The future of PCB's

[system11]

Too risky to own as an investment. If you want to invest, go with bonds or a savings account.

While some games rise in value (mostly modern ones I'd add), they break. Modern ones break more and are less repairable. While some of your games (lets be honest, mostly just Cave ones - everything else is cheap) may rise in value, at the end of the day one time you plug it in, and it could fail. All of a sudden £300 becomes £3 because an irreplaceable custom chip or undumped PAL is dead.

Buy them, play them, keep a few, but honestly - don't expect not to lose money, 9 times in 10 you'll break even, maybe.

[Skykid]

Buy them, play them, keep a few, but honestly - don't expect not to lose money, 9 times in 10 you'll break even, maybe.

You know what, thinking about what I've got, I reckon if I actually sold all my stuff right now I'd be in some very decent profit indeed based on current market values. Nearly all of the PCB's I have have increased since I bought them apart from Cave stuff, which is fairly constant (and in instances like Ketsui, fallen slightly.)

Trouble is I want to keep just about everything.
I just boxed up my games collection for my move at the end of the month and it's in a LOT of boxes - that's not including any of the arcade stuff either, or the other half of the collection in my parents place in London.

Totally dumb. I hate myself for it.

I might sell everything and go on some travels... Or I could go on some travels and put it in storage, the cost of which would really fuck up it's value!

[jonny5]

Buy them, play them, keep a few, but honestly - don't expect not to lose money, 9 times in 10 you'll break even, maybe.

You know what, thinking about what I've got, I reckon if I actually sold all my stuff right now I'd be in some very decent profit indeed based on current market values. Nearly all of the PCB's I have have increased since I bought them apart from Cave stuff, which is fairly constant (and in instances like Ketsui, fallen slightly.)

Trouble is I want to keep just about everything.
I just boxed up my games collection for my move at the end of the month and it's in a LOT of boxes - that's not including any of the arcade stuff either, or the other half of the collection in my parents place in London.

Totally dumb. I hate myself for it.

I might sell everything and go on some travels... Or I could go on some travels and put it in storage, the cost of which would really fuck up it's value!

sell it all....you will never play 90% of it again anyways.....

bet you wont even miss it, well accept for not tripping over it all the time

[Skykid]

Buy them, play them, keep a few, but honestly - don't expect not to lose money, 9 times in 10 you'll break even, maybe.

You know what, thinking about what I've got, I reckon if I actually sold all my stuff right now I'd be in some very decent profit indeed based on current market values. Nearly all of the PCB's I have have increased since I bought them apart from Cave stuff, which is fairly constant (and in instances like Ketsui, fallen slightly.)

Trouble is I want to keep just about everything.
I just boxed up my games collection for my move at the end of the month and it's in a LOT of boxes - that's not including any of the arcade stuff either, or the other half of the collection in my parents place in London.

Totally dumb. I hate myself for it.

I might sell everything and go on some travels... Or I could go on some travels and put it in storage, the cost of which would really fuck up it's value!

sell it all....you will never play 90% of it again anyways.....

bet you wont even miss it, well accept for not tripping over it all the time

I just dream of having enough space one day to have a big enough room with big enough shelves to sit back and admire it all.

One day...

[kernow]

Everything can be bought again.

[spadgy]

personally, when i make a purchase, even large ones, once i recover from that expenditure i consider that money spent....i never buy things thinking like 'ok....this item is an IOU for $XXX'.....its consumption....

owning these game isnt costing you anything now....

While I stand by agreeing with Kernow that many people probably buy hoping they can get most of their money back, and I do sometimes let the argument that 'money spent on PCBs is the same as money in the bank' convince me at the moment of purchase (even though I know that's stupid), I agree with jonny5 here too. When ever I buy a PCB, I can afford it. I save and I'm sometimes frugal in other parts of my life so I can get away with it.

The money I spent on a PCB a year ago doesn't effect me now, so really it's money spent.

I guess if you're in a position where you have to think of getting your money back, resist the temptation to hoard (I can't!). Make it a one-in:one-out policy...

[brentsg]

Pork! futures have been trading up over the last several months.

[jonny5]

The money I spent on a PCB a year ago doesn't effect me now, so really it's money spent.

precisely....with that mind set, if you go to sell a game you are 'up' whatever you get for the game....its new money, regardless of what you spent on it in the past....

there are people who carefully maintain and plan there finances.....and then there are people who fly by the seat of there pants and spend impulsively and hope for the best

i am definitely in the latter group

i just cant really understand people who are willing to throw around thousands on video games but are worried about even the possibility of losing a few hundred over a few years should they decide to sell......

which is probably why im broke and they have money in the bank

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The money I spent on a PCB a year ago doesn't effect me now, so really it's money spent.

precisely....with that mind set, if you go to sell a game you are 'up' whatever you get for the game....its new money, regardless of what you spent on it in the past....

there are people who carefully maintain and plan there finances.....and then there are people who fly by the seat of there pants and spend impulsively and hope for the best

i am definitely in the latter group

i just cant really understand people who are willing to throw around thousands on video games but are worried about even the possibility of losing a few hundred over a few years should they decide to sell......

which is probably why im broke and they have money in the bank

Or they whip out their wallet and simply charge it on the ol' credit card and slowly pay on monthly installments til it's paid in full or they're able to pay in full without any problems due to well-paying job and/or finances -- this is related to them new Cave PCB kits when they first go on sale, of course. Or you could end playing the waiting game & eventually buy the Cave PCB kits a bit cheaper rather than paying full price like arcade owners/operators do on debut day.

It'll be interesting to see where the arcade PCB market/hobby is in five to ten years down the road. The current American arcade business scene is definitely on life support. Japan's game centers are still going strong but who knows how they'll do in the next five to ten years.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[GaijinPunch]

You know what, thinking about what I've got, I reckon if I actually sold all my stuff right now I'd be in some very decent profit indeed based on current market values.

"actually" and "sold" being the operative words. As someone who has made a profitable side business out of reselling, there are more than a handful of items that make me scratch my head as to why the fuck nobody buys them. It's quite a few as well.

Not to mention if you try to sell a stack of stuff in this economy you will most likely met old man depression a week or so in.

[neorichieb1971]

Who determines what a PCB is worth anyway?

It seems several sources are used.

Yahoo Auctions in Japan seem to be the most common source
Japanese vendors
Hong Kong online distributors
Previous sales on forums
Fluctuations in the currencies
Level of desperation to sell or buy.
Location of board.

If I were to put Dodonpachi bare board for sale at £250, if there were no competition at that time i'd probably get a bite. Have you noticed its quite rare to see 2 boards the same for sale at the same time? I've been after Flying shark for 2 years now. Although I can buy it from the States its a big board, quite expensive and customs fee's are surely to follow. So I await a UK/Euro board to surface, which is like waiting for a Russian submarine to surface in New York harbor.

[cools]

I've had a couple of Flying Sharks In "no-guarantees" small deals from ops. One was a worker and was posted and sold very quickly, the other faulty and has been sent on to a repairer along with a bunch of other non-workers.

They're not uncommon, just hoarded because they're a cheap but good game.

[system11]

I sold two of them recently, and I'm just down the road, and the price wasn't that high either. I have 3 more although one is my keeper and the others are not fixed yet.

[neorichieb1971]

I put at least 2 thread on the trading section stating Flying shark was on my wanted list. So far not one person has come back to me. Its not like I haven't tried. When I first wanted it, someone else had a request thread for it so I let them have first choice out of courtesy. Since then i've been out of luck. I've told cools I want one and now you know, so if one comes up locally that would be awesome. I sold my last flying shark for $25 about 4 years ago, how I regret that decision.

[caincan]

any future is : oxidation and further, as for us : dust

i have around $15K in arcades/games and so on (i love laserdiscs ^^), sure i dont have all the games and yes it costed me a lot and still fighting to assemble funds for acres and home later. value ? the instant, the feeling i had them in hand. i nearly don't care after, caring too much is bad for heart/head/stomach. i even tested my 5$ superguns tryouts, with what was there : a Ketsui pcb... i learn each day something : relativity

even if i would win (and hope !) a megamillions, that would be to appreciate this truly unique instant of feeling it can afford me. the moments after ? well i nearly dont care. just like shmups gain me adrenaline instants.

dont rely much on future, you dont know what kind of asshole deity is playing !!! with us , appreciate the instant and play or see others playing, i enjoy see people smiling and appreciating these good times of ambiance and play, that means too : synchronicity.

[Lordstar]

Games are only an investment if you put them inside an arcade machine and people are paying to play, Same can be said for Lan centers.

Some people are chatting shit about how you can make good money off of games but really?! Less than 1% of games increase in value after you have bought it and played them.

The future ofr PCBs will be a rental system where arcades are hooked up to networks and they download the games they want to people to play and dfo it that way. Thats my guess anyway. But your talking about the games you own now. I dont know will people in two generations time want to play these games? Does any one here recall pacman when it first droped and do your kids kids like/want to play this game?

[Khan]

I put at least 2 thread on the trading section stating Flying shark was on my wanted list. So far not one person has come back to me. Its not like I haven't tried. When I first wanted it, someone else had a request thread for it so I let them have first choice out of courtesy. Since then i've been out of luck. I've told cools I want one and now you know, so if one comes up locally that would be awesome. I sold my last flying shark for $25 about 4 years ago, how I regret that decision.

hehehe I felt the need to add a joke in this thread it seems everyones a little upset.

I too have bought stuff that has gone down in value my Atomiswave stuff which one could argue has gone down in value due to the successful emulation of the platform.

[spadgy]

Games are only an investment if you put them inside an arcade machine and people are paying to play

The way I work my investment is like this.

I buy a PCB, lend it to the local arcade for free, and then pay to play it!

So yeah - I'm definitely not in this to make anything! And I'm not complaining - I love to see my own PCBs in a working arcade, and it's so nice to play them with a community of people almost weekly (you know who you are you turds!), and compete for score together, and meet new people, and get to spend the odd evening swapping the PCBs about in the arcade. Better than letting PCBs accumulate a tiny amount of commercial value being played alone at home!

In a way I've argued for both side of the argument in this thread, but my final point is this:

For me buying PCBs is an investment, but not a financial one. I invest cash, and I get back fun and socialising – both of which I enjoy more than money.

Looking forward, I'm thinking of investing more heavily in this regard, and getting a newer Cave PCB purely for the purpose of lending it to my local arcade so it gets a bit busier again.

[neorichieb1971]

Spadgy,

That sounds very charitable and is very commendable indeed.

[Skykid]

Looking forward, I'm thinking of investing more heavily in this regard, and getting a newer Cave PCB purely for the purpose of lending it to my local arcade so it gets a bit busier again.

That dude, would be a totally poor investment I'm sad to say. The only people who frequent Casino for shmups is we few, we happy few, we band of brothers.

I think you'd find your investment in an expensive Cave PCB to attract customers would prove fruitless. However, you can save yourself the money by phoning me up and taking your pick of my shmup hoard, I'm happy to lend any of Cave's finest to Casino if you think it'll help customer relations.

[spadgy]

I'd love to borrow a Cave board from you Skykid. You'd be surprised how many regulars only come along when we've got something from the past five-to-ten years and bullet hell focused in!

[neorichieb1971]

Has anyone got a picture of the shmup section of Casino in London?

Cos I get the feeling you have one or two cabinets with Cave PCB's inside. You can come round mine and play on 4 cabinets if you want. heheh.

[Skykid]

I'd love to borrow a Cave board from you Skykid. You'd be surprised how many regulars only come along when we've got something from the past five-to-ten years and bullet hell focused in!

Well it's about time you sent me a PM man, you rarely reply to yours!

Any request is fine by me, I'm too busy preparing to move now to really swap out too many games. I'd rather they were collecting credits than dust.

I'll be in London quite a bit during the World Cup season, so I can bring some stuff down then.

[spadgy]

That would be great mate! And I know I owe you a couple of PM's, but I just want people to know when it comes to buying and selling I'm very prompt with PMs!


Also - With reference to by post before last, I don't want to blow my own trumpet too much with my post above. I'm only one of many who lend boards to Casino arcade, and some people have leant far more valuable boards!

I'd guess I'd better reply to Skykid then!

EDIT:

Has anyone got a picture of the shmup section of Casino in London?

Section! I wish. More like a few crusty woody cabs dotted around with shmups inside them. Casino is a bit of a dive really - just a lovely one!

[kernow]

Since when was batrider a $300+ board, this hobbys retarded sometimes.

'oh I have batrider and its all cherished and shit and plus its a rare(r) version so I automatically set an astronomical price for it, ... and then add another $50 because it was mine before yours etc'

[Skykid]

Since when was batrider a $300+ board

Right here right now apparently:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31335

I thought the going rate was more $200, but I bought mine over two years ago now.

[kernow]

hah, I agree on the $200 price, seems fair. I know because something is in demand it might go up, but whats with the £250 dangun feverons too? Jesus.

[Ed Oscuro]

Lol I remember being put out by my Ver. A price

As far as investment goes, coulda done worse than betting on the favorite from the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness to win today... split 2:1 odds with another horse, good payoff. Of course it could've gone bad so easily, what a gamble.

[GaijinPunch]

hah, I agree on the $200 price, seems fair. I know because something is in demand it might go up, but whats with the £250 dangun feverons too? Jesus.

Japanese PCB shops?

[Skykid]

hah, I agree on the $200 price, seems fair. I know because something is in demand it might go up, but whats with the £250 dangun feverons too? Jesus.

Japanese PCB shops?

Some of the prices on the Fujita list I get sent through make the mind boggle. Is there a PCB drought over there or something?