What Factors Determine Huge Retro Gaming Prices

[GriffinGekko]

Hi, I've been out of gaming for years now, and am currently trying to get back into it. There's been something I've always been curious about lately when it comes to gaming. Every now and then I'll see publicized reports of classic NES auctions or something like that that'll sell on eBay for thousands and thousands of dollars. Just crazy auctions and numbers like that. We've all seen them. Then, I'll go to my local used game store and even my local flea market where I can pick up an NES and SNES system and games for maybe $30 and $5 apiece. I know those usually don't have the original boxes and manual, but that can't be all there is to it.

My question is: what are all the factors that go into systems and games being sold for wild numbers? Is condition everything, along with having all the original components (like box, manual, etc.)? All that coming together to form the perfect experience of reliving their childhood for the collector? And if that's the case, what's to prevent someone from buying an item loose in great condition, then buying the original boxes and manuals in great condition somewhere else, and putting the pieces all together that way, or does that not count if you're a collector? I collect comic books and with them condition is everything in terms of grade and price. Is that the same with what's going on with big retro gaming auction numbers? Any help with this question would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Zanz L. Barre The 3rd]

Limited and rare promotions are a big factor for high-priced auction items. I'd assume top condition is a "must". Misprints sometimes sell, but I don't know much beyond that.

[Rokku]

Mostly rarity. Condition can be a decent factor, but there's some games that are so readily available that anything short of a mint-still-shrink-wrapped copy is only going to fetch a couple bucks more than decent in a sleeve with an instruction manual. A lot of retro gaming was defined by single or limited runs of some of these carts, so you'll see prices that vary wildly, it's almost entirely dependent on the title in question.

[Ragnus]

Usually the ones that go for crazy amounts are things like promo carts that were used at NES events that have a couple demos on them. They go for a ton of money because usually there were less than a hundred to start and most have been lost or destroyed.

[Isiolia]

I collect comic books and with them condition is everything in terms of grade and price. Is that the same with what's going on with big retro gaming auction numbers? Any help with this question would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Some of the very pricey games on the market are graded, though generally speaking the ones that are will be new/sealed and meant to stay sealed.

Other games that go for ridiculous sums are, as mentioned, typically ones where literally only a handful are known to exist. Event/tournament carts, prototypes, recalled games, and so on. Sometimes it can be like coins, where it's just a tiny, tiny variation between common and super rare, like different regions of Neo Geo carts.

A lot of the really expensive stuff isn't to play, just like people probably aren't paying thousands for a single comic book for the privilege of finally getting to read it.

That being said, there are some games where it's a choice between pirating it, or paying hundreds of dollars for a copy. Panzer Dragoon Saga, Snatcher, Earthbound, and so on come to mind. They're the exception though, as most games will be under their original retail.
You can often get an idea of what copies of games are going for on this site.


Just like with anything, you have the more serious collectors, and the less. I'd count myself more at the latter end of the spectrum. I think I paid more than original retail for a game once, and it was still about half the then-current value, and bought from a friend.
Based on discussions I've seen/taken part in elsewhere, completeness standards vary. Complete versions are more valuable, but not everyone prioritizes it. If they do, it may change based on system or medium. In general, there's a much higher priority on having complete disc based games than cartridge based ones. Many of us are perfectly content to print out a cover and put a cart in a universal game case.

Outside of mixing versions (greatest hits disc in a black label case, etc), I haven't seen issues with "assembling" a complete version of a game. Pretty common really, and you do find sales of just manuals or boxes from time to time. That tends to be less a for-profit kind of thing though, and more for what you want in your personal collection.

[Moridam]

Usually the ones that go for crazy amounts are things like promo carts that were used at NES events that have a couple demos on them. They go for a ton of money because usually there were less than a hundred to start and most have been lost or destroyed.

yep. prime example, there was a story going around a few months back, whoever wound up with the english prototype cart of FF2 NES was looking to sell it for $50,000. no idea if he ever found a buyer, but as far as high-price-factors go, that's got pretty much everything going for it: it's old, a prototype of a canceled game, from one of the most famous franchises in videogame history, and it's the only one in existence.