Do You Think Old Rare Games Will Become Cheaper in the Future?

[WiiCube_2013]

As of now gamers still prefer physical games over digital (except for PC players) but the future is bound to be digital-only which is for the better of gaming and all (mp3 needs to die already and have the lossless FLAC replace it) which makes me wonder if, by then the value of rare expensive games will still hold up?

It's been reported that a gold NWC cartridge was sold for $26k and paid - http://tinyurl.com/nazuhfl

Now there's an auction for a brand new factory sealed Stadium Events that's going for $99,600.00 currently - http://tinyurl.com/okegvl8 (I noticed about 3 buyers have cancelled their bids)

 

[RevPokemon]

As of now gamers still prefer physical games over digital (except for PC players) but the future is bound to be digital-only which is for the better of gaming and all (mp3 needs to die already and have the lossless FLAC replace it) which makes me wonder if, by then the value of rare expensive games will still hold up?

It's been reported that a gold NWC cartridge was sold for $26k and paid - http://tinyurl.com/nazuhfl

Now there's an auction for a brand new factory sealed Stadium Events that's going for $99,600.00 currently - http://tinyurl.com/okegvl8 (I noticed about 3 buyers have cancelled their bids)

People are caring less about physical games and but collectors still car the sake for physical games its kinda like cd/digital vs vinyl in a sense of collectability

 

[Carnivean]

...which is for the better of gaming and all...

Yea online / digital only would have been great for everyone when PSN and XBL were being DDOSed. Digital only is never consumer friendly and is still an absolute joke in places like the UK where the internet speeds in general are absolutely fucking terrible and the prices are mostly more than retail. I mean christ, you could get a copy of Smash Bros Wii U plus the GC controller adapter for less than a digital copy (and if you bought it from the right retailers, it came at least a day early nullifying any 'midnight release' advantage.).

I'll always prefer actually having something I can use regardless of any service or internet issues and sell on should I desperately need money etc.

 

[Taleweaver]

Why is "Rare" written with a capital? I really thought this was about games by the former studio (Donkey Kong Country and the like).

As for the topic: absolutely not. It's debatable whether physical videogames will still be sold in, say, 20 years from now, but the only reasons some old games now sell for huge amounts of cash is because of nostalgia (okay, and perhaps some speculation as well...kind of like some fuck-ugly paintings sell huge bucks because it was by a certain painter).


EDIT: there's something to be said about vinyl vs CD/DVD. Namely that the sound quality is different. I've known deejay's who never knew the pre-CD era, but bought vinyl because the quality is just plain better. Which is true, but you'd have to pretty much listen to them side-by-side to notice the difference.
On video games, the exact opposite is true. The further you go back, the worse quality becomes. Especially if you take the full experience into account (less comfy controls, CRT television, even up to less longevity of the actual cartridge)

 

[VinsCool]

Definitely yes. I will as long as I could be playing an old video game console.

 

[Sterling]

Why is "Rare" written with a capital? I really thought this was about games by the former studio (Donkey Kong Country and the like).

As for the topic: absolutely not. It's debatable whether physical videogames will still be sold in, say, 20 years from now, but the only reasons some old games now sell for huge amounts of cash is because of nostalgia (okay, and perhaps some speculation as well...kind of like some fuck-ugly paintings sell huge bucks because it was by a certain painter).


EDIT: there's something to be said about vinyl vs CD/DVD. Namely that the sound quality is different. I've known deejay's who never knew the pre-CD era, but bought vinyl because the quality is just plain better. Which is true, but you'd have to pretty much listen to them side-by-side to notice the difference.
On video games, the exact opposite is true. The further you go back, the worse quality becomes. Especially if you take the full experience into account (less comfy controls, CRT television, even up to less longevity of the actual cartridge)

A lot of the reason vinyl is considered superior to CDs is due to the loudness war going on in the music industry. With vinyl, there's a limit to how loud you can make a frisbee before the needle is disturbed by playing it. The characteristic warm noise of the vinyl is due to the fact that it can't be as loud and a number of other things despite the fact that CDs can emulate that feeling as well if not better.

http://www.soundmattersblog.com/vinyl-vs-cd-in-the-loudness-war/

 

[Foxi4]

Saying that rare video games will suddenly become less valuable due to other distribution methods is like saying that old paintings should become less valuable because of posters or .jpg's. The value of a rare item is arbitrary and rarely influenced by such external factors - you can provide the software anyway you want, but you will not be able to replicate the actual item, its age and history. Even cartridge replicas are just that - replicas. The genuine article will always hold more value than an alternative. In short, old (and rare) video games will always be worth as much as collectors value them.

 

[nine0nine]

the people paying thousands of dollars for NES carts aren't buying them to play them. Roms and reproduction carts are easily available. Some people collect things for the sake of owning them.

 

[Taleweaver]

Saying that rare video games will suddenly become less valuable due to other distribution methods is like saying that old paintings should become less valuable because of posters or .jpg's. The value of a rare item is arbitrary and rarely influenced by such external factors - you can provide the software anyway you want, but you will not be able to replicate the actual item, its age and history. Even cartridge replicas are just that - replicas. The genuine article will always hold more value than an alternative. In short, old (and rare) video games will always be worth as much as collectors value them.

The value of a rare item is dependent on it actually being rare, though. As such, I doubt any title that is available on steam or other online store will ever reach cult status. Collectors often don't just buy it to own it, but also to take pride in the knowledge that only a limited number of it actually existing. And video games never had the status of being unique (you never actually BUY "the original game" in the same way one could buy "the original painting". You always buy "a copy", no matter how original and limited said copies are), so that hinders too.

I certainly agree that video games will always be worth as much as collectors value them. I just think they'll stop valuing those old games at one point or another (at least at this price range).




Sterling: I really can't comment on any of that discussion. I hate to be the "that can very well be but vinyl STILL sounds better!" kind of guy, but I have no other way of saying it.

 

[Foxi4]

The value of a rare item is dependent on it actually being rare, though. As such, I doubt any title that is available on steam or other online store will ever reach cult status. Collectors often don't just buy it to own it, but also to take pride in the knowledge that only a limited number of it actually existing. And video games never had the status of being unique (you never actually BUY "the original game" in the same way one could buy "the original painting". You always buy "a copy", no matter how original and limited said copies are), so that hinders too.

I certainly agree that video games will always be worth as much as collectors value them. I just think they'll stop valuing those old games at one point or another (at least at this price range).

Sterling: I really can't comment on any of that discussion. I hate to be the "that can very well be but vinyl STILL sounds better!" kind of guy, but I have no other way of saying it.

Once again I bring up the painting example. There are millions of photographs, posters, scans and reproductions of the Mona Lisa, but there is only one Mona Lisa and it's that one that has actual collector's value attached to it.

Seeing that you don't like the painting example though, relate that to rare cars instead - those too were manufactured in large numbers, but some models became increasingly rare over the years and as such became valuable. The cars that use original parts are expotentially more valuable than those which use third-party components - the reproduction is always less valuable than the genuine article from the epoch. This applies to any collectible - the original, especially if available in limited numbers, is valuable. Of course you can't make a car digital, that's not my point.

There can be millions of digital copies or reproductions of the gold Nintendo World Championships cartridge, but there are only 26 legitimate cartridges in existence and as such, they are praised and expensive. I'd like to point out that ROM's and emulators have been around for decades and they did not impact the price of such rare items negatively in any shape or form. The reason for that is very simple, they're only the software component - it's the complete article that's valuable. There's nothing special about the game itself - it's its rarity and cult status that make it desirable for collectors, you can't "dump" or "emulate" that, it's irreplicable.

That, and we're completely overlooking the sentimental value of collecting real cartridges which cannot be measured in bits or dollars. Some people just like the cartridges, they put them on shelves as decoration even if they never actually play the games on them. It's the same reasoning that draws people to buying books rather than resorting to eBooks which are cheaper and accessible at the click of a button, the craving for a physical manifestation of a given work.

 

[TecXero]

I mostly care for physical copies due to the DRM associated with digital copies on consoles. I think physical will eventually die off, but not as soon as people think. Also, there's always collectors for everything, so I doubt that rare games will ever really go down much in value, at least in our lifetimes.

 

[nine0nine]

the whole concept of physical media is becoming more and more irrelevant. Even Nintendo games are getting patches and with online gameplay becoming an essential selling point, there's little benefit to a cart or disk other than the limitations of internet speed which eventually will become a moot point anyway.

If you look at the PS4 and XB1, you buy a game on disk, get home and then have to download a few gig of updates, patches and DLC before you can play it, In many cases the original game data that came on disk is smaller than the amount of data you need to download to even get to the damn title screen. Anyone not going online is at a massive disadvantage these days.

I agree that owning carts, boxes and manuals holds sentimental value, but the younger kids who havnt grown up with this won't miss it for the reasons I mentioned above, ultimately, its pointless.

 

[Vipera]

Yes.

The market has been filled with assholes trying to pump the price up by owning multiple rare cartridges. This has demoralized A LOT of people, and the market deflated. In times like this, I'm glad piracy exists (for overpriced games that haven't been re-released anywhere, that is).

 

[Hells Malice]

A lot of people in this thread don't seem to have a clue what it's actually about.

There will always be collectors with more money than sense who will gladly scoop up an ultra rare item for their collection. Doesn't matter if they grew up in that generation or not, carts like the ones in the OP are a piece of gaming history and as such will never be irrelevant. That's just not how these things work.

I also find it hard to believe games will ever go entirely digital. Even if the physical component of the game is merely cosmetic. Many people still enjoy building collections, and i'm sure companies will happily oblige such people. Collectors editions and limited editions sell like hotcakes still, despite the digital era.

 

[Smuff]

1. We are "hunter-gatherers" therefore the urge to collect and keep is buried deep in our DNA.

2. Bragging rights - Why for example would you spend Gazillions on an original Van Gogh when you could buy a poster print that looks identical for shirt-buttons ?

3. I had a point - I no longer know what that point is

 

[chartube12]

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If you look at the PS4 and XB1, you buy a game on disk, get home and then have to download a few gig of updates, patches and DLC before you can play it, In many cases the original game data that came on disk is smaller than the amount of data you need to download to even get to the damn title screen.

Actually for the xbone, if you are connected to the internet, it will download and install the whole thing from the internet. If not the whole disc gets scanned and installed. Either way, your disc basically becomes a proof of ownership thing, if you buy a game non-digitally. Anyways it may seem like your installing large patches (in some cases you are, halo) but really most of the patches are just a few gigs. And a few games are actually installing blank or reserve spots of data for either dlc or patches.