The original and SP models did, the Micro did not.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Retro game prices are currently pretty insane.
- Thread starter entremet
- Start date
The original and SP models did, the Micro did not.
Badass. Thanks Coop.
friskykillface
Banned
Yeah every thrift store looks up games and charges a high price, sucks but oh well
Plus every single person has a smart phone so they can look up values , hate seeing soccer moms/record dudes buying retro games, smh resellers
Those 60+ CiB snes games I missed still has me emo :/ worst was the person who bought them
Plus every single person has a smart phone so they can look up values , hate seeing soccer moms/record dudes buying retro games, smh resellers
Those 60+ CiB snes games I missed still has me emo :/ worst was the person who bought them
Crimsonclaw111
Member
I wish I still had my copy of Zero Mission, damn this thread.
Maybe on the U virtual console in the future
Maybe on the U virtual console in the future
Wouldn't be surprised if people are hiking up the price because they know that the new one is right around the corner. Releases like that make old fans want to replay the previous games and the few will pay anything for them.
DCharlie
Banned
Japan prices are going screaming through the roof again
here is how the last 15 years have been :
Prices were reasonable when i got here on most retrostuff - but the biggest value seemed to be in pcbs - i recall at the time a Titan STV and RSG cart was 14k compared to the going rate of 24k for the Saturn version. As time has went on the arcade price has shot through the roof - that's largely the norm exception being Cave stuff which has started dumping everywhere.
Akihabara - at least Tokyo perspective wise - is starting to become a gaming wasteland - but Retro has been the big loser. Back in the day there were so many retro shops that price competition meant you were always able to find a bargain somewhere as long as you were prepared to look. Now we are down to a handful of places - even the iconic Medialand has gone, replaced by a Geo specializing in mobile/tablets (a common theme).
With that trend means fewer stores which means higher prices for retro goods - whilst PS2 is the current sweet spot for retro on the price inverted-bell curve vs lifespan , everything else is going batshit insane. Anything remotely collectable is seeing huge surges in asking price.
Now - in the past - i've built up and then nuked my collection -three times- but this time there is no going back : each time i went back in previously was because prices had sank and i had a cash surpluss. Christ, i have that now but the prices of games is staggering and given i've been in and out so many times it's just throwing money away - i'm quitting whilst ahead and i'll suck up the life of playing emu stuff on an Android rather than sink the cash into a PVM , rgb h/w and games.
here is how the last 15 years have been :
Prices were reasonable when i got here on most retrostuff - but the biggest value seemed to be in pcbs - i recall at the time a Titan STV and RSG cart was 14k compared to the going rate of 24k for the Saturn version. As time has went on the arcade price has shot through the roof - that's largely the norm exception being Cave stuff which has started dumping everywhere.
Akihabara - at least Tokyo perspective wise - is starting to become a gaming wasteland - but Retro has been the big loser. Back in the day there were so many retro shops that price competition meant you were always able to find a bargain somewhere as long as you were prepared to look. Now we are down to a handful of places - even the iconic Medialand has gone, replaced by a Geo specializing in mobile/tablets (a common theme).
With that trend means fewer stores which means higher prices for retro goods - whilst PS2 is the current sweet spot for retro on the price inverted-bell curve vs lifespan , everything else is going batshit insane. Anything remotely collectable is seeing huge surges in asking price.
Now - in the past - i've built up and then nuked my collection -three times- but this time there is no going back : each time i went back in previously was because prices had sank and i had a cash surpluss. Christ, i have that now but the prices of games is staggering and given i've been in and out so many times it's just throwing money away - i'm quitting whilst ahead and i'll suck up the life of playing emu stuff on an Android rather than sink the cash into a PVM , rgb h/w and games.
entremet
Member
Yep. Nintendo also printed millions of copies so it's so totally speculation garbage plus the Nintendo collectors tax.
qualitydisc
Member
Yep, a large percentage of the Pokemon and 1st party GBA and DS games on places like eBay are pirate. So much so that I won't buy them sight unseen anymore.
I read a statistic a few yeas ago that North Korea's biggest export was counterfeit DS games.
terrisus
Member
Or... It could just be an in-demand game that people want, and other people are reluctant to give up...
Wow...I'm glad I still have my copy.
Got mine off someone online last year for $25 complete. Glad I got it when I did.
Scarcity does play a major part in prices.
I know a lot of PAL SNES games that are super expensive due to either very low print runs or the fact that copies of said games barely exist on the market.
As for re-releases...it depends.
For some games, it definitely helps.
I remember Nocturne and Disgaea were very difficult to get a hold of for a long time due to limited print runs until Atlus and NIS did reprints for those games years later.
Drove the prices down a bit to nominal levels.
A large chunk of stuff I've found out on game scarcity/pricing/whatever came from Retro Gamer, which did a good number of articles for collecting games for each system (typically PAL territories, but sometimes Japanese or English).
Possibly. Hard to say.
(*hugs Melee box*)
friskykillface
Banned
That's true for any game, remember before GTA V released GTA IV stand alone was like $10-$15 when it was $1-$5 before
I just wanted to race fire trucks
But man I lent so many rare games to friends and cousins it boggles me mind, never got the, back/forgot/they moved
Smash melee
Mario party 1-3
Smash n64
Conker n64
0_o
If you were to rebuy all those games now, well. lets just say it's going to be more than 100 bucks...
terrisus
Member
But less than the ~$350 they would've cost originally.
That's only used, brand new wise...
entremet
Member
Weird that Contra isn't on the VC yet its sequel is. There's the arcade version on XBLA, but it is garbage.
We had a Play N Trade that was open for 5 years and I took full advantage of it to get all of the classic games I wanted. Very rarely did I overspend and I got a few deals (like Suikoden II in mint condition for $80 and a sealed Star Fox SNES for $2 (which still is sealed and I have no plans to open it).
Fattony12000
Member
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
That's not really the reason. Japanese versions sell for dirt cheap here in Japan. As someone else said, it's because of low print runs.
Depends on location. Don't lump everyone together.
Noisepurge
Member
For games like Megaman X i have a loose dirty cart that i play and a sealed copy for collection purposes
STGs and low-print Japanese action games go for just as much/way more depending on the game and console.
Chinbo37
Member
I was collecting SNES, NES, N64, Saturn and Playstation games back in the early to mid 2000s.
Back then there were some expensive games but it was a lot more reasonable. I really enjoyed to have all my games displayed and to be able to play those classics whenever I wanted. However after moving to a different country, I fell behind on collecting and the prices got pretty insane. As mentioned in a previous post I sold most of my old collection for 1500 (perfect complete boxed Link to the past, boxed Super Metroid, Dragon Force, perfect boxed Ocarina of Time and a bunch of other games, some loose, some with boxes and manuals etc).
I dont really care any more about having all my games displayed and building a large "collection". The high prices contributed to that a bit, but if people have money and that is what they enjoy then I say go for it. I like to look at collections on GAF and I always have a bit of envy but I realized it wasnt for me. I like to play games and there are plenty of ways to get those games to play (VC, emulation etc). Even if its not the exact same experience, I think those old games are great, and in some cases the experience can even be better (example, I played FFVI emulated relaxing on my couch with wireless xbox controllers, cant beat that!).
Back then there were some expensive games but it was a lot more reasonable. I really enjoyed to have all my games displayed and to be able to play those classics whenever I wanted. However after moving to a different country, I fell behind on collecting and the prices got pretty insane. As mentioned in a previous post I sold most of my old collection for 1500 (perfect complete boxed Link to the past, boxed Super Metroid, Dragon Force, perfect boxed Ocarina of Time and a bunch of other games, some loose, some with boxes and manuals etc).
I dont really care any more about having all my games displayed and building a large "collection". The high prices contributed to that a bit, but if people have money and that is what they enjoy then I say go for it. I like to look at collections on GAF and I always have a bit of envy but I realized it wasnt for me. I like to play games and there are plenty of ways to get those games to play (VC, emulation etc). Even if its not the exact same experience, I think those old games are great, and in some cases the experience can even be better
(example, I played FFVI emulated relaxing on my couch with wireless xbox controllers, cant beat that!).
IrishNinja
Member
yes, it is clearly scarcity + demand and not at all speculation & resellers price-fixing causing this bubble
also we should be happy because sure chrono trigger costs nearly $100 20 years later but hey it once cost $70-80 new back when a gallon of gas was like a buck because reasons
jesus shit, my man DCharlie wasn't kidding - japan clearly got the message
CaseyTappy
Member
Japan has gone crazy on anything, especially action games with low print runs, I always wanted an original boxed Recca for the Famicom but that ship has sailed now .
No need for a multi million seller to get expensive if there are a ton around .
No need for a multi million seller to get expensive if there are a ton around .
I remember passing on a 15000 Yen copy of Recca years ago lmao
That seems like a bargain these days.
xDUMPWEEDx
Banned
Panzer Dragoon Saga is probably the most notorious game of that happening.
Burning Rangers also, to a lesser extent.
Thank god I'm not that into collecting, sounds crazy expensive if you want the games in a good quality
I DO hold on a still sealed copy of the limited Mario Kart 8 steelbook edition, which only was released in Germany and only by one retailer, (complete unplanned, broken street date made me buy a regular copy before my steelbook one would have arrived from amazon lol) though and check its price sometimes. So far new copies have gone up from 60€ to 80€-90€, so I think it might be worth it to hold onto it for a few more years
I DO hold on a still sealed copy of the limited Mario Kart 8 steelbook edition, which only was released in Germany and only by one retailer, (complete unplanned, broken street date made me buy a regular copy before my steelbook one would have arrived from amazon lol) though and check its price sometimes. So far new copies have gone up from 60€ to 80€-90€, so I think it might be worth it to hold onto it for a few more years
fuck. time to sell my N64 collection?
i could make like a $10 profit on Conker from when i bought it new! however many years ago that was...
seriously though. i think im going to sell my N64 collection now. maybe just keep a game or two.
Bassmastergeneral
Member
Pretty crazy that it's come to this but this shot is really nothing new for super potato. That store has been overpriced for years because they know they are popular for foreign buyers.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
Looking at some of these cart only prices... Really makes me want to unload my carts. I have almost all of them on the VC now, and could probably make a couple hundred on them.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
I think a lot of things from PS3/360 onward are going to end up being coasters, and it'll become more prevalent with time.
What's to be done once you can no longer download that day-one patch to fix a game that shipped broken? Or when you can't buy any of the DLC that was a huge chunk of the experience?
Modern console games are just more disposable and temporary by nature.
PumpkinSpice
Banned
Uhh that's a picture of their "expensive game cabinet." The only thing I bought out of there was actually market price -- Puyo Puyo~n.
Most stuff in their store isn't in those cabinets. They're a bit more expensive than market but the stuff they have is always in really good condition.
lensoftruth
Member
PAL stuff doesn't seem to have moved much, shame really as I'm looking to offload all my PAL ones stuff.
entremet
Member
That's one of the things that irks me. I might just go digital with PS4/XB1 since there are PCs anyways, with patches galore.
Even Nintendo is doing patches now too.
terrisus
Member
I'm one of those horrible people who flattened out all of my boxes.
I did still have many of them, but they all got tossed out when my mother sold her house and moved in 2012.
Well, you're a horrible person for various reasons.
But ya, when you don't have a huge place to store things, you have to make decisions of what you keep/keep intact.
terrisus
Member
Well, you're a horrible person for various reasons.
>.>
:þ
Indeed. Hard enough making room for 1000+ games, no way would I have been able to make room for probably like 600 boxes and manuals too.
I passed up buying Earth Bound for $15 in 1997 at Best Buy on clearance. They had like 10 copies just sitting on the shelf, but all those new fangled CD system demos clouded my vision.
entremet
Member
I remember that. I saw Earthbound on clearance for 5 bucks lol. That game bombed to hell in the US. And people wonder why NOA has been reticent to localize Mother 3. At least we got a fan translation. A very good one.
I could have bought a Virtual Boy at Toys'R'Us for $25, but I was broke at the time.