Random Gaming Thoughts

[nightrnr]

Glad to see someone else has the WonderSwan Color version.
Do try it on PSP someday. Lots of fun. Any FF remake will be fine with me as long as it's not in the style of Final Fantasy XIII or something.

Seriously, I would play a port on the original Game Boy over the overhauled PSP version. Actually, I used to wish for that, before better handhelds came along and could emulate.
But who knows, maybe I'll buy a lot that happens to have the PSP game included and then I might not be able to help myself .

Wandered into one outpost of the local gaming store (multiple locations, one local chain) today, hunting for something to pad out my Secret Santa gift a little, and was shocked to see a sign by their NES games:

"Sports & Common Games $5"

SERIOUSLY? Sports games are commanding $5 now?!? I used to buy commons for $1 or less! Ugh, this hobby is getting expensive.

Crazy!
Yeah, the last sports game I think I bought was NBA Jam and Super Tecmo Bowl for SNES for $1 each (pawn shop price, but still).
May have gotten a few Genesis ones in a lot as well since then.

[dsheinem]

Do people really think a $5 baseline price for an NES cart at retail is insane? Do you really expect a small store owner to look up which ones are worth $2, $3, $4, $5, $6 etc.? It's not worth their time probably...it also isn't the worst thing to spend a bit more than eBay prices to support a store that carries them at all.

[nightrnr]

I'm just talking about sports games in general. A store tends to accumulate a lot of Sports titles that nobody seems to want or shop for. It's a supply demand thing; high supply, low demand. In this market, the only sensible thing to do is to mark them down especially low (and of course, buy even lower if they choose to continue to carry them).

If I had a store, I might have them at a normal price for the 1st couple weeks they were in, and then clearance price 'em.

[Luke]

Do people really think a $5 baseline price for an NES cart at retail is insane?

Nope.

[emwearz]

I don't know the state of the US Postal services, but when you factor in shipping, wouldn't $5 be pretty much cheaper than most eBay prices?

[dsheinem]

I don't know the state of the US Postal services, but when you factor in shipping, wouldn't $5 be pretty much cheaper than most eBay prices?

Yup. $5 for a sports title isn't unreasonable. Stores will lower the price if A) they can't sell them at all ever to anyone and/or B) they need the room for something else. Otherwise, it may as well sit at $5.

[darsparx]

I think I just became victim of a game called "Timberman"...honestly this could possibly be a next "flappy bird"(even though this one is free but fun as heck for some odd reason even though I can't make it past 73)

[nightrnr]

I don't know the state of the US Postal services, but when you factor in shipping, wouldn't $5 be pretty much cheaper than most eBay prices?

True and a good point. And if someone is looking for something specific, that price point makes sense, rather than scouring game shops and Goodwill just to possibly save a measly couple bucks.
Conversely, shipping cost is mitigated when you buy in bundles, which would probably benefit a lot of buyers and sellers in this case.

Value really is only determined by what people are willing to pay though. If there's no interest at a given price for an extended period of time, well value has a way of going down.

Personally, I think $2-$3 is about right for loose and unloved sports games out in the wild. I could see a lot of retrogamers picking them up on a whim at that price point when they would otherwise pass them by like practically everyone else.

[KalessinDB]

I don't think $5 baseline is insane by any chance. Matter of fact, I have told multiple people who I know like to go to garage sales "I will rebuy literally any game you find for $5 or less". It's just the sports games truly amaze me, as I remember buying them at literally $1 or less, not even a decade ago. Yes, inflation, but not 500%+ inflation since then.

But I suppose like you say, as long as they don't need more room for other games, it's not hurting the store to have them laying there.

[TSTR]

I feel like NES sports games would have more of a curio factor than some random iteration of Madden or whatnot.