Is it getting harder to be a retro gamer?

[J T]

I swear I see fewer and fewer noteworthy used titles in the shops these days, and when I do they cost more than they did even 2 or 3 years ago. I feel like as gaming gets more popular, more people are holding on to the good titles and the secondary market is drying up. Is it just me or are you guys noticing the same thing?

[Curlypaul]

Absolutely, its getting harder and harder to find decent games without going to ebay and paying the premium. Hell, even the charity shops round here have ebay accounts that they sell the old games on. The only ones I see in the shops are the things that didn't sell on ebay

I've recently fired up my Saturn for the first time in a year, went to look for some new games on the net to find that the price of the games has skyrocketed. Pretty upset at that until I noticed that some of the games that I already own had tripled in value, that cheered me up a bit.

I think this is a trend that is going to continue for some time.

[Ivo]

Harder? I really, really don't think so.
There is more information and it is easier to get, and more ways to get and play games.

Pricier? Maybe / probably I guess. But I'm not sure it can keep getting pricier for much longer. It may be a "boom" of retro popularity specifically for the systems you care most about (I'm guessing the 16-bit to 32-bit transition) as the generation which played those as kids now have jobs and can indulge in buying bits of their childhood.

Ivo.

[neilencio]

It's probably just me but it seems like the gaming industry is following in the footsteps of the comic book industry. I remember when the major publishers started saturating the market with titles to take advantage of their newfound popularity, or when they started printing several flashy versions of issues in order to create an artificial market for "rares" and "collectibles.

...and then readers and collectors lapped it up, to the point where there are non-readers who still buy comic books not for reading, but as investments because it may be worth thousands of dollars in a few years (because the issue was featured in TIME magazine? How much is that Death of Superman issue worth nowadays? lol).

[Erik_Twice]

It's easier but more expensive.

But the increase in price is not linear and you can tell it's in very specific titles like RPGs, Megaman and the like and more focused on Nintendo titles that anything. There's many people who aren't big ertrogamers, they just want a bit of what is considered "the best" and have a lot of disponsable income.

[MrNash]

Yes and no. For physical stuff, sure. As time passes these games are getting tougher to track down, and those that have them are starting to realize more so that there's a premium to be paid for them. It's just like a lot of other vintage stuff be it books, records, old toys, etc. It just comes with the territory when you want to collect old things.

On the other hand we did get the virtual console this generation, and other older games have re-emerged in one form or another via XBLA and PSN. Not to mention the rise of GoG on the PC front. So there are avenues to get select classics and still experience them, and I suspect this trend will continue in the years to come as more and more games joining those services' ranks.

People who want to play these retro games for the experience are likely to be pretty alright in the long term I think, so long as places like GoG and the VC continue to grow and evolve. Obscure stuff may take a while to come there if at all, but I'll stay optimistic that they will do well. There certainly seems to be a market for it, and some companies do realize this. As for people who actually want a game to hold in their hands, though, yeah, they may have a more difficult go of things, but like I said, that's the nature of most forms of vintage item collecting, and I don't see it being any different for games.

[Duke.Togo]

Are prices rising? Yes. I think some items are in a price bubble and will fall over time. Such is the nature of collectibles.

Honestly though, almost all retro games cost less than they did when they were released. In many cases, the real version are comparable or cheaper than the downloadable versions. For those that just want to casually play, there is always the E word. Options for retro gaming have never been better IMHO.

[SpaceBooger]

Harder? I really, really don't think so.
There is more information and it is easier to get, and more ways to get and play games.

Pricier? Maybe / probably I guess. But I'm not sure it can keep getting pricier for much longer. It may be a "boom" of retro popularity specifically for the systems you care most about (I'm guessing the 16-bit to 32-bit transition) as the generation which played those as kids now have jobs and can indulge in buying bits of their childhood.

Ivo.

Well said.
I think retro gaming is easier than ever. Now its cool to play collection discs and retro games the mobile platforms. Not to mention downloadable games. Back when most of us started the only way to play retro games was on either retro consoles or emulation with crappy controllers.
Now because of collectors like us these old carts are harder to come by and cost more making it harder to be a collector not gamer.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I'm in the camp of "Not harder but sure as hell more expensive".

I guess that does make it harder for me.

[final fight cd]

Harder? I really, really don't think so.
There is more information and it is easier to get, and more ways to get and play games.

i agree. it isn't like ebay is some website that takes a mastermind to use. it is very easy to make ebay purchases and pretty much any game can be found on ebay. well, any game actually worth playing can pretty much be found on ebay at any time. prices may be an issue. but, if you don't like ebay prices then start emulating. it is easier than ever in my opinion.

and there are plenty of games to go around for everybody.