Buying Vintage Consoles in 2023

[Foreverfox]

I personally agree with the Steam Deck suggestion, but I think buying vintage consoles is worth it! I got a GameCube for Christmas, and I currently have 3 games: Sonic Adventure DX, Animal Crossing, and Sonic Mega Collection. I'm hoping for Paper Mario: TTYD or Puyo Pop Fever, but I can wait. If you want a free way to play old games, might I suggest emulation? It's my go-to, and it's currently how I'm playing Explorers of Sky.

Thank you for your input! I’m still trying to sort out my my main reason for wanting to get the GBA - for the nostalgia factor of the console itself or just as a vehicle to play the games I want to play. I’ll probably end up doing both at some point, but getting the steam deck sounds like the best option for now. Having everyone’s thoughts on this has been very helpful and insightful!

 

[uwuzumakii]

As a lifelong collector and video game player I feel very passionately about this topic. I'm sick and tired of the artificial inflation of prices on retro games and consoles. I understand that the prices of these things won't stay low forever, but I remember seeing a copy of Pokemon Emerald at a Slackers maybe 6 or 7 years ago for $80, and it was in nearly pristine condition. You'd be lucky to find a copy like that for less than $300. And it's all because of people trying to make a quick buck. Same thing happened to stamps, coins, trading cards, vinyls, shoes, you name it. It's a shame it's happening to retro stuff too. As for people who genuinely love the hobby of collecting, trading, and playing old games with little to no interest on capitalizing on what we have, we're all SOL and stuck paying an arm and a leg for something that used to be actually affordable. I've been dying to find an affordable Sega Saturn but it's impossible. I'm just super disappointed in what's become of this hobby and I hope that it eventually returns to normalcy once the hype dies down. Another massive issue is that companies like Nintendo are the ones to blame for traditionally making it very difficult for people to play their beloved games. No one wants to pay the price of a new, triple-A game for a game that's been out for decades, and if they catch you even thinking about downloading any ROMs or emulators, they'll take you to court. It's completely asinine and I'm tired of it.

Overall, I'm not too happy about it.

 

[Foreverfox]

As a lifelong collector and video game player I feel very passionately about this topic. I'm sick and tired of the artificial inflation of prices on retro games and consoles. I understand that the prices of these things won't stay low forever, but I remember seeing a copy of Pokemon Emerald at a Slackers maybe 6 or 7 years ago for $80, and it was in nearly pristine condition. You'd be lucky to find a copy like that for less than $300. And it's all because of people trying to make a quick buck. Same thing happened to stamps, coins, trading cards, vinyls, shoes, you name it. It's a shame it's happening to retro stuff too. As for people who genuinely love the hobby of collecting, trading, and playing old games with little to no interest on capitalizing on what we have, we're all SOL and stuck paying an arm and a leg for something that used to be actually affordable. I've been dying to find an affordable Sega Saturn but it's impossible. I'm just super disappointed in what's become of this hobby and I hope that it eventually returns to normalcy once the hype dies down. Another massive issue is that companies like Nintendo are the ones to blame for traditionally making it very difficult for people to play their beloved games. No one wants to pay the price of a new, triple-A game for a game that's been out for decades, and if they catch you even thinking about downloading any ROMs or emulators, they'll take you to court. It's completely asinine and I'm tired of it.

Overall, I'm not too happy about it.

Thank you for your input! I agree, it’s a real shame how much the collectible market for items like this has just been so taken advantage of. Why not just let people enjoy the things that were made to be enjoyed!

 

[Corrie]

As a lifelong collector and video game player I feel very passionately about this topic. I'm sick and tired of the artificial inflation of prices on retro games and consoles. I understand that the prices of these things won't stay low forever, but I remember seeing a copy of Pokemon Emerald at a Slackers maybe 6 or 7 years ago for $80, and it was in nearly pristine condition. You'd be lucky to find a copy like that for less than $300. And it's all because of people trying to make a quick buck. Same thing happened to stamps, coins, trading cards, vinyls, shoes, you name it. It's a shame it's happening to retro stuff too. As for people who genuinely love the hobby of collecting, trading, and playing old games with little to no interest on capitalizing on what we have, we're all SOL and stuck paying an arm and a leg for something that used to be actually affordable. I've been dying to find an affordable Sega Saturn but it's impossible. I'm just super disappointed in what's become of this hobby and I hope that it eventually returns to normalcy once the hype dies down. Another massive issue is that companies like Nintendo are the ones to blame for traditionally making it very difficult for people to play their beloved games. No one wants to pay the price of a new, triple-A game for a game that's been out for decades, and if they catch you even thinking about downloading any ROMs or emulators, they'll take you to court. It's completely asinine and I'm tired of it.

Overall, I'm not too happy about it.

I fully agree. It's a shame because for someone like me, I'd rather not emulate and do it illegally, but there's also no good way to do it legally at this point. There's some virtual console type ways but it's not all games or all consoles/handhelds.

Just the other day, I was out looking at gaming shops and markets for older games and Pokemon games were at minimum $100. I wanted some Gamecube games but those were also $100+. Animal Crossing Population Growing was $100. Check Ebay, it's all the same. I understand they're rare and you can't buy them in a store anymore, but it gets to a point where people are just going to say no and not buy them that way. It makes me sad to go to these markets and see these old games sitting here collecting literal dust instead of someone enjoying them. It's such a waste.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

I have never been interested in buying old game consoles, I don't really have the storage space in my room for more things.. but I do have a PS2, N64, Gameboy (ice version so its like the slim one) and Gameboy Color. I got these when they originally came out and haven't really had the want to get rid of them because I do still have games that I can play on them that are not on the expansion pass for Nintendo Switch or on the ps version of a virtual console. I definitely have seen that retro games have gotten a lot pricier in these last few months and I'm glad that I don't have to worry about those prices. I don't foresee myself selling my consoles unless I am totally desperate cause I know I have some games that would be considered rare finds.

 

[Etown20]

I got into vintage consoles during the 2021 due to pandemic boredom, and while I enjoyed playing them for a little while, I barely touched them in 2022 and probably won't any time soon.

If collecting or vintage games is your thing, I say go for it, but if you're just trying to pass some time, it's probably actually cheaper to just buy new/current games with the price some of the vintage stuff goes for.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

Only older systems that I am interested in right now are a PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 or One, GameCube, and GBA. My PS3 won’t read discs anymore and I have a lot of physical games for it and also spent a lot of money on Lego Dimensions and I barely got to use Guitar Hero Live. The Xbox I mostly want for the Fable games and Banjo Kazooie collection. The GBA I want so that I can play GameBoy games as well as BBA games and so I don’t have to worry about my DS Lite not being able to load the GBA games or having enough battery life to play and I have to try to find the charger.

 

[Foreverfox]

I have never been interested in buying old game consoles, I don't really have the storage space in my room for more things.. but I do have a PS2, N64, Gameboy (ice version so its like the slim one) and Gameboy Color. I got these when they originally came out and haven't really had the want to get rid of them because I do still have games that I can play on them that are not on the expansion pass for Nintendo Switch or on the ps version of a virtual console. I definitely have seen that retro games have gotten a lot pricier in these last few months and I'm glad that I don't have to worry about those prices. I don't foresee myself selling my consoles unless I am totally desperate cause I know I have some games that would be considered rare finds.

Thank you for your input! That’s similar to how I am…although, I do have more room for vintage consoles, I’m not sure that would be the best use for that room. I have my original SNES, PS2, and GBC and I’d not want to part with any of them unless I really really had to do so. Even then, I’d probably try to sacrifice something else first. It’s such a shame that prices have gone up so much.

Post automatically merged: Feb 8, 2023

I got into vintage consoles during the 2021 due to pandemic boredom, and while I enjoyed playing them for a little while, I barely touched them in 2022 and probably won't any time soon.

If collecting or vintage games is your thing, I say go for it, but if you're just trying to pass some time, it's probably actually cheaper to just buy new/current games with the price some of the vintage stuff goes for.

Thank you for your input! That’s probably what would happen for me, if I got them. I’d enjoy them for a little while because they’re nostalgic, but I’d eventually go back to my new games. And, speaking from the experience of re-buying my old pokemon card collection piece by piece, it just doesn’t feel the same to re-buy something after the fact of previously owning it in it’s original time.

Post automatically merged: Feb 8, 2023

Only older systems that I am interested in right now are a PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 or One, GameCube, and GBA. My PS3 won’t read discs anymore and I have a lot of physical games for it and also spent a lot of money on Lego Dimensions and I barely got to use Guitar Hero Live. The Xbox I mostly want for the Fable games and Banjo Kazooie collection. The GBA I want so that I can play GameBoy games as well as BBA games and so I don’t have to worry about my DS Lite not being able to load the GBA games or having enough battery life to play and I have to try to find the charger.

Thank you for your input! I can totally understand wanting to get a PS3 for your existing library. It’s a bummer your current one stopped working, but I suppose that’s to be expected at somepoint. I was looking at the GBA for the same reason, I have GB and GBA games I’d like to play again just for kicks, but I’m starting to think I’ll just look at a Steam deck. I haven’t yet, due to so many IRL things going on recently, but when the dust settles, I’ll take a look.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

With the GB family coming to Nintendo Online, I am no longer wanting to try to search for the system as a few of the games I want to play are coming to the service.

 

[DarthGohan1]

I’m interested in hearing everyone’s take on this. I have my original GameBoy COLOR and some of the games I used to have for it, including Pokemon Yellow, Silver, and Hamtaro (too bad I can’t find my copies of Gold and Crystal ). I used to have a GameBoy Advance SP, and I’m debating on whether or not to get one now. I will say that my sole reason for wanting to get one is to play the GBA Pokemon games that I never got around to playing as a teenager when I had my original GBA SP. I’ve looked at prices, and I’m a mix of surprised and not surprised to see them around the $250.00 mark, even though there has got to be little demand for them.

Here’s where you come in - would you say it’s worth it to buy a vintage console and games, being that essentially, they’re all the same game? The games that prompted this consideration are Pokemon LeafGreen, Ruby, Emerald, FireRed, Sapphire.

I really like having older consoles. The fun & nostalgia of playing old games on the original consoles with original controllers... nothing feels quite the same for me. The prices have gotten crazy high the past few years, but this is the case for a lot of collectibles, not just retro video games & consoles.

I'd say there are a few ways to approach collecting retro games, I have my own personal preference, but the right way really depends on your own preferences, patience, and budget, among other things:

• Collect YOLO style, buy every console and game you want, regardless of the price, and enjoy it. Doesn't matter if it's $25 or $250 in this case. This approach only works if you have a pretty sizable budget for this. This will get you the most games in the shortest amount of time, but for me part of the enjoyment of retro collectibles is the adventure in finding things I've wanted for a while, surprise good deals, etc... you will not get that with this approach.
• Build a collection gradually over time. The games you want to buy came out 20+ years ago. Nothing says you must collect all of them this month. Think instead of building your collection slowly over the span of multiple years - there is no finish line, just a journey. Over time you will learn more about the games you're interested in, find the occasional good deal, and appreciate each game you buy moreso than if you bought many all at once.
• Accept that the prices are crazy high right now ($200 for a GBA game!?!?!?), you don't really need it that bad, and find another hobby besides retro game collecting.

 

[Foreverfox]

I really like having older consoles. The fun & nostalgia of playing old games on the original consoles with original controllers... nothing feels quite the same for me. The prices have gotten crazy high the past few years, but this is the case for a lot of collectibles, not just retro video games & consoles.

I'd say there are a few ways to approach collecting retro games, I have my own personal preference, but the right way really depends on your own preferences, patience, and budget, among other things:

• Collect YOLO style, buy every console and game you want, regardless of the price, and enjoy it. Doesn't matter if it's $25 or $250 in this case. This approach only works if you have a pretty sizable budget for this. This will get you the most games in the shortest amount of time, but for me part of the enjoyment of retro collectibles is the adventure in finding things I've wanted for a while, surprise good deals, etc... you will not get that with this approach.
• Build a collection gradually over time. The games you want to buy came out 20+ years ago. Nothing says you must collect all of them this month. Think instead of building your collection slowly over the span of multiple years - there is no finish line, just a journey. Over time you will learn more about the games you're interested in, find the occasional good deal, and appreciate each game you buy moreso than if you bought many all at once.
• Accept that the prices are crazy high right now ($200 for a GBA game!?!?!?), you don't really need it that bad, and find another hobby besides retro game collecting.

Thank you for your input! I think out of the three of those, I’d be more in the second option category. I do have a limited budget, and I agree, part of the fun of collecting is the adventure of finding what you’re looking for. And because I’m not looking for too many games overall, this adventure is already likely to be short lived, so I’d love to pursue it as long as I could.

 

[Khaoticnoize187]

I say its defiently worth it i'll be buying retro video games and consoles that i think is cool until i'm dead.

 

[Foreverfox]

I say its defiently worth it i'll be buying retro video games and consoles that i think is cool until i'm dead.

I do think there is just something about the original formatting that can’t be replaced with digital upgrades of the same product. It’s just not the same as the original.