Future value of collecting retro consoles and games.

I collect for a few consoles mainly Sega and my earliest system I collect for is Master System. While home video game consoles are only a few decades old and most collectors are inspired and driven by their youth or nostalgia, I was wondering about what will happen when future generations loose that connection.

Will older consoles loose interest and prices fall? I personally dont care for Atari and mostly only older people collect for it. I know some people far younger than myself collect SNES, so I wonder where the future will go regarding price and interest.

There will probably be a drop in interest in general but there will still be collectors and gamers who will pay hefty money for old consoles in good shape, at least I think so.

I collect for a few consoles mainly Sega and my earliest system I collect for is Master System. While home video game consoles are only a few decades old and most collectors are inspired and driven by their youth or nostalgia, I was wondering about what will happen when future generations loose that connection.

Will older consoles loose interest and prices fall? I personally dont care for Atari and mostly only older people collect for it. I know some people far younger than myself collect SNES, so I wonder where the future will go regarding price and interest.

BlackendV

I don't think future generations will ever lose that connection, collecting is a part of human nature.. Some are driven by nostalgic feelings, some by pure interest, like me, i collect them so i can play them and have them close, never played these games, or these older systems before. Some by Lord knows what motivations.

I know a 13 year old kid that loves playing Atari games, and he never had that system before a wile ago, it surprised me that he can find entertainment in those simplistic games, i mean, rudimentary flash games are more advanced than that these days. But that just goes to show how diverse preferance is from person to person. It's a example of how the hindering of enjoyment from the aged mechanics of a game is purely subjective.

If it's like most collectibles, the market will go up and down, up and down, up and down.

I think condition of the extras and packaging will become ever more important, even more so than other collectables for a couple reasons. First, old games have become ever more available via DD, weeding out people who are interested in playing them rather than collecting them, or people who don't mind building DD collections. Second, new games have very mediocre or non-existant (DD) packaging by comparison (excepting limited editions) making the older stuff novel.

For instance, I noticed recently Radiant Silvergun on the Saturn is going for about $50 cheaper on average than it was a couple years ago. I'd guess that might have something to do with its availability on a modern platform with a slight facelift. However, a brand new copy is almost impossible to price since there are so few and they fluctuate wildly in price. Also, if you've ever priced old game guides you know the market gets hot, and often these accessories cost more than the games themselves.

Digital distribution is hurting the resale value of retro games. You basically need it mint (sealed) to get any serious interest.

I collect for a few consoles mainly Sega and my earliest system I collect for is Master System. While home video game consoles are only a few decades old and most collectors are inspired and driven by their youth or nostalgia, I was wondering about what will happen when future generations loose that connection.

Will older consoles loose interest and prices fall? I personally dont care for Atari and mostly only older people collect for it. I know some people far younger than myself collect SNES, so I wonder where the future will go regarding price and interest.

BlackendV

Collecting to make a profit on retro consoles and games is not really a wise investment. No one really get rich off of collecting. If you had a complete NES SNES N64 collection with every single game and other releated items. You would really be hard pressed to find someone to buy it off of you and make a profit. It is not like you could sell your collection a Christy's Auction House.

Collecting to make a profit on retro consoles and games is not really a wise investment. No one really get rich off of collecting. If you had a complete NES SNES N64 collection with every single game and other releated items. You would really be hard pressed to find someone to buy it off of you and make a profit. It is not like you could sell your collection a Christy's Auction House.

Megavideogamer

Sure, the nostalgic collectors will wear out, but so will the collectable stuff. I think the people who are interested in a certain platform will dwindle over time, but there will always be die hard collectors. As time passes, working equipment and pristine copies will become more and more scarce hence the price will go up. As some guy in an Indiana Jones movie once said: take an utterly worthless piece of plastic crap, cover it with sand for a couple of hundred years and it will become priceless.

just like anything else, some things will go up in price, some will go down .

this will to some extent be affected by other forms of media the games are on, working consoles etc.

Digital distribution is hurting the resale value of retro games. You basically need it mint (sealed) to get any serious interest.

Conjuration

With the exception of a few games, DD has actually helped the value of some titles because it has focused more attention on them. Before Radiant Silvrgun was put on XBLA it's average market price ranged from $90 to $120 on any given week, but not that average ranges from $120 to $160. I've also seen this happen with Majora's Mask and Castlevania Dracula X (Dracula X isn't DD, but its PC-engine counterpart Rondo of Blood is).

I think there will always be interest in these older consoles, in fact interest has recently been increasing in a lot of retro games, consoles and accessories. I particularly atribute this to a new trend in gaming where gameplay is starting to become more important than graphics, look at Minecraft and Angry Birds. Also, I have various freinds who work at several indi-game stores and they have seen a huge spike in sales on some of their retro consoles, especially NES, SNES, and Gameboy. While this current trend may not last, I feel there will always be people who seek out older games for a variety of reasons.

In regards to values, some games will go up substantially over time, while others will decrease or stay relatively stagnant. I think right now, games on systems from the PS/Saturn/N64 gen are starting to grow into their own, with games like The Misadventures of Tron Bonne and Klonoa starting to increase into he prices they'll probably go for for decades to come, however I feel like the NES/MS/2600 values have settled for the most part. However, do see the ultra, ultrea rare games like Ninteno World Championships and Nintendo Campus Challenge exceeding 6-figures in the coming decades.

I think they'll become more readily available and cheaper as more and more people embrace direct-download and companies continue to re-release their old game libraries as downloads. Even though people like us enjoy collecting, there's no denying that direct-download on your PC, PS3, Wii, or 360 is a lot easier than hunting down old carts and used consoles online.

If these consoles werent new when u bought em lol **** off pretty much.

It's like me born in 1984 buying a ****ing colecovision.

See I grow up with SNES but I still play nes when I was a kid. All you have to do is make sure future gens play the games...soapman72

I see what you mean, but did you play Commodore 64?, Atari 2600?, Zx spectrum?, Pc2000??? Future gens aren't really interested (and I don't blame them) in obsolete stuff... At some point, players will lose interest for certain platforms.

[QUOTE="soapman72"]See I grow up with SNES but I still play nes when I was a kid. All you have to do is make sure future gens play the games...geitenvla

I see what you mean, but did you play Commodore 64?, Atari 2600?, Zx spectrum?, Pc2000??? Future gens aren't really interested (and I don't blame them) in obsolete stuff... At some point, players will lose interest for certain platforms.

[QUOTE="soapman72"]See I grow up with SNES but I still play nes when I was a kid. All you have to do is make sure future gens play the games...geitenvla

I see what you mean, but did you play Commodore 64?, Atari 2600?, Zx spectrum?, Pc2000??? Future gens aren't really interested (and I don't blame them) in obsolete stuff... At some point, players will lose interest for certain platforms.

[QUOTE="geitenvla"]

[QUOTE="soapman72"]See I grow up with SNES but I still play nes when I was a kid. All you have to do is make sure future gens play the games...soapman72

I see what you mean, but did you play Commodore 64?, Atari 2600?, Zx spectrum?, Pc2000??? Future gens aren't really interested (and I don't blame them) in obsolete stuff... At some point, players will lose interest for certain platforms.

Still I think you are an exception. Within time people will loose their interest in older platfroms. There will always be some die hards, but the majority just skips it and plays with moderns consoles / PC. Just my opinion.

[QUOTE="soapman72"][QUOTE="geitenvla"]

I see what you mean, but did you play Commodore 64?, Atari 2600?, Zx spectrum?, Pc2000??? Future gens aren't really interested (and I don't blame them) in obsolete stuff... At some point, players will lose interest for certain platforms.

geitenvla

Still I think you are an exception. Within time people will loose their interest in older platfroms. There will always be some die hards, but the majority just skips it and plays with moderns consoles / PC. Just my opinion.

[QUOTE="geitenvla"]

[QUOTE="soapman72"]I have all the Atari Systems...my commodore just broke :( I have the Celcovision and a intellvision. My atari collection is almost at 150 games...yes I love all legacy games.soapman72

Still I think you are an exception. Within time people will loose their interest in older platfroms. There will always be some die hards, but the majority just skips it and plays with moderns consoles / PC. Just my opinion.

Emulators are great! I can use my PC for whatever platform I want! But all those platforms are outdated by far. Sure... a lot of people still play these old games, but the majority will stick to the latest stuff. Yet it's nice to read that someone of the younger gens is still interested in old guy stuff! You should be proud of yourself! Old games are MORE than often the base for modern ones. Once you've played some classics, you will be aware of the intellectual effort that went into those games and it will be easier recognise certain "hypes". Been there, done that!