Stick Em Up!

I'm a collector.....no wait, rather a connoisseur.....of materials related to the area of video games. Have a rare promo copy of the Japanese version of Final Fantasy 7 where Aeris doesn't die? I'm on it. The tissue that one of the developers of Einhander blew his nose in? Sell it to me. Just like most other collecters, I prefer the items to be in good shape. Even the easy to find stuff, like: I don't know - run of the mill games. That's why I can't stand going into a game store and finding a box tied up, beaten and blindfolded with stickers like it's been kidnapped by terrorists or something.

Really, do I need to know this game has been pre-owned via that large glowing green sticker slapped on the box? I think the scratched up disc and creases in the instruction book will relay that information just the same. Should I ask about the 10% extra trade value I get by paying to join some stupid club as the next eyesore suggests? No, becuase the clerk is going to give me that rant as I purchase the game anyway. Be sure to slap on some kind of sticker telling me what system said game is for - I can't just look at the top of the box to glean that information.

Is it too much to ask for used game stores to stop molesting my game? I've got a bit of a neat freak streak in me, and would like my collection to have just a bit of showmanship to it for the future. That way, when I'm 80 years old and giving a presentation on classic gaming in the Wii era (yes, they are going to name an entire era after the Wii if you like the console or not), I can hold up my copy of Gradius V and refer to it as the most underrated game ever without being ashamed of all the sticker residue on the outside of the box.

Posted by:

- Postman