Meet a collector who's taken his video game console hobby to the next level
CBC
For Johncarlo Salvatore, his Nintendo Entertainment System Deluxe is a point of pride.
It is one of about 45 gaming consoles tucked behind display cabinets in Salvatore's Oldcastle basement, a gallery of gaming history stretching from about 1972 and ending in 2000. Other consoles include the Sega Genesis and Atari Jaguar, but the Nintendo is the crown jewel.
"Just looking at them, and when people come over they're just interested," Salvatore said of what he likes about the collection. "They're like, 'Oh, I had that system back in the day.'"
Salvatore has invested roughly $15,000 into his collection since starting in the year 2000, foraging through countless garage sales and flea markets for quality pieces.
He isn't alone in his pursuit of classic gaming memorabilia, especially not since the pandemic. The video game pricing website PriceCharting.com, for example, shows the cost of retro video games rose by 33 per cent from 2020 to 2021.
Now some who choose to sell their vintage game consoles are doing so for big price tags.
In October 2021, a mint-condition Nintendo 64 sold for $4,800 in an online auction. Pop culture site Nerdable found perfect versions of Sony PlayStation 1 could sell for up to $5,000.
Roy McLean is the owner of Windsor game store The Game MD. He repairs discs, fixes consoles and accepts trade-ins for consoles and games.
He says getting such payouts depends on the quality of what's offered.
"Condition is everything. Just because you have something that is worth a lot of money doesn't mean that it's worth a lot of money in the condition that it's in," McLean said.
McLean also says a rise in sellers artificially inflating the value of what they offer is posing a new challenge to collectors as well.
"There are a lot of imposters, fake games people are purchasing online because they're cheap," he said. "They think it's the real deal because their advertisement's saying it is an official product when it's not."
For vintage console owners looking to sell, McLean says protecting the consoles from excessive heat or dampness is key. Researching the value of the console is also encouraged.
Ontario will not have a policy in place to publicly fund all medically necessary services from nurse practitioners by April 1, as ordered by the federal government, leaving some patients paying out of pocket for primary care.
RCMP officers in Lower Sackville and Cole Harbour, N.S., posed as panhandlers to catch drivers who were committing traffic offences this week.
Moncton quadruple-medallist Courtney Sarault is back in her hometown for a post-Olympic celebration and rest.
Thousands of Muslims in Winnipeg gathered Friday at various locations to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The spring sitting of the P.E.I. Legislature will prorogue for a second time — but this time just by a day.
Two years after an Edmonton man sustained fatal injuries while on shift at a northern Alberta pulp mill, workplace safety charges have been laid in his death.
About 30 properties in the Fraser Valley are under evacuation alert as the atmospheric river pummeling B.C. increases flood and landslide risks in several parts of the province.
WARNING: This story references allegations of child abuse.
Police say it was a 67-year-old Chatham man who died while scuba diving at the Erieau marina on Wednesday morning.
Enmax declared its lowest dividend, to be paid to the City of Calgary, in four years in its 2025 financial results.
Rilee Willianen says the City of Thunder Bay has received wide-ranging feedback about its plans to create designated encampment sites.
The Ontario government is planning to outlaw sky-high ticket resale prices, according to a news release.
As March break comes to an end, there are lots of fun events happening on the weekend in Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County.