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It's always been a hot debate amongst gamers - trade in your old, unplayed games for the hippest new title to hit the shelf. For some, the decision is easy. Last year's sports game won't get played once the current season is available, so may as well get something out of it, right? Besides, nobody's going to play that old shooter once the sequel comes out. It'll be old, and everyone wants the shiniest version. The new one has features that blow the previous one away, anyways! No pun intended.
However, it's a whole different scenario it seems when it comes to the realm of the coveted RPG. There simply isn't the same parallel compared to other games. There was no rush to trade in those old copies of Dragon Warrior 7 when the highly anticipated Dragon Quest 8 hit the shelves. Unlike sports games, the newest iteration doesn't automatically replace the previous one. Similarly, while the newest title in an RPG series will undoubtedly see improvements, like the changes in the Judgement Ring in the Shadow Hearts series, that doesn't suddenly mean it's time to get rid of any copies of the previous games. So, it is obvious that RPGs retain value above other genres. Until recently, I'd never really considered why that is, but two reasons seem to stand out in my mind the most.
1. Emotional Value
I have a braided rope ring. It's probably the cheapest piece of garbage I own, but it was given to me by a good friend as a gift. Thanks to the events which surrounded this particular gift, it has a lot of emotional value...even if I don't know where that ring is any more. When you've invested a lot of time into an RPG, you grow attatched to the game, whether it's an addiction to the battle system, feeling at one with the characters, or really getting into the story. Ending a game can bring both feelings of satisfaction and a bit of seperation.
2. Collector Value
Let's face it: the average trade in value for an RPG is generally pretty low compared to what someone will pay for the same game online via auctions. Unlike the aforementioned sports titles, there often isn't enough of a certain title to to go around (*coughAtluscough*). This becomes especially true as some of the games get older and break down due to wear and tear. There's always horror stories of an RPGamer paying a couple hundred bucks for an old SNES game they were dying to have, only to find out the internal battery is dead. Going to Ebay can net one a Sega Saturn for around 35$ USD. Getting Dragon Force costs at least twice that amount. While many other games depreciate, RPGs tend to appreciate instead. It's one of the few genres that does.
With that out of the road, it brings me to a sticking point: the censure one obtains when trading in their RPGs is atrocious. Even the suggestion of such a thing is often met with severe heckling and other noises of impotent outrage. Is it just the two reasons I've listed, or is there something else I'm simply missing? It's pretty tough to argue against the glee that is felt when finding a preowned game that was simply too expensive online to buy, in the preowned bin for a fraction of the cost, but the naysayers shout out their opinions loudly anyways.
Perhaps it may simply be my situation is unique. As a reviewer, I may not get the choice of which game I want to review. In fact, some may be downright horrible, but those games still need to be played, even if completing them is like repeatedly whacking one's head against the desk. While these games might one day have collector's value, they general lack emotional value, unless the emotion in question is disgust.
In the end, I've found that there may be no simple answer to what seems on the surface a simple question. Collectors will still happily overpay for their coveted games, people will tsk at the idea of selling their prized shelf of RPGs old and new, and I'll still be trading in my games I'll never play again for new ones, despite the increasing numbers of those agonizing over such a "silly" decision.
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