Is The Wii going To Kill The Value on NES and SNES Games???

[Parpunk]

Hey i figired this would be a good topic. Im very concerned myself seeing how i have over 500 nes games and over 120 Snes games. Wondering whether The Value will go up or go down? Any input?

[Bronty-2]

would tend to think they will go down, although I suppose it's possible that it might interest more people in picking up the classics. I just tend to think that it will be so easy for people to order whatever game they want that the prices will slump a bit. Then again, if nintendo charges $20 to download SMB3 or something, it's not going to hurt values. So I guess the real question is what will the download prices be?

[jajaja]

I think this have been discussed here before.
Anyway, i've also thought about it. Not everone will buy Wii and many do prefer the original system because it gives them the good memories back. Altho, im going to try to sell most of my doubles and extra machines before it hits the store.

[SirDrexl]

Does it really matter? Isn't the point of buying the games to have the physical copies? I could see being pissed if you paid a lot of money for something only to see it go way down in price, but that happens all the time with new consoles and games anyway.

[Slate]

One thing for sure, It's going to hurt the demand of Megaman x3 and Chrono Trigger like raging bulls in china shops.

If anyone has any copies of those games, now is the time to sell them before they go down in price.

[Towlie2110]

I don't beleive you. I'll keep my Chrono Trigger thank you.

[evil_genius]

it's hard to say. i think most people who buy things like complete NES games only buy them to collect not so much to play. i don't play any of my classic games. if i want to play the game i play the ROM, and honestly i dont think the virtual console is gonna be very popular. i know i won't be buying games on the vc. i own the games i want and have all of the ROMs. it might effect prices a little but i see classic game collecting being less popular in the next year, with so much cool new stuff coming out, and not mention expensive as well.

[MichaeltheGreat]

it's not going to hurt the games that collectors buy that won't be on the WII. It will hurt the games that sell for a lot because nostalgia noobs pay too much for them.

SE probably won't drop even if on the WII. If the Dragon warriors are released on the WII, I think their prices will go down. I agree on the Chrono Trigger/Mega Man X3. If nintendo would just release earthbound zero on the WII, people wouldn't pay $150 bucks for repros on ebay anymore...

[chrisbid]

what i think it will affect most are stores that carry classic games. i wont be surprised if gamecrazy (the last chain to carry anything older than PS2 now) will dump their old stock, and many mom n pop stores may do the same.

[Poofta!]

i hope they do go down, and i do see them going down, although mainly just the first party games. i doubt we'll see any drop in price of ff3/chrono trigger etc.

i believe the pricing has been rumored to be 1-5$ a download.

[Ed Oscuro]

Did the NES Classics series on GBA lower the price of the NES Bomberman? LOL Rares, even if they're on the Wii, will continue to be sought after. I don't see prices being lowered much, if at all, especially for rare games where there'll still be stiff competition on auction sites.

[slip81]

I doubt it will hurt the price. Most older games are bought by collectors nowadays, and collectors want physical copies.

It definately won't hurt the higher profile RPG's and games. People do things like pay $60 for a cart only Chrono Trigger because of the status that comes with owning such a game. If all these people buying the high-end games just wanted to play them there are much cheaper alternatives like reprints, collections and emulation.

[smokehouse]

There will always be a difference between emulation and having the real thing. Although authorized, the Wii is only emulating the classics. I for one have my games to play. No, I don’t play them on a regular basis but there is a distinct difference between an emulator and a real console.

It might affect the value a bit, but only for the more common titles. I strongly doubt the price of a SNES FFII or NES Contra Force will change due the Wii’s emulation service.

[RegSNES]

Having tons of old-school games on the Wii will not in any way make me sell my copies of Mega Man X3, Secret of Mana, or Chrono Trigger. If anything, the Wii will only stop me from having to system hop so much and as a collector, I do like owning the original cart. I'm hoping other systems will get added to the Wii's Virtual Console like the Saturn or even import games. OK, that last one is probably just hopeless wishful thinking. ;)

[Jumpman Jr.]

I do remember having this debate before, and I think my opinion is the same as it once was.
I actually think that the Wii is going to increase the value of our classic Nintendo games. The way I see it, people are going to be able to play the NES stuff, and want to have the nostalgic memories of owning their old SMB 3 carts again, which will drive up the market.

[Arcade Antics]

Hey i figired this would be a good topic. Im very concerned myself seeing how i have over 500 nes games and over 120 Snes games.
Why are you concerned? Don't you collect the games because you like them?


Wondering whether The Value will go up or go down? Any input?
Over the years, "value" will go up and/or down. However, the Wii will have zero to do with it.

[Parpunk]

nice debates here nice debates. I can kinda agree with both opinions. But im kinda leaning towards the fact they will stay the same and some will go up. think about it. The people who pay $600.00 for a Stadium Events isnt buying the game to play. they are buying it to have it as a collectors item. Same thing goes with spending $60.00 on a Chrono Trigger. People are wanting the real thing, probably for memories and just the fact of having one again because they probably sold their original at a yard sales 10 years ago lol. But the other thing is....It also does worry me about the rare titles like Bubble bobble 2 and Flintstones 2 Because, Yes most people are buying them to collect them, but they are also buying them to play. At least some are. Of course there is emulation but emulation kinda sucks. It dont look right and everyone knows the real thing is MUCH better. Plus the rare games that are 2 players like contra force cant really be used very well by emulation. Who likes to be all crammed up with an old buddy on the computer lol. How stupid is that lol. But if you could get it on the Wii for hardly anything That might push a lot of people to do so. And make Collectors Think Twice about dropping some hard cash on the game. hmmm something to think about for sure.

[cyberfluxor]

I think the only way the prices will drop (and hurt resell prices) is if they come up with a controller adaptor for the older games to make it more authentic to the classic (Maybe even an emulation with jitters and some lag at times). But downloading ROMs is different from having the physical copy. The purpose is to have something unique and with a demand and that's the value. Most that will be purchasing the ROMs (Or pirating them) don't care about our market anyways and won't drive our prices down. The demand will stay (Or drop VERY slightly).

[Ed Oscuro]

Hey i figired this would be a good topic. Im very concerned myself seeing how i have over 500 nes games and over 120 Snes games.
Why are you concerned? Don't you collect the games because you like them?
Is it a crime to be worried about the market forecast, now? Money is everything. No money, no life. That's the way of the world. :D

Anyhow, it seems to me that fads are the main thing that can affect a game's popularity. Dunno if we can have another "AYB," though...

[Steven]

I don't think they will go down. People like to have the "original real" thing, regardless of whether or not it's been released elsewhere in a more attainable matter.

Maybe $5 it effects, but no more. The Earthbound's of the SNES realm will still fetch 40+ IMO

[RegSNES]

Maybe $5 it effects, but no more. The Earthbound's of the SNES realm will still fetch 40+ IMO

Can you believe my friend just GAVE me his copy? He told me I could have it fof free and he gave me the guide too. :P

[Anthony1]

I do remember having this debate before, and I think my opinion is the same as it once was.
I actually think that the Wii is going to increase the value of our classic Nintendo games. The way I see it, people are going to be able to play the NES stuff, and want to have the nostalgic memories of owning their old SMB 3 carts again, which will drive up the market.



Ultimately, I think we are going to lose 1 out of 10 potential customers. We will lose more than 1, but we'll gain a few customers just like what Jumpman is saying. However, we will definitely lose some, cause there are some casual people out there that don't really care if they have the real thing and they will enjoy the convienence of being able to play it all on one machine. It may take a few years before we see any effect as well. It's going to take time for the Wii to be owned by a large enough customer base to affect market prices for the real games.


First you have


1. Nintendo Wii owners
2. Nintendo Wii owners who have their machines hooked up to broadband access
3. Nintendo Wii owners who have their machines hooked up to broadband access and have any interest whatsoever in old school games
4. Nintendo Wii owners who have their machines hooked up to broadband access and have any interest whatsover in old school games who also own the special Wii classic controller.
5. Nintendo Wii owners who have their machines hooked up to broadband access and have any interest whatsover in old school games who also own the special Wii classic controller who are willing to actually pay the full fee to own the whole game (probably will have 1 level trials or something for free)
6. Nintendo Wii owners who have their machines hooked up to broadband acces and have any interest whatsover in old school games who also own the special Wii classic controller who are willing to actually pay the full fee to own the whole game and no longer wish to own a real retro Nintendo system or now have no interest in aquiring one.




Situation #6 is the situation that people need to worry about, but in the grand scheme of things, it's going to be a pretty minor group of people that fall into situation #6, at least in the early years of the Wii's availability. Remember the Wii is likely going to cost $199.99 or $249.99 and it's not like every current or potential retro gamer is going to be able to buy that right away. When it's $99 to get one, then it will be a little bit bigger concern.

[Ed Oscuro]

6. Nintendo Wii owners who have their machines hooked up to broadband acces and have any interest whatsover in old school games who also own the special Wii classic controller who are willing to actually pay the full fee to own the whole game and no longer wish to own a real retro Nintendo system or now have no interest in aquiring one.
Anthony, I'm not trying to start anything, but it would've been just fine to have written "you need a combination of all these things: [insert your unnecessarily long-winded list here] for blahblahblah" LOL

[hydr0x]

imho not in general. But those games that are in high demand not because they are rare but only because everyone wants to play them once will probably drop, yeah. Those include games like Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. Those are wanted by US AND European gamers and why should a non-collector go for the 100USD original that he's going to sell again after playing it if he can get the Wii version for 5 bucks??

[dj_spryte]

okay sorry to embarrass myself, can somone please tell WTF is a Wii????

[Sothy]

What is the % of modern systems that are actually online?

Anyway if you buy NES games as some kind of demented 401k plan yer a fuckin idiot.


Game collecting is about nerd infatuation.

Noone gets rich from it. Maybe the guy that sells ps3s on ebay at Christmas but thats about it.

[jajaja]

Did the NES Classics series on GBA lower the price of the NES Bomberman? LOL Rares, even if they're on the Wii, will continue to be sought after. I don't see prices being lowered much, if at all, especially for rare games where there'll still be stiff competition on auction sites.

Good point, altho the GBA classic NES games was like $20 or something wasnt they? Here they was $35-$40 atleast. They were also for handheld. As you mentioned earlier, i also think the price on the download will determain if the prices on original NES/SNES games will drop.

[hydr0x]

Did the NES Classics series on GBA lower the price of the NES Bomberman? LOL Rares, even if they're on the Wii, will continue to be sought after. I don't see prices being lowered much, if at all, especially for rare games where there'll still be stiff competition on auction sites.

Good point, altho the GBA classic NES games was like $20 or something wasnt they? Here they was $35-$40 atleast. They were also for handheld. As you mentioned earlier, i also think the price on the download will determain if the prices on original NES/SNES games will drop.

yeah , 20 bucks and no rare games at all. The only really interesting one was Zelda (from a money point of view), no idea if the original Zelda dropped in value. But it's not comparable to the Wii anyways as this was a handheld (yeah, gameboy player for cube, i know) that competed with the stationary original

[evil_genius]

regardless of the reason why you collect games, you see it as an investment, and as much money as many of the people around here have put into their collection, many people would be upset if someday they need to sell and only get about half of what their stuff was worth when they bought it.

[Ed Oscuro]

Anyway if you buy NES games as some kind of demented 401k plan yer a fuckin idiot.
You use your 401K as your 401K ;)

Why not roll an investment for the future into your current hobby?

Also, I was under the impression that Bomberman (1) for NES was rather rare. Guess it's Bomberman 2, but that wasn't in the Classic Series, far as I know. Heh. Not my choice for Bomberman, anyway.

[Arcade Antics]

Hey i figired this would be a good topic. Im very concerned myself seeing how i have over 500 nes games and over 120 Snes games.
Why are you concerned? Don't you collect the games because you like them?
Is it a crime to be worried about the market forecast, now?
Wha? @_@

Market forecast? We're not dealing in stocks here, he asked about videogames. The way his question is phrased, it appears that he's concerned about the Wii "devaluing" his collection of 620 NES and SNES games. Which, no matter how you look at it, is silly.

In the first place, nobody should be collecting games (or anything else, really) as an investment. Collecting is a hobby, not a get rich quick scheme. One who is worried about money and "value," ought to hire a financial planner to get their 401K or IRA or other investments in order. Put money in the bank, not into a game collection.


Money is everything. No money, no life. That's the way of the world. :D
I don't know what this has to do with anything. Again, if he's worried about the "value" of a collection of NES games, so much so that he'll have no money and then no life, why buy them in the first place?



Anyway if you buy NES games as some kind of demented 401k plan yer a fuckin idiot.

Game collecting is about nerd infatuation.
Precisely.


regardless of the reason why you collect games, you see it as an investment,
Maybe *you* do, and it's possible that others do too, but not everybody does. It's *not* an investment though. It's a hobby. Yes, most hobbies require money, but nobody gets into one in lieu of their 401K.


and as much money as many of the people around here have put into their collection, many people would be upset if someday they need to sell and only get about half of what their stuff was worth when they bought it.
I agree that most people would be upset in that scenario. But they *shouldn't* be. Because the likelihood of that happening is 90% or higher. Ask anyone who's collected anything for a length of time and then sold it all off if they got back even 25-50% of what they paid for it and I'll bet dollars to donuts that their answer is "no."

[Jumpman Jr.]

okay sorry to embarrass myself, can somone please tell WTF is a Wii????

Nintendo's new console, you might remember it as being called "The Revolution." Those day's are now over and Nintendo has now decided to call their console the Nintendo Wii. Which sounds stupid at first, but it really, really grows on you.

After reading a lot of the posts, I think I agree most with what Anthony1 said in response to what I had said.
I think that we might lose something like 1 in 10 people from the market of buying video games, but that doesn't bother me at all because I'm not in the market to sell my games.
But also, if people really wanted to play their old NES games on some machine other than a NES (like a Wii, for example), why aren't those people emulating on their PC's right now? The Wii is going to charge people to play the old NES and SNES games, when people could just go on thier computer and download the ROMS to a game that they want to play, and emulation on PC's has been around for years, and that hasn't dramatically decreased the value of our collectibles.

[Parpunk]

arcade - dude i was just wondering if its gonna devalue the games Im not trying to get rich here or anything like that. Im just saying having a complete 6 in 1 doesnt look so good anymore if its only worth 30 bucks? honestly the game sucks. we all know that. its kinda ok at first but it really does suck lol. A big devalue of something like that makes collecting not so fun. You almost have to be retarded if you think the value of things has nothing to do with collecting. THATS WHAT COLLECTING IS ABOUT. Collecting things that are worth money. why go through the hassle of driving 40 mintues to the flea market back and forth every weekend (like myself) if it aint even worth it. Now im not saying i do it as an investment. I like going out and hoping to find goo deals on rare things. thats the excitement of it. If there was nothing rare and valuable it would be no where near as fun. of course it would be awesome to go out and get all the best games that are fun to play. but i already have all those lol. now where does a collector go from there. lol.??????? man if you didnt care about the value of collecting things you might as well go out and collect some rocks or like old socks or something lol.

[Simply Dave]

I actually think that the Wii is going to increase the value of our classic Nintendo games. The way I see it, people are going to be able to play the NES stuff, and want to have the nostalgic memories of owning their old SMB 3 carts again, which will drive up the market.

I was going to post the same reply, but you beat me to it.

I think there is a possibility of a whole new generation of kids being introduced to the old school systems and games through this new system.

And once they see how much find the old school stuff is, there's the chance that some of them are going to want the actual hardware. And the games.

And then some of them are going to get the collecting bug just like us. LOL

[Arcade Antics]

arcade - dude i was just wondering if its gonna devalue the games Im not trying to get rich here or anything like that.
Didn't suggest that you were trying to get rich.


Im just saying having a complete 6 in 1 doesnt look so good anymore if its only worth 30 bucks? honestly the game sucks. we all know that. its kinda ok at first but it really does suck lol. A big devalue of something like that makes collecting not so fun.
Why?


You almost have to be retarded if you think the value of things has nothing to do with collecting. THATS WHAT COLLECTING IS ABOUT.
Name calling aside, it's pretty clear that you collect because you think about money. I don't.

I collect games because I enjoy playing them. I'm a game player; the collection part is a side effect of wanting to play everything. "Value" has zero to do with it.


Collecting things that are worth money. why go through the hassle of driving 40 mintues to the flea market back and forth every weekend (like myself) if it aint even worth it.
Uh... because it's fun to play the games? To have a library of games to choose from to play at any given moment?


Now im not saying i do it as an investment.
You don't think you are, but you are. And you contradict yourself - in one sentence you say that collecting games is all about money, in the next, it's not an investment. @_@


I like going out and hoping to find goo deals on rare things. thats the excitement of it.
Look, if you find "goo deals" exciting, more power to you. To each his own. LOL


man if you didnt care about the value of collecting things you might as well go out and collect some rocks or like old socks or something lol.
We'll never see eye to eye on this one, but different strokes and alla that. "Value" of a collection is meaningless because it's only "worth" whatever you sell it for at any given moment. That's a fact. If you have a collection of games, stamps, rocks, gems, whatever, it's only "worth" is the warm fuzzies it gives you. The moment you sell it and get $10 or $100 or $1000 is the moment that it has value.

And to get back on track, the Wii being released will do nothing to affect the selling prices of classic stuff. It already fluctuates on its own. :)

[Parpunk]

you must not own anything rare lol................anyways you said the fun is to have new title to play etc. yes true but what do you do when you have pretty much every good game that exists lol ???????

[odyeiop]

Wii is a giant emulator.. so no.


That's really going to fuck up foreign people with grammar. "Wii is? Shouldn't it be Wii are?"

T__T

[mills]

Is The Wii going To Kill The Value on NES and SNES Games???


No, did emualators and rom downloads kill your love for NES and SNES carts?

[TurboGenesis]

Im just saying having a complete 6 in 1 doesnt look so good anymore if its only worth 30 bucks? honestly the game sucks. we all know that. its kinda ok at first but it really does suck lol.

I highly doubt that the 6 in 1 games or any unlicensed game for that matter will be available on the wii. So in that sense, you shouldn't worry about it loosing "value".

Will Turbo games go down in value???
I HOPE SO! this way I can complete my library. Bonk 3 is too expensive right now!

[Ed Oscuro]

That's really going to fuck up foreign people with grammar. "Wii is? Shouldn't it be Wii are?"

T__T
Well, just refer to it as a noun...The Wii.

[Sph1nx]

I honestly see no changes, only a possible incease in people interested in out hobby... EXCEPT for the rare and really good, or really good and expensive but not rare games.

If games like Earthbound and Chrono Trigger are released I see their price dropping. I know people who drop the cash on this game because they want to play it.... people who have no intrest in collecting games at all.

Granted, it's very easy to argue against my thoughts. People who buys these games now could just download them and ROM it up.

It's hard to say. Only time will tell.

[Parpunk]

true but roms didnt drop the value because 90 percent of people know that roms are no where near as good as the original. but if the games are on the wii and are exactly like the original it could possibly hurt some certain titles but it may not though??? hmm i dunno know

[Bronty-2]

I honestly see no changes, only a possible incease in people interested in out hobby... EXCEPT for the rare and really good, or really good and expensive but not rare games.

If games like Earthbound and Chrono Trigger are released I see their price dropping. I know people who drop the cash on this game because they want to play it.... people who have no intrest in collecting games at all.

Granted, it's very easy to argue against my thoughts. People who buys these games now could just download them and ROM it up.

It's hard to say. Only time will tell.

I think that's a pretty good summary. Rare stuff that sucks to play anyway shouldn't be affected but stuff like chrono and earthbound with high 'play value' probably should be. Basically the collectible games shouldn't be affected but those bought for playing purposes should be.

I could also see this eventually increasing the spread, at least on certain games, between the value of a loose copy and a complete copy. If we take earthbound as an example, the completes are going to go to more of a 'collector' fan base that will want it regardless of the wii, the loose carts to more of a 'player' fan base that might not want to pay for something they can just download.

[jajaja]

Well.. about the emulator and ROM, i'd say thats a bit diffrent. To use this you must know how to search for it and where to find ROMS etc. With Wii its made so simple that everyone can download the ROMs and play.

[odyeiop]

Well.. about the emulator and ROM, i'd say thats a bit diffrent. To use this you must know how to search for it and where to find ROMS etc. With Wii its made so simple that everyone can download the ROMs and play.
Everybody knows what google is =P

Roms are very very easy to find. While yes, I do agree that this will make it much easier, I don't see it having to much of an effect. It may in the sense that they can play it on a Console and not on a PC now, but we'll see.

[boatofcar]

and as much money as many of the people around here have put into their collection, many people would be upset if someday they need to sell and only get about half of what their stuff was worth when they bought it.
I agree that most people would be upset in that scenario. But they *shouldn't* be. Because the likelihood of that happening is 90% or higher. Ask anyone who's collected anything for a length of time and then sold it all off if they got back even 25-50% of what they paid for it and I'll bet dollars to donuts that their answer is "no."

This is a good point. As collectibles, video games have very poor resale value. Since it's been mentioned before in this thread, let's take Chrono Trigger as an example. By all standards it is one of the more expensive games for the SNES, but even so, it is still cheaper than it's original price! I bought Crono Trigger for $80 when it was new- the $60 price point that's been batted about here is $20 less than that. I'd say that only about 1% of all video games book higher than their original MSRP. If you want to buy collectibles for investment purposes, video games are a poor choice.

[segarocks30]

nice debates here nice debates. I can kinda agree with both opinions. But im kinda leaning towards the fact they will stay the same and some will go up. think about it. The people who pay $600.00 for a Stadium Events isnt buying the game to play. they are buying it to have it as a collectors item. Same thing goes with spending $60.00 on a Chrono Trigger. People are wanting the real thing, probably for memories and just the fact of having one again because they probably sold their original at a yard sales 10 years ago lol. But the other thing is....It also does worry me about the rare titles like Bubble bobble 2 and Flintstones 2 Because, Yes most people are buying them to collect them, but they are also buying them to play. At least some are. Of course there is emulation but emulation kinda sucks. It dont look right and everyone knows the real thing is MUCH better. Plus the rare games that are 2 players like contra force cant really be used very well by emulation. Who likes to be all crammed up with an old buddy on the computer lol. How stupid is that lol. But if you could get it on the Wii for hardly anything That might push a lot of people to do so. And make Collectors Think Twice about dropping some hard cash on the game. hmmm something to think about for sure.


That's how I think. Some people just collect the games for a simple stupid collectors item the will never play. Hell, if I ever got NWC 1990, I'd be popping it right into my NES.

[djb1986]

Don't know if someone mentioned this already, but here it is anyway...

I highly doubt it on rarities like Stadium Event, NWC, Hot Slots Poker, etc. because they will not be ported to the VC.

[Coleman]

my understanding which may be completely wrong was that the Wii was going to offer an online service at 'X' amount of dollars / month allowing unlimited acces to the games in there cataloge but you would not actually get to download and keep them perminatly you have to continue the subscription to keep access to the games -- similar to game tap

[Cryomancer]

Yes! AND N64! SELL SELL SELL

[tom]

Check out USA ebay, thousands of NES games for $1.00 already....hehe

[jajaja]

Well.. about the emulator and ROM, i'd say thats a bit diffrent. To use this you must know how to search for it and where to find ROMS etc. With Wii its made so simple that everyone can download the ROMs and play.
Everybody knows what google is =P

Roms are very very easy to find. While yes, I do agree that this will make it much easier, I don't see it having to much of an effect. It may in the sense that they can play it on a Console and not on a PC now, but we'll see.

You would be suprised over how many that have no idea on how to find stuff on the internet. Ask your mom and dad to get a NES emu and some ROMs from the inet. If i ask my parents about that they would just look at me with a question mark hehe. Even if you know what google is it doesnt mean you know what a emulator and ROM are.

So in some cases it wont suprise me if the value for some games drops. Like here Super Mario Bros 3 is like $30 - $35 for a loose cart. If alot of people buy the Wii and are familiar with the download feature i think the value might drop, atleast here.

[FireMillen]

is anyone already seeing a price drop? I had a complete nes with 4 games ready to go starting bid 19.99 and NO SALE

[kainemaxwell]

It possibly will, but then again could open up a new group of people to classic gaming and encourage them to rediscovering and buying the old systems and games again.

[All Things Sega]

I don't think prices are gonna drop that much. Look at all the suckers who paid $20 for the gba claasics which were basically emulated nes games. There is a market out there and Nintendo will try to exploit which is smart of them. I agree that emulation is good to play but it does not recreate the game correctly. Little things are always off like graphics or sound. Its those little things that make the games enjoyable and bring back the memories. So don't go out rushing selling all of your stock. Even the rare crappy games like the Panesian games won't be emulated on the Wii so those crazy prices are here to stay.

[swlovinist]

More people playing the old games may actually help the value of the "original carts" Either way, I am not worried about my Nes set and its value. I didnt collect it for the money.

[-hellvin-]

I think the values will hold. I mean, think about how much some of the nes carts are going for today, when you can spend five seconds jumping on a torrent site and load up a torrent for a complete rom set. Doesn't hurt the value any. Collectors will always be about having a physical copy and even the original box and manual.

[ice1605]

I don't think that the value will change. People who want to play NES games are either collectors as well, or people with emulators. I was at a videogame tournament at my school (game was Super Smash Bros. Melee, and I lost in the FINAL ROUND!), and my friend plays Chrono Trigger... on an emulator. So, the Wii will have little or no impact on the prices.

[retroplayer]

I ,don,t think the prices will drop because it,s not the ame feeling as holding a game in your hand and to see the box art etc. Mayby it,s gonna drop the price of the more common games like the smb,s.

[jboypacman]

the wii should be pretty cool and all but i dont think its going to effect the value of the nes and snes games because the collectors are still going to want to own the actual games.

[cyberfluxor]

Might as well add that most of these games have been out between 20-10yrs now and their physical value has been settling over that time. The general demand for the title is what drives its price and the rarity in some cases, but popularity is always #1 in price driving. If suddenly everyone hates classic gaming then there'll be a huge crash and a flooded cheap market, which I'd doubt you guys will do that. Because, once again they have been out 10-20yrs, most of us that grew up to these classics can now afford them living out of the parents house and what have you, but in another 20+ years the next generation or 2 of people won't have the exposure to the now classics and the demand will drop causing that crash in these games. So it's not a matter of system releases that kill prices, it's the generation of users/gamers that ignore or don't demand these other games and systems. So one day you may see all but a few elite games going for $1, and those highly still über rare protos and all still going for a few hundred due to collectors value.

Not sure if I said all that in the right way, but I'm sure most hardcore collectors already know this rule of thumb for supply/damand pricing and all. So time will drive game prices, not new generations of gaming.

[cyberfluxor]

Might as well add that most of these games have been out between 20-10yrs now and their physical value has been settling over that time. The general demand for the title is what drives its price and the rarity in some cases, but popularity is always #1 in price driving. If suddenly everyone hates classic gaming then there'll be a huge crash and a flooded cheap market, which I'd doubt you guys will do that. Because, once again they have been out 10-20yrs, most of us that grew up to these classics can now afford them living out of the parents house and what have you, but in another 20+ years the next generation or 2 of people won't have the exposure to the now classics and the demand will drop causing that crash in these games. So it's not a matter of system releases that kill prices, it's the generation of users/gamers that ignore or don't demand these other games and systems. So one day you may see all but a few elite games going for $1, and those highly still über rare protos and all still going for a few hundred due to collectors value.

Not sure if I said all that in the right way, but I'm sure most hardcore collectors already know this rule of thumb for supply/damand pricing and all. So time will drive game prices, not new generations of gaming.

[dj_spryte]

This is a good point. As collectibles, video games have very poor resale value. Since it's been mentioned before in this thread, let's take Chrono Trigger as an example. By all standards it is one of the more expensive games for the SNES, but even so, it is still cheaper than it's original price! I bought Crono Trigger for $80 when it was new- the $60 price point that's been batted about here is $20 less than that. I'd say that only about 1% of all video games book higher than their original MSRP. If you want to buy collectibles for investment purposes, video games are a poor choice.

What are you talking about? you say you bought your Chrono Trigger NEW for 80 dollars when it was released. Have you ever seen a factory sealed Chrono Trigger sell on Ebay today? How about taking your 80 dollars and multiplying it by 7. Within a period of 10 years the market value of a sealed Chrono Trigger jumped like crazy. Yeah you can get a copy for 60 bucks a cartridge and maybe a complete set for about a hundered or so. But i'll tell you this, if i knew sealed games like Chrono Trigger and Mega Man X3 would be worth so much more today, I would have bought a shitload back then. Now that's an investment.

[dj_spryte]

This is a good point. As collectibles, video games have very poor resale value. Since it's been mentioned before in this thread, let's take Chrono Trigger as an example. By all standards it is one of the more expensive games for the SNES, but even so, it is still cheaper than it's original price! I bought Crono Trigger for $80 when it was new- the $60 price point that's been batted about here is $20 less than that. I'd say that only about 1% of all video games book higher than their original MSRP. If you want to buy collectibles for investment purposes, video games are a poor choice.

What are you talking about? you say you bought your Chrono Trigger NEW for 80 dollars when it was released. Have you ever seen a factory sealed Chrono Trigger sell on Ebay today? How about taking your 80 dollars and multiplying it by 7. Within a period of 10 years the market value of a sealed Chrono Trigger jumped like crazy. Yeah you can get a copy for 60 bucks a cartridge and maybe a complete set for about a hundered or so. But i'll tell you this, if i knew sealed games like Chrono Trigger and Mega Man X3 would be worth so much more today, I would have bought a shitload back then. Now that's an investment.

[Bronty-2]

So one day you may see all but a few elite games going for $1, and those highly still über rare protos and all still going for a few hundred due to collectors value.
.

I think what you're trying to say is that the price people are willing to pay to play something is going to drop in the long run versus what people are willing to pay to collect something won't.... leaving only the significant collectors' items as being the pieces with any real value. Which I would agree with.. my understanding of atari prices over the last 10 yrs is that loose cart prices have dropped while the price for completes has gone up. Same phenomenon.

Similarly, in comics, when the 'price guide' first came out 35 yrs ago a 'good' (beat up) comic was worth 1/3 of a'mint'. Nowadays it's probably more like 1/100. Same idea. The 0.1% of stuff that's special usually just keeps going up. The 99.9% of the rest drops like a rock over time either in absolute terms or in relation to the 'special' items.

[Bronty-2]

So one day you may see all but a few elite games going for $1, and those highly still über rare protos and all still going for a few hundred due to collectors value.
.

I think what you're trying to say is that the price people are willing to pay to play something is going to drop in the long run versus what people are willing to pay to collect something won't.... leaving only the significant collectors' items as being the pieces with any real value. Which I would agree with.. my understanding of atari prices over the last 10 yrs is that loose cart prices have dropped while the price for completes has gone up. Same phenomenon.

Similarly, in comics, when the 'price guide' first came out 35 yrs ago a 'good' (beat up) comic was worth 1/3 of a'mint'. Nowadays it's probably more like 1/100. Same idea. The 0.1% of stuff that's special usually just keeps going up. The 99.9% of the rest drops like a rock over time either in absolute terms or in relation to the 'special' items.