Tier 1- It’s Mario. It’s Zelda. It’s Pokémon. Great future upside and limited downside but more expensive now to participate in. Collect any game you have nostalgia for but if you’re worried about it retaining or growing in value, then you have to consider the longevity and relevance of the IP. For example, consistent investment in the Mario IP by Nintendo, whether through games or theme parks or movies, help make it the blue chip franchise of graded game collecting.
Zelda is not far behind in popularity and IP investment by Nintendo, with the movie coming out as well as consistent banger Switch games.
Pokémon is a behemoth when it comes to cards but for games, it’s oddly lacking behind especially when compared to the price of some Pokémon cards. Remember, Pokémon came out as Gameboy games FIRST before cards or anime.
Tier 2 IPs are other Nintendo 1st party mascots like Metroid, Donkey Kong, and Microsoft giant Halo. They still have consistent game releases through the years but typically lag behind the tier 1 IPs in terms of value, and aren’t nearly as heavily invested by their developers as compared to the tier 1s.
However rare variant and high grades are fought for when they come up for auction. For example, Metroid Hangtab 9.6 A+ sold for 125k in 2024.
Tier 3 IPs are IPs where they had important games during NES’s or the consoles heyday but have fallen off the cliff when it comes to IP and game development. Examples such as Castlevania, Mega Man, even Kid Icarus have occasional new games but come out for the DS handhelds only and the quality of the games aren’t up to par with the first 2 tiers. There’s always a possibility they become tier 2 or even 1 IPs again but it will take a drastic change in company philosophy to refocus and reinvest in those IPs.
Tier 4 IPs are niche IPs that have a cult like following but will never be mainstream and do not have games that were released during the golden era of cartridges (NES SNES N64). Games like Nier or Phoenix Wright were amazing games and have strong fan bases but as for investing, will likely not grow in popularity and limits your potential buyer base when you go to sell your game.
Lastly Tier 5 IPs are just completely dead franchises from long ago. Buy only because of your nostalgia, not because of investing.
Final rule of thumb, simple rule in how to tell if your game is a top tier IP. If you go to a non game collector and told you invested in a game, how many words do you need to answer the question WHY?
