For 23 years, I've been attending Otakon, a convention celebrating Asian pop culture (with a heavy focus on Japanese media) that started in a hotel in Pennsylvania. By the time I started to attend the convention had moved into Downtown Baltimore, where it became a permanent fixture in my life. While my interest in anime has ebbed and flowed, my interest in collectibles has only gotten stronger. The con itself has also grown exponentially -- so much so that Otakon left Baltimore a handful of years ago, and moves to the Walter E. Washington DC Convention Center.
This year, Otakon saw a total of 42,000 people attend. As I've grown up with the con, I've seen firsthand just how much this show has grown. From the dealers' and artists' alley sharing a hall to the dealers' room itself taking up one of the largest convention halls on the East Coast, it's been a ride.
If you're a fan of anime or Asian pop culture, Otakon is a great convention. If you're a collector of vintage video games and anime, you may find some gems within the dealers' hall and video game room.
The Dealers' Hall
Otakon 2023 had hundreds of vendors selling modern anime goods, energy drinks, car culture merchandise, and vintage video games and anime. Many of the dealers spoke of how Otakon is always a big selling show for them -- with many making thousands of dollars within the first few hours of the hall being open. If vintage anime is your thing, there were a handful of dealers selling such items.
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Laser Discs have started to see an increase in popularity with collectors. While the market is still in its infancy, it is very possible that we will see an LD renaissance in the next few years. There is an LD grading scale which includes checking for Laser Rot (an incredible term if I'm being honest), and IGS does grade LDs! This particular booth -- name unknown as finding booth names can be very tricky -- had fair prices in vintage import LD and VHS.
The Sera Myu video in the above gallery used to be a $75 import, but thanks to YouTube and general interest declining, this video was priced at $23 -- a very fair price.
Prices on various LDs were appropriate. Prices did not reach above $35 for a single disc, though complete sets were overpriced by anywhere between $50 - $100. My boyfriend had asked if they had any wiggle room on a complete set of Neon Genesis Evangelion LDs (priced at over $200) as similar sets, with shipping, were going for under $200. Unfortunately, this specific dealer wasn't interested in haggling, which is an unfortunate downside to many anime dealers.
There were plenty of vintage and imported video games as well. Cartridges Galore had an impressive setup with thousands of vintage games and consoles.
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One item that caught my eye was an open Panasonic 3DO FZ-10 REAL console. $300 seemed a little high for an out-of-box console. A handful have sold recently on eBay between $164 and $259, and there are plenty more listed for under $200. Other dealers in the hall had very competitive prices on import games, so if you are looking for a certain import game, Otakon might be the place to be.
The Video Game Hall
Another room that continues to grow every year is the video game hall. This massive room features thousands of import and domestic consoles, vintage arcade cabinets, VR games, card games, board games, and even cosplay meetups. This was a popular area of the con as it was close to the main entrance, and next to a food court.
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The most unique cab on the floor was the Nintendo Red Tent vs. Balloon Fight machine. This was my first time seeing one in real life as they are hard to come by. Nintendo had two styles for the VS cab -- an upright cab and the one seen above that had a screen on either side. The two Neo Geo cabs were also a unique find, alongside the handful of other vintage cabs.
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The long card dealer had plenty of ungraded Pokemon, Magic, and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, as well as a handful of graded cards. The Beckett Pristine 10 One Piece card the dealer had just bought that weekend for $500.
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The community at Otakon is the best part. People from all walks of life and from all over the world come to the convention to express their love of anime, video games, and more. If you're a collector or a fan, Otakon should be on your to-do list for next year!
Are you an anime fan? Let us know below!
