I have solved the Earthbound mystery...

[MyTurnToPlay]

Well...I am happy to report that after a bit of research, I have discovered the source of all the Earthbound stupidity out there. As we all know...Earthbound is the number 1 game for ebay and price idiocy...something that makes absolutely no sense given the cart is as common as dirt. But all the prick morons and lemmings aside...I have come upon some startling evidence that may explain the beginnings of the Earthbound stupidity.

Once again, I was on videogamepricecharts looking at numbers and stats. And I pulled up Earthbound's ebay price history. It is shown below.

http://i47.tinypic.com/dlt6x4.jpg

As can be seen from the image, February 2008 was the last month in which any sense of normalcy or sanity prevailed. After that date, something happened that caused all the idiots out there to go into a frenzy.

Well...determined to get to the bottom of this...I began to investigate what happened in March 2008 that triggered this.

Ladies and gentlemen, I can now state unequivocally, that I have found the origins of the Earthbound craze.
In March 2008, a cosmic burst of such proportions occurred that it became farthest object visible to the naked eye. Specifically, GRB 080319B let out remarkable gamma-ray burst of such magnitude, that even though it occurred at a distance of 2.9 million light years...it was still visible to the the naked eye. Here is the link from wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRB_080319B

So that, ladies and gentlemen, is what happened to Earthbound. It is the source and cause of all the Earthbound madness...and explains every single thing that happened to its price starting from March 2008.

The riddle has been solved...the mystery is no more. We can all rest in peace knowing that the culprit was GRB 080319B and happened 2.9 million light years away.

thank you.

[Mister_Pal]

Wow that was so exciting I almost cared about what you had to say.

[skaar]

I applaud your effort, sir.

Don't let the budget Adam Sandler above me get you down.

[Gameguy]

I just thought of another use for the DP ServBot, there should be voting buttons on every thread and if any thread gets at least 10 votes for "stupid" the DP ServBot can troll the thread automatically. If you can automate Garry Shandling too it would be perfect. I don't know why the thought just popped into my head. Weird.

[G-Boobie]

Gamma ray bursts are always getting blamed for inflated video game prices.

It's downright racist.

[Oldskool]

That explanation seems sound. I think you may be correct.

[PapaStu]

As a member of the Illuminati I have to completely agree with this statement. We've not had our hands in this at all. Nothing to see here. Please go about your daily business.

[RP2A03]

As a member of the Illuminati I have to completely agree with this statement. We've not had our hands in this at all. Nothing to see here. Please go about your daily business.

Wait... I thought you guys didn't exist.

[xelement5x]

All trolling aside my theory was that the spike in Earthbound sales was due to the release of Smash Brothers Brawl (March 9, 2008 in NA according to wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Smash_Bros._Brawl)) and the inclusions of Ness in that game.

Brawl was an extremely popular game on an extremely popular console, and Ness could be considered an "unknown" to many people compared to the likes of Mario, Link and Kirby. Players wonder about the "unknown" character and the game he's from and want to buy the game, demand can't keep up and prices spike and continue to stay artificially high even though there was a decent number of copies of the game produced.

[Edmond Dantes]

Gamma ray bursts are always getting blamed for inflated video game prices.

It's downright racist.

Racist against what, incredible hulks?

[Tokimemofan]

All trolling aside my theory was that the spike in Earthbound sales was due to the release of Smash Brothers Brawl (March 9, 2008 in NA according to wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Smash_Bros._Brawl)) and the inclusions of Ness in that game.

Brawl was an extremely popular game on an extremely popular console, and Ness could be considered an "unknown" to many people compared to the likes of Mario, Link and Kirby. Players wonder about the "unknown" character and the game he's from and want to buy the game, demand can't keep up and prices spike and continue to stay artificially high even though there was a decent number of copies of the game produced.

Only thing I'd argue with is the words "artificially high", the fact is that the game is one of the most bizarre RPGs ever made. At this point I doubt $50 prices will ever return, I seem to remember Suikoden III did the same to the first 2 and while the somewhat more common one is back down to average prices for RPGs of that type, Suikoden II is still 2x higher than it otherwise would be. Dragonball GT Final Bout was another example involving a genuinely rare game and an anime/manga, and that was sometimes going to the $1300 range before the reprint and loss of interest in an otherwise mediocre fighting game. It is still about $80, a bit high but still.

[Aussie2B]

All trolling aside my theory was that the spike in Earthbound sales was due to the release of Smash Brothers Brawl (March 9, 2008 in NA according to wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Smash_Bros._Brawl)) and the inclusions of Ness in that game.

Brawl was an extremely popular game on an extremely popular console, and Ness could be considered an "unknown" to many people compared to the likes of Mario, Link and Kirby. Players wonder about the "unknown" character and the game he's from and want to buy the game, demand can't keep up and prices spike and continue to stay artificially high even though there was a decent number of copies of the game produced.

It's not really a theory at this point. It's pretty much fact that Smash Bros. boosts the popularity of the lesser-known characters/games. The new Kid Icarus owes its existence to Smash Bros., and prior to Marth and Roy being included in Smash Bros., practically no one in the US cared about Fire Emblem. Now we've gotten nearly every (maybe all?) Fire Emblem games since then. Pikmin also had a surge from Olimar's inclusion.

[rpepper9]

I am proud to say I am part of the problem! I recently sold a copy on eBay with book (scratch & sniff cards intact) for 249.99. I knew that if I was willing to sit on the inventory that it would eventually sell for that price. And this was a recent sale, not in some crazy holiday rush.

[Panzerfuzion]

I picked up a complete copy in june of 2008 for $236 and at the time i thought i overpaid...

[rbudrick]

True, true.

-Rob

[DDCecil]

It's only popular because people have yet to see the light... err... Aurora.

Hail the true king of comedy RPGs. You can all keep your stinkin' hippies, 'cause we got humanoid shellfish!

5038


5037

And remember... "Aurora Quest: Otaku no Seiza does what Earthboundon't"!

[Rickstilwell1]

Only thing I'd argue with is the words "artificially high", the fact is that the game is one of the most bizarre RPGs ever made. At this point I doubt $50 prices will ever return, I seem to remember Suikoden III did the same to the first 2 and while the somewhat more common one is back down to average prices for RPGs of that type, Suikoden II is still 2x higher than it otherwise would be. Dragonball GT Final Bout was another example involving a genuinely rare game and an anime/manga, and that was sometimes going to the $1300 range before the reprint and loss of interest in an otherwise mediocre fighting game. It is still about $80, a bit high but still.

I think PS One Classics for PSP and PS3 on PSN is what KO'd the original Suikoden back down to normal price. All the Final Fantasy re-releases on there have done the same to that franchise.