Retro Gaming
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Are Gaming Purchasing Trends Changing?

I asked the good folks over at everybitgaming if they’d help us answer this specific question and others in our very first Q & A!

Q & A

So, let’s get into it.

How do you think gaming purchasing trends have changed in the last 5 years?

There’s definitely been an increase in more people buying retro games, which makes sense as more and more people look for that nostalgia hit.

I think these days there tends to be a lot more people buying hundreds of games as more as investments or trophies than to play, I know a few people who sometimes buy items from us just to have for show. 

Do you think gamers have started to focus on physical collectors edition games for investment purposes over say digitally owned ones? And, why do you think that is?

I think people have always done this but due to the increase in collectors editions out there rising, more people are focusing on them.

When many of them first came out they really were something special, If you look at a few of the very rare MegaDrive collectors editions or even Metal Gear on the PS1 for example, they were really nice.

I think with the increase of companies like Limited Run Games publishing, limited games will always have a value. People will want to go for that full set or really low print run title and that’s something that a lot of collectors will want.

I have a few of these titles myself but I know there are a lot of people who try to go for every single release for that completionist FOMO bug. 

Suggested Reading:

We looked at some of the rarest PS1 games recently, check it out!

We think it’s a bit of a shame that gaming investors with deep pockets are snapping up rare games just to sit on a shelf and go up in value. What advice can you give to gamers that don’t have huge budgets but want to own a rare or collectible game or gaming merch?

I always say to people just buy what makes you happy. Don’t worry about what other people have and you don’t, we deal with that enough in real life, don’t let it spoil your fun gaming!

There is so much stuff out there, if you just want to find rare stuff, find a niche, spend your time hunting and don’t just buy up everything if you don’t have the budget for it, and don’t feel down about not having the biggest collection on YouTube.

A lot of great titles don’t cost the earth and some items can be super cheap but also really uncommon, look at importing stuff too, It’s always fun and you can find all sorts of oddities out there!

How did the idea for EveryBitGaming come about? And tell us a little bit more about how you got the store to where it is today.

I’d always been into gaming but never really had the funds to collect when I was younger. If I wanted a new game it meant either waiting for a birthday or trading in a few games that I did have to get something new.

As I got a bit older and started working, I decided I wanted to go back and replay some of those old games I had and try some that I always wanted but never got to, I had no idea of the rabbit hole I would end up down!

I started collecting and buying games to play from carboots, second hand stores and ebay. I found a lot of the time I could get better deals buying bundles or joblots so I started doing that and ended up with a lot of doubles.

Overtime I’d swap doubles with friends or sell them online, after a while I decided to make a proper go of it and a good friend of mine who also sells games online, really encouraged me to get started and gave me some tips.

Originally I thought about using the name “Player 2 Press Start” for the business, then out of the blue Every Bit Gaming came to my mind and I decided to combine it all into one word, EveryBitGaming, for no real reason other than I was really into the band Alexisonfire at the time and stole borrowed their styling.

That was back in 2012 since then we’ve sold 1000’s of games both online and at gaming events and conventions.

What has been your most amazing pickup so far? What was it and What did it sell for?

This is a tough one as over the years I’ve managed to get my hands on some amazingly cool stuff!

I once found a boxed, complete SEGA Multi Mega console at a carboot and thought I had missed out as someone was already holding it, the chap wanted £140 for it so they put it back and stormed off, I swept in and bit the guys hand off, I had to do a bank transfer to him on my phone in the middle of a field hoping I didn’t lose signal!

I can’t remember what it sold for now but it was a lot more than that.

Things are a lot harder to find “in the wild” these days but sometimes I still find things. I’ve managed to find a boxed NES Laser Scope Headset in a charity shop before for 50p.

It might not be the most expensive item out there but you really don’t see them loose very often here, let alone boxed. That was probably one of my favourite finds mainly because of how unusual they are.

What is the biggest challenge you face running an online retro games store?

There’s a few challenges but some of the biggest are competing with huge online marketplaces like EBay, Amazon or stores like CEX, and then competing with some of the more unscrupulous sellers who buy cheap knock offs and flood the market with some items.

Trying to get people to visit my website rather than these others is difficult especially as on EBay or Amazon you’ll always be able to find someone somewhere selling what you are looking for and find a ton or results, we aren’t just competing with one website, but we’re competing with hundreds of thousands of private and business sellers.

I’ve found by sharing our items on social media, people will see them and then visit the site, rather than me trying to promote the site as a whole. It gets people talking sometimes too and that’s always cool to see. We do have some really local buyers to and it’s always nice to see that return customer. 

Do you think some of the indie Nintendo Switch physical releases will become rare and valuable in time? If yes, why? If no, why? 

Absolutely, how often does Nintendo stuff not hold it’s value? I think the switch has been a huge success for Ninty, and after the WiiU not doing as well as they had hoped It’s nice to see a system like this getting some love.

There are a ton of Indi physical releases coming out for the system and I’m sure a lot of Nintendo fans will be going for that full collection. I think that’s something you see a lot more of these days than back in the day.

People might have had collections but I do think there’s been a huge increase in people trying to get those full sets. 

What’s the most popular game amongst collectors?

How long is a piece of string? People collect all sorts of things, for some people its a certain series, others brand or platform and some people collect a little bit of everything.

I don’t have a clue what the most popular game is among collectors but I guess if you look at numbers it’s likely to be a big known franchise your Marios, Sonics or Zeldas sort of thing.

What’s your fave game of all time and why?

Another tough one, I’m a huge fan of the PS1 era with Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid being some of my all time fave series, but for me it has to be the Original Final Fantasy 7.

It blew me away. I’d never played anything like it at the time and went into it having no idea what it was about at all. My cousin leant it me as he couldn’t get on with it and I just played it every chance I could, even pulling sickies to get the day of school to stay home and play it.

I loved the story and how different it all was to anything else I played. The characters had so much about them and I just wanted to know more. I think it must have been the first RPG I ever played too so it opened me up to that whole genre. The music in the game was unreal to me at the time, I had no idea how much it would stick with me all those years later.

It’s one of those games I can just keep going back to over and over, I’ve probably beat it maybe 6/7 times now and also had a few 40+ hour save files get corrupt on me too, I dread to think how much time I’ve actually spent on it!

Social Media Profile And Website

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Website: www.everybitgaming.co.uk

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