Video Game Price Reference

[silverpoodleman]

Is there a good place to to get an objective price listing on video games from the different systems of the past? I'm talking 2600, 7800, SNES, Genesis, Neo Geo, etc.,

 

Before someone asks why I am asking, I am attempting to put a numerical value on the games I own. I am not looking to sell (tho' I do have games to sell), but I guess as a collector of stamps, coins, baseball cards, comic books, etc., I am looking to ascertain a value to my assets.

 

Thanks

Edited November 22, 2005 by silverpoodleman

[shining slade]

Video Game Collector Magazine. It has a price listing for everything from Atari to Xbox.

[Zwackery]

I don't think there is one definitive source in terms of ascribing value to your games. Print publications like the Digital Press Guide (also available online) and the Video Game Collector are useful because they have put the value in a printed text, which insurance companies like. One needs to balance these sorts of publications, however, with additional information from various online sellers, and by this I mean not only eBay but also stores like Atari2600.com, tradengames.com, and others, as well as the more respected historical / research sites such as the venerable AtariAge. Doing all of this will more or less give you a better picture in terms of what value to ascribe to your games. For example, while VGC is a quarterly publication and tends to update well enough, I still find many disconnects between their values and what things are selling for (both high and low). The collecting guides are a well enough place to start, but you should not regard them as the definitive voice. As with any evolving collectible category, video games are in a phase of ascending towards certain authorities over others.

[christianscott27]

the ugly truth is that its very, very simple to determine what a game or hardware item is worth. take the original retail price and divide it by ten, the result is the present value. for example a mass market atari game like megamania or zelda for the NES sold for around $30 and today you could get one off ebay for $3 or so, an NES sold for $200 or so is worth about 20 bucks. this works on down the line right up til playstation 2 titles. there are minor exceptions to the rule for RPGs, imports and sports titles. most of what people consider to be rare items are more accuratley items that failed to achieve mass market distribution and are thus limited in quanity. collecting games for anything besides pleasure is all but pointless since they almost never appreciate in value.

[silverpoodleman]

the ugly truth is that its very, very simple to determine what a game or hardware item is worth. take the original retail price and divide it by ten, the result is the present value. for example a mass market atari game like megamania or zelda for the NES sold for around $30 and today you could get one off ebay for $3 or so, an NES sold for $200 or so is worth about 20 bucks. this works on down the line right up til playstation 2 titles. there are minor exceptions to the rule for RPGs, imports and sports titles. most of what people consider to be rare items are more accuratley items that failed to achieve mass market distribution and are thus limited in quanity. collecting games for anything besides pleasure is all but pointless since they almost never appreciate in value.

969361[/snapback]

I never mentioned collecting video games as a means of increasing in value from the original sale price. That would be plain stupid. However, there are still great finds and great deals/steals to be made with these games that depreciate faster than Bush's approval rating. Case in point - I first bought the rare video game M.U.S.H.A. a few months ago and paid $25 (I think it retailed for $100 new)l. I've been offered up to $35 for it as recently as last week. Today, I happened across a M.U.S.H.A. on ebay about half an hour before the end of the auction selling for $0.01 with no bidders (the picture was of the actual cart and I've been assured it works). I figured it would get a late surge of bidders in the last minute or so which would push the price over $20 as does normally happen with these rare games. Imagine my surprise when I won the game for $0.01 + $5.00 shipping. Now, I will sell this and make a nice profit, hopefully of $30 or so (what is that - 600%).

 

From that standpoint, I'm making profits by buying games I know are under valued at the time of the sale and turning them around and selling them for a profit.

 

Getting back to the original question though, I would still like to value my collection. I know what I paid for it - all but twelve of my three hundred Genesis games, for example, were bought within the past two months. I would like to know as a whole how I did - that's all. I'm not looking to pad my retirement account here.

[Zwackery]

the ugly truth is that its very, very simple to determine what a game or hardware item is worth. take the original retail price and divide it by ten, the result is the present value.

Although trying for a simple, elegant solution is an admirable task, this very simplistic redaction collapses under the weight of concepts like market forces and exceptions to its own rule. In the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, I will not engage with debate about this with you, as perhaps you already have your mind made up, but I will emphatically state that I disagree with your formula.

[Famicoman]

Digital Press, anyone?

[christianscott27]

why debate it? anyone is welcome to their own take on prices, it still doesnt change the fact that 95% of games will be worth $5 or so a few years after they're out. its not like the 2600 era where all sorts of strange little companies made obscure and now rare games. since the NES the game industry has been a well controlled mass market retail monster. its very rare in the modern era that a game is produced in any real scarcity, no one intends to have a low selling title. some games are still sought after years later but even a game as hyped as chrono trigger rarely sells for its original retail price

[Zwackery]

why debate it?

I won't.

 

You're wrong.

 

And I'll give you $5 each for all your games.

[MattG/Snyper2099]

why debate it?

I won't.

 

You're wrong.

 

And I'll give you $5 each for all your games.

970436[/snapback]

 

That's quite a bold statement really. Do you honestly have $12,000 laying around to spend on old video games?

 

Anyway, I tend to agree that the AVERAGE price for any given game cart or cd 5 years after it's system has been "abandoned" is $5. But there are always going to be games you can't give away (worth less than 1 cent) and ones that sell for $100 and up. So, I disagree as well. You can't just say every game is worth $5, that's just rediculous.

[christianscott27]

the difference thats missing here is what is A) a hard and fast rule and B) a rule of thumb

 

as a rule of thumb i think what i've suggested - that old games are worth a tenth of the sale price - is true and honest. for every MUSHA level game there are dozens of madden NFL 95s out there. if i were to sell you my all of my games for $5 each i'd make out very well on most systems. for example i have about 350 genesis games, including some real decent ones but still most are worth $3 or less. this is true for almost every system, even the classic ones. obviously there are some games out there that cost more than $5 but very few and fewer still will ever exceed their original retail price

 

like i said before, in a mass produced licensed publisher world you're not going to have too many truely rare games. most of what passes for rare these days are really just RPGs or fan fetish items that are more sought after than scarce. its not like i'm pulling this stuff out of thin air, look on ebay, look in any gamestop, gamecrazy or whatever you like. the older games keeping dropping toward the $5 mark and with a new generation opening up even more older games will be moved into the $5 bin.

 

this isnt a knock on collecting, i'm probably the largest collector in new england but i do think the cash value stuff is borderline silly.

[hhwolfman]

the difference thats missing here is what is A) a hard and fast rule and B) a rule of thumb

 

as a rule of thumb i think what i've suggested - that old games are worth a tenth of the sale price - is true and honest. for every MUSHA level game there are dozens of madden NFL 95s out there. if i were to sell you my all of my games for $5 each i'd make out very well on most systems. for example i have about 350 genesis games, including some real decent ones but still most are worth $3 or less. this is true for almost every system, even the classic ones.  obviously there are some games out there that cost more than $5 but very few and fewer still will ever exceed their original retail price

 

like i said before, in a mass produced licensed publisher world you're not going to have too many truely rare games. most of what passes for rare these days are really just RPGs or fan fetish items that are more sought after than scarce. its not like i'm pulling this stuff out of thin air, look on ebay, look in any gamestop, gamecrazy or whatever you like. the older games keeping dropping toward the $5 mark and with a new generation opening up even more older games will be moved into the $5 bin.

 

this isnt a knock on collecting, i'm probably the largest collector in new england but i do think the cash value stuff is borderline silly.

970744[/snapback]

 

 

This theory is the most absurd statement, I have ever heard. Quadrun Retailed for $34.99 I would gladly give you $3.50

 

DP is a good reference although needs and update. Video Game Collector is a by monthly magazine, That can give you a general idea.

[galaxy warrior]

its true values vary but in a sense of totality vintage games are far cheaper than they retailed. so if you had to break down an entire collection selling each at a flat rate of 5 would make you a grand amount of money. mentioni8ng quadrun and games of equal rareness dont erase the fact that zillions of e.t. and pacman carts still fill the world.

[christianscott27]

quadrun didnt retail, it was an atari club mail away game made in limited quanities. its one of those truely rare games thats a neat nugget but not at all typical of the industry we know today, heck its not even typical for the 2600 era. price guides seem to excite some people more than others but they mean precious little outside of their covers. its not like i can take a shoebox of sonic and madden games to a store somewhere and expect to get the $2 each digital press says they're worth, you cant even expect to get the money they consider tengen tetris to be worth on ebay most days. moreover as far as collectibles go games are chump change, even the uber rare game prices wouldnt cover most peoples mortgage payments for a month. to actually sit down and follow a list that cuts the difference between five dollar bills on a good auction vs a bad auction... if that adds something for you then go for it, its pretty much a crap shoot.

[minorleagueguy]

...I think It's very simple...

Buying- it's only worth what YOU are willing to spend....

Selling- it's only worth what SOMEONE ELSE is willing to spend.....

 

minorleagueguy

[silverpoodleman]

Okay, okay....I get it -

 

But you have to admit - M.U.S.H.A. for $0.01 is pretty cool!

[Dr. Morbis]

I think Christianscott27 is right on the money. And with the way the industry is entrenched now it's going to be even worse in the future for those who are in this for the money. Anyone who's collecting Xbox/GC/PS2 games for speculative reasons is in for a rude awakening.

[silverpoodleman]

I think Christianscott27 is right on the money.  And with the way the industry is entrenched now it's going to be even worse in the future for those who are in this for the money.  Anyone who's collecting Xbox/GC/PS2 games for speculative reasons is in for a rude awakening.

971996[/snapback]

Not only that, but the video game industry preys on the people who cannot wait to play the latest, "greatest" games.

 

If you have patience for just one year before buying those new, you would save about 60%. That is a substantial amount, particularly for those who build video game expenses into their budgets. If you could wait two years, you will see those games in a bin, discarded in shame as "old technology not worthy of your time." It is a great industry that every year must tell you how awful the previous years' product was, so that they can sell more updated games.

 

I stay as far away from the new releases as possible and about 10 to 15 years behind the new game curve. That eliminates the desire to collect for speculatiove monetary reasons. However, it does offer me the opportunity to turn over a quick buck by buying low (i.e. MUSHA for one cent - turn it around quickly for a $25 profit).

[Zwackery]

Is there a good place to to get an objective price listing on video games from the different systems of the past? I'm talking 2600, 7800, SNES, Genesis, Neo Geo, etc.,

 

Before someone asks why I am asking, I am attempting to put a numerical value on the games I own. I am not looking to sell (tho' I do have games to sell), but I guess as a collector of stamps, coins, baseball cards, comic books, etc., I am looking to ascertain a value to my assets.

 

Thanks

969288[/snapback]

In your original posting that started this whole topic, you asked about ascertaining a value to your assets. Like I wrote earlier, printed collectible listings like those of the Digital Press Guide and the Video Game Collector are what insurance companies like. No doubt it will be helpful to demonstrate what it also would take to replace anything destroyed or stolen in terms of what the market seems to be able to support, and keeping tabs on retail websites and auction sites like eBay or shopgoodwill.com gives another piece of data to this picture. Don't forget that an estimated value should also factor in things like time and energy expenditure (the hassle effect) to replace said items.

 

1) Now, many people can debate the pros & cons, the accuracies & errors of said reference guides, but the fact of the matter is that many people reference these texts and give them a measure of authority. At the last CinciClassic I went to, every dealer had a copy of the DPG and was treating it like holy writ. I publicly challenged that slavish devotion to that text elsewhere on the 'net, and many people rose to its defense. At other gaming cons, people have these guides and do refer to them. No matter what someone personally thinks of print or electronic guides, they are out there and they do have an influence. The 2 used game stores in my town always have a connection up and see what chains like EB et al are listing as a buying price for a game and proceed to price their games using that as a reference (frequently they will price under somewhat in order to keep the stock moving, but they also don't want to sell a rare game for peanuts).

 

2) christianscott27 invokes the idea of a "mass market" game. Just what defines something as "mass market"? I know companies don't necessarily like to reveal corporate info, but it would be useful for this topic. In my town, back in the day, we could get some Activision titles - Pitfall!, Freeway, Ice Hockey - but not others like Pressure Cooker or Private Eye. The titles for some companies were not carried at all in my town (and believe me, I used to make the rounds, and this is when everyone from pharmacies to hardware stores to 7-11s were selling games in addition to electronic and department stores). Also, I think the value of a classic era game also can be greatly impacted by the presence of instructions and particularly a box. Additionally, having a complete set of titles by a particular company may increase the overall value a bit.

 

2a) I won't even begin to problematize the cost of videogames by introducing things like inflation, the depreciation of the dollar, and the average hourly salary of a worker.

 

3) As for the value of contemporary games, I do think there is a great difference between the classic and post-classic eras. Partly this is because of the sheer number of games produced, but a greater factor has to do with the history of the medium. Like many other collectible categories, the products made at the beginning of a category's inception are more valuable - from a collectibles standpoint - than those produced later on. Take Pez dispensers or cars, for example (some people will no doubt balk at comparing cars to carts, but it illustrates my point).

 

To sum up, collect data from various sources as to the potential value for your games and equipment and buy your insurance correspondingly.

Edited November 28, 2005 by Zwackery