The Retrogame Bubble Thread - "that's worth HOW MUCH now?!"

[ASandoval]

I saw a graded copy of Gravity Rush: Remastered for PS4 went for 1000 bucks yesterday when I was researching how much my sealed copy was and gotta say, that makes grading these things rather tempting even if the grading companies weren't backed up for months or if the whole thing seems weird/nonsensical/shady.

 

[ShakeWell]

I saw someone on Twitter bemoaning that this will raise the prices of normal games us plebs like to actually play, but I don't think so. There's a general retro-bubble, but no one is going to say "ah-ha! A sealed Mario 64 sold for OVER A MILLION, so this beat-up bare cart is now worth AT LEAST a thousand!" Because they're totally separate markets, and I'm not sure one really has much influence over the other.

It's still extremely fucking stupid, though.

 

[estragon]

I saw someone on Twitter bemoaning that this will raise the prices of normal games us plebs like to actually play, but I don't think so. There's a general retro-bubble, but no one is going to say "ah-ha! A sealed Mario 64 sold for OVER A MILLION, so this beat-up bare cart is now worth AT LEAST a thousand!" Because they're totally separate markets, and I'm not sure one really has much influence over the other.

Yeah. To use the comics analogy, the existence of slabbed graded back issues going for a lot of money hasn't really inflated the price of those same back issues in middling to poor (but still totally readable) condition and not graded. A big part of the price is the fact that it has been graded and slabbed by the grader. There's a huge difference in the market for collecting readable issues of a run you like because you like it and want to read it and the market for collecting graded issues that will never come out of their grading slab. (To think of an example from the dawn of collector mania, a quick eBay check shows a highly graded slabbed copy of the first printing of Cable's first appearance goes for hundreds of dollars. A readable copy of the second printing of that same issue is ~$10.)

I suspect this basic divide will be just as if not even more true for games.

 

[Torzelbaum]

To use the comics analogy, the existence of slabbed graded back issues

"slabbing is slang for getting a comic professionally graded and encased in an un-openable hard plastic shell"

 

[estragon]

Wata (the company that graded that copy of Skyrim) follows this practice as well and slabs their games.

 

[Becksworth]

Speculative investors had to go somewhere after the NFT bubble burst I guess…

 

[Torzelbaum]

They certainly know how to spread the non-fun around.

 

[Mr. Sensible]

Just plugged all my consoles and games into PriceCharting (still need to round up my PC stuff):

Mr_Sensible's Collection

See Mr_Sensible's Entire Collection Including the Total Value

www.pricecharting.com

EarthBound is unsurprisingly at the top of my game collection's value list, but I was caught off guard seeing Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride on DS in the number two slot with a current sell price over $200. I guess it's the only official localized version of DQ5 in North America, so maybe that's one reason it's gotten so expensive?

edit: Apparently there's an iOS/Android version of DQ5 based on the DS version

 

[muteKi]

Speculative investors had to go somewhere after the NFT bubble burst I guess…

It's really surprising after a massive economy-tanking pandemic that so many people want to put their names on what are surely in practice a bunch of money laundering schemes

 

[Falselogic]

Financialization will eat everything and leave only ashes.

 

[Sarge]

My top item has changed over time - it used to be my CIB Tournament Fighters for NES, but apparently the SNES version of Chrono Trigger has really taken off, and I was lucky enough to score that one back in the day complete for $15.

And yeah, the DS Dragon Quest games have really taken off.

I really do hope that this WATA-graded stuff ends up a separate thing, or even potentially brings some of the "real" market down for those of us that just want the games, not pristine, untouched games that will never be played. (I do have a few sealed games, but I can play them other ways, so it's all good.) I also hope reprints become a thing, like Rondo of Blood for PC Engine or Shantae on GBC. You better believe I'd buy a reprint of Panzer Dragoon Saga in a heartbeat.

 

[conchobhar]

Collectors are as confused as you are about that $1.56M Super Mario 64 sale

Old-school collectors meet "new money" as sealed prices inflate 10x in two years.

arstechnica.com

Despite the somewhat clickbait-y title, this is a good explanation of what's driving these absurd sales. The gist is that when grading services got involved in video games, it brought a different sort of collector into the market than video game collecting has normally had. Comic/card collectors, essentially, who place a premium on condition and print runs. (Not talked about in the article, but it's also well-known that comic collectors prize notability— "first appearance of so-and-so"— which probably explains why they've flocked to Mario and Zelda games instead of, like, Little Samson). And also the grading company is probably inflating the market due to their lack of transparency.

 

[Phantoon]

Karl Jobst has done a video about what's actually going on with videogame pricing. Needless to say it's hopelessly corrupt and a huge bubble:

He does some genuine journalism here

 

[Kazin]

I just got to the part about the 80s coin collecting bubble, and surprise surprise, it's literally the same motherfuckers from the coin bubble in the 80s creating the videogame bubble today.

Great video.

 

[Phantoon]

Yeah. The same ones who were punished when they were caught and clearly learned nothing.

 

[Falselogic]

And clearly not punished enough. Since they're just doing the same thing.

 

[Sarge]

I stayed up late watching this video, and it made me furious. I had no idea it was the same people behind the coin bubble. There might be some legal technicalities letting them get away with this, but it's deeply immoral what's happening here.

 

[Sprite]

Good lord I hate rich people. It was so depressing listening to the “collector” talk about getting into game collecting not out of joy for the hobby but pure greed. I don’t begrudge someone making a living off of reselling but uggggh at these people, specifically.

 

[Falselogic]

In the last year the prices of "big box" pc games have shot through the roof. For stuff that's not even rare the prices are ridiculous. I'm mostly out of it now due to the inflation. Glad I got most of what I wanted before things got crazy.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

In the last year the prices of "big box" pc games have shot through the roof. For stuff that's not even rare the prices are ridiculous. I'm mostly out of it now due to the inflation. Glad I got most of what I wanted before things got crazy.

That's interesting, I kept a few of my favorite big box PC games, but last time I checked they weren't worth much. I have an old DOS copy of SimCity, some gold box D&D games and (I think?) my copy of Day of the Tentacle, along with a few others. How much are we talking, here?

 

[Falselogic]

A complete copy of Day of the Tentacle (PC compatible) is going for over $200. I'm not sure about the others. I'd be interested in the DotT but I can't pay market prices for it though.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Shipping something like that would also be pretty stressful/pricey. Gotta keep the box from getting squished!

 

[Sarge]

Nah, throw it in a padded envelope and send it. I'm sure it'll be fine.

(I've seen some horror stories, so I totally get it.)

 

[Kazin]

I was never more thrilled being a seller on eBay than when I got my positive feedback for when I sold my Saturn collection. I thought those shitty glass timebombs of cases would explode in that box and me and the buyer would be out a lot of money.

 

[Falselogic]

Shipping something like that would also be pretty stressful/pricey. Gotta keep the box from getting squished!

Nah, throw it in a padded envelope and send it. I'm sure it'll be fine.

(I've seen some horror stories, so I totally get it.)

I've been lucky enough not have had any disasters (receiving or shipping) but a couple of groups I belong to on FB are full of horror stories.

 

[Sarge]

I was never more thrilled being a seller on eBay than when I got my positive feedback for when I sold my Saturn collection. I thought those shitty glass timebombs of cases would explode in that box and me and the buyer would be out a lot of money.

Haha, yeah, those cases are terrible. I've got a bunch of them, and I'd be mortified to ship them.

I've been lucky enough not have had any disasters (receiving or shipping) but a couple of groups I belong to on FB are full of horror stories.

Yeah, I've been lucky, too. I've received some awful packaging jobs before, but was lucky very little or no damage was done in those cases, so I just rolled with it. But I always give a silent nod of approval when I get something and it's packaged right.

 

[Ixo]

Yeah it still feels like older PC and pre-NES consoles are kind of the last bastions of untapped game collecting. I’ve got Win98 through like XP / Vista in mind when I say older PC. That “not current, but not nostalgic yet” point. Win95 / DOS stuff has picked up, and don’t even think about Commodore or Amiga being anything close to reasonable.

 

[Sarge]

Guess I better resnag an Intellivision before it's too late.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Honestly, the best console to be collecting for is typically the one before the ones that just came out. I bet you you could score some prime deals on PS4/Xbox One games right now if you looked around a bit. You've got to get to the stuff before the kids that played it growing up turn 30 and get jobs.

 

[Sarge]

Yeah, I usually try to snag as much as I'm interested in when a console wanes. A lot of it is because I still have interest and often haven't upgraded, anyway, but I'll snag stuff I like for anything, honestly.

Unfortunately, there are cases where PS4 games have already gotten ridiculous in price. It's especially true for offbeat JRPGs. And I thought about grabbing Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen and Gravity Rush Remastered, then noped right out on them. Although it does appear Gravity Rush is coming back down, so maybe I'll get lucky.