It’s only a year since GAME announced they had rival Gamestation firmly in their diamond-encrusted cross hairs. After all, the big purple giant has more than enough bank to buy and sell as they please, so why not?
And with it, the last great bastion of retro games on the high street ceased doing business in the old-school not long ago. Gutted.
I wandered in there last weekend eager to nab a copy of Duke Nukem 3D on PSOne, after rubbing my eyes for hours in disbelief that “actual” Duke Nukem Forever gameplay footage now exists, to learn this fact. I heard that the stripping out of retro titles was on the table from my mates I used to work with there, but I never, for one minute thought it was more than an idle threat.
Perhaps it’s Virtual Console’ or Xbox Live’s fault? Maybe it’s just a result of the massive shift in tastes and audience demographics we’ve had over the past year or so. Either way, I’m one unhappy chappie.
An all-too familiar sight on Britain’s streets
I am an avid retro fan and I need my fix. Sure enough, many retro games can be found on eBay, but some of the prices people want are absolutely snooker loopy! Take the auctions I found today for example,
Shinobi 3 on Mega drive – £19.99 (approx. £6 on Virtual Console)
Streets of Rage 3 on Mega Drive – £59.99 (approx. £7.50 on Virtual Console)
Maybe I’m going daft, but a plastic case and fading game manual is not worth 15 or even 50 quid. I have a pretty large Mega Drive collection, it’s been my favourite console for some 17 years so I remember these games when they first came out. Sure they were rare, but I nabbed Streets of Rage 3 for about a fiver back in the day and there is no way it’s worth 60 notes, it’s utter garbage!
However, Shinobi 3 is a slice of 16-bit gold and I haven’t been able to track down a copy for cheaper than the eBay price in all my years of trying. I got it on Virtual Console when it was re-released and to a degree, I kind of get why these guys are hiking their prices.
I really like the way console download services are giving younger gamers a chance to relive what so many older gamers grew up with, it’s a perfect shopfront for them. However, now that retro compilations and downloads are impossible to miss, the novelty is taken away somewhat. I used to really enjoy traipsing the second hand stores in Edinburgh in search of that one elusive game, but now, all I need to do is fire up my Wii and download it from there.
I do miss having a box and manual for my Shinobi 3 download though and it would be interesting to see how many gamers from the 16-bit days and beyond feel the same way. However, you can’t help but feel this is being exploited by some of the more optimistic retro traders online – ah nostalgia..
Aww..I still love you actual-physical console!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.