In a nutshell, the prices on retro games have hit their peak and will in fact decline over the next ten years.
After my search for Battletoads and Double Dragon and my resent viewings of prices for Little Samson, I’ve come to the conclusion that these games are ridiculously inflated and will start to come down, not soon, but eventually. If you think about it, this is why prices are on the rise; you have a bunch of people in their mid 30’s to mid 40’s (like me, I was born in’78) whose prime of their childhood was spend during the golden age of gaming. These people (now middle age) are starting to go through somewhat of a midlife crisis and what to reclaim a part of their youth. This is what is pushing the recent influx of buyers in the market. I bet in the next ten years, once these newer collectors tire of the hobby and leave the market, prices will drop. Basically this is a fad right now. Good look trying to sell that Battletoads and Double Dragon for $45 ten years from now (I also this includes everything from loose carts to CIB’s). Again, I’m not saying this will be a bubble burst, but we will see prices hit a peak, level out, then decline.
Collecting retro games is not like comics, baseball cards, etc. Those hobbies cut across generations. Retro games, I feel, really only hold value to those who grew up in that particular time period. I doubt that there are many in their 20’s who are serious retro collectors and would want to shell out big cash for the rarer games. I just don’t see a youth driven market for retro games.
I know this is a regurgitated topic, but I was just thinking about this the other day. Oh, and as far as this VGA stuff; that is definitely laughable. Those guys are a bunch of hucksters.