Why is Mezase Senkyuoh!! AKA Battle Balls worth so little? What factors?

[gopro]

20+ Years ago I was privileged to play Battle Balls at a local Bowling Alley when I was wee child and that game blew my mind away. It was always intense for a puzzle game.
A few years later the alley sold the game to a local Billiards/Arcade a friend and I would always go at it there. One day it disappeared and I was never to find it again until my late teen years when I realized it was a Japanese game.
I finally found it on ebay after months of searching and bought it for about $35~ in 2006 and recently looked on again to see if the prices have jumped or anything but people have been buying it for for $20~ which seems ludicrous imo.
Is what plaguing Battle Balls was no actual physical CD/Cartridge release to America?

My question is what factors does a rare game need in order to become the game worth being sought for?
EX. Ive had two copies of Pocky and Rocky 2 by chance. (I got one for christmas as a kid and found one at the used store as a kid) and now this game is worth $200~. I agree its a good game but $200?

Ive played a few other rareish games and theyre not even half as entertaining as Battle Balls.

Additional insight would be appreciated.

[Niku-Sama]

Some times it's not even rare to be considered valuable. Look at super Mario. Literally millions of copies (between 8,16,64 bit systems), should be 5 bucks at most but no. Much more on average.

At a glance it looks like another puzzle bobble or puyo-puyo. So for most people it's probably been over looked.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7034

Judging from the arcade (that I'm assuming you are talking about in the bowling alley) and the Japanese psx game I'd have looked it over too

[celerystalker]

In the case of Pocky & Rocky, there's also the whole Natsume factor. Once the Harvest Moon franchise got super big, people became more aware of Natsume, and started collecting their stuff. Those games probably would've gone up a good deal on their own merits, but literally any classic Natsume game now carries a premium.

In the case of a game like Battle Balls, it's all about the lack of demand. PS1 isn't as big of a collector's system compared to NES or SNES, especially on the import scene. Even great arcade pcbs can be cheap. In the last year, I bought a POW pcb for $20 shipped and a US Championship V'ball for $25 (arcade Super Spike V'ball). Both are outstanding games, but there just isn't the same kind of collector fervor you'd find for SNES games.

[Koa Zo]

That's pretty awesome that you made this thread! I've for years had the same question!
At the height of my collecting I could scan through 100's of eBay listings from HitJapan and Yamatoku and others, and just from glimpses of the cover images I'd know if I was looking for that game, had it already, or not interested. Occasionally (and this was part of the excitement of scanning foreign seller's listings) a game cover art image would catch my eye or a game title would be one I'd never seen or heard of before. Mezase Senkyuoh!! was one such case.

The game caught my eye because I'd never seen or heard of it before, and then when I saw it was by Seibu Kaihatsu I decided to give it a try. I just checked my spreadsheet and it was September 2009 and it cost me $15.50 shipped.

I was never a big player of these type of games but I was quickly hooked and delighted by the gameplay and characters and game nuances. I could not understand why I'd not heard of the game before and why no one talks about it. I did a little searching and was pleased to find out it was released in English arcades as Battle Balls, though I'd never heard anyone talk of that version either. I thought Mezase Senkyuoh!! was some unknown sleeper hit and was sure to balloon in price someday. If fact, years later when I saw the price hadn't increased at all, I purchased another copy in better condition than my first! That one was in Sept. 2014 for $18 shipped.

[fahlim003]

I heard about this game when I got Raiden DX back in the early 2000s as it comes with a demo of Mezase. Its an ok game although really well suited for multi-player as I found. I sold my standalone copy years ago.
As for why its worth so little? Its not well known, at all, and as mentioned despite being good its just not that good unless played in Versus mode. These factors are unlikely to change even though its quite uncommon, or rather, was 10 years ago.

[Emperor Megas]

Battle Balls was in the an arcade called Penny Land that I used to go to in the French Quarters back in the 90s. I loved the game and always wanted a home version but never knew of one. I may have to track down an import copy, however I don't have any modded or import PlayStation consoles.