At what point do games become priceless?

Inspired by this thread HERE, in regards to the blister packed Shining Force II for Mega Drive...

I was wondering - Does collecting certain games in sealed condition get to the point where the games become so stupidly rare and valuable that no other collector can afford them? In the case of T-Mek or Primal Rage for 32X for example, only the richest and most determined collector's are the ones who can afford such rare games in such rare condition, whilst the current owners of such items will never be able to sell them until such time a very well-off collector comes along. In which case, the sellers often settle for much less than what the game is actually truly worth, or holding out until such time a very wealthy collector shows an interest

Such things like Neo Geo AES games were expensive to start with, so their going rates are average in comparison to games for other consoles which increase / decrease in value by a similar percentage based on their original RRP. But sealed GameBoy and N64 games seem to be increasing in value lately, and much higher than the standard inflation for such items

In the case of the sealed Shining Force II, £600 is a lot, although I wouldn't discount its rarity or the fact that it may even be worth that much these days in that condition - But at the end of the day, who can actually afford to buy it? It's gotten to the point where it's unsellable due to the fact that it's TOO rare in this condition - And with every sale of this rarity, the price will likely increase, much like famous artworks. If you take various artworks by Leonardo Da Vinci as an example, his works have become so priceless that they are unsellable as very few people have the money to purchase such works as the Mona Lisa

I fear for certain items in my own collection, and believe that some have the potential to become very sought after items in years to come, but at what cost? Adol has reccently struggled to sell some of his rarer games, despite his prices being fair - The truth is, no one can actually afford to pay the true value of certain games

So, with various sealed games going up and up in value lately, will it get to the point where they become "Too valuable"?

I believe it has to do with love. I don't think you could spend the amounts of money high end collectors do unless you had a genuine love for the item or hobby itself. I think it also varies by what you genuinly expect to come accross again in your life. Soa combination of the two. If it's rare you want it, if it's rare AND you love it...even more so.

The most I think I have ever spent on a game is 600. However, I just dropped 2k on a piece of Maxx art that I know is one of a kind, so go figure.

Startyde wrote:I believe it has to do with love. I don't think you could spend the amounts of money high end collectors do unless you had a genuine love for the item or hobby itself. I think it also varies by what you genuinly expect to come accross again in your life. Soa combination of the two. If it's rare you want it, if it's rare AND you love it...even more so.

The most I think I have ever spent on a game is 600. However, I just dropped 2k on a piece of Maxx art that I know is one of a kind, so go figure.

make sure you post that shiz when u get it!!!

This anecdote might seem a little offtopic; give me a chance to explain its relevance:

I remember a story from the local newspaper that was about two years ago. It discussed a family that had, for several generations, owned a work (only a hand-drawn sketch, not a painting or blueprint or such) that they believed they could trace back to being a Da Vinci original. Anyway, they eventually decided to have it professionally authenticated, which revealed that, yes, it was indeed an genuine Da Vinci work.

Then, they had to sell it for not much more than it cost to authenticate (around A$1,000,000, I think). See, once they knew it was an original, they had to have it insured based on its now-known value, and they couldn't afford the insurance.

I'm not sure why they had to have it insured; I've heard a few theories, such that by not having it insured, they were considered to be prepared to take a risk that would effectively nullify any other insurance they had on things like the building or its other contents. I need to do more research on the exact details of that; but anyway…

So, as far as something being "Too valuable", I think that - especially if the value was due to a game appreciating to a hundred or so times its original value - it could indeed be problematic, in ways that you wouldn't even initially foresee. So yeah, it could become "Too valuable", if by that you mean "not having a monetary liquidity that reflects its rarity or cost-of-upkeep".

On the other hand, I think that actual sealed copies of games themselves would not (ever) be considered art; they're more akin to movie memorabilia. Sure, the game *in execution* is a work of art, perhaps even the *depiction* of box cover art or manual layout, but they are all reproductions and, for the most part, produced from master sources that will never be lost. This will put a practical ceiling on the value of games, even sealed (in my opinion). Sure, like trading cards or cereal-box toys or whatever, they will gain value based on rarity and completeness. But I don't think they'll ever become priceless until they're almost unique *and* the masters have been lost (which will rarely happen).

Many of us can actually remember back to how hard this type of collecting (both buying and selling) was before eBay. But comics and movie set memorabilia and jewelry and antiques and so on, had all eventually developed a tiered market for dealing with this kind of rarity, and games will, too, as demand increases (and that's if you don't already think that they have).

That's why I don't collect based on price, but rather based on what I actually like. Sometimes it's expensive (chrono trigger) sometimes it' cheap (killer instinct).

But unlike some collectors, I don't collect games i've never played, I don't collect doubles/triples, I don't try to collect full sets. I don't collect to try and make others envious. I collect for my own personal satisfaction, so I'll never have a problem with what my games are worth to anyone else. They are priceless to me.

Only people who are concerned with resale and treat games like an investment would be worried about such a thing.

Of course, games being worth more are a nice bonus, but I don't buy games with the intention of selling them.

The Imp told most of my thoughts.
Indeed some games will be TOO expensive pretty soon. Look at the chrono and zelda's and mgs and such... But they won't be priceless for sure. They are "mass production". Like figures, coins and etc...

striker wrote:That's why I don't collect based on price, but rather based on what I actually like. Sometimes it's expensive (chrono trigger) sometimes it' cheap (killer instinct).

But unlike some collectors, I don't collect games i've never played, I don't collect doubles/triples, I don't try to collect full sets. I don't collect to try and make others envious. I collect for my own personal satisfaction, so I'll never have a problem with what my games are worth to anyone else. They are priceless to me.

Only people who are concerned with resale and treat games like an investment would be worried about such a thing.

Of course, games being worth more are a nice bonus, but I don't buy games with the intention of selling them.

I couldn't of said this better myself.

What are your thoughts on Wild Arms V 10th Anniversary then guys?

Gemini-Phoenix wrote:What are your thoughts on Wild Arms V 10th Anniversary then guys?

Out of print -> People are going crazy for getting it because they think that this is their last chance -> Prices are going up.

I think that Wild Arms V won't hold it price. It will definitely be rare and sought after but it price will drop.

Sepeh wrote:

Gemini-Phoenix wrote:What are your thoughts on Wild Arms V 10th Anniversary then guys?

Out of print -> People are going crazy for getting it because they think that this is their last chance -> Prices are going up.

I think that Wild Arms V won't hold it price. It will definitely be rare and sought after but it price will drop.

anyone care to find out how many where produced ie:region wise

i have both the pal and ntsc versions and sealed
total cost for both £70

New systems like virtual console is an indicator of the future. The recent oil crisis has lead me to believe that eventually video game companies will switch to a downloadable database. The demand will skyrocket for vintage video games, which in turn will make sealed games explode. I cannot see a situation where prices for title games will decrease. I can see myself very old and saying "I remember when games came in packages". Games are not priceless now but the will be very soon. I already consider parts of mine pricless and will never be taken from me no matter what.