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Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000

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Re: Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000

#21

Post by gradstudent »

br78 wrote: post #18
gradstudent wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Game collecting has become a thing lately and the more rabid collectors are, frankly, idiots.

Do you think? Films are only 100 years old and collecting film memorabilia has been popular for some time. Is it not conceivable that video games might be collected in the same way in 60 or 70 years time? Young people starting to collect now might rationalising their purchases as a bet that the value of such things will skyrocket by the end of their lifetime. I don't think that's such a crazy bet.

> Is it not conceivable that video games might be collected in the same way in 60 or 70 years time?

I'm not arguing against collecting games. I'm saying that paying (almost) six figures for a cart that historically sells for about five times less, a cart that can't even be readily identified, is dumb.

Re: Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000

#23

Post by userbinator »

marban wrote: post #10

Not sure if someone will fork out 100k for a dev build of Angry Birds in 20 years from now.

The thing about this cartridge is that it's a physical object, and people can generally see more value in possessing one rather than effectively just a very large integer... someone has already dumped the ROM for this one and you can find it offered in a lot of places online.

Re: Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000

#25

Post by pirateking »

Sometimes, I wish I kept my rather comprehensive collection of Squaresoft games, Nintendo consoles and games, and rare Capcom imports. I got about $2000 total for all of them a couple years ago on eBay - much less than what I thought they would be worth.

I had imagined that someday I would just be able to emulate the games on future computers, and there was no rational reason to waste space with the dusty relics I was not playing. What was less obvious at the time was that I really had little intention of actually re-playing most of these now collectibles which I had already played to a pulp. The future of perfect hardware and software emulation was as irrelevant as was impossible.

What I gave up for some quick cash was basically a life long historical record with the physical artifacts to match. It will be a bitter sweet day in the future when I visit the Video Game Museum to see my lost history. At least I still have my Marvel cards.

Re: Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000

#28

Post by pmelendez »

gradstudent wrote: post #21
br78 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think? Films are only 100 years old and collecting film memorabilia has been popular for some time. Is it not conceivable that video games might be collected in the same way in 60 or 70 years time? Young people starting to collect now might rationalising their purchases as a bet that the value of such things will skyrocket by the end of their lifetime. I don't think that's such a crazy bet.

> Is it not conceivable that video games might be collected in the same way in 60 or 70 years time? I'm not arguing against collecting games. I'm saying that paying (almost) six figures for a cart that historically sells for about five times less, a cart that can't even be readily identified, is dumb.

>"cart that can't even be readily identified"

The cart can be identified by the switches on the front, also since only 90 cart were produced (and gave away, you couldn't even buy one) makes it collecting value fairly high.

One can disagree about the irrationality of a collector with money, but I wouldn't call stupid something that I don't understand, it's rude and potentially incorrect.

Re: Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000

#29

Post by philpill »

gradstudent wrote: post #20
marban wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't call collectors who act out of irrationality stupid since you have to look at the motivation behind a deal situationally — I'd just say it's on the edge of being an unethical waste of money.

> I wouldn't call collectors who act out of irrationality stupid since you have to look at the motivation behind a deal situationally — I'd just say it's on the edge of being an unethical waste of money. Unethical? Huh? Ethics is concerned with morality; with right and wrong. There's nothing inherently wrong about paying large sums of money for beat-up bits of electronics. It's just plain ol' stupid.

One good reason might be if you think the value is going to increase beyond what you paid for it, like people paying whatever mad amount for bitcoins.

I think people who spend huge amounts on diamonds are stupid, but everyone has their reasons.

Re: Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000

#30

Post by gradstudent »

pmelendez wrote: post #28
gradstudent wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it not conceivable that video games might be collected in the same way in 60 or 70 years time? I'm not arguing against collecting games. I'm saying that paying (almost) six figures for a cart that historically sells for about five times less, a cart that can't even be readily identified, is dumb.

>"cart that can't even be readily identified" The cart can be identified by the switches on the front, also since only 90 cart were produced (and gave away, you couldn't even buy one) makes it collecting value fairly high. One can disagree about the irrationality of a collector with money, but I wouldn't call stupid something that I don't understand, it's rude and potentially incorrect.

> One can disagree about the irrationality of a collector with money, but I wouldn't call stupid something that I don't understand, it's rude and potentially incorrect.

I'm not arguing from a position of ignorance. I've been collecting NES games for close to 20 years. I think I know what's what. But don't take my word for it; see for yourself what the NES collecting community makes of this auction:

http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=3&threadi...

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