Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Zelda: Black Country trader talks vintage gaming

If you didn't have a Sega Mega Drive or a Nintendo it was game over for your popularity.

But while children and teenagers counted down the days to get their hands on the next must-have console, parents were left with nightmares counting the cost with the price of the latest machines usually equal to a cheap family holiday abroad.

This year virtual reality headsets are all the rage and while many gleefully shell out hundreds of pounds for the latest bit of kit, more people than ever are choosing to go back in time to the land where graphics were blockier than house bricks and load took longer than a wait in A&E.

There are still hours of nostalgic fun to be had by 'going retro' – but don't expect to pick up all your old favourites for nothing.

Super Nintendos will still set you back £35 while you might be able to pick up a Game Boy – remember Tetris! – for £30. A more recent N64 from 1997 could still be anything up to £100. Indeed for Black Country trader Nick Browne, selling gaming's golden age has become his living.

The 33-year-old former npower worker has seen demand at his Vintage Gamer shop in Halesowen soar since opening in 2013.

"As a business I thought it was a niche but now everyone seems to have followed me into it," said Nick. "I started out in another unit about five doors down but after a year I had to move into this bigger shop. The last few years have been really, really busy. I get all sorts of people in here now from kids as young as six to adults as old as 60."

While computer gaming is not even half way old enough to have antiques, in terms of value the same principles still apply when it comes to things which have gone out mainstream fashion.

If it is old and hard to get hold of, chances are it's worth money.

For instance a near 20-year-old Marvel Vs. Capcom fighting game on the original Playstation has a £60 price tag slapped on it at Nick's shop on Windmill Hill – the same as a brand new release today.

While NFL Quarterback Club for the Sega Game Gear console still comes in at a hefty £90.

"That is one of the rarest games to get hold of," said Nick.

"It all depends on how rare something is and how many were made."

As for what makes a really valuable vintage title Nick's most prized possession is a special edition of Donald Duck inspired-game Duck Tales produced to mark the re-release of the 1989 classic. Of course Nick has managed to get his hands on a copy – for an eye-watering £1,500 no less.

Anyone about to splash £440 for a nice new Playstation 4 VR headset might want to think about the value some of these older consoles can gain down the line. Anyone looking for an investment may be wise to pick up a Sega Mega Drive currently shifting for a fraction of their 1990 launch price of £190. "I think people with a Mega Drive could expect to double or triple their money in the next few years," said Nick who insists on keeping his own prices lower than than the typical going rate on eBay.

But value aside, for any ex-gamers who now fall into the aged 25 and over category walking into Nick's shop will prompt a priceless trip into their childhood if nothing else.

Keen gamer Marc Jones, 38, of Stourbridge, is among fans of the classic consoles and has an old NES console. He said: "Old consoles remind me of my youth growing up playing with friends, my favourite has got to be Mario."

The words Commodore 64, SNES, Master System or Dreamcast may not mean much to a teenager today but to a previous generation they were gateways to another dimension.

Now games are typically downloaded from the internet but Vintage Gamer's floor to ceiling shelves packed with discs and cartridges hark back to a time when buying a game was an event – one which strangely prompted random school friends to suddenly appear at your house like your dad was David Beckham.

"Games were just so simple, but so addictive," Nick said. "I'm not against new games, the new Resident Evil 7 is amazing. But before, you could just turn them on and off you went.

"Now you have to wait hours while they download or you are waiting for an update to be installed or something.

"For me you can't beat things like Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Mario Kart. They were all great series."