In the gaming industry, nostalgia sells, which is a contributing factor to the frequent remakes of various video games likeResident Evil 2andthe evolution of arcades since the 80s. For some, this goes further back and has contributed to a number of collectors seeking older and rare games, which led to dentist Eric Naierman and his small video game collection club paying over $1 million to add 40 ‘new’ Nintendo titles to their ever-growing collection.
These specifically cost Naierman a grand total of $1.02 million, with the sale being one of the largest in video game collecting’s history, according to experts. They also say that Naierman’s new collection, alongside what he already owned, is one of the foremost valuable and rarest collections in the world. EveryNintendogame he bought was factory sealed, and most are first-edition releases that are one of a kind or of a very few. Each were also considered to be “black box,” “sticker-sealed” games, collecting jargon that denote an item’s release date and condition.
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Naierman’s purchase includes several black box, stick-sealed copies of NES games such asMario Bros. Arcade Edition(1986), the only two known extant copies ofGolf(1985), and the only know copies ofBalloon FightandGumshoe(both releases in 1986). This collection took 3 collectors and 52 combined years prior to Naierman’s purchase to put together, and for context, the highest single game sale prior to this purchase was afirst-edition 1985Super Mario Brosfor $100,150. Most games in Naierman’s collection could easily fetch similar, if not higher, prices.
Although video game collection hobbyists are a relatively recent addition to the gaming world, it’s not likely one to end any time soon. Experts state that, roughly 15-20 years after a game releases, many will look toward picking up games they had as children, and with a market rising around them, collectors have a dollar sign they can associate with games. The very same thing has already begun to happen withPS2 gamesand Nintendo Wii products, so it’ll be interesting to see if any collections rise up in the next few years to rival Naierman’s.
Regardless, Naierman’s purchase speaks to the inflating price of retro games, especially those in such condition, but that’s also basic supply and demand. Because of this, Naierman now owns one of the greatestretro video gamecollections of all time.
