Customer Reviews

Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games: Console, Arcade, and Handheld Games

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What an incredible reference guide. With the collectible video game market still in its infancy, I honestly didn't expect to see a book like this for at least another decade. Then, as I was chuckling to myself while staring at it in a bookstore, it hit me: "Holy Energizer Dots! It's a huge reference to the entire video game industry!!! So I grabbed it, absorbed it, and continue re-reading it to this day. Chock full of history, images and master lists of cartridges and consoles, this one book will both enlighten you to the scope of the video game industry as of today, and also serve as a GREAT tool when you start shopping online auction sites like eBay. I used it to buy my Atari 7800 system, and I was pleased to know I didn't pay more for it than it was worth. That would not have been possible without this book. I'd like to think of a negative thing to say about this book so readers won't think I'm biased. Ok, I wish I had a hardcover version becasue this one is going to fall apart soon from opening it up too much!

Three thousand dollars for a rare Atari cartidge? Who would have guessed that the stuff we discarded from our youth would now be part of a cottage industry consisting of collectors, auction houses, classic arcade repair shops and book writers.

I consider myself an serious collector, (Ooh, how arrogant!) of serious toys. And Ellis' work is one of those rare "how to collect" books worthy of a double purchase. One to keep fresh and clean on your book shelf and one to dog ear, mark up, and spill coffee on. My working copy is permanently on watch next to my PC.

Don't be misled into thinking this is a minor work because the book's price is so reasonable. The historical summaries alone are worth the cost. As a begining collector of classic arcade games this book is the best place to start. You could not go wrong in assembling a fine collection at reasonable cost by following Ellis' recommendations to the letter. The chapters are arranged so as to allow collectors to skip those areas in which they have no interest.

Negatives? Only one, too big to carry around. A pocket guide would be great for auctions. And an electronic version (Palm?, Pocket PC?) with easy to query price look ups would be even better. Hey Random House are you listing?

You don't have to be 40 to read this book, but if you are it will certainly cover every video game you've ever played while growing up. Having been to a few auctions myself, the charts and tables in this book have easily saved me the cost of the book on just one machine. A very handy reference if you're just getting started and invaluable if your wife thinks your hobby is getting too expensive. It's easy to get caught up in the bidding, and this book will help you find that line that says "you're paying too much for that machine."

After you get your new toy home, I've found that some tend to fizzle out after about 2 months. This is where the online resources listed in this book come in handy. They are a gateway to the community of Classic Arcade Collectors and you will find that these collectors are eager to help you get your machine back in working condition.

I look forward to a sequel that covers more of the post-classic era as this section of the book has sparked a hunger for more information on these newer treasures.

I have been a player of video games for as long as I can remember. Many of my best memories come from sitting in my best friends basement playing them for hours on end. I love video games so much that I eventually got into the game industry. Mr. Ellis's book the Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games : Console, Arcade, and Handheld Games has been a trip through memory lane. I am usually leery of books that claim to be an 'official' anything as they are usually so full of errors as to be worthless to anyone but the causal fan. I picked up the book and began to look for the 'usual' errors so often seen in other 'official' video game books but try as I might, I could not find anything wrong! This annoyed me so I took the book to a sitting area and started to look harder... 45 minutes later the store was closing and I was asked to make my purchase so that the employees could leave. The book not only details the common arcade, consoles and hand held machines but also details the obscure ones including the very rare and very collectable Adventure Vision...thanks for throwing that one away along with my baseball cards mom! Anyway, I have since read the book several times and have even used it as resource material at work. If you have even the slightest interest in video games whether it be arcade, consoles or hand held machines, you need to buy this book.

WOW...What can I say? This book was a trip down memory lane. Each page brought back fond memories of playing video games in my parents' basement. Sadly, I lost my Atari 2600 in a stampede. I still have most of my game cartridges though and they're still lots of fun! Mr. Ellis' book is well written and a must have for anyone who loves collecting the Atari game software of the 80's.

Printed price guides face an uphill battle. With almost real-time updates, prospective game buyers will be better served working from Internet sources such as RGCAV/RGVAM. The saving grace for this book is that David Ellis includes well-written prose in addition to his exhaustive price guide. On one hand, the market for classic video games is less dynamic and thus less prone to volatility than other collectibles. On the other hand, more than six years has elapsed since the book was published. Furthermore, auctions are inherently unpredictable, and even a good price guide may leave you unprepared for the harsh reality of an eBay sniping battle.

But there is still much fun to be had leafing through this book. Ellis goes overboard cataloging video games from the 1970s and 80s, including many obscure systems and games. For almost every entry, he assigns a relative rarity rank as well as pricing estimates for both loose and complete with original packaging. Plenty of photos, including eight pages in color. Sadly the bulk of the B&W photos are more than a tad grainy.

The audience for such a book is not vast. You don't really need this unless you are looking to buy (or perhaps repeatedly buy & sell) some vintage games or if you already maintain a sizable collection. The book covers quite a lot of home games such as consoles and handheld games. In fact, the split is probably only 35% arcade/65% home console & handheld. The latter were of relatively less interest to me, but YMMV. In short, the book is a useful reference guide, but overkill if you simply need to know what your old Atari 2600 is worth, or how much a used Donkey Kong will set you back.

Three and a half stars, rounded up because of the excellent final chapter, "Classic Arcade Game Setup, Restoration, and Repair."

"The Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games" has got to be the biggest misnomer of all time. It is actually the Holy Grail of Classic Video Games collecting!

I just expected to find charts and tables to the prices for classic video game consoles, handhelds and arcade games. Not only does the author supply this, but much, much more. I am amazed at the amount of information and detail Dave Ellis has on each and every item he covers. He does have pages with prices one can expect to pay for each item (and he covers almost every accessory and game that came out for every console), but he has so much more. He discusses the history of each game, how it did in the marketplace, how rare each accessory is and why. He also notes the scarcity of each game, console or accessory, which can help a collector spot a rare and uncommon items when they crop up. Numerous photos add to the utility and enjoyability of the book.

As the cover says, the book covers three topics: video game consoles, handhelds and arcade games. Dave states that he only covers games and systems from the "classic era" (i.e. the period before 1985). But he actually goes on to cover, in brief, games and consoles from the post-classic era and describes why they are or are not yet considered collectible.

Not only does Dave provide price lists, but he also gives online resources where readers can go to obtain items.

As for arcade games, Dave has attended numerous auctions and knows what arcade machines go for. If you don't live in an arcade game auction hot-spot, you can expect to pay more than the prices he lists, but he notes this. Paying $1000 for a working arcade game is excessive, unless it is somewhat rare and/or fully reconditioned.

In short, not only was reading this book extremely informative, it was a fun, nostalgic and colorful trip back to the carefree days of my youth. Highly recommended!

This book is lame. I got into the arcade collection hobby about a year ago and have really dove into it headfirst. I am a member of a lot of the collector message boards and go to auctions and arcade events near my home. The price guide seems a bit out of wack. I don't think you can price guide an arcade. I have seen Ms. Pac-mans go from $250 to $1650 and Kung Fu Master games go from $200 all the way to $1000. The price ranges are so large it doesn't make sense to price guide these. It all depends on how much someone loves a game... Auctions skew the prices a lot, so do people on ebay that overpay. The guide lacks a lot of games I see out there. Waste of money. Want a price range, go on ebay and craigslist and message boards.

The book is very good. It contains a nice price guide and a history + information on the consoles, game cartridges and arcade games. There's even tips on auction buying and more. My only complaint is that the arcade game prices are very very unrealistic. If I could find working arcade games for $50-150 my basement and garage would be overloaded. Many arcade games are listed with this price range and that is simply wrong. At least in Michigan it's hard to find any working arcade game for under $1,000.

"Official" is a word used to denote, in the case of price guides, an authoritative source of information, one that can be trusted above all others. In the case of David Ellis' Guide to Classic Video Games, it is exactly that. I have been collecting and playing video games, both console and arcade, since the late 1970's. Other price guides I have encountered have focused on specific areas of interest within the video game field, but none have covered consoles AND arcades AND handhelds as thoroughly as this book. Mr Ellis gives sound advice on how to get started in a hobby that has only recently moved into the mainstream. There are source lists to aid in searching for that rare find or for gathering even more information. The price guides themselves show a range of prices on each item as well as rarity and variations where applicable. There are plenty of color and black & white photos, and the history of how video gaming got started is an interesting and pleasant addition. It is clear in his writing that Mr Ellis endeavors to share his knowledge and passion for the hobby. I found the book to be accurate and helpful in my collecting, and I recommend it to both novice and experienced classic video game enthusiasts.