Collecting video games is becoming more and more of a popular hobby. The problem with that, however, is some of the real "Holy Grails" of game collecting are getting more and more difficult to find. Instead of talking about game collectibles that are going to be really tough for you to find, I thought I would showcase some variants and collectibles that should be easier for you to track down today, in the hopes that they will be more valuable and collectible in the future. At the very least, all four of these items are conversation pieces for when your gaming friends come over.
First we have "The Last Remnant." This Square Enix role-playing game was directed at both Western and Japanese audiences, which is partially to blame for the weak reviews this game received. However it still sold reasonably well and a result had more than one print run. For the Xbox 360 version in North America the initial release had a silvery reflective tone to it (as can be seen in the picture on the right hand side). Subsequent releases ditched the silver for standard issue (and likely cheaper) white. If you are a true collector and/or a Square Enix fan, you are definitely going to want to get both.
Mistakes happen and it looks like when the first batch of "Lego Lord of the Rings" games were pressed with quite the boo-boo. A limited number of the discs say "Demo Disc - Not for Sale". This label was clearly not intended for the retail release of the game and so Warner Bros. immediately issued a recall on the copies that were affected. The good news is for those that got one of the mis-labeled discs is that the problem extends only to the label; the disc itself contains a full copy of the game. It is impossible at this point to know how many copies are out there in the wild, but one thing is for sure, if you are a collector you are going to want to get your hands on this version before they completely dry up. Trying to buy a used one might even be difficult as retailers might mistakenly think the disc is just a demo and not even purchase it (or if you are really lucky, you might get it very cheap).
Finally, Canadians were treated to this little mistake when "Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus" was released. This final game in the "Future" series so generously included a download voucher for "Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty" which was the second game in the Future series. The only problem is that many of the first vouchers that were distributed were blank! As you can see here, the spot where the code is supposed to appear has nothing in it. Retailers were perplexed, even Sony was too for a time (referring people to the retailer, who referred them back to Sony). If you find one of these blank vouchers, it will certainly be something for you to discuss in the future when you debate quality control methods.
One final tip for North American collectors: the Quest for Booty game was only available here as a download (and one of the few games to not offer any trophies). You can buy it on a Blu-ray from Europe however and it will work here on your North American console! So if you're like me and prefer tangible games, you have an option here and it can be picked up quite inexpensively on various online auction sites.
These are just a few modern day collectibles available for video games. What are your favourites? Be sure to share with us and happy collecting!
- Syd Bolton
Follow @sydbolton
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Syd Bolton surrounds himself in thousands of classic video games as Canada's top video game collector at the Personal Computer Museum (http://www.pcmuseum.ca) in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
