[Fwirt]

Is it just me, or has Virtual Boy stuff become really expensive lately?

I remember that back when I bought my first VB 4 or 5 years ago, I got a system in very good condition with 2 games, an unbroken stand, the foam visor, etc. for $20 shipped. I then picked up another VB which didn’t have a controller, was missing the foam visor, and had a broken stand for a mere $5 with free shipping. Recently, I set up one of my systems so that it’s much more convenient to play, and started playing some of the games I’d never paid much attention to. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with my Virtual Boy all over again (It’s just so cool :-D) and have been looking to start collecting again and maybe buy some of the games I don’t have. However, I was shocked by the prices I ran into on eBay. It seems like I can’t find a system in decent shape for less than $50, and even common games like Teleroboxer are going for $10-$15. It’s as if prices have more than doubled in the last few years. One of the other things I’ve noticed is that some sellers are choosing fixed price “Buy it Now!” style listings, and setting outrageous prices. I just saw a loose copy of Teleroboxer with a ripped label listed at $25! Amazon doesn’t seem to be any cheaper…

How does everyone feel about this? Has Virtual Boy stuff become way too expensive, or is there just no place in the VB market for cheap gamers anymore? Do you think that these prices are just going to keep rising, or is the current 3D fad driving this price increase?

EDIT: Also, this was supposed to be a poll… I filled out the poll form and it just didn’t show up…

• This topic was modified 13 years, 7 months ago by Fwirt.

My opinion is that VB was always undervalued, even on the extremely rare stuff. Just now, the masses are interested.

The recent 3D fad has indeed been the driver,
…but 3DS, 3D cinema, 3D Blu-Ray, 3D TVs, 3D PC equipment & 3D Cell Phones finally seems to prove that this is a Viable stable market that is here to stay.

HDTV was a fad, and much slower paced than the 3D re-birth. I think it’s here to stay, and the 3D famicom system, 3D Sega Megadrive, and VirtualBoy will become their own little “3D” retro scene with much attention. Pricing has been slowing rising for the past 6 months, and drastically rising in the past month as 3DS has stolen the hearts of the public.

I think the prices will gradually rise within 5 more months until they plateau with 3DS saturation. I find it a welcome change, just wish I already had Gundam and Virtual Bowling in my collection! 😀

(and if 3D truly becomes the norm, VB prices will surely SKYROCKET)

I would also like to note that VB prices are probably driven up because Fwirt stole my Vertical Force (Hard Mode) highscore 2 days ago 🙁

It has definitely gotten much more expensive for the common stuff. I used to grab complete systems w/ games for <$20... sometimes with Blockbuster hard cases. I also grabbed a few brand new VBs for $10 each... they had LOTS of them, but I decided to only grab 3 :/. But that was back in the late 90s and early 2000s. It seems to me that it's a generation thing... the mid-90's kids are growing up and buying stuff they either had as a kid, or remember wanting (or at least to try). I've noticed that a lot of other video games from that era are going up as well. DogP

VirtualJockey wrote:
I would also like to note that VB prices are probably driven up because Fwirt stole my Vertical Force (Hard Mode) highscore 2 days ago 🙁

I’ll bet I could have gotten it even higher if I’d spent more than 30 minutes on it… 😀 I figured I should start putting some high scores up…

But all that aside, I agree that the Virtual Boy was undervalued, but I think it’s being overvalued at the moment. I wouldn’t say that there are any Virtual Boy games that are as much of a masterpiece as say, Super Metroid, but even common VB games are selling for as much as a copy of SM goes for. I also think rarity is not as much of an issue as it’s made out to be. Although Virtual Boy stuff is uncommon, there still should be enough copies of most games to go around (Aside from Virtual Lab and Space Invaders). In some ways, I think it was good for the VB community that the system was kind of obscure, as it guaranteed that all the hardcore fans would be able to find copies of the games they wanted. I just wish I had picked up a copy of Nester’s or 3D Tetris back when I could afford it. >:(

Yep agree with it all, I’ve only been ‘into’ VB for the last 2 or 3 years and in that i’ve noticed a steady rise.

Bob bless the Flashboy and heartfelt thanks to Richard and Chris, without FB i certainly would never have been able to play all the games, cos i know I’ll never own them all.

Up and down, depending who’s selling the stuff… I’ve seen new VB’s at crazy prices (since I got mine) but then I’ve seen VB’s that are new that were less than mine

I still really really love the Virtual Boy despite it being the reason I don’t have a 3DS (it took my Christmas + Birthday money! …yet I do have Wario Land (US), Vertical Force (JP), V-Tetris (JP) and Mario Clash (US) ’cause of that now! plus I was gifted Virtual Fishing 😀 (which actually was unrelated to Christmas and my Birthday))

like I say all the time, it is my goal to get every commercially released VB game! even despite how scary Virtual Bowling is (price wise! Bowling in itself isn’t scary…)

by the way, I just recently got Virtual Pro Baseball ’95! only 21 games to go! 😉

HDTV was a fad

I don’t know if you could even call it that. It was just the overhyping of high resolution LCD screens used as TVs, which was bound to happen at some point anyway. You could say it was a completely unnecessary buzz word.

i was born in the 70s, played a vb at toys r us in the 90s and didn’t think much of it. now that i’m older i’m hunting down stuff that i shouldn’t have passed on. i think there are a lot of people doing the same thing, buying up “retro” stuff they passed on and now want to experience.

i’ve been watching auctions on ebay like a hawk the past 2 months. the vb with all you need to play (missing the box) seem to sell for around $59-100 and with the box, a few games, or the ac adapter they sell for $125-150. in the box and unused they seem to go for $150-$250. the few i saw go for more had a nice selection of games and the ac adpater.

you can still find deals if you shop around but i don’t expect to find a VB at a thrift shop anytime soon.

although i did recently pick up a bandai lcd galaxian handheld at a thrift shop for 2.99 in a very fine condition. =)

I took note of this too. I’m looking for some games, would like a hard case but 100USD that I’ve seen lately is way too much. The few soft cases I’ve seen have beer around 30USD to 40USD.

Lester Knight wrote:
i don’t expect to find a VB at a thrift shop anytime soon.

Funny. I got my first VB at a thrift shop for 15USD with bunch of video game things in it. The VB was missing the stand and visor but had Wario Land.

Yeah, my first time actually playing a Virtual Boy was at Goodwill. They had a console with the visor and stand for $15, and I thought it was a cool toy, but I didn’t want to buy on impulse. It didn’t matter in the long run, but I still wish I had nabbed it.