Late Generation PS2 games that may become rare

evyrew

evyrew

CAGiversary!
I ran across a pretty interesting article that some of you might find interesting. The website documents the historical precedent for late generation games that become rare and expensive.
http://blog.videogamepricecharts.com/2008/03/make-money-buying-ps2-games.html


The later in a console's life cycle a game is released, the more likely it is to become rare and very expensive. Of the 60 most expensive NES, SNES, and N64 games, 32 of them were released in the last two years of the console, 53%. This is even more amazing when you consider there are not many games published in the last two years of a console. The NES, SNES, and N64 had a total of 1,947 games. 20% of them, 388 games, came out in the last two years. So the last two years of a console represent 20% of the total games, but 53% of the most expensive games.
Click to expand...
A few of the games mentioned are:
Arcana Heart
Baroque
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES
Samurai Shodown Anthology

I prefer to see gaming as a hobby, not an investment. But it would be nice to have a game or two that retains its resale value long after being released :cool:
 
lol three of the four mentioned arent even out yet.

What they are saying is true, the last of any 'collectible' type product released tend to be rarer in the long run. It works with action figures, and other collectibles as well.

The idea is that near the end of a consoles lifespan most gamers have moved on. Many ps2's have been traded in, or sit collecting dust while their owners concentrate on newer systems. Not many want to spend money on a 'new' last gen game, when that money could go towards the newest zomg! shooter game on the 360 or PS3.

These late in life games also arent released in great numbers. Many Gamestops wont recieve any copies unless they are preordered. You kinda have to be a fan of the PS2 and keep up with new releases that often recieve no advertising or fanfare.

Ive been actively preordering and picking up lots of PS2 games in the last year and I will continue to do so. I've bought more ps2 games than 360 and Wii combined since I've had those systems.
 
Well P3 Fes is a gimmie seeing the first run of P3 was so hard to find and so well praised in the U.S

Arcana Heart - 2D fighter with girls well maybe

Baroque- Hard to say seeing it will have a love/hate reaction to gameplay


A game to add will be Mana Khemia and Chaos Wars
 
I recently tracked down the SMT games for PS2 (except for P3 since I have FES pre-ordered). It's nice that they'll hold their value so for once it will be a situation where I won't have lost money for playing a game and holding on to it. I do feel a little 'guilty' about holding on to a game that someone else could be playing, but then again there's no way I'll pay the going rate in the future if I decide I wanna play through em again.

Either way, good fucking luck figuring out which games will be worth investing in. Next to cars, videogames are probably the worst investment you could make.
 
Odin Sphere too.

Unfortunately, new services such as PSP rereleases, GQD, and XBox Live are going to be your worst enemy here. Just look at what happened to the price of Rez.
 
People keep saying Odin Sphere but it has been easily available for almost 10 months now.

Also the article uses nintendo system, and it is probably true for gamecube (most of the late gamecube games are probably going to be rare) Many NES to N64 era games are hard to find due to them being released so long ago. Keep in mind that games today would get a much bigger print as well.

the article also mention that Mana Khemia has the same developer as Disgaea, which is incorrect as Mana Khemia is developed by Gust while Disgaea is developed by NIS and published by Atlus. They also failed to mentioned that Disagea got a reprint.

They also made another mistake about Chaos War being Idea Factory only game in the US when NISA already released 3 IF games on PSP.

Really those games mentioned could be rare, but also could be the next Digital Devil Saga 2 and worth less than what you pay for on day 1.
 
the problem with Baroque is that the dungeon crawler genre doesnt have a strong support in the US. If there is little or no demand then it doesnt matter if the game get a small print.
 
Samurai Shodown Anthology Hold up, this one isn't even out. You practically gave me a shock when you said this one. I've been waiting for this one for what seems an eternity. I can't wait to pick it up. My first PS2 release in a long time.
 
[quote name='Scorch']I have P3 sealed, I wonder if it'll hold any sort of value when FES is released[/quote]

I'd hold on to it. Doesn't it come with an artbook and soundtrack? Those are the extras that people pay for down the road. FES will be an expanded version of the game, but people like having the first print.
 
[quote name='62t']People keep saying Odin Sphere but it has been easily available for almost 10 months now.[/quote]

FFVII black label was mass produced and it's value is off the charts. Who is to tell?

I'll admit nothing is bulletproof - heck someday they're going to release a Shin Megami "3- for-$30" Anthology just to piss off the collectors :lol:

I always think gametz's most wanted is a good gauge of rarity - the people who trade tend to know quality and value

Here are the rare ones they identified as "most wanted":
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Odin Sphere
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Shadow of the Colossus
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

You can still get SOTC fairly cheap, I traded mine away but if I was smart I'd pick up another copy.
 
Yea, the games listed haven't been released yet. It's impossible to know what will happen. Some could be worth some money, or others might drop in value like a rock. Anyone can easily pre-order those games from Amazon or Gamestop. Online services and reprints can have a pretty severe impact on the value of rare games.
 
it also depends where demand outstrips supply. Sure Odin Sphere is available, but ten years from now it might be looked back fondly and the price may go up. It's unpredictable. 4 years ago I sold my super nintendo super mario RPG for 60 bucks complete and that was when it was rare and hard to find. Now it's going for 150 bucks. Same with final fantasy VII. it had a greatest hits and still fetches for 100 bucks on ebay. Nostalgia makes the heart grow fonder. Rez is ~30 bucks now. It's a volatile market. 2 years ago people would have said you were crazy if they told you starbucks stock price would be half.
 
[quote name='sparklecopy']Rez is ~30 bucks now. It's a volatile market. 2 years ago people would have said you were crazy if they told you starbucks stock price would be half.[/quote]

I like everything you said - you're right on the money. The only caveat with Rez is that it used to be worth more before the GQD reprints and 360 Live HD rerelease.
 
I think quirky, quality RPGs like Odin Sphere will do well in value because there are three factors that set these games apart:
Story
Graphics Style / Presentation
Classic gameplay

People will want to go back and play these games because they look and feel different from 99% of anything else past present or future, and they remember the stories. The gameplay may be nothing special, but then again it easily lends itself to nostagia and doesn't get in the way of enjoying the story.

I also think that another key is finding games that will have multiple sequels. Ico and SOTC seem like a good bet because Team Sony is likely to continue dev on that series for the foreseeable future. Eventually there will be gamers who will want to go back and play the originals for the sake of completeness.
 
[quote name='camoor']I think quirky, quality RPGs like Odin Sphere ...[/QUOTE]
This has nothing to add to the thread, but I just wanted to say that I can't figure out why people keep referring to Odin Sphere as an RPG.

I do think that Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire both have an excellent chance of becoming rare and overpriced, though certainly not to ridiculous levels like Suikoden II or FFVII.
 
REZ no longer has much value because it had a physical reprint.

I don't think that being made available as DLC, on the Virtual Console, or Live has any affect on the value of the physical copies of a game. These games are valuable because there is demand from collectors. And you can't really collect downloads.

I actually like when these games come out on Live or VC or wherever, because it gives people who just want to play the game a chance to do so without paying an exhorbitant price. Plus as I said, that type of release has little effect on the value of the actual game, so collectors stay happy.
 
I'm gonna say Raiden III. It's a shmup, it's sorta decent, it got no exposure, and I haven't seen a copy of it in stores. Definitely a candidate.
 
[quote name='oremites']This has nothing to add to the thread, but I just wanted to say that I can't figure out why people keep referring to Odin Sphere as an RPG.

I do think that Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire both have an excellent chance of becoming rare and overpriced, though certainly not to ridiculous levels like Suikoden II or FFVII.[/quote]

Dang - Grim Grimoire is a good one I have to check that out.

I think of Odin Sphere as an RPG because:
  • You take on the persona of the main char, narrative plays an integral part
  • Main character levels up through exp
  • Accessories you can equip, items you can use to replenish health/ mana
  • Action fields intersperced with dialogue-heavy hub cities where you can rest or buy new equipment and items
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']Samurai Shodown Anthology Hold up, this one isn't even out. You practically gave me a shock when you said this one. I've been waiting for this one for what seems an eternity. I can't wait to pick it up. My first PS2 release in a long time.[/quote]

They really can't bring that one out soon enough for me. I'm dying to play it. I tried playing SSII on the Dreamcast with NEO4All and the original NG CD, and it just ran like shit no matter what settings I tried. I've been getting my SS fix with Neo Geo Battle, and SSII on my NG Pocket.

I did, however, get extremely lucky today and picked up a Tekken 5 Stick (with game) brand new for $27, in anticipation of the Anthology.
 
Another title to watch is Heavenly Guardian. Although rleased only a month ago the game is very hard to get online, it seems it wasn't printed in high numbers, Amazon even never shipped it although they took pre-orders. I don't know how available the game is in b&m stores.

Yeah, for all the known reasons late releases in a systems life span, especially quirky or just plain unusual ones besides the mainstream might be hard to get in the future. Often overlooked, certainly not in the spotlight, targeted at a limited demographic of gamers, printed in relatively low numbers, and shunned sometimes by major retailers they might become hard to get.

But that doesn't mean that they become pricey. If for certain reasons the demand goes up (reputation level, cult classic status, forerunner of certain game developments, misperceptions, and so on) THEN these games become expensive. Decisive for high pricing is the demand, the supply has a limited impact on the price even in the era of ebay.
 
Many games get reprinted nowadays. This happened to many rare PSX games from Game Quest Direct. Overall, if it's not a special edition then you probably shouldn't keep it sealed for years.
 
[quote name='gobz']Is "tagged" the same as "bump"?[/quote]

No, someone "tags" a thread so it is in their subscriptions so they call follow it when they please.
 
Sam Shodown is a good bet considering V for XBox pretty much maintained It's value since being released $30 new. Any game that retain (or come close to) or in best cases exceed It's value is rare imho. Marvel Versus Capcom 2 being one that "exceeds" the value, but overall most games are sold at a loss, especially when you pay $50 for them.

Raiden I thought was released at $15 or so but seems to be going for the average eBay price of $10, but I think as a shoot-em-up in the long run will become more rare.

Red Star is my other guess in the long run, given current eBay prices are low.
 
[quote name='Layd Dly']Heavenly Gaurdian is in currently stock at Amazon. I just picked up a copy for myself.

Click here[/quote]


Dammit! I just ordered this from some sketchy sounding site called 'Videogamescentral.com' or somesuch. Amazon cancelled my preorder and I figured they were never gonna get it.
 
Obscure: The Aftermath might end up being pretty rare, considering how "obscure" the first one is.

Is Chaos Wars a Gamestop exclusive title? When is it supposed to be released?
 
[quote name='Josef']Obscure: The Aftermath might end up being pretty rare, considering how "obscure" the first one is.

Is Chaos Wars a Gamestop exclusive title? When is it supposed to be released?[/quote]

Chaos Wars is a gamestop exculsive and it's supposed to come out 4/24. Samurai showdown anthology is probably a good choice for a game that is going to be rare. All of these new SNK games are hard to find even when they first come out and this isn't scheduled to come out until the fall.

I don't buy games for their value just so I can sell them later. It just happens that the games I tend to be into are the more obscure games. Although I do like have a game in my collection that is worth some money even though I know I will never sell it.
 
Anyone happen to find a copy in store at eb/Gamestop or any other retailer of Obscure 2 for PS2?

I want to grab it for $20 because the first one was good to me. Just wish I could find the first one again ;)
 
is there even such a thing as a "rare" ps2 game? the most expensive ps2 games on ebay are Metal Gear Solid 3 LE and SMT: Nocturne and you can find them used on ebay for 70-100 bucks depending on how lucky you are. I would have thought a rare game would be really expensive like radiant silvergun or panzer dragoon saga.
 
Chaos Wars is a really good candidate. Most of the other Gamestop exclusives arent very common at best. I was really surprised and in denial at first when I heard that they had a RPG as an exclusive.
 
[quote name='oremites']This has nothing to add to the thread, but I just wanted to say that I can't figure out why people keep referring to Odin Sphere as an RPG.

I do think that Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire both have an excellent chance of becoming rare and overpriced, though certainly not to ridiculous levels like Suikoden II or FFVII.[/QUOTE]

I don't know about either. I was able to find plenty of Odin Sphere's when CC first dropped them to 16.96 a couple of weeks ago and I've seen quite a few Grim Grimoire's in Wal-Mart's $20 and under bins.

I personally think something like Heavenly Guardian could become rare down the road. This one's gotten virtually no coverage or hype and it's only 15-20 bucks right now.
 
[quote name='sparklecopy']I'm in the process of acquring every PS1/PS2 rpg I can find under 20 bucks. RPG's always go up in price.[/QUOTE]

If you are getting games like FF8 or FF10 and expect to make money you are wasting your time.
 
[quote name='62t']If you are getting games like FF8 or FF10 and expect to make money you are wasting your time.[/quote]

FFVII was also like that at one point. Not saying they will ever get to that status, but being Final Fantasy they still might all be worth some money down the road.
 
used or GH FF7 wasnt worth that much until around the release of Advant Children. FF7 is probably the execption than the norm.

According to gamepot Heavenly Guardian is getting a Wii release. Either way I dont see it being rare enough it the value goes up significanty. People said the same thing about red star or raiden 3 and the demand isnt high enough for those games to worth much.
 
What about the Growlanser Generations Deluxe and Growlanser Heritage of War?! Wouldn't either of these also be somewhat considered RARE if you have the box sets?!
 
What about Guilty Gear X2, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, and Alpha Anthology? The Street Fighter games should get a nice boost when SFIV eventually drops.

For RPGs, it's hard to go against Persona 3 and SMT: Nocturne. My darkhorses would be Rogue Galaxy and Tales of the Abyss.
 
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