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Opinions 05 February 2022, 16:29

author: Krzysiek Kalwasinski

From Boxes to Digital. Confessions of a Former Collector

At one time I was an avid collector. Not only of games, but also other pop culture creations – movies, music or books. Today, I definitely prefer digital, or even streaming.

You could say that I've always been collecting something. In childhood, it was dependent on "force majeure" (i.e. parents), so my collection of toys and the like wasn't huge. But whenever I knew something was part of a set, I wanted the whole thing. Such as LEGO bricks, whose business model, after all directed at children, may seem somewhat ruthless. And although I was playing video games since my early childhood, I didn't even think about collecting them. It has changed over the years – after I had already been collecting music for quite a while me. This was a hobby that required quite a lot of commitment, especially because I insisted on getting singles and additional releases – such as live. At least when it came to favorite bands. Now I wasn't hunting for rare vinyls or autographed copies, though I had a few limited editions with alternative covers. The very attempt to purchase any Japanese releases (with tracks not available anywhere else) could significantly strain the budget. But it was worth the effort.

The entire collecting process is quite addictive. Not only due to the fact that the harvests become richer. It just happens. The purchase itself is more important. Searching for that one specific copy. Often buying it at auctions. And there was no shortage of enthusiasts ready to spend considerable amounts, especially when it came to rare items. When I finally managed to lay my hands on something like that, the satisfaction was great. Then comes time to relax for a while and enjoy your new prey. In the case of music, it was, naturally, about listening to the entire album and studying any included materials. I liked it so much when there were any texts in the set. Especially in albums with heavier music, where the lyrics are often quite indistinguishable. And yet I had to admire the graphics and photos of the band, which often allowed me to absorb the atmosphere better. Especially when the artists showed more than usually, and offered more sophisticated editions. The first thing that comes to mind is Korn's album See You On The Other Side in the Deluxe version. The cardboard packaging unfolded like a scene from a puppet theater, which, combined with the motifs referring to Alice on the other side of the mirror, worked like a charm. And why am I mentioning only a temporary relaxation? Because the cooldown period before feeling another call of passion was quite brief. The collector never rests.

Original edition, 3xA, MINT

Collecting games turned out more difficult, although I initially didn't find it all that exciting. Only thing that mattered was that the game should work. I didn't really care about anything else. With time, however, the the collection began to grow. Then I noticed that my games on PlayStation 2 (initially my go-to platform) are different from each other. Some had white spines, others' were dark gray. It looked unsightly, so I started exchanging platinum editions for release ones. It wasn't all about the spines. The cover of the original edition wasn't reduced in size with a frame and speckled with logos. Same as the discs, which had original graphics instead of black text on a silver background. Then, the manuals would be more extensive and colorful. Those in platinum versions used to have fewer pages and were often black-and-white. It was mostly trifles, but for me, it was still important when buying a box.

Even uglier were the platinum releases on PlayStation 3, which instead of a dark gray frame around the cover had a yellow one. Disgusting. However, I have never bought one, because when I started collecting games for PS3, my aversion to "platinum" was already fully developed. So much so that I swayed my good friends into it, including some collectors who followed in my footsteps. One of them, however, was even more pedantic at what he did. He would select only the copies with the right (in his mind) age category. French, German or British market issues were out of the question. The British ones on PS2 were also distinguished by the fact that the logo was also located on the spine. Again, it was so unsightly he successively replaced them so that all the spines were only white. It did not bother me, so my collection was full of British editions. I admit, though, that I was contemplating following his level of diligence.

Collector's editions are cool thing, but they often don't make much sense. They take up a lot of space, and many of the gadgets and gimmicks are just supposed to look nice when you unbox. - From boxed to digital. Confession of a former collector – document – 2022-02-01
Collector's editions are cool thing, but they often don't make much sense. They take up a lot of space, and many of the gadgets and gimmicks are just supposed to look nice when you unbox.

In all this, of course, the appropriate language version was important. English was usually ok, but there were exceptions with particular games. This was particularly true for Asian titles. Then, some of the PS1 games offered additional "attractions" such as typos or missing characters, which disturbed my inner peace, but also probably added to the value. This was the case with Tombi, for example! 2 , where the letter "S" was missing on the back cover and in the manual. So in the description, instead of "bad pigs", there were "bad guilt". You didn't see it while playing (the game wasn't in Polish anyway), but each launch was associated with taking a look at the box and reminding yourself about the lack of it. Tombi is a white crow though, so let's just say I wasn't picky, because it was quite difficult to get it anyway.

I'm uncomfortable

Years passed, the collection grew. At one point I decided to move to a bigger city and it quickly turned out that most of my boxes were full of games, CDs, movies, books and gear. My clothes, on the other hand, fitted in a single suitcase – opposed by dozens of cardboard boxes, all weighing a hefty number of pounds. Of course, I managed to transport it somehow, but it was a nuisance for everyone involved. But – I suffered for two days, and then everything returned to normal. The collection found its place in the new apartment. Everything had to be arranged according to a pattern, and this also took a long time. To make matters worse, it wasn't the last time I moved city to city, and the problem was only getting bigger, proportionally to the volume of the collection.

To this day, I somewhat regret finally getting rid of it, though at least I am sure it's in good hands. Still get a teary eye. Source: collectorsedition.cat – From boxes to digital. Confession of a former collector – document – 2022-02-01
To this day, I somewhat regret finally getting rid of it, though at least I am sure it's in good hands. Still get a teary eye.Source: collectorsedition.cat

When digital games started making their way to our homes, I occasionally bought them, the same way I also used Netflix or HBO GO, but the favorite games still had to land on the shelf. Just be there. In the case of this series, I had to have every installment of it, even the worst, such as Onimusha: Blade Warriors. Just to have the full set. So what I played it for a 2 hours tops? Doesn't matter. There were very few games in the collection that I hadn't finished anyway, so it wasn't like they were mostly decorative. I played all of them at least for a bit. And as you can deduce, I collected mostly retro games. Though I also bought new games (at the time on PS4) in boxes. However, discounts in virtual stores happen so often that it often is hard to resist. And so now my digital library started growing in size. As that happened, my collection of boxes would slowly begun to do the opposite.

Pop culture train

The last move turned out a watershed moment in my approach to the whole affair. The opinion of my good girl friend also wasn't without significance, as it helped me to convince myself that collecting physical boxes doesn't really fall in line with my lifestyle and requirements as a consumer. i like to stay in the comfort zone, I often move, and moreover, boxed video games are not the same anymore. Today, they no longer have booklets and manuals, and reading them was always an integral part of enjoying the games for me. I read them all cover to cover – if I understood the language. In the end, with the help of the aforementioned friend, I got rid of almost the entire collection. I regret losing some of the games because I didn't win 100% of the trophies on my PSN account, but it's not a big deal. However, when all the hustles I was describing above disappeared, I felt a strong sense of relief.

Xbox Game Pass is great, but I'm eager to finally get PlayStation Now and get at least partial access to older games. Source: playstation.com – From boxes to numbers. Confession of a former collector – document – 2022-02-01
Xbox Game Pass is great, but I'm eager to finally get PlayStation Now and get at least partial access to older games. Source: playstation.com

On top of that, as a collector of retro games, I was compelled to resort to the aftermarket, which, as commonly known, doesn't provide the creators with any income. Sure, I am aware that buying a game on 90% discount a few years after the release won't save any studio from going bankrupt, but at least it's something. The only thing I regret is losing access to the oldest games, but maintaining decades-old consoles in healthy condition also requires additional effort. Plus, it also requires owning an additional screen, because the HD era wasn't gentle for the old timers. This is why I am always excited for remasters of the classics, even those I have already completed a dozen times over. But this is a subject, which I have already written about.

Along with changing my gaming habits, I was able to discover lots of valuable things. I really appreciate the Game Pass (although I am afraid of Microsoft becoming a monopoly), which turns out to be a great way to play games I've always missed. I focus on exclusive Microsoft titles and play only those that I really find interesting. The fact that I can miss the rest because they will eventually disappear from the offer does not really bother me that much. There offer's so rich anyway that playing at least half of those games would require much more time than I can spare right now.

I will buy my favorite productions anyway, if necessary, without a fuss. It's the same with movies or music. And although I still buy albums of my beloved bands, I do it sporadically, because I listen mostly use Spotify. In the smartphone era, I can get my music wherever and whenever I want. I am really looking forward to new streaming technologies and services. At the same time, I also dream about a single platform for everything, so that I don't have to juggle subscriptions. However, this is an unreal fantasy at the moment, if not downright impossible.

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