If you’ve walked into a store that sells used video games, you’ve no doubt stumbled upon a pile of old sports games collecting dust. Even if they are priced low, like a dollar, people have no need for an outdated copy of Madden 21 or MLB The Show 22 it seems. And one person at a recent flea market discovered that you can’t even give these games away for free.
In a recent post on Bluesky, Video Game History Foundation board member Steve Lin shared some images from his trip to the Electronics Flea Market—a long-running electronics-focused swap meet in Northern California—and some of the things he encountered. As expected, Lin saw old consoles, TVs, ancient electronics, and other cool stuff that made me jealous as I live in Kansas, nowhere near this event. Anyway, in one photo Lin showed a large plastic bin containing numerous (possibly 35 or more) sealed copies of NBA 2K19 for Xbox One. A sign in the bin says “Free – Take em all”
Apparently, someone at the market was trying to give away copies of the basketball game to anyone there. It wasn’t going well.
“Also one guy who was having trouble giving away sealed copies of 2K19 for the Xbox One,” said Lin.
In a follow-up post, Lin told me that the man trying to get rid of all these copies of NBA 2K19 on Xbox was willing to give someone every single copy, but there was a catch.
“He was trying to get some of us to take them all but we’d have to leave the bin because he wanted to keep it,” said Lin.
While I understand not wanting to lose a good bin for storage—as a new homeowner I’ve become obsessed with storing stuff in boxes and bins—I wonder if this guy screwed himself out of getting rid of all these games. Perhaps someone there would have gladly taken all these copies of NBA 2K19, but just wasn’t interested in the bin. What a shame.
And if you were wondering, yes Lin did take a copy of NBA 2K19. Hey, every video game is worth saving and preserving as part of the history of the industry. Perhaps Lin added this Xbox copy of NBA 2K19 to the VGHF’s archive. (Though VGHF is more focused on context over games, so maybe not.)
As for the guy trying to give away all those copies of NBA 2K19, well buddy, there’s always the next Electronics Flea Market. Next time, keep them in a brown bag you don’t mind giving away.
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