Awesome video as always, John! As a small collector myself, the prices of these games nowadays has really impacted my ability to collect. So, I recently decided to downsize what I have, and focus on collecting games that I still play. As a result, I have a fairly small collection, but it is filled almost entirely with games that I still play. A win/win in my book!
The reason I collect is to keep the history of retro gaming alive in my life and to show it off to the younger generation where I live and they love the history I try to teach them.love your reviews and keep up the awesome job.
This is an awesome video, i collect only games that i remember playing in the past or games that i have played at a friends house and liked it(new to me) and decided to ad it to my small collection.
I've got a pretty large collection and I'm in the middle of saving/building a space to store my collection be able to play games in it. This has been my focus for the past year. As far as trends, it's hard to tell. The NES mini will alleviate some percentage of collectors who were just keeping the NES games they wanted to play. And this will result in those games going back into the market and easing prices a little. But I think the bigger trend is that this will bring on more retrogaming fans and possibly have the opposite effect - resulting in more scarcity of actual game carts as more collectors get on board. I think the actual thing that will happen here is what happened with comics. Those that really want these things will get theirs and the prices will plateau (except accounting for inflation). The scarcity/demand will guarantee a price floor on the rare items (like Mega Man X3). The non-rare popular items like Contra will fluctuate and will lower and eventually find a happy medium. There's not going to be a game price crash per se - as some have predicted. There might be a slow decline in price over time (since the retrogaming scene is overly-popular in my opinion). Eventually, all the hobby tag-alongs (those that have some nostalgia for the systems but have to justify the space/time with their families) will drop out (or just own plug'n'plays or digital versions of the games they have nostalgia for). So, in short, if an item truly is rare, now's probably the time to get it. If an item is popular but not rare (i.e. Kirby games), keep an eye out for a good deal, but you shouldn't need to pay a premium now to own it eventually.
awesome video man. I'm an amature collector and you and metal Jesus have inspired me to start retro collecting, which is becoming ever so addicting. keep up the great work and I love your channel so much.
Collecting for me rely's heavily on what I can find in my limited area(Alaska). I seem to find a few things at thrift stores, craigs list and pawn shops. No real swap meets available. If I lived elsewhere I would do more collecting wise but I prospect for gold during summer and couldnt ask for a better area to have been raised in. Games get me through the 8 months of winter. Thanks for the video :)
Thanks for the answears. I also share the same opinion about collectors and gamers. I'm a bit of those two worlds. I have space in my game room, but I don't wanna fill it up with stuff that I really don't care about so much. I only collect games and systems that really meant something in my early years as a gamer, since the early 80s. Thanks for this, John!
John i have ben seen you videos for a while now... Im from argentina and y can`t be more thankful for all the work that you have been doing for the retro collecting scenerio... Keep doing your vidios!!!! Thanks and i will be waiting for more of your material :D :D :D
Liked and subscribed. As a hardcore retro gamer & collector, I do see where you're coming from. I started collecting just the games I wanted to play (boxed or not), THEN I wanted to complete collections. I.E. ALL Mega Man games on the NES, even though my favorite is MM2. Keep up the good work on your channel, great stuff. :)
Fantastic topic and video John. I especially enjoyed your thoughts regarding being a "Gamer" and "Collector" As I also get asked the question, "Do you play all your games". You describe it perfectly and took the words right out of my mouth.
I'm a gamer not a collector. I would love to be able to play on original hardware, but the collectors and resellers have priced the gamers out of the market, so I use emulators. Thinking about all those games sitting sealed in their original packaging never to be played makes me sad.
I know the feeling, best time to have gotten in was early on. I got into NES and SNES collecting during the late 90's-early 2000's, then went to GameCube as soon as the next generation of consoles were coming out and stores were clearing out the GameCube stuff(it was how I got Skies of Arcadia, Animal crossing and Fire emblem for 20 bucks new) and now have been picking up PS3 games often as low as for 4 for 20 bucks. But I also am not one to just get stuff because hey it may be worth something later but rather because it's something I am interested in and want to play.
@Cletus Mcbetus I agree with you to an extent, though the other side of that coin is that preserving them in this way allows future generations to appreciate them too. I would argue that that's the job of a museum though really.
There needs to be new updated videos on this topic! The prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the last few months and still rising. Insane. So glad I bought a lot of what I wanted before this pandemic.
John, you hit it on the head. There are gamers and collectors that don't understand each other. Sometimes I don't understand how some gamers don't respect a collection. Seems pretty disrespectful to me. I am both a gamer and a collector. But I don't collect certain types of games that I know I'll never play. I collect stuff that I like or stuff that makes me feel real nostalgic and connects me to certain things. I think the Wii is great for emulating thousands of classic games. But that's probably why I'm not hyped about the Mini NES, because it only gives you a limited amount of games. I guess it has its place though.
Good video John. Looks like the students got your work cut out for ya. As far as how it is affecting me personally? Collecting isn't as affordable as it used to be, but everyone knows that and you and I both were lucky enough get the majority of what we needed back when it was cheap. How it is really affecting me? Prices are so high now that I've often considered selling off my entire collection, (not just downsizing), to capitalize on the high market. I could put a down payment on a house or go on a trip for a year with what I could make from it, and it is just really enticing. I never considered selling everything in 15 years of collecting, but when so many games go for $100+ each now, it is getting increasingly harder to look the other way.
I'm just over here stocking up on PS2....I'll never forget my local videogame shop having a bargain bin full of Nes games- original Zelda 2 going for 75p back in 98....kills you doesnt it!
My wife is also a teacher and she's knee deep into papers right now lol! It's just so easy to judge in this day and age that people feel entitled to do so... I collect way more than I play since I collect everything playstation rpg's... but like you said it's my collection and I don't expect anyone to understand! Great video and keep up the good work!
I have to say, you nailed it on the Nintendo costs skyrocketing!!!! I have noticed within the last five years that prices have at least tripled for any of the desirable games. Grrrrr
Resellers are part of the game. People give them power by buying games from them. The reality is everyone should learn how to negotiate and know when to set a limit on what they're willing to spend and above that, walk away.
I collect to play the real deal. Having the cart or disc is also a nostalgic factor for me. I have bought games that are expensive but usually I avoid Cib unless the price is low enough. I am a person that could break the seal on a Little Samson just to play it. I would know that the value would plummet but that is not what a game is supposed to be too me. That's why I don't particularly like resellers that much. They leech on other peoples passions. But then there are most likely resellers that only want to help out. Here in Sweden it's near impossible to find games from people that don't know what they should price a particular game. So finding good deals is getting harder. Great vid John
always in awe of your collection (and love your vids - you're an upbeat guy). I have a decent console collection, but games come courtesy of everdrive carts (to save space)... If I had the money/space I'd definitely have more physical carts.
Great video and a lot of good information. If i could just offer a little suggestion, sometimes the way it is edited it will cut off before the sentence is complete. Just trying to give constructive criticism, keep up the good work.
Heya John, I would like to hear your thoughts on "complete" collections for a console and whether you consider modern homebrews and ports as a part of the complete collection. One of the main systems I collect for is the Atari Jaguar and there is quite a bit of activity going on with that system lately.
I have been buying games with my 5yr old... I collect cartridge systems but its cool to show her what games I grew up playing and see her enjoy them too so many years later. And in most cases she likes them better than the newer games we have...she is not a fan of all the extra buttons new controllers have.
I am a hardcore gamer and I completely understand why you collect. I collect baseball cards. It gives you a sense of completion. I love retro gaming as well, but I don't have the space or money for it. That's why I typically playing anything cart related on an emulator. The 64 is the only exception and I use an ever drive. I think it's important for the new gamers to know about these old ones, otherwise all they are going to know is Call of Duty
Whew I thought there was something wrong with me enjoying collecting more than playing sometimes. loving the price of PS3 and xbox 360 games right now, brought a brand new game for $8NZD, got my Christmas money ready to cash in on the clearance sales of last gen. I try and play each game for at least a couple of hours to get the feel of it and save my time for games like fallout 4 that stop me from sleeping or being able to enjoy other games
I collect Nintendo DS and 3DS in Europe. While not retro as such, it shares a lot of the same aspects. My collecting suffers from the fact that the media remains active, the current wave of hardware can play everything I own. It has kept the price of everything relatively high and means that you don't get masses for your cash. Two of my most sought after games at the moment are Metal Slug 7, and Retro Game Challenge, both retro in their own ways. They are expensive in comparison to other things and also difficult to get a hold of CIB. It astounds me how much loose stuff (that I don't collect) is around for these systems, especially when people are more interested in having things complete nowadays. The old NES boxes being missing, in a time when there wasn't that awareness, is understandable, but a still active system with a significant amount of missing boxes? Crazy.
I started collecting a few years ago after selling off a portion of my nes and n64 games back in the early 2000's in college. I started and NES games were $2-3, now they're $5-7. I have most of the games one would seek out to play, so now I'm only lacking unknown games that cost way too much right now. So I've taken a break from collecting games to focus on WWF LJN figures, which is also getting crappy.
I've sold some of my Saturn games lately for this reason. I got $150 for D & D collection, but i can get a physical PS3 version for $30. I love my games, but i'm no dummy. I've done the same lately with my LP's. Records are expensive now, so i'm selling what i no longer want or need and replacing with cheaper versions if i can. The trends will change, they always do.
Hey John, you mentioned that the Atari used to sell for more than it does now. Do you think the same thing will happen with other retro consoles in the next 10 or so years or do you see them continuing to retain/increase in value?
you mentioned a cost effective way to hook up your 2600 to modern systems. A composite mod is only $20 and easy to install if you have a soldering iron.
To retro collectors i seen allot of collectors we need to share our collection with the kids or kids that cannot afford a new system its a shame that we have this huge collection and the only people that see it or plays it is the collector. it would be cool if we can take our retro collection to the next level like children museums or children hospital would it be cool to play retro games at a children hospital with there parents while there trying to get better. I gave my doubles of systems or games to the less fortunate or the kids that has parents from the 80s and 90s to bring them together. Lets share our collection not for profits but just for smiles. Hey hope you get a museum started.
I totally agree with you. I am... or was?... a collector for primarily the Sega Megadrive. I just quit collecting the games and started playing them on my pc. Why? 2 reasons: 1: It got so expensive that I will not allow for example a mint condition Castlevania Bloodlines to fry or something. Not only it will break the game, but also the console. 2: Kind of connects to the first reason, it got ridiculously expensive, especially in the last few years. So, I bought all kinds of adapters for all kinds of gamepads, set up MAME on my pc to play pretty much everything (Genesis, NeoGeo, NES and of course, good old arcade games!) I thought about selling my collection to buy a real arcade cabinet with over 2k games on it. I figured I needed to research a little more before I do that and I went with a Kai 4 real arcade stick from Hori. I love it and I think it is one of the best purchases I have made when it comes to retro gaming. It works perfectly fine on a PC, considered it is a PS4 arcade stick! I still have the games, but I am really on the fence of selling them. The gaming experience for me is pretty much there: Original gamepad, graphics and almost every game you can think of of that particular system. The only thing affordable to collect for, at least in the Netherlands, is for the Atari 2600 (which I really like!). Maybe the GB/GBC/GBA too, but I am not too familiar with the prices of the games on them these days tbh.
I just think if you let your games go, a year or two or even five years from now you'll get the itch to start collecting again and its always a massive regret when you sell something you've collected for so long. I'd keep them for the sake of that reason alone.
i'm going hard after ps1 atari 2600 and megadrive at the moment they're all still reasonably priced and i still get ps2 but man i miss getting loose snes and n64 games for 3/4 pound i don't even bother with the mental prices
I've noticed people will look their games up online before selling them. To which they base their price point on a ridiculous price they saw someone attempting to sell that exact game online. I've noticed they tend to look at items being sold verses items being bought. Big difference that I'm sure you are aware of.
Retro games in general will become more rare as time goes by. I've had many cardboard boxed games arrive in jiffy bags that have been crushed in transit. Another mint game out of circulation. Even sun faded crushed boxes are getting expensive to buy. I don't see them ever coming down in value because of the rarity :/ I know teens that are collecting NES games and enjoy them for their simplicity and difficulty
something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. as it is, video games are not gold or similar category such as "precious metals" that are universally valued. look up a huge number of rookie cards from days of old. no one collects baseball cards anymore. are they worth anything? sure you can price them in the thousands but who is really buying? generations have moved onto video games and cellphones from card collecting. outside of things like precious metals or options or stocks, nothing has real value that can be sustained. you can argue there are art collectors for the sake of art but artwork is just a means of money laundering. i can go on.
90's kid here. Had to sell a lot of stuff just to pay for my own college. Not having kids. Gonna hoard games and things that I love and have experiences that fufill me rather than have children. Not hating on other's choices, just how I think my life will be best lived!
The only thing that could change things is if these companies release more older games physically on PS4 and other modern consoles. I dont really care at this point if the game is the original release or a re release or a game in a compilation, as long as it runs good and is on a disc i dont see why i should spend more for the original release
I don't collect old school games, but I do play old school games, both through emulator and games you can buy on Steam nowadays. I'm slightly disappointed by the modern day gaming industry nowadays, so being able to play older style games is awesome. Also, if you have a PC, try to play some of the fan games and RPG Maker games out there, because those can be pretty good. I'm enjoying Chronicles of a Dark Lord right now.
Well if the price are too high and people are not buying it, its just a matter of time soon the price will drop. The problem is that there is actually people willing to pay 300$ for megaman x3... or 250$ for a fucking component cable for the gamecube. When no one will buy it, the prices will go down for sure.
wow x3 is up to that much eh? i wonder what will happen when bit-rot sets in. something NO collector has EVER talked about but really should (you listening john?).
@@Video-Games-Are-Fun no some have but the ones that I have seen talk about it seem to be under the impression that the majority of disc based games will rot away before their carts will. Those people are also delisional.
Personally I've been collecting for 17 years i don't think i could ever stop at this point. i remember just a few years ago buying super metroid boxing minty af for 24 shipped. miss those days. I will say this i got my cousin into collecting now which is fun and all. But the bad part is he's just collecting because he sees them as future profit doesn't even play them. luckily its just 360 he's collecting. Oh and not gonna lie my backlog is big af probably around 250 games. With that being said when i buy a game i do play them for at least a few hours a piece. Just might not ever beat them lol.
Great video definitely looking to get into collecting went full pc for quite some time definitely looking to get into consoles again mainly N64, PS2, and Xbox also NES. I Think with digital you also build up a collection that you never play, On steam I have hundreds of games just sat there because they were on sale or I like the concept of the game but haven't gotton round to playing it, But I get having the option to play the retro games like who knows what's going to happen to digital games down the line servers go down, companies go bust, definitely would rather have the physical copy. I believe there will always be collectors whether that's for nostalgia , History, wanting to play the games all reasons are valid its up to you as a collector, prices go up and down like with any market agree its supply and demand, there's many external factors.
A trend I'm seeing right now is that everyone that doesn't even collect or game knows that games are worth something. They might not know that mario 3 is about a 23-25 dollar game now but they know its worth something. Also I'm more of a collector who focuses on games that I will eventually play, but when is the problem. I like the hunt for the games and trying to get the deals.
John should be a Gta character, you know, the ''crazy''guy that wants to protect his shit in a world where old videogames are like drugs. He also wants you to steal the really expensive copies from a museum. Lol im seeing it all before my eyes.
I once got Darkwing Duck complete in box for NES, mint condition for $30 on eBay.. Traded it in to a game store, regretted it and now I see it going for ridiculous prices on eBay. 😮 NES prices are insane these days.
I'm a collector/ gamer every 2 weeks i pick up 5 to 10 games before i buy more i play the first 5 or 10 really cheap games for pick up are ps2 and original xbox also a lot of ps3 and xbox 360 are between $1.99 and 4.99 at gamestop i don't deal with resellers or retro game shop most of them over price .
I hate to criticize your video man but there was a hiccup at 3:23. Don't take it to personally because I do appreciate the insight of an experienced game collector as I'm a newcomer.
***** I wasn't asking to edit the entire video to have jump cuts every five seconds,I just pointed out the hiccup because he interrupted himself in the edit. I like the rest of the video because he doesn't do insane amounts. I just wanted to point out that one issue.
I'm a gamer first and collector second. I am playing almost every single game I buy and I tend to only buy games I know I will be interested to play at some point. Before I bought filler cheap titles to fill up empty space. Now I think of it all differently.
Interesting! I'm collecting consoles atm. I've only got a few games to go with some of the consoles. My PS1 only has one game. So I dunno I'd say game collectors are more realer than me lol Game collecting seems way harder. Although some consoles are pretty hard to get.
Hopefully.... next year ...the "In" fad will be something else .... like retro beer mugs or something... so all the get rich quick merchants will have something else to chase after. Hopefully, then, retro game prices for collectors will fall back a bit as games are off loaded by the sharks.... I dream :)
I collect nastolgic games to play but others because I find them interesting historically or just because I think its cool. Some stuff I collect just so I can say hay I have this wierd thing. I see nothing wrong with not playing your collection as long as you have an appreciation for it. I am currently going for a full madden collection. I don't love modern madden games. But the history of the series is interesting the games are cheap even in box and it is going to be a fun thing to say hay I have this.
I can tell you're a little bummed by the current trends. Price spikes, the popularity, and the limited resources. I got into it about a year ago and I can already see some differences between then and now.
I am from UK, I have put off sonic 3 as its £12 in 3 months it has gone up to £25 and my 2nd is getting a complete 32x collection, pal is the worse I didn't know until not long ago that one game in pal is priced at over £1,000
I always mentioned to friends, why doesn't Nintendo, Sega etc, reproduce some old NES and Genesis games. I'm sure, there would be demand for it, and companies would make money, and would also drop the price of reselling
Awesome video as always, John! As a small collector myself, the prices of these games nowadays has really impacted my ability to collect. So, I recently decided to downsize what I have, and focus on collecting games that I still play. As a result, I have a fairly small collection, but it is filled almost entirely with games that I still play. A win/win in my book!
I like how the game "Immortal" is visible to the upper left:)
Can't LOVE your new background enough with The SEGA Master System look!!!💯👌👌🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮
It’s gone crazy quick since you did this video.
The reason I collect is to keep the history of retro gaming alive in my life and to show it off to the younger generation where I live and they love the history I try to teach them.love your reviews and keep up the awesome job.
really enjoy the perspective and level-headedness you always bring in videos like these. thanks for sharing, mr john hancock!
Thank you for the insight. Price and scarcity are my biggest issues, along with finding time to play.
I love how helpful your videos are even today when I’m looking for tips to build my collection
This is an awesome video, i collect only games that i remember playing in the past or games that i have played at a friends house and liked it(new to me) and decided to ad it to my small collection.
I've got a pretty large collection and I'm in the middle of saving/building a space to store my collection be able to play games in it. This has been my focus for the past year.
As far as trends, it's hard to tell. The NES mini will alleviate some percentage of collectors who were just keeping the NES games they wanted to play. And this will result in those games going back into the market and easing prices a little. But I think the bigger trend is that this will bring on more retrogaming fans and possibly have the opposite effect - resulting in more scarcity of actual game carts as more collectors get on board.
I think the actual thing that will happen here is what happened with comics. Those that really want these things will get theirs and the prices will plateau (except accounting for inflation). The scarcity/demand will guarantee a price floor on the rare items (like Mega Man X3). The non-rare popular items like Contra will fluctuate and will lower and eventually find a happy medium. There's not going to be a game price crash per se - as some have predicted. There might be a slow decline in price over time (since the retrogaming scene is overly-popular in my opinion). Eventually, all the hobby tag-alongs (those that have some nostalgia for the systems but have to justify the space/time with their families) will drop out (or just own plug'n'plays or digital versions of the games they have nostalgia for).
So, in short, if an item truly is rare, now's probably the time to get it. If an item is popular but not rare (i.e. Kirby games), keep an eye out for a good deal, but you shouldn't need to pay a premium now to own it eventually.
awesome video man. I'm an amature collector and you and metal Jesus have inspired me to start retro collecting, which is becoming ever so addicting. keep up the great work and I love your channel so much.
Very informative and great perspective John! I can't wait for more!
Collecting for me rely's heavily on what I can find in my limited area(Alaska). I seem to find a few things at thrift stores, craigs list and pawn shops. No real swap meets available. If I lived elsewhere I would do more collecting wise but I prospect for gold during summer and couldnt ask for a better area to have been raised in. Games get me through the 8 months of winter. Thanks for the video :)
Thanks for the answears. I also share the same opinion about collectors and gamers. I'm a bit of those two worlds.
I have space in my game room, but I don't wanna fill it up with stuff that I really don't care about so much. I only collect games and systems that really meant something in my early years as a gamer, since the early 80s.
Thanks for this, John!
John i have ben seen you videos for a while now... Im from argentina and y can`t be more thankful for all the work that you have been doing for the retro collecting scenerio... Keep doing your vidios!!!! Thanks and i will be waiting for more of your material :D :D :D
John, you are always smiling - I think I like that the best about your videos! Keep smiling!
Liked and subscribed. As a hardcore retro gamer & collector, I do see where you're coming from. I started collecting just the games I wanted to play (boxed or not), THEN I wanted to complete collections. I.E. ALL Mega Man games on the NES, even though my favorite is MM2. Keep up the good work on your channel, great stuff. :)
Pretty interesting video :D Always good to get your insight on collecting especially for retro stuff :D
Fantastic topic and video John. I especially enjoyed your thoughts regarding being a "Gamer" and "Collector" As I also get asked the question, "Do you play all your games". You describe it perfectly and took the words right out of my mouth.
I hear ya on the physical media. I always prefer it over digital whenever I can get it physically.
I'm a gamer not a collector.
I would love to be able to play on original hardware, but the collectors and resellers have priced the gamers out of the market, so I use emulators.
Thinking about all those games sitting sealed in their original packaging never to be played makes me sad.
I know the feeling, best time to have gotten in was early on. I got into NES and SNES collecting during the late 90's-early 2000's, then went to GameCube as soon as the next generation of consoles were coming out and stores were clearing out the GameCube stuff(it was how I got Skies of Arcadia, Animal crossing and Fire emblem for 20 bucks new) and now have been picking up PS3 games often as low as for 4 for 20 bucks. But I also am not one to just get stuff because hey it may be worth something later but rather because it's something I am interested in and want to play.
The only system I collect for is the Vectrex, because Vectrex emulation is pretty mediocre
@Cletus Mcbetus
I agree with you to an extent, though the other side of that coin is that preserving them in this way allows future generations to appreciate them too. I would argue that that's the job of a museum though really.
There needs to be new updated videos on this topic! The prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the last few months and still rising. Insane. So glad I bought a lot of what I wanted before this pandemic.
Always a joy to hear you talk about games
John, you hit it on the head. There are gamers and collectors that don't understand each other. Sometimes I don't understand how some gamers don't respect a collection. Seems pretty disrespectful to me. I am both a gamer and a collector. But I don't collect certain types of games that I know I'll never play. I collect stuff that I like or stuff that makes me feel real nostalgic and connects me to certain things.
I think the Wii is great for emulating thousands of classic games. But that's probably why I'm not hyped about the Mini NES, because it only gives you a limited amount of games. I guess it has its place though.
Great video John! It was good to see you at PRGE this year. Can't wait for Cowlitz next year.
10 months old yet this video is still spot on
Good video John. Looks like the students got your work cut out for ya. As far as how it is affecting me personally? Collecting isn't as affordable as it used to be, but everyone knows that and you and I both were lucky enough get the majority of what we needed back when it was cheap. How it is really affecting me? Prices are so high now that I've often considered selling off my entire collection, (not just downsizing), to capitalize on the high market. I could put a down payment on a house or go on a trip for a year with what I could make from it, and it is just really enticing. I never considered selling everything in 15 years of collecting, but when so many games go for $100+ each now, it is getting increasingly harder to look the other way.
Interesting. You earned my sub, greetings from Australia :-)
I'm just over here stocking up on PS2....I'll never forget my local videogame shop having a bargain bin full of Nes games- original Zelda 2 going for 75p back in 98....kills you doesnt it!
Michael 1984 I can remember also walking into woolworths and seeing them all on offer they were the days tho man
My wife is also a teacher and she's knee deep into papers right now lol! It's just so easy to judge in this day and age that people feel entitled to do so... I collect way more than I play since I collect everything playstation rpg's... but like you said it's my collection and I don't expect anyone to understand! Great video and keep up the good work!
Great video John! Such true words it's exactly the same here in Australia just the prices are higher again haha
I have to say, you nailed it on the Nintendo costs skyrocketing!!!! I have noticed within the last five years that prices have at least tripled for any of the desirable games. Grrrrr
Resellers are part of the game. People give them power by buying games from them.
The reality is everyone should learn how to negotiate and know when to set a limit on what they're willing to spend and above that, walk away.
Thank you for the video and insight! Keep up the good work!
Love your content man binge watched it all night lol :)
I love how hes doing the vid in front of the game IMMORTAL :P
I collect to play the real deal. Having the cart or disc is also a nostalgic factor for me. I have bought games that are expensive but usually I avoid Cib unless the price is low enough. I am a person that could break the seal on a Little Samson just to play it. I would know that the value would plummet but that is not what a game is supposed to be too me. That's why I don't particularly like resellers that much. They leech on other peoples passions. But then there are most likely resellers that only want to help out. Here in Sweden it's near impossible to find games from people that don't know what they should price a particular game. So finding good deals is getting harder.
Great vid John
always in awe of your collection (and love your vids - you're an upbeat guy). I have a decent console collection, but games come courtesy of everdrive carts (to save space)... If I had the money/space I'd definitely have more physical carts.
Turbo Grafx 16 prices have been going up considerably since late 2012 and present day.
yeah i noticed that too
Yeah it's that combination of overlooked but had some really awesome games. It's basically the Saturn, Dreamcast, GameCube of it's generation
Great video and a lot of good information. If i could just offer a little suggestion, sometimes the way it is edited it will cut off before the sentence is complete. Just trying to give constructive criticism, keep up the good work.
Didn't know you were a teacher, John -- very cool! (I'm a Special Education teacher/retro game-collector myself.)
Heya John, I would like to hear your thoughts on "complete" collections for a console and whether you consider modern homebrews and ports as a part of the complete collection. One of the main systems I collect for is the Atari Jaguar and there is quite a bit of activity going on with that system lately.
Stage_1_Boss I consider homebrews separate and aftermarket. Jaguar has some cool stuff indeed.
Thats the reason I'm seriously considering just collecting digital with things like GOG, etc. Except for those games I just want a physical copy of.
I have been buying games with my 5yr old... I collect cartridge systems but its cool to show her what games I grew up playing and see her enjoy them too so many years later. And in most cases she likes them better than the newer games we have...she is not a fan of all the extra buttons new controllers have.
Love your videos John. This is a great topic and a good discussion. I'd be interested to know what you teach?
I am a hardcore gamer and I completely understand why you collect. I collect baseball cards. It gives you a sense of completion. I love retro gaming as well, but I don't have the space or money for it. That's why I typically playing anything cart related on an emulator. The 64 is the only exception and I use an ever drive. I think it's important for the new gamers to know about these old ones, otherwise all they are going to know is Call of Duty
Whew I thought there was something wrong with me enjoying collecting more than playing sometimes. loving the price of PS3 and xbox 360 games right now, brought a brand new game for $8NZD, got my Christmas money ready to cash in on the clearance sales of last gen. I try and play each game for at least a couple of hours to get the feel of it and save my time for games like fallout 4 that stop me from sleeping or being able to enjoy other games
I collect Nintendo DS and 3DS in Europe. While not retro as such, it shares a lot of the same aspects. My collecting suffers from the fact that the media remains active, the current wave of hardware can play everything I own. It has kept the price of everything relatively high and means that you don't get masses for your cash. Two of my most sought after games at the moment are Metal Slug 7, and Retro Game Challenge, both retro in their own ways. They are expensive in comparison to other things and also difficult to get a hold of CIB. It astounds me how much loose stuff (that I don't collect) is around for these systems, especially when people are more interested in having things complete nowadays. The old NES boxes being missing, in a time when there wasn't that awareness, is understandable, but a still active system with a significant amount of missing boxes? Crazy.
Speaking of modern hook-ups for the 2600, do you have the new RGB mod installed on any of your 2600s?
I started collecting a few years ago after selling off a portion of my nes and n64 games back in the early 2000's in college. I started and NES games were $2-3, now they're $5-7. I have most of the games one would seek out to play, so now I'm only lacking unknown games that cost way too much right now. So I've taken a break from collecting games to focus on WWF LJN figures, which is also getting crappy.
Thanks for the insights
I've sold some of my Saturn games lately for this reason. I got $150 for D & D collection, but i can get a physical PS3 version for $30. I love my games, but i'm no dummy. I've done the same lately with my LP's. Records are expensive now, so i'm selling what i no longer want or need and replacing with cheaper versions if i can. The trends will change, they always do.
another great video. thanks!
Immortal John Hancock!! where do I go to get your DVD's? I would love that extra help
+j macher Message me through my Facebook fan page.
Hey John, you mentioned that the Atari used to sell for more than it does now. Do you think the same thing will happen with other retro consoles in the next 10 or so years or do you see them continuing to retain/increase in value?
you mentioned a cost effective way to hook up your 2600 to modern systems. A composite mod is only $20 and easy to install if you have a soldering iron.
what time is it? tool time!
I think with the rise of the retron consoles, have really boosted markets for hard copy carts.
great video as always john
Love you Jason
Oh, you're here too! Cool.
To retro collectors i seen allot of collectors we need to share our collection with the kids or kids that cannot afford a new system its a shame that we have this huge collection and the only people that see it or plays it is the collector. it would be cool if we can take our retro collection to the next level like children museums or children hospital would it be cool to play retro games at a children hospital with there parents while there trying to get better. I gave my doubles of systems or games to the less fortunate or the kids that has parents from the 80s and 90s to bring them together. Lets share our collection not for profits but just for smiles. Hey hope you get a museum started.
I totally agree with you.
I am... or was?... a collector for primarily the Sega Megadrive.
I just quit collecting the games and started playing them on my pc.
Why? 2 reasons:
1: It got so expensive that I will not allow for example a mint condition Castlevania Bloodlines to fry or something. Not only it will break the game, but also the console.
2: Kind of connects to the first reason, it got ridiculously expensive, especially in the last few years.
So, I bought all kinds of adapters for all kinds of gamepads, set up MAME on my pc to play pretty much everything (Genesis, NeoGeo, NES and of course, good old arcade games!)
I thought about selling my collection to buy a real arcade cabinet with over 2k games on it.
I figured I needed to research a little more before I do that and I went with a Kai 4 real arcade stick from Hori. I love it and I think it is one of the best purchases I have made when it comes to retro gaming. It works perfectly fine on a PC, considered it is a PS4 arcade stick!
I still have the games, but I am really on the fence of selling them.
The gaming experience for me is pretty much there: Original gamepad, graphics and almost every game you can think of of that particular system.
The only thing affordable to collect for, at least in the Netherlands, is for the Atari 2600 (which I really like!).
Maybe the GB/GBC/GBA too, but I am not too familiar with the prices of the games on them these days tbh.
I just think if you let your games go, a year or two or even five years from now you'll get the itch to start collecting again and its always a massive regret when you sell something you've collected for so long. I'd keep them for the sake of that reason alone.
i'm going hard after ps1 atari 2600 and megadrive at the moment they're all still reasonably priced and i still get ps2 but man i miss getting loose snes and n64 games for 3/4 pound i don't even bother with the mental prices
I've noticed people will look their games up online before selling them. To which they base their price point on a ridiculous price they saw someone attempting to sell that exact game online.
I've noticed they tend to look at items being sold verses items being bought. Big difference that I'm sure you are aware of.
Hey I enjoy your vids a lot. Your a down to earth awesome dude. Keep doing you man!! Btw what do you teach?
Prices will drop again when 80s and 90s kids have to start paying for their own kid's college... :)
Yea, but how many of us are skipping all that and just hoarding vidjagames? Got to me more than just me.
Retro games in general will become more rare as time goes by. I've had many cardboard boxed games arrive in jiffy bags that have been crushed in transit. Another mint game out of circulation. Even sun faded crushed boxes are getting expensive to buy. I don't see them ever coming down in value because of the rarity :/ I know teens that are collecting NES games and enjoy them for their simplicity and difficulty
ASH 1990 yeah I'm only 14 and started collecting games. I love them all, but it's hard earning that money at this age without a proper paying job
something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. as it is, video games are not gold or similar category such as "precious metals" that are universally valued. look up a huge number of rookie cards from days of old. no one collects baseball cards anymore. are they worth anything? sure you can price them in the thousands but who is really buying? generations have moved onto video games and cellphones from card collecting. outside of things like precious metals or options or stocks, nothing has real value that can be sustained. you can argue there are art collectors for the sake of art but artwork is just a means of money laundering. i can go on.
90's kid here. Had to sell a lot of stuff just to pay for my own college. Not having kids. Gonna hoard games and things that I love and have experiences that fufill me rather than have children. Not hating on other's choices, just how I think my life will be best lived!
The only thing that could change things is if these companies release more older games physically on PS4 and other modern consoles. I dont really care at this point if the game is the original release or a re release or a game in a compilation, as long as it runs good and is on a disc i dont see why i should spend more for the original release
I don't collect old school games, but I do play old school games, both through emulator and games you can buy on Steam nowadays. I'm slightly disappointed by the modern day gaming industry nowadays, so being able to play older style games is awesome.
Also, if you have a PC, try to play some of the fan games and RPG Maker games out there, because those can be pretty good. I'm enjoying Chronicles of a Dark Lord right now.
hi john new subscriber here. what do you teach? and.. what are the best atari jaguar games ?? hope to see a vid on the jaguar sometime.
Well if the price are too high and people are not buying it, its just a matter of time soon the price will drop. The problem is that there is actually people willing to pay 300$ for megaman x3... or 250$ for a fucking component cable for the gamecube. When no one will buy it, the prices will go down for sure.
wow x3 is up to that much eh? i wonder what will happen when bit-rot sets in. something NO collector has EVER talked about but really should (you listening john?).
@@Video-Games-Are-Fun no some have but the ones that I have seen talk about it seem to be under the impression that the majority of disc based games will rot away before their carts will. Those people are also delisional.
Don't love what can't love you back. Prices will not drop dramatically so be balanced and keep it fun
thanks for the great vid! ✌❤
I thought I agree. The Retron is intresting and also microcomputers for consols. Classic Gaming is back in vouge.
Since this video aired, officially licensed tiny/home arcade machines have really taken off. Physical media endures!
Good info.
Personally I've been collecting for 17 years i don't think i could ever stop at this point. i remember just a few years ago buying super metroid boxing minty af for 24 shipped. miss those days. I will say this i got my cousin into collecting now which is fun and all. But the bad part is he's just collecting because he sees them as future profit doesn't even play them. luckily its just 360 he's collecting. Oh and not gonna lie my backlog is big af probably around 250 games. With that being said when i buy a game i do play them for at least a few hours a piece. Just might not ever beat them lol.
Great video definitely looking to get into collecting went full pc for quite some time definitely looking to get into consoles again mainly N64, PS2, and Xbox also NES.
I Think with digital you also build up a collection that you never play, On steam I have hundreds of games just sat there because they were on sale or I like the concept of the game but haven't gotton round to playing it, But I get having the option to play the retro games like who knows what's going to happen to digital games down the line servers go down, companies go bust, definitely would rather have the physical copy.
I believe there will always be collectors whether that's for nostalgia , History, wanting to play the games all reasons are valid its up to you as a collector, prices go up and down like with any market agree its supply and demand, there's many external factors.
A trend I'm seeing right now is that everyone that doesn't even collect or game knows that games are worth something. They might not know that mario 3 is about a 23-25 dollar game now but they know its worth something. Also I'm more of a collector who focuses on games that I will eventually play, but when is the problem. I like the hunt for the games and trying to get the deals.
John should be a Gta character, you know, the ''crazy''guy that wants to protect his shit in a world where old videogames are like drugs. He also wants you to steal the really expensive copies from a museum. Lol im seeing it all before my eyes.
When you finally realize that John has awesome hair... lol
I only have a few ps1 games id like but they are so expensive I dunno if ill ever have them because of prices. :(
I once got Darkwing Duck complete in box for NES, mint condition for $30 on eBay..
Traded it in to a game store, regretted it and now I see it going for ridiculous prices on eBay. 😮
NES prices are insane these days.
I too like to collect he odd ball things. For that reason I currently own more DK bongos then any 1 man should at last count I am up to about 15.
I collect for when I have time to play. Gotta get it while it's still affordable. I do play though
I both collect and play retro games it better when I’m waiting my games to update
I'm a collector/ gamer every 2 weeks i pick up 5 to 10 games before i buy more i play the first 5 or 10 really cheap games for pick up are ps2 and original xbox also a lot of ps3 and xbox 360 are between $1.99 and 4.99 at gamestop i don't deal with resellers or retro game shop most of them over price .
I hate to criticize your video man but there was a hiccup at 3:23. Don't take it to personally because I do appreciate the insight of an experienced game collector as I'm a newcomer.
+nerdyneedsalife a rough edit.
***** I wasn't asking to edit the entire video to have jump cuts every five seconds,I just pointed out the hiccup because he interrupted himself in the edit. I like the rest of the video because he doesn't do insane amounts. I just wanted to point out that one issue.
***** Well I'm also sorry for being defensive
***** People are crazy.
Your videos would look awesome if you had a fish-eye or wide-angle lens
i like retro games when i was in kay bees toy stores.
when i think of kay bee toy stores, we've got the toys you're looking for! hehe but really i just get that smell of new video game plastic...
I used to look at the super Nintendo
You mean K.B. toys?
John you have a face that wouldn't be out of place in an RPG :D
Can U aspects of the Atari 2600 & 7800 & your top 10 of the Atari 2600 & Atari 7800 PLEASE ASAP
great videos bro! I game and collect!😂
I'm a gamer first and collector second. I am playing almost every single game I buy and I tend to only buy games I know I will be interested to play at some point. Before I bought filler cheap titles to fill up empty space. Now I think of it all differently.
Interesting! I'm collecting consoles atm. I've only got a few games to go with some of the consoles. My PS1 only has one game. So I dunno I'd say game collectors are more realer than me lol Game collecting seems way harder. Although some consoles are pretty hard to get.
Can U talk about the Atari 2600 & 7800 games if U could PLEASE ASAP
Cool Jon I have done videos for both :). Playlists are your friends
Btw people say that you can never play all the games you have in your lifetime, but they forgot one tiny thing.... YOU ARE IMMORTAL!!!
Hopefully.... next year ...the "In" fad will be something else .... like retro beer mugs or something... so all the get rich quick merchants will have something else to chase after.
Hopefully, then, retro game prices for collectors will fall back a bit as games are off loaded by the sharks.... I dream :)
I collect nastolgic games to play but others because I find them interesting historically or just because I think its cool. Some stuff I collect just so I can say hay I have this wierd thing. I see nothing wrong with not playing your collection as long as you have an appreciation for it. I am currently going for a full madden collection. I don't love modern madden games. But the history of the series is interesting the games are cheap even in box and it is going to be a fun thing to say hay I have this.
i collected in 2007 and there abouts and prices seemed plenty high on lots of stuff even then now its just ridiculous
I can tell you're a little bummed by the current trends. Price spikes, the popularity, and the limited resources. I got into it about a year ago and I can already see some differences between then and now.
I am from UK, I have put off sonic 3 as its £12 in 3 months it has gone up to £25 and my 2nd is getting a complete 32x collection, pal is the worse I didn't know until not long ago that one game in pal is priced at over £1,000
I always mentioned to friends, why doesn't Nintendo, Sega etc, reproduce some old NES and Genesis games. I'm sure, there would be demand for it, and companies would make money, and would also drop the price of reselling