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NES/Famicom Appreciation Thread

NOLA_Gaffer

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
Just spotted Jeremy Parish's article "Racing against collector creep" about the slow but continuous rise in retro game prices pop up on the Retronauts Facebook page.

Anyone else concerned that they'll eventually be priced out of this? I don't consider myself a collector, but every few months I pick up a few Famicom and/or NES carts to have something fresh to play. It's a bummer to know that someday it's just not gonna be worthwhile anymore.
 
K

-KRS-

Member
NOLA_Gaffer said:
Just spotted Jeremy Parish's article "Racing against collector creep" about the slow but continuous rise in retro game prices pop up on the Retronauts Facebook page.

Anyone else concerned that they'll eventually be priced out of this? I don't consider myself a collector, but every few months I pick up a few Famicom and/or NES carts to have something fresh to play. It's a bummer to know that someday it's just not gonna be worthwhile anymore.
Click to expand...

I'm kinda already there. I already have most things I want for my systems, and the things that are left are mostly not worth the going price in my opinion. I started collecting as a fun little hobby years and years ago, but nowadays the financial commitment is too high for me to keep up. I'll still get a game here and there, but yeah I feel like I'm pretty much done for now.
 
R

RoryDropkick

Member
I'm in the same position. I haven't felt like I've wanted to buy a new NES or Famicom game in a while. I have an Everdrive and even then I don't get the urge to load up games on it. :(
 
NOLA_Gaffer

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
I guess whenever I get some free time I'm gonna have to sit down, inventory my NES and FC libraries, decide what I want to sell off and then figure out what I want to purchase as well.
 
T

TeaJay

Member
I was priced out of the hobby already a year or two ago. And then I discovered the Saturn and PC Engine ... but for a casual gamer flashcarts and backups are the best. (but I think that if I had been collecting for like ~10 years I would've have kept my stuff)
 
StAidan

StAidan

Member
I'm not exactly priced out, but the price increases have led to me only picking up 1-2 games over the past year or so. I collect CIB only, and tend to have pretty high standards for box condition.

I have 66 NES games representing a good range of the best (and a few of the rarer) titles the platform has to offer, so I'm pretty satisfied even if I don't end up acquiring many more. There are a few I'm still really keen on getting, but I can be patient.
 
R

RadarScope1

Member
I'll look forward to reading that. I'm in the same boat, too. I have been collecting for nearly 20 years but it's very much been on and off. In 2013 I got way back into it and in 2015 and 2016 I was buying like crazy as prices rose and as I had more money to spend. In the past 6-8 months I've really cooled off, mainly because everything I want now is either really expensive or just cheaper common stuff that I feel I can get at any time. I am not checking eBay, Craigslist and FB marketplace three times a day like I used to, but when I do check them every few days I'll still bite if I find a deal. Just yesterday I score a pristine CIB copy of Castlevania II for $20. Happy about that one!

Another factor is time. I am just a lot busier with work and family now than I was two years ago.

EDIT: Just finished reading it. Good piece. A game in Jeremy's first category that I've been watching is Crisis Force. Have had my eye on it for over a year when it was about $70-$75 on eBay. Now asking price is around $100. Guh.
 
T

ToastyFrog

Inexplicable Treasure Hate
I really miss the days of walking into pawn shops and flea markets and going home with dozens of NES games for less than $100. Back around 1998-99, I used to be a sort of used game mule for people — I'd pick up used SNES RPGs like Secret of Mana for like $20 and pass them along to friends online at cost, because they were cheap and plentiful in my area. Ah, the good ol' days.
 
D

davidwhangchoi

Member
is this market bubble ever going to burst? i;d love some cheap nes and pc engine games. though i just brought cib battletoads on nes for 40 yesterday =/ (posted in retroGAF)
 
NOLA_Gaffer

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
I honestly don't even care about CIB, I just want the carts. I have an Everdrive and it's neat but it's just not the same as having the actual cartridge of a game I love.

RadarScope1 said:
EDIT: Just finished reading it. Good piece. A game in Jeremy's first category that I've been watching is Crisis Force. Have had my eye on it for over a year when it was about $70-$75 on eBay. Now asking price is around $100. Guh.
Click to expand...

Crisis Force is on my list of games I'd love to own too, but at $100 I think I'll probably have to drop it from my list.

I need to grab the Famicom version of Castlevania 3 before that gets stupid. Right now it seems to be around $50 but I feel like that won't be the case for long.
 
Spukc

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
NOLA_Gaffer said:
I honestly don't even care about CIB, I just want the carts. I have an Everdrive and it's neat but it's just not the same as having the actual cartridge of a game I love.
Click to expand...

cS3mlX1m.jpg


near mint cib super famicom games are still affordable
50 max i guess ?
i got dkc 1 2 3 cib for under 50 in total.
final fantasy 4 5 6 ? loose carts? 15 bucks
breath of fire 1 and 2 ? 12 bucks
super mario rpg ? 8 bucks
 
O

OnPoint

Member
It's June 1, I don't know who wants to take over the monthly pick mantle, but if anyone wants to they are welcome to. I am also willing to discuss the process via PMs. If no one does, we can unofficially pick things, but I sadly don't have the time to handle things in an official capacity any longer.
_____

As for prices increasing...

I bought in pretty heavy over the last 10 years. I've definitely slowed down quite a lot but I have most of what I want these days. The only things missing are heavy hitters like Mr Gimmick (which I still want).

What worries me more than anything is bit rot. When should we start worrying about that? I feel like that will crash the market harder than anything.
 
B

Beartruck

Member
NOLA_Gaffer said:
Just spotted Jeremy Parish's article "Racing against collector creep" about the slow but continuous rise in retro game prices pop up on the Retronauts Facebook page.

Anyone else concerned that they'll eventually be priced out of this? I don't consider myself a collector, but every few months I pick up a few Famicom and/or NES carts to have something fresh to play. It's a bummer to know that someday it's just not gonna be worthwhile anymore.
Click to expand...

I thank the gods I picked up Megaman 1-6 back in the early 2000's. Things like this are why I've ramped up "finishing" my genesis and NES collections of games that are relatively cheap. I picked up Journey to Silius, Monster Party, and Dragon Quest II today, and I'm still eyeing a copy of Magic of Scherazade.

Incidentally, I also picked up Bubble Bobble and Super Contra last week, and I've got a copy of Joy Mech Fight on the way. So yeah, I'm back into NES.
 
M

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
I am fortunate enough to own most of what i want for Nes, Snes and Mega Drive, which are my favorite systems, but the PC Engine and Neo Geo-market exploded before i could really enter them, which sucks. I still check out local sites every now and then, and just scored some more common games that i still lacked, but yeah, my buying is also more or less completely halted now, and i sell as much as i buy these days.

Edit: Sucks about Game of the Month, but it was fun as long as it lasted for sure!

Lets do Ninja Gaiden 3 unofficially for june, those of us who wants to.
 
S

SKINNER!

Banned
-KRS- said:
I'm kinda already there. I already have most things I want for my systems, and the things that are left are mostly not worth the going price in my opinion. I started collecting as a fun little hobby years and years ago, but nowadays the financial commitment is too high for me to keep up. I'll still get a game here and there, but yeah I feel like I'm pretty much done for now.
Click to expand...

I'm the same. Started collecting approx 10 years ago only buying the retro games that mattered to me and I've been noticing the prices today are way too high for what it's worth. I'll probably grab a cheap (Under $50 approx) retro title here and there but the days of scouring around looking for what are now considered rare/valuable titles are over. I got most of the games I want anyway so my collecting days are done.
 
O

OnPoint

Member
Lothar said:
No one PMed you? What would we have to do? Just tell people to vote and tell people what game won? I guess I could do that.
Click to expand...

Heh, no PMs.

In terms of work, sort of. I tried to open up suggestions early in the month then tracked those. Then I created a Google poll. Once voting closed I created the OP (grabbed or created images, wrote blurbs, linked the previous thread and updated other sections) and coordinated with my friend for the feature image, then PM'd a mod for a thread title change.

It doesn't sound like a ton of work, but it's a lot of little stuff that kind of adds up. Honestly, moving the club to being a once every three months type thing should help this feel a like lot less work. And whatever changes you want to make to make things easier or better for you are obviously fine as well.
 
K

-KRS-

Member
shorty_symd said:
I'm the same. Started collecting approx 10 years ago only buying the retro games that mattered to me and I've been noticing the prices today are way too high for what it's worth. I'll probably grab a cheap (Under $50 approx) retro title here and there but the days of scouring around looking for what are now considered rare/valuable titles are over. I got most of the games I want anyway so my collecting days are done.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's another aspect. The whole finding a good deal in the wild days are pretty much over. Now it's only a matter of how much you're willing to pay online for a title, which also takes out a lot of the fun. Bidding on ebay can be fun though, but most listings are BIN now. Meh. :/
 
L

Lothar

Banned
OnPoint said:
Heh, no PMs.

In terms of work, sort of. I tried to open up suggestions early in the month then tracked those. Then I created a Google poll. Once voting closed I created the OP (grabbed or created images, wrote blurbs, linked the previous thread and updated other sections) and coordinated with my friend for the feature image, then PM'd a mod for a thread title change.

It doesn't sound like a ton of work, but it's a lot of little stuff that kind of adds up. Honestly, moving the club to being a once every three months type thing should help this feel a like lot less work. And whatever changes you want to make to make things easier or better for you are obviously fine as well.
Click to expand...

Sure, let's do it. I'll give it a shot.

I propose we do two games a month. That way we can do a pricey game and if people can't afford it, they'll have another option. They won't be left out. Then we wouldn't get stuck with a game that no one likes, such as Metal Gear, and the whole month wouldn't be a wash. I also don't believe certain great games will ever come in #1. We should have had Startropics and Life Force, dammit.

All I've been hearing about is Ninja Gaiden. I don't think we need a poll this month. I declare by executive order that June is Ninja Gaiden 1 and Ninja Gaiden 3 month.

*Immediately gets thrown out of club*
 
O

OnPoint

Member
Seeing as how I never got around to playing NGII for the club because I was a busy turd, I will try to do a full trilogy playthrough. I might cheat and play the Famicom cart for NGIII, though.
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
OnPoint said:
Seeing as how I never got around to playing NGII for the club because I was a busy turd, I will try to do a full trilogy playthrough. I might cheat and play the Famicom cart for NGIII, though.
Click to expand...

Probably for the best, lol. NA NG3 is a struggle with the continue limit.
 
R

RadarScope1

Member
NDPsycho said:
You're not alone. I'm still paying stupid prices for NES/SNES games that I still want. On the bright side that list is getting pretty short.
Click to expand...

I'm right there, too. Buying random cheap games for both system and paying what it takes to get the pricier games that actually matter.
 
L

Lothar

Banned
Wow, Ninja Gaiden 3 is expensive. But there are options.

I just looked and I see that it was released for virtual console for Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.

There's always Ninja Gaiden Trilogy for SNES. It's on a SNES but it's the same as the NES games or close enough. I would choose that over paying $50 for the original NG3 if I didn't own it.
 
T

Timu

Member
Lothar said:
Wow, Ninja Gaiden 3 is expensive. But there are options.

I just looked and I see that it was released for virtual console for Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.

There's always Ninja Gaiden Trilogy for SNES. It's on a SNES but it's the same as the NES games or close enough. I would choose that over paying $50 for the original NG3 if I didn't own it.
Click to expand...
Which is even more expensive than NG3 itself, has worse controls, more slowdown and wonky hit detection.
 
T

ToastyFrog

Inexplicable Treasure Hate
Wow, I didn't realize Ninja Gaiden III had been hit so hard by the price bubble. I just picked up the Japanese version because it's free from the ridiculous difficulty rebalancing of the U.S. release, and I shelled out less than $15 for the privilege. Who knew I was making a sensible economic choice, too? So I guess the U.S. version is less fun to play AND is 3-4 times as expensive now, cool.
 
L

Lothar

Banned
I wonder what made them decide that Ninja Gaiden 3 needed limited continues. What a crazy decision.

I PMed a mod to change the title to Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden 3. I think the talk right now is showing why it's good to have two games. So people don't feel like they need to buy a Famicom version or spend $50 to participate. Ninja Gaiden 1 is cheap, is even on NES Classic, and is better.

We can do two months if it's ever necessary or cut it short if there's no interest.

I need to figure out how to do polls.
 
R

RoryDropkick

Member
ToastyFrog said:
Wow, I didn't realize Ninja Gaiden III had been hit so hard by the price bubble. I just picked up the Japanese version because it's free from the ridiculous difficulty rebalancing of the U.S. release, and I shelled out less than $15 for the privilege. Who knew I was making a sensible economic choice, too? So I guess the U.S. version is less fun to play AND is 3-4 times as expensive now, cool.
Click to expand...

You made a smart choice. Also I always loved that anime style artwork on the label.
 
T

Timu

Member
sixteen-bit said:
I thought it was to dissuade rentals (Renting games is illegal in Japan so it's not a threat to bottom-line sales).
Click to expand...
"The original intent from the developers was to make the game easier than the previous titles, "to create a game a normal player can enjoy". However, the perceived popularity of difficult video games in North America caused Tecmo to release the game for the NES with a much higher difficulty level than the Japanese version."

This is the line that make it seems they did it on purpose.
 
T

ToastyFrog

Inexplicable Treasure Hate
RoryDropkick said:
You made a smart choice. Also I always loved that anime style artwork on the label.
Click to expand...

I don't know if he was responsible for the actual label art, but the cinema layouts and character designs for the NES Ninja Gaiden games were originally drawn by Masato Kato, who went on to be the scenario writer for Chrono Trigger/Cross/Xenogears/etc. I'm always fascinated by ascended illustrators (see also: Keiji Inafune, Tetsuya Nomura).
 
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