I guess I kind of understand the frustration explained here, but something we have to keep in mind is that OVERALL, prices are a lot cheaper. You can get a lot of decent older games for a fraction of what they cost long ago. So while there are a few individual games that are ridiculously expensive, you can still get a ton of retro games for much cheaper than they cost in the 80s and 90s. For every Hagane or Earthbound, there are about 50 other games that are really cheap - and not just sports games and crappy games. There plenty of good games that are readily available for under $10.
Also, we can't have it both ways. We like to complain about video games evolving into this shooter-fest craze, where Call of Duty-like games are released every year without really adding much to the gaming industry in terms of innovation and development of good core gameplay elements. I'm sure most of us here would agree that the gaming elements of retro games will stand the test of time - back when the focus was not on graphics due to hardware limitations. So in my mind, I think it's great that younger people are delving into the history of gaming, and picking up NES and SNES games rather than another 3D shooter or crappy modern game.
Just because someone wasn't born when Super Mario Bros came out on the NES, doesn't mean they have any less right to enjoy and fall in love with the game. I WANT them to. I WANT the modern gamers to understand where the video game industry came from. I understand the feeling that we really grew up with these games, and as such, they will always have a special place in our hearts, but it's kinda silly to get upset at "kids-these-days" ruining the market by buying older games and having more disposable income.
Also, I don't know about you all, but I have every single game I ever had as a kid, and then some. So for me personally, it's not the case that the inflation has prevented me from getting back in touch with the games I owned when I was a kid.
All that being said, I do find the trading market rather interesting. It is kinda crazy how the game prices fluctuate, but then again, that is the market, and while I find it frustrating that Hagane is $300 or $400, I certainly don't want any external entity controlling prices, so I guess we just have to live with it.
Just some thoughts.
