Limited Editions: For Enjoyment, Profit or Show?

Every time I see a developer or publisher release a limited-edition of any game, I always chuckle to myself to those who feel that they are truly limited. Something they won't be able to find... something that's going to go up in value over the years.

I don't buy into the supply and demand, I buy into the hype and demand. People have to keep up with the Joneses by having something few people can get a hold of. Little do they know or care, after the supply and demand wears off, there's going to be 1000 of these sitting on store shelves across the United States unsold and you will eventually see them on Amazon as a deal of the day for 20 bucks.

Spin it any way you want to, the only reason people buy into these limited-editions is to either resell them or brag to everybody around them they found one when nobody else could. Very few people buy them to enjoy the contents of the package. Which generally sits untouched in the box after they open up the game to play it. There is nothing collectible these days. Everything is so mass-produced, that very few things hold value after you open them. It can be said for baseball cards, comic books or pretty much any collectible any company deems limited. Yet it doesn't stop people from buying into spending extra money for pretty much nothing. They see limited or have to have on something and they automatically have to buy it. It triggers a compulsion in a lot of people.

I have no problem with people buying these if they really love the product and are going to enjoy the contents within. It's when people buy them just to have them and waste money they probably shouldn't on something that is meaningless to them. It's been very disheartening to see how many people are in debt these days that they wouldn't be in if they could just control the compulsion to buy things they don't need. I imagine very few people from the 90s and early 2000 generations have any money saved for their retirement or plan to save any money. It's going to put this country in a lot of turmoil in the next 20 years and possibly cause another Great Depression. Because where is the money going to be to take care of these people as they age and need more healthcare? Not in their bank accounts, but in developers bank accounts who's limited editions they bought.

Call it the Beaver Cleaver in me, but I just want to make sure everybody is okay for now and in the future. I want people to be happy and treat others with love and respect. It's kind of hard to do that when you're struggling for every penny you make and spend. Which is why I care so much for the future financial well-being of everybody around the world. Because by not saving for yourself now, you put your children and their children's future at risk in not having money available to send them to good schools or pay for your care when you can't care for yourself anymore. It's something that can financially crumble families and countries around the world. Food for thought, the next time you want one of these limited editions that you don't plan on really enjoying, just buying it because Johnny down the street has it.

You owe it to yourself and your future families, to make sure that you and everybody else are taken care of in their time of need. They say that money doesn't buy happiness, but it can make it much easier to achieve it when you don't have to worry about where your next meal or rent or mortgage check is coming from. Or how you're going to pay for your kids current and future education. This isn't meant to be preachy, more of an awakening for those who feel they may fall into this category of somebody who buys things more out of wanting, than needing. I've seen firsthand how financial instability can ruin peoples lives, relationships and futures. I just don't want that to happen to my fellow gamers here on these boards.