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[Celcius]

It's currently 2023 and time feels like it's flying by so fast:

The Nintendo Entertainment System came out September 27, 1986. That was 37 years ago.
The original PlayStation came out December 3, 1994. It's 29 years old and next year is the 30th anniversary.
The Sega Dreamcast came out September 9, 1999 in the USA. That's 24 years ago and next year is the 25th anniversary.

As time goes on it's likely only going to get harder to find these systems as they'll likely eventually stop working and get thrown away, get misplaced/destroyed, etc...
20 years from now it will be 2043... The NES will be 57 years old, the PlayStation 49 years old, and the Dreamcast 44 years old. Do you think nostalgic collectors in the future will want these old systems and pay a significant amount of money to track them down? Do you think they produced so many of them that they'll never actually be rare or more sought after? Or will people simply not care and only want the latest & greatest?

What are your thoughts about the future of classic videogame consoles, NeoGaf?

 

[Kuranghi]

I believe so, I've hermetically sealed an Xbox Series S for this very reason.

Being serious: I think there will be perfect FPGA-style clones of these things stuck inside boxes meant to look like the old thing, like the mini consoles of now, but people will always want original hardware I think.

Nostalgia is ultra powerful.

 

[Quantum253]

the future old-timers will determine whether there's a market for older consoles. A glimpse into this future could be the value of the Atari, Commodore 64, Odyseey, etc. If someone finds value in the system, they will pay for it. I don't think today's kids will care in 20 years. I do see rare or limited-run consoles going for a higher price. But as you said, capacitors/circuits/etc will all start breaking down, and functioning systems will become rare. But I don't see many people desperately trying to find '70s systems.

 

[reinking]

Coming from someone who has a closet full of older consoles and games, I used to think that there would be a market but with emulation and remakes I doubt it will ever be that big. There will be those outlier collector sales but damned if I would invest much into it. My grand kid will probably have better ways to make money than selling Papa's old Dreamcast.

 

[nial]

The Nintendo Entertainment System came out September 27, 1986. That was 37 years ago.

That's the European release. It came out in Japan three years earlier.
Also, why the US date for the Dreamcast? It would be better to point out the Japanese date since it actually turned 25 years just yesterday.

 

[Celcius]

That's the European release. It came out in Japan three years earlier.
Also, why the US date for the Dreamcast? It would be better to point out the Japanese date since it actually turned 25 years just yesterday.

I just randomly googled the dates. I was just trying to make the point that they're getting old lol.

 

[rkofan87]

no

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Yeah, I think so. If you're talking millions of dollars or something - I don't think so. I do think they will retain some value and even appreciate to some extent over time.

 

[F31 Leopard]

For brand new unopened consoles yes. Just look up how much unopened PS2, PS3, Xbox OG, 360, GC, Wii and Wii U are going for right now. They're really expensive.

 

[MasterDerico]

Yes sure, if well preserved!

 

[simpatico]

How much are you talking? Stuff like used PS2 and Gamecube already sell for more now than they did in the PS3 generation. You'll spend over $100 to get a working SNES. To me this has already gone up. You could get this stuff in the 00s for 70% less than it sells for now. If you means thousands of dollars? I doubt it. At least not anytime soon.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Depends if there'll also clone systems that can emulate them well enough with all kinds of benefits over the original hardware.

I can't see myself preferring to play on an OG SNES when I have a Super NT.

 

[March Climber]

Coming from someone who has a closet full of older consoles and games, I used to think that there would be a market but with emulation and remakes I doubt it will ever be that big.

Since I don’t keep up with the news I figured I’d ask…

What’s the current state of PS3/360 emulation and what percent of games are actually fully playable?

 

[Sleepwalker]

Since I don’t keep up with the news I figured I’d ask…

What’s the current state of PS3/360 emulation and what percent of games are actually fully playable?

This was PS3 as of a year ago

Playable (67.98%): Games that can be completed with playable performance and no game breaking glitches

Ingame (28.59%): Games that either can't be finished, have serious glitches or have insufficient performance

Intro (3.42%): Games that display image but don't make it past the menus

Loadable (0%): Games that display a black screen with a framerate on the window's title

Nothing (0%): Games that don't initialize properly, not loading at all and/or crashing the emulator


360 should be better

 

[poppabk]

For brand new unopened consoles yes. Just look up how much unopened PS2, PS3, Xbox OG, 360, GC, Wii and Wii U are going for right now. They're really expensive.

Basically this. Sealed consoles that have been kept in climate controlled conditions will likely be worth something as collectors items.

 

[reinking]

Since I don’t keep up with the news I figured I’d ask…

What’s the current state of PS3/360 emulation and what percent of games are actually fully playable?

I don't really keep up with it much myself other than a bit of emulation for older systems on an old phone I use as a retro handheld.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

turbo nerds like me will want excellent condition, unmodified, original hardware.
both for historical reasons (preservation, history porn, etc.) and just to personally experience it, touch it.

same reason old cars in excellent original condition tend to go for way more money than modified cars.

though overall, emulation will lessen market demand.
and today's kids probably wont care about the NES as much as we do... but by that time, there'll probably be so few good examples, prices will be high regardless.

 

[Kings Field]

As some one who collects retro games, mainly Famicom disk, famicom, Super Famicom, and PS1/PS2 releases, the bubble has popped at the moment for retro games when it comes to the US counterparts. Prices were inflated due to fuckery from WATA mixed with some nostalgia and scarcity.

I mainly collect imports for two reasons.

1. It’s cool to have the game from the origin and how it was originally designed.

2. The prices are way cheaper. I got a CIB Japanese import copy of Chrono Trigger for $45 compared to the US release which can reach $1,000 if CIB.

To answer your question, I think consoles that are complete with box, manual, etc will be sought after in the future in the West, but price wise it will be interesting to see what happens.

 

[Quantum253]

Thought about it on my commute. For fighting games, the NeoGeo is a highly regarded system that sells still at premium prices. Other than that the mythical Playstation/Nintendo console that went in auction for 400k or so. But realistically, a system like that is one of a kind

 

[Futaleufu]

Does your children play with your grandfather's toys?
Does your children enjoy your father's/grandfather's Elvis memorabilia?

 

[old-parts]

Yes they will be hard to get.

All hardware fails eventually and as parts are no longer being made this leads to the cannibalizing of machines to maintain working hardware.

For example computer hardware from 70/80s now command a very high price due to their rarity, this includes plenty of mass manufactured stuff that disappears through the passage of time.

2000's era consoles will be no different as the years roll by, real fully working hardware will be expensive to obtain.

 

[Drew1440]

Basically this. Sealed consoles that have been kept in climate controlled conditions will likely be worth something as collectors items.

In the case of the 360 onwards, consoles with old or factory firmware will be worth a lot more. Blades dashboard Xbox 360 already sells for quite a bit

 

[FastOrc]

I have a Sega multi mega CD , called the sega CDX in the usa.

Found it in a skip mint box, console sealed in original packaging and all CD games still with plastic wrappings. i did take it out quick to test..
Think its worth a few quid.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

No sorry

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

I have a large(ish) collection going back to the Magnavox Odyssey though today and I track my collection. I have lost ~15% value over the last two years.

Covid/Pandemic gave retro hardware a HUGE boost in value but that boost is now gone. Outside of a folks who want to collect old hardware (and those folks want it as pristine as possible), and folks who want to own "games from their childhood" I don't see a huge market today.

I could (and hope) I am very wrong, but how many people want records, 8track, and VHS tapes today? There are just better alternatives to those products, same thing will/has happened to gaming imo.

 

[Success]

Yes, of course, they will become more valuable.

Anybody who has been in the game for a good length of time will be able to tell you the price cycle.

First, it is RRP, then it is discounted in sale, then it becomes bottom tier once the new console comes out, then it is super discounted bottom tier, then it reaches the initial discounted sale price, then it will reach bigger than initial RRP.

 

[Games of Today]

It's possible that from now on the consoles may hold some more significant value.

One could argue that anything 60fps + will be playable to any generation for the extended period the planets existence.

The fact that is could be 2100 and someone could boot up a PS5 and get 60fps and at least 1080p + is crazy to think about.

But will people really want to boot up a PS3 and play in sub 30fps? Sure? But I don't think it'll be as common as it currently is now of course.

 

[Rayderism]

I always figured old hardware becomes more worthless once the ability to emulate them matures. Still, there are always people out there who will pay big bucks for something like.....for example....a full PS1/2 hardware BC PS3. Or C64/Amiga hardware. You just have to find those people.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

The stuff is valuable now, and will be more valuable for maybe a couple years, but eventually it will die off hard I think. It is only so expensive now because the people who grew up with the NES/SNES/PSX etc are either in their peak or reaching their peak earning years and have a ton of disposable income to throw at this stuff if they desire. Once that market is saturated though, I don't see a second wave. The kids behind us grew up playing Fortnite and Minecraft and don't give a shit about anything physical. And anything 360/PS3 and beyond was already designed for HD panels, so there is zero benefit for playing on actual hardware.

 

[Happosai]

It's currently 2023 and time feels like it's flying by so fast:

The Nintendo Entertainment System came out September 27, 1986. That was 37 years ago.
The original PlayStation came out December 3, 1994. It's 29 years old and next year is the 30th anniversary.
The Sega Dreamcast came out September 9, 1999 in the USA. That's 24 years ago and next year is the 25th anniversary.

As time goes on it's likely only going to get harder to find these systems as they'll likely eventually stop working and get thrown away, get misplaced/destroyed, etc...
20 years from now it will be 2043... The NES will be 57 years old, the PlayStation 49 years old, and the Dreamcast 44 years old. Do you think nostalgic collectors in the future will want these old systems and pay a significant amount of money to track them down? Do you think they produced so many of them that they'll never actually be rare or more sought after? Or will people simply not care and only want the latest & greatest?

What are your thoughts about the future of classic videogame consoles, NeoGaf?

Up to a certain generation who (like Z) that never much played 2nd - 5th gen consoles, highly unlikely they'll be collectors or care if everything is forgotten. But Gen Z is a waste of space anyway. Now to the older folks: they'll continue collecting probably well into their 70's...who knows and try passing these on down to younger gens.

To keep these operational nowadays is much better solvable now too. Nearly everything in an NES, PS1, DC etc is fixable with basic electric engineering attention.
By the way, I used to be one of those retro console collectors and not sure how it's looking elsewhere but some of them have gotten stupid expensive. Here's what I paid then vs. what they're being priced for now:

Sega Saturn (bought in 2011/12) two for $60 each. Current price is around $110 - $150 depending.
Dreamcast original grey (bought in 2010) for $30. Current price $175 - $250 or more.
NES (bought about 6 and refurbished 2 in 2009) $15 each. Current price $75 - $100 or more.
Sega Nomad (bought on with the box in 2013) for $120. Currently that same boxed Nomad sells some places for over $450.
N64 (bought a 2nd as I still had my original from 96 in 2012) for $40. Current price is about $240 or more.

PS1 has remained pretty low. It was about $12 - $25 10-years ago and still pretty much is if you're talking the original brick model. My point is you used 'future' in OP. Well, look those numbers up. This is right now and in just 10-years those consoles flew through the roof. Didn't mention the Sega MegaDrive but they ran for about $15 a piece 10-years back. I believe I saw one at my old game store going for $80 the other day.

This is marketing but some people see the higher prices, age and nostalgia and will put the money behind these too.

 

[TheDreadLord]

I think it will hold value but it will mostly be a niche market. You might have something valued pretty high but not many people actually interested in investing that money. Almost like having a big ass house in a decaying neighborhood.