Anytime something special edition comes out whether it's Skyward Sword joycons, Monster Hunter Amiibos, etc. scalpers with bots who treat reselling as a full time job buy them all up and then sell them for several times their MSRP on auction sites. People complain, but buy them anyway. Limited Run Companies are releasing tiny file digital games in retail packages, do limited preorders and then overcharging for them. People are now overpaying for old cartridges (which were basically worthless in value not too long ago) they will never actually play because of "nostalgia". All of a sudden Pokemon cards are worth lots of money when most people threw those out years ago because no one wanted them after the Pokemon card fad was over.
My solution? Stop caring about this shit. I collect, but I'm not a "consumer" who sets up bots, wakes up in the middle of the night, camps at stores, overpays, etc. just to get a controller with a Zelda logo on it that you're just going to keep in the box. They will keep coming up with more special edition plastic stuff every single year and it's neverending. You won't use this stuff because you are too busy consuming.
These are not game collectors. These are game consumers. You are being taken advantage of by companies and resellers and are developing unhealthy habits similar to OCD. You don't need to purchase old cartridges to keep on a shelf that you're never going to play again to relieve your nostalgia.
If you want something cool and manage to get it, fine. But don't go crazy over it. If you miss it, you miss it. You're most likely just going to acquire it, forget about it and then move on to the next "rare" item that the company would easily mass produce if they chose to do so. None of these are essential items. You don't even need to buy new consoles at launch, it's fine to be patient until they are easy to find for MSRP in retail stores because most of them don't have good libraries for at least a year or more anyway.
It's just sad to see that collecting, once a cheap and fun hobby that only "lame outcasts" enjoyed has now been commercialized and made into what it is today. This is why gatekeeping sadly exists - once a hobby goes mainstream then normies are guaranteed to destroy anything good about it in the first place.
I have more respect for some dude in a basement who has a smaller collection of games that he actually has fun with than someone who spends thousands of dollars every month on whatever item is "limited" at the moment.
My solution? Stop caring about this shit. I collect, but I'm not a "consumer" who sets up bots, wakes up in the middle of the night, camps at stores, overpays, etc. just to get a controller with a Zelda logo on it that you're just going to keep in the box. They will keep coming up with more special edition plastic stuff every single year and it's neverending. You won't use this stuff because you are too busy consuming.
These are not game collectors. These are game consumers. You are being taken advantage of by companies and resellers and are developing unhealthy habits similar to OCD. You don't need to purchase old cartridges to keep on a shelf that you're never going to play again to relieve your nostalgia.
If you want something cool and manage to get it, fine. But don't go crazy over it. If you miss it, you miss it. You're most likely just going to acquire it, forget about it and then move on to the next "rare" item that the company would easily mass produce if they chose to do so. None of these are essential items. You don't even need to buy new consoles at launch, it's fine to be patient until they are easy to find for MSRP in retail stores because most of them don't have good libraries for at least a year or more anyway.
It's just sad to see that collecting, once a cheap and fun hobby that only "lame outcasts" enjoyed has now been commercialized and made into what it is today. This is why gatekeeping sadly exists - once a hobby goes mainstream then normies are guaranteed to destroy anything good about it in the first place.
I have more respect for some dude in a basement who has a smaller collection of games that he actually has fun with than someone who spends thousands of dollars every month on whatever item is "limited" at the moment.
. Honestly, any time I look at some special collectors edition of any game, I can't help but think how that will look when all that crap is floating in the ocean or some garbage dump in China. Bethesda, I'm looking at you.
