Pikmin 2 Rare?

[Jorpho]

Is there some reason this game seems to consistently fetch high prices? Is it uncommon with name recognition from Brawl, or is it actually a very good game for which the demand is expected? (And is it that much better than the first?)

Also, I thought this got released for the Wii with "New Play Control". Or did that release not last very long?

[Ryudo]

First one came to the west for Wii but the second stayed in Japan.

[kupomogli]

A lot of first party Nintendo games sixth gen and after that you can't find in store any longer are pretty expensive yet not rare in the least. It's like the ninth wonder of the world. The ninth wonder I say because people pay ridiculous prices for games that suck. Like new PS3 and 360 games for $60 when most should start at $40 or less.

[Aussie2B]

Pikmin 2 was valuable even before the Wii releases, though.

Its value is a combination of a lot of factors:

- the presence of Olimar in Smash Bros. increases demand
- the lack of a US release of the Wii port didn't help matters
- it is regarded as a very good game
- most Pikmin fans do seem to prefer it because it's much longer, adds new Pikmin, adds multiplayer, and doesn't have a time limit (although I'd argue some of those reasons are what makes the original better, but Pikmin 2 is still a great game)
- many people seemed to miss out on it was it was new, and after awhile, it just completely disappeared from stores (I saw it marked down as low as $20, but it disappeared before it got any lower)

I don't know about it being particularly rare, but it definitely has to at least be rarer than the first one, which went Player's Choice even. It's rare enough and has strong enough demand to maintain a fairly high price, that's about all it comes down to. Maybe some serious GameCube collectors can weigh in on its rarity compared to other GameCube releases.

[theclaw]

Yeah I very much doubt print run is involved. It's a first party Nintendo game that hit Players's Choice.

Actually Pikmin 2 was on the PAL Wii. But that still doesn't help us really.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Pikmin 3 announced for Wii U at E3 this year potentially stoked it [2] up recently too.


Pikmin 2 was widely considered an improvement on the original game and was rated the 47th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.[14] and placed 29th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time.

[Aussie2B]

Yeah I very much doubt print run is involved. It's a first party Nintendo game that hit Players's Choice.

Pikmin 2 went Player's Choice? Strange. I see a pic of it on GameFAQs, but I don't see any Player's Choice copies on eBay and I don't recall ever seeing them in stores. If that was the case, you'd think copies would've been a lot more accessible, but there were people paying a premium for used copies before the GameCube was even dead because they couldn't find it in stores.

[Buyatari]

I wouldn't say rare as in Stadium Events rare but I've never had a copy of this game traded into any of my stores. Not one time. So for a first party Nintedo title in the modern age I would say at the very least it is Uncommon.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Ninflation

[goatdan]

I think it's a combination of a few things. In a nutshell, not much promotion, a first game that was fun but didn't light the world on fire, characters showing up in other popular games to keep interest high, and the 'new play control' Wii version for just the first one. If you want to play the second, you only really have one shot to do so.

I actually have a new copy of Pikmin 2. I bought it when I saw them starting to disappear from shelves although I hadn't made it through Pikmin at that time. I never did get through Pikmin, so I've yet to open Pikmin 2. I'd like to sometime soon, but I haven't been able to yet. Having said that, unless I adore Pikmin, Pikmin 2 is going to go up for sale at some point in the future, because with it being worth what it is, I can't really justify opening it...

[Aussie2B]

If I were you, I'd sell it regardless. If you want to play Pikmin 2, then just buy a mint used copy and pocket the profit.

[jonebone]

Yeah, Pikmin 2 is just a great game, first party Nintendo, and widely in demand. I'd agree that it's more uncommon than rare. The price tag comes from the cult following.

I got an extra manual if anyone needs one to complete a CIB. Also own it CIB and have been meaning to pick it up sealed at some point. I see sealed ending around $80-$90 at auction, but BINs are usually more like $120.

I think it's a bit better game than the original Pikmin, but it also wore me down. By the time I finished it I was just glad to be done and had no motivation to go for 100% completion. The underground levels are neat at first, but after you do a few of them, they become more of a chore IMO.

[Zing]

First one came to the west for Wii but the second stayed in Japan.

The price for either game did not lower after the release of the Wii version(s).

[jonebone]

The price for either game did not lower after the release of the Wii version(s).

Eh, you sure about that? New Play control on Wii was released on March 9th, 2009 to the States.

You look at the chart and tell me what happened to the price after that.

http://videogames.pricecharting.com/game/gamecube/pikmin

As for Pikmin 2, there has never been a New Play Control Wii re-release to the States, which is why the price is so high. I guarantee the price would drop quickly if a Wii version was released here.

[Cornelius]

I think it's a bit better game than the original Pikmin, but it also wore me down. By the time I finished it I was just glad to be done and had no motivation to go for 100% completion. The underground levels are neat at first, but after you do a few of them, they become more of a chore IMO.

This is what happened to me. I think I left it with 1.5 caves left to do.

[Aussie2B]

Yeah, I definitely had that "enough already" feeling with Pikmin 2, but I did go for 100% (I never did bother to do all those separate challenges perfectly, though). I'm not that crazy about randomly generated levels. They get so same-y after awhile. And they didn't put the same level of effort and creativity into the overworld areas. Plus it just felt like there was no challenge or point. The original Pikmin feels more like a real game. You have a limited amount of time to get your work done, so it challenges you to really strategize and replay a day until you get it just perfect. Despite all that, I do still think it's a really good game, but I like the first Pikmin a fair deal more.

[Emperor Megas]

I got an extra manual if anyone needs one to complete a CIB. Also own it CIB and have been meaning to pick it up sealed at some point. I see sealed ending around $80-$90 at auction, but BINs are usually more like $120.Damn, I didn't know that. I've got both, the second sealed (I'm pretty sure that I paid $15 for it). I never played either, but I think I might have to off my sealed copy of part 2.

[goatdan]

If I were you, I'd sell it regardless. If you want to play Pikmin 2, then just buy a mint used copy and pocket the profit.

It might happen if I get any time. I also have the Baten Kaitos games including the one with the soundtrack in it new, and between my complete lack of time and how much those are worth, I might have a mini sealed game sale on eBay in a month or so here...

[Emperor Megas]

It might happen if I get any time. I also have the Baten Kaitos games including the one with the soundtrack in it new, and between my complete lack of time and how much those are worth, I might have a mini sealed game sale on eBay in a month or so here...Hmm, more games I own that I've never played. Those are worth something then? I figured that they were pretty common, and cheap.

[goatdan]

The Kaitos games were worth about $30 apiece new last I checked, nothing oustanding but better than the $15 apiece I paid. The soundtrack one, which was a Toys R Us exclusive thing, I have seen all over the board, from the $30 price to like $100ish.

To me, games that are a ton of time to play, if I can sell them for $30, that is worth more than the time that I have to play them right now.

[Aussie2B]

For what it's worth, those are really good games too. Well, at least the first Baten Kaitos is. I still haven't played much of Origins, so I can't really make the call on that one. I even imported the first Baten Kaitos when it first came out since it looked so good (still the only GameCube import I have). Really nice packaging for the Japanese version.

[Buyatari]

The Kaitos games were worth about $30 apiece new last I checked, nothing oustanding but better than the $15 apiece I paid. The soundtrack one, which was a Toys R Us exclusive thing, I have seen all over the board, from the $30 price to like $100ish.

To me, games that are a ton of time to play, if I can sell them for $30, that is worth more than the time that I have to play them right now.

The Toys R US near me had a ton and sold em for ~$5 same price as Odama. Nice to see the price finally going somewhere.

[Zing]

I think it's a bit better game than the original Pikmin, but it also wore me down. By the time I finished it I was just glad to be done and had no motivation to go for 100% completion. The underground levels are neat at first, but after you do a few of them, they become more of a chore IMO.

I loved the first game. I managed to get all the ship parts. The second game, I felt the same was as you. By the time I gathered the minimum number of parts to end the game, I was done. I grew to despise the underground areas.

[Colorado Rockies]

I felt that Pikmin 2 was far easier than the first one.
That being said, I also like it a lot more than the first one. Pikmin 2 is still one of my favorite games from last gen.

[j_factor]

Just a note, the Wii version of Pikmin 2 was released in Europe. Might be cheaper to import that version, than to get the GC version domestically.

[jonebone]

Just a note, the Wii version of Pikmin 2 was released in Europe. Might be cheaper to import that version, than to get the GC version domestically.

Are the Wiis region free? I legitimately had never played a Pikmin ever until the Wii "New Play Control" re-release. I actually would have much preferred buying the Wii Pikmin 2, but in my initial research, it didn't look compatible. So I settled for the GC version, and since I waited several months inbetween both games, I was unaffected by the control scheme.

[crazyjackcsa]

No, they aren't. They are softmoddable though.