Does the Collector's Market Hurt the Game?

George and I were having a discussion on how some games are read than they are played. I wish I had the link, but I remember one of Paizo's staff commenting that most of their customers just read their Adventure Paths rather than play them. This reminded me of the collector's market in classic videogames or even comic books. A problem arises when people buy a game to collect the books, and not actually use them. You see this in comic books and classic videogame collectors, the books and games are never read, enjoyed, or played - they are there to simply be there.

Some games are notoriously collector friendly, such as D&D4 or 3, Pathfinder, and too many others to count. There is a difference between printing books because they are useful and add to the game, versus books that are there to be collected and complete a set. I look at a shelf full of RP books, like D&D4's complete set of books, and wonder are all these books necessary?

It is a tough question, and I wonder at times has the collector's part of the hobby hurt roleplaying? If the players are more interested in reading and collecting than actually playing, does that hurt the game? My feeling is the less a game is played, the worse off the game becomes. Rules need to be used, games need to be played, and the community needs discussion and feedback bouncing around. Printing books to make money is a given in the business, but when does printing too many books actually have a negative effect on the game?

It is a hard question to answer, but you can see parallels in other industries. Collectors are interested in owing and reading, but are they active players? It's a reason why we prefer simple one-book games nowadays, or games that are out of print and not supported. Sometimes, endless support means you are always integrating new material into your game world, and the mass of books needed to play becomes prohibitive in cost and the ability to reference them.

A game can literally expand itself to the point where it cannot be played by the rules. Some exceptions exist always for referees that declare 'original books only' but the expansions always hang out there, begging to be mixed in and played with. Part of the appeal of OGL games are their limited nature, and their compact designs. These games were designed to be played, and it shows.

All interesting thoughts on the twilight of D&D4, and the maturity of Pathfinder, and as the games that could replace those come to market and a new day dawns.