Any rare PC games?

[BetaWolf47]

What PC games are especially rare or valuable?

(Please move to WIW if wrong section)

[Nikademus1969]

The first 2 Elder Scrolls games come to mind, altho I don't know how "rare" they are now that they can both be downloaded.

[Kitsune Sniper]

There's no real measure of rarity, at least not in the same sense that console games have, when it comes to PC games.

Unlike most post-Atari era console games, PC games came in media that could be very sensitive to weather, storage, magnetic forces... and so on. Sometimes a game is valuable only because there's not that many working copies anymore. Other times, a game can be very common (like Zork, which showed up in dozens of reprints in different game sets) but the original packaging and contents are worth a lot of money.

It's all variable.

[BetaWolf47]

Thanks for the info. By the way, magnets don't affect disks.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Thanks for the info. By the way, magnets don't affect disks.

Floppy disks?

MY HIGH SCHOOL HOMEWORK WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU, YOUNG MAN.

[BetaWolf47]

Nuh! I forgot that not all WIN32 games are on CD!

[Ed Oscuro]

Edit: I would like to say that Diatribal Deity is indeed godlike, even if I felt I had to check the name spelling, and I found a lot of useful information in that post. Don't forget to mention the Star Trek 25th Anniversary PC game - one of the first PC games in this household, and probably still one of the ones that keeps its value best. Hardly played by anyone, too.

By the way, magnets don't affect disks.

The post ever.

I have gotten pretty lucky at my local thrift over the years, finding lots of good classic computer titles. The last one I found was either Microsoft Flight Simulator (new, 4.0 version, classic '90s minimalist art on the front which is lovely), or the Strategic Simulations Inc. game "Wake of the Ravager," which I'd like to try out soon. I also found Baldur's Gate (just opened but seems new) there, as well as System Shock 1, the much-beloved Enhanced CD-ROM, non-EA Classics version. Found Ultima III there (Apple or IBM PC, can't remember) as well as the box and manual (but sadly no original disc) for The Temple of Apshai which I'm guessing must be ultra rare. (Edit: What am I saying, the game is worthless. TRS-80 version. I don't think any version holds money though, unfortunately.) Unfortunately no original game disc, just somebody's ancient floppy copy.

Come to think of it that has to be one of my favorite finds, since I had great fun reading the entries in the game's manual online a year or so before I found it. Totally unexpected.

I'm sure there's been lots of great stuff that's gone through that thrift which somebody else found, too, which I find interesting (if not a bit frightening). You'd think that so many years after the systems these games were played on hit obsolescence that people would just toss 'em in the trash, instead of delivering perfect-condition copies to a local thrift for me to pick up (and I'd have expected more damage from rough handling at the thrifts too - thankfully I haven't found any games with packing tape wrapped around the boxes in a while).

Why is "One Unit Whole Blood" worth so much? Limited run or something?

"All-in-one" series compilations generally go for quite a bit given the perceived collectability, for starters, but also because of the assumed efficiency and ease of use of such packages. I recall that for a long while I was looking for the Marathon Trilogy (still don't have it), and I picked up the "Science Fiction" compilation with Blade Runner and two other games (Wing Commander Armada is one of the others) on it for a reasonable price (I want to say $55 for some reason; that could be way off, but probably at the high end). One game compilation pack that I would not recommend, after having played it in DosBox emulation, is the all-in-one Redneck Rampage compilation - good games but the "cuss pack" and missing music tracks don't help the value.

"Yep, Xatrix Entertainment." Just had to write that.

The Half-Life pack containing OpFor and Team Fortress Classic probably ain't worth that much, but only because the games have been in constant distribution.

And the Unreal Collection came in two editions: One is just a standard PC-DVD type box (i.e. a thick DVD movie black case), and the other is (apparently) that box inside a bigger box. The latter is what I have (happy for that too) - possibly the last PC game I got at the local GameStop (I keep wanting to believe but their prices are terrible every time I go in there).

There's also various packs for the Myst games, i.e. the Myst 10th Anniversary DVD Edition box, which is hampered by compatibility problems (though Riven without disc swapping is nice). There was also a Complete Chronicles edition of Uru (one of my favorites), but I preferred to get all the games separately and I don't think the Complete Chronicles is worth a premium (although I haven't checked prices since buying the two parts separately).

Finally, some "slim box" games have seemed to provide good value. The Fallout slim package (of Fallout 1 and 2) has kept its value for a while because of the unfortunate lack of distribution of the first two games for some time. On the other hand, I'm not sure what my compilation CD of the Avalon RPGs is worth (and I'm not even sure it's worth cracking open for playing), or even the slim package for Sanitarium (which I have the strange suspicion isn't worth anything).

[Flack]

There are lots of "rare" games. Unfortunately, they're not worth much. There are also "popular" games, which are typically worth more than simply "rare" games because they have name recognition. Sierra and LucasArts made many popular/collectible PC games, but they weren't "rare" by any stretch of the imagination.

There are only a few examples of games that were both popular and rare. The first Akalabeth/Ultima release was rare and super valuable.

EDIT: And of course magnets affect floppy disks ...

[Kitsune Sniper]

There are only a few examples of games that were both popular and rare. The first Akalabeth/Ultima release was rare and super valuable.

Or Ultima XI Ascension: Dragon Edition, which was rare and super valuable to begin with (it had a ton of bonuses plus ALL the previous Ultima games!)

[swlovinist]

Lots of collectable PC games. Many are classic or vintage, complete in good shape. Worth a ton? Not usually, and locally I find the occasional game very cheap. I then sell it online starting at 99 cents and it usually goes for more than I paid. With that being said, some PC games have just been forgotten and think that collecting them would be fun, although tough.

[Poofta!]

Or Ultima XI Ascension: Dragon Edition, which was rare and super valuable to begin with (it had a ton of bonuses plus ALL the previous Ultima games!)

its not very valuable.

many of the popular D&D games has special edition, which are rare, but not that pricey.

Gold Edition of Bauldur's Gate however is both, very rare, and very expensive.

for pc games though, there really arent any rare AND valuable games. the only thing that can really raise the price is the original packaging, since almost everyone threw out hte big boxes, a complete game (regardless of how common) can be very hard to find and therefor valuable.

duke nukem 3d: 1$
duke nukem 3d complete big box: 20$+

thing is, if a game was rare, and popular, the company printed more, quickly, since there are no minimum print runs for pc and no royalties. if a game is rare and sucked, well no one will care and its worthless.

the amount of games for pc is so huge that any kind of actual tracking would probably be impossible since anyone can release a game without any authorization etc.

i collect pc games, rpgs mostly, and let me tell you, the hardest and most expensive games are the complete big box games of popular/good games. not necessarily rare. some of course ARE rare, and those can go up even higher in price. but the demand for them is small. most people either 1) dont care and just want any version to play or 2) arent even aware of their existence. complete copies of fallout 1, 2 and lucasarts adventure games will run a LOT more than the near worthless dragon edition of Ultima 9 (a shitty game, btw)

[aaron7]

I paid $100 for my CIB Daggerfall and $60 for my CIB Duke3d Atomic Edition.

Also paid $100 for all three Magic: The Gathering games.

Guess that's rare?

[Jorpho]

The original boxed Fallout Tactoics used to get pretty high prices, but since Fallout bundles have started popping up the price might have gone down. The same goes for the PC version of Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire (but not the Mac version, nor Alpha Centauri on its own).

There's a couple of other three-figure games here:
http://store.purplus.net/vinsof.html

I've bought so many PC games thinking that if I didn't like them/couldn't run them, I could sell them with ease. This is just not true.

Indeed it is not.

[Gameguy]

There's a couple of other three-figure games here:
http://store.purplus.net/vinsof.html

Is the Interplay 15th Anniversary really worth that much? I know I have the 10th Anniversary collection but I never spent anything near that much. Some of those prices have to be way off.

[Push Upstairs]

I paid $100 for my CIB Daggerfall and $60 for my CIB Duke3d Atomic Edition.

The original release of Duke3D had the good extra, the Duke3D mousepad!

I bought Duke Atomic circa 1999 for like $10.

[sunraise]

What PC games are especially rare or valuable?

(Please move to WIW if wrong section)

what does wiw mean?

[Gapporin]

what does wiw mean?

What It's Worth, our Antique Roadshow forum.

One title I haven't seen mentioned so far as of yet is the strategy title Emperor of the Fading Sun. I've not seen many copies online to gauge an exact estimate, but it seems like both complete and jewel case-only copies hover consistently around the $50-60 mark.

[cyrax151]

I have quite a few PC games considered to be "rare." I won't go into it too much but my rarest is the following >
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dubJNLqHayY