After you beat a physical game, do you...

[Tanooki]

So far it seems that once you buy a game, 95% of you keep it forever. That's a higher percentage than I expected. Is it the same for when you buy a DVD, CD, or book? Or is this just a video game thing?

I'll replace a DVD with a Blu-Ray, but not a digital copy, ever. If I am so tired of a disc, regardless of format, I'll trade it in locally to get a few dollars towards something I would enjoy since they seem to (box sets and oddballs aside) collectively have next to no value on ebay to even bother with it. CDs, same thing completely. I just MP3 CDs I buy for ease, and yeah I actually do erase them if I get rid of the disc as when I want it gone, it's gone.

Books, when it comes to graphic novels and Japanese manga, I keep and re-read them every couple of years or so on a rotation, only again if I am totally over it they go away.

Reading books, considering it's notably cheaper and sometimes free (or like a dollar) I used to have a stack of paper I'd re-read, but outside of mostly Indiana Jones (have them all(13)) paperbacks it's on Kindle. That's the one thing I'm ok being digital on for whatever reason it may be. I used to have a couple dozen books initially I got at Half Price last decade, but then I got the Kindle as a gift and swapped it out.

[laurenhiya21]

So far it seems that once you buy a game, 95% of you keep it forever. That's a higher percentage than I expected. Is it the same for when you buy a DVD, CD, or book? Or is this just a video game thing?

I've never bought a DVD, but with CDs and books I will keep them unless I don't like them. (So yeah, same as video games)

[KalessinDB]

So far it seems that once you buy a game, 95% of you keep it forever. That's a higher percentage than I expected. Is it the same for when you buy a DVD, CD, or book? Or is this just a video game thing?

CDs: My CDs all got stolen in college and I never replaced them. In the last 15 years I've probably bought 5 CDs, and yeah I still have them (though I don't really know why, I can't remember the last time I listened to them). Initially I was pirating MP3s, but nowadays I just listen to Pandora or legit FM radio if I want music, and on the rare occasion I get an itch to hear one particular song/album/etc I queue it up on Youtube.

DVDs: Years ago, before the video game collecting bug REALLY bit, I bought a decent number of DVDs and fancied I would build myself a library. But again, I rarely go back to them (other than Scrubs, which I have all 8 seasons of and regularly watch through)... when I moved this last time I actually threw almost all my DVDs in a box (held out Scrubs, my Aeon Flux box set, The Crow... and maybe 1 or 2 others) and let my friends have at them.

Books: I think I'm gonna do the same with books as I did with DVDs. I have a small collection but in the last 10-15 years I've only bought maybe 1 or 2 books a year, and I very rarely go back to re-read books these days. I'm strongly considering signing up for Amazon Prime and if I do will probably get a Kindle and go all in on digital books. I get the je ne sais quoi of using a real, physical game... but the appeal of books isn't nearly as strong for me.

So I guess the short answer to your question is: No. It's just a video game thing.

[CFFJR]

So far it seems that once you buy a game, 95% of you keep it forever. That's a higher percentage than I expected. Is it the same for when you buy a DVD, CD, or book? Or is this just a video game thing?

CDs: Yeah, I keep them, but I also rarely buy cds these days. I usually only pick them up for artists I particularly love anyway, and while I listen to them a few times at first, in the end I rip them to digital for the sake of convenience and place them on the shelf. I don't have many cds though and never did in the first place.

DVDs: I keep them unless I don't care for the movie/show in question, which can change over time. Sometimes I buy something on a whim and regret it, so there's that too. I really like having complete series sets of my favorite shows though, and that sort of thing gets priority over movies. Generally though I don't have a whole lot of dvds/blu rays, especially compared to someone who actively collects them.

Regarding both formats though, I don't get super attached, and I'd have little trouble trimming the hell out of both collections if necessary. But...

Books: Oh I keep my books. I absolutely love to read, and if I get distracted from video games, its usually because of a book. I also love the tactical experience from actual books, from the feel to the smell to the diverse look of them lined up on my bookshelves. Any sort of digital format is simply no substitute, and while I think the reader devices are nifty, there's no place for them in my house. I'm very pleased with my personal library and only want it to grow.

There are very rare occasions where I sell books, usually after severely misjudging whether or not I'll enjoy a given title. But the number of books I've gotten rid of is certainly very small. I'd guess fewer than 20 over the course of the past 10 years.

It is also worth noting that I usually carry a book with me anywhere I go, (2 or 3 come along on vacations). I say this because most of my books have come on "adventures" with me, and I freely admit to becoming directly attached to them. I do take care of them of course, but a well worn book is a well loved book.

That's something I always apply to books and video games. I don't just want "a" copy, I want "mine". The one I played/read, because its important to me. This is the reason I don't understand why some folks sell a bunch of games and then buy them all again later.

After those last two paragraphs of tangential babbling, many of you will now think I'm crazy. That's fair.

So no, not just a video game thing, though you can see where my priorities lie.

[Exhuminator]

I haven't bought a CD in many years as well. I still have hundreds if not a thousand plus CDs I bought when I was younger. I'm hoping to sell most of them off soon enough. I prefer to acquire my music digitally online.

I occasionally still buy books, but that's only because some of the books I read are extremely rare and don't exist on digital storefronts. That said, I rarely keep a book if I've read it. I prefer to donate them to libraries or give them to friends. I'd rather attempt to share the knowledge than let it collect dust on a shelf. I should mention in that regard (knowledge sharing) that I mostly read non-fiction.

I have not bought a video disc of any type in many many years as well. I realized long ago that once I watch a movie or TV series, it's extraordinarily rare for me to rewatch it. So like CDs, I have a bunch of old DVDs I want to sell off too. I prefer nowadays to acquire my movies/series digitally via streaming or direct download.

[isiolia]

So far it seems that once you buy a game, 95% of you keep it forever. That's a higher percentage than I expected. Is it the same for when you buy a DVD, CD, or book? Or is this just a video game thing?

For the most part I approach them the same way.

I still have nearly every CD I've ever acquired. I've given a handful of them to one of my brothers, but they still have all of theirs too.
If possible, I buy music on CD as well. At this point, the disc probably gets taken out of the case to get ripped to MP3 and FLAC, then put away and stored on the shelf...but I prefer buying the physical media anyway.

Nearly all of the DVDs I no longer have are due to buying the Blu-ray, and later giving the DVD away. In a handful of cases, I've loaned things and not had them returned, but I've replaced them in some form.
These days, I'll only tend to buy Blu-ray unless the content isn't available on it (or, in some cases, is worse off on it, like some early anime Blu-rays). I'm content to stream a lot of things though.

Books I don't buy with the intent to read and get rid of. That said, I did get rid of a lot of paperbacks when moving between college apartments, and I've given away others to friends/family.

So, yeah, not just a video game thing. I like having the library of media, for one, and I don't see the point in purging stuff for pennies on the dollar.
That said, I do think video games tend to stand out for collecting. There are plenty that never get ported to newer platforms or something, relative to how often music and movies are made available on new formats, books are reprinted, etc.

[Sarge]

I don't buy that many CDs, but the ones I do, I hold on to. DVDs are the same way. Books are a bit of a special case. If it's something I paid full price for, I likely won't let it go, but if it's a paperback I picked up in a thrift store, I'm willing to donate it back, or even just chunk it in the garbage if it was awful. I did that with the Thomas Covenant books, for example.

[MrEco]

I don't own many CD's, but I do keep all the ones I own. I don't have much time to just sit and listen to music, but when I do I pop in those CD's, sometimes on my way to work.

I keep all of my DVD's and Blu-rays. I can never tell if I'm going to rewatch a movie again, because the circumstances that determine if I'll want to rewatch a movie are completely different from a video game. Sometimes I'll watch a movie, think it was decent, and not plan on watching it again. But then many years later I'll realize I forgot large amounts of the movie and just be in the mood for that kind of movie, so I'll pop it in. Also, unlike video games, movies can often be a social thing for me. I'll gladly rewatch a movie I've already seen if I'm watching it with friends or family who haven't seen it yet.

And again, I now keep all of my video games. Replaying a game I've already finished doesn't necessarily mean playing through the whole game start to finish. Sometimes I just feel like popping in an old game I had fun with a few years ago and getting a little rush of nostalgia and enjoyment from it. I recently did this with Prince of Persia Sands of Time in fact. When I was much younger I use to trade in games that I didn't think I was ever going to play again to Gamestop, or sometimes I would give them away to relatives. I've regretted at least half of those trade-ins/gifts sometime later in life because of wishing I could play those games again.


So, yeah, I'm firmly in the "I put it back on the shelf because I might play it again some day" camp. Also I can admit to a small collector mentality for it too. I never ever buy games that I don't intend on playing. But I do often pay extra for a limited edition that comes with art books or soundtracks, or I'll gladly pay extra for a physical copy of a game even if the digital variant is cheaper. I've lost count of how many PS1/PS2 games I've bought and spent $30 to $100 for when I could have gotten them for $10 on PSN. Not just because I like boxes or like having them on my shelf though, that's also because I despise digital games.

[Xeogred]

So far it seems that once you buy a game, 95% of you keep it forever. That's a higher percentage than I expected. Is it the same for when you buy a DVD, CD, or book? Or is this just a video game thing?

It's mostly a videogame thing. Since I moved out years ago I continually seem to find ways to downsize for simplicity and space, keep finding new clothes or things to throw out, but I never once ever consider doing away with any of my games.

I value anime more than movies since I buy retro anime which can go out of print and become pretty rare, and it's cool to support those obscure releases coming over here. My movie/TV collection has never been impressive though so I've never placed much value on it. I've started buying some BD's though that I like having around more.

I have hundreds of CD's boxed up and want to get rid of most of them. As others have said, I also like digital more when it comes to music.

[Tanooki]

Damn that's for sure with anime. A lot of it is oddly not making the jump to blu ray and much of the DVDs are out of print, and if it has any kind of minor or major cult following or had a small run on DVD the prices just suck. It bugs me how long it took me to nail down both the Lupin the 3rd FIRST Haul and FINAL Haul box sets of DVDs which have the 10 translated movies/ovas that Funimation did (5 per box.) The first one is fairly easy to find, when I got it, it was like a $20 box which is cheap, but final haul I guess wasn't printed as much or has a better loved selection as it would often be like $70. I got lucky over a year ago finally pegged one down for $30 on a badly done ebay listing (can't recall it was worded wrong or dumb low BIN) but I snapped it up fast.

Yet oddly you can find other loved series and the box sets are oddly cheap like you can wrangle Record of the Lodoss War for like $20 and it's not in print. The same problems happen in manga as well, once they're off of print, and it's popular and no longer supported it can get annoying which is what I mostly bother with. I make it a spot of fun to hit the local used book shops (half price, bme, etc) just to see if they get anything I have that's a hole in a series as I can wait months/years, than pay up online for it.