If you pay attention to many gaming blogs, you probably heard about the recent sale of one of the most valuable console games known to collectors.  Even though the Nintendo World Championship cartridges are one of the most well-know games to collectors (see The Rarest and Most Valuable NES Games), the 1991 Nintendo Campus Challenge cartridge is said to be a one-of-a-kind item (other copies were said to be destroyed) and was out to rival the NWC Gold cartridge (of which there are 26 in existance)  for the spot of the highest-valued cartridge.

The Gold Nintendo World Championship Cartridge has sold for as much as $21,400 and the recent owner of the Campus Challenge cartridge, was hoping that the increased scarcity would help push its value above that of the Gold NWC.   Earlier this month, the Nintendo Campus Challenge cartridge closed for $20,100 on eBay — a very respectible price, but just shy of taking the title of the Holy Grail of console game collecting.

The collector that just parted ways with the Nintendo Campus Challenge cartridge is no stranger to the racketboy community as he has helped out with the Rare & Valuable Games series.  JJ Hendricks was kind enough to take some time out to talk about his journey as a collector and the story behind this sale.

RB: Tell us briefly about yourself and business and what got you started in rare video game collecting/investing
JJ: I’m 28 years old and own two video games businesses.  JJGames.com, a retailer of used video games, and VideoGamePriceCharts.com, a site showing the used prices and pricing history for about 14,000 games.   My interest in rare video games started while I was running VGPC and saw how many rare games there are and how much people were willing to pay for them.  I also had an opportunity to talk with lots of game collectors through the two websites and learn about the hobby.

RB: For those that aren’t familiar with the cartridge, tell us a bit about its back-story.
JJ: The Nintendo Campus cartridge was created by Nintendo for a video game competition like the Nintendo World Championships in 1990, but this one would tour college campuses and spring break hot spots.  The cartridges had three games on them, Super Mario 3, PinBot, and Dr. Mario and a time limit of about 6 minutes.  You tried to get the most points on all three games within the allotted time.  After the event the games were all supposed to be destroyed but this one was found at an ex-Nintendo employee’s garage sale in 2006.

RB: If you don’t mind saying, how did you go about acquiring the cartridge and how much did you pay for it?
JJ: I bought this cartridge from a big video game collector named Jason, or known online as DreamTR.  We were talking about the Nintendo World Championships Gold cartridge I purchased.  He mentioned that he owned this cartridge and I asked him, mostly as a joke, if he would be willing to sell it too.  He told me he would sell the cartridge, much to my surprise.  The price we agreed to was $14,000.

RB: What were your intentions for purchasing it?
JJ: I thought it would be a great game to have in my collection, but mostly I thought it was a great deal.  I paid $17,500 for NWC Gold about a month before and there are 12 of those.  There is only one known copy of Campus Challenge 91 so I thought it would probably be worth quite a bit more than $14K.  I figured I would own it for a while and then sell it some time down the road.

I also contacted the owner of the 92 Campus Challenge and 94 Powerfest cartridges and we discussed doing some joint events where all four of the Nintendo competition cartridges would be available to play for the first time ever.   We talked about it and contacted a few video game conventions but nothing ever materialized.

RB: Did you do anything interesting with the cartridge while you owned it?
JJ: Nothing really out of the ordinary for fear that I would damage it.  I played it several times myself and then kept it in a safe deposit box.  I own five of the reproduction cartridges though and I hosted a tournament at my office to recreate both Nintendo World Championships and Nintendo Campus Challenge.  I owned both of the real cartridges at the time, but we played the reproductions at the actual event.

RB: What type of precautions did you take with the cartridge while owning it?
JJ: I stored the cartridge in a safe deposit box to make sure it was secure.  I didn’t feel comfortable having a game worth that much just lying around my house with the rest of my game collection.

RB: Was there any drama involved with the acquisition and then the resale of the cartridge?
JJ: The purchase of Nintendo Campus Challenge was very straight forward.  It took about 24 hours to negotiate the payment and shipping terms.  I decided to pay on installment so I sent two payments for the game and Jason shipped it after the final payment was completed.  It arrived in great shape the next day.

When I listed the game for sale I decided to sell it on eBay with no reserve and as a $0.99 starting bid.  This was a bit nerve racking at the very end because the price was $8,500 until about two minutes before the auction completed.  Then there were 10 bids placed in those last two minutes and the price on eBay jumped up to $20,100.  I went from losing $6,000 on the game to making $6,000 in the course of two minutes.

RB: Are you still holding onto any other rare games at the moment?
JJ: I still own Nintendo World Championships Gold.  That is definitely the most expensive game I still own.

RB: Do you have more ambitions for investing in more rare games in the future or is it more trouble than its worth?
JJ: I will probably buy more rare games in the future, but it depends on the prices.  My guess is collectors will start to realize that the items they have are worth a lot and great deals will be harder to come by.  I think it is really fun to own a bit of gaming history, to be able to play a classic game, and still be doing it as an investment.  You can’t play with stocks or mutual funds so games are definitely much more fun to invest in.

A decade ago, it was quite easy to find real bargains on eBay.  Now that the site is a mainstream marketplace, most items actually sell for what you might expect they are worth — and sometimes much more.  As the community of eBay buyers grows, it can be increasingly frustrating if you are looking for a really good deal.

Since one of the real appeals of classic gaming is being able to experience a lot of gaming on a budget, I wanted to help everyone make the most of eBay and find the best deals possible.  While some of these tips may be common knowledge to experienced eBayers, I hope that you can at least pull away a nugget of valuable info from this guide. If you have any additional tips to add, be sure to add them in the comments section below.

Make A Wishlist

If you plan on just searching and browsing around on eBay for good deal without a real purpose, you probably won’t accomplish much.  Instead of flying blind, think of what exactly what items you want to build your collection.  If it helps, make a wish list for yourself that lists all the exact items you want and put them in order of what you want most.   Once you have defined goals for your shopping, think of all the search terms that could apply to your wish list.  Some items may be listed under more that one term.

Know A Good Deal When You See One

Once you know what items you are looking for, you should establish what the going rate for those items may be.  Luckily, eBay has a way to see exactly what items have been selling for over the last 30 days.

To find out the recent value for an item on eBay, just do a search for the item just like you normally would.  Once the search is finished, scroll down and look in the left sidebar for the “Completed Auctions” checkbox in the “Search Options” section. (see image item 1) Check the box and hit the “Show Auctions” button below.  The search results will then refresh with all the auctions for that search that closed in the last 30 days.   [ check out this sample Gunstar Heroes completed auction search ]

If the price is in the completed auctions listing is in red, that means that the item did not receive any bids and did not sell (it was probably was priced too high).  Of course, that also means that the items with prices in green actually did sell. (see image item 2)

Once you have the completed auction results in front of you, you can sort the results by price (by selecting “Price + Shipping: Highest First” from the sort drop-down box).  (see image item 3)  Once the items are sorted, you can more easily see the average selling prices group together in the middle.  You can also see what the rock-bottom prices have been.   (This is the method I use for I use for both the Cheapest Games and Rare & Valuable Series)

Does The Condition of the Game Matter?

If you are a meticulous collector, you probably want to have all your games in good condition and complete with boxes and manuals.  If that is the case, this tip doesn’t really apply to you.  However, if you only really care about the game itself (or maybe you just don’t care about the manual) be on the lookout for listing that feature cart-only, disc-only, missing manual, or broken case games.   These little things matter a great deal to collectors, so if you could care less, you can get the game dirt cheap in most cases.  

If you would like to see how much of a difference the condition of game makes in value for the most popular consoles history has to offer, take a look at this analysis I did on my article entitled, Comparing Massive Markups For Pristine Retro Games.

As you can see from that article, some newer games like those for the Dreamcast or Playstation will almost always come with cases, but every now and then somebody lists some disc-only games at a discount.  Some systems like the Saturn and Sega CD came in fragile cases that are now becoming a rarity, so those disc-only games should be relatively easy to find.

Take A Chance on Untested / “As-Is” Equipment

A lot of times sellers that run a resale business on eBay or people that are missing cables for systems don’t have time or the ability to test everything out well.  You can usually score these systems at a nice discount as you are taking a bit of a gamble on them.  Older consoles don’t usually break too easily, so the odds are in your favor that the machine is fine.  (You might want to check the seller’s feedback just to get some reassurance)

On some occasions you might even see auctions for consoles where the seller specifically says that the machine isn’t working properly and they don’t have time to fix it.  While console repairs are far from my specialty, I know of many people that can perform relatively quick and easy fixes on the machines to get them back to full health.  (You can always ask questions in our Technical Help forum if you need help)  Also, if for some reason you can’t get the machine working, you can always use the remaining parts for future repairs or use the cases for mod/repainting work.

I think the best example I have seen recently using this technique is our very own Raztat who scored 30 Sega Dreamcasts for $50 including shipping.  They were claimed to be duds, but he has already found that seven of them work fine.  Many of the rest have controller port issues that could be fixed if somebody wanted to go through the effort.  (see his blog post here)

Look For Spelling/Wording Variations

This is an old-school eBay trick and many other experienced eBay shoppers will be looking for these as well.  However, it is still worth mentioning as it may just give you an edge over a few other people.  Sometimes sellers may misspell the title of a game or system.  (I’ve even seen people call a Sega Saturn a “Sega CD” machine).

Obviously, it will be very challenging to think of every way a person could mistake the name of an item, but if you are serious about shopping for a certain game or system, think of the different ways it may be spelled or worded.  Services like Missing-Auctions.com and MisspelledAuctions.com let you check eBay for item misspellings.

There are also different variations on how people label different games and systems.  Two popular examples are  “SNES” vs “Super Nintendo” and “Playstation” vs “PS1” vs “PSOne” vs “PSX”.  Be sure to think of the different ways people might list their items and search for them with the different variations.

Buy Games out of Season

While video games may not have as much of a defined season as some products, there is a relatively surprising trend in overall game sales.  As you can see from this article on Videogame Price Charts, there is a pretty large dip in game values starting in June and ending right before the Christmas rush.

This came to a bit of a surprise to me as I always did more game buying in the summer when I was when I was out of school, but this just goes to show how much retail power the Christmas season really has.   Not only do you have people buying hardware, games, and accessories in November and December, but you also have the recipients of those gifts buying additional items to complement their gift in January and the following months.

This trend may have the strongest effect on newer games, but it should effect on older games as well.  Just from my personally experiences in selling video cables for consoles likes the Genesis and Dreamcast, I’ve always been amazed on how many people mention that they are giving classic gaming goodies to their friends and family for Christmas.

Combine Shipping to Cut Costs

And as anybody that spends much time on eBay knows, shipping costs can add a lot to the final purchase price for the buyer.  However, many times when somebody is cleaning out a lot of their old gaming stuff or the seller is has a dedicated eBay business, they may have many gaming auctions up at a given time and may be willing to combine shipping costs for multiple items in order to save you a lot of money.

Once you have found an item that you would like to purchase, check out the seller’s other auction listings to see if they have anything else to offer.  If they do, check in the item descriptions to see if they offer Combined Shipping discounts.  Even if they don’t mention it but you are very interested in more than one of their auctions, it may very well be worth your time to send the seller an email to see if they combine shipping costs.

Look for Groups of Systems & Games

Not only does it help when combining more than one auction, but you can also save on shipping costs and on the price of the items themselves when you purchase large groups of games and/or consoles.

eBay is filled with people that are selling entire collections of games or just their whole set of console, accessories, and games for a given platform.  While you might not want every single item in the lot, you should get a nice discount because every other bidder will probably be in the same boat.  This is not only a great way to start a collection of your own, but you can also trade or sell off the items you don’t want as much.

Use “Search Title & Description” for Multiple Items

Again, this tip builds upon the ideas of the ones before it.  If you are willing to bid on a large lot of games/systems/accessories, try to think of a few different games or items that would be for the same platform.  Chances are that if they are relatively common, there are at least one or two auctions that have two or more of the items you desire.  If you get a few items you would like in one auction, you might essentially get a few extra items for free.

So how do you find auctions that have more than one item of interest in one auction?  This might initially seem like a challenge as in most cases, the seller won’t be able to list every item in the auction title (which is what the standard eBay search is based off of).

However, most sellers will list the name of every game and accessory that is included in their auction within the listing’s description.  If this is the case, you can check a box below the search area labeled “Search Title & Description”  (see image item 1) and resubmit your search query help you discover lots of auctions that should interest you.   (see image item 2)

Let’s say you are in the market for a Super Nintendo system in addition to a few of its most popular games: Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Pilotwings.  If you want to test your luck, you could do a search (with title and description) for “Super Mario World Metroid Pilotwings”.  This search will see if there are any auctions that include all three of those games.  Unless this is your lucky day, you might not find any results.  That’s ok, let’s try for two out of three.  This time, take off Pilotwings – you may find two auctions that include those games.  Not bad!

Subscribe to RSS Feeds / Email Alerts

If you want to be able to keep track of all the items you are interested in without having to keep going to the site and performing searches, you have two great options.

First of all, you can sign up for eBay Favorite Searches email alerts.   If you aren’t familiar with Favorite searches, check out this link.
Once you have a search marked as a favorite, you can subscribe to some or all of your favorites via email alerts.  With these alerts, eBay will send you an email summary of all the new auctions that were listed that day that meet your search criteria.  The main downside of this method is that listings may be up to 24 hours old by the time you even have the email in your inbox.  By the time you actually read it, somebody else may have snatched a cheap Buy It Now auction.  If you need something quicker, you may want to look into RSS feeds.

If you frequently use a feed reader or have a homepage that supports RSS feeds, you can also subscribe to a number of eBay product-specific feeds.  (Read more about eBay RSS feeds and how RSS works)  Once you get these RSS feeds set up in your reader or home page, you will get new notifications every 30 minutes or so.  This can really give you the edge on other eager bidders.  Below you can see one of my personal eBay alerts for Official Dreamcast Magazines (using Bloglines as my reader)

What is also nice about both the email and RSS notifications is that you never have to worry about missing an auction you were interested in as long as you check these alerts and they will save you a ton of time and effort.

These are especially useful for searches that don’t turn up results very often.  So if you’re still holding out for an auction that includes Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Pilotwings, you can be alerted if it ever shows up.  Or maybe you’re looking for an original steering wheel for an Outrun arcade machine or a Capcom Art Works book.  With any of these instances, you subscribe to the alerts for these searches and be notified when these relatively rare auctions ever surface.

Also, keep in mind that anything you can normally do on eBay to narrow your search (product categories, price ranges, Buy It Now etc) can be applied to your eBay email or RSS alerts.  So if you only want to be notified if a certain item is listed under a certain price, you can trim down you notifications to those that really interest you.

Jump on “Buy-It-Now”s

If you’re like me, “Buy It Now” purchases can seem a little too spontaneous.  I’m the type that likes to add items to my Watch List and think about them for a little while before bidding.  However, many times if you look back at the lowest sale prices on the Completed Auctions search (see above), you’ll notice that many of them we Buy It Now listings that got scooped up right away.

I’ve been trying to get better about jumping on deals quickly, but it takes some dedication to beat your competition.   If you combine a few of the tips above such with the RSS feeds and Email Alerts, you are bound to find some cheap Buy It Now before everyone else does.  When you do, make sure you read over the description and terms fairly quickly to make sure you’re getting what you think and double-check the seller’s feedback.  Once everything looks good, make sure to buy it before others have the chance.

Auction Snipping

This controversial method is essentially waiting to the last possible moment to place your bid.  This tactic is losing its effectiveness as your most dedicated of competition will probably do the same thing and will still bid the most they are willing to pay, but if you are interested in an item that wouldn’t appeal to most people, you may be able to grab the winning bid from an unsuspecting newbie.

If you don’t want to hover over all your auctions yourself, there are a few websites that will help you in your strategy.  Some services that have been recommended are AuctionStealer and GavelSnipe.  These services and most others like them only let you do a few free snipes per month with paid upgrades available.

A Few Things To Keep In Mind…

• Read Product Descriptions Carefully – The item title might sound great, but the auction might be missing something important or the item might be untested. Make sure you know what you’re getting into and it ensure yourself that it’s not too good to be true.
• Check Out The Seller’s Reputation. – I tend to deal with sellers who have sold at least 10 items on eBay and who have a satisfaction rating of at least 95 percent.   If there are negative marks on the seller’s feedback, try to find some of them and see what the comments are.  Sometimes a perfectly good seller will just be given back marks by some moron that just wanted to be a troll without a valid reason.  On the other hand, if the feedback has one or more comments with valid concerns, you might want to look elsewhere.
• Keep An Eye On Shipping Costs – eBay is getting better about cracking down on shipping cost gougers, but always be sure to add shipping costs into your equation when determining if an auction is a good deal.  These costs can add up, especially when dealing with lots of hardware, accessories, or magazines.  If the auction doesn’t list shipping costs, be sure to contact the seller.

The Sega Saturn is definitely one of the leading consoles among hardcore classic gamers. It’s strong selection of unique and engaging 2D games keeps it relevant a decade after its premature demise. While many of the Saturn’s best games were not adequately appreciated at the time of their release, word of mouth discussions online have boosted many of these games to underground stardom. Even though some of the highest-flying Saturn games like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Guardian Heroes, and Burning Rangers were rather collectible even two years ago, they have essentially doubled since 2006. (See the “affordability” section in my 2006 review of Guardian Heroes to compare as an example).  (Digg This)

Three factors can be attributed to much of the rise in Saturn game values

• Many of the Saturn’s best games have still not been ported to other consoles
• a good number of classic gamers are just now discovering what the Saturn has to offer
• Emulation of the console can still be challenging

In stark contrast to the Cheapest Games series, this Rare and Valuable series by JJ Hendricks and I will round up the rarest and most valuable games for a given console or handheld so you’ll know what to look for whether you are buying or selling. JJ owns the video game pricing website VideoGamePriceCharts.com and writes a Video Game Pricing Blog which analyzes video game prices, pricing trends, and charts historic video game prices. He used his pricing statistics to find both the average selling price and the highest selling price for each game over the last three months.Below you will see two prices beside each title. The first is the average daily selling price, which is typically the going rate for the game by itself. The second price is the highest price in the past three months which is usually the price for the new/sealed game. The list is ordered by the balance of the two prices. Note that some of these games are not rare in the sense that there are not many available, but rare relative to demand, which makes the games expensive.

The Expensive Saturn Imports

	Psychic Assassin Taromaru: $270 – $400 Rarity = Stealing this place from the infamous Radiant Silvergun, the Psychic Killer Taromaru is the most difficult to aquire Saturn title, regardless of region. The game is a well drawn 2D acion title, with a decidedly “Shinobi meets Castlevania” style. The publisher, Time Warner Interactive, shut down all production facilities after only 7,500 copies were made. There are also manual-art variations as well, all of which are included in the total production number, and each generally fetch the same price. Check for Psychic Assassin Taromaro on eBay
	Radiant Silvergun $190 – $350 Rarity = Known as one of the Holy Grails of console game collecting and one of the greatest 2D shooters of all time, it does not need an introduction for experienced retro gamers. However, to the surprise of those not schooled in Japanese game retail, Radiant Silvergun actually isn’t very rare at all. In fact, the game is actually quite common in Japan and up until recently could be found in Japanese gaming store quite affordably. However, store owners are now taking advantage of it’s increasing popularity Check for Radiant Silvergun on eBay
	Hyper Duel – $180 – $220 Rarity = Technosoft is well-known for their wonderful Thunderforce shooter series, but Hyper Duel is a little-know shmup from Technosoft that was released in between Thunderforce 4 and 5 and shares many characteristics with the series. The game was never released out of Japan on any platform and is one of the harder-to-find games in the Saturn library. Because of all these factors, shooter fans are willing to pay a good chunk of change to score Hyper Duel. Check for Hyper Duel on eBay

Limited Edition Collectables

Daytona USA: CCE Netlink Edition: $250 – $300 Rarity = Although commonly thought to be Panzer Dragoon Saga, this NetLink version of Daytona USA: CCE is in fact the rarest North American Sega Saturn game. It was available only through Sega’s online store, and making it even more rare is its almost total indistinguishability from the regular version of Daytona USA: CCE. The only notable differences are found only when opening the case up, which features a black and white NetLink booklet underneath the standard booklet, and the disc has a small NetLink logo. Check for Daytona USA CCE Netlink Edition on eBay

Treasured Standard USA Releases

	Panzer Dragoon Saga: $206 – $240 Rarity = It’s a shame that Panzer Dragoon Saga came out at the end of the Saturn’s short life. Too many people missed out on playing this gem of an RPG. The initial production run was 6,000 (not enough to fill pre-orders) and by the end of the game’s run, only 30,000 copies were produced Sega. To this day, game is loved by critics and has a very devoted following. Many experienced gamers even consider it one of the very best RPGs of all time. Check for Panzer Dragoon Saga on eBay
	Shining Force III: $89 – $115 Rarity = Sega’s strategy RPG trilogy came to an end on the Saturn and this game released in the final days of the Saturn’s support in the US. Shining Force III is the first scenario in a trilogy but only the first scenario was released in the US and Europe because the Saturn was no longer supported in the West. Check for Shining Force III on eBay
	Guardian Heroes: $81 – $105 Rarity = Developed by fan-favorite, Treasure, Guardian Heroes is another late-blooming Saturn title that many people still haven’t discovered. Guardian Heroes is a beatemup with strong RPG elements. In this masterpiece, Treasure combined great 2D animation, a unique control scheme, and killer gameplay with the ability to level up and focus the skills that you choose.The game is relatively rare, but sells for so much because of its unique gameplay. Check for Guardian Heroes on eBay
	Burning Rangers: $70 – $90 Rarity = This futuristic firefighting game with randomly created levels was based on the NiGHTS into Dreams engine and was developed by Sonic Team. Even though it was well-recieved by those who played it, it was released in the last year of the Saturn’s life and had minimal commercial success. Check for Burning Rangers on eBay
	Dragon Force: $65 – $97 Rarity = A unique real-time strategy/tactics/war simulation game, Dragon Force received critical acclaim and was rated the best Saturn game in 1996 by EGM. The low production numbers and praise from gamers keep the price high. The game had a Japan-only re-release on the PS2, but that hasn’t stopped Saturn collectors from raising the values for the original. Check for Dragon Force on eBay
	Albert Odyssey: $40 – $100 Rarity = Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean is an RPG that was original developed for the Super Famicom in Japan but was ported to the Saturn by Working Designs as the SNES was losing ground in retail. The fact that good RPGs are relatively hard to find on the Saturn and being published in smaller quantities by Working Designs guarantees nice returns on investment. Check for Albert Odyssey on eBay
	Magic Knight Rayearth: $40 – $100 Rarity = This manga-based action RPG was also published by Working Designs and was supposedly limited to about 15,000 units upon its release. It was released at the very end of 1998, making it the very last game released for the Sega Saturn in the United States. Check for Magic Knight Rayearth on eBay
	The House of the Dead: $60 – $80 Rarity = A port of the cult-classic light gun arcade game, House of the Dead was one of the last games released on the Saturn and didn’t sell many copies. The series has received many sequels in arcades and consoles, but the original is the hardest to find. Check for House of the Dead on eBay
	Saturn Bomberman: $52 – $79 Rarity = Bomberman has been released on just about every console known to man, but Saturn Bomberman may still be the definative version thanks for its support of up to 10 characters on screen at once. Not even the new XBox Live Arcade version can top that. Saturn Bomberman is also one of five games for the Saturn to use the NetLink feature which allowed online play. Check for Saturn Bomberman on eBay
	Winning Post: $50 – $70 Rarity = Winning Post is a horse racing simulation and sports game. It was published by KOEI and is one of the rarest Saturn games. The price isn’t much higher as most Americans aren’t into horse racing simulators. Check for Winning Post on eBay

The Rarest Saturn Games At Affordable Prices

Each of these games have a rarity rating greater than 6, but routinely sell for less than $30. If you are a Saturn collector and see a boxed or sealed copy of any of these on eBay for a low price, you might want to snatch them up — you may never see them again.

• 3D Baseball – $20 -$29
• Worldwide Soccer 98: $2 – $20
• Virtual-On Netlink Edition: $20 – $30
• Vallora Valley Golf: $5 – $12
• Winter Heat: $7 – $20
• Mega Man X4: $15 – $61
• Shinobi Legions: $22 – $29

Additional Sega Saturn Games of Value

These games aren’t especially rare, but are quite collectable; resulting in a high resale value, especially for complete, boxes copies.

• Shining The Holy Ark: $35 – $125
• Sonic Jam: $35 – $59
• Shining The Wisdom: $35 – $50
• Christmas Nights into Dreams: $35 – $41
• Mega Man 8: $33 – $60
• Herc’s Adventures: $33 – $57
• Enemy Zero: $33 – $50
• Mortal Kombat II: $30 – $40
• Golden Axe The Duel: $30 – $38
• Mr. Bones: $25 – $30
• NIGHTS into Dreams: $25 – $51
• Clockwork Knight 2: $25 – $35
• Three Dirty Dwarves: $25 – $30

Credits: Sega Saturn Video Game Prices provided by VideoGamePriceCharts.com. The source for daily updated prices on over 10,000 video games. The prices are the highest daily price and average daily price from February, 1st 2008 to April, 8th 2008. Racketboy also averaged in eBay sales prices from April 20th to May 20th, 2008. Rarity scores are courtesy of my friends at DigitalPress.

As we’ve discussed before, sealed games yield quite a premium over their opened counterparts when it comes to collectors. This is especially true of games that are rare to begin with. So imagine my amazement when forum member, lost_within posted this massive eBay auction that includes every single Japanese Dreamcast game in sealed condition.

As if it weren’t enough that the seller is offering every regular-issue game (which would be a feat in itself), but this also includes every single limited edition release and box set as well. The seller has pretty solid feedback, so it should be legit, but it will be interesting to see if somebody will pony up the cash.

From the item description:
“606 games,including all Dorikore reprints, all games in “deluxe version” when they were released as normal AND deluxe versions!” …. “Games are BRAND NEW, FACTORY SEALED, all CD case sized ones protected with extra plastic bag from dust&stuff!It will take you YEARS of collecting& searching, like me, to find all of them!” (read full description with list of every game included)

That’s right, the Japanese Dreamcast library includes some rare & valuable gems in them that are quite expensive even in opened condition. Some of the highlights include:

• Border Down DX Pack
• Cleopatra Fortune
• Twinkle Star Sprites
• Space Channel 5 Part 2 Dreamcast Direct Special Box
• De La Jet Set Radio Dreamcast Direct Limited Box
• Segagaga Dreamcast Direct Limited Box
• Vampire Chronicle for Matching service
• All the newest 2D Shooters like the ones in this auction

So you want to see what this collection looks like? Have a look:

Even though the original Playstation is one of the most common consoles of all time, there are many valuable PS1 treasures to be found. Its diverse library is filled with RPGs and unique gems that collectors long for. Out of all of the consoles we have covered in the Rare & Valuable series so far, the PS1 has both the most expensive regular issue game and the highest average selling price. This occurrence can can probably be attributed to the PS2 and PS3’s backwards compatibility and its wide range of cult favorites that remain as exclusives for the PS1.

In stark contrast to the Cheapest Games series, this series by JJ Hendricks will round up the rarest and most valuable games for a given console or handheld so you’ll know what to look for whether you are buying or selling. JJ owns the video game pricing website VideoGamePriceCharts.com and writes a Video Game Pricing Blog which analyzes video game prices, pricing trends, and charts historic video game prices. He used his pricing statistics to find both the average selling price and the highest selling price for each game over the last three months.

Below you will see two prices beside each title. The first is the average daily selling price, which is typically the going rate for the game by itself. The second price is the highest price in the past three months which is usually the price for the new/sealed game. The list is ordered by the balance of the two prices. Note that some of these games are not rare in the sense that there are not many available, but rare relative to demand, which makes the games expensive.  (Digg This Story)

Limited Edition Collectibles

Elemental Gearbolt: Assassin’s Case: $1,379 – $1700 Rarity = This treasure chest of sorts was given away as a tournament prize at the 1998 E3 convention in addition to a few people who worked on Elemental Gearbolt at Working Designs. When all was said and done, only 40 of these sets were produced and given out. The set includes a briefcase, gold GunCon, and gold memory card.  The latest auction (this was updated in August 2009) got bids up to $1700, which was surprising since it was a new seller (that eventually backed out).  Had it been a established seller, it may have gone for more. See Latest Elemental Gearbolt Assassin’s Case on eBay

Treasured Standard USA Releases

	Suikoden II: $135 – $295 Rarity = Even though it eventually became one of the most recommended RPGs on the Playstation, a limited printing and tepid initial response means there aren’t many copies of Suikoden II available. The great review scores and better sales for Suikoden III possibly helped increase aftermarket demand for the game. Combining these two factors together makes Suikoden II the most expensive regular-issue game on the Playstation. Check for Suikoden II on eBay
	Tactics Ogre: $89 – $191 Rarity = Tactics Ogre was originally released as a Super Famicom game in Japan in 1995 and was re-released on the PS1 in 1998 in addition to other spinoffs on other consoles. This strategy and role playing franchise which are notoriously expensive, and this installment in particular has received critical praise — RPGamer stated that “the game is and forever will be a masterpiece”. Check for Tactics Ogre on eBay
	Valkyrie Profile: $89 – $155 Rarity = Valkyrie Profile is an action/turn based RPG hybrid and has become a cult classic to the many RPG fans in the Playstation crowd. The original game is hard to find now, but it has since be released on the PSP, which probably sparked continued interest in the original. Check for Valkyrie Profile on eBay
	Revelations: Persona: $79 – $123 Rarity = The Persona series has a small but very loyal following. They don’t sell a ton copies as Altus, the publisher typically has smaller print runs, but the fans of the series love it. Persona takes place in modern times, which gives it a unique spin for RPG fans looking for something different. Check for Persona on eBay
	Final Fantasy VII (Black Label): $74 – $417 Rarity = For the longest time, you could find this popular game for a reasonable price (after all, it was the second highest selling game on the PS1 at 9.8 million units), but it still has heavy demand behind it from collectors. As with most Playstation games, the original black-label released command far more from collectors. A sealed copy has even sold recently for over $400. Check for Final Fantasy VII on eBay
	Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix: $75 – $100 Rarity = Cashing on the DDR craze during the turn of the millennium, this installment has techno-version of Disney songs like “It’s a Small World” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” in addition to Disney characters dancing on the screen while you play. The game is relatively hard to find now and all the Disney collectors and Dance Dance fans help to increase the price. Check for Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix on eBay
	Lunar Silver Star Story Complete $62 – $167 Rarity = Lunar Silver Star Story is seen as a gateway between RPG eras. The game originated on the Sega CD and was one of the first RPGs to use FMV cutscenes and voice acting, but did not get all the attention it deserved. This enhanced re-release on the PS1 helped gain exposure for this great game, but as with most Working Design releases, there was a relatively low print run and a high collectability factor. Check for Lunar Silver Star Story Complete on eBay
	Intelligent Qube: $69 – $86 Rarity = IQ is very unique and addicting puzzle game that received an Excellence Award for Interactive Art at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival and sold quite well in Japan as a result. It was a initially a relative unknown in the US, but those that gave it a try found it especially compelling. Most fans of the game have been holding onto it, keeping supply low and prices high. Check for Intelligent Qube on eBay
	Team Buddies: $60 – $120 Rarity = Not only is Team Buddies pretty hard to find in the wild, but it’s also a remarkably unique and fun game. Mixing a realtime strategy RPG with flavors of a shooter and party game results in a cult classic that is high on PS1 collector’s want lists. Check for Team Buddies on eBay
	Ogre Battle Limited Edition: $55 – $153 Rarity = This is a re-release of the Ogre Battle March of the Black Queen for the SNES, which is one of the most expensive SNES games ever. In fact, it is almost the exact same game as the SNES version. However, this special releases Includes a map and memory card stickers. Like its predecessor, Atlus only printed limited quantities of the game and never did a second product run. Check for Ogre Battle Limited Edition on eBay
	Bust A Groove 2: $64 – $90 Rarity = Bust-A-Groove was originally called Bust-A-Move in the Japan but had to change its name in the US to avoid copyright problems with the arcade puzzle game. It is essentially a dancing and fighting combo, which makes Bust a Groove 2 a very unique, genre-bending title. Check for Bust A Grove 2 on eBay
	Persona 2 Eternal Punishment: $56 – $140 Rarity = Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is a direct sequel to the first Persona game seen earlier on this list and it is part of a duology (of which the US never received the first installment, Innocent Sin). Atlus published this game too so it is not surprising that there are limited quantities available and it is in high demand. Check for Persona 2; Eternal Punishment on eBay
	Tales of Destiny II / Tales of Eternia: $55 – $135 Rarity = Originally called Tales of Eternia in Japan. The name was changed to Tales of Destiny 2 but is not a direct sequel to any game in the Tales series. This game should also not be confused with Tales of Destiny 2 for PS2. They are completely different games. The game did not perform as well in the US as it did in Japan but is still cherished by Tales series fans. Check for Tales of Destiny II on eBay
	Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete $54 – $120 Rarity = Much like it’s predecessor above, Eternal Blue Complete was also an enhanced remake of the treasured Sega CD game, but had a slightly higher print run than Silver Star Story Complete. However, considering that both of these remakes were released in 1999 when 2D games were becoming a rarity, so it should be no surprise that only hardcore fans picked this game up — and typically held onto them. Check for Lunar Eternal Blue Complete on eBay
	Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena: $55 – $90 Rarity = Brigandine is a turn-based strategy game with some RPG elements and is developed by Atlus. This by itself is a recipe for an expensive game. Atlus doesn’t produce many copies of them games as a publishing strategy, and strategy games and RPG’s typically dominate lists of expensive games. Check for Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena on eBay

The Expensive Playstation Imports

	Rakugaki Showtime: $190 – $205 Rarity = It is hardly surprising to see a game from Treasure on a list like this, but it is relatively surprising to see a Treasure game on the Playstation as they typically did work on Sega’s and eventually Nintendo’s platforms. Rakagaki Showtime was Treasure’s was one of the first games in the arena fighting genre (like Poy Poy and Power Stone) and used a 3D paper-like graphical technique similar to that used in the Paper Mario series. Check for Rakugaki Showtime on eBay
	Zanac X Zanac $160 – $210 Rarity = While it might not have as extensive and impressive shmup library as the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, the Playstation does have a number of exclusive 2D shooters that are essentials for fans of the genre. Zanac X Zanac is a Japanese exclusive that not only was a sequel of an NES classic from Compile, but also included the orignal game on the same disc. Check for Zanac X Zanac on eBay
	Harmful Park – $150 – $200 Rarity = Another one of the essential Japan-only shooters to keep an out for is the quirky but fun Harmful Park. This rare shmup will remind many of Konami’s Parodius series. The word of mouth for this gem plus the limited print run from the small development house, Sky Think Systems, makes for a collectible treasure. Check for Harmful Park on eBay

The Rarest PS1 Games At Affordable Prices

Each of these games have a rarity rating greater than 6, but routinely sell for less than $40. If you are a PS1 collector and see a boxed or sealed copy of any of these on eBay for a low price, you might want to snatch them up — you may never see them again.

• Lifespan Learing Games – $2 – $5 each
• Psychic Detective: $25 – $35
• Fox Hunt: $13 – $20
• Syndicate Wars: $8 – $25
• Motor Toon Grand Prix: $10 – $15
• Guilty Gear: $8 – $23
• Goal Storm ‘97: $4 – $10

Additional Playstation Games of Value

These games aren’t especially rare, but are quite collectible; resulting in a high resale value, especially for complete, boxes copies.

• Bust A Groove – $59 – $80
• Tomba: $56 – $81
• Einhander: $53 – $98
• X-COM UFO Defense: $50 – $90
• Tales of Destiny: $49 – $80
• X-men vs Street Fighter: $50 – $70
• Marvel vs. Capcom: $48 – $70
• Final Fantasy VII (Greatest Hits): $53 – $160
• Spyro Collectors Edition (complete): $53 – $73
• Castlevania Symphony of the Night (Black Label): $57 – $66
• Xenogears (Black Label): $50 – $154
• Suikoden: $50 – $115
• Legend of Mana: $47 – $80
• Klonoa Door to Phantomile: $46 – $61
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories Premium (w/ cards): $45 – $65 (sealed)
• Return Fire: $48 – $50
• Mega Man Legends 2: $45 – $73
• Herc’s Adventure: $45 – $50
• Arc The Lad Collection: $44 – $103
• Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: $40 – $52

Credits: Playstation Video Game Prices provided by VideoGamePriceCharts.com. The source for daily updated prices on over 10,000 video games. The prices are the highest daily price and average daily price from February, 1st 2008 to April, 8th 2008. Rarity scores are courtesy of my friends at DigitalPress.

Accumulating classic video games is quickly becoming less about playing the games and more about collecting with dollar values in mind. After analyzing the advertisement for buying sealed NES games, I became more aware of how much of a premium there was on sealed classic games. My curiosity got the best of me, so I couldn’t help but check into how game values varied for different platforms depending on the game’s condition. (Cart/Disc-only, Complete w/ Box, and Sealed in Packaging)

To find some games to adequately analyze, I searched for the sealed games for each platform that sold for the most money. I then checked to see how much those same games sold for as both a cartridge or disc-only auction and also a game that included the box, but was opened and used. I then compared these values to determine a percentage increase between the different conditions. (The fifth and sixth columns in each table show the increase between Cart-only vs Complete and Complete vs Sealed respectively)

Just to let you know, I personally do not see much fun in collecting sealed games (games were meant to be played), but I do find this phenomenon interesting as a spectator. I do welcome your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Nintendo Entertainment System Legend of Zelda (Original Release) – $10 / $30 / $706 Millions of gamers love the Zelda series and there are tons of the original NES carts floating around out there. However, not very many NES owners from the 1980’s kept their game boxes in good condition, if at all, resulting in surprisingly high resale values of games in pristine condition. Out of the NES library, those belonging to popular franchises (like Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Megaman) and those that have the classic black/pixel art boxes have the highest premiums when it comes to complete and sealed games. Some of the later releases like Castlevania III and Super Mario Bros. 3 still claim a decent amount of cash when sealed, but not nearly as much as their older siblings. Check for Legend of Zelda on eBay

Super Nintendo Chrono Trigger: $50 / $145 / $1,200 Still regarded as one of the great console RPGs of all time, it isn’t a huge surprise that Chrono Trigger has a collector following. However, when you consider that the game isn’t very rare by any means, one cannot help but be a bit surprised by the recent $1,220 sale price of a sealed copy on eBay. Sealed SNES games are a bit more common than their NES cousins, so there isn’t quite as much of a markup, but the sales are still impressive. However, the jump between bare SNES carts and complete, boxed versions is quite significant as most collectors like to see the boxes on their game library shelves. Check for Chrono Trigger on eBay

Nintendo 64 Super Mario 64: $20 / $35 / $160 Just as Nintendo refused to give up the cartridge format for the longest time, they also stuck with those cardboard boxes for the games. So considering many of these N64 games aren’t especially old, some of these rather common game still command quite a good deal of money if you have them boxed and/or sealed. There also aren’t quite as many big name N64 titles in sealed condition showing up on eBay as there are NES or SNES games. So that either means that sealed N64 games are actually more rare than those on the older platforms or collectors aren’t ready to cash in just yet. Check for Super Mario 64 on eBay

Sony Playstation Final Fantasy VII (Black Label): $35 / $80 / $417 The journey of Final Fantasy VII’s value over the years has been quite interesting. The game itself is actually quite common. In fact, it is the second highest selling game on the PS1 at 9.8 million units. For the longest time, you could find this popular game for a reasonable price, but now it seems that gamers that came of age in the Playstation era are starting to join in on collecting. As with most popular Playstation games, the original black-label released command far more from collectors, but even the green Greatest Hits release will still bring in some cash if in complete or sealed condition. Check for Final Fantasy VII on eBay

Sega Genesis / Megadrive Shining Force II: $20 / $45 / $86After starting out by comparing classic Nintendo games, I was surprised by how reasonable to the values for even relatively rare and valuable games were in sealed and complete condition. However, one must keep in mind that most Genesis games came in nice, plastic cases that most Genesis owners kept. (However, that still doesn’t explain the lower prices for sealed games) Shining Force II usually sells for quite a decent amount as a single cartridge or in complete condition, so I was surprised to see that somebody scored a sealed copy for under $100. Perhaps it was because the seller had a lower feedback score. Who knows. But when compared to most other sealed Genesis/Megadrive games, it seems to be par for the course. I guess there just isn’t as much of a collectors market for Sega games as there is for classic Nintendo. Check for Shining Force II on eBay

Sega Saturn Nights Into Dreams : $13 / $27 / $84 Nights Into Dreams is in about the same boat as Final Fantasy VII. It is also one of the biggest sellers on the platform so it is far from being rare. However, Nights was one of those great games that Sony or Nintendo fans didn’t typically experience when it was new and are now hearing about this unique classic and giving it a try. Much like the Genesis, the Sega Saturn doesn’t have a whole lot of big-name sealed games show up on eBay. The Saturn has quite a valuable library, but it seems that most collectors can’t resist the urge to actually open and play their games (who’d have thought?) Check for Nights Into Dreams on eBay

Sega Dreamcast Ikaruga: $46 / $111 Back when everyone figured that Ikaruga could take after it’s predecessor Radiant Silvergun in terms of value, this shooter was on the top of collectors lists and many people hoarded sealed copies. The game easily sold for over $100 even in used condition. However, between the Gamecube and XBox Live Arcade releases and the fact that collectors intentially kept the game sealed, the supply of the game has stayed high and lowered the demand. Since the games aren’t especially old, most common Dreamcast games don’t sell for a whole lot even in sealed condition, but those harder-to-find games that appeal to hardcore gamers like 2D fighters and shooters, can still command a healthy chunk of change. Check for Ikaruga on eBay

Interesting? I think so, but I think we will see the trend of collectible video games be much list baseball cards, action figures and other hobbies. The “original” classics like the NES and SNES will become valuable because people threw out the boxes and such. (Just like mothers of the 50’s and 60’s did with baseball cards) Now that collectors are onto the idea of valuable sealed games, they will horde newer games in the shrinkwrap, which will in turn keep them from becoming rare and valuable.