Collecting Video Games for Investment / Collectards / Who will care when we are all 80?

Dominance9

Pleasure Goal
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Seems like lately certain game prices across most all the systems are getting out of hand.... Making it quite easy to regret not buying certain games when they seemed "reasonably expensive". Reading the posts on the recent Pulstar sale thread here mentioning collecting for investment made me wonder if this is why the game market (for select games / systems) has driven the prices all nuts and shit?
Is there really a movement there?
Is there anyone here that does?
If so, What would be your time frame for a exit since it is a "investment" and we are in a apparent "bubble" ?


The realistic 1/2 of my brain wonders if thats a wise idea. Most games were made in the 10's to 100's of thousands, some in the millions. Being "rare" and or "scarce" is possible, but for a majority of games does not apply. So just for a purely random example: Why is Super Smash bros. for gamecube still expensive? Its not rare by any means. That game will come down, hard in the next few years. (you'd think)

So will we really still be looking for complete MVS kits, CIB games, Saying fuck no to multi carts or emulation and still looking for Legit carts and games in 20, 30, 40 years?

Will next generations actually give a fuck about old games? Cause if they dont, values will be left to us...but we will be, well, old and probably senile and or dying off. Which actually thinking about it will obviously destroy the market either way if we all hold on to our games untill the end.

Atari and pre 8 bit games suffered, what will stop the same from happening to 8, 16 32 etc bit games?

Or will the game market live on like Old comic books?

My main question: Is it possible to hit a tipping point? Take that $400 Pulstar cart for example. Most that posted said thats a nuts price, but it sold. I wouldnt pay it and most said they wouldnt either. Will the cheap ppl eventually pay up or will the collectards collect themselves out of the picture eventually?

Genuinely interested in all's opinions.
 

egg_sanwich

Windjammers Wonder
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Great topic of conversation.

I think Everdrives and emulation only help drive prices as they expose a wider audience to games that were previously unattainable. Why risk shelling out $$$ for a game you've never even played? With any game literally at your fingertips, it's easy to try them out, pick your favorites, then save your dollars for the real thing.

I haven't done a lot of research on other collectibles, but I've heard anecdotally that other markets have crashed around the same time the generation was dying out. Stories of grandkids going to sell grandpas collection and finding all prices dropped within the last 5-10 years. I imagine it will be the same with games, so you're looking at a good few decades before we all start croaking.

Re: Atari and pre 8bit games, compared to later games they simply aren't that fun to play. Beyond nostalgia, collecting for them simply isn't fun. 8-bit onward on the other hand have significant entertainment value beyond shelf pieces.

Btw, it was $380 for the Pulstar, and it will be played on the regular ;)
 

Pasky

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Great topic of conversation.

I think Everdrives and emulation only help drive prices as they expose a wider audience to games that were previously unattainable. Why risk shelling out $$$ for a game you've never even played? With any game literally at your fingertips, it's easy to try them out, pick your favorites, then save your dollars for the real thing.

I haven't done a lot of research on other collectibles, but I've heard anecdotally that other markets have crashed around the same time the generation was dying out. Stories of grandkids going to sell grandpas collection and finding all prices dropped within the last 5-10 years. I imagine it will be the same with games, so you're looking at a good few decades before we all start croaking.

Re: Atari and pre 8bit games, compared to later games they simply aren't that fun to play. Beyond nostalgia, collecting for them simply isn't fun. 8-bit onward on the other hand have significant entertainment value beyond shelf pieces.

Btw, it was $380 for the Pulstar, and it will be played on the regular ;)

I think you're wrong on flashcarts increasing prices. Everything you said about flashcarts has been obtainable with emulation and there's no down payment to download a rom and play it on an emulator.

I really don't philosophize about this subject because I just stopped giving a shit. I have mostly everything I want now, still a few games here and there I'd like to own but flashcarts relieve me of impulse buying NES, SNES, Genesis and N64 titles. There's some arcade stuff I still want but do not actively look for. I don't think anyone actually buys this shit to invest but rather to hoarde. I'm sure some people buy multiple copies of things only to sell at a later date, but I think the majority of people are just hoarding for e-peen to show their friends, have the ability to say they own something rather than actually enjoy it. I think they'll wake up like most do and realize "Why the fuck do I have all this shit in here???".
 

oliverclaude

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I think Everdrives and emulation only help drive prices as they expose a wider audience to games that were previously unattainable. Why risk shelling out $$$ for a game you've never even played? With any game literally at your fingertips, it's easy to try them out, pick your favorites, then save your dollars for the real thing.

I have the similar opinion. Most "collectards" are unable to use emulation, they don't even use their PC for gaming. Hell, if they ever play, it's stretched on a ''55 LCD with absolute lag at worst, with typical Framemeister lag at best.

Everdrives come preset with all them games and resemble the looks of an original cart. It's plug & play like a standard cart. And everdrives are the reason, that at least some obscure games have risen in price, certainly, they account for at least a part of the responsibility for the high prices on Japan exclusives.

I haven't done a lot of research on other collectibles, but I've heard anecdotally that other markets have crashed around the same time the generation was dying out. Stories of grandkids going to sell grandpas collection and finding all prices dropped within the last 5-10 years. I imagine it will be the same with games, so you're looking at a good few decades before we all start croaking.

Other markets crashed not because of generational exchanges, but because either that particular entertainment branch your collecting was linked to ceased to entertain anymore on a bigger scale (see Beanie Babies) or because the items you collect happen to be still in production and/or are reproduced/reissued by the original publishers & developers (see comic books).

Both is neither the case with video games. They became a cornerstone of current entertainment, recently coupled with another one -- the internet. Now everybody wants a piece of the roots, just to distinguish himself from the digital drabness. Just like an art collector that wants an original Utrillo hanging on his wall.

That's beyond nostalgia, and totally beyond playing. Original "classic" games are an object now, like a Spider in your garage or an Eames under your ass. There is no bubble, because original publishers & developers won't reproduce those games all of a sudden. And it won't be over when we're 80, because video games will remain the entertainment industry in the future. And there's always interest in the roots of something that popular.
 

Dr Shroom

made it in japan
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If you think all this shit will be worth anything one day, you should remove yourself from the gene pool.
 

oliverclaude

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Beside the fact that it's all pop-culture trash not worth anything already or even back then, your "one day" describes the moment, where everything will be worthless, even Mozart -- or whatever you personally consider of worth. The question is, when exactly and my guess is, not when we are 80.

Would it surprise you, that a piece of plastic garbage will find someone, who adores it with a lot of cash? Me neither, after all you collect vinyl and are willingly paying triple or quadruple the price for your worthless "shit" that it would cost you in digital. It happened before & will do so in future, so there's no need to act superior: We're all part of the same compost pile.
 

oliverclaude

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That's better & yes, you are -- for a second tho, I saw your post shroomwatch-day-53 persona taking over. Glad to have you back.

"Kuroko: Like the old time..."
 

GregN

aka The Grinch
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If anything, I think they will all be collectable for the box art. The games will have died of bit rot after 80 years. And I agree with Shroom.
 

smokehouse

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If you think all this shit will be worth anything one day, you should remove yourself from the gene pool.

Completely agree. A console in good shape, or possibly a game box may be worth something (who knows), but as a whole, nope. Few will care. As every generation comes and goes, fewer and fewer care. Does anyone actually think a 12 year old wants a NES retro remake thing for Christmas this year? I strongly doubt it.
 

JoeAwesome

I survived Secret Santa, It wasn't Easy.,
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I hate existential questions like, "Who will care when we are all 80?"

It makes want to ask, "Who worries about that?"

"In demand" is confused with many terms; investing in games is not a guarantee, and speculation is made by people pulling crap out of their butts; Atari (among others) suffered a crash due to overproduction (simplified); and emulation has a different value than original items.
 

Dominance9

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I hate existential questions like, "Who will care when we are all 80?"

It makes want to ask, "Who worries about that?"

I think the question bears some thought when a single game can now fetch $500-5000. Unless money is of zero concern, then yeah, who cares?
 

BeefJerky

Computerstaat Funster
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Care when I'm 80? I don't even care now. I can play 90% of the games I want to play on my haxed PSP. Who actually pays these prices?
 

Dominance9

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Care when I'm 80? I don't even care now. I can play 90% of the games I want to play on my haxed PSP. Who actually pays these prices?

The best money Ive spent latley is on a hacked Xbox with 1TB Hard drive and more games then I could play in 20 years. When the lady and I play, thats our go to system now.

I also really wanted Gun Nac but the prices kept me away so I picked up a 150 in 1 flash cart with it on it, get to play on my real nes at a fraction of the price. Good enough for me.
 

Tripredacus

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We're living at the top of the market now. So people who were buying for investment purposes would have been doing so 10-20 years ago. The phrase is buy low, sell high. You don't get into a market for investment purposes when the prices are high. That is when you get out.
 

JoeAwesome

I survived Secret Santa, It wasn't Easy.,
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I think the question bears some thought when a single game can now fetch $500-5000. Unless money is of zero concern, then yeah, who cares?

Then in your opinion, who will care about XYZ games' value when we're all 80? Games cost what they cost because of demand at the time.

Edit: Future demand can only be guessed at.
 
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Dominance9

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Then in your opinion, who will care about XYZ games' value when we're all 80? Games cost what they cost because of demand at the time.

Edit: Future demand can only be guessed at.

My guess would be the people who will care are the people who bought it as investment and are now looking to collect on that investment. (Maybe 80 is a reach as we are all different ages...lets say in 20-30 years) But I guess thats why Im asking some of my questions. They are aimed at someone who does buy say a $1000 game and looks at it as investment. I personally dont see it. But that doesnt mean Im right and the other side is wrong.
 

Hakkai

Dodgeball Yakuza
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Videogames for investment is lucrative at best, hindsight may be 20/20 when buying games but can it be insured for that same amount if at all? I doubt this guy got much if anything at all when his collection got destroyed in a flood.
http://kotaku.com/5735493/vintage-gaming-collection-washed-away-in-aussie-floods/
As for what may happen to your collection when you pass on, we can only hope this is the better scenario that happens.
https://arcadeblogger.com/2016/08/06/pete-davies-the-invadar-arcade-collection/
 
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SudoShinji

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Can't wait for the bubble to pop and my front page paper to read "shelf queen takes own life as video game market crashes".
 

johhnnyD14

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realistically when is the bubble most likely going to pop? if it does, how is that gonna affect the retro game businesses who make their livings off of games?
 

Tripredacus

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Take the case of graded games. In other markets, graded items are sought after and sell without a problem. That does not happen with video games. The complaint of "you can't play it if it is sealed up" is not valid as most graded items are not impossible to find loose or could be emulated. So it shows the market is very thin at the top. I think that it is already at the top end of the bubble already. The reasons being that there are more things being sold (or for sale anyways) with high dollar figures than people who want them. I do not think that the cost is even the issue. In comparison, very few people collect games for the sake of having them. The video game market is fueled by people wanting to play games. More and more, people will move into Everdrives or other methods. I don't think the market will crash, but it is due to go into a correction for sure.
 

Caliburn89

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The time to get out is during a boom, which games are in right now.

You should never collect for the sake of investment. You should collect because it makes you happy.

Every single trend in collecting for investment has ended in failure. Baseball/Hockey Cards are basically worthless. Beanie Babies are a joke. Same thing with most comics (outside of a few culturally significant ones). Toys are in the same boat, when they were absolutely massive before. Games might crash, but they're more popular than they've ever been.

I think Atari suffers largely because the games are really dated. The NES-era significantly improved the graphics and gameplay. Kids are getting some exposure to these via things like Virtual Console, PSN, Xboxlive, and Steam. You can get a huge slew of Sega Genesis games on Steam. I think that kind of exposure will make some kids interested in the physical carts, but a lot of those kids are going to get turned off because of being priced out. But for every 400 dollar pulstar that comes up, that you aren't willing to pay for, someone else can and will buy, at least for the foreseeable future.
 

xelement5x

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Videogames aren't investments and shouldn't be considered as such.

If you are going to think of them that way, just realize that it's probably one of the worst and most volatile things you could invest in since there are a ton of more reliable and proven things to put your money in.
 
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