Support NeoGAF

[entremet]

I'm kind of upset that my copy of Double Dragon is only worth $7 on Amazon. I guess I'll wait 20 years and see if it ever gets up to $200 dollars. Will this ever happen?

Double Dragon was a huge hit and printed tons of copies. The demand is also not high like a Contra 1. I was surprised how pricey Contra 1 got. It's not outrageous, but its around 30-40 bucks cart only. I remember they were super cheap.

Konami Silver NES games aren't cheap anymore.

 

[Mercutio]

Ironically I've found that Saturn prices are going down and Dreamcast prices are going up.

Also fuck the Cotton games. Most expensive game series ever.

Cotton 100% on SNES is actually really inexpensive. At least, the Japanese copies are. Mine was around $15 I think?

 

[Rydeen]

Cotton 100% on SNES is actually really inexpensive. At least, the Japanese copies are. Mine was around $15 I think?

Cotton 100% was only released for the Super Famicom, and yeah, it's the only Cotton game that's fairly cheap. Cheapest cart only on eBay right now is $25 with free shipping. I paid about that much for my copy three years ago, so the price has stayed pretty consistent with that one.

 

[CrazedProfessional]

I think there's a cotton game on Dreamcast that is 3D and looks kinda cool. The price is probably shit though.

 

[BlasterMaster]

Yeah...
>.>



I got the internet at home in 1996...
>.>

=)

I didn't have internet at home until 1999

I really do miss FuncoLand though. I used to love going in and trying out any game I wanted, and then taking their monthly price sheets home and plotting which game I could talk my parents into getting next. Someone earlier mentioned getting EVO from FuncoLand. I tried many times to get it there but my store never had it in stock

 

[terrisus]

I didn't have internet at home until 1999

I really do miss FuncoLand though. I used to love going in and trying out any game I wanted, and then taking their monthly price sheets home and plotting which game I could talk my parents into getting next. Someone earlier mentioned getting EVO from FuncoLand. I tried many times to get it there but my store never had it in stock

Yeah, I think it was like 1997 or 1998 where my mother let me order a bunch of stuff from funcoland.com for my birthday and Christmas (my birthday's December 12, so both within a couple of weeks of each other). Got like 30 NES and SNES games, a bunch of games I had been wanting to get for quite some time and just had never had a chance to get, for practically nothing. It was great.

 

[Azzurri]

Yeah, I think it was like 1997 or 1998 where my mother let me order a bunch of stuff from funcoland.com for my birthday and Christmas (my birthday's December 12, so both within a couple of weeks of each other). Got like 30 NES and SNES games, a bunch of games I had been wanting to get for quite some time and just had never had a chance to get, for practically nothing. It was great.

Funcoland was great, I remember having so much good stuff in there.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

I don't think my city ever had Funcoland...if we did, it was probably in the suburbs.

 

[terrisus]

Funcoland was great, I remember having so much good stuff in there.

I was literally like a kid in a candy store there.
It was amazing.

I don't think my city ever had Funcoland...if we did, it was probably in the suburbs.

We never had one in our town, but there were a couple around (20 minute drive or so), that I would go to when I could.

Plus their online site.

 

[Zing]

I'm not arguing that without the internet there would be no collector's market. I'm just saying that without the internet, the prices would be much lower, like it was 5 or 10 years ago, and they would have risen MUCH slower.

The internet, or better, the quick access to all kinds of videos (playthroughs, reviews), information, retro-gaming blogs, people sharing their excitement for certain retro games you otherwise might not even have heared about, the advent of global auction platforms like EBAY, caused the creation of new - as well as - skyrocketed existing demand.

The internet and EBay also provide a huge supply of games that would otherwise sit collecting dust, or worse.

 

[Deleted member 74300]

You have EVO? You lucky bastard. Even the Japanese version of that game is crazy expensive.

I wish I had Megaman 7 or X 3 over that game. Really annoying to have missing numbers in numbered game series.

 

[CaseyTappy]

Cotton 100% was only released for the Super Famicom, and yeah, it's the only Cotton game that's fairly cheap. Cheapest cart only on eBay right now is $25 with free shipping. I paid about that much for my copy three years ago, so the price has stayed pretty consistent with that one.

Cotton 100% was also released for Playstation .

 

[Stimpack]

The people who grew up with these games are now old enough to buy them, and so the prices will go up. Right? Also lack of supply and all that.

Also, yeah, I don't have any solid statistics to point to or anything, but it seems like electronic video games have increased dramatically in popularity since I was a kid.

 

[Khaz]

So in 50 years when people realise the futility of it all, prices will go down, right? right?

 

[Stimpack]

So in 50 years when people realise the futility of it all, prices will go down, right? right?

Video games = art

 

[system11]

So in 50 years when people realise the futility of it all, prices will go down, right? right?

There will just be even more hipsters getting interested in retro gaming

Whether or not anyone will still have anything that can display the picture - another question entirely.

 

[Naked Snake]

I wish I can afford retro collecting. It's my dream to one day be able to buy all the retro games I crave, create some sort of video game museum in my home.

The oldest games I currently own are N64.

 

[Petrae]

The people who grew up with these games are now old enough to buy them, and so the prices will go up. Right? Also lack of supply and all that.

Also, yeah, I don't have any solid statistics to point to or anything, but it seems like electronic video games have increased dramatically in popularity since I was a kid.

I firmly believe that demand continues to increase, for a variety of potential reasons including (but not limited to):

-- Nostalgia for consumers who grew up with these games & would like to play them again
-- Increase in consumers due to retro popularity which has been fueled by web series such as AVGN, The Game Chasers, Pat the NES Punk, and more
-- Some consumers who have rejected Gen8 consoles turning to older consoles for gaming

As more people buy and collect older games and systems-- especially those with significant nostalgic value (Mario games, Mega Man games, Contra, et al) or those limited in availability-- prices inflate as a result of higher demand. More people want these games, their perceived values increase, and we all pay a bit more.

Demand is only part of the equation. People selling these games are understanding what they're selling a bit more. eBay and Amazon pricing is used. Games are being priced individually more often than being placed in lots. Even thrift stores are learning that retro games are a hot commodity, and the more obvious donations are being priced higher.

Finally, I do after that video games are more popular now than ever before. They're certainly a more recognizable part of culture for wider audiences than they were in the 8/16-bit eras. That can swell the pool of potential retro buyers.

EDIT:

I wish I can afford retro collecting. It's my dream to one day be able to buy all the retro games I crave, create some sort of video game museum in my home.

The oldest games I currently own are N64.

The good news is that it's not ridiculously expensive to build a retro library, especially once you get past buying the hardware. There are still plenty of common titles out there which sell for less than $10 apiece, and many of these run for <= $5. It's the "big ones" that you have to budget for or get lucky in finding at thrifts or flea markets; JRPGs, Mario games, flagship NES games, etc.

It takes a bit more patience to collect without overpaying these days, but it can be done. Deciding to not care about complete games and being happy with disc/cart only has saved me a fortune in the 2+ years I've been building my library.

And I'm sure that the GAF Retro Collective here can offer even more tips, if you're looking to start a collection.

 

[terrisus]

I wish I can afford retro collecting. It's my dream to one day be able to buy all the retro games I crave, create some sort of video game museum in my home.

The oldest games I currently own are N64.

If you can afford buying new games, you can afford to buy older games.
The vast majority of them are significantly cheaper than a new game.

 

[Northeastmonk]

The guys on YouTube are probably making it harder to start. There's nothing wrong with that, but on a large scale most major city game stores end up being picked over. The retro stores here in town just gouge the prices and for what they understand about retro gaming it's a nightmare finding a good deal. I don't even bother going in because I know 9 times out of 10 they only have common games.

I'd love to have more unique items. I've recently bought a few from people who went to an event like a launch with the developers, but it's not the same as actually being there or finding something amazing in a pile of games. The collectors are going to sell what they find for more than their actual worth.

 

[Naked Snake]

If you can afford buying new games, you can afford to buy older games.
The vast majority of them are significantly cheaper than a new game.

I can't afford to buy new games (jobless), haven't bought a retail game in more than 2 years (I did receive a 3DS XL and 5 games as a gift though), and I make exceptions for certain digital download games that cost less than $7, of which I bought only a handful in the same period.

My interest in playing games is at an all time low.

Also where I live there is no way to buy retro games period. Nobody seems to sell them online and we don't have Craigslist or the garage sale culture. So buying any retro games for me means adding international shipping costs on top.

 

[Timu]

I think there's a cotton game on Dreamcast that is 3D and looks kinda cool. The price is probably shit though.

Tends to be in the 50-70 bucks range from what I've discovered. Brand new is a lot more though.

 

[terrisus]

I can't afford to buy new games (jobless), haven't bought a retail game in more than 2 years (I did receive a 3DS XL and 5 games as a gift though)

Fair enough


But,

I make exceptions for certain digital download games that cost less than $7, of which I bought only a handful in the same period.

My interest in playing games is at an all time low.

Also where I live there is no way to buy retro games period. Nobody seems to sell them online and we don't have Craigslist or the garage sale culture.

You can get many games for under $7 shipped through eBay.

So buying any retro games for me means adding international shipping costs on top.

Not as sure about international shipping though.

 

[JPS Kai]

A friend gave me a copy of Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (cart only) to sell for him. Do people really pay the prices I'm seeing on Amazon?

 

[terrisus]

A friend gave me a copy of Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (cart only) to sell for him. Do people really pay the prices I'm seeing on Amazon?

Check eBay sold auctions to get an idea about prices.

Around $100 is about the typical amount.

 

[Evenball]

Patience is key to getting great deals on older games. I've mainly been working on my Gamecube collection slowly but surely the last year and I have around 120 games for the system so far. While I look for those, I sometimes come across games for earlier systems which vary widely in price. Just this summer I've picked up Contra 3 for $12, Super Metroid for $7 from Thrift Stores and a Zelda Game and Watch for $3 at a swap meet.

It's important to look for items you can trade towards other games you want as well. It's extremely unusual to find $100+ games for cheap, but I tend to get lucky while shopping and find games that go for $30 for around $2-$5. Collect a few games like that and go to a game store and see if they'll trade those in toward a more expensive game you actually want. I'm currently building up a collection of doubles so I can trade toward the more expensive GCN games like Gotcha Force and Cubivore when I go to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo this year (I don't like trading over the internet). This is one of my for trade boxes:



Also look for sealed games out there. I find a sealed game every 1 to 2 weeks in thrift stores and Half Price Books and they are often priced the same or in some cases lower than opened copies for some reason, but you can trade them in for an open copy of the game + other games as well.

 

[MoxManiac]

The retro craze has been spilling over into arcade stuff too. Some arcade boards are crazy now.

**hugs SFA3 board**

 

[i-Jest]

I wish I can afford retro collecting. It's my dream to one day be able to buy all the retro games I crave, create some sort of video game museum in my home.

The oldest games I currently own are N64.

It's not so expensive unless your looking for complete copies of games I find. If you've got the hardware then that's already a major step forward.

 

[sixteen-bit]

The retro craze has been spilling over into arcade stuff too. Some arcade boards are crazy now.

**hugs SFA3 board**

what board would you say has exploded in value most in recent years?

 

[Timu]

If you can afford buying new games, you can afford to buy older games.
The vast majority of them are significantly cheaper than a new game.

Used wise that's true.

 

[Azzurri]

I went to some flea markets saturday and there was crap, not many garage sales since it's at the end of the season.

If you're looking for harder to find system and games like turbografx it's much harder to find then Nintendo and sega stuff, sigh.

 

[Timu]

The retro craze has been spilling over into arcade stuff too. Some arcade boards are crazy now.

**hugs SFA3 board**

And nearly impossible to find.

I went to some flea markets saturday and there was crap, not many garage sales since it's at the end of the season.

If you're looking for harder to find system and games like turbografx it's much harder to find then Nintendo and sega stuff, sigh.

Yep, that's pretty much online only for that system.

 

[Rydeen]

You know what system has games for dirt cheap? Game Gear.

Nobody wants to touch the ever-finicky and often-failing screens of the system, so games remain dirt cheap. Probably also helps that because Game Gear games are rarely ported to anything, nobody discovers the system's hidden gems so prices stay low.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I sold off all of my GG stuff a couple months ago because the system would no longer power on. Didn't have much of note for it that wasn't also available on the Master System.

I've thought about hunting down half a dozen or so exclusives that I had my eye on at one point and getting a system with a TV out board installed on it:
http://etim.net.au/ggtv/ggtv.htm

 

[entremet]

The retro craze has been spilling over into arcade stuff too. Some arcade boards are crazy now.

**hugs SFA3 board**

That sucks. I wanted to get into JAMMA board collecting. CPS2 sounds tempting know that you said there was a fix for the kill switch.

 

[Hero]

I have a mint copy of Gotcha Force I picked up for like 15 bucks from GameCrazy years ago. That is a crazy selling price on eBay.

 

[chiimisu]

Man, NA Magic Knight Rayearth prices are insane. I think I've seen complete Panzer Dragoon Saga copies for less :0

 

[djtiesto]

Man, NA Magic Knight Rayearth prices are insane. I think I've seen complete Panzer Dragoon Saga copies for less :0

There were 3 different disc arts for the game, I do know one of them was much rarer so that version commands a much higher price. I own an NA copy but I don't think it's the rare disc. Pretty decent Zelda-ish game, though a little easy.

 

[enewtabie]

Prices for Gamecube are high. I've been working on my collection. I'm down to 8 NES games left to sell. I had about 50-60 and been selling on ebay. When I started looking about how little I would actually play, it only made sense.

 

[graffix13]

A friend gave me a copy of Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (cart only) to sell for him. Do people really pay the prices I'm seeing on Amazon?

Yes the price on this is insane. It is pretty rare. I've been holding off on paying that much for a copy but I'll crack at some point (along with my wallet).

I have 1 and 2 for NES and I have the 3rd one for Famicom. But I need the SNES version, even though I've heard the ports are bad.

 

[system11]

That sucks. I wanted to get into JAMMA board collecting. CPS2 sounds tempting know that you said there was a fix for the kill switch.

I hope you have very fucking deep pockets.

CPS2 games can be kept alive by replacing the battery every 4-5 years. You can also burn new ROM code to eliminate the battery entirely but that hurts the value of the game.

To the guy asking which one has gone up most in recent years - it's generally modern shooters, but specifically Toaplan, Raizing and Cave titles. I bought a Mushihimesama Futari BL kit when they came out at the distributor price of $2k. Just a few days ago a friend of mine who does proxy buying in Japan paid that much for a used kit, it's only 5 years old and the price has bounced back that far already. It's an extreme example but I don't see things improving. In Japan some other makes are also eye watering now, particulaly Nichibutsu titles.

Arcade kit artwork has more than quadrupled just in the past couple of years. I've seen a sticker go for $300. A few weeks back Thunder Dragon 2 art+manual sold for over $400, which is more than the game board costs. As recently as last year you could find that bundled for free sometimes.

Europe is driving the large part of the overall price escalation, coupled with aggressive resellers (don't buy from arcadetower on ebay, his profit margin is frequently well past 100%).

 

[Exr]

The insane spike of SNES game prices has shocked me. I don't have much nostalgia for the system personally but the rise of LPers has floored me with the relation to game prices. When will these prices normalize to what they were a few years ago? Is it even possible at this rate?

 

[Khaz]

Europe is driving the large part of the overall price escalation, coupled with aggressive resellers (don't buy from arcadetower on ebay, his profit margin is frequently well past 100%).

The Dollar has been weak for quite some time now, what you think is expensive is bloody cheap for us. With the new European regulations driving the Euro down, we'll have to pay more to import stuff so we may be more careful with prices. This year was good for importations.

I don't get people trying to collect arcade boards though. Home video games were printed in hundreds of thousands copies, but arcade boards were more likely in the thousands. There were expensive then, they are expensive now. It's professional hardware made for people running a business. And you need the hardware to use them, either one cabinet per board or the will to switch the board every time you want to play a game. I suspect many collectors don't ever play their games.

Imho Arcade boards should belong to video game museums where everybody can enjoy them, not in the hands of private collectors.

 

[sixteen-bit]

The insane spike of SNES game prices has shocked me. I don't have much nostalgia for the system personally but the rise of LPers has floored me with the relation to game prices. When will these prices normalize to what they were a few years ago? Is it even possible at this rate?

No, it is not possible.

 

[hipgnosis]

So what do you guys think, will later generation games rise to the price levels of SNES games? Stuff like N64, PS1, Saturn, Dreamcast etc.

 

[Khaz]

Saturn is already there. The PS1 was such a massive onslaught there are copies of popular games everywhere so it tends to keep the prices not too high. But people keep trying to milk nostalgia games like FF7, which is way too expensive for something that should be a 5€$ game given how everyone has a copy in their attic.

The next rising in prices we should notice is the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube. According to some people it has already started for the Gamecube and the Xbox, where some of the forum favourites like Phantom Dust have seen an increase in price recently (I think it was recently featured / appeared on the xbox live / had a sequel announced?). PS2, like the PS1 should have more inertia but I'd suggest people get on it before it's too late.

 

[Petrae]

So what do you guys think, will later generation games rise to the price levels of SNES games? Stuff like N64, PS1, Saturn, Dreamcast etc.

I think so, sure. Disc-based games will start to creep up in value as fewer and fewer remain in circulation due to various issues (disc rot, scratches, cracks, etc). Saturn & Dreamcast games should see the rises first, followed by PlayStation.

N64 games are a different beast. Consoles are still in plentiful supply and the carts have held up well since 1996-2001. The usual suspects (Conker, Ogre Battle, Mario titles, etc) will likely remain in high demand and command higher prices, but more common/less popular titles likely stay very affordable for the foreseeable future.

EDIT:

The next rising in prices we should notice is the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube. According to some people it has already started for the Gamecube and the Xbox, where some of the forum favourites like Phantom Dust have seen an increase in price recently (I think it was recently featured / appeared on the xbox live / had a sequel announced?). PS2, like the PS1 should have more inertia but I'd suggest people get on it before it's too late.

PS2 pricing isn't going up anytime soon. It's still very much a buyer's market; sellers are saturated with unwanted PS2 games and few really want them at present. Perhaps, in another year or two, we finally start seeing prices creep upwards... but I think it'll be a very slow process.

Gamecube is heading higher, though. Now that GameStop has pretty much sold out its supply of software, it's not as easy to find. It should be a steady rise for most genres.

 

[system11]

The Dollar has been weak for quite some time now, what you think is expensive is bloody cheap for us. With the new European regulations driving the Euro down, we'll have to pay more to import stuff so we may be more careful with prices. This year was good for importations.

Doubt it will make much difference - most of my sales - France. Highest prices from sellers? France. Largest EU arcade/shooter gathering? France again (Stunfest). France and Italy seem to be the two markets generating most of the imports and due to the way import taxes actually work in the EU, it hikes the value of anything coming here by 20% straight off the bat. Some US sellers now refuse to sell to us in the EU on principle to 'keep things in the US'.

I don't get people trying to collect arcade boards though. Home video games were printed in hundreds of thousands copies, but arcade boards were more likely in the thousands. There were expensive then, they are expensive now. It's professional hardware made for people running a business. And you need the hardware to use them, either one cabinet per board or the will to switch the board every time you want to play a game. I suspect many collectors don't ever play their games.

Imho Arcade boards should belong to video game museums where everybody can enjoy them, not in the hands of private collectors.

The collectors are the museums. Nobody else cares outside of classic cab people and from memory one place in the Netherlands. People playing the games kills the games over time, simply the reality of old electronics - if you care about preservation the last people you want to look to are the players. That's why MAME is so important, it preserves the games in an eternally playable state.

 

[Kainazzo]

I'm finally starting to cash out on a lot of my rarer games. I had a phase several years ago where I just had to have a game because it was rare, but I can't do that anymore. In the beginning I simply took them to a local retro store, but I should've used eBay. I traded:

Misadventures of Tron Bonne, Shantae, Xenoblade, Oracle of Seasons + Ages, Metroid Prime Trilogy, and Popful Mail. Do you know what I got for all of that?

$206, but I'll add that the face on the sales rep was priceless. Nonetheless, I got ripped.

eBay's going much better. I've heard people say that you'll regret selling, but it's been a huge load off. Plus, a lot of those rare games I didn't actually enjoy playing. Once I started asking myself which games I regularly dug out and enjoyed, selling got a whole lot easier.

 

[SirUltimos]

Man, NA Magic Knight Rayearth prices are insane. I think I've seen complete Panzer Dragoon Saga copies for less :0

I actually had a chance to buy a complete copy last week for $100. I turned it down though because I don't feel comfortable spending that much money at the moment, especially with a retro game swap a week away.