Who would have thought in the 1980’s that video games would someday fetch enormous amounts of money?
Classic, pristine-condition video games have sold at auction in the millions of dollars in the past couple months. Early this month, someone got $2 million for a never-opened “Super Mario Brothers” that was originally sold in 1985. Rumor is the original owner had left it in a desk drawer undisturbed for decades.
If you have an old video game laying around and are wondering what it might be worth you can take it to any of the area’s “Game Over Video Games” locations. There are three in Houston. “If you find a box in the attic from Grandma who left you an inheritance and you don’t know if it is worth anything you can bring it to our stores and we give free appraisals on what it’s worth,” says David Kaelin, owner of the company. He says there is broad demographic appeal. “Retro gaming is anything from people in their 50’s and 60’s that played with their kids, and people like me in their mid-40’s who were those kids they played with back in the 80’s.”
Nostalgia sells, and the novelty of those early asteroid, skiing and Pacman games pull at the heartstrings with time. It might be time to clean the attic. How much is your collection worth?
photo: Getty Images