Game on! Retro video games move from teens’ rooms to auction houses
Mario, Sonic, Zelda, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy, Pokémon, Mortal Kombat, Age of Empires … the influence of video games, especially from the 80s and 90s, is immeasurable. Despite new releases of very good games, the ones that marked the childhood of millennials and the teenage years of Gen Xers are unsurpassed. It’s already been several years since these proto-gamers started to satisfy their nostalgia by looking for these games from the past in yard sales or on eBay.
Today, retro gaming has hit the big time, and collectors are ready to insert coins to take home lots from major auctions. Alexis Jacquemard, Clerk Specialist for Design and Pop Culture and the Director of the Pop Culture Department at the Millon Auction House, answers our questions about the future of video games in the auction world.
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Who are the retro gaming customers and why do they buy?
Our retro gaming customers are mostly collectors who either want to expand their collection with missing pieces or improve it with pieces in better shape. The typical profile is men between 30 and 50 years old.
Are video games considered another kind of antique? What’s special about them?
I believe video games comprise several qualities, but I would not qualify them as antiques. They’re part of the objet d’art category due to the specific graphics and art on the cases and boxes. In fact, certain renowned artist-illustrators have worked on the packaging and illustrations, like Yoshitaka Amano for Final Fantasy.
Of course, they are also collectors’ items. There’s the search for the missing, rare or almost unique piece; for something that’s over 40 years old in like-new condition; for a full set of a console and its games; or for a complete set of licensed products. These are major attributes for collectibles. And these different attributes help define these objets d’art as “classics.”
In addition, they have the particular power, like toys, to resonate with childhood and adolescence and with nostalgia for a past era, with its good memories or sometimes absences.
What are the categories or types of franchises or the brands that are the most successful at auctions and why?
The most successful brand is Nintendo, covering an entire class of collectors with its consoles and iconic characters from, in particular, the Mario, Zelda or Pokémon worlds. It’s also important to mention the multiplatform licenses like Final Fantasy, GTA or Metal Gear Solid.
Nintendo and its licenses are the most sought after, since there’s an ongoing connection with collectors who have followed the brand since the 80s – they grew up with it. But that’s also due to the cultural impact of Nintendo’s vast licenses; some of the characters are recognized by everyone around the world!
