Recent Flurry of Quality Reprints

T

thedream77

CAGiversary!
Ok, I'm new to the collectable aspect of video games. I'm sure most of the folks in this forum are aware of the Fatal Frame 2&3, Nocturne, and Digital Devil Saga 1 reprints that are now available. Is there any point in keeping a reprint sealed? Is the collectable market smart enough to assign one value to an original print and some lower value to a reprint? Or, is there no real way to distinguish the difference? I just see some ridiculous prices for the games I mention above on Ebay or Amazon, and I'm guessing the sellers are just hoping that some buyers are unaware of the reprint. I just don't see how a used, abused original print of Nocturne costs over $100 on Amazon, when I can get a perfect reprint for under $50 from Gamestop or Play-Asia.

I'm guessing the video game collectable market is rife for abuse, but any thoughts on whether a perfect reprint is worth the same as an original copy would be appreciated.........
 
[quote name='thedream77']Ok, I'm new to the collectable aspect of video games. I'm sure most of the folks in this forum are aware of the Fatal Frame 2&3, Nocturne, and Digital Devil Saga 1 reprints that are now available. Is there any point in keeping a reprint sealed? Is the collectable market smart enough to assign one value to an original print and some lower value to a reprint? Or, is there no real way to distinguish the difference? I just see some ridiculous prices for the games I mention above on Ebay or Amazon, and I'm guessing the sellers are just hoping that some buyers are unaware of the reprint. I just don't see how a used, abused original print of Nocturne costs over $100 on Amazon, when I can get a perfect reprint for under $50 from Gamestop or Play-Asia.

I'm guessing the video game collectable market is rife for abuse, but any thoughts on whether a perfect reprint is worth the same as an original copy would be appreciated.........[/QUOTE]

not sure on those games but Disgaea ...first print had a sticker over the top of the game case. rest of the reprints do not..... about why one cost more then another.. fools who have too much money on their hands

hell someone paid me 45 bucks for the orcs stlyus what was free with the game (game only cost 20)
 
just because someone is selling something for $100 on amazon doesnt mean people are buying it.

also first print Nocturne has the soundtrack, while DDS has the big box.
 
The reprints for those games are easy to tell apart from the originals.. the originals had the white security strip on top though I'm not sure about Fatal Frame 3.

When it comes to reprints which you can't tell apart from the original, they usually don't carry any value. But even if there is a difference, a game can be reprinted enough times so that it doesn't carry much value at all (Disgaea).
 
I also think it depends on the game. Rhapsody's value got killed during the reprint, but Disgaea is slowly gaining momentum from its many reprints and re-releases. Digital Devil Saga and Nocturne should maintain their value after a little dip as long as this is the only reprint.
 
[quote name='62t']just because someone is selling something for $100 on amazon doesnt mean people are buying it.

also first print Nocturne has the soundtrack, while DDS has the big box.[/QUOTE]

I'll tell you 99 out of 100 times I list something on amazon as long as it is the lowest price it usually sells quickly even if it is an overpriced item. A lot of people don't go past amazon when shopping online and think that's the best they will find.
 
I really wish there had been some forewarning that there was going to be reprints for these games. My girlfriend and I spent a lot of money this winter trying to get complete and mint copies of DDS1 and Nocturne. We've basically been buying "pieces" of each game, putting it together as we go along. We're still missing the soundtrack to Nocturne and the DDS1 disc is in pretty rough shape, at least we may be able to replace that because of the reprint.

Ah well, I guess we had fun with the hunt itself.
 
[quote name='thetoxicone']I'll tell you 99 out of 100 times I list something on amazon as long as it is the lowest price it usually sells quickly even if it is an overpriced item. A lot of people don't go past amazon when shopping online and think that's the best they will find.[/quote]

QFT! :D

It happens with my sales all the time.
 
Did Metal Slug Anthology for PSP get a reprint cause it used to be rare and go for like $40 on ebay, now you can buy new copies at amazon and I bought a used one at Gamestop and it looked like it hadn't been touched, although it looked like someone opened it with a knife.
 
[quote name='davyd']I really wish there had been some forewarning that there was going to be reprints for these games. I spent a lot of money this winter trying to get complete and mint copies of DDS and Nocturne.

Ah well, I guess we had fun with the hunt itself.[/quote]

Same here, I hunted down these games in early March, even taking short road trips as necessary, but what can ya do?
 
The free market can be funny.

Generally, some collectors care about getting "first runs" or "originals" to varying degrees, just as some care about whether a game is sealed, just like some care about whether there is a manual and cover art. If some people care enough, they can drive up the price for everybody.

That isn't the only driver, though. The rarity of a game and the desirability of the game matter, too. So a reprint can lower the value of a first-run game if it was just rare (Disgaea), and lower it a LOT if it was rare and not especially desirable (Fatal Frame 3). But if it's really beloved, a re-release might not change the value of a first edition much if crazy collectors want the "original."

Of course, Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" depends on perfect information and availability. That's why you can pay $2 for a soda pop in a hotel vending machine but $1 in the convenience store a block away. Also, there's some factor I haven't quite put my finger on yet, but I'm tentatively calling it "People On eBay Are Batshit Crazy." I suspect that some people might make listings at unrealistically high prices, either to (1) drive up the pervcieved value and make a later lower listing look like a "bargain," or (2) to take advantage of stupid people with too much money.


My advice to anybody thinking about buying video games to "collect" and are worried about the value: you're much better off putting that money into other investments. For every Valkyrie Profile, there's a dozen games that only hold their value, and an enormous number that devalue faster than a used carton of milk.

If you are going to ignore that advice, then take care of your games (which, duh, you might want to do anyway) and don't unseal them until you plan to play them (because that does tend to decrease their value).
 
atlus broke their own rule to never reprint another game again (from the Ps1 days). they claimed that it made alot of people angry. nocturne had been on the ups and downs but most recently been on the ups since people are selling them for $100+. thats twice of what the retail value of when it came out. business wise, i think i would have done the same as atlus to reprint the games that has a value of $100 or more. i mean look at play-asia, they sold them for $44 and they sold alot. its a hot game, i'd sure to take advantage of the sale. their business decision this time is on the money. its only fare for them to make some more money (since they are a small company) off of their older franchises. they never printed them in large amounts anyways. were lucky it was a physical reprint, not a digital one.

and oh yeah, i agree with beeporama, if youre not going to play it, keep it sealed. if youre not ready to play it, still keep it sealed. if you find a used copy, buy that copy and keep your copy sealed. this is optional by the way, its upto you on what you want to do with it.
 
[quote name='phear3d']

and oh yeah, i agree with beeporama, if youre not going to play it, keep it sealed. if youre not ready to play it, still keep it sealed. if you find a used copy, buy that copy and keep your copy sealed. this is optional by the way, its upto you on what you want to do with it.[/QUOTE]

That's why I bought copies of both Nocturne and DDS... I've got first prints of both sealed and didn't want to bother opening them. I was going to unload both this summer and just keep the used copies but... so much for that.:lol:

Atlus games have always seemed like sound invests to me but it seems like that's not true anymore since they changed their minds about not reprinting games anymore.
 
i find it batshit insane that a company would willingly withhold supply in order to keep the prices in the secondary markets stable. How much money do you think Atlus made off of those $100 auctions on ebay? Not a dime.

what i don't understand is where the collectors and resellers get off trying to be angry at Atlus because they chose to take their money back by creating factory-sealed copies of a game that's obviously in high demand. Speculators should not be "warned" of a possible reprint. Speculation is dangerous. It's always a gamble to take some etherial number and assign it to something you hold on to as "value". Gambling is what they were doing -- and who is to blame if they lost?
 
[quote name='davyd']I really wish there had been some forewarning that there was going to be reprints for these games. My girlfriend and I spent a lot of money this winter trying to get complete and mint copies of DDS1 and Nocturne. We've basically been buying "pieces" of each game, putting it together as we go along. We're still missing the soundtrack to Nocturne and the DDS1 disc is in pretty rough shape, at least we may be able to replace that because of the reprint.

Ah well, I guess we had fun with the hunt itself.[/QUOTE]

wow.. i paid 20 bucks used at media play for DDS 1 before they went out of business it was complete with everything, and I got nocturne used at a GS complete with everything for 35..

the only game i'm "hunting" is Suikoden 2.. that game is elusive.. i've seen every other major "rare" game (including the Pazer Dragoons) this one has eluded me for a long time.. it will be mine someday.
 
totally agree aside from the small company part. Atlus USA published more games than any other US RPG pubisher, and published more games than Atlus Japan (a pretty big company)


Also intersting to see if Atlus will reprint Grownlanser HoW in the future, as Atlus clearly said there will only be one print of the game when they release it. Now the game did pretty bad sales wise so it probably wont happen anyway
 
[quote name='62t']totally agree aside from the small company part. Atlus USA published more games than any other US RPG pubisher, and published more games than Atlus Japan (a pretty big company)


Also intersting to see if Atlus will reprint Grownlanser HoW in the future, as Atlus clearly said there will only be one print of the game when they release it. Now the game did pretty bad sales wise so it probably wont happen anyway[/QUOTE]

Atlus did publish a lot of games in the past year it seems, way more than average.

I doubt we'll see them reprint anything unless they know there's a lot of demand for it. I'm guessing the only game that could see a potential reprint is DDS2 which might see a spike in demand due to the DDS1 reprint.
 
Do you think Persona 3 fes is worth an investment?
I have a bunch of play n trade credit sitting there, and opened my copy to play already.
 
[quote name='62t']Also intersting to see if Atlus will reprint Grownlanser HoW in the future, as Atlus clearly said there will only be one print of the game when they release it. Now the game did pretty bad sales wise so it probably wont happen anyway[/QUOTE]

Neither Growlanser set sold that well... and HoW is cheaper than Generations when it came out, IIRC (also, HoW doesn't include a watch :) ). Generations also has the nostalgia value of being one the last Working Designs releases.

DDS 1 and Nocturne are both high quality games that are worth buying to play, rather than as an investment. I think that's primarily what drove their value. Other high-worth RPGs (eg, Panzer Dragoon Saga) are similar.

I'm also interested in NIS games, like, say, Ar Tonelico. That game is not nearly as good (IMNSHO) as a DDS, but might retain more value for its rarity and relatively unique (outside JP) gameplay.
 
[quote name='darkslime']Do you think Persona 3 fes is worth an investment?
I have a bunch of play n trade credit sitting there, and opened my copy to play already.[/quote]


It will most likely get a reprint at some point if it becomes too rare.
Your best bet would be to get a sealed original Persona 3 with the artbook and soundtrack.
 
[quote name='RSGames']It will most likely get a reprint at some point if it becomes too rare.
Your best bet would be to get a sealed original Persona 3 with the artbook and soundtrack.[/quote] Well, the PNT doesn't have a sealed one of those, so I'll probably just pick up a second fes because it'll at least retain its value for a long time.
 
[quote name='darkslime']Well, the PNT doesn't have a sealed one of those, so I'll probably just pick up a second fes because it'll at least retain its value for a long time.[/quote]

Just get a Gamestop display copy, they're still "brand new". ;)
 
[quote name='Rozz']Just get a Gamestop display copy, they're still "brand new". ;)[/quote] That's what i did when there was no madden 08 left.
Who cares anyways. I'll just sell it back to them for $3.50 when madden 09 comes out.
 
[quote name='darkslime']Do you think Persona 3 fes is worth an investment?
I have a bunch of play n trade credit sitting there, and opened my copy to play already.[/quote]

As I said above, video games are an awful investment. "Gamble" is a better word. If you want to make an investment, buy stock, put the money into a high-yield bank account, or buy something with a better chance of appreciating quickly.

If you look at even the really desirable classic games, they ceiling around twice their MSRP, usually many years after their release. With the power of compounding, if you're willing to wait a decade for return on investment, just put money into an IRA or something. (If you don't have a retirement account... well, you should before buying games as an "investment.")

Anybody old enough and dorky enough to be familiar with the comic book market flop will back up what I'm saying. (Not that the anaology is perfect... video games are even less likely than a comic book to reain value over time.)
 
[quote name='darkslime']That's what i did when there was no madden 08 left.
Who cares anyways. I'll just sell it back to them for $3.50 when madden 09 comes out.[/quote]

? I dunno what you're referring to...
 
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