Comments on Video Game & DVD Collecting | Resale Price Analysis: Video Games Will Sell For Comic & Baseball Card Pr...

Although the recent mania surrounding Stephen Stra...

2010-08-01T20:27:01.771-06:00

Although the recent mania surrounding Stephen Strasburg's baseball cards certainly bring to mind the Honus Wagner horse trading, I don't think we'll ever see a single card approach those values again. The 80's and 90's brought a gigantic overproduction of cards. Alex Rodriguez alone appears on over 18,000 cards. EIGHTEEN THOUSAND!!!

Video games might hold their value a little more.....especially if they are still in the box.

Good article and analysis. I dunno about it being ...

2009-07-07T04:02:37.869-06:00

Good article and analysis. I dunno about it being worth $100,000 in 20 years, though. Quite possibly, but will future gamers really want a cart from a system they didn't grow up with? The people who are paying a great deal for the Gold NWC carts these days are the people who actually grew up in the era of the NES. I mean, today's 13-year olds play the PS3 and Xbox 360 and most won't touch the NES in my experience. Would they want a cart for a system they have no experience with when they're 35 years old and have a lot more disposable income? It doesn't sound like they would, but collecting is a strange beast.

Another point to consider: They analogy can be put to baseball cards and comic books, but kids are still growing up with virtually the exact same format after all these years, a testament to their longevity. There's also longevity of the characters as well; people are still reading and collecting Batman, Superman and Spider-man. Will gamers desire to own carts be maintained in 20 years when things start moving toward digital download? Only time will tell.

Rarity does increase value, but also the fact that...

2009-07-04T06:16:14.839-06:00

Rarity does increase value, but also the fact that it was rare in ones youth also increases the value. It is sad commentary about human beings that we only want what we can't have. Sorry all I think of is that using the money spent on any of these items to help others would be a better investment. You can't take posessions like that with you so I guess these people are trying to be the modern day Pharaoh. I wonder how many slaves (by wages) are being used to fund these ridiculous prices.

You say that "NWC cartridges were given away ...

2009-07-03T17:31:10.666-06:00

You say that "NWC cartridges were given away and there are no records of the original prices the game sold for so it is hard to calculate a percent return for the game so far", however you stated in your other article that you determined the cart's authenticity by contacting its previous owners.

Not only would it be very interesting to know how much they paid for it, but it would be interesting to know the stories of how they came to find it & buy it. I guess eBay has been around a good 10 years, so neither story may be as interesting as "I bought it from this kid who won the semi-finals", but it would also be interesting to know if either of them regrets either the money they spend on it originally or selling it.

Games will always have the chance to grow in value...

2009-03-27T21:51:00.000-06:00

Games will always have the chance to grow in value. Depending on the title, system, era, and so forth, we can conclude that, as always, games have different values. An in-package copy of the original Legend of Zelda will always hold more market than, say, Battletoads. I was fortunate enough to grow up with the birth of gaming, and I have seen how my gems have increased in value significantly. Sealed copy of Chrono Trigger, New, in-box Virtual Boy (even though a joke, very rare to find) and more. So yes, games will always have the potential to grow in value. :)

Great comment thesimplicity. It does take some mo...

2009-03-27T07:46:00.000-06:00

Great comment thesimplicity. It does take some more to enjoy the game fully than it does for comics, baseball cards, or art.

With a $20,000 investment an NES, TV, and two controllers (you need both to get the game to start) is a pretty small investment.

An interesting thing to think about is that the NW...

2009-03-27T05:31:00.000-06:00

An interesting thing to think about is that the NWC cart doesn't function on it's own like most other collectibles. You need an NES, a TV, a controller and mad skills to enjoy it properly, whereas a comic book or baseball card you really just need eyeballs. They were made for visual admiration and don't have the complicated dependencies that a game does.

Still, I imagine someone who's paying $20K for a cart won't be attempting to play it very often (just as most people won't hop into bed and read a copy of Action Comics #1).