If you’ve kept around old video games from when you were young, don’t be surprised if you’re sitting on a small fortune.
Auction houses are clamouring for rare games and vintage consoles, with nostalgia driving up prices among collectors. And the money being thrown around is eye-watering.
A Nintendo 64 game system with games and controller from 1996 in New York City. (Photo by Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images) (Getty)
It’s big business, so big that Goldin Auctions will soon have its own Netflix series.
Goldin’s gaming expert and Video Game Consignment Director, Jared Mast, says now more so than ever, “nostalgia” is a driving force and key motive to start searching through your old stuff.
“Nostalgia is a massive part of video game collecting,” Mr Mast told Nine.
The 1996 Nintendo 64 copy of Super Mario 64 sold by Goldin Auctions (Goldin)
“Some games are even collectible because they’re so bad that they become memorable/collectible.
“Anything and everything you can think of that you might connect with during your video game playing journey becomes a reason for ownership and adding to one’s collection.”
And even if you didn’t play games from decades ago, a modern title such as Fortnite – which exploded in popularity in 2017 – could be worth serious cash.
“The video game market is certainly not driven solely by year,” Mr Mast said.
“Some of the older games, such as Atari, have little value due to their production level versus actual playability on the console. Fortnite (2017), is a recent title that demands a premium on the market, similar to Minecraft.
“The prints, condition and game popularity will outpace the year in terms of hammer price and value for the most part.”
What to do if you find your old gaming collectables?
And should you stumble upon something vintage, Mast has a simple guide for you to follow.
“If those games are sealed and unopened, obviously step one is – don’t open them!” he said.
“Step two is to contact an expert, like myself, for a fair evaluation and chance to understand what the best steps are for you as a collector or possible seller of the game.
“There are quite a bit of different options depending on the condition of the game, system and value that will be important when speaking with an expert, for this reason, I would not recommend a local game shop as a point of reference.”
Local Australian collector, Nick Maver, says nostalgia drives his collection.
“Nostalgia is massive… it was all started by my dad buying me (2009) Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition – that’s what started it all,” he said.
“There’s always that memory of that edition, which I still have, and I will never sell that.
“To me, it’s all about having that [collection] there, I’m not one to take it (the collectable) out of the box … I leave everything as it is and try not to touch or damage anything.
A look at Nick Maver’s collection of more than 250 individual collectables (Nine)
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