Classic games economics and ethics

[harper]

I'm late to the discussion but holy cow I just realized there are so many reproduction carts on eBay that could pass for the real thing and in some cases it looks like they don't even specify that it's a reproduction but you can tell by the fact that it's from China or costs a lot less than a legitimate copy. I'm not going to get into the ethics of it because I personally don't really care but I do think it's shady and can understand why collectors would feel some type of way about it devaluing, or at the very least making a mockery of their legitimate collection.

[mas]

I'm already starting to sell and actually and honestly it feels good. It sucks it's all going to living expenses but whatever.
I'm really thinking its getting to the peak of the prices to where people are going to just pop and the bubbles are going to burst and I'm wondering if anyone can foresee another crash coming on games again. Nothing like the 83 crash but a crash where people are going to stop paying crazy prices on games

[Anayo]

I'm already starting to sell and actually and honestly it feels good. It sucks it's all going to living expenses but whatever.
I'm really thinking its getting to the peak of the prices to where people are going to just pop and the bubbles are going to burst and I'm wondering if anyone can foresee another crash coming on games again. Nothing like the 83 crash but a crash where people are going to stop paying crazy prices on games

If that happens, I welcome it. That means more games for me.

[Erik_Twice]

There's more to markets than "bubbles" and "crashes".

There's no reason for game prices to crash. Demand is not going down in the foreseeable future, increased supply is impossible and prices are very well in accordance with the impossible to gauge "intrinsic value" of the games.

I think people fall in the "Being stuck in traffic" fallacy:

- Everyone wants to buy games (They think they are valuable)
- Everyone thinks they should be cheaper (They do not think they are valuable)

That is, if you guys don't think the prices are fair, you can not buy the games and then prices will get better for me

[Betagam7]

I'm already starting to sell and actually and honestly it feels good. It sucks it's all going to living expenses but whatever.
I'm really thinking its getting to the peak of the prices to where people are going to just pop and the bubbles are going to burst and I'm wondering if anyone can foresee another crash coming on games again. Nothing like the 83 crash but a crash where people are going to stop paying crazy prices on games

In all but a minority of cases, I'd imagine that the shelf life (no pun intended) of "Game Rooms" and the like will be a short one.

I know that there are many happily married, financially successful folk who have them, especially the enormous ones you see on Youtube but I do believe they are the minority.

You don't have to go full on Luke Morse for your circumstances to change and maintaining something like that really does take more time, energy and stability than most people have in the world we live in.

[MrPopo]

I'm already starting to sell and actually and honestly it feels good. It sucks it's all going to living expenses but whatever.
I'm really thinking its getting to the peak of the prices to where people are going to just pop and the bubbles are going to burst and I'm wondering if anyone can foresee another crash coming on games again. Nothing like the 83 crash but a crash where people are going to stop paying crazy prices on games

The crash of 83 was due to market oversaturation at the retail level. That's a completely separate set of market dynamics from the secondary market for out of print games. At this point video games are a part of the culture, same as TV, film, and books, so we won't see a retail crash like 83. The worst we potentially might see would be a collapse in the triple A market, except we've seen the major studios have managed to have some foresight and realize that every game needing to be a runaway success to justify the budget is not a tenable business model. The indie market has some saturation problems, but since that's a digital market they don't have the same pressures that brick and mortar has. Steam doesn't spend much time curating because they don't need to; there is almost no opportunity cost for them to host a bunch of mediocre indie games and get their cut off of whatever sells.

[Anayo]

I'm already starting to sell and actually and honestly it feels good. It sucks it's all going to living expenses but whatever.
I'm really thinking its getting to the peak of the prices to where people are going to just pop and the bubbles are going to burst and I'm wondering if anyone can foresee another crash coming on games again. Nothing like the 83 crash but a crash where people are going to stop paying crazy prices on games

The crash of 83 was due to market oversaturation at the retail level. That's a completely separate set of market dynamics from the secondary market for out of print games. At this point video games are a part of the culture, same as TV, film, and books, so we won't see a retail crash like 83. The worst we potentially might see would be a collapse in the triple A market, except we've seen the major studios have managed to have some foresight and realize that every game needing to be a runaway success to justify the budget is not a tenable business model. The indie market has some saturation problems, but since that's a digital market they don't have the same pressures that brick and mortar has. Steam doesn't spend much time curating because they don't need to; there is almost no opportunity cost for them to host a bunch of mediocre indie games and get their cut off of whatever sells.

I agree that the crash of '83 is a flawed analogy. But it's still interesting to ask whether this retro gaming boom we're seeing today will go on forever and ever.

[MrPopo]

I could see demand for something like a random SNES game going down as the age bracket shifts and people's "childhood" console becomes something newer, but I think the supply is just going to keep dwindling (as people get a game for their collection or toss out something they don't need anymore without reselling), so I don't see the prices ever going back to the "good old days".

[Jmustang1968]

I could see demand for something like a random SNES game going down as the age bracket shifts and people's "childhood" console becomes something newer, but I think the supply is just going to keep dwindling (as people get a game for their collection or toss out something they don't need anymore without reselling), so I don't see the prices ever going back to the "good old days".

Or don't forget stuff breaking or wearing out

[Sarge]

No kidding. I've got several consoles that I need to repair. My childhood NES has started to exhibit issues on the composite output, probably needs a recap. My 3DO has the same issue with audio and needs a recap. My Sega CD blew a fuse long ago that I needed to replace, and the same one occasionally exhibits issues with the CD drive, doing a gear grind on seeks. I've got a Genesis with an audio crackle that a recap didn't fix, so I'm suspecting issues with the sound chip or amplifier, and the beat goes on. This stuff is going to start failing, and it's going to take folks that know what they're doing to get them running again... assuming an owner doesn't just throw it out. I sure hope not.

Unless it's, like, on my doorstep. Then that could work.