Sealed Games: Shame, Greed, and Hesitation

[AppleQueso]

Collecting is not hoarding.

From the DSM-5:

The behavior usually has harmful effects — emotional, physical, social, financial, and even legal — for the person suffering from the disorder and family members. For individuals who hoard, the quantity of their collected items sets them apart from people with normal collecting behaviors. They accumulate a large number of possessions that often fill up or clutter active living areas of the home or workplace to the extent that their intended use is no longer possible.

(emphasis mine)

Hoarders also tend to collect things regardless of their value to others, and typically aren't very picky about what things they'll 'collect'.

Even people who have enough disposable income to blow on slabbed games and other over-the-top collections don't have them making it literally impossible to live in their houses.

You're conflating a relatively speaking pretty normal behavior with a very real mental illness simply because they share superficial characteristics.

[Hobie-wan]

Only if it is negatively affecting you or those around you in some way. Can't pay your bills because you keep buying stuff? Have to move stacks of stuff to do daily activities or can't move around your domicile because there's too much stuff in the way? Never interact with people beyond the bare minimum on a daily basis because you'd rather be with your stuff? Then we're talking hoarding and mental illness.

[AppleQueso]

I gave up my collection for a lot of reasons. Maintaining the collection wasn't giving me as much satisfaction anymore. Building the collection was getting too expensive. The whole thing was a giant money sink diverting funds from more important things I needed to take care of in my life. I simply needed the money to move.

Could building and maintaining a large collection be more about coping with other stressors in your life? Maybe. I suspect most collectors do that to some extent (I know I sure as hell did), but it isn't a black and white thing and there are plenty who manage to build very large and very impressive collections while keeping the rest of their life in check.

Collecting isn't always a very healthy thing to do for some people, but for most I'd say you're looking at something more akin to gambling addiction than something like hoarding.

[dsheinem]

i think what everyone is saying is that collecting sealed video games is just as stupid as collecting video games

[AppleQueso]

i think what everyone is saying is that collecting sealed video games is just as stupid as collecting video games

In the end it's a bunch of worthless plastic and silicon we attach an absurd amount of romanticism to.

[nightrnr]

Everyone echoes my own sentiments in one way or another:

Open them. The older the games, the better. Video each one, and then post them to Youtube. That way you can hear the collective screams of all the people who nonsensically collect sealed games, and hopefully the collective screams of those collecting the even more nonsensical VGA graded sealed copies.

Take a video of you unboxing the sealed game and then licking it to mark your territory.

Whenever I buy a game I open it as soon as I get home. Usually while taking a dump. I keep nothing sealed. I don't "collect" or sell/resell games though. Do whatever works for you.

Eww, it's been in the bathroom
It's funny, we have no idea what people do to or with a game before it gets in our hands.

I don't know, I do think collecting is not exactly a sane hobby. I suppose it is mean to outright call it an illness until it crosses a certain line. I think you guys all have a point (nice or not).
I've always felt that I like owning a library that I can peruse and select what to play. That, and I like the sense of wonder filled with my preconceived notions of each game as I go through the unplayed or impressions of ones I have.

I have sealed. Copies of Smash Bros Melee and Pikmin 1&2 on Gamecube among others. Been thinking now is a good time to sell them and pick up used copies.

You too huh?, I have a nice opened copy of Smash Bros, but picked up an extra for fear of wearing it out one day (I don't trust the nephews). The Pikmin's make me think twice though especially with the Wii versions out there.

Just sell them and buy opened copies. You are not hurting anyone, if nothing else you are increasing supply while lowering demand (since you don't care about sealed games) going against what you don't like.

See, I'd rather lower demand by decreasing supply;
Something that isn't available or is prohibitively expensive weed out most buyers.

Tanooki, you type as much as I do, so I won't quote, but...
Kudos for opening and playing FF6. That deserves playtime as much or more than anything ( OMG, I just realized that I still have a sealed copy: bought 2, played the hell out of it, then gave it to sister to enjoy instead of giving her the sealed copy. Why do I do this to myself? ).
I won't feel guilty anymore though. If I come across a nice affordable copy, maybe I will sell the sealed (suckers!), but otherwise, I'll keep it simple and open as needed.
And you are right about me having a mix of reasons for the sealed ones.

Sometimes it is more about what a game represents though.
Case in point: I have a sealed copy of Final Fantasy VII. It is a Greatest Hits, and has a fat $14.99 price tag. This was a turning point in the gaming industry, for me at least. Suddenly, there were epic, expansive games being re-released at insanely affordable prices. Blew my mind. And a poster just wouldn't mean the same.
I already owned a copy of the game (a used black label at that, and bought for less, I think), but that wonderfugly green strip on such a revered game really said something to me. It will remain sealed (and I can't imagine there is any disservice there since it is actually a contender for the most overproduced RPG ever (and available for PSN download).
This was bought before it was a scarcity (by demand), and was a dime a dozen. The intent was never to make money off it or wave it in front of the world or even be a prized possesion.

But most games, I think I'll tear into eventually. I did buy them for a reason after all (and it wasn't for investment, unless you consider fun and wonder to be investment). And why not?, who better to liberate a game than me?
I think I'll even use this thread to document the occasions.

But as dsheinem oversimply put it, I will... or not. On a case by case basis most likely.

i think what everyone is saying is that collecting sealed video games is just as stupid as collecting video games

I disagree there. Even if both ARE trivial, one has a better purpose than the other.

In the end it's a bunch of worthless plastic and silicon we attach an absurd amount of romanticism to.

But it invites you to such pretty worlds. And they have a USE (while electricity and batteries are available anyways), which gives them a worth. It's money/currency/bills that aren't really worth anything.

Okay, I think I'm done for now, my posts (and time spent here) are getting ridiculous
Thanks.

[TSTR]

video games are a disease
this place is a leper colony

[dsheinem]

i think what everyone is saying is that collecting sealed video games is just as stupid as collecting video games

I disagree there. Even if both ARE trivial, one has a better purpose than the other.

In the end it's a bunch of worthless plastic and silicon we attach an absurd amount of romanticism to.

But it invites you to such pretty worlds. And they have a USE (while electricity and batteries are available anyways), which gives them a worth. It's money/currency/bills that aren't really worth anything.

Okay, I think I'm done for now, my posts (and time spent here) are getting ridiculous
Thanks.

What's to say "invit[ing] you to such pretty worlds" is a better use/"'purpose" of a game than a game serving as a part of a collection that you are proud of? Some people get more out of the collecting, some people get more out of the playing, some people enjoy various aspects of both. None of those pursuits or reasons for owning a game are more or less purposeful or better (or stupid) than another.

[nightrnr]

What's to say "invit[ing] you to such pretty worlds" is a better use/"'purpose" of a game than a game serving as a part of a collection that you are proud of? Some people get more out of the collecting, some people get more out of the playing, some people enjoy various aspects of both. None of those pursuits or reasons for owning a game are more or less purposeful or better (or stupid) than another.

Matter of opinion, I suppose.
One of those sits there, but makes something happen, the other just sits there. But that's just my insignificant perspective. I acknowledge yours.
As I've posted, I'm guilty on both counts anyways (proud or not).

video games are a disease
this place is a leper colony

Too right!
We're in good company then .

[winds]

Whenever I buy a game I open it as soon as I get home. Usually while taking a dump. I keep nothing sealed. I don't "collect" or sell/resell games though. Do whatever works for you.

Remind me, if you ever have a sale on here, to ask for a discount based on "poop particles".