Video Game Collection x 2

Ever look back on your game collection and ask yourself, "Why do I own 2 of these?" Well, I asked myself that a few weeks ago and still don't really know the answer. My game collection has many duplicate games, games I own more than once and in some cases three or more times. Whether my reasoning is I like it more on this system, or it's only $x amount for a backup copy no matter how it's ultimately justified...it's never really justified.

Momentarily I shall list off my multiple games just to show how absurd it really is. But before you see my travesty of a money hole, reflect on your own. Are you as crazy as I am? Are you intelligent enough to say 1 copy is enough and so what if I have to plug the NES back in to play it? Or are you like me and even though you didn't even really LIKE Far Cry 2 that much you bought it again on Steam for $7 because PC controls > PS3 controller?

Well friends that's the sort of thing I will reflect on below. I will do my very best to list all the duplicate games I have, but honestly, there's a good chance I will miss a few.

In absolutely no particular order:

Zelda Ocarina of Time: N64/3DS/Gamecube/Gamecube (yes twice on Gamecube)
Mario 64: N64/DS
Mario 1, 2, 3: NES/Wii
Super Mario World: SNES/GBA
Mario Kart 64: N64/Wii
Ninja Gaiden 2: NES/Wii
Kirby's Adventure: NES/Wii
Metroid Prime: Gamecube/Wii
Metroid Prime 2: Gamecube/Wii
Metroid Prime 3: Wii/Wii
God of War 2: PS2/PS3
Zen Pinball: PS3/iOS
Max Payne: PC/PC (steam)
Max Payne 2: PC/PC (steam)
Dead Space: PS3/PC (steam)
Final Fantasy 7: PC/PSP
Final Fantasy 8: PC/PSP
Vagrant Story: PS1/PSP
Xenogears: PS1/PSP
Chrono Cross: PS1/PS1 (bought it twice)
Super Mario RPG: SNES/Wii
Street Fighter 2: SNES/PS2/PS3/GBA
Mega Man X: SNES/Gamecube
Mega Man 6: NES/Gamecube
Mega Man 7: SNES/Gamecube
Mega Man Zero 3: GBA/NDS
Mega Man Zero 4: GBA/NDS
Mario Kart Super Circuit: GBA/3DS
Donkey Kong Country: GB/SNES
Donkey Kong Country 2: GB/SNES/GBA
Far Cry 2: PS3/PC (steam)
FEAR 2: PS3/PC (steam)
STALKER: PC/PC (steam)
STALKER Call of Prypit: PC (still wrapped)/PC (steam)
Street Fighter 3: PS2/PS3
Street Fighter 4: PS3/PS3
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit: PS3/PC (steam)
Zelda: 3DS/Gamecube
Zelda II: NES/3DS/Gamecube
Metroid: GBA/3DS
Assassin's Creed: PC/PC (steam)
Fallout New Vegas: PS3/PC (steam)
Borderlands: PS3/PC (steam)
Shank: PS3/PC (steam)
Killer Instinct: SNES/GB
Tekken 6: PSP/PS3
LittleBigPlanet: PS3/PSP


I am fairly confident that isn't all of them but I am away from my game center at the moment so this is all memory. The one that bothers me most of all though is STALKER Call of Prypit. I bought that game brand new for $40 when it came out assuming it would be hard to find later on, and Steam wasn't carrying it at the time. A year went by and I never played the game, then Steam had a sale on it for $3...I bought it without thinking claiming convenience of not putting a disc in the tray was worth the $3. And don't get me wrong, it is worth that...but to this day I haven't played the game even ONCE. I bought it TWICE and haven't played it once! How sick is that? DEMENTED I say.

What's even WORSE is I found out later my CD key for my box copy probably would have activated through Steam for free...But really I haven't played it yet because I didn't beat the other two Stalker games I have. And yeah, I own the first Stalker TWICE too!

Another sick anecdote about this list is the Metroid Prime games. I paid the FULL $50 for each game, that's $150 total. Then they made the Prime collection disc! I refused to buy it but then I found a sale on it for $20 PLUS Nintendo said they were stopping production of the game so I had to get it. $170 later I own the Metroid Prime series TWICE.

I guess the worst part about this list of mine is how few of these games I've managed to play the copy of. In other words, I'd buy the game again but not actually play it. The prime series is a prime example...lol...where I played all the gamecube games and MP3 on Wii, but the collection disc I played Metroid Prime 1 and that was it. Final Fantasay 8 on PSP...not beat. Actually, let me make a separate list:

Copies of games I own and have not played/beat. If I list it in both (or all forms) that means I never beat the game at all.

Metroid Prime 2: Wii
Metroid Prime 3: Wii
Assassin's Creed: PC (steam)
STALKER: PC/PC (steam)
STALKER Call of Prypit: PC (still wrapped)/PC (steam)
LittleBigPlanet: PS3/PSP
Fallout New Vegas: PS3/PC (steam)
FEAR 2: PC (steam)
Far Cry 2: PC (steam)
Final Fantasy 8: PSP
Super Mario RPG: Wii
Zelda Ocarina of Time: 3DS/Gamecube/Gamecube
Mega Man Zero 4: NDS
Shank: PC
Dead Space: PC (steam)
Max Payne: PC (steam)
Max Payne 2: PC (steam)

Ok so you get the picture? SICKNESS! I have it I'm sure. But, I'm doing better. I decided not to buy Assassin's Creed 2 on steam for $5 yesterday since I already own it on PS3 and KNEW it would end up on the second list! What would be the point!

So I guess my point is you don't really own a game until you own it twice! ...or more!

*Hi my name is Acefondu...and I'm addicted to buying games for no goddamn reason.*

Why Mainstream Media Sucks at Video Games

Every day I read the regular news from aol, Huffington Post, New York Times, ABC news, yahoo, and when I come across articles related to video gaming I always cringe. I don't believe I have ever read an article from mainstream media about video games that had anything remotely accurate to say. From games make our kids violent to very simple when does the game release, mainstream media gets it wrong and gets it wrong all the time.

Just this morning I saw an article in Huffington Post, Top 5 Video Games and of course I come across an immediate error in which the author believes Mario Kart 7 comes out 04/12/11...Now I get that he is doing that stupid thing where he puts the day first then the month so he's technically correct, however, he also lists Saints Row 3, Dance Central 2, and Lego Potter all of which say "Out Now." So...what Mario Kart 7 isn't "out now?" I don't get it? Why be so inconsistent. This was written TODAY, it's not like he wrote the article weeks ago and then posted it.

Still, that is a minor gripe...the real travesty is the games he listed. Like, seriously Dance Central 2? Lego Pottter? Heck, I wouldn't even put Mario Kart 7 up there. Not ONE game he put there deserves a top 5 spot as a universally acclaimed top 5 of the year game. It's not that it's just an opinion, it's that he's SO off base with his picks that he is clearly just plain wrong. It would be like picking Batman and Robin as a top 5 best picture of the year or something. Now, I absolutely hate the Modern Warefare games but even I would put it in a top 5 for games of the year, or at least not bat an eye at someone else doing it. That pick makes sense, it's the most sold game of the year clearly it's not utter trash like...Dance Central...

I see this all the time though. Yahoo will post articles like best games of the 90's and have games from 2000's in it, or they'll go on to exclaim the death of Nintendo during their peak years of the Wii. Annalists will declare gaming overall to be a failure opposed to the onset of iphone gaming and farmville... Wild claims, inaccurate information, and overall poorly written articles from people who clearly know nothing about video games.

So why doesn't mainstream media carry video game industry experts? I mean really, it's a billion dollar industry and growing. It surpassed gross revenue's of the movie industry a couple years ago and still mainstream media knows more about what George Cloony had for breakfast than what caused the infamous Red Ring of Death in Xbox consoles...which was akin to reporting on a big box office bomb, or the death of a famous actor. Everyone knew about it...except mainstream media still touting Microsoft's unwavering dominance.

I wish I knew why they sucked so hard at covering the video game industry. It isn't difficult, they are an open book of nerds and polygons. But it is clear they don't take it seriously. Probably because of a lack of an audience is my only guess. Us gamers are growing up though, reading the real news and interested in the business end of our hobbyist interests, and they can't get it right! Why report on it at all then? Just stay out and let the gaming media handle it.

On my way to work in the morning I have to endure talk radio as my only means of entertainment since I really hate pop music and commercials. Why is there no video game radio? Maybe it's on satellite radio, I'm not sure. I would love to start up my own video game radio if I knew it'd be a success. Plus it would help to have a co-host...meh.

Point of the story is mainstream media needs to either hire ME or quit reporting news on games all-together. Thank you!

*Go Squirtle, attack NBC with watergun!*