Jesus... Anyone notice the increase in game prices lately?

Rev1 · Postby **Rev1** » March 16th, 2013, 11:20 pm

So I am always looking at game prices and looking for solid deals. I have been working on my Saturn collection for a while now and have about 95% of every recognizable (good) US title now... But I was looking at some of the games I got only a year ago and it is insane. Saturn games have been raising like crazy over the last couple of years. I got Panzer Dragoon Saga for $250 a while ago which was insane but now it is reaching close to $400 for a complete copy. Other notable Sega Saturn games have risen drastically over the last year or so. It's not just Saturn games either (although finding a complete copy in good condition is probably the biggest factor for the raising prices for Saturn games), some PS1 titles have gone through the roof as well... The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, which 2 years ago was no more then $40 is now close to $200 complete. And yes, eBay has inflation up the ass but it's not just there. Many different places are now keeping up with these inflated prices. Pretty soon a solid collection of Saturn titles could very well cost you a body part to own (if they don't already). I'm kind of glad I picked up the titles when I did because a lot of the games have nearly doubled in price in the last year. Sheesh... I'm wondering if the used market might implode on itself? I mean it has to at some point, markets tend to run in waves.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » March 17th, 2013, 10:59 am

It's not just the Saturn - I think prices across the board have skyrocketed. I've especially noticed SNES games regularly run over $100 for the cartridge only!

darkrage61 · Postby **darkrage61** » March 17th, 2013, 3:34 pm

Especially Earthbound, the price for that is ridiculous.

Rev1 · Postby **Rev1** » March 17th, 2013, 6:21 pm

Yeah, I picked up a copy of Earthbound when it was around $60 and thought I was forking out a lot of money. A loose copy is now around $200 which is way more then it should be worth. It isn't like Hagane which had a very limited release. Earthbound's price is almost entirely due to its cult status.

Oltobaz1 · Postby **Oltobaz1** » March 17th, 2013, 6:50 pm

I own the big box edition someone gave me for free, back in the 90's. Can't believe how much this is these days!

darkrage61 · Postby **darkrage61** » March 17th, 2013, 7:00 pm

I've also noticed this happening on some DVDs I had in my "save for later" list on Amazon, some went from 10$ to over 100$.

goldenband1 · Postby **goldenband1** » March 17th, 2013, 8:24 pm

Some folks have speculated that we're due for a crash like the one that nailed the comic book market in 1993. The circumstances are different in the vintage gaming market, of course, but it wouldn't surprise me if prices took a nosedive within the next 2-3 years. It depends on the economy, I suppose. But yes, prices on many systems have gone totally nuts, and most systems' rarest games have gone nuts even if the rest of their library hasn't.

Honestly, I think one of the biggest factors is Ebay's free listings policy that allows sellers to put up games at insane prices without having to pay a fee on their asking price. When prices get pushed up, everyone seemingly wins: Ebay gets their fees; resellers make more money and can make a living from relentlessly scrounging at yard sales and flea markets; collectors feel important and like they're making an "investment"; the press benefits from playing up the hype...

...everyone, that is, except gamers on a budget.

And casual collectors, too -- the kind of people who'd like to have a nice library of games without paying retail prices for each title (or higher). But hey, at least we've got flashcarts. I'm just glad most Genesis games are still cheap!

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » March 17th, 2013, 9:11 pm

When did this Ebay free listing policy go into effect? I wouldn't be surprised if that's causing the inflation.

I suspect the prices will moderate over time. Some buyers may see the rapidly increasing prices and mistakenly think "I better buy now before it gets even further out of reach". It's like the housing market of a few years back - people were frantically buying overpriced houses.

starblazers1 · Postby **starblazers1** » March 17th, 2013, 9:16 pm

The time to get a good collection of games from e-bay was about ten years ago. I remember getting some good deals back then. Now the prices are very high! I was going to get a Fair Child Channel F system a while back, but I put it off. Now they are $250 to $500.

Rev1 · Postby **Rev1** » March 17th, 2013, 9:35 pm

I think the prices have a lot to do with eBay despite the inflation not being exclusive to eBay. I feel like people use eBay to base the prices for their games and since eBay prices have been going up, everything else has as well... I guess this could be compared with the housing market but a lot of the people buying these games aren't looking to resell and fix up their games, they are looking to collect a finite amount of games. So yes, I think the prices will definitely fluctuate over time but I don't see the used game market completely crashing either. Hopefully it levels off a bit though, there is no doubt that the games are being sold for way more then their actual value.