N64/Ocarina of Time
Image: Zion Grassi / Time Extension

ABC's 'Impact X Nightline' is a new Hulu streaming show where anchors leave the comfort of their desks and studios behind every week, in order to speak to the people at the center of some of the most discussed topics.

In the past, the show has covered topics like the public fall of the rapper previously known as Kanye West and the aftermath of the Columbine school shooting, but in its most recent episode, it turned its attention to a much less controversial topic: the booming business of retro video games.

The episode saw an ABC film crew and reporter Ashan Singh interview Nick Pittelli, the CEO of the retro gaming store "The Game Island", as well as the retro collector Brandi Ahmer about why retro video games are becoming such big business, with resale values skyrocketing particularly for the rarest collectibles.

Pittelli told Impact that nostalgia had a part to play, and also added:

“After Covid, it exploded. You saw a huge, huge, huge spike in the market. The value of stuff went up like 40-50% upwards to 2-300% on certain items.”

Meanwhile, Ahmer told ABC's film crew about her reasons for collecting, stating:

"There's something about these older systems. But it's like there are memories of a simpler time, you know, your childhood."

In the episode, Ahmer showed Singh her basement, which is filled with classic video games, consoles, and other amazing collectibles. She showed off her Foxdata Rain Red controller, which she claims is worth $8000 but that she only paid $12.50 for at a video game store, and her Foxdata Chrome N64, which she claims has received bids of up to $20,000. Fox Data was a UK company that was behind a set of extremely limited unofficial custom skins for N64 hardware in the late 90s.

If you want to watch the episode for yourself, you can find it on Hulu's streaming service, which also offers a free trial. Ahmer is also a YouTuber, so if you want to find out more about her collection her channel is well worth exploring for yourself.

Have you watched the episode yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

[source abcnews.go.com]