Ready Player One

[dfwdennis]

It will be interesting to see how much interest in classic arcade games is generated by the upcoming Ready Player One movie, especially since it is going to be directed by Stephen Spielberg.  Was there a significant uptick after Wreck-It-Ralph?

[SavannahLion]

I noticed an slight uptick in the classics and the normal clamoring for the movie exclusives. Overall pricing has been on the upswing since I started this a few years back. Once I knew where to look and how to get the cabs, I noticed the prices have been creeping up. I don't think it's really a product of the movies though, I think it's more a product of the current state of the economy. People tend to hold on to things they think are worth money when they need that money and are more apt to let things go for a cheaper price when they don't need the money.

Craigslist has some good examples since the listings are bloated with people overpricing crap cabs. For instance, a quick look shows a Ms Pac-Man, Defender, and Stargate pricing in between $1200-$1500 a pop. Area 51, Stargate, and 1945 are (just reduced, yay!) between $700-$900. Very very few are under the $300 mark and nearly all of them are not actual cabs. ---smurfy--- cardboard box cabs for the most part. One interesting listing is a Little Casino II table top, but hardly worth the $125 asking price.

Equally interesting are the near-$2000 MAME cabs listed there. Absolutely none are worthy of note and the only standout features are the custom artwork adorning the sides. So for a little under $2k you get a basic MAME or X-in-1 cocktail cab with custom laminate art on the side.
But hey... if people are willing to pay, more power to them. 

[pbj]

The market for classic games died as soon as those $10 TV joysticks came out 10+ years ago.  They're in the novelty category now and are going to hover around in that $500-$1,000 level until the end of time.

[BadMouth]

I look for sales of the Family Ties box set on Blu-Ray to skyrocket. 

[yotsuya]

It will be interesting to see how much interest in classic arcade games is generated by the upcoming Ready Player One movie, especially since it is going to be directed by Stephen Spielberg.  Was there a significant uptick after Wreck-It-Ralph?

If you read/believe KLOV, there was an uptick in original Nintendo cabinets that were bastardized into Fix-It Felix, Jr cabs. The over-under is 10 years before the owners sheepishly convert them back into Donkey Kongs.

But general uptick? Naw.

[nitrogen_widget]

The majority of original arcade games I see on craigs list have an asking price of between $250 & $750 with most around $500 give or take a little.
It's the mame'd & XXX in 1 cabs that have the crazy asking prices of $1000 all the way up to $3200.