Game Collecting

[OverclockN']

OK I understand now. Yeah it kind of stinks the DS doesn't play original GB games. Hope you find your SP.

Personally I don't care much for the handhelds anymore. Just no real opportunities to use them. Only time i can game is when I'm home and there I'd rather just play the consoles. Gave my handhelds to my son.

I agree. I've only recently taken them out of storage. The 3DS XL certainly looks tempting, but it goes back to what you said...no idea when I would actually play the thing.

 

[Higgy10]

Thanks but I've got that one. I'd be interested if it was the baseball stars 2 by Romstar. Pretty much the same great game with some tweaks and enhancements.

What else do you have that you're willing to part with?

Im hoarding my leftovers lol. I still have final fantasy 1, dragon quest

 

[Meteor_of_War]

Im hoarding my leftovers lol. I still have final fantasy 1, dragon quest

I hear you. I'm not really selling any of mine either. Most of the good must have games have become rare commodities and with all the collectors emerging in the last handful of years they will someday be completely gone and their prices will shoot up even more than they already have. I am curious to see what the release of the NES Classic will do to prices of the original physical games.

I've got a short list of the remaining titles I am trying to acquire. Hopefully I can get them all before prices really get out of control.

 

[eNforcer]

I went through a phase of buying games that were nostalgic to me, games that I owned or played as a kid. A few years ago I sold it all and I don't really have any regrets. It was just sitting there unplayed and I didn't want to have to buy a large CRT TV like I had originally planned.

My focus was on complete-in-box games. The Sega Genesis CIB games are pretty affordable, but once you got into Nintendo land it got very expensive. Thankfully, the Genesis is my favorite console.

Here's what I had for Genesis

Unrelated to Consoles, but I have been starting a collection of Steelbooks for PC games, new & old.

 

[Meteor_of_War]

I think complete in box games is a tough focus to have when collecting. I am not serious enough to go that route with it. Not only can it be really expensive depending on the platform, but its just plain tough to find what you're looking for especially when getting into the more rare titles, and if you are wanting the best condition.

The trick as you eluded to is to go with an affordable and less sought after platform. I think right now the original Xbox is a good example of a platform that's easy to collect for because its just not very hot with collectors at the moment. Most of the games in the Xbox library can be had for less than $5 a piece and that's even for the better games on the platform.

Personally though I am not going to focus on collecting a specific platform just because its easy to obtain. I want what I want, and that's the stuff that is sentimental and nostalgic to me. Unfortunately that happens to be the NES/SNES/N64 which is the hot stuff everyone wants. Due to that, I wont bother trying to complete the library, or get everything complete in box and great condition. I just want the games I have a personal connection to in some form from my childhood, be it games I used to play but either never owned or lost along the way, or just games I always wanted.

 

[SubCog]

I think complete in box games is a tough focus to have when collecting. I am not serious enough to go that route with it. Not only can it be really expensive depending on the platform, but its just plain tough to find what you're looking for especially when getting into the more rare titles, and if you are wanting the best condition.

The trick as you eluded to is to go with an affordable and less sought after platform. I think right now the original Xbox is a good example of a platform that's easy to collect for because its just not very hot with collectors at the moment. Most of the games in the Xbox library can be had for less than $5 a piece and that's even for the better games on the platform.

Personally though I am not going to focus on collecting a specific platform just because its easy to obtain. I want what I want, and that's the stuff that is sentimental and nostalgic to me. Unfortunately that happens to be the NES/SNES/N64 which is the hot stuff everyone wants. Due to that, I wont bother trying to complete the library, or get everything complete in box and great condition. I just want the games I have a personal connection to in some form from my childhood, be it games I used to play but either never owned or lost along the way, or just games I always wanted.

You know, I eventually discarded the boxes and manuals that I had. They end up becoming just another layer between me and my games. I found that I was less likely to play a game if I had to open the box and get it out, and then put it away after. I really prefer just to have my carts on the shelf.

 

[OverclockN']

I definitely get the box thing, it's tough and incredibly expensive to find everything with a box. Then, to hunt around for good quality loose boxes and manuals by themselves if needed.

I'd really like to get the boxes and manuals only for my favorite franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. Otherwise, I'll likely not try to find the boxes unless I come across a deal I can't refuse.

Unrelated to Consoles, but I have been starting a collection of Steelbooks for PC games, new & old.

What are Steelbooks?

 

[Meteor_of_War]

You know, I eventually discarded the boxes and manuals that I had. They end up becoming just another layer between me and my games. I found that I was less likely to play a game if I had to open the box and get it out, and then put it away after. I really prefer just to have my carts on the shelf.

I agree fully. Like I said earlier in the thread, I am more a gamer than a collector. I just want the games to play them, and not too interested in the cool looking museum in my house display factor. That, and the boxes are just tough to keep in good condition. You have to go out and also buy those clear protective cases for them and that just inflates the overall cost even more.

I actually only have 3 more CIB NES games and I just completed a trade transaction for one of them last night. Dragon Warrior CIB for Kung Fu, Ghosts N Goblins, and RC Pro AM loose carts. Three more titles I had as a kid but lost, regained again.

What are Steelbooks?

These kinds of cases:

 

[OverclockN']

Got overwhelmed on where I wanted to start on the games, so I'm focusing on finding the best deals on my childhood favorites only. Started with N64, and just bought Body Harvest. Trying to find a great deal on Blast Corps next, and probably Killer Instinct Gold after that.

 

[Meteor_of_War]

N64 prices are still pretty reasonable, so its good to focus on that platform right now.

This year is the console's 20th anniversary so I was wondering if it would spike prices but so far not really. I think most people still just want NES/SNES for the most part. Maybe in another 5-10 years when people who started with the N64 are well into their 30's and want to rebuy then the prices will move.

Maybe the N64 was just not a very popular console overall for various reasons, and its affected its collectibility. Sometimes it has an opposite effect I guess.

 

[OverclockN']

N64 prices are still pretty reasonable, so its good to focus on that platform right now.

This year is the console's 20th anniversary so I was wondering if it would spike prices but so far not really. I think most people still just want NES/SNES for the most part. Maybe in another 5-10 years when people who started with the N64 are well into their 30's and want to rebuy then the prices will move.

Maybe the N64 was just not a very popular console overall for various reasons, and its affected its collectibility. Sometimes it has an opposite effect I guess.

I just don't think it's old enough yet, and that you're right. As the people who grew up with those systems get older, they'll want to collect them as well. I started out on NES, but it wasn't until N64 hit that I was old enough to have some kind of job and my own income to get games myself. Otherwise, almost everything prior to that on NES and SNES was a rental.

 

[SubCog]

Lots of ps1 games are super expensive now, so I don't think it's about the time that's passed. I think for the most part, the best n64 games sold in high volumes, so mostly only to bad games are rare.

 

[Meteor_of_War]

Well the PS1 also had a massive games library compared to the N64-- 2413 to 388. So its much more likely for the PS1 library to have more rare games.

On the other hand, the N64 console did not sell well relative to the Playstation, or Nintendo's previous systems. I think there are several factors as to why the N64 is not that popular. But the main one for me is the nostalgia factor is just not there for most collectors (yet) like it is for the NES/SNES. Also, I think its where Nintendo started going off on their weird WTF? direction with their decision making.

 

[SubCog]

Well the PS1 also had a massive games library compared to the N64-- 2413 to 388. So its much more likely for the PS1 library to have more rare games.

On the other hand, the N64 console did not sell well relative to the Playstation, or Nintendo's previous systems. I think there are several factors as to why the N64 is not that popular. But the main one for me is the nostalgia factor is just not there for most collectors (yet) like it is for the NES/SNES. Also, I think its where Nintendo started going off on their weird WTF? direction with their decision making.

And also I think the PS1/Saturn/N64 generation is a bit awkward in general. I think the SNES/Genesis era was about perfecting 2d games, and so we have a bunch of these near-perfect masterpieces from that era: Super Metroid, Sonic, etc. Whereas the 32-64 bit era was alot of exploring what a 3d game might be, on hardware that was often not capable of delivering on that vision.

The SNES/Genesis era represents the very best of what studios were trying to do for the previous 10 years... while the N64 represents the worst of what was coming in the next 10 years.

Ironically, I think it's less of an issue on PS1 because it was less advanced... the games were more of an extension of the previous generation, with lots of RPGs, etc. But the n64 library is almost all 3d action and platform games, and the genres was still in its infancy.

I love the n64, btw. But I have to admit that beyond the nostalgia factor, most of the library is pretty unplayable today.

 

[Meteor_of_War]

Agree with everything you said, spot on.

Also yes, the N64 would have done so much better if it just had a good selection of RPGs and shmups. Those two genres are sorely missing on the platform.

 

[OverclockN']

Picked up some games. Told myself I'd only spend so much, so done until next month. Ended up straying from N64. All EBay auctions and best offers. Still trying to pick up Blast Corps and Killer Instinct for N64, but have either lost every auction or been refused on offers. I'll find a deal eventually.

N64
Wave Race 64
1080 Snowboarding
Body Harvest

NES
Bubble Bobble
Double Dragon
Double Dragon II: The Revenge

 

[Meteor_of_War]

I actually have duplicate copies of Double Dragon 1 & III up for sale on Ebay at the moment. Awesome games that bring back great memories, even if the NES versions are gimped arcade ports.

Lately I have been picking up games here and there. My local Salvation Army has been getting a lot of good stuff lately. Lots of NES and Genesis, to go along with the plethora of crap PS3/X360 sports titles they always have in stock. Then as usual I also grab the odd good deal off Ebay, usually has to be at least $4 lower than current market value. Recent pickups:

NES: Gun.Smoke, Tetris 2, Ninja Gaiden 1, Jackal, TMNT II, Kid Icarus, 1942, 1943, Guardian Legend, Kung Fu

SNES: Alien 3

N64: Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth, Space Invaders

Genesis: Thunder Force III

PS2: Contra Shattered Soldier

BUT, just this weekend I went to reclaim whatever I left in my parents house when I moved and hit the jackpot:

My old Sega stuff! (and a few lost SNES games) I thought I had lost all this when I moved out back in 2003 but apparently I just forgot to take the box LOL. Now I'm tempted to by Sega Saturn games but they are god damn expensive.

 

[OverclockN']

Nice! What kind of prices are you seeing at the Salvation Army? I haven't checked out any local places whatsoever. Probably should.

 

[Meteor_of_War]

Nice! What kind of prices are you seeing at the Salvation Army? I haven't checked out any local places whatsoever. Probably should.

If you can find anything in a thrift store like SA or Goodwill, the prices are usually going to be pretty damn good. The people who run my local store don't seem to know anything about the current value of games, and usually just price them the same no matter what they are. So I generally see $4.99 for NES carts regardless if its a rare valuable game or just some common. I got a copy of Contra for $4.99 just a few weeks ago there, and that game sells regularly for about $40 online. Just imagine if some idiot unwittingly donates a Little Samson or god forbid a Stadium Events.

Lately though I have been noticing they are sometimes pricing their games differently so I'm not sure if they are starting to check Ebay prices before pricing them now, or maybe there's different employees doing the pricing. Either way you're still going to get a good deal, and especially if they let you haggle the price down a little for example if say you offer to buy everything they have (which I usually do).

Also should mention, a lot of people get frustrated with thrift stores in their area and claim they never have anything. The thing is, thrift store inventory is constantly changing. CONSTANTLY. The only way you can score nice things is if you pop in there to check out what they have every single day. Luckily the SA is right on my way home so its easy for me to stop in daily. Good luck!

 

[OverclockN']

Good points. I looked up a few places in my area and will check them out this weekend. What were you looking to get for Double Dragon 3? It's on my list for next month. Feel free to PM me if you like.