4 Reasons Why Collectors Will Hate the Next Console Generation

Although it still appears to be at least a year out, the next generation of consoles is being ramped up right now. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all want to have gamers continue to buy games and systems that are out right now, but there's no doubt they're all hard at work with their upcoming systems. Nintendo looks like it will be first out of the gate with Sony and Microsoft coming out a little later. Because we're closing in on these systems though, we're now hearing a great deal of rumors.

Some of the rumors are worrying gamers, such as the idea that used games will either be disallowed, need to be re-purchased, and other things. Although it could be just speculation that new systems are going to be against used games, you've got to expect that something about it is true or why else would we keep seeing the rumor? So yes, many gamers are becoming concerned about the next generation but there's a group of gamers who will have an even bigger issue with the generation - game collectors.

Game collectors encompass a whole range of people. It may be those who simply purchase neat games and keep them instead of ever trading or selling them back. Some are the kind of people who try to buy all the games in a specific genre or series that they love. Others attempt the maddening goal of owning each and every game for a specific console. The furthest realm of game collectordom is people who do all of these things combined, and maybe even with an emphasis on sealed titles. Mostly though, if you're the kind of person who loves to pick up games and keep them in your ownership then you might consider yourself a collector too. Why would game collectors of various degrees dislike new consoles though?

No Used Games?

Whether you're a collector or not you're probably quite aware that games aren't cheap. Each new title costs a pretty penny and with so many great games coming out all the time nobody can afford to own them all. Not at launch, anyway. While some new and used prices might not be that far apart at the start, they still do help us obtain a slight discount. Many of us are of the mindset that buying used nets you a nearly identical product to new (minus online passes, extra DLC) but for used purchasers this probably isn't a big deal. If it does turn out to be true though then this will harm many, but collectors especially. Since collectors tend to buy more games overall, their habits will be in trouble if they're forced to always buy new. Instead of being able to buy 3 RPGs in a period of time, they may then have it reduced to 1. If the goal of a collector though is to have a "collection" of so many titles it will now become a more arduous task to assemble them all.

It's not just this though. Fine, let's imagine that new games do go down in price, since new games do depreciate in value month after month. In this situation then collectors should only really have to wait but then still be able to buy all their games eventually. Unfortunately this isn't the case either. Take a look in your local stores that sell games. They don't keep every game that exists for the consoles they sell on their shelves. That would be impossible because there's just too many. Even GameStop, which has a great deal of shelf space, does not stock every game new.

Many titles you might find between GS's but only in used form. Some games have become nearly impossible to obtain new. It's not simply the fault of shelf space but that publishers just don't continue to press copies of all their games forever. They do for a while, then ship out their final stock and get on with other new titles. What happens then? Collectors may be forced to miss out on new games simply because they're no longer available when they finally would be able to pick them up.

All Games Available Digitally?

Although it hasn't been the case with the current generation of consoles, it does appear that the next time around that companies will attempt to make each retail release available as a download too. Sony's Vita seems the first representation of the possibility by promising to have each physical release up on the digital marketplace. They even offer a discount, as slight as it may be. If all the next gen consoles offer every game as a digital download then that should help out collectors immensely, right? In this way they would be able to obtain all the games they need whenever they need them. Many collectors balk at the idea of "going digital", but there are many newer collectors who love it. Just look at all the digital hoarding going on in Steam libraries around the world! So, what's the problem then?

While it isn't true for all collectors, there is a feeling of having something "special" oftentimes. There's an allure to seeking out and building up a collection of "rare" games. It might not be something everyone can understand but there is really something about having games that you know a lot of people are unaware of or lust after. Everything being available at all times will completely diffuse that sort of mindset. At least, it will if companies can guarantee that each of their digital download titles will be available forever and ever. If, instead, certain games are taken down with no warning or reparation (like Sony did on Vita to stop hacking) then the mindset will still have a way to thrive. Maybe the future of collecting will be based around finding a "PS4 with working hard drive with X games on it".

Space Constraints

Collectors everywhere are well aware of the pain of trying to have enough room for their games. It seems as soon as you add more shelf space, it becomes filled up immediately. In that case, collectors should be embracing digital distribution. With digital, you don't need shelves! However, there is certainly something you need - hard drives. Unless the next generation is hugely forward thinking, they will probably take a lot of hints from this generation of consoles. It seems expected so far that the next systems will come packed with a hard drive of some capacity for us to fill up with games and other downloadable content. This is fine and good until you start to imagine the amount of games a collector is going to have.

There are now systems with hard drives that go up to 320GBs. In the case of the PS3 you can even use your own hard drive to further upgrade it. If you think about why Microsoft chose to have a proprietary drive though (attempt to hinder piracy, more money to Microsoft) then it seems like the next gen will also run with proprietary hard drives. That means you're got to buy what they offer you. If they only offer up to a certain GB amount, then that's all you can get. Collectors have a lot of games. If the next generation of games brings us titles that are 20GB on average and go all the way up to 80 then we're going to be in trouble.

We can disregard internet connection speeds, caps, and everything else but owning just a handful of games will probably fill up the default, and smaller capacity, drives. This will hurt all gamers who try to go digital but collectors especially due to this being their style. Collectors will be forced to shell out more money for more drives if they desire to keep all their games digitally on hand at any time. Or, they could just continually delete games and then deal with downloading them again and again when wanting to play. However, the fear and lack of knowing whether or not a game will be available forever will probably convince many to not delete games they like off their drives.

Saying Goodbye to Physical Media

Although I mentioned it somewhat earlier, now it's time to dive straight into the collector desire to own physical goods. It's not true of everyone, but many collectors adore having games they can hold. Many who don't consider themselves collectors, too, are fans of physical media. Not only is it fun to have an attractive game case on your shelf, it is nice to be able to see a real representation of the games you have on hand. The less organized of gamers probably prefer digital because it keeps things in order, but many collectors find it a labor of love to organize their games in just the right way. There's something special to designating a space for your games and then displaying them attractively.

There's also the distinct feeling of ownership that comes with physical games. Sure, companies may be more apt to say you're only buying the license to a game, it still feels like yours more than pure data. Even if the game would eventually be rendered unplayable, the case, disc, and manual would still be by your side. Gamers of all sorts probably feel the same but for collectors it seems to hit even harder home. Many of us don't even end up playing every game in our collections. For example, sealed collectors buy many games that they never even take out of their shrink wrap. Others may simply buy games that are so rare (one of twenty copies, for example) that they won't chance using them. There's a big love for physical media and it is one reason that many collectors just don't feel ready to jump into the next generation.

 
As exciting as the next generation of gaming promises to be, some of us can't help but approach it with a sense of unease. As great as the new ideas and experiences may be, there's no doubt that it will mark a shift in the gaming world. We've already seen a lot change in our current generation. Some collectors will press forward and deal with all these changes because the love of gaming persists. Others may resign themselves to continued collecting of retro goods. All we can do now though is simply wait and hope for the best.