The reason behind seal-mania. Psychology.

Some people are shop-oholics. They gets an addiction for buying things. But often after they bought something they wants to buy another thing. "The grass is allways greener on the other side"


Me for example has allways loved buying things. The moment i walk into the store till i unpackaging the product is the highlight. It never gets better then when you just are about to open the thing. For example PS3.


I sometimes watches Youtube videos of people unpackaging their Wii,Mac comp and PS3 etc. I just like it for some reason. The way the brand new console is wrapped up in paper,factory sealing etc. Theese videos just tickles my "opening new stuff" sense.



It never gets better then when its not opened. Its just something i cant explain that makes my endorfin,adrenalin (whatever it is) go up as hell! Its almost as a fetish. But more like alcolism or other addictions.


Me for instance just love to buy games. The moment i hand over the money in exchange for the factory sealed game in a new plastic bag is often more fun than when i come home and start playing the game. (still there are times its not)


What i think we does with collecting sealed games is that we tickles that sense in us. That little thing in our brains that make us love the seconds/minutes/hours before we opens our new game. With having sealed games on our shelfs we tickles that sense all the time. The feeling that you know that you whenever you want can open the game. Still you know that you want do it.



I bet most of you probably know this allready or that you maybe collect becuz you wants to keep a part of your childhood etc. But me myself i can go bananas over having a bunch of un opened Mountain Dews in the refrigerator without drinking them. Just the knowledge that i whenever i want can open them and drink thouse fine sodas makes me happy:)


(still im just 17 and dont have the economy to buy as much games as you guys.)


Btw. i would also like to say that this whole thing is like the top of "consuming" You know, capitalism(Bush,USA and the west,MONEY!WORK TO BUY MORE! WORK AND YOU CAN BUY ANOTHER CAR bla bla) etc. BUY BUY BUY. Maybe this seal-mania is the product of that?

I enjoyed reading your post. It's very interesting. But I think for me, the psychology behind why I love sealed game so much is because I love video games + I am a perfectionist. And there is nothing more perfect than a perfectly sealed games with no dings, crushes, cracks or rips. So I guess my motivation behind collecting sealed game is a mixture of passion for video games and the pursuit of perfection.

pooch wrote:I enjoyed reading your post. It's very interesting. But I think for me, the psychology behind why I love sealed game so much is because I love video games + I am a perfectionist. And there is nothing more perfect than a perfectly sealed games with no dings, crushes, cracks or rips. So I guess my motivation behind collecting sealed game is a mixture of passion for video games and the pursuit of perfection.

Did you read my mind?

I was also amused to read your post pandaholic. I see some parallels to me.

100% agree pooch !

I'm the opposite, I like buying other peoples' tat. I only buy used games. I don't find any pleasure in paying top whack for a new release when I can wait and buy a shitty used copy for peanuts. I like cheap crappy condition or incomplete games as there's no buyers remorse attached and there's also no need to take care of them as they can't get de valued. Just my 2 cents.

Well my opinion is that if you just stack sealed games and don't play them - you suck and you're ill. Call 911.
If you play games but still enjoy them fresh and new as well - it's ok i guess.

I do both but I spent 90% of my time collecting sealed stuff and only 10% playing games so I guess I am quite sick

Dark Sol wrote:Well my opinion is that if you just stack sealed games and don't play them - you suck and you're ill. Call 911.
If you play games but still enjoy them fresh and new as well - it's ok i guess.

in a sense this is sad but true. if you buy games just because of how much they go for, then thats just a silly investment. buying something that will go for alot of money in the future seems like a niche trend that keeps growing by the minute. something that i think americans started and now its like a plague. or maybe like caffeine, nice and addictive. i like collecting sealed games too. i play some for me to determine if its worth it or not. if its worth it, i'll buy 4 or 5, sometimes upto 10 .. its easier to let things go when you don't have a certain attachment to them. i certainly don't play every single game i have sealed, but if i have a chance to i will.

pooch wrote:I enjoyed reading your post. It's very interesting. But I think for me, the psychology behind why I love sealed game so much is because I love video games + I am a perfectionist. And there is nothing more perfect than a perfectly sealed games with no dings, crushes, cracks or rips. So I guess my motivation behind collecting sealed game is a mixture of passion for video games and the pursuit of perfection.

I agree with you pooch. For me a sealed game contains a special magic, a "dimension door" that takes me until the day of the launching game, many years behind. The game is new, never open...it´s a special sensation.