To learn or to keep hidden...

No that wasnt an answer to my question. Why do you (in your honest opinion as you said) think everyone else deserves to play a beta of a game someone spent 2k on?

 

Ok, so a question to all those who DO own unreleased/Betas of games:

Imagine money was no object. Would you dump and release your games then? Or would you still keep them to yourself to be uber l33t, and be the only person with that game?

 

If money was no object im sure you would be seeing many more rips however there will always be something someone wants to keep for them selfs or cant release for other reasons. e.g. legal issues.

 

Ah, Qjimbo, I agree with you. But all I can say to you, is hold on to those beliefs and don't let them float away when you start getting money and buying things left and right. Selfessness and a sense of community are feeble things in the face of overwhelming greed and materialism.

As for this miatter of protos. I can't say it bothers me much because to be honest, of few dozen protos I've played over the years, none of them fall into my top 50 favorite games and probably only one or two are even in the top 100. It's small potatoes. However, I will also say that you're up against a monumental task if you want to try to convince many of the people who actually hold prototypes to agree with you. See, it's like walking into the heart of darkness. For fairly logical reasons, the exact same people who give ridiculous sums of money for prototypes are the kind of people who have no sympathy for sharing and justice. Why, just look at hgow many times money and ownership and "mine, mine, MINE!" were mentione din this thread.

It's like walking up to a guy with a swatika tattooed on his dome and trying to convince him of the wrongness of racism. It might work on one or two out of a thousand, but the rest will just yell at you until they pass out.

You're better off stregthening your own beliefs and convincing other people who are already sympathetic. That's how a slow bus moves.


...word is bondage...

 

Well, I believe that it's more er, worth it to release the game to people - some of them may find something interesting, some may hack some interesting resourses, some will just enjoy game in their favorite series. Many of them don't have a chance/money to get this game and it's just unfair to let these games die. If you want to keep it to yourself - it's ok too, as it's your decision and you have the right to. But people can and will appreciate your effort, and you'll know that this game was released by you (this makes the value of disk more high for me - as it was the original that many people are enjoing thnaks to you everywhere).
Imo betas should be bought to be released (prefferably as a collective purchases) - this is not just a cool dev item, this is a possibly lost forever digital data which you could share with others so they will enjoy it too (and you're not losing the original, as you can clone it again and again). I'm repeating a bit here, so let's just end it like this - it's up to you to release or not, but I think that sharing this data is more important than keeping it by yourself.

 

This is much more appropriate Assembler..

 

Your bringing up Babe Ruth reminded me of something that comes close to this argument. A few years ago the daughter of Babe Ruth sold one of his last remaining jerseys. It was sold to a playing card company that as a promotion cut up the jersey and put a piece in packs of their cards. While anyone who bought a pack got a piece of the jersey the original had to be destroyed to do it.

The same is true with betas in a way. Once it is leaked both the rarity and the value is destroyed. Some people don't want to see that happen and if they own it that's their choice.

http://espn.go.com/sportsbusiness/news/2003/1020/1642358.html

 

After reading all the thread and to not repeat the same, basically I agree with LeGIt & ASSEMbler.

 

This isn't true.

 

Really? I wasn't aware. I knew of at least two pirate carts with full label art (at least I assume they're pirates given what I've seen about pretty much every other authentic prototype I've ever heard of), but I'd not heard of an authentic cart. Any information about it that can be shared publically?

Perhaps I should have qualified that with "that I know of".

 

It strikes me that the easiest way to avoid any of this talk in the first place is to simply keep schtum about what you have (like many peeps actually do).

After all the pleasure should be in the owning of these items, not in knowing that other people know you own these items.

As others have said if you shut up (ie former) people won't hassle you. If you brag (ie latter) then expect grief and unsavoury comments (you willy wavers you )

 

Well, yes, these items ARE yours to keep or hoard or destroy or do whatever. You have every right to spend preposterous amounts of money on junk that doesn't even work half the time and be annoying about it. What people are bitching about is the being annoying about it part.

And regarding being annoying, what really gets me is the little nuclear weapons analogy. It's just not funny anymore. Too overused. If you're going to make real-world analogies to video game geeks bragging over owning some piece of scrap that some game company forgot to throw out and doing everything possible to make sure they are worth as much money as possible, then a more appropriate analogy would be perhaps the DeBeers monopoly and the resulting largely artificially high value of diamonds.

Diamonds aren't that rare, but over hundreds of years (and countless dead Africans) we've all been convinced by a bunch of Dutch assholes that they are up there with gold and oil and Nintendo World Championships carts. Same difference with all these random CD-Rs and EPROM carts of games that usually were canned for a damn good reason. Collector nerds the world over are convinced that they can retire on these things, and that as long as their novelty factor is enhanced by the fact that nobody can pop them into an emulator and find out firsthand that they're barely worth the media they were burned onto, they can be rest assured that they can scam the next geek at least as hard as they were scammed themselves, should the opportunity arise.

So yeah. Like DeBeers without the whole subjugating a continent part. At least it's more original than HURR DURR AXIS OF EVIL

 

For many people collecting/selling/trading rare videogames is a business.
It would be financial suicide for them to destroy the value of their investment.

 

well people do what they want with their stuff, that"s all.

 

To Assembler its a business. He's just protecting his bottomline, which keeps this website up..

 

Oh, I don't know about that. Bragging rights comes with the territory. I think that's just as a legitimate reason to collect as say money or gaming (although more shallow.) Hell, what's the point of finding an M2 at a flea market if you can't turn your fellow collectors green with envy? If you don't tell anyone you own it then why even buy it?

I have like 56 game systems, and I keep them all under a long coffee table so I can hook any particular system up at any given time. Of course there are a few systems I haven't played recently (or very much at all for that matter, a sad side effect of having so many choices but only 24 hours in a day) but if I just stick it in a box in the garage then why did I even buy it in the first place? It's not just about playing the games becasue if I wanted to do that all I would need is my PC, a decent usb game pad and various emulators. It's about having the stuff to impress people.

I say jealousy, covetness, I-want-one-too-ness, etc. is definetly part of what motivates collectors to find rare and obscure protos/unreleased games/dev hardware/pirate stuff/etc and should be. Becasue there also is a little bit of competition thrown into the mix, is there not? Why then do gamer forums like this one and neogeo talk shit about each other's collections? Becasue that's what collectings all about, having the best stuff and owning other fools. In addition to investment, and of course playing the original games the way they were intended.

 

I understand what you say but personally I disagree.

You buy it because you want it. If you're buying things purely to show off then that is frankly pointless imo.

But is it though?I have an xbox with more games on it than I care to consider. I still go out and buy the original medias and hence have 2000+ games at least. It isn't about impressing people, it is about pursuing my hobby as not only a game player, but also a game collector. Just because 2/3 of my collection never gets touched, doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. It doesn't mean I still didn't enjoy getting hold of it, the thrill of chase, the sense of satisfaction when a title I have been after for ages finally pops through the door. Doesn't mean I don't still have a butchers through my sealed pce stash and revel in the fact that I, yes I own these. Whether someone else knows that I do or not is irrelevant, as indeed would be their feelings if they did know. It just doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Fair points but I don't agree. If you only want to buy something out of jealousy, covetness etc, then that is just the plain wrong motivation. If you don't buy stuff because you actually want it then why buy it at all?

As for the discussion, well that's what it is all about isn't it. If you have something you want to discuss then you open it for discussion.

It does raise a 3rd category for my original post though..the collector who has stuff, tells you he does, but won't say what it is. Kinda like the prick kid at school...'Hey guys, I know this really cool thing, but I'm not going to tell you what'. Don't say anything in the first place then. If you do wanna talk then talk, that's what forums are for. If not don't go round trying to whet people's appetites with the how cool am I, I have all this really rare shit, I am so wonderful attitude. Very childish imo.

Investment - yes
Playing originals - yes
Owning others - no, I just think that is bad way to approach things.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not having a go at anyone, this is just my way of thinking. I would never buy something if I didn't want it for personal gaming and collecting reasons. But hey, prehaps I'm being foolish who knows. I just think showing off, which ultimately is what it boils down too is frnakly pathetic and something I grew out of years ago.

I suppose at some level it is also about respect. I respect people for the collections they have, of course I do. The collection might not be to my tastes but I can appreciate it, the passion, time, effort and dedication spent in putting it together. Similarly I expect the respect to be reciprocated.

Similarly I have enough respect not to go round asking people for a $50 copy of BH1.5, Sonic Xtreme etc (and wish others would not either (sheesh some people lol)). Rather than willy wave perhaps these people should show the rest of us respect by either just keeping quiet, or by opening up topics for debate (and I don't mean dumping etc..just the assembler norm of piccies, info, descriptions, build types, engines, discussion etc..which, might I add, is something I am very grateful and thankful for to all those who do)

 

Well I have some stuff, but I can't say what it is. My job and all.

Anyway, just saying that the pride in one's collection comes in some part from the gotta-have-it-factor, the "Wow! You have one of those? You Bastard!" feeling. Com'on, when that guy showed up here with that M2 he found at a flea market don't tell me you weren't in the slightest bit jealous. You can admit it. We all were.

That to me is a ligitimate reason for collecting, although a shallow one. I'd say it's reason #3, behind owning the original media and a love for games and hardware.

 

Actually, I'd disagree respectfully, though I see your point on the surface. A great deal of my pleasure in finding prototypes (especially Jaguar/JaguarCD) is letting others know what exists, what differences there are, and sharing the information I glean from each and every one.

It's actually pretty awesome to help complete the larger historical puzzle of a console and chart the progress of individual games, and be able to share that knowledge with everyone who gives a damn about it.