Nevertheless, its gaming experience remains memorable—loading the game disc on the tray, anticipating the iconic PlayStation sound, and waiting for the main game menu to load are the stuff of our childhood. If you look around your room (or attic), you might find your old PlayStation console.
This begs the question: should you sell your old games console or keep it forever?
Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Sell That Old Console
There are many good reasons to buy an old games console. But what about selling yours? Here are some pretty good reasons to sell your old games console.
1. Raise Money for an Upgrade
Let’s face it: there are several reasons why your old games console is probably a hard sell. For example, getting a customer is not easy, and they will lowball you on the price when you do.
However, if you have an old console lying around, why keep it? Many online marketplaces will gladly take it off your hands and pass it to a collector. You might as well take whatever cash you can get on the open market and add the dollars to your new game budget.
2. You Don’t Play Anymore
Perhaps you have outgrown the console and probably upgraded to a newer PC or a newer console. Or maybe you have stopped playing games altogether but are still hanging on to your childhood console for nostalgia.
However, its glory days are long gone, and it’s just taking up space on your shelf. It’s time to let go.
3. You Already Play Mostly on Your PC
Many gamers have evolved to prefer the PC to consoles. That’s because you can get a PC for every price point, while consoles typically only offer one or two variants. You can customize your PC’s graphics card, processor, and storage for better visuals and performance.
But with an Xbox or PlayStation, you are stuck with the specifications that came with it, even if you don’t like them.
4. It Takes Up Too Much Space
If you have children, they are probably not too keen on playing games that you used to play 20 or 30 years ago. If that old PS1 console this writer had in college were still around, it would probably be gathering dust after many years of disuse. So why not sell it and clear the clutter around the house? Probably a good idea.
5. Sell It Before It Breaks and Becomes Worthless
If you sell your old console while it is still in working condition, you might find a collector willing to pay you something to take it off your hands.
However, if it breaks, then there’s probably no way it can be fixed due to its advanced age. The longer you hold on to it, the higher the chances it will break and become worthless. Get rid of it now while you still can, and earn some bucks from it.
6. Backwards Compatibility
Many emulators will still give you access to the old games without the hardware. For example, you can emulate old Pokemon games on your Android phone. Also, new hardware supports old games. For example, the Xbox One can be traded for the Xbox Series X because Microsoft now supports backward compatibility.
Thus, you don’t need to hold on to obsolete devices to enjoy the games you grew up with.
7. Selling Helps Reduce Electronic Waste
Electronic waste is a major problem today. Rather than dumping your old console in the trash and adding to the problem, why not sell it to a collector willing to hold on to it for many more years and keep the environment just a bit cleaner?
Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Keep That Old Console
It makes sense to hold onto a newer console like a PS4, but what if you have a much older console? Are there any reasons to keep it?
Yes. Here’s why.
1. Seller’s Remorse
If you grew up with your console, it probably feels like a family member. Would you discard a family member because they are old and irrelevant now? Not at all, right?
Perhaps your console is ancient and has been overtaken by better technology, but it still works fine. If you sell it, you might never forgive yourself for selling some of your happiest memories for cash. That old console might be irreplaceable and entertain you and your grandkids for decades to come.
2. Cheaper Than Modern DLC Games
The problem with modern games is that they are not only too expensive, but they come with “downloadable content,” or DLC, which means they have features that are downloaded separately from the main game.
This is a nuisance because you can’t play the games offline—not to mention the constant demands on your pocket to upgrade or make in-game purchases. Old console games have no such problems: plug in the game cartridge or disc, and you’re off to the races; anytime, anywhere.
3. You Won’t Get a Good Price
Unless it’s an exclusive and unused console, the market for old consoles is not as great as you might expect. It’s essentially a buyer’s market, and buyers will lowball you. It might feel like you are just giving the game away, so why bother?
Keep the console and bring it out during the family game night. It might be the only time you stand a chance against younger gamers.
4. It’s Dangerous
Your console may have sensitive data. This is why it is crucial to know how to reset your old console before selling it, taking care to back up and wipe all its data before selling it. If you can’t pull this off, get expert help.
Otherwise, a cybercriminal could buy your device and use it to infiltrate your accounts, spend your money, and access your information. For this reason, maybe it’s not such a great idea to sell it.
Cybercriminals can use legal and legitimate methods to recover data from hard drives. The risk of selling your console to a cyber criminal with these tools may be too great.
5. Give It as a Gift Instead
As we have seen above, your old console may not attract a good price in the resale market. Thus, rather than sell it at a throwaway price, why not find someone who appreciates retro games and give it to them as a gift instead? Just make sure you remove any sensitive personal data first.
Keep Your Old Console
To sell or not to sell? That is the question. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but this is our recommendation.
If the console is dead, you obviously have no choice but to dispose of it safely as electronic waste (or you could sell it for parts to other users and repair shops). However, if it still works, then keep it. Don’t sell.
Why? Well, unless your device is a rare collector’s item, especially one that has never been used, it won’t be worth selling it for the money; resale prices are so bad for old consoles that it will be an absolute waste of time.
On the other hand, keeping the old console means you will keep a good chunk of your memories around and have the chance to relive those memories with old friends or even introduce them to the next generation.
And that’s not bad at all.
