New additions to the media collection in May 2017

With so many games, movies, books, music and other media releases, it’s difficult to cover everything. Being an avid collector of all things that can be physically put on shelves (despite becoming really fond of digital streaming, as could be seen with the Amazon Prime Video watchlist: March to April 2017 and Netflix watchlist: April to May 2017), this new feature might be the best way to give a small glimpse into how my collection grows each month, often with some items being picked up for future review material.

Of course before one buys, one has to do some research on what is worth the time and money, and as I’m not a big fan of contemporary German games magazines (it was a different story back in the days when gaming wasn’t hip), I have a subscription for the UK magazines Retro Gamer and Games TM, both often featuring lovely cover art and inside stories that simply can’t be found over here (and if yes, then it’s simply a translation). However, sometimes Germans can put together rather good magazines, as the story about Steam and a selection of the best games so clearly shows. It’s also worth noting that it contains a feature about GOG and has codes for two free games for that platform… Finally, another mag I’m quite fond of is the official LEGO Star Wars magazine (as you may have noticed in the Happy Star Wars Day 2017 with LEGO collection article).

Speaking of retro, there isn’t anything more retro than good old PC games complete with boxes, a very rare thing. It’s amazing to think that I just paid two EUROs for each title and even more puzzling that it was during a trip to a museum in Bochum where I simply passed by a book flea market, and this was the only guy who sold them. Okay, some CDs were pretty scratched, which was strange, because the boxes and even manuals were in great condition. I haven’t checked if they still run, but for the boxes and manuals alone this was more than a reasonable price.

It was also nice to listen to stories about how one had to buy these FPS back in the days when the internet wasn’t there and one had to go to fairs where these titles had to literally be bought behind black curtains. This was necessary, because almost all of these games are on the German Index, i.e. one can’t buy them in a regular store. Getting them online isn’t an option, either, because of region locking. And there are even some titles that are simply not available in a digital form (yet).

The same day when I bought these games, there was also the Comic Day on which one could grab free comic reading samples. There was only one left, though… not the best, but more interesting than the rest.

Despite watching more and more movies online, there’s something the digital streaming services don’t offer, and that’s 3D. Okay, I still don’t own a 3D projector, but the collection becomes bigger and bigger with 3D BDs, and since I’ve found out that ordering from Italy is so much cheaper than buying the titles in Germany or importing from the UK or US, Amazon.it becomes the new home address for me. Considering that I only paid around 7-8 EUROs for each title (half of what I’d have to pay here), this was a no-brainer. They’re even cheaper than the normal BDs.

3D isn’t the only thing digital streaming services can’t provide, as there’s nothing better than a physical disc with a great packaging/artwork. It’s true that one can easily pay too much for only a few pages, but some mediabooks are pretty awesome and if one can wait, there are some possible bargains, although there’s always the danger that they can become out of print (and therefore something of an investment).

Reading about the production of a movie or essays is all well and good, but it’s what’s inside: the quality of the actual movie on different formats (BD, DVD, and in the case of Sound of Noise the soundtrack on CD). Sometimes trying to catch an unintentionally funny trash movie online isn’t always an option, so these physical editions are the only way to go.

It’s easy to forget that one can also have fun with reading, and Terry Pratchett is (or sadly: was) always great, Discworld-related or not.

Finally, social gaming doesn’t necessarily have to involve smartphones or in-app purchases, as card games are always welcome, although the month before was much crazier… but maybe that’s for another boardgames time…

I hope this short but concise overview gives you a good impression of how exciting collecting can be and how it turned out in May. The great thing about this is that you can also have a say in what you’d like to read about on this blog. So please let me know if there’s something that piques your interest! To be continued…

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