If you've been to any video game tradeshows, conventions, or other industry events you've probably accumulated an assorted collection of pins and buttons - a common marketing staple at most of these shows. A majority of these items are in abundant quantities and not really all that collectible. But there are a particular kind of pin that are highly collectible and even somewhat valuable.
While I can't say for sure how collecting and trading video game themed pins got its start, there are clear similarities between it and Disney's pin trading which really took off in 1999 as part of the millennium celebration. Ever since then, it's exploded into a huge (and profitable) hobby (or business, if you're Disney).
Disney pin trading is the buying and trading of collectible pins and related items featuring Disney characters, attractions, icons, events and other elements. The practice is a hobby officially supported and promoted by Disney. Many thousands of unique pins have been created over the years. Pins are available for a limited time; the base price for a pin is US$7.95. Pins are frequently released at special events, movie premiers, pin trading events or to commemorate the opening day of a new attraction. Some pins have appreciated well on the secondary market and have reached prices of over $2000 at venues such as eBay. Most Disney pins are enamel or enamel cloisonné with a metal base. The backs of each pin are very sharp and should be used with care by young collectors. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)
Perhaps the most notable organization in the gaming industry involved with this program is Penny Arcade. I admit...I'm the last person to ask about Penny Arcade. I don't know a lot about them. But I do know it started as a web comic focusing on video game culture, and somehow grew into an organization that hosts a number of very popular video game conventions called PAX - Penny Arcade Expo - every year. Well, somewhere along the way, Penny Arcade created Pinny Arcade - Pin Trading.
I don't know when this started or how it started but it looks like it's been going for the last couple of years. I also know there are some collectors who take collecting them very serious. Each year there are a number of pins released in limited quantities. Some of them are designed for Penny Arcade and others are created by companies who partner with Penny Arcade to have a pin created for their game or product. You can view a number of the Pinny Arcade pins at their official website. Just be warned some of them have colorful (or vulgar) names. If you're familiar with Penny Arcade, you might already expect this.
Collecting and trading pins at any of the PAX shows is a big part of the event. The general approach is you walk around the event, you see someone with a lanyard or scarf full of pins, you approach them and negotiate a trade deal. Some of the pins have clever ways to obtain them. Because they are limited quantities and have these clever ways to get them, you see how rare they can be. And valuable. One of my favorites was the Lee Roy Jenkins pin. It's my understanding someone was walking around the showroom floor in a Lee Roy Jenkins costume and if you approached and yelled louder than everyone else around you trying to get one, he would reward you with the pin.
One of the other interesting ways to get them was these bubblegum like machines. You buy a token for like five bucks and go to these big gumball machines and put your token in and get a pin out. Could be any random pin - common or rare. Gamers would flock to these machines while others would stand there waiting to trade. It's a fascinating phenomenon that is easy to get hooked on.
Penny Arcade might have the corner on trading and collecting pins, but someone else wants in on the action (or at least to share in the action). My recent visit to The International, Valve's humongous Dota 2 tournament, revealed a whole collection of pins that look striking similar to Penny Aracade's...and I guess ultimately...Disney's. And why wouldn't Valve do this?
Penny Arcade does a great job regulating the quality and quantity of each pin to ensure each one is (and remains) somewhat collectible. It was only a matter of time before a big company came along and started doing their own thing and Valve definitely has the titles, the community, and the resources to pull this off. Right now it looks like they're only creating pins for Dota 2. Should this change in the future and include their other games like Team Fortress 2, I fear I will fully succumb to pin collecting. Right now, I only have a handful of Pinny Arcade pins and thankfully the line was far too long for me to wait in, or else I'd have some Dota 2 pins. Actually, they included one in the grab bag, so I suppose I do own one...but I never opened it to see which one it is. You can see them all right here if you're interested. Dota 2 fans, I take no responsibility if you become hooked on collecting these pins after reading this blog.
As cool and popular as this is, or at least as I think it is, I'm kind of surprised we don't see or hear about it more or see other companies doing this. Granted if everyone was doing it, it would lose its charm. But I can think of a few companies that could make it work...that I and others would want to collect.
What about you - do you collect them, not collect them...ever even heard of them? Interested in them?
Cheers.