What makes a game desirable and valuable?

[Rinku]

The reason I ask is that I'm trying to figure out why the Coleco Race Thru Space isn't expensive (I bought mine for under $50), even though it's a large tabletop, is phenomenally rare, and made by a well-known company. The only thing I can think of is that it isn't completely electronic, but it still seems like it should be worth much more.

(Note that I don't necessarily want this discussion to be limited to the RTS; that's just my example.)

[GameWatchGuy]

HI.
You could probably make a huge list but here's some:

-Direct nostalgic value. Someone had it as a kid and wants to relive memories so they want to buy it.
-Is the brand popular? If so others in the brand that are more common could make that one popular because it would be a missing hub in a collection.
-Are there enough people that want the item? Globally or just in your local?
-Was is sold worldwide or not?
-Is it mega rare!? Does it only come around for sale on eBay every five years?
-Search completed listings on eBay. Can you find it? What did it sell for in an auction format?
-Is it worth a lot to you because of sentimental value. Would others who have no sentimental attachment see it the same?
-Good game play? Is it actually a fun game to play. With so many that can barely hold interest for more than a minute, would this one keep anyone engaged in play for longer?
-Cool graphics and stickers on the game?
-Is it really even rare? The word "rare" is heavily overused. Example. Someone finds a cool game at a yard sale. For them it is a huge WOW factor and they believe it to be very rare, ofter putting a high starting bid or buy it now price. The reality is that the limited amount of people who do want the item may already have it. An item that comes around once a month or 2 on eBay is not that rare.
-Is is known to be an item or a brand of quality? Does the brand have a bad rep for selling inferior product that break easy?


That's a few ideas, but there is probably many more.
~John

[blanka]

It's much your personal taste. If your taste is unique, collection might be easy, if you are part of a big crowd, it might cost a fortune.

For me it is desirable if it looks cool, plays a decent game, has awesome VFD sprites or if it is wonderfully made. If at least 2 of these criteria are met, I like it very much, but I have quite a few games that only meet one of my four important aspects.
This means, I'm not desiring a lot of rare items! The ones that score on all aspects are games like Burger Time, Astro Thunder 7, MS. Pac Man, Frisky Tom, Bandai FL Zaxxon, Entex Super Cobra, Puck Monster and stuff like that. All pretty easy to get as not many share my taste.

But put Nintendo on a game somewhere, and no matter how much the game play stinks (it almost stinks per definition on Nintendo games as they are all juggling games ), people pay gazillions for them. Just because worldwide, it is a complete city of people with a childhood complex like "I did not get it from my daddy in 1982" trying to get them.

Still would really like a Space Hurricane though

[blanka]

[Rinku]

I guess the impact of quality can vary. Theoretically, at least, if it's really BADLY built, a mint example could be worth a lot more.