Kane99 Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 Are you by any chance worried as a collector with the way retro game prices are rising? I've been wanting to start collecting physical games again, and want to start with retro games from the NES era all the way up to the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era. But I'm even seeing prices for PS3/360 games rising, as it seems to be entering that stage where people are trying to build their collections. Soon enough we'll be hearing about Xbox One and PS4 games rising in price. Are you at all worried that retro games are going to be less affordable? Or will we end up seeing a point where the prices will fall again and collectors can get back to collecting? I also blame the rise of prices to those sites and services like Wata that grade and appraise what retro games are worth, but when I see a mass produced game like Super Mario Bros 3 go for millions, it makes me worried about what other games they can inflate the price of. Sure there may be some games that are worth exactly what they appraise it for, but when one day you could unearth a ton of unopened copies at an old warehouse, that price is going to go down a lot. Sorry for rambling, but I am worried that retro gaming is going to become more unattainable in the future because people think a mass produced game should be worth a ton of money because it's still in the box or something. What do you guys think? Are prices rising too much? Will the drop down soon? Or will the gaming market only keep getting worse from here on out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blackangel Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 The game you're referring to that went for millions was a copy of SMB that was still sealed in the box and in perfect condition. It didn't have Duck Hunt with it. It was only SMB. It was an anomaly and will most likely never happen again. As for rising prices, they're not going up much. A NES game that was $20 could at most now cost $25. There's barely any rise in the prices of classic games. It may seem that way looking around if you have a number in your head, but there's no real inflation. Also you may have been seeing games that are CIB without realizing it. Either way, Contra was $30 then, and it's $30 now. Give or take a couple bucks that is. So I wouldn't worry. The prices aren't going much of anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenfreak Posted December 24, 2023 Share Posted December 24, 2023 I am worried as a retro game collector, it's ridiculous on how prices keep going up. Thankfully I held on to all my Pokemon games from childhood, these go for way too much nowadays and repro carts are unreliable in most cases. The pandemic really helped amp up the prices of old games, since most people were stuck at home they were getting into playing their old consoles again and went out and bought games, causing prices to go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality vs Adventure Posted December 24, 2023 Share Posted December 24, 2023 Wait, isn’t the point of collecting certain things the whole point that the value goes up?? Collecting something expecting the market to be affordable for all is completely redundant. Heatman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blackangel Posted December 25, 2023 Share Posted December 25, 2023 On 12/23/2023 at 7:16 PM, Reality vs Adventure said: Wait, isn’t the point of collecting certain things the whole point that the value goes up?? Collecting something expecting the market to be affordable for all is completely redundant. Yes, but in this case, people are panicking over something that simply isn't happening. No one is going to buy a loose copy of SMB3 for $100. That's idiotic. Nowadays you would be EXTREMELY lucky if you got $10 for it. And it was the most popular NES title ever. Collectors like being discussed here are the ones who want graded, perfect copies. The kind that you keep sealed, never open, and damn sure never play. Thus, they go to special auctions to buy them. Gamers like us however; we buy the game to play it, not to use it for our retirement. The panic has no basis in reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatman Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 On 12/24/2023 at 2:16 AM, Reality vs Adventure said: Wait, isn’t the point of collecting certain things the whole point that the value goes up?? Collecting something expecting the market to be affordable for all is completely redundant. Yeah, that's very correct. The whole point of everything that have to do with game's collection is for the value to increase. If the games stays years without having their value skyrocket, it's a complete waste of time, energy and effort. I don't even care so much because I'm not a collector.. Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGen98 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 As someone who WAS trying to complete my Saturn collection, but has had to stop because...I just can't afford it, yeah. I'm worried about the prices of games constantly rising. I am somewhat hopeful that the recent decline in the collector market popularity will indicate falling prices, at least somewhat, then I could snag some other games I'm looking for on other systems, but for the most part collecting as a whole is beyond me. Heatman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatman Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 7 hours ago, PGen98 said: As someone who WAS trying to complete my Saturn collection, but has had to stop because...I just can't afford it, yeah. I'm worried about the prices of games constantly rising. I am somewhat hopeful that the recent decline in the collector market popularity will indicate falling prices, at least somewhat, then I could snag some other games I'm looking for on other systems, but for the most part collecting as a whole is beyond me. With what's going on so far, it now seems that the assessment of some people who tag gaming and collecting as rich people's hobby as being true because with the persistent rise in price of such games, if you ain't that rich, there's no way you can keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
