Got old games? You may be sitting on a gold mine

Are your old video game systems and games tucked away collecting dust?

Well, if so, it might be time to dust them off and think about actually making some money off of them. The retro game market is at an all-time high right now, and even some of the most common titles can fetch you double or even triple what they may have gotten you a few years ago.

A collection like this could easily fetch you thousands of dollars.

For example a Nintendo 64 cartridge for The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time might have gone for $10-15 back in 2010, but now can easily go for at least $25.

JJ Hendricks who has a website that specifically tracks the prices of vintage games says that he estimates the retro game market to be worth about $200 million annually. According to an article on CNN: 

“It’s the perfect storm. Just as kids who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s are reaching their thirties, the supply of vintage games is shrinking.”

Many people seem to prefer actually owning a physical cartridge or machine and experiencing a game the way that they remember it and are willing to shell out incredible amounts of money to do so. 

There are definitely some cheaper alternatives to experience retro games other than on their original systems such as Nintendo’s Virtual Console or even a new machine such as the RetroN 5, but gamers still seem to prefer the original experience.

Atari, NES and Super Nintendo games are the most valuable with the rarest models fetching over $10,000.

According to Business Insider last year, the top 5 rarest and most valuable games are:

5. Nintendo Campus Challenge (NES): $14,000 – $20,000

4. Air Raid (Atari): $14,000 – $33,000

3. 1990 Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition (NES): $15,000-$21,000

2. Birthday Mania (Atari): $15,000-$35,000

1. Gamma Attack (Atari): $20,000-$50,000