Justin Gifford: "Although there's nothing wrong with being a fan of RPGs, it's still embarrassing to admit that the ones that I love and stand out in my memories are the rushed, the mediocre and the also-rans, but it's part of what made me the gamer I am today."
Over the course of the year video game prices have gone through the roof. Nintendo 64 has been hit particularly hard with consoles, games, and accessories all seeing a massive spike in value. This article takes a close look at just what’s happening there.
Depends on the game how popular it is, how good it is, how much demand there is for that game, and how rare that game is also. That goes for any system not just N64 whether the Atari 2600, a Commodore 64, to a PS3.
It's a bit more than just supply and demand. Just about all retro prices have been on a steady increase consistently over the years because of S&D, especially the lower selling systems and titles, but the big jumps lately are more interesting.
I'd group N64 and GCN in the same categories here, and to a lesser extent, Dreamcast and OG Xbox, too.
Good example of the insanity: Pokemon Gale of Darkness on GC. 2015/16, I would find them pretty regularly. CIB prices were $30-40 back then. So if I found one for $5, $10, $15, it was a good deal. Knowing Pokemon always increases a bit in price, I held onto them to use for trades later. Pre-covid, prices had climbed to maybe $50-60. 1 year later, you can get $200 for a complete copy.
The biggest factor(s) have been the pandemic and age of collectors.
Lockdowns and social distancing gave people a reason to stay home. N64 and GCN have a high number of quality, iconic local MP games too. That's always driven up prices a bit compared to some other systems.
Couple this with the age of these systems and the age of its fans though. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
For someone around 30 yo, the N64 may have been their first system. 25 yo? GCN may bring back a lot of memories as their first experience.
So when millions of 25-34 yos are stuck at home, have more "free" time, and feel that nostalgia pull, it's going to lead to a interesting retro market.
I'm not complaining, but I feel for those who just want to play some of these games. Dolphin runs very well on an Nvidia Shield if you're curious...
It's never been people at home during the pandemic driving the prices up. No one out of a job is going to pay a few hundred dollars for a copy of kuon. I believe company's like limited run and super rare games sparked the flame that later turned into an all out wildfire when it caught high end collectors eyes that those games were high in value and could be flipped for even more money resold as is or graded and sold. Think about it collectors camped on those sites and the games would be sold out on the first day. 30 dollars a pip for regular about 80 to 130 for limited editions. Later those games would pop up on eBay for twice as much. Once it proved lucrative they thought why stop there let's see what other games are rare or just not so common that people are willing to pay top dollar for. Let's check ps1,ps2,GameCube, n64,etc etc yeah looks good sealed copy of silent hill 3 people are paying 300 for it ill get it have it graded and sell for 1,000. He'll why stop at eBay let's really maximize the profit put on auction at the heritage auction site. Super mario nes sold for 650,000. So you see it's high end collectors with deep pockets driving the market. They are done with comics and baseball cards it's all about rare games. Nintendo even cashed in with super mario all stars taking everyone for fools on that game claiming it was limited when you can still buy them at best buy by the lots. Deep pocket profit seeking collectors are driving regular thrift shop collectors out. It's a whole new ballgame now that was developing since before the pandemic hit.
Man Playing the n64 was the most fun I’ve ever had with video games. I remember playing Mario 64 and thinking there’s no way it gets better then this lol.
"As we wait for any news regarding Elden Ring, the anticipation made us look back and discover some of the strangest games made by FromSoftware"
IGN - From King's Field to Dark Souls.
From Software is hard to escape these days. The studio is well-known as the developers of the beloved and challenging Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls, and the upcoming Bloodborne. They’ve elevated From Software from mere cult status to the brink of game-industry stardom, and the developer’s rise did not go unnoticed. Last May, the massive Kadokawa Corporation acquired From as part of their expanding video-game empire.
I know I am going to love Bloodborne but when the trailer hits for Armoured Core VI, I will be punching in my mecha card.
