/vr/ - Retro Games

>>1163524
Oh boy lets have another rousing economics thread.

>Nintendo Super NES
>Not just "SNES"
Good god, these people don't even know what the fuck they're selling

>>1163530
Why don't you start us off?

>>1163541
I'm not him, but it is called supply and demand.
High demand coupled with low supply means high prices. QED

>>1163552
It's not like there's a low supply of Earthbound, though.

>>1163552
If I'm not mistaken, Earthbound was recently released on Virtual Console, which means anyone can just buy it and play it now. Surely, this affects the price of the cart since the supply is higher, thanks to the re-release. Of course, the supply of the SNES cartridge is still low, so I could see how the SNES cart itself is still valuable, but is almost $200 really a good price for the game? I get $60-70, but $200? It seems off to me.

>>1163562
Resellers are artificially reducing supply by buying up all the supply to profit in the future. And due to the game's following and the fact that it is many believe it is so rare, a high demand occurs in spite of the price.

>>1163552

Earthbound is pretty common though. I even found a copy a a thrift store for 5 bucks.

It was also released on the virtual console.

This is strictly a matter of resellers being scumbags.

>>1163582
The funny thing is that Xenoblade is going down to $40 at Gamestop during the holiday.

>>1163576
That's what sucks about the retro market. It's kind of a double-edge sword. Since the initial developer no longer makes the game, there is no official price from said developer. This is good and bad since it's all up to the seller. There are sellers who usually find their games in their basements, attics, etc and just want to get rid of them, so they'll sell them for cheap. Resellers, on the other hand, are opposite. They think a retro game is rare off of the fact that it's "retro". They're the people you see trying to sell SMW for $20. Sadly, it seems there are more resellers than honest sellers thanks to the internet showing information of how much other resellers sell their games. If a reseller hears a success story of selling Pokemon Red/Blue for $30 each, they'll think they can do the same. Then the next reseller does it, then the next, then the next, and so on. It's a vicious cycle.

tl;dr Selling retro games is good and bad, depending on the person.

>>1163524
Is that copy of Earthbound come in the box with the instructions? I paid 50 bucks for my cartridge of Earthbound.

>>1163582
It kills me that more people are starting to hold on to copies for a profit. Can't say I entirely blame them, but as someone who really wants to play Xenoblad Chronicles and Metroid Prime Trilogy, those photos slay me.

Retro games are cheaper during the summer months. Everyone is going places and doing things, so they are more eager to sell off games. When the colder months begin to hit, the price of retro games seem to increase.

Not stating this as fact, but coming from someone who has collected video games for a long time, I can't help but notice this trend.

Resellers are assholes.

The most I'd play for a loose cart of Earthbound is $50. Thankfully I'm not a rabid fan of the game so I can live without it being in my SNES collection. Plus if I pick up a Wii U this holiday season I could just buy the game on the Wii U's virtual console if I wanted.

>>1163602
I've kind of noticed this, too. I kind of want to blame garage sales for the drop in price during the summer, but i'm not sure on that. I've only been collecting for about 2-3 years, but it's something i've noticed too. Summer is when I got my Sega 32X C.I.B., but during Winter, i'd be lucky to run across a Saturn.

>>1163598
Honestly, I'm bothered by this behavior and I already have a copy of both.

It makes sense that people will take the opportunity to make money, but it steams me that it's through the secondhand market at the expense of those who would actually enjoy the games.

>>1163524
Why are you so butthurt by this? Someone chose to buy a game and hold onto it as an investment. Stop being a crybaby buttfrustrated little faggot and go kill yourself.

>>1163709
Why so upset, miss?

Those stupid prices are the reason I modded my Saturn.

Even mediocre games are sold at inflated values simply because they only sold 5 copies.

>>1163598
I feel the same way. I use instagram and am quite friendly with a bunch of retro gamers who have nice collections but it pains me to see them do a post that says "Here are my 5 pre order bonuses with sealed copies of Windwaker, I am selling them in the future for 120$ each" or they buy two copies of a game or even three copies and keep all but 1 of them sealed. OR they even buy the limited edition 3DS's and keep them sealed. WHYYYYY????? Everybody does it so it's not like old SNES games where only a few people had sealed games to make them worth so much. When everybody does it it makes them less hard to find and less unique.

>>1163709

Smelly dumb reseller scum spotted

>>1163576
Though not retro, this is the reason I'm getting it in the ass trying to find a PS2 without yielding to utterly asinine prices. I can understand shipping being a bitch since the thing is a few lbs, but fuck anyone wanting more than $80 for obsolete tech. I'll win this battle, mark my words.

>>1163598
No, seriously, how are those even low-circulation? I can't throw a stone without hitting a copy in this town.

Fuck it. Change in plans. Going to snarf a copy of my own for each.

>mfw I don't even own a wii and it's just a promisory action for a WiiU

>>1163603
>I could just buy the game on the Wii U's virtual console if I wanted.
Just curious, but does any of that go back to the original developers, or is it pure Nintendo profit at this stage in the game? Do any of the networks actually talk about how they divy up the licensing and funding for those titles?

Earthbound is just about one of the hardest to find SNES games. That's usually the price for the game alone, if you can even find it online or at a retro game store. And with the box in that great of a condition, you're getting a pretty good deal on it.

>>1163564
I think it's only on the VC in Japan, isn't it?

>>1163973
>Earthbound is just about one of the hardest to find SNES games
lolno

Try EVO or Hagane or games that actually are hard to find a copy of, not Earthbound which constantly has 5 pages of listings on eBay.

>>1163582
>Earthbound is pretty common though
Eh I wouldn't say it's common. Mario games are common. I would say it's uncommon.
>seen dozens of copies of SMW
>seen three copies of Earthbound

Am I smoking? Is this real life?

>>1164208
Taking on to this in a semi-related way, which is the better version for you guys? PSP, or SFamicom? GBA excluded because I've already been warned away from its terrible sound display.

>>1163974
No, it was released on the Wii U VC earlier this year.

>>1164208
I report those every fucking time.

It amazes me how few people on /vr/ understand economics. Why is Earthbound "allowed" to be hundreds of dollars on Amazon? Because that's the lowest price people have copies available. If you want to list your copy for $50 or $20 go ahead it'll just get bought instantly and the available prices will stay the same. It may very well be one of the resellers who buys it and immediately tries to flip it.

I sold my like-new copy of Earthbound four years age for $450 and so far I haven't regretted it. $450 buys a LOT of rare PS2 games, which if you guys complaining about basic economics weren't retarded is what you would be buying too right now.

>>1164216
GBA, the only official english version. The SNES fan-translation is absolutely terrible.

>>1164869
Sound doesn't matter, really.

Okay I'll tell a story about eBay prices that DOES piss me off, and I believe rightfully so.

>Walk into recently-incorporated small used game store
I usually hate these ones because I think they're price-fixing
>Find complete boxed Alien Front Online with mic for $5, some Sega CD games that look like they haven't been touched in years, Ecco for $2.99 Wailae for 0.99 so I'm impressed they're not gouging. Battlecorps with no book and no price.
>Hey hipster dude at the cash register?
>Typity-typity-type
Hoo boy here we go!
>99
>Oh! okay cool! I'll take all four
One of the other shops in this new-corporation I noticed just doing flat-pricing by rarity on less-than-very-rare games so I thought maybe this one was cool too.
>That'll be $19.45
>Wait, what? $4.99 plus $2.99 plus .99 plus .99?
>Battlecorps is NINE ninety-nine
>What? Without the book?
>That's what it's going for online disc only
>Hell no, Man. If I wanted to pay online prices I'd buy the titles I'm actually looking for online instead of spending a gallon of gas driving to your store

mfw I check his facts later and realize these guys are looking up prices without even knowing how to check sold auctions

>>1163602
magic cards do the same thing. though it might be because standard is fresher in the fall.

>>1164912
>>1163602
I bought so many $1 PS2 games at yard sales this summer. Soooo many.

>>1164860

see >>1163582

Yes, supply and demand does apply, but unfortunately we have a large portion of EB carts that most likely get hoarded and held onto, which decrease supply and therefore increase value.

In a nutshell, that's one of the biggest reasons for exorbitant game prices: people no longer have to pay for shelf space. Back then, if a game couldn't sell, it had to have its price lowered until someone bought it because it cost more money in the long run to hold onto it. Nowadays any dick can just put up EB on Amazon for $1000 and just hold on to it, which unfortunately makes other sellers think their EB cart is solid fucking gold.

tl;dr it's a deadly combo of people holding onto games that don't sell while not adjusting prices based on the market and a few dicks setting ass prices which everyone follows

>>1165030
But on eBay we can see what shit like that actually sells for, not just what it's priced at. If anything blame the hipsters that buy a physical copy of Eartbound for cred or whatever instead of playing a free rom or a $10 VC version.

>>1165039
I agree with the hipster part, and eBay would be a perfect source for price if the buyers dictated the price (taking only the .99 starting bid auctions into account) and if we somehow eliminated the compulsion and irrational emotions associated with a lot of eBay auctions (bid wars, compulsive bidding, "you'll never see this again so bid more than you're willing to pay", etc.)

>>1163524
Which is why I emulate almost exclusively now. Fuck everything about this market! I hope the price bubble crashes eventually and that it crashes hard!

>>1163609

People buy an old console and a lot of games as a Christmas present because they are cheaper easier to use and just as fun to children as a new ps3 or whatever.

I just paid $100 for a copy of rule of rose for my girlfriend, was the cheapest i could get it shipped to my country. feels bad man.

The worst one is i really want Ketsui Death label for DS, check on ebay, $150 for a DS game, god damn. Anyone know anywhere to get this for non rape prices?

>Amazon

That place is even worse than Ebay when it comes to absurd prices on old games.

>>1165030
>In a nutshell, that's one of the biggest reasons for exorbitant game prices: people no longer have to pay for shelf space. Back then, if a game couldn't sell, it had to have its price lowered until someone bought it because it cost more money in the long run to hold onto it.

Ahh, hah hah, wow, Ain't that something, /vr/ summing up what's so awesome about clothes shopping!

I got a loose copy of earthbound that I bought on amazon about 8 years ago ,I only just recently played the dam thing ,I really like the game but theirs no point owning it when I have the sd2snes flashcart.most collectors are idiots and I was one of them,do you buy games to play or put on the shelf ? Playing it on the flashcart is exactly the same thing

>>1165053
>bid more than you're willing to pay
who does that? idiots.

>if the buyers dictated the price (taking only the .99 starting bid auctions into account)
I don't know what you mean about the 99 cent opening bids but the buyers do dictate the price on suctions.

>>1165131
Not exactly, but it is very close. People should just decide exactly how authentic they want their experience to be and balance that with how much they want to spend.

>>1163732
hmm i use instagram, i think we might follow the same people lol

>>1163917
I'm not sure, but it would probably be illegal if they didn't send part of the profits to the developers.

>>1163598
time to softmod that shit.

>tfw I bought this and Lufia 2 for like 5 bucks in a bazaar in Mexico like 5 years ago
Good deal. Loved the game too.
Some guy was also selling Wild Guns for like $15 on a facebook page, but instantly like 10 faggots started offering him more and more.

>>1163582
Games that are common and pricey would be Zelda, Pokemon.
Earthbound, while not super rare, is still not common. As in less than 500k copies sold.
Super rare games would be stuff like Shantae.

>>1165205
It's all simply a matter of who owns the rights, and what portion.

>>1163576
Price elasticity of supply through stocking, someone did their econ 101

>>1165068
Sometimes you find something decent though. You just got to snatch it up fast. But on a whole prices have gotten worse. It's a shame there's practically nowhere left around me to buy anything older than PS2.

These days I have a policy of "If I can afford it and the price is right I might as well get it now." Because I never know when it's suddenly going to be decided that the cart or disc is made of solid gold.

Not retro but a good example here, I'm glad I got my Pokemon X now because in a few years used copies that are loose, dirty carts with bad labels will be going for $30 and the price most likely won't change. So I say, if you want something and you can afford it, get it now. Because you never know.

>>1163524
Something Thomas Tusser said

>>1163564
It's apple season. Surely this affect the prices oranges.

>>1163576
Artificially reducing supply of the natural organic things that grow on trees in nature

>>1163595
It's called capitalism. Get off your lazy ass and buy stuff from the original sellers and sell it on

>>1163598
That's why god created emulators poorfag

>>1163917
Depends on the deal but everyone gets their share, especially the lawyers

>>1164860
I'm guessing you voted for the same guy as me in the last election.

>>1165030
>>1165053
Stop samefagging on 4chan and get on with your op-ed Krugman

>>1165305
Goo start bro

>>1165404
Well look what we have here, a reseller apologist comparing retro vidya to fruit

>>1163552

Right, but it's Earthbound. While not a Bad game, it's merely an OK game, not even a Good or Great game. So why the demand?

>>1165449

>EarthBound

who the fuck cares, it's just a censored version.
just import Mother 2 for 20 bucks and be done with it.

>>1164869
>GBA, the only official english version.
I'm also learning Japanese. I suppose I should've mentioned that.

>>1163582
>paying $80 - $100 for reprints
>Metroid Prime Trilogy isn't even steel book

Nintendo fanboys are the worst.

>>1165637
They're not reprints. You're making shit up.

>>1165642
Metroid Prime Trilogy was only officially released in a steel book and the boxes of Xenoblade are a different type.

Now either they were reprinted without Nintendo or gamestop informing anyone or they are making fake box art for Metroid Prime Trilogy and changing the cases for Xenoblade.

>>1165642
Have you been living under a rock for the last few months? Xenoblade and Prime Trilogy both got reprinted specifically for Gamestop. Every one of their 4,000+ stores received at least two copies of each, brand new, but taken out of their shrink wrap and sold as used. And as said before, they're going down to $40 in a few months so those idiots who spent twice that amount with the idea that it'll be worth money in the future (Which one a game gets reprinted for Gamestop, it never is.) are going to be really upset really soon.

>>1165648
>Metroid Prime Trilogy was only officially released in a steel book

Yes. In 2008. These 2013 prints are in standard cases. Xenoblade has the same case (and reversable cover art) it had in 2012.

>>1165637
And soon they both will be under $30 before 2015
Moral of the story: Don't buy something out of rarity or the thick headed logic that it will be worth something 'someday'

>>1165779

Better had be, I want MPT, and am not paying $80+ for it.

>>1165654
Currently $60 in my neighborhood. In fact, most of the used bin games were over $20, despite being out for years and not being really hot commodities. I was generally offended.

>>1165654
I've noticed them doing that a lot recently, right before Rune Factory 4 hit shelves they "found" a shitton of RF3 that are all mysteriously used.

What fucking loophole are they exploiting to get away with this? They've even admitted they opened new stuff and are selling it as used.

>>1165654

This explains why EB games is selling Metroid 3 new for $3 and used for $10 though.

>>1165660

Aw fuck, I wanted the steelbook, I'm assuming that won't be affected by the reprint. That's just gonna make eBay a fucking minefield of fucks trying to sell the reprint as the original.

>Game out of production going at a decent price
>think to make an offer
>Seller immediately goes up 20 bucks on price
>look around
>every other seller followed suit

WHY

>>1163901
>find a PS2

Dude, I see so many at various Goodwills for $17 a pop.

Are you in the States?

>>1167765
In what level of working order, anon? I often see the same, but it's usually the ones that don't know how to take care of their shit that end up giving them away there.

And I, personally, don't know even where to start on putting those poor things back into working order.

>>1167843

I've never ended up with a non-functioning console. They usually just need a good cleaning.

Shit, I found a cube last week in pretty nice shape with the controller for $10. No power supply, though.

>>1167843
Frequently, they just have blown fuses because someone abused them.

>$5 for a "broken" PS2, refuses to boot
>fix a single fuse (the way all fuses are fixed, with a wire and a prayer)
>works just fine

>>1167848
...Fuck it. Adding them to my range. I've got zero to lose anyway—there are two right in my vicinity.

Though I actually wanted a Jap one, but whatever. Softmods here I come.

>>1167843
>not giving new life to battered consoles
>not fixing them up and feeding them good vidya until the day they die

>>1167852
>Though I actually wanted a Jap one, but whatever. Softmods here I come.
SCPH-90000 consoles are sometimes super-cheap because softmods don't work on them. As a bonus, no external PSU required.

>$15 for a 90k console
>$10 for a Matrix Infinity clone
>mfw I have a $25 box the size of a DVD case which direct-boots every PS1 and PS2 game with 0 hassle

>>1167854
You tend to not do that when you're hands are cursed to do little more than destroy.

>Had a working PSX, once. Had three of them. Oops.
>And then there was the first family computer
>And my boom box
>And the followup radio
>And the many, many CD walkmans

>>1167874
I find that arcade controls are good for learning to solder. Then, move up to old through-hole devices, and then to surface-mount stuff.

>>1167861
>SCPH-90000 consoles are sometimes super-cheap

Emphasis on "sometimes".

>mfw eBay browsing

If you love Earthbound so much why don't you give your money to Nintendo (who produced this game) by downloading it for Wii U instead of giving an unreasonable amount of money for a second-hand copy to a random collector/seller/whatever who profits from other people's works? Is this how you support the creators? You make me sick.

>>1163973
>Earthbound is just about one of the hardest to find SNES games.

>>1163973
"one of the hardest to find SNES games"

Tell that to the 118 eBay auctions and 44 Amazon offers

>>1167914
Because that will just encourage Nintendo to resell old games instead of making new ones.

Although its pretty naive to expect anything new from Nintendo in the first place.

>>1168091
>resell old games instead of making new ones.

You sound like a company would be completely incapable of making new games while selling old ones.

I guess that means Witcher 3 will never exist if people keep buying Leisure Suit Larry and Ultima 3!

Yeah that logic sure is sound.

>>1168091

Nintendo's already selling old games while making new ones.

I bought a Like New Mario RPG off amazon recently for $32. I'll let you know whether it was actually "Like New" when I get it.

>>1164881
>mfw I check his facts later and realize these guys are looking up prices without even knowing how to check sold auctions

I think you're giving the guy way too much credit.

>>1168851
Good luck when the cart has no marks or dirt on it, but the label is half torn off

To me few retro games are worth more than £15 so if it's worth outweighs how much fun it is then I just emulate.

>>Because that will just encourage Nintendo to resell old games instead of making new ones.
Sin&Punishment 2 says otherwise. And the original was a commercial failure despite its high production values, that's why it was Japan-only (even thought they were planning for a worldwide release). Yet Nintendo gave it a second chance by re-releasing it on VirtualConsole where it was more popular than when it was first released.

>>1167914
Because ten dollars sounds like a lot for just an emulator and rom and considering that I don't own a Wii-U anyway, well... Want to know something I would grab up almost instantly? Mother Collection 3DS. All three games on one portable! That's one case where Nintendo might actually beat pirates in quality if they can ever get the sense to do it.

>>1169691
Oh and I forgot to mention that I don't buy from resellers either since the ones selling the game for over 200 are the scum of the Earth. I mostly just emulate for now.

>>1169691
And giving money for an old console cartidge while you could buy a Wii U along with Earthbound from Virtual Console with the same amount of money is a wiser choice, huh?

And seriously, stop this crap with the "it's just an emulator with rom". At least it's an official release. Playing emulators because of lack of money (and not only) is one thing. But not buying a digital re-release because you want it at its original form even if it costs more? Good luck on buying Pac-Man on its actual, official arcade cabinet.

>>1169702
Sorry. Now I read your new post about playing through emulators (which is ok).

Son:"Dad, when will these neckbeard faggots quit complaining about how much Earthbound costs?
Dad: "I have no clue son, but one day this sky of gray will open up and the sun will beam down upon us, filling the land that's now gloomy and lifeless with color and passion. All will be right in the world, and the neckbeards will finally shut the fuck up."

>>1163534
in the early days of promotion it actually was referred to as the Super NES, even saw an ad in one of those magazine ad threads that used this name

>>1164869
>The SNES fan-translation is absolutely terrible
it took a lot of liberties, like the dumb idea to include profanity that was in the original game to "spice things up", but I wouldn't call it terrible, or even bad. Regardless though, I'd recommend the PSX version, also the GBA version is dreadful in many for ways than just the sound.

>>1169769
And as we know that doesn't fucking work. Look at God of War 1 and 2. Not a SINGLE profanity, not even Hell or Damn.

>>1169769
also, I might add, that even though it isn't a factor to you, the GBA version's translation is very very very bad, not sure if the guy I responded to was trolling or just plain stupid.

>>1169775
I don't even know what this post is trying to say...

>>1169769
*that wasn't in the original game

>>1164208
>Tales of Phantasia English
>Japanese logo
Seems legit.

>>1169710
I could have bought a cocktail cabinet Pac Man for fifty bucks the other day. Pac-Man PCBs are probably less than $100, and a jamma adapter to run it on your Supergun eould still be like half of Earthbound prices.

The actual is cut off, but here it is:

Sega Genesis
32x
Sega CD
Game Gear
3 controllers
Sega TV plug and play (I think it has as many as 16 games built in)

Sonic CD - Sega CD

Streets of Rage - Genesis
Street Fighter 2 - Genesis

Mortal Kombat - 32X
Virtua Racing - 32X

Columns - Game Gear
Sonic 2 - Game Gear
World Class Leader Board Golf - Game Gear

SoR2 and SF2 were both complete.
Got it for $45.
Everything works, but the Game Gear, which just shows a black screen and then shuts off.
Everything even has all of the cables and AC adapters.

>>1169734
I think his point was that "Nintendo Super NES" was redundant.