Here. Right now. Right in front of me, I have a sealed copy of Spyro Year of the Dragon. Unfortunately, it isn’t a first edition and so, as a platinum edition it was released in Europe some time in 2001. This means the game has been sealed for (give or take a few months) roughly, fourteen years. Admittedly, the third instalment of the original Spyro series, developed by insomnia gaming, is one of my favourites. But the big questions stands, do I open it? Or do I keep it as a collector’s item?
The main argument to keep Spyro sealed is purely for monetary reasons. With time, surely its worth will increase. I managed to scoop my copy up for the bargain price of thirty three pound due to a small crack on the front case. However, in mint condition, copies of this game can vary from sixty five all the way up to one hundred and fifty quid—according to Amazon anyway. I guess, even with the small crack, I could fetch a small fortune for this game in a few years’ time. Whereas a non-factory sealed copy might only fetch a small sum. After some research, it seems unsealed copied on eBay fluctuate depending on the quality of the game, but the average price seems to be around the twenty pound mark. (Some of these copies look as if they are in quite a shoddy condition too.) Hmm, however, if I were to sell this game the one hundred and forty pound seems way more appealing.
But then again, that is even taking into account that I am planning on selling the game, which I think is unrealistic. Spyro is the essence of my childhood and even though I busted my original copies, like many eight year old kids would have, I have re-bought the other two games in the series; Spyro the Dragon and Spyro Gateway to Glimmer. Even though I re-bought the other two second hand, it is would seem illogical to sell the last part to my collection, even if I could buy another copy of Year of the dragon second hand (like a friend has advised.) Plus, my brand new copy would be the star of the trilogy, even if I did open it.
Another point in favour of opening the game is that games are meant to be played. I understand that some people do enjoy collecting games and as a lego collector. I totally get it. But, the thing is, this copy of Spyro is my only factory sealed game and so it would most likely be my only collector’s item, ever. I am not a massive gamer and so it would be unlikely that I would add to my collection. This in my opinion means that playing the game trumps collecting the game. A friend of mine also bought up a really good point. He said “if you don’t play it, it’s just like having a picture of spyro.” I totally agree.
So after much thought I think it is safe to say that I should just open the damn game. It’s been trapped in its cellophane for way too long. I am not a collector, I am not going to sell it and I want to play the game. So why the hell not? So, here is a video of me opening the game.
Stay tuned for a lets a play of Spyro Year of the Dragon in the near future.