The State of Retro Game Collecting -
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- What is the state of retro video game collecting today?
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I wish I could have conversations like this every day.
The "illegal" term refers to the price manipulation, attempted cornering of markets, hoarding of goods, etc... practices that are illegal in most commodities markets.
I started retro gaming by default. It just happened that in 2003, when I was 2 my mum would let me play on a Genesis. Ever since then I loved retro gaming!
Cartridge-based games are just about impossible to "wear out." NES games will outlive most of us. CD-based media on the other hand is a different story. That will all fail at some point due to age so speculators won't affect that either.
Thanks for making this playlist, Pat. Always appreciate your podcast making a night at work better than it would be without it.
We are awaiting approval from Apple for the podcast. Hopefully within the week!
You guys are spot on about this. I try to play every game I get, but I get so dang busy. You guys are right on about the resellers. I resell my duplicates I pick up in lots so I can go out and get my more games. I hook up my friends who collect, and when I sell games, my stuff is always below the lowest price. I've ran into resellers who brag about ripping off old ladies. Makes me sick.
Ian actually did not speak out much about reselling games, more about those that get into it with zero knowledge/solely into it for profiteering, price manipulation, etc.
Just because I participated in a roast for my friend doesn't mean I have any idea what sort of games the convention sells or how they do business.
I remember when I was down in San Antonio and saw a Master System. It was in good shape and came with a game. They wanted 100 for it. Offered 50 and got laughed at. 3 months later got a SMS deluxe set (3D+Phaser) for about 70 after shipping and 8 games. I play it all the time, and it makes me sad when I see prices jacked up like they are. I see tons of game from my childhood out of reach due to gouging, and even though I have some rare pieces, wish the price would plummet so I can have my hobby.
I don't see the point in buying sealed versions of games, i buy games to play them not to put them on a shelf and stare at them.
Also, how do you know if the seller didn't just seal the game in plastic themselves?
Ian is the manager, not the owner.
This sums up everything in a nutshell. Well done
I don't play games anymore, but for some reason I am in a TH-cam and podcast hole listening to them. I enjoy their perspectives I guess. does bring back memories of when I was a kid in the NES and SNES era.
I remember watching this video back In highschool... how collectings changed
I'm a collector, but i only buy games i want to play at some point.
This is my point- there are collectors and there are investors, then you have casual gamers. It's not true to say collectors are not gamers.
I'm the same way, what's the point of buying a sealed box? It sits on my shelf and I look at it. So much enjoyment, just staring at my box. No, I'm playing it if I'm buying it. I don't mind loose games. I can go out and buy cases on Amazon to stick them in, print out box cover, slip it in and I'm golden. Case keeps the dust out, the art is there and I can pop it open and play it any time I want.
@@TrackerRoo the only reason i can see people buying retro games new is because they either plan on selling them in the future for profit or for preserving game history
Really glad you covered this topic. Around here its all anyone talks about anymore is how prices are getting out of control. Its pretty frustrating to have a 60 year old dude buy up the good stuff right in front of you and then have no idea what the games about, but he knows its going for $30-$40 on Ebay. I really hate the scanner feature on smart phones.
Are you being honest with people? Are you not trying to control supply and demand? Do you know about the games you sell and help people with their decision? Do you not pretend to know more than others just to appear as a "selling authority"? Are you fair in your pricing and do not try and gouge? Do you have integrity in how you conduct your business? If you answered "yes" to those questions, then you're OK in my book. :)
Don't forget the aspect of people who buy stuff for collecting purposes, not to play or resell, but just hold on to them. As said in this vid, these games are a finite resource
and this practice makes it more dificullt for others the get a hold of these games and enjoy them.
Wow, great conversation...some fascinating points.
Atlantic Oskar shelves.
I actually have no idea who that is.
These podcasts are really great, keep doing this
They listened!
I gotta say just one more thing. I just randomly started retro collecting back at the end of high school in 2002-2003. My best find was mega man X3 for 15 bucks at an Oklahoma city flea market. I stopped, came back this past year for some unknown reason and BAM!!! Prices are crazy. It's just in inspiration all these people my age who talk about games and make vids. Good luck to you all out there...
Another comment about Demon's Crest: when I bought it, it was going for around $50 on eBay. Less than a year later, it's going for $80 and I've NEVER seen so many Buy-it-Nows for the game before $80+ of course. It's unreal. At least 5-10 times as many listings.
Can you just imagine all those resellers that stopped watching at 21:00 because Pat swore at them? Good, passionate topic.
I wish it NEVER got popular. I've been collecting for years. Now thats its popular the prices have tripled now.
"there's no way kid klown is a $40 game"
I mean, technically you're still right
Been a casual collector of game cartridges forever (80's kid, been buying, selling, and trading all my life), and I love this video. Great insight from people who are deep into it. You say in here that they don't reprint these things, and that unlike records there won't be reprints to ease pricing, but nowadays, there actually have been! I have seen reproductions popping up lately of some of the more expensive games, and it is interesting to me that the reproductions are actually harped on by collectors. The price of authentic games may have actually gone up because of this. Little Samson at over $1k, Earthbound costs hundreds, with guides online on how to tell if your copy is "real" or "fake" - the childish state of the hobby is quite irritating to me! I am perfectly happy with a reproduction, so it's whatever to me. Just... interesting that an increase in supply didn't affect the dirty reseller market, and they may have worked to undermine the repro market as well as add false value to the authentics.
like how two retro gamers got together and really made something for you're selves it's a great story two nice guys I'm a Sega mega drive kid.
A complicated debate for sure, I enjoyed the video however if you think you have it bad live in EUROPE guys! Nintendo stuff from the NES and SNES era makes American prices look like pocket money because during that period Nintendo were a nothing company in this region and print runs were tiny, PAL collecting is really hard for anything Nintendo with the exception of DS onwards.
I'm finding it makes sense to prepare for the next wave by picking up PSP DS GBA etc because the 8-bit and 16-bit era stuff is out of control, re-sellers in this region are killing this hobby with their car-boot weekend finds turning into huge profits on Ebay. Some of these people who are for some strange reason paraded as heroes of the scene have ebay feedback ratings in the thousands, with a collection as large as mine I have NEVER sold on ebay any spares etc so i absolutely refute the claim of selling spares to continue a personal collection, swapping and trading with friends gets the job done just as well without adding the artificial raising of prices, hipster brigades who rock up for the attention are also not helping but over time they will pass on I hope.
Speaking to people like the NES club in America/Canada I realise it's a different scene entirely and honestly North America rocks regarding people actually giving back to the scene and creating a community, hands down Americans and Canadians can teach the world a thing or two about how to act responsibly regarding collecting. A website that i co-run about the playing and history of games and consoles has had nothing but fantastic experiences with people from the land of the free, only the indie game making scene in Europe keeps my faith in people who call themselves retro gamers anymore.
Sorry this was so long but a debate so in depth both intrigues me and forces me to say my piece in full, hope it didn't offend anyone apart from those who know who they are and can suck it!
It's not THAT bad here in the Netherlands but Kirby games are so god damn rare I don't even understand it...
I just recently found this podcast not sure how long its been going on. But I really enjoy it. Keep up the great work!
The local retro store that I go to is selling Moonwalker for 85 bucks. I asked why and they said it was because it was really rare. They had 15 copies of it on the shelf.
I work in a private owned retro store and prices are the biggest pain in the arse. I am with them on hating the way people control the market on ebay. You'll see games that are listed as rare and at ridiculous prices just because that seller couldn't find another current listing; then another seller comes along and just sees that price and immediately thinks they are sitting on a gold mine and approx price match and it goes and goes. I'd love to be able to go from auction prices too, but now people are asking for more and more money when selling because they could just go sit on it on ebay, and I have to take it otherwise we'd struggle to get in stock. Its very frustrating. It's only getting worse.
A Trading Places reference. Love it!
Just to be clear, the dude who is a general manager of a retro game store call out "people who specifically buy with the intent to monetize"? Isn't that like... EXACTLY what he does at his store? lol...
makes sense.
I don't think you actually were hearing his words. He doesn't LIKE having to sell games for the prices that they are. He and Pat agree that there are games that aren't WORTH the price they are valued at because they're shit games but because they're 'rare' the prices go up. Ian even stated he tries to find middle grounds to ensure their prices at the store are competitive to make it easier on their customers.
You also need to realize there's a bit of a difference between an actual store where people live and breath the hobby and the jackasses on ebay or swap meets who have no love/knowledge of the hobby and are purely out there for profit at the expense of the people who ARE members of the hobby. I've no doubt Ian would work with a customer who wants a pricey game/system because they actually want to PLAY it. The other guys wouldn't lower the price even if it meant saving their mothers because they only see/care about $ signs and have no concern that they are truly damaging the hobby.
I love your podcast so much! I've been a collector for the last 5 years or so now and you guys really speak to me :) I'm from the UK btw, where games are RIDICULOUSLY overpriced and it's good to hear your guys' insight. Thanks for making the effort to create your podcast. I love you Pat and Ian!
What really grinds my piss to a fine powder is dealing with "collectors" that inflate the market. Retro store businesses, at least the ones I've seen here actually lowball the online resellers to at least 30% (including saving on shipping) and hey, they need to make a living too and that living just makes ends meet. Resellers sell their items with shipping and high end costs in mind for their final price. I deal with them and those who have very limited knowledge of the product they're selling.
Definitely ridiculous prices now. I remember years ago seeing SNES and NES games in cardboard boxes in the corners of used game stores for 1.99$ each, now I'd be lucky to find any of those games for even 4.99, that aren't sports games.
Great topics, this is what I've been wanting someone to make (including myself) for too long.
Pat, totally agree with you about the retro collecting scene being akin to the comic book collecting world. What I ultimately think is that we're going to see modern "collector's editions" and "limited editions" be worth nothing very similar to how 90s comics are worth absolutely nothing nowadays. The retro stuff from our "golden age" if you will is going to be more comparable to the original comics such as the first appearance of Batman, Superman, etc.
Good job insulting your "customer base" and the reason you can make any money at all reselling video games.
Listening to you mention that you picked up Duck Tales 2 CIB for $40 and that was a good deal...that aged perfectly, lol.
I normally am not a fan of commentary videos on other videos, but I truly think it would be fun for you two to revisit this one!
SNES went crazy recently.
within in the last 3 or 4 years yeah.
Sold my original SNES for about £15, Can't get one for double that now.
WelshGamer
Same goes for the Commodore 64, I got my "first" one 6 years ago for 8€, together with another broken one. Nowadays you're lucky to get a single broken one for 15€
Hans Meier
I found a C64 on Craigslist for $50.00 and it has disk drive, 7 controllers, monitor, manuals and keyboard layout along with disks and 4 carts. Should be picking this up this weekend.
Tell me about it. I'm glad my brother in law gave me all his old games (like ActRaiser, Battletoads/Double Dragon, Kirby's Dream Land 3, Wolfenstein 3D) in exchange for chores.
This is an interesting topic. I am a game collector and I may only buy 1-3 new games a year. If I perceive a used game to be too expensive, I will talk myself out of getting it until I find it for much cheaper. Like Pat, I also sell duplicate games to further my own collection.
Prices are getting out of control.
I got a turbo grafx 16 4 years ago. It was so cheap but now... It makes me wanna cry.
I have to admit as a collector I have caved in to the buy-it-now sellers if I want the game badly enough, but I will stand my ground when I believe the prices are too much. I recently lost 3 auctions on Mega Man X for SNES because I refused to pay the £80 ($125) BIN listings. I eventually won a copy at auction for under £40 ($60) and the satisfaction was half about beating the BIN guys.
I love this pat! thank you!
Speaking of Kid Klown, its one of the last 9 games I need. It's spiked from $200 to over $300 now in the last three or four months. Frigging game is now the bane of my existence!
Love you guys!
Shill bidding is the act of using multiple accounts to make "fake" bids that drive the overall closing cost of an auction item up past where it normally may have ended.
As I look back at how many video games I wasted. I had an Atari 2600 with, are you ready, with 107 games. Maybe 5 games had like 3 copies, Combat, Asteroids, Centipede, ect. But the gems I had would make you weep... Pitfall 2, Miner 2049, Gopher, Fathom, One of the Starwars games.... And it was just nuts. Then of course my NES had in possession,Trolls on treasure Island, that game Snow Brothers and Fire and Ice... Crazy memories... But you guys are right.... Imagine what I'd get for them?
Sold all my old stuff. Working SEGA CD, GENESIS, Power base converter, 8 bit NES, Super Nes, N64, Gamecube, 20 games Atari 2600 30 games 8 bit NES had 40+games, SEGA CD with 10, Genesis with 20 games. And systems did have the original boxes if they did have them when I got them. I sold them because of storage space and needed money at the time. Now, I miss them all.
My view of Buy-it-Nows are that if anyone had thought it was a good deal, it would have already been sold.
Damn straight pat. I remember maybe 5-6 years ago. Getting TG consoles for like 10-20 range now they're crazy.
The fun one was when I talked to a seller at my local fleamarket. He has several. . .quite a few, copies of various Final Fantasy PS1 titles. Now I've been looking for 9 and Origins and Chronicles for a bit, he's got them. Decent condition, some with no artwork, some with no manual. most Greatest hits (which I have no problem with) but all for between 35 and 90 bucks (Crono Trigger is apparently the second rarest game EVAHRS!! /sarcasm) so I broke down and headed for amazon. Most of the games I want less then 20, fuck Chronicles was going for 15 bucks, NEW! SEEEEEELED! I asked him, his response "Head online, enjoy" I don't get that. Kind of want to get him at his own game, he offers trade in for 1/2 what he sells the game for. I could buy a bunch of FF games and even at half trade credit I would still walk away with more cash then I put in. . . .but I'm not that much of an asshat.
You both have great points. While I'd love to find games in the wild it's not likely because of where I live. Being on an island 150 miles away from decent hunting grounds forces you online. What keeps me from going to the dark side is an unwillingness to overpay. In the next few years some of "those people" will loss interest and have collection sales to fund their foray into the next big market. Keep up the great content guys!
You know what annoys me, when I walk into a retro game store, or swap meet, and they are selling Mario/duckhunt for like $10. This was the most common game for the system.
and 2 years later the prices have only got worse.. when will it end!!
Isn't Kid Klown selling for over $200 now? Funny watching these old videos of them complaining about prices..didn't know how good they had it back then!
Very interesting hearing your views on this, guys. I'd like to see more podcasts filmed and uploaded to youtube.
I'm to the point where I hate the term video game collector. I guess I could be considered one, since I never sell any games I buy. But I'm not buying them for the sole purpose of collecting. Which is why you won't see generic sports games and such on my shelves. With all these straight up, hardcore "gonna get another expensive one off my list" collectors and the piece of shit vultures on eBay that Pat talks about, these things have gotten insanely priced. And the ones that get hurt the most are people like me who just want to play the games. It's become an investment and status symbol for people which is taking them from or making them unreachable for the gamers. The ones who want to use them for their originally intended purpose. Guess I should be thanking god every day for emulators.
Earthbound for $250? That's a steal in 2016 lol
Great discussion guys, one thing we could discuss next is the issue that there is a shelf life for theses games components, oxidizing, etc. I don't even like. To think about it but eventually it will be an issue ;( will hate to see that day come
I liked it 3-5 years ago when it wasn't as popular. I don't like the disappointment of missing games due to the enormous proportion of resellers who sell due to price increases in the last few years and have no intention of playing/keeping the game.
Christ the CUpodcast has come along way.
I love in the video at 4:12 mentions how a collector will spend $250 on earthbound ... this was 2 years ago .... now it's $1000
I was just thinking about this earlier today, and then I stumbled upon this video. I agree that there are definitely two types of collectors- the ones who do it as an investment, and the ones who do it for enjoyment. I personally just collect because having walls of games and a wide variety of consoles makes me happy, and I don't understand how people can buy it as a pure investment. The retro game market has become very manipulative over the years, and it's really disappointing.
im buying all the games I wanted as a kid so I can play them and I enjoy hunting them down and collecting them.
I love seeing the increased interest in the TG-16 and yeah, I wish more people would play them and challenge my world records.
i figured the price increased due to them getting a bit older and people want to relive their childhood. when sega and snes came out i didnt care about my nes anymore and sold it along with all the game for dirt cheap to funco land, now 15 or so years later i wish i kept all that crap. but whatever, i just bought a nintendo control with a usb port and play them on a emulator. same exact thing
I still remember when most of my favourite N64 games were $30 on average. Had to sell a bunch of them to cover some personal costs. Now that I want them again like Ogre Battle 64 or Mario Tennis or Snowboard Kids, I'll be paying $70, $80. It's outrageous, there's just nothing to do about it either.
I found TMNT Turtles in Time that was over $60 a couple weeks ago.
Time Machine.
well buddy... what can I say. you should have held onto them. if I would have sold my 64 collection off when I became desperate I would b paying out the ass right about now. as it stands I got my system in fall 2000. started collecting till it was discontinued. today I got almost everything but the sculptures cut. I didn't spend more than 5/10 bucks a cart except for the zeldas which I bought brand new. the prices I see at the retro stores make me laugh😂. I bought them near the end of its life because that is what you do if you want a cheap collection. everything retro comes back around again. just like 8 track tapes at one point. I just wish I did the same with original Nintendo back in the 90s. with the prices in seeing.. I'd rather play on emulator😒
I don't care how much I'm hurting i'll sell my fuckin car before my games. but we have public transit so its not as stupid sounding as i'm making it seem. Horror stories galore all over the web about people selling off their collections. If you have fun looking then with patience you will find them at a good price. or just emulate. either way just have fun!
Between choosing homelessness and video games, I am pretty sure I made the right choice.
lol we had no idea how much worse it was going to get!
okay, silly question: where does one get a huge display shelf like the one you guys have in this vid?
I have a story that will never happen again. My uncle found a bunch of SNES games that were on the street about to be thrown in a garbage truck. He gave them to me because he's not into gaming. In that box I found A Link to the Past, Contra 3, a boxed copy of Super Castlevania IV, Super Mario RPG and some games that weren't worth talking about. There were manuals for most of the games as well. I'll bet if a re-seller were to have found this stuff he would have probaby sold it for 200 bucks.
Audio only is linked in the description, both the first and second episodes should be on iTunes in the coming days!
Alright, well I'm sorry for assuming. They're, to put it simply, the largest flea market resellers in the New Jersey area. They will buy anything and everything they see that isn't a sports game and throw it onto their table. Seen them at Columbus, Englishtown, and even auctions hording these games. Breaks my heart.
I honestly think that the reason why things got so popular is because of the amount of people who have disposable income, aka nerds going to big tech companies like Facebook/Apple/Google, are finding themselves with a lot more money and want their old games back when they were kids.
Bought a Famicom 3D headset brand new & sealed, for a good price at the time. Opened it the very next day to play Mario 3D Rally.
Basically as I see it - Take care of the stuff you own, but don't forget to enjoy them too!
I didnt know Ducktales 2 was as rare as it is. I still have mine cib from when I was younger.
Market value is defined by the supply and demand. The rarity of a game represents the supply. The demand is represented by how much people are willing to pay for a game in a market setting like an auction. For those reasons, eBay auctions are the best way to determine market value. He can't sell a game for what it was worth a year ago because the value affects him too. He can't sell a game for less than what he bought it for unless he wants the store to go bankrupt now that would be bad business
flash carts are the best inventions since sliced bread. Has saved me so much money.
I just got one for my saturn and it makes me want to own the physical game more
some really good points about atari's collectibility vs NES and later, and also about the crappy uncommon games going down. i feel like prices will probably eventually semi-stabilize to around the prices about two years ago, probably a little higher.
16:40 10 years later and the last star fighter on eBay auction sold for $47
Ha, the manual goes for 39.99 for Die Hard. Buy it now around 75-100.
I collect games, and I resell games. With that being said. I also hate ebay very much as well. I price games on how good I think they are. I never sell any video game for over $65 unless it's something like Chase The Chuck Wagon for Atari 2600, that is somewhere around the $80 range IF i did want to sell that, BUT mainly what i'd rather do is do trade with someone for some other game that I'd be into. If i ever had a Bath Bubble Babes, Stack Up, magical Chase, etc... I'd sell those all for $65 and under.... to me it's not fair to the game player. I do not sell to other resellers unless they buy my CRAP. i don't sell to people who also just keep things on a shelf and never play it.... screw that. I want people to enjoy the the games. I'm so glad you 2 dudes feel the same.
Anyone get into baseball card collecting in the 80s and 90s? How are those complete Topps Sets looking NOW? That's where we are with retro game collecting. Wait a few more (maybe less than 10) years, retro game prices will drop immensely.
I am not expressly against resellers/retailers. I am one. I disclosed this at the beginning out of fairness to the discussion. I'm against insane pricing. Asking for better business practices is not hypocritical. What I am against is the hoarder/monetizer. Those ruin hobbies and inflate prices. When a popular game comes in I sell it for the going rate and suck it up when the price goes up a year later. I don't sit on games when they could be in the hands of players at a fair price.
You ask why I can't just continue selling a game for twenty bucks even if the price has gone up? Because games don't materialize out of thin air. I have to PAY MORE to get it back in stock unless I want to purposely fleece the customer which is out of the question.
I am 14 and i started collecting SNES in the begining of this month and i do that because i love playing that console.
I am totally on the fence about collecting. at the turn of the century I began collecting SNES stuff purely because I never had one growing up. So my motivation was purely to play games that were fun the possibility that they might accumulate in value didn't seem possible at the time. And then not long after that I learned about emulation and roms and all of a sudden hunting retro games at pawn brokers and second hand markets seemed redundant. And so from there I focused on newer games. And then in the late 2000's I started to notice that people really valued the physical copies of retro games even though it was possible to play them for free.
So here is my dilemma do I hang on to the retro games and consoles that I currently have (some of which have since appreciated in value) so that they may make for some nice display pieces in a games room in a house that I may one day own or do I sell while there's money to be made and stick to roms and emulators to play them retro games that I enjoy???
As it is I am not going to add to my retro games collection very much while prices have increased to ridiculous levels - $400 for megaman 7? Or $1500 for a sealed 2011 zelda 3DS at a nearbypawn broker ?? - not in this lifetime
unstoppableExodia If you don't have a preference as to how you play them, I would sell them. This is a perfect time to sell them, if you are going to do it because the people who want them are in their 30s and 40s and in their prime earning years.
As for the display, I gave up the whole display thing because I move often. I remember I had a ton of books but it would have been rediculously inconvenient to transport them, so I sold them for next to nothing and ended up throwing the rest away or giving them away. I am someone who values portability. I also later bought myself a kindle.
Robert Hansen
Yeah I move house annually at the moment. The display thing would only be possible for a place that I own - something that could happen within the next two years. I get that now is a great time to sell but I do like the idea of a wall completely covered in retro games and consoles that I own - most of which were bought before 2005.
Dudes, Been collecting turbo games for almost 20 years, it has always been expensive.
"Fuck sealed game collectors!" Amen brothers!!
love you guys! new listener, hope Ian gets better!
I definable recommend flash carts for retro gamers but not collectors.
15 YEARS CRAZY GUYS🎮👾💪
For players prices have reached a point where a lot of folks will just start buying Everdrives. For the stuff that's reasonable (Atari 2600, Sega Game Gear, etc) I'll keep buying carts. But for the stuff that grossly overpriced or impossible to find? Flash carts.
Hey Pat, quick question. Im 15 and have been collecting and playing retro video games since age 12. Im a pretty avid retro video game collector. I play and enjoy every single game i get. But when it comes to getting doubles i sell them to fuel my collection. Does that make me a bad collector and a reseller? Been a huge fan for 4 years and become ecstatic every time i see that PatTheNESpunk uploaded a new video. Keep up the good work man.
-RR
I love you Pat, and your friend seems cool, and I'm a nostalgic guy who collects to game and experience old gems, but I'm also someone with a degree in economics, and I'm sorry to say you don't know much about the subject. I really wish prices were lower too, and I absolutely agree that the buy it now situation is ridiculous, but a "problem" no. If somebody is willing to pay that much for a game, then the market is working fine. Maybe the buyer doesn't know better and doesn't know how to get the games cheaper, is which case there needs to be more material on the subject, or maybe they just wanted to play Chrono Trigger all of a sudden, they want a nice looking copy for their collection and they don't want to sit and follow an auction or go to swap meets for weeks and months to get a copy at a low price.
you guys speak 100% truth. resellers and scalpers are going to kill the hobby
Retro game stores kill it too. They charge full price for the games and raise prices accordingly. They are no better.