The Mario Scam & Retro Game Bubbles - it affects me (and you too)
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- My honest opinions on the controversial $2 million Mario scam video as well as what's going on with retro game prices & potential bubbles. Yes. It's a MESS!
Karl Jobst: • Exposing FRAUD And DEC...
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Been a fan of yours for a long time, thanks for talking about it :)
it's the guy from the video
Thank you for standing up and taking on these parasites!
Thank you for your efforts to expose this!
Thank you for your video. There tactics will mess up the whole market.
Karl has an awesome channel to !!! Check it out
News of that million dollar Mario even reached normies here in Brazil. A friend of mine who has nothing to do with the game collecting scene just mentioned it to me the other day.
Look who’s here.
Haha normies
*Mr Peanutbutter enters the room*
What Is this, a crossover episode?
Uma tristeza, visto que o mercado brasileiro de usados já é inflacionado e especulado por natureza. Se já é difícil colecionar jogos de PS3 e PS Vita (como eu faço), imagina jogos de NES e retrogames no geral, que nós mesmos não tivemos uma distribuição ampla...
@@Luancarr Verdade. Se tá ruim pra eles, mesmo sendo muito mais fácil comprar jogos antigos nos EUA, imagina para a gente no Brasil, onde até jogos comuns, tipo Super Mario World são caros aqui.
Without a doubt, this has affected the level of enjoyment one has going to a flea market or convention. The falsely inflated collectibles market has done far more damage than good. Sad.
It's really sad. I saw someone on eBay selling a 2DS LX for like $260. I couldn't believe it. I got mine from Walmart for like $70 on sale. I just can't believe people.
@@kannon0216 I want a new 3ds so bad, I was robbed some 4 years ago and they took my console, I really supported that platform along with the Wii U back in the day and it pisses me off that the consoles are so expensive now.
@@kannon0216 That's what burns me as well. What is a retro gaming community if only those that can afford to spend $300 to get a game in box with manual? I'm grateful to have bought these amazing games when or around the time they came out.
I've come to the idea that the "regular people" market going up to the levels you're talking about is widely unrelated to the fantasy scams and market manipulation by wata and the like, and more responding to legit supply and demand market reasons (sadly), and I even doubt it is an actual bubble.
While those high-level prices from the video and the market manipulation attempts are at a completely different level that for the most part wouldn't be affecting the more down-to-earth game-collecting market, I reckon.
@@sanda386 I agree and think the proliferation of everyone going online to look up things, Covid making many home bound and demand by gamers going retro due to the pricing of new hardware is all a contribution.
"When everybody else is going left, go right." This is the best advice I've heard anyone say, I've lived my entire life going by this rule. I've never cared about fads, which saved me so much money and headaches, live by your own principles. I guess this is why I find your videos so fascinating and relatable.
Double entendre. 😉
You should apply this to anything because it the best way to go
This is why i wont get the Covid vaccine.
Yeah, dude. It really is the wise-man's mindset. Been living that way since I was a teen. Dont have many friends for it, but hey, I won the race... Wife, car, apartment, income. Lol. While they're still struggling and wondering why they're in the same spot since I grew up w/ them and still are even when I left my hometown as an adult lmao
It's ironic. And everyone swore I was going the wrong way (as it outcasted me.) But they were too busy "trying to be cool" and are now left with their "cool" friends who aren't shit, just like they themselves, are now. While most of em are all still staying with their mommys. So ironic, it's poetic lmao.. Dumbass, spineless losers. 😂 *Always do you and believe in what you VALUE!!! ... It will ALWAYS get you where you need to be.*
@@codydfwn You are my least favorite kind of person.
Metal Jesus I've been watching your videos for years now man. Just want to thank you for all the content, there's not another channel like yours on CZcams. I tune in because you're videos feel like we're a couple of buddies talking about videogames. Never change bro
When everybody else goes left go right. That's great advice that's exactly how I built up my PlayStation 3 collection now I have over 700 PS3 games alone.
PS3 is so cool. I bought one strictly to play Demon's Souls after how much I enjoyed Bloodborne after getting a PS4, and couldn't resist when Gamestop put 160GB fats on sale for $40 back in early 2017. But before I knew it I had maybe 35 games on the system because the library is awesome and prices were so cheap. Off the beaten path kind of stuff like 3D Dot Game Heroes, Nier, Drakengard 3, Ni No Kuni, Puppeteer, Dragon's Crown, etc made PS3 so great.
@@homerthompson416 demon souls is a great game. And the PS3 is a great console. You made a good choice you will have years of enjoyment. 👍
@Chr1stopherThrobbin cheers man 👍
That's why I've been buying Wii U games. I've gotten a lot of them really cheap lately when I only had Wind Waker HD when the system was still actively getting games.
@@DrazenX195 it's a system I've been thinking about collecting for myself I have a boxed Wii U but only one game for it at the moment Mario Kart. Good luck with your collecting 👍
The important point to keep in mind is that “graded and sealed” isn’t a space dominated by collectors but by investors who have no interest in the games themselves, it’s just a means to make a buck.
Reminds me of channels like Phoenix Resale who brag about stuff they got not because they like Nintendo, but because they know other people do and it sells well lmao I hope the game resale genre of videos goes away quickly now
I have graded comics, as do a lot of people, cos they like the comics. Mine are on show with the rest of my collectables.
@@lj2265 I kinda liked what he was doing, after all he was spending so much time reaching out to people who wanted to trade or throw away their stuff for a buck or something like that… until he went to 15 Walmarts buying whole lots of 3DS games and reselling them 4-6 times the actual price he paid for them (sometimes he paid not more than a dollar). I found it quite annoying and abusive.
This is true.
The game is like a stock option to them.
Where I just want to open the box and play the game.😂
Problem is, that market heavily influences the used games market anyways, for years now! But its for sure gotten out of hands in these past 2-3, its nuts!
Thanks for covering this MJR. It is a problem that should not be ignored.
He just stole someone else's topic and even screen grab
@@pr0f3ta_yt what are you even talking about? Karl even commented on here thanking MJR and even said he was a fan
Next up should be an investigative documentary on Goodwill, and how they are taking all the games from the brick and mortar stores, and flipping them on their online store. It recently started happening in my city with ALL Goodwills. Not only that, but the prices for everything are high at Goodwills where I live.
There’s nothing like picking up games on the cheap, taking them home, plugging them in, and having a good time.
I thought trading cards was a mess. When the $ is on the line the wolves come out.
Exactly. Look at scalping. People who just want to game or get a new console can't because other people want to squeeze every penny out of those people.
Takes a wolf to catch a wolf.
Yu-giiii-ooohhhh
sadly everything is about making money now
@@cptgigity yes so so sad these days ,,we are all treated like cattle these days for the sacred pursuit of money ,, soulless money-grubbers 😔😔
CZcamsrs were the first ones to inflate the prices on retro games, with their channels and videos.
They didn't reach the public as good as Wata did though. Going on Pawn Stars and making tons of bs headlines did it.
CZcamsrs didn't do it on purpose.
I like the "go in the other direction" idea and would add to that how Karl's exposé shows the true culprits responsible for the crazy prices of retro games.
IT IS NOT HIDDEN GEMS VIDEOS!
i enjoy a handful of retro games, and one of my favorite systems is the ps2 and its library. never cared about the dreamcast, the og xbox, or the gamecube. as i collected them over the years however, i realized how each one brought something awesome to the table, especially when they were modded, which is what i was into. i was of the mindset, i had a ps2. dont really care for the GC, DC, or the OGxbox. once i finally modded a og xbox however, i was blown away by how awesome everything is. but yea, definitely a fun idea to go in the other direction sometimes.
Also, most of the market on "hot" consoles etc are speculators. So if prices feel inflated, it's because they are. Go the other direction 👍🏻
@@eternalthree mods are for losers that have no skill.
@@damondelgado4603 have you ever tried to solder an RGH chip to a 360?
Takes a good bit of skill
Besides, modding can give consoles a whole new life!
isn´t that like tho most obvious "idea" ever ?
I never owned a Wii U and thought I wouldn’t like it. Just bought one for cheap and really liking it! Great advice in this video!
We bought one about a year before the Switch came out and have loved it. I was actually blown away at how fun it was to play. One console I won't be letting go of.
Wii U gets a bad reputation from how poor it did in sales and an underwhelming response from third party developers but it's really an underrated console, the marketing and execution could have been better but there's plenty of good games (a lot of them ported to Switch but the originals are cheaper), and that's not even touching on the native HDMI support for Wii, or the vast amount of homebrew out there both for the Wii but also in Wii U mode.
The Wii U have an amazing library of games. A lot of those games eventually found its way to the switch, like Breath of the wild and Mariocart 8
it is the best console Nintendo ever made, you can play pretty much anything on it, even most of the first party Switch exclusives.
MJR, I really liked this. Any chance you do discussion topics like this more? Doesn’t have to be latest gaming news, just straight talk about things you like. When you brought up Atari, it really hit home that it is a generational thing. 🤘🏻
I know several stores whose owners admitted to price manipulation wit Earthbound cartridges several years ago, wouldn't be surprised if the same is happening with other expensive super hyped games that went from expensive to insane
Like local retro store owners? Curious, how could a local store manipulate the price of certain games?
@@playafly316 I'm imagining that the local video game store owners interacted with each other frequently being in the same market and operating a business in that market. Fair chances are they hatched a plot with each other similar to Wata, Heritage Auctions, and Fractional Video Game Share Company mentioned in the video Karl Jobst did. They made a deal locally to prop up the price on Earthbound. Say they make it to where they each have a copy of Earthbound they agree amongst each other to buy each other's copies at a slightly higher than current market value. Someone sees that has a very nice copy of Earthbound comes in decides well it sold for that much let try put it up for the same.
Could also at the same time create a market scarcity by buying out the competition before, during, and after. Market control can make it easier to manipulate market values. Covid-19 Game Price Spike during which more people were buying video games so it became harder to get a hold of certain items or/ systems/games etc.
This is highly illegal, so it'd be good to see them get caught for this. But I suppose they're just small independent retro game stores, so they won't get hit with an anti-trust lawsuit. But it sucks for everyone who just wants to buy games for a reasonable price.
So glad you touched on this. Mainstream media sites just made a fuss about this, and never addressed the red flags it raises.
I think the collector aspect of gaming is completely legit. But it relies on grading companies like Wata being reliable and honest otherwise it just harms the whole hobby.
It is but let's be real, we are talking about the first Super Mario Bros.
The only reason THAT EXACT copy is so valuable is because treated with extreme care, not because it's a hard to find product.
I started collecting in 2013/2014 and back then everyone was talking about the rise of retro prices and how there might be a bubble and a crash. Looking at prices now there are many games that have not gone up in value but there are also a very large amount of games that have gone wayyy up in price. I cannot imagine starting my collection in 2021. I would not be able to afford a lot of my collection if I did.
A perfect example of speculators manipulating the market with hyper inflation is the speculator boom comics had in the early 90s. Publishers got greedy with printing books in the millions with so many gimmick covers, pack ins, and storylines that speculators ate up. However when they would resell the books with increasingly diminished returns, the bubble burst and lead to a near industry collapse.
Great video as usual on an important topic! I had a lady at a yard sale who had a sealed copy of Sonic Boom on Wii U, and she didn't want to sell it to me (which is good because I didn't want it) because she said "It's worth $6,000 on eBay. Look!" as she showed me a listing of a graded (unsold) copy of the game. This stuff really does trickle down through the market. Average people are being totally fooled and scammed by this. The fractional share collectible companies are also stealing from people by promoting this stuff too and selling them a piece of a WATA game, taking advantage of average people, not rich people. WATA/Heritage are controlling the high end market, have lots of money and are manipulating everyone below while potentially causing permanent damage to a fun hobby. It's really messed up all for the sake of greed. Your advice about going for inexpensive, low demand stuff is terrific. Thanks for posting this.
exactly //thats the harm being done to many hobbies// people are thinking they got a gold mine because they are not understanding that investors/speculators are driving up percieved values by many shady and scuzzy tactics//thats why bubbles burst see tulips netherlands 1700s
I don't leave a lot of comments because they get lost in obscurity, however this deserves my 2 cents. Bringing light to this manipulation is necessary and you have done a fantastic job staying reasonably neutral in your presentation of views. Thank you.
I’m not sure it deserves your opinion but it is definitely welcome. And I agree
Every retro gamer that collects for the intention to Play the games needs to research this kind or market-scam going on and to publicly voice their displeasure over it ,until the higher ups finally take notice,,,🇺🇸👍👍
Absolutely disgusting what's going on - you have a bunch of scammers inflating prices of some of the most widely available games of all times.
@@99Vood99 I completely agree. This hurts all of us in the gaming world.
you should comment more! we need more level headed people in the comment section XD
I'm glad you're covering this as well, I kinda had my suspicions that there was something fishy about the whole thing, I mean 2 million for a Super Mario Game in a condition that's close to others that's been sold ungraded for way way way less.
"when everyone goes left, go right"
love that. a few years back i got my hands on a ps3 of all things, and the games were CHEAP. i suppose cos people were selling but not buying - id gone in the opposite direction.
got a stack of gems now. collecting aside, it was so fun just being able to go in the shop with £10-£15 at the end of each week and buy 2/3 games to kick back and play on the weekend and finish off on the evenings of the following week. stand out for me was buying valkyria chronicles on your recommendation! played it through multiple times now.
Same. I'm like that with the PS5 and Series x shortages. I'm not even going to try to fight for one of them until demand has met supply, then I'll think about getting one.
In the mean time I focus on other hobbies, and play older games in my backlog.
In the end, its not about seeing high end graphics but rather enjoying entertainment. If those games are entertaining you: more power to you.
I still have an uncut RE3 Nemesis in my basement. Im not sure that I even have a PSX anymore. hahaha but I still see myself playing that gem one more time.
Graphics can support a game. But it's not everything.
Thanks for addressing this!
It had to get out, Karl Jobst really started something big here; a massive thank you to him!!
In my eyes, sealed games are unplayed games and therefore unloved games. Games are for fun - cherish them, play them and enjoy them.
Agreed,,,damn right !!
And at the end of the day their TOYS!!! Meant to be played with lol.
"Toy" would suggest a fun thing for children to enjoy. I wouldn't call games such as Tomb Raider, Flight Simulator, Grand Theft Auto, Contra, Populus, Goldeneye, The Last Of Us, or ToCa, etc as "toys",@@jonrhoades9259. Many video games require a mature mindset or are simply inappropriate for kids.
Besides, in the Commodore 64/Amiga and ZX Spectrum days games and computers were aimed at the tech savvy adults.
Try "interactive entertainment".
🤜➡️🖐️🎤
Like, I can understand displaying your rare games, but at least play them every once and awhile
I’m glad you have brought attention to this, watching Karl’s video was like watching an episode of American Greed before the finale and end result.
Really concerning about what is happening to 3DS systems right now, especially the "new" line. Their value is shooting up to the point where they cost more used than a Switch Lite brand new.
Yeah, it's weird. I have a Pokemon x and y 3ds and wanted to get a new version. Noooope.
are they maybe easy to mod and emulate retro? jw, seems way to early in the natural progression of prices consoles usually undergo if prices aren't being manipulated
@@torgogorgo1888 Pretty much every handheld system that isn't a Switch right now is easy to put cfw on. DSi, PSP, Vita, and 3DS can all run similar games and they're all going up in value, but the New 3DS line is costing too much too soon considering it only left store shelves new a few months ago. All retro stuff is going up and I for one am concerned since I'm a buyer, not a seller.
I've said for multiple years this was going to trickle down and start affecting loose cart prices and no one believed me. "Oh don't worry," they said, "no matter what eBay is charging, you'll always be able to find a bargain at a garage sale." And I knew that was bogus, because the more articles were written about a common game selling for a fortune, the more non-gamers were going to think they were sitting on a goldmine because they had a Mario/Duck Hunt in their attic.
Very interesting, been keeping a eye on this story for a few days now. Also, some huge thanks from me (co-founder of Fusion) for having our Fusion and Zzap! 64 Magazines on your desk. We would love for you to contribute something for one of them or our upcoming yearly annual.
Pot calling the kettle black.
Being a retro game collector has become rather tedious these past few years and it shows.
"that mario game on PlayStation" Ouch, my brain hurts trying to process those lady's words.
My favorite console, the MarioStation
The nostalgic connection is also very strong with comic books. I love my video games and comics from when I was a kid.
In all these bubbles or nostalgic booms and rediscoverings of game consoles, one of my favs, the 3DO, just gets forgotten and left out in all of it. :(
MJR always hits the nail straight on the head 🔨
I enjoyed the conversational piece in today’s video! Should do it periodically and call it “Water to Wine” or something cooler haha 😂😎
If anyone asks "what should i collect" i would say to him: "you should search another hobby"
If you don't know what to collect on your own, then you don't care about the things but only the money
yes great; totally agree
Bingo! If you have to ASK what games to “start” collecting…..I mean…..if you don’t know by NOW, you’re just a Johnny-come-lately that’s seeing dollar signs. You don’t love the hobby. Bounce.
@@justsayin4632 I see a lot of people saying "Well, prices are high, might as well sell my collection". Those people are not true collectors. They never cared about the hobby if they are willing to do that. They only care about money.
I’ve been using your PS3 hidden gem videos to find stuff that hasn’t gone up in price yet. It’s also a good time to catch up on games from that gen I couldn’t afford as a kid - finally played Heavenly Sword!
When the ps3 came out I didn't own one but now that the ps5 is out I have gone back to those ps3 games to check them out and have been going nuts buying games for ps3 for very cheap.
The laser on mine died, I'm thinking on homebrew it and just feed it's hard drive to my heart's content. Not sure if mine can be homebrewed though.
This is how somebody would sound when having to give a book report but only reading the back summary of the book right before class.
It’ll be fine. Trust me
Just went through 2 different waves of this in Pokémon.
Prices have already settled to normal after a short phase of bubble prices and idiots selling things overpriced.
Worst case scenario, a temporary bubble emerges, but eventually things settle to normal.
I’ve heard from some guy whose been collecting cards as long as you’ve been into video games(Smpratte) that you start to notice these patterns and cycles, and over time you recognize these bubble phases as just that. Trends and cycles.
one difference --the hi end is being manipulated and causing the floors to rise on EVERYTHING thus creating an artifical valuation ie "sugar high" making people think they have something special when it isnt so
Also you're kinda wrong imo. There are plenty of young people who love retro games. I'm 18, and I grew up playing N64, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS2, and PS3. I've collected for them since then.
We exist, it just might not seem that way with some people.
I think you're kind of demonstrating his point, though. You don't mention Atari (or even NES or SNES) here. I think it's exceedingly rare for an 18 year old to be interested in Atari now, and that's also starting to be true for N64 and PS2.
You collect for consoles you played and loved as a child and aren’t anywhere near as interested in stuff that’s before your time. That’s not an exception to what he’s saying tho. Atari and intellivision was before my time and I don’t give a shit about those platforms and wouldn’t spend any money on them unless it was something I was certain I could flip for a profit straight away
@@unstoppableExodia I mean I grew up during the late PS2 era, but I still like the NES, SNES, and N64. I dont love Atari because the games dont really have much to do.
@@SoupyMittens that is interesting I would have expected someone born in the 2000s to not care about Nintendo games pre GameCube. I agree that Atari games suck major donkey balls. When I was a kid playing Atari at a friends place (in the nineties) Atari seemed antiquated and povo (poor man’s video game console). I expected Gen z would feel the same about NES but am more than happy to be proven wrong.
Karl is a sick speed runner who absolutely kills it on Goldeneye 64. Dude is a beast!
He also killed the reputation of Badabun for their garbage fake Mario speedrun!
@@alantaylorfc is that a bad thing? 🤣 I remember that video lol.
He has a pinned comment :)
Long time fan here. I just wanted you to know that I really enjoyed this video and you seriously need to make more like this. It was like having a discussion and hearing your point of view. Really down to earth man.
Appreciate your advice on trying new consoles, when your younger I feel we are more bias, as we get older we let those bias walls down and try new consoles, I have done the same. Always enjoy your videos 😊
Besides price fixing/manipulation, I think it is a front for some sort of money laundering scheme too.
Yepp, thats also what I though, Karl Jobbs video even also mentioned about it in the beginning, but without a hard prove of course he cant talk about it because its will potentially become a lawsuit
Man collecting PS3 games is so refreshing.
Glad I got the console I wanted when I was a kid.
You can get so many games for so cheap.
But yeah there are games that are more expensive and harder to find. But the games you find at secondhand stores are usually very cheap where I live.
I couldn't find a PS5 anywhere, so I bought PS3 Demons Souls for less than $20. Yeah, its 720p and barely hits 30 fps, but excellent game I didn't give a chance until all the hype of the PS5 remake and Elden Ring coming soon. Also during lockdowns I finally got into the Souls games, so Demons Souls was the last one I played after I finished all the others.
Agree. Due to playing COD on Live for a lot of years I never truly appreciated other games. Going back to that now and PS3 games look great too.
Emulators: Hello my son
I love emulators. I'm not paying 100's if not 1,000s for a video game. If I find a game in the wild for cheap, then I will buy it.
I mention that in the video too 👍
For some people emulators don't cut it. I personally don't ever use them. I want to play games on their original hardware, that's part of it.
Emulators are definitely very important for preservation or for playing games that are just completely out of any reasonable price range. I'll pay $100 to play Klonoa. But if it was a $2000 game that'd be a different story.
However, it's sealed games we're talking about here, which you can't even play anyways so.
@@MetalJesusRocks can you talk about best emulator consoles or handheld?
@@drew8235 I use emulators on huawei y6 pro 2019 phone and my powerful huawei tablet due to old tech or Retro tech is very rare on my country due to its about new tech here also if you managed to find one well it's either broken or dirty
I recently got a N64 again. It's one of my favorite consoles. Yeah it looks pretty primitive compared to newer stuff. But I had it at the right age and have lots of great memories playing it with friends and alone. I played it with my wife (who never grew up with a N64) and our 11 year old son. They were quickly bored with it and mentioned how bad the graphics look.
Go out for a pack of smokes and never come back
Go get the milk, if you know what I mean.
Why would anyone want to keep a video game in its original packaging? They're meant to be played and enjoyed, not hoarded and then sold when you get divorced!
Hi, Your commentary is spot on here. Yes, even later generations of video games will eventually pop. Excellent vid!
I don't know man. I can't see copies of Lunar LE, Gotcha Force, Rule of Rose, etc. etc. just regularly going for way less than what they cost now. If the bubble pops for those generations, many years down the line, shouldn't the rarer ones retain, like, 70% of their current value? Rare games seem to perform like most other appreciating assets.
@@lukaskidd4621 Your answer lies in rare Atari games. Contrary to what the Atari fanboys tell you, most rare Atari games lost 50-70% of their value from their high peaks in the 1990's. I am sorry, but there is no such as a blue chip collectibles. It does NOT exist and never will.
@@lukaskidd4621 there will come a time and place when you will mention those games and nobody will know what the hell youre talking about. thats when their value will be much lower.
@@lukaskidd4621 a collectible is only worth what somebody else is willing to pay for it. If younger generations don’t care about an obscure game like Rule of Rose then prices will start to fall
It's good to see more and more people cover this. I have known for years wata games is fraudulent.
Years? Like, 2? Cuz...
Its been going on for years and it was obvious with common sense.
No it's not been going on for years. Just last number of months
@@drunkensailor112 You know nothing.
@@drunkensailor112 Its been going on for awhile
@@NirnBootMod great argument
The big issue was the major news sites reported the million dollar auctions uncritically. Most in the gaming world immediately suspected fraud, but the average person just thought it was legit price
First time I’d heard of WATA was at PRGE and even then it was “Okay, how necessary is this, really?!” because the slabbing and grading service is extremely unnecessary and is just them inserting themselves into an already established market.
In other news: It was only recently that I found out that an aftereffect of the 1983 crash was that sealed copies of 2600 games were common. They’re all over produced, and were unsellable in stores
People that say the n64 3d graphics don't hold up, don't have a crt tv!
TRUTH 👆
I dont even have a CRT tv yet I still think the graphics look fine
I think the point of comparing coins was to show what happens when people start purchasing items as “investments” vs just something you enjoy collecting
And also that 1) there was a concentrated, proven fraudulent effort to manipulate the coin market by the same folk who are pushing the video game collection prices, and 2) the prices never returned to their original highs, hurting anyone who got into it as an investment in a by-the-books pump&dump.
Never stop the N64 videos! 😊 keep them coming! 🤙
More to come!
The biggest issue is not that it'll affect the price of those graded games, but that those high prices will bleed down to those "garage sale" games like you mentioned where even everyday people are going to be hesitant to let you buy that SNES game for $20 because they heard they can get like $1000 for it.
Collecting those sealed games is like buying a dream car but did not even drove it.
I think the connection with the coin industry has more to do with Jim seemingly being involved in both of these markets .
By the way , Karl is a Legend
The pot calling the kettle black
I’m so glad you talked about this. Love your channel. So much knowledge. Thanks MJ.
Glad you enjoy it!
i remember when every auction on ebay for retro games was either loose, or sealed & graded for 400% up price 10-12 yrs ago. Now it's back and with the crazy collecting craze happening right now I saw this "scam" a mile away. I knew it was only time before it got way out of hand.
At 10:30 man those clips hit me right in the childhood feels. Yes in the 30’s here and grew up on the NES through GameCube / PS3 BUT haven’t owned anything newer than those. If I ever play a console anymore, it’s for nostalgia.
Here is something EVERYONE is missing. The casual "collector" "investor" is now going to drive up every single aspect of the market. To think that oh its "only graded" wont affect my collecting is naive. Think about this. You have a "stronger emotional attachment" to a game. So all these people buy up any and all available copies (cornering the maket) now you have a supply demand issue, now people are going to pay a lot more for games. The "investor" is driving prices up because of speculation of pricing, which all stems from the graded market. Look at MTG, people buy hundreds even thousands of cards because the chance a card goes up a few dollars, therefore they are manipulating the market by removing the availability of that card.
Thanks for shedding light on this, Jason. This affects all collectors and destroys the market
In England here I bought a ps2 slim silver edition, great condition, works perfect, for £55 just cus I felt like it and I had never owned one before, got the games I wanted for less than £20 each. and it plays ps1 games too, gex, tomb raider alien trilogy, etc. Ones I've always wanted to play. I also got a third party wireless dual shock 2 for it brand new on amazon, so I might get a game cube soon if they're not to heavy in price, sorry my story doesn't really go anywhere but that's what I've been up to! I love the old classics and playing them on the old consoles and proper controllers. (I got a scart to hdmi converter, they look and play great.)
Always interested in retro gaming on your side of the pond ,,well done friend
Be careful with Gamecubes, I bought 3 of them before I found one that worked right, that damn disc error.
If you ever want a fantastic wireless solution for ps1/ps2 get the Brook adapter. You can use modern bluetooth controllers like WiiU, Switch, ps3, ps4, ps5, xbox one/series pads, as well as 8bitDo. And the Brook adapter also supports the pressure sensitive face buttons from the ps3 dualshock/sixaxis pads perfectly - So you're not getting a gimped experience on PS2 games that made use of this feature like racing games, Mad Maestro, or Metal Gear Solid. I believe there's also supposed to be USB fightstick support (and the adaptet has updatable firmware for future proofing). The Brook is great if you already have these controllers lying around.
Just a heads up, ps2 original dualshock controllers are flimsy as hell, BUT also an easy fix for most of the UK variant models if you're decent with a soldering iron (ie especially early H variant controllers that are common in UK).
Its really satisfying bringing these once worthless controllers back to life, though I'm not sure how many other people are doing these fixes on original controllers here in UK.
Considered a Wii with GameCube support? I always hated the Wii but got one about 2 years ago. Great console and I can use GameCube games with no downside on this.
@@naliboi93 the ds2 pad I got on amazon is generic but identical to the official one but its wireless, its going for £16 and listed as wireless 2.4G controller gamepad. It works fine for me, I don't game alot tho see weekends mostly, I'm old.
MJR, you're absolutely right in regards to the garage sale bit. When the average person (or general public) becomes aware of the price of retro games, it's a little frightening. They're becoming incentivized to up their prices, and that directly makes purchasing games at garage sales for cheap much more difficult. Certainly an eye opener, and I'm now considering changing the way I approach them myself.
I hadn't heard about the recent Mario scam but this topic hits close to home. Some years back I was a full time online reseller and sold a lot of vintage games including sealed versions. I hunted for stuff to sell 6-7 days a week for several years (I don't recommend this lifestyle) and with that amount of focus I found sealed games now and then. At first I thought the idea of grading a game was ridiculous, but then I studied the market and noticed that graded sealed games were selling for much higher prices than ungraded ones, especially if they were on the higher end of the grading scales. After finding a bunch of sealed games in one go (find of a lifetime) I had several graded by VGA and turned some crazy profit margins when I finally sold them. I'd never shell out that kind of money for a graded myself and I've since changed careers but learning about that insane market was certainly an eye opener. Supply and demand is a very interesting thing - although personally I'd rather pop an old game in a classic console than stare at it sealed up on a shelf. :)
Being a huge collector of both graded and non-graded games, this is VERY well done. I sincerely appreciate your neutral opinion, honesty and ultimately you being humble. Keep doing what you are doing.
MetalJesusRocks: "And you can't take physical copies away"
Nintendo: And I took that personally.
"I don't even care about that world, to be honest." That's pretty much almost all of us. I'm sure there are a few that are willing to own an old cartridge for a few extra bucks, but millions, definitely not. If we didn't have access to the ROMs, that would very likely be a reality, but all you're buying is something that, in all honesty, can be manufactured in ways that can be difficult to spot quite cheaply.
At a bare minimum, a grading company also being the seller *and* buyer *and* generates revenue based on percentage of sales is a serious conflict of interest that I would stay far away from.
This didn’t seem to make it over here in the U.K. in any mainstream news media. When I read about it, it instantly made me suspicious of the whole thing
I am posing this here for a few reasons: I hope that it will be informative to people who are considering doing a submission to WATA; and wondering if anyone might have any advice.
My brother and I did two Speed Run orders (originally quoted 30 days) with WATA totaling 8 sealed games. They then silently changed the Speed Run service time on their site to 45 days (without notice). It has now been 7 months. (Unfortunately this is our first experience grading games.)
We have sent over a dozen emails and they only reply back with script messages. What kills us is that their site still lists that tier of service at 45 days which is just asinine to new customers who will be screwed from the start. We understand it has been busy, there is still some shortages due to a pandemic and the company has relocated, but there are many shady business practices that have happened in these experiences that gave left a very sour taste in our mouths.
At this point we are for sure not going to be using them again any time soon (sadly), but after we get them back we plan to submit an extensive claim to the Better Business Bureau. We dare not file the complaint now because we have heard that others who have done so were sent their games back ungraded and given a refund. WATA needs to change their business model on customer service. With their current strategy, in my opinion, they are going to continue loosing a lot if credibility and integrity within the community because if these poor choices.
What also kills us is that in January of 2021 we also sent a 400-card Pokemon card submission to PSA and still have not received that back either (our first card grading experience). I bring this up only because PSA has apparently bought WATA. With the two submissions we are at over a thousand dollars in services (and more money in purchasing items) that is just being held up for an absurdly long time from what should be 30/45 days. We have asked about partial refunds and they have sidestepped those questions.
Again, any advice would be helpful. I would also welcome ways that I could spread the word of this experience so others have a better idea of what they are getting themselves into so they don’t have the same experience as us. I look forward to new companies to do business with in the years ahead.
Happy Gaming~
The irony of this channel talking about market manipulation
It's been disproven twice now that I don't affect prices long term. No one CZcams channel is that powerful. Plus in the video I literally tell people to emulate games or collect games others are ignoring to save money 😂
Best Metaljesus video I've seen in a while. So informative!
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@MetalJesusRocks It was legit hard to get through all of Jobst's expose video. It's so infuriating what these speculators are doing to the market
Always appreciate your videos, Metal Jesus. This was another great one!
I love how it took Karl Jobst making an hour long exposé for people to catch on to this insanity. Pat Contri and Ian Furgeson have been covering this fiasco on their podcast for years now and nobody gave a crap till now.
because its finally hit critical mass with stupidity of these valuations which causes media to pay attention and then average people think i got one of those im rich!! when they have no clue how the investors/speculators have manipulated the market //its same as stocks// rich people being shitty and greedy about getting richer //none of those people are true collectors at all all they see is $ signs
The used videogame market bubble is even affecting thrift stores, both in terms of donations of anything pre-6th generation drying up and also what they choose to put on racks vs. what they choose to put at an inflated price in the glass showcase (and I'm talking about Value Village a.k.a. Savers, since they're the main thrift store in Canada). I have fond memories of being able to buy complete in box Sega Genesis games like Rocket Knight Adventures for just a few dollars half a decade ago but now it's getting harder to find even Playstation 2 games that aren't super common.
Well im 13 and i care about any console Atari is so good
Excellent to hear! 👍
I also like all kinda old computers i hawe commodore 64
Lol, I'm 17 and I bought a lot of 100 Atari games for $100, and a Retron 77 originally just for my mother; but now I find myself playing some of these games, too. What a blast!
Damn that's crazy they don't do population reports.
I don’t think it’s a good look that the Dentist guy is gonna appear in that documentary Rarity. Dude is a speculator and clout chaser off some in the retrogaming community. He was featured on Pixel Game Squad as Karl noted. Everyone should steer clear from these frauds, blacklist them from conventions. They should be content with their wealth and leave gaming alone, go retire and stop being greedy. Last thing we need is some rich knobs coming in to manipulate things for their benefit. Push back my gaming brothers and sisters. 👍🏻
I’ve always thought you are very insightful and spot on with a lot of your videos. I’m 41 and like to hit up local thrift stores and hunt for VHSs and records. I commented once on your Ween “ Mollusk” shirt you were wearing forever ago and you replied, I just wanted to say that totally made my week. To quote you “it’s a crazy time for sure” I’m hopeful for the future. (Except for GW that non-profit “profit” organization) Its like they look on EBay and price their stuff that way, my god it pisses me off. Anyways take it easy bro. Cheers.
Here in Belgium (Europe) I have the sale problem: people think they have an old Mario game it must be really expensive. Or the sellers on a garage sale are fixed on the retailprices they find online.
Metal jesus u rock!we just want to see more of your collection at the end of the day! 🤘
*AHEM* Revenge of the Bird King
I've recently heard about that. How ironic...
Well yet another reason I love MJR. He doesn’t mess with grading stuff. He is a true collector.
People have had enough. This isn't why any of us got into retro gaming. It was a cheap way to bring back a happy place from our childhood. The emphasis being CHEAP! When we were kids we couldn't afford many games because they were expensive to us. As adults the fun thing from around 2000-2008 was that we could now find all the games we'd ever wanted CHEAPLY and affordably. That's where the idea of full-setting came from. Even sealed collecting was a case of "why not" at these prices. People have been buying into a bigger and bigger scam from 2010 onwards when people realised they could hoard games, shill bid and sell to one another to overinflate the true value. Price tracking software and ebay are all complicit in this as are the legions of gamers who bought into this con. This was never about supply and demand. in 90% of cases demand has never outstripped supply for these games, people have only made it seem that way.
Liberate yourselves from the scam people, go back to trading in small communities. Stop buying games as 'investments' and remember why you wanted them in the first place.
A really different sort of video and it’s so compelling to see you grapple with a really thorny issue you really care about. More videos like this - I like seeing this side of Metal Jesus
Heritage wants to talk to jobst directly. To me, that screams guiilty.
I personally thought graded comics was sort of a joke as well as graded coins. But graded video games? They chose the wrong collectable market to mess with.
As much as I'm somewhat neutral as a collector, I could say so much right now about your contribution to this mess and CZcamsrs in general with their 'hidden gems' content meant to stoke the market.... but we ALL know that already...
I totally agree with this and I'll add my own 2 cents in as well. Alot of CZcams collector channels do this kind of shit to get more exposure about what they have to increase the value of their collections at the expense of higher prices other people have to pay. I used to have a very small and modest collection of games and systems from my youth and had to sell it all during the recession. Went back to see some odd years later and boom! You now have to take out a third mortgage on your house and sell your firstborn child for retro games, throw in a fresh kidney if you want Earthbound too. I now just collect the mini consoles said fuck it. Never looked back.
Being part of the younger generation, I can appreciate older games despite having inferior graphics and outdated gameplay
some gameplay never goes out of date, Mario, Tetris, Pacman all still hold up today
@@TheThirdEnergy True, I'm mainly referring to controls, best example I have is the first Uncharted game. But other than that, yeah some gameplay can never be outdated.
What’s crazy is it really is a scam, I have a sealed original Zelda 1 NES that I bought back in 2015. In 2019 I put it up on ebay and it never even met my $100 reserve. But here we are in 2021 and people are supposedly paying millions for them, lots of shenanigans going on here…
it was maybe 2003 when i had a pocket pc that culd run nes roms. i was so stoked to be able to play skate or die 2 on the bus. i downloaded and played most nes and arcade hits in that era but then meh i got over the retro experience for the most part. i dont get paying any amount of money for old carts. especially when theres roms.
Retro game manipulation has been happening for years and whether you know it or not, your channel contributes to the false inflation with your "hidden gems" series and that of the like.
I saw a urban champion cart for 20 bucks. Unacceptable.
@@philthyweiner4688 you also apparently did see my comment...
The hidden gems series is just trying to help people find good games, but unfortunately it drives prices up. At least it has good intentions though
Jason, I don't know what to tell you. You are aware, FOR A FACT that whenever YOU yourself post a video on hidden gems it ABSOLUTELY raises the prices of those games. And you are a big CZcamsr, but not thay big yet you know your videos always show up in searches of those kinds.
How come you, of all people, didn't think that a widely spread news story wouldn't after the price of games?
I do not mean to be rude, but sometimes your naïveté is a tad infuriating.
Cheers. Still luv u.
He tries to tell people that a game is good and that they should buy it for the gameplay. These people are like "This game is rare buy it and increase price so I can get money"
The reason he talked a lot about the coin bubble is because heritage auctions was directly involved in manipulating that market. I think the more relevant comparison is the 90s comic book bubble. Once regular investors start getting involved because it’s a “hot” market then the people that actually care about things are screwed until it burns itself out.
I am going to say it like this. The bubble affects non graded games a lot too, I haven't bought any new retro games since it started due to the price. And when even my mum asks me if some of my old games or pokemon cards might be worth a lot you know that it is reaching everyone
I had a physical collection, but once prices got so high I felt like I couldn’t justify keeping most of it. I sold most of my collection and switched to optical drive emulators and ever drives. I still have my original hardware, and controllers. Definitely not the same, but I’m pretty pleased with my decision. (My wife is too, definitely a lot less clutter lol)