Have you given up on buying SNES?/Cheap SFC recommendations

[Betagam7]

I think there might be some settling at some point, as the generation that actually cared about the SNES loses interest (get on that N64/PS1 train now, folks!), but I don't know if it will ever be "reasonable". Of course, that's got all sorts of connotations. I mean, most of the big-name Nintendo releases are averaging around $20-30, which is not that awful. I mean, for crying out loud, you can still get a copy of Yoshi's Island for around $30, and it's definitely the best way to legitimately enjoy that game.

We are way beyond the "generation that actually cared" about the SNES now though. We've already reached the age where kids who grew up with the N64 are in that disposable income nostalgia bracket yet the price hikes don't seem anywhere as high as with what happened to the SNES. I think we have to point the finger at more than just nostalgia in the SNES's case as many of the people collecting for it and paying those prices weren't even around when it was originally out...yet it's an accessible retro console for them as it's games have aged so well and it has...dare I say it, hipster cred.

It's also interesting to look at current listings on ebay vs completed listings. You'll see absurd prices from the get go on the former...not so much on the latter.
I'd love to know the demographic of people paying those prices in today's market but I highly suspect it isn't folks who were around for the SNES first time around.

[Gunstar Green]

I've "given up" on SNES games in the sense that I own the ones I care enough to own.

However I think if I were to get into collecting today I wouldn't even attempt to do SNES games.

[Jmustang1968]

I have most of the SNES games that I want to own. However, there are still some cardboard and manual pieces I would like to still acquire, or condition upgrades to some of the ones I already own.

[ExedExes]

I still collect SNES, but not on eBay anymore as the prices have gotten out of hand there. I've had better luck getting fair prices (at or below VGPC averages) at my flea markets and local stores, but I'll NEVER pay exorbitant prices for SNES games I know I can find elsewhere for cheaper. That's just encouraging the price gougers. I got a lot of good stuff I've been looking for this year, Super Smash TV, Stunt Race FX, Magical Quest w/ Mickey Mouse, Cybernator, Animaniacs, and more at good prices.

Oh, and Nintendo handhelds are feeling it too. Game Boy average prices are up, and Game Boy Color prices are rising. GBA prices have started to rise too. But if you're into Nintendo DS games, now is the time to buy.

I agree with DS collecting being hot right now, that's my #1 priority now. Local and online, prices are still very reasonable and even cheaper than you may expect for DS games. I've had my DS for a year and I have 20 games for it now, and I paid less than $100 for all of them, even maybe just $70-$80. I got Nanostray for 99 cents, a complete Mario Kart DS for $10, and I don't think I paid more than $15 for anything there yet. Fortunately my GBA collection is near complete, but I haven't felt any large increases on that front there yet.

[Exhuminator]

as it's games have aged so well and it has...dare I say it, hipster cred

Shhh! Quiet you! Don't tell them the truth.

[Gunstar Green]

I agree with DS collecting being hot right now, that's my #1 priority now. Local and online, prices are still very reasonable and even cheaper than you may expect for DS games. I've had my DS for a year and I have 20 games for it now, and I paid less than $100 for all of them, even maybe just $70-$80. I got Nanostray for 99 cents, a complete Mario Kart DS for $10, and I don't think I paid more than $15 for anything there yet. Fortunately my GBA collection is near complete, but I haven't felt any large increases on that front there yet.

A lot of DS prices have gotten jacked up by the immense amount of mass produced bootlegs out there. Getting certain uncommon games for DS is like walking a minefield of fakes.

[ExedExes]

This is why I stay a generation behind. Sweet sweet prices.

That's me and a lot of other people here

[Betagam7]

I still collect SNES, but not on eBay anymore as the prices have gotten out of hand there. I've had better luck getting fair prices (at or below VGPC averages) at my flea markets and local stores, but I'll NEVER pay exorbitant prices for SNES games I know I can find elsewhere for cheaper. That's just encouraging the price gougers. I got a lot of good stuff I've been looking for this year, Super Smash TV, Stunt Race FX, Magical Quest w/ Mickey Mouse, Cybernator, Animaniacs, and more at good prices.

Oh, and Nintendo handhelds are feeling it too. Game Boy average prices are up, and Game Boy Color prices are rising. GBA prices have started to rise too. But if you're into Nintendo DS games, now is the time to buy.

I agree with DS collecting being hot right now, that's my #1 priority now. Local and online, prices are still very reasonable and even cheaper than you may expect for DS games. I've had my DS for a year and I have 20 games for it now, and I paid less than $100 for all of them, even maybe just $70-$80. I got Nanostray for 99 cents, a complete Mario Kart DS for $10, and I don't think I paid more than $15 for anything there yet. Fortunately my GBA collection is near complete, but I haven't felt any large increases on that front there yet.

Curious. Thanks to the fact that even kids mothers had found out about R4 cards, DS games were being treat as something akin to VHS videos by all the stores I was in the last time I was in the UK (admittedly a couple of years ago).
I even recall one mother shouting loudly about R4's in a major retailer urging other customers not to buy the games as "you can just get them for free" and being vaguely annoyed that the staff did nothing to dissuade this even when she began claiming that "they'll probably sell you one under the counter!"

Games were generally selling second hand in those stores for around £1-3. I picked up about ten titles despite owning an R4 card myself just out of surprise at how low they had fallen.

[Exhuminator]

That's me and a lot of other people here

Heh, yeah. This is the only gaming forum I visit where I'll talk excitedly about really old games. To be fair, a lot of the really old games I get excited about, none of you have played yet either, so it's still new discoveries all around.

[Sarge]

We are way beyond the "generation that actually cared" about the SNES now though. We've already reached the age where kids who grew up with the N64 are in that disposable income nostalgia bracket yet the price hikes don't seem anywhere as high as with what happened to the SNES. I think we have to point the finger at more than just nostalgia in the SNES's case as many of the people collecting for it and paying those prices weren't even around when it was originally out...yet it's an accessible retro console for them as it's games have aged so well and it has...dare I say it, hipster cred.

It's also interesting to look at current listings on ebay vs completed listings. You'll see absurd prices from the get go on the former...not so much on the latter.
I'd love to know the demographic of people paying those prices in today's market but I highly suspect it isn't folks who were around for the SNES first time around.

I'm not so sure of that. If it's anything like me, it's just getting to the point where us middle-thirty-somethings are pretty stable in our jobs, and have the money to blow on this stuff. That, and even when you have folks dropping off, the supply is dropping off with them, so... well, I dunno. I wish there were better surveys on this kind of stuff.

Plus, I wonder how many parents have snagged stuff on SNES for their kids to experience?

Still, maybe it's a little "hipster" as well. Or the proliferation of YouTube shows. It could be that a lot of the SNES library now feels like amped-up indie games. It's pretty clear the SNES still has some serious name cachet even now, regardless of who is buying.