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The Covid lockdown had a significant influence on the market, as UK gamers tried to keep themselves occupied at home at the height of the pandemic. However, the industry is continuing to grow - and the amount gamers are spending has risen by another 2% in the past 12 months alone.
According to trade body UKIE, people are spending more on consoles and games than they did during the lockdown. In particular, sales of the latest consoles, such as the Xbox Series X/S and the coveted PlayStation 5, have brought in £1.13 billion.
Now, in a strange twist considering the state-of-the-art technology in today's consoles, some of the original and very basic gaming platforms are worth a fortune. They have already become antiques and collectors are willing to pay way over the odds to own certain models.
First home console
We're lucky to live in a golden age of gaming, where virtual reality, HD graphics, online multiplayer experiences and other tech perks have made gaming the most realistic experience imaginable. When the first consoles came out, it was a whole different world.
The first commercial home console, the Magnavox Odyssey, came out 50 years ago in 1972. It featured on the futuristic TV programme, Tomorrow's World, the following year. It attached to the television set, transforming it into an interactive device for the first time.
Games were composed of the most basic monochrome dots and vertical lines. This led to the famous "tennis" game that kept kids entertained for hours. They were stored on printed circuit boards that were plugged into the console.
The console cost the equivalent of £540 in today's money and sold 100,000 units in the first year alone. Today, surviving models of the Magnavox Odyssey can be picked up on online auction sites, such as eBay, for around £870, reflecting their age and scarcity.
The later Magnavox Odyssey 2 console, valued at around £400 today, had a greater variety of games such as Computer Nitro, Computer Golf, Armoured Encounter Sub Chase, Speedway Spin Out, Crypto-Logic and War of Nerves.
Gaming industry evolution
Consoles and games have evolved massively since the first console came out. The second-generation consoles, released in 1976, were defined by a microprocessor. Printed circuit boards of the 1972 consoles were replaced by whole games stored on cartridges. Directional control sticks replaced the unwieldy dials.
The iconic Pac Man, played on an Atari 2600 console, was the most popular game of the generation, closely followed by Space Invaders and Donkey Kong. Today, the Atari 2600 can be found on auction sites at varying prices, ranging from £200 to £800. It depends on the condition, whether they are boxed and what games come with them. The Pac Man game is sold for around £50 in good condition in its box.
In 1983, the third generation of consoles heralded an era of eight-bit machines, colourful graphics and innovative Japanese game design. "Playing Nintendo" replaced "playing a video game" as an activity.
Games that are still popular today, such as Zelda and Super Mario Bros, were born. The famous Japanese arcade game manufacturer, Sega, also emerged as a leader in the home entertainment sector. The original Zelda game, boxed, sells for up to £1,500.
In 1987, the fourth-generation consoles began to emerge, with the most famous being the latest Sega 16-bit Mega Drive in 1988. Suddenly, home gamers could enjoy games with audio-visual flair and fast, multi-directional scrolling that was previously available only in state-of-the-art arcade machines. The console can be picked up for about £200 today.
The Super Nintendo was released in 1990, leading to major competition between Nintendo and Sega, both market leaders in the home gaming market. If you have a Super Nintendo, expect to get about £280 for it. Their flagship games, Sonic and Mario, fought for supremacy.
Capcom's Street Fighter II (the most popular arcade game in the world) was launched first on the Super Nintendo. Original copies fetch the relatively modest sum of £20 on auction sites. Sonic 2 was a massive hit for Sega during the same era. It's valued at around £17 today.
Modern mainstream consoles
The 1990s transformed the video gaming industry from an activity enjoyed by a marginal community of specialist gamers into a mainstream market that everyone wanted to get into.
In 1993, the widespread adoption of CD-ROM technology saw the decline of 2D games and the emergence of 3D graphics to wow arcade and PC gamers. This was the decade that Sony first entered the consoles market.
The latest consoles included the Amiga CD32 and the Atari Jaguar, but they were costly and didn't lure too many people from the Sega and Nintendo consoles. The Amiga CD32 price ranges from around £300 to £500 on auction sites, while the Atari Jaguar prices range from £400 to £1,000.
In the early '90s, Sega combined its Genesis and Sega CD into one hybrid console: the Genesis CDX. It cost around £320 on release. Now, an average run-of-the-mill model will sell for around £800. Better quality ones often sell for between upwards of £3,200 and £4,000.
In 1994, Sony's 32-bit PlayStation was unveiled in Japan. Sony's shrewd deal with Namco brought arcade favourites Ridge Racer and Tekken to PlayStation. The original PlayStation fetches about £80 today, while the original games fetch very modest prices. If you have an extremely rare PS1 10-Million model, you could get up to £6,000 for it if it’s in mint condition.
In 1994, the Nintendo 64 was released, complete with a unique analogue controller to play its launch game, Mario 64. However, the Sony PlayStation was the victor of the fifth-generation consoles, as it shook off gaming's unfashionable image. Today, the Nintendo 64 console is valued at about £300, while Mario 64 sells for £20.
21st-century gaming
In March 2000, after more than 100 million sales of PlayStation consoles, the PlayStation 2 was launched as the leader of the sixth-generation consoles. Mainstream hit games included Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto. It hasn't fared well price wise: a working PS2 today is available on eBay for only £30 -the original games also sell for modest prices.
Microsoft entered the gaming market with the launch of the Xbox console in November 2001, with its built-in hard drive. It launched with a franchise that's still iconic today - Halo. First-person shooter fans loved it, especially when Halo 2 arrived in 2004, with online play, and Microsoft's Xbox Live subscription service. The price of an original Xbox today is about £100 to £180 on auction sites.
The seventh-generation consoles in 2005 saw the launch of wireless controllers, motion control, digital game downloads and high-definition graphics. Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 in 2005, with titles such as Call of Duty 2. The console's price dropped almost overnight, when Microsoft withdrew updates for popular franchises, such as Destiny, on the 360.
In 2006, Sony's PS3 and Nintendo's Wii made their debut. Wii Sports appealed to non-gamers who didn't know how to handle an Xbox controller but could use a pretend tennis racket. Today, the PS3 sells for about £80 on auction sites. The original Wii fetches about £50.
The modern era of eighth-generation consoles began in 2012. The two market leaders, PlayStation and Xbox, began to release similar games on the PS4 and Xbox One respectively in an attempt to capture the market. In recent years, Sony launched its PSVR virtual reality headset.
Both consoles from this era have depreciated in value after the release of the newer models, as they are too recent to be considered retro. Some limited-edition models are worth more, such as the Xbox 2nd Anniversary white console. Only 1,000 were released and they are going for up to £3,000 on auction sites.
The latest consoles, the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S, have been in short supply. In particular, the PS5, in both the digital and disc versions, has been sold out almost everywhere since it was released in November 2020. Anyone lucky enough to buy one new, at the asking price of around £450, could immediately sell it pre-owned for more than double in 2020/21.
How many people use gaming consoles?
There are an estimated 2.81 billion gamers worldwide, according to the latest figures. Globally, the market is worth an estimated £150 billion. While everyone loves the high-quality graphics and gameplay of modern consoles, there's still money to be made from retro machines.
Apart from the value of pre-owned vintage consoles, such as the 50-year-old Magnavox Odyssey, there are some ultra-rare editions that are worth a fortune.
The most expensive and rarest console in history is the gold-plated Nintendo Wii Supreme, valued at £299,995. Released in December 2009, it's coated in 2.5 kilograms of 22-carat gold and has diamond-studded buttons. However, underneath the gold plating, it's a bog-standard Wii, with nothing special about its games or technology.
The most expensive video game ever sold was a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros from 1985, made for the original Nintendo. Amazingly, this one game was valued at £1.5 million - more than a gold-plated console! The cartridge had a limited print run. Later editions of the game are relatively easy to come by and not even a fraction as expensive.
If you're a collector of consoles and games, they're worth far more if kept in pristine condition in airtight plastic storage containers away from damp and dust.
Don't damage your consoles and games by transporting them without the appropriate waterproof protective cases - especially if you have an ultra-rare edition that's worth more than a house or a luxury car!