Do you have any nostalgia for old physical media? Or do you still collect old physical media?

[danielmann861]

Inspired by a conversation I was having in the Gaming Vinyl thread over the general gaming section...I got to thinking about nostalgia for physical media in general.

Do you have any nostalgia for old physical media? Or do you still collect old physical media?

The two biggest ones I have a love for is vinyl and CD. I still tend to buy a lot of music on CD and about two or three years ago I started collecting vinyl with the release of the Shenmue vinyl...I was kind of apprehensive about getting into vinyl because I knew it could be an expensive hobby, but once I bought a turntable and some decent bookshelf speakers, I actually found myself falling in love with it all over again and became hooked on collecting vinyl.

But CDs I've always stuck with ever since I was a kid. I still have most of my CDs from when I was a kid...so a lot of $5 to $10 singles as that was what I could afford back then. I don't know, I just like buying a physical copy of an album to keep instead of "renting" (aka streaming). Even though most of my CD collection is now ripped to a Network Hard Drive...I still love having those CDs ready to go and I still tend to buy CDs over digital.

But it got me curious about nostalgia for old physical media in general. I mean people are still collecting VHS and cassette tapes like crazy...personally, I've moved on from VHS. Once DVD came to fruition, I honestly never looked back at VHS as I felt DVD was a superior format in every way...but lately I do kind of understand the appeal a little of that old analog feel. Not that I have any interest in collecting VHS, but I guess I started waxing nostalgic a little. There is something to be said about watching a VHS tape and getting to a racy part of a movie where someone has rewound it a little too much

So yeah? What say you? Do you have any nostalgia for old physical media? Do you still collect any old physical media? Gaming? Music? Movies? Board games? Books? (it's funny, I bought my first kindle last year and I still find myself buying physical books more than Ebooks....go figure.)

 

[bcdcdude]

I still love physical media and I still buy BR, games and vinyl. However, a month ago I finally ran out of room and I got to thinking of the Fight Club quote where the things I own end up owning me. I couldn't bring myself to do a purge, but I did buy a 400 disc wallet and threw away 350 DVD cases.

My main achilles heel is that I love collectings things; however, sometimes I feel that can be a bit of a curse too. For example, 88 Films' Italian Collection has over 60 films now and I get every single one regardless of quality. On top of that, they used to be £10 each, but now come in £25 editions (How I bought a copy of Zombie 5: Killing Birds for the same price as a top-tier Criterion film i'll never understand) and sometimes it's just no fun anymore. It's the same with Data Discs' vinyl; I buy them to have a complete set even if I don't care for the soundtrack itself.

That said, when major effort is put in, then I will gladly go physical. Recent brilliant examples include the recent Battle Royale re-issue that came with 5 BR, a 120 page hardback book and a pack of top trumps (!!). A disc and a case doesn't do it for me anymore.

Whilst on the subject, I have gotten 4 months of Arrow Player for £7.50. In two weeks i've watched a dozen films that if I were to buy them on Amazon would set me back over £100. I will still get ones that I think are worth going for, but it's tough these days; especially as it's getting more expensive.

The biggest bugbear comes to games; rarely do you get the game as it is anymore. Persona 5 Strikers aside, I cannot think of a single game in the last 3 years that hasn't had a patch update. The lack of manuals and other things cheapen it somewhat. I will still buy physical as oftentimes it can be cheaper than digital, but i'm not liking the way the wind is blowing at the moment.

 

[Revan]

I love physical media when it comes to movies, books, and games. My music collection is mostly digital.

Games are definitely my most nostalgic media. A lot of the childhood favourites I own (e.g. Shenmue) have since been re-released in various HD ports on newer consoles. Technically, I don't need to own the older versions anymore because I'll never go back to them...buuut at the same time all those old games still look kinda nice on my shelf.

 

[ShenGCH]

Never collected anything besides Kerrang! magazine, which I have some nostalgia for, but I do have a lot of nostalgia for VHS tapes; WWF/WWE ones, in particular. I used to spend so, so, so long with my eyes glued to the inside of the sleeves of the few that I had, scouring every minute detail of the tiny images of front covers of other WWF/WWE tapes available.

This was quite a few years before I even stepped foot onto the internet, let alone made an online purchase, so I would just use my imagination to imagine how the matches would play out, what wrestlers I hadn't seen fight before would look like in the ring, and how stories would progress from the details I was able to determine from the aforementioned covers. If I was lucky enough to find a new tape in Woolworths or a charity shop, I would scan the cover for as many details as possible and delve right into my imagination and do the same.

Now I feel all fuzzy

 

[danielmann861]

I still love physical media and I still buy BR, games and vinyl. However, a month ago I finally ran out of room and I got to thinking of the Fight Club quote where the things I own end up owning me. I couldn't bring myself to do a purge, but I did buy a 400 disc wallet and threw away 350 DVD cases.

My main achilles heel is that I love collectings things; however, sometimes I feel that can be a bit of a curse too. For example, 88 Films' Italian Collection has over 60 films now and I get every single one regardless of quality. On top of that, they used to be £10 each, but now come in £25 editions (How I bought a copy of Zombie 5: Killing Birds for the same price as a top-tier Criterion film i'll never understand) and sometimes it's just no fun anymore. It's the same with Data Discs' vinyl; I buy them to have a complete set even if I don't care for the soundtrack itself.

That said, when major effort is put in, then I will gladly go physical. Recent brilliant examples include the recent Battle Royale re-issue that came with 5 BR, a 120 page hardback book and a pack of top trumps (!!). A disc and a case doesn't do it for me anymore.

Whilst on the subject, I have gotten 4 months of Arrow Player for £7.50. In two weeks i've watched a dozen films that if I were to buy them on Amazon would set me back over £100. I will still get ones that I think are worth going for, but it's tough these days; especially as it's getting more expensive.

The biggest bugbear comes to games; rarely do you get the game as it is anymore. Persona 5 Strikers aside, I cannot think of a single game in the last 3 years that hasn't had a patch update. The lack of manuals and other things cheapen it somewhat. I will still buy physical as oftentimes it can be cheaper than digital, but i'm not liking the way the wind is blowing at the moment.

I'm with you...I still do Blu Rays and DVDs as well, although these days I tend to limit my buying to boutique labels and such. The likes of Arrow, Criterion, Indicator etc. I can't stand the thought of streaming only...I like having my shelf of Blu Rays and DVD's and do not want to give them up.

I used to be that way. I used to collect every CJ Entertainment release (Korean film company does nice numbered editions of their films on Blu Rays) just because I wanted them...but it got to a point where I started realizing that most of them I had no interest in so I stopped and decided to just start collecting stuff I'm interested in instead. I don't see much of a point doing "full" collections anymore or even trying for it so I tend to just collect stuff I like and that's that.

Same with Arrow, I don't buy every Arrow release but I do buy stuff that interests me. Usually Japanese films considering I have a love of Japanese cinema.

Gaming I go back and forward on...I'm not entirely opposed to digital as I once was because these days nothing ever comes complete on the discs anyways. We're always downloading day one updates and such so I don't see much of a difference. Certainly don't want physical to go away in gaming...I think consumers should always have the option...but I certainly have moved more towards digital ever since migrating to Steam...it's just a little bit more convenient at times. Although I still occasionally buy physical games here and there for certain titles. But yeah, as you said, physical games really are bare bones these days. No instruction manuals, cheap cases, overpriced special editions...sometimes just feels easier to go digital.

Honestly, with gaming, especially retro, I really don't have much of an inclination to keep doing it. I recently contemplated getting rid of my PS3 collection just because I retired my PS3 and know I'm never gonna go back to it. I sort of can't be assed collecting retro stuff anymore. Once had a sizeable Dreamcast collection that I ended up selling off because the GD Rom drive in my DC died and I ended up with a GD EMU to replace it. And now I'm just happy having all that stuff on an SD card and had no use for the discs...I kept some DC stuff...namely Shenmue and Shenmue II but yeah, long and short of it...don't have much interest in collecting retro gaming stuff anymore.

It does get to be a pain in terms of physical space...

 

[danielmann861]

Never collected anything besides Kerrang! magazine, which I have some nostalgia for, but I do have a lot of nostalgia for VHS tapes; WWF/WWE ones, in particular. I used to spend so, so, so long with my eyes glued to the inside of the sleeves of the few that I had, scouring every minute detail of the tiny images of front covers of other WWF/WWE tapes available.

This was quite a few years before I even stepped foot onto the internet, let alone made an online purchase, so I would just use my imagination to imagine how the matches would play out, what wrestlers I hadn't seen fight before would look like in the ring, and how stories would progress from the details I was able to determine from the aforementioned covers. If I was lucky enough to find a new tape in Woolworths or a charity shop, I would scan the cover for as many details as possible and delve right into my imagination and do the same.

Now I feel all fuzzy

I used to collect WWF VHS and DVDs....back in the heyday of DVD, I was buying up every DVD they released like a fanatic...that was until my interest waned in 2005 or so...

I used to browse Video Stores looking at the Ex Rental section and if I ever saw a cheap Wrestling VHS, I would make sure to grab it. Had quite a few back in the day...some WCW/ECW/WWF stuff in general. All for like 10-15$ a pop from the Ex rental table.

I suppose its great we have the WWE Network and all, but I still have my issues with that...same issues I have with streaming in general regarding "editing out" certain content that maybe doesn't fly in this day and age.

 

[SliverOfSand]

I have a humble collection of cassette tapes that I sometimes like to listen to. I wouldn’t say it’s my main collection interest, but whenever I put a tape in and have to rewind it, it definitely gives me some nostalgia. I’ve never gotten into vinyl, even though I’ve been wanting to, mostly because I’m worried that I would go broke soon after getting a record player!

I love having physical copies of everything I can though. I think there’s just something about having a shelf of games, books, or movies that I just love. Although I feel that having a digital game would be more convenient at times, I’m stubborn about buying physical copies whenever possible. The one thing that I actively collect is typewriters, which doesn’t really count as ‘media’, but they are definitely old! I’ve fixed up a few myself, and I love typing on them regularly. Typing with a typewriter plays to my need for physical objects, since it feels very satisfying to have a paper that you typed on directly.

I wonder if most collections for old media are just based on a need for having a physical object that you can look at, touch, and just interact with? These days when most media is just online streaming, everything feels more empty than before…

 

[danielmann861]

I wonder if most collections for old media are just based on a need for having a physical object that you can look at, touch, and just interact with? These days when most media is just online streaming, everything feels more empty than before…

I think so. I fully admit. While streaming is convenient to some degree, I still like owning a physical copy instead. It's mine. It's something I worked for to buy and have on my shelf...it's something that streaming a digital file can't fully replace.

 

[Vivi-gamer]

I have a strange relationship with Nostalgia, I hear people say things like "Oh, I loved this when I was younger.", yet when I think of all the things I liked when I was younger, I still kind of do.. Final Fantasy VII-X are pretty much my favouirte games of all time (Shenmue is in my top 10 don't threat ) and I still lover them, not just from the initial experiences they offered at one time either. I love them still presently for all the reasons of inspiration, creativity and wonderful stories they tell! I haven't enjoyed Final Fantasy as much since and I do believe that is due to the quality of the newer titles over my nostalgia - Final Fantasy XV is still a trainwreck!

I still have a box full (Crammed full!) of PS1 games, I don't even use the discs anymore as I find Emulation a much better way to experience them games in HD - Yet I can bare myself to get rid of them. I like the concept of owning experiences I love, esecpially ones I hold dear. Even though I don't actually use the products themselves these days selling them and just owning digital copies doesn't feel enough.

I'm the same way with music, I collect vinyl to feel like I have the album and that is is mine to use at my leisure. I found with CD's I would copy them once and never use them again, yet the value of keeping CD's never felt as worthwhile as my PS1 game (Except for my bundle of Video Game Soundtracks). I don't care for Spotify or iTunes as purchasing digital content holds no value to me - I'm the same with games and DLC, I'd happily pay more for a release with all the content on disc over buying DLC off the store or even worse, receiving it as a code in a box!

I have little nostalgia for older items, films I will buy on disc if I love the film and want to watch it again. I used to have 1000+ DVD's and after the switch to HD (And now even 4K) they're mostly useless - I own less than 50 now, mostly ones I have yet to see a HD transfer of, the rest have gone to charity. I feel nothing for VHS and DVD's and if it is a product I love I would happily buy the upgraded version. Thought honestly, I am still content with the qaulity of 1080p Blu-rays for now.

 

[Down by Law]

Regarding retro gaming,I have a nice DC collection of around 30 titles. A small amount of Japanese Saturn games, and a couple of Master System/Mega Drive carts. I stopped buying 8 and 16 bit titles as they are so easy to emulate and the prices have gone silly money. Took all the fun out of it. And i'm a total condition snob, all my stuff is as close to mint as I can get, and these retro games now are often tatty, missing books and scratched up (which is fine they were made to be played and enjoyed) - I can't collect them. Really bothers my OCD lol. I am happy with a modded Mega Drive mini with all the 8 and 16bit Sega titles I really care about on them in a tiny footprint. With today's QOL features like save states and licensed wireless controllers it's as good as we've ever had it.

I still have all my music CDs, but I ripped them to a hard drive and boxed them up. So many memories though, i can't get rid of them. I only buy the CD's from my favourite band - Bad Religion - but that's more born out of having a complete collection than actually using the disc (burned straight to HD and stuck on a USB for the car is where all my CD's live now)

I buy the occasional Blu Ray but nothing like a decade ago where I would get around 20-30 a year or so. It was a stark realization for me that the DVD's i'd spent 100's of pounds on over the years were completely worthless, so I did the same as @bcdcdude did and kept the sleeves and discs but recycled all the cases. They are easy to recase if they ever end up being worth anything (very unlikely). I do like it when a film gets a proper cared for release: Arrow's the Thing and Robocop being two great examples. I won't be rebuying them on 4K as it's diminishing returns now : 1080p is more than good enough for the majority of old movies. I'll get the occasional stone cold classic in 4K like Die Hard or Shawshank but it's only new releases for the most part going forward.

Still a lot of classic films not made it to Blu Ray yet which is worrying. Still waiting on that UK Bloodsport disc...hope 88 Films pick it up, as Warner don't have any interest it seems

 

[otbr87]

No nostalgia at all with gaming or any of the older media for the most part. I am a minimalist in almost every sense of the word and especially when it comes to material items. I want to enjoy the content of the media, not the hording of the cases or plastic sitting around the house in most situations.

Video Games - I buy digital only for personal use. I also won't spend more than a few bucks on titles unless they really interest me. I buy physical games/consoles/accessories regularly to sell. In fact, I chose Xbox Series S over X at least for now, and even if I upgrade it won't be because of the disc drive and when I bought my first two PS5's one was disc and one digital and I chose to keep the digital one.

Movies - I occasionally buy digital, but usually just rent/stream. I will use Redbox once or twice a year if I can't find it digital but only when I have a console that has a Bluray/DVD drive in my inventory. Occasionally sell out of print rare DVD and Bluray.

Music - I'm entirely MP3 based. I tried streaming and didn't like the various platforms enough to go beyond the trial period. I do occasionally buy CD's if they're under $1 for a quick nostalgia hit and then usually end up donating them to the thrift store or leaving them in my vehicle since I don't have any disc players in the house, just on the dashboard though I mainly use MP3 player. Occasionally sell CD's that are worth selling.

Books - I prefer paperback above digital and hard cover and when I read something I still prefer the old school way of doing it by reading and feeling the books. I did pick up an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite for $16 last year and was going to sell it, but the profit wasn't high enough to justify not using it for myself and I found a few books I wanted to read that were digital only, so I caved in and gave it a try and with that particular device its actually a lot nicer than originally thought it would be, especially after using the older Kindles about a decade ago, they were not enjoyable. I'll still take a paperback over Kindle Paperwhite, but if its cheaper on Kindle or I don't feel like waiting for a book to deliver, I'll go digital.

 

[danielmann861]

I buy the occasional Blu Ray but nothing like a decade ago where I would get around 20-30 a year or so. It was a stark realization for me that the DVD's i'd spent 100's of pounds on over the years were completely worthless, so I did the same as @bcdcdude did and kept the sleeves and discs but recycled all the cases. They are easy to recase if they ever end up being worth anything (very unlikely). I do like it when a film gets a proper cared for release: Arrow's the Thing and Robocop being two great examples. I won't be rebuying them on 4K as it's diminishing returns now : 1080p is more than good enough for the majority of old movies. I'll get the occasional stone cold classic in 4K like Die Hard or Shawshank but it's only new releases for the most part going forward.

Yeah I did much the same...I kept all my boutique and OOP stuff but everything else basically went into CD folders...does cut down on space. Same with CDs...I kept a handful of things I liked or OOP stuff but the rest went into CD folders as well. At least enough to fill a couple of CD racks, but the rest went into CD folders for space reasons.

I have a book shelf full of boutique Blu Rays and OOP DVDs and I'm good with that...the rest were basic editions and I didn't feel too bad about getting rid of their cases and freeing up space. And now days, I really only bother with boutique releases as mentioned above.

Yeah I'm good with not doing the 4K upgrade...I'm still perfectly fine with 1080p...but that could be because I don't have a 4K set and am still rocking my 1080p Sony TV and 1080p AOC monitor.

I don't know...even then, I don't see much of a point in going with 4K Blu Ray when it's not even native 4K...it's all upscaled...so yeah, I have not been tempted 4K UHD at all.

Might change one day when I get an actual 4K TV but at this point, I'm still perfectly fine with 1080p.

 

[Telekill]

Depends on the media for me.
Music - I prefer digital but will buy the Jurassic Park/World soundtracks physically then rip them.
Books/Magazines - I prefer physical
Movies - I prefer physical but have bought digital.
TV series - I prefer digital (as it takes up too much space otherwise)
Videogames - I will always prefer physical.

 

[RyoHazuki84]

I used to be big on physical media, most especially with DVDs, blurays, and manga. These days, I'm mostly collecting retro games and manga every now and then. I would collect DVDs and blurays but throughout the latter half of my twenties, I was moving and traveling a lot so going digital just became much more convenient for me.

 

[Tsukuyomimagi99]

I am more of a hybrid nowadays as I collect both physical and digital media. When it comes to video games, I mostly collect digital media because I prefer not having to deal with people. With comics and other literature, it is usually a hybrid of the two depending on whether I have a great deal of affection for a particular title. Meaning that if I love it, I will buy a physical version if I merely like it then I am fine with digital.

The reason for this is because I have very limited space at home. When it comes to movies, anime, television series, and direct-to-video releases, I mainly buy physical media because I honestly do not like streaming services and their ability to curate content at their discretion. I can not count how many times I have wanted to go back and watch a series only to find out that it is gone. Finally, while I do not want to get into politics here, I do not trust people with a political agenda not to use their said ideology to censor or alter the content on streaming services.