RangerG Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Hello all, I was going to post this in the demise of Manci magazine thread, but I thought it would get more response here, and I would like to hear the thoughts of others. I really wonder what the future of reto-gaming is in that for the past five years at least it seems like predictions of the retro-gaming hobby "going mainstream" have been heard? But, I for one haven't seen huge changes and wonder if the hobby is destined to stay more or less as is for some time? * * * I really like having a high-quality magazine to read (bring it with me to the pool, coffee house, etc.) I will miss Manci (have both issues), but I never thought it would fly. Classic Gamer was a great magazine and if it couldn't make it with a Tower Records contract then I knew it would be tough. It didn't help that a section of Manice was a price-guide - a turn-off to many collectors. I do think the retro-community is smaller than many people think and that the new price guide/magazine and other large-scale endeavors will have a tough go. Web communities (AA + DP) and conventions drawing from these are one thing, but isn't the majority of retro-gamers primarily (not all!) 25-40 year olds reliving some good memories and along the way drawing friends, loved ones, and some younger fans. If anything, as this group marries, has kids, and has more bills to pay (like those kids in college) I think there will be less money for luxury items like videogames. Just my thoughts - I love the AA boards, support the store, and appreciate the homebrew scene and I sincerely hope everyone continued success, but I don't think retro-gaming is a cash crop ready to harvest. Any input? Take care, RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjarabbit Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 It's going to be a niche hobby for the most part. I also can't wait until GTA3 and Halo are considered retro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 Frankly, I'd prefer it if retro gaming continued to be rather obscure. Nothing ruins a hobby faster than becoming mainstream. There are already too many people collecting this stuff in my opinion. --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorleagueguy Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 I agree with Zero, besides, that leaves more stuff for me to find minorleagueguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjarabbit Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 I know, remember what happened to the sports cards and comic book collecting hobbies. I remember as a kid it went from 3 sets of baseball cards to 5 sets the next year to about 20 sets the year after that and the price of packs went from $.50 to $3. And we shall not mention how every other comic book has a chrome holograpic cover. But thankfully classic game collecting won't go tha route since their are no new classic games being made except for homebrews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceCold Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 Frankly, I'd prefer it if retro gaming continued to be rather obscure. Nothing ruins a hobby faster than becoming mainstream. There are already too many people collecting this stuff in my opinion. --Zero I agree with this totally. Going mainstream seems to ruin everything. Whether it be a band, a hobby, clothing, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap5750 Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 Well I'll say you can never know for sure, but it is definately a lot more fun when it doesn't involve the big money. I mean, some of the cash that people lay down for this stuff is absolutely crazy. Someone mentioned baseball cards. I can remember one particular year very well. We'd stop buy after school on our way to the ballfield and buy a couple of packs...never spending more then a couple of bucks at a time. The real funny thing is we were all after this rookie card for some guy named Jose Canseco and would get so excited when we'd get one. Meanwhile, there were other guys in the set too...someone named McGwire and another named Bonds. It was shortly after that year that we began to see prices rise. They continued to sky rockets until the true collectors dropped away and all that was left were greedy people looking to make a quick buck. I see the same thing happening with these so-called "Retro Games". That is why I try not to go crazy. Did you spend $100 for your copy of Waterworld? Do you think it'll always be worth that much? I doubt it. I'm thankfull that I only spent about $6 for my copy . Fads come and go, but the money hungry freaks will never go away. Cap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjarabbit Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 What I like about classic game collecting is that it's a relatively cheap hobby compared to others I've had For $50, the cost of a new game, I can get myself 10-40 older games and be 1000x more amused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjewell Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 I already think that ebay has done irrepairable damage to the hobby as a whole.. Same goes for Antique roadshow... Stupid people see that there are some certain items worth money and assume that it all is, that they all are antiqus worth the big bucks... I remember when it was a lot easier to get friends to give me their old game systems, or when acquantances would do the same.... They still do sometimes, but now everyone seems out for a buck, wanting to make money on ebay, or something... I fear we have already partially went the way of sports cards and comics... I remember my brother warning me of "fanboys" when he was first teaching me the finer arts of comics... He warned me of these people who just collected for money and not for the reading, and that they didn't care about the stories. I see alot of that scene reverberating in our hobby. I finally stopped collecting baseball cards when this started to happen, and I stopped with comics so much when they went up so much in cost. I still miss both, but I'm not going to give up my classic games. I know people here make money by selling, and Im not talking about them, because I know many of them genuinely care about the hobby... Let's hope the classic gaming scene falls back into the shadows away from the mainstream. Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjarabbit Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 It's the greater fool theory in practice, there's a fool selling a game for $100, there's a greater fool who buys the $100 game, hoping to find an even great fool to sell it to after he's done with the game, kinda like the stock market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 When a hobby starts becoming big business, that hobby is pretty much gone down the drain. There has been stories of goodwills selling stuff on eBay before anyone else gets a chance to buy it. It has been said that money is the root of all evil but I think it should be that the pursuit of money is the root of all evil. I don't think that retro-gaming will be completely mainstream and it does not need to be. Things are fine just the way that they are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 I already think that ebay has done irrepairable damage to the hobby as a whole.. Same goes for Antique roadshow...Stupid people see that there are some certain items worth money and assume that it all is, that they all are antiqus worth the big bucks... I remember when it was a lot easier to get friends to give me their old game systems, or when acquantances would do the same.... They still do sometimes, but now everyone seems out for a buck, wanting to make money on ebay, or something... I fear we have already partially went the way of sports cards and comics... I remember my brother warning me of "fanboys" when he was first teaching me the finer arts of comics... He warned me of these people who just collected for money and not for the reading, and that they didn't care about the stories. I see alot of that scene reverberating in our hobby. I finally stopped collecting baseball cards when this started to happen, and I stopped with comics so much when they went up so much in cost. I still miss both, but I'm not going to give up my classic games. I know people here make money by selling, and Im not talking about them, because I know many of them genuinely care about the hobby... Let's hope the classic gaming scene falls back into the shadows away from the mainstream. Brad EBay has also destroyed lawn sale culture. Used to be able to find video games at most lawn sales. Nowadays, there's little or nothing to be found for video games around here. It sucks. I also hate Antiques Roadshow as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaxxon Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Manci games failure isn't an indicator of anything IMO. Most active classic game collectors are already on the net and probably already know much of what they covered or can find the info for free using a search engine. I don't see how ANY new magazine has a future, let alone one catering to a small niche of collectors. I hope that classic game collecting not only fails to go mainstream but causes the hobby to shrink as well. What is the motivation for the people who want to publicize and mainstream the hobby? To make money selling magazines or to somehow get validation for how they spent their time and money? I don't see how it's beneficial to us unless you're planning on unloading your entire collection to speculators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocko Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Frankly, I'd prefer it if retro gaming continued to be rather obscure. Nothing ruins a hobby faster than becoming mainstream. There are already too many people collecting this stuff in my opinion. --Zero Yeah, and then you have to argue with people who think they know everything, but dont know a damn thing! (not talking about anybody on these boards, but I know classic music, and this kid was so sure he bet me that the song "Tainted Love" was by Guns 'N' Roses. Talk about annoying!_ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooterb23 Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 I used to never have problems finding good deals on eBay or on the other online auction sites, so I hold no ill will towards eBay. I do directly blame the insane rise in VG prices on two things. One, "that episode" of Antiques Roadshow, I guess if you call yourself and expert, you can get any moron to beileve you (please use that quote in any discussion about Dr. Phil as well). Two, and I don't doubt I'm going to catch heat for this, but I don't care, are all these retro compilations that have been coming out recently. These 10-1 joysticks, and stuff like the Activision Anthology really have brought a lot of mainstream attention to our hobby. Unfortunately, it has brought a lot of people unwilling to educate themselves on stuff such as "rarity" and "value" into the fold. That's when you start seeing the $20 Combats on eBay... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nester Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Well I don't think there is much danger in the classic gaming community. The people who actually collect will collect and the people who don't will buy the t-shirts. All I know is that I probably wouldn't be a collector without ebay because it made me remember what I had forgotten. Also, it is a great place to get hard to find systems, especially when you live in Arkansas. I don't like to buy games there very often, however, because it is not nearly as exciting as finding them at stores. Also, I would enjoy it if there were to be a good classic gaming magazine because I never get tired of looking at picutres of old games. I just don't quite know what would make for good content. It would probably be best to leave the word "retro" out of it because it sounds much less classy that way. I don't know, that's probably just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candiru Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 When I started accumulating games I didn't even know there were other collectors. I just happened to find some 2600 carts at a junk store and it sparked the memories of Saturday afternoons, looking at video game catalogues and imagining having all of those games. I enjoy learning about value and rarity, but I have no intention of trying to profit from my hobby. I've noticed a change just in the short time I've been collecting. It's kind of like going out to your favorite secluded fishing hole and finding a bunch of fools dumping litter and dynamite fishing. Maybe that's an extreme comparison, but I'm not a big fan of all the uneducated opportunists cropping up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgler Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Make no mistake that classic gaming is mainstream now and the hobby will soon be tainted. Classic compilations, 10 in 1 joysticks and NES GBAs have helped people remember the past and now they are clamouring for it. With any luck , the surge is only temporary and the band wagon jumpers won't be involved in the hobby for long. I am sure that most newcomers are not in this game for life like many of us at AA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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