How "Rare" is Silent Hill Really?

[titanzguard]

I was just looking at my local Craigslist ads and see a guy with this listing...

"WTB Silent Hill for Playstation One or Castlevania - $20 (Pgh Area)"

I checked the online rarity guide and its rated an 1, worth about $8. I then checked ebay and say it goes from $25 and up? I know this game is hard to come by but never knew it to be so "Rare." So whats the deal?

Here is a link to that Craigslist ad:
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tag/797603111.html

[plastic]

All my local game shops have it stickered at $50+. WAY too high, obviously.

[GnawRadar]

It's just like Final Fantasy VII. There are plenty of copies everywhere but because everyone wants one the price is outrageously high.

[Sniderman]

Yup. Same with RE 1, 2, and 3. They were all common as dirt at one time, but everyone wants 'em. So the prices are crazy.

[Bojay1997]

A game that originally retailed for $50 being sold used for $25 and up is not exactly a sign of rarity or even standard price appreciation.

[slip81]

A game that originally retailed for $50 being sold used for $25 and up is not exactly a sign of rarity or even standard price appreciation.

actually in games it is, because it's extremely uncommon for any used game [not counting limited editions, mail aways, sealed etc] to garner more than the original retail price.

So, for a game with millions in print, on media that's cheap as dirt, that isn't even that old, $25 is quite a bit.

I also never understood the demand for Silent Hill, I played the original when it was new, and even then didn't really like due to the combat system/camera/movement, and played today I think it's even worse because to me, it isn't a game that held up well, especially since we now have far superior survival horror games.

[bb_hood]

Silent Hill is common for a ps1 game. Ive come across more than 4 copies not even looking for it, and its a greatest hits game. Nothing about this game is rare.

[maxlords]

Yup, a nice Silent Hill garners an easy $35-50. Been that way ever since the movie came out.

[Bojay1997]

actually in games it is, because it's extremely uncommon for any used game [not counting limited editions, mail aways, sealed etc] to garner more than the original retail price.

So, for a game with millions in print, on media that's cheap as dirt, that isn't even that old, $25 is quite a bit.

I also never understood the demand for Silent Hill, I played the original when it was new, and even then didn't really like due to the combat system/camera/movement, and played today I think it's even worse because to me, it isn't a game that held up well, especially since we now have far superior survival horror games.

As far as I'm concerned, a game that sells for half its MSRP is not a game that's in much demand. Even FFVII typically goes for well above MSRP in the non-GH version. I suppose you're right that it has maintained more value than most other used PSOne games, but if you can easily buy it from Ebay or other sources at half MSRP, I don't agree that it's rare or valuable.

[fpbrush]

Yup, a nice Silent Hill garners an easy $35-50. Been that way ever since the movie came out.

Ahh... I had completely missed the movie factor! That would certainly do it...good call.

[TheRealist50]

I've been meaning to ask this question so I figured now is the right time.

I have Silent Hill, bought it off my friends for 20 bucks but I later realized the manual is horribly beat up. I don't want to ask for my money back because he needed the money, anyways the point is does anyone know where I can find a replacement manual? some sort of website? or maybe somebody here has one and would be willing to sell it, I need the non-GH manual.

[8bitCaged]

I've been meaning to ask this question so I figured now is the right time.

I have Silent Hill, bought it off my friends for 20 bucks but I later realized the manual is horribly beat up. I don't want to ask for my money back because he needed the money, anyways the point is does anyone know where I can find a replacement manual? some sort of website? or maybe somebody here has one and would be willing to sell it, I need the non-GH manual.
Just sell it you will get your 20 bucks back.

Yup, a nice Silent Hill garners an easy $35-50. Been that way ever since the movie came out.
Yea than why is my super mario brothers cart for the nes not worth $35-50?
Thay had a movie.

[maxlords]

Well...maybe if the SMB movie hadn't sucked, the print runs on SMB games had been a bit lower, and oh wait...that had nothing to do with Silent Hill.

The ONLY point I was making was that that was when the price spiked. It was up to $80 for a short while around the time the movie came out and the series got mainstream notice, people snapped up all the used ones to resell or keep, dwindling the supply of available copies, and now it's down to $35-50 as the demand has settled back to normal levels with a smaller supply available. No need to be a snippy smart-ass when someone posts information.

[heybtbm]

A game that originally retailed for $50 being sold used for $25 and up is not exactly a sign of rarity or even standard price appreciation.

>>ding ding ding<< Someone gets it.

Things are only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. Oh, and to the TC..."rare" is not the word you're looking for. "High in Demand" is what you're trying to say. Collectors are always using "rare" incorrectly. This would mean it had/has a low supply...which a Greatest Hits game certainly doesn't. Nothing big, just a minor pet peeve of mine.

[PapaStu]

It's all about demand.

Thanks to things like the movie and later sequels the original SH (just like FF VII and Resident Evil) is now getting lots of attention from people that never played it before and they are now paying stupid money for it because of a percieved 'scarcity' value.

This game had a solid run, not to mention a long GH run as well. There are copies out there, but since the PlayStation stuff is nigh on impossible to find in stores, people turn to ebay, and once a few copies sell for 35-40 bucks, they ALL sell for 35-40 bucks.

[rpepper9]

I was just looking at my local Craigslist ads and see a guy with this listing...

"WTB Silent Hill for Playstation One or Castlevania - $20 (Pgh Area)"

I checked the online rarity guide and its rated an 1, worth about $8. I then checked ebay and say it goes from $25 and up? I know this game is hard to come by but never knew it to be so "Rare." So whats the deal?

Here is a link to that Craigslist ad:
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tag/797603111.html

Well see, you are in the Pittsburgh area. So there are many different elements to factor in.

First, you have to take the success of the Penguins, minus the failures of the Pirates. Factor in the three rivers area is called the Golden Triangle, and subtract the number of people who still work in the "steel industry", in the "steel city. If you do all your math correctly 20 dollars does seem like a pretty reasonable price (for the Pittsburgh area).

Now eBay, that is a whole nother can of worms I don't care to get into!

[robo3355]

This may sound weird, but for some reason this game was always case less when I tried to buy a used copy back in the late 90's at EB or Funcoland, same goes for FF VII. My friend and I created a theory that 80% of the people that owned these two games had shit for brains, and also enjoy gaming only when eating a bucket of kentucky fried chicken with CD's for plates. It unfortunately proved to be true.

I remember the summer of 02 we still hadn't gotten a playable complete copy so my friend finally broke down and got a loose copy up in vermont. This in turn ended up being exchanged for three copies which none had worked due to neglect from the previous owners. So we just borrowed it from a friend and played through it. Was this copy complete? Of course not it was scratched to hell with a hollywood video sticker on it.

Fast forward to 2006, the movie had come out and my friend gives me a call from Vermont saying he really wants a copy of silent hill. Now I had been out of buying games for a while but games used to be readily available, affordable and easy to purchase in Pittsburgh due to one store. The Exchange (3-4 locations in the greater Pittsburgh area). However some jerk off complained one time about how his copy of Dragon something or other on the Saturn was worth one hundred dollars, they said they can't trust eBay and the guy says, "Digital Press". Now this "chain" store in the east coast refers to the DP guide strictly for game prices, this really put a damper on my search.

(Not to get off subject but my beef with them using the pricing system is such, when you trade into the exchange they give you half cash or 75% trade in of what they're going to sell the item in the store for. This means they gave Pee Wee Herman 50-75 dollars (100 out on the shelf) for a forgettable SAT RPG, which coincidentally sat in the store for 3 years, and may still be there. Previous to this they were giving people a quarter or at most 2.50 for Saturn games. The point is, I stopped into this very store and picked up 30 Saturn games non-sports (enemy zero, children of the atom, tomb raider) for under 15 dollars they were 50 and 25 cents a piece. This was tentatively one year before the price guiding happened. The clerk who rung me up said, "These had been in here a week and we didn't think they were going to sell at all because Saturn is crap.". Now, I had only bought them because they were so cheap and I figured a decent Saturn collection wouldn't be so bad for 15 bucks. Most playstation games at this store are 20 and under, you could go there any time of the week and get a FFVII gh for 8 bucks a year before, however I just happened to look over into the glass case and spot a GH FFVII for 70 dollars. Needless to say I was pissed.)

phew sorry.

Anyways, I searched for three months and found him a copy at the Dormont Exchange for 7 dollars. He then told me that they were selling for 80 dollars on eBay, and due to my above discontent for The Exchange's new policy I obtained 3-4 copies of the game all of a sudden for the prices of 10, 15, 20 and sold them all on eBay for well over 50 dollars a piece to get back at the "man" who was once a cool place to shop, and also the life source of my collection for many years.

As far as Silent Hill goes and rarity, I believe the following reasons as to why it's "rare"

1. There is a pre-order cover that is shiny and metallic, i didn't notice until i compared the covers of a couple copies. Smart ebayer's take note of this and bid accordingly.

2. People will not buy the GH versions so it in turn spikes up the original. (this may seem obvious to anyone who posts on here but for little Timmy it's Chinese.)

3. Unfortunately, this game falls into the category of 80% of it's owners were shitheads, see details above.

4. I had never thought of this point until I got much older, but 50 dollars for a game that cost 50 dollars isn't so bad. I was always used to buying them used at the Exchange for cheap I was spoiled, I admit. But recently I find myself justifying quasi "expensive" titles because, "When General Chaos came out in 92 that game was 60 Dollars, so what's 40 for a nice complete copy?" So I don't see why someone would not think that when punching 50-60 into the maximum bid bracket on eBay.

5. The movie, my copies were sold after it's initial release. I can only imagine the masses saying, "I remember that Game (while walking out of the theater) it was awesome, many good times were spent playing that game and enjoying a bucket of the Colonel's original recipe, to EBAY!"

[eskobar]

The game is not rare ... but it is expensive.

There are games that had a big or massive production, but they become very popular in short time.

The popularity of Silent Hill has increased in the same ammount that the "survival /suspense /terror" genre has grown.

This genre has limited offer, that is why more recent games like Fatal Frame 1, 2 and 3 are quite expensive.

Being a seller in Mexico, the demand for games like Clock Tower 1 & 2 has increased, usually games like CT1 or CT2 are for gamers that loved SH3 ... then bought SH2, SH1, FF1,FF2, FF3, Rule of Rose .. etc.

So expect an increase in the value of SH as years pass.

[titanzguard]

Robo3355,

All I have to say is your absolutely correct. The Exchange used to be a place where you could get some old classics at a cheap price. Now they want every penny for that game unless they have one with a bad label or scratched disk, then they mark it down a bit. I was wondering where they got their pricing. Now I know.

Thanks!

[megasdkirby]

Yup, a nice Silent Hill garners an easy $35-50. Been that way ever since the movie came out.

Exactly!

The price hike was simply due to the movie release. If the movie was never released or mentioned, the price would have remained low.

The same thing with Advent Children. If the movie never existed, FF7 would have been a dead cheap game.

[DigitalSpace]

The same thing with Advent Children. If the movie never existed, FF7 would have been a dead cheap game.

I disagree. It may be more common than today's average going price suggests, but either way, the price was going to go up sooner or later as fewer stores carry PS1 games - it probably just wouldn't have happened as soon as it did. This was a top-selling game that people have gotten (and will get) nostalgic for, and on top of that, it's an RPG, and good RPGs will almost always appreciate in value.

[Iron Draggon]

Ahh... I had completely missed the movie factor! That would certainly do it...good call.

well now we know how to increase the value of all our shitty old games that nobody cares about... just make a movie about 'em, and POOF! insane demand!

[boatofcar]

As far as I'm concerned, a game that sells for half its MSRP is not a game that's in much demand.

Then you'd be wrong. 90% of all games from previous generations sell for less than 25% of their original MSRP. If a game sells for half, it's in demand. If it sells for MSRP or above, it's either really, really in demand or uncommon/rare.

[robo3355]

Robo3355,

All I have to say is your absolutely correct. The Exchange used to be a place where you could get some old classics at a cheap price. Now they want every penny for that game unless they have one with a bad label or scratched disk, then they mark it down a bit. I was wondering where they got their pricing. Now I know.

Thanks!

Yeah, and their other policy is when it's been in the store for so long it gets marked down a percentage. Which is how the 5 dollar and 2.50 bin work. When they give someone 75 dollars in store credit for some ridiculous saturn game that will never sell, it does not get marked down, not a penny. It's considered a loss. Store has gone downhill drastically, but you can still find some goods in there for a really good price. I bought house of the dead 2 for dreamcast, white case non all star and ready to go for .25 cents. I also bought 7 or 8 VMU's for .50 cents a piece. I'm still up in the air about it, but I definitely don't purchase as much anymore because i'm not really interested, and the prices are sometimes ridiculous.

[shivers]

prices are sometimes ridiculous.

Radiant Silvergun!!

[The 1 2 P]

Like others said--you can blame the movie for the price spike. It's another case of Final Fantasy VII where you have a dirt common game(including a greatest hits rerelease version) and yet people still act as if theres only 300 copies in the entire world. Also interesting is the many other games with greatest hits versions and no movie tie-ins(like Castlevania: SoTN) that also demand high dollar amounts.

[megasdkirby]

I disagree. It may be more common than today's average going price suggests, but either way, the price was going to go up sooner or later as fewer stores carry PS1 games - it probably just wouldn't have happened as soon as it did. This was a top-selling game that people have gotten (and will get) nostalgic for, and on top of that, it's an RPG, and good RPGs will almost always appreciate in value.

Don't know.

Around here, those games could have been for around $15 or $20, tops.

Ever since the movies came out, demand rose and those games rose in price.

I remember seen Silent Hill going for $100 (!!!) right when the movie came out! Now I've seen it go for $50 or so...still too pricey for it's own good.

Final Fantasy was the most notorious, though. EB always had massive amounts of them...but when the damn movie came out, the price rose from $15...to nearly $60! And the most shocking thing was that EVERY damn copy sold!

It's not even that good of a game! Why the hell does it sell like crazy!?

Specially for those two: super common games. I would understand other games, specially those obscure ones, but come on, Final Fantasy? Silent Hill? SOTN is also a culprit in this...

And I bet that, if those movies were never made, the games would go no more than $25 or so.

[chrisbid]

instead of complaining, use your skills of finding people not in the know and flip these titles

[shivers]

i dont think it has much to do with movie tie-ins.
most square games go for alot no matter what.
einhander - 35$ no movie
parasite eve - 40$ movie was for the book not game
chorono trigger - 2000$ sealed (ok that was stupid) probably 60$
front mission - 40$
xeno gears - 70$
and yes theres animes for most of the square games but non of them make a diffrence or jack the price in anyway. i think its only cause there "good games" and even know there not as rare as some games there still in a higher demand.

[The 1 2 P]

And I bet that, if those movies were never made, the games would go no more than $25 or so.

I guess someone needs to back up your theory. Everyone should go check current prices for Metal Gear Solid on PS1. About $10-20 used according to ebay. But when that MGS movie finally comes out you know that this will change to $30-60 used. Although I don't think the price spike will last as long as FFVII and Silent Hill, you never know.

[megasdkirby]

I guess someone needs to back up your theory. Everyone should go check current prices for Metal Gear Solid on PS1. About $10-20 used according to ebay. But when that MGS movie finally comes out you know that this will change to $30-60 used. Although I don't think the price spike will last as long as FFVII and Silent Hill, you never know.

Agreed.

like The 1 2 P mentioned, people look at the current price for MGS. It WILL go high in price once the movie is released or close to it. And at first, the price will spike to amounts unheard of. It will settle after some time, but it will still remain high. I bet that the usual "$10-$20" will change to "$40-$70".

I bet all my twix bars on that!

[Fuyukaze]

Rare and popular are two different things. The price guide for the most part is useless, and just because a game is common as hell doesnt mean it'll be cheap as ever either. Just look at the Mario games on the NES and SNES. Resident Evil games on the PS1. The Final Fantasy games on the PS1. Now look at the games considered rare on those systems. How many of the "rare" games go for alot and how many of the popular games go for alot? Very simple when you look at it like that.

[garagesaleking!!]

the exchange is great for trading in junk yu dont want, i took a box of random crap and got like 60 cash for it.

They lie about using dp for prices. Becuase some of their prices are like 80 for games that say 20 on dp. And only go for like 40 on ebay.

You can get a deal sometimes if they dont know the value of the game, or condition, or they have too many copies. I got tetris and dr mario for 5 once in nice condition, i mean the snes combo cartridge