Gamestop is thinking about bringing back vintage games.

Sectorseven

Active member
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
1,888
Reaction score
23
Location
Connecticut
Gamestop is thinking about bringing back vintage games.

Looks like they're considering it. They've been following the increasing sales on eBay and already have a huge stock of older titles sitting in warehouses.
 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...-selling-classic-games-from-generations-past/

Gamestop Considering Selling Classic Games from Generations Past

As gaming moves more and more toward digital distribution, it's a wonder how a company like Gamestop can not only survive in such a climate, but thrive. As Blockbuster goes under, Gamestop is still a huge beacon of video game sales, partially due to their willingness to give the customers what they want, at least most of the time.

They offer trade-in for physical copies of games to be used toward the purchase of newer titles. They have a digital presence online for customers who would rather do business there. And now they have a new idea that's rather interesting.

Speaking to Polygon, CEO Paul Raines discussed the potential for Gamestop to sell "classic games." And no, that doesn't mean Halo 3 or the original Modern Warfare. True cartridge classics that can largely only be found online or in small mom and pop gaming stories that are increasingly going out of business.

"We've got them," Raines explained. "We think there's a vintage sales opportunity, so we're accumulating some inventory. It's a big idea, and there's a few problems with it. The first one is sourcing the product, the condition, the refurbishment, all that stuff. But there's a customer for it. And we're working on some stuff we haven't announced yet."

"If you go to eBay and look at all of the gaming stuff that's on there, it's unbelievable. Collector's stuff. We've got to be in that business. We will be."

It's a novel concept, though it's unclear how big the market truly is. Yes, there are die hard collectors or those who want to catch up with past titles they either missed playing, or miss playing, but it's hard to know if carrying and stocking all these games would be worth the effort.

If they did move forward with it, I think they would be wise to make it a purely online venture. Opening separate physical stores seems like a waste, and as most Gamestops are relatively jam packed already, I can't imagine there's much room to fit in a "classic gaming" section in most of these stores.

Rather, an online portal would be a streamlined version of purchasing older games that could be a more effective way of doing so than eBay. Obviously, as these games are all ancient at this point, each should come with a money back guarantee if they don't work. That is, after you blow on them of course.

Would you buy classic games from Gamestop?
 
Interesting comment by Dave Saunders:

"I worked at Gamestop in 2003 - 2004 when official policy was to stop sales & trade in of Sega Master , NES , SNES , Sega CD , Dreamcast etc, etc, from the days of classic plastic to the early days of Saturn & Dreamcast. We were ordered to package only the games and ship them off to HQ while the system in working condition or non working condition we had to smash with hammers, foot stomps, etc and tossed in the trash cans. While I applaud GS for thinking of returning to there old ways of all systems I fear for over priced used hardware that GS helped destroy."


So they had this planned all along.
 
They've certainly got the muscle to either flood the market or dictate prices. I wonder if this is a sign of the retro market topping out. There's that delicate balance of supply & demand, but one of the big boys trying to cash in on such a niche market might in fact kill its allure.
 
Well they did buyout all the old game stores that use to sell the old games. I use to visit Funcoland a bunch BITD to buy old games. Maybe they just stock piled the games until now.

We just got a Gamestop about a year ago. They already put two game stores out of business that use to deal in selling vintage games. The only place now is the pawn shop. And they don't have much.

If they go through with this, I will give it a look as I still have the NES, SNES, Genesis, Game Gear, Dreamcast, Gameboy Advance... It probably won't last long though.
 
They will never do it right, the Mom and pop stores (which are thriving not going under) listen to their customers.

Cwales is one of them.
 
I'm not really worried about it at all. They won't have the amount of space stores like mine dedicate to classic systems. And they would stick their big stickers on the labels. I doubt it'll happen anyhow unless it's just select larger locations. I think it's unrealistic.
 
Id be happy with it. It sucked when they discontinued selling used ps2 titles...theres was a bunch of good stuff you could pick up complete for very little. I think it could be especially good for ps1 titles which are usually overpriced at mom n pop stores or not worth the shipping charges on ebay
 
I say, "no thanks." GS has been like a rash on the used games market. They give next to nothing on trade-ins and overcharge for the used games they sell. They don't care about boxes or manuals, put stickers all over everything, and sell open merchandise (floor model) games as new. They walk all over the little guy, put them out of business and put up stores within 5 miles of each other like McDonald's or Starbucks. Now they're trying to get their money grubbing hands all over the vintage market too. Well, I'll speak with my wallet and I won't support them if they try it, plain and simple. I've had too many bad experiences with them and I know plenty of better alternatives for vintage games.
 
I say, "no thanks." GS has been like a rash on the used games market. They give next to nothing on trade-ins and overcharge for the used games they sell. They don't care about boxes or manuals, put stickers all over everything, and sell open merchandise (floor model) games as new.

+1, I left GS behind a long time ago, all their policies are bad for collectors and consumers.
 
Id be happy with it. It sucked when they discontinued selling used ps2 titles...theres was a bunch of good stuff you could pick up complete for very little. I think it could be especially good for ps1 titles which are usually overpriced at mom n pop stores or not worth the shipping charges on ebay

Heh, overpriced because that's what they're worth. Completed auctions plus shipping charges determine the value of.. anything. I'm sorry but ps1 games have really gone up in value over the past few years. The Super Nintendo market and Nintendo 64 markets are seeing a big jump right now, it's crazy. Games always drop then slowly go back up, as with any collectable. You are not going to find crazy deals unless you go to garage sales, flea markets and thrift stores.... But everyone has a smart phone now so people know what stuff is worth. The reason why their prices were low is they were dumping stuff. They won't be dumping stuff this time around, if they do it. They will be gouging for every cent :)

Our prices are a fair market price, you won't find really amazing prices on things I buy from people, scrub with tooth brushes and make look nice again but we try and go the extra mile and do buy one get one free and all sorts of deals all the time.

I welcome GameStop selling classic games, it'll only raise demand for what we sell. Our prices will be cheaper and our product will be higher quality.
 
Last edited:
Heh, overpriced because that's what they're worth. Completed auctions plus shipping charges determine the value of.. anything. I'm sorry but ps1 games have really gone up in value over the past few years. The Super Nintendo market and Nintendo 64 markets are seeing a big jump right now, it's crazy. Games always drop then slowly go back up, as with any collectable. You are not going to find crazy deals unless you go to garage sales, flea markets and thrift stores.... But everyone has a smart phone now so people know what stuff is worth. The reason why their prices were low is they were dumping stuff. They won't be dumping stuff this time around, if they do it. They will be gouging for every cent :)

Our prices are a fair market price, you won't find really amazing prices on things I buy from people, scrub with tooth brushes and make look nice again but we try and go the extra mile and do buy one get one free and all sorts of deals all the time.

I welcome GameStop selling classic games, it'll only raise demand for what we sell. Our prices will be cheaper and our product will be higher quality.
I agree about SNES games...over here at least it seems like it's much harder to even find complete in box games than it is cib NES games.

You do have a point that the GS prices may not be as good this time around because the products are not being discontinued this time so as priced to sell. I also hate how they sticker everything up, but that's really only a problem with the cardboard box games.

As for psx games, I can't speak with as much authority as you but it seems as though due to the extremely large number of titles released, there will always be sizeable group of them that will remain extremely cheap, and not just the sports titles. Unlike 2-D games, the early ps1 titles used primitive polygon graphics that have not aged gracefully, lowering their desirability. But perhaps the biggest factor keeping the price of ps1 games down comparative to other classic system libraries is that sony is continuing to re-release them for download on psn to your ps3 or handheld device. Every time a new title comes out for download, the price of the physical disc on ebay drops substantially.

It sounds like you run a good store that takes care of its classic games, but over here a lot of the mom n pop stores simply get in inventory and toss it on the shelves, cleaning nothing and pricing without care towards the condition of the boxes, manuals, discs, etc. That's why the other week I was more than happy to pay $10 each for non-collector quality CIB nes games T&C Surf Design, Iron Sword, and Legacy of the Wizard, while I would not pay $15 - $20 each for very common ps1 titles Air Combat, Zero Divide, or Croc, all with dirty and cracked jewel cases or falling-apart long boxes. Maybe it's just me (i doubt it) but I'd pay much more for common cib NES games than common ps1 games any day of the week
 
I agree about SNES games...over here at least it seems like it's much harder to even find complete in box games than it is cib NES games.

You do have a point that the GS prices may not be as good this time around because the products are not being discontinued this time so as priced to sell. I also hate how they sticker everything up, but that's really only a problem with the cardboard box games.

As for psx games, I can't speak with as much authority as you but it seems as though due to the extremely large number of titles released, there will always be sizeable group of them that will remain extremely cheap, and not just the sports titles. Unlike 2-D games, the early ps1 titles used primitive polygon graphics that have not aged gracefully, lowering their desirability. But perhaps the biggest factor keeping the price of ps1 games down comparative to other classic system libraries is that sony is continuing to re-release them for download on psn to your ps3 or handheld device. Every time a new title comes out for download, the price of the physical disc on ebay drops substantially.

It sounds like you run a good store that takes care of its classic games, but over here a lot of the mom n pop stores simply get in inventory and toss it on the shelves, cleaning nothing and pricing without care towards the condition of the boxes, manuals, discs, etc. That's why the other week I was more than happy to pay $10 each for non-collector quality CIB nes games T&C Surf Design, Iron Sword, and Legacy of the Wizard, while I would not pay $15 - $20 each for very common ps1 titles Air Combat, Zero Divide, or Croc, all with dirty and cracked jewel cases or falling-apart long boxes. Maybe it's just me (i doubt it) but I'd pay much more for common cib NES games than common ps1 games any day of the week

Oh yeah, there's loads of cheap PS1 stuff and like you said, I really doubt any of those will be worth much... Which is why we have two sections of PS1 games, the cheap ones are out here:

attachment.php


And anything worth 8 or more are in a display case:

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • ps1 games case.jpg
    ps1 games case.jpg
    49.7 KB · Views: 148
  • ps1 games out.jpg
    ps1 games out.jpg
    67.5 KB · Views: 148
Last edited:
The article mentions that they have a horde of classic games, I wonder if it is the old Funcoland stock. It is a shame they bought funcoland, they knew how to do used games.

Do you think they have been sitting on tons of classic games making games harder to find and driving up the value?
 
The article mentions that they have a horde of classic games, I wonder if it is the old Funcoland stock. It is a shame they bought funcoland, they knew how to do used games.

Do you think they have been sitting on tons of classic games making games harder to find and driving up the value?

Hard to say, it's anyone's guess. Maybe? It doesn't seem like they have a bunch though.. I mean, I bought all sorts of super rare stuff when they were blowing out snes and again with n64. I got a complete Earthbound for $30 or $25 or something like that. It was way marked down and even at that point it was over 100 on ebay. I call full-of-shit on this but the more I think about it, the more it'd be better for my business.
 
Personally, I'm not interested. There's a small place near me that carries a small selection of classics that I'd rather go to. In the past several years, the only games I've bought at GS have been ones with preorder exclusives and even that I'm done with now that most games have comparable or better offers on Amazon or elsewhere.
 
If it's old Funcoland stock, I expect this:
C: Hey, I want game X on the shelf, here is the box and manual.
GS: Okay, great, here is your game cartridge.
C: What about the box and manual?
GS: I'll take that, the box and manual are display only. Oh, and let me use a q-tip with windex on those cart contacts.
C: But I want all of it!
GS: (Digs around behind the counter)here is an old Funcoland box to put the game in, feel better?
C: Hey you have an old NES system there, how much?
GS: $60 for the original and one controller. Knock offs are $40. Take it or leave it, these are out of production you know.
C: But that's more than e-bay!
GS: We are here to make money this time around.

If it is old Funcoland stock, I expect nothing from Atari, Sega CD, Sega 32X, 3d0, Vectrex or anything else. It'll be the same NES, SNES, GEN, SATRUN, N64, and PS1 stuff they sold originally, in the same sad loose shape I remember seeing almost everything.
 
If it's old Funcoland stock, I expect this:
C: Hey, I want game X on the shelf, here is the box and manual.
GS: Okay, great, here is your game cartridge.
C: What about the box and manual?
GS: I'll take that, the box and manual are display only. Oh, and let me use a q-tip with windex on those cart contacts.
C: But I want all of it!
GS: (Digs around behind the counter)here is an old Funcoland box to put the game in, feel better?
C: Hey you have an old NES system there, how much?
GS: $60 for the original and one controller. Knock offs are $40. Take it or leave it, these are out of production you know.
C: But that's more than e-bay!
GS: We are here to make money this time around.

If it is old Funcoland stock, I expect nothing from Atari, Sega CD, Sega 32X, 3d0, Vectrex or anything else. It'll be the same NES, SNES, GEN, SATRUN, N64, and PS1 stuff they sold originally, in the same sad loose shape I remember seeing almost everything.

Really? That was never my experience when I would go to the funcoland on rt 17 in NJ or through mail order.
 
Really? That was never my experience when I would go to the funcoland on rt 17 in NJ or through mail order.
Same here. Though that totally sounds like GameStop.
 
They don't have a choice, they know Digital Distribution as mainstream is on it's way within the next 2 generations of consoles(I see the next gen as big option, and the one after it as the primary means) , and they're otherwise going to be "F you see kayed" once it does.
 
Back
Top Bottom