Re: Game values

> > I've noticed a peculiar influx of questions to me over the last 6 months
of
> > people looking for the "classics"-- you know, like Mortal Kombat and the
> > original Street Fighter 2. :-/ Seems there's maybe a new generation
making
> > their way into the scene... It's kind-of like the bell curve is just
> > moving. Still, vector stuff like (working) Asteroids boards and
especially
> > repair services for them seem to still be booming.
> >
> Even if the more recent "classics" become more popular in the short term,
> the older stuff will *always* become more valuable. Just look at the
> original classics: pinball and slot machines from the 40's and 50's. In
good
> condition, the command prices in the thousands.

I have to disagree here.

People started 'collecting' this video junk 10-15 years after its
production, 10-15 years, you can still find it.

collecting jukes/pins didn't really have a *great* following until the 80's,
40-50 years after production... why do they command such high prices?
because there's few left...

Videos can only go up ever so slightly, then downhill from there. Think of
how many machines are changing hands right now. Each one of those machines
is 'saved' from being junked etc.. if a machine is in someone's living
room/gamesroom now, how likely is it that it will get junked? not likely at
all so long as the percieved value is 'oooh, that's asteroids, that worth
loads, i can't possibly junk that.'

so now sit back and think just how many machines are surviving... a butt
load.

how many of us have got a decent selection of games now? the only things
that people will be fighting over is the low production stuff, which by now
has found its way into each serious collectors gamesroom.

Videos will die soon, i give it 10 years and early eighties videos will
probably be at the same price they are now, if not lower, we might have all
moved on, got families/kids etc and the videos just don't have priority...
so you decide to sell them.. but who wants them? the only people browsing
the net looking for videos in 10 years time might only be after street
fighters/mortal kombat et al..

Look at 1970's black and white raster videos... how much do they make on
ebay? PENNIES!! by the common thought of, "the older it gets, the more its
worth" this doesn't ring true at all does it!!!???!! Where are all the
people that played these videos in the 70's?? too busy with family/house
stuff probably.. Lets face it, most early eighties video collectors are 30
somethings with money to burn (kind of).

The recent slump i can only attribute to the fact its summertime, and year
after year prices hit rock bottom, then pick up in the winter... however,
prices really have hit an all-time low and i think we're on the downward
spiral.

Common machines (as the names suggests) will remain at low prices. The
market is almost full. Almost everyone that ever wanted and asteroids (for
example) probably has one now. So what happens to the remaining number of
asteroids that are still being found? well nobody wants them, or at least,
fewer people fight over winning them in auctions... net result = low prices.

The next level of this is now we all have an asteroids machine, we want a
'perfect' machine. Prices for stunning examples will probably go high as
everyone wants the nicest looking example. Rare production nmbers,
interesting bits of history will all be selling points.... why? If you go
round someone's house and see an asteroids sitting there, its nothing
special.. eeryone has one.. but if yours is in super-fine condition, now
there's something to brag about. or its a certain production number.. now
thre's an interesting talking point (maybe ;)

Nothing can keep going up and up in value. 'collecting' stuff is a
relatively new concept, 80's onwards.. nearly everyone you speak to nowadays
collects something or other...

but speak to someone in the 60's/70's, how many people do you think
collected stuff? not many at all..

So much older shit will always command high prices because there's so little
left.

Videos are too new, and there's far too many examples around for any of it
to be worth thousands in the future.

just my $2 worth :)

Andy Welburn

> --
> Anthony Ramos________
> 600 SE 39th Ave., # 3 \__ aramos@ele-mental.org .. aramos@hyperreal.org
> Portland, OR 97214 \___ information design .. multimedia production
> (503) 236-6303 \____________interactive art .. image synthesis

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Received on Fri Jun 29 08:03:42 2001