N64 Prices-- Here to Stay?

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

I am so late to the N64 game. I should've jumped on the train years ago, but I guess I just thought the games haven't aged too well. Some of them have, some haven't, and some of them are simply timeless.

Anyway, I've been seeing N64 games absolutely skyrocket. You have Super Mario 64, as recently as 3 months ago it was a $20 game, now it's $50, and it's had consistent BIN sales of $60 and sometimes even $70. However, since a lot of these games have shot up, I've also seen them drop. Just look at Mario Kart 64, it quickly shot up, and now it's dropping back down. I'd like to tell myself it's because of accessible supply, since online shopping is the only option for most people, but I'm honestly not too sure. Are these doubled or sometimes even tripled values here to stay?

[a3quit4s | 4,096]

If you think those prices are high check on dkoldies and lukiegames one of them was selling a loose copy of goldeneye for $69.99. $5 off from $74.99!

[Tanooki | 4,932]

Well yes and no.

If you wish, look pre-stimulus check please on paid sales history.  I would expect THOSE values to be the norm with a few perhaps inching a bit up.  Right now is patent bs trying to buy a game unless it's downright common and not so much franchise.  Free money allowed the sharks and scum to jack up prices 10-50% on stuff because well free money.  Right NOW you are on a sky rocket, but in the grand scheme, no they're not going crazy.  N64 had gone up and kind of leveled off largely in the last couple years.  You also have generational drift from kid/teen to decently paid adult (or idiot not wise with cash) who will buy those lost memories or add more and not pay attention to the rate which collaboratively up the prices.

I'd avoid any mass reseller ebay, amazon, yahoo auction, or stand alone domain as those scumbags tack on a nice fat namesake tax price boost.  Look to true private sellers who get rid of fed up with it stuff, extras, or junk they find and don't demand top+ dollar on it.

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

1 hour ago, a3quit4s said:

If you think those prices are high check on dkoldies and lukiegames one of them was selling a loose copy of goldeneye for $69.99. $5 off from $74.99!

Yeah, those two are literally the scum(m) of the Earth. They're likely to go out of business soon anyway. They are both fighting for that demographic who doesn't care about their money and also doesn't care to do their research. Their biggest potential customers (collectors) see their markups and run back in the other direction.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,012]

Prices are up across the board. You mix cabin fever, stimulus check and $600 extra on all unemployment checks you get a bunch of people with actually excess money and they're letting it drop from the ceiling to the floor. 

Now, people are struggling but overall, there are a ton of people who a dropping real money on games right now.

Put that on the inability for resellers to get out and find games to flip, pawn shows unable to take in inventory and game stores forced to closed their doors, the supply is COMPLETELY bottlenecked. 

However, this is always the time of year where games absolutely peak. No different this year it'll just be a delay until the turnover can come happen again. 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

3 hours ago, LaytToTheParty said:

Yeah, those two are literally the scum(m) of the Earth. They're likely to go out of business soon anyway. They are both fighting for that demographic who doesn't care about their money and also doesn't care to do their research. Their biggest potential customers (collectors) see their markups and run back in the other direction.

I doubt theyre going anywhere. Both have been around for a long time. It seems ridiculous to collectors but to the girlfriend/significant other looking to pick up a gift for their nerdy other, they're a "legitimate" store rather than some randos on eBay

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

17 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I doubt theyre going anywhere. Both have been around for a long time. It seems ridiculous to collectors but to the girlfriend/significant other looking to pick up a gift for their nerdy other, they're a "legitimate" store rather than some randos on eBay

So if say, DkOldies, sold things over the phone the conversation would look like this:

DKOldies:  How may I help you?

Customer: I'd like an n64 with a controller please.

DKOldies: That'll be $164.99

Customer: Thank you.

DKOldies: Would you like anything else?

Customer. Uh, sure. Can I get Ocarina of Time?

DKOldies: Your grand total is $243.98

Customer: Seems legit

Like WTF. How could you be that stupid? A CiB sealed N64 with Super Mario 64 was $199 on release. Are people stupid enough to think a loose system with 1 controller and a game is worth more than that? If you go to yard sales you can easily pick up Ocarina and a console for under $60, or under $80 online pre-COVID.

 

[Tulpa | 3,492]

1 minute ago, LaytToTheParty said:

Like WTF. How could you be that stupid? A CiB sealed N64 with Super Mario 64 was $199 on release. Are people stupid enough to think a loose system with 1 controller and a game is worth more than that? If you go to yard sales you can easily pick up Ocarina and a console for under $60, or under $80 online pre-COVID.

 

Memories are short, and N64 debuted twenty-four years ago. If people are wanting a quick and easy (albeit pricey) way to play some GAEMZ!, then to them it is what it is.

I personally haven't seen N64 stuff at garage sales or swap meets in any significant numbers in several years.

[phart010 | 1,707]

I got into building up my N64 library like a year And Mario 64 was already close to $50 if I recall.. that’s why I still don’t have it..

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,012]

2 hours ago, Tulpa said:

Memories are short, and N64 debuted twenty-four years ago. If people are wanting a quick and easy (albeit pricey) way to play some GAEMZ!, then to them it is what it is.

I personally haven't seen N64 stuff at garage sales or swap meets in any significant numbers in several years.

It's the opposite for me. It's probably the most seen Nintendo console outside of the Wii for me. 

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

I don't think Coronavirus short term prices are here to stay. They might not not drop back to beginning of 2020 prices for everything, but I don't think any amount of nostalgic millennials can sustain $90 Paper Mario cartridges. But I also thought double digit unemployment would lead to less buyers for games, so what do I know.

[serge85 | 1]

Holy shit, paper mario is a 90 dollars game now? wtf

 

[Gloves | 11,776]

Getting kinda glad I've basically completed my N64 collection.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,012]

2 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

But I also thought double digit unemployment would lead to less buyers for games, so what do I know.

Add me to the clueless list. Who would've thought at record unemployment numbers we would see video games, trading cards, comics and figures become the hottest items on the market. 

[KokiriChild | 1,644]

We have to remember as well that this is already the time when people who grew up with and had systems like the Dreamcast, N64, PS1 and GameCube as their first system(s) are reaching their 20s and 30s, which is going to create a peak like NES and SNES did back at the turn of the previous decade. That combined with all the COVID stuff as others have mentioned have basically injected that natural inflation with steroids.

I feel after the summer ends prices will probably cool a little, but not as much as one would hope. Games like Paper Mario are going to most likely experience what Conker's did just a few years ago where it went from a 100 dollar game back down to 65 or so. Across the board, though, we're going to probably wait until closer to 2030 when the Millenials and older Gen Z's have had their fill of nostalgia for the prices to plataeu like we are seeing now with NES. 

That being said, like with "rare, but not truly that rare" hype games such as Little Sampson, I don't see the price of games like Sculptor's Cut doing anything but grow for a while, which it is doing at a much more stable incline than actually playable games such as Paper Mario. 

I am very thankful that I have 95% of the playable 64 carts already in my collection, and pissed off I didn't buy a cart-only Sculptor's Cut back in 2010 when it was like a $30 cart and people only cared about the box and manual. I even had the chance to buy it back in 2017 for $325 and I decided to hold off, and now it's in the $400's. Sigh...

Edited May 25, 2020 by KokiriChild

[Gloves | 11,776]

Looking up prices and unfortunately for me one of the main games I'm still missing seems to have spiked a bit, as you might expect.

If anyone has a CIB Goemon (either/both of them) and has a soft spot for giving me a deal, please reach out to me lol.

[Gloves | 11,776]

As has been mentioned N64 isn't alone in this. Just checked GVN for another game for a different console I've been holding out on (idiot...), and here it is today:

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

41 minutes ago, KokiriChild said:

We have to remember as well that this is already the time when people who grew up with and had systems like the Dreamcast, N64, PS1 and GameCube as their first system(s) are reaching their 20s and 30s, which is going to create a peak like NES and SNES did back at the turn of the previous decade. That combined with all the COVID stuff as others have mentioned have basically injected that natural inflation with steroids.

I feel after the summer ends prices will probably cool a little, but not as much as one would hope. Games like Paper Mario are going to most likely experience what Conker's did just a few years ago where it went from a 100 dollar game back down to 65 or so. Across the board, though, we're going to probably wait until closer to 2030 when the Millenials and older Gen Z's have had their fill of nostalgia for the prices to plataeu like we are seeing now with NES. 

That being said, like with "rare, but not truly that rare" hype games such as Little Sampson, I don't see the price of games like Sculptor's Cut doing anything but grow for a while, which it is doing at a much more stable incline than actually playable games such as Paper Mario. 

I am very thankful that I have 95% of the playable 64 carts already in my collection, and pissed off I didn't buy a cart-only Sculptor's Cut back in 2010 when it was like a $30 cart and people only cared about the box and manual. I even had the chance to buy it back in 2017 for $325 and I decided to hold off, and now it's in the $400's. Sigh...

I'm kicking myself for not grabbing SM64 when it was $20. Now it's $50...

[Tanooki | 4,932]

Your shut in dollars and boredom at work people, it's not N64 it's toxic everywhere.  I wish we could get that kind of partial unemployment $600 boost, but there are rules by state or just in general with companies in how they get their bailout bucks, and depending how you can't file for it or you'll get let go by your employer and that's the issue here.  I kept trying to get my wife signed up but her boss was like if you do we have to let you go.  That really didn't help, nothing but that temporary 2900 from the gov't and that can only get stretched so far.

All hail the mighty flash kit, emulator box, emulator on your computer, or the completed to satisfaction game owners.

 

Recently I've been wanting to try Fire Emblem out on DS, it went from like $40 to now $80 for a completed copy on average (give or take a bit of luck) on ebay now.  I keep watching, but I'm not holding out to pay $30-35 for a loose one at this rate, never happening.

[phart010 | 1,707]

I think that the recession still hasn’t fully realized its way into Main Street. It has hit the stock market, but there were government assistance programs to give it a temporary boost. If corporate revenues don’t start picking back up, the stock prices may start dragging back down and possibly more layoffs. 
 

People would then start feeling insecure with declining 401k balances and mortgage insecurity. This is when game prices would start coming back down.. 

I am not at all saying this is a good thing, obviously it sucks for anyone’s security and well being to be affected. But if you want to know what it’s gonna take for game prices to come back down, it’s when people have bigger things to worry about than what games they don’t have in their collection 

Edited May 26, 2020 by phart010