The value of classic games....

[KAZ]

I would argue that classic games, such as Atari 2600 cartridges RETAIN their value. Unlike some other things you could purchase, these items can be resold at or above the price you paid for them.

 

I've heard people say many many many times "the value of a video game is based on what people are willing to pay for it at a given moment". (therefore, there is no set value that an Atari 2600 cartridge could have).

 

I'm not willing to accept this as being true, except in ONE situation:

 

The generation ahead of me (my parents generation) don't give a dam about video games. Therefore, if I bought a cartridge on Ebay for $100, I wouldn't get a penny for it if I tried to sell it to that generation.

 

But other than that one instance, the cartridge WILL retain its value.

 

And to those who would argue against this....I would ask you this: Will there come a time when Quadrun is NOT being sold for AT OR ABOVE $300?

 

Or can you conceive of a time when Swordquest Water world will DROP IN VALUE below $100?

 

A boxed Pitfall or Pitfall 2 selling for LOWER than $10? I don't think so. It will always remain at least higher than that, and as time goes on probably will rise in value.

 

Alternatively, a Pac-Man cartridge probably will always be SO common that its value will fluctuate madly, and will be unpredictable.

 

The ONLY instance of an item dropping in value is the Magicard, and this is a very special situation because supposedly the original maker of it is going to produce more. Magicard's value will be destroyed.

 

My point is that it is SAFE to collect rare, even expensive games, as they will retain their value, and you basically can sell them back sometime and get your money back for them.

 

Cars, for example, won't do this for you, and you will actually LOSE a crapload of money.

 

I hope you don't mind, I'm debating a point to anyone who will listen to me

 

[ 06-03-2002: Message edited by: KAZ ]

[KAZ]

Minnesota is the only place I've ever known...so it is hard to compare to other places, but...

 

The weather here is pretty goofy, as you might know. Could be 40 degrees with a blizzard one day, and the next day could be 80!

 

I guess I never realized Minnesota had a matchbox car, I'd love to see it. If postage isn't too much send it on over, maybe it would even fit in an envelope.

 

email me and I can give ya my address

[jim]

I think they will retain their value or go up a bit for the next 10-15 years. After that I don't know. They are worth more to me because I remember getting them new in the store and playing them when they were "new" and the hot thing to have. My younger brother got a Intelevision for Christmans one year and it was something new and exciting to us. We also got a Pong game when I was a kid in the 1970's and it was amazing. We could sit there and play it for hours and hours. Now days it's nothing new and exciting at all to kids. In fact it's down right boring to many.

 

My kids will probably still be interested in Atari and other classics as they get older because they have been playing them since they were old enough to. Once they have kids who knows what things will be like.

 

I also think that as we get older our priorites change. When I am 50 or 60 will I still want to buy games? I don't know. I also think that the younger generation (kids now) will probably be more interested in Xbox, Playstation, etc and maybe things like NES, SNES, Sega, etc.

 

It will get to a point one day that just about no one will be intesested in old video games. Just look at records at garage sales and junk shops. No one is interested in the stuff from the mid 50's and back. The people that use to listen to it either already have it, don't want it anymore, or they are dead.

[jim]

Oh, BTW I lived in Minnesota for 20 years. Now I have been in Mississippi for 20. It's about as far apart as you can get weather wise and otherwise. People here still think I am an outsider, a Yankee!

[Pitfall Harry]

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future gains.

 

You cannot unequivocally state that it is "SAFE to collect rare, even expensive games, as they will retain their value, and you basically can sell them back sometime and get your money back for them." It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. Never assume anything; there is risk in everything.

 

Your MagiCard example is a case in point. Few collectors could have imagined a time would ever come when MagiCard could slip in value. Now, with the announcement of reproduction MagiCards soon on their way, many believers in the Retained Value Theory of rare videogames (like YOU) admit that a drop in value is conceivable. No, wait. You said, MagiCard's value will be destroyed." Beliefs such as this, whether they are founded in knowledge or pure hysteria, can and will cause the value of MagiCard to fluctuate. Some owners of this holy grail cartridge will look at falling market prices and decide to sell their original copy before its value falls any farther. In so doing, their sale will contribute to MagiCard's falling value. How far it falls, how fast and for how long is anybody's guess.

 

A similar scenario can play out for ANY rare Atari cartridge. Somebody may walk into a forgotten corner of a warehouse later this afternoon and discover 50,000 shrinkwrapped copies of SwordQuest Waterworld that are just begging to be sold on eBay and make the lucky discoverer a millionaire. The first copy to be sold may fetch close to $400, but how much do you think collectors will be coughing up for the game a few months down the road, when he's auctioning off the same "holy grail" for the 1145th time?

 

The entire Atari videogame market itself crashed in 1984. Nobody could have imagined that seemingly overnight, everyone simply stopped buying Atari games. But it happened. The Retained Value Theory has been applied to every commodity under the sun. Gold, Oil, Real Estate, you name it. ALL markets have crashed, have enjoyed booms and have suffered busts. There is no such thing as a sure bet when it comes to investing. The only thing that is ever a guarantee in life is that a day will come when you will die.

 

Ben

[KAZ]

Awesome, you argue great points Pitfall Harry!

 

I like the phrase "Retained Value Theory"...like there should be an "index" where each game would have a number beside it. It would be its "RV".

 

Look in the newspaper, and it would say: "Magicard's RV dropped precipitously from a 3 month quarterly earnings to 1 tenth of a percent above the average RV for the region. Investor confidence is on the rise." (I'm just trying to talk investor- speak).

 

The other good point that was mentioned in this thread was the fact that the collectors now might not be collectors in the future, because they simply aren't "into" video games as much as in the past.

 

So we may have a unique "window" of maybe 15 years or something, when former owners of Atari stuff try to reclaim their "lost" childhoods, and find games they wish they had, or wonder what other games they missed.

 

LET IT BE KNOWN:

 

I hereby retract my claim for The Retained Value theory! j/k. That was from a Star Trek Voyager episode (different words used)

[tiggerthehun]

Kaz - a few thoughts... First of, I'm amazed by the fact that you and I registered at the same time, yet you have about 300 more posts than me... you, indeed are a prolific writer!

Secondly - I think the "RARE" atari carts will maitain their value, AS LONG AS it is the true collectors who are buying/collecting them, and not the Speculators... as we've seen in so many hobbies - baseball cards - and, more recently, the Star Wars craze in '95 about '98. So many people got into Star Wars thinking that this'd fund their children's college careers - so - many new buyers, buying up EVERYTHING Star Wars - so, product dried up - prices went up... but, then, in a few years, when people wanted to sell - well, many of the people who bought stuff didn't really care about Star Wars per se, they just wanted the profit - BUT - there wasn't the same number of buyers out there, 'cause most the other buyers were in it for the same reason. So, many of the Vintage Playsets (and ships, and figures) are selling for well below what people paid for them back in the late nineties...

So, in short - as long as Atari doesn't become the new "Get rich quick" thing, I think the rare stuff will maintain its value... but atari stuff, on the whole, certainly HAS NOT maintained its value, considering almost every cart that brought $50 back in the day, is now worth .50 - $5.00... There's my two cents...

[KAZ]

Yeah, I do post on a regular basis. The reason is because I just got into classic game collecting, and while trying to jumpstart this collecting, I had to ask alot of questions about games, or comment about the ones I played and liked.

 

I like "hardware" type debates over the specs of systems...or what games are best on what systems, and all the debating that can be involved.

 

I suppose since graduating from college, I miss writing persuasive essays, and so I think it is a good way for me to stay "intellectually stimulated". Lots of friendly people on here too, alot my same age, which validates my interest in collecting also.

 

[ 06-03-2002: Message edited by: KAZ ]

[tiggerthehun]

KAZ - Minnesota, huh? My girl - well, recently ex-girl - was from there - cool state. I'm not into Matchbox - or Hotwheels at all, but did you get your "Minnesotta" state matchbox car? Do you want one? (Free) I've got this useless Minnesotta matchbox car here - I had gotten her one for her birthday... No, I'm not distraught, trying to "get rid of all things her" - I'd just like to give it to someone who'd enjoy it - and I don't know anyone else from Minnesotta...