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I recently saw a friend list a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) package on Facebook Marketplace for a criminally low price. In addition to the console, they offered two controllers, a Light Zapper, and a few games, all for less than a hundred bucks.
However, rather than pick up the system to turn a quick profit, I thought it better to message the lister and tell them they could get more if, at worst, they took it to a secondhand video game store in our city. I then showed her a listing by one of these shops offering the NES console with one controller for just under $100.
The comment I got back didn’t surprise me: “I just thought it was a bunch of junk,” the friend said.
RISE IN VIDEO GAME COLLECTING
This reaction isn’t uncommon. While the baseball cards and toys we had as children during the 1980s and ’90s are well known to have collector value today, video games have had a slower pick-up. To put things into perspective, witness a 2006 eBay auction for nineteen NES cartridges. Though used and lacking the sleeves, instructions, and boxes, the lot would command some very decent coin today. Back then, this auction garnered just $37.01. Yes, you read that right—for just under $2 per cartridge (before shipping, of course), you could own the likes of Super Mario Bros. 3, Kung Fu, and The Legend of Zelda.
Did your jaw drop? If so, you’re likely one of the collectors who, as reported by Chris Kohler of Kotaku in 2019, joined the collecting fray amid an outburst of investors and hobbyists in recent years.
Numerous sources speaking to Kotaku for this story have all said the same thing: The past two years have seen an influx of new money coming in to the classic game collecting scene, primarily high-end collecting experts from other areas of interest like comic books, Magic cards, and coins.
They see video games as the next big thing. Like a mint-condition Action Comics issue #1 might be the ultimate trophy of nostalgia for the superhero age of the mid-20th century, so too might a sealed Mario be the perfect bottling of the pop-culture moment of the 1980s.
Chris Kohler
GAMETIONARY: BASIC VIDEO GAME TERMINOLOGY
When shopping for games online, there are three general terms to be aware of: “loose,” “complete in box,” and “new” or “sealed.” Two of these are pretty easy:
- Loose: These are the games, systems, or documentation, such as user manuals. Often having the lowest value (though still popular), loose pieces are far and away the most populated because games’ previous owners used them and tossed portions, like the original boxes, away.
- New / Sealed: Today, these games are exactly how they came from the factory down to the retailer. Most often, these include the original shrink wrap, and the internal contents haven’t seen the light of day since they arrived in stores. Even breaking the security sticker would cause the grade to fall to Complete in Box.
- Complete-in-box (CIB): This category is where things get complicated. Complete-in-box can hold different meanings for different collectors since some games—be they standard issue or collector edition—come with extra packaging pieces. In some cases, this is a promotional piece like a figurine, but in others, it can be as simple as an ad card for a gaming magazine.
So how complete is complete?
“At a minimum, games must include the original Box, Cartridge, and Manual to be considered CIB (only with a handful of exceptions, such as games that never came with a manual),” says Deniz Kahn, founder of game grading company WATA. “While some collectors are satisfied by meeting the base requirements, others don’t consider a game ‘complete’ until it includes everything it was packaged with. This can range from what we call Standard Inserts, such as dust sleeves and baggies, to Publisher Specific Inserts (PSIs), such as warranty cards and advertisements, to a term we created called ‘Game Specific Inserts’ (GSIs), which are posters, maps, 3-D Glasses, or other inserts that were included in the box but are specific to that game title.”
The completion and condition of a game, of course, factor into third-party grading. Like sports cards and comics, companies like WATA assess the wear-and-tear of a game, be it loose or fully intact.
THE BADDER, THE BETTER: SELECTING VIDEO GAMES
So now that we’ve got the basic terminology down—we’ll get deeper into the lexicon in future articles—let’s consider which titles will be the most expensive and the most affordable as you build a collection.
The overriding principle, of course, is that rarity rules all. If you have a title seldom found in good condition or completely sealed, you’re sitting on a decent little goldmine. Like in sports and entertainment memorabilia, the bigger the name, the more people will chase it. Mario, Sonic, and Lara Croft are the names that built video game empires, and like Michael Jordan or Ken Griffey Jr., these are the superstars everyone wants to own.
What makes video game collecting different, however, is that the more unpopular a product was during its market period, the more desirable it is today. Many of these pieces did not have strong sales and are considerably hard to find in a collector-driven market. This principle applies to games and consoles.
In other cases, a game’s production drops when a console’s life cycle ends. Fewer cartridges or discs hit the market if that game is released right before the console’s next-gen iteration. Additionally, limited-edition versions sell with bonus game features or physical extras, but other games aren’t as prevalent because they were packaged together with a console. This combo makes some game versions harder to find on their own (e.g., Super Mario Bros., which primarily came alongside the NES console). Sometimes, a unique skin is created for the console or its controllers, making those pieces scarcer for collectors.
THE GAME IS ON
Regardless of the pricing market, getting into video game collecting has a built-in fun factor.
Unlike a toy or comic book, where keeping a collectible in pristine condition means keeping it closed off in a protective case, games are playable with little concern for damage. If a cartridge isn’t sealed in its packaging, you can still pop it into a console and play to your heart’s content without risk of damage. Yes, many games we know and love are available on virtual consoles or other means, but there’s nothing like playing the real thing.
Now that you’re familiar with video game collecting, the real fun begins.
Want to know more about video game collecting? Check out this primer on Nintendo’s home-gaming systems over the years.
Jon Waldman is a Winnipeg-based writer. He has written for Beckett, Go GTS, Canadian Sports Collector, and several other hobby outlets over his two decades in the hobby. His experience also includes two books on sports cards and memorabilia. Connect with Jon on Twitter at @jonwaldman.
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