If you regularly look at the video games section of popular second-hand websites, you will likely have figured out that their prices are skyrocketing! It’s very likely that these retro games you’re looking at hold a special place in your heart, but the prices are enough to make you wonder. Below, we will discuss some of the reasons that retro video games are still so popular and why their pricing only seems to go up!
The pandemic has greatly induced in us a needful sense of living a normal life and resulted in an uptick of nostalgia. With a longing for simpler times, retro video games seem to have provided an answer to the problem.
Why Are Retro Games Priced So High?
The Pandemic
With social distancing requirements and keeping away from friends and family, retro video games have been making a resurgence. These entertainment systems are pure and simple fun that remind us of better times. As gamers rediscovered their love of retro games, the demand for these products rose, resulting in increased pricing.
The same month the pandemic really got nasty, retro video game interest rose by 88 percent. Though that was in March 2020, the retro video game craze is hardly close to dying out. In fact, the prices are even higher than what people were dictating at the start of the pandemic.
Fire Emblem and Paper Mario are both examples of retro games that saw their prices nearly doubled in the course of over a year. Many video games are starting to increase in demand and price as well without any signs of waning.
*Demand
The rising popularity of a retro video game directly impacts its demand, which in turn results in a much higher asking price. Before the pandemic, the price of these video games only went up to about $30— but this is no longer the case!
As the pandemic has seen to the rising popularity of retro video games, their prices have skyrocketed. Mario Kart is a prime example of a well-known game that is now worth triple what it was before the start of the pandemic.
*Nostalgia
Perhaps the most solid reason that people collect these video games is because of the sense of nostalgia they offer. For those that grew up with technology in the 90’s, they have fond memories playing with friends and family. This means that for every person reliving their childhood memories, the demand for video games has just gotten higher and the prices more unreasonable.
Oftentimes, higher prices are also an indicator that a game is starting to become harder to find. Spud’s Adventure and Donkey Kong were once nostalgic childhood favorites, but they’re also becoming exceedingly rare and hard to get ahold of. Finding these games at competitive prices is almost impossible!
*Condition
As these video games age, many of them are starting to malfunction or stop working altogether. When a popular title has only poor condition options left, the demand and the price seem to skyrocket. It often comes as a shock to gamers, but how can these beloved classics go out of order?
Most retro classic games saw their heyday in the 90s, and that means the games themselves date to that decade. Usually, only a set number of these games are manufactured and then they’re never produced again. The original publisher at this point usually focuses on their next release and doesn’t dabble in older games.
Since older games have seriously aged, their conditions have deteriorated over time. Most retro games have a lot of scratches, wear, and tear, but for the most part, they can still function. Unfortunately, there does come a time when regular wear and tear translates to actual damage that prevents the game from being playable. Once again, this unfortunate turn of events will mean rarer titles will become even harder to find in conditions still deemed functional.
