The Wii U is going to be the only collectable 8th gen console

I've been looking into game collecting recently, specifically going back to fill in some holes from older generations (I never even had a Saturn) and it got me thinking about this generation and what collectors are going to look for from it in 15 years. With the Wii U, there's going to be plenty. Almost all the important games on the platform have physical releases, they are almost all exclusives, and there's also Amiibo and other stuff. I guarantee you that, assuming the Earth isn't overtaken by giant mutant ants, in 2030 there's going to be some dude looking through dusty thriftstores and garage sales seeking out copies of Captain Toad Treasure Tracker and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. Many Wii U games are also single player focused. The fact that the Wii U is not selling great and a lot of these games have relatively small print runs will also make them more valuable.

Meanwhile for PS4 and Xbox One the vast majority of the big games are also being released for PC, meaning that nobody's going to have to track down old versions to play them (Think KoToR, a legendary game on a console that didn't sell well, but not very collectable because it's on Steam and your phone). Meanwhile the few big exclusives are all huge hits with enormous print runs. Even if someone wants to track down a copy of Infamous Second Son or Sunset Overdrive in 15 years it won't be that hard. The smaller games, the hidden gems if you will, insofar as they are exclusive, are all digital, and so won't really be collectable at all unless by some miracle the servers are still up, in which case collecting them will be as easy as entering your credit card information. Plus for a huge percentage of PS4/XBONE games the value will be significantly impaired by the lack of online features. A copy of Titanfall or Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare is going to make a decent coaster and not much else in 15 years. Maybe there will be fan run servers, but those, of course, will be on PC.

It's not a bad thing, of course, that gaming's history will be more accessible. It's sad that games like Snatcher or Panzer Dragoon Saga can only really be played by piracy or shelling out an unreasonable amount of money for an old copy (I was really happy when Radiant Silvergun, which is great, got an XBLA release.) On the other hand there's something nice about looking through old stacks of NES and SNES games in some off the path store for hidden gems or games you've only heard about (or played via emulator if you're that type.) The difficulty of tracking old stuff down gives it more value and makes it more than just old computer code, it gives you a deeper sense of appreciation at being able to have those experiences.

Dude also has a complete N64 collection.

There's always a market for physical copies.

Suikoden 2 is still 95 bux street value versus 10 on psn.

@madman356647:

Radiant Sivlergun is still $170 on Ebay. Once something builds up value it doesn't necessarily drop away just with an official emulated version (Earthbound is another example) but games that are digitally available on PC don't tend to build up that value in the first place. There has to be a period of true scarcity.

The GameCube didn't have very good hardware sales or software sales, but is it on a trajectory to be collectible?

@bisonhero: many gamecube games are over 40 bux right now. So I'd argue yes

Jesus Christ have GCN games shot up in price. Twilight Princess was $60 at a used media store I went to a few weeks ago. I bought F-Zero GX for $8 at the start of 2014, and now all the 1st party stuff is $30-$40. 3rd party stuff is still rather affordable, but who knows how long until the good exclusives get out of hand. Heck, 3DS already has some issues. OoT 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, and Kid Icarus: Uprising are out of print now and they're all holding +$40 prices used, OoT 3D in particular is $65 in places online now.

@freezyfrog: Wow

This discussion makes me wish there was a place for the video game collectors (if theres many) of the Giant Bomb community to have discussions on the forums.

As someone who does following the "collecting scene" also Nintendo stuff is always in demand and more expensive - guess its just something about the brand / quality of games as a whole.

Yes, the GameCube has turned the corner in terms of collect-ability. A few years ago, you could pick up almost any GameCube title for a song. It's lack of success commercially, combined with the sheer durability of the system, meant that most of the GameCube that had ever existed were now available second-hand.

Now that enough time has gone by, we are starting to see nostalgia having its inevitable effect. A lot of kids who grew up playing the GameCube are starting to get jobs and disposable income. And the demand for some of the better offerings on the GameCube is shooting up. It helps that there has now been a significant amount of critique of the Cube's library. It is now easy to find comprehensive lists on-line of the very best that the system has to offer, and how much those games can be had for.

This happens to all systems, it just takes 15-20 years. I do understand the original poster's point. The increase in digital distribution and more fluid software targets for games is going to shift titles away from physical media. The more this trend continues, the less likely it will be that physical games will be collected. I know that my access to digital games has been drastically increasing over the past few years, despite my fondness for keeping shelves full of physical copies.

Also, get a GameCube. It really was a great little system, and is well worth collecting for. I rank it quite highly in my own collection, right up there with the Dreamcast. (another fantastic system to collect for)

this take has aged like fine wine