Retro Video Game Collecting as an Investment?

[Gladiator316]

Hey everybody,
 
I know I'm new here and just wanted to get peoples thoughts on this topic I was just pondering with my wife yesterday....

Why do we collect these retro video games...is it nostalgia, we just wanna play the games we had as a kid or the ones we never got to play as a kid or from what I mostly hear from collectors is that its an investment....investment for who? I mean if you plan to sell off your entire collection before your 6 feet under.. yeah I could see it as a investment (assuming the value rises)..

But most collectors not all, seem to tell me that they are going to leave it for their kids so they might get some money or joy out if it....I don't understand this concept. What I mean is that I buy these games mostly cause of nostalgia and I want to play the games that I played or never got to play as a child. To me collecting videogames is a bad investment....well for future monetary gain that is.

Our Children won't get their nostalgia from nes,snes, genesis, Turbografx 16, and so on...it will come from the PS3's, Wii's or 360's....their wont be a demand for these games when our generation dies off. Even my two year old niece throws the Nintendo controller across the room and points straight to the Wii U gamepad.. LOL. (in my head I think shes like get this old shit outta my face and give that new high tech shit).

Are these games we cherish so much just gonna be become useless plastic one day that no one wants? Most of the younger generation these days I talk to when I go to my neighborhood retro game store tell me that they wouldn't want to play a nes, unless the story line or something connects to a recent new release on current generation. They couldn't see themselves spending money on anything nes or snes related...some don't even know what Turbografx 16 is.

So I just wanna hear everyone's thoughts on this topic. Are we collecting for ourselves or for our future off spring? Do you think these games will be worth anything 50 years down the line? Will our children wanna play these games? Or are we just gonna die in our chairs with a controller in our hand ( what a way to go! :-P )

Personally I am gonna sell off my collection one day when I decide its time...or give it away to someone less fortunate. I can already see that my nieces and responses from other young generation that they have no interest..

Let me know what you all think :-)

[Bernie]

I collect these games, to play them.  I do not see them as an investment.  I also dont agree that all young folks wont look back and want to play just the current generation stuff.  There are plenty of members here now, that did not grow up with the turbo, and love it.  Matter of fact, one of our members is a mere 16 years old.  Granted, that is going to be the exception.  Most kids now, demand graphics...more graphics..  Screw that,  I cant play graphics if the story is shit.  It is up to us whether or not interest dies really.  If they arent subjected to it, they would never know where the roots lie.

[Gladiator316]

I collect these games, to play them.  I do not see them as an investment.  I also dont agree that all young folks wont look back and want to play just the current generation stuff.  There are plenty of members here now, that did not grow up with the turbo, and love it.  Matter of fact, one of our members is a mere 16 years old.  Granted, that is going to be the exception.  Most kids now, demand graphics...more graphics..  Screw that,  I cant play graphics if the story is shit.  It is up to us whether or not interest dies really.  If they arent subjected to it, they would never know where the roots lie. 

Your right there are a few younger generation interested in older systems...but I feel there are a lot more retro game players right now then there were during the mid 90's when 3d was just kicking in with the Ps1..We do have to expose the younger gen to these awesome older consoles.but its the demand that keeps these prices and values where they are atleast for the ones who are doing it for an investment..I just have a feeling there are going to be a lot less retro gamers in the furture...god knows what magical game system they will come out with...maybe game avatars..LOL

[tpivette]

I only "collect" for my own gaming enjoyment. I've never seen video games as a monetary investment. I don't look at my shelves of games and see dollar signs... I see many many weekends of fun!

I mostly collect for the nostalgia factor, that and I just don't find any of the current gen stuff that interests me. My wife always made fun of me over the last few years ..."you always play that 20 year old stuff, why don't you get with the times and play something new?". Because the new stuff sucks ass, that's why! The old 8/16 bit games from my youth are 10x better and more fun than anything that has come out in the last few years! I thought I was alone in this regard, until I found this forum and met lots of other people who were as nuts about older gaming as I was.

That said, I don't think I'd ever sell off my collections, even if I was in a financial emergency. It took me too long to amass them all... I'd probably even sell my Corvette first than my game collection. It's alot easier to replace a single vehicle later in life than trying to re-collect everything I currently have in my gameroom.

[Gladiator316]

I only "collect" for my own gaming enjoyment. I've never seen video games as a monetary investment. I don't look at my shelves of games and see dollar signs... I see many many weekends of fun!

I mostly collect for the nostalgia factor, that and I just don't find any of the current gen stuff that interests me. My wife always made fun of me over the last few years ..."you always play that 20 year old stuff, why don't you get with the times and play something new?". Because the new stuff sucks ass, that's why! The old 8/16 bit games from my youth are 10x better and more fun than anything that has come out in the last few years! I thought I was alone in this regard, until I found this forum and met lots of other people who were as nuts about older gaming as I was.

That said, I don't think I'd ever sell off my collections, even if I was in a financial emergency. It took me too long to amass them all... I'd probably even sell my Corvette first than my game collection. It's alot easier to replace a single vehicle later in life than trying to re-collect everything I currently have in my gameroom.

Well said...I know I said I would sell it off or give it away one day...but your right it is very hard to give or sell something that has more sentimental value...I know it won't be easy..but i'm sure my wife wont let me be buried with my game collection since i'm probably gonna go first  LOL

[Carparama]

It's an investment to an extent, in that I hope my kids will get some major use out of it.  Whether for enjoyment, or for other reasons.  By that same token, I hope that when I do have kids, they'll play these games with me. 

[Gladiator316]

It's an investment to an extent, in that I hope my kids will get some major use out of it.  Whether for enjoyment, or for other reasons.  By that same token, I hope that when I do have kids, they'll play these games with me. 

I hope my kids will play them with me too...but i'm gonna have a bitch of a time trying to keep him/her away from the new shit :-P

[NecroPhile]

Collecting with hopes of it paying off monetarily is a fucking pipe dream.  Even for the TG-16 which is generally considered 'expensive to collect for' (bullshit), only 20% of its games are worth more now than their original MSRP.  Buy 'em to play and enjoy; if you wanna make monies, invest in stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.

[jeffhlewis]

I think our general demographic (late twenties - early forties) has hit that sweet spot where we have disposable income and are on a big nostalgia kick with this stuff. I think over time the focus on 8/16/32-bit collecting will fade and maybe cede a bit to PS3/360 as the kids of today age, but past that who knows? Digital distribution isn't really going to lend itself to collecting.

As far as collecting goes, I just do it because "it makes me  happy" - love to play what I have and frankly love to just gaze at the shelf and see all that gaming history preserved and cared for. It's also great to talk shop with other like minded folks at places like the Midwest Gaming Class (plug alert!).

[Dyna138]

I don't view it as an investment as I never plan to sell my collection. I used to sell my games as a kid so I could buy new ones, it's just the way it was back then cause I didn't have income from working.

Buying and collecting retro games just gives me a satisfaction I don't get from current gen games. A lot of the games and consoles I collect for I wanted when I was younger but didn't have the money/time to invest. They don't make them like they used to can be applied to video games and there's a certain magic in those old 2600/8/16/32/64 bit games that is missing from the last 2 console generations. Anyway that's just the way I feel and I think at some point I could stop buying current and future generation consoles and just stick with retro gaming and I would be just as happy...maybe happier.

[bob]

I just appreciate the history of it all.

[seieienbu]

People collecting for an investment make me kinda irritated.  I'm reasonably sure that they'd do better to invest in mutual funds or something but instead they spend their time trying to drive the prices up in my hobby.  I want to own games that I want to play, not get stuff to resell later on down the road.

Good work, guys who made Dungeon Explorer 2 sell for $200.

[kiketonto]

I just "collect" to play them. As a investment? HAHAHA! Here in Spain, just arrive the Turbografx and a couple of games. Not the Cd or the TurboDuo, obviously the cd games neither. Has a very (very,very) bad distribution.
Nobody knows about these machines, nobody knows about games. Nobody talks about them.
So, an investment in games nobody are interested...
But...eh! I play a lot with my games! Have a lot of fun with them (except when I die...)

[jeffhlewis]

People collecting for an investment make me kinda irritated.  I'm reasonably sure that they'd do better to invest in mutual funds or something but instead they spend their time trying to drive the prices up in my hobby.  I want to own games that I want to play, not get stuff to resell later on down the road.

Good work, guys who made Dungeon Explorer 2 sell for $200.

They told me to hold on to my comic books because they'd be worth something some day. Not going to be buying any cars any time soon with my unopened bagged copy of Superman #75, heh.

Have to figure that there will be a market for this stuff as long as there's interest. It's not like they're going to print more copies of Dungeon Explorer 2, and I don't feel like digital re-releases have really been killing values much as of late.

[PCEngineHell]

long story short........

Let me know what you all think :-)

To be honest I'd have to break this down in full to address some statements you made if I want to adress everything, but I wont, so here is the basic reply:

1. If you keep running into a younger generation that is constantly hanging out at the retro store, but just so happens to be individuals whom are not actually into playing retro games, then what you have probably run into are actually hipsters or posers, not real gamers. There is a difference, and this has been addressed here before multiple times. If this really concerns you, try checking the age of people on the Neo forums, Sega-16, and other sites. You will find there are actually quite a few teenagers on each of these forums.

2. In my own experience, my son and daughter both love playing the older stuff too now and then, and my son keeps a Snes and N64 in his room with all his other game systems. In fact, a couple weeks ago my son came in here and beat Splatterhouse for Pce on his 2nd try and had a blast doing it. Also, a two year old child's lack of want for 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit games should not even be considered or factored into to any conversation like this. The two year old cant read or write, let alone carry on a coherent conversation. Would you let your two year old pick out your dinner? No. Would you let them pick out a movie to watch on movie nite with the wife? No.

Two year old kids have no reference level, so you cant even begin to base the future outcome or demand of classic gaming on a kid that young. They are not even remotely old enough to form educated or responsible opinions or develop personal taste or preferences yet. If you need that put into perspective a tad better, here watch this video:

Now, after you are done watching it, swap the cat for the 2 year old. Get the point? Stop worrying about a 2 year old reaction to old games. For that matter, stop worrying about what is going to happen 20-30 years from now with these games. Odds are you will be dead, or too old to care by then anyway. Enjoy the here and now, that is what matters.

[esadajr]

same here, I "collect" to play. When getting an interesting system like the PCE I transport back to the early 90s, at that moment,  I just know what it feels like to discover a system like that. The investment is in fun.

[Gladiator316]

long story short........

Let me know what you all think :-)

To be honest I'd have to break this down in full to address some statements you made if I want to adress everything, but I wont, so here is the basic reply:

1. If you keep running into a younger generation that is constantly hanging out at the retro store, but just so happens to be individuals whom are not actually into playing retro games, then what you have probably run into are actually hipsters or posers, not real gamers. There is a difference, and this has been addressed here before multiple times. If this really concerns you, try checking the age of people on the Neo forums, Sega-16, and other sites. You will find there are actually quite a few teenagers on each of these forums.

2. In my own experience, my son and daughter both love playing the older stuff too now and then, and my son keeps a Snes and N64 in his room with all his other game systems. In fact, a couple weeks ago my son came in here and beat Splatterhouse for Pce on his 2nd try and had a blast doing it. Also, a two year old child's lack of want for 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit games should not even be considered or factored into to any conversation like this. The two year old cant read or write, let alone carry on a coherent conversation. Would you let your two year old pick out your dinner? No. Would you let them pick out a movie to watch on movie nite with the wife? No.

Two year old kids have no reference level, so you cant even begin to base the future outcome or demand of classic gaming on a kid that young. They are not even remotely old enough to form educated or responsible opinions or develop personal taste or preferences yet. If you need that put into perspective a tad better, here watch this video:

Now, after you are done watching it, swap the cat for the 2 year old. Get the point? Stop worrying about a 2 year old reaction to old games. For that matter, stop worrying about what is going to happen 20-30 years from now with these games. Odds are you will be dead, or too old to care by then anyway. Enjoy the here and now, that is what matters.

I understand..I'm not really going off what my 2 year old niece is doing..I just used that as a funny example. Relax.
 The Retro game store has a lot of current gen games too. I even asked the owner Mike what sells the most, he even told me that ps2 and up...barely the retro stuff moves., especially atari and turbo.

All kids hit that age of wanting the newer, better things...I know I did...I sold a lot of my old gaming stuff to get the new gen..and I know i'm not the only one..

I'm not too worried bout it...just wanted to know others opinions on the whole collecting concept. Just some thought provoking material. :-)

[PCEngineHell]

To be honest, this type of conversation has come up often around here, for years on end, from resellers on down. It comes up on most game forums in general probably far too often. Its a tired subject, and if you bothered to browse around some around here you'd see that. People around here play their games and enjoy them. We don't play the investment game, and no one around here really cares about what is going to happen 80 thousand years from now concerning the games WE love. What matters is the here and now, the fun we can have with the stuff we enjoy playing. That is all that matters. Looking around and worrying about what everyone else younger then you is playing is a waste of time and it will make you lose perspective.

[PukeSter]

That video was great, Prof! Good points too.

[tggodfrey]

Play them or not, I think its a combination of things.  We start out going after memories of our childhood, followed by the interest of things we didnt have but wanted.  Next thing you know your buying anything that looks interesting and before you know it the challenge of all of them sets in.  It doesnt end with video games.......

I am currently collecting engines.  Working on the second build, when I finish I know very well I will start another or start looking for another antique to restore like the one I have just so that I can build a different color or different trim model.  its difficult to resist temptation.

[turboswimbz]

no

[Gladiator316]

no

best answer yet turboswimbz

[Johnny Turbo]

Yeah i only collect for myself. I highly doubt that in 10 years when i have a son that he will ever be interested in 30+ year old gaming tech. The first console i had as a kid was a sega saturn, yet i love retro gaming. I am an oddball in that regard. Hell I'm only 20 and my record/ laserdisc collection takes up almost an entire room in my house. 

[Nec.Game.head]

I truly collect all these old retro consoles plain and simple because I enjoy the blast from the past that it brings me from my early 90's childhood .. In the past year I have yet again got caught up collecting more and more random retro gaming stuff because of the 20 year gap I clearly see now .. I keep telling my girl don't worry about my spending it's all for a good reason and one day will be worth more .. I know it's total bullshit but I keep telling myself that because it's the only way that I can justify my growing obsession with buying all this old school stuff .. What really gets me pumped now in days is sharing this stuff with all my young gamer friends and family that vary from the age of 6 to 24 .. Their hyped on it as much as I am .. My apartment is completely set up for gaming and that's how I like it .. Skateboarding, retro gaming, great home cooked dinners and sharing it with my close friends and family is were it's at for me .. Were all different people here but all post here for the same reason we truly love this old school retro gaming life that we all have in common ..

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[Corredor X]

The only future investment I see in my collection is the games I'll be playing in the years to come: the ones I always loved, the ones I couldn't have as a kid and the fascinating ones I'm only discovering now. That's payment enough, buying them already thinking of selling in the future is a little sad, actually. Having them in the shelves is half the fun.

[geise]

Having them in my game system is double the fun.  I do collect what I play.  I don't want loose games.  I want it how it would be if I bought it in a store new.  Now with the whole investment thing, I just had a meeting with my Fidelity investor.  After I just decided to take it all out, pay the tax on it, and put it into ebay buying.  It's a win win.  Even if it's a gouged price I can still make bank by selling it at a premium down the road.

[-D-]

I don't view my game collection as an investment, but I do have to say that when it comes time to buy a game I've really wanted for a long time and it's over $100 in value it sure is easier to confidently buy it than buy a new release $60 game that you know for a fact will only cost $20 within a year or two.  But yeah, I buy games to play them. 

And I have a 4 year old son that tends to have more fun with retro games than on modern games; and I don't know if that will stick as he gets older, but I can't help but think that over the decades as the 16-bit generation folks start dying off, there will be younger people to take their place in terms of interest in retro gaming.  As some of these kids today get older, their passion for video games might stay strong and then when they find themselves in stable careers and financial situations they may end up collecting games from before their time.

I actually think the price hikes in the past few years are only a small taste of what's going to come over the next 20 - 30 years in the retro game market.  I think eventually we'll see a lot of Neo-Geo AES type prices on a whole staple of the more rare games for almost every platform.

[glazball]

  D, I agree except it seems like we're already there though of course the Neo will always be the champ of wtfareyouthinking prices.  Most rare games on any given system have already gotten to wtf pricing.  But yes, it will get worse and worse as the years fly by like they love to do.

[-D-]

I'd like to believe you're right because I want our beloved 8/16-bit games to live forever, but I'm not sure whether I agree or not. There aren't a lot of games that were before my time, but even going back to the earliest gaming memories I have... there's less of a draw for me to revisit Pong on the Atari 2600 than there is for games and systems that came a bit later in my childhood, like the NES & TG16.  I'm wondering if the draw to 8/16-bit games is due to the quality of the memories associated with them, or if gameplay/technology just matured to a universally palatable state starting around the time of the NES/SMS.

As a kid that mostly just had Atari until I was almost 10 years old; I do think this is the case.  When I go back to pre-NES games it's just for a small touch of nostalgia, but I bore of those games so quickly.  But I can still play a ton of 8-bit games on NES & SMS and have a great time.  My son's preferences seem to echo it as well, he quickly gets bored of Atari games, but can play NES games for much longer stretches of time.

[esteban]

Q: Investment?
A: I invest my time in playing games.

[RyuHayabusa]

I collect retro games because I love to play them. I remember looking through all my old issues of EGM and Gamefan wishing that I could play all these cool looking games, especially the import games I saw in the Diehard Gamefan and Tommo advertisements. Now I own a ton of those games and I'm always on the lookout for more. I won't deny that it's nice to see some of the items I own increase in value, so if something were to happen I could always get a return on my investment. The unfortunate flipside to that is it makes collecting that much more expensive. But, video games have been a big part of my life since I was like 6 or 7 and they always will be.

[VestCunt]

I collect retro games because I love to play them

vs.

so if something were to happen I could always get a return on my investment.

[RyuHayabusa]

I collect retro games because I love to play them

vs.

so if something were to happen I could always get a return on my investment.

And? It's not like I'm hunting down boxed copies of valuable yet shitty games just to flip them on Ebay. It's just nice to know that my collection has a significant monetary value in case of an emergency and I had to come up with some cash fast.

[DildoKKKobold]

I collect retro games because I love to play them

vs.

so if something were to happen I could always get a return on my investment.

And? It's not like I'm hunting down boxed copies of valuable yet shitty games just to flip them on Ebay. It's just nice to know that my collection has a significant monetary value in case of an emergency and I had to come up with some cash fast.

Video games aren't exactly an asset with high liquidity. While in an individual crisis, you may be able to convert the assets to cash, if the crisis is more wide spread, such as an economic downturn, you won't be able to convert them back into cash, without taking substantial losses.

In reality, the reason most people ask "Are video games a good investment?" is not because they want to build up a 401k built out of Magical Chases, which is what most people assume.  It is more that they want to internally justify spending large sums of money on what boils down to toys.

Spending $100+ on a single video game that is over a decade old would be impossible to justify to your internal conscience if the game were to lose all value immediately. However, if you tell yourself "Hey, in 10 years, I can sell it for $200, and I'll have made money!" All of the sudden you've justified a reason to spend $100 on something that isn't the best decision for your personal financial stability. I would say the majority of the video game market, especially the VGA-graded market, falls under the greater fool theory of economics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory

The problem is, just with baseball cards and comic books, the market WILL dry up. Liquidity on anything other than the rarest of the rare will disappear. So, if you purchase a game for $100+, you are better off assuming you will NEVER get that money back. If you still feel justified with the purchase, then do it. But don't use a false assumption of a perpetually growing market to justify a purchase.

[ApolloBoy]

If you see video games as an investment I think it's time for you to find a new hobby.

[seieienbu]

If you see video games as an investment I think it's time for you to find a new hobby.

Perhaps you might suggest something along the lines of day trading investments.

[NecroPhile]

Q: Investment?
A: I invest my time in playing games.

Good plan.  It pays dividends in smiles. 

[esteban]

Q: Investment?
A: I invest my time in playing games.

Good plan.  It pays dividends in smiles. 

Indubitably.

[rag-time4]

I collect retro games because I love to play them

vs.

so if something were to happen I could always get a return on my investment.

And? It's not like I'm hunting down boxed copies of valuable yet shitty games just to flip them on Ebay. It's just nice to know that my collection has a significant monetary value in case of an emergency and I had to come up with some cash fast.

Video games aren't exactly an asset with high liquidity. While in an individual crisis, you may be able to convert the assets to cash, if the crisis is more wide spread, such as an economic downturn, you won't be able to convert them back into cash, without taking substantial losses.

In reality, the reason most people ask "Are video games a good investment?" is not because they want to build up a 401k built out of Magical Chases, which is what most people assume.  It is more that they want to internally justify spending large sums of money on what boils down to toys.

Spending $100+ on a single video game that is over a decade old would be impossible to justify to your internal conscience if the game were to lose all value immediately. However, if you tell yourself "Hey, in 10 years, I can sell it for $200, and I'll have made money!" All of the sudden you've justified a reason to spend $100 on something that isn't the best decision for your personal financial stability. I would say the majority of the video game market, especially the VGA-graded market, falls under the greater fool theory of economics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory

The problem is, just with baseball cards and comic books, the market WILL dry up. Liquidity on anything other than the rarest of the rare will disappear. So, if you purchase a game for $100+, you are better off assuming you will NEVER get that money back. If you still feel justified with the purchase, then do it. But don't use a false assumption of a perpetually growing market to justify a purchase.

Kobold, you bring up some interesting and important ideas here. Well said.

I have given these issues some thought... I tend to view things exactly as RyuHyabusa. I collect for fun, but the collection does have monetary value as well should the need arise.

Kobold, you make a very good point, I think, about the loss of liquidity for all but the 'rarest' items. There are relatively few games that have solid resale value, and relatively many will sit and sit with little or no value. The past few weeks, I've finally gotten around to selling some extra Famicom Disk games that I imported from hit as a speculative investment with the intention of repairing the disks and putting them up for penny auction on ebay. The only games that are selling for any amount of money are games like Mario, Zelda, and Castlevania.

[roflmao]

I really like this thread.  I hope the variety of opinions don't get crapped on too much, just so more people would be willing to post. 

I've kept a lot of the games that I originally purchased, but I've fallen into the same trap as others and have sold off a console collection or two only to quickly realize the error of my ways.

Nowadays I'm really not looking for much, but the games I am looking to pick up fall into pretty much two categories; games that I feel nostalgic over and am willing to splurge on a bit if I happen to have the money and games that I've never played but sound interesting.  I'm not going for a complete collection, but there are a ton of games for the PCE that I'm just now finding out about.  I'm not willing to spend much on an unknown game (usually $10-15 shipped) but every once in awhile I'll bite if I keep my eye out for awhile (usually 6+ months) for slightly more ($20-25).

[Gladiator316]

I'm glad everyone is liking the thread. Ive read every comment and I like to see that
 there are plenty of people who collect video games think like me, and view them as games.
Games that should be played, not stored away hoping to gain monetary value. I'm sure I will get a lot of rants
for this but i've opened a brand new Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, Chrono trigger, Guardian Heroes (saturn) and a Neutopia....
Sometimes it just feels good opening a brand new old game...even if its worth money.

[jelloslug]

Video games are the new baseball cards.

[Gladiator316]

Video games are the new baseball cards.

Its funny, I used to think all the comic cards I bought and owned would be worth something one day but never video games...I have boxes among boxes filled with Fleer Ultras and marvel master pieces, etc from 91 and up...I really should hit up egay and see if they are worth anything..LOL

[turboswimbz]

I'm glad everyone is liking the thread. Ive read every comment and I like to see that
 there are plenty of people who collect video games think like me, and view them as games.
Games that should be played, not stored away hoping to gain monetary value. I'm sure I will get a lot of rants
for this but i've opened a brand new Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, Chrono trigger, Guardian Heroes (saturn) and a Neutopia....
Sometimes it just feels good opening a brand new old game...even if its worth money.

Well Said.  I'm all for people making money on games if they so choose.  But I love to play-em' and open them.    especially since I never got a new turbob ever.

[Arkhan Asylum]

It's not an investment if you never plan to get rid of the stuff.

It's more like FUCK YEAH GAMES BUY EM PLAY EM UAFHAISDFUHASIDFUHAISDFHASDFVHVBJNZ;CKBN34ERGFJBNM

[esteban]

[true story]

TANGENT: My wife has wanted me to sell 99% of my games for years and years (15). HELL NO.

[/true story]

[-D-]

I collect retro games because I love to play them

vs.

so if something were to happen I could always get a return on my investment.

And? It's not like I'm hunting down boxed copies of valuable yet shitty games just to flip them on Ebay. It's just nice to know that my collection has a significant monetary value in case of an emergency and I had to come up with some cash fast.

Video games aren't exactly an asset with high liquidity. While in an individual crisis, you may be able to convert the assets to cash, if the crisis is more wide spread, such as an economic downturn, you won't be able to convert them back into cash, without taking substantial losses.

In reality, the reason most people ask "Are video games a good investment?" is not because they want to build up a 401k built out of Magical Chases, which is what most people assume.  It is more that they want to internally justify spending large sums of money on what boils down to toys.

Spending $100+ on a single video game that is over a decade old would be impossible to justify to your internal conscience if the game were to lose all value immediately. However, if you tell yourself "Hey, in 10 years, I can sell it for $200, and I'll have made money!" All of the sudden you've justified a reason to spend $100 on something that isn't the best decision for your personal financial stability. I would say the majority of the video game market, especially the VGA-graded market, falls under the greater fool theory of economics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory

The problem is, just with baseball cards and comic books, the market WILL dry up. Liquidity on anything other than the rarest of the rare will disappear. So, if you purchase a game for $100+, you are better off assuming you will NEVER get that money back. If you still feel justified with the purchase, then do it. But don't use a false assumption of a perpetually growing market to justify a purchase.

I don't know if the comic book analogy is the best reference, as a lot of really old comic books are worth a ton of money.  The reason this analogy comes up again and again is because in the late 80's and into the 90's the value on much older comics became really high, and suddenly every comic was trying to do collector's editions, and the market was booming and production numbers were high.  I'm pretty sure about the same thing happened to baseball cards as well.

But with games, most of the $100+ games had low print runs, and there's no changing that fact.  We've also seen that remakes & ports, and especially download versions don't seem to have much if any impact on the value of the originals.  Sure, maybe some $40 games might end up worth almost nothing some day, but I'd say the $100+ games will always be worth some decent coin.