Re: [SWCollect] Greetings
CcomputerGameCollector wrote: Starting to think nobody got my last email? Either that or this email list is awefully quiet! I think we're still debating what to talk about regarding the website. :-) If you check the archives (details should be at the bottom of this message), there is some discussion already on how we discovered it and what we think of it. Answering these might be a good place to start :-) -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Greetings
Dan Chisarick wrote: Also, all the game stores around here are displacing PC titles with console titles. Its almost to the point where the PC gets one shelf, and consoles get the rest of the store. Compound that with PC games now being published in boxes slightly larger than a paperback novel. Several times I've flat out missed new releases because the boxes were so small (better get my eyes checked or something). I think what computer software packaging has become is disguisting. Tiny boxes, and NEVER shrinkwrapped. It's sad, esp. in a time where some of the coolest boxes could probably be created. Was there an offical cut off time where the packaging of games changed so much? I mean, I've always visited the computer stores over the years, and noticed the slow change, but I just suddenly realized that a computer game shelf doesn't look anything like it used to.. Brad -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Greetings
CcomputerGameCollector wrote: I think what computer software packaging has become is disguisting. Tiny boxes, and NEVER shrinkwrapped. It's sad, esp. in a time where some of the coolest boxes could probably be created. Was there an offical cut off time where the packaging of games changed so much? I mean, I've always visited the computer stores over the years, and noticed the slow change, but I just suddenly realized that a computer game shelf doesn't look anything like it used to.. The cutoff was about 6 months ago; I haven't seen anything large since that time. I really, really hated the small box decision -- more than you know. But if you want to look at it in a positive light, most small boxes are completely useless for manuals, so it prompts more companies to produce a Collector's Edition with trinkets/feelies, maps, manuals, and unique packaging. (Whether or not these intentionally-mass-produced versions are more collectable than the standard ones is a subject for another debate :-) -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Greetings
Hi, thanks for responding to our concerns one by one :) Price guide: many of us are reluctant to work with fixed prices. It tends to take some of the fun out of collecting if everyone knows what they can expect for an item. Cruel as it may sound, I prefer to deal with the occasional uneducated buyer or seller at times :) If this were strictly an eBay thing, however, (typical 'going rate' an item fetches on eBay, and perhaps the highest price ever paid) I would accept this feature with alacrity. Without doubt eBay has a very strong influence on the market and tends to set the values for high-profile items (examples being the Kilrathi Saga, Roberta Williams Anthology, or talkie versions of LucasArts adventures), some of which have remained stable for months. I for one would welcome a feature that enables me to check what I would have to pay for an item on eBay, or what I could get for it. Not to mention looking up prices simply because I'm curious! I just wouldn't define this as the 'real' value of an item. This is entirely dependent on the subjective judgement of every single collector. It's a bit different with eBay, you may not like the prices, but they exist, and I'd sure like to know about them. Just a suggestion of course, and not even a very good one perhaps, as we would have to update the values in a regular fashion. /Alexander -Original Message- From: CcomputerGameCollector [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2002 9:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Greetings Feedback for issues regarding http://computergamecollector.com What I will never be able to agree to, however, are the availability ratings. Most of what has been added so far is very common IMHO, or uncommon at best. It's typically listed as extremely rare though. Wouldn't be sad if that column were removed completely. Agreed. The merit of such a thing is certainly debatable. If no one wants this sort of information, I'll gladly remove this column from the DB. It would also be nice, for someone like me (and I'm guessing like most of us on the list), to upload a comma delimited file (in the format specified by the site) that can automatically convert your collection...or at least give you a huge head start. Working on a collection importer/exporter as we speak. It's pretty much done, but want to do some more testing before I unleash it. At the moment I'm reluctant to do much with CGC because it doesn't support bulk uploads. If there were a way to load my entire collection at once (as well as bulk-suggest additions to the master list -- I have a lot of obscure stuff), I'd post it in an instant. This seems to be many people's concern; I'm working on it :) Interjection: it seems pretty useless to me to be creating yet another master list of games when Moby already exists. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a SOAP service or some other web API that people could use to access the information from Moby, perhaps for some sort of licensing fee? Since there's so much in the DB already (complete with screenshots, box shots, etc.), it seems foolish to me to duplicate the effort. As was mentioned, Moby covers a limited number of systems, hence certain box releases of certain games, and games never released on pc compats are not represented. I realize Moby's is an unmatched resource, and I'm not looking to replace that at all. While Moby's is based mostly on providing information (to my knowledge), my site serves additional functionality. I'd probably know his eBay ID if I see it. Site is employing a price guide for mint sealed games, this ought to create some controversy. Does anyone find this controversal? It's not meant to be, and is far from an ironclad value. If I see a new classic game that sells on ebay, I enter the mint sealed price in a $20 range or so. If nothing else, it's an estimate of the most recent copies that were sold on ebay. Of course it will be a very gradual thing for all the values to be filled up if ever. Thanks for the interest guys let me know what you think, Brad - Original Message - From: Jim Leonard [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2002 2:55 PM Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Greetings CcomputerGameCollector wrote: Starting to think nobody got my last email? Either that or this email list is awefully quiet! I think we're still debating what to talk about regarding the website. :-) If you check the archives (details should be at the bottom of this message), there is some discussion already on how we discovered it and what we think of it. Answering these might be a good place to start :-) -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to
Re: [SWCollect] Greetings
Aye, perhaps I have not made it abundently clear, but that's basically what it is. What else could it be really? The going rate is the value pretty much. Fair enough, thanks for explaining this again. Let's hope that the number of people collecting computer games is growing though. That's what we all want, isn't it? Definitely. The hobby is still in its infancy, by the number of active collectors at least. The more people are participating, the more serious this will become. We could get some actual media coverage, take to the expos, etc. The more people who get into collecting classic computer games, the funner, and more valuable everything will become. Only then will long- time collectors benifit from being in on the ground level so to speak. It has one downside though - beginners will find it increasingly difficult to get started, as the initial investment may become a real problem for some. I'm mainly noticing this as an Ultima collector - the way certain titles have increased in value is quite intimidating for the newcomer. It's all done with hopes that the community will grow as a result. Ya know? Truly a noble goal :) /Alexander -Original Message- From: CcomputerGameCollector [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2002 12:12 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Greetings If this were strictly an eBay thing, however, (typical 'going rate' an item fetches on eBay, and perhaps the highest price ever paid) I would accept this feature with alacrity. Aye, perhaps I have not made it abundently clear, but that's basically what it is. What else could it be really? The going rate is the value pretty much. Sure it's worth more to some and less to other, but at most, it would just serve as a rough estimate of current worth of an item. It's all pretty subjective stuff and can only be gauged so accurately. Let's hope that the number of people collecting computer games is growing though. That's what we all want, isn't it? The more people who get into collecting classic computer games, the funner, and more valuable everything will become. Only then will long-time collectors benifit from being in on the ground level so to speak. The main goal of my website is to promote all facets of collecting classic computer games, be it by trading, buying, selling or auctioning, and provide basic information about box types releases. It's all done with hopes that the community will grow as a result. Ya know? Brad - Original Message - From: Alexander Zöller [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2002 5:06 PM Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Greetings Hi, thanks for responding to our concerns one by one :) Price guide: many of us are reluctant to work with fixed prices. It tends to take some of the fun out of collecting if everyone knows what they can expect for an item. Cruel as it may sound, I prefer to deal with the occasional uneducated buyer or seller at times :) If this were strictly an eBay thing, however, (typical 'going rate' an item fetches on eBay, and perhaps the highest price ever paid) I would accept this feature with alacrity. Without doubt eBay has a very strong influence on the market and tends to set the values for high-profile items (examples being the Kilrathi Saga, Roberta Williams Anthology, or talkie versions of LucasArts adventures), some of which have remained stable for months. I for one would welcome a feature that enables me to check what I would have to pay for an item on eBay, or what I could get for it. Not to mention looking up prices simply because I'm curious! I just wouldn't define this as the 'real' value of an item. This is entirely dependent on the subjective judgement of every single collector. It's a bit different with eBay, you may not like the prices, but they exist, and I'd sure like to know about them. Just a suggestion of course, and not even a very good one perhaps, as we would have to update the values in a regular fashion. /Alexander -Original Message- From: CcomputerGameCollector [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2002 9:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Greetings Feedback for issues regarding http://computergamecollector.com What I will never be able to agree to, however, are the availability ratings. Most of what has been added so far is very common IMHO, or uncommon at best. It's typically listed as extremely rare though. Wouldn't be sad if that column were removed completely. Agreed. The merit of such a thing is certainly debatable. If no one wants this sort of information, I'll gladly remove this column from the DB. It would also be nice, for someone like me (and I'm guessing like most of us on the list), to upload a comma delimited file (in the format specified by the site) that can automatically convert your collection...or at least give you a huge
Re: [SWCollect] Greetings
Jim Leonard schrieb: The cutoff was about 6 months ago; I haven't seen anything large since that time. Around here, in Germany, it was 12-18 months ago. EA was the first to announce that cardboard boxes are outdated and subsequently published new games only in DVD cases. Others followed shortly after. Boxes around here were never as fancy as those in the US, but now it is at the point where I have to seriously question the advantage of buying an original versus downloading a game from the net, esp. considering that mostly inadequate tiny manuals are cramped into the case. Even with most complicated games like Operation Flashpoint. Interestingly, although the manufacturing costs for manuals and packaging probably dropped considerably after this strategy, the prices for games stayed the same and with the introduction of the Euro even increased by roughly $5. I really, really hated the small box decision -- more than you know. Heh, at least you still get boxes! :-) But if you want to look at it in a positive light, most small boxes are completely useless for manuals, so it prompts more companies to produce a Collector's Edition with trinkets/feelies, maps, manuals, and unique packaging. (Whether or not these intentionally-mass-produced versions are more collectable than the standard ones is a subject for another debate :-) Although the collector's editions usually cost considerably more. If we take into light that that was just about what Infocom did for *regular* games, which as well provided them with a neat copy protection, it is a little ironic where things end up now. Marco -- http://www.pp-forum.de/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
