With gaming becoming a more popular pastime during the COVID-19 pandemic, some video games have seen a significant rise in value, so now might be a good time to look through your old video games to see if you have a fortune lying around.
Research conducted by Paxful looked at the value of the global resale market for second-hand video games during lockdown to find out which games have been sold for the most money during this time period.
Key findings:
- During the lockdown, the second-hand video games that sold for the highest price include Family Fun Fitness: Stadium Events for the NES ($55K) and Stunt Racer 64 for Nintendo 64 ($4.6K).
- Second-hand video games for PlayStation 2 sold for the most money during lockdown ($5.9M), closely followed by PlayStation 1 ($5.3M) and Super Nintendo ($4.9M).
- Sales of second-hand video games increased by 62% during lockdown. Games for Nintendo Switch enjoyed the biggest increase in sales (+446.63%) from before lockdown to during.
Spokesperson Joey from DKOldies, a retro game online store, has provided some expert commentary on how lockdown has affected the sale of video games.
1. How has the COVID-19 pandemic / local lockdowns affected video game sales at your store? Have you seen more or fewer sales?
Due to the pandemic, the gaming market has seen a meteoric rise and retro gaming, in particular, is experiencing quite a resurgence. With so many people stuck at home because stores and businesses are closed people are clamoring for things to keep them occupied. At least mentally, games have the ability to transport you to a whole different world and those kinds of diversions are exactly what people are craving right now. Multiplayer games are acting as another way to stay in touch with your friends since you’re not seeing them in person. Plus with so many working from home, there’s more time for leisure activities when you don’t have to worry about a commute. All of these factors are coming together at once and are driving this huge demand.
2. What do you think makes retro/vintage video games so popular?
Nostalgia plays a big role in the popularity of retro games, but there are many other reasons for its success. Modern games have become so large that it can take hours to download a single game, couple that with surprise updates that happen occasionally before you can play and it’s all just too much for some people. With retro games, you just put it in your console, press the power button, and you’re playing. Also, modern games have become riddled with in-app purchases and so much of the content that used to be provided for free is now only available after spending more money. Retro games included all this content in the original purchase price. They’re great for kids as well because the content is generally family-friendly and the controllers are easier to use as they don’t have as many buttons as modern controllers.
3. What do you think makes a vintage game so valuable?
Retro games are valuable in part because of their age. Some of these games are over 30 years old and the limited supply of them only gets smaller as time goes on. Also, the condition of the game cartridge plays a role. Finding a 30-year-old item in fantastic shape is only getting harder. Another big reason for a certain title’s rarity is due to there being a limited quantity. Some of these games that were produced later in a console’s life cycle had limited production runs and existing copies are highly sought after. Many people also have fond memories of the hours and hours that were spent with these games so they can hold quite a bit of sentimental value as well.
4. What have you found is the best-selling/most requested vintage game and console at your store? Why do you think it is so popular?
Right now the most requested retro console is the Nintendo 64. The kids who grew up with that console are now at the age where they’re wanting to revisit some of their favorite childhood games and sometimes they want to introduce them to their kids. The Nintendo 64 also had an amazing library of games. Mario 64 was the first time we got to see Mario in a 3d environment. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is regarded as one of the best adventure games ever made and a highlight in the Zelda series. The hit fighting game Super Smash Bros debuted on the console and the series is still going strong today. And Goldeneye introduced us to a 4 player multiplayer mode that was better than anything that had come before.
