PC & Video Games

SNES RPG current and future value

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  • Jun 5th, 2017 2:48 pm
Newbie
Apr 30, 2017
75 posts
16 upvotes

SNES RPG current and future value

So Ive had Final Fantasy 1 - Mystic Quest, Final Fantasy 3, illusions of gaia, breathe of fire and chrono trigger for a long time. No boxes, just absolute mint cartridges only. Im not a collector, Ive just always loved those games so Ive hung onto them. Do you think the value of these (or any one of them) would go up in the future? What would I get for them currently?
17 replies
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 15, 2003
3310 posts
744 upvotes
Ottawa
I suppose the value would probably stay the same or go up. Final Fantasy 3, Breath of Fire, Chrono Trigger, and Mystic Quest are all readily available at this point on the Virtual Console or otherwise; Illusion of Gaia might conceivably change in the future. I suspect a big factor would be whether Nintendo gets around to releasing that SNES Mini (and whether or not they do a better job with its release than they did with the NES Mini). But this is speculation.

As for how much you would get for them currently, just check out the completed eBay listings.
Deal Addict
Jul 14, 2010
2398 posts
397 upvotes
Current loose ebay prices (USD, CAD sellers are far less consistent) are around:

Mystic Quest: $10
FFIII: $40.85
Illusion of Gaia: $18.85
Breath of Fire: $23.95
Chrono Trigger: $90

I wouldn't expect any huge changes in prices for the loose games. SNES is moving firmly into the higher end collectors market now, so most of the action is going to be for CIB or Sealed copies.
Newbie
Apr 30, 2017
75 posts
16 upvotes
Ok thanks guys. For a couple hundred bucks Id rather just keep them. Theyre too classic to me lol
Deal Fanatic
Dec 28, 2007
5348 posts
4356 upvotes
All those games are worth less than their MSRP so they can't be considered as collector's items.
Deal Fanatic
Aug 12, 2006
6908 posts
3333 upvotes
Canada
Well ... I look at it like hockey cards. I have some rookie cards from the 80s that were worth more in the 90s than they are today. Because less and less people today care (or have completely forgotten) about those stars from 1982.

Video games will be the same, nostalgia only goes so far.

I mean, who here is coveting Pong systems? Or even Atari 2600s? It declines with each decade. I'd argue that most video games have reached their peak at this point.

... so as I meander along, anyone who is collecting SNES games is collecting them already. There isn't going to be a huge influx of people 10 and 20 years from now that think they "must have" a SNES RPG from their youth.... demand will not increase. Your $50 SNES RPG won't blossom in to a $500 SNES RPG by keeping it in a box in your basement for another 10 years.

I have Star Raiders, mint, in the box, with controller and comic ... I bought it over 20 years ago. Its not worth any more today than it was when I bought it.

My 2 cents.
Deal Addict
Dec 15, 2013
1218 posts
601 upvotes
North of Toronto
raspeed wrote: Well ... I look at it like hockey cards. I have some rookie cards from the 80s that were worth more in the 90s than they are today. Because less and less people today care (or have completely forgotten) about those stars from 1982.

Video games will be the same, nostalgia only goes so far.

I mean, who here is coveting Pong systems? Or even Atari 2600s? It declines with each decade. I'd argue that most video games have reached their peak at this point.

... so as I meander along, anyone who is collecting SNES games is collecting them already. There isn't going to be a huge influx of people 10 and 20 years from now that think they "must have" a SNES RPG from their youth.... demand will not increase. Your $50 SNES RPG won't blossom in to a $500 SNES RPG by keeping it in a box in your basement for another 10 years.

I have Star Raiders, mint, in the box, with controller and comic ... I bought it over 20 years ago. Its not worth any more today than it was when I bought it.

My 2 cents.
Prices have doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc etc in the retro video game market... This isn't a sudden trend either. Nintendo/Super Nintendo prices started to spike as early as 2006 and have continued to rise for a long time.

Hockey Cards isn't a good example because they just sit in a binder or whatever and don't have a use. Games can be played.

https://www.pricecharting.com/console/super-nintendo
Deal Guru
Feb 11, 2007
11823 posts
5909 upvotes
A mint Wayne Gretzky rookie card sold for $465,000 USD or 612,000 Canadian at an auction.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/number-1-o ... -1.3016510

Gretzky rookie cards were $800 20 years ago.
GhostBusters wrote: Prices have doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc etc in the retro video game market... This isn't a sudden trend either. Nintendo/Super Nintendo prices started to spike as early as 2006 and have continued to rise for a long time.

Hockey Cards isn't a good example because they just sit in a binder or whatever and don't have a use. Games can be played.

https://www.pricecharting.com/console/super-nintendo
Games like Earthbound (SNES) still go for around $600+ USD now if you have the complete box and guide along with it
even though it is easily available on Nintendo Virtual Console on Wii U and 3DS for $15.

.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jun 24, 2002
3651 posts
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BC
If the Canadian dollar keeps tanking, your games will hold good value.
Deal Fanatic
Aug 12, 2006
6908 posts
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Canada
GhostBusters wrote: Prices have doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc etc in the retro video game market... This isn't a sudden trend either. Nintendo/Super Nintendo prices started to spike as early as 2006 and have continued to rise for a long time.

Hockey Cards isn't a good example because they just sit in a binder or whatever and don't have a use. Games can be played.

https://www.pricecharting.com/console/super-nintendo
Your link validates my point, not dismisses it like your comment.

https://www.pricecharting.com/game/supe ... -mario-rpg

I clicked on one random example near the top of the list ... so in 10 years someones loose Super Mario RPG has hardly proved a worthwhile investment.

$7-10 max ... that's not double/triple or quadruple.
Deal Fanatic
Aug 12, 2006
6908 posts
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Canada
XFactor11 wrote: A mint Wayne Gretzky rookie card sold for $465,000 USD or 612,000 Canadian at an auction.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/number-1-o ... -1.3016510

Gretzky rookie cards were $800 20 years ago.



Games like Earthbound (SNES) still go for around $600+ USD now if you have the complete box and guide along with it
even though it is easily available on Nintendo Virtual Console on Wii U and 3DS for $15.

.
A couple of extreme examples isn't a market trend. Wayne Gretzky is an anomoly ... and you can still find Gretzky rookie cards today for $1000.
Deal Fanatic
Aug 12, 2006
6908 posts
3333 upvotes
Canada
Let's also not forget that Super Mario RPG example above ... it's still barely half of what it's MSRP was new, and less than the cost of a new release game today.

I stand by my initial diatribe, you're not going to some day get rich by sitting on this stuff.
Deal Addict
Jul 14, 2010
2398 posts
397 upvotes
raspeed wrote: .I mean, who here is coveting Pong systems? Or even Atari 2600s? It declines with each decade. I'd argue that most video games have reached their peak at this point.
It doesn't so much decline as move forward. Five years ago just about ever N64 game was worth no more than $4-$5 (Barring promos, NFS, etc....), but at a glance they're averaging $12-$14 right now. Which make sense, because the collectors that are entering the market right now are mostly people that were 8-12 years old when the N64 launched.

As for increasing prices, CIB and Sealed games will keep increasing in value, loose probably won't. That's a factor that's pretty much unique to toy and game collecting - you can't buy an incomplete hockey card, but you can buy a loose game. Take a look at the SNES list again and pay attention to the New category, since that's much more comparable to your hockey card example.
Deal Addict
Dec 15, 2013
1218 posts
601 upvotes
North of Toronto
raspeed wrote: Your link validates my point, not dismisses it like your comment.

https://www.pricecharting.com/game/supe ... -mario-rpg

I clicked on one random example near the top of the list ... so in 10 years someones loose Super Mario RPG has hardly proved a worthwhile investment.

$7-10 max ... that's not double/triple or quadruple.
So clicking on a random game proves your point? How about you click on nothing and look at the top of the page to see that the average price has doubled.

https://www.pricecharting.com/console/nes

NES at 7.50... now approaching late 20s... quadrupled...

https://www.pricecharting.com/console/sega-genesis

Tripled...

https://www.pricecharting.com/console/sega-cd

Another average gone way up....

Plenty of examples. Obviously some systems are better than others.
Deal Fanatic
Aug 12, 2006
6908 posts
3333 upvotes
Canada
You need to look at the mean value, not the average. It's like saying all Gretzky rookies are worth $50k now because someone paid $450,000 for one.

Just because they bottom out at $5 now, doesn't mean much because a bunch of scrubs went from $0.75 to $5 over the last 10 years.

You need to look at the ones with real collector value, such as Super Mario RPG and see that it's not a worthwhile investment if after 10 years it's only gained a few dollars.

If you'd like to keep believing it will be worth astronomical prices in another 10 years, go right ahead.
Deal Fanatic
Aug 12, 2006
6908 posts
3333 upvotes
Canada
Ascott wrote: Which make sense, because the collectors that are entering the market right now are mostly people that were 8-12 years old when the N64 launched.
Yup, agree 100% ... they will only appeal to each generation and the values will peak (and eventually decline). Younger generations and older generations who didn't play those systems won't pay anything for those games.

There's a limited window where they will have any substantial value ... but they won't turn in to a retirement fund.
Deal Addict
Jul 14, 2010
2398 posts
397 upvotes
Yeah, unless you're sitting on a box of unreleased/significant prototypes or a bunch of Stadium Events or NWC carts or something, you're not going to make big money on a few sales.

That said, if you're sitting on a NIB Earth Bound, Chrono Trigger, Little Samson, Sculpters Cut, etc... hang on to it. It's not going to get any less rare and considering how few of those there are floating around even with significant declines in people collecting their respective platforms they'll probably still increase in value.
Deal Addict
Dec 15, 2013
1218 posts
601 upvotes
North of Toronto
raspeed wrote: You need to look at the mean value, not the average. It's like saying all Gretzky rookies are worth $50k now because someone paid $450,000 for one.

Just because they bottom out at $5 now, doesn't mean much because a bunch of scrubs went from $0.75 to $5 over the last 10 years.

You need to look at the ones with real collector value, such as Super Mario RPG and see that it's not a worthwhile investment if after 10 years it's only gained a few dollars.

If you'd like to keep believing it will be worth astronomical prices in another 10 years, go right ahead.
The retro market has cooled recently and may have hit its peak according to some people for certain titles.... but fact still remains that the average game prices for the systems have doubled, tripled and quadrupled in the last 10 years. Games like Super Mario RPG, Donkey Kong Countries should not always be used as examples for price fluctuations as they had higher print runs.

You don't need the mean when these games are constantly trading hands. Games like Stadium Events, Outback Joey, NWC, etc may not trade hands often but they shouldn't be used as examples. Check sold listings on ebay or that site I linked. A plethora of sales data.

Completionists and retro game hunting has have pushed many more obscure low print run games into extremely high priced games. Just sort the games by high or low and you will see many titles most people haven't even heard of.

People should check out the retro video game swap meets in Waterloo, Barrie, Cambridge, Mississauga, Durham, etc if they like retro videogames.

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