I'm going on a retro buying spree due to recent events. Anybody else?

Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
I'm at a stage in my life where I have some extra disposable income, but I also see the writing on the walls. With what the Xbox One is doing I fear that every generation in the future is going to be a struggle to retain the ability to actually own the games you buy. To know that the games you buy can actually hold value beyond how long the console manufacturer allows it to have.

So I'm going back and I'm buying up some of the older consoles that I never had as a kid and I'm building up sort of a collection of essential games from those consoles. Not necessarily because I have plans to play these games instead of all the new stuff, but just something to hold on to. My own little piece of gaming history. Something to show my kids/grandkids.

Anybody else struggling to hold onto gaming's past before it all turns into CD keys and DD services?
 
I went on a little spree trying to fill out my GCN library a few months ago. Feels good man :)
 
I did this like two years ago and amassed a Genesis collection, and I would really like to get all the GBA games that i've always wanted. Before they start going up in price.
 
You think kids today have interest in a Colecovision or Atari 2600? Your grand kids will feel like that about the Genesis and SNES you pull out.
 
IrishNinja compiled a bunch of relevant threads for old gaming systems. Some of them still have active discussion:

IrishNinja said:
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Mr.Wreckless said:
You think kids today have interest in a Colecovision or Atari 2600? Your grand kids will feel like that about the Genesis and SNES you pull out.
Click to expand...

Sometimes older kids really dig retro stuff. I have a younger cousin who's maybe 17-18 or so, and he flipped the fuck out when my Dad showed him vinyl records.
 
Im waiting for closer to the launch of next gen to do a final rush of current generation games. My budget will be about 150 and I want close to 35 titles. Many will be used and anyone who doesn't like it can kiss my ass.
 
ZealousD said:
Sometimes older kids really dig retro stuff. I have a younger cousin who's maybe 17-18 or so, and he flipped the fuck out when my Dad showed him vinyl records.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Pong is still a fun game to me, despite being before my time. I think most kids that really love games would be happy to play anything fun.
 
I did in 2006, then once again in 2010 and 2011.

2006 was when I had gotten an NES and told myself I would collect every black box game. Never did.

In 2010, I got a SNES and did better with that collection.
 
I'm not sure if I follow OP's logic. Yes, with the Xbox One we will have a hard time retaining the current games being made, which is very sad, but the old consoles aren't going anywhere. I do plan on buying a bunch of retro/classic games at some point but now isn't the time for me.
 
Call me out all you'd like, video games are no different than any other media. Books and movies will continue to have a physical presence and so will video games.
 
I started last fall. The systems aren't hard to come up with. I take them apart right down to the motherboard and clean everything. I can get most of them looking pretty close to new again.

The games on the other hand....they are a bitch to find at reasonable prices. All the games that are worthwhile to buy for retro systems are in the hands of people looking to make bank.

image.jpg
 
sixteen bit got my back, thanks man!

OP - i totally get where you're coming from, between the coming year-1 slump i expect in most cycles + the push, as well as some stuff (particularly SNES) skyrocketing in value, i took some of my tax return & leftover travel budget after a recent trip and spent the first few months of this year replacing hardware/libraries for systems i'd sold off during harder times. i coupled this with an XRGB-mini to upscale said systems for a good plasma & have enjoyed the crap out of it since...it's nice knowing that many of these titles have been around for decades, and will be playable on original hardware for many more.

also, don't let anyone tell you what ages/holds up over time and what doesn't. there's definitely some titles that work for larger % of people but ive been finding how very subjective that is, fortunately.

bill0527 said:
The games on the other hand....they are a bitch to find at reasonable prices. All the games that are worthwhile to buy for retro systems are in the hands of people looking to make bank.
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this, so hard - particularly SNES and Saturn stuff, i've found. on ebay, many swap shops (that watch ebay/amazon), even goodwill auctions, you can mostly expect the same price level, with occasional deals at odd hours if you snipe/etc..but the real hauls for me have all come from craigslist or the lucky garage sale break, where people either don't know or simply don't care about the markups seen online.
 
For the last 10-15 years, every day has been a retro spending spree.

Second hand stores
Thrift shops
Flea markets
Garage sales

I love the thrill of the hunt.
 
GamerJM said:
I'm not sure if I follow OP's logic. Yes, with the Xbox One we will have a hard time retaining the current games being made, which is very sad, but the old consoles aren't going anywhere. I do plan on buying a bunch of retro/classic games at some point but now isn't the time for me.
Click to expand...

Maybe not anytime soon. But I might as well buy stuff now rather than wait later. I think some of the rarer or more popular games will only go up in price as time goes on.
 
ZealousD said:
Sometimes older kids really dig retro stuff. I have a younger cousin who's maybe 17-18 or so, and he flipped the fuck out when my Dad showed him vinyl records.
Click to expand...

You are right sometimes it grabs hold but I remember as a kid my dad taking me to a local store that had the old vibrating table football game and he was so excited. All I wanted to do is go home and play Tecmo Super Bowl.

I showed my original Gameboy to my girlfriends nephews and they didnt want to touch it because it had no color.
 
ZealousD said:
Sometimes older kids really dig retro stuff. I have a younger cousin who's maybe 17-18 or so, and he flipped the fuck out when my Dad showed him vinyl records.
Click to expand...

Why do they like retro things, specifically in that instance? Do they value antiques over similar newer objects because of historicity? Is an outside influence attempting to take advantage of irrational behavior in order to gain advantage of some sort (profit, control, etc), and you simply witnessed a reaction stemming from that influence?
 
Sorian said:
Call me out all you'd like, video games are no different than any other media. Books and movies will continue to have a physical presence and so will video games.
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I like how you left music off that list
 
Go on a portables frenzy. I always find old tech you can hold in your hands especially satisfying. Older consoles are good for keeping your CRT relevant, though.
 
The funny thing is that recent events in the gaming world has caused the value of older games to skyrocket and I've managed to make a lot of money selling my older stuff.

Selling Suikoden 2 alone paid off a nice chunk of my 3DS!
 
Mr.Wreckless said:
You are right sometimes it grabs hold but I remember as a kid my dad taking me to a local store that had the old vibrating table football game and he was so excited. All I wanted to do is go home and play Tecmo Super Bowl.

I showed my original Gameboy to my girlfriends nephews and they didnt want to touch it because it had no color.
Click to expand...

The idea isn't to give them the system and tell them to go to town. Sometimes I see those threads about new parents wanting to give their kids their old systems so they get the same experience they did. I always feel like people that think that way are trying to re-experience their childhood via proxy and are ultimately just denying their kids the cool new stuff.

No, it's more like a history piece then anything. Just kind of show them how the old stuff worked. Maybe they'll see a cartridge and laugh. That's fine, whatever. But hey, Mario's probably going to stick around for a long while, right? My kids might actually be interested in the first Mario game.
 
I'm warning you now OP. When you get bit by the Collector's Bug, it begins as a fun and exciting hobby. It eventually wears off and you realize that your spare room looks like the final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. You will then be surrounded by mostly worthless gamea that you'll probably never play.

Although, it's fun getting there.
 
I started what will hopefully flourish into a large NES collection with a copy of Ducktales found in my girlfriend's attic.
There's apparently a NES console up there too, so I just gotta buy more games. Not really sure which ones i'm going to get though.

I really want a copy of Metal Storm because it's one of my favourite NES games. But goddamn it's pricey.
 
I did this last year mostly focusing on older fighting games. I haven't played them much since getting them; but its nice to be able to pull them out whenever I want.
 
ZealousD said:
No, it's more like a history piece then anything. Just kind of show them how the old stuff worked. Maybe they'll see a cartridge and laugh. That's fine, whatever. But hey, Mario's probably going to stick around for a long while, right? My kids might actually be interested in the first Mario game.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure the latter follows the former. If you want the hardware around as a discussion piece, sure. But for the first "mario" (by which I assume you either mean the arcade version of Donkey Kong or Mario Bros.) any number of emulators will exist to allow them to play that on a device of their choosing.
 
ZealousD said:
The idea isn't to give them the system and tell them to go to town. Sometimes I see those threads about new parents wanting to give their kids their old systems so they get the same experience they did. I always feel like people that think that way are trying to re-experience their childhood via proxy and are ultimately just denying their kids the cool new stuff.

No, it's more like a history piece then anything. Just kind of show them how the old stuff worked. Maybe they'll see a cartridge and laugh. That's fine, whatever. But hey, Mario's probably going to stick around for a long while, right? My kids might actually be interested in the first Mario game.
Click to expand...

Seems like a lot of money to spend just to get a smile or laugh out of people 40 years from now.

I'd buy the stuff if I was actually interested in playing with it not in the hopes of getting a reaction 40 years from now. How disappointed would you be if you pulled that stuff out and the kids already played the games emulated on a new piece of hardware?
 
Mr.Wreckless said:
You think kids today have interest in a Colecovision or Atari 2600? Your grand kids will feel like that about the Genesis and SNES you pull out.
Click to expand...
Actually I know a lot of teenagers who collect SNES games and stuff. Nerd teenagers, but you know how it goes.

It's just like old Marvel comics or old Disney movies. Sure there might be a kind of kid who is like "nope", but some kids will get deep into the trivia and enjoyment of old stuff.

I was carrying a boxed Famicom home the other day, and this kid I met, who is about 8 and wearing a Mario hat, started freaking out over it.
 
entrement said:
No. I hyped about new games more than ever. Retro stuff is nice but I want new experiences.
Click to expand...

interestingly, new experiences are pretty much what this is all about, to me.

i never had a saturn, so i missed out on the bigger stuff like panzer saga, burning force etc but there's so many SHMUPs, so many unique things i never got to try out, like Kenji Eno's works...these are sadly stuck on that system & with Eno gone, i wouldn't get a chance to experience them otherwise.

and that's just one system. everyone knows the DC had mad unique titles, but even some import stuff we missed is great - and i can play it looking nice on upscaled VGA. i just picked up a repro cart of Sweet Home, one of the earliest (and most interesting looking) survival horrors, for the NES...i'm saving that one for halloween!

my point is, i now get why music/movie/lit etc guys go digging through the crates. the same way i'd never say we can't/won't see unique experiences in the coming gen (and i look forward to them too), i think it's foolish to look back on decades of stuff and pretend there's no gems to be found.

Carnby said:
I'm warning you now OP. When you get bit by the Collector's Bug, it begins as a fun and exciting hobby. It eventually wears off and you realize that your spare room looks like the final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. You will then be surrounded by mostly worthless gamea that you'll probably never play.

Although, it's fun getting there.
Click to expand...

yeah, i can kinda see this coming so, as with what i just said above this, i try to keep it to stuff i intend to play or re-experience. i'm trying to avoid that collector's mentality where you buy Citizen Kane cause it's heralded but you can't see yourself ever wanting to watch it, for instance. the guys on other forums i see who collect unopened stuff, or go for full libraries..more power to them, but yeah, i can't see going that far down, heh.

i'm trying to put the brakes on it for the moment while i pay stuff off and start working my way through more of what i've put together - i still keep an eye on craigslist for rare systems i dont have at a good price, but i'm gonna work on my backlog before going after more software, for example.
 
RedNumberFive said:
For the last 10-15 years, every day has been a retro spending spree.

Second hand stores
Thrift shops
Flea markets
Garage sales

I love the thrill of the hunt.
Click to expand...

I just met a guy from CL who said he had a bag of NES games he'd sell me for $20. Drove an hour, got it, saw a couple Mega Man 2's and a Super C on top and knew it was worth what I paid. Kept digging and had Ninja Gaiden 3 and Duck Tales 2.

The hunt is awesome.
 
I'm always looking on eBay and other sites for NES and SNES games, I love it all. In fact, apart from the 3DS, 99% of the games I look for and buy and for retro systems.

Really need to start doing some offline game hunting though. I feel like I'm missing a lot.
 
Devilgunman said:
Last year 200 millions music cd were sold in US alone (according to Pachter). It's sure drastically decrease since music went digital but there are still a lot of people who care about physical media.
Click to expand...

Oh I know, Im one of them lol-- bought 2 new physical CDs last month. It's just funny that he forgot to mention physical music when that's been the mainstream consumer entertainment form most affected by digitization. You could say it shows just how much digital can do to push physical out of the market and out of people's minds. That's all I meant
 
I'm the opposite.

I actually love the digital future. Plenty of great titles released. Not even remotely everything but a good amount in which I get a few retro titles digitally every month. Just in the last two weeks I've gotten Altered Beast, the two Oracle Zeldas, the PSN Umihare Kawase. Most presented better than they ever were on original hardware.

I am going back to get a Saturn catalog since it is really the only system I missed. Plenty of disposable income but I'm not too keen on collecting large amounts...specifically cartridges. I've already been through that many times since the eighties.

So, currently I'm basically rebuying some of my favored systems and choice titles I like to see them all prettified in RGB and on nice displays. The one exception is shmups since I chose that genre to concentrate on. I'll probably collect shumps for all systems starting with the 16-bit generation. I really can't stomach much of the 8-bit gaming stuff.
 
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