Increasing retro game prices, when, how and why did this happen?

First I have to credit a friend from another forum for starting this discussion I just thought id bring it here (Going to try and email him and bring him here as well if possible)


.In the past few years Retro Game prices seem to have really been on the increase more than at any other time, Nintendo games in particular are starting to become much more expensive to the point where the games are starting to look like real investments and collectors items.

One question we need to ask before we can do anything about this problem is why is it happening? There must be a good reason why N64 consoles with a few games can sell in an ebay auction for around £50, when not to long ago they were sitting on carboots and websites for a fraction of this price. I don't know about what everyone else thinks but in some ways that seems like way too much, speaking of Nintendo games I find the prices for the zelda games to border a bit on the stupid side, they're not exactly rare, they were printed/made in the millions and yet many of them can easily sell for £20 or more for just the cartridge alone.

Now its not like I don't understand the nature of the market, I have studied economics and business studies so I understand the whole concept of supply and demand.... yes there are lots of copies of Zelda but there are lots of people that want it.

Maybe these prices seem high because people have gotten used to seeing old consoles dumped for very little reward as soon as a new one comes out, and in some ways maybe that is the key to cheap retro collecting, basically go after what is just being dumped now and then hold on to it until it is considered popular again.

Are people so desperate to own a good game that they're willing to turn it into a premium item? I have seen some old games go for absolutly crazy money which considering we are going through what is supposed to be a rough economic climate people seem to be able to spend more recklessly on games than ever. It has been argued by some that the only way you can justify such prices is if you buy a mega expensive game and then sell it back when you finish it but then you are effectively turning places like ebay into an expensive renting system, a renting system where depending on your luck could lead to you making a small profit, breaking even or losing a lot of money. Plus if your a collector of old games and not just someone wanting to play old games then this defeats the whole point.

I think part of the problem is the idea put into everyone's heads now that playing the game isn't enough anymore you have to OWN IT. People are not content owning a game in digital form on something like Virtual Console or Steam, they have to have the really thing so that they can touch it and look at it and "play it properly" (wonder how many people go on VC and download games they already own just for the sake of having another console to play it on?).

One word = Hipsters