18 Years Later, GameCube Games Sell Better than Xbox and PlayStation 2
Collecting video games in 2020 has become a difficult hobby for gamers who enjoy sifting through retro video games stores, looking for weird titles to bring home and play maybe once for a laugh. Not only has the option to wander aimlessly through stores been put on hold, but this year, GameCube game prices saw a massive spike right when the first lockdown took place back in March.
According to sales results on pricecharting.com, the price of Gamecube games rose in the last 12 months from an average $12.25 per eBay transaction to $17.88 per transaction. To keep the math simple, gamecube game prices went up a lot this year (roughly 46% to be exact). Neil and Mike take full responsibility for the rise in demand for games on the Cube, and would like to formally apologize for the stress this has put on collector’s wallets.
To compare the GameCube sales spike to other 6th generation consoles, Playstation 2 game prices rose 25% and Xbox rose 10%. Combining the increased popularity of Playstation 2 and Xbox this year is still 10% less than that of the mighty GameCube. Nintendo kids of the early 2000s are now in the midst of their 20’s, and have a little more disposable income to invest in reliving childhood memories once more. Nostalgia for Nintendo always grows stronger with time. The NES, SNES, and N64 all have experienced a renaissance 15-20 years after they are obsolete, and we are seeing it now with Gamecube. In 7 years we will see it with Wii, and yes, in 10 years we will see it with the WiiU.
In this short-lived time of GameCube inflation, I recommend limiting the number of ‘GameCube shopping sprees’ you go out on until the Wii kids start working 9-5. GameCube prices will level out and even go down again, and when that happens I will be first in line to pick up Billy Hatcher.
There seems to be some hope that within the next 12 months of writing this article, we could be looking at going back to the way things were pre-pandemic, and retail stores (those still in business) can re-open again with less restrictions. But the question that keeps me up at night is whether or not GameCube Game prices will continue to rise in 2021, or have we seen peak prices?
