Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been trying to find more and more ways to occupy their time. Collecting hobbies such as coins, comics, books, and other things has become increasingly more popular.  Collecting video games has also seen a rise in interested people.  And while more people involved in something does mean popularity growth, which would, in turn, mean somewhat rising prices on items, something interesting, namely the sharply high rising prices of retro video games has that been happening more and more has caught the attention of the video game collecting community.   

Retro video games, and retro game collecting, have been featured in mainstream media more and more recently. Sealed copies of Super Mario 64, the original Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros have recently been auctioned for an almost combined total of 4.5 million dollars. Obviously, reports of video games being sold for hundreds and millions of dollars are sure to attract attention from different media outlets and websites.    

But within the game collecting community, seeing these certain graded games being auctioned at such absorbent amounts no doubt raised some eyebrows and had calls of concern. Yes, classic retro video games have always had a certain appeal. And while that appeal does come with a more expensive price, especially for still sealed, unopened games. It never has to the level of prices as what is currently happening.   

In 2017, an rare unopened copy of Super Mario Bros for the original Nintendo Entertainment System sold for thirty thousand dollars on eBay. A remarkable amount at the time. So, why are the other games now being auctioned for hundreds of thousands of dollars or more? More so, why is it happening from a specific grading company and auction house?  

Well, a YouTuber by the name of Karl Jobst has shed some light on what exactly could be happening with the rising prices of retro games, and the manipulations behind it. And he’s uploaded his findings onto YouTube.  

As someone who collects video games, seeing the game prices rising this high is concerning as it could potentially make prices on other video games too high.  

I love video games. I love collecting video games. Not for profit. But as an enjoyable hobby as I mainly focus on games I want to play and find interesting. Rarely, if at all, do I ever sell any of my video games. Hopefully watching this video will bring some awareness to what is happening with the prices going up. And hopefully, the market can recover if possible.

As said in the video, “People with a lot of money and power have taken over collecting and their thirst for money means we will all suffer.”