You Can't Take it With You (?)

Crazy Climber · March 11, 2015

I've got a cart collection numbering over 2200 at this point, with nearly 700 optical titles on top of that - so yeah, I'm aware of their "value" as an "investment".

I just pray that I have life insurance that's worth an order of magnitude more. At the end of the day, I'd hate to imagine a widow fretting over the small details of a hobby she doesn't care about, just to scrape together a few extra dollars. I've watched people do this and all it does is prolong the grieving process.

At the end of the day I spend far more on these games than a decent life insurance policy would cost. Seems like my time is better spent making sure that's in order, rather than trying to educate the family on how to avoid being "ripped off" after I'm dead. YMMV.

I actually hold a different view than a lot of you - I don't see the value of this stuff just evaporating. I think it may well become like comic books - sure, the people who read 1940s stuff as kids have generally passed away, but Action Comics #1 is still worth a ton of dough. There will certainly be a dip when a lot of us get out/die, but I think this will be a collectible for many generations. Video games are just too much a part of our culture at this point. It's not just us old farts remembering our youth.

Yeah, I gotcha Most collectors have the luxury of cashing out before they die as well. A true collector only sells for the following reasons or the "three D's" as I have heard them referred to...

- Divorce

- Debt

- Death

Comics and games are WAY different though. Comics have basically continued to be made in the same form for the last 100 years where as games have not. Comics are still acquiring new collectors, for those same series that were birthed in the 40's etc, that inevitably want to back collect and get them all, and the back issues are basically in the same form they are made in today. Games are on a fast track to digital only, especially the classic 2D style we all like. If new cartridges were still being made it would be different but they are not for the most part. Even good homebrews generally only sell about 200 copies, and thats the "good" ones, not that much when you compare to comics.

I would compare classic games more to classic music that had a physical release. I don't need to tell you what some classic records go for, very expensive, but there is still a huge following from a generation that grew up with them. Sure, they get new blood in the classic physical music scene but the number of people that are just fine with downloads, or are not even familiar with a record player, grows much faster. The same will happen with classic games...maybe not in our "lifetime" but not so long after, just like records, the fans will all die off, and they are the ones keeping it alive. Comics on the other hand are still going STRONG. Not the boom it had a little while back but still plenty of comics are doing just fine. They will be collectable much longer as there format has remained pretty much the same and still "works" in todays times.

doctorclu · March 11, 2015

When I saw this topic I expected to see that some gamer was buried in a underground tomb with arcade games, console collections, and some Pac-Man hieroglyphics.