Have You Been Priced Out of Game Collecting? - Retro Bird
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Paying a lot of money for anything is never fun, but have some of us become priced out of game collecting? I go over some of the various factors that contribute to why people get priced out, as well as some of the different ways that the rising prices of retro video games can affect a collector's psyche.
Have You Been Priced Out of Game Collecting? - Retro Bird / Have Retro Video Games Become Too Expensive to Collect / Unaffordable? / No Longer Afford Retro Video Games
If you'd like to gain access to my retro blog or just support the channel - you can find my Patreon here: / retrobird
New videos uploaded every Friday! Be sure to ring the bell if you subscribe!
Follow me on Twitter here: / retrobirdgaming
or on Instagram here: / retrobirdmatt
#retrobird
Games played: Symphony of the Night (0:01), World of Illusion (0:10), Einhander (0:18), Super Monkey Ball 2 (0:35), Mario Superstar Baseball (1:00), Super Mario Kart (1:38), Time Crisis 3 (4:05)
I always forget how good genesis stuff looks. Booted up the Disney collection on switch the other day and I’m always impressed
Does digital collections count?? Or only physical collections in your opinion?? Thanks 🙏
I have no way of buying them, had a sega Saturn collection but I did keep them in a CD book but they did got stolen, So now I have manuals and cases only. It's something you had to do at the start before the price boost. Like panzer dragoon at 400$ when it should be 130 at most. I hate how many people on ebay jack up the cost after a vid is done , 35$ 8-track player did become 250$
I've got the opposite. I had to sell my collection of entire worth of every sega for about 150quid back in 2013 due to me cockin up life. That hurt. Granted these were not museum pieces. They were well loved and worn. I mean my Saturn would not load unless you unscrewed the top part of for whatever reason...
They had many many many miles and used daily since bought.
Everyday I thank emulation tho as I have my entire collection and more all on my phone aka with me 24 7 with an 8bitdo mini controller hanging off my car interior mirror.
I am gutted as I had a sega cd game worth 500 alone and had no idea. I sold them at a time when desperate and needed it quick still. It is funny thinking of how troublesome some of those systems are. Mega cd hates you lol
@@emmawagner8915 most genesis stuff doesn't look that great. The quality gap between SNES and Genesis versions of games is usually ridiculous, unless the game is made solely with genesis in mind.
I think the worst part is knowing you used to have specific games as a kid that you foolishly gave away and now they're too expensive to get back.
Yep. It's so depressing knowing I traded in most of my old stuff. I also never kept any of the game boxes for SNES and N64. As a kid I tossed them in the trash like an idiot.
@@Euruk1 I 100% did the same thing. I think because a lot of cases back in the day were cardboard they just seemed pointless to keep. Before the time of discs especially, it just didn't seem necessary to keep the cases. Plus as a kid I definitely ripped open packaging swiftly to get the game out as quickly as possible haha.
For most people this is pokemon
@@Euruk1youre not an idiot, you were just being a kid. Which we all were and all did the same shit.
You're not alone my guy. Sold away all my GameCube games cheaply a long time ago. Had all the hits too 😔
I stopped collecting after I stopped being able to find games in the wild. My favorite part of collecting was the thrill of the hunt. Sure I’ve bought a couple games on eBay. But going to a thrift store and finding some random game always felt more exciting. Even if it wasn’t a game I cared too much about.
Wait, you gave up on hunting games because hunting games got harder?
I've heard some people say they've had more luck recently. Perhaps this is because a lot of people have given up (therefore less competition)? Who knows.
I was never really a “hunter”. I just bought games as I wanted them. That’s how I have every high profile SNES RPG. But then again, I’m 38 and had the opportunity to buy them when they were, you know, new.
I totally relate!
@@leeartlee915 That's really awesome that you are 38 years old. Usually they are all 20 & under on this channel.
I think another big thing that isn't being mentioned is that recently everything has become so much more expensive than it was, groceries, cars, gas, rent... People have less money and we are all getting older priorities are changing. It's just getting harder or impossible to justify the cost.
This could also be reason to expect the bubble is going to burst. The world economy is on the brink of a big recession (if not already in it) so overpriced video games will not be a top priority for most people. Some collectors will also need to sell of part of their collection to pay the bills.
One thing that I’d like to do more often is have that social aspect of local multiplayer that games used to have. The reason why many games feel nostalgic isn’t just how good the game was, but spending time with people who were fun to be with while playing them.
Totally agree. And I have to admit, that feels different with nowadays multiplayer online games. There are some exceptions like "it takes two", but in general, we hadn't that toxic competitive behavior. Giving a friend the "special" controller.
Couch coop or vs is great for social gatherings, I just don't have the time to meet up with friends though.
@@tonyp9313 That's exactly my nowadays problem: my brothers live too far away, to have some games. So in this case, the online variant is the better option.
@@blitheringrando1410 For real, man. Once people drift off it’s hard to meet new people.
I still play couch Co up many times a year. Few times a year even with old friends from the 90s. We gather for this
Retro game collecting stopped being a hobby and became a "market". That's when I got out. It was something I did for fun and out of passion, not profit or investment.
You basically just hit the nail on the head as to why collecting became so expensive. When the yuppies who don't care about the games and only care about the money got involved that's when everything went to shit. I do say that the price will drop eventually when the yuppies dropout realize that what they have is not a gold mine they thought it was like no one wants your torn label Mario duck hunt for $20
Felt the same way recently, I was willing to spend a good chunk of money to gather the games I wanted back, I never meant it always being about big money, just having some fun with the games I wanted, picked the games I wanted to go after, got a bunch of others that I never had heard of before, but they were pretty good for the most parts...
I already have a good numbers of those and still playing those games, some were too expensive for my taste, I was willing to pay big for some games, but there was a limit because I'm not rich, but I can have patience and wait until a game I wanted was available in a small video games store directly in my neighborhood and I made my move on the deal and after checking if it's a good deal or not, that's when I bagged the games...
Most of them were in good conditions when I got them, but now my wallet wants me to stop, got no other options and the money was needed some where else...
So, my games collecting days are over, even though I still have a decent collection, so I leave it the way it is now, it's only a small collection and I'm just playing them around when I have nothing else to do, I still think it was worth it, depends on how your economics are going and if you're willing to pay big money to get the games you might want to go after...
If you want big games, make sure you have enough money to afford buying them before you think about going after them because they can get very expensive...
Every week or so I like to look through a random game's case and instruction manual. There's a lot more to appreciate that is just missed with a ROM or ISO download.
And it also makes me feel less like I wasted my money.
To be fair, cases and manuals can and are scanned, yes, it’s not the same as having the tangible item but if you just care about playing the game it beats paying a small fortune to some random collector for a cart and box that in most cases are noticeably worn and aged anyway. Hell, the prices for just the media alone are insane as it is. You do you though.
so much this. it's probably the main reason i collect. I dedicated a huge amount of space, money and time to physical goods i can just get and consume digitally (movies, music, games, comics). but the tactile interaction with the goods is everything to me. it's not just about reading Amazing Spider-Man #38, it's about holding it in my hand, feeling it, smelling it and interacting with a 50 year old relic written and illustrated by legends. so even just thumbing through a collection on the shelf once a day or pulling out and item and just looking at it is a nice reminder of what we collectors love about these items.
It's all ROMs for me. Manuals if I want, I can find digitalized scans.
I invest the money in the well being of the consoles instead so they can last me as long as possible. For example, my backwards compatible PS3 is considered to be a console that has overheating problems and can fail often. However, the seller I bought it from fully cleaned it up, reapplied a quality thermal paste to it and I installed CFW myself not just for the ROMs but to increase the fan speeds as well to keep those heat demons cooled down.
Most people who buy old consoles go for cheap stuff that looks like it is on its last legs and was never opened up, they are basically going to get ticking time bombs. There are a few you normally don't have to worry about though like the fat PS2s, those will never die, literally.
@@Manic_Panic If original carts/discs were still reasonably priced, I wouldn't mind building up a small collection of favorites, but in a where where digital re-releases/unofficial ROMs are available and emulation is "good enough" for 99.9% of people, I'm not keen on paying a small fortune for original carts/hardware.
@@Manic_Panic if you want to pirate, then pirate. You're no collector.
I like being able to use my technical knowledge to bring formerly thought to be dead older consoles back to life. Im a retro gaming necromancer and it feels great.
Remember FuncoLand? Check out what retro games used to cost. A lot of people blame Wata for the price increase.
But anything Snatcher is absurd. Even the vinyl.
One thing I'll say for the upcoming Genesis Mini 2: It has several games that cost more in their original form than the entire system. I'm tempted to pick one up just so I can play Crusader of Centy again.
I'll need to check it out. I don't want to buy the usual collection over again lol.
Especially if Snatcher ends up on it. Edit: Nevermind. The full list came out and no Snatcher :(
@@RetroBirdGaming I'd buy the heck out of that!
The PC Engine mini is even more insane. $1500 for Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire anyone?
@@RetroBirdGaming Mega Everdrive pro will fix that Snatcher issue. Saves wear and tear on my Sega CD.
My buying habits really haven’t changed much for a long time. For years I’ve been able to spend about $80-$120 on games. Big difference now is instead if 5-6 new games to try out, it’s just 1 or 2. Definitely a bummer, but at least it gives me more reason to replay the stuff I already own
Glad I got most of my retro games 15-20 years ago (esp my Saturn titles). Neo Geo games are beyond anything I can consider collecting
I remember Saturn games always being relatively expensive, but at this point they are sadly out of reach for most.
@@RetroBirdGaming I have exactly one Saturn game. Gex
@@RetroBirdGaming "relatively" is the key word. Many of my Saturn games were reasonably priced when I found them
My brother had a sega Saturn I remember playing Daytona USA , Tomb raider etc I know some of them games had to be worth money today
I've been collecting for long enough that I have almost everything I could want, but the worst part about the way the market has turned imo is that there's such a huge quantity of great games I can't easily share with people anymore, because they've become too expensive to recommend without a series of asterisks. Something like Ghost Trick on the DS is one of the most charming games on the platform, and I'd say anyone with a DS should have it... if only it wasn't going for over $100. I got my copy brand new for $15 about 6 years ago or so, and I don't feel good or "smart" for owning it before the price hike. I'm just disappointed that it's become that much harder to share the games and experiences I love with other people.
Good thing flash carts/emulation exist. I suspect the artificial pricing bubble inflated in large part by bad actors in the community will eventually pop as people turn to repros, flash carts and emulation more and more and all but the most ocd and irresponsible collectors stop collecting.
Scuse me ur telling me ghost trick is going for a 💯 wtf i love the game is a great hidden gem, but 100!!!!!!! WTFF
I missed the boat on this one though my bro was always recommending it to me :(( oh well, there’s always the iOS version..
well there are flash cart/ODE solutions to pretty much every platform these days. sure it isn't collecting, but you can certainly still share your knowledge and recommendation about these games and clue in other people to their awesomeness. Like for instance i just found out about Ghost Trick.
Certainly I don't collect the same way. Old games used to be considered worthless and I would grab them more-or-less indiscriminately just to save them from the trash, and part of the fun was not knowing what I might get. Well, that's not happening any more. But thanks to the internet there's no reason to buy anything without knowing all about it first, anyway. And that's also why there's no bargains any more.
Games are now worth a small fortune, and my mum threw my entrie collection out a few years ago thinking I didn't want them anymore 🤦
Jeez that stings!
I collect games that mean something to me, regardless of whether I have the console or not. I'm just really picky so I don't have that many games to begin with.
Prices of certain genres hurt too. God, it sucks to be a jrpg fan sometimes. I love Chrono trigger and Earthbound, but they are way out of my range.
Responding to the title before watching the video: Yes I have
For the most part yes. GameCube has become ridiculous. The console didn’t even sell well when it was released. I wish I wasnt convinced by GameStop for years to trade in and trade up because I owned many of the most sought after games and only let go of them when I was convinced by store clerks it was the best idea ever and I needed all new games all the time. I just have a really hard time paying for twice what I paid originally for games that were not popular. It just sucks :( anyways thanks for the vids!
Thank you for watching. And yeah, buying back games you used to own can be really painful.
Dude, about 10 years ago, I moved to another state so while I was liquidating a bunch of stuff to lighten the load, I have my GC and all my games to to niece. I was expecting enthusiasm and was met with “meh, OK. Thanks” I sure she doesn’t have the system anymore. I had about a dozen games for it too.
(Punches self in face)
My GC-Loader was the best thing to happen to my GameCube. The Raspberry Pico mod works great as well. No more GameCube pain. I still have several of my original GameCube games but they just sit on the shelf looking pretty nowadays.
I think the current wave of collectors just got to the market too late. The ridiculous price on gamecube is everyone's fault for not supporting Nintendo at the time. I bought my gamecube brand new and all the games I wanted when it was released and was made fun of by all my friends on playstation and xbox. Heck most didn't even know what they were looking at when they saw a gamecube in the flesh. It was rare at the time it was released so was always going to be worth lots and has nothing do with current trends.
If you still want to collect just go for what is not trending. For example Super Nintendo is ridiculous while mega drive owners are giving their stuff away.
@@RetroBirdGaming yeah I sold a lot of my Wii games when I was younger thankfully it's the wii so most of the games I sold weren't rare or something
Yea started collecting in 1996 and so glad I did. No way I could afford my collection at today's prices.
Collecting has become really hard for many of the consoles I enjoy playing (Turbografx sticks out the most). I have done a couple things to stay invested in the hobby.
1. Downsized certain parts of my collection and reinvested that money into buying games for other systems. For example, Saturn has become too expensive for me, so I have begun selling and using that money to fill out other collections I am more passionate about.
2. Playing the games I already have. Just like you alluded to in the video, sometimes just sitting down and trying to enjoy what you already have can keep your love alive for the hobby and appreciate what you have.
3. Homebrews. I think this is a standout aspect of collecting/playing on retro hardware in the current day. I love supporting, buying and playing so many great homebrew games for many of my favorite consoles. Genesis, Jaguar and Intellivision are getting tons of support to this very day. The cost of purchasing many of these great homebrews also is fair and in line with other modern released games!
Definitely replaying my old favorites is fun. Fortunately, i have kept all of my favorites through the years which allows me to play through them over and over. I will say, even with all the other options to play these games now (truly incredible), I can attest, there is still nothing like playing originals on the hardware itself.
I agree with you Retro Bird. As a physical 🥈 stacker I started in spring of 2021 when prices were quite high compared to right now... A 5 ozt 🥈 bar I paid $170 for is only about $125-130 so because everything is relative... As a newer 🥈 stacker I'm seeing the current prices as a total bargain while more experienced stackers might not feel the same.
There’s always someone that will pay high prices. Either it be because they missed out, want to complete their collection, sold their games early in life and want to buy back or reached a comfortable place in life and has disposable income, etc. I sold off some of my games to buy the next great thing only to rebuy them all back later, thank goodness that was still in the 90’s. Regardless of the reasons prices will go up and there’s always someone that will pay, I have and still do
I don't collect anything myself, but I still watch your channel. Your skits are entertaining!
Thank you for making these videos. Your channel is going to blow up someday soon. Keep up the great work.
It's seriously a hidden gem. His positivity is so refreshing.
Thank you for watching!
@@kevinb1096 unlike so many other channels where politics gets discussed on video games.
Collecting for the Wii has helped me stay away from high prices. And there are so many hidden gems. I consider the wii the very last retro console. The last console to have true CIB games (no patches, dlc etc.). Someday wii games will be worth a lot...but not this day. This day we buy!
The wii? Worst Nintendo Console. Also it's obsolete.
@@tonyp9313 I'd say that goes to the Wii U since it has less games, the Wii at least had a new Zelda and Metroid.
@@tonyp9313 Believe me, I once had your attitude towards the Wii. I sneered at the thought of "Shovelware" and "Waggle". But once I started digging I found a world far richer and more complex than any of the previous Nintendo consoles (including the Gamecube). I won't try to convert you here...but I will say a good rule of thumb is when people are sneering you should be buying. I can 100% guarantee the console and games will be very sought after in 20 years.
@@antiquecardboard I agree with you. I also have a decent wii collection (of games I actually want), and best of all they are affordable today. I also agree that its library is better than the gamecube (at least for my taste), it's true that maybe 85% of the wii library is showelware, but the last 15% are gold to me, lots of interesting, unique and fun titles.
I actually am one of those folks who have bought games for a system I don't own because the price was good. The reasoning being that I already planned to grab the system itself at some point, so why let a good deal pass me by?
Great video! This applies to other collectors as well. As someone who has a modest collection of guitars, I wholeheartedly agree with your observations and advice.
Even two or three years ago the local thrift stores were treasure troves. Picking up $400 of games for $28 was possible. Now it is just Madden on the shelves. Goodwill screwed us and sends all games to an electronic online division.
Personally, I put the REALLY expensive titles in a wish list called my "Holy Grail" titles. Makes it easier to say "Okay, I can't afford these games, but that's okay, there's other titles"
Marvel vs capcom 2 is on that list for me.
@@Bee_Mavrick Oh mine has stuff like Tron Bonne, Fire Emblem GameCube, Popful Mail, etc.
I do this too!
One way I like to enjoy my games is by sending my PS4 away for a repair and paying $150 for it and getting it back with the USB ports on the front still not working! Good times. At least they cleared everything off my hard drive, did shoddy work and created some cosmetic damage in the form of broken plastic by said USB ports. You know, looking on the bright side....
I had a dream that I found a pallet of sealed NES games for cheap...then I woke up.
If prices continue to rise, everyone is going to say screw and not buy anything. Then prices will probably drop way down.
I spend more time buying and repairing video games these days but even that market is getting too high.
I had that same dream about goodwill and gba sps with the nice screen. And then in the back they had every Metroid game for any console
I'm happy with the recent influx of PS1 and Saturn remasters. I also have been having a blast paying $4 a month for NSO. I didn't realize Crystalis was so great.
Was looking up prices for the shantae and the pirate's curse game and it's almost comical what people are asking for online. No way I would buy one game that's ( what they think) the same price as the console you play it on.
You’re in luck if you have a 3DS. There’s a version of the Pirate’s Curse on the Eshop going for 20.00 bucks. You’ll have 2 weeks to download it, but it’s a great way to skirt the issue of it being expensive.
If you think that's bad, then the original Shantae for GBC will make you scream.
I've mostly focused on collecting consoles and games a lot of people don't care about, so I'm still rolling but most of my actual playing retro games happens on my raspberry pi or PC.
I got priced out of collecting years ago. I couldn't imagine attempting to try to nowadays. Emulation works for me, especially today where you can emulate pretty much anything and they even make controllers that mimic the same thing. My only regret is not waiting til now to sell everything I had. Could probably buy a house with cash with the prices people are willing to pay now.
I'm priced out of owning games for many systems, so I pick a few systems I like (and may be on the cheap side) and then get a flash cart or ODE or fmcb for the rest 8). I still will pick up sentimental games for those systems, ffx for example, but games that won't break the bank, ffx for example.
Your channel is so underrated! This is easily one of the best gaming channels on UA-cam. Thanks for your hard work and dedication.
I enjoy the hobby despite the high prices, by using my tears to polish the few games I have already purchased.
Living in all kind of gaming worlds, Retro and modern, console and PC, I've found a healthy solution to avoid that "priced out" feeling.
I gave myself a budget and looking more forward to buy games I like and are in a for me comfortable price range. Due to my job, my free time is limited and playing a game like Elden Ring took me a very long time to complete. Then there's the fact that I already have a good collection. When especially retro games are recommended, I take a look on all known marketplaces. If the price is in my "OK" price range then I pick it up. If not, well then I still have a bunch of games I can enjoy. There are games like Rocket League, Final Fight, Zelda OOT or Indie games I could always play. GamePass and similar subscription services and Steam help saving money, too and trying out new stuff.
Well, and then there are my other passions, music, photography. That are my keys for still enjoying games, especially those I have.
You can find creative solutions or side hustles to pay for those bigger ticket games, but yeah, $100+ for *any* game can be a tough pill to swallow, regardless of how good it is
Mine is to slowly save on the side for big priced titles I need instead of dropping big bucks at once
@@onehardtosolvekase6670 I tend to accumulate a bunch of lower and mid priced games that I get super cheap from thrift stores /garage sales / pawn shops and trade them in at the lgs for those more expensive games
What keeps the retro gaming hobby fueling for me is 2 things. First, falling in love with a game that I hadn't even heard of a half hour ago. There's just no better feeling. Second, it's the new way to play old games. I'm talking both rom hacks, as well as enhancements like hd mode 7 and msu1 packs. They keep things interesting
I discovered something a few weeks ago and it still is blowing my mind. Game prices didn’t go up bc of gamers, they went up bc investors who don’t care about games and don’t play games manipulated the market so that they could make a profit.
Look up Wata Games lawsuit. It’s huge.
Man...I loved playing Black Bass when I was a kid.
Prices are shocking at times as I’m fairly new to collecting. 1.5yr in. Though I’m very, uh , thrifty and will search quite a bit for deals. Both for stretching dollars and like you said an effort to lower the average price over time.
I’ve also been focusing more on Gameboy as they tend to be cheaper.
It’s taken a year, but I finally have both Zelda Oracle games, in good condition for great prices. Was it worth my time? Eh, probably not, but the search was fun.
I recommend using Zip up three ring binders and baseball card sheets for your games. A great system is the Retroad 5 Plus with the GB/GBC Extension Converter from Ali-Express. It works with the Everdrive GB X7 as well and has two wireless controllers. It's on sale right now for $120.00. It's normally $150.00. It has HDMI out for TV use and has different aspect ratios.
I didn’t intentional collect games. It just happens. I keep what I really like collectible/rare or not.
The "Half-Priced" book / thrift store by my house has eBay(+) pricing for all game related stuff. They wanted over $300 for a scuffed-up 3DS. There are no deals to be had any longer.
A local used game store is currently selling loose copies of Super Mario 64 for $70-75, there's a huge portion of the retro market where the main goal is to get one over on someone. I have set my limit at $100 for one game but it's still important to look out for things like this.. nostalgia is a powerful thing and it speaks in dollar bills.
+Joesph Piedmonte
$100 used to be my limit too; now, I don't have a limit due to it looks like we are in the beginning stages of hyperinflation. With all the money printing with the stimulus checks the dollar is become more and more worth less. It's better to spend it, preferably on assets: gold, silver, canned food, survival supplies, guns, etc; because the longer you hold it, the more it loses it's value (i.e. higher prices on things), until it reaches it's intrinsic value of zero.
I’ve stopped retro collecting a few years back because the prices were just getting out of hand and honestly it’s not even fun anymore , before that I was finding great deals just about everywhere even bought a Virtual boy in the box with three games for $60 . Now I’m just collecting Nintendo switch games like limited run stuff and other companies that print physical copy’s .
I feel like Saturn and Dreamcast and GameCube have been hit hard with covid inflation.
Luckily for me, all the intellivision games I have, boxed CIB and loose have been very cheap still. 🙂
I'm impressed that you have Puzzle entertainment pack.
Keep up with the top tier content!
There will always be a market for retro gaming. It only makes sense for prices to go up when games are 30 going on 40 years old. But i think social media hasn't helped because there are so many cool accounts showcasing their collections and now i want one of those square sony crt tvs!
In 2020 I bought a replacement copy of Ogre Battle for SNES because my cat had chewed up the box for my original copy. I paid $200 and it came with the manual and 1 of 2 folded inserts which I didn't have for my original. Now the cartridge alone is worth $300. I'm glad I got it when I did because there's no way I would pay prices like that.
I pretty much exclusively play jrpgs, with some outliers here and there. So basically every game that I'm looking for has ridiculously gone up in price.
I used to love going to the local game shop or flea market to see if I could find anything fun. I haven't been able to do that in years.
I've stopped collecting. I will still buy new games I am interested in, but anything retro I've given up on for the time being.
As much as I adore playing on original hardware (and oh yeah I really do), emulation is really the thing to do if you're not into getting physical media.
I do hope this whole thing changes, although I doubt it. In the meantime, I'll be playing through everything I already have now.
I remember paying $15 for Smash Bros Melee in 2010, now it goes for like $70
I’ve been collecting for over 10 years and I basically stopped about a year ago because of the outrageous rise in prices.
I just go back to games I currently have. I try not to emulate anymore because it keeps encouraging my wallet to buy those out of reach games. I have spent over $100 on a few games recently, but really don't make it a habit.
Now all I do is find a game in my collection and challenge myself to beating it.
I was a huge retro and modern game collector and my job here in Korea allowed me to be one. But after the plandemic happened and my refusal to comply on getting injected with a 💉 that I personally didn't need or wanted I lost my job. Nowadays I pick random part-time jobs here and there but my passion for gaming and collecting won't die because of what continues to happen in the world. Nothing is forever and despite my situation now I still have my games to release stress and at the same time enjoy the hobby.
God bless you sir I will pray for you. I also didn’t get that stupid shot but thankfully I haven’t faced trouble with employment yet. Wishing you well my friend.. 🙏 & yes don’t let the retro gaming passion die!
Whenever I hear things like this all I hear is "I've been priced out of Ferrari collecting. This isn't fair."
Cars & video games aren't the same thing
I think we as collectors get into the habit of buying multiple games in a row before actually playing the games 1 by 1, that's pretty much what happened to me with the SNES, but I've learned from that experience. So now even if a game is expensive it doesn't hurt my wallet as much. As for emulators I've used those as demos for games that I'm not sure if I'll like them, before making a decision on buying the physical version. Playing these games on their original hardware is definitely the best experience, but I can't blame anyone for sticking only with emulators.
Great vid and topic, for games that are beyond what's a comfortable price point sometimes I'll just say up. When that's not happening though attacking the backlog, organizing/decorating my game room, or getting some family gaming in is generally on the agenda.
I think it’s stupid how some games that sat in 10$ bargain bins now go for more than a new game is priced.
As someone who never retro collected, I just bought stuff I wanted when kn sale. I have not wanted to spend $$$ for Primal Rage on the Jag CD.
I always been priced out of collecting back then, but now it's happening less because I have less utilities to pay. In truth I have to control how many games I can fit on the shelf and that also goes for consoles as well. Plus I'm a picky game collector and that means I don't want every game for the consoles I have. I just get games that catches my eye ,played the demo or I borrowed from a friend years ago.
Me: I want that game.
My mind: you could buy groceries for 2 weeks with that money and its easily emulated.
Me: ...
UA-cam: Recommends why it sucks to be out priced out collecting.
Me: Fair enough universe food it is.
Let's have rice for dinner again!
@@DP12321 what about dessert?
@@emmawagner8915 Rice pudding 😋
Most I paid for a game was $110 for Pokemon Colosseum. Even though I enjoyed the game I still feel that buyer's remorse sometimes like "Why in the world did I do that?" At the time, I was seeing it on Ebay for $200-$300 and $110 seemed like a great deal to me. But when I told a coworker how much I paid he looked at me like I was crazy.
I hate it that I owned 2 copies of Rules of Rose back in the day, and I also sold them for other games super cheaply.😀
I've been focusing on hitting the backlog while there's a bit of a lull in game purchasing. Really appreciate you breaking out the original ps1 controller!
I get it, ive been collecting sence around 2008 and i keep the prices on my games to remind myself how high things have been getting
Clicked for the content. Stayed for the derpy faces!
My game collection consists of one SNES with 2 controllers. Super Mario All stars, DK Country, paper boy 2, MK 2, Ultimate MK 3, Super Mario Kart & Super Street fighter 2. I never paid more than $35 for a game.
I love tag sales and flea markets. The number of rude, aggressive resellers who show up at 8am-1pm tag sales at 6:55am is off the charts.
I’m willing to pay $100 for a game I really want and plan to play through. I couldn’t possibly justify $150 for a game to sit on the shelf. I have a large collection as is but I’m really sad that it’s become so lucrative.
$60 is a good limit to stick to. That's about the average price of a brand new game so as long as you are really going to play and enjoy it then its worth it. Especially CIB but that's disc based mainly. Gotta be happy with cart only for certain ones at that price
Plus, sometimes you do get lucky, so having a limit like that makes it more worthwhile. I picked up Parasite eve for $20 and Megaman legends for $40 this year on Ebay, complete with no scratches. It felt better paying a reasonable price instead of shelling out triple digits.
I wouldn't call myself a retro collector, but I do like and appreciate the 2000's era of gaming. Generally speaking I will try and collect series of games rather than for consoles. For instance Pokemon is probably my favorite series of all time. I don't buy all pokemon games, but I will buy all main line games though. Biggest reason I collect the main line games is because I want pokemon bank/home compatibility, ability to complete regional dex any generation, and trade evolutions for nuzlockes, plus now that I have kids of my own the ability to pull out the 3ds and play essentially any region (not generation) up to alola is freaking awesome
My trick is to buy expensive game to play them. Once I know that I'm done with a game I sell it back. Could be weeks or years later. If I know I won't be playing it for a few years I sell it. That way I can tell myself I was paid 50$ to play panzer Dragoon saga. My game collection is the ebay Library.
As a big Square collector with most of my PS1 collection complete...the constant showing of Einhander (the game ive been priced out of getting)...felt so real lol
I would also say it an instance of being born in the right time because my nephews wanted to pursue the hobby inspired by me but with retro prices being more than half their paychecks plus they were little kids back in the 2010s they were quickly discouraged and left the hobby and so did I.....
I remember going the fridays after work to the to buy GameCube games for 10 bucks back in 2010. now I see the prices and regret for not buying all the games i wanted
I’m from the 1980s I have all my consoles still to this day but not all my games I’ve lost so many great titles throughout the years from trades trade ins or selling what a life we live I’m happy for what I still have though from then to now I’ll spend what I have to get what I really need
i set my limit at $40. And even then I’m going to research it and make sure its something i want to play, its just the principal of it. The beauty of video games is you just emulate it for free so being cheap really isnt that hard. I feel no need to spend hundreds on some crappy game just to display on the shelf
Yeah, I'd say you have some pretty good options with a limit of $40 each.
I’m relatively new to video game collecting. While I have a modest collection from just holding to games that I’ve gotten over the years, I’ve recently started buying games that I never got to play while growing up or games that did slip through the cracks to GameStop trade in solely because I didn’t have any other way of buying a newer game. When asking myself what games I want to collect, I decided to take a less approached route (well one that I don’t see often anyway). I decided to cut out cartridge based (home) consoles entirely. The earliest memories I have of gaming are ultimately with the GameCube. Needless to say, that’s a pretty big bullet to bite within itself so to ease the pain I decided to start from there. While there are many titles I enjoy from N64 and beyond going backwards, it just doesn’t make sense to bother with those libraries when they are the absolute easiest to emulate if I get desperate (I don’t emulate but I’m at ease knowing the option is there). However most of the games that are worth playing from older systems have found there way to modern platforms. Wether it’s physical or digital (physical is preferred and I only buy digital if it will save me A LOT of dough), I only care about having access to the games I want to play over ensuring I have the original print or method of playing. A recent example is 3D Zelda. Between my 3DS and Wii U, I was able to successfully buy every game in that series without breaking the bank. None of which are digital either! The Metroid Prime Trilogy is a good example of something I would rather spend $20 now to digital experience than bother with the $1-200 prices I’ve seen. I have a love/hate relationship with Nintendo at the moment but at the end of the day (for now anyway and I dread March next year), I’m able to access the games I want to play and about 90% of them I am able to get on my shelf so I can fall asleep knowing that if I wanted to grope their spines… I can. ❤️
I have a perfect cart only Little Samson. I've been offered to sell it many time but, it was bought by myself and my late friend and I got it from his brother after his passing. I don't play it that often but, based on it meaning a lot to me I just can't sell it.
In that case, I'd say its value doesn't come from its resale value at all. I love little stories like this. Thank you for sharing.
Sometimes I think your videos are so well written that they would be presented just as well in just a written format without the video. I think if you took the scripts from a selection of your videos and converted it into a book, you'd have a really interesting end product.
That being said, you do a great job on visuals as well.
Thank you for that!
So glad I found this channel
I'm glad you did too!
I remember when the prices started spiking in early 2021, I was very upset that the games I was looking to buy were definitely way out of my price range. But now I’m slowly accepting the fact that other ways of appreciating retro games exist besides buying them second-hand. I’ve leaned more into emulation and tackling my backlog, which have made me much happier than getting depressed looking at pricecharting every day lol
It seems that most of the high priced games wanted in the us market are a lot cheaper in pal regions. Sometimes the difference in price is very big.
I can't believe how expensive Sonic Adventure 2's gotten
One of the most painful parts for me has been accepting that complete collections of consoles, even those with libraries as small as something like the N64, is becoming almost impossible, now. I had always wanted to pick up a bunch of different N64 funtastic consoles, for instance, but it's become hard to even find listings of N64 funtastic consoles on Ebay in the first place, let alone in decent condition. Heck, even some 3DS games are becoming increasingly difficult to find, on top of the already high prices, like Kirby Robobot, even if there's several "World Edition" copies. It's one thing for prices to be too high; it's another for the listings to no longer exist in the first place.
I was lucky to get a lot of stuff in the late 2000s and early 2010s when collecting retro games wasn't super cool or a "proffesional" thing.
I remember when you could get 8 a 16 bits cartridges for a few bucks because it was "old" and nobody wanted them.
now I wouldn't be able to afford them. I'm lucky I could get lots of games I used to rent but didn't own in the 80s and 90s.
Ive experienced this with action figures. Between price hikes, shotty releases, artificial scarcity, scalping, and exclusivity it stopped being fun so I cashed out and left.
For certain games with prices that rise out of reasonableness, if I see it for sale for a price that I don't believe it will ever go down to instead, I may just bite the bullet. Prime example, right around the time prices for Gotcha Force jumped again, my local store still had it priced at $500. It's outrageous, but it was a clean complete copy and I knew I'd probably never see it that low again, and I bit the bullet and paid the $500.
In the past I had a boatload of games that I wanted but these days I might find 1 or 2 games that are of interest to me. Almost everything has become to by the numbers to samey.
Best advice I can give is this: save up. If you’re someone willing to pull the trigger on an expensive game: wait. Instead see if you can find a collector who wants to part with multiple games, including ones you want.
When you’re willing to spend more upfront, you can get better deals on each game individually. At least, that’s how us retro stores do it. Use the extra games to trade or sell and you’ll come out ahead. This does mean spending EVEN MORE, and I understand if people aren’t interested in that or the extra work involved, but it’s a proven strategy.
People always need cash. But they don’t always need video games (sacrilegious, I know.)
I just save up for the heavies. I'll pass on commons I kinda want until I'm able to purchase that grail I've been eyeing.
I still find stuff at swap meets and thrift shops. I also buy backups for Dreamcast and everdrives for Genesis, nes, snes, n64. I only buy the ones I really want for GameCube. It helps I don’t drink or smoke anything so I use that cash on my video game high. I also buy games and systems cheap and sell or trade in and get money for games that way too.
This is pretty spot on. I had a breaking point when trying to obtain Persona 2 on PS1 and the best offer I saw was $350 at some game store and was like "I'll wait." But the wait just got longer and longer until 1 year, 2 years have passed. Then I saw an ebay listing for the game at $350... I bought it. I never want to contribute to rising prices which is why I'm always careful about buying from retro stores, in fact, I rarely go to retro stores except for a few nowadays because they all have this tendency to overprice niche games by like $10 when I can get the game for less including shipping any day of the week. Pricing sucks.
Get a bidet attachment for your toilet and you'll save enough money on TP to afford Little Samson. 😎
The problem is a lot of people got into collecting the last couple of years because of what the games were worth as opposed to just wanting to collect the games.
I’ve been collecting for 12 years or so and have 3,430 games and over 100 consoles and handhelds. With 1,700 NES/N64/SNES games they account for essentially 50% of my collection. I’ve completed the licensed N64 and NES game sets (minus SE) and I’m about 200 games away from the licensed SNES set. I always had a goal of completing a series, completing a set, or just going after the harder to find games for a system. These are still my goals….I still don’t buy things as investments. I really like buying CIB games (have about 450 CIB NES/N64/SNES games) and the rare stuff for various systems just because I like having hard to find games.
My collection is currently packed up as we are moving, but once I’m ready to unpack I’m going to make some unpacking videos for my channel as I haven’t uploaded anything in years about my collection.
You have some of the best videos on UA-cam
I collect for the N64 and can say that prices have gone up a lot in the last two years here in Brazil. I feel lucky I got the bulk of my collection around the R$100 mark and now I'm priced out of games like Harvest Moon 64 and Castlevania Legacy, but that's alright. What I do is, for example, instead of paying R$400 for Harvest Moon, I paid R$400 for a pack of 6 games I also wanted and are still on the cheaper side (Turok 1 and 2, Star Wars games etc). However, this tactic won't work forever, and I'll have to bite the bullet eventually on those games. But while I wait, I spar with my backlog happily. Awesome content, Bird, love your vids!