Video Game Market Bubbles

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LuckyWDFN
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Video Game Market Bubbles

Postby LuckyWDFN » April 7th, 2021, 12:17 pm

I wasn't sure whether to post this in the Silent Hill review thread, start a new thread about the current price of PS1 games, or create a new one on based on the price fluctuations of any or all games.

Disclosure - I'm not a collector, I have a bunch of old systems and I play 'em. I prefer physical media and mostly play games on the systems they were created for.

A few summers ago, I think 2018, I dug my PS1 out of storage and revisited the original Tomb Raider. I had always wanted to play (but never found time for back in the day) Silent Hill. I went to my local used video game store and bought a CIB Green Greatest Hits Label Silent Hill for $35 - which I thought was steep... but I bought it anyway and played it through.

Last week, the same store posted a pic on facebook of their latest haul of trade-ins and I noticed they had a black label Silent Hill CIB they were selling for $200! I head to ebay and they're all selling for (and going for) that much. Even the green label greatest hits ones are fetching between $150-$200.

I know there are a lot of people on here that know a lot more than I do about "what is worth what". But, if there's a bubble for games, I'm guessing Silent Hill is about to burst. It's a great game that has aged poorly, not particularly rare, and you can play (I'd imagine) on multiple platforms & emulators.

Are there any other relatively common games out there whose prices have gone crazy up or down for seemingly no reason lately? I'm not talking about NES Stadium Events or rare Japan PS2 releases.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Video Game Market Bubbles

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 7th, 2021, 3:33 pm

I agree that prices seem to be getting out of hand. I used to only apply the "expensive" icon to a few select games. Now I could probably slap in on the majority of my reviews!

I think it's kind of sad, because people who are genuinely interested in collecting old games get priced out of the market.

Considering some people are now paying top dollar for "NFTs" and virtual items, physically games are looking better every day.

Breaker
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Re: Video Game Market Bubbles

Postby Breaker » April 7th, 2021, 4:52 pm

This may sound weird, but I actually think this is related to COVID. I can't speak to PS1 games specifically (I've bought very few PS1 games in the last couple of years), but I have seen prices of lots of things - all things I would vaguely classify as "non-essentials," or "toys," or "collectables" - really rise in the last year. I am talking about things like ATVs, snowmobiles, older (80s & 90s) vehicles, hot tubs, used books, and power tools just skyrocket since shut-downs, quarantine, and social distance have become daily phrases for all of us.

There are undoubtedly people who have had the misfortune of losing their jobs in this situation, and I don't want to minimize that. But I think there are a lot more people who have shifted to working from home with no decrease in income. They aren't spending money on commuting, daily lattes, and lunch, and have a lot fewer options for places to spend their "big" money. No sporting events, concerts, almost no travel... throw in some stimulus checks and a large portion of the population has money and time to spend on new hobbies.

I could be completely off, of course. It just feels like I've seen it across too many markets for it to be coincidental.

And there are probably articles about this that I'm basically parroting, but the reality is I don't really follow any news or social media, so I've no idea if this is completely played out as a topic. This is one of the few websites I still go to.

LuckyWDFN
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Re: Video Game Market Bubbles

Postby LuckyWDFN » April 7th, 2021, 6:23 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:I agree that prices seem to be getting out of hand. I used to only apply the "expensive" icon to a few select games. Now I could probably slap in on the majority of my reviews!

I think it's kind of sad, because people who are genuinely interested in collecting old games get priced out of the market.

Considering some people are now paying top dollar for "NFTs" and virtual items, physically games are looking better every day.


Agree on all points here... and I totally agree with Breaker too, I think there's a bit of inflation going on everywhere and not just physical media.

Follow Up - I sold my Silent Hill on ebay today for $190.50. If only one of my duplicate Circus Atari carts could shoot up in value like Silent Hill :D

Quick question for VGC... Do you sell any of your games? I think Silent Hill is the first game I ever put up on ebay. I'm not really a collector and don't have too many games (much less rare, in-demand ones), but I think I've held on to 90% of them. If anything, I'd trade one back to the store in order to get another game, but that's it. It hardly seems worth it to me go through the process of ebay selling in order to fetch $8 for Hot Shots Golf for PS2.

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Re: Video Game Market Bubbles

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 7th, 2021, 8:16 pm

No I don't sell my games - not yet anyway. They all have sentimental value.

I think you touched on another reason for the inflation and that's Ebay's business practices. First off, their increasing fees don't make it as worthwhile to sell games cheaply. Also, since there's no penalty for posting any game at a crazy price (describing it as super rare) people do it all the time hoping a clueless impulse buyer might take the bait. When these types of listings become the norm, people being to think that's the true value!

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JustLikeHeaven
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Re: Video Game Market Bubbles

Postby JustLikeHeaven » April 8th, 2021, 11:18 am

I’ve noticed a major hike in prices in the collectors market since the pandemic started. Stuff is crazy right now! I think with most folks being home they’re looking for hobbies and stuff to do.

I certainly miss the good ole days of collecting. It’s essentially become its own industry at this point. It’s getting harder and harder to find any good deals. Hell, it’s getting harder to find normal prices...


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