Would retro prices hypothetically rise after GameStop MOASS?

[mideast | 144]

I have a question that's been on my mind for a while, and I'm not sure if this is the right audience for it, but here goes.

I've been following the GameStop "meme stock" saga since January 2021 and it's evolved into an intense anticipation for the GameStop NFT marketplace to launch. I'm not here to debate whether the squeeze will happen, or whether NFTs are dumb, but I have this theory that game prices would probably dramatically rise if (hypothetically) the GameStop ticker price skyrockets and there is an army of new millionaires who are video game enthusiasts.

Even if those with new money aren't particularly retro gaming fans, if you have the money to spend why not go through the whole catalog of gaming history and buy it all up?

Another part to this theory of mine is the eventuality of the new GameStop NFT marketplace launching. GameStop has announced it will be live before the close of Q2, which for GameStop is July 31st. As you're probably aware, the GameStop motto is Power to the Players. 

The new marketplace motto is Power to the Players, Power to the Creators, Power to the Collectors.

There is already a pretty noteworthy collector culture in the NFT world today, mostly silly JPEGs and GIFs that are considered high art by some. But what if NFT collectors with deep pockets aim their sights at physical gaming collectibles? 

The NFT marketplace is currently live as beta and there is speculation that some HEAVY hitters are involved. Microsoft already announced around Oct 2020 that they are entering into a "multi year" partnership with GameStop. There are a couple Easter Eggs pointing to the possibility of Nintendo and Sony too, although they are very subtle.

A huge problem with modern digital games thus far has been the issue of selling them! I've seen people trying to sell their used PS3, Xbox 360, etc. and say "there's 30 games downloaded to the hard drive", but you can't sell those games! They are tied to your account. If digital gaming ownership is transferred to the blockchain and all your Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo games could be sold on some sort of... NFT marketplace??

Then the world of gaming just drastically changed.

So that takes me back to my question, would retro gaming prices of PHYSICAL collectibles rise if, hypothetically, the GameStop squeeze is squoze and there are a bunch of rich gamers, NFT enthusiasts, and digital game owners running around?

(MOASS = Mother of All Short Squeezes)

[DefaultGen | 5,434]

I think the techie-inclined nouveau riche crypto bros are already part of the reason for rising prices, especially on the high end. Anyone who throws caution to the wind enough to buy $200 Gamestop stock is probably the same kind of person who's gonna buy a $50,000 Chrono Trigger. If the GME train somehow pans out, I bet the high end sealed graded stuff is the worst hit by people looking to gamble on something new. CIB Donkey Kong Country isn't going to make people rich, and anyone buying Gamestop is hoping to become an instant millionaire.

[mideast | 144]

38 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

I think the techie-inclined nouveau riche crypto bros are already part of the reason for rising prices, especially on the high end. Anyone who throws caution to the wind enough to buy $200 Gamestop stock is probably the same kind of person who's gonna buy a $50,000 Chrono Trigger. If the GME train somehow pans out, I bet the high end sealed graded stuff is the worst hit by people looking to gamble on something new. CIB Donkey Kong Country isn't going to make people rich, and anyone buying Gamestop is hoping to become an instant millionaire.

I mean there were a couple waves of rising retro prices the last few years. There was the deep pocketed speculators from the comic book scene coming in and buying up "first editions" and such, and then there was the results of the pandemic where people were at home with lots of time and more money to spend on eBay. 

Your caution to the wind is the only part I take exception to lol. If you dig deep into the GME rabbit hole it is absolutely amazing the hole the short sellers have dug themselves into, as there is theorized to be millions of phantom shares, synthetic shares, IOUs or whatever you want to call it. That they had to create out of thin air to suppress the price. They have to close their short positions at some point.

But you're right the graded stuff would probably be the first to interest the nouveau riche collectors, but I still have a feeling that retro collecting as a whole is gonna be hit. 

There's only a finite number of PHYSICAL retro collectibles, Nintendo isn't going to manufacture any more NES games. And when you have an army of collectors buying it up and hoarding it, having no need to sell or "flip", then honestly I'm glad I've established my collection thus far. Lol.

Time will tell, but I just had to get this thought out before it happens.

[OptOut | 8,892]

What is this thread, lol?!

I thought people were done with NFT's literally NOBODY wants them! Trust GameStop, of all companies, to find probably the only way they could make their reputation amongst gamers EVEN worse than it is already, and finally crater their business once and for all, lololololol! 

[Alder | 243]

On 4/13/2022 at 12:23 PM, mideast said:

But you're right the graded stuff would probably be the first to interest the nouveau riche collectors, but I still have a feeling that retro collecting as a whole is gonna be hit. 

There's only a finite number of PHYSICAL retro collectibles, Nintendo isn't going to manufacture any more NES games. And when you have an army of collectors buying it up and hoarding it, having no need to sell or "flip", then honestly I'm glad I've established my collection thus far. 

I guess it's the difference between investors and collectors. There are bound to be some windfall collectors, but no one's buying loose copies of Great Waldo Search as an "alternative asset"... unless they have a grand scheme of buying literally everything and hoarding it in a warehouse. All it takes is one billionaire to ruin it for the rest of us, lol.