Has vintage game collecting reached a peak?

[UnpluggedClone]

Google 4 Gaga

[Steven]

1. Youtube. People like AVGN and Irate Game popularizing vintage games and youtube in general where you have a medium to show of your game collection a lot easier then before. All that has driven vintage game sells up people see it more people want it more.

2. Age. All the kids that grew up with the NES are now in there late 20's to early 30's. They have kids and money and want to relive there nostalgic past.

Has vintage games reached a peak? Will it continue to go up? Will it Go Down?
Curious on what people think about the retro revolution.


I agree with the first two in particular. A lot of us were born in that 1978-1985 range... and now we're getting to be 25-33 years old... have the disposable income to "reclaim our childhood" that we simply couldn't 15, 20 years ago. There is a certain appeal about having the ability to own games you could not back in the day.

Youtube definitely exploded in 2006 and through to today. It seems everyone is a vlogging (or whatever it is called) reviewer on youtube. This of course increases exposure to our hobby.

I think it will remain the same as it is now, maybe pick up some, maybe drop some, but probably will be like this for another 2-3 years. After that, it's anyone's guess. What happens in 2015 when all the late '70s early '80s people bought all they want of 8 and 16 bit games? Will demand still be high and supply high, or low? Who knows. I won't rack my brains trying to figure out the landscape. I just know I'm glad to be out of the rat race!

[Rogue]

I really don't see PS2 kids buying Mega Drive games...
I mean, when they're 25-30 as stated.

[Steven]

I really don't see PS2 kids buying Mega Drive games...
I mean, when they're 25-30 as stated.


I concur. It'll be interesting to see how 8 and 16 bit games are priced in 2015, 2020...

I think a lot of it has to do with nostalgia. Buying what you were familiar with during your childhood. Of course there will always be people buying old games and systems that came out BEFORE they were born, but the majority IMHO are those looking to reclaim their childhood. It's hard for me to see kids born in say, 1997, collecting NES games in the year 2020 when they're 23.

[Arkhan]

alot of it also has to do with the "retro boom"

all the NES mario shirts/bracelets and crap for sale at the mall.

n00blit kids going OMG RETRO MARIO!112233, and suddenly getting into NES and crap and going apeshit, and buying up all the stuff they can :)

[Smashed Brother]

I've noticed this 'explosion' in everything retro and I've occasionally touched on it in some of my other posts. But, I don't think that it's just 8 and 16-bit stuff that people are salivating over, but also 32-bit stuff. Like the OP said, barely 5-6 years ago, I was able to walk into a used gaming store (even Gamestop) and have my pick of pretty much whatever I wanted and get it for dirt cheap. I once saw Bubble Bobble 2 (NES) for only $15, for crying out loud! I've snatched up plenty of CIB 8, 16 and 32-bit games for very little in the past; not because I had planned on ever selling them, but because I actually wanted to play them (imagine that!). I had missed out on a lot of these games in my youth simply because I couldn't afford them and now that I could, I wanted to see what I was missing.

But nowadays, forget about walking in and finding anything good in any of those stores, and if you do, expect to pay big-time. Everyone thinks that they have 'teh rarez' when it comes these old games and anything that is even remotely hard-to-find is always behind the glass case with a ridiculous price-tag attached to it. Why is it like this? Nostalgia + ebay (and other online auction/sale sites) and a certain lack of knowledge for some people have ruined it for the rest of us who actually pursue a certain title for the sake of playing it.

[mobiusclimber]

Actually I think the "boom" is kinda of over. Two years ago or so a lot of "common" games were pulling in much more than they are now. Part of that, I'm sure, is that so many of these games are now available for download. The casual people aren't collecting anymore, just downloading stuff on their Wii/PS3/360/PSPGo/whatever. Donkey Kong Country series, FF7, etc etc... They just don't sell for what they used to. Granted that's made the price of certain games shoot up (ones that'll never get released as downloads *cough*earthbound*cough*), but beyond a handful of titles, prices are down across the board.

[Smashed Brother]

Actually I think the "boom" is kinda of over. Two years ago or so a lot of "common" games were pulling in much more than they are now. Part of that, I'm sure, is that so many of these games are now available for download. The casual people aren't collecting anymore, just downloading stuff on their Wii/PS3/360/PSPGo/whatever. Donkey Kong Country series, FF7, etc etc... They just don't sell for what they used to. Granted that's made the price of certain games shoot up (ones that'll never get released as downloads *cough*earthbound*cough*), but beyond a handful of titles, prices are down across the board.

There's definitely a lot of truth in what you say. Even though I prefer a physical copy of a game, I've done my fair share of downloading/emulation. But, I'll add that even though the games might not sell like they used to, they still sell for as much as they used to, and that's where my issue lies with the whole 'retro craze' thing.

[PapaStu]

Five to ten years ago the 2600 was 'THE' system. Now the next wave of people (those who grew up on the NES) are coming into their own and have the disposable income to buy stuff (like the 2600 people did before that). Currently 2600 stuff is in the dumpers and NES is king. In a few years it'll be SNES and after that N64/PlayStation. The scene is driven by those reliving their younger days.

[RetroYoungen]

Five to ten years ago the 2600 was 'THE' system. Now the next wave of people (those who grew up on the NES) are coming into their own and have the disposable income to buy stuff (like the 2600 people did before that). Currently 2600 stuff is in the dumpers and NES is king. In a few years it'll be SNES and after that N64/PlayStation. The scene is driven by those reliving their younger days.

Definitely have to agree. I think, of this generation, the guys my age who are collecting are doing it to almost "re-claim" something from their youth; I personally got started because of my NES, it was the gateway for me into this hobby in the first place. My nephew, however, was born in 1997, and always had a Playstation controller in this hand (except when I let him play some TMNT on MY NES), so if anything I can see him trying to find some of those games and explore that library.

As I've come to understand it, this hobby is more about discovering one's own history instead of just playing all of the classics... though we do that too, to be honest. :rocker:

[ShinobiMan]

Five to ten years ago the 2600 was 'THE' system. Now the next wave of people (those who grew up on the NES) are coming into their own and have the disposable income to buy stuff (like the 2600 people did before that). Currently 2600 stuff is in the dumpers and NES is king. In a few years it'll be SNES and after that N64/PlayStation. The scene is driven by those reliving their younger days.

There is so much truth in this statement. I guess I'm in the minority, as I've been collecting video games since I was 8 years old. I was fortunate enough to have a Dad that loved games as much as I did. I'll never forget asking him about Atari 2600 (we didn't own one) and he would tell me all of these stories about it. Together we assembled a huge collection, spanning many consoles. But it's weird to think that I was collecting Atari games as a child when SNES and Genesis were current... but now THOSE games are the collected ones. It's true that Atari, Itellivision, Colecovision etc. are not nearly as sought after as they once were in the 90's / early '00's.

I wonder what the scene of collecting video games will look like 20 years from now. Atari would be like collecting antiques I'm sure. Reminds me on the NES Back To The Future game in the store window in the film Back To The Future Part 2.

[Sosage]

Five to ten years ago the 2600 was 'THE' system. Now the next wave of people (those who grew up on the NES) are coming into their own and have the disposable income to buy stuff (like the 2600 people did before that). Currently 2600 stuff is in the dumpers and NES is king. In a few years it'll be SNES and after that N64/PlayStation. The scene is driven by those reliving their younger days.

QFT. There is no overall peak or fall. The popularity is more era based. The first place I saw was in arcade related hardware collecting, although I haven't really gotten back into it since 2k5. I remember when CPS-1 SF2 boards were being used as doorstops, while the Pac-Man/Galaga era stuff was in high demand. There were just so many JAMMA boards laying around in warehouses being treated like shit. At one point anything JAMMA was just being frowned on big time and regarded as cheap crap by collectors. Good thing I got my SF2 boards then, because now they're much more desirable. Last time I checked, the older stuff isn't as desirable anymore (doesn't stop people from trying to price it like it is though).

I imagine eventually we'll hit a time where those going into their 20's don't even know wtf an arcade machine is outside of DDR. Then all of the stuff I care about will be cheap again. :)

[portnoyd]

No, we're not at peak yet.

[swlovinist]

Not a peak, not even close. Collecting video games of yesteryear will always be there in demand. Retro Video Games is a moving target. As many others have said, the demand will move with the times.

[jonebone]

Five to ten years ago the 2600 was 'THE' system. Now the next wave of people (those who grew up on the NES) are coming into their own and have the disposable income to buy stuff (like the 2600 people did before that). Currently 2600 stuff is in the dumpers and NES is king. In a few years it'll be SNES and after that N64/PlayStation. The scene is driven by those reliving their younger days.

/thread

Collecting comes in generations and platforms. You can't just lump it all together and say "Vintage game collecting has peaked."

[snester]

Or you could be like me. I tried to get out but I couldn't take it, so I came back! About 3 years ago I had a huge collection with hundreds of games--Atari 7800, NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PS1, Dreamcast, Game Boy, and GBA. I needed to buy a new computer and a new TV, and since I already had a Wii and PS3, I decided to just sell my classic collection off to raise money to buy my new equipment and just rely on the Virtual Console and PSN. I sold everything except for a few consoles (NES toploader, SNES, N64) and a handful of my favorite games that are not available for download (Tecmo Super Bowl, NBA Jam, Goldeneye, etc.). Well, a few years passed, the Wii migrated down to the living room where the girlfriend and kid are glued to it, and I started getting the itch to have some of my old classic games back. So, I broke down and bought some of them back! This time I'm just sticking with the old Nintendo consoles and not going bonkers like I did before. Most of the games I have now are ones I actually owned and played as a kid (not just collecting random games like I did before). My collection is much more focused now, and is filled with games that have sentimental value to me (that I'll actually play!)

[Mobius]

Nostalgia + eBay really sums it up. Just like everyone is talking about above, I was born in the early 80s ('82) and now I have all the disposable income I need to get the stuff I missed out on the first time through. It's not really nostalgia for the old games I used to play, though (I never sold my games, so I still have all my childhood games). It's nostalgia for what I didn't have as a kid. I remember going through game magazines and wishing I could get all sorts of different games and platforms, and now I can.

[Diatribal Deity]

I think your leaving out globalization and the increasing and spreading of wealth amongst the world. Yes, much can be region specific. But while demand can decrease in one segment, it may also spread to others. Global economy and demand is now another factor.

[Sanriostar]

Yup.
6 months.
Time for this topic to surface again.

[Cobra Commander]

I hope vintage collecting goes down the tubes. Maybe it'll be cheaper to get the games I want.

[UnpluggedClone]

Google 4 Gaga

[Greg2600]

10 years ago I was broke. Having only the games and systems I held onto from childhood. 5 years ago, I had a lot of spending income, and started actually collecting. In terms of popularity, hard to say. Most games were highly mass-produced, so they will likely not have high value in our lifetime. Comparing to vintage cars or really old baseball cards or coins or something. I think collecting the older stuff will continue, because the newer systems and games are starting to look at digital-only.

[Rickstilwell1]

If this process of collecting what games someone had as a kid is true, this has me curious. Before the Atari collectors emerged, were people going crazy for Pongs on ebay or did that generation of gaming just fade away? As pongs are harder to collect due to having unique sizes and shapes I would think less people wanted to go back to that generation.

[lazyhoboguy]

Well I am 21 years old and grew up with a N64, yet I have over 30 NES games now, am starting up on a SNES collection, and still plan to buy every old sega system I missed out on. Even though these old systems came out before I was born or while I was a little kid and did not know about them, I value gameplay over graphics so I get enjoyment out of these games. I think that as long as there are people who are really into video games, they will eventually research about older systems and seek them out.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Values for anything do not go up forever. Just look at the American housing market that crashed. Eventually, retro gaming will hit its peak, then probably cave a bit.

On another note, the kids being born today will live in an all digital world, and will probably not want to surround themselves with large bulky physical games sytems and cartridges. They are going to be more inclined to download those kinds of games in much the same way they be downloading their homework onto electronic tablets. The NES and SNES will seem so primitive; they might as well be carved out of rock.

[Rickstilwell1]

Well I am 21 years old and grew up with a N64, yet I have over 30 NES games now, am starting up on a SNES collection, and still plan to buy every old sega system I missed out on. Even though these old systems came out before I was born or while I was a little kid and did not know about them, I value gameplay over graphics so I get enjoyment out of these games. I think that as long as there are people who are really into video games, they will eventually research about older systems and seek them out.

Same here. I'm 22, grew up with NES, Genesis and SNES at first and now I'm really into hunting down Atari games etc.

It really depends on who wants to learn about the past by experience and who won't bother.

[Ze_ro]

Each generation goes through a boom and decline. As people get older and have disposable income and want to relive their nostalgia, they get into the video games they had when they were young. Eventually, they get older, get married and have kids, and their money starts going elsewhere. As the number of collectors for a system falls, the common stuff loses value... As mentioned, the days of 2600 collecting have already declined significantly, while it seems NES is still growing.

Keep in mind that for the top-tier rare items, like Magicard, Video Life, and Stadium Events, prices will probably never decline. Supply will never exceed demand for these items, even when the systems are old and unpopular. Consider the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card... being that it's from 1911, I can't imagine many people who are actively seeking it out are old enough to have any real sense of nostalgia about it, but obviously it's still very valuable.

It'll be interesting to see where things go from here. Each generation of game systems grew the industry, so as more systems go through their boom and decline, there will likely be more and more collectors in the scene for those systems (Imagine how many people will be collecting PS2, since just about everyone had one)... but production runs and distribution have increased too, so will there actually be more competition, or less?

--Zero

[Jehusephat]

I feel that vintage games will only continue to get more expensive over time, and the reason for this will be the collectors themselves. Ten years ago, I could have obtained a number of games off of eBay for a few dollars that now sell for $100 or more. These games were originally in the hands of people who owned them at some point in the past, and were selling them to free up space or get rid of old junk they had lying around. There were a large number of people who would sell their old games in lots without any concern for their value. Now it seems that most of the original game owners have cleaned out their garages, and the games have been sold to others who collect them or resell them. Both of these groups of people are aware of how rare a game is, and how much they can expect to obtain for it. In order to buy from them, you will be expected to play by the rules and pay some sort of established price for the item they're selling. The more games are resold from their original owners to collectors, the less likely it will be that anyone will walk away from a yard sale with a pile of NES games. In ten or fifteen years, I'm guessing almost everyone selling vintage games will be aware of their value and will be looking to sell them to the highest bidder. Also, as more games fall into the hands of collectors unwilling to part with them, the perceived rarity of those games goes up. There may be tens of thousands of copies of many games made, but if 3/4 of those copies are already in the hands of collectors, the actual availability of the game will decrease and the price will rise for the remaining copies still available for sale. Vintage games are not getting any less rare, and the number of working original copies of any specific game will constantly be decreasing as time goes on. I'm guessing that there will soon come a day when a working copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 will bring tears to our eyes.