Japan has given the world some great games, played and enjoyed around the world, such as Donkey Kong, Pacman and Super Mario. Most of us would have thought that these games lived only in the past, however that is not the case with many Japanese video games and game consoles from the 80’s and 90’s in very high demand. So much so that businesses in Japan have sprung up allowing customers to play old games on the original large consoles that were last seen in the 70’s and 80’s.
For those ‘old’ enough to remember video game consoles like Nintendo, Super NES have now been re-released. And people are starting to play the original titles all over again. But this time their popularity isn’t just amongst the older Japanese, with Japanese youngsters and foreigners now amongst those playing the games. And prices of games have started to swell, with some being sold for tens of thousands of yen over their original value on the secondhand market. Some people are even starting to view old software titles as an investment opportunity.
In Osaka, a local based store that specialises in vintage computer games and hardware, stocks around 10,000 items, including the original Nintendo Entertainment Systems, a video game console that was introduced in 1983. Recently a Kuwaiti man visited the outlet and purchased several software titles, noting that in his experience it was only possible to find such old-school games in Japan. Like many people he stated that these old titles reminded him of his childhood and made him feel nostalgic, adding that he never gets tired of playing them. Currently, around half the store’s customers are foreigners.
So what’s behind the boom. Japanese TV programs showing celebrities playing retro games are being linked with the latest retro game boom. Another factor was that during covid people spent more time at home watching TV and this all gave rise to increased interest among young people in vintage video games available online.
And with this new ‘retro’ boom, the market is seeing prices soar with some observers believing that the recent rise in prices has led speculators to purchase vintage video equipment and games as a potential investment.
In Japan what was once old is ‘new’ again.
