Re: Game values

on 30 06 01 11.18, Andy Welburn at warlords@ntlworld.com wrote:

> oh of course... but relative to colour rasters and the vectors, b/w rasters
> (if they're not the big names) fetch very little, like $150 max. I wasn't
> berating the fact they are hard to find etc.. i know full well they're hard
> to find, but when they do turn up, they never fetch 'good' money..
>
> And if course my main point was to disprove the previous statement made that
> as things get older they are worth more that someone said earlier in the
> thread :) 70's b/wrasters = older than all colour rasters but != worth
> more..... unlike the guy who thought the older it is, the more it makes...
>
I would be that "someone" ;-)

I think we're dealing with two different value curves: gameplay and rarity.

The facts that the "childhood classics" window is expanding to include
Mortal Kombat, SF2 etc., and golden age game prices are declining somewhat,
support the theory that the classics are over the gameplay hump.

I think current buyers still get games first to *use* them, and second for
nostalgia. The investment value is an afterthought.

Slots and jukes, on the other hand, are long past the "use" curve. New slots
are more "exciting" than those made in the 20's. But a slot of that vintage
is following the "rarity" curve: it's worth much more because its age and
rarity bestows a kind of cultural significance.

Same for vintage jukes: CD jukes do the job much more efficiently, but the
classics win on rarity, style, nostalgia etc.

Today, B&W games are worth less than golden age games because, according to
current popular opinion, they aren't as "useful" for having fun. But, twenty
years from now, when there are still quite a few Ms. Pac-Mans, I bet the
last complete Sprint 8 is going to fetch a pret-ty penny.

Please discuss. :-)

-- 
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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