WTF happened to Little Samson?

[Dobie]

I haven't browsed ebay for NES games for a while, since I only need a select few games to complete my set, but I noticed (unsurprisingly) that prices for most NES games have softened over the last couple of years. However, I also noticed Little Samson bare carts selling easily above $100. Where did that come from? I know its generally regarded as a good and semi-rare game, but I don't remember it ever selling for anywhere NEAR that back when I was actively looking for a copy.

[Casati]

It's becoming more widely known, probably in part due to websites like nesguide.com, so the demand is driving up the price the past couple years.

[SparTonberry]

Hasn't it been that way for quite awhile?

[portnoyd]

It's becoming more widely known, probably in part due to websites like nintendoage.com, so the demand is driving up the price the past couple years.

Correction.

It's been on a steady rise for many years. The $100 barrier wasn't so much an if as a when.

[Dobie]

Hasn't it been that way for quite awhile?

You may be right, since I'm not following prices as much lately. But I've kept a log of price I paid and when for each game in a spreadsheet, and I picked up Little Samson for about $25 in June 2007. I don't recall it being a steal at the time. But my wife says I have a terrible memory... so perhaps this is a shining example of that trait. Lol.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I was browsing eBay's homepage and the site had that little "Recommended for you" sidebar at the bottom - and was pretty surprised to see the game there. I didn't think a cart-only copy would be so expensive nowadays.

[Ninjamohawk]

100 isn't so bad if it's one of the few left to complete your set. It's a damn fine game too.

[horseboy]

7 or 8 years ago there were less than 10 games that commanded $100. Now it is crazy.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

the digital press printed price guide that came with the Messiah Generation NEX NOAC Famiclone is a perfect timepiece to show how much some NES games have risen and how inaccurate it is now.

Then again, I'm not sure it was ever very accurate. It lists the Nintendo World Championships 1990 cart at a value of $1000.

...


lol.

[portnoyd]

When the actual values were set (late 2001), yes, they were. Keep in mind, it was printed in 2002 also. Pretty much a stone age's worth of time in the history of game collecting.

[stalepie]

It's too bad there's no way to search ebay history from years back.

[Nesmaster]

I bought a boxed copy for $54 back in 2004, and another $10 for the manual. :/

[InsaneDavid]

What a disappointment! By the thread title I thought I would come in here to read how the value had plummeted or something. LOL

[Purkeynator]

Everyone's memory seems to be pretty accurate in this case. Take a look at this:
http://www.videogamepricecharts.com/game/nes/little-samson
According to the bar chart, the value has risen steadily since records were first kept around 2007. Around that time, it looks like the game sold for $50-60. Good thing I picked up my copy at a local used media store last year for $2 plus tax :)

[Rev. Link]

I got mine a few years ago, I think I paid around $50-60 for it on eBay.

[tubeway]

I picked mine up for 5 bucks at a flea market about four years ago.

This is now the "brag about how cheaply you picked up Little Samson" thread. ;)

[Satoshi_Matrix]

everyone in this thread now hates you!

[peeingas]

When funcoland stopped selling nes games, many went up in price on ebay. Interestingly, some (Super Dodgeball, River City Ransom), seem to have actually gone down in value.

[jonebone]

$100? Ha! Look in completed listings, a Minty cart sold for $200! Now that's something to talk about.

I sold a cart only last March (2010) for $95 shipped on NA and it sold within an hour or two. Meaning I probably priced a bit low.

I just sold an 8.5 / 10 CIB over there about 3 weeks ago for some pretty nice coin too. I was getting part out offers for the cart in the $130 range so the demand is definitely there. If I were in the market to buy one, I'd wait till summer and see if it cools off a bit.

And I won this auction last month, with a Minty CIB Samson, which is why I sold off my downgraded 8.5 / 10 duplicate.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110647165075&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Pays to hunt :)

[portnoyd]

Also, this 8.5/10 style bullshit is also a major contributor to NES prices in general.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Everyone is an Uncircumcised Curator nowadays...

Watch the value when GQD licenses a reprint... Oh, wait.

[Xexyz]

I picked mine up for 5 bucks at a flea market about four years ago.

This is now the "brag about how cheaply you picked up Little Samson" thread. ;)

Sure I'll jump in on this. I got a CIB copy (not pristine but not in rough shape either) for $20 at a Micro Play 3 and a half years ago. I noticed average condition CIB copies going for $180-$200 now. I'm kind of tempered to list mine now.

[mobiusclimber]

Sure I'll jump in on this. I got a CIB copy (not pristine but not in rough shape either) for $20 at a Micro Play 3 and a half years ago. I noticed average condition CIB copies going for $180-$200 now. I'm kind of tempered to list mine now.

Are you "tempered" b/c you got it for a "steel"? LOL

[portnoyd]

I would like to propose a bad pun one day temp ban. And we have a perfect test subject ready to go in the post above me.

[pseudonym]

How do you grade a game 8.5 anyway? Kind of makes me glad I sold my NES collection a few years ago.

[portnoyd]

Well, since everyone's an expert, you make it up. Everyone's opinion of a "8.0" box is different, add in a little bias to help bring in more money/make a better sale and there you go. Best part is, people on NA use the feedback system to buy themselves creditability in their arbitrary ratings and use them to milk and confuse buyers out of more of their money.

Obviously, a flattened, crushed box isn't going to make a 9.0 reasonable but the difference between 7.0-8.5 is completely up to the seller.

[Bojay1997]

How do you grade a game 8.5 anyway? Kind of makes me glad I sold my NES collection a few years ago.

A ten point scale is pretty common to a lot of collectibles and other things in life for that matter. Ultimately, it's subjective, but if you trust the seller based on past dealings and know what their 8.5 is, it can be helpful. Personally, I don't buy or care about VGA graded games, but having a ten point scale can be more useful than someone posting that a game is mint or near mint as those are really comic book and paper collectible terms which mean very little for games.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Whatever happened to posting photos of stuff? :P

[mobiusclimber]

I would like to propose a bad pun one day temp ban. And we have a perfect test subject ready to go in the post above me.

Far be it from me to metal in the affairs of this forum, but I'd much rather see us forge a bond of community. :D

[InsaneDavid]

Whatever happened to posting photos of stuff? :P

Amen to that. "Pictures available upon request!" Are you trying to sell something or what? You want me to take the time to contact and set up payment but you can't snap a picture ahead of time? Crazy.

[jonebone]

Well, since everyone's an expert, you make it up. Everyone's opinion of a "8.0" box is different, add in a little bias to help bring in more money/make a better sale and there you go. Best part is, people on NA use the feedback system to buy themselves creditability in their arbitrary ratings and use them to milk and confuse buyers out of more of their money.

Obviously, a flattened, crushed box isn't going to make a 9.0 reasonable but the difference between 7.0-8.5 is completely up to the seller.

Your assumptions couldn't be any more ignorant. In my for sale thread, I made no mention of it being an 8.5, I simply took plenty of detailed pictures for the buyer to view at their discretion. I simply put "8.5" here, so you guys would know I sold one that wasn't Mint, but in moderately good shape.

I don't milk anyone either, I had 5 people offering for it. I know the high offer concept is quite confusing, but the highest bidder wins. If anything, the second highest bidder is the one "milking" the winner of more money.

[Icarus Moonsight]

The number systems are arbitrary without being explicitly defined. Descriptive language (identifying the good and bad) and a few photos (sensory evidence) is much better than judging it by number like it's an Olympic dive.

Bad pun bans? Ehh, why not?... I could use a few days off every now and then. LOL

[Purkeynator]

Eh, Japanese sellers have been doing this for years and I actually find it quite handy. You will see descriptions like this:

Disc: 10/10 no scratches
Case: 9/10 small scratches on back
Manual: 8/10 very good with a couple minor creases
Spine Card 10/10 mint condition

Add that to at least one or two good pictures and you have a pretty good idea what kind of condition something is in. Obviously some people are willing to pay a little more for a better condition copy of something and that goes for all media; dvds, music cds, laser discs, whatever. Nothing new.

[Bad Atom]

I bought the game at a local Allied Records many years ago, with the box, for four bucks. Great investment and a heck of a fun game to boot!

[Griking]

7 or 8 years ago there were less than 10 games that commanded $100. Now it is crazy.

A new updated list would be helpful

[GarrettCRW]

Damn, I paid $20-$30 for that game a few years back, and I think I sold it for like $35-$40 tops last year here at DP when I was cleaning house in anticipation for my Powerpak.

[Gameguy]

Not just Little Samson, but what about Action 52? Loose carts are going over $100 now, I remember when complete copies barely sold for that much. Complete ones are now around $300.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&_rdc=1&item=170608971592&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F170608971592_ W0QQ_fviZ1&si=CeJsfLdP%252FstfDECnHpdQkonqpP4%253D&viewitem=

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&_rdc=1&item=230595053628&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F230595053628_ W0QQ_fviZ1&si=CeJsfLdP%252FstfDECnHpdQkonqpP4%253D&viewitem=

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&_rdc=1&item=280633472843&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F280633472843_ W0QQ_fviZ1&si=CeJsfLdP%252FstfDECnHpdQkonqpP4%253D&viewitem=


I sold a complete copy(missing comic) a few years ago for under $50. One of the few regrets I have with selling something.

[Nesmaster]

Panic Restaurant is another one that jumped quite high, around $70 - 100 for cart only.

[portnoyd]

Your assumptions couldn't be any more ignorant. In my for sale thread, I made no mention of it being an 8.5, I simply took plenty of detailed pictures for the buyer to view at their discretion. I simply put "8.5" here, so you guys would know I sold one that wasn't Mint, but in moderately good shape.

I don't milk anyone either, I had 5 people offering for it. I know the high offer concept is quite confusing, but the highest bidder wins. If anything, the second highest bidder is the one "milking" the winner of more money.

Someone's butthurt. Check my post again. Do I say specifically your sale thread or your games? No, I was responding to pseudonym's question about grading in general. Idiot.

If you want to feel better about yourself, I had ars2pd in mind when I made that post. That moron is hands down the worst offender.

[Parodius Duh!]

I just bought the famicom version for 40 bucks!

[FOnewearl]

Panic Restaurant is another one that jumped quite high, around $70 - 100 for cart only.

This is a better example of a game that's jumped in value over the last year or two, I've been watching it for too long on eBay and seem to remember about 2 years ago that it was about $20 to $30 roughly.

On 12/13/06 I got Power Blade 2 with manual for 15.07 (shipped) and cart only copies could sell for about $20 shipped at the time. I noticed over the last year or two that this one jumped up in price so that even cart only copies can go for $50 or more.

[SparTonberry]

So... last year I bought a CIB Captain Saver (Famicom Power Blade 2) for about $40 shipped. Good deal?

[jonebone]

Someone's butthurt. Check my post again. Do I say specifically your sale thread or your games? No, I was responding to pseudonym's question about grading in general. Idiot.

If you want to feel better about yourself, I had ars2pd in mind when I made that post. That moron is hands down the worst offender.

I just don't see how you can collect something without a concept of grading. Yes grading is subjective, but everyone quantifies how "good" their copy is. My general rule is anything a 9 or better is plenty fine for me, and anything below 9 would eventually be upgraded if I get the chance. It doesn't have anything to do with being an expert, it just makes sense if you collect.

As as for hyping your own items, it happens everywhere. When you look up stock news, you'll find plenty of people telling you to buy XYZ stock, probably because they own it themselves. Same shit happens in collecting, people pimp out their own items and hype variants as OMG UBER RAREZ!!! to make more money.

Collect what you like, not what people tell you to like, and you'll never have a problem.

[Bratwurst]

http://home.roadrunner.com/%7Esaucisse/DPcomics/Samsons.jpg

LOLing all the way to the bank!!!

[Icarus Moonsight]

What happened to Little Samson? Bratwurst cornered the market, apparently. :p

[jordandavid]

How do you grade a game 8.5 anyway? Kind of makes me glad I sold my NES collection a few years ago.

Obvi, an 8.5 is in a little better condition than an 8, but not as good as a 9.

Or it is a system devised to drive up the prices/demand of games so people who already own an "8.5" game will buy the same game again because it is arbitrarily rated a "9.0".

You are getting duped. Collect to play and there will be more to go around and less money hungry bastards in our circles.

[Bloodreign]

http://home.roadrunner.com/%7Esaucisse/DPcomics/Samsons.jpg

LOLing all the way to the bank!!!

Aahahaha, I'd be tempted to buy one of these off you, but I'm in no way spending that much on one of these. ;)

[Bratwurst]

One of them I pulled right out of some little kid's hands before he could pay for it at a dirty ass flea market. I remember that day vividly.

The air densely perfumed with fruity slush drinks and greasy taquitos, broad women wobbling past with heaving chests bound taut by tweety bird tank tops. Mexican dream catchers composed of discarded CD-ROMs and printed cutouts of Jesus Christ. Crate after crate of useless Chinese commodities, mix and match 3 for $10. Tables of corroded, random ammunition and battered firearm magazines manned by twitchy Vietnam vets. Goats freely mingling with chickens in wire pens, for a modest $5 fee, have your photo taken with a gigantic bull with the largest balls you've ever seen, no cellphone pictures please.

[The Shawn]

One of them I pulled right out of some little kid's hands before he could pay for it at a dirty ass flea market. I remember that day vividly.

The air densely perfumed with fruity slush drinks and greasy taquitos, broad women wobbling past with heaving chests bound taut by tweety bird tank tops. Mexican dream catchers composed of discarded CD-ROMs and printed cutouts of Jesus Christ. Crate after crate of useless Chinese commodities, mix and match 3 for $10. Tables of corroded, random ammunition and battered firearm magazines manned by twitchy Vietnam vets. Goats freely mingling with chickens in wire pens, for a modest $5 fee, have your photo taken with a gigantic bull with the largest balls you've ever seen, no cellphone pictures please.

Reminds me of another one of your quotes...

"Caw Caw Motherfucker!"
:)

[tubeway]

@bratwurst: best thing I've read all day. Thank you.

[Zing]

Imagine the market value if Little Samson was actually a good game to play. For now, it's just something people who are trying to complete a cart-only collection buy.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Imagine the market value if Little Samson was actually a good game to play.

No need to dream what's actual. It's among the best games on the system! LOL

[Xexyz]

Yeah, I don't quite get your quip Zing. Little Samson has some pacing issues, and the balance is a little uneven (jumps from really easy to pretty damn challenging from here to there) but overall it's a pretty good game. It just lacks a little of that Capcom/Konami/Nintendo 8-bit polish.

[pseudonym]

Little Samson is one of the best games that Taito released IMO, unfortunate that it was released at the wrong time. To me it always seemed like a fairly expensive game relative to other games at the time (about $30 or so when it was for sale compared to $10-20 for other games). Power Blade 2 and Panic Restaurant have really jumped upward. Both of them weren't that expensive a few years ago.

[Atarileaf]

I laughed at our local game store that had a loose copy for $110. I was surprised he actually sold it and quickly. Of course I'm not a big NES collector so I didn't know its value.

[Purkeynator]

Wonder who's laughing now? http://videogames.pricecharting.com/game/nes/little-samson

[Tron 2.0]

I laughed at our local game store that had a loose copy for $110. I was surprised he actually sold it and quickly. Of course I'm not a big NES collector so I didn't know its value.
For it's value me either i was shocked for how much it jumped in price.By the way the japan version is now cheaper the u.s one ;)

[treismac]

One of them I pulled right out of some little kid's hands before he could pay for it at a dirty ass flea market. I remember that day vividly.

The air densely perfumed with fruity slush drinks and greasy taquitos, broad women wobbling past with heaving chests bound taut by tweety bird tank tops. Mexican dream catchers composed of discarded CD-ROMs and printed cutouts of Jesus Christ. Crate after crate of useless Chinese commodities, mix and match 3 for $10. Tables of corroded, random ammunition and battered firearm magazines manned by twitchy Vietnam vets. Goats freely mingling with chickens in wire pens, for a modest $5 fee, have your photo taken with a gigantic bull with the largest balls you've ever seen, no cellphone pictures please.

As someone who from time to time just goes to the Flea Market to soak in the local color, I enjoyed that descriptive paragraph, Bratwurst.


Imagine the market value if Little Samson was actually a good game to play. For now, it's just something people who are trying to complete a cart-only collection buy.

I'd want Little Samson for my collection regardless of its value as it is a nifty platformer published by one of the old guards of the industry. With that said, I think that there is a fair share of folks in our community who probably wouldn't fawn over the game near as much if it had came out on the NES three years earlier and every other kid in the neighborhood had it. I feel the same way about Tengen's Tetris (minus the timing of its release), but that is another story for another time...

[Atarileaf]

Wonder who's laughing now? http://videogames.pricecharting.com/game/nes/little-samson

Me, at the absurdity of that price. Who's not laughing? Probably the game store that let it go for $110

There's one right now with 24 bid at $382

I've never played it but from what I hear its one of those rare games that's also fun, that's a deadly combination if you're a collector on the hunt for it.

Still about $360 more than I would pay for ANY nes game but I'm not primarily a NES collector.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

It's called Ninflation.

[Gameguy]

It's called NintendoAge-flation.
Fixed to be more accurate.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

In February 2012, a reviewer by the name of the Gaming Historian reviewed Little Samson with high praise. It eventually got 25,000 views on Youtube. If you look at the graph that shows the rise in average price, the steepest period of increase started in that same February, and it has now doubled in price within the span of one year.

It may not have been the only factor, but judging by the timing of it all, it seems the video may have had an effect. Especially when you consider the game rose $100 between February 2012 and March 2012 alone.

[XYXZYZ]

Little Samson is one of the best damn games I've ever played, but I'm still not paying some ridiculous price for it. So until I can find a good deal I play it on my Power Pak.

[Damaniel]

While the game itself is actually very good, the gameplay alone is obviously not the main driver of current pricing (for reference, I sold mine not too long ago for $350). The current cost of this game, and the realization that people are willing to pay it, is what has done the most to discourage me from collecting for older systems. Back when I bought it (for $3!), it would have been considered insane to pay more than $50. Now, people will gladly drop over $300 for this single game, and over $100 for plenty of other NES games. I might have pretty deep pockets (relatively speaking), but not that deep.

[Vaporman87]

Man. This makes me wish I would have held on to some of my other titles a little longer, if Little Samson is selling at these prices. I hadn't even heard of the game until someone at our site posted a review (http://www.retro-daze.org/site/article/id/27)of it.

[Nesmaster]

A complete copy just ended at $1425. Flintstones 2 from what I've been seeing $1800 - $2300 complete. This is rediculous.

You can pretty much look up any of the harder to find, middle-road rarities and find just as surprising results:

Zombie Nation
Rescue Rangers 2
Panic Restaurant
Ducktales 2
Wayne's World
Godzilla 2
Die Hard
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Ubisoft)
Wacky Races
Bubble Bobble 2
Kid Klown
Gun Nac
Snow Brothers

I could go on but you get the idea. Anything remotely in demand or rare, and COMPLETE with box and manual, forget it you'll need a second mortgage at this point to get a complete set. Look at complete copies of Mega Man or Ninja Gaiden titles. The one that surprises me most outside of what Little Samson in any NTSC flavor sells for now is Panic Restaurant.