the future of atari?

[atariaction]

Hey, what do you think about the future of Atari? I have ALOT of games, and I am thinking if there will still be people like us a few years from now... I mean, will Atari ever die? I know it's been 15+ years since the last 2600 console was made, but do you think the value will go up with these games, or people like us will find other hobbies?

 

I guess i'm asking because I wonder if I should consider liquidating my collection sooner rather than later.....

 

I guess it's hard to really know...

 

(i am posting this question for someone else)

 

thanks, mike

[Marco]

/enter soapbox

 

95% of all games are more or less common. Forget about rarity ratings 1-9. If you spend some money or if you are a bit patient, you can have all of these. The supply of these games is like a gazillion times bigger than the demand. I think it's pretty safe to assume that not many people that did not actually experience the early 80s videogame era, will enter this (part of the) hobby. I think that means that most of these more-or-less common games will drop in value. There's only a handful of games that will really remain valuable over time.

 

/exit soapbox

 

But this is just me, there's plenty of people here that think many more games will hold their value, especially boxed. However, I think there's hardly anyone on these boards that thinks that Atari 2600 games are a good investment.

 

Cheers,

Marco

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I would somewhat agree and disagree. I agree that the value is probably about as low as it can go. In the exception of the few very rare titles the values won't change. On the rare ones, some will increase in value, and I believe that ultimately, many will decrease as more and more seem to pop up reducing the rarity values.

 

However, stating it isn't a good investment I somewhat disagree with. It isn't always money or I should say the monetary value of a collection that makes it a good investment. It is what that investment ultimately gives back to you. In the case of Atari games and indeed all classic games, I think the return is gigantic compared to the initial value or investment.

 

With Marco's thinking that would make my LaserDisc collection a worthless investment. I didn't think so back in the early 90s when I first started picking them up, and with the recent aquisition of a replacement Pioneer CLD-D504 to replace my crapped out S-104 I still don't think they are a worthless investment.

 

just my thoughts...

[Marco]

However, stating it isn't a good investment I somewhat disagree with. It isn't always money or I should say the monetary value of a collection that makes it a good investment. It is what that investment ultimately gives back to you.

 

Good points and I fully agree! If I was in this hobby for the money, I would have sold my collection by now. But I think the topic starter asked his question out of monetary concerns, and not for sentimental, recreational, historical and what have you reasons.

 

Cheers,

Marco

[homerwannabee]

The atari 2600 is an awesome investment. In my mind it is the PERFECT collectible. for one you can get almost any cool atari 2600 game for cheaper than when it actually came out. second there are a lot of harder to find game for the atari 2600 system than any other game system(thank you 1984 video game crash) Third you dont have to be rich to have a impressive collection. My goal is to collect every commercially released atari 2600 game for the ntsc system(not including homebrews and prototypes) 181 down 339 to go. what cool about this goal is that if prices remain low than I will probably be able to obtain my goal. If prices sky rocket and the hobby stops becoming what it once was then I can sell my collection and buy myself a really nice car.

[sku_u]

Personally, I think collecting Atari games for long term monetary investment is a bad idea. As with all electronics, the games themselves will eventually succumb to bitrot. These carts won't last forever.

 

As far as collecting Atari games goes, it should be done as a hobby. Not as something people expect to make a killing on much later. As with every collectable, the market will eventually dry up as supply steadily passes demand.

 

Most of us have spent much more than we'd ever get out of these games if we ever wanted to sell (even Marco)

 

I collect for the sheer enjoyment of collecting. I enjoy playing the games and they have accounted for hours of enjoyment with me and my wife.

 

Buying to resell is best done over a short term basis, not a long term basis. Anyone who thinks that they'll be able to sell these games for more than they are going for now 20 or 30 years down the road are seriously kidding themselves. If you want to invest, do so is SPDRs and other stocks in the stock market, not videogames.

[tantone56]

 

I guess i'm asking because I wonder if I should consider liquidating my collection sooner rather than later.....

 

I think atari has no future and is dying as we speak. With that being said save yourself alot of time and frustration and give me your whole collection

[bjk7382]

I think it is a better economic investment to collect classic stuff rather than modern games. If you think about it even if you buy a cheap common game it will hold that value, and if you go buy a brand new game for 50 dollars you will never get that much for it again, so it just makes sense to wait until the modern stuff gets a little old. I guess that is true for me anyway, I still play my N64 all the time.

 

I would say that intrest will eventually die off because the kids nowdays won't want to collect for a system that was before their time. But I don't think that the prices are going to bottom out anytime soon.

[Mot]

I think a good atari 2600 is a good investment, if you find a quadrun for $1 that is

[NovaXpress]

As far as investments go, collecting of all types is a bad idea. There are many mutual fund, bond, stock, even currency investment options that make much more sense.

 

But sometimes a certain collectable strikes gold, but only the rarest items are ever worth anything. A collectable has no intrinsic value, so only rarity or swelling demand makes for an increase in price. Carts don't seem to be getting ary rarer, in fact many games which used to be called "10s" have dropped to "8s" because more and more games keep showing up. There are more to come. I know of three people now, none of which are gamers, who happen to have a box of their parents' Atari stuff in an attic somewhere (so until I get them to dig it out for me, these games are in limbo as far as the collectors community is concerned.) Common games will only become more common. A few rares will become less so. And one in awhile someone finds the next "Air Raid" and makes a fortune.

 

Collecting modern games is a ridiculous investment. At least there weren't many kids trying to kep their old Atari equipment in working condition, but there are countless working Nintendos and games out there, many of which are being preserved intact so the value isn't going up in the future except in the case of games which were ultra-rare to begin with.

 

It's like baseball cards. some of those old ones were valuable because so few kids saved theirs in good condition, but now that people see it as a "collectable" there are millions saving them. Not many people left to buy, so the price will never see a big increase.

[AtariDude]

I collect games cause I enjoy them. The idea of making money off of them is not a big motivator for me. Sure it would be nice to find a mint Quadrun cartridge at a garage sale and only pay $1 but that is like looking for the holy grail. It is likely to only happen once in your lifetime.

 

For those who did well selling classic gaming items, more power to you but myself I will stick to just collecting the inexpensive common games and hope to find the occasional rare game

[ATARIPITBULL]

I don't see how Atari could ever go away? There are just too many people like me who have grown up with it and know that it was and is the greatest home video game company ever made. I buy and collect 2600 games and extras for my self because it makes me feel like a little kid again and the stuff that I sell at the market site are just extras to help me buy new items that I never had. I have had people come to my house and go to my basement and see all the Atari items I have and they start telling me their stories about the fun they had as a kid playing atari and that seeing my collection takes them back to when they were young too.

 

[w3ace]

Collectibles have no value without collectors. So if you are collecting for future earnings, stop now, there won't be any.

 

That said, I collect and sell. I keep what I want and what I think may go up in value. Heavy Sixers are selling for more and more each year, they might continue to, there wasn't 50 Million of them made. Atari as a brand will take a long time to disappear from pop culture. I've sold systems to magazines and most recently VH1 for their lost idols show coming out. People are nostalgic, and will be throughout our life time.

 

Keep the rare stuff, keep the Atari branded odd ball carrying cases and dust covers. Keep what makes you warm and fuzzy on a cold January weekend. Invest in the stock market.

 

Craig

http://atariace.com

[mos6507]

It's like baseball cards.  some of those old ones were valuable because so few kids saved theirs in good condition, but now that people see it as a "collectable" there are millions saving them.  Not many people left to buy, so the price will never see a big increase.

 

That happened to me with comic books. When I first started buying comics was around the same time all the other kids started buying comics for collecting purposes also so my oldest collection isn't worth a heck of a lot more than what I paid for them.

 

With high circulation you need attrition to get rarity. That's why the comic companies started making limited editions and other gimmicky stuff (like killing off their characters and restarting continuities) to artifically create rarity and excitement.