The Price of Retro Games

Gamer Bhoy 89

I swear there was a time where it was easy to buy older games (particularly 16-bit titles and lower) a few years ago. Nowadays it feels like the prices of some of these games have shot up ridiculously. I don't know if it has anything to do with inflation, demand, covid or anything else, but these expensive games are not really that rare. They're very available and yet are still packing an outrageous price.

I'm finding it difficult to buy older games as frequently as I used to. There was a time about 4 or 5 years ago where I went daft on importing games from Japan and, while it was expensive, it was still doable over time. If I was to buy the exact same things today, my wallet would vapourise into thin air.

I've bought "rare" games before, and they were expensive enough, but I decided to look at the same games and compare -- Jesus it's not even funny.

Super Shinobi 2 (NTSCJ) for Mega Drive, I bought it CIB for €79 before shipping. The price I'm seeing for it now has reached €150-200

Sonic and Knuckles (NTSCJ) for Mega Drive, I bought it CIB (beautiful copy as well, almost pristine) for €66 before shipping. The price I'm seeing now is between €130-180, with the 130 range being horribly damaged.

These games are still widely available. Lots of copies being sold, and yet the price has doubled. Even auctions are having ridiculous starting prices. I'm not an expert on financial jargon but I know that the price of anything in general doesn't shoot up that quick over 5 years.

Have people gone too smug about the value of games? Pricecharting.com gives me hope every time I look at it but nearly every time I click on a game I'm interested in that is cheaper than what I've seen, it's not available anymore. Looking at the graph specifically for MD games in PAL regions, how can the value be an average of 21 quid unless they're loose or sports titles?

I don't understand.

But let it be known I'm not looking to buy "super rare" games that are impossible to find cheap. I'm looking for very commonly available games that I would have been able to buy lots of a few years ago, that are now as dear as a Switch game today.

I'm rather bitter about it, as a retro game enthusiast this is really frustrating.... and what makes it even more frustrating is that even if I do decide to put money on a game, it's not just the base price anymore, it's not even just the shipping price, there's Import tax even when buying from the UK. It just makes it all the more expensive.

o1s1n

Double post

Gamer Bhoy 89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117732001#Comment_117732001

??

Not showing that for me

readyletsgo

Covid over the past 17 months has helped shoot up the prices of a lot of things, including retro games. Everyone and their mother got into older games from March 2020 due to lockdowns all over the world, shops closed, no leaving your town etc, so prices shot up due to demand. Its that simple.

Its the same with all hobbies over this time, prices shot up for everything second hand.

No idea when they will go down though. maybe in the next year or two perhaps.

o1s1n

Yeah I wrote a long post, it came up twice so I deleted the second one and then upon refreshing, my second post was gone and my initial long reply just had 'double post' written in it.

Have I mentioned that I hate Vanilla?

o1s1n

My original reply was just saying how people can't go out anymore and spend their money on nights out, holidays etc, so people have a lot more to spend elsewhere.

Couple that with a lot of people being more nostalgic for simpler (non covid!) times and it's made the price of collectables across the board shoot through the roof. Videogames especially as you can stay indoors and hide from the virus while playing them.

I've had to completely stop buying new games on ebay as a result. Be interesting to see if they come down again when things get a bit more back to normal.

Gamer Bhoy 89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117732047#Comment_117732047

I'm starting to see the problems with the new site creeping in, to be honest lol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117732054#Comment_117732054

I found an article that mentioned COVID had indeed become a factor in prices going up. I just didn't think it'd happen with this market for whatever reason. Buying from the UK in particular has become a nightmare because it's not only a hike in price, but the inclusion of import tax as well. I hate it lol

I'm not just a collector, I actually want to play these games as well. Yeah, I have my Everdrive, Launchbox, etc., but it never feels right. The only shop I've been able to find games that are somewhat affordable and, to an extent, local-ish, is TheRetroGameStore in Wexford, but his Mega Drive selection isn't entirely great. Mostly sports games and loose copies of others.

I tried looking at Etsy just for curiosity's sake but it's full of repros that are probably bugged to hell or don't work.

Colonel Panic

Definitely struggling with prices now, especially thanks to eBay and it's annoying global shipping program being super common with US sellers in particular.

What was attractive before was the prices, coupled with my seeming immunity to getting charged VAT on imports via AnPost for whatever reason, so I hoovered stuff up. But now not only are things more expensive, but I'm paying extra charges and not very cheap shipping! 🤷🏻‍♂️

Retr0gamer

I see some bellends are happy enough to throw 2 million at a copy of Super Mario Bros.

Lemming

Whilst there has been an upward trend in "retro = profit" over the last few years as everyone and their granny gets in on what they think is a gold mine, I think Covid has set it into overdrive to ridiculous levels. People who now find themselves stuck at home with the above mindset have discovered ebay and suddenly think their loose collection of cartridges consisting of Sonic the Hedgehog, Madden Football/Ice Hockey 95, and [Insert Soccer game name here] are worth £100 each with a straight face.

Speaking from a Sega Megadrive perspective, it's gone bonkers for PAL games, particularly where the 32X is concerned. The price jumps on such games would put pre-WW2 Weimar Germany's inflation woes to shame, with games rapidly climbing into the triple digit range that were maybe £60 complete in box two years ago. Some megadrive games really seem to have become insanity central price-wise, and whilst I get the rarity of some of them, the asking prices for loose or incomplete copies is just mind boggling, like Castlevania: the new generation, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: the Hypterstone Heist, or Mega Turrican. It's all gone from collectible to Gordon Gecko of Wall st. levels of greed now.

Adding to the out-and-out-greed factor are some of the repro asking prices. When you are being asked to shell out £300 for a repro of a game (in this case Darxide for the 32X; coincidentally the estimated value of a legit copy now, excluding that absolute plank in Dubai asking for £6k), you know it's all gone horrendously tits up.

I cannot see the prices falling back to more realistic levels now that they have gone up into the stratosphere - at least not for a long time - because nobody wants to admit to themselves that they were taken for a mug. Best that one can do right now is apply an extra level of scrutiny before buying a game that seems a tad on the high side of asking prices.

Gamer Bhoy 89

I actually found a website earlier this year, Chilloutgames, advertised on some magazines I'm subscribed to, and they were actually decent value, some complete in boxes. I got Urban Strike off them this year for about €14 (+5 delivery), but now they don't deliver to the EU because of new VAT laws or whatever it was.

Disheartening to say the least.

Sometimes I wish I lived in America, where "thrift" stores are aplenty and you'll nearly always find something. Charity shops where I've been to all have the same shite; umpteen copies of Brain Training, FIFA 10 and High School Musical on PS2. And if there is anything from the 5th gen or lower, it's always something like Shrek for PS1 or a theory test CD for your computer. It's always the same crap.

head82

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117732627#Comment_117732627

I think you and me are visiting the same charity shops. I never find anything of interest in either of my two local shops. It doesn't make sense. You'd think the law of averages would dictate that at least once in a blue moon, something of interest would turn up. But no.. nothing.. ever!

I suppose it's possible that old console games like Master System, MegaDrive, Snes, PS1 etc. are deemed too old and most likely dumped rather than take up shelf space. However, I've had my suspicions for awhile now that anything of a retro nature is being 'cherry picked' by whoever sorts out the stock.

Either that, or some clever customer has an arrangement with the staff to 'put aside' any old video games.

If it is the latter.. I wish I had thought of it first.

frasr

Some crazy pricing out there at the moment. Was in local CEX recently and spotted they are charging €32 for Wii Sports in the cardboard sleeve, though this was <€5 game. Nintendo always seems to have it's own eco-system on keeping game prices high, but this is a whole new level of craziness. Same with wii console, think these were about 25 or 30 last time I looked in CEX, recommended one to a friend for his kids as I thought they were cheap as chips, he came back and said they were 70. Dusted off an old one and gave it to him (hopefully it doesn't cost him a tv or two!)

Agreed that ebay is a disaster now, UK can be basically considered too much hassle and the postage costs from the EU normally puts everything into the not worth it category

Lemming

@head82 wrote:

I suppose it's possible that old console games like Master System, MegaDrive, Snes, PS1 etc. are deemed too old and most likely dumped rather than take up shelf space. However, I've had my suspicions for awhile now that anything of a retro nature is being 'cherry picked' by whoever sorts out the stock.

Either that, or some clever customer has an arrangement with the staff to 'put aside' any old video games.

TBH, it'll be six of one and a half dozen of the other. I have heard of people having first dibs sweetheart deals with charity shop staff. Whether those deals are off or on the books I couldn't say. That being said, more and more I think it is the charities themselves have someone on staff who has an idea for pricing since I've found quite a few charities selling games on ebay (I've bought a few at decent prices but it's hit or miss with the asking prices) among a whole host of other stuff.

@frasr wrote:

Some crazy pricing out there at the moment. Was in local CEX recently and spotted they are charging €32 for Wii Sports in the cardboard sleeve, though this was <€5 game. Nintendo always seems to have it's own eco-system on keeping game prices high, but this is a whole new level of craziness. Same with wii console, think these were about 25 or 30 last time I looked in CEX, recommended one to a friend for his kids as I thought they were cheap as chips, he came back and said they were 70. Dusted off an old one and gave it to him (hopefully it doesn't cost him a tv or two!)

TBH, anything home/garden recreational-related has seen incredible demand over the last 18 months. Board games, computer games, table top wargames, garden games, anything that can entertain a family at home ... demand and consequently pricing has gone bonkers.

smokingman

Hmmm...maybe it's time to see what my copy of Conkers Bad Fur Day in its box with all literature would get so :D

Retr0gamer

I really don't see the prices going down or go down any time soon. I think it's just accelerated the price hike but would have ended up like this eventually.

Maybe we will see price drops like with the Atari 2600 stuff but I kind of don't think so. 8-bit stuff and onwards is still very playable and very popular with populist youtube collectors so I have a bad feeling it's not going to go down.

I need a better job.

Lemming

@Retr0gamer wrote:

Maybe we will see price drops like with the Atari 2600 stuff but I kind of don't think so. 8-bit stuff and onwards is still very playable and very popular with populist youtube collectors so I have a bad feeling it's not going to go down.

I think in the medium term, it'll be the shops and then the sole-trader sorts that will move first on price points as they begin to want to shift stock, but I think that'll be the far end of "medium" at any rate. Joe soap sales prices on ebay will not come down because "that's the price I once saw it sold for" or "that's the price I paid". If and when rates fall, it wont be back to what they were though as you said, it'll be more along the lines of the inevitable price climbs over time that have just happened that much quicker.

Gamer Bhoy 89

I'm gonna have to readjust how I spend my money on these games. There are a lot of games I regret not buying in hindsight (Streets of Rage 3, Sonic 3 NTSC-J, Golden Axe 3). And I also really hate how Mega Drive games always appeared to be cheaper than SNES games over the years, the fact that the MD is my favourite retro system -- now the games are flying up in price - it's killing the enjoyment for me.

I hope to, one day, find something that'll be unusually low in price to the point I'll shake after buying it. I hear of those stories from people who find hidden gems somewhere - I want that so bad. Almost thought I had it years ago when I found Mutant League Football for €5, but got the games in my head mixed up when I realised it's the Hockey title that's more rare. 🤭

At the moment, the average price of games I'm currently looking to buy over the next few weeks are between 25 and 40 euro (I remember some of these games being between 15-20 euro), so I'll just have to suck it up in the meantime. In terms of games I've waited to buy for a long time, God only knows when I'll be able to spare some cash.

I think in terms of "steals", Alisia Dragoon seems to be mine. I got that game for about 15 quid last year, and that game goes for almost three-digits. I don't know if the seller knew the value of it or what, but the only thing that isn't genuine about it is the manual (black and white, custom printed). I don't even know if it's a repro - I can't tell... subject for another thread I suppose.

Retr0gamer

That's insane. Alisia dragoon was a pretty cheap game not so long ago

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Yup. Im Officially out of collecting. What I have now I hold. Im going to whack up a couple of boxed super nintendos and super Famicoms and about 80 SNES games in the next few weeks as a job lot (all doubles) and then im out. I only collect SNES now and im at the point where if I want a game it's over €80... To me, that's insanity and I can't keep doing it. I have everything I ever wanted with the SNES and for the last few years I was just buying games because I didn't have them.

Jack burton

I haven't bought a new retro game in about 2 years I'd guess.

Prices are just gone ridiculous. There's a few I still want to get but with prices for some of those €400-€500+ now I'm not bothered.

I was talking about this with a guy yesterday in work. Toys are gone the same way. But will people in 20 years really care about 16 bit games? Is the arse going to fall out of it?

I see a lot of graded games being sold for thousands and even hundreds of thousands. I don't get that either, if you pay €10'000 for a graded sealed copy of sonic, in 30 years time that's not going to be worth more money, I don't even think it's going to be worth the same money. That's just IMO though

Kimbot

With Covid you have so many people that had alot more free time on their hands and some got into older games for nostalgia which drove up the price of games over the last year.

Gamer Bhoy 89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117736742#Comment_117736742

I have never understood the notion of buying a game that expensive -- what, just to say "This is the 4th rarest game in the world and I own it"?

I buy games to play them, as shocking as that may seem to a lot of those kind of eejits.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117737597#Comment_117737597

Some of those very expensive games are really great. Stuff like Hyperduel, Taromaru Psychic Killer, Gimmick etc. are all top tier classics. I'd never buy a game because it's rare but I own all three of those because I love to play them.

The problem is now you have very some slightly uncommon to common games hitting holy grail prices. It's complete madness.

Let's not even go into the recent silly auctions on three of the most common games you can find. They look dodgy as **** though. Apparently the company running the auctions sells investments in the items and then sells them for high prices and their clients get a piece of the profits. More than likely the company fudged the first auction to increase interest in other videogame items to artificially inflate the price (buyer is anonymous) or else there's some dodgy money laundering involved.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117737691#Comment_117737691

I actually have a selection of Akira cels going off to Heritage Auctions for their signature animation auction early 2022. Same crowd who sold that Mario 64 cart. Been speaking with their director of animation sales over the last few weeks while putting a consignment together and they're literally making millions with each signature auction they do, prices are through the roof.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117737597#Comment_117737597

Yeah, it's possible to get caught up in collecting for collecting sake. So almost seeing games more like stamps, there are rarer ones you want for your collection etc.

I did it for years myself, thankfully when this were about ten times cheaper than they are now. Wouldn't dream of spending the cash some people do on games these days, it's lunacy.

Retr0gamer

Unfortunately I'm a gaming connoisseur with expensive tastes in filthy japanese imports. 🧐

Actually have the prices on holy grail stuff gone up or is it just the common stuff that Jo casual would be looking for?

MSVforever

I was looking for Maniac Mansion for the C64 but there is no way I am paying +€500 for this...

DaveyDave

Just bought two cheapo PS2 games off eBay. Last thing I bought was my PSP last Summer before things went to **** and one game from The Rage before Christmas also but the urge to browse eBay or seek out new games to look for is all but gone. Have a hard drive in the PS2 and SD card in the Dreamcast if I ever want to try new stuff but Sega stuff for me at the moment is a no go. It's a shame as I really do love browsing listings.

Typical, I'm now in the position to spend a bit now after buying my house last year and prices shoot up. Was hoping to get some minty boxed consoles and accessories along with a few pricier titles. Guess not...

thomas anderson.

How much would my Shining Force 3 for the saturn go for?

Gamer Bhoy 89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117740048#Comment_117740048

The average price it gets sold for is between 60 euro (loose), 130 euro (complete) and roughly 200 euro (brand new), according to pricecharting[.]com anyway.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117735239#Comment_117735239

I did this two or three years back. I sold off the vast majority, kept the things that actually meant anything to me, and freed myself of the obsessive 'need to collect'. I stood back and realised I was pumping money into buying stuff, to never play it, and keep it in a box in the attic. Madness. I play far more games now than I ever have too, so for me, it was the best thing I could have done. It's a relief now to not have to check Adverts/Ebay/CeX anymore, and instead just smile from the sidelines at the stupidness of what's happening with prices.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117741377#Comment_117741377

Looking back I think I got anxiety from this. Trying to pick up games before the prices got insane. I got to a point where I was chasing holy grail games to pick them up before the price got too high and trying to get ahead of the insane price hikes that I knew would follow the DS, 3DS and Wii. Now I was picking up Holy Grail games that I actually did want but I was getting more enjoyment out of buying a big box of cheap but great games from Lukie games for the same price.

I'm out of it now. I'm out of my parents and renting so have to emulate and saving for my own place which I should be moving into next year. Feel a lot better about everything since I left that behind. I'm not getting paid enough to keep up with it.

The Nal

The only surprising thing to me is that people are paying these prices when the games are available for free on emulators/ROMs

banie01

There are a few contributors to price rises at the mo.

The availability of unspent cash due to 12months plus of near zero recreational travel, gym/golf/whatever fees.

The drive to be entertained and to try an catch a little sentimental buzz from our gaming. And;

Tying into sentiment and something that anecdotally at least from my own experience is currently bearing very, very true. The fabled 25yr cycle.

1995/96 are my golden 16bit yrs. The best games, Brian Plank banging them in on FIFA, kicking ass on MK and SF2, bomberman, Mario and sonic all finally beatable by me on the regular.

Lots more late 30's upto mid 40's are now in the same boat looking for the same buzz. We are competing for a reducing market of original items with the benefit of 20 yrs professional experience and it's commensurate effect on our disposable income. Prices will imo go one way for the next couple of years before the cycle moves onto the PlayStation/XBox era and starts all over again.

Lucky Jack

I think it's just the fact that retro gaming has now fallen under the cloud of predatory online interest. From what some of you have said above, being able to source stuff online was a godsend for years allowing easier importing from abroad or giving better sight of the domestic market, but that was only while it was still under the radar. For other collectible hobbies the ability to source stuff online sent the prices stratospheric years ago - if anyone watches America Pickers you'll often see them mention how prices for Americana skyrocketed once European buyers were able to browse and buy online. Then there was that Irish 'version' on Blaze where they were buying things like old advertising signs (which I'd argue are cultural objects that shouldn't be allowed to be sold abroad, or only in very limited numbers, but I'm a heritage hawk), and they were all going to buyers in the US or Europe. Online resources have been fantastic for spreading knowledge about hobbies or for helping communities to grow, but it's been a curse in terms of the price points for those hobbies where the supply of stuff is limited.

I'm one of those blow-ins whose interest in retro gaming was sparked during the pandemic, but for a bit of a different reason. I had a NES as a kid and then PS1, PS2, and X360, but I liked gaming too much and knew I'd piss my way through college if I didn't give it the boot, so I stopped playing anything at all for about 10 years. Then during the pandemic I'd bought a new laptop and realised it could probably run older PC games that I never had a chance to play with ease, so I hopped on GOG and got Morrowind - now I'm like everyone else with a growing backlog and no time to play it.

But after that I thought I'd look at older stuff not available via PC, since I've always liked collecting and really do love games, but quickly realised this isn't a thing a newcomer has any hope of getting stuck into now. I think the most I've paid for anything so far was a DS copy of Chrono Trigger from Cex at about €70, and I also bought a couple of other Square Enix things for about €40 each. But that was when I was living at home and had a few more bob to hand - now that we're out and renting and saving for all the life things, even those prices seem astronomical to me.

I'm happy enough with the selection that's open to me on PC, and there is still the odd decent price on a game from Cex if you're not worried about DLC or GOTY versions, but I think my idea of building up a nice little hobby collection over the years is dead in the water before it's begun. Once I have an actual gaming PC that's separate from the productivity PC I'll hopefully get into dicking around with emulation, and I'm hoping that a combination of that and future remasters (or maybe the eventual fall of some totemic barriers - bring Zelda to PC, Nintendo!) will let me play as much as possible from the history of the medium.

I feel for those of you who were already into the hobby and are now being bitten by the prices - I'm the sort of completionist who'd obsess over an annoying gap in the collection, so not already having one is nearly a blessing.

Potatoeman

I paid 200 euro for a GBA SP AGS101, you have to keep watching to even get one. They’re few and far between. The 001 was 10-20 before a few years ago. Now 50-70 and climbing. Cartridges will just get more expensive.

That said I got a GPD XD+ great piece of kit. Even plays ps1 games.

Retr0gamer

GBA is a joke with all the repro cartridges. So glad I mostly completed that collection when the system was new.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117741709#Comment_117741709

There's a huge amount of ignorance out there geared towards emulation. The majority of cynics would judge what they've seen from the likes of the Mini consoles/cheap ARM solutions, and the likes of a Raspberry Pi. That's the same as judging a Snes connected to a modern display via an RF cable....it's the literal bare minimum needed to get games running, without any of the niceties. Both real hardware, and emulation (software and hardware) have their trials that you need to go through to get the best out of them, and when you do, they're very close to each other. If you could do a blind taste test on a desk, and underneath the desk was a Snes, a decent PC with emulation software configured correctly, and a Mister.....all connected to three identical screens, you'd have some seriously embarrassed anoraks huffing and puffing to find excuses as to why they guessed wrong. I'm fussy when it comes to input lag etc, so if a game feels right to me (Super Mario World and the likes), then it's right (or at least, not perceptibly wrong....and that's good enough for me.)

Of course certain parties have an agenda against emulation too, because there's money to be made out of other solutions.

With all that said, as has been alluded to, there's a predatory pricing element that has engrained itself into the collecting market too. The prices are not being driven up by collectors alone, but by scalping and reselling practices. The further notion that old=€€€ too, backed up by nonsense articles written by 'journalists' who haven't touched a game in 20 years, has helped cement that notion. It has become not fun anymore, everyone thinks the games they're selling are worth twice what they're actually worth, so for me I was better off out of it.

Retr0gamer

I'd still say PS2 emulation is a looooong way off being acceptable outside of the bigger games. It feels like the dark days of terrible PS1 emulation.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117743316#Comment_117743316

It does have a way to go, but it IS making progress at the same time. It's such a bespoke hardware architecture, almost completely undocumented too, which is why it has been such a long term emulation project.

Compare it with Ryujinx or Yuzu, and the progress they've made with Switch emulation has been nothing short of astounding. The hardware is heavily documented, using off the shelf parts to boot....thats the difference.

@sugarman those ODE's are a nice solution, and they strike a lovely balance between authenticity and convenience.

Retr0gamer

Well I'm finding it rubbish. Just like epsxe was. Game doesn't work, try the wild arms fix. Graphics corrupted, try change the coordinates that the textures draw from. Still have issues, try going to a different plugin renderer.

No thanks, I'll wait until there's a better emulator and set up my xrgb for ps2.

Not to disparage the great work ps2 emulation coders are doing but it's really not at a good point for exploring the ps2 library. It will get better but that will only come when they move away from plugins and hacks and move towards accuracy.

At the moment when I start a new game there's so much faffing about with settings to get it right I end up playing something else .

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117743593#Comment_117743593

My experience is exactly the same, anything I've used Pcsx2 for has been a positive experience, looks gorgeous, and enjoyable to play. The vast majority of games I've played have worked 'out of the box' with no additional configuration too.

@Retr0gamer they are currently merging/removing the plugin model, it's an in progress job. Are you definitely sure you're using the latest development versions, and not some antiquated stable release? The only info about corrupted graphics I can find in WA3 don't seem to be recent or common. Anyway, it's an experimental PS2 emulator, it's not going to be a one size fits all solution. If you have a PS2 and an Xrgb....that's gonna be the way to go for the time being for exploring the library.

Retr0gamer

I was using the latest update. I would use emulators to play games that I hadn't played before rather than playing the popular games I've already played to death already.

I just find that there's a huge amount of messing about with options to get a game looking properly and even with that a lot of games never look right or have glitches. It's a lot of effort and really bit worth it as it puts me off sticking with games.

Getting away from the plug in model would be great. The emulator is not displaying textures properly in any games and the graphics architecture like the ps1 and n64 is very bespoke. The next step will be moving away from using plugins to use modern graphics API to brute force effects and to actually emulate how the ps2 would have done this. At the moment they seem to be doing texture rendering by manually adjusting it on a game by game basis.

I know there's a lot of hard work that's gone into it but it's kind of a point where I'm doing so much fine adjustment to games that psychologically I can't stick with a game.

The xrgb unfortunately is great at 240p content but not 480i/p content. You really have to customize your settings otherwise it looks awful and I haven't gotten around to it. I really should. I was really enjoying a lot of ps2 games but the issues I kept running into on the emulator meant I dropped them all.

Inviere

@Retr0gamer I can only say again I've not had many issues with it, but admittedly I would only use it to play the big releases that I missed back in the day. For those, it doesn't miss a beat. The machine is so complex, and emulation of it so difficult, that using it like Snes9x or Bsnes to explore a games library just isn't the right use case. It's experimental, not a one shop stop.

They are moving away from plugins though, which will help a lot.

Colonel Panic

If you can get one, the RetroTink5x does an amazing job deinterlacing 480i content on a PS2, and even manages to deal with 240p gameplay to 480i menu transitions quite well.

CiDeRmAn

Using CEX I shifted about 16 games and made €1000 in trade-in credit, which bought me an Xbox Series X and a 8th gen Ipad (young fella needs it for school).

Mostly it was older DS Pokemon games and shooters, as well as a couple of Mario Party games on the GC.

I'm looking at ChibiRobo now, as it will get me €150 cash in the local CEX and I haven't ever played the thing...

Decisions, decisions!

DaveyDave

Now would definitely be a good time to do a clear out!

CiDeRmAn

I might just move that bad boy on, seeing as I can get the Japanese version for feck all, and the boxes are so much nicer

Retr0gamer

Chibi Robo is a game you'll need english for if you play it.

CiDeRmAn

Well, one can own the Japanese copy and run the local version by... other means....