What happened to "Rare" games

[Rodimus]

Were are the next generation "rare" games. What are the games coming out now, that we'll look back on five years from now and say, "(Insert Game Here) was so rare, I wish I picked up a brand new one when it first came out five years ago."

I'm really not seeing anything that will qualify for "Rare" Is there anything?

[Wlogan31]

Disgaea was getting close, but with the re-release I'm not so sure...

Can't really think of any other GOOD games that will be RARE.

[meteors]

Rez?

[Alpha2]

rare games are only rare when they arnt being made any more yet have critical acclaim.... like Rez and Ico.

[Rodimus]

Suikoden 3 was getting close to.

[Nirvanaguy777]

I wouldnt call ICO rare, I see copies of it everywhere.

[Rodimus]

I wouldnt call ICO rare, I see copies of it everywhere.

Yeah, I thought the same thing. I always hear people say it's rare, but I always see copies lying around, plus I could pick one up for like $15 on ebay. Maybe it'll take a couple more years.

[abrannan]

Ico was reprinted. No rarity there. Gitaroo Man and Rez are two rare games I can think of off the top of my head.

[PittsburghAfterDark]

Suikoden III was rare, going for $60-70 then it was re-released. Air Force Delta Storm for the Xbox was going for $150 but was also re-released.

Rez is semi-rare. It's only going for $60-70 new still on eBay and many people on this board can still walk into Circuit Cities or TRU's near them and find one.

Gitaroo Man is rare but there is no true value to it. I could also say in the same type of "rare" game (Hard to find, not valuable.) you could include Ring of Red, Klonoa 2, Mister Mosquito and a few others.

Skies of Arcadia for the GCN was expensive, the resale value on it was $44.99 then since Feb/March there's a flood of them and every game store in sight is selling them for $19.99. You want rare, collect PSone games. Nothing I've really seen this generation is tremendously collectable.

[Cornfedwb]

The games aren't rare because they're re-pressing any game that garners alot of critical acclaim or a large cult following and didn't have 15 million copies pressed at the beginning.

Quite frankly, I'm glad they're going about things this way. Rather than having to pay huge money for Disgaea in a year, I could pick up a new re-pressed copy for normal MSRP. It makes more sense for the company and more sense for the gamer.

[Rodimus]

What about Sky Gunner? You think that might be worth something in the future?

[PittsburghAfterDark]

I agree Cornfedwb. There's no reason for anything on CD/DVD to have a huge collectable value when they're so inexpensive to reprint in small batches >10,000. When I look at the value of a complete "Rhapsody" for the PSone there is NO reason that game should be selling for $80-100.

I'm becoming a huge propoent of gaming companies having their entire catalog from the 2600-today downloadable next generation. I would gladly buy a 160 GB HD for a PS3/Xbox 2 and fill it to the brim with downloaded catalog games and pay for them all.

EDIT: I think Sky Odyssee has a better chance of being collectable than Sky Gunner. The current wisdom on recent releases is that Culdcept has the best chances of hitting the collectable market.

[Cornfedwb]

For a game to truly become valuable as a collector's item (ala Panzer Dragoon Saga, Suikoden II, Metal Slug 3, etc).. it needs to be hard to find, have had a relatively small quantity made and be a really good game.

If they had only made 10,000 copies of Drake and the Nine Dragons I still dont think you'd be able to get more than $10 out of a sealed copy 8 years from now.

I don't think Sky Gunner has the quality to become very valuable.

[Rodimus]

I'm torn. I like being able to find great games for cheap, but as a collector I like rare titles.

[Rodimus]

I don't think Sky Gunner has the quality to become very valuable.

Really, I think Sky Gunner's a great game. And I'm not a big fan of flight sims, but I do like shooters.

[Pancake Rabbit]

I think rarity is...well rare these days because thanks to the internet almost all games that come out get at least some amount of exposure through reviews. Still some games are sleeper hits that are good but no one buys.

[KingDox]

Third strike for the DC just blew up in price not too long ago. All of a sudden it just started costing 60 bucks on ebay. Air force delta for the xbox was rare untill they pressed more copies.

[abrannan]

Gitaroo Man is rare but there is no true value to it. I could also say in the same type of "rare" game (Hard to find, not valuable.) you could include Ring of Red, Klonoa 2, Mister Mosquito and a few others.



I disagree. The question at hand is what will be rare in five year's time. Ring of Red, Klonoa, and MM are not games that I've seen listed in anybody's collection as mention worthy. By contrast, I've seen a number of people, usually rhythm genre fans, list Gitaroo Man as one of their really good games. All it will take is for there to be somebody hired at IGN or Gamespot that will make mention of the game several times in their articles and there will be a bunch of curious gamers paying through the nose to try the game out. ICO and Suikoden have been getting this treatment since day one, hence the reprints. Rez has also been getting this treatment, but as it was already a reprint of a Dreamcast game, I doubt it will get a reprint. Ikaruga was getting this treatment before the GC re-release

The tricky thing about collecting is it's purely a speculation market. It's like trying to predict stocks. You'll never be 100% right but there are some clues that will lead you there. I think Gitaroo Man has the right combination of traits to make it potentially valuable.

1. Fairly small initial print run
2. Young gaming genre (rhythm games)
3. Small/niche gaming genre
4. Unlikely to see a sequel in the short term
5. Well reviewed (82.5% at gamerankings)
6. Unlikely to see a reprint (due to item #3)
7. Gameplay stands the test of time

Let's dissect why I don't think the other three titles you mentioned won't make the cut.

Klonoa 2 - Yes, it was a small print run, and it was even better reviewed than GitMan (83.7%), but it's from an overcrowded genre (platformer) and it hasn't stood the test of time, gameplay-wise. Plus, it's an unpopular sequel to an unpopular game.

Ring of Red - Has it's niche genre (strategy game) with suitably rabid fans, but was relatively poorly reviewed (77% at gamerankings) Probably won't see a reprint or a sequel. Really the only thing going wrong here is word of mouth/reviews.

Mister Mosquito - Has a sequel in the works, though it may not see the US. There is no convenient genre to put it in, which works against it. Very poorly reviewed (66%). It was a gimmicky game to begin with, so I'm guessing the gameplay won't stand the test of time.


But we'll have to wait 5 years to find out if I'm right.

[Indiana]

The costs of development have increased by so much that I would not expect any decent game to be rare. In order to recoup the large development costs 100,000 copies or more have to be pressed just to break even.

[Rodimus]

Gitaroo Man is rare but there is no true value to it. I could also say in the same type of "rare" game (Hard to find, not valuable.) you could include Ring of Red, Klonoa 2, Mister Mosquito and a few others.



I disagree. The question at hand is what will be rare in five year's time. Ring of Red, Klonoa, and MM are not games that I've seen listed in anybody's collection as mention worthy. By contrast, I've seen a number of people, usually rhythm genre fans, list Gitaroo Man as one of their really good games. All it will take is for there to be somebody hired at IGN or Gamespot that will make mention of the game several times in their articles and there will be a bunch of curious gamers paying through the nose to try the game out. ICO and Suikoden have been getting this treatment since day one, hence the reprints. Rez has also been getting this treatment, but as it was already a reprint of a Dreamcast game, I doubt it will get a reprint. Ikaruga was getting this treatment before the GC re-release

The tricky thing about collecting is it's purely a speculation market. It's like trying to predict stocks. You'll never be 100% right but there are some clues that will lead you there. I think Gitaroo Man has the right combination of traits to make it potentially valuable.

1. Fairly small initial print run
2. Young gaming genre (rhythm games)
3. Small/niche gaming genre
4. Unlikely to see a sequel in the short term
5. Well reviewed (82.5% at gamerankings)
6. Unlikely to see a reprint (due to item #3)
7. Gameplay stands the test of time

Let's dissect why I don't think the other three titles you mentioned won't make the cut.

Klonoa 2 - Yes, it was a small print run, and it was even better reviewed than GitMan (83.7%), but it's from an overcrowded genre (platformer) and it hasn't stood the test of time, gameplay-wise. Plus, it's an unpopular sequel to an unpopular game.

Ring of Red - Has it's niche genre (strategy game) with suitably rabid fans, but was relatively poorly reviewed (77% at gamerankings) Probably won't see a reprint or a sequel. Really the only thing going wrong here is word of mouth/reviews.

Mister Mosquito - Has a sequel in the works, though it may not see the US. There is no convenient genre to put it in, which works against it. Very poorly reviewed (66%). It was a gimmicky game to begin with, so I'm guessing the gameplay won't stand the test of time.


But we'll have to wait 5 years to find out if I'm right.

Thanks for the break down. What about Sky Gunner. Do ya think that will be?

[DenisDFat]

Cubivore

[Wshakspear]

Klonoa 2 - Yes, it was a small print run, and it was even better reviewed than GitMan (83.7%), but it's from an overcrowded genre (platformer) and it hasn't stood the test of time, gameplay-wise. Plus, it's an unpopular sequel to an unpopular game.

...and the fact its not popular now adds to the idea it'll be worth something later. Im almost finished with this game and its actually part of the very small 2d/3d platformer. its not mario 64 3d, but it aint quite super mario world 2d, its more like NiGHTS 2d/3d.

[Zenithian Legend]

I thought this topic was going to about the company "Rare" that I believe got bought by Microsoft. So, my question is what happened to Rare, they haven't come out with anything since the buyout.

[ortazel]

Panzer Dragoon Orta is a safe bet for "quasi-rare" in a few years, IMHO

[Machine]

Klonoa 2 HAS stood the test of time. It has great gameplay, level design and controls. I easily see it going up in value just like the first Klonoa. Gitaroo Man is a strong candidate too. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned RAD in this thread. I see that one mentioned frequently as a title with potential collectability. Sky Gunner is a good game but I doubt it will appreciate in value.

[RisingZan]

Panzer Dragoon Orta is a safe bet for "quasi-rare" in a few years, IMHO

If that's the case I should stock up now. The Fry's near me has at least 20 copies of this game for $14.99.

[YoshiFan1]

If imports count than Beatmania IIDX 7th Style for PS2.

Konami only sold it through their online store and they only had 2 production runs of it.

It only came out about a month or so ago and already on Ebay, it's selling for $90+ (highest has been $120 so far).

[CaseyRyback]

I think it is amazing that the rarest game of this generation is a sports game

NCAA College Basketball 2K3 for the GCN

[PsyClerk]

I can't speak for their games being rare, but damned if I'm not buying everything Atlus puts out for the current generation of consoles. Same goes for Working Designs anime-themed games.

[kraid]

Phantasy Star Online 1&2 for the GC is pretty rare.

[yellowaznboy]

Phantasy Star Online 1&2 for the GC is pretty rare.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8102064 171&rd=1 :shock:

[YoshiFan1]

I can't belive PSO for Gamecube shot up in value like that. I wish I would have held on to the copy I sold in January for around $38 (only paid $7.48 for it so I still did ok)

[ryosnk]

what about battle engine aquilla for xbox, deathrow for xbox, I think bomberman generation (first released gamecube version), and Zelda collection pack. 8)

[Alpha2]

Games have to be desired to be rare, so if no one is looking for it, it's just a poor selling game dispite a low print run.

I love Sky Gunner, I think it's a great game, but because no one's activly looking for it the rarity of it isnt an issue.

Supply and demand, just like comic books. You can make a million of them because you think people want them but if there's still half million in circulation waiting to be sold then there's no value.

As an example: If say tomarrow we hear that the artist that did all the character designs for Sky Gunner had died and left a message in the art and everyone went lookinf for the game but no one could find it in a sotre anywhere the demand goes up and people could sell them for twice the brand new price because people would pay to get this rare game.

[Rodimus]

I can't speak for their games being rare, but damned if I'm not buying everything Atlus puts out for the current generation of consoles. Same goes for Working Designs anime-themed games.

Yep, when in doubt go for Atlus and Working Designs games.

[Strider Turbulence]

I don't know why, but I see Mobile Light Force 2 commanding a fairly high value in a few years.

[Mustang O-Line 75]

The localization on that was so baaaaad

http://www.insertcredit.com/reviews/mlf/index.html

don't get me wrong, I own em both, but for goodness sakes!

[Strider Turbulence]

Yeah, I agree XS games reallyed fucked up with the localization. It's like something straight out of the NES era in terms of how much stuff they changed (like Bionic Commando).

I'd gladly pay $20 if XS worked their magic on a port of a game like ESP Ra De, Batsugun or Radiant Silvergun.

[Mustang O-Line 75]

or goddamn vib ribbon. THat game looks so weirdly funny

[tolhurst]

Bust A Move 3000 for Gamecube.
but of course, there is a version for every other system........

any games that are expensive because of self feeding demand (people seek them out because they're rare more then the game itself)?

I love the game, but Intellegent Qube is one I believe.

[Soujirou]

Steel Battalion is still rare even with the reprints made. The rerelease of the game is apparent in the controller itself -- the original had green buttons while the newer release has blue buttons. The original release will obviously be more collectible/valuable to a true collector and even with the rerelease of the game/controller, there's still not that many in production. It's a truly unique game and gaming experience to say the least. If you have it, take care of it because condition is paramount to collectors such as myself.

I'd love to go into depth about a collector's mentality, but I really don't have the time so I'll just mention a few things. Popular items can easily turn out to be fickle in time and even rare items that were 10 years old and yielded high realizations on the market then can just as easily lose its interest down the road. Quality, scarcity and popularity are all key points in collecting, but you don't necessarily need all for an item to be rare and worth a lot.

Anime cels are an example as I've been collecting them for well over 10 years now. 6 years ago when I was watching Rurouni Kenshin, cels of his chara were very expensive. And yet, he's the main chara in a series that ran over 70 episodes. Not a rare chara in the least as cels of him were prevalent. It was considered by many to be a quality anime and the main chara, Kenshin, was very popular. Cels of him are not rare and yet it's still considered rare considering the market value they yeild. It's rare to own one simply because they tend to be expensive, especially key shots. In the end, however, a item must stand the test of time to see how rare and desireable it truly is.

Here's an example of a few of my many collectibles which are rare for different reasons... (pristine and complete condition for these items) Act Raiser (SNES), Panzer Dragoon Saga (SS), Dragon Force (SS) four copies to collect all four of the available disk cover art, Lufia (SNES), Star Fox Orchestrated OST, Radiant Silvergun (DC), Battletoads (SNES), Demon's Crest (SNES), Earthbound (SNES), Suikoden II (PSX), Rhapsody (PSX), Final Fantasy VI large cardboard store promo, Platinum LE PS2, LoZ WW promo scroll for Nintendo reps, Ogre Battle (SNES), etc.. All are rare, but for different reasons. Some will be more valuable in time while others may decrease in value. Time dictates this in the end, but an item's scarcity (supply), popularity (demand) and quality (true "classic" status) are the main factors.

-Soujirou

[Rodimus]

I want to know why games are "Rare." I didn't ask for a definition of what makes a game rare. I'm asking opinons of what are the games everyone thinks might be rare in the future.

It looks like Phantasy Star Version 1&2 for GC might be one of them.