I have repeatedly, on this board and its Wotmania predecessor, pushed GOG.com as an excellent way to legitimately acquire old gaming classics. A lot of you were with me in that request, but there was one sentiment that arose repeatedly; that someone didn't want to pay $5-$10 for a game that outdated.
It seems to get played out in the marketplace of games, as well. Games (except for Nintendo titles, for some reason) lose their value quickly after their release... they're new, they're everywhere, they're expensive... and then they're gone, rare, cheap, and hard to find. You usually have to buy them used, in a system where none of the money paid goes to the people who worked to make the product.
I'm a big "games are Art" guy, and this just seems wrong to me. Yahtzee on the Escapist discussed the value of maintaining access to older games, arguing in favor of backwards compatibility so that we don't lose the important milestones of where our young medium has been before. I think sites like GOG.com, Steam, XBLive and Nintendo's Virtual Console are going a long way to to help that but what, in the end, is an old game worth? Does it keep depreciating in value as technology marches forward, rendering it more and more outdated, or does it eventually reach a standard resting place, a certain value inherent not in its "newness," but in the art to craft it?
It seems to get played out in the marketplace of games, as well. Games (except for Nintendo titles, for some reason) lose their value quickly after their release... they're new, they're everywhere, they're expensive... and then they're gone, rare, cheap, and hard to find. You usually have to buy them used, in a system where none of the money paid goes to the people who worked to make the product.
I'm a big "games are Art" guy, and this just seems wrong to me. Yahtzee on the Escapist discussed the value of maintaining access to older games, arguing in favor of backwards compatibility so that we don't lose the important milestones of where our young medium has been before. I think sites like GOG.com, Steam, XBLive and Nintendo's Virtual Console are going a long way to to help that but what, in the end, is an old game worth? Does it keep depreciating in value as technology marches forward, rendering it more and more outdated, or does it eventually reach a standard resting place, a certain value inherent not in its "newness," but in the art to craft it?
Eschew Verbosity
What is the value of an old game?
- 03/08/2011 04:41:26 PM
539 Views
Depends on the game.
- 03/08/2011 06:15:04 PM
402 Views
I agree on 5-10, depending
- 04/08/2011 05:22:36 PM
403 Views
I bought Arch Rivals (NES) for $2.50 a few months ago. I'd say that's fair.
- 04/08/2011 08:44:58 PM
388 Views