Retro games, consoles, their cost and how/if to collect them.

[derFeef]

Hello fellow retro game fans. In advance sorry for my english, I hope this is not too hard to read for you.

I currently own no retro game or console, but recently, thanks to RetroPI and company, I really want to get my old catalogue of consoles, systems and games back. Nothing comes close to playing memorable games with the original system I think. And while space and money is scarce, it sure seems feasible to build up a collection slowly over time.
I personally never had a large game collection to begin with, but there are some favourites that come to my mind from time to time. I am very sad in hindsight that I sold all of my stuff many years back. This includes old PC hardware and CD's/disks.

I browsed sites like ebay, some retro stores and so on and I reconsidered my idea a few times because wow, it seems very expensive. There must be a list of how much games and systems "should" cost? As an example, a Game Boy game with the original box, manual, inlay and so on costs about 80€ on ebay - and that's not even a "special" or "rare" game. Is this fair?

Then thinking of space and storage - I still own many 360 and PS3 games, plus the consoles. With the technology we have now and stuff like backwards compatibility - is it worth owning them? I guess same could have been said back then with the SNES and even earlier, like the Atari 2600 (which I owned but can't find anymore... :-( ). Why keep it? Am I going to play Halo 3 in 20 years on my original 360 on a flatscreen TV? Nobody knows how technology advances now I guess...
Getting a 2600 up and running is going to be difficult, or let's say cumbersome today, if you don't have dedicated rooms with old TV's and whanot.

So in short:
Is collecting retro games really that expensive?
Is it worth it keeping "current" systems and games?
Should I just stick to emulators and buy the games without the systems to "only" look at it? (just looking up some gameboy boxses puts a huge smile on my face).

I hope for some tips and suggestions from fellow collectors and retro fans :)
Thanks!

 

['3y Kingdom]

I browsed sites like ebay, some retro stores and so on and I reconsidered my idea a few times because wow, it seems very expensive. There must be a list of how much games and systems "should" cost? As an example, a Game Boy game with the original box, manual, inlay and so on costs about 80€ on ebay - and that's not even a "special" or "rare" game. Is this fair?

Click to shrink...

Buying complete games (I.e., with manuals and boxes) drives up the cost significantly, particularly when the boxes are cardboard. For systems like the GB, GBA, NES, SNES, and the like, it's much more affordable to buy loose cartridges.

You can use stuff like pricecharting to check game prices, but it tends to be overinflated and inaccurate. Asking around on forums is a good alternative.

 

[Treasure Silvergun]

Yes, it's expensive. And it requires a lot of space.

Keep your systems if you have a good number of games for them that you think you'll replay in the future. Otherwise, get rid of them.

In the past I bought a Dreamcast and a Japanese Saturn, when those systems were long past their prime. I subsequently sold them when I realized I'd never make good use of them, because I couldn't really afford the best games for them, and some games I could play on other systems.

If you like game boxes, definitely get a bunch. But don't get carried away into spending a load of money for games you're not going to play, or the day may come when you'll have to sell those nice boxes because you need the money.

For cartridge-based systems, flash carts are a good idea if you really want to PLAY the games without spending an arm and a leg. Contrary to old games, old systems are usually cheap enough.
For disc-based systems, they tend to last less, so if you're interested in the games, emulation may be the better solution. The CD/DVD boxes are usually much less pleasing to the eye, as well. A shelf of PS2 games is no match for a shelf of Super Famicom games.

 

[sir_crocodile]

Retro gaming can be very expensive due to artificial inflation from nefarious online sellers (depending on the consoles you're interested in.

The US/EU snes scene actively disgusts me.

 

[Mystic Vivi]

Very expensive hobby indeed. Totally worth it though. Nothing beats seeing video game history. Equally impressive is holding the cart and then diving into a new world.

I have a raspi and was a guy always getting the freshest emulators for his pentium 2/3/4 way back when. They are cool. Just not as cool as that PS1 opening sound :p

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

It's always worth owning retro consoles. I still play my Cube, PS2, Saturn and DC.

I'd always rather play on original hardware if I can

 

[Carnby]

As a collector, I'll advise you to not start. First you'll start by collecting your favorites and before you know it you're down the rabbit hole, buying stuff you don't even want just because it's limited. Eventually your spare room looks like the final shot in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Get out while you still can.

 

[sir_crocodile]

As a collector, I'll advise you to not start. First you'll start by collecting your favorites and before you know it you're down the rabbit hole, buying stuff you don't even want just because it's limited. Eventually your spare room looks like the final shot in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Get out while you still can.

Click to shrink...

You're not kidding.

 

[Jebusman]

There is no "fair" price when it comes to retro games. The price is whatever people are willing to pay, and as more and more collectors eat up the available stock, and more and more cartridges assumed dead get discarded, or discs become unreadable and unsalvageable, the price only goes higher.

If you're not super picky about owning the complete package and just want the loose cartridge/disc, you'll wallet will thank you, but even some loose prices are insane depending on the system.

Buying Japanese titles rather than US/EU can save you a bit of cash depending on the system, as long as you can deal with the whole 50Hz/60Hz issue with the pre-HD era of stuff (since I'm assuming you're based out of Europe)

The Saturn stands out as one of those systems where many games never got ported to newer systems, emulation is still wonky, and available stock is low for US/EU titles. Prices are insane because outside of piracy you have no other option.
Same with the Sega/Mega CD.

Its a rough thing to get into.

 

[derFeef]

Thanks for the replies thus far! I already gone down the virtual rabbit hole... nope... I think owning my very favourites, which I can reasonably play and store away, is the best idea going forward (I already ordered some things...)

Man, only looking up an original GameBoy package is... wow. But that's really expected I guess. I wish I would have been more careful to my stuff as a kid, not always throwing away stuff - but who is going to need the box/package if you can have the thing? :D

And yeah, I will sell or donate my 360 and PS3 games, there aren't really many games there I would like to replay in a few years time I think. Mainl for the reasons games are "played and done" nowadays - while I can endlessly play/try to beat some older games and not get bored of them.

 

[Carnby]

Thanks for the replies thus far! I already gone down the virtual rabbit hole... nope... I think owning my very favourites, which I can reasonably play and store away, is the best idea going forward (I already ordered some things...)

Man, only looking up an original GameBoy package is... wow. But that's really expected I guess. I wish I would have been more careful to my stuff as a kid, not always throwing away stuff - but who is going to need the box/package if you can have the thing? :D

And yeah, I will sell or donate my 360 and PS3 games, there aren't really many games there I would like to replay in a few years time I think. Mainl for the reasons games are "played and done" nowadays - while I can endlessly play/try to beat some older games and not get bored of them.

Click to shrink...

You've made up your mind. I guess all I can say is, welcome.

 

[Deleted member 5656]

Is collecting retro games really that expensive?
Is it worth it keeping "current" systems and games?
Should I just stick to emulators and buy the games without the systems to "only" look at it? (just looking up some gameboy boxses puts a huge smile on my face).

Click to shrink...

Your first question and second question belong hand-in-hand. It's expensive, yeah, which is all the reason to not get rid of current systems and games. If you want them later, it'll be expensive again, possibly even more so depending on the value of what you do have. Popular games can shoot up in cost years from now. Try getting popular GameCube games like Melee or Wind Waker for a reasonable "retro game" price.

Your third question - it's up to you. Personally, I love the collecting of those systems and playing them how they were originally played. For me, that's part of the historical revisiting that I love about playing retro games.

Eventually your spare room looks like the final shot in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Click to shrink...

That sounds awesome.

And yeah, I will sell or donate my 360 and PS3 games, there aren't really many games there I would like to replay in a few years time I think.

Click to shrink...

You never know. For what you'll get for them, it's probably worth just keeping them.

 

[UltraGashInferno]

TG16 - expensive
NES - can be very expensive
SNES - very expensive
Genesis - not ridiculous but youll pay above original retail for many games
Sega CD - the good games get to the triple digits
32X - why would you want to collect the 32x
Saturn - triple digits for good games is the norm
Dreamcast - getting pricy
PS1 - very reasonable, just a couple painful triple digit games
PS2 - probably the best system to collect, hardly anything in the triple digits
Gamecube - also reasonable but with a definite ninte do collector tax
Original Xbox - cheap

It's a money sink regardless (esp if youre playing on a modern display and need a scaler) and will start to take up a ton of space. 90% of my shit is in boxes right now and I mostly moved to emulator.

 

[derFeef]

Thanks for the replies again all and sorry for not replying myself! :)

The ones I am looking at to the most are following:

Systems:

• Gameboy - had it myself and some favourite games - def. want to get one again.
  
• NES, SNES - never had those myself but loved playing it with a buddy.
• Atari 2600 - not sure how I got it, I think it was my fathers and only played it "late" a bit. Still would be nice to have :)
  
• Amiga 500 - my goto game machine back then, I had so many disks and games it was insane.
  Hard to get a working one I guess, plus the games...
• Sega Gamegear - fascinating thing, I remember all the games being bad tho?
• Sega Mega Drive - countless hours at a friends house
• N64 - my cousins owned it, loved to play M64 and Mario Kart with them.
• PS1 - neved had one, but finally playing Sielt Hill would be nice :)
• I guess I need a framemeister as well? Are there some other good alternatives?
  

Some games I really do want - box would be nice as well.

• Castlevania collection for NES/SNES (poor wallet)
• Ghosts'n Goblins NES/SNES
  
• Castlevania Adventure for Gameboy (ordered that one already, box and all...)
• Double Dragon 2, Metroid 2, Serpent, Nintendo World Cup, Mario Land for Gameboy

So yes, rabbit hole is already in progress and my wallet and girlfriend won't be happy about it either. I decided to store away my old consoles and game boxes and not sell them, you never know like rar said :)

 

[redrohX]

I'm not much of a collector nowadays, but I do own some retro consoles and games because I either kept them from when I was a kid, or because there were times in my life when I was 'collecting' retro games. It's going to be expensive I can tell you. If you enjoy it, have the money to spare and the space to store a collection, it will be worth it...

Sometimes I have the urge to play and buy old MegaDrive games and every time I notice the prices are getting higher and higher. Keep in mind: with some of these systems you also have to invest in old CRT TV's or devices like a Framemeister, to get the most out of it. The latter are also not very cheap.

 

[khaz]

The key is not to binge. For the condition you want them in, they will be as expensive as a modern "limited collectors edition". So treat them as such.

 

[Thornquist]

I'm not really a collector per se. I just wanted my all time favorite Zelda's in mint condition. Part of the charm of AlttP & OoT was scouring the instruction manuals and looking at the artwork and story. So just the cartridge would never cut it for me (tbh, I prefer playing them on emulator).
But I have a pretty decent copy of AlttP now, and just need the OoT version in good condition too. They are always more pricy, but I ain't cheap when buying childhood memories.