The 3rd rarest licensed NES game?

[VG_Maniac]

It's pretty common knowledge that Stadium Events is the rarest licensed game on the NES and Flintstones: Surprise at Dino Peak is the second...but I never hear anyone say what they think the 3rd rarest one is. Going by how often I see them on Ebay and how much they sell for, I'd say it's almost a toss up between Little Samson and Bubble Bobble 2. What would you say the 3rd rarest licensed NES game is?

[buzz_n64]

Nintendo World Championships cart?

[VG_Maniac]

Nintendo World Championships cart?

I'm only talking about licensed games that were actually released to the public. Nintendo World Championships was only given away to the NWC finalists and the winners of the Nintendo Power contest.

[jcalder8]

SMB/Duck hunt according to most craiglist postings

[Greg2600]

Bubble Bobble 2 for sure. There are other rare games, like Snow Brothers, which go for a lot of money, too.

[Griking]

Is Flintstones really #2?

[Kitsune Sniper]

... Wouldn't Little Samson be #3?

[VG_Maniac]

Is Flintstones really #2?

As far as officially licensed games go it is, which isn't counting unlicensed games like Cheetahmen II and Bubble Bath Babes.

[Balloon Fight]

Personally I would put Little Samson as #3. That's after collecting the system for 8 years now.

[Leo_A]

I never hear anyone say what they think the 3rd rarest one is. Going by how often I see them on Ebay and how much they sell for, I'd say it's almost a toss up between Little Samson and Bubble Bobble 2. What would you say the 3rd rarest licensed NES game is?

Are they the 3rd rarest, or just a fairly rare game that happens to be in decent demand?

As far as I know, they're both well remembered classics that people want not only for their collection, but also to play. So that might be factoring into the equation as well.

[portnoyd]

Bubble Bobble 2 for sure. There are other rare games, like Snow Brothers, which go for a lot of money, too.

Value does not equal rarity.

Bubble Bobble 2 is barely in the top 10. You can't possibly justify that when it is up for auction on ebay all the time, with at least 3 opportunities for purchase. Little Samson is more or less the same situation.

I would rank Color A Dinosaur, Kid Klown, Pro Sport Hockey and Race America above them giving the third spot to Color A Dinosaur.

[peeingas]

There are a lot of rare games that are worthless. Take for instance Break Time, an obscure pool game made by FCI. A pretty rare game, but worth about $2.

[Oobgarm]

What about considering these...

Zombie Nation
Gun-Nac
Motor City Patrol
Casino Kid II
Panic Restaurant
Nobunaga's Ambition II
Rockin' Kats
Power Blade 2

All of those are fairly tough to spot in the wild, and eBay's not exactly overloaded on them at all times.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Value does not equal rarity.

True. I just figured Little Samson was #3 due to the amount of money it pulls. *shrugs*

[mrmark0673]

I would rank Color A Dinosaur, Kid Klown, Pro Sport Hockey...

These are three that immediately came to my mind as well. Not as high of a demand, but I would say certainly less common than LS or BB2.

[treismac]

SMB/Duck hunt according to most craiglist postings

Ha!! Vendors at my local Flea Market are rather convinced of their rarity as well.

[Rob2600]

What about considering these...

Gun-Nac

All of those are fairly tough to spot in the wild, and eBay's not exactly overloaded on them at all times.

Gun-Nac isn't rare.

[jonebone]

Tough decision, I doubt everyone will agree. I do put Little Samson ahead of Bubble Bobble 2 in terms of rarity though.

I don't see how Race America, Color A Dino or Kid Klown can be that up there either since they go for so cheap. I know that price does not just equal rarity (also demand), but if a game is truly the 3rd hardest to find in a set, then it's going for more than $20 loose. It's not like Flintstones 2 is worth $150-$200 because there's a long line of people willing to play it... it's price is based on rarity.

If I had to make a guess, I'd go with:
1) SE
2) F2
3) Little Samson
4) Power Blade 2
5) Panic Restaurant
6) Bonk's Adventure

and Bubble Bobble 2 somewhere after those in the top 10. Once again, just educated guesses and I'm sure no one will be in complete agreement.

[portnoyd]

I don't see how Race America, Color A Dino or Kid Klown can be that up there either since they go for so cheap.

Because of the mentality that people have, you included by your post, they are not regarded as rare as others. Since you do not see them as valuable, you do not want to pay more for them. It's a Catch-22. You don't think they're rare, so you don't want to give them proper value. And since they don't have proper value, you can't regard them as rare. It doesn't mean they're not.

As much research that I've done over the years, I can say that yes, they are definitely up there. Since I stand no chance of turning the NA tide, no one will regard them differently so as they are, they stay.

Also, your statement may be true if it wasn't for the precedent set by early collectors and Funco prices. Bubble Bobble 2 had one of the highest prices at the turn of the century at Funco. Since many, many early NES collectors, myself included, had little to go on with value, we turned to what resources we had, those being the Funco list and sadly, these abortions of the Etler list:

http://deathspork.flyingomelette.com...treat/rare.txt
http://www.nintendoplayer.com/collec...pdatedrare.txt

Look how Bubble Bobble 2 on both lists is one of the highest priced titles. Titles like Little Samson and Flintstones 2 miraculously went from <$10 to >$40.

Another thing to remember is while a good many NES collectors have found their way to DP and NA over the years, there is still quite a few who do not rely on either for assistance. All they do is google "nes rarity list" and they are taken right to the second link above. This is the way it's been for 10 years! Over many years, prices were influenced by, to be blunt, poorly informed collectors solely using eBay.

[jonebone]

Because of the mentality that people have, you included by your post, they are not regarded as rare as others. Since you do not see them as valuable, you do not want to pay more for them. It's a Catch-22. You don't think they're rare, so you don't want to give them proper value. And since they don't have proper value, you can't regard them as rare. It doesn't mean they're not.

As much research that I've done over the years, I can say that yes, they are definitely up there. Since I stand no chance of turning the NA tide, no one will regard them differently so as they are, they stay.

Color a Dino and Kid Klown perhaps, but not Race America. Race America is simply uncommon. I would agree that Color a Dino / Kid Klown are potentially undervalued as they can both be a bitch to obtain, but demand just isn't there.

Hype definitely goes a long way in pricing, but that's the nature of the beast. Overhyped games can command more in value than sleepers which are rare but cheap. However, NES is pretty mature now and everyone has a good idea about what's what. Completionist collectors would have driven their prices up a bit if they realized "Hey, I haven't found this game for months and months, maybe I need to pay more to obtain it." That just simply hasn't happened.