Why don't makers of "rare" games just republish them?

[Javery]

It is next to impossibe to find a copy of Gitaroo Man. If it is so cheap to actually manufacture a game it seems like a no-brainer to re-release it with a $20 price tag and make some money - the game is already finished so it wouldn't cost much at all... I'm sure there are tons of other games people wish they could find too...

[eldad9]

Hardcore gamers and casual gamers don't make the same purchasing choices, and there are many many more of the second category.

Basically, the game didn't see well enough the first time.

[opportunity777]

One main reason is they don't have the right people in place to investigate such matters. Other things that might be going on that makes them not reprint games could be in their internal financials, and you can't really know those reasons unless you worked there.

[big_squirtle]

Unfortunately, some games dont really take off, until after they are discontinued. Gitaroo Man is an excellent example. The game really didn't do so great, but after it stoped being published the price dropped. It was then that the game really took off by word of mouth. My guess is either they arent paying attention to sales of games that they already discontinued, or they pay more in Sony Rights and pressing cost to re-release a game in limited supply (even if the game is great). Just a thought.

On a side note, I just picked up a sealed brand new Gitaroo man on Saturday........for $20 :lol:
My only regret is not having bought this game sooner.

[eldad9]

I got one (the last one, natch) at CC for $5, so there.

[LinkinPrime]

Dragon Ball Final Bout for PS was re-released at a cheap price

Hopfully this means others might follow.

[secretvampire]

It may not be a very good business decision. I look at the recent re-release of Dragonball GT Final Bout. The only reason that game was selling for so much on Ebay was its extreme rarity...not many were pressed and sold the first time around. One reason? It sucks. It sucks BAAAAAAD. It is a horrible game. But they probably saw the Ebay prices and thought there was enormous demand for the actual game. I'd be very surprised if anybody is buying this re-release.

There are other instances (like Suikoden II) where it definitely would make sense...but I'm betting we'll se a re-release of that sometime in the future, perhaps on a compilation or as a bonus disc on a future Suikoden game.

[big_squirtle]

I got one (the last one, natch) at CC for $5, so there.

Bastard....er I mean....um good find.... 8-[

LOL

[Arakias]

Rez was supposed to be re-released this month, any details emerge on that?

[friedram]

Uhm... well if you could get 50,000 people to agree to pay full price for the game, I'm sure they would release it- I.E. $50+ for the game.

[ViolentLee]

Hindsight is always 20/20 -- meaning it's easy to say more copies should've been manufactured when a game does well. However, it's probably not as good of an idea as you'd think for a company to make a bunch more of the same game months after its initial release.

Most rare games are published by smaller companies, who make smaller manufacturing runs to save costs. Keep in mind that it's when games get clearanced at bargain-bin prices (and show up on CAG) that companies basically eat the money. The small print runs are to prevent this.

When a game releases, you get the fans and die-hards who buy it right away. Sure, word of mouth may get around, but those same people -- who you could count on buying it initially -- aren't around to pick it up the second time. Thus, it's more of a wild-card as to who will buy it, and ends up being a bigger risk -- even if the game had more demand than supply at first.

[Kaijufan]

Im sure that it costs a lot of money to do another printing of a game, and some companies just dont think its worth it.

[hiccupleftovers]

Great question OP. I was thinking this myself a few days ago. But to another question, what happened to the planned re-release of Rez? I haven't seen it anywhere yet or is that because it hasn't come out yet?

[Nirvanaguy777]

The only reason I can see is that there sadistic bastards that enjoy tormenting us, DAMMIT I STILL DIDNT FIND A COPY OF GITAROO MAN!!!!!!!!!

[Kaijufan]

I was really happy that Skies of Arcadia got an extra printing. I already own a copy, but I suppose that could mean that Sega is working on a sequel, and they want more gamers to get a copy of the orginal.
My fingers are crossed.