It’s that time again…
Especially as stress levels ramp up for me in terms of my job during this time of year, Video Games Monthly boxes are basically gifts that I give to myself. It’s never about expecting some surprise “big value” game or expecting to fill holes in my library. It’s the curiosity surrounding what’s inside. I could probably scale back from the package I have now, but I have to admit that I like receiving 10 random games every month.
Video Games Monthly has more overall value for someone who is building a library of games. If I was just starting out with Game Boy Advance, for example, I could have a library of 20 games or so in a year’s time. It’s more gradual than going to a local video game store and buying games on the regular… but some people like that slower progress to check out the stuff that they got. I’m admittedly not the best target for this service, since my library of games is so large already.
If I did look at what I got this month and compared value to PriceCharting versus what I pay monthly… I got about $92 worth of games for my $80 subscription, about 15% more value. I do think there’s a line of thinking about certain games being “throwaway” common titles that are basically worthless, but that’s really not as much the case as you might think. Cruis’n USA alone is about $18. Blaster Master is $10, as is Jurassic Park. The sports games– which I asked for as part of the subscription, are obviously going to be less. I could request to stop those, which I may do as I have most of the sports games I want now.
These games are decent, too. You could argue that Days of Thunder and 720 are a bit weak, but certainly not shovelware-level. Astyanax, Blaster Master, and Nintendo World Cup are legitimately good NES games. I had no idea that Riddick Bowe Boxing had similarities to Real Deal Boxing on the Genesis. Jurassic Park for Genesis is a staple. Cruis’n USA is flawed, but has a lot of sentimental value for me (even if I already have it loose and complete). Sure, these are generally common games, but that doesn’t make them bad gets.
I do have some thinking to do about the subscription plan I’m on, as I’m at the point in my collecting adventures where I’m more targeted with the games I’m looking to get. My console game libraries are very well established, so random pulls are leading to more duplicates/backup copies than new additions. There’s not a lot that Video Games Monthly can do about that– no fault there. I’ve just “speed run” through collecting for NES, SNES, and Genesis… and, combined with my already-large libraries of games for N64 and (especially) the original PlayStation, it’s difficult to plug holes. 10 games is probably too much… but that’s a decision for another time.
What’s certain is that these are nice to get in the mail. Regardless of any changes I make to the number I subscribe for, I’m going to be sticking with my Video Games Monthly box.
Pete's Perspective 
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