Earlier today Reuters published a story called Retro Games, Devices, Recall Electronic Youth that talks about vintage gaming consoles available on eBay and throwback electronic games that are coming to market as new products. Products mentioned in the article include the throwback games that Operation Gadget has previously reviewed: Atari Classics 10-in-1 TV Games, Namco TV Games and Intellivision 25 Video Game System (a game that has consistently been out of stock everywhere I’ve looked).
I think a lot of people in the 30 to 39 age group are buying the throwback electronic games being marketed by Jakks Pacific, a toy company based in Malibu, California. This company has a good sense of the kind of games people my age remember from their youth. My wife and I have bought several of them, and from the availability of these games on Amazon.com, so have a lot of other people.
The most difficult thing to gauge that is discussed in the article is the demand for the actual vintage game systems on eBay versus the throwbacks. There are many Atari 2600-related auctions on eBay, as the article suggests. But it’s very hard for me to figure out how many people want to buy the original equipment to actually play with it and how much of this activity is trading between collectors. If any readers have any first-hand experience with eBay auctions of this kind, feel free to post comments, or email tips@operationgadget.com.
The main reason I am pointing to the Reuters article is to show you that sources of financial news are beginning to report on activity in this part of the market. This is further indication of a trend in the making.