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[Ozigizo]

I think that the fact that "Terranigma Reproduction" was listed in this 2009 list of the rarest Super Nintendo games is fucking outrageously stupid for many reasons that you can probably guess.

"The reproductions are still being sold brand new for $60 by the original reproducer, but used copies continue to sell for $160-170 on eBay because sellers market them as rare video games."

Haha, what the hell. That more comes off as taking advantage of people's ignorance then some sort of "collectors value."

 

[Tempy]

Please no.

People aren't killing rare NES/SNES games to make repros. That makes no sense financially or collector-wise.

Physical carts are made for:

1) Homebrew
2) Games which never came out in your region (eg Terranigma, fan-translated patched games)
3) Games that are too rare and expensive (mostly sold as repros and shouldn't cost more than $30-$50; however some scammers try to sell these as originals; eg Earthbound)

Some games are too hard to make repros of because they require specific boards from other rare games, or need to be hacked (eg Holy Diver)

 

[Tempy]

"The reproductions are still being sold brand new for $60 by the original reproducer, but used copies continue to sell for $160-170 on eBay because sellers market them as rare video games."

Haha, what the hell. That more comes off as taking advantage of people's ignorance then some sort of "collectors value."

Yeah, it's silly, since you can just make another repro just like that- and people are still making them. Labeling a repro as "RARE" in an auction is deceptive/misrepresentative and you should never buy from these sellers.

 

[s_mirage]

So... You're entitled to play these games despite not being willing to pay for the authentic item? How is that any different than ripping off any other piece of art? I'm sorry, but your argument just sounds like self entitled whining to me. Just because something exists doesn't mean you're entitled to it. Ripping off other people's property just because you're jealous that they have it and therefor you don't get to play it is kind of sad. To be fair, I'm not a collector, but this mentality is just disheartening to me.

Hang on, isn't your argument here somewhat hypocritical? You're complaining about someone feeling entitled to play something, yet your previous post, and I suspect the basis behind your argument in this one, seems to be an argument that collectors are entitled to have the value of their collections protected.

Yes, you can argue that people aren't entitled to play everything, but I would argue that keeping a game alive has more moral strength than letting it vanish with only a few people making silly money out of it. The creators get nothing either way.

 

[Johnny]

No one should really be profiting off of reproductions, without the consent of the rightsholder. Passing them off as genuine articles is shittier yet.

Having said that, some reproductions are pretty darn neat, and I could give two shits about people repurposing old hardware if everything's above board. It's their property to do with as they like, within the law.

On a related note. How awesome would it be to see newly released SNES games and the like? I'm sure plenty of people would pay $60 for an EarthBound reprint. There has to be a market there.

 

[takoyaki]

Thanks for pointing this out, I'm a collector myself and I own about 15 SNES repros.

Like you said, repros probably won't be a big game-changer for the console market. There are a lot of possible carts that can be used for making a repro of another game. Also, repros are very easy to spot in most cases.

The only problem could be those cards that needed special chips on their board (Super FX, etc.). If, for example, Starfox 2 repros get a lot more popular, I can see the prices for Super FX carts rising very quickly.

The arcade situation sounds a lot like people buying up graphics cards for bitcoin mining and people that just want the graphics cards to play games get hit with the "bitcoin tax".

 

[IrishNinja]

The arcade situation sounds a lot like people buying up graphics cards for bitcoin mining and people that just want the graphics cards to play games get hit with the "bitcoin tax".

can those older graphics cards even be used that way? hadn't thought of that.

 

[takoyaki]

can those older graphics cards even be used that way? hadn't thought of that.

I don't think so, at least not effectively. I meant to say that those two situations are kind of comparable. In both cases, the prices are artificially inflated for people that just want to use the arcade boards/graphics cards for playing games, because people are buying them up for other purposes (re-pros, bitcoin mining).

 

[blizzardjesus]

No one will shed a tear over Snes Madden and baseball carts. They might as well be converted into something that people will actually play.

I buy sealed saturn sports games, then swap their cases with ones that are scratched and cracked up. Then trade the storts games in busted cased to a local shop for .15 cents a piece.

The sooner something comes along and devalues Neo-Geo games the better. AES game prices are crazy.

 

[IrishNinja]

The sooner something comes along and devalues Neo-Geo games the better. AES game prices are crazy.

amen to this, Neo Turf Masters in particular, haha

 

[Joe_Incognito]

I'm in favor of repros as long as they are sold as repros. They can be made so cheaply that I'm surprised none of the big companies have jumped the bandwagon.

 

[Brock_Landers]

Perhaps it isn't the result of the repro scene but just in the last three years I've seen huge numbers of games (SNES in particular) explode in value. I suppose it could be totally unrelated.

There is absolutely zero relation.

If anything it would hurt the value of carts. Like for instance people purchasing Earthbound Uncut repros in lieu of the real deal.

 

[Karkador]

Sorry for this tangential question, but what's a good way to sell a lot of retro game stuff? eBay, or is there something better nowadays?

 

[Keirnoth]

I want to get playable carts of old ass games (after getting a used NES and SNES). How can I go about getting actual cartridges without getting reamed by the crazy costs of some of these games?

I personally just want to get old stuff so I can play them, and not to "collect' them, what stuff should I look out for if I choose to go the eBay route?

 

[BinaryPork2737]

Sorry for this tangential question, but what's a good way to sell a lot of retro game stuff? eBay, or is there something better nowadays?

I would recommend eBay, Craig's List, and/or the Buy/Sell/Trade thread.

 

[KojiKnight]

Sorry for this tangential question, but what's a good way to sell a lot of retro game stuff? eBay, or is there something better nowadays?

If you're willing to put in the time, I've resold quite a bit of stuff on Amazon. Deposits right into my bank so I don't have to worry about paypal and ebay both middle manning me (once is enough ty). If you're games are in better condition, you can often get more with a good description on amazon than you can on ebay.

 

[Karkador]

If you're willing to put in the time, I've resold quite a bit of stuff on Amazon. Deposits right into my bank so I don't have to worry about paypal and ebay both middle manning me (once is enough ty). If you're games are in better condition, you can often get more with a good description on amazon than you can on ebay.

I've sold a few things on Amazon with some success (Steel Battalion, Tron Bonne, MML2), but it's annoying that they force you to charge 3.99 for shipping for anything in the videogame category, no matter how big/stupid it is. 3.99 shipping for Steel Batallion......:/

 

[Nostremitus]

and there's the entitlement trope too, you're trying way too hard here.

let's flip your warped perspective: your precious collector community buys expensive, likely marked-up items second-hand, giving no actual money to the creators. why exactly is this useless lot entitled to tell me what to do with items ive purchased? a minute ago, you were so concerned with the law, but not the first sale doctrine, clearly.

i didn't once tell anyone to treat my medium of art like a little stock market, why then should i worry about "devaluing" their investment?
I'm not envious of the neurotic, i pity them. and i certainly don't base my decisions around their pathetic whims.

If I had enough money I would hunt down the licensing and reprint every rare title ever, one by one, to fuck with horrible collectors. It would be my mission in life to devalue every single video game.

Oh no, those poor collectors!

I'm also pretty sure that's also not the reason it's illegal and that it entirely has to do with rights.

Hang on, isn't your argument here somewhat hypocritical? You're complaining about someone feeling entitled to play something, yet your previous post, and I suspect the basis behind your argument in this one, seems to be an argument that collectors are entitled to have the value of their collections protected.

Yes, you can argue that people aren't entitled to play everything, but I would argue that keeping a game alive has more moral strength than letting it vanish with only a few people making silly money out of it. The creators get nothing either way.

What are you talking about? It's not a criminal act to devalue the price of second hand goods, just like there is no law against over inflating the price of a second hand item because there happens to be a frothing demand for it.

I have no idea what I was talking about. I really should stay away from Neogaf when drinking.

Not sure why my tongue-in-cheek occupational description was posted, though... That was kind of weird and uncalled for. (and to be honest, I'd forgotten that I'd changed it to that...)

I have no idea why I suddenly seemed to care so much about something that has nothing to do with me... OP just struck a drunk nerve or something.

Anyway, I apologize for my ramblings. It does suck that some legitimately good games are being ruined, though.

 

[thetrin]

This was becoming an issue on neo-geo.com at one point, and it stirred up tons of drama.

People got sued. Permabans were handed out.

 

[Seik]

I'm all for repros, as long as it's games that don't exist in our lands and languages.

Secret of Mana 2 and Mother 3 are good examples.

 

[IrishNinja]

I want to get playable carts of old ass games (after getting a used NES and SNES). How can I go about getting actual cartridges without getting reamed by the crazy costs of some of these games?

I personally just want to get old stuff so I can play them, and not to "collect' them, what stuff should I look out for if I choose to go the eBay route?

forum listings like our GAF buy/sell thread are excellent, your local craigslist postings might pan out too

This was becoming an issue on neo-geo.com at one point, and it stirred up tons of drama.

People got sued. Permabans were handed out.

wish idve seen this - was the debate about clearly marked AES repros? i guess i understand there's a much smaller pool there. what were the specifics?

I'm all for repros, as long as it's games that don't exist in our lands and languages.

Secret of Mana 2 and Mother 3 are good examples.

those are 2 of mine! great games.