Future rare/collectable game lookout thread

o1s1n

As we have a few systems reaching the end of their life cycles, it'd be nice to get heads up on games which are experiencing low print runs and sales.

I know current gen games aren't retro, however I'm looking at them from a 'future retro' perspective. If only we'd have had the foresight to know about things like Panzer Dragoon Saga and Snatcher.

So, anyone have any titles that would be worth picking up for their future collectability? (Obviously it would be fantastic if they were great games too!)

I know the DS and Wii are probably really rich with such games. Was considering picking up Radiant Historia. I wonder are games on the 360 and PS3 just too mass produced to ever be worth anything? Then again, looking at some of the ebay buy it now prices for Tales of Vesperia say otherwise..!

Retr0gamer

The DS Dragon Quest remake games seem to be holding their prices. The biggie is DQV. PAL version is rare and the US one got a rerelease since the print run was ridiculously low.

One game that is impossible to find is the English language version of Inazuma Eleven. It got an extremely limited print run. Missed out on it on bay last week, went for 30 euro's. Forgot to email the seller to ask for shipping to ireland, oh well. The portugeuse version might be in english but I emphasise might.

The Etrian Odyssey game are starting to pick up a massive following and their low print runs mean silly prices especially the with the nice packaging and soundtracks.

Parawind

I have been thinking about this myself recently and i'm tempted to pick up one of these. Seems like a very good deal and it looks like the kind of thing that could be worth a pretty penny in a few years time. Now i have no idea if the game is any good but there are not many of the full sets on ebay even now.

ghostchant

Retr0gamer wrote: »

One game that is impossible to find is the English language version of Inazuma Eleven. It got an extremely limited print run. Missed out on it on bay last week, went for 30 euro's. Forgot to email the seller to ask for shipping to ireland, oh well. The portugeuse version might be in english but I emphasise might.

To my knowledge the English version was never officially released. It exists, and some copies were sent out 'in error'. I ordered one and got a French language one, was listed as English by mistake by the site. As far as I know Nintendo are holding it back until the anime comes out over here, so it might end up on shelves yet.

The US version of Electroplankton is hard to find, was only available off one site and the Nintendo store in NY, but the price is apparently dropping: http://videogames.pricecharting.com/game/nintendo-ds/electroplankton

johnny_ultimate

Anything released by Rising Star Games! A few are already rather rare indeed.

Been meaning to pick up Radiant Historia, parents are heading over to the States in September so might send them on an Atlus run **** knows what they'll come back with though!!!

I'd say the real future collectibles for this gen will be special / collectors editions. Even some of them come in large print runs, but I can see something like the Bioshock 2 edition with the records and posters being worth a bit in a decade hence. Shame so many companies rip the piss with what stands for special editions (free downloadable weapons!). Also - first edition Cave games!

CiDeRmAn

Can I vote for Fantavision on the PS2?
Flipnic as well, two games with great style, nothing has really tried to do similar gameplay-wise since their release and they are good fun.
I can be relied also to mention Coldwinter, a great FPS, imho, and one that'll stand the test of time, also the closest anyone has gotten to capturing the magic of Goldeneye.
I shan't mention Firewarrior as it upsets Retr0.

EDF on the 360 and GDF on the PS2 are both great, not sure how hard to find but certainly the latter hadn't got a massive PAL print run.
Rule of Rose, which has been mentioned in these parts before, is pretty disturbing and the PAL edition is, in this part of Europe anyways, hard to find.

The PS3 seems a disaster for limited run titles, everything is so mass produced, even the early stuff, Lair, Folklore is all over the place and, sadly, also rather crap.

7sr2z3fely84g5

i think alot of stuff is getting the "limited edition" release to try boost up sales,be it online or high street store.

Mario anniversary seems to go very cheap to very expensive- http://shop.ebay.ie/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=mario+anniversary

Atavan-Halen

I think the DS and PSP will be the ones to look out for. The 360, Wii and PS3 games all have bigger print runs amd more interest, especially when comparing them to the PSP. The DS just has lots of quirky little games that are great but get little to no attention.

Retr0gamer

The prices Rule of Rose goes for are as disturbing as the game

As for Inazuma Eleven, they better hurry up with the PAL release! I heard that the release in scandanavian countries was in English as well but again, it could be rumours.

Also a big word of warning, there are tonnes of DS pirates going around, mostly for big games like Pokemon but I've also seen loads of DQV ones as well when it was impossible to find. Avoid auctions that say the game won't work on DSi hardware and also check that the online functions work and if the game will work in a DSi if you aren't sure. If you confront these chancers about getting a pirated game they will give you a full refund back rather than get in trouble by ebay or paypal. Sera got caught with a fake Pokemon Black a few days ago.

Mario Anniversary might end up expensive but the PAL version really isn't worth playing.

Retr0gamer

Tactics Ogre on the PSP seems to have had a low print run and to top it off is one of the best games ever made. I think Jeanne D'Arc will get a cult following as well, if it doesn't then it deserves one for being a great game.

ghostchant

Retr0gamer wrote: »

As for Inazuma Eleven, they better hurry up with the PAL release! I heard that the release in scandanavian countries was in English as well but again, it could be rumours.

Wasn't aware of that! Will have to keep an eye out...gf's parents are on holidays in Scandanavia...hmmm

CiDeRmAn

Mario Anniversary is such a waste of time, I couldn't wait for it, put down a preorder deposit on it, then found out it was little more than Super Mario Allstars and so I backed away slowly, mourning an opportunity lost.
I reckon the Wiiware market has killed any chance of the N64 and GC Mario titles being included, what a pity.

Jack burton

Id say a the end of the lifecycle of a console is the time to pick them up

Like gamestop selling ps1 titles for a pound each back when they were clearing stock, if i only i knew then what i know now

Atavan-Halen

Jack burton wrote: »

Id say a the end of the lifecycle of a console is the time to pick them up

Like gamestop selling ps1 titles for a pound each back when they were clearing stock, if i only i knew then what i know now

That can be a bit hit an miss though. Usually all the good stuff is long gone by then.

Jack burton

Oh yeah but still though, you can find a few gems.

o1s1n

PS1 lifecycle end was probably the best for gems here. We were PS1 whores in this country, so Gamestop had crap loads and were practically giving them away.

I remember going into Gamestop Bray once and must have bought about 20-30 games from a ps1 bargain bin. The guy behind the counter thought I was insane.

Jack burton

I'd love to see what lying around in the Gamestop warehouse. I'd say theres definitly a few crates of some ps1 stuff tucked away in a corner

Atavan-Halen

Where is this godly warehouse?

Ciderman I'm looking at you.

Retr0gamer

I missed out since by that time I'd pretty much bought all I had wanted. It was the US and japanese games I missed out on Wish I had got Dragon Quest VII and Persona 2 when I had the chance.

Mr. K

atavan-halen wrote: »

Where is this godly warehouse?

Ciderman I'm looking at you.

I too would like to know. A games warehouse would be a mindblowing place to visit!

I was in a secondhand shop in Cork today, after noticing they had old consoles, games and peripherals in the window. I was informed that the SNES was €80! That console will be in that window forever...

johnny_ultimate

Waiting for the end of cycle is a bad idea in many respects. Of course, it allows for finding the odd gem for peanuts (hell, peanuts would be more expensive). But an awful lot of the time the stuff that's left is left for a reason!

CeX is a terrifying example of this. When it opened in town there were loads of rarities and gems in the PS2 section. But soon the Gradius Vs and their ilk were bought up and the result is a store filled with shelves upon shelves of the grimmest shovelware imaginable.

And having a look through the left over used PS2 games in Gamestop Liffey St., I came across maybe four curios - that weird cheap shmup you see everywhere, Futurama, a platinum copy of the Warriors and a relatively rare JRPG (not meant to be great, forget the name). The rest? Crap.

So yeah, when there's a low print run game released I'd recommend picking it up if you really want it. Waiting can and often does payoff - my copy of Sin & Punishment 2 for a tenner lies testament to this - but if you want a game you regularly won't just stumble upon it. The best finds are mostly unexpected and random.

So buy the games you really want for as cheap as you get them, but trawl the bargain bins as you'll never know what's hiding behind those seven hundred copies of LMA Manager.

o1s1n

Heh, ah Gunbird Special Edition. Forever fooling shmup fans into thinking they've found gold.

Retr0gamer

Mr. K wrote: »

I too would like to know. A games warehouse would be a mindblowing place to visit!

I've been there. It's basically like the warehouse from the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Legend has that buried deep within there is a crate emblazoned with what looks like the swastika and third reich eagle but it's obscured by mysterious scorch marks. It is said that this crate contains the unsold copies of rise of the robots.

johnny_ultimate

Yeah, there's Gunbird and this fella too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyvariar#Psyvariar_-Complete_Edition-

I for some reason doubt either are going to be the Radiant Silvergun of our generation.

Retr0gamer

Psyvariar isn't bad at all. Got a budget feel to it but the buzzing mechanic is interesting. The sequel on the dreamcast is much better though.

pdbhp

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Yeah, there's Gunbird and this fella too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyvariar#Psyvariar_-Complete_Edition-

I for some reason doubt either are going to be the Radiant Silvergun of our generation.

Picked that up for a fiver in GS a few weeks ago, haven't played it yet and may never play it.
Supposedly there's a version of Psyvarriar thats worth quite a few quid, obviously the version I picked up was in fact worth a fiver!:pac:

Jack burton

is the normal edition of Halo 2 worth more than the special edition? Did i hear that here before?

zero19

Metal gear solid 3 subsistence seems to be selling for good money right now, don't think i could ever sell my one though.

Atavan-Halen

Metroid Prime trilogy might be one of the more saught after games in the future.

Mr.Saturn

Alien Hominid (PAL) on PS2 is quite rare. Odd, it's still available as a flash game, but American collectors go a bit ga-ga for the European disc release, as it's turned into something of an obscurity.

Also, the obvs, any cardboard Team ICO release. They can be plonked in the oddest places and ridiculously underpriced, still retain a high value and gain
even more if they've got their art cards still intact.

Anything Pokemon. The cheapest I've seen the original GB games at
was about 5 euro, and the bounced back up quite quickly after that.
Especially now, where there's such a prevalence of fakes, where now
folk are now willing to pay over the going rate for a legit copy.

Jack burton

zero19 wrote: »

Metal gear solid 3 subsistence seems to be selling for good money right now, don't think i could ever sell my one though.

You could sell it to me

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Alien Hominid (PAL) on PS2 is quite rare. Odd, it's still available as a flash game, but American collectors go a bit ga-ga for the European disc release, as it's turned into something of an obscurity.

Also, the obvs, any cardboard Team ICO release. They can be plonked in the oddest places and ridiculously underpriced, still retain a high value and gain
even more if they've got their art cards still intact.

The Wily Wars, perfect example of americans going gaga

Happy I have both ICO and SOTC cardboard mint. Have the ICO rerelease aswell, anyone here need a copy of that?

Retr0gamer

The GC version of Alien Hominid seems to be rare as well since it never got a release in Europe. Pity the game is a bit crap.

Atavan-Halen

I also have SOTC and Ico card box editions. Ico's missing the art cards though

I'm banking on Pokémon box being one of the rarer Pokémon titles. In the US it was only sold in Nintendo store New York and in GC bundles and over here it was only bundled with Pokémon edition Gamecubes. Never sold on it's own. Not sure about the Jap release.

valleyoftheunos

Even now, the Retail stores are devoid of most worthwhile Wii and DS games. Whilst I doubt that much from this generation will be "Valuable" there will be plenty of desirable games that are scarce. Just at the moment under appreciated stuff with more limited runs like Zach and Wiki, No More Heroes 2, Henry Hatsworth and a few others are popping up at knock down prices, I try to grab em whenever I see them.

the first party stuff Like SMG1/2, DKC and pokemon is never going to drop dramatically in price so best to grab it now while its readily available.

o1s1n

I was reading somewhere recently how Nintendo are seriously controlling the print runs for first party titles - so they never end up in bargain bins or cheap second hand. It really shows. Was in Gamestop yesterday, (on my neverending search for a cheap NSMB Wii) and it's 44.99 preowned.

James Howlett

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Alien Hominid (PAL) on PS2 is quite rare. Odd, it's still available as a flash game, but American collectors go a bit ga-ga for the European disc release, as it's turned into something of an obscurity.

Sweet, I didn't know that.

Retr0gamer

o1s1n wrote: »

I was reading somewhere recently how Nintendo are seriously controlling the print runs for first party titles - so they never end up in bargain bins or cheap second hand. It really shows. Was in Gamestop yesterday, (on my neverending search for a cheap NSMB Wii) and it's 44.99 preowned.

Yes they are and if their games don't sell over a million they recall them and destroy them or reprogram the cartridges. It's really annoying because I really want Donkey Kong and Kirbys Epic Yarn but for the same price as one of them I can get 3 other games I want.

I think the operation rainfall games might be a good investment. Those are the 3 games nintendo europe are publishing and don't look likely to make it to the US, namely Xenoblade, Last Story and Pandora's Tower.

johnny_ultimate

Just looking up Alien Hominid there (thinking it may have been my retirement fund) but all the copies on Ebay - on all consoles - are all only lingering around the tenner mark, alas. GBA version, however, seems fairly valuable.

MGS3 Subsistence, though, is definitely worth a bit of change

James Howlett

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

MGS3 Subsistence, though, is definitely worth a bit of change

Sweet, didn't know that either.
I'm enjoying this thread so far

CiDeRmAn

Not to burst any bubbles but the Gamestop warehouse is all quite, well, corporate.
Shelves and shelves of current gen games, anything that doesn't sell is either dumped into a few shops in bargain bins or 3 for 2 deals or otherwise ends up in a skip.
My find of a crate of Xbox games was great but no similar Psone box was there, same with GC games, very poor selection.
And by now is say the games to be found are Psp, but it'll be another while before they are swept up and dumped.

Mr.Saturn

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Just looking up Alien Hominid there (thinking it may have been my retirement fund) but all the copies on Ebay - on all consoles - are all only lingering around the tenner mark, alas. GBA version, however, seems fairly valuable.

Well, it's a future collectable. Anyways, it's only really worth anything, if it's a PAL copy in the States, as I wrote above, every other version of it is as common as muck, and there's little demand for it here regardless. Anyways, here's the going rate for it Stateside, previewable here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALIEN-HOMINID-XBOX-GAME-PAL-UK-MICROSOFT-SEALED-RARE-/170663688162?pt=UK_PC_Video_Games_Video_Games_JS&hash=item27bc5937e2

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALIEN-HOMINID-XBOX-GAME-AU-PAL-MICROSOFT-SEALED-/170664115556?pt=AU_PC_Video_Games_Games&hash=item27bc5fbd64

The second's AU PAL, but still.

I'll echo the sentiment of Rising Star games. Muramasa: The Demon Blade on the Wii being a prime example. Been trying to track
another copy for myself, it's hard. I've seen two copies in the wild.

Retr0gamer

Plenty of PS2 games. Suikoden 3, Grandia Xtreme and 3, the first Katamari, anything by Atlus... drawing a blank but loads to look out for.

As for GC look out for Chibi Robo, Baiten Kaitos Origins and anything else really since it's simple to play import games with a freeloader disc. Can't think of any other exclusives other than BK Origins, Chibi Robo is easier to find than the PAL version.

martineatworld

Following on from Retr0

Cubivore on GC is relatively rare if you can find one, no PAL release so that's a bonus. PSO Episode 1+2 Plus, it was a non PAL update, goes for big moolah. Can't remember what the update was, sumt about the online experience anyway!

On PS2, Xenosaga Episode 3, SMT: Devil Summoner 2 (Atlus but especially due to non PAL!), Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and the .hack GU series. Basically if it's a half decent RPG!

dmcdante

tales of vesperia for the 360 is hard to find these days and also worth quite a bit

johnny_ultimate

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Well, it's a future collectable. Anyways, it's only really worth anything, if it's a PAL copy in the States, as I wrote above, every other version of it is as common as muck, and there's little demand for it here regardless. Anyways, here's the going rate for it Stateside, previewable here:

Those are for sealed copies though, and they're always going to go for a premium I'm sure the game will be worth money in the future though - especially when Microsoft have to shut down the XBLA servers because they were becoming suspiciously sentient

valleyoftheunos

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'll echo the sentiment of Rising Star games. Muramasa: The Demon Blade on the Wii being a prime example. Been trying to track
another copy for myself, it's hard. I've seen two copies in the wild.

Saw a copy of that this afternoon, was raging as had no cash so no I won't be telling you where I saw it:p

K.O.Kiki

I'm tempted to just buy Muramasa now.

But then I remember I'm still looking for a job

dmcdante wrote:

tales of vesperia for the 360 is hard to find these days and also worth quite a bit

God, I hate you Namco-Bandai.
First you tell me all about the AWESOME, REDONE, FINAL EDITION of Tales of Vesperia on PS3.

Then you say it's never, ever coming out in English.

HATE. YOU.

Azure_sky

Hhhmm....Okami, Suikoden IV and V, Killer 7 and Virtua fighter 4:evolution seem like future rare games on the PS2.
On the 360 you'd mainly be looking at JRPGs like Lost Odyssey, Star Ocean etc.

K.O.Kiki

Azure_sky wrote: »

Hhhmm....Okami, Suikoden IV and V, Killer 7 and Virtua fighter 4:evolution seem like future rare games on the PS2.
On the 360 you'd mainly be looking at JRPGs like Lost Odyssey, Star Ocean etc.

Oooh, I have those PS2 games (except for Suikoden IV).

What makes them so rare-ish?

Sparks43

Last Window: The Secret of Cape West

Think this will hold its value in future years imo

Like Hotel Dusk:Room 215 both are not really games,More like interactive novels


I enjoyed both of them though

Atavan-Halen

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Oooh, I have those PS2 games (except for Suikoden IV).

What makes them so rare-ish?

Great games, cult followings and low enough print runs.