CNN Money investigates the crazed market for the video games of yore, fueled by the likes of RetroLiberty, a YouTube channel about finding vintage video games at swap meets or parking lot deals, and Videogamesnewyork, a shop specializing in vintage game gear from the last century.
From CNN Money:
Prices skyrocketed almost overnight, says JJ Hendricks, whose site Video Games Price Charting tracks the going rate for vintage games. He estimates the market for retro games is now worth about $200 million annually. Hendricks once spent months negotiating with a mysterious source in Canada to buy one of only two Powerfest 94 prototypes known to exist (seen at right). He ultimately made the deal — for $12,000 in cash.
It's the perfect storm. Just as kids who grew up in the '80s and '90s are reaching their thirties, the supply of vintage games is shrinking.
"I think it's just a nostalgia for when they were younger," says David Kaelin, who runs the Classic Game Fest in Austin, Texas, and owns a chain of shops, Game Over Videogames. "It was a more innocent time in gaming. They were easier to pick up and play, less violent, more universally accessible than they are now…."
"For retro gamers, one of the most important things is reliving that experience you had when you were a kid," says (RetroLiberty's Aaron) Stapish, who plays retro games about 30 hours a week. "So you want to have the actual game, you want to actually put the game in the system and hold it with the original controller."
"Your old video game could be worth $12,000" (CNN Money)
