Is collecting games still fun?

[seether]

I don't see retro games at car boot sales or charity stores any more really and certainly not desirable items. The prices of SNES games on ebay are high now and the more time passes the fewer things seem to be out in the wild, especially the rarities.

I enjoy picking up blu rays more now. There's always a big stack of them at pawn stores and they cost next to nothing so browsing and finding gems is easier and it's more satisfying to find something for a movie night that way than to find nothing in most locations game wise. All the independent retro stores around me have shut down too. Last week I found A Nightmare on Elm Street for £1 on blu ray and that was honestly more fulfilling than anything I've found in video games in a while, it's an easier hunt.

[hoshichiri]

Well, I certainly think so, although the ways of going about it are definitely different these days.

I'm long past the point of needing the common fare the typically turns up in secondhand stores & garage sales- I'll still look given the opportunity, but the days of being upset over not getting to go out on summer weekends for yard sales are over. Although- and this intrigues me- I've had better luck the last few months than I have in years! I've found Genesis, SNES, and NES in stores in recent weeks, and not trash titles- the DI had Metroid and Ninja Gaiden for 5 bucks each. I already have them but thought to myself 'those aren't gonna stay long'. They were being bought when I was walking out I also nabbed a nicer copy of Vectorman for my Genesis collection (I need to find/save a small shipping box so I can give away my spare soon.)

I'm mostly past the point of game shops, too- sometimes I find something good, but the things I still want are uncommon enough (or popular enough) that they typically aren't in stock anymore. I still make the trip to the shops when I can, but I don't save up money anymore- most days I won't find anything, so it's easier to set that extra money into the general rainy day fund & dip into it if I do find something.

For the most part though, the exciting part comes from hitting up the annual retro shows. This is were the finds are coming from- other collectors paring down or selling doubles, shops that cater to the collector bringing in their top stuff... and I still, sometimes, find great deals.

The biggest change has been the nature of the transaction- in the past, I was dealing with a stranger at a yard sale, dumping their kid's old stuff. I bought from thrift store employees who just hoped the things had price tags on them & you weren't going to argue that it was too expensive. Then I moved on to game store clerks, who liked to actually talk about the games, but not much- they did have work to do after all. Nowadays though, it's a far more intimate affair. Busier booths are similar to game stores, but you get to have fun conversations with the other shoppers. "I don't see any genesis games!" "oh, they're on the other side!" "Cool, thanks!" "Man, you grabbed that cart quick- what system even is that? "Oh, it's for Wonderswan- it only came out in Japan, so I don't see games much." "I've never even heard of that!" You get the idea. Smaller booths give you more time to talk with the people selling- why they're selling, which games did they like best, etc.

Basically, it's gone from mass acquisitions & pure bargain hunting to a more curated experience, choosing a few pricer titles & getting to know the other collectors around me while making those selections. It's honestly really nice!

[bikingjahuty]

Overall game collecting is on the decline and has been since 2016 for the most part. Going on Price Charting and looking at the overall price trends for most retro consoles will show that most retro consoles have dropped in value quite a bit or at the very least leveled out. There are a handful of retro consoles that are rising in value like the Genesis and N64, but I'm pretty sure they will eventually follow the same trajectory as the other retro consoles that are dropping or plateauing.


Beyond what the more objective data is showing, there have been a lot of retro game stores that have gone under in the last 2-years in my state. Part of it is the general economic climate we live in, but also has to do with less people shopping at these stores. As for the retro game stores that are still around, they are having to turn to ebay to fill their store with games since not enough is being traded in to keep people wanting to visit. What is being traded in is stagnating, as is a lot of the ebay stock which is typically rarer, more desirable games that don't commonly come in, especially now. In the case of one store, the owner, who is a massive collector, has been downsizing his personal collection to fill his store shelves. However, you'd think this would be bringing in a lot of people, but instead the games are just sitting, at least for way longer than they would have just a couple years ago. Related to retail stores, I've seen a glut of retro games at used media stores that have been traded in, and a lot of it isn't moving like it would have a few years ago. This brings me to my next point.


Interest is declining, a lot! Stores are getting stuff in still, but a lot of that stuff us just sitting there for way longer than it used to. This indicates that supply and demand coming to an equilibrium, with supply gradually outpacing the demand. Sure, some are games selling still, but for the most part, more and more retro games are accumulating, a lot of these being good titles too. Going a bit deeper, there have been a lot of collectors in my area, some of them having Flea size collections that have left the hobby and sold off their collections. There have been a lot of famous (and some infamous) resellers in the area that abandoned retro games too. Sure, there are still some very passionate collectors that still heavily collect, but there are far fewer people doing this than there was in 2017 and especially in 2016 or 2015.


As for my personal feelings towards collecting, I did give up on it, mostly. I decided this summer that I had accumulated too many games, many of which I don't really care about. Essentially what I did was find most of the games I did care about, and then I was like "hey, wouldn't be fun to track down those other interesting games too?" and so I did since at the time it was easy to find cheap cool and rare games. After I got a lot of those cool and rare games I wanted, I then wanted to find a bunch of moderately interesting, obscure games and that's where I was a for a few years leading up to me deciding I didn't want to collect anymore. Where the "mostly" given up part comes in is I will always love video games and there are many games in my collection I have no intention of ever getting rid of. On top of that I still do buy games that I think look fun and if they are fun enough I intend on keeping them. I guess where things have changed is I only buy games that I have the intention of playing shortly after buying, like as in within a couple of weeks. The only exception to this is if the game has sentimental value, which I just want for that reason mostly. However, I rarely make these sentimental purchases anymore since I found most of those games back when I first started collecting, or over the last few years. Still there are a handful I'm still after.


As for hunting for games, there is little to no point anymore for me. As I said, I have almost every game I've ever wanted, so scouring thrift stores, garage sales, or even game stores for those last few games is not worth my time or money; I could easily go online and just purchase them there without having to drive around, waste gas and time, and potentially not find them for months or years. Speaking of places to find games, without exceptions there are no good places in my area to consistently look for cheap games anymore; the thrift stores have been insanely greedy and overpriced for years now, our one flea market has very few games anymore, and the ones that are there are overpriced or in poor condition. The game stores in my area are all overpriced, and the biggest chain of them is run by a guy who has a weird vendetta against me that I still don't understand. And garage sales are mostly pointless at this point, unless you do what one guy I know does and simply goes door to door asking if people have video games they'd like to sell. This guy still finds some excellent stuff, however the amount of time and effort he puts into this is way more than I'd ever be willing to do. That leaves used media stores, which have been the only place in recent years where I occasionally find a good price on something, but this has become fairly rare to the point where I barely fo to these stores anymore. I pretty much just go to Gamestop, buy the new game I want to play and i'm done with it. Or I go on ebay and buy them since it requires little to no effort on my part.


This was definitely one of my longer posts, but I had a lot to say about it since it's not only something I find interesting, but is also personally relevant at the moment. So no, collecting games is not that much fun anymore, especially retro games, and that seems to be the general zeitgeist within the collecting/retro gaming world. There are exceptions to this, but overall the hobby in general is on the decline and I believe this will continue until very few people are actually doing it anymore.

[sworddude]

Beyond what the more objective data is showing, there have been a lot of retro game stores that have gone under in the last 2-years in my state. Part of it is the general economic climate we live in, but also has to do with less people shopping at these stores. As for the retro game stores that are still around, they are having to turn to ebay to fill their store with games since no one is trading them in anymore. In the case of one store, the owner, who is a massive collector, has been downsizing his personal collection to fill his store shelves. However, you'd think this would be bringing in a lot of people, but instead the games are just sitting, at least for way longer than they would have just a couple years ago. Related to retail stores, I've seen a glut of retro games at used media stores that have been traded in, and a lot of it isn't moving like it would have a few years ago. This brings me to my next point.


Interest is declining, a lot! As mentioned, more and more retro games are being traded in, but they aren't moving. This indicates that supply and demand coming to an equilibrium, with supply gradually outpacing the demand. Sure, some are games selling still, but for the most part, more and more retro games are accumulating, a lot of these being good titles too. Going a bit deeper, there have been a lot of collectors in my area, some of them having Flea size collections that have left the hobby and sold off their collections. There have been a lot of famous (and some infamous) resellers in the area that abandoned retro games too. Sure, there are still some very passionate collectors that still heavily collect, but there are far fewer people doing this than there was in 2017 and especially in 2016 or 2015.

how can stores have problems with filling their shelves since no one trades games in while later on you say that tons of stuff gets traded in that doesnt make any sense 

but I do agree that pre 2016 era was a pretty nice time to collect at least in my country but 2019 stores will have tough times to refill those shelves.

For me personally I got everything that I want If i score some extra stuff that's interesting that's all good to me. but yea the days of sleeving many manuals and boxes in protectors for the collection those days are over for me with the exception of adding some bits here and there if I come across something good.

sure games like wild guns and ninja warriors, pocky & rocky  on snes would be nice but i don't really need those not to mention with them crappy cib supply for snes especially in 2019 that's probably not happening unless ofcourse you spend some $.

@seether

game collecting ain't only about retro games

plenty of people also collect ps3 xbox 360 ps4 or switch games to name some examples plenty of that stuff around.

[bikingjahuty]

Beyond what the more objective data is showing, there have been a lot of retro game stores that have gone under in the last 2-years in my state. Part of it is the general economic climate we live in, but also has to do with less people shopping at these stores. As for the retro game stores that are still around, they are having to turn to ebay to fill their store with games since no one is trading them in anymore. In the case of one store, the owner, who is a massive collector, has been downsizing his personal collection to fill his store shelves. However, you'd think this would be bringing in a lot of people, but instead the games are just sitting, at least for way longer than they would have just a couple years ago. Related to retail stores, I've seen a glut of retro games at used media stores that have been traded in, and a lot of it isn't moving like it would have a few years ago. This brings me to my next point.


Interest is declining, a lot! As mentioned, more and more retro games are being traded in, but they aren't moving. This indicates that supply and demand coming to an equilibrium, with supply gradually outpacing the demand. Sure, some are games selling still, but for the most part, more and more retro games are accumulating, a lot of these being good titles too. Going a bit deeper, there have been a lot of collectors in my area, some of them having Flea size collections that have left the hobby and sold off their collections. There have been a lot of famous (and some infamous) resellers in the area that abandoned retro games too. Sure, there are still some very passionate collectors that still heavily collect, but there are far fewer people doing this than there was in 2017 and especially in 2016 or 2015.

how can stores have problems with filling their shelves since no one trades games in while later on you say that tons of stuff gets traded in that kinds doesnt make sense 

but I do agree that pre 2016 era was a pretty nice time to collect at least in my country but 2019. stores will have tough times to supply.

For me personally I got everything that I want If i score some extra stuff that's interesting that's all good to me. but yea the days of sleeving many manuals and boxes in protectors for the collection those days are over for me with the exception of adding some bits here and there if I come across something good.

sure games like wild guns and ninja warriors, pocky & rocky  on snes would be nice but i don't really need those not to mention with them crappy cib supply for snes especially in 2019 that's probably not happening unless ofcourse you spend some $.

I just fixed it. It isn't that these stores are getting a lot traded in, that's where I screwed up, it's that they are getting some stuff in, but that stuff is not moving like it used to. Where game stores are having to turn to ebay has to do with keeping the store filled with desirable titles that motivate collectors to come in. Using ebay as a supplier seems to be exclusive to the game stores since they depend on games to pay the bills unlike the used media stores which sell a lot of other stuff, not just games.

[Warmsignal]

No.

I really wish I was into movies and collecting those. That stuff is so plentiful and so cheap. I don't have anything against movies, but I've never been able to really get hooked on watching them. Always felt like I can take it, or leave it, when it comes to film. Who knows, maybe physical edition movies will skyrocket in popularity at some point. Every collectable hobby I've gotten into ends up becoming immensely expensive over time, and harder work to continue doing. I guess because I'm a band-wagoner who's always a bit late to every party.

OG collectors have been doing this since the late 90s and early 2000s when chain stores would liquidate their 8 and 16-bit stock without discretion, as well as every subsequent console generation up until about the 7th when the collecting hobby went super mainstream. That's when I first started, it was still kinda fun and still affordable, at least for a while. The fun died off around 2012, 2013 when people started paying out asinine amounts for "ultra rare" items, essentially raising the tide for everything at the same time that tons more people continued getting into the hobby. It was all over by that point.

[oldgamerz]

(edit) to me yes,


But I have not always been happy with collecting video games

[bikingjahuty]

No.

I really wish I was into movies and collecting those. That stuff is so plentiful and so cheap. I don't have anything against movies, but I've never been able to really get hooked on watching them. Always felt like I can take it, or leave it, when it comes to film. Who knows, maybe physical edition movies will skyrocket in popularity at some point. Every collectable hobby I've gotten into ends up becoming immensely expensive over time, and harder work to continue doing. I guess because I'm a band-wagoner who's always a bit late to every party.

OG collectors have been doing this since the late 90s and early 2000s when chain stores would liquidate their 8 and 16-bit stock without discretion, as well as every subsequent console generation up until about the 7th when the collecting hobby went super mainstream. That's when I first started, it was still kinda fun and still affordable, at least for a while. The fun died off around 2012, 2013 when people started paying out asinine amounts for "ultra rare" items, essentially raising the tide for everything at the same time that tons more people continued getting into the hobby. It was all over by that point.

Yeah 2013 was really the tipping point where collecting got ultra popular and as a result prices skyrocketed. There was a local used media store I used to get a lot of my games at that would price all games regardless of title at $3 if it wasn't Gen 7 or newer. Between 2011 and 2013 I literally bought hundreds of games from them for just $3 a pop including some really rare stuff. However around 2013, that place quickly started becoming a wasteland as there would always be a ton of resellers and collectors there all the time. Worse than that the employees started getting in on it and began sniping any retro games before they even hit the shelves. one scummy employee would literally stalk people as they were shopping in the game section and ask if the games they had in their hand were rare and valuable. The guy was a total scrub and used to sell off a ton of games on Craigslist and game stores all the time.


But beyond that store that's when Goodwill started selling most of their stuff on their auction site and ebay, and my local flea market started getting way harder to find stuff. I feel like 2015 is when retro collecting peaked in terms of price and popularity. It seems to be on the decline in both these areas now, however the days of finding choice $2 SNES titles at Goodwill or getting Earthbound for a dollar at the flea market are gone forever most likely. At least it's likely that a game like Super Metroid might sell for $10-15 someday again and Super Mario World is a $5 game like it should be.

[Warmsignal]

No.

I really wish I was into movies and collecting those. That stuff is so plentiful and so cheap. I don't have anything against movies, but I've never been able to really get hooked on watching them. Always felt like I can take it, or leave it, when it comes to film. Who knows, maybe physical edition movies will skyrocket in popularity at some point. Every collectable hobby I've gotten into ends up becoming immensely expensive over time, and harder work to continue doing. I guess because I'm a band-wagoner who's always a bit late to every party.

OG collectors have been doing this since the late 90s and early 2000s when chain stores would liquidate their 8 and 16-bit stock without discretion, as well as every subsequent console generation up until about the 7th when the collecting hobby went super mainstream. That's when I first started, it was still kinda fun and still affordable, at least for a while. The fun died off around 2012, 2013 when people started paying out asinine amounts for "ultra rare" items, essentially raising the tide for everything at the same time that tons more people continued getting into the hobby. It was all over by that point.

Yeah 2013 was really the tipping point where collecting got ultra popular and as a result prices skyrocketed. There was a local used media store I used to get a lot of my games at that would price all games regardless of title at $3 if it wasn't Gen 7 or newer. Between 2011 and 2013 I literally bought hundreds of games from them for just $3 a pop including some really rare stuff. However around 2013, that place quickly started becoming a wasteland as there would always be a ton of resellers and collectors there all the time. Worse than that the employees started getting in on it and began sniping any retro games before they even hit the shelves. one scummy employee would literally stalk people as they were shopping in the game section and ask if the games they had in their hand were rare and valuable. The guy was a total scrub and used to sell off a ton of games on Craigslist and game stores all the time.


But beyond that store that's when Goodwill started selling most of their stuff on their auction site and ebay, and my local flea market started getting way harder to find stuff. I feel like 2015 is when retro collecting peaked in terms of price and popularity. It seems to be on the decline in both these areas now, however the days of finding choice $2 SNES titles at Goodwill or getting Earthbound for a dollar at the flea market are gone forever most likely. At least it's likely that a game like Super Metroid might sell for $10-15 someday again and Super Mario World is a $5 game like it should be.

I remember your story about the Hastings guy throwing a fit because you would buy games from his store. That’s hilarious. I ordered a few games from Hastings website back then and they had great prices but you never knew if they’d come complete. Some didn’t. I never saw an actual Hastings store though.

For sure, I’ll never forget the days when I could pick up games and consoles every weekend for literally a dollar or two. Didn’t have to search very long or hard. The GP still widely regard old games as outdated junk. But a few years later, they quickly caught on. The rare game articles started making the news, record high prices paid for Stadium Events etc, got the dollar signs dancing in many people’s eyes who began to see it as a legitimate way to make a living. Enter all of the “retro games stores” that start off humble and inexpensive, then become lazy and overpriced. Everything gone from the wild as prices climbed and climbed and now here we are.  A plateau maybe, but no significant change in some timw now.

[mark1982]

Well, it really depends on the individual no?

Some people enjoy watching Cricket, for me Cricket bores me to tears.

So yes, still enjoy it very much and finding games for cheap, just have to know where to look.

[bikingjahuty]

Well, it really depends on the individual no?

Some people enjoy watching Cricket, for me Cricket bores me to tears.

So yes, still enjoy it very much and finding games for cheap, just have to know where to look.

I don't feel like it's knowing where to look as much as it's there isn't much left at those places. I know geography plays a big part in it too.

[mastodon]

Yes.

[mark1982]

I don't feel like it's knowing where to look as much as it's there isn't much left at those places. I know geography plays a big part in it too.

Agree that geography definitely plays a big part. For example the thrift store that I frequent to almost daily (since it's on the way home from my workplace) has a healthy flow of games going in and out because it's located in the heart of a busy town next to the subway. Recently found pretty much all of the Tales Of series there for $2 a piece. There are two major gaming shops in the same location so it seems like people are unloading their collections to buy newer games at the gaming shops.

So yeah, geography and location is a pretty big factor since it's convenient for people to unload their games at the thrift store. Probably get a better deal too than the major game shop for trade ins since its based on quantity over quality.

Plus it helps that I built a small friendship with the guy working at the thrift store he doesn't play games so he doesn't know which are good or not but he snaps pictures of the new games that comes in for me.

In the end all these factors plays a part of getting games. I also notice you gotta be consistent with the visits too, because those games go fast ( since they're $2-$5 ). Sometimes I get 1 to 2 games, other times I get 15. However, majority of the time I get is 0... My buying habits is games I see myself playing, I don't buy for the sake of buying either, so gotta be consistent with the visits. Anyway that's what works for me.

This is one rare example though, other thrift stores I visit are a dry wasteland for games...

[droaa]

For me personally, Im sort of leaning towards no as of late. I've reached the point where I no longer feel excitement buying impulsively whatever either looks interesting or moreso cheap because its there and I tell myself I will get to it eventually which ultimately its what I want to do. I want to play the games not accumulate more and more that eventually I get sick of looking at and winds up being traded in or sold. That being said, it doesn't mean I will stop collecting but rather that I am slowing down significantly to give myself some breathing room and so far, its been well. I have only gotten a total of 3 games total since June. Those being Bloodstained, Crash Bash and Link's Awakening on the Switch over the weekend. I still need to chill on the digital front but this topic is more towards physical goods which Im working on slowing down for the best.

[dashv]

No.

Between Nintendo and Limited Run, getting physical games has gone from a guilty pleasure way to treat myself to an anxiety riddled disappointment fest.

Every. Single. Nintendo 1st party Special Edition I’ve wanted has sold out instantly.

Several Limited Runs I’ve just straight up not been fast enough for. Or it happened on a day I didn’t have access.

So I’ve scaled wayyyyy back and resigned myself to settling for the digital versions. But even then I wait for the ridiculous 50% off more sales. If it’s more than $10 and only available digitally, it gets a hard pass from me publisher/developer be damned.