Quoted from 27dnast:Just some thoughts... not blanket statements. Of course, reserve the right to change my mind. But curious to see if others in the collecting community have been thinking this.
Recently (over the last year... to year-plus), I've found myself having a rather robust shutdown when it comes to NIB games and game releases. It's not that I'm not interested in the new games, because I am, but I've definitely felt the spark of excitement of new game announcements rapidly diminish. That desire to buy them has been flickering quite a bit. TNA bucked that trend for me, so I'm not 100% shutdown. But in general, it's held true.
There was a period.. back around Stern's Star Trek / Walking Dead announcement time frame where NIB games really carried a ton of intrigue for me. The hobby really hadn't exploded then. Pricing was right on target... and the arrival of NIB games wasn't quite as prolific as its become. Since that time, I think several factors have really tamed my interest in rushing out to buy NIB:
1) Price increases. There's something about the huge leaps in prices (coinciding with a drop in manufacturing quality... and added cheapness for Stern) aren't sitting well with me. Especially knowing what I paid NIB just a few short years ago. And then you hear tid-bits (like Borg saying he wanted four drops instead of one giant target on Munsters)... and I'm left scratching my head. Something's not adding up and feeling right in the price dept.
2) Location play. 4 years ago, if I wanted to experience a new game, it pretty much had to be bought. Now, there multiple local locations reasonably close to my home that have new games pretty much right away. I can scratch the itch and experience new with a car ride and a 5 spot in my pocket.
3)Collectability. This is a big one for me... I don't think most modern releases are collectable. LE or not. I'm not a fan of the "Franklin Mint coin" faked collectability model... or manufacturer controlled rarity. I really grapple with this... but in general, I like collectability/rarity that's crafted by time and/or other circumstances. And while I like to buy games for their fun factor, I'm not interested in paying a premium for suggested collectibility.
4) Used market. Super tempting to let someone else take the hit on NIB and work out issues with the game.
5) Modern board design. Makes me nervous. Looking at you Spike. There's a ton of unknowns with these designs... which makes me concerned, especially if the market (and parts market) has a downturn a few years down the road.
Kind of where my head is at. Could be subject to change. Anyone else in this boat?
The fun part is.. your points basically ring true for people who got in the hobby earlier. Those points pretty much apply to anyone who got in at some point during the last 20 years... minus the dip leading up to Stern's near implosion in 2008.
1) Price, why pay 4-5k for games when you are used to paying 500-2000 for games? We were also used to games falling in value relatively quickly.
2) People had collections, or knew where to go to play. Even if not local, people knew when/where they'd travel to see/play stuff
3) Old blood never bought into the LE theory... tho many tried to capitalize on the speculation market as people would overpay for NIB availability
4) Old blood had no problem buying used games vs people who used NIB as a shield to get 'known good'
These days you can see the trend repeat itself over and over on pinside with New titles. There is more energy and hype about titles BEFORE they are available than once the games are available in volume. People are addicted to 'whats next' and 'whats new' more than they are the actual game. Now with titles coming out so fast... it's like people eating too much candy. They can't take it all and still enjoy it.
'what can be revealed' is actually higher traction and more to post about... than what is actually in hand.
That is hard to maintain when there is so much going on and multiple streams to distract people.
