VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => Classic Video Games => Topic started by: Warmsignal on November 02, 2020, 10:44:45 am
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Can't help but sense that it's not really as big of a thing anymore for veteran collectors among VGC. I know there are people who are still just getting into it. But a lot of us who've been doing it for a while, it kinda seems like there's not much enthusiasm for retro in general. There seems to be more activity in the modern games discussion here. Although discussion in general is down across these boards, retro seems particularly dead.
I know I've seen a number of vets here say that they're wrapping up their collecting and have pretty much everything they want, or they're feeling burnt out and don't game hunt anymore. I suppose a number are still participating in the X amount of games challenge thread, but this sub-forum in particular is kinda quiet and has been for a few years. As far as retro collecting, things are still booming over on Reddit like it's still 2010, but many of those people are not veterans to this, so it makes sense to find them elated to come across a console and a stack of games. I guess VGC is a slice of the game collecting community that is of a particular age regarding the hobby, and it does not really change hands over time. I occasionally notice a few new regulars posting, but not a lot that stick around here.
As much as I wanted to be among the people saying "Okay I'm done collecting, I've got everything I want, it's not worth looking anymore", I can't do that. I find myself still sucked into it. I'm opening my mind up to more, I'm still wanting to collect, and I'm having fun doing it. Because there's always more, and it's always fun to do (IMO). I long for the days of VGC where many of our current regulars engaged more about retro games, expressed more enthusiasm about the collecting hobby, I miss some of the various former VGCers who've since disappeared from the boards. I liked to read about their finds, their adventures, all the trails and tribulations of being a game collector.
Who knows maybe I'm looking back with rose colored glasses, as I do. But sometimes I kinda wonder, do regulars here still actively collect? Are you still interested in retro?
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I still love retro stuff. I still play a lot of it.
I still hunt for stuff.
I just don’t buy near as much as I did. That’s mostly because of prices. I just won’t pay today’s prices. I just buy things I want to play right now.
I see folks on Reddit showing off an NES and 5 common games for $100. They’re proud of it and I’m over here thinking they got hosed. I’m still in that ole 2010 mindset. I want something for nothing. When was the last time you saw $2 games?
I guess I should be thankful that I amassed a good collection before prices got out of hand. There’s tons here for me to enjoy.
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I still love retro stuff. I still play a lot of it.
I still hunt for stuff.
I just don’t buy near as much as I did....
This expect for me its that I have most of the retro stuff I want. I still keep an eye out for the few pieces I'd like to add to my collection, but I don't expect to find it at all lol.
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I still love retro stuff. I still play a lot of it.
I still hunt for stuff.
I just don’t buy near as much as I did. That’s mostly because of prices. I just won’t pay today’s prices. I just buy things I want to play right now.
I see folks on Reddit showing off an NES and 5 common games for $100. They’re proud of it and I’m over here thinking they got hosed. I’m still in that ole 2010 mindset. I want something for nothing. When was the last time you saw $2 games?
I guess I should be thankful that I amassed a good collection before prices got out of hand. There’s tons here for me to enjoy.
Copy/Paste. I got a LOT of the stuff I wanted when it was new/current so no hunting down things like Panzer Dragoon Saga and being excited that I ONLY paid $700 for it. :P
I definitely missed some and others I let slip through my fingers but there's plenty where I got it right and picked up something when I saw it that's impossible to find and/or incredibly expensive now.
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My purchases have gone to near zero solely for the reason that shipping from Japan is so complicated or expensive. Also, I am not going to thrift stores anymore although I may start that back up again soon. Especially since the whole world has moved into buying everything online, which is something I have moved away from over the years. Rather be surprised by what I find than just getting what I actually happen to want at that moment.
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I still love retro stuff. I still play a lot of it.
I still hunt for stuff.
I just don’t buy near as much as I did. That’s mostly because of prices. I just won’t pay today’s prices. I just buy things I want to play right now.
I see folks on Reddit showing off an NES and 5 common games for $100. They’re proud of it and I’m over here thinking they got hosed. I’m still in that ole 2010 mindset. I want something for nothing. When was the last time you saw $2 games?
I guess I should be thankful that I amassed a good collection before prices got out of hand. There’s tons here for me to enjoy.
(https://i.imgur.com/7lWjDiH.png)
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I am all out retro, that is why I call myself Oldgamerz :P
I play and collect only retro games. Because #1 they are all physical, #2 I want the retro experience in my life, #3 they usually cost less than modern games. and other reasons too. My lifestyle and where I currently live have a big part as well. Another reason is because There is an electronic store called Disc Replay, AND a full year around indoor flea market in my home town. Unfortunately that flea market has been closed down since the pandemic started but Disc Reply is still selling stuff :)
I love retro. I mean I know I'm missing all the new stuff but, most of the old stuff I Never even heard of or experienced either. pretty much all console and even more handheld games are a new experience for me, so I pretend it the 1980's 1990's or the 2000's I guess and go retro.
for online shopping I have an outdoor room for delivering packages when I do.
Life don't last forever, everybody dies at random, so I believe in my. signature
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See I've come to develop a new appreciation for a lot of games that me from 2010 would have passed right up on. I guess you could say I didn't really know as much about what games where what at the time. I deceived myself into thinking that only certain types of games, certain publishers, certain genres were worth my time to collect. I wasn't as opened minded as I am now. So now it's like there's a lot of games that are suddenly making themselves apparent to me, and I'd like to add them to my collection.
I've kind of adjusted to the prices nowadays. Whenever I notice something is $10 or less, I feel like that's a steal. Even $15, and $20 isn't too bad. That's kinda the new normal for a lot of games. Thankfully, I don't need any of the popular ones, which now go for much closer to original retail and then some. Never would've imagined that a decade ago. I'm lucky in that my local spot hasn't updated their prices in several years, so I have access to a lot of "good" deals by 2020 standards and that of course motivates me to keep going.
Yeah I have a ton of games to play for the rest of my life, but I still like collecting, and figure at some point it's gonna get really unjustifiable. So I might as well continue while I actually can still afford to do so. We're headed in the direction of a lot of otherwise ordinary games reaching beyond MSRP and well into triple digits, and I'm tapped out at that point. I'm tinkering with the idea of paying like $300 for a copy of Klonoa (the original) and I know I shouldn't do that. But I can foresee a day when there are tons of Klonoa priced games out there that I wish I'd paid the $10 or $20 for, and that's when I'm certainly done for good.
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I still love playing and hunting for retro games. Prices are just crazy right now, I've actually sold a good chunk of games because of this. I've condensed both my collection and wish list down to only what I really want and plan to play. Trimmed the fat if you will. Doing this I've found when it comes to older titles I have almost everything I could ever want, and for the few I don't the games are so crazy priced I can't justify buying them.
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Still very much into both, i haven't posted as many pics of my pickups as it's a lot more extra steps here vs just posting from my phone in a fb collecting group. But I'll share some pics of my new game room once it's done- it's going to be sweet. Retro forever!
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I'll echo the current statements. While I do like collecting for my older systems and want more, it's becoming harder and harder to justify the costs to myself, especially compared to getting other, newer games or stuff in my other hobbies. Like, I'm far more content in dropping $100 for a board game or a Lego set than I would be for an SNES or GCN game.
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See I've come to develop a new appreciation for a lot of games that me from 2010 would have passed right up on. I guess you could say I didn't really know as much about what games where what at the time. I deceived myself into thinking that only certain types of games, certain publishers, certain genres were worth my time to collect. I wasn't as opened minded as I am now. So now it's like there's a lot of games that are suddenly making themselves apparent to me, and I'd like to add them to my collection.
I've kind of adjusted to the prices nowadays. Whenever I notice something is $10 or less, I feel like that's a steal. Even $15, and $20 isn't too bad. That's kinda the new normal for a lot of games. Thankfully, I don't need any of the popular ones, which now go for much closer to original retail and then some. Never would've imagined that a decade ago. I'm lucky in that my local spot hasn't updated their prices in several years, so I have access to a lot of "good" deals by 2020 standards and that of course motivates me to keep going.
Yeah I have a ton of games to play for the rest of my life, but I still like collecting, and figure at some point it's gonna get really unjustifiable. So I might as well continue while I actually can still afford to do so. We're headed in the direction of a lot of otherwise ordinary games reaching beyond MSRP and well into triple digits, and I'm tapped out at that point. I'm tinkering with the idea of paying like $300 for a copy of Klonoa (the original) and I know I shouldn't do that. But I can foresee a day when there are tons of Klonoa priced games out there that I wish I'd paid the $10 or $20 for, and that's when I'm certainly done for good.
We, meaning all of us, can still buy a lot of games, today even online for less than $10 a piece, and sometimes it's even less than that's with shipping included. But Usually for sports games and first person shooters as well as third person shooters, and racing games.
If you guys want an expensive shoot em up, there is always PS2 arcade compilations and plug in play consoles, they come with a lot of otherwise vary expensive retro OR retro style games, and in one package. then there is NES Multi-carts with lots of 2D platformers, shoot em ups fighting games, racing games, sports games, and un-official home brew types of games to play. If you want Atari then I Recommend Atari Anthology and Activision Anthology for the PS2, or? want Intellivision games but can't find an Intellivision console? than go buy a copy of Intellivision Lives. also on PS2.
From what I seen it's mostly RPG and Mario and Nintendo brand games. that cost a lot of money to own, but then there is the NES mini and the SNES mini that can be purchased for the same price as one old loose original game cartridge. and it's compact, why keeps Super Mario Bros 1 2 and 3 when you have an NES mini/classic?
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The switch is such a great way to play I have hardly any enthusiasm for other platforms, retro or otherwise.
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From what I seen it's mostly RPG and Mario and Nintendo brand games. that cost a lot of money to own, but then there is the NES mini and the SNES mini that can be purchased for the same price as one old loose original game cartridge. and it's compact, why keeps Super Mario Bros 1 2 and 3 when you have an NES mini/classic?
You'd be surprised at what games have become pricey or expensive within the past year or so, and especially since Covid. The funny thing is that NES and SNES haven't changed much.
Titles that have increased over 40% since March 2020:
PS2: 105
GameCube: 103
PS1: 91
XB 360: 76
PS3: 63
Xbox: 41
PS4: 36
Dreamcast: 31
N64: 27
SNES: 25
Saturn: 23
Genesis: 16
Game Boy: 11
Wii U: 8
This is not necessarily first party games, or RPGs. Pretty much any genre is fair game for an increase now. I've seen racing games going for over $100, depending on the title. Lots of 5th and especially 6th gen stuff is on the rise, as well as some 7th gen already. Quarantine and crisis relief money is definitely having an impact on the market, and not just the niche parts of it. I mean people are paying out good money for games like Def Jam on the PS2, at this point you shouldn't be surprised to see anything spike.
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Keep in mind 6th is considered retro now by a lot of people.
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From what I seen it's mostly RPG and Mario and Nintendo brand games. that cost a lot of money to own, but then there is the NES mini and the SNES mini that can be purchased for the same price as one old loose original game cartridge. and it's compact, why keeps Super Mario Bros 1 2 and 3 when you have an NES mini/classic?
You'd be surprised at what games have become pricey or expensive within the past year or so, and especially since Covid. The funny thing is that NES and SNES haven't changed much.
Titles that have increased over 40% since March 2020:
PS2: 105
GameCube: 103
PS1: 91
XB 360: 76
PS3: 63
Xbox: 41
PS4: 36
Dreamcast: 31
N64: 27
SNES: 25
Saturn: 23
Genesis: 16
Game Boy: 11
Wii U: 8
This is not necessarily first party games, or RPGs. Pretty much any genre is fair game for an increase now. I've seen racing games going for over $100, depending on the title. Lots of 5th and especially 6th gen stuff is on the rise, as well as some 7th gen already. Quarantine and crisis relief money is definitely having an impact on the market, and not just the niche parts of it. I mean people are paying out good money for games like Def Jam on the PS2, at this point you shouldn't be surprised to see anything spike.
I believe you, I've seen the prices for online video games I think last month?, I was ridiculous, but it might be harder for you to buy games that you don't have. remember that your collection is twice as big as mine, according to your banner. When it comes down to the nitty gritty in collecting sometimes all of us just got to play what we got. Because once we all amass a big impressive collection we'll eventually it's then harder to find anything left to buy that we don't already have.
I just saw the original Spyro game for the PS1 go for over $20 so yea I am not saying your wrong @Warmsignal :)
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Not as much as I was before. Like one of the posts here, I got the majority of my stuff in the early 2010s when prices were not on par with what they are now. As a result with a few exceptions, I managed to get alot of what I wanted at reasonable prices or atleast by standards of that time. Not only that but the advent of me purchasing flashcarts has drastically stopped my collecting habits. Aside from a few things here and there, I'm not buying huge hauls like I used to and part of that also has to do with stores like Gamestop and Best Buy doing away with their discount programs so I'm a bit more picky and not buying for the sake of buying most of the time. I do playing them because variety is key but buying them at the rate I was before is no longer the case and I am okay with that.
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I was fortunate enough to get everything I wanted early on, before the scene got the way it has now. Sure, there are still big ticket items I would like to have that I missed or outright ignored—Ninja Five-O instantly comes to mind—but overall I have a good sizable chunk of what I wanted. My want/wishlist only got a tad longer in the past few months only after getting a PS4, so in that regard I'm also good, as I'm slowly getting games, effectively shrinking it one or two at a time. I did take the majority of the expensive games off my lists, as I stopped caring about them—life is too short to be hunting white whales.
As for the main question, yes; I still play retro games, and prefer them quite frankly. Collecting them has become more of a pain than it should be a pleasure these days, so I don't bother myself with it. But like I said above, I already have everything I wanted.
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I was fortunate enough to get everything I wanted early on, before the scene got the way it has now. Sure, there are still big ticket items I would like to have that I missed or outright ignored—Ninja Five-O instantly comes to mind—but overall I have a good sizable chunk of what I wanted.
Good ole Ninja Five-O. I have this knack for holding games in my hand and whilst holding them, knowing I could obtain them for a good price. This has happened more times than I can count. Anywho...the story on NF-O goes that the GameStop I was working at back then was given the order to convert all remaining GBA from new to used inventory. We still had a copy of NF-O for sale at the time. My then manager allowed me to keep all of the boxes/books for the GBA games instead of throwing them in the trash and the box/book for NF-O was one of them.
GameStop obviously wasn't too worried about inventory control on some of those games and most ended up in a red tray by the register. I remember fishing NF-O out of said bin and actually playing it on a GBA that was getting traded in (to ensure the GBA worked). I thought the game was decent but I distinctly remember the game was marked at $5. Of course by the time I got around to looking at those boxes and deciding I wanted that game, it had sold. :P
One of these days I'll come across a legit US copy and have it CIB. 8)
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I still love retro stuff. I still play a lot of it.
I still hunt for stuff.
I just don’t buy near as much as I did. That’s mostly because of prices. I just won’t pay today’s prices. I just buy things I want to play right now.
Word.
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I dont really do the retro stuff anymore. The current gen (and soon to be next gen) has way too much to offer for me to keep going back to games Ive already played. There are a few titles that stick out retro that always entertain me (8/16 bit Metroid and Zelda for example) but I havent even touched any of those in a while. Gotta keep looking forward!
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I can hardly play any of my retro systems/games because they're not here with me or not set up, but I still actively collect and will probably start emulating at some point. Lack of availability is the main problem - the only games I come across in the wild now are PC CD-ROMs from the noughties, which is fine since I'm collecting them eagerly ATM, but anything else is few and far between (or traded for). I found a Spectrum game for 50p recently and scored 2 Megadrive and a Master System game for £2.40 each, as well as an interesting big-box PC game, but that's over the last few months and before that there was nothing except those noughties PC games and a couple of tasty PS2 games I traded for (10,000 Bullets and Sword of Etheria). EDIT: and CT Special Forces (PS1) and DW4/DW4 XL for the PS2.
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I still love to collect and play retro but it's harder to find stuff I don't already have in my collection. I won't buy online cause I rather hunt down a good deal.Also I find it keeps my spending down it's just too easy to click a button and buy anything I want off ebay. Guess that's why even after 35+ years of collecting I'm still searching for so much stuff.
But I still love this hobby and wouldn't want it any other way.
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I definitely do. Just got done playing through Zelda 1 & 2, DuckTales, Crystalis, and Contra recently.
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What you said is mostly true for me. I got into collecting during a time when it was accessible, cheap, and fun. I'd go to my local flea market every weekend, sometimes twice a weekend and literally fill up an entire backpack, with awesome retro games and consoles. Back then there was so much I still wanted and the idea of potentially finding that stuff for a few bucks somewhere really excited and motivated me to go out and hunt for it. Sadly around 2013 the hobby just took off and many of my honeyholes that I used to score big at consistently became less and less lucrative until I just wasn't finding anything anymore. I feel like hunting for retro game deals really died for me around 2017 or so; at that point I was lucky to find anything at a price I was willing to pay, and I rarely ever scored like I used to.
However, by that time I had 90%+ of what I'd ever wanted. My perspective on collecting really changed around that time too when I was forced to sell off a fairly large chunk of it twice. It just sort of made me realize I was far less attached to a lot of my collection than I once thought. Owning some super rare game was fun when I first got it and occasionally I'd think to myself, "wow, it's so cool I own that game" but other than that I wouldn't think about it ever. Also, there were a lot of games I owned that I told myself I'd play someday when I bought them, but being honest with myself I just couldn't see myself realistically doing this at any point.
If anything right now I'm more attracted to the idea of downsizing my collecting than expanding it. Sure, I still add games to it, mostly modern stuff, but someday having a massive, The Flea sized collection isn't something that appeals to me anymore. I'd much rather have a medium sized collection with games I really, really want and have some sort of attachment to. Also, wanting to play the games I own is also a must as well. I've also been way more interested in finding ways to preserve my ability to play older games and also how to play them with the best picture and sound. This has resulted in me being heavily interested in flash carts, disc emulators, upscalers, and better cables. I've been very interested in this stuff and am gradually working on optimizing and preserving all of my consoles and being able to play their games for the rest of my life without issue.
Sort of the final frontier of actual collecting I plan on getting into is buying arcade and pinball machines I grew up with in the 90s and early 2000s. I've never had the space and up until maybe a few years ago not even the money to even get started on this. I need to get a house first, and of course I'll probably be lucky to add 2 arcade machines a year to that collection, and even 1 pinball machine. Hell, I'll probably be lucky to get more than a single pinball machine every 2 or 3 years with how expensive they are, especially a few of the ones I'm after (Monster Bash, Medieval Madness). And yes, there are still some retro console games I'd still love to own. I've also been after CIB copies of games I already own loose carts of, particularly on the N64, Genesis, and SNES. I'm really in no rush though with these and just pick them up when I happen upon them at meetups or if someone is letting them go on one of the various Facebook collecting groups I belong to.
I'll always love video games and I'll always technically be a collector, however the days of picking up $2 SNES game pickups and adding 50 games to my collection in one month are long, long gone for me. But that's okay. I have so many wonderful memories of my time as a hardcore game hunter and collector, and I count myself very fortunate that I got into it during a time when it was way easier to do than it is now. So yeah, I don't have the same zest of retro game collecting I once did, but I still love retro games and always will.
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Collecting AND playing anything that was available in my youth, from Nintendo Entertainment System until N64, and it's timemates from SEGA and SONY.
So, yea, HERE is someone who actually does - daily 8)
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I'm not out to buy complete sets or anything. The only retro games I buy these days are for my Game Gear and that's coming to an end after a handful of games are finally checked off the list. It's slow going and will wait well into next year for me to continue, but I'll eventually snag the last few on my list.
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I still get retro games but pretty much only stuff that interests me and isn't expensive; typically thrift store finds and import games is where most of my retro collection comes from. I recently dipped my feet into the WonderSwan library and was finally able to find a listing for a Game Boy Color game I've been waiting two years to get after trying it on an emulator. While I do play modern games, I don't end up purchasing all that many mainly due to how picky I am with modern games and my cheapness (why spend $60 or now $70 on a game day one I may or may not like, when I can just wait a few months or years and get it for considerably less?). I'll eventually get a PS5 at some point in the future when either a slim model releases or when/if Dragon Quest XII is released on it, but for now I'm perfectly content with my Switch and PS4 Pro for modern gaming.