Hobby or Investment?

[Jerry Kurtz]

Hello,

When I got into collecting, it was for the love of the game(s).

Maybe 10 years ago, my basement flooded.  Just a couple inches of water is all it took to ruin the vast majority of my Amiga, Dreamcast, and misc. collection and some C64 titles.  I had stored some games in banker boxes.  My mistake, for sure.

Insurance, saw the mess, cut a check for $5000, their max coverage, and I threw away what I would guess then was $25000 worth of games.  It was heart breaking.

Now, we see games being graded, and some titles fetch 10x what we paid not even 10 or 15 years ago.

So, do you still treat your collection as a hobby, or has it become an investment?

If you pass, will your family know what to do with it, or will some lucky fool swoop in and snag a deal of a lifetime from your unknowing family.

I’m 50/50.  I still have a love for the hobby, but my family doesn’t care.  For me it’s a hobby, but when I pass, for them, I need it to be an investment.  

At least, that’s what I pray for.

I don’t know if I’ve ever met any of you personally, but I do miss this group.

Jerry

[Pedro Quaresma]

That's a very good question Jerry, I'd say even a delicate subject

When I started, and met you all in this group, I was collecting as a hobby. Then I emigrated and couldn't bring my collection with me. Some years later I went back to my home country to get those games. 12 years had passed since I had started collecting, and at least 6 since I had admired them on shelves

I couldn't fit it where I was living so I originally sold around 80% of it within the next 2 years - I had games in cardboard boxes under the sofa, under tables, behind cabinets etc. Then gradually half of what I had, every year,I would sell

I guess in a way I've made a decision somewhere in time that this hobby became an investment. Whatever I have left will be a very minor problem (or inheritance) to whomever comes next

Yes I miss this group too 🙂

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[chisa...@mac.com]

Every single title on my shelf has to be viable to play in 2026 or they go. For the titles I sold I was not unhappy with what they fetched. But resale value is not a factor for collecting, only viability. Ultima 1-5 get a pass because of their impact. They stay.

For lols I threw my collection list at Claude and asked it to derive my interests from what I have, and identify and rank candidates for selling based on both the concentration of my interests and their individual strengths as a title. The results were... disturbingly practical. Am I ever going to play Tony Hawk or Tomb Raider on PS1 over Vagrant Story? Nope. Lose the first two, keep the third. 

I look to find ways to keep engaging with the titles on multiple levels: Image them, clean / replace the cases, scan manuals, run stuff through AI, etc. It gives the games a job to do other than sit.

I can count on one hand of a bad shop teacher the modern games I actually enjoy. Sniper Elite and Elden Ring come to mind. And both FromSoftware and Rebellion made games in the PS1/PS2 era. And both studios are still largely independent (not wholly owned by Microsoft, Sony, Krafton, etc). Probably not a coincidence.

That said, does anyone think GTA VI will live up to the hype? FromSoftware went from Demon Souls (2009) to Elden Ring (2022) in the time it took Rockstar to put out GTA IV (2008) and GTA V (2013-present). Me: No. Even if its a great game it wasn't worth the resource cost (speculative, happy to be wrong).

Jerry: Damn that's gut wrenching. I think about that a lot, what would happen if it all got damaged / stolen, etc. There's not really a practical solution to protect a collection of size from the most obvious use cases that I'm aware of.

PS - Family is aware of their value and how to look up resale prices on ebay. 

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[Stuart Feldhamer]

How do you define viable to play?

 

Stuart

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[Mike Melanson]

Never thought of it as an investment. It's always been a "love of the game" type of thing (both figuratively and literally). It actually started as an academic pursuit (studying multimedia formats) and it snowballed from there.

I got rid of a ton of NES games, and also some SNES & Genesis games, with the consoles and a few games going to our very own Trixter. This was all the way back in 2010, and here's the dismissed inventory:

https://games.multimedia.cx/letting-go/

Hey Trixter! Still have any of it? 

Why I bring this up: I didn't see the stuff as being especially valuable at the time, and had just gotten married and felt it was a good breaking point for getting rid of some old stuff. Fast-forward about 5 years and I'm in a thrift shop, scouting for more old PC games. I talk to a younger fellow (young 20-something) who was looking for things like S/NES games. It seems that they had a resurgence of popularity among younger generations. I guess they could have been worth something if I held onto them a few years longer.

Also, I think it was sometime in the late 2000s, someone from this very mailing list took possession of my Gravis Ultrasound MAX sound card. Still have it? That's another thing that occupied the "trough of low/no value" when I got rid of it. Throughout the 2010s, I remember spot-checking for the item on eBay and it was much more valuable, if there were any available at all.

-Mike Melanson

[Teo Zenios]

I never looked at the software and hardware I collect as an investment, but I did make some cash selling a shrinkwrapped copy Infocom Cornerstone to a member of this list a long time ago (forget who).

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/19f10279bee.2c548385972928.64321488124222301%40multimedia.cx.

[hugh...@mindspring.com]

Mine was never meant to be an investment, but it has certainly paid for itself and then some over the years.  Those early eBay, garage sale and flea market finds paid off as I moved and downsized over the years.  I’ve made well more than I’ve spent over the years if you don’t count time, which you shouldn’t, since it was totally done as a passion project and with the original, naive goal of preservation. Our last move was about a year ago.  My son sold the games on eBay I no longer wanted and split the proceeds. So he’s definitely aware of the value and what to do with it when it becomes his problem 😀. I was pleasantly surprised in the last batch where a couple items sold for over $1300 each, which I wasn’t expecting… sealed Half Life and Mortal Kombat Trilogy for PC.  They were large, not particularly old or in my collecting purview, which is why I parted with them.

My collection is still too big (hundreds of boxes; thousands of games, books, manuals, mags, etc.) but maybe 1/8 of PC big boxes it was 4 moves ago when it at its biggest (thousands). At least I’m in a place now where boxes can be properly displayed again.  They were in the garage for about 8 years, and I also lost some (mostly books) to water damage.  Really painful, but not nearly as bad as you, Jerry.  So sorry to hear that! It was another reason I decided to sell until I could properly store/display again. Even then, I expect they will eventually all be sold on eBay after I pass or donated to a facility, like the Strong Museum, that can properly preserve any that are worthy.

On Jun 29, 2026, at 3:42 AM, Teo Zenios <te...@neo.rr.com> wrote:



I never looked at the software and hardware I collect as an investment, but I did make some cash selling a shrinkwrapped copy Infocom Cornerstone to a member of this list a long time ago (forget who).

On 6/28/2026 5:34 PM, Mike Melanson wrote:

Never thought of it as an investment. It's always been a "love of the game" type of thing (both figuratively and literally). It actually started as an academic pursuit (studying multimedia formats) and it snowballed from there.

I got rid of a ton of NES games, and also some SNES & Genesis games, with the consoles and a few games going to our very own Trixter. This was all the way back in 2010, and here's the dismissed inventory:

https://games.multimedia.cx/letting-go/

Hey Trixter! Still have any of it? 

<smile.png>

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/e608dd31-d909-41a1-891a-b250ecc073f0%40neo.rr.com.

[Pedro Quaresma]

Hugh, were those games scaled on the CURIOSITY scale and thus sanctioned by GOTCHA!   ...?!

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/68E91ED3-320D-4DC3-87D7-236E0C4B12E3%40mindspring.com.

[John Romero]

Go to HUGHFALK.COM and find out!

Best,
John

---------------------------------------

John Romero

jo...@romero.com

Galway, Ireland

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/CAC-%2B%3De-yh8%2BzN0%3D2AKe%2BRKNnVDoCJvkOscZSEH__VUghgRFoww%40mail.gmail.com.

[hugh...@mindspring.com]

Ha! So glad someone remembers those! Actually, this group has been dormant for so long, not sure how many know that GOTCHA has been generously hosted by John Romero since ClassicGaming.com portal went defunct around 2004. The site hasn’t been updated since and shockingly still works great.

Not only that but he’s bought and owned Hughfalk.com to redirect to it since then. One of the genuinely funniest and nicest stories in my life…

On Jun 29, 2026, at 8:58 AM, Pedro Quaresma <pedro.q...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/CAC-%2B%3De-yh8%2BzN0%3D2AKe%2BRKNnVDoCJvkOscZSEH__VUghgRFoww%40mail.gmail.com.

[Bill Johnson]

My rather humble collection (compared to the rest of this group) was never an investment.  It was always more about collecting and playing the nostalgia games from my youth, especially the kinds of games that you just CAN'T play on Emulators (like Trillum's Shadowkleep that has no clean images online).

~Bill

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/8403A3EA-6148-4D4C-8D28-736A85FC3003%40mindspring.com.

[Ianoid]

Always a hobby for me. This would be a terrible investment. I think you have to go into it as an investor from the start to make good on it. I look at this strictly as a source of joy, but I do feel the burden of possession.  

Many people have nice stories about their best items selling at huge multiples after hanging onto them for 20 or so years. 

Realistically 95% of what I collect isn’t worth very much. The time it takes to sell makes it impossible to justify as an investment. And I’m not interested in selling my best and favorite items. Those should be the last to go.

[Jerry Kurtz]

I feel the same way.  Nobody is knocking down my door to get my mint/sealed copy of Exploding Fist, but it’s one of my absolute favorites and I love having it, and cherish it much more than my Nvidia stock.

I may get some hate for this, but the Ultima games aren’t really my thing, but I have a really nice edition of Ultima II for the C64.  It’s one I will probably sell off some day.  Wasn’t an “investment” when I bought it, but those games have such a following that the prices have increased due to that alone.

Jerry

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[Stephane Racle]

Definitely hobby for me. I mean, I won't be sad if some of it appreciates in value, but like Ian said, I think that would only be a small number of items. 

What I've found over the years is that I've enjoyed having, documenting, and archiving the physical items and even more so, learning about their history and origin - whether for the game itself or for the particular copy of the game. There are some really interesting stories to be told (hence why I decided to do the book). 

Stephane

[Dirk Oliver Schulz]

Same here. Always was meant as a hobby.

I still might have gone a bit overboard in the early 2000s when I started collecting, caring a great deal about box condition (I guess some collectors might not?) and buying the same release a couple of times.  And and some point, I just had to also start selling of the duplicates ... still sitting on too many of those. Also, moving  about two years back, I had big plans for setting up my collection for display in our new home - strange how shelf content seems to decompress to twice its size ;) At least, I tried not to "double park" boxes anymore, and how just about a third of my collection is taking up more than a wall in our home offices. Also a happy owner of a Suspended mask (in questionable condition), but I never managed to get a hold of the Starcross saucer or a copy of Cornerstone. 

http://vintagegames.net/public/museum/main_1.jpg

http://vintagegames.net/public/museum/main_2.jpg

Agustín, thanks for clarifying. Strangely enough, I ended up *not* collecting German versions of US-made  games but often went for US and UK releases. Plus EGA vs. VGA or CD-ROM, but the biggest variety I do in fact have with earlier Sierra titles as you can see (King's Quest being at the top with all its many releases). 

http://vintagegames.net/public/museum/sierra.jpg

Seems like more than one of us had to experience damages from water one way or another. I actually tried to put my games into my home insurance explicitly a collector's objects, but that didn't work. But regardless of financial damage, I am not sure if I would find the time to even put the core of my collection back together again. Some games I don't even see on eBay anymore, some just have completely inflated prices (and I am wondering if they actually sell at those). 

My family has no real idea (yet) about the value of the games, but all the more reason maybe to downsize to what I really care about, keep than in good condition, and educate everyone about the value. Actually, though, I am quite curious what everybody thinks: will video games keep their values? I presume most people collect for nostalgic reasons, once we are gone, will anyone care about these games? Or will all this go the way of collecting stamps?

Dirk

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/3003c0d8-aa4d-42a1-950d-07df787fdcc9%40gmail.com.

[John Romero]

Here’s a disturbing trend that is beginning: fans are making reproductions of their favorite games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzybdE6ZvmE

This kind of activity starts to ruin the collector’s market.

Best,
John

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John Romero

jo...@romero.com

Galway, Ireland

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/59c50a6b-b1a0-4d33-87a4-442c97f86f57%40mail.vintagegames.net.

[Agustín Cordes]

Yeah, very common in the VHS world. There's always an outcry about this sort of things, and collecting a *real* VHS has become a sort of gamble.

My stance on the topic is a bit controversial. Let's face it: the bunch of us able to afford and collect this stuff are privileged folks. Who am I to say someone else can't buy a faithful and way cheaper reproduction of the stuff I'm paying? For sure it's bad for preservation of the items themselves, not so much preservation of culture. Personally, I'd rather have preservation of culture.

------ Original Message ------

From "John Romero" <jo...@romero.com>

To "SWCollect" <swco...@googlegroups.com>

Date 7/5/2026 8:56:38 PM

Subject Re: [SWcollect] Hobby or Investment?

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/72741360-FF03-4DA3-B914-5F7BD3C3A470%40romero.com.

[Stuart Feldhamer]

“Fans” or “counterfeiters”?

 

Stuart

 

From: swco...@googlegroups.com <swco...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of John Romero
Sent: Sunday, July 5, 2026 7:57 PM
To: SWCollect <swco...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [SWcollect] Hobby or Investment?

 

Here’s a disturbing trend that is beginning: fans are making reproductions of their favorite games.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/72741360-FF03-4DA3-B914-5F7BD3C3A470%40romero.com.

[Jerry Kurtz]

In that vein, although licensed, what’s the take on the Neo Geo AES+?  Ultimate “fan art” or sacrilege?

Full transparency: I bought the elite bundle and the white console too.

I had a Neo Geo in the 90’s and co-developed “Knight’s Chance” for the platform with my (twin) brother a few years back.

Jerry

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/004201dd0ce4%24c8cfc7c0%245a6f5740%24%40gmail.com.

[John Romero]

I’d say as long as it’s obvious that it’s not the original and a remake, it should be fine. Like when Nintendo made the new NES and SNES hardware it was miniaturized and obvious it wasn’t original, but could still play the same games.

Best,
John

---------------------------------------

John Romero

jo...@romero.com

Galway, Ireland

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swcollect/CACtA3shEw%2BNnHciJfrC96gDC%2B38KwSo8CcOSPenHfSoEiGQVXw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ianoid]

Many hobbies before software collecting have dealt with remade items. Most of the time the remade items are recognizable as non-original. These items can fall into several categories, although what separates them most may be intention. 

There’s rereleases, which may or may not be authorized, and presumably not being passed off as original items, and may or may not be sold for profit. I’m thinking Limited Run games rereleases. Usually quite obvious, perhaps even with a modern copyright date.

There’s reproductions, which are made to look like the original items, but usually are discernible from the authentic item. In my experience these are expensive and time consuming to make. These require less skill than the past, but still a significant investment and commitment. When compared side by side with an original item, it usually becomes obvious which is a reproduction. Unfortunately side by side comparison isn’t always an option. 

And then there’s forgeries, which are reproductions that someone is trying to pass off as an original. This usually requires detailed knowledge of the original items or similar. I’m thinking the Ricciardi counterfeits. This is more likely to occur with an extremely expensive item, where the cost of recreation is far exceeded by the price achieved. 

One of the difficulties is when non-original items fall into uneducated hands, which will happen in the years to come as these items become second hand. Sellers don’t know anything about these markets and simply look up prices, mixing together original and modern remade items. 

One modern example of a high risk item is the reproduction of TurboGrafx 16 Magical Chase from PCEWorks. For those unfamiliar, Magical Chase is the least common and most expensive US TurboGrafx 16 game. PCEWorks did a great job reproducing this game. I bought a reproduction copy since my loose Turbo chip is destined to live without a (very expensive original) box. I have heard that there is a way to tell original from reproduction, but I don’t know what it is. Most copies for sale online are going to be the reproduction. Only the most savvy collectors will be able to tell the difference. PCEWorks probably should have made it more obvious.

Ian

[Bill Loguidice]

I'm both a collector of original items and fully supportive of high-quality reproductions. Of course, for the latter, they need to be clearly differentiated. The PCEWorks stuff is a great example, as their stuff is commercial quality. In my experience, it DOESN'T devalue the value of the originals, much like the upcoming release of the NeoGeo AES+ cartridges hasn't devalued the value of the original NeoGeo AES cartridges. There are still people who will pay thousands for an original (especially game software), which will never be me. However, I'll be happy to pay a fair price for a quality reproduction or variation. Obviously, it goes without saying that a copy/clone/reproduction/non-original ANYTHING shouldn't be passed off as an original. Sadly, there will always be scammers.

I'd LOVE to make my own personal recreations of hard-to-find software that I personally want, but I'm definitely not there yet time-wise. With that said, I feel like home equipment is definitely there with some reasonably-priced dye-sublimation printers. So more reproductions are inevitable. It's just a matter of it being properly policed.

-Bill

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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director; Armchair Arcade, Inc.

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Managing Director; fullSTEAMahead365.com
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Authored Books and Film; Recent Portfolio
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