Denial

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/07/ ... ow-870000/

... which puts prices for VIC-20 Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash somewhat into perspective. Oh well ...

I really wonder if this sort of collecting is sustainable. Emulation, in my opinion, works almost like Marvel movies in making these things accessible but not necessarily needed as authentic. Comic IPs are more known now than ever, but most of the actual comic books are not really worth as much as speculators expected. Many know the game, but most will probably be happier with the now-coming game and watch Zelda (https://www.nintendo.com/products/detai ... -of-zelda/) than the used copy at the garage sale.

It always stings a little when something I used to own* is now worth a fortune.

It happens all the time, though, so I'm pretty used to it. It's part of being the generation that invented nostalgia. The Magic: The Gathering cards I sold to buy a guitar could now buy a house.

* You know, the Christmas of '86, for about four seconds, before ripping it open and losing the box.

New record holder, just a few days later:

https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/11/2257 ... e-auctions

... $1,560,000

There is probably something iffy going on behind the scenes, see here:

Exposing FRAUD And DECEPTION In The Retro Video Game Market, on YouTube, from 23rd August 2021.

Karl Jobst wrote:In today's video we take a look at the current retro video game bubble. We learn who caused it to happen, who is profiting, and what needs to be done to fix it.

Mike wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 3:40 am There is probably something iffy going on behind the scenes, see here:

The shame is the fallout to online communities and hobbyists as they're priced out of collecting, or shut down by investors who buy their forums. When the bubble bursts, individual collectors may be there to pick up the pieces in the sell-off.

Meanwhile, increasing wealth disparity is going to have an outsized effect in markets where people who collect for love have to interact with people who collect for money.

chysn wrote:Meanwhile, increasing wealth disparity is going to have an outsized effect in markets where people who collect for love have to interact with people who collect for money.

One would like to believe it is 'just' a case of serious/honest collectors being outbid by people who otherwise do not know where to burn their money, but alas it seems to be more involved than that ...

I wonder if this will evolve in the way comic book collecting did. Eventually, the books were worth very little, but the IPs penetrated popular culture in the form of endless super hero movies. I could imagine serious films being made about the Legend of Zelda while the carts and NES are really only interesting to nerd collectors and emulation suffices for the rest of society.