Are we in the last years of Atari/NES collecting era?

[Brickman | 3,983]

3 hours ago, Bonanza125 said:

The exploring for young people wanting to know what retro stuff has to offer is far less as far as buying and playing. People just you tube the classics. 

I think this is an excellent point. All my nephews prefer to YouTube people playing the games instead of actually doing it themselves. It’s very bizarre to me.

They’ll play Mario Kart 8 but would rather watch someone on YouTube play Mario kart on snes.

[OptOut | 8,883]

2 hours ago, Shmup said:

I think this is an excellent point. All my nephews prefer to YouTube people playing the games instead of actually doing it themselves. It’s very bizarre to me.

They’ll play Mario Kart 8 but would rather watch someone on YouTube play Mario kart on snes.

I am glad they at least appreciate the games enough to consume them in this way, even if they aren't playing them themselves right now. Fostering and maintaining the more passive interest could definitely lead to a more active interest over time.

And, even if they don't end up playing the older games, they will still understand them and appreciate the aesthetic appeal, the sights and sounds and the characters, and understand the progression of the medium. It won't be forgotten.

However, could that translate into participation in the collecting side of the hobby? Perhaps for a few of them, yes, if they do take the next step of actually wanting to play. But unlikely to replenish the ranks of us old school style gamer/collectors.

The only real influx into the hobby that has the potential to replace the existing crowd is the speculation market, but that will depend basically entirely on whether that ridiculous shitshow is able to sustain itself long-term. I have SERIOUS doubts about that, but that really is the only way that NES collecting will stay relevant once us old timers pop our cogs! 

[ConfusedCollector | 36]

Whenever I think about this, I think about old monster movies from the 1930s.  People still consume them.  You can buy large sets of brand new prints on blue ray for a reasonable price. No one expects you to hunt down original movie theater reels to get an authentic experience. 

Old games like NES will get repackaged over and over for years into the future on new mediums (consoles,fpga,emulator).  30 years from now, NES games will serve a similar purpose.  Something interesting,  classic, and different for an evening. 

Except for a few exceptions, it will not be very collectible.

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

On 9/26/2021 at 1:03 AM, ConfusedCollector said:

Whenever I think about this, I think about old monster movies from the 1930s.  People still consume them.  You can buy large sets of brand new prints on blue ray for a reasonable price. No one expects you to hunt down original movie theater reels to get an authentic experience. 

Old games like NES will get repackaged over and over for years into the future on new mediums (consoles,fpga,emulator).  30 years from now, NES games will serve a similar purpose.  Something interesting,  classic, and different for an evening. 

Except for a few exceptions, it will not be very collectible.

Yes and no, cinema is different. Technology can actually improve the movie, like 4K HDR. Plus, there was never really a huge demand for the old film. There is a demand from purists to faithfulness to the original film and audio. Emulation on other consoles, does not always run as well as the original and is not comparable to the movie comparison. The comparison for casuals will be similar though, but it will just be through ports and emulation on the main consoles/pc game retailers or on phones just like streaming movies.

[Enternal | 15]

On 9/25/2021 at 2:08 AM, Tanooki said:

Yeah taking a dig at the Neo wasn't cool, it doesn't fit in the slightest.  You can find them all over still(arcade), and all the mini consoles, joysticks on tv, etc, new sequel titles, mobile and pc ports, etc these days it's hardly obscure or unknown.

I wasn't taking a dig at the Neo Geo, and by Neo Geo I was referring to the AES and MVS. (Which I personally love and own both) The TS/OP asked the question are we in the last years of Atari and NES collecting.  While I felt that starting to become true for the Atari I brought up reasons that I felt the NES had hope.

The Atari and while I mean the 2600, we can include all their hardware and software. Doesn't have the strengths that Nintendo has for bringing in new collectors to the NES, again I'm answering ops question, I'm not trying to say the 2600 wasn't great. The newly released 50th anniversary was great for showing their legacy.

And now back to the MVS/AES. SNK has faired lot better than Atari over the years, and even recently we have seen the popularity of King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown come back during the fighting game resurgence. But these games, a mini, and having active arcade cabinets, will do very little to bring Gen Z'rs and younger into collecting for the system. I wasn't knocking the system or its legacy, I was saying in the community the MVS/AES is niche, just like the other systems mentioned with it. 

 

 

 

[Foochie776 | 1,051]

Does anyone besides @DefaultGencare about Atari anymore? I’ve got maybe 5 more games I want and that will put me at 10

 

NES has stood the test of time and will always have provenance and relevance, perhaps not the full set but there will always be collectible stuff. 

[Sumez | 2,950]

I don't know about you guys, but I'll probably be buying NES games until I die

[Gloves | 11,776]

7 minutes ago, Sumez said:

I don't know about you guys, but I'll probably be buying NES games until I die

I'm pretty much done with buying nes games aside from a few key titles which are well out of my acceptable price range at this time. 

That said, after I move to a bigger place I may find myself in need of more games to fill shelves, at which point I might start picking up some cheap games that have sentimental NintendoAge/VGS Weekly contest sentiment to them. I've had good times with games like Marble Madness and a bunch of shmups I've contested with @docile tapeworm over. I cherish those memories and could probably stand to own the games proper once I have the space, assuming I don't find myself suddenly house poor. 

[Sumez | 2,950]

32 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I'm pretty much done with buying nes games aside from a few key titles which are well out of my acceptable price range at this time. 

I told myself this nearly 20 years ago

[Tanooki | 4,933]

I'm not, I mean I say I am but when I do I also say if it's such a good deal and I know I'd play it, I'd make room.  It's why I keep sitting around the higher 80s/low 90s for years now.  Some go in, some go out, but they're sourced locally and away from being ebay ridiculous so it's worth it to me.

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

5 hours ago, Gloves said:

might start picking up some cheap games that have sentimental NintendoAge/VGS Weekly contest sentiment to them. I've had good times with games like Marble Madness and a bunch of shmups I've contested with @docile tapeworm over. I cherish those memories and could probably stand to own the games proper once I have the space, assuming I don't find myself suddenly house poor. 

Off the top of my head…abadox, Sqoon, dragon spirit, silver surfer, guardian legend, life force….memories brother and games I picked up cib because of the good times shared during the contests. I even get attached to the cart used during those contests and keep them along side a cib copy.

[mbd39 | 2,020]

8 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Does anyone besides @DefaultGencare about Atari anymore? I’ve got maybe 5 more games I want and that will put me at 10

Yes. Head over to AtariAge. Many who are passionate about collecting and playing Atari are on there. It's also the only place on the internet where you'll see people praise Atari while trashing Nintendo. One of many such threads: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/245652-how-come-a-lot-getting-into-retro-games-skip-atari/

 

[Gloves | 11,776]

7 hours ago, Sumez said:

I told myself this nearly 20 years ago

It's worth noting that I'm not a huge NES fan, too. 

[Tanooki | 4,933]

AtariAge would be a good/best fit, but they're morphing a bit with the coverage in the last few years.  There has been more push back against isolating Nintendo, etc and treating the format and those who care poorly.  The site has got more like this one where it's a catch all, and given so few stand alone forums exist anymore with daily consistent members and traffic it's hard to blame them.  Writing is on the wall due to crappy social media that archives little, so you write a new book, or fade into obscurity.  I've been there years, own nothing Atari anymore unless it's Tengen at this rate, but so much goes on there you can easily keep busy.  AA though due to heritage which goes way way back, still has that atari forward face right down to even new releases like when NA was pumping odd stuff out, but it's inclusive and well/fairly moderated.  Also has good policies in place to deal with bs, and politics are banned as will people who dabble in it as to not distract, split, and tear down the site with twits who can't control their social urges.

[goldenpp72 | 1,234]

19 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Does anyone besides @DefaultGencare about Atari anymore? I’ve got maybe 5 more games I want and that will put me at 10

 

NES has stood the test of time and will always have provenance and relevance, perhaps not the full set but there will always be collectible stuff. 

I kinda care, I had to drop 1300 on a game for the 2600 recently and lost another that hit 1200  That said, you're fully correct that the legacy and aggression for that brand is much less significant. In my perspective from the collecting scene, Nintendo > Sega > Sony > Atari > Microsoft for sure, and this ignores things like the Neo Geo or TG-16 since they had a limited presence (yet still super aggressive prices) 

[Foochie776 | 1,051]

13 hours ago, goldenpp72 said:

I kinda care, I had to drop 1300 on a game for the 2600 recently and lost another that hit 1200  That said, you're fully correct that the legacy and aggression for that brand is much less significant. In my perspective from the collecting scene, Nintendo > Sega > Sony > Atari > Microsoft for sure, and this ignores things like the Neo Geo or TG-16 since they had a limited presence (yet still super aggressive prices) 

I’d say you’re pretty on the nose there. $1,200? Wow, I honestly didn’t know if there was a high end like Atari for that anymore. There’s only one cart I want above the $100 threshold and it’s just a matter of pulling the trigger at this point. 

[goldenpp72 | 1,234]

2 minutes ago, Foochie776 said:

I’d say you’re pretty on the nose there. $1,200? Wow, I honestly didn’t know if there was a high end like Atari for that anymore. There’s only one cart I want above the $100 threshold and it’s just a matter of pulling the trigger at this point. 

It was for a CIB (pretty mint) copy of Q* Bert Qubes, the only other Atari 2600 game I want is similarly rare though. I'd probably take it off my list if I didn't own the rest of them already.

[Foochie776 | 1,051]

1 minute ago, goldenpp72 said:

It was for a CIB (pretty mint) copy of Q* Bert Qubes, the only other Atari 2600 game I want is similarly rare though. I'd probably take it off my list if I didn't own the rest of them already.

Oh for sure, makes sense. I was thinking loose cart and that’s why I was so shocked at the price. I want to pick up a cart of Chase the Chuckwagon but just have not done so yet

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

On 1/23/2023 at 11:48 PM, Foochie776 said:

Does anyone besides @DefaultGencare about Atari anymore? I’ve got maybe 5 more games I want and that will put me at 10

 

NES has stood the test of time and will always have provenance and relevance, perhaps not the full set but there will always be collectible stuff. 

 Raises hand 

Edited January 25, 2023 by LeatherRebel5150

[G-type | 2,480]

Videogame collecting is unique in that there is a cut-off point where cartridges end. I don't see disc-based collecting ever becoming as popular as cartridge collecting, simply because they're not as robust as cartridges when it comes to archival and preservation. I think we are past the phase where people are collecting out of nostalgia, and will soon be past the phase of speculators, leaving behind a smaller but stable niche of collectors who think old games are just cool. 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

20 minutes ago, G-type said:

Videogame collecting is unique in that there is a cut-off point where cartridges end. I don't see disc-based collecting ever becoming as popular as cartridge collecting, simply because they're not as robust as cartridges when it comes to archival and preservation. I think we are past the phase where people are collecting out of nostalgia, and will soon be past the phase of speculators, leaving behind a smaller but stable niche of collectors who think old games are just cool. 

Ive never been interested in collecting any disc based games. There is just so much uncertainty to them that I’m kind of repelled by them to be honest and ones I do have I don’t even consider “part of the collection” when thinking about my collection. They’re just another *thing* I happen to own. 

[Tanooki | 4,933]

I've not wanted to touch optical either to collect, just play.  It's just too many long term negative variables.  I have one left, the Gamecube, and that ones drive went south a year back and I bought that old one day one at retail.  And I'm sure we've seen the nearly total print run of MGS on there with cracked art on discs, some others get it too, so far it doesn't effect the play but it could be a sign of starter rot to spread.  Optical isn't stable like a cart, bit rot is easy, one wrong nick or scratch and it's toast too, they're just too fragile.  How flaky discs can be and how the drives can just go south or worse other settings about it most can't figure out or have the tools to fix makes them more a time bomb than others.  I keep the Gamecube around as I like what I do have, a few more I've slowly grabbed when the price isn't god awful, and to me was their last great home dedicated console.  But with what I have there, you look at my gameboy family (dmg through adv) or the pre-GC era carts, every system I have more, some, twice and a bit more too.  They're safer to deal with.

[goldenpp72 | 1,234]

6 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I've not wanted to touch optical either to collect, just play.  It's just too many long term negative variables.  I have one left, the Gamecube, and that ones drive went south a year back and I bought that old one day one at retail.  And I'm sure we've seen the nearly total print run of MGS on there with cracked art on discs, some others get it too, so far it doesn't effect the play but it could be a sign of starter rot to spread.  Optical isn't stable like a cart, bit rot is easy, one wrong nick or scratch and it's toast too, they're just too fragile.  How flaky discs can be and how the drives can just go south or worse other settings about it most can't figure out or have the tools to fix makes them more a time bomb than others.  I keep the Gamecube around as I like what I do have, a few more I've slowly grabbed when the price isn't god awful, and to me was their last great home dedicated console.  But with what I have there, you look at my gameboy family (dmg through adv) or the pre-GC era carts, every system I have more, some, twice and a bit more too.  They're safer to deal with.

While this is all valid, I think it stands to reason that for a time, and still to a degree today, most of the disc based titles could be purchased for only a mere fraction of what other games cost. While that has shifted a bit in recent times, the scale is still there. Your very expensive PS1 games are still nothing in comparison to the upper tier NES titles. I recently boosted up my PS1 collection about 20 titles to make sure I was happy with it, and most of the games were averaged around 10 bucks in nice enough shape.

Basically, if I can buy 100 disc for the cost of a few carts, and a few of the disc end up malfunctioning over time, it's kind of not that big of a deal to me, especially since the chances I'll actually find out are pretty slim to be fair. Disc rot and such while real isn't overly concerning, games from the 90s still hold up just fine 95 percent of the time in this regard, and ones that don't are assumed to be poor manufacturing. It is a bit of a lottery in some senses, but it's a very low stakes one in contrast.

Thankfully for me, the large bulk of my disc based titles ranging from PS1, PS2, Xbox, Wii and 360, those systems alone make up about 2/3 of my entire disc collection, and when purchased they were almost all universally cheap, and even today most of them aren't expensive. When diving into systems like the Saturn, Turbografx, Sega CD, etc, it can be concerning since you might end up dropping real money on some of those games. In contrast, the PS3, Wii U, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series all have disc that not only keep extremely well due to matured process, but also have an extremely difficult to damage coating on the bottom, making them a much easier thing to collect.

I have a really rare game that has an issue where the audio skips one time in the intro, it's annoying, but overall not a big deal since most other things have worked just fine. I'm not sure if I would get into very old disc based collecting in the year of 2023, but you could likely amass thousands of disc based titles and still do so very cheaply while ending up with a ton of great games.

I still prefer carts myself of course, it's the preferred media for a collector and it just has a certain sense of satisfaction to it, that and optical drives are a big pain in the ass.

Edited January 26, 2023 by goldenpp72

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

22 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Oh for sure, makes sense. I was thinking loose cart and that’s why I was so shocked at the price. I want to pick up a cart of Chase the Chuckwagon but just have not done so yet

If you're patient you can usually find those for under $100 during the summer months on ebay.

After not touching my 2600 stuff for over a decade I finally decided to start selling most of it off.  I'll still keep my full 7800 set (for now)

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

On 1/23/2023 at 9:48 PM, Foochie776 said:

Does anyone besides @DefaultGencare about Atari anymore? I’ve got maybe 5 more games I want and that will put me at 10

I'm going pretty hardcore for a full set. Yes.....full.