VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => Classic Video Games => Topic started by: bikingjahuty on December 15, 2016, 01:47:47 pm
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Has anyone else noticed that prices on NES and SNES, particularly on less rare and more sought after games are slowly decreasing. I've also noticed quite a bit more inventory for these systems are local stores around town, who only a year ago maybe had a dozen or so NES titles, but now have an abundance of games? I certainly have, but at the same time I've also noticed a huge spike in prices and demand for PS1, N64, Saturn and Dreamcast games. Even PS2, while not hevily on the rise yet, has been jumping a bit. Does anyone think that the retro collecting bubble is shifting to slightly new consoles, and if so what is your theory behind this?
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People who were playing these systems during their informative years are now reaching that point in their life where they have, or feel that they have, disposable income.
My little brother is getting ready to graduate from college. I wouldn't be surprised if he started collecting GCN games. Though, as far as I'm aware, he still owns his gamecube games. I've mentioned to him before if he decides to sell them to sell to me, but I'm sure he wouldn't bother to let me know.
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It is what it is.
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i do think the market is starting to shift, the people who are into collecting nes and snes probably have what they want or are starting to sell their games as most are probably starting to look at retirement soon. though we probably won't see anything actually drop for at least another 5-10 years.
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I'm not sure. I guess that since I get most of my games in the wild anyways instead of searching for prices on eBay, that I have basically been living in a bubble myself!
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Online seems to be a difference. Since I primarily collect Sega games for consoles, I am seeing more online recently. Locally it is about the same. Very few games I don't have, which is a shame.
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I'm not sure. I guess that since I get most of my games in the wild anyways instead of searching for prices on eBay, that I have basically been living in a bubble myself!
Same lol
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Has anyone else noticed that prices on NES and SNES, particularly on less rare and more sought after games are slowly decreasing. I've also noticed quite a bit more inventory for these systems are local stores around town, who only a year ago maybe had a dozen or so NES titles, but now have an abundance of games?
Around here I haven't noticed any surplus in inventory at the local mom n' pop stores. Their selection on the sought after titles is still sporadic. If they do have an abundance of titles then it's because they've priced themselves out of reach. :P
I certainly have, but at the same time I've also noticed a huge spike in prices and demand for PS1, N64, Saturn and Dreamcast games. Even PS2, while not hevily on the rise yet, has been jumping a bit. Does anyone think that the retro collecting bubble is shifting to slightly new consoles, and if so what is your theory behind this?
I haven't paid much attention to PS1 or Dreamcast prices. N64 always seemed like it was a continuation of the nonsense that stemmed from scalpers/flippers of NES and SNES games. I'm seeing shops put games like Conker's up for $100-125 and sometimes $150 for a raggedy ex-rental cartridge only copy. ???
One thing I have noticed is Saturn prices for domestic titles is getting a little out of hand lately. The more desirable import releases have been steadily climbing the last 10 years now but certain domestic titles are starting to hit nosebleed prices. I can't find Clockwork Knight cheap to save my life whereas not too long ago it could still be had for $20 or better. I have the second one but trying to complete the set so to speak has been nothing short of a chore.
PS2 has an abundance of titles and anymore it's a super chore to scour through a TON of commons trying to find a decently priced diamond in the rough. I have noticed some price creep on titles and I've also noticed some shops pulling back more PS2 inventory for their display cases. Also, now that the PS4 is the mainstream system for Sony, I've started to notice some PS3 games starting to creep up. :-\
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Another thing I've noticed is a lot of collectors exiting the hobby, mostly people who were heavily into 8 and 16-bit games. There were at least 4 huge collectors in my area that sold of literally thousands of their games due to leaving the hobby. One of these people had a Flea sized collection. The winds of change are definitely in the air regarding this hobby.
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It's not just this hobby, it's pretty much any kind of physical media. America is getting rid of everything and going digital.
However, I'm seeing it happen to this hobby a lot slower than I am with movies, CDs, and books. Prices are still quite high (still much higher than a just a few years back). And it's still quite hard to come across certain types of games in the wild (Saturn, SNES, Sega CD, etc.).
I remember the days before Angry Video Game Nerd and such when I actually used to be able to go to a thrift shop and find Saturn and Sega CD games. When we start seeing stuff like that again, then I'll believe the hobby is dying down.
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The biggest bubble will be for childhood systems for those in their late 20s-30s aka people with the most disposible income. So as we are now shifting through SNES and Genesis I expect we will see N64 and PS1 prices begin to climb a little bit. I would say if you're playing the game of trying to get the cheapest games go for PS2/Xbox/GC era right now, those seem to be the cheapest relative to what they could be.
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Every year this topic comes up, and every year the prices go up.
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Every year this topic comes up, and every year the prices go up.
Atari dropped like a rock.
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Every year this topic comes up, and every year the prices go up.
Atari dropped like a rock.
I don't recall Atari 2600 EVER being expensive to collect for, far back into the 90s even. (Except for the rare exceptions, of course, like Chuck Wagon.) I always remember seeing Atari 2600 carts going for under $5 a piece.
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Every year this topic comes up, and every year the prices go up.
Atari dropped like a rock.
I don't recall Atari 2600 EVER being expensive to collect for, far back into the 90s even. (Except for the rare exceptions, of course, like Chuck Wagon.) I always remember seeing Atari 2600 carts going for under $5 a piece.
About 10 years ago Atari games were desirable because they were in their bubble.
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Every year this topic comes up, and every year the prices go up.
Atari dropped like a rock.
I don't recall Atari 2600 EVER being expensive to collect for, far back into the 90s even. (Except for the rare exceptions, of course, like Chuck Wagon.) I always remember seeing Atari 2600 carts going for under $5 a piece.
About 10 years ago Atari games were desirable because they were in their bubble.
Maybe in your area. Here in CA they've always been bottom-dollar games.
One of our big local spots, BogBean Books & Music, always had them for $2 a piece, regardless of the game. And thrift shops had em for not much more.
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Every year this topic comes up, and every year the prices go up.
Atari dropped like a rock.
I don't recall Atari 2600 EVER being expensive to collect for, far back into the 90s even. (Except for the rare exceptions, of course, like Chuck Wagon.) I always remember seeing Atari 2600 carts going for under $5 a piece.
About 10 years ago Atari games were desirable because they were in their bubble.
Maybe in your area. Here in CA they've always been bottom-dollar games.
One of our big local spots, BogBean Books & Music, always had them for $2 a piece, regardless of the game. And thrift shops had em for not much more.
I don't know. I do recall the games being more than that and the systems themselves going for much more than they go for these days. BUT, I know that CA had the highest supply of Atari games back in the day because that's where Atari was, so that might contribute to that.
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Every year this topic comes up, and every year the prices go up.
Atari dropped like a rock.
I don't recall Atari 2600 EVER being expensive to collect for, far back into the 90s even. (Except for the rare exceptions, of course, like Chuck Wagon.) I always remember seeing Atari 2600 carts going for under $5 a piece.
You have to keep in mind the context which Atari was big though. Atari collecting was big from the late 90s until the mid-2000s, which was also a time where many people still did not have the internet, nor were there any Smart phones for people to look shit up or download apps that told them what people were paying for games. Because of this prices never got outrageous like they have on rarer NES and SNES games. There was certainly perceived rarity which was sometimes justified and sometimes not. Games like Swordquest Waterworld used to go for around $200 or more for just the cart because there was a lot of speculation around how rare it really was because no one truly knew. This still happens today, but when there are 30 of a supposed rare game up on ebay at any given time it makes you put into question how rare it really is.
But he is right, Atari was once huge and it eventually plummeted to where now the only games that have held their value or increased are those extremely rare carts or games that are rare enough to where there will always be a few people looking for them. I believe someday all console libraries will see this same thing happen.
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I still don't agree. I completely remember even Toys R US having brand-new Atari 2600 games filling bargain bins while the NES and Genesis were the top-dollar games.
I can't remember a time when Atari 2600 games weren't plentiful and cheap, dating back before the 90s that you pointed out. (I wasn't old enough to remember when they were the brand-new, state of the art system, I'm sure they were expensive then.)
I did mention "exceptions" for the rare games, though. That's true for any system.
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well i'm a, uh, neo-collector? i only mainly collect for the gen of xbox/ps2 and above (not gcn though, god bless the prices of gcn games, jfc)
right now i can safely say the costs of games for these consoles isn't going up yet, but the niche titles may be. i'm not 100% sure. while you can find plenty of good niche titles for $5-10 at a gamestop, the price creep is mostly online.
i don't know how big 'collecting' is here though. i really don't bother browsing for older titles (and gcn, ugh) because i know the prices are, nine times out of ten, way, way, way out of my reach.
xbox is still dirt-cheap to collect for tho. ps2 has been creeping up for about 3 years now. ps3 games have remained steadily costlier than their 360 peers (likely because of case/disc sturdiness) and i never see that changing... but i'm about to round off my ps3 and my 360 collection will be forever small. my xbox collection will be pretty small, as well. vita is going to see terrifying price markups i bet in the future (finding a copy of demon gaze or stranger of sword city in the wild is already almost hair-pulling in how difficult it can be... and my area is flooded with gamestops) so i'll move there asap.
anyway, i can see a lot of my age peers (early 20s) picking the hobby up for gcn (driving the prices up to horrifying levels, they're already expensive) and n64/ps1. maybe snes/genesis a bit as well. and a lot of people get into the hobby in mid- or late-teens, so those teenagers who work part time and have 100% disposable income are likely jumping in and buying the games of their childhood, thus the shift. the older gen has been picking up games for a decade or more now, i'll hit a decade in about a year and a half... those kids are just now jumping in and their childhood was maybe ps1/n64 and mostly ps2/gcn(/xbox, but not as frequently). i know a guy who is 18 or so right now, he's grabbing gcn games as he finds them. he's in australia, tho, so not any competition for me.
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Dirt cheap atari games were always dirt cheap but some of the mid range rarity games like say your Tapper's, Spy Hunter, or Pengo for example used to go for a lot more than they currently are. They were $50 - $60 games or more and now are around $25 to $30.
As for the rest, it's hard for me to personally gauge as EVERYTHING from the NES forward is still sky high around my area.
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Conspiracy theories. Why is it all these retro collectors on youtube are spreading the same narrative. Why has not a single person took the opposite stance? or everyone just follows the crowd these days? I don't believe any bubble will pop, and there's no reason why it should. They probably want people to sell off their collections so they can goyim them.
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Conspiracy theories. Why is it all these retro collectors on youtube are spreading the same narrative. Why has not a single person took the opposite stance? or everyone just follows the crowd these days? I don't believe any bubble will pop, and there's no reason why it should. They probably want people to sell off their collections so they can goyim them.
While I will not deny I'd love to see all games, retro and modern drop in price significantly for everyone due to decreased demand, I've seen enough in this hobby after being in it for nearly a decade (started collecting in 2008) that leads me to believe there is a bubble and it will burst eventually. Actually, it would be more accurate to say it will likely deflate gradually as I'm seeing now with many NES, SNES, and Genesis titles. Games like Punch Out, Metroid, and your standard fare must have titles have been showing up a lot more in my area and I've noticed that many of them are selling for slightly less then they were a year ago. Games like Wild Guns, EVO, and Little Samson are still ungodly expensive and will probably always be due to their rarity, but I can see them dipping in value over time.
Like I mentioned, I've also seen a lot of collectors, online and locally leave the hobby for many different reasons and because of that supply is returning to the market, meaning prices will go down. I also know many collectors that are still in the hobby, but they are no longer after the common and uncommon titles for specific consoles, meaning that it one less collector out of the market for a game like Super Mario 64 or Mario Kart.
And also, every collecting fad over the past 25 years has followed the same cycle; people in their mid-20s to early 40s get careers, have more disposable income and want a piece of their past, creating a market of collectibles. This exact same thing happened with vintage toys, comics, sports cards, Atari, and other items as well. Eventually as these people took on more responsibilities (kids, car payments, mortgage, ect) the time and money to indulge these hobbies diminished, leading collectors to leave their once beloved hobby, often selling what they had acquired. Eventually these hobbies became less and less popular until supply outpaced demand and prices dropped, sometimes significantly.
I do not know when precisely, but I expect at least classic Nintendo collecting to gradually burn out more and more over the next 5-year until games like Contra and Punch Out, hell, even games like Ninja Gaiden 3 go for at least 50% less than what they currently sell. Even games like Little Samson I can see dropping to around $500 by this time. Some might see this as a bold prediction, but as stated above, we've seen these collecting fads before and we all know how they end.
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Not that I follow that closely anymore, but from what I've noticed, it seems like sales of NES games have been decreasing steadily. The prices? Not so much. I've actually noticed a few recent price spikes on obscure relatively uncommon games like Rad Gravity, WURM, and Zen which until this year were kinda cheap games that nobody cared about. If that kinda stuff is still happening, which it is, then I say no to any popping speculation. Sadly. SNES seems to remain as the most popular console to collect for currently.
Is a bubble developing across later platforms? Probably, it wouldn't surprise me. The funny thing is PS1 was the only console to decrease in value after the collecting craze began, and now it's going back up? N64 I could see that happening, thought it already happened.
My comment on Atari 2600 is - I think it's a generational thing. I think there was probably a group of people who grew up on Atari, at maybe just the right age where they grew tired of video games by the time NES came around. Obviously not all of them, but I've met plenty of people who fondly remember Atari, but never got into Nintendo or Sega or anything that followed. They might have been responsible for the Atari bubble that eventually did pop. I don't know if I'd expect to see the same thing among the groups who fondly remember the NES, among many other consoles they also played later on down the line - the multiple generation console game collectors, of which there are tons now. They're a bit of a different story. Almost like gens 3 - current are all their baby, and I don't see them severing the love for any one console. That's my thought, anyway.
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Conspiracy theories. Why is it all these retro collectors on youtube are spreading the same narrative. Why has not a single person took the opposite stance? or everyone just follows the crowd these days? I don't believe any bubble will pop, and there's no reason why it should. They probably want people to sell off their collections so they can goyim them.
While I will not deny I'd love to see all games, retro and modern drop in price significantly for everyone due to decreased demand, I've seen enough in this hobby after being in it for nearly a decade (started collecting in 2008) that leads me to believe there is a bubble and it will burst eventually. Actually, it would be more accurate to say it will likely deflate gradually as I'm seeing now with many NES, SNES, and Genesis titles. Games like Punch Out, Metroid, and your standard fare must have titles have been showing up a lot more in my area and I've noticed that many of them are selling for slightly less then they were a year ago. Games like Wild Guns, EVO, and Little Samson are still ungodly expensive and will probably always be due to their rarity, but I can see them dipping in value over time.
Like I mentioned, I've also seen a lot of collectors, online and locally leave the hobby for many different reasons and because of that supply is returning to the market, meaning prices will go down. I also know many collectors that are still in the hobby, but they are no longer after the common and uncommon titles for specific consoles, meaning that it one less collector out of the market for a game like Super Mario 64 or Mario Kart.
And also, every collecting fad over the past 25 years has followed the same cycle; people in their mid-20s to early 40s get careers, have more disposable income and want a piece of their past, creating a market of collectibles. This exact same thing happened with vintage toys, comics, sports cards, Atari, and other items as well. Eventually as these people took on more responsibilities (kids, car payments, mortgage, ect) the time and money to indulge these hobbies diminished, leading collectors to leave their once beloved hobby, often selling what they had acquired. Eventually these hobbies became less and less popular until supply outpaced demand and prices dropped, sometimes significantly.
I do not know when precisely, but I expect at least classic Nintendo collecting to gradually burn out more and more over the next 5-year until games like Contra and Punch Out, hell, even games like Ninja Gaiden 3 go for at least 50% less than what they currently sell. Even games like Little Samson I can see dropping to around $500 by this time. Some might see this as a bold prediction, but as stated above, we've seen these collecting fads before and we all know how they end.
I think gaming is still a relatively young industry and still growing. It's becoming very trendy and now even a pop culture thing. In fact it's a way life; we are what we love. Meaning also more people are joining the hobby everyday. And at least a good number of them are universal gamers. They'll play on any system in history, and chances are likely they won't own a single retro system. Of course gravitation exists as he said the people in their 20s with income are going back to the systems of their childhood thus a influx. But the universal gamer is also a separate entity in all this. They keep things at a certain flesh-hold.
I think this because I saw a young boy awhile ago who was very passionate about the atari 2600 for some reason yet had no exposure. Be it probably rare thing. The Atari generation isn't being wiped out or pushed off into the night like a stranger to be forgotten, it still has it's roots. And the roots of Nintendo even deeper than Atari ever managed. For the roots to disappear then a bubble would pop, but I don't think it ever will. I believe there will always be new passionate gamers who universally take interest in all gaming consoles. Thus the roots will always be strong. Gaming just like any culture is defined by it's history, and it's roots. And people will always go back to their roots be them old or young.
Lastly I made a discussion a while ago how long would cartridges or discs last? And well even the consoles. The comments were.. well rather grim to say the least. Retro games are disappearing every day (it's sounding like a humanitarian crisis when I say it like this) yet there's more and more people wanting to experience the golden era's of gaming, and less copies available everyday, and there will be a day not just because they have been bought up but because they don't exist anymore. I don't think we even need to wait a century for that to happen. We get to the view the tragedy in our lifetime likely. 20-50 years from now and the Atari gamers will be like the last veterans from the war of the states or something.
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I've heard a few instances of youngsters heavily into this stuff, but TBH the vast majority are dudes in their mid 20s to late 30s as far as those collecting everything from NES forward. I don't know if I'd say this is something that kids are going to pick up and feel the same about as the older crowd. Sure, they might like the games. They'll appreciate the value of a classic. Maybe they'll emulate, or some other more convenient and modern method of playing them. But going as far as to collect hundreds of original cartridges and CDs of games they've mostly never heard of that were made long before they were born? I kinda doubt it. There are plenty of late adopters to the trend, but they mostly fit the profile you'd expect.
I'm sticking to the theory that having any affinity for physical media, or classic game consoles cuts off at a certain point in time. Probably around the time of those who first played games during the 6th gen, maybe 7th. Kids who are about 10-15 years old now, probably aren't going to be nearly as interested in retro collecting, and will probably think we're crazy for not just downloading, or more better yet streaming whatever games we want to play.
I also have to agree with Biking on notion that eventually, common titles should loose steam because everyone who wants one will have it. If prices ever decide to come down, it will probably be commons and popular games first.
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Nintendo are moving onto their 7th generation of consoles. There's never been cheap Nintendo games for more than a generation transition on any of these 6 systems. Atari was always worth Ugandan toilet paper after the crash.
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Nintendo are moving onto their 7th generation of consoles. There's never been cheap Nintendo games for more than a generation transition on any of these 6 systems. Atari was always worth Ugandan toilet paper after the crash. When is the sky suppose to crack and fall down.
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Nintendo are moving onto their 7th generation of consoles. There's never been cheap Nintendo games for more than a generation transition on any of these 6 systems. Atari was always worth Ugandan toilet paper after the crash. When is the sky suppose to crack and fall down.
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Is Ugandan toilet paper worth significantly less than toilet paper elsewhere? AFAIK they don't just give it away. You'd think it would be higher than usual given that Uganda is not a major player in the production of TP.
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Is Ugandan toilet paper worth significantly less than toilet paper elsewhere? AFAIK they don't just give it away. You'd think it would be higher than usual given that Uganda is not a major player in the production of TP.
Maybe.
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Well, Uganda is landlocked so they'd have to pay a higher shipping fee if they want high quality first world toilet paper.
Now then, moving on from that, I don't think the bubble will come as hard and as fast as some people seem to be saying it will. I attend auctions a lot and see how things go for other hobbies. I think that games have a more universal appeal than something like, say, 80s GI Joes, where you have to have been around at the time to appreciate them and as such I think they'll hold value better. I think they will have more in common with, say, model tractors where you could appreciate the tractor even if you didn't play with that type as a kid. Are those old farm toys worthless? No, I see them go at auctions for anywhere from 4-5 to over a 100 dollars based on what is actually there, just like with games. They can be quite complex and having all the accessories that went with it but typically got lost or broken (the wagon, the cultivator, etc.) in good shape can easily more than double the price of one just as is true for a game. For those tractors the value is usually less than what it was when it was new, as with games, but its still at a level where you wouldn't want to throw them out.
That said, something that would totally flip over the low end of the market would be if game stores found a way to adjust prices on ultra-common games to counteract the "$4.00 Madden 64" effect. That three to four dollar limit is artificially high due to difficulties with how pricecharting.com (and comparable services) handles shipping fees and has lead to a glut of those games on retro store shelves.
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I think the truly high desirable stuff will stay stable and will drop maybe slightly in price. Games like earthbound terranigma chrono trigger. it's way to overhyped bound to go down sometime.
However uncommon stuff wich was was never truly desirable will stay high in price and might even increase in value, furthermore it also seems a trend that more and more collectors want really nice condition stuff, so if you have stuff lying around in bad condition it will be allot tougher to sell than in the past even if the price is heavily reduced.
Gamecube is an excellent example.
Mario kart double dash mario sunshine and the zelda games have stayed pretty stable in price., Twilight princess has always been around 40 - 50 in my country a UK version for bit higher. The mario games always around 20.
Than you have uncommon gamecube games like chibi robo and gotcha force wich were only 30 euro games just a few years ago, they raised in price to a whopping 80 to 100 + euro's :P
Plenty of underated games with very limited supply. Nice collectible condition stuff will not lower in price anytime soon, unless were talking about very desirable expensive games wich have way to much hype.
Than again I'm pretty sure that if I started a bit earlier with for example collecting snes I would have snagged way better deals, the way I see it prices are still rising, however only if you looking at the cib nice condition stuff market. if you collect lose carts, allot easier and I can imagine some price drops. Carts for snes and nes aren't to expensive.