The Problem with Modern Reprints
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- What do you think about the print-on-demand models and reprint FOMO?
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The reason VGP gets so many reprints is because they directly ask the publishers. Most retail stores in the U.S. barely carry new games. I don’t even bother shopping in Walmart anymore for games unless it’s on clearance.
i ask to the devs and Publishers but never get anything back but we are looking into it we let you know but they never do or its limited where i can't even get it or 300 or more upcharge
That's probably because VGP shares website data to prove a reprint is viable, as well as incentivize publishers by promising to buy a % of the reprint.
This information is the edge that specialty stores have over retailers who carry a little of everything. In anime circles, Rightstuf was known for that before its owner sold the company to Crunchyroll and retired.
Amazon is literally the only option for physical new games most times
VGP definitely is the goat.
Tarrifs won’t matter. Remember VGP already has warehouses in the states. And if I’m not mistaken VGP confirmed that it won’t affect them.
Last
VGP has been great for reprints and games in general. Not only we get a second change, but we also get it at retail and sometimes even cheaper than retail. Example the legacy of kain remake 1-2 on VGP is available now the preorder for $27 vs lRG standard they wanted $35.
I only really discovered VGP this past year. Amazing selection and always fair. That being said, I didn't buy those CS1&2 copies last month and missed out. No copies of those at all. 100% willing to buy those from you and pay for shipping if you really regret having them...
VGP is one of the best things that happened to my collecting. I also learned about reprints with Mirror of Fate and picked that up, and I was SO pleased to get the Cold Steel 2 reprint recently, it was the only physical LoH I was missing (and only $36 with shipping after CAD to US conversion). Of course they drive purchases with the reprints, but they seem to have some genuine interest in supporting game collecting given what they print. Big Box stores wouldn't touch these titles because they're too niche to drive sales. As for FOMO, that's on us! I've personally scaled back a lot this year so far, mostly by focusing only on what I enjoy playing, and focusing on curating key genres (mostly JRPGs and shmups). It only took five years of collecting to figure this out.
VGP has done a good job of marketing themselves as the "every gamer's game store." I think for the most part they do a good job, but they've had some questionable moments with hyping a sought-after title knowing full well they're getting more inventory.
Wow. It's super rare to see someone being so honest with themselves (especially publicly) about their motivations for, and regrets/reservations about, things like this. Good on you.
I'm pretty sure VGP actually plays a part in getting their reprints made in the first place. It's not a matter of them striking some exclusive deal with the publisher as much as it is them approaching the publisher to work with them to make the reprints happen at all.
I always love these discussions on conscious collecting! Great points here 😊
This is such a great video, as it is refreshing to hear someone attain enough self-awareness to openly discuss the effects that advertising and marketing have on their own purchasing habits. So many of us love to swear up and down that we are “too smart” to be affected by such things, even though it absolutely does.
Very similar to the luxury goods market: create an artificial shortage so you can keep selling at an elevated price.
I feel like Vgs is a good thing, the issue with us the gamers is when we start collecting we collect what we like to play but with years of collecting we tend to play less games and buy games just because of the value, great topic ❤ same happened to me I now stopped buying games I won’t play and might sell a big chunk of my collection because I won’t play them anyways lol 😂
I love what VGP has done with their reprints. I’ve bought probably a dozen games that I initially missed out on and was not willing to pay exorbitant eBay prices. I get what you are saying about FOMO and I try to stay disciplined enough to not buy multiple copies of the same game (unsuccessfully sometimes) or games that I know I won’t play.
Great topic! I don’t really mind the print-on-demand model that much-it makes financial sense for these specialized video game stores to adopt this strategy. It's great that these companies issue reprints for people to buy at MSRP even if it's for a limited period/quantity. For me, it’s more about whether I'd want the game in my collection or not. While the limited availability of some reprints is a factor, I make it a rule to not be the ultimate deciding factor. However, this has definitely made budgeting and planning more challenging, forcing me to prioritize games I want and expect to be in high demand and low supply over other titles I had planned to pick up. I’d really love to see video game stores like VGP be more transparent about their stock-having real-time data on the number of copies available would make it much easier to prioritize purchases accordingly.
The clearance bin days i think might be over. In the US, we used to have Fry's Electronics and other stores where you can find reprints and clearance rack for cheap. It was great! I miss going on bargain hunts to these stores. But sadly, i think digital is slowly or inevitably becoming the dominant or only format
Emily, keep working on that FOMO!😉
Part of the fun of "collecting" is each collector figuring out their own healthy FOMO boundaries & desires to own special editions or more than one copy of things. I am a large-scale collector my whole life, but I only make such purchases for a VERY FEW games... my VERY FAVORITE games. Otherwise, I buy one standard copy at the best price I can for a game that I want to play. If the price is too high (which it is for quite a few older games), I just say "Oh, well" and skip it or find another way to play. Whether a game is rare or highly-prized on the after-market has zero effect on my desire to buy it. Collecting games "as an investment" is, to my mind, a bad way to go. I've already been burned by comics lol, got several 10k floppies that I have carefully saved all these years and 98% of them are worth 10 cents. My games will fetch more than that when I re-sell at retirement ... but I'm not counting on a huge windfall.
As to the first half of the video, I am OK with the limited physical print or print-to-demand runs for niche games. The days of bargain bins with great niche games in them is LONG gone. Publishers and retailers want to make a reasonable profit on physical games, which are becoming more and more a niche sector especially in the west. I wish that another retailer or two (especially for us in the US) were doing what VGP and to a lesser extent Play-Asia are doing, soliciting reprints of games that near-term-retro gamers want to play. But if that ever happens it will just be a small company, not Best Buy or Walmart. Big box stores don't even want to sell physical games to us any more period, and GameStop stores sell out of their small allotment of games a couple weeks after release. The mom-and-pop game store near me only buys enough new games to fulfill pre-orders for niche games, and for big releases 5-10 more copies (which they sell quickly). It's just the reality of the market today.
If you like niche games, pre-order or buy physical at release, and if you want a sale price (which Emily longs for in this video), you have to be happy with buying digitally on sale a few months to a year later. If you like big releases, it's no problem -- their physicals come down under $30 regularly. Like, I'm not going to pay $70 for GoW Ragnarok -- they don't need my $70 because the game already sold plenty to diehards. I'll wait until that physical is $20-30. Pay full-price for Trails through Daybreak, Ys X, Angelian Trigger, Freedom Wars & Plucky Squire instead! Those games are worth playing, worth owning, worth supporting, and the physicals will likely never come down in price.
The only time I remember both experiencing and acting on reprint FOMO was when Persona 3 and 4 were reprinted for Switch over at VGP, but I'm not sure if that's a fair example because that's a series of games I already have a strong attachment to. It was more that I really wanted Persona 4 on my switch than anything else. Passed on 3 with the thought process that Switch 2 probably has Reload, so there was no reason to spend more than necessary. I tend to tunnel vision on intended targets and what my main passions are, so I have a habit of missing things just by virtue of good ol' out of sight, out of mind.
I can't say anything about multidipping. Anything I already own and really liked that comes out on switch gets bought. At least most of the time. Persona 3 was one of the very few and rare exceptions. I also try to buy GOG copies on sale as preservation failsafes when it's an option. Jrpg merch is usually where FOMO gets me real bad. The window of availability is typically smaller and the out of print prices on eBay or otherwise tend to be terrible. With the tariff situation liable to spread beyond Canada and possibly affect other countries, it makes the FOMO impulse really strong with stuff that you'd need to import over from Japan. I've been casually browsing amiami and Falcom's merch site among other places for the past few days deciding what I want to do.
You made a lot of good points in this video. I was FOMO collecting Switch games for a while but, I've got to the point now where I'm fine with missing out on certain titles because it just gets to be too much to keep up with. I'm more focused on trying to get around to playing more games now so I can better curate my collection.
I've been told by employees that GameStop (and I imagine other retailers as well) has, for the past year or so, begun to shift from having stock available for walk-ins to only really having stock for preorders, with maybe a few extra copies if it's a big title. This is being done in an attempt to cut costs, and results in customers often coming in to find that they have no copies of a game available for them because they didn't preorder, myself included if I forgot to preorder. So while I do think you bring up a lot of valid points (I've recently just in general started being much more picky with what I choose to buy, as everything's getting more expensive and I already have a huge backlog), I do have to appreciate retailers like VGP organizing reprints with publishers and making it easier for people to get certain games with reselling and other retailers cutting stock becoming so prevalent.
I’ve recently got into Trail series with Daybreak so coming across the Cold Steel reprints was nice
I really like the reprint model cause honestly half the games I got i would have missed out on and plus such as games like Mario kart 8 recently with all the dlc on the cart is a huge plus for me.
Im thankful to live near VGP lol. They were great during covid and just in general for Canada because we dont get stock like the US does for many titles in general.
It’s a very interesting topic, because like you I collect lots of different things (games, CDs, records, art toys etc) and it’s a practice I think they have all started to take advantage of. On one hand, it’s quite scummy to appear to only do ‘limited copies’ just to make people pick up in fear of missing out (then to just keep pressing more). It’s an age old tactic which many companies have used for decades.
On the other, I’m also just glad these things are still being made, as I don’t think we’ll be seeing much (if any) physical media in the coming years. If they need to resort to these tactics to make it worthwhile, then I’m kind of happy to pay to keep physical media alive.
Very good points!
Hey Emily very cool topic. But mainly I wanted to tell you I started playing the Trails series a couple of nights ago - starting with Trails in the Sky. I am REALLY enjoying it. I wouldn't have known about the series really except for your videos. Hope you have an awesome week!
great topic. it's clearly done to promote that fans of certain genres or series purchase the games at MSRP and it totally works. I now buy each trails release at launch instead of waiting for a price drop. That said, I didn't know about the cold steel 1 and 2 reprint and now they are sold out again. lol I missed out oh no! oh well.
What helped me was making a list of games released that I want and I dont buy anything outside of that list. Without this list id buy games left and right without thinking.
I do exactly the same! It really does help! I let myself add and remove games from the list but I try to stick with it! :)
reprints are frequently on sale digitally. That's pretty much all I buy on Switch. 3rd party titles for like $3-$5.
I'm very thankful that VGP has reprinted many games I've missed out on. I'd definitely love to see more companies like this especially state side. I'll admit its depressing visiting stores I'd once pick up movies and games from (even from 4-10 years ago) have hardly anything anymore. Its annoying to shop online for this stuff when its fun to browse and compare copies in search of the best looking one. I do feel like the "old man yelling at the cloud" for wanting physical copies of media in stores when the market is trending toward digital "long term rentals" unless its GOG. It's better to have these companies exist than not at all. For better or worse. And yeah I've also scaled down my video games purchases on reprints. Mainly the stuff I really really want and the rest is GOG/Steam sales for games I'm curious about.
i feel especially with jrpgs, the bigger titles too. they sell out so quick and only get a limited run. so i do appreciate re-prints. maybe they should come with another advertising run or something.
i really wanted atelier ryza 1,2 + 3 so i can see those game before yumia. but the aus copies where i live were super expensive, even off amazon. luckily vgp had them for a reasonable price.
so gust could have advertised or release their own 3 pack when yumia was announced. like the dusk and mysterious trilogy.
its crazy to me that these companies do not see the pricing and try to get in on that market themselves by printing more.
I've definitely tried to put more effort into considering "Do I really want this game or am I getting it because of the price?" That's true for all my hobbies. There's plenty of stuff that I want, but my budget is now asking "Do I want want it?" If that makes sense.
At this point, physical media will become niche, regardless of the genre. I wish these companies would print games based on a queue list, not just a limited amount and being left out if you missed the opportunity window.
It happened to me for scorn on PS5. It got mixed reviews when it released but looked so cool that I figured I’ll look for it later at a discounted price. It had a low print run and didn’t do good so it was never reprinted. I checked on it and thought wtf it had jumped to $90. VGP did a reprint of it for $50 and I figured we’ll if you want it better get it. I also wanted the PS5 copy of final fantasy intergrade but that shot up in price. I got a reprint of that through VGP.
Love you girl I appreciate your candidness. I’m always fascinated by someone’s feelings and thoughts on collecting.
love u too pookie
I think that in the end it really matters if you want to play game or not. Of course, you can always buy reprinted game and sell it or trade it later. One another thing that might be good idea for video is "what is good price for reprinted game when you sell it".
Yeah, I can really relate to this vid. There have been SEVERAL games over the last few years that I have grabbed simply because it was something I was worried about getting a physical copy of cause of the limited first release problem. Same goes for some reprinted I've gotten. I've not regrets.... yet but it's bound to happen on of these days.
Physical game collecting is fun and sometimes, depending on release and situation, can be alarming depending on whats being reprinted. It does matter why when you buy reprints. Usually for me it is a race against stock if its a game or series I really would like to have. FOMO plays a role but sometimes if you dont act, you may end up back where you started.....begging for a copy for a good price on ebay. I consider us lucky we get to have a shot at reprints at all even despite purchasing access from more than just one retailer. Thanks Emily!
Hello Ms. Emily, good video assessment and you bring up and raise alot of things to consider. I think in regards to units and volumes we have to remember that all of this companies go from a cost basis. I believe the print on demand outcome will probably be our future. I've noticed with this generation there is so much limitations. However it's just a consistent change that is coming around for us in this hobby. I think however the beat place to always find "deals" is Walmart, always clearanced games at Walmart. Once again thank you! Hope you are well.
Could listen to you talk all day
Her voice carries such a smooth, captivating charm, especially when discussing retro games. The nostalgia in her words, paired with her eloquence, makes every moment a pleasure to hear. A true delight for any gaming enthusiast
I love reprints. They give people a second chance to get a game that is now $100+ on the resale market. I wish VGP could start doing reprints on PS1 and PS2 games. That would really shake this resale market up.
We reflect after we make the purchase 😂
I honestly can’t believe the price of some new games and reprinted games!! Great video 🔥
it's only logical, if a game doesn't sell well on the initial print batch, why bother reprinting just for it to stay in shelves and later clearance bins and then lose money and be stuck with excess inventory
It's even happening even with mid and larger titles. Silent Hill 2 Remake and Dynasty Warriors Origins both had little to no physical presence in stores, even at GS! I can surely see Origins getting a VGP reprint in a year! Drives me crazy as an in person shopper! Great thoughts and video, Em! ❤
Im so thankful for VGP otherwise we would never be able to get them outside of preowned lol
They seemingly already did a reprint of Trails of Daybreak. I forgot it had released, see it’s sold out everywhere and couldn’t find a single copy of it-even on eBay-got FOMO, then overpaid for it on Mercari… now Amazon has it back in stock at MSRP lol
I really appreciate hearing all of this - from the supply perspective, I agree it is a bit unfortunate situation, nevertheless I am afraid this will not change.
However, hearing how you speak about this FOMO buying made me also stand in front of my collection and think about my purchases.
Which games I bought just because I am afraid of increased price later / not being able to buy them?
Shouldn't I really be buying games only, when I am sure I want to play them?
There is no doubt that with some games I was hesitant and the only reason I jump on getting them was FOMO.
Regarding the sales/discounts I absolutely feel you... I used to grab games on sales, but its happening less and less.
You pointed out very well niche markets and especially JRPG - in the past, it was much easier to pick up copy.
Now? Retailers in my country get 1-3 copies of Trails games and thats it.
With larger titles, I have started buying used from Japan - unfortunately it is not always possible, as some games don't have multi language (NIS games for example).
And as was mentioned in comment section roughly billion times - VGP is miracle and I hope they will keep running in the same manner as they have been till now.
Thank you for being so transparent about this topic and best of luck with collecting :)
If there are games you regret buying/buying duplicate copies of, you can always trade them into a game store. Or sell them online, but that's a bit of a time commitment
I've got tons of duplicate digital copies. I must have Bastian on 5 or 6 different platforms. I've got Banner Saga on 3 platforms. I think I have XCOM on four platforms. Can't sell. They are all digital.
Great video, and you raised some great points!
Great video and it’s an important topic as well
I saw that VGP is doing a lot of reprints. I'm so happy about that 😊. A big one in my opinion is final fantasy 7 remake intergrade ps5. I ordered it from them. I've been ordering a lot from video games plus. Great company and great video Emily. I don't buy physical games because of their value. I buy them because I prefer my games physically and not digital.
Great video. I don’t think I came across a situation of FOMO reprint yet, but it’s an interesting topic to discuss, considering that physical media as a whole has been on an overall downward trend. I absolutely do question why the big companies like SEGA, Bethesda, and Konami would resort to Limited Run for their physical releases when they could probably do it themselves, even if they’re only smaller titles.
Heh. I also bought those Cold Steel 1&2 PS4 reprints from VGP. Though unlike you it's the first time I'll have them physically (did buy them digitally in a sale some time ago)
I think the bigger retailers not carrying the reprints makes sense.
Apparently the major distributor of games in the US went out of business a few years ago. Other smaller ones have taken over now but still aren’t able to handle that kinda distribution.
Also, so many games come out I can see retailers just wanting that initial stock and then grab the next new and shiny thing to sell rather than an older game that doesn’t have that new release sales boost. Especially the smaller games. They seem to get plenty of restocks for the bigger games.
Places like VGP are a video game specific retailer. Do we really have an equivalent here in the US? Maybe GameStop? I have randomly find some of these reprints there.
Can you give a name or a link of that major distributor that went out of business? I just did a quick Google search and couldn't find anything. Would like to research further, thanks!
@ rgt85 had done a video on it like a year ago. I can’t find it cause that dude releases videos everyday lol. But after a bit of searching i believe it was Ingram. I guess not out of business, just exited the business.
@@NCSUWolfpacker2010 Thanks!
@@NCSUWolfpacker2010 holy shit, I work for Ingram (book distribution side) and didn’t even know they distributed games! The Ingram “family” of companies is a strange hidden empire, though, so it makes sense. It does make me wonder if somewhere in LaVergne there’s one last stash of old games and DVDs… 🧐
Amazon and play Asia are the main places to go
I totally agree with your thoughts.
Check out your mic. There is some background humming.
I suspect larger retailers aren't interested because the margins are too small. It probably just isn't worth it for them. Add to this the collector crowd and the issues of returns for the slightest issues and that makes it even less worth it. This last one is likely what broke the camel's back for Best Buy pulling out of movie blurays.
The only fomo reprint purchase I truly feel bad about was jumping on that sus 2024 Inscryption reprint that randomly showed up on eBay months before other retailers had it. I loved the game and am happy to own it-but feels bad that I just gave into fomo without a second thought only to see it still available today for a cheaper price :/
I hope game companies make sure that their games are always available to buy and play because once companies forget about games and not allow a modern way to buy and play them they become annoying to find and get. Chrono Trigger comes to my mind It's not on digital stores like PlayStation or Nintendo Switch. Cool video. ^_^
I'm pretty sure videogamesplus has a warehouse in New York that ship the games in the US. I wonder if that will prevent tariffs from affecting the prices.
Yeah, I noticed that. Hopefully, that's the case.
The reason for vpg being the main ones getting is likely a result of them being one of the only ones requesting for reprints. The big stores don't have any reason to do so
I think the responsibility lies on the collector. Stores like VGP and PNP simply provide an opportunity to acquire games NIB back at MSRP versus the alternative of paying higher prices and often at a lesser condition. If we spend unreasonably or beyond our means, we are to blame. That's not the fault of the reprint or the reprint model.
THIS
As someone that's a bit late to the game when it comes to buying physical games i am a big fan of reprints but I also hate overpaying for games i can buy for cheap digitally.
Fomo if you don't, Buyers Regret if you do.
Oh 100% I have this with reprints. Lately I'm coping better with this since I'm trying to only buy games I will play 100% and to completion. If I think I won't beat the game, I don't bother buying it.
Idk about reprint FOMO (I didn't know they were doing it) but I have physical game FOMO. Fewer retailers carry physical games, the amount of physical games printed has decreased and more games keep releasing digital only (with a small chance of a physical release at a later date).
So, for any game I like or think I will like, I usually get the physical copy sooner rather than later.
I wished more reprints happened, not just games but anime series as well, no i dont think iam weird for wanting to have a physical copy of the stuff i like.
Idk what it is but your audio has a weird buzzing noise in the background
Edit: Good video topic btw!
I think Signalis got a reprint, wich was a delightful surprise to, since I’ve been meaning to pick up a physical copy ever since it‘s release, and then with humble gouge under and the price shooting up, it seemed less ans less likely I could get a copy for a decent price. I think that sort of the ideal collecting scenario, a game that you know you like, you‘ve been meaning to get a physical copy of, but never got round to, for one reason or another becomes available at a solid price. You should always collect what you like, never collect to ‚invest‘, its not worth it.
I will admit i bought into the fomo of the three Ryza games off VGP because at the time i was collecting the Atelier series and I do feel like im a bit enslaved to Limited Run Games cause they release physicals of games I would die to own. But some titles I look back on now and say "Did I really think this was worthwhile?". An example being Valkyria Chronicles 4 Complete Edition. This is definitely a conversation I think should get talked about more for sure
Good topic. I have the same thoughts about this reprint stuff as well. I’ve purchased some of these reprints but I’m trying to not jump the gun so much on them nowadays.
It doesn’t matter how many games I buy I always have FOMO for games I missed. But if I think about how many games I have that I haven’t finished or even played I realise that collecting a bunch of games just to gather dust isn’t a good solution. I try to get only the ones I really want to play but even so I only manage to finish a couple of games per year and buy a lot more.
I love reprints 😊 it means i can buy something physically without the real risk of it being broken 😅😊
Just picked up FF7 remake intergrade ps5 from GameStop “new” but atleast I didn’t pay have to pay shipping or a crazy price even tho it might come down later in time
Well, hell, if Trump slaps more tariffs on the East market when "Farwell O Zemuria" comes to the west. It would be more expensive to buy in 🇨🇦
I'm still hoping they will release English versions of cold steel 1 and 2 for switch or switch 2 but I won't hold my breath 😢 I'll be playing the sky remake instead!
Xseed CS 1 & 2 exclusive publish rights end in 2027 so maybe 2027 or 28 or Nis has to buy out the remaining time
Preach 🙌
Didn't realize you made multiple recent videos . None of them showed in my feed.
You should get some Dreamcast games like: Grandia 2, Evolution 1 and 2, skies of Arcadia, time stalkers
Reprint fomo definitely played/plays into some of my purchases, mainly with Attack on Titan 2 and the Berserk game, i had the retail version way back when for AoT2 but sold it after beating it, so for that it's mainly wanting to replay the game cause it was fun, but for Berserk, seeing how at one point it went for 300$ - it was an incentive to get it during a reprint and not play it cause i had no interest (at the time)
It's definitely a double edged sword when it comes to both points you've made!
Is it ideal? Perhaps not, but here’s my take:
- Getting the opportunity to purchase a reprint is better than holding out on getting a game on clearance, only to find that it sold out before reaching that stage.
- it would be nice if big box stores got in on it as well, but let’s be real, for a lot of games, it will be a niche market, so they won’t bother; for example, the whole Best Buy/LRG deal doesn’t seem to have been a huge hit for them.
- Honestly, VGP will sometimes get reprints done for less than the original MSRP. I can appreciate that!
- Since other companies are flipping the bill for the printing cost, it’s less of a risk for publishers, so they can make additional revenue with minimal risk.
- Times are changing, and if this model is what it takes to keep physical releases alive, so be it.
I have copies of CS 1 and 2 on Vita PS3 and PS4, the original Limited Editions of CS1 on Vita/PS3 (sealed i might add cause I didnt get around to playing them until the PS4 releases), regular copies of CS2 on Vita/PS3, and both Steel Book versions of CS1 and 2 on PS4. Gone are the days of buying stuff like the Trails in the Sky PSP Limited Edition for $19.99 on sale, i actually still have that one sealed too... a lot of my Trails stuff is sealed actually, especially Collectors and Limited Editions cause im not caught up but I always buy them on launch regardless, same with Xenoblade, probably the only 2 franchises I buy on launch if there are collectors sets, if not I wait for sales (and hope they happen lol)
Great topic. I am not too bothered by these reprints (or print on demand). It is great way to pick something up that you might have missed before. I never had a physical copy of Trails of Cold Steel 2, and I am happy that I don't shlep off to eBay (though uh oh..... now I have the steal book version of CS1 and a regular version of CS2.... Mismatch! 😄). All kidding aside, just touching on what you said near the end... I wouldn't be too hard on yourself for owning multiple versions of CS1 and CS2. That is a series you love and has value to you. I know plenty of people that say have every boxed variant of whatever SNES game, etc.
Great discussion Emily! Worth adding here in Europe we don't have the reprint model at all. Sometimes publishers are willing to reprint stuff (namely Reef Entertainment, who works with NISA, IFI and a few other companies here), but most of the time we have to import from other regions.
As for companies moving their LEs over to storefronts like LRG. As frustrating as it is, it's much better for the environment for these products to be store-exclusive rather than be mass produced for retail (and hence wasted). Those who buy the store exclusive-LEs are much more likely to take care of them properly, reducing waste. It's a good compromise between retail or no limited edition at all.
As a PC player who owns like 6 physical Switch games (and a shelf of Wii, WiiU, and PS2 & 3 games)
I really wish I could get into physical collecting. But I'm just not willing to switch platforms. Hopefully we see somebody like GoG offer physical releases of select titles.
Because I'm not getting a Switch 2, so I'll be interested in PC collecting.
Evercade has slightly filled that void for now, I have four carts from them.
Considering that the trails of cold steel standard PS4 editions are already selling for 2x the VGP price I would say that your fomo paid off. I think many collectors are the same in that they like games to be uniform, although it seems petty, I would rather spend the money than have a little thing like that one pegi game in my collection bug me every time I look at it. I have the vita versions but really wanted the PS4 versions for the Japanese language track, hard to justify paying those prices though if you don’t have the 80hrs to sink into each one and when the English tracks are so good. Thank you for these videos by the way. Don’t see many other videos on these kinds of topics
Love this topic! I've been waiting for a copy of Persona 4 Golden to be reprinted because I'm not spending over $100 on just the game. I'm not sure why high demand games like that are even sold by companies like Limited Run. Every time VGP gets a batch, they sell out so quickly. I feel like resellers are just getting them all, and actual gamers are left to buy it at a crazy markup.
A lot of the games I get have only 2000-5000 copies printed world wide. I have also had to wait ober a year to receive some, bevause they wait to print until they get enough orders
"The fear of loss is a path to the Dark Side..." Fitting that a Castlevania game "turned' you. Funnily enough, the game that pushed me into collecting was Death's Door. I missed the initial SRG order window. I was so pissed. Then when PNP Games, another Canadian retailer received copies, I jumped on the occasion. Since then I "jumped" on several others! One of the latest? Mario Kart 8 with waves 1-6 on the cart. Of course I acted out only because of the perceived monetary value. Sitting at a desk job makes it really hard to control these urges. To quote Yoda again : "Control, control, you must learn control!" Great vid thx!
I mostly buy digital for modern new games and then the physical copy later on if I really like the game. I might have to pay up for the game though but that’s ok. I don’t have space to just blindly buy every game nowadays. As for buying an ESRB to place the PEGI copy. That is the correct move! I try to avoid buying UAE or PEGI but if it happens (due to dishonest sellers), I will put effort to getting the “correct” version. I want my collection to be consistent
As I only want to buy physical copies of the games I like, FOMO never impacted me. I have yet to pick up a physical copy of a game solely for its rarity.
With that said, I do purchase reprints often. Especially when I purchase a game that I didn't think I'd enjoy much at first - so digital edition - but then end up falling head over heels over it after I finish it - OMG I need that limited / special / physical edition! Of course, by the time that full transition takes place, that edition is already out-of-print and/or is being sold by resellers for a huge markup. On-demand models and reprint allow me to rectify my "mistake" in a more financially responsible way.
With optical drives even being limited in availability now (thry are not even standard hardware on Playstations anymore), it is unsurprising that the disc availability is also limited now.
If reprints were done in a decent manner like you discuss, like being available in a place people can buy them, then yeah, things would be a lot nicer. I don't use twitter, I deleted my account because I find the entire site toxic as hell even before Musk bought it, but unless you hardwired into that stuff, you don't get to know if you can even buy a game, and that's just frustrating in general.
I like going into a store, and buying my games. Maybe it's obsolete, or old fashioned, but I think it's just smart buying practices. I want to see and maybe touch what I'm buying before I spend my hard earned money on something. Buying something online, especially preordering months in advance like with Limited Run feels like such a crock that what's I HAVE to resort to just get my favorite games.
You briefly mentioned this, but seriously WHY are huge companies resorting to only letting companies like Limited Run games sell physical copies of their games? Oh, so the hundreds of millions of dollars you guys make is not enough to justify printing your own games? Persona is only one of the most popular RPGs series out right now, oh, but it's too "niche" we have to resort to using LRG to sell physical switch copies of Persona 4 Golden. That was some serious BS.
Also, the argument that certain games or genres are too niche to warrant physical widespread releases of certain games just makes me roll my eyes and shake my head. Sure, you'll never get a bigger audience if you limit who can even buy your games. Honestly, I'll never understand who or what decides can get a widespread physical releases, and how can we get them fired? Why can I go into a gamestop and see physical copies of garbage like Dustborn, but there are some great games that don't have a physical version at all.
Nintendo Switch has been my primary console for collecting, and it has been so stressful and frustrating that I don't know if I'll be sad, or celebrate when physical games stop being made. I hate having to buy so many games day zero for fear that I won't even find them without a huge markup on day one. Like, your favorite series Legend of heroes is a series I want to get into a lot someday when I find the time, (and when the remake for first chapter comes out) but the games come out with such frequency that I own 7 different games on Switch alone that I haven't played, with more on the way, because I know I'll have a hard time finding them in the future. It's such a sad state of affairs that we have a such a hard time simply giving these companies our money to buy their games.
I'm always mindful to differentiate between buying just for the sake of collecting and buying to build my own curated library of games that I love and will play. So yes, I agree we need to make more informed decisions when buying physical games and not fall into the trap of FOMO.
The publishers can be more stingy than Wendys with the free refills.
I think I found out thanks to you that games on the Switch get updated reprints. I buy digitally on GOG for PC as they are DRM free and they allow local backups so I feel like I "own" my games enough, whereas on console I prefer physical as I don't have the same level of trust towards other digital stores, especially the exclusive console ones.
I'm still waiting for the complete and updated release of Torna and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in Europe, among other games :)
Too bad some distributors reprint their games but not updated, while they could. But again, if it's not Nintendo it's likely that I get the Gog version
As a long-term collecter, I came to the conclusion that collectors are suckers and seem to react to things like this because it affects how much there games may be worth, but OH...We only collect games we like...huh.
I'm big into getting the most complete on disc/cart releases so reprints are easily the best way to get them. I've pretty much always been late to the party and generally don't buy day 1 anyway so reprints seem like their a mutually beneficial model for publisher and consumer. I think the reason mainly VGP, PNP, and small stores are the only ones doing this is that they're probably the only ones competent and capable enough to do so. Big retailers don't know games they just know big retail. Gamestop doesn't seem to know either. Smaller stores likely don't have the initial capital to handle it even if they wanted to.
Fire Emblem Awakening was when i started having to buy some games at launch. If it's not mario, zelda or pokemon, expect it to go out of print within 6 months to a year after launch
Good morning! It's a good question as far as FOMO goes. I do think it's a marketing tactic but at the same time it's really our own perceived preference on the reprints. Your best example was Trails of Cold Steel one and two. But it never came across my head to rebuy those games. I'm quite satisfied having my steelbook versions but I could totally understand how you feel like your collection is missing not having the standard edition. We got to do better self-checking ourselves and realize, is this purchase really worth it?
13:35 I've done the same. Bought two different versions of the same game for a regional/cosmetic difference. Selling the old ones makes it all okay though haha
Have my own recent dilemma with a reprint 😅 I missed the initial release of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters Collection as it released on my wedding day, so I had to settle for an Asian Switch copy. I was very excited when they announced the reprint at retail, but I held off as I figured they’d go down in price, but they didn’t go down much and now they’re out of stock in a lot of places. So do I pull the trigger at full price or wait for a potential second reprint (and a resulting price drop)? It’s head ache inducing 😅
I have multiple switch games that I think might go up in the future I have no idea but I took the Gamble great video Emily
Something that lead me to ditch buying physical games was the update factor. I wish was possible was updating a physical copy to the latest patch of a game. Obviously disc games are prohibited from this, but it isn't inconceivable that a cartridge could be designed to include some writable memory onboard for future patches. Servers are always shut down eventually, and not being able to play your games as intended is sad. I now mostly play on PC now because of this.
Please tell me where you got that shirt from shulk and rex look so cool!