I'm a PC gamer, and I've been a member of the Game Trading Zone (username: moneal) for over 4 1/2 years now. Being a member of that community has helped me build a fairly formidable backlog of older games to play - all in the process of getting rid of other games that I had already played and no longer wanted.
I've come into a rather odd situation lately, though. For some games (RPGs, primarily), I'm finding I would prefer to have the printed "official" strategy guides for helping me through the process. (I have a 15-month old daughter - I don't have time to spend 90 hours playing through a game anymore!) So I have been online, trying to pick up some of the strategy guides for these older games (anywhere from a year old to 5 years old). Imagine my shock when I realize that the "used game strategy guide" market is basically overrun by high-end book merchants who are selling guides that sold new for $15 to $20 in the average neighborhood of $50 -- well out of any reasonable price range that I would even consider spending for what is really a luxury to begin with.
Is there anybody who even consider dropping that kind of cash on something like that? It isn't exactly a collectible that I could see appreciating in value over the course of years. I understand the theory of supply/demand, but it just seems insane to me. Who the hell would spend that kind of money on a book - particularly on a book that I could only see would lose value over time?
Posted by Mark at March 25, 2004 04:54 PM | TrackBack