way I have tons of mp3s on my ipod, but I would never call that my "music collection". Granted, it's all subjective, but if I don't see cds(or hell even records or cassettes if we want to get old school) than as far as I'm concerned a person doesn't have a music collection.

If there's a physical version of something, you don't have a "collection" of it unless you have those physical versions

[synbiosfan]

You can be a collector and have a strictly digital collection, including one that includes limited items, timed exclusives, various versions, etc. You can sell and buy accounts. People curate and maintain digital collections for games just as they do physical collections for games.

Exactly, people collect everything/anything.

[Gamerforlife]

You can be a collector and have a strictly digital collection, including one that includes limited items, timed exclusives, various versions, etc. You can sell and buy accounts. People curate and maintain digital collections for games just as they do physical collections for games.

Exactly, people collect everything/anything.

The politically correct, can't pick a side answer

But in all seriousness, I'm not gonna tell someone what is or isn't a collection. I always try and get digital exclusive stuff like pre order exclusives, or digital only games that interest me (Mark of the Ninja, Castle Crashers, etc.), so I guess that could be considered a collection, but only because there ISN'T a physical counterpart to those things. To me though, if there's a physical version of something, then that is the "collectible" version of that thing. I don't personally consider the twenty some PS 3 games on someone's hard drive a collection, the PS 3 games on his shelf are a collection, but that's just my perspective.

[Tanooki]

To put it another way I have tons of mp3s on my ipod, but I would never call that my "music collection". Granted, it's all subjective, but if I don't see cds(or hell even records or cassettes if we want to get old school) than as far as I'm concerned a person doesn't have a music collection.

If there's a physical version of something, you don't have a "collection" of it unless you have those physical versions

That why I call digital downloads, digital long term rentals. You don't own it, ever. You pay for the permission to use it until they feel you don't have a right to have it or have it supported anymore and once your copy gets lost (accidental format, theft, device breaks) you're out your music/game/etc and the money you paid for it. You can't collect rentals, you're just borrowing them for awhile for a fee.

[dsheinem]

once your copy gets lost (accidental format, theft, device breaks) you're out your music/game/etc and the money you paid for it.

Many of the same things, and more, can happen to physical media. The difference is you can't always have a backup of those as easily. If my house burned down, I'd still have access to to all the digital games I've bought over the past ~10 years but my physical stuff would be lost.

[Ziggy]

once your copy gets lost (accidental format, theft, device breaks) you're out your music/game/etc and the money you paid for it.

Many of the same things, and more, can happen to physical media. The difference is you can't always have a backup of those as easily. If my house burned down, I'd still have access to to all the digital games I've bought over the past ~10 years but my physical stuff would be lost.

Not your Nintendo ones.

[oxymoron]

That buying and selling of accounts you mentioned is interesting. I didn't know people did that, or that you even could do that.

I tried that here but some people were apposed to it.

[Hobie-wan]

That buying and selling of accounts you mentioned is interesting. I didn't know people did that, or that you even could do that.

I tried that here but some people were apposed to it.

It is against the TOS of most companies that do that sort of thing. Just because people do it doesn't mean that the companies approve or that they might not just pull the plug on an account if they find out.

[Tanooki]

once your copy gets lost (accidental format, theft, device breaks) you're out your music/game/etc and the money you paid for it.

Many of the same things, and more, can happen to physical media. The difference is you can't always have a backup of those as easily. If my house burned down, I'd still have access to to all the digital games I've bought over the past ~10 years but my physical stuff would be lost.

Not your Nintendo ones.

Which is what the line he did quote I was specifically taking a shot at, Nintendo's tie to system arrogance. On the whole my digital rental issue is there's no physical backup and once someone decides to quit a license or drop the service, your stuff is gone too, but if it's still up, sure a house fire wouldn't stop getting it back with a new console. WIth real physical stuff, it can all be found again outside of one offs, but it could potentially get expensive if you had a NES collection let's say with all of Taito and Capcom's post SNES launch titles which easily would be cheaper digitally.

[retrosportsgamer]

That why I call digital downloads, digital long term rentals. You don't own it, ever. You pay for the permission to use it until they feel you don't have a right to have it or have it supported anymore and once your copy gets lost (accidental format, theft, device breaks) you're out your music/game/etc and the money you paid for it. You can't collect rentals, you're just borrowing them for awhile for a fee.

Aren't you describing PS+ or downloads that require a paid subscription or online connection to access? If my PS3 or 3DS die, I have a hard drive and SD card that has those downloaded games. I don't consider those rentals at all.