Old Computer Game Covers - Collectible, Or Just Nostalgia?

zentechno writes "While cleaning out some very old boxes in a long-untouched closet, I discovered my first supply of PC games, some of which came out when 386s were new. While there's almost zero use for these, I still think the cover art is quite cool. I found the original Zork, its sequels, Enchanter, and Sorcerer from InfoCom, Star Trek: 'The Kobayashi Alternative' from Simon & Schuster, Pool of Radiance and Eye of the Beholder from SSI, Loom by Lucas Games, Nuclear War from New World, Annals of Rome and FireZone from PSS, Sidewinder from EA, and Defender of the Crown from Mindscape, to name many. I loved these games, and wonder if there's any sort of serious collector's market out there as exists for vinyl album art — or is it just a personal thing?" I know I'll always hang on to my copies of Star Control II and Think Quick! from when I was a wee PC gamer. What's still rattling around in your closet?

sim game boxes

[stoolpigeon]

I still use the boxes that originally held sim farm, sim ant, sim life and sim city for storage - though I don't have all the contents any more. I used to really enjoy all that came with a game- the nice box, the manuals, etc.

If it's always around, it will never be a relic...

[__aaojfq2958]

I guess having all of the artwork available somehow (corporate digital archives, google image search, etc..) gives the feeling that these items will continue to be 'old' but never reach the rarity of 'relics'...

BloodNet

[bk_veggie]

I recently found a copy of this MicroProse classic at a thrift, and it is now prominently displayed in my office. This game was very far ahead of its time (although almost impossible without a guide), and stands in my mind as one of the best PC games ever made, along with Willy Beamish, Loom, and Alone in the Dark.

hmm

[nomadic]

The funny thing about the old computer game box art was that it seemed that the worse the game's graphics the more vivid, detailed, and colorful the box art. Look at Akalabeth [wikipedia.org] or Seven Cities of Gold [wikipedia.org].

Re:hmm

[Spatial]

I think Project X for the Amiga had the most honest box-art ever: it's basically a screenshot [wikimedia.org] from the third level of the game. Yes, it's awesome.

Re:About games

[ScrewMaster]

My first real computer game was the original Integer BASIC "Star Wars" game that came on cassette with the Apple ][ Standard that was my first personal computer. Sure, I'd played plenty of arcade games by then, but that was the first computer game. My brother and I just about wore out the paddle controllers.

I still have a couple of hundred 143 Kb Apple floppies in a box somewhere, I had one of the biggest collections of Apple software in the area at the time. Dunno if they're still any good or not.

Covers dont smell..

[atamagabakkaomae]

but so does the famous famous Leather Godesses of Phobos 'scratch and sniff' card [wikipedia.org].
So, who's got one of these to sell (unscratched of course)?

Re:hmm

[hitmark]

the pre-3d graphics of the amiga was indeed impressive.

only now that the pc have a equal number of specialist chips inside it, can it be outperformed.

btw, i recall reading that the number of artists that work on a game have grown 10 times or more since those days, yet the number of programmers have stayed largely static.

Re:Compilations

[fyrie]

Right now there is a sealed Starcross in original UFO box on Ebay that is currently at $611 with a day left to go. However, opened infocom games often go for quite a bit if all of the feelies are still included. Zork Trilogy (with the Zorkmid coin) often goes for over $250 in used condition. The games the OP have are not so rare, but I'd think he could expect $30 - $75 each if not a little more depending on random factors.

Vintage gaming is a thriving collectors scene.

Re:Ogre!

[Anonymous Coward]

A lot of companies did it, as a method of encouraging sales on platforms where piracy was the norm and actually buying the game was considered kind of odd.

These days you barley get a printed manual.

Strangely enough, today there are quite a few gamers who are not in touch with "the scene" and more likely to buy games, even though the internet makes piracy so much easier.

I think that might be a reason why such things fell out of favor.

Re:Ogre!

[CottonThePirate]

I hate gamestop as much as the next guy (I always refer to them as GameStop-o in a M$ style rant) But they are the only folks locally that take in games. I know I can sell them on eBay/Amazon whatever, but that's a lot of hassle. I can just hand them to GameStop and get my 50 cents. I know a lot of people keep games forever, I play a game til I beat it or am sick of it, then trade it in. Very few games survive in my house more than 2 months. When I can sell my steam game back to gamestop I'll consider them.