Game Over Atari 2600 collecting will never be more popular than the NES

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

exactly! how can some of u guys dare to collect NES games ???

 

NES is for douchebags...........................

[BDW]

For some reason, whenever you do that, you remind me of the book 1984

 

wrong movie/book ... check this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBnYEQ16s_k

No, I probably should have quoted your reply to Shawn's "Totaltarian government". Probably would have made more sense.

[Philflound]

I collect vintage. To me, NES is vintage. As is the Sega Master System. I like systems that were smaller with few games. I don't do SNES or anything passed that. I started buying a few Gameboy, but that's because I won the GBA in a raffle. I don't do Genesis or after either. I got a PS1 real cheap, so I started buying some of those, but haven't gone crazy. I don't bother with Xbox at all nor PS2 or 3. My favorite is the Colecovision. The graphics are superb and I love all the arcade games. Like I mentioned before, I don't mock anyone for collecting anything. Do what you love.

 

Phil

[ianoid]

All this hype about prices and how they are significant is generally for the young.

 

I would contend that a 2600 library could even be worth more than an NES library. If an Air Raid hit the market boxed, it could easily get as much as Stadium Events. 99% of the NES library is worth less than $5. I guess boxed vs. loose could be the question, but even most boxed NES games don't get much cash at all. If you talk about sealed games, sure it can get obscene for NES over 2600.

 

But frankly, I don't care. And most of the guys that do care most vocally are under 25. I am amazed at how excited the younger collectors (under 30) get about the value of stuff today vs. next week. The old salts almost never post like this.

[Dino]

All this hype about prices and how they are significant is generally for the young.

 

I would contend that a 2600 library could even be worth more than an NES library. If an Air Raid hit the market boxed, it could easily get as much as Stadium Events. 99% of the NES library is worth less than $5. I guess boxed vs. loose could be the question, but even most boxed NES games don't get much cash at all. If you talk about sealed games, sure it can get obscene for NES over 2600.

 

But frankly, I don't care. And most of the guys that do care most vocally are under 25. I am amazed at how excited the younger collectors (under 30) get about the value of stuff today vs. next week. The old salts almost never post like this.

[MrAtari2600]

I was looking into the whole collecting thing as a whole. and I found an alarming truth. Which in the longrun made me very sad . Every single generation has their collecting "thing". Go back in time and look at what people did, They had the generation for coins, a generation for stamps. and if im correct right before video games came into play they had comic books. The sad truth is the masses will move on from video games in due time to something else, leaving only the die hard fans. Which makes me sad because if I ever had kids, I would want them to collect too. Furthermore, it worries me when you older guys say .... "pass" on, because you have obtained so much knowledge about some subjects us younger people won't be able to obtain. and well yea its a big cycle.

 

I have been collecting since i was under 10 years old. I remember asking my dad for this game, and then this game, and said its better then collecting rocks like my brother because they are fun

 

 

im 19 years old now, I own 60+ systems, 3 arcades and almost 750 titles total over all systems.

 

Thats my spew, sorry on late-ness of this post

[Stan]

Out of curiosity, what's the NES homebrew scene like?

 

It's slowly picking up. There are a number of useful programs out there, and some guys at Nintendoage have been slowly making a 'Nerdy Nights' forum tutorial on how to program. It's pretty good and some people have made some decent games to start with. Someone recently ported Frogger and did a pretty good job, and the genius known as Sivak is finishing up a full-scaled platformer based partially on I Want to Be the Guy.

[MrAtari2600]

Out of curiosity, what's the NES homebrew scene like?

 

It's slowly picking up. There are a number of useful programs out there, and some guys at Nintendoage have been slowly making a 'Nerdy Nights' forum tutorial on how to program. It's pretty good and some people have made some decent games to start with. Someone recently ported Frogger and did a pretty good job, and the genius known as Sivak is finishing up a full-scaled platformer based partially on I Want to Be the Guy.

 

 

Did you see the battle kid homebrew?

its amazing game, real fun

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/28/battle-kid-fortress-of-peril-could-be-the-latest-nes-hit/

[accousticguitar]

As the games get bigger and bigger I think the homebrewing efforts are going to drop off dramatically. Can you imagine somebody homebrewing a game for the PS1? I can't. I don't know how big NES games are but they are probably a lot bigger than 4k. When it comes to homebrewing I think Atari 2600 will always be king.

[GloryDayGamer]

So, are we all going to meet back here in about a month for this same go 'round?

 

 

I certainly hope so. I'll be in on the joke and ready to trash the poster good

[Lord Thag]

I don't think the money has anything to do with whether collecting Atari is better than NES. The number of fans does not dictate quality. Lots of people listened to Britney Spears and N'Sync. That didn't make them any good! Popularity does not equal quality.

 

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the good old NES was bad. It wasn't. The NES was really the dawn of the style of game that we see on modern consoles today, with your RPGs, your platformers, your third person action games etc. It's very historically significant for that, and for resurrecting video games from the ashes of the crash in '83.

 

But from a collecting standpoint, it's far less interesting, in my opinion. Most of the games are very early versions of the same stuff you can play nowadays. And while there are many great games on the NES, they are a completely different animal from the kind of thing you get on Atari and the other consoles from the era. It's really apples and oranges.

 

When you collect Atari (or Intellivision, Colecovision etc), you are getting a console with a library full of game types that have, for the most part, been lost to a bygone era. An era when one person, and their own creativity and imagination, ultimately determined the entire game. While it may be argued that 'space shooters' and 'maze games' were the first real genres, for the most part, the libraries of these systems contain games unlike anything you see nowadays. Games where you catch luggage, or jump ice floes, or pick up miners from a moon. Or maybe jump over a river as a frog, or explore a jungle looking for treasure, kill attacking plaque, fend of spiders, or cool down a nuclear reactor. The games were more abstract, more creative, and much more reaction based then the more familiar genres today. Whatever the programmer could dream and make playable, could (and did) become a game. What could be more fun or creative than stuff like MULE, Dreadnaught Factor, Moonsweeper, Kaboom!, Turmoil, Dolphin, Shark! Shark!, and Burgertime?

 

In short, like the dinosaurs, you just can't find anything quite like those games today, save for the occasional xbox live arcade remake. And just like the dinosaurs, they are still really unique, and absolutely fascinating in a way that no japanese rpg or platformer will ever be.

 

THAT is what makes collecting Atari special.

[Rom Hunter]

Well said, Lord Thag.

 

[Mirage]

I agree, very well said. Everyone collects for different reasons, and gets their fun in different ways, but it seems to me, that's the most productive and significant way to look at Atari collecting, rather than focusing on or worrying about the monetary value.

[Cebus Capucinis]

Or you could just play fun games and have a good time collecting those awesome cartridges!

 

Homer enjoys following the prices and more power to him I say! I think it's very interesting to follow the trends of statistics but I worry about reading into it too much. If an NES game sells for $13,000 so be it, as another poster stated that just means everyone will flock to NES leaving more Atari games for us!

[Philflound]

I have over 40 different systems. I stopped counting. I'd like to get a few more. I have at least 80% complete of 2600 USA, 5200, 7800, Intellivision, Colecovision, SMS, Fairchild, Microvision (complete), Odyssey 2 (US), and Astrocade. I know I broke 2000 games well over 5 years ago. I don't even buy much anymore, mainly due to money. I'm about to turn 40 in 3 months. I started with a pong system when I was real small. I remember it actually like it was yesterday. I don't know the date, but I remember playing it alot, and remember the screen staying on the little black and white tv we had for quite awhile after you turned it off. I was probably no more than 6 years old. I owned the 2600 back in 1978, and remember getting early games like Space Invaders and Adventure. I never owned an Intellivision until 15 years ago. My uncle had one, and as a boy of about 10, I remember the games being much more difficult to play. The baseball was hard to handle, especially with those wacky controllers. I preferred Home Run. If I had been older, I probably would have appreciated the Intellivision a bit more. Many of the games may be deemed simple by today's standards, but were complex back then.

 

My fondest memories were of the C64. We had lots of friends and pirated lots of games. In fact, I still have a good 100 floppies full of pirated games. We bought games from time to time. Like someone mentioned, MULE was a definite favorite. I loved Adventure Construction Set, Summer Games, the Bards Tale, and the Ultima series. Many of the classic RPG games you can download free now, though sometimes I can't run them on the modern computer. The C64 was simple. A computer, a tv, and a floppy drive. Atari and CV controllers plugged right in. No mouse. No drivers. The Fast Load cartridge was a life saver. I still have a beautiful mint C64 in box with disk drive and printer. Before I moved 8 years ago, I used to play it. Seven Cities of Gold was one of my all time favorite too. Impossible Mission was another great one, and it took me till I was in my 20s to actually beat the game.

 

The problem with the new generation of collectors is that they've been exposed to the newest games on the most elite systems and computers. There wasn't a transition of dots and bleeps to mediocre graphics, to better graphics, to finally being able to save that game. I can't tell you how great the 1980s were and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I say I was born at the perfect time.

 

I'll always cherish my 2600 collection, though not one of the games is from my childhood. I told my wife she could probably get 10 grand for all my 2600 items. But I think unless I get a house and need mortgage money, have a child and need to support it, or my wife or I get really sick, I don't think I'd ever part with it. At one time, I actually had the same mentality that I would never collect NES games. Now, 500 carts later, I can't get enough of them. I actually have not played a vintage game since I moved because I don't have the hookup for them. My days of playing are spent on my computer.

 

So, like I said before, collect what you love, enjoy them however you want, whether to look at them on the shelf, show them off in pictures, or actually sit and play them. The feeling you get is what you should cherish most of all.

 

Phil

Edited February 16, 2010 by Philflound

[AtariLeaf]

The OP is correct. Based on this picture alone, Nintendo wins hands down. Game over indeed.

 

 

[Pioneer4x4]

That picture does indeed speak 1000 words.

[hhwolfman]

The OP is correct. Based on this picture alone, Nintendo wins hands down. Game over indeed.

 

 

 

 

Is that Kevin Smith, when he was a youngen?

[the.golden.ax]

I think it is this guy...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdBrYfxSXWc

 

AX

[AtariLeaf]

 

 

Is that Kevin Smith, when he was a youngen?

 

 

Could be. Is he sweating profusely while sitting in a cool room doing absolutely nothing?

[Rom Hunter]

My fondest memories were of the C64. We had lots of friends and pirated lots of games. In fact, I still have a good 100 floppies full of pirated games. We bought games from time to time. Like someone mentioned, MULE was a definite favorite. I loved Adventure Construction Set, Summer Games, the Bards Tale, and the Ultima series. Many of the classic RPG games you can download free now, though sometimes I can't run them on the modern computer. The C64 was simple. A computer, a tv, and a floppy drive. Atari and CV controllers plugged right in. No mouse. No drivers. The Fast Load cartridge was a life saver. I still have a beautiful mint C64 in box with disk drive and printer. Before I moved 8 years ago, I used to play it. Seven Cities of Gold was one of my all time favorite too. Impossible Mission was another great one, and it took me till I was in my 20s to actually beat the game.

Never runstop-restore the spirit of the good old C64!

 

Have really great memories of playing, copying and programming games on that one.

 

Impossible Mission, Summer Games, Bruce Lee, Commando, Fort Apocalypse, The Last Ninja, Forbidden Forest, Delta, The Hobbit, International Karate, etc., etc.

 

Just too much great games to sum up.

 

And the music was excellent too: Galway, Hubbard, Tel, Daglish.

 

Simply brilliant.

 

[Buyatari]

I love debates like this. Collecting is about doing what YOU love. If you want to buy boxed/sealed stuff and never play it, it's great because YOU love doing it. If you want to collect Atari instead of NES, that's great because YOU love it. If you want to collect both or even more stuff, that's even better. It's all because YOU love it. Someone with $13,000 must have a ton of money. That's not really for the average collector.

 

A box and instruction manual without cartridge sold privately for $17,500 just prior to this. That SE auction wasn't a fluke SE is the real deal.

 

What has happened is VGA has brought in some new collectors. Some guys who used to collect action figures and comic books got bored and are now slowly starting to thing collecting videogames as "the new thing". However those guys seem to be ignoring the 2600.

 

Sealed NES games get a huge premium but sealed Atari games never really got that much of a premium over mint complete. A $20 complete NES game like The Legend of Zelda might be $300-$600 sealed and perhaps $1000 with a high grade. That doesn't happen for Atari games. Can you imagine an Atari game that sells for $20 complete ANY of the them selling for $500-$1000 sealed?

 

So for the most part these guys start out buying sealed NES, grading them and then flipping or collecting them and ignore the 2600.

 

A new rarity had to be invented for the NES. It was too common to find the games loose or even complete so at first you needed a sealed copy. Now that isn't enough and a grading system has now created a system were a dirt common game can exist as an R9 or R10 in the highest of grades. With the 2600 complete is hard enough in many cases.

 

The influx of new collectors see NES as the be all end all and they are raising the prices. One might argue that on the Atari end some of the bigger spenders have slowed down. Wonder and Marco and Rik etc have about all they need. All most all of the big spenders that I knew in 1996 have retired either selling off or just stopped buying. This happens with all things but there aren't the same number of new Atari collectors entering the market willing to spend 4-5 digits on a single game as there are with NES.

 

Another thing to consider is that the Atari company is no longer around or making systems. NES is the first system is a series of systems that will continue with no end in sight. The rarest of the rare will maintain value don't worry about that but they won't increase at the same percentage NES do.

 

All that being said. So what? I sold my Gold NWC and I sold my SE with manual (no box) I now just buy what I enjoy.

 

Collect what you enjoy.

[Skylark68]

I'm glad that the NES is taking over. That means fewer people with stupid money will be collecting for that system and not my beloved Atari.

[hhwolfman]

I think it is this guy...

 

 

AX

 

When did you shave your beard off, AX

[Philflound]

Ah, Rom just hit a note with the C64 music. I was totally loon for it. I actually took a tape recorder in the early 1990s and recorded music for games like Alternate Reality, Rambo, and Ultima. Think I still have the tape somewhere.

 

As for sealed NES games, there was a store near me that had alot of sealed games for all systems. Some of the Atari 2600 in my collection is from that store. Think most of what I bought there has been resold. I only got sealed NES games for my personal collection. What I own are the following: Air Fortress, Bad News Baseball, Black Bass, Captain Comic, Cybernoid,, Deja Vu, Desert Commander, Exodus (Wisdom Tree), Golgo 13, Hollywood Squares, Hunt for Red October, Joshua (Wisdom Tree), Kung Fu Heroes, Little League Baseball, Magic of Scheherazade, Mappy Land, Power Blade, Classic Punch Out, Rocketeer, Spiritual Warfare (Wisdom Tree), Sunday Funday (Wisdom Tree), Taboo: Sixth Sense, Time Lord, Zoda's Revenge Star Tropics.

 

All but the Wisdom Tree games were from this guy, and I remember paying between $3-5 each for them.

 

Phil