I think a good example of this was the Final Fantasy 7 price for playstation 1 about 5-6 years ago. This game was regularly going for >$50 for a greatest hits copy and $100 for the black label for basically no reason. It wasn't rare by any means, it was just highly sought after at the time and everyone wanted a copy. Just a quick scan of the pricing charts to prove my point. In April 2008 it reached an average high of $70, and today it is around $17. I think eventually we see the same with a good amount of the N64 stuff and I welcome it.
Perfect example of what will happen to the "value" of most video games, excluding the handful, across all platforms, that are genuinely rare or scarce (most video games are not). Black labels of Parasite Eve and Symphony of the Night were going for similarly high prices and can now all be found for around 20 bucks or a little less with some patience and due diligence.
It is the same deal with threads that pop up on forums everywhere saying "When will the *insert console here* prices bust, just like the Atari did?", and I am getting to the point where I think that they won't ever just plummet, but may just stall out and maintain their current pricing. This is currently seen in NES collecting, where most of the rare games, outside of Stadium Events and the NWC, have started to maintain a consistent price, for the most part. Examples include Flintstones hanging around $600-650, Little Samson seemingly capping out around $550-600, Bonk's stalling around $250-300. It seems like that these are now the commonly accepted prices for these high-end items unfortunately.
The stalling, or capping, of prices on video games is when the market has peaked. From there, the prices of games, for whatever system that has currently peaked in "value," will begin to drop. Atari had its peak and moment in the sun about 8-10 years ago (I can't exactly remember when that collecting craze was going apeshit)--when everyone was ranting, raving, and searching for those "holy-grail carts--and now you can get a heavy sixer with 20 games for about $80.
Q: Blah blah N64 sustainable?
A: Who cares?
Touche and well played sir.
