Open Forum: Do You Collect Gaming Merchandise?

Videogame merchandise can come in all manner of shapes and sizes. From insanely detailed replicas to coasters and posters, there are plenty of options when it comes to displaying your level of devotion to a particular game or franchise.

Having grown into the world’s largest entertainment industry, videogames continue to merge with pop culture. Walking down a busy high street almost a decade ago, you’d struggle to spot someone wearing a Call of Duty t-shirt or an Assassin’s Creed beanie. Nowadays these items of clothing seem commonplace, alongside a broad selection of memorabilia that will even cater towards even the most niche of tastes.

I’ve always had fairly minimalist tastes when it comes to decor and lining my shelves with trinkets. In our digital era, where game discs are becoming less and less relevant, I’ve tried to keep as many cases as possible, building a shrine to convey my fandom. Older games in particular, including several Final Fantasy titles and the original Metal Gear Solid, occupy a particularly sacred spot among the rest.

That’s not to say I haven’t bought merch in the past, though what I do have is rather limited. I have a handful of gaming t-shirts purchased donkey’s years ago. Having been a rather chubby teen, there’s one – bearing the iconic Gears of War lancer – that now seems oversized by comparison.

In terms of toys and statues, I try my best to avoid them. For some reason I own an official Dark Void figurine measuring around eight or nine inches – I remember buying it for 30p at a boot sale where some guy was selling at least a hundred of the things!

GamingTat-Amiibo

My lack of interest stems for a void in unity between all the various product ranges. I suppose that’s why I’ve warmed towards Nintendo’s Amiibo range. There’s an aesthetic consistency about them despite, even among characters plucked from others games like Pacman, Ryu, and Sonic The Hedgehog. Needless to say, if Sony ever jumped on the toys-to-life bandwagon and did a good job with them, I’d be borderline broke.

Everyone knows that Dave is particularly hardcore when it comes to video games. However, much like myself, he’s tried to keep his collection at a minimum with a handful of Amiibo and the odd bit of memorabilia.

Within my collection there’s a strict “NO STEELBOOK” rule. A bit strict, I know, but it’s one of those preferences I strictly impose. Aran, on the other hand, actively seeks them out, or at least those that come as part of a limited run. Always on the lookout for something rare and exciting, he owns a physical copy of Retro City Rampage with only 2,000 of them in existence.

Dom’s another steelcase nut, or at least he used to be. Like many gamers, he’s also ponied up the cash for branded controllers and headsets, showing his love for both Halo and Gears. More recently, he and his son Noah have boarded the toys to life train, populating the family sitting room with an assortment of Amiibo, Disney Infinity, and LEGO Dimensions pieces.

GamingTat-Controller

Resident comic reader Kris has a small colony of Marvel figures perched on his desk. He’s picked some gaming bits up over the years though, including several freebies from events and expos, as well as a model of Kat from Halo: Reach.

Confessing to a bit of historical steelbook fever himself, Teflon has moved away from this fad. Given how commonplace they are nowadays who can blame him, especially when publishers try to wring an extra £20 from punters. Besides, there’s not enough room in his Uncharted 3 chest to hold any more of them.

Tuffcub more or less gave the same answer. Whether it’s bonus postcards, artbooks or other small trinkets, the novelty there has worn off. He reckons that as you get older you begin to realise how much pointless tat you seem to accumulate. I guess that excludes his comprehensive collection of Transformers, then?

20 Comments

  1. Never been a huge fan of special edition games with toys and books, I like the idea of them but don’t want the pressure of keeping them mint and have never had the space for a games shrine either. I do however like nostalgic accessories, I recently bought a very pretty 20th anniversary DualShock 4 which I’m happy to use and show off, and I also have a nice set of Numskull PS1 game coasters and their utterly pointless but extremely cool mini PS4. There’s some fun little bits that don’t need collecting, I think I fear collecting stuff like steelbooks in case it becomes an expensive addiction!

  2. Ha! No way.

    • All my games/DVDs are in a CD wallet thing. The boxes are in the loft. Try and keep clutter down to a bare minimum.

      • I’m the same but with children. All up in the loft in a box. :-P

      • Haha

  3. Collectibles aren’t really my thing, but i bought the GTA IV collectors edition with the lock-box because i hadn’t preordered and it was literally the last copy of the game available in my area on launch day.
    And i picked up the Fallout new Vegas Collector’s Edition secondhand for a tenner – whoah, i just looked on Amazon and people are selling it used for £85! Maybe there’s something to this collectible lark after all! ;)

  4. “I guess that excludes his comprehensive collection of Transformers, then?”

    Right. Outside. Now.

  5. I’m a huge fan and collector of Killer Instinct. My goal is to collect everything that has ever been made for KI. From merchandise you can buy right now online officially, to insanely rare and obscure memorabilia that no one outside of a few eyes have ever seen. I can say with confidence that I have the world’s largest Killer Instinct collection. But, it’s not about having the most. It’s about preservation.

    Most of the things I get and post online for all to see, have rarely been seen and most haven’t ever seen it or knew it existed. So i’ve taken it upon myself to secure the legacy of KI and see that the collection is seen by as many eyes as possible. I love the game and i’m glad to be a part of the community and the game’s history.

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