Ever wonder where those new hardtofind games come from?

[mdk]

Cool article about the company who reprints old games like Res 2,3...Disgaea etc. I always wondered where these game from.

http://www.siliconera.com/2006/01/16/the-business-of-reprints/

[stuffedmonkey]

That is a cool article. I love that GQD does this. Anything that makes gread games more available must be a good thing - hoarders and eliteists be dammed.

[Poofta!]

GQD, i love you.

[unwinddesign]

Wow, I never realized that they were the ones behind that. Interesting read. Bad for collectors? Yes, definately. Still, such is the risk with collecting anything.

[lol monster]

good read.

in other news i found gitaroo man at eb today.

[mdk]

Apparently they bought out all of Working Designs back stock not that they have really given us anything great this generation.

[Ed Oscuro]

I replied over there...

- Ripping open games and selling them at a profit sucks.
- No reprint symbols sucks.

By the time you're done at GameStop, you've just walked out of good cash for a game you could find cheaper online, thinking you had bought the rare original.

[mdk]

I replied over there...

- Ripping open games and selling them at a profit sucks.
- No reprint symbols sucks.

By the time you're done at GameStop, you've just walked out of good cash for a game you could find cheaper online, thinking you had bought the rare original.

Although I think that marking the cases as 'reprint' in some way would be great I dissagree a bit. By the time I'm done at Gamestop I spent $39-45 on a game that is/was ebaying for $45-80.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yes, but GameStop should be selling them sealed for *less.*

See? They're ripping us off. But hey, I won't buy any more "new" PS1 games at GameStop (oh, wait, I can't anyways as they took away the bin...)

[norkusa]

Apparently they bought out all of Working Designs back stock not that they have really given us anything great this generation.

Yeah, I just read that. Then I went to GSD and looked at some of the prices. Some deals. Sega Ages for Saturn only $59.99. :roll:

[davepesc]

I love that they do this and I don't see any reason why they should be labeled as reprints or anything. The pressings are done with the blessings of the original publishers. The only reason to slap them with a "Scarlet R" would be to preserve the rarity of the copy on your shelf.

I consider the new printings an extention of the original run. Who ever said there would never be any more copies of any of these games?

[Ed Oscuro]

Apparently they bought out all of Working Designs back stock not that they have really given us anything great this generation.

Yeah, I just read that. Then I went to GSD and looked at some of the prices. Some deals. Sega Ages for Saturn only $59.99. :roll:
Lemme guess, ripped open, too?

[Ed Oscuro]

I consider the new printings an extention of the original run. Who ever said there would never be any more copies of any of these games?
It's just assumed.

My god, if somebody did this in another hobby, somebody would get murdered, no joke.

[Slipdeath]

There's a Game Quest near my house, I think it's one of the last ones.

[Griking]

Wow, all of the assumptions and denials can now finally be laid to rest. This story to me answers all of the questions everybody's been asking but nobody really knew the answer to.

It's official now. There HAVE been reprints of Rez, Gitaroo Man and a few other titles and they didn't just find old stock in a warehouse somewheres as collectors have been trying to convince everybody.

What I find even more interesting is this quote;




Game Quest Direct said that any they would try to reprint any game that goes on eBay for over $100.

:hail:

This should cause some serious ripples on eBay and possibly a few suicides.

[roushimsx]

I consider the new printings an extention of the original run. Who ever said there would never be any more copies of any of these games?

I agree. Games like Disgaea went through multiple print runs before GameQuestDirect got their hands on it, and even Sega churned out multiple print runs of Panzer Dragoon Saga back when it came out.

More copies of the games = more people that can play it

and Collectors...don't get too mad! By not putting a little R or whatever on it, it makes it one less variant you have to track down. Gotta look at the bright side :)

p.s. Dear Gamequest Direct: I love you.

[davepesc]

It's been said several times in other threads, but it holds true: This is a product of disc media, cheap and easy to reproduce. I seriously doubt we'll be seeing any cart re-releases just because of the cost of production coupled with the diminishing number of consoles out there.

I would add, though, that backwards compatability probably also is a factor. Might not sell so many PS1 reprints if there's no BC in PS2 (and 3).

[pacmanhat]

This is great...I think a great game deserves to be out there and to be playable, period. A game like Disgaea or Rez is too good to be as rare as it is/was. More people NEED to experience it. These games getting out there is well worth seeing these games decrease in value, regardless of what greedy resellers/retailers/collectors say. What matters most is the gaming community as a whole, and that's what's being benefitted here. I don't really care for the idea of making the reprints variants, mostly because I just don't think it's necessary. The fact that they're opening the copies they sell doesn't affect the market for sealed copies of the games, which is nice if you're into that sort of thing. If they did decide to make a label variant, though, it wouldn't bother me that much. I just don't see the point in doing it.

[Spartacus]

I don't mind the reprints. But why not just be upfront about it from the get go? Why pretend it's old inventory? Why lie?

[anagrama]

Wouldn't it be possible to identify the reprints by looking at the matrix codes on the CD?
Sure, it'd be hard to tell the difference off-hand looking at a game on a store shelf, but it should be possible to an informed buyer...

[Nez]

Hey aslong as they dont reprint AES titles I'm fine. And I have very little to worrie about in that depo.

Shure it sucks that my rez isn't as valuable anymore, but hell its still fun and it IS a original run copy. Most of the other games they have reprinted I have sold for profit a long time ago so I'm not worried at all.

Unless they reprind PDS that would be a substantial loss of money on my end.

[googlefest1]

bastards !!!



cool for titles i dont have - sucks for titles i do have



also -- where do you people find these reprints -- also how do you find out about them ?? - i never seen any and only hear about them here -- i havent look on ebay for a while but now i see a flood of suikoden 2s

[hezeuschrist]

This is awesome news.

I felt a slight pang of "dammit" when I saw that they might try to reprint Suikoden II, but even then I don't really care. I want to get my hands on the games they're reprinting and this is an excellent way to do so. I just need to make sure I remember to place an order for the WD backstock items right when I get paid...

[googlefest1]

i just chekced out thier website -- you think those prices are cheap? they are as big a ripp off as ebay - what a crock !!!

[Austin]

Thank you, GQD.

Now I'm paying the prices for these games that I would have paid had I bought them when they were new and available. For someone who was a few years behind on picking up a PS2, this is great news.

Sure, I feel a bit of remorse for all of the collectors/hoarders, but hey. Someone's eventually going to make money off hard to find games. Whether it's the person who is sitting on top of a sealed copy for several years, taking it off the shelf to polish every once and a while, or the company that gets permission to mass reprint the game, it's just whoever gets there first. That's the gamble you take any time you collect something for profit.

Sealed/rare collectors, you have the game already, why complain? Sealed/rare resellers, sorry, but you may want to find something better to invest your money into than video games. In the meantime, I'll be thanking Gamequest Direct for putting copies of Disgaea, Rez, and Saiyuki into my hands without breaking my bank.

[Daria]

You know this kinda sucks for the collector who dosen't already have the game yet too. It kind of kills the excitment of the hunt to have someone just reprint your personal grail and throw it up online in bulk. When I thought this was all rediscovered backstock I was hoping they would find Suikoden 2, but now that it's just some company riding ebay's price gouging coat tails it feels... dirty.

[rbudrick]

I saw the Saturn and TG16 mentioned in that article. So, are they not maming reprints of JUST the current gen titles? They are actually going to do older systems? WTF is cooler than that?

I'd laugh my ass of hysterically if they started doing indistinguishable reprints of Euro Kizuna Encounter.

-Rob

[Captain Wrong]

I saw the Saturn and TG16 mentioned in that article. So, are they not maming reprints of JUST the current gen titles? They are actually going to do older systems? WTF is cooler than that?

Read it again. They're not reprinting Saturn and TG-16 games. They bought out Working Designs old stock which included Saturn and TG-16 games. Those really are old stock.

Thanks for posting this and finally clearing this issue up. I'd always assumed Rez and whatnot were just new old stock.

As always, collectors, hoarders, eBay profiteers, people flipping out about lack of distungishing marks...sorry 'bout your luck. Not really... :P

[Xexyz]

I love it!! I can't wait for new prints of Suikoden II and Valkyrie Profile!

[Li Wang]

These people obviously have no qualms about destroying the capitalist institution of video game speculation by ordering reprints of these titles from the people who have every right to do so. I was a day trader working the Gamestop/EB/mislisted title market indexes until these socialist bastards robbed me of my life's work. Now how will I put my kids through college, let alone explain to little Johnny that he can't have that extra plate of Macaroni anymore? Clearly I have to restructure my trading strategy around hard to find titles on CD, DVD, and other optical media, because those are never subject to sudden reprints like this.

This is worse than that time the apartment across the street caught fire after some jerk downloaded roms off the internet.

[Ed Oscuro]

I love it!! I can't wait for new prints of Suikoden II and Valkyrie Profile!
True, same here.

I actually wonder if, once the game reprints are off the shelves, whether this really will have a drastic effect on final game values. The reprints can't be adding THAT many copies to the marketplace - it's not as if you're throwing 150,000 new copies into the market where before there had only been 50,000 (if I'm wrong, correct me, but this seems logical...)

[Captain Wrong]

These people obviously have no qualms about destroying the capitalist institution of video game speculation by ordering reprints of these titles from the people who have every right to do so. I was a day trader working the Gamestop/EB/mislisted title market indexes until these socialist bastards robbed me of my life's work. Now how will I put my kids through college, let alone explain to little Johnny that he can't have that extra plate of Macaroni anymore? Clearly I have to restructure my trading strategy around hard to find titles on CD, DVD, and other optical media, because those are never subject to sudden reprints like this.

This is worse than that time the apartment across the street caught fire after some jerk downloaded roms off the internet.


http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/caca92/11275742308804uu.gif

Now that was funny!

[swlovinist]

I admit I was one of the people that did not believe that games were being reprinted, espically PS1 games, espically by a third party company. Now that that article clears the debate up, I think that it is an awsome idea. There are several RPG's I need to pick up, and it looks like now I will be able to. I have never been in collecting games for money, although I have to admit it is cool to sometimes think of how much somthing I have collected is worth. I recently picked up some PS1 games from Game Quest Direct, and I have to say that I was pleased with the service that they offer. This is good news indeed.

[XYXZYZ]

Collectors take note, Game Quest Direct said that they would try to reprint any game that goes on eBay for over $100.

Oh yeeeah, come on with me some RADIANT SILVERGUN! :-P


Read it again. They're not reprinting Saturn and TG-16 games. They bought out Working Designs old stock which included Saturn and TG-16 games. Those really are old stock.

Aww. damn. :(

[goatdan]

I am completely not against games being reprinted if they aren't easily available. In fact, I've personally looked into doing this for a few different things, and I have a lot of information about it...

However, the reason that this is pissing off a significant chunk of the collecting community is that they weren't up front about it. If I would've or do get the rights that I am seeking, I would announce my intentions to the gaming community that would be purchasing the game from me. By instead creating that many copies of a game and then leaving it up to the collector community to speculate on if they are new or not is a bad decision.

Also, from a business standpoint I don't know how I feel about them not distinguishing them. On one hand, yes you do not need to collect two copies if you wanted to. On the other hand, you are basically purposely misleading the buyers because you haven't told them this was a reprint, and you put no indications on it to say that. Do you legally need to do that? No. You now own the rights, you can do whatever you please. But should you? I'd argue that you should, although collectors might turn to your game and say that it is a "worthless reprint by some no-name company" which would make your copies worth a heck of a lot less money to collectors.

So is this the right answer? In some people's eyes, I'm sure it is. In mine... it might be, but I'm not yet convinced. I do wonder how long companies will license stuff like this to them before they realize that they could make more money on it themselves. And I wouldn't expect them to do it with anything older than PS1, including Saturn, because the amount of money they are using (quoted at $100,000) would be EXTREMELY hard to make back up with any other console.

[Griking]

I don't know, I see no reason for anyone to be upset about any of this at all with the exception of those who are only in it for the money and will now take a financial hit now that many previously rare games are being re-released and sold for less than they're selling them for. And honestly I don't feel sorry in the least. Can't tell the difference between the original and the reprint? Who cares? That just tells me that its a quality product. Again, the only people who would care are those who have money invested in it all and despirately want their product to hold their value.

[MightySlacker]

GQD can kiss my ass. If you want an interesting read:

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75380

If you want the cliff notes, GQD has been lying the whole time about not knowing about reprints. They claim to know nothing and make it seem like there was a small stock of the item found in order to gouge the price for their reprints on ebay and their site. Then, when people catch on to what's happening, they dump what's left to gamestop or other retailers. This started with the Resident Evils for Gamecube and continued from there.

Whoever from GQD was posting there was also banned for posting under another name to defend himself and come clean with the "truth", which they still never did. Here is what GQD said about the Rhapsody and Persona 2 reprints:

"Okay i'm posting since every one is wondering if this title is a remake or not. The answer is i don't know either. All the answers provided to me are based on speculation, I contacted Atlus when i heard of the rumor, about inventory being available of Persona 2 & Rhapsody. Atlus claims no remake, and that is what my understanding of the situation is. The inventory is almost out of both titles, quite a few hoarders who were buying to speculate canceled. We had single orders of 50+ plus copies, which we canceled, we are trying to prevent hoarders from buying this title to a certain extent. That is why you are seeing more inventory available."

Which in retrospect was a bunch of fucking lies. I hope when they ask Square for a Valkyrie Profile reprint they get a dick slapped on their forehead

Dave

[roushimsx]

Also, from a business standpoint I don't know how I feel about them not distinguishing them. On one hand, yes you do not need to collect two copies if you wanted to. On the other hand, you are basically purposely misleading the buyers because you haven't told them this was a reprint, and you put no indications on it to say that.

But companies do additional print runs of their own games all the time. Is it really that bad if another company comes along and licenses the rights to do additional runs? It's really no different than if the original company did it themselves other than there's no risk for them if the copies don't sell.

The way most collectors are saying is that they want things to be like the comic book market in the 90s where every print run of a comic book (let's use the "Death of Superman" issue for an example) was easy to identify or like Working Designs' Lunar Sega CD releases where every print run had a different cd cover.

Ugh, tangent time.... comic book storylines really went to shit in the mid 90s and I blame the Death of Superman storyline on it for DC and I blame Marvel for just being Marvel. Thank god for Madman and Bone!

On topic, are the hardcore collectors pissed that there's no way to tell the difference between the multiple (4?) print runs of Panzer Dragoon Saga (second tangent - was the dispersion of black and white cd sleeves different between the runs?) too or are they all too busy shitting on a good thing?

Sure, it wasn't cool of GQD to be coy about the whole thing and play dumb, but double fuck the ebay whores that list only mildly uncommon games as rare and gouge the shit out of the prices. At least GQD sells the games at a reasonable cost (basically what you'd expect to pay for a new game).

[blissfulnoise]

Screw GQD. Exile, Cosmic Fantasy 2, and Sega Ages are all being sold by them for MORE than they would have cost from Working Designs.

People are championing their cause like these reprints are giant favors for these mythical "hard-core gamers" out there who are either too poor or too lazy to find these games themselves. Wake up. They're still selling Rez for 49.99 which isn't that much cheaper than an excellent condition used copy was going on eBay for.

And people who say GQD is better than eBay merchants out there; it's BECAUSE of the eBay prices that these games are even getting reprinted. If Rez didn't sell for $70 a pop on eBay, you think GQD would reprint it out of the goodness of their gamer hearts?

I'd be surprised if GQD continues to get authorization to do these reprints; and I highly doubt that Square will allow them to reprint their IP.

I am NOT anti-reprint. I'm not even anti-identical reprint. I'd be the first in line to applaud an OFFICAL reprint of Rez by Sega, but these guys are nothing more than eBay hucksters with access to duplicating equipment and authorization to use it. Seeing them as anything else is nothing short of naive.

[Griking]

GQD can kiss my ass. If you want an interesting read:

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75380

If you want the cliff notes, GQD has been lying the whole time about not knowing about reprints. They claim to know nothing and make it seem like there was a small stock of the item found in order to gouge the price for their reprints on ebay and their site. Then, when people catch on to what's happening, they dump what's left to gamestop or other retailers. This started with the Resident Evils for Gamecube and continued from there.

Whoever from GQD was posting there was also banned for posting under another name to defend himself and come clean with the "truth", which they still never did. Here is what GQD said about the Rhapsody and Persona 2 reprints:

"Okay i'm posting since every one is wondering if this title is a remake or not. The answer is i don't know either. All the answers provided to me are based on speculation, I contacted Atlus when i heard of the rumor, about inventory being available of Persona 2 & Rhapsody. Atlus claims no remake, and that is what my understanding of the situation is. The inventory is almost out of both titles, quite a few hoarders who were buying to speculate canceled. We had single orders of 50+ plus copies, which we canceled, we are trying to prevent hoarders from buying this title to a certain extent. That is why you are seeing more inventory available."

Which in retrospect was a bunch of fucking lies. I hope when they ask Square for a Valkyrie Profile reprint they get a dick slapped on their forehead

Dave

Who. Cares.

The first question that came to mind as I was reading your response was "what does he have to loose or did he cllose because of the the reprints?".

Are these reprints cheap? No

Are they cheaper than eBay prices were before the reprints? Yes.

That's all I really need to know. I really don't care if they were selling reprints on eBay before it was widely know that they were reprints. I really don't care if they lied and denied knowing anything about reprints. All I know is that I was able to find and purchase mint condition copies of Rez, Gitaroo man, Rhapsody, and Persona 2 for less than it would have cost me if I'd purchased them from someone on eBay a year ago.

There's no reason why gamers everyone shouldn't be thrilled about this. Unless of course they purchased multiple copies of these games hoping to sell them for rediculous prices on eBay.

[davepesc]

If what he says is true, though, and GQD was trickling copies on eBay before going wide, then it's not really worth paying big bucks for ANY game, because who knows, that wide release might be just a month away.

[MightySlacker]

GQD can kiss my ass. If you want an interesting read:

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75380

If you want the cliff notes, GQD has been lying the whole time about not knowing about reprints. They claim to know nothing and make it seem like there was a small stock of the item found in order to gouge the price for their reprints on ebay and their site. Then, when people catch on to what's happening, they dump what's left to gamestop or other retailers. This started with the Resident Evils for Gamecube and continued from there.

Whoever from GQD was posting there was also banned for posting under another name to defend himself and come clean with the "truth", which they still never did. Here is what GQD said about the Rhapsody and Persona 2 reprints:

"Okay i'm posting since every one is wondering if this title is a remake or not. The answer is i don't know either. All the answers provided to me are based on speculation, I contacted Atlus when i heard of the rumor, about inventory being available of Persona 2 & Rhapsody. Atlus claims no remake, and that is what my understanding of the situation is. The inventory is almost out of both titles, quite a few hoarders who were buying to speculate canceled. We had single orders of 50+ plus copies, which we canceled, we are trying to prevent hoarders from buying this title to a certain extent. That is why you are seeing more inventory available."

Which in retrospect was a bunch of fucking lies. I hope when they ask Square for a Valkyrie Profile reprint they get a dick slapped on their forehead

Dave

Who. Cares.

The first question that came to mind as I was reading your response was "what does he have to loose or did he cllose because of the the reprints?".

Are these reprints cheap? No

Are they cheaper than eBay prices were before the reprints? Yes.

That's all I really need to know. I really don't care if they were selling reprints on eBay before it was widely know that they were reprints. I really don't care if they lied and denied knowing anything about reprints. All I know is that I was able to find and purchase mint condition copies of Rez, Gitaroo man, Rhapsody, and Persona 2 for less than it would have cost me if I'd purchased them from someone on eBay a year ago.

There's no reason why gamers everyone shouldn't be thrilled about this. Unless of course they purchased multiple copies of these games hoping to sell them for rediculous prices on eBay.

Actually, no, nothing lost and nothing to lose. I'll quote myself from that thread:

"Am I some Rez fanboy that's pissed because my copy is worth half of what it was? Well, no. I've owned 2 copies before, and sold both rather quickly. And the opened copy I had I played and i wasn't that impressed. Oh yeah, I said it - Rez ain't that good. Don't hang out with me, I'm a NERD. I saw better graphics in Lawnmower Man 15 years ago, and I think Amplitude kicks the shit out of Rez.

Am I some Ebay whore that's scared all my stuff will get reprinted and I'll be homeless? No, not really. Sure, I'm a bit more of an Ebay whore nowadays, but I know what to sell and what not to sell. There will always be items to collect that have a good resale value, and the companies that see what is really going on at GQD and give them the finger - those items will just be worth more.

Am I some pissed of collector that thinks GQD will ruin all the fun out of building a collection of rare items? Maybe. I'm actually pretty split. When i saw someone throw around Valkyrie Profile, part of me would love to see a reprint. This is the only ps1 RPG I've never owned, and I'd love to get my hands on a reasonably priced copy to play it and see if it lives up to the hype. On the other hand, I'd love for Square to say FUCK OFF when GQD came calling with their sales pitch. Which, I'd assume was very likely considering what they did to the Chrono Trigger project and whatnot.

Anyways, I'm done rambling. I'm still fairly pissed off at this turn of events. I don't tolerate that kind of blatant lying from people in my everyday life, much less a retailer where I spend my hard earned money. And I'm amazed that the members on this site that would ABSOLUTELY CRUCIFY a place like Best Buy or WalMart if they pulled this shit seem to be giving GQD a free pass. GQD, you aren't getting any more of my money, and probably not for the reasons you'd expect."

That should be enough of an answer. There's plenty of reasons gamers shouldn't be thrilled about this that aren't even related to profit or collecting. Hoarding and price gouging are generally frowned upon, so why should a company trying to have a monopoly on both have my approval? Sure, if your goal is to get a used (but new) copy at Gamestop at a highly inflated price, that's your perogative, but for some people the ends don't justify the means.

Dave

[Griking]

That article that was posted earlier really explained it well to me. GQD got the exclusive reprint rights for these games. Like any other business, they're in it to make money so they sell these reprints on eBay for as long as they can get top dollar for them there. After a certain amount of time passes or copies are sold they unload a large quantity of the remaining stock to other resellers like Gamestop. Can you save a few bucks by waiting a few months after GQD first starts selling them? I'm sure you can but many people either don't want to wait any longer for a game they never thought they'd be able to afford in the first place or don't want to take a chance that they won't be able to find a copy later.


Sure, if your goal is to get a used (but new) copy at Gamestop at a highly inflated price, that's your perogative, but for some people the ends don't justify the means.

First of all Gamestop is a company as well and it really comes as no secret to anyone here that their prices are highly inflated based on what they pay for them. But that's another story. But as for Gamestop selling these games for a "highly inflated" price I ask you, based on what? Certainly not eBay prices. Is there another company out there selling these games for significantly less? If you know of one please spread the news, I'm sure you'll make gamers everywhere very happy. But for now unless you manage to luck out and find a copy at a pawn shop for less Gamestop offers the best prices around for these games.

I think that "The Truth at CheapAssGamer said it best when they said;


the truth is, you're mad because you can't rip off someone on an auction site and make a profit, because GQD beat you to the punch. And you're sour about it, so you call them the con artists you intended to be.

[MightySlacker]

Your argument (and the one you quoted) is non-responsive. Regardless on anyone's view about the actual business practices, the deliberate and intentional deception of your customers can't be defended on any level.

Let's take Rhapsody for example - it used to go for 80-100. I certainly don't think everyone who sold one on ebay is "ripping people off on an auction site" or "an intended con artist". But in GQDs case, they have THOUSANDS of this item. Then, in order to maximize the amount they can gouge out of their customers, they deliberately spread misinformation. The reason for this is to maintain the illusion that the game will still retain some market value - which was shady at best and decepetive business practices at worst. Remember, this company we now know negotiated a contract to have these games reprinted. Regardless waht someones intentions are when they buy something, a company lying through their teeth in order to bilk extra $ out of customers is not acceptable. GQD said this about Rhapsody:

Lie #1 "Okay i'm posting since every one is wondering if this title is a remake or not. The answer is i don't know either. All the answers provided to me are based on speculation"

Lie #2 "Atlus claims no remake, and that is what my understanding of the situation is."

Lie #3 "The inventory is almost out of both titles, quite a few hoarders who were buying to speculate canceled."

Does that sound like someone who has any interest at all in the gamers? As I've said before, if this was Walmart or some other evil big corporation doing business like this everyone would be having a fucking field day.

As far as your gamestop question - why not check what the Resident Evil's for Gamecube are going for, while almost every gamestop in a 200 mile radius of me has copies of both sitting for 39.99, about double the price you can obtain one for. Oh and by the way, on the Resident Evil thing, it's FACT that GQD claimed that Capcom found a few hundred in a warehouse and they bought them - another blatant lie.

Dave

[gepeto]

Cool article about the company who reprints old games like Res 2,3...Disgaea etc. I always wondered where these game from.

http://www.siliconera.com/2006/01/16/the-business-of-reprints/

You get the reward for solving the riddle of the spinx. Great find.

I like what the one poster said in the article. Pawning reprints off as originals? Companies have greatest hits or platnium why would they need this company.

Like Ed said any other hobby the company would be toast.
Contrary to what others want to accept. There is a strong group of players that collects rare games.

To me this company's true mission was never the hardcore gamer it was lets beat collectors prices by going straight to the horses mouth and selling rare the game games 50 to 60 percent of current collectors price.

But to pull this off it has to mimmick the original and look like a rare find. You have to trick the hard core collector. Just enough to get past the break even point.

Well to each his own I want people to enjoy games. I already started my mini protest. I refuse to buy new games. I enjoy reading the rarity guide. what about future editions? The funny thing is it was the hardcore collectors that started it. It was the buyers taking the collector information and hype and translated it into wanting the game. Let's keep it real how many Resident evil 2 and 3 editions are there?

Overall I believe it does a disservice to the gaming community. Their tactics are deceitful but the funny thing is I think the collectors caught on. Ex. who's buying resident evil 2/3 persona now?

[roushimsx]

who's buying resident evil 2/3 persona now?

The people who actually want to play the games. They're games. They're (for the most part!) ment to be played and enjoyed by as many people as possible, not hoarded and swapped for obscene amounts of money.

Crazy concept, I know.

Granted, there's some absolute pieces of shit that aren't ment to be played, just collected (I'm sure everyone's had fun tracking down a low print run game that sucked and ended up only costing them a buck or two because, hay...no one else wanted it).

[Yamazaki]

I wonder why so many people are hellbend on getting the english version of Rez. Its not like there's a lot of storie.

And the Japanese Version costs *new* about 10$.



Its probably annoying with the re-prints because of all the jekrs who are gonna try to scamm people before the reprinted news spreads.

[gepeto]

who's buying resident evil 2/3 persona now?

The people who actually want to play the games. They're games. They're (for the most part!) ment to be played and enjoyed by as many people as possible, not hoarded and swapped for obscene amounts of money.

Crazy concept, I know.

Granted, there's some absolute pieces of shit that aren't ment to be played, just collected (I'm sure everyone's had fun tracking down a low print run game that sucked and ended up only costing them a buck or two because, hay...no one else wanted it).

Exactly my point and why did they want to play them because of the collectability. I know when RE 2/3 first popped up I was like wow I lucked up then to top it off they were asking a pretty penny. Now I have all the other versions of the game and have at least played through it once as most people. Then a I caught on.

I look at it this way. The videogame entusiast is broken into different segments. Some play rpg, Some play for multiple endings. Some play games exclusivly for easter eggs. Some buy to price gouge on ebay. Some play old arcade games for high scores. and some play and collect. Spend time looking for the rare gem it the thrill of the hunt.

It is a shame some people can't understand the others pain without putting them down. Most people don't care unless they are directly affected.
We are all connected on this one so there will be something coming down the line. For every action there is a reaction. Yeah getting a rare game cheap is good but at what cost?
When the collector or low print runs stops tagging games as collectables will games that didn't have a chance really get a good look?

If any of the other segments were effected I would feel the same way. These under the cover of darkness releases are bad only time will tell the true impact. I enjoyed looking in te dp guides looking and reading on r8 & 9 games Realese it under a classics title.

[hezeuschrist]

I still really think it's quite hilarious that some of you consider the prices they're selling these games for as gouging, when they simply aren't available elsewhere for anywhere near that price.

You know what dictates market price? Demand. So they screwed some ebay resellers on a few really hot titles, but now I'll get a chance to get my hands on Rez, Saiyuki (which I didn't even know about until all this) and Gitaroo Man. I already bought Persona 2 and Rhapsody for great prices, games I would NEVER have paid ebay prices for.

As for crucifying Best Buy or some other major retailer for doing this... how so? How would anything Best Buy gets its hands on relate to this in any way? If anything, crucify EVERY RETAILER IN THE COUNTRY for selling a good portion of their Xbox 360 stock directly on ebay under the cover of anonymity. Thats way more of a bastard tactic than lying about where you got the copies of Persona.

As for that, why didn't someone ACTUALLY contact Atlus? Or Capcom? Or Koei? They're the ones that have the rights to these titles and the ones that had to do business with GQD, why get all pissed off at GQD for misleading you when you were naive enough to just believe them? Sure they should hold some level of business integrity, but if you secured a whole shitload of copies of some rare game, lets say Suikoden II, would YOU put them all on ebay at once, or sell one a week to get max price? Really, if you'd sell them for retail ($50), then you're a saint. GQD is selling most of these games at retail, $50.

Not to mention, I had never heard about GQD before this and now they've got a bunch of games I want to get my hands on, new-sealed no less. Do I have any idea if their copies of Dragon Warrior III for GBC are reprints? Nope, and I don't give a shit either, but I'm going to get it brand new for less than it originally cost. That makes me happy.

If you want to be pissed about the misleading price gouging on ebay before widespread release to major retailers, meh, I guess get pissed. But the bottom line is this: A lot more people are going to be able to play these games without breaking the bank to do so, and that's a great thing.

I hope they reprint Suikoden II, Valkyrie Profile, and Ogre Battle just out of spite.

[goatdan]

I still really think it's quite hilarious that some of you consider the prices they're selling these games for as gouging, when they simply aren't available elsewhere for anywhere near that price.

You know what dictates market price? Demand. So they screwed some ebay resellers on a few really hot titles, but now I'll get a chance to get my hands on Rez, Saiyuki (which I didn't even know about until all this) and Gitaroo Man. I already bought Persona 2 and Rhapsody for great prices, games I would NEVER have paid ebay prices for.

Actually, I think that this is the one thing that I don't agree with about the whole thing. Until this article exposing everything, basically the company hadn't made any announcements about it and they went as far to deny that it had happened. So, not just was it a reprint (like I said, I don't know how I land in the distinguishing it or not), the problem was that they said that it wasn't a reprint and that there were only a few of them that they found.

If they had been up front with it and announced that they were reprinting these titles and would be selling them for $25.00 apeice, I think NO one would be complaining. But saying that these are new old stock, that there aren't many more and then charging full prices for them with that claim is shady at best. Sure, it gives more gamers a chance to play the game, but it doesn't reflect demand because they do not give a realistic view of the market that they have done.

The market two years after a game has been released is established. The market for these games was usually $40-80 on eBay with the number of copies that they had. But when you add 5,000-10,000 copies to the mix (the lowest numbers I could see printed realistically in this matter), suddenly you might be doubling the market with the product. Since you are not admitting that you have doubled the market with product, you can sell the game for the same price with the same perceived demand for a while... until you have effectively decimated the demand and then you dump the rest of your stock to GameStop.

It is artifically keeping demand inflated, and that's what I don't like. Do I like the service? Sure. If Nintendo wanted to reprint Earthbound or even Star Fox Competition Cart for the SNES, I'd applaud the decision. Or if someone else got the rights to do so and admitted that they were doing just that. But pretending it doesn't work like that... no, not cool.

[hezeuschrist]

I certianly understand that, but it's still not such a huge scale. It's still been only what, a dozen games?

I guess I'm kind of turning a blind eye because it's really going to benefit me. Not to mention I'm putting in a decent order to GQD for some games I haven't been able to find anywhere, even ebay. Well, not complete at least.

I certainly see the point, and as long as they're up front about it in the future (which even if they aren't, it'll be blatantly apparent), it'll be a great service.

[Griking]

Honestly, since when is it really the business or right of anyone other than the publisher to know how many copies of a game is being printed or whether a game is being reprinted or not? I hate to break the bad news to some of you but face it people, game publishers aren't in the least bit interested in preserving the value of any of our collections or keeping their prices low enough so that others can profit by reselling them on eBay. That's a fact. Get over it. The only thing they're concerned with is whats best for their company's bottom line

The way I look at it is like this. If you're purchasing your games because you want to play them or because you collect them then this can't be anything but good news for you. On the other hand if the present or future value of a game is the primary reason that you purchase games then you have to accept the fact that you're taking a risk and you better be prepared to accept that things like this can and probably will happen.

For the record, I had previously purchased copies of both Rez and Gitaroo Man at prices higher than they're being sold for now. At the time I decided that I was willing to pay the asking price for the games so I bought them. Of course I didn't know that they would eventually be released for less but I'm not in the least bit bitter about it now either. I made a decision that it was worth it to me to pay the asking price. The games aren't all of a sudden less fun to play because they're more easily available asd cost less.

[Iron Draggon]

Collectors take note, Game Quest Direct said that they would try to reprint any game that goes on eBay for over $100.

Oh yeeeah, come on with me some RADIANT SILVERGUN! :-P


Read it again. They're not reprinting Saturn and TG-16 games. They bought out Working Designs old stock which included Saturn and TG-16 games. Those really are old stock.

Aww. damn. :(

We should be so lucky!

Now about the GQD thing, why aren't more people pissed at GameStop for ripping open cheap new copies and selling them as used at a higher price? Crap like this is why I don't shop at GameStop anymore. Screw them and their bullshit!

As for GQD, more power to them! It's about damn time that somebody figured out a way to screw all the ebay powerwhores at their own game! Cheaper games for all!

[drewbrim]

double post

[drewbrim]

People are championing their cause like these reprints are giant favors for these mythical "hard-core gamers" out there who are either too poor or too lazy to find these games themselves.

And people who say GQD is better than eBay merchants out there; it's BECAUSE of the eBay prices that these games are even getting reprinted. If Rez didn't sell for $70 a pop on eBay, you think GQD would reprint it out of the goodness of their gamer hearts?

these guys are nothing more than eBay hucksters with access to duplicating equipment and authorization to use it. Seeing them as anything else is nothing short of naive.

I chose to shorten blissfulls quote for a little brevity, but basically I'm with him. Now for my own two cents.

Many people here seem to think that they would want these games if it wasn't for ebay and the outrageous prices some of these go for.

Think about it, why do many of you want Valkyrie Profile? Because you've never played it? Please. Chances are there's several thousand games that fit this category so that can't be it. Is it cause the game is so amazing? Hopefully not since the game is much closer to bad than good. Other than the battle system (which is pretty slick), the game is boring and uninspired. Opinions only to be sure but still, the buzz created around this game is because of how hard it is to find, and how much it sells for. Which is the reason most of you would like a copy. Or as I like to call it "OMG everyone wants this game I must have it" syndrome.

I will say that GQD is nothing more than any other business trying to make money and if this is a way for them to do so more power to em. I just don't need people heeping praise on them or "thanking" them for all they are doing for the gaming community. Just like blissfull mentioned above, they're no different then any other seller on the bay.

Last thing, for those of you who are primarily collectors. Your copy of VP is probably safe (somewhat). If they reprinted it there would almost certainly need to be a variant since the publisher holding the rights is now square-enix instead of just enix. So I'd imagine that inserts, instructions, and disc art would all have to be redone. Kinda like the Xenogears reprint when square and enix merged (or however that went down).

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to list all of my PS1 rpg's LOL

[Daria]

Is it cause the game is so amazing? Hopefully not since the game is much closer to bad than good.

And that's where I stopped reading. :roll:

Uninspired? Do you even know what the word means? Of course it's "inpsired", it's one of the very few console RPGs that is. It's inspired by norse mythology. If I said to you I really like the game with that plot about the teenagers that set off to save their planet from a a crazy megalomaniac bent on world destruction, you'd have no clue which RPG I ment. However if I said the game where the Gods send a missionary down to earth to recruit the souls of fallen warriors to aid in the battle at the end of the world, you'd know it was VP.

[GyBaNO]

I don't feel remorse for anyone now that I can buy a copy of Gitaroo Man for under $50 now. At the time when the game did come out, I had a crappy job and had other things to worry about then buying awesome games.

I'm going to snag Rez as well. I already have all those "rare" rpgs.

:D

[agent709]

Luckily for me, I'm collecting for the games themselves. I don't plan on selling any of this later, so I really don't care about rarity.

[drewbrim]

Luckily for me, I'm collecting for the games themselves. I don't plan on selling any of this later, so I really don't care about rarity.

Even if the above statement is true you should care, if for no other reason than selling to buy again later. I personally think VP is garbage and Suikoden II is great. But if I could sell them for $80-$100 and buy it later for around $30 used or $50 new. You'd better believe I would sell and subsequently have an interest if/when these reprints are being released.

[Bronty-2]

I don't mind the result (although I have to admit if they ever started reprinting cart-based stuff I'd have a bird), but the tactics of GQD were slimy as hell (the outright lying).

[Bronty-2]

by the way, I guess this explains the PS1 collection of rares being sold in 'buying and selling'... I would not want to be holding a bunch of sealed PS1 rares right now.

[pacmanhat]

I saw a mint copy of Valkyrie Profile at an EB Games the other day...I think it may be part of a reprint. Was this game always in the 'double' case? I could've sworn I'd seen it before in the single case variety.

[drewbrim]

I saw a mint copy of Valkyrie Profile at an EB Games the other day...I think it may be part of a reprint. Was this game always in the 'double' case? I could've sworn I'd seen it before in the single case variety.

It's always been double case. It hasn't been rereleased yet (to my knowledge). I'm watching their auctions as I am sure they will trickle them in like rhapsody and persona 2.

[Putney]

I saw a mint copy of Valkyrie Profile at an EB Games the other day...I think it may be part of a reprint. Was this game always in the 'double' case? I could've sworn I'd seen it before in the single case variety.

Considering that there is a port/remake of VP coming out on PSP in the near future, I'm a bit skeptical that Square Enix will let the PSX version get a reprint. Then it'd risk cutting into PSP sales. I'm figuring the same deal with Suikoden II as well, since the combination pack of that is due on PSP soon.

[blissfulnoise]

by the way, I guess this explains the PS1 collection of rares being sold in 'buying and selling'... I would not want to be holding a bunch of sealed PS1 rares right now.

Sealed PS1 titles are quite safe if value is your motivation for saying this. These reprints do not have the seal on the top of the game thus the original prints will retain their value.

[Griking]

GQD has a bunch of out of print strategy guides (http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfrppZ100QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQrdZ0QQsassZgameques tdirectQQsbrsrtZd) up for sale on eBay now as well. I wonder if these are reprints as well.

[tylerwillis]

GQD has a bunch of out of print strategy guides (http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfrppZ100QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQrdZ0QQsassZgameques tdirectQQsbrsrtZd) up for sale on eBay now as well. I wonder if these are reprints as well.

Huh, could be. The guide market is a bit more volatile though, but I guess it's cheaper to reprint guides.

I find it amusing that they want $100 for an Ocarina guide.

[Sinteres]

Eh I was pretty happy to get minty fresh "used" copies of Rhapsody and Persona 2, some of the few RPG's I did not ever get at the time, back in the spring? or whenver I made my "find" at Gamestop. I just collect to play and enjoy and ignore value and never have sold anything VG related, so I'm not gonna complain too much. Yeah my Suikoden 2 might go down in price but meh. I avoid buying anything disc-based off ebay thats a high price, so a lot of these reprints were out of my consideration anyway, as I would rather wait for a find. I'd rather buy it on the cheap so then I never have to think "damn I paid so much for this" and what have you.

[Daria]

Considering that there is a port/remake of VP coming out on PSP in the near future...I'm figuring the same deal with Suikoden II as well.[/quote]

I forsee a price drop either way. Only way the games are going to retain value is if the PSP releases are kept in Japan.

[Griking]

I stopped by my local Gamestop today and they suddenly have two brand new looking copies of Breath of Fire IV. I'm assuming that this is a reprint as well. Is there a list being compiled anywheres of what games have been reprinted by GQD?

[Rikimaru]

I am NOT anti-reprint. I'm not even anti-identical reprint. I'd be the first in line to applaud an OFFICAL reprint of Rez by Sega, but these guys are nothing more than eBay hucksters with access to duplicating equipment and authorization to use it. Seeing them as anything else is nothing short of naive.

yes.

[davepesc]

I am NOT anti-reprint. I'm not even anti-identical reprint. I'd be the first in line to applaud an OFFICAL reprint of Rez by Sega, but these guys are nothing more than eBay hucksters with access to duplicating equipment and authorization to use it. Seeing them as anything else is nothing short of naive.

yes.

The part I don't get is that these ARE "official" reprints. For all I know, they are created in the same manufacturing plant that pressed the first copies.
I fail to see the difference between a Sega rep calling the plant and ordering 100,000 copies of Rez and a GQD rep calling Sega, then calling that same plant and ordering the discs.

[EasternDynamo1]

They have lots of great stuff on their website, I have ordered from them before. If people want the stuff then god bless GQD. People always bitch about downloading games and now that a legitimate way to play the rare games comes along people are still unhappy. I feel for the people losing money, but demand has a way of finding its own supply.