Game Consoles That Are No Longer Affordable to Collect For - Retro Bird
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ธ.ค. 2024
- At one point or another, most game consoles have been relatively affordable. However, this changes as time passes and the supply/demand chain gets further strained. The result? Games getting more expensive. In this video, I go over some of the consoles that are no longer affordable as well as talking about when they were far more affordable.
Game Consoles That Are No Longer Affordable to Collect For - Retro Bird / Video Game Consoles That Have Gotten Too Expensive / Game Consoles That Cost Too Much to Collect For / Game Consoles With High Prices / Pricy
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Games Played: Four Swords Adventures (0:04), Super Mario RPG (0:18), Sega Rally (0:24), Soukyugurentai (1:10), Metal Slug X (5:35), Shock Troopers (6:15)
Love my wii. Loaded with games and consoles out of reach. I still want to get an original nes just because its og. My cousins had one but i was younger and had the snes. The saturn seems really intriguing, i had the playstion but the saturn wasnt on my radar. I was lucky to start my gaming career on the genesis with MKII. I still have my n64 and ps2 as well. But there are so many gems out there im focusing in my back log first.
Hey dude, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate these "games played" comments! I found out about Strider 2 for the PS1 this way, can't imagine life without it now!
Epic! Shock Troopers looks SICK. Really wanna try that.
Good to hear Mockles! Yeah, I'm a fan of that release :)
For a very long time I was trying to find a long box copy of Guardian Heroes for my Sega Saturn however before settling on a Japanese copy I actually bought Code Of Princess Ex for my switch. I found out it was a spiritual sequel to Guardian Heroes and many of the developers who worked on Guardian Heroes made this game & I decided to buy a copy from my local game store and I don't regret it. It's one of the few modern games I own that came with an instruction manual and even came with a mini disc that has the ost.
I don’t ever comment on videos, but I was telling someone recently that you hit everything on point. I love your videos and your logic and you’re never wrong. It can be hard as a retro gaming collector, my childhood home burnt down and I lost everything. So, a few years ago I got back into collecting and playing the games and consoles I lost. I know that’s random, but I have never see anyone make videos that are so on point with old games and consoles. I have a lot of respect for you.
Hell yeah! The bird is the word!
Very well said sir.
And sorry for your loss. But its cool you started collecting and reliving those classic games.
This channel is awesome, it’s like every video he makes is so relevant and questions I’ve asked before. Spot on
It's cause unlike some TH-camrs, he speaks from the heart. He lived the times of the SNES and Genesis war and remembers what it was like when gaming was at its best. How you would take a game or controller to another friends house and play with them and then go home. Ya know...REAL social interaction. Kids nowadays don't even know what the outside is more or less care about meeting other neighborhood kids to engage in similar activities. Now they just sit at home and text each other and game online. It's just not the same. Tangent over, this man speaks and remembers how it was and is fond for the old days but doesn't try to sugarcoat it either. It is what it is.
@@madbart214yomother7 I feel what others in a category (like myself) know exists, and exists of it's own.... Poor to-late-end 90's kids who just may as well be 90's kids for that reason.
I long for human interactivity and connection but long gone are those days of finding any human nearby to even relate to, and it's even way too hard... And even seems fantastical (About as fantasy as an RPG.) Internet has ruined us, more than fixed us, I'll say that much. I'm way more depressed than I was a kid... And even then I didnt have all the options we had then. And still in choosing to stay reclusive instead of inclusive. I just dont fit in a box... The people who do fit in are too old and burnt out to keep up with me but can relate more and the generation I know... Which is just too far gone to understand a single thing I appreciate and like to ever have a chance of getting along w/ me in the first place.
It's really sad and depressing to be caught in such an in-between age...
Most of my peers in school couldn't relate to even rewinding a VHS tape before being able to pop it back in, or RETURN IT... Nobody remembers that struggle... "Be kind. Please rewind." Only to rent something and half the middle or end spoiled cuz some asshole returned it themself without doing so in the first place (REWINDING.) again.... That's sad. I have no "crowd"
Or so I've always felt.... And I've felt alone since I was a toddler till my current age. Born the middle of '98.
Bullshit.
Caught between in the best of both worlds, but also at the same time, my own personal hellish nightmare.
I found my late grandpas old ps1 who recently passed away and it has smoke damage from a house fire, but im going to try and restore it and then start collecting for it. Ive never collected retro games before but past two nights Ive tuned into your vids and it has gotten me so excited and just want to say these videos are so great, you’re a rad entertaining guy!
Im dragging along at this point but I never subscribe to hardly anyone , but I definitely WANTED to this time.
Keep killing it : )
I remember going to someone house that had a NEO GEO, holy crap they were rich, they had 3 BMW vehicles, a huge kitchen bigger than my house, swimming pool, pool table, 3 floor house, they were loaded. People at their lever were the ONLY ones that had a NEO GEO.
I used to want a NG sooo badddd when I was a kid but it being Japan only I had no idea how to go about it. I think if I had figured it out the price would have been so much more than my parents could afford anyway. I ended getting a pocket color when they came out jn the US years later but by then I didn't really care about NeoGeo games. I just got it for the nostalgia.
@@AimForTheBushes908 It didn't come to the US until a lot later? Maybe the house I went to imported it, I remember it being really new. I remember the graphics blew everything out of the water when I saw it.
@@exodous02 Yes exactly. The graphics were insane for the time. I think there were two different versions. One was the CDrom which was a cheaper version of the cartridge one which used these insanely huge cartridges which a friend said were the same cartridges the arcade machines used.
Seeing how expensive games have gotten make me really miss the days of going into warehouse type thrift stores and just seeing piles of old games or consoles for incredibly cheap. All my old childhood games are still at my home, but I'm living across the country and don't have access to them currently. Seeing how expensive they've gotten I'm just praying I'll get my collection back in full and occasionally add something new.
Or walking up to a random yard sale, picking through the selection, and walking away with a handful of games for $5.
Yeah. None of them are affordable to "collect for" anymore. The thing that made it affordable was the fire sale when a console was replaced by the next gen from the manufacturer, but that doesn't happen anymore. Games stay up I'm price from the day they're released until . Well...forever.
It's because people comb through the thrift shops now soon as they open to buy cheap games so they can resell them either online or at their little shops. It's ridiculous
@@THNF89 there's no such thing as cheap games at thrift shops anymore. They mark them up higher than game ships most times these days
EMULATION BUY A HIGH PERFORMANCE PC GET ALL THE GAMES THAT WAY CHEERS MATE
That's why emulation is a blessing. Being able to preserve these games forever and make sure everyone can enjoy them in the future is beautiful.
The game(emulator) is good...but with no value as the original does.
@@richardtapales5764 what? Emulation s superior in almost every way than original console.
@@morganghetti are you kidding bro??? Better than the original??
Don't make me laugh 😂😂😂
@@richardtapales5764
Laughs in 60 fps 1080p super Mario sunshine
@@PixelSubstream plus hd textures, fan translation, the possibility of modding
I only just found your channel last night and I already think it's great. I love your little witty comments that you throw in there for humor. You just make fun videos. Thank you
Glad you like them and happy to have you on the channel :)
Only one person in my class in school had a Saturn. Everyone else had a Playstation. I think the novelty of him being the only person to have one made it seem more prized. I don't remember another single person who had one, even though they were selling in the local games store. It's always been this sort of mysterious console to me as I never got to fully experience it outside of playing a few games in my friend's house.
Really enjoying your videos, your humor, and your approach to gaming in general. Growing up in the 90’s, I was very fortunate that I never decided to get rid of my game collection. I am of the mindset, when it comes to gaming, that I know I’ll have a time somewhere I’ll want to experience that game or console again. Keep making great videos like this and I’ll keep watching, thanks!
Thank you Matthew!
This can be a struggle depending on what kind of collector you are. Personally I don't want a collection so large I'll never get around to beating every game I own, so it's easier for me to say no to certain games and systems.
I've always meant to ask you: do you upvote your own comments multiple times? It always seems like your comments have at least 3 likes even if you've just written them. Wouldn't bother me if you did.. I just find it funny :)
Same! I just colect only a few of the games I want to play. I don't have the storage or time for so many games so I only collect the ones I know I would like. Also I usually research for months before getting a game to see if I will like it.
@@RetroBirdGaming not sure if anyone else does the same, but I like each of your videos via two accounts 👍👍
i have to tell myself to stop buying games when i realistically can't play them all i used to get games all the time when they were on sale. it's so easy to do!
@@RetroBirdGaming You caught me! But I only do it from 2 accounts. I find I get more interactions with others that way.
Literally just today I wanted a Genesis with a few games, went to a flea market with some old Wii games I no longer wanted (mostly spares I'd picked up), and traded it for a Genesis with Mortal Kombat 2, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and - 100% not making this up, saw it and thought of you - Rocket Knight Adventures.
A sweet trade indeed!
An actual game for game swap? Now that's amazing from the getgo but for zombies ate my neighbors, the best console version of MK2 AND rocket knight??? If they came in boxes, you did great, guy.
Yes Rocket Knight Adventures i remember buying years ago at Walmart or Kmart(way back in the day) at a bargain bin price. What a bargain!
@@RetroBirdGaming What music do you use in the outro?
I got a good deal when I bought my Model 2 genesis, the console and all the mainline sonic games for a flat 25 bucks
It’s because of the ridiculous costs of certain physical games that I’ve switched over to modded consoles with digital backups. I don’t need every game but consoles like the Wii and the OG Xbox it’s the only way for long term preservation of all the games I’ve accumulated (I’m 47) I’ve been hoarding since the NES days. Not an Atari fanboy and I’ve mostly stuck to modding disc based systems like the Wii U and Dreamcast. I’ve gotten everything I’ve ever wanted barring a few choice items, but hey, that’s part of the fun is finding the stuff I want in the wild on the cheap.
Im just happy the Dreamcast is finally getting recognition again.
Atari is a retro system I don't like. Those games don't have a story of a beginning to end and it's mostly about the high scores. When I was a kid I loved it, Now I don't like it. I remember if I wanted to collect for the atari 2600 games were like $5 at most.
@@tonyp9313 I did enjoy it when I was like 5 and they’re was nothing else. But like you said I need more immersion in my games. I don’t hate on those who like it like I enjoy modern consoles. To each his own.
@@tonyp9313 *Atari Jaguar has entered the chat*
@@halo3odst I'll check out some Atari Jaguar games..
I really appreciate your focus on affordability in retro gaming. My own story of "this is good enough, and I'm happy with it" involves the Neptunia games on the PS Vita, which is a console that experienced the same rarity and scarcity problems you mention plaguing the Sega Saturn, but happening at an accelerated pace during the system's lifetime. I collect Vita limited edition games (not limited run so much as premium versions of retail games), and managed to snag several of the Neptunia games' LEs, but not in time to pick up the one for "Neptunia U" before it became more expensive than I feel I can justify, and "Neptunia Rebirth 1" before it became the most expensive game on the console. I realized if I kept holding out for an increasingly-unlikely bargain, I could miss my chance to buy those games under any circumstance, so I settled for the standard editions and am very glad I did.
By the way, if anyone wants a "hot tip" on a system to collect for while it's cheap... go get a Wii U. Most games are under $30, the console is only about $100, and the fact that the Switch re-released almost its entire library shows that this was a great console that suffered from bad salesmanship. I suspect that that mandatory, expensive Gamepad and the flimsiness of the game cases (both often beaten up by kid owners) mean that it will eventually get very hard to collect for OR play. But lucky you, you're living right now when it's dirt cheap!
Too bad you said this 6 months ago. Prices will definitely skyrocket once the eshop closes.
These days I was looking for a game I loved when I was a child "Tom & Jerry: Fists of Fury" for the N64, but at least here in Brazil, it's kind of expensive, so I decided to buy the Sequel for the PS2 "Tom & Jerry: War of the Whiskers" and I couldn't be happier! It really looks like a better version of the game I played and it was way cheaper!
I found War of The Whiskers for a few quid around 2016 or 2017 in a Cex store here in the UK! It was that same store on another occasion where I found Bio Motor Unitron for £20, marked down from £28!
how much is too expensive? ive got one on my ebay maybe we could work something out.
I remember playing War of the Whiskers all the time as kid
Brazil has the coolest flag of all the countries in the world. It’s a big night sky with stars. So cool.
Just found this channel, where has this been my whole life? Subbed!!
Welcome to the channel!
Thank you for existing. From a very British person.
My solution to unaffordable (cartridge) games is very straightforward: high quality flash carts, like EverDrive.
They are a tad expensive, but for the amount you'd pay for one pricey game you can have all the games you want for a certain console. And the good quality flash carts play exactly like the official games, and on real hardware.
Of course I like having physical official copies, but having the option to play on flash carts means that I can keep my purchases limited to games that are somewhat affordable and that I REALLY care about.
I looked into those EverDrives, and the PS1 Optical Disc Emulator, but with the cost and hassle of implementing a new thing for each console, I'd rather just run emulators on my PC, have all the consoles, and be done with it. Only real upside I see is playing with the original controllers. And I guess if you have a CRT, which I don't. But it's the same thought process I've been going through with e.g. Steam Deck. It's like, I can mod my PSP, mod my 3DS, buy and mod a Vita, mod my Xbox, but why go through all that hassle when I can just bring in the Steam Deck, a full PC which can just run everything, game set and match.
@@metaldiceman if youre just going to emulate, then dont bother buying the consoles. leave them out there for people actually do want to collect and play the hardware to aquire.
@@omegamatsu or maybe, with their money, they can do what they want!
Everdrives have many other advantages too: you can play rom hacks and homebrew games on original hardware, and you don't need to change old batteries to save your progress. However, I still like to buy original copies when prices are reasonable enough. Unfortunately, not for Super Nintendo these days, but I still find good deals on NES, N64 and Master System (which is still quite affordable here in Italy)
@@metaldiceman You're right, if you don't have a CRT don't even bother to play with original hardware, you're missing I'd say 70% of the experience: the visual part, sure, but also gameplay will suffer. LCDs will introduce lag anyways so better just go with emulation.
Although I must say that there are some misconceptions about CRTs: you don't need (and probably not even want) a pricey PVM in order to enjoy retro games.
A cheap (or free) normal consumer grade CRT TV is perfectly fine, some people (me) even prefer it, due to how PVMs make the games somewhat blocky due to their higher definition.
You're such a genuine likeable dude! Love the content and the humor. thanks for keeping it real.
Thank you for that! Glad to have folks like yourself around :)
I really appreciated the bit about younger people missing out on getting older games. I’m in my late teens and grew up on the Wii, but over time I got more into all types of games including stuff that came before my time. I’ve been able to obtain small collections for nes/snes/n64/gamecube/ps1/ps2 but I don’t really spend lots of money or buy anything online, so if I’m looking to buy older games my options are limited. I still do what I can besides that to make it work so I can play everything though! Great video!
As of year ago On Amazon, the Xbox Original, PS2 and GameCube sold for $50 a piece for a refurbished console, now I checked and all three consoles are being sold for $200 a piece, WTF?
When I was young. I couldn't afford to buy as many games as I wanted.
Now I make 100,000 times more money... and I still can't afford to buy some of the games I want :(
Because you are in the same boat as everyone else in your generation, who all make 100,000 times more money now.
100,000 times 0 is still 0. 🤣
As a 42 year old man I have to say it sucks that the prices of these games have gone sky high. In a single night I lost my snes, Playstation, and Genesis as a friend of mines parents must've been wrapped up in some sketchy activities and moved out of their home with my consoles and alotta games all in a single night! Being older and able to afford to reclaim some of my childhood has been fun in a way but also frustrating when most of these games selling for a small fortune I owned. Anyway love the channel and as someone who looks close to my age I appreciate the knowledge you share. Keep up the great work
I mostly only watch retro gaming videos on youtube now. Started years ago with the game chasers and others. But I cant believe out of the whole time I'm just now finding your channel. I absolutely love your content and have literally been binging your videos the past week. Tysm for the great content, looking forward for more!
Same. This guy is brilliant.
This is a brilliant channel. The man speaks from the heart. Don't really admire the game chasers all that much. Met em at a con and they seem out for the money. What people don't realize is flipping games found in the wild makes 2 things happen: the price reaches a new price point and you just added +1 to the unattainable list of games cause nobody is gonna pay that absurd price. Another lost game till the greedy people sell out of the hobby. Sad.
Thank you my friend!
@@RetroBirdGaming You are most certainly welcome!
@@madbart214yomother7 Yea the more I've watched in the past few years ive realized they are part of the problem they complain about so much.
I remember getting MGS Twin Snakes for $10. My Mom likely threw it away with the DVD & VHS Collection when we moved. Oof.
Thank you for providing such an honest take on the difficulties of collecting and for providing a positive spin on things. There was some good advice on here.
Glad you liked it :)
I was one of those kids back in the day that sold old games to buy new ones. 😞
I'm also totally cool with buying repros of the games are too out of reach for my budget.
This is all fine and dandy but I want to hear more about that bread basket clip collection. How long did it even take to accumulate that many? Spill it already. I needs to know
Dedication my friend! And a lot of carbs :)
Nothing compared to mine…… back when I was a little kid I used to be obsessed with wonder bread and collected every bread bag clip i could, I would even sweet talk my friends mom’s into them giving me all their bread bag clips, because I knew that one day I would have my own house and my dream was to have a kitchen with the entire floor one big mosaic of a 1950’s era bag of wonder bread ( you know like wwII’ ish with a pin up girl holding the bag and a caption saying uncle sam says to eat wonder bread you’re country depends on it!) made with nothing else other than bread bag clips. Fast forward 30 years and 40,000 bread bag clips later and I now get to enjoy my childhood dream every morning as I sit down to have my toast and coffee. The end
I Was gonna make fun of you, then i noticed your username and avatar and opted out, sorry for disturbing you.
@@annacurransmotherofmeghanc1841 alright, I'm gonna need Facebook snaps of this, sounds like we found a hidden world wonder!
I was collecting video games since the PS3 was out. People would give me boxes of NES, SNES, and everything else you can think of in regards to old video games for free, just to empty out their attic or basement. No body wanted them. For the longest time I thought that I was the only weirdo out there that thought it was cool.
Best part of being a Sega CD collecter is you can just burn most of what you don't have and play it all anyway on original hardware.
I have I hard time collecting to gamecube, not just as because of the prices for the games but the state of quality.
This guy’s hilarious facial expressions have earned him another subscriber 🤣
Welcome to the channel!
Same here , he reminds me of the 90's early 00's. Digging the channel and I've only been here 2 days lol
@@GlassMaster_Jae same. Only been here 20 minutes!
@@Faber0k he's got good energy , right?
Mr. Passive Aggressive 😂
I sold a Jaguar with 10 games complete in box (which included Doom, Wolfenstein3D, and NBA Jam TE) for for $300...I know I was poor at the time, but still REALLY wish I held on since I could probably that same set for $3000 now.
"Affordable" is so subjective. Compared to say... Pinball collecting, chasing Saturn games is relatively cheap.
And compared to my present day salary versus my allowance as a kid, games are now infinitely cheaper. I could only ever rent games, actually buying one was such a rare event for me.
babe wake up, new retro bird just dropped
Thank god I got Skies of Arcadia for the GameCube exactly one day before the price went up. Lmao
about a decade ago, I was trying to locate a SNES copy of Super Mario RPG off of ebay for the longest and the prices were killing me! I eventually found a full on lot of gaming stuff including GB/SNES/Famicom/SFC/PSX hardware and games for under $100. Not only did it come with Final Fantasy 1 and 2 and all the old Dragon Quest games for the Famicom, but among all the things with it was a copy of Super Mario RPG for the Super Famicom. Probably one of my best ebay finds over the years
I must say. Retro gaming collection can be a very expensive hobby at times.
Always has been but inflation and demand with market manipulation has brought us to an even greater price point.
Earthbound has always been 160-220 price for years and it's about the same nowadays. I paid 350 for Panzar Dragoon saga couple years ago and it's still my most expensive buy. Never again. Now some stuff was always cheap don't get me wrong cause you used to be able to go in the morning and get boxes of Nintendo and SNES games for cheappppppppp....and now you still can but the assholes have priced it out from eBay and you can buy 1 game for the price of the whole box back in the day. Once this fad falls off, the people that are in it for the money and for the views will be gone and will sell their collections off. Their hearts never were in it. Trust me. This happens with every hobby it seems.
@@madbart214yomother7 ooooo and i cant wait for that day to come! It's so sad that people are so wrapped up in money and other bs that they ruin a passionate hobby like retro gaming.
@@Shizl_Gzngahr same. I have completely stopped. Play what I have and enjoy that and emulation. I'm not gonna give in to these prices so the fake people can get their quick money and bounce and I highly encourage everyone else in this hobby to do the same. Just emulate what you don't have and wait it out.
Indeed!
I own a video game store that sells mostly retro. The biggest issue driving our prices up are people who aren't even gamers or collectors. These people buy up every single game and console they can get their hands on deliberately causing scarcity and driving the prices up. Then they hit places like Facebook marketplace, eBay, and game stores like mine trying to sell this stuff for far more than it's worth.
It's really frustrating for me. I got into the industry because of the passion I have for retro video games. And I'm watching people destroy the industry I love out of pure greed. Lucky for me my store has very small overhead so I'm able to keep my prices much lower than the other stores in the area. but at the same time our selection suffers because I will not buy unreasonably overpriced games.
I'm happy to see that more people are getting frustrated by this and calling it out. I can't wait for the gaming bubble to pop and prices to come back down.
That's too bad to hear. May there be more passionate gamers going into your store moving forward!
@@RetroBirdGaming Thanks, it's not that business is bad or anything. I just think that we're on a huge bubble that is about to pop. I'm excited for when it does. Love the content! I subscribed!
This is why I emulate everything up to and including the PS2.
My best pickup for cheap was definitely Super Mario Bros. on the NES. It sounds odd, seeing as that game is extremely cheap.. loose. I actually got my copy complete in box, which is notoriously hard for being like what, $250 CAD? However very lucky on my end, I landed a copy near the end of 2020 for only $60! Definitely the highlight of my collection, and one of the most expensive titles I own. Another would be Jet Grind Radio on the Dreamcast. Picked it up for $70 CIB in late 2021, and in two months the game skyrocketed to $150 CIB (CAD).
This hobby has gotten out of hand price-wise! I kinda dropped out of collecting as I have most of what I want. One of the games that I went for an alternative was Aerofighters. I went for the Japanese version(Sonic Wings), which was going for about $50 at the time, while the US version was going for a bit over $600. While it's a great game and an excellent port, I didn't want to pay that much for any game, especially a game that has the problem of having sequels that improved so much from the first game. Thanks for the excellent content as always!
Good call on Sonic Wings!
Lots of Sega Saturn games can be cheaper if you're ok with the Japanese versions. I'm still collecting Saturn games and 90 percent are Japanese. Also if you just want to play but want a physical copy there are some fantastic reproduction games and the indie scene is strong. The only way to defeat scalpers is not to buy. 😁
I didn't regret selling that game. The arcade version is much better as are the sequels. It's one of those games that people want because it's rare and they want to complete their collections. I'm sure the Japanese version has a nicer box. 😁
@@sidearmsalpha your right, I have sonic wings and the Japanese cover is better. Also saved me a couple hundred 😄
@@thomasatwell8896 a hell of a lot cheaper in most cases, us resident evil costs over 100 dollars while the jp release costed me 15
1:29 Don't worry bro, you got me! I was born in 2011 but I love retro gaming. Dreamcast, N64, SNES, PS2, PS3, OG xbox are just some of the consoles which I love.
This whole video should be titled “the reason you should get into emulation/ever drives/ways to avoid paying $300 to play earthbound”
Earthbound? I had to look it up... role playing complete GARBAGE worth 2 bucks for a coffee coaster LOL!
Or, you know, buy a Super Nintendo Classic. It's ~$90 for Earthbound plus 29 other classic Super Nintendo games, as well as the previously unreleased Star Fox 2.
@@GreyWolfLeaderTW the snes classic basically is “getting into emulation”. The only difference is you’re paying Nintendo for ROMs and the mini computer.
The audio on NES mini triggers me. I gave both my SNES & NES mini consoles to my cousin after playing mike tysons punch out. /shudders. I realized how much I hate small board computer emulation. Now I have all my childhood consoles equipped with everdrives and optical disk drive replacement mass storage devices. I also mod them as necessary for clean RGB output with HDMI where appropriate.
@@machrider2333 I mean, you could go all the way like this guy but you better really love playing EVERYTHING with that setup. I just pick and choose which consoles to retrofit. But yeah, if money and/or time is no object, trick everything out.
Speaking for the Pal region (UK)
Consoles that are very affordable currently:
N64,
SNES,
Mega Drive,
PS2,
XBOX original,
PSP,
DS,
PS3,
XBOX360,
3DS,
Consoles that arnt affordable to collect for:
Everything else
I consider myself lucky. I tended to find classic retro consoles at local Charity Shops for low prices. I once found an Original Xbox for $8AU. It might have had no controllers, but that was no biggie. At another point, I found an original Sega Mega Drive for $5AU, with two controllers, in a Nuby carry case. And then there was an Atari Lynx, which I found for $5AU, with two games and a carrying case. All of these still work great. At least technology of that day was built to last!
remove the original xbox clock capacitor
I think part of the reason retro console and game collecting is a lot more popular and expensive today is because the consoles and games were made long before the video game industry had the benefit of abusing the system of downloadable content. Before, when you bought a brand-new game, you got the whole damn game. The video game industry of today basically holds games hostage with DLC. You can always hold out and buy used and game-of-the-year editions, but there's a good chance that the DLC servers on a game would probably be shut down.
Well, anyway, great video. You just reminded me how lucky I am to have invested in a modded, white, Japanese Sega Saturn back in the late 2000s. I'm also grateful that Dreamcast bootlegging and Neo-Geo CD emulation on the Sega Dreamcast is stupid easy. Keep up the good work.
You know what is affordable Emulator consoles
I use to pick up Nes games off Craigslist curb alerts for free once upon a time
My game changing workaround was starting to collect Japanese games! So many of them are significantly cheaper than their western releases. Loving your channel, keep up the great work
I think that's because Japanese gamers don't really collect games. I mean, I'm sure there are some collectors, but according to one of my friends who is from Japan, it's considered a niche hobby, and you can find almost anything you are looking for pretty easily and very cheap.
@@lordkardok666 I have to disagree. It may be niche there but it's relative, it's not like game collecting isn't niche in the west as well. Sure if you went up to a random person on the street in Japan, they probably wouldn't be into game collecting, but over there you can find a store selling retro games in basically every neighborhood, some areas have countless stores. Over here any city is lucky to have one or two, maybe a couple in the bigger cities. Tokyo has literally hundreds. It only seems cheaper in Japan for us because games here that didn't sell many copies are often much more popular in Japan, so there are millions more copies to work with, they aren't as valuable. But there are still plenty of rare collector's items in Japan that sell for insanely high prices.
just want to say thank you. i discovered you very resently, and has been going thougth your backlog of videoes, and loving every minut of it. and i am really looking forward to se what you bring in the future. so keep donig what you are doing, and thank you for many great hous of content. i hope for many more
Thank you so much and welcome to the channel! Plenty more to come :)
Why Emulation and Roms for Preservation are very important
Speaking the truth 🤟
I'm so lucky I held on to almost all my old consoles. The only ones I have away were my PS1 and Gameboy pocket.
Imagine if Sony never entered the hardware market, it almost didn't. The Sega Saturn would've dominated until the N64 was released and even still Sega would've had MG solid, FF7, Tekken as exclusives.
Paper Mario TYD , was a game I never thought I would cough up 100$ for but wanted to play, I found TYD and Mario Party 7 on FB for 125 and also seller had 4 Ps games for 75 ( great titles well exceeding 75$ of value , resident evils and spidermans) So i did it. And to boot they ran a booth, so i asked if they were interested in inventory, so I brought some of my doubles that I had and they took 5 games from me shaving 50$ off the total. It just worked out! Really love your videos man, keep up the good work !
I've honestly always found value in how cheap I can get a good game. Even if it's a game nobody cares about anymore if it's cheap and good I'll grab it. I did this back when ps2 games were cheap and now I've moved to xbox 360 since those games are still great and inexpensive!
I feel like only buying the physical of your favorite games is enough. You dont have to have every game you own be physical. But it does suck when you get locked out of ps4 and lose about 70 games you got for cheap on digital
Well their is emulation and retro games are being re-released on modern consoles now, but nothing beats playing retro games on the original console on a CR T.V tho.
Luckily, you can still do that with everdrives and the like :)
I completely agree, all the modern tech in the world will never replace the original experience.
For the simplicity and highest level of nostalgia, you absolutely can't beat original hardware and a CRT, but if you're someone who doesn't mind jumping through a few hoops to gets things running great (on a decently fast PC), emulation can offer pretty incredible experiences. I've lost count how many retro games I've enjoyed more on emulators than on actual retro hardware.
'Conker's bad fur day' and 'Conker live & reloaded' » I advice people to buy 'Rare replay' instead (I do own all of them though).
10:22 That's exactly what I did when I wanted to own Metal Warriors for snes. The price was and still is way out of my range. So I decided to go with Cybernator for snes. Not the exact same game but very similar and still fun. It was a great alternative for me.
I am certainly guilty of case harvesting myself. I generally find I don't mind swapping generic cases for generic cases, but things like the PS2 and Gamecube that had imprinted, custom card holder molds or other such things, I don't like to use generic cases. The days of being able to case harvest are quickly going the way of the dodo as well.
I give up on collecting. Takes too much space, and I can emulate it all on my PC anyway. I even have SNES,Genesis,NES controllers for the PC to make it feel more authentic. N64 works perfect with a 360 controller to be honest the analog stick is better than the N64 original and the other stick is your C buttons. Everything else just falls into place perfectly in retroarch, even has the rumble. So it's win win at this point.
Sure it maybe illegal but NIntendo is not going to bust down my door for playing Ocarina of Time on my PC, besides I dumped the rom from my cart so I am legal anyway and I don't give it to anyone else. So Nintendo can eat me.
I have gotten on your lawn! I Am 14 and love retro games!
Glad you love them!
For the question asked at the end of this video:
I've used selling items on Mercari to build up funds as a workaround to buy some of the more expensive games I've wanted. I think of it like store credit. I sell these household items I really don't want any more, and when my amount sold equals the going rate for a game I want on there, SOLD! It doesn't crush my bank account, it keeps my wife happy, and I basically performed alchemy to turn lead into gold. Win, win, win!
This is the way. There's a laziness in me keeps me from doing the game selling magic. But then, I don't have a wife.
Sell anything you don't want and turn it into funds for something else. Just be careful to sell retro games too low because the resellers will buy it from you and put a ridiculous price tag on it and welp...one more unattainable game out there to be exploited.
That's a key to my consolidation strategy that I harp on about as well!
You should watch Retro Rick. He started about 1.5 years ago with $10 and turned that into a game collection worth thousands, by mostly going to thrift stores, flea markets and facebook marketplace and selling anything worth flipping on ebay.
I know this is not about hardware but i managed to get a Sega CD + a Genesis + Sonic CD and Shinning Force CD + all the cables and one controller for 90$, i thought It was a scam. But no, all came in at perfect condition. Biggest sale un my life.
I still have my complete GameCube my parents got for me on my 15th birthday.
I sold my Saturn collection in 2001 and to this day I regret that decision. Albert Odyssey, Legend of Oasis, Shining The Holy Ark and Iron Storm for example...I just really would like to play them again, but oh boy those prices. 😅
My Saturn collection is getting buried with me⚰️
Even though they're still expensive in most cases, ODEs and Rom carts are a great option if you simply want to play the games. It's a big initial investment but you're done after that. Assuming that you've already got the console how you want it.
I agree. Using backups on original hardware is still a perfect means of preserving the past.
Just voicing my opinion but I would treat the word “unaffordable” as anything that has a risk of triggering buyers remorse.
I think right now speculative collectors and scalpers are the main issue, that and fear of missing out. Just give them the bird and move on. ;)
Just discovered your content and I'm loving it! One aside, I've been collecting for a while but only recently have come to terms with the fact that the things I'm looking for now will always be pricey and have kinda stopped looking. GC is out of the question now, but I have over 1000 physical games in my collection so I've made the decision to finally start enjoying them! Thanks for reaffirming my resolve!
Glad you're liking it! Thank you :)
Hi Retro Bird, I really love your videos! Your sense of humour and amusing facial expressions always make me giggle, and you make really good points. I was lucky that I got bit by the retro gaming bug early on, I picked up a lot of old systems and games cheap from junk shops, the rubbish tip, op shops (thrift stores), the side of the road, and had a few people dump their old collections on me when they no longer wanted them. I also used an Amiga A1200 computer as my main computer, even on the internet, all the way up until 2016 when I had to find a new home and a lot of my stuff went into storage, but I still use it along with a Raspberry Pi these days. One game I always wished I could get an original copy of is Super Street Fighter II Turbo for the Amiga CD32, but it was so rare and too expensive, so I bought an arcade machine with the game instead (the Arcade1Up version).
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the videos and that you've been enjoying the hobby for so long!
Retro Bird's sense of humor is epic
I sold my whole collection when I realized emulation gets me every game I could ever want for free. PC gaming changed my life 👌
Close your eyes and hear Owen Wilson. Oh wow!
There is always Emulation for really old classic games that you can't find and are too expensive.
Just don't tell the game publishers about it.
Else there is also some games that had compilations during the mid 2000s to the early 2010s on the PSP that I took advantage of.
Darkstalkers was one such game that was available on the PSP and I also got the Parodius series on the PSP when I had to import from Japan back years ago.
Sometime you just needed to get those games where they were originally available.
You know you're getting old when you still vividly remember walking into a Walmart and seeing an original SNES cart of Chrono Trigger for $20 in a bargain bin not knowing what it was and now its worth hundreds if not thousands how time flies...
As someone who has moved from collecting for the N64 to collecting for the Gamecube, I am FLABBERGASTED at the prices! Sure the 64 had the occasional $80-90 game, but it seems like every other Gamecube game is over $100. It really makes you think about which games are worth splurging for.
Yeah, I think Gamecube prices are inflated right now because of more millenials jumping into collecting during the pandemic. A lot of "investors" are also trying to inflate Nintendo game prices too. A lot of these games have no business costing as much as they do otherwise.
Its the 20 year anni, covid collectors, sneakerhead resellers entered the market, and also the gamecube was ridiculously undersold and thus so were the games.
Wait, the neo geo costed 649 dollars?! I knew it was expensive, but like… 600+ dollars for a game console?! I thought 300$ for the switch I bought was a lot.
This was in the early '90s too. So, with inflation it was even more crazy.
I like the analog products that are simple and you can play back ups. I got my ps1 modded to play psio flash cart games. I play back ups on dreamcast and saturn and refuse to buy games on them. I got a pc engine with an everdrive. I got a fully decked out og xbox with every game on the hard drive. Even doing all this was expensive but I can pretty much play most of what I want between that and everything else. Good thing I got a good job, but I spent more than I wanted on games.
Haven’t collected for year now because price is so crazy! Going for something cheaper is a grand idea. Although, I still kick myself for all those funcoland trades.
we gotta have a conversation about your bread clips, man
You're not going to try to make me sell them away, are you?
I am so happy I never had the "newer equals betterer" mentality and gave kept all of my consoles and games since childhood (I'm 24).
Mega Man x3 is crazy expensive so I bought the far cheaper Super Famicom version instead
The Mega Man games are excellent candidates for going the import route!
Loved it bro. Glad I found ya.
Thank you! Glad you found the channel as well :)
I have been trying to get Paper Mario on N64 for about 20 years now, but the prices seem to get worse and worse.
I found a repo cart and got it that way.
Havent played it yet (due to the backlog) but it was a happy solution to something that is unobtainable.
I've played all the way through that one. It's really fun!
The price for Paper Mario is kind of weird, the N64 version was an 80+ Euro game, a few months ago a lot of them sold for less than 60 (originals, not forgeries), now it's at 120. The PAL Gamecube version is also weird. The disk is multi 5, so it's always the same disk. You can get the English version for around 80, the German version is atleast 120 and if you sell it as disk-only in Germany it sells for 100.
Wii u is a good grab right now.
Its very affordable. It was a fun console and retro gamers will pick it up in the future I am certain.
There are some gems on the console and the best virtual console experience by far.
That's why I love retro handheld consoles with emulators. It's not the same as playing on original hardware but at least I get to experience the game without it destroying my wallet mortal Kombat style lol Plus it doesn't hog the TV so I can still watch my favorite shows and game at the same time... Another great video Retro Bird, awesome job
Yeah, for me as long as the physical contact is the same I don't mind emulation vs original hardware.
@@nickturnbull5454 I agree 100%
Never change your intro music.
These consoles aren’t expensive you can hack the games get the games for free any consoles that don’t have anything with achievements and trophies you’ll have no problem if your talking about PS4 games I agree if the game is discontinued physical and digital that game is rare
Great video as always! Love seeing your star continue to rise! I hope you continue to find success for as long as you enjoy making videos - we’re so lucky to have you!
Hey, thanks! I'm lucky to have viewers like yourself!
This guy is like Scott the Woz's millennial cousin and I'm here for it.
Now that you mention it, he does remind me of Scott.😂👍
Blue, Red, Yellow, Green...
Blue, and then Red, Followed by Yellow and Green.
Seems like there is a pattern here. 🤔
You got it :)
I'm really enjoying this videos about retro collections opinions, I like them so much that I just subscribed, wondering If you could do a video about clone retro consoles and repro games, seems that would be the future of retro collections for everyone except the richest of the people.
I would do a video covering those, but I don't own any of them currently.
@@RetroBirdGaming Is not a review what you need, but your opinion as a retrogamer of those products that can help retro game lovers have a nice collection without having to sell his first born.
@@RealDarko Ah, I see. In passing I have commented about how all the additional options gamers have to play these games are a great thing. The clone consoles are a part of that group :)
I love your humor. I laugh so hard watching your videos
Glad to hear it :)
For me, the game that got out of reach was twilight princess. I really wanted the gamecube version and kept putting off getting any copies. In the meantime the wii u version I could have gotten went from a nice price about $40 to its current price now. I still eventually want the gamecube version but it isnt necessary atm, and I settled for the far cheaper wii version for around $10. Plus I borrowed my buddy's wii u copy for my first playthrough and loved it so if I really want to, I can always get it digitally as long as the wii u eshop is online
In a way it always was out of reach cause Nintendo forgot about it and waited till the Wii launch to release both gc and Wii versions. Gc controls will always be better but ya gotta make sacrifices in today's market.
Those versions of Twilight Princess have really been a tease!
Yeah I've always wanted to get the GC version of Twilight Princess instead of my pleb Wii copy. But then I remember, I actually don't like Twilight Princess all that much, and am probably fine with never making that upgrade.
How much is the GC twilight princess going for?
@Bud thanks for the reply and you're absolutely right about when to buy. Take care bud
Doesn't help that we have so much artificial inflation going on because of the grading companies.
Whenever a game I want is too expensive my solution (and I know I may get crucified for this) is to buy a high quality repro. They look and play identically to the real thing and if you know some good sellers who are upfront about their products (not the scammers who try to pass them off as authentic) you can get them super cheap. And in the case of GB and GBA games, they often have batteries that clip in, removing the need to solder should the battery die. Which is pretty nice.
I guess I just like having a physical representation of the item even if it isn’t the real McCoy 🤷🏻♂️
I have knights of the round and dracula x repros and love em. As long as your not out selling them as originals then your just a smart shopper. Nothing wrong with that.
Back in the day I use to have all the Mega Man GB games, each of which I had purchased at release. Later when the GBA came out Capcom were going to make a Mega Man Anniversary Collection with all the GB games on one cart. So I traded in all my original GB games (MIB!) to EB Games as a deposit towards the new version. Capcom eventually announced that the MMAC had been cancelled because they lost the source code for the games. That actually made me cry a bit, especially now knowing how much those games are worth($$$$!).
Fast forward to 2021 and I discovered someone had made a GBA repro of the MMAC for $30, complete with save states and graphical filter options. The cartridge is even Mega Man blue. I don't care that it's a fake. This cartridge is a broken childhood promise triumphantly resolved.
@@dariusq8894 oh man that is heartbreaking…
I think I have that same blue MMAC cart lol
20 years ago I made 5.96/ hour and a game costing 12 bucks would cost me about 2 hours of work. Now I make close to 35/hour and the same game cost me about 2 hours of work....What is the difference exactly?
Most of my Mega Drive, PC Engine and Neo Geo AES collection was acquired during the days of Playstation 2 (which incidentally I never liked). From what I could feel at the time, it seemed like the world only wanted the Sony console and no one else was interested in those wonderful games I couldn't get in my teens. The same thing happened with Neo Geo Pocket Color and GBA games in the heyday of PSP and NDS. Logically I helped myself. 😅
But I didn't think the prices were low at the time. The games were already old, many of them over a decade old; how long would they last? Maybe too little, they had no guarantees. So the price was right. That's what amazes me with the value of old games today: they're even older and anyway prices have soared.
I have a PS2/3/4 but this is mostly out of FOMO and a handful of games. At this point it's not even worth trading the consoles in because they're worth more as DVD/Blu-ray players. PS3 in particular is actually a pretty good media centre.
I always think prices are too high and then they get higher.
Jack Bros is a game I balked at when I started trying to expand my Virtual Boy collection a decade ago when it was $300 and my happy end for a game that was out of reach was that I just scoured eBay for about 3 years, reporting fake copies all the way, and any time a listing popped up, I made an offer for way cheaper than what the asking prices were. Sales data was showing that the game just was not selling for the $900+ everyone was listing it for so I figured eventually someone would bite - and bite they did as I saw a listing for $850 that accepted my offer for $700, thus completing my collection of all 14 US VB games.