Time to start collecting 6th gen or even 7th gen games?

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

The retro gaming scene has been around for a long time now, and the prices of systems/games tend to follow a certain curve:

1 - Start out high when new and drop.
2 - Bottom out (from what I've noticed, this is about when the games are 10 years old)
3 - Appreciate due to increasing scarcity and retro gamer appeal. This peaks around 20 year games.
4 - Depreciate once again and level out. This tends to happen when the game is 25 years old or more.

So that puts PS4/Xbone/Wii U (8th gen) firmly in Step 1 with much of the 7th gen still in Step 1. The 6th gen is firmly in Step 2 from what I've noticed, I got 100 PS2 games (disc only) for 20 bucks a year and a half ago. 5th gen is going into Step 3 (it was FIRMLY in Step 2 in 2008, when I got 63 4th and 5th gen games for just $17).

So it seems the 6th generation is at its cheapest. Good idea to focus collecting on it?

[Niku-Sama]

actually kind of missed the boat on 6th your now in that waiting period for 7th.

I've noticed a lot of game cube stuff has become heavily sought after lately, game boy advance player for instance is going for a little more than its when new price as long as you have the disc with it, a year or so ago they were dirt cheap.
a lot of it seems to be happening with PS2 games instead of hardware and accessories, a lot of the games are gaining in popularity again and getting more and more pricier and that people prefer fat systems over slims and the fats seem to be getting more money than the slims.

it seems almost to me though that although right now both of those consoles are still considered cheap the fat PS2 with hook ups and controller is getting ~$25 on average where I am at and the gamecube is getting ~$35.
a year or 2 ago I was able to get them around $5 and $10 bucks but gamecube was usually the cheaper, little bit of role reversal at the moment

edit:

well crap I just re read that after posting it and I realize now its 3am and time for sleep, i'll fix it later but you get the jist if what I am saying

[xelement5x]

The problem with your step 4 is a limited data set.

NES has been out for almost 30 years and shows no sign of slowing down with pricing, and Master System is actually continuing to go UP in prices within the last several years actually.

I'm not saying all games will continue to rise no matter what, but the difference between Atari/Coleco/Intellevision and NES/SMS is quite large in terms of game quality, quantity, and variety. In my opinion, later generations will hold their own better than the very early ones because of their continued play-ability, the only exception to that being early/bad 3D games.

As for when to buy games, get them when they're cheap enough for you to not balk at it. There's no magic formula involved in it. If you're going to try and time everything perfectly to get the maximum return, go to the stock market instead.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

The problem with your step 4 is a limited data set.

NES has been out for almost 30 years and shows no sign of slowing down with pricing, and Master System is actually continuing to go UP in prices within the last several years actually.

I'm not saying all games will continue to rise no matter what, but the difference between Atari/Coleco/Intellevision and NES/SMS is quite large in terms of game quality, quantity, and variety. In my opinion, later generations will hold their own better than the very early ones because of their continued play-ability, the only exception to that being early/bad 3D games.

As for when to buy games, get them when they're cheap enough for you to not balk at it. There's no magic formula involved in it. If you're going to try and time everything perfectly to get the maximum return, go to the stock market instead.

Hence the "or more" in the "25 years or more" statement.

[ProjectCamaro]

I 've been picking up early Xbox 360 and PS3 games left and right for less than $5.00 in great condition lately.

[kupomogli]

If you don't care about most of your games not being in pristine condition then purchasing them at the end of the gen is fine, but if you're one of those that has an OCD where the game has to be perfect or near perfect condition, it's best to look into these games when there are more available. It may not be $10 or less per game, but even used you'll have an easier time finding even the most uncommon games in near perfect condition.