1up's article on game "rarity"

[Reality's Fringe]

http://1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3151658

Pretty interesting(good to waste a few minutes), and mentions a few current games such as Phoenix Wright and MGS3:LE, as well as company policy from Gamequest Direct and Atlus.

A few excerpts:

"Yet despite its common availability and the existence of cheaper or even free alternatives, the original Super Nintendo version of Chrono Trigger still retains its value. In this case, the value isn't driven by any sort of rarity; rather, it's consumer demand that dictates the game's going rate. Though the game may be relatively common, demand for the cartridge version of Chrono Trigger will always exceed the number of copies available for purchase at any given moment in time. That's what keeps the game's value at a steadily high price."

"Meston elaborates that Atlus' practice of limiting initial production works to the advantage of retailers, who are ensured that they will have games that are in high demand. Consumers benefit from this as well, since a game that remains in demand is guaranteed to not lose its value. The tactic also serves to protect publishers, since a low first print run will, according to Meston, "minimize our financial risk if a game fails to catch fire at retail.""

[Roufuss]

Chrono Trigger has no console based alternative that is a perfect port, which is why the SNES one still fetches so much.

Once Square releases a perfect port, its value will drop.

See FF 2, FF 3, Mega Man NES... all these games values have dropped.

[Chacrana]

Thanks for the link. For some reason, I absolutely love reading about rare games/reprints.

[RegalSin2020]

Frst off fuck off to 1up. These bastards are talking jibber jabber about games
" consumer popularity" psssss give me a break. I have games in a pile somewhere that are considered to be rare but I could careless about the series or games themselvs.

Chrono Trigger has no console based alternative that is a perfect port, which is why the SNES one still fetches so much.

Once Square releases a perfect port, its value will drop.

Well the SNES Chrono Trigger Was a high priced game around $90 bucks but when ported to the PSX it dropped to $20. I am so lucky to buy the game at a low price ( I think ) and had no scars on it ( I think ).

[graf1k]

Nice article. I had never heard of GameQuest Direct. Pretty smart idea they came up with. Anyone know if they are the www.ganequestdirect.com (http://www.ganequestdirect.com) GameQuest Direct? That Yahoo shop thing made me a little unsure and they seem to have in stock a lot of games I can't find on Amazon.com or EB/Gamestop's site. Maybe not super rare stuff, but semi-hard to find stuff anyway.

EDIT: Ha, even they are out of Digital Devil Saga Deluxe Ed. Guess I didn't get ripped too bad on that one I got for $60 shipped.

[Chacrana]

Nice article. I had never heard of GameQuest Direct. Pretty smart idea they came up with. Anyone know if they are the www.ganequestdirect.com (http://www.ganequestdirect.com) GameQuest Direct? That Yahoo shop thing made me a little unsure and they seem to have in stock a lot of games I can't find on Amazon.com or EB/Gamestop's site. Maybe not super rare stuff, but semi-hard to find stuff anyway.

EDIT: Ha, even they are out of Digital Devil Saga Deluxe Ed. Guess I didn't get ripped too bad on that one I got for $60 shipped.

Yeah, it's gamequestdirect.com. They're just hosted on Yahoo Stores.

And DDS Deluxe is a pain to get anywhere... GQD hasn't bailed anybody out yet as far as that goes.... I'm still ecstatic that I managed to get it for $20 new at Gamecrazy in February.

[graf1k]

Wow, that's amazing you got it that cheap. The clerk must have been a 'tard or your best friend or something.

After your enthusiastic recommendation I decided DDS was worth it and checked around locally and was stunned when I found it at a Gamestop new but when I got there the girl said she couldn't find the box. But the way she kept going on about the game, I think she was probably a big fan and was shocked they had one and kept the box and extras for herself. Anyway, I found one for $60 complete and sealed so I bought it and once it gets here I'll take the other one back. She supposedly is tracking down a sealed copy of Nocturne for me as well.

[Vinny]

I unknowingly sold/traded a few valuable games in the past. But now I check eBay before trading/selling anything. Hey, who doesn't want the most out of their crap.:D

[Over easy]

Nice article. I'm suprised to see MGS3:S LE to go this high. I was following it for awhile during first couple of weeks, but if it goes any higher I might just sell my copy as well.

[Apossum]

so the whole anecdote about people getting pissed at GQD is pretty much the whole thing that went down here, right? they should've given cag a mention.

[DigitalSpace]

Good read for the most part.

However, the author failed to mention the other reason that the Gamecube version of NCAA 2K3 became rare: Shortly after the game was released, Sega decided to stop publishing Gamecube versions of their sports titles, and had the game pulled.

[radjago]

Our frothing demand for rare games increases.

[paddlefoot]

I don't know if Chrono Trigger was ever rare, per say. But, I had a heck of a time finding it at Funco Land 10 years ago for 50 bucks used. I tried like 5 stores before I found one, and that copy was a little rough cosmetically. Basically it was in an SNES when the system overheated, and there is a very small burn mark a half inch by a 1/8th of an inch on it. I still bought it anyway, to tell you the truth I didn't notice until I was almost out the door (you can only see it from the bottom), so I tested it at the store and it worked perfectly. Thank Goodness!! It is a purchase I have never regretted, being able to travel back and forth on the epoch manipulating time was something I marveled at back then. I now have 2 copies of this game for the SNES :D Eventually when I get around to a trade list I hope to find a good home for one of them.

[epobirs]

Chrono Trigger has no console based alternative that is a perfect port, which is why the SNES one still fetches so much.

Once Square releases a perfect port, its value will drop.

See FF 2, FF 3, Mega Man NES... all these games values have dropped.

What was wrong with the PS1 version of Chrono Trigger in FF Chronicles? I never spent any time wirth it since I had no desire to play it again but it seemed fine when I saw it running. The only complaint I can find note of is load times for battles.

I suspect a bigger problem is the title 'Final Fantasy Chronicles' caused more casual shoppers to overlook what was actually in the package.

[Chacrana]

What was wrong with the PS1 version of Chrono Trigger in FF Chronicles? I never spent any time wirth it since I had no desire to play it again but it seemed fine when I saw it running. The only complaint I can find note of is load times for battles.

I suspect a bigger problem is the title 'Final Fantasy Chronicles' caused more casual shoppers to overlook what was actually in the package.


The load times were pretty atrocious... not just for the battles though -- every time you went to a screen to enter a name for example, the game would take 10 seconds to load the name entry screen and then 10 more seconds to get back to the game. And it took forever to go to the menu. I really hope Square releases a version down the road without the load times but with the cut scenes from the PS version.

[epobirs]

The load times were pretty atrocious... not just for the battles though -- every time you went to a screen to enter a name for example, the game would take 10 seconds to load the name entry screen and then 10 more seconds to get back to the game. And it took forever to go to the menu. I really hope Square releases a version down the road without the load times but with the cut scenes from the PS version.

A PSP port would do the trick just by virtue of all the additional RAM available. A PSP FF collection w/Chrono Trigger and the three SNES FFs would make a good value if it had the PS1 additions with better load performance.

[Chacrana]

A PSP port would do the trick just by virtue of all the additional RAM available. A PSP FF collection w/Chrono Trigger and the three SNES FFs would make a good value if it had the PS1 additions with better load performance.

While we're getting off topic, I think the best thing Square could do would be to create a PSP compilation with Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Seiken Densetsu 3.