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

by David B. Ellis

From console and arcade games to handheld video games, this comprehensive sourcebook and price guide lists prices for the video games of the 1970s and 1980s and game systems of the 1990s as well as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375720383
• ISBN13: 9780375720383
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: House of Collectibles
• Length: 469 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Memories... pressed between the pages of my mind

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.

Get this book BEFORE you start searching eBay...

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!

WOW the best video game resource I've ever seen

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.

"You Paid HOW Much for that Atari Cartridge?"

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?

Highly Recommended, even if you're not a collector

"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!