TurboGrafx - Doomed to Inflation?

[DragonmasterDan]

Other chain stores (besides Babbages & Software Etc) also carried Turbografix in the ninties:
- Service Merchandise
- Best (not bestbuy)
- Sears
- Radio Shack

I've never seen Turbo game at target.

I got JJ & Jeff at Target in 1991. I'm going to guess that by the TTI era Target like a lot of other stores stopped carrying TG stuff.

[Necromancer]

90% of the US library is worth less than the original MSRP, especially if you factor in inflation (a $40 game in 1990 would be about $65 today), so where's the doom?  Besides, of the 15 or so games that hit $100+, only a couple of 'em are better than the PCE version; just get the PCE version or ignore the game altogether and play a better game.

[incrediblehark]

I had never seen any TG games or systems in any stores at all where I live (Maine) but back in the day we didn't have target or best buy either until a couple of years ago. we had Ames, Service Merchandise, Kay-Bee toys, Sears and eventually Wal-mart, then the other stores closed down, except sears. If there were any Turbo stuff in stores, I never got to see it That being said I did know one kid who had a TG-16 that I would go over to his house to play Bloody Wolf and Devil's Crush, and I thought those games were pretty awesome compared to the nes at the time, he even let me borrow it once, which was cool. I had been into the TG ever since. But even he got his system in florida before moving up here.

[Black Tiger]

Turbo stuff is extremely cheap. The hardware isn't even that bad on eBay if you actually use judgement and patience. There are expensive games for other consoles from the same time and there are at least as many PCE games that cost as much as or more than the more expensive Turbo titles. The kind of inflation that is happenijg with the Turbo is also hapoening with the PCE. Up until recent years Sylphia was common and sold for $30 - $40. I personally sold a few copies for as much. It was only after a oerception of the game came into play by people who arecmore collectors than players that things got out of control. But who cares if 90% of both libraries ate unaffected? At least we live in the day and age when you can download and burn a CD for free to actually play it if you don't want to give in to collectible prices.

[vestcoat]

Another factor is the age cohort of the "collectors" and video game enthusiasts: a lot of folks collect based on what they grew up with as a child.

I think this is important.  I'd be curious to know how many Turbo gamers and collectors grew up looking at the system and how many are younger converts.  Retro consoles are getting a fair amount of exposure from the Virtual Console, AVGN, and other youtubers.  It would be nice to have an "introduce yourself" sticky around here.

Must have been cool to see the TG-16 sitting next to the Genesis and SNES/NES at Toys R Us and other stores back in the day.

I spent many a days at the Toys R Us next to Northtown mall back in the day looking/buying all my turbo stuff.

Funny, I was just at the Northtown mall last week.    
I did my Turbo shopping at the Toys R' Us in Burnsville.  My parents rarely took us to toy stores, but they would occasionally stop at the nearby Barnes and Noble and browse for 1-2 hours.  This gave me a chance to run down the parking lot and look at video games.  The Turbo section was down at the end of an aisle, near the Lynx, Virtual Boy, and other systems no one cared about.  It was about 1/4 the size of the Genesis and Super NES areas...consisting of about 70 box cards hanging on the wall and a kiosk with Air Zonk in the Fall of 1992.  Most games were $30-60, but there were always some on clearance for $10-20 (Deep Blue, World Class Tennis, Parasol Stars were $10 buys, I remember drooling over Ys III at $60).  The consoles were all in the next aisle over behind glass.  The TurboBoosters, Taps, Sticks, and other accessories were the only items a customer could physically pick up and walk to the check-out.  Strangely, they were located fifty feet away from the games, over with the Genesis accessories on the dusty, bottom rack in really beat-up, ratty boxes.  I couldn't afford $40 for a Tap and a second Pad and it was torture to see the same accessories sit there, untouched, for over a year.

Other chain stores (besides Babbages & Software Etc) also carried Turbografix in the ninties:
- Service Merchandise
- Best (not bestbuy)
- Sears
- Radio Shack
I've never seen Turbo game at target.

I purchased the original NES Ninja Turtles at Best, but never ended up going there again.  Did your Radio Shack have games on the shelf?  Mine didn't, but I bought a lot from their in-store ordering books in '97-98 - the last brick-and-mortar seller of new Turbo games!

[Bonknuts]

Oh, I forgot about Montgomery Wards. They carried TG16 stuff. I got Bonk's Revenge from there. We didn't have EB here at the time, but we had Babbages and Software Etc. Babbages hot quite a bit of TG16/CD stuff. And when the Duo came out, they ran the VHS promo tape at the from entrance of the store for a long time.

[vestcoat]

90% of the US library is worth less than the original MSRP, especially if you factor in inflation (a $40 game in 1990 would be about $65 today), so where's the doom?  Besides, of the 15 or so games that hit $100+, only a couple of 'em are better than the PCE version

I agree we're not facing an apocalypse.  What concerns me is how fast the expected ebay prices are going up for those 12-15 games.  roy bought 2 copies of MC for $200/each (outside of ebay) about two years ago and since then ebay prices have skyrocketed.  Beyond Shadowgate and some other items have recently gone nuts as well.
I started the thread because a number of members have said things about how they're "waiting for prices to down" or the retro trend to die and I'm wondering if this is actually a realistic expectation and if anybody has insight into how this kind of trend might play out on the TG16.  

[Necromancer]

I started the thread because a number of members have said things about how they're "waiting for prices to down" or the retro trend to die and I'm wondering if this is actually a realistic expectation and if anybody has insight into how this kind of trend might play out on the TG16. 

Well just let me check my crystal ball....

[Black Tiger]

If anything, the speed at which select games are skyrocketing in price based purely on collecting is a good sign that the market will eventually crash and straight collectors will move on to other thibgs once the fad dies. It's just like other trendy collector markets that began to overvalue items based purely on speculation. When the bubble bursts, things usually bottom out instead of maitaining the peak. People won't pay $20000 for Magical Chase and even if they do, then they won't pay $100000 or whatever the ceiling is.

The thing to keep in mind is that the TG-16 is a very niche brand within video game playing and collecting. It has nowhere near the overall interest in either, that something like the NES has. The disproportionate prices of uncommon Turbo games compared to collectible  games for genuinely popular consoles is alone proof that the handful of pricey Turbo games are majorly overvalued and cannot be sustained.

[hoobs88]

Other chain stores (besides Babbages & Software Etc) also carried Turbografix in the ninties:
- Service Merchandise
- Best (not bestbuy)
- Sears
- Radio Shack

I've never seen Turbo game at target.

I got JJ & Jeff at Target in 1991. I'm going to guess that by the TTI era Target like a lot of other stores stopped carrying TG stuff.

I never even heard of Target until 1998 when a kid that I met from Texas was asking me how we pronounced it in my area (they pronounced it with a French accent to make it sound classier). A few months later, a Target store was constructed at my local Mall.

[DragonmasterDan]

Other chain stores (besides Babbages & Software Etc) also carried Turbografix in the ninties:
- Service Merchandise
- Best (not bestbuy)
- Sears
- Radio Shack

I've never seen Turbo game at target.

I got JJ & Jeff at Target in 1991. I'm going to guess that by the TTI era Target like a lot of other stores stopped carrying TG stuff.

I never even heard of Target until 1998 when a kid that I met from Texas was asking me how we pronounced it in my area (they pronounced it with a French accent to make it sound classier). A few months later, a Target store was constructed at my local Mall.

I've lived in Chicagoland since the late 1980s but my father and other family live in Saint Louis.

Chicago didn't get Targets until the mid 90s, but going back to the early 80s they existed in the Saint Louis area and my dad took me to one which resulted in the JJ and Jeff Purchase in 1991.

[Arkhan]

Asking if its doomed to inflation is the same as asking if the average american is doomed to be an ignorant tool.

The answer is yes, and the two are related.

[Mathius]

The only two places I remember carrying the Turbo here in Indy (other than Toys R Us) were Electronics Boutique, and Walden's Software. The latter was an awesome place to go and drool. They even had Amigas hooked up to play. I remember playing the game based on the movie Arachnophobia. The graphics were so awesome!

[turbokon]

We bought ours from Montgomery Wards in 1991 and the only other places that carry turbo products were Toy'r us and EB.

Honestly I don't see or know how prices are much different between the two in terms of games.  Most turbo games I brought from ebay are averaged to be $15 to $25.  I have only brought a few PCE games, the cheapest being $10 for final soldier and I paid $15 to $25 for the rest.  Systems wise though I think its a different story.  I usually do my shopping from ebay.  From what I've seen lately, you can pick up a turbo grafx 16 system for cheaper then a PCE.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Duo_R]

Anyone remember TGG (The Good Guys)? They also carried turbo stuff. I got some games on clearance there when the system was end of life. There and Toys R Us are the only places I found Turbo Games new in the bay area.