What's wrong with the sales of Sega Genesis games lately?

[MegaDrive20XX]

Is there something wrong with the current state of selling Sega Genesis games either complete or cart only? My best friend is trying to sell his complete copy of MUSHA and it's only going for below the average sale price of $45 judging from completed listings on Ebay. What exactly happened? Is it due to the holiday season that's effecting the market or just Ebay? He's afraid he might not get a solid price on it.

Meanwhile, SNES and NES games have been fetching decent or sometimes higher prices lately. Which baffles me on what could be triggering the demand. Is it primarily due popularity or the consistent re-releases of certain games, like for example Splatterhouse 3 has gone down in price.

For a collector, it's a great time to purchase I will say.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

From reading your comment, it sounds like the Musha auction isn't over yet. If so, I wouldn't worry about it. Most bids happen in the last minute as people try to outsnipe each other. Does he have a lot of "watchers"?

As far as Genesis prices in general, it doesn't surprise me that there's a decline. The Sega name has been in decline since they don't make systems any more. A lot of kids growing up today probably have never played a Sega system. Also, since it's near the holidays, I bet a lot of gamers are moving their gaming dollars to new games as opposed to old and used.

There does seem to be a slight decline in Genesis prices lately, but it's still up compared to a few years ago. Here's a chart:
http://videogames.pricecharting.com/...s?sort-by=name

[norkusa]

It's not just Genesis games. I've been selling off my PS1 collection lately and noticed a huge decline in prices from 1-2 years ago. A lot of the rare/valuable stuff was re-printed or re-released on PSP or PSN, so the prices keep dropping. And the common/uncommon stuff nobody really cares about anymore.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Plus the crappy economy in the US means people won't pay as much as before.

Example: Water World for Virtual Boy. A cart only copy used to be worth $60. Now a CIB copy sold for $45...

[MegaDrive20XX]

@Orion, he won't even post on Ebay until he knows for sure he claims. He saw the completed listings and it sent a bad vibe to him.

As for norkusa and Kitsune, I strongly agree with both.

[Edmond Dantes]

In other words, this would be a good time to grab a complete copy of MUSHA.

Or would be if it weren't Christmas season.

[Dobie]

I don't think the prices on everything are depressed. I recently sold off a huge chunk of my NES collection on ebay, and I did VERY well on the quality rare stuff. Lots of watchers, interest, and bids. I think if its a game that is in demand on a system thats in demand, without any reprints or digital releases, you'll do fine. Bidders WILL show up. Genesis just doesn't have the collector following of Nintendo stuff. Its not "bad," just not as strong.

I concur on the PS1 games. Its hard to justfy selling any of those after fees. I barely broke even on a set of non-GH Final Fantasy games, MINT. Those were HIGH demand games a few years ago. Now you can get them on your PS3 for $10. The disc is just a liability for most people. You can buy those cheap all day long now.

[Melf]

I've noticed that several Genesis titles have gone up in price. Rastan Saga II, Ys III, and a few others are now pretty hard to find complete for less than $20. Most other games are dirt cheap though. Master System games are really cheap now too. I'm building up a nice little collection for peanuts.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Genesis just doesn't have the collector following of Nintendo stuff. Its not "bad," just not as strong.
.

When I first decided to post this, that's the first thought that came to mind.

[VertigoProcess]

i've seen a more recent decline in genesis controller sales... they're not selling well at all for me at the same price they were flying at 3 or so months ago...

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

@Orion, he won't even post on Ebay until he knows for sure he claims. He saw the completed listings and it sent a bad vibe to him.

My bad, but I don't know what he's looking at to think it'll only sell for $45. I'm looking at the recent completed listings, and there have been two complete copies that sold recently. One sold for $150, and the other sold for $262. I see one that sold for $30, but that one didn't include the cartridge, just the manual and box.

[Edmond Dantes]

My bad, but I don't know what he's looking at to think it'll only sell for $45. I'm looking at the recent completed listings, and there have been two complete copies that sold recently. One sold for $150, and the other sold for $262. I see one that sold for $30, but that one didn't include the cartridge, just the manual and box.

Don't tell him! I'm hoping he'll sell it to me after Christmas!

... I used to own a complete copy of MUSHA that I got at a Flea Market for $20. I should NEVER have sold it. EVER.

[Gameguy]

I've noticed that several Genesis titles have gone up in price.

This. Complete games that used to sell for $5 are now selling online for $20 or more.


No idea where you're getting that MUSHA isn't selling as well, complete copies are still selling for insane prices. Unless $200+ isn't that high to you.

http://item.ebay.com/220909520449
http://item.ebay.com/200679365225

Even if those amounts are a bit higher than usual, most are still at $150.

http://item.ebay.com/300629711738
http://item.ebay.com/170726996450
http://item.ebay.com/280768298027
http://item.ebay.com/260878220529
http://item.ebay.com/330630234114

[turbofan1]

As far as Genesis prices in general, it doesn't surprise me that there's a decline. The Sega name has been in decline since they don't make systems any more. A lot of kids growing up today probably have never played a Sega system. Also, since it's near the holidays, I bet a lot of gamers are moving their gaming dollars to new games as opposed to old and used.

Don`t no were you came up with that.Nec only released one home console the Turbo grafx 16,people seem to go nuts on ebay over it.A sealed copy of Jack Nicklaus Turbo Golf the cd version,sold for fifty dollars on ebay a month ago.Last time i checked,sega was still releasing games for the three major consoles.There probably just not much demand for genesis games.Off the top of my head,I cant think of one rare must own game for the genesis.

[jonebone]

Eh, I don't dabble too much in Genesis, but I got some good offers on a few titles a couple of months back.

I was selling Cadash, Master of Monsters and Warsong, all which I paid no more than $15-$20 each. I think I sold all three for $150 shipped? RPGs / rares / populars are up pretty well.

Conversely, I've tried to get Castlevania Bloodlines (hard case) for almost 2 years now for about $15. I've always been outsniped by $1 or $2. Now it goes for more like $25-$30. Not a huge price jump, but it essentially doubled in a year.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Don`t no were you came up with that.Nec only released one home console the Turbo grafx 16,people seem to go nuts on ebay over it.A sealed copy of Jack Nicklaus Turbo Golf the cd version,sold for fifty dollars on ebay a month ago.Last time i checked,sega was still releasing games for the three major consoles.There probably just not much demand for genesis games.Off the top of my head,I cant think of one rare must own game for the genesis.

Brand names fluctuate in strength all the time. The name "Sega" doesn't mean as much to a young kid today as it did to a young kid in the 1990s. This has an effect on used game prices. As more young collectors enter the used game market, they are more likely to be buying up older Nintendo games because "Nintendo" is a brand they have been exposed to growing up.

But brand strength isn't the only factor of course. Rarity is another. I doubt people paying the high prices for Turbo Golf are doing it because they are loyal to the brand name NEC or Hudson. They are paying the high price for it because of the low quantities in which it was produced.

[MachineGex]

I just picked up MUSHA complete at the Flea Market about a month or two ago. It had an old price tag on the side of the box that said $9.97. I asked the owner if that was the price and he said it was an old price tag that he didnt see. He puts his tags on the front. He had not yet priced it so he said I could have it for $10. Needless to say, I was very happy. The guy is really a stand up person. He has given me some great deals. Now, I need to play it.

[Gameguy]

Brand names fluctuate in strength all the time. The name "Sega" doesn't mean as much to a young kid today as it did to a young kid in the 1990s.

I don't think it's the young kids who are buying 20 year old games for $50+, I think it's the older folks who are desperate to relive their youth.


I'm still hoping to find some Sega games for cheap prices, while game prices have gone up most people buying and selling games locally still think Sega stuff is cheap because that's what it used to be like. It's fine with me.

[Emperor Megas]

My copy of M.U.S.H.A. set me back maybe 20 bucks, tops. You're telling me that it sells for $100 - $200 now? Pshhh, I'm offing this thing yesterday if that's true. I'm not even that attached to it.

[MrRoboto19XX]

What I've noticed lately about the Genesis is that people have finally made the turn from trying to track down the "big" titles for the most part to trying to locate the harder to find ones. I remember some pretty intense bidding wars for games like Gunstar Heroes a few years ago, but now it seems that the game can be found pretty regularly in BIN options. On the flip side, games that aren't particularly good but have a degree of rarity (Like anything published by Mentrix) are going up in price.

On the note of M.U.S.H.A., I've actually not played it, but hear it's excellent. If I find one for a good price, I'll pick it up in a heartbeat.