Let Kids Be Kids: When Collectibles Lose Their Playfulness

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Let Kids Be Kids: When Collectibles Lose Their Playfulness

Card Collecting

There’s something unsettling about watching a child flip through a Pokémon card collection, only to see each card reduced to a dollar amount scribbled on a Post-it note attached to the sleeve of that card. The magic of those cards, the strategy of building a deck and the joy of battling friends seems to vanish when the only metric that matters is market value. Of course, the excitement of finding something rare is real, and if the kid is happy, that’s what counts. But when the game itself fades into the background, replaced by a spreadsheet mentality, you have to wonder: what’s the point? If no one is actually playing, if the cards are just tiny, untouchable assets, then what value do they truly hold? The soul of the game is in the playing, not the pricing.

Video Games

The same unease creeps in with video game collecting. There’s a growing trend of games sealed in shrink wrap, locked away in acrylic cases (tombs!) for experiences that were meant to be lived. For me, a physical game is a passport to adventure. I play it, I beat it, I let it earn its place on my shelf as a trophy of time well spent. If it doesn’t deliver, I pass it on to someone who might enjoy it more. But when games become museum pieces, untouched and unopened, they stop being games at all. They become investments, relics, or status symbols. The irony is that the more we treat these things as sacred objects, the less we actually use them for their intended purpose: to bring joy, to connect, to play.

The Cost of Collecting

I’m not judging anyone’s collecting hobbies here, if you’re an adult, it’s your money, and if creating little tombs of video games brings you joy, then by all means, carry on. But we do have to acknowledge that this collecting behavior fuels a more extreme problem: scalping. When rare or nostalgic items become financial assets rather than sources of fun, it can price out the very people who might cherish them most: kids who just want to play.

I remember going on a two-week bike-packing trip across France about a decade ago. For entertainment, I brought along a Game Boy Color and a handful of games. I tossed them into a bag with an extra set of batteries, and that was it, no protection needed and no second thoughts on the impact if something got lost or damaged. Now that I know some of those games have skyrocketed in value, I might not make the same choice today. But honestly? I’d be happier if the market for old games hadn’t spiraled into this endless cycle of price hikes. The joy of discovery and the simplicity of play shouldn’t come with a hefty price tag.

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@rxpz@social.linux.pizza<br>Let Kids Be Kids: When Collectibles Lose Their Playfulness was published on 2026-08-02

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