A couple of weeks ago, while buying Final Fantasy IX and Breath of Fire III, I had the dreary thought that I’ve probably spent a lot of money re-purchasing games I already own. So I decided to do some maths.
The numbers are… not cool. Between Virtual Console games, PS1 classics and PSP games that I wanted to play on my Vita, I have spent a ton of money on video games that I’ve already owned, all for the sake of modern convenience. Why track down the old SNES when I could just spend a few bucks to get Super Mario World on my Wii U? Why mess around with composite cables when I can just buy Final Fantasy Tactics on my phone? Surely you can understand; most gamers have done the same.
Allow me to show you the damage, platform by platform. I should note: I couldn’t get the data from my Wii, since the system’s no longer with us and there’s no way to access my purchase history anywhere else, because Nintendo. I think I bought a few other Virtual Console games on there, but I don’t remember exactly how many. Also: game publishers have sent me various codes for older games that I’ve covered on Kotaku, like Earthbound for Wii U, so those aren’t included here. These are all games I’ve bought.
Wii U:
2/5/13 – Super Mario World – $US8.70 ($12)
3/7/14 – Zelda: Link to the Past – $US8.70 ($12)
10/4/15 – Deus Ex: Human Revolution – $US17.23 ($24)
1/5/15 – Paper Mario – $US10.88 ($15)
Total: $US45.51 ($63)
Both SMW and Link to the Past were great purchases. I haven’t replayed Paper Mario yet, but I will. Not sure if I’ll ever get to Deus Ex again, especially with the new one coming out later this year. I don’t know why I bought that.
3DS
30/5/13 – The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons – $US5.43 ($7)
30/5/13 – The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages – $US5.43 ($7)
28/12/14 – The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX – $US6.49 ($9)
23/2/15 – The Legend of Zelda – $US5.41 ($7)
6/8/15 – Chrono Trigger (DS) – $US27.99 ($39)
11/9/15 – Super Mario Bros 3 – $US5.41 ($7)
Total: $US56.16 ($78)
Rebuying and replaying all the Zelda Game Boy games was a good reminder that the Zelda Game Boy games are fucking incredible. As is Chrono Trigger. And Super Mario Bros. 3. Good show, 3DS. I don’t regret any of these purchases.
Vita (PS1 Classics):
8/2/13 – Final Fantasy IX – $US4.99 ($7)
26/8/13 – Vagrant Story – $US5.99 ($8)
30/11/13 – Final Fantasy VIII – $US9.99 ($14)
9/12/14 – Suikoden II – $US5.99 ($8)
9/2/16 – Breath of Fire III – $US9.99 ($14)
Total: $US36.95 ($51)
I also own Xenogears, Suikoden, Legend of Dragoon, Grandia and Chrono Cross thanks to codes from Sony. Pretty solid collection, IMO. It would have been nice if Sony had found some way to let people transfer their PS1 discs to modern systems, but hey, then they wouldn’t make money?
Vita (PSP Classics):
6/1/13 – The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky – $US19.99 ($28)
7/7/13 – Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together – $US19.99 ($28)
4/5/14 – Lunar: Silver Star Harmony – $US14.99 ($21)
Total: $US54.97 ($76)
I bought all three of these games on the PSP throughout 2010 and 2011, then again on the Vita just a couple years later. This was probably a mistake.
PlayStation 4:
5/12/15 – Final Fantasy VII – $US10.87 ($15)
Total: $US10.87 ($15)
I have a feeling this number is going to get higher soon.
iOS
27/8/12 – The World Ends With You – $US21.66 ($30)
20/9/12 – Lunar Silver Star Story – $US7.58 ($10)
6/2/14 – Final Fantasy VI – $US17.33 ($24)
2/2/15 – Heroes of Might and Magic III HD – $US10.83 ($15)
9/2/15 – Final Fantasy IX – $US18.41 ($25)
Total: $US75.81 ($105)
Why, yes, some of these games do appear more than once on this list, not even counting when I bought them on PS1. Don’t get me started.
PC
1/10/10 – Planescape: Torment – $US9.99 ($14)
14/4/13 – Sid Meier’s Colonization – $US5.99 ($8)
11/5/13 – Alpha Centauri – $US5.99 ($8)
6/9/13 – Baldur’s Gate 2 – $US9.99 ($14)
29/6/14 – Baldur’s Gate – $US3.99 ($6)
29/6/14 – Icewind Dale 2 – $US3.99 ($6)
29/6/14 – Dungeon Keeper 2 – $US2.39 ($3)
6/2/15 – Heroes of Might and Magic 3 – $US9.99 ($14)
29/4/15 – Zak McKracken – $US5.99 ($8)
Total: $US58.31 ($81)
These classics — which are all excellent — are from GOG. I owned every single one of them on CD-ROM back in the day. I’ll never forget picking up Baldur’s Gate for the first time, seeing that it came on six discs, and thinking “Holy shit, this game must be incredible.” (It was.)
FINAL TOTAL: $US338.58 ($467)
Dear lord.
Comments
24 responses to “I’ve Spent At Least $338.58 Re-Buying Games I Already Own”
pfft I’ve almost spent more than that just re-buying original play station version of FF8, for like 6 years i was never able to finish ff8 due to the curse of the 4th disk.
I have purchased 9 copies of FF8, ive had the 4th disk stolen, broken (x3), scratched, used as a coaster, lost and also traded by my younger brother to a friend for a mars bar when he was a kid.
My first thought was “Hah, I’ve never re-bought games. what a waste!”…Then I remembered Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, Heroes of Might and Magic 2 and 3, Might and Magic 6 through 8….
Although I technically never bought them the first time, that was my Dad…and my brother for Age of Mythology. So it’s not really re-buying….right…right?
unless you lost/destroyed/damaged/sold the older copies then…why? i’m shit with money but even i acknowledge that this is stupid
A lot of the time it’s compatibility issues, at least for me. When the game was made for Windows 95 and you’re running windows 7 or 10 there’s a bit of a gap…Patches/fixes aren’t always available or easy to find so it’s easier to just spend $5 and get the latest version of it.
For me I bought a lot of the classics I wanted in a GoG sale in a bundle for $5 total.
yeah compatibility is another good reason for it if it can no longer been played on your machine/no longer have the console. i should’ve included that.
Plus old consoles plugged into a modern TV don’t always display the best picture, so grabbing a VC version of your favourites is a good way to replay them on a newer display.
Do what I do and buy an older TV for the older consoles. Always try to get the SCART or S-Video cables for them as well.
I own XCOM:EU/EW on three different platforms. (PC, 360, iOS.)
I know I’ve bought at least three copies of Diablo 2 thanks to lost discs/keys. And another version that came with the base game and the expansions bundled. The expansions twice.
Scratched discs got me buying HOMM3 twice, and then later again on GoG just for the convenience factor of not having to keep track of discs.
Hell, the number of titles I’ve bought on Steam/GoG thanks to trivial prices on sales and the overwhelming convenience of nearly always-available fast download compared to finding discs and their keys…
Yeah I am guilty of this, but when I rebuy them to get them on a modern device I at least try to get them in sales and will sometimes get rid of the old ones by trading them in.
Ocarina of Time – N64, Wii, WiiU, 3DS (remake)
Majoras Mask – N64, Wii, WiiU, 3DS (remake)
Mario 64 – N64, Wii, WiiU, DS (remake)
Various 2D Sonic Games (1,2,3 & Knuckles) – Megadrive, PS2 (collection), PS3 (collection), PC (collection), Steam (because the PC collection wouldn’t work with modern controllers for some reason)
GTA3,VC & SA – PS2, PC (to get them in HD)
GTA Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories – PSP, PS2 (to play them on big screen), PS3 (to play them on big screen with upscaled/sharper graphics). If they ever release them on PC I’ll probably buy them again to get them in proper HD.
I only do it for the games I know I’ll replay, and I want to replay them in the best quality possible.
Only game I rebought was FFX!
…oh wait… Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time…
I guess they all add up, but as long as the money goes to the developers of the game, it’s not really a bad thing, it’s only $7 here or there? You’d spend double that on having lunch out!
Maybe the popularity of FFVII on PS4 downloads lead to them doing a remake?
And if you don’t like buying them again, you can always get a ROM of a game you own for free, legally.
This smacks of entitlement.
Only gamers would try and justify because they bought Turok or something back in the day from a now defunct developer or publisher, that means they shouldn’t have to pay full or any price for it digitally/off a store shelf.
How much money do you spend each year buying the same Call of Dutys and Assassin’s Creeds?
The Wii U store gives you a massive discount on the Virtual Console games you had on your Wii. I don’t mind paying $1.10 to get back some my old Wii games. I only wish that they would put back the Mega Drive and TurboGrafx games.
Ive not just rebought, but also pre-ordered the same game on multiple platforms before. Borderlands and Saints Row I am very guilty of this.
Borderlands 1 – 360, PC, PS3 [jap]
Borderlands 2 – 360, PC, XB1
Borderlands Pre-Sequel – PC, XB1
Borderlands TotB – PC, XB1
Saints Row 1 – 360 [eng, ger]
Saints Row 2 – 360 [eng, ger], PC
Saints Row The Third – 360, PC, PS3 [jap]
Saints Row IV – 360, PC, XB1
Saints Row GooH – XB1 (only one copy! omg!)
Sometimes its easier to buy the remake then go to the garage find the old system, unpack it find a spare connection in the TV etc. And I’m a sucker for a GOTY edition.
I am just going to completely ignore how much I’ve spent re-buying stuff because I have a feeling it would have four figures. Most of the reason I re-buy games is compatibility, revised versions, collector’s pride, portability and an increasingly important one for me, space (e. Buy digital, sell the physical).
I spent nearly $200 just on rebuying GTA5 various times.
I don’t even wanna tally up how much I’ve spent.
Basically if I have a game physical or on Steam, if the same game later appears on GoG, I nab it again as that version will be easier to install and run later even in a VM.
Pretty sure I’m about the same if not more…
Paper Mario (N64 -> Wii)
Yoshi Story (N64 -> Wii)
Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64 -> 3DS)
Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64 -> 3DS)
Resident Evil Remake (GC -> PC)
Resident Evil Zero (GC -> PC)
Tales of Symphonia (GC -> PS3)
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Wii -> PS3)
Dead Space (PC -> PS3)
Skyrim (PS3 -> PC)
Mass Effect 2 (PS3 -> PC)
Zoombinis (PC)
Abe’s Oddysee (PC)
Abe’s Oddysee: New & Tasty (PC -> PS4)
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS3 -> PS4)
The Last of Us (PS3 -> PS4)
…and might as well add Pokemon Yellow (GB -> 3DS) because of course I’ll buy that as soon as it’s out.
You bought them back at like 10-15% of their original price… How much would that compare against your overall lifetime game expenditure? What is this, just another hyperbolic observation by this guy?
You know, weirdly, I’m not fazed at all with how much I have or haven’t spent on “re-buying” games. I see my game purchases as an exchange of money for entertainment; usually I only play a game once anyway. If I’m repurchasing a game, it’s usually because it was so good the first time around. If it’s something I want to play again, it’s worth the purchase.
Plus, here’s something to think about: that port/remake/remaster actually requires a lot of work on the dev side. Seeing all of those purchases you’ve made Jason, they are all at significantly reduced prices from their original point. That goes towards the wages of the people that did that remake who might not have had something to do otherwise.
Paying for the convenience of playing something you know you want to play again and are 100% guaranteed to enjoy, as opposed to a brand new unproven title which may or may not be good? I don’t see a problem here.
If a game that was previously not DRM-Free becomes DRM-Free and I need to purchase it again to get the DRM-free version, I do so immediately if it’s a game I tend to go back to playing again and again.
Hmm lets see…
Ocarina of Time on the 3DS
Banjo Tooie on the Xbox 360
(Both because I am getting rid of my N64)
Dark Souls II Scholar of the First Sin (sold my 360 copy)
Saints Row 2 – bought digital copy last night for $3, sold original disk years ago, similar situation for Splinter Cell Conviction and Far Cry 4
That’s about it – I have all the GBA Mario Games but then I got rid of my Super Nintendo (with Mario All Stars and Yoshi’s Island eons ago)
Same with Dream Cast for Crazy Taxi, rebought on Gamecube, then bought both that and Sonic Adventure 2 on 360 when I sold the GameCube!!!
Know the feel.
Ocarina of time: N64, Wii (Virtual Console), 3DS
Borderlands: PS3, PC
Borderlands 2: PS3, PS4, PC
Borderlands TPS: PS3, PS4, PC
Persona 3: Ps2, Psp, Vita
Final Fantasy XIV: PC, PS3, PS4 (only got Heavensward on PS4 thankfully
Metroid Prime: GC, Wii (Trilogy)
Metroid Prime 2: GC, Wii (Trilogy)
Metroid Prime 3: Wii + Wii Trilogy
Metroid (like, every metroid other than prime): On their respective original platforms + repurchasing virtual console versions
Payday 2: PC, PS4
COD Blops: Wii, Ps3, PC
Minecraft: PC, Ps3, Ps4, WiiU
The list goes on…..