Replacing Batteries on Retro Games: Does it Affect Value?
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2017
- Does replacing the battery in a retro game cart affect its value?
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Have you ever replaced your game battery? How's your soldering skills?
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Thanks for answering my question guys!!! :-D
i tried to repair a Sega Game Gear and failed miserably. But soldering those 2 quite big spots is easy enough for me to do^^
did they say they would survive or even serve ?
digital comment 😎 cool
What are your thoughts on battery holders inside of the game cart to make battery replacing easier? Does that lessen the value due to a complete change of the battery slot?
The fact that this even needs to be discussed shows just how insane the retro collecting community has become.
I'd much rather have a battery that works than an original one that not only doesn't, but runs the risk of leaking all over the PCB. Have seen many a Neo Geo board die because people let the batteries inside be.
I have a Dead MVS board that is because of the stupid battery
soundman447 did neogeo boards have batteries?
I don't know about the AES (home Console) boards but the MVS (Arcade) do they have a NiCa rechargeable that is known to leak and eat the boards
The MVS boards do at least. Not 100% sure with AES. I don't recall seeing one when cleaning mine after buying it.
XB3 Gaming genuinely surprised to hear this, can't think of anything that needed saved on those
I would think it would not matter. A battery is meant to be replaced. We replace them in other things and the value is not affected. If anything having the new battery in there and working should be worth more than an old dead battery.
Don't see any problem replacing them, or any other kind of mantenance needed but I don't think Nintendo meant batteries to be replaceable to be honest, they are enclosed in the cartridge. They most likely expected the batteries to live for some years, until you didn't play any longer and then forget about it. If it was for Nintendo maybe they even expected you to buy a new cartridge given other of their business practices.
Ian, that's ridiculous... not taking a good game because a damn dollar battery is dead. Comon it's a two point solder job.
FrenchyToasty The pure fact that you have to pay someone to sit down and fix the battery is too much trouble for games that aren't Pokémon or Zelda.
A Channel About Video Games We do it ourself at work, doesn't take more time than cleaning it... he also said he didn't buy dead battery pokemons nor zeldas, only if the customer would let it go for dirt cheap. If you crank the value by $10 I doubt tour employee's 5 minutes are worth that.
That dead battery policy is borderline scamming, Ian.
i wouldn't buy anything from him knowing that he does this, especially if he is doing it with higher value games.
How? If the customer is literally saying themselves "oh just keep it I don't want it" then Ian is being nice by tossing them some bucks for it. Different story if Ian said "it doesn't save. Hey, I'll give you $5 for it though".
I had the same reaction. If he has a plan to sell "donated" games, he should not say he doesn't accept the games.
A really old battery might leak and damage the cartridge as well.
Tilen Zupanc all batteries can leak...
they can leak. Last year i bought a Super Mario Kart and it looked nice but on the inside the battery almost destroyed the game. Even some resistor (or whatever that was) was completly damaged by that. It took some time and effort but i got it back running again.
I've worked on a lot of equipment with dead CR2032 (the SNES S-RAM battery size) coin cell lithium's over the years and I've yet to see any dead ones leak. Alkaline, Nickel Cadmium, and Nickel Metal Hydride absolutely they can chew through PCB traces like tissue paper if left unchecked.
If you see rust and corrosion around a save battery the cart got wet the battery wasn't at fault.
Yes, do they. I have dealt with it before.
I yanked all of the batteries out of mine for fear that they might leak and they were dead anyhow... So... what did I have to lose?
If I ever decide to bust out Zelda and play on the original hardware, I'll pop it open and drop a new battery in it that will last another 10-12 years.
Years ago, I was asking online, how to replace the battery on a Game Boy game. Someone was all aghast, like "You're gonna open an original cartridge?! Do you have any idea what that's going to do?!" I was like "Yeah. It's gonna make it so I can use Metroid II's save feature."
Here's the real question...Does adding a coin-cell SOCKET instead of just resoldering the battery affect value?
Depends on the buyer and the game probably, id maybe pay a little more for one inside of a RPG or something
And the quality of the work.
Christian Klan I actually thought that when I saw this. Personally that's all I use since in bulk that added cost is trivial.
For NES carts at least, considering I'm expecting the new battery to last 30 years it doesn't seem worth the extra effort and slight cost. Based on eBay guys selling them, it is a marginal difference.
For a Pokemon Crystal, I'd say it'd boost it a bit more though.
Christian Klan The holder is the way to go for multiple reasons. One, you could solder a bad battery from the factory into the PCB and it leak/explode prematurely, thus having to add additional heat stress to the PCB and components around it desoldering and resoldering a new one. Most of those batteries I've seen people are buying in bulk are not made by top notch companies like Sony or Panasonic. So if something happens you can remove it quickly cleaning it with 91% isopropyl without the board ever having to see another soldering iron again (if done correctly of course). I've opened two games I've bought already where the battery has leaked through the other side of the solder point. It didn't damage the board or rom, but easily could have it been leaning in a box for years. That's enough for me to have a cradle and monitor the batteries from time to time much easier as well. Make sure to also check the voltage with a multimeter after it's installed to assure proper connectivity. Hope this helps you.
I certainly think it should affect its value in a positive way because I am a vintage synthesizer technician and having a fresh memory battery in an old synth always makes it more valuable.
I replace my batteries with staked button cells, which are similar or the exact same as the original cell. I have picked them up as surplus for $.20 a piece.They can be less than 5 years old, and have a 20 year shelf life.
Sold off my original Game Boy collection and found the following games had dead batteries: Pokemon Gold, Silver and Kirby's Dream Land 2. I was able to change them no problem and the people buying them were happy to get games with working batteries. Now, my EarthBound, which I'm thinking of selling right now while the price is up, I seriously wondered about this given the high price of the item, maybe a future buyer would NOT want it tampered with in any way. On the other hand, the EarthBound carts I see up for sale on ebay make no mention of the condition of the battery, so I guess I won't worry about it.
Before watching the video, I'm going to say yes because now you have a game that saves.
I have bought a copy of Zelda II years ago and the save battery still works.
Great question. I've always thought of this.
Would this same principle apply to switching the screws on old games? I opened up a couple of my five screw games a while back just to see if any of them had converters (unfortunately, none of them did lol), and since I unscrewed a decent number of games, the screws ended up getting switched around. Would that affect the value if they were the original screws but placed into different spots/games? What about older screws being replaced with new ones? Sorry if this is a dumb question. I only want to make sure of things.
As a collector who likes to play the games they buy, I want the thing to save. In my opinion, a working battery in an old game should raise the value a little bit...like 5 dollars maximum, nothing extravagant...
For something like the CD-I, I know it NEEDS a working battery in it otherwise the thing won't turn on at all. The SEGA Saturn also needs a working battery for saving, but at least with that it's incredibly easy to change the battery (there's a little door on the back of the console that you remove and that gives you access to the battery)...
Thanks for mentioning the store name Ian, I'm literally too lazy to take the time out and research it, and now I'm on the mailing list, thanks!
Ian. I will replace all your batteries for $4.95 each.
I had a Zelda gold cart battery go out in 1992 - had to replace it. I was surprised to hear most others kept going for decades. Guess I won the battery lottery.
never really thought about this but wouldn't it be a good thing to have a new battery in there if there was something wrong with the old one?
I think the quality of the replacement is a factor. If you solder in a nice battery holder versus a hack job with electrical tape etc.. would definitely effect how much I would pay.
The majority of my Gameboy games work perfect after numerous years on inactivity. But a couple games have dead batteries
I bought a copy of Super Mario World once that had a dead battery.
Robopon for GBC also had a battery with a clock, but it's also a special cart that actually has a battery door with a holder so the battery can simply be pulled out.
The only other games I know of to use a battery are Japanese games. A Pokemon-type game called Telefang. Also two Super Famicom RPGs, Daikaiju Monogatari 2 and Tengai Makyou Zero.
Tamagotchi for Game Boy probably uses a clock as well.
I work at an engineering company and just got one of the hardware guys to solder a new battery into Pokemon Silver but, as Hexed Pedestrian says, you gotta get the ones with the tabs already attached, then you can unsolder the old one (tabs still attached) and replace with a new tabbed battery. This means Pat looking up bulk prices for regular CR2025 batteries isn't helpful: You can't use 'em!
Unfortunately, CR2025 batteries with tabs in the right place seem to be very hard to find. I could only get them from eBay and the one I used only lasted 3-4 years instead of 6-8 like the original Panasonic.
Replacing the save battery incorrectly, burning up the PCB would definitely destroy value. I replace my own save batteries. If I was shopping for a game over $20.00 and the seller wont show me the PCB, then no deal. Replacing save batteries is easy to do and easy to fck up as well. I've seen monstrous work before opening cartridges, especially Game Boy batteries. There are a lot of amateurs trying this repair that need a little more experience soldering. Also, you may think you did it right (game now saves) but a cold solder joint can break off anytime down the road.
Best Ending I've seen!
Fantastic Mr. Vulpes Vulpes Ian is such a free spirit
Which is funnier:
1) The fact that original label vs original battery should be equal in their minds, but isn't due to stupid rules they want to invent?
2) The fact that Ian and the game store he works at are incapable of changing a battery?
a: battery = battery whereas repro label != original label
and
b: taking games for free because the battery is dead and then marking them up 10$ past your normal price is a scummy move
Paper and ink = paper and ink, whereas new battery != original battery.
Funny how that logic is totally interchangeable right?
I felt really sad after picking up my Pokemon Silver from like 20 years ago when I played it for the last time and noticing it doesn't hold saves anymore. Not so much about the fact about not being able to keep progress, but losing that saved game from my childhood. I know it had lot of stuff collected and leveled up, too. Ended up replacing the battery and I wondered this exact same thing. Didn't solder it, though. Just used electric tape. The damn thing was soldered so strongly I seriously thought I was going to break it when trying to disconnect it, took some serious force and nasty scraping noises.
Dope city connection shirt ian
I always replace batteries in retro games, adding sockets where I can. I remember my brother bought Final Fantasy 3 for the SNES, spent 30 hours playing through it and then the 20 year old battery died. All my SNES games get battery holders and new batteries when I buy them, I have added them to Zelda, Chrono Trigger, FF3 and neither of these games are cheap. Game Boy batteries tend to die more quickly as they are usual smaller and hold less charge. I can only see a cleanly installed new branded battery and socket where possible adding to the value of the game as it's actually playable. I can't see how it would negatively effect the value of the game as long as the install is properly and cleanly done.
Well what if i wanted to change the battery in my chrono trigger. But instead of a battery i use a battery socket instead of a battery with prongs?
hey Ian i replace the battery for 4 bucks. The battery cost like 1$ and replacing takes 5minutes. XD
My original Link's Awakening(1993) 's battery went kaput just last year, and that didn't have an internal clock (although I did play the hell out of it)
24 years is an ok battery life, and no, the amount of play time has no influence on battery life
battery not being original shouldnt be an issue. repro art is ok....if its labeled as such, same with repro carts or fan translations label them in a way where you can tell that it isnt original and i dont have an issue. its when i buy something at a high price thinking it original that i have a problem. bottom line is, inform the customer and they will buy what they want.
I did an test on 30 Legend Of Zelda NES carts to test batteries and all were OK. I have actually have had no dead batteries in any cart for any console at this point. I have seen the soldering / replacement videos and it looks pretty simple.
Yeah, I can see myself paying more for new save battery. If you have a copy of pokemon blue/red and it still keeps saves with its original battery in 2017, you is lucky. My blue cart stopped keeping saves back in 2006 and unless I want to beat the game in one sitting, the game is kinda broken imo.
Ian you should have some one fiz them there. For like 15 bucks a fix.
Its frustrating work but worth the convenient biy and sell.
The battery on the original Pokemon games had a life expectancy of 15 years. The expiration date was 2013 so the batteries need to be replaced if they have not already.
Personally I don't think changing the battery adds any extra value. Reasons:
1. You would have gotten the game for much cheaper than if the battery worked.
2. It's not the original battery. As insignificant as it seems, t's like replacing a part in an old car; some people will care.
3. The cost of the battery is very cheap, and the time it takes to replace them is only a couple minutes of work.
I'd say anybody that buys/sells/trades games/systems should have their own soldering and learn how to replace batteries themselves. Don't pay the $10 most stores charge.
I have a collection of Zelda games for the NES/SNES/N64 and their Japanese counterparts. In ALL of my carts I have de-soldered the standard battery and replaced it with a battery holder. If I ever want to, I can put a fresh new battery in there no problem. However, I do all of my gaming with my Everdrive now and don't want any 20-30 year old batteries leaking inside my carts and destroying them.
very interesting video !
Are those audio technica headphones? If so which ones
Repo labels on cars for underhood info are sold ALL THE TIME. But yeah a cars got few extra parts compared to a game cart
Redbull and Beer give Ian wings.
Devinsthesis And atrocious gas apparently
Pat and Ian a quick question... I could probably look online for the answer but I wanna know what you think before I do. If I was to replace a battery in a cartridge, would any saved data be lost after the removal of the battery?
reminds me of the ship of theseus.
I'm not sure if the battery in Ian's Dragon Warror game is magic but I've never had a NES battery that worked today. I've had to replace the NES batteries in Zelda 1 & 2 (lucky thing is my dad was an electrician and can repair the batteries) and the only other battery I can think of later on besides Pokemon G/S/C is Pokemon R/S/E for the GBA but that was more for the berry clock and not for the save data.
Just came across this vid. I agree that it’s insane to think that replacing a dead battery in ANYTHING would reduce its value. It’s a battery for crying out loud, not the actual circuity or game hardware. Could you imagine someone buying a car at a dealership with a dead battery? 😂
I think if someone was selling a semi hard to find Pokemon game on Ebay and stated in the auction that the battery had just been replaced.. you could surely get a few dollars more for it than other sellers.
Ian obviously drinks good beer.
I got the battery replaced on my genesis copy of Shadowrun and it worked fine after that but im too scared to replace the one in my FF6
The repro label debate... People like to use the classic cars comparison and there's a big issue with that. You have to think of it this way. Compare a repro label or cart shell to repro body panels. You can build some classic cars almost entirely out of repro parts. It certainly won't be worth what an original car will be. But let's think of this like an expensive classic car, say a 1971 "numbers matching" Plymouth Hemi Cuda. This is a car that's easily worth well into the six figure range. For whatever reason, you decide to replace the hood with a reproduction hood. It's going to GREATLY effect the value of that car. Hell, you will get more money for a car with original paint even if it's not the best.
Sorry for the tangent that had almost nothing to do with the subject at hand. Carry on.
Ian - get Pat in there as a business consultant...
Does FF2 and FF3 (American) for SNES have internal clocks?
Holy Crap where did Ian get a City Connection shirt !
Pat's mad that people are making good repros lol
yeah because they're ripping people off trying to sell them as originals.... it's a little different if you're trying to sell bonks adventure NES game for two grand when it's a repo... trying to pass it off as an original.... who the hell wants a repo
Pat lecturing Ian about smart business practice. lol
It isn't hard. Ian knows very little about smart business practice. Half the reason I watch this podcast is to watch Ian make a fool of himself.
Had the same thought, the "I barely survived one day doing retail on flea market" Pat
I think it increases the value if anything.
soylentgreenb I have the mentality of an art collector. Removing dirt from e.g. an old painting and having it repaired professionally is a must to keep its high value.
Hilariously great!
We should soder battery holders in our snes games😃
Not really as the Pokemon Gameboy games usually have dead batteries, and the value seems the same regardless if it's a replacement.
You're a smart business practice. Lol 😂
What kind of classic game shop 'hires out' replacing save batteries? Bulk batteries are like 20 cents each and take about three minutes to replace. Come on, are you guys really that busy, inept, and/or lazy that you can't complete a simple task to make extra money for the shop?
hurkamur1 yeah the batteries are also compatible across several platforms n64, snes, nes. Etc. Gameboy uses a smaller one.
Its bad business if a retro store doesnt have a ton of these and change out all they sell.
rellik187redrum chill man
@5:40 both Ian and Pat have no clue how the battery is used in carts :/ Battery is being drained 24/7 to sustain charge in SRAM chip. Good quality low power SRAM chip will sip 30years assuming 200mAh CR2032.
www.digikey.com/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-battery-life
Battery life depends on the quality of CR2032 cell and brand/model of SRAM chip (crappy ones will drain more power), not on the game and how it handles saves.
Lol! Ein sounds so drunk. 😂
interesting subject ...... I have Pokemon Silver and Crystal and they both have dead batteries. I also have Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Leaf Green, also with dead batteries. GBA games are still playable without a battery. Silver and Crystal are not. When i recently bought Emerald and Leaf Green there batteries being dead before i ever bought them factor did effect the price. I only saved a few bucks tho, so its not like i got a SNES Earthbound for super cheap because of dead battery.
If its any of the run of the mill games or even the higher end ones like the LIttle Samsons, it shouldnt matter. Its the high high high end marquee titles that any variance could increase or decrease the value.
Ruby and Sapphire had internal clocks too, they just didnt really use the feature the same way.
By the way, if you can get the batteries replaced so cheap, why dont you take all copies of pokemon, even with dead batteries? Give less money for the dead ones, and apparently the replaced ones sell more.
So collectors will only want to game to work if it's opened. If it's SEALED, then that's more important than function. At least that's how I assume collectors work.
spartonberry THIS!!!
To some people yes, and to others, no. Here is another perspective. I recently HDMI modded my spare NES and sold it on ebay. To some people, they wouldn't want it because it isn't original. However, with this HDMI mod, I was able to sell this NES for $280, vs the $50 or so that it would normally go for. Therefore, something that wasn't original hardware in there (yes some original hardware parts in there had to be removed for this) greatly increased the value of it.
It's all matter of perspective, and how people look at it.
The value is whatever someone is willing to pay. I don't see too many collector's out there willing to pay for a non functioning game due to the battery making saving impossible. I think you would always get more value from someone who wants a fully working cartridge.
The added hardware also cost around $150 though right?
yep
If you find super cheap cartridges because they have non functioning batteries, send them my way. That's super easy to fix.
I really don't see the point in not buying the ones with dead batteries if you have a viable option to replace them, especially when you can charge $10 more for them.
Ohh pat
Hope they use pre-tabbed batteries or they're in for a bad time.
All of my games aside from one Game Boy game save... I feel these batteries don't really run out as quickly as people imagine. GB games are more prone to it but SNES and other console games don't seem to be a huge issue?
My Zelda battery is dead lol
Hey Pat and Ian! when are you going to do another video with Mike Matei?
so i was thinking about it, you know they repaint the Sistine chapel right? they restore the art, why can't i restore the art of the label? is the Sistine chapel not as important because the art isn't the exact paint they had put on when it was originally done? Are my games now not the important pieces of gaming history now that they have a fresh coat of paint on them?
You are comparing preserving a one-of-the-kind piece of art to counterfeiting artwork. Just to be clear.
Pat the NES Punk the only batteries that shouldnt be replaced are new sealed games.
Everything else someone in the future will want to play it. And u cant play if u can't save
you cant because if would lower Pats collection value!!1
it is theft if you sell it as an original
thats the problem
Pat the NES Punk just to be clear it's only counterfeit if it's intended to deceive, if I do it on my games it's not meant to deceive, it's called restoration, which is exactly what it's called when you paint of pieces of art, if someone gets my games after I pass and they don't know it's not counterfeit because they are also not trying to deceive
Does Luna Video Games sell their games online or plan to do so in the future? If not and I had the means, I would literally fly out to their store and go on a retro game shopping spree!
I love how Pat doesn't understand that even if the batteries were only $2 or even less, it's a business and purchasing them period is a service which needs to be capitalized on, and at $5 how could you ever complain?
things is with the 8bit guy repro label im pretty sure the dude isnt a mass relabeler and he just wanted nice looking carts on that subject didnt you and james rolf slice a cart in half a year or two back in youre colab ? nice way to perserve games there mate anyways i do enjoy youre podcast so good job on that :) just happen to not share youre veiw on that repro label in that instance
Sorry Pat you're wrong the battery is always being used for all the games which have a battery in the. The charge is being used to keep the memory alive. But the power draw is tiny that it can last around the 20 years mark (some will last longer some will last less). But you are right that as Pokemon GSC has a working clock and the gane memory. This meant that one of these will last around 10 years.
As for should changing the battery effect the cost? Down to the seller and buyer. But I look at it as being the same as buying a car (using your example) selling a car with a flat battery is worth less than the same car with a working battery. You can't confirm everything is working right and the buyer would then have to pay for the new battery and to fit it.
But it does depend on the quality of work, I'll always a tabbed battery as I think it's better than where I've seen people breaking the tabs off the old battery an using to to fix in a new battery
$10 extra for a new battery? Like Pat said you can buy them for $2 and I could just replace a dead one you wont buy myself.
So I waited to write this comment until I had really given it some thought.
I can easily see a new battery bumping the price up on a game, Shit Pokemon Crystal goes for on average anywhere from 30 to 40 dollars and many times there is no battery in it, so yeah I can see the battery bumping up the price (Provided the battery is replaced properly and not using that janky duct tape method)
Next. Yo. IAN. Look I see your logic, but wouldn't the smarter thing to do is buy those Pokemon games with dead batteries at a lower cost instead of just refusing them? I mean you already have a guy doing the replacing, and clearly Luna isnt hurting, OH and these games sell super well. Just saying.
That's my two cents.
Honestly I would pay more for a game with a fresh battery in it than an older one. If the old battery has leaked then I would pay less to almost NOTHING for the game. I don't see a point in buying a game with a leaked battery that could potentially damage the game itself.
I've replaced every battery in my collection. Don't want the batteries leaking.
Oh god IAN, beer and Red Bull?!
Your not helping the stomach by doing that. Lol but if it's good....fuck it, go for it 👍🏼
I put a battery in an SNES game I own once and I darn near ruined the game. Not the best install job but it works lol
Pats right. Buy those batteries in bulk. Three extra dollars per sale adds up damn quick and those are Duracell batteries which I would have to assume last longer than the stock batteries Nintendo uses.
three dollars? Good brand (Energizer) 240 mAh CR2032 are $.5 each, those will last you 35-40 years.
NES, SNES and original Game Boy batteries by this point are starting to die.
No, they're just BATTERIES!
Ian is better... chugging beer... and Red Bull...
Is this question real? wtf
Sadly yes.
why would it affect it? batteries go bad they have to be replaced. personally i put battery holders in my games if they will fit and put duracell cr2032 or 2025
Wow, everybody jumping on Ian... He probably doesn't want every potential competitor to know exactly how Luna operates.... but it's a successful store. Even Pat had to jump on him about how the batteries are sourced like this is a major deal (while overlooking any potential benefits of local sourcing)... for that matter, why not complain that they don't have a Luna employee solder them and save even more money? Or why bother replacing the battery at all when they can play it on a retron 5 or something that has save memory without the need for batteries?
Heck, why even sell Pokemon games when they can just watch the show or play Pokemon Go on their phone and actually "be in the action"??? /sarcasm
&%*$, why does everyone have to complain so much?
Damnit, that's a complaint, too. Now I'm doing it! xD
pat go to the flea market
I had to replace the battery in my Pokemon Gold. I had to buy a replacement battery, and actually replacing the old one was a pain in the ass (the battery is secured in there pretty tightly and I distinctly remember nearly cutting my fingers trying to get it out). In this case, I would agree that having a new battery does up the value of the cartridge, if only by a little bit.
Not as much as letting the battery leak all over the pcb would.
The Battery Guy is Frank?? ;) JK
I dont see a problem of replacing batteries on games.