Games with an overrated rarity?

[BetaWolf47]

What games do you personally think are more common than they are given credit for?

My vote goes to a not necessarily "Classic" game from last gen: Pikmin 2. Everyone says "Rare rare rare!" when it's everywhere. Heck, if you search for "Pikmin 2 rare" on eBay you can find over 10 results for the game. Without the word "rare" it yields over 60. I see it all the time in Gamestop and PnT.

[nhm]

How about the "rare" Legend of Zelda gold cart? It's one of the most mass produced games of all time, yet it is always described by sellers as "rare".

[Ed Oscuro]

Within a few years of my joining this place people were saying (and they could've said long ago) that the gold carts get rarer as time goes on - because with handling they end up not being gold anymore.

[dodgeme]

Final Fantasy 7. Not as though it was scarce. People just excessivly gouge things.

[vrikkgwj]

Ico. People always say this game is mega rare, but I picked up a copy easily for $20 about half a year ago, and I watched it sit on the shelf for a month before I decided to get it.

[TonyTheTiger]

How about the "rare" Legend of Zelda gold cart? It's one of the most mass produced games of all time, yet it is always described by sellers as "rare".

To be fair, I think most people who write "rare" in their Ebay listings are doing so to catch unsuspecting buyers rather than because they have an honest belief it's actually true. I can find so-called "rare" copies of Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Super Mario World, and probably even Halo if I looked hard enough. My internal monologue always goes something like, "Yeah, that must be a super rare game you're selling with a buy it now of $7."

Personally, I don't like the word "rare" at all specifically because it's meaning has been so diluted it's almost a self parody. I hear people talking about "rare" games and my eyes roll. In fact, it's gotten to the point where even things that might be genuinely rare make me sort of scoff at the idea simply because in this day and age anything can be found. It might take a little time or some further hunting but even something like Magical Chase is available to anybody with a big enough wallet. It's for that reason I prefer to talk in the context of value rather than rarity since that's usually what people care about anyway. When somebody mentions how "rare" something is they're usually insinuating that it's valuable rather than just hard to find but still worth squat.

I think some examples of games that are constantly touted as rare but always available on the 'bay are the pricey ones like Rondo of Blood, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Dragon Force, etc. Pretty much the "superstars" if you catch my drift.

[Arkhan]

A shop near me had 3 copies of FFVII, all labeled RARE and marked up to 90$


I asked where he got all 3 since they were so rare and all he said was "my source".

I think its the most overrated rarity. The only reason its been gouged is because everyone who never played it saw Advent Children and got a boner.

[rgw825]

I find it interesting how much Castlevania Symphony of the Night goes for on Ebay. There is usually 80-100 on sale at any time and people still sell it for $30-$50.

[betamax001]

I suppose it depends on if it is a black label or not...but it probably has more to do with profit making (depending on the seller) meaning if a person bought SOTN for 15 bucks might charge 30 to make some money on a game they see others selling.

[Kyle15]

Final Fantasy 7 and Marvel vs Capcom hands-down.

[Aussie2B]

95% of games that are worth a decent amount of money? People can never seem to get it through their heads that demand and value doesn't equal rarity, nor do they understand how games that are truly rare can actually be quite cheap because the demand is so low.

[j_factor]

Just about every game that's been reprinted by Game Quest Direct. And I mean before their reprint.

There were a few Working Designs games for Turbo CD and Saturn that they still had for sale on their website until the day they went out of business. As soon as their site went down, all of them were suddenly "rare". And there are games that are "rare" now that were sitting on TZD, or Sega Parts, or some site like that for ages and ages.

With the original Zelda, didn't they actually make more gold carts than regular?

[Famidrive-16]

Indiana Jones for the N64. I think I've seen it more in the wild than any other 'rental-only' N64 game but some people consider it the rarest N64 game. Then again, it might be my area.

[Oldskool]

I find it interesting how much Castlevania Symphony of the Night goes for on Ebay. There is usually 80-100 on sale at any time and people still sell it for $30-$50.

That's because it's a damn good game! I am happy to own a copy. Bought it when it was new, and it's not going anywhere.

Castlevania's just seam to hold their values. Even the NES Castlevania's are worth 10 bucks or so still.

[Compute]

Super Mario Bros. 3. People seem to think it's rare because it's popular. Atari 2600's get posted on CL here for waaaay too much, so somebody must think those are rare too.

[fishsandwich]

Tengen Tetris is not the holy grail it's made out to be.

[Oobgarm]

99% off all products you see in store or eBay with the word RARE attached to it are "overrated".

Almost all of the *truly rare* stuff changes hands in private or is picked up on the sly when someone doesn't understand its potential value. Of course you'll have exceptions, but they're few and far between.

[BetaWolf47]

Super Mario Bros. 3. People seem to think it's rare because it's popular. Atari 2600's get posted on CL here for waaaay too much, so somebody must think those are rare too.
I didn't make this thread with those things in mind... I was referring to things that well-informed people consider rare yet you see often. You've got a point on SMB3. I still can't believe the day I saw a $49.99 price tag on that loose cart.

[DragonmasterDan]

My problem is games that are advertised as being less common than they are. A good example is Panzer Dragoon Saga US. There was initially 6,000 copies produced, but subsequent print runs led the final tally to around 30,000. A quick look around ebay shows that urban legend that only 6,000 were printed still exists.

[peeingas]

I think the Namco Pacman and Ms. Pacman games for the nes. I see them both all the time, and no I'm not confusing them with the Tengen versions

[MachineGex]

I think Bonk's for NES is hard to find(at a fair price) but not rare. Games like "Little Samson" or even "Panic Restaurant" seem much harder to find. Samson is alittle more expensive but I think it is much harder to find. Even Panic Restaurant seems harder to find(in the wild) but costs alittle less on average.

The only rare thing about Bonks is finding one for a good price. I have found two Panic Restaurant at fair prices but every time I see a Bonks it is $50-70.
Anyone want to trade me a Bonks for a Panic Restaurant?

[MissingNo_1231]

Ico used to be easy as heck to find in my area. I used to just pass by and think, maybe I'll pick it up some day.

Now, impossible to locate.

[TonyTheTiger]

My problem is games that are advertised as being less common than they are. A good example is Panzer Dragoon Saga US. There was initially 6,000 copies produced, but subsequent print runs led the final tally to around 30,000. A quick look around ebay shows that urban legend that only 6,000 were printed still exists.

That was happening with the Mega Man 9 Press Kits and it was pissing me off. In fact, it's still probably happening. Every auction on Ebay says there are only 200. Well, that was true. Capcom did originally intend to produce only about 200...until they got a bunch of orders and produced enough to fill them bringing the official number to somewhere around 1,000.