My expensive PSX import question

[izret101]

I BINed the Japanese Mortral Kombat II for PSX sometime very early yesterday morning after pulling an all nighter.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8279867643&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

I did it very impulsively and had a few questions since i don't know much of anything about Japenese games.

Is that an original case?
The only time i have really seen the game before was on the Japanese Playstation site(which i can't find anymore) and it had a spinecard(if memory serves it had a price or something written down the side)

Does it not having the spinecard effect value much?

And what is the obi that someone else asked about?

Thanks in advance guys :)

[walrusmonger]

All I know is that princess isabella buys stuff from people on the forum and resells it on ebay for at least 2x the amount.

[itobandito]

I have seen it before, I am not 100% sure but I think it is the real case. BTW I have played this and it is FAR from arcade perfect as stated in the auction. Loading times are hell especially in game. Graphics are closer to the arcade however I still perfer the SNES version. Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is probably the best version in my opinion. Even that has some issues.

[norkusa]

All I know is that princess isabella buys stuff from people on the forum and resells it on ebay for at least 2x the amount.


I dunno about that. She once sold me a new & sealed LaserActive game (Ghost Rush) for a great price and was a lot cheaper than I could ever find a copy on Ebay for.


And izret, I don't know a lot about import stuff but I do know that the obi strip/spine card definitely affects the value of the game. By how much, I'm not sure. Guess it depends on the rarity of the game.

[izret101]

Yea i already knew it was pretty bad as far as gameplay goes.
I am told it is the worst port for many reasons.

Cue_Warrior told me right after i posted that the seller was a mmber here too.

Thanks for the info thus far the more the better ;)

[smork]

obi = spine card.

$150 is a helluva impulse buy, BTW :) You could impulse buy Rakugaki Showtime for that! (well, if it ever shows)

As for obi affecting value, yeah, it does, especially on expensive games. The significance to a non-Japanese collector is probably less than to a Japanese, but sometimes the value can be alot less without obi. Seems to be especially true for Saturn/Dreamcast, less so for PSX/NGCD. There's nothing scientific to that observation, just on what i've seen for game prices in the wild...

Looks like PI's prices are pretty decent, too, IMO...

[walrusmonger]

All I know is that princess isabella buys stuff from people on the forum and resells it on ebay for at least 2x the amount.


I dunno about that. She once sold me a new & sealed LaserActive game (Ghost Rush) for a great price and was a lot cheaper than I could ever find a copy on Ebay for.
.

Glad you had a decent exp. with her, but that doesn't change the fact that her primary intent on these boards is to be an ebay vulture.

[50TBRD]

I've never been told this directly. But I think that the OBI strip proves that the game is authentic. Something that is important in a country with so many pirates. Systems that use disc are the most vulnerable to pirating do to the fact that they come from a country with gobs of technology and technological know-how. Rirates can be made inexpensively and easier there.

[smork]

I've never been told this directly. But I think that the OBI strip proves that the game is authentic. Something that is important in a country with so many pirates. Systems that use disc are the most vulnerable to pirating do to the fact that they come from a country with gobs of technology and technological know-how. Rirates can be made inexpensively and easier there.

Not true at all.

Japan has far fewer pirates selling games than the rest of the region -- probably by at least 10 fold. Besides, on the high quality pirates like those in Hong Kong they just print up an obi. There's nothing special about them, they are just a piece of paper.

The obi is not nearly as high quality as the rest of the package. It's just a piece of semi-thick matte paper with info about the game on it. It's real use is a place to print the SKU without printing it on the game inserts or manual. Having an obi or not doesn't affect the game's legitimacy.

[izret101]

Thanks alot for the info smork :)

I would have never guess that obi and the spinecard were the same thing.

Well at least i still have something to aspire for then.
Finding a complete copy with spinecard LOL

Thanks to everyone else who chimed in too.

Its been helpful and i learned a bit more for when i start getting more of the Mortal Kombat import games i need.

[WanganRunner]

Glad you had a decent exp. with her, but that doesn't change the fact that her primary intent on these boards is to be an ebay vulture.

Not that I've dealt in videogames on eBay in a loooong time (I do sell a couple dozen cars a year there though), but there's nothing wrong with someone exploiting a mispricing.

Prices should be the same everywhere, that's how markets work. If someone is exploiting an arbitrage opportunity by buying in one market and selling for more in another, they're just adding to the efficiency of markets. If there weren't people like that, nothing would have any sort of stable value, it's the fundamental principle of capitalism.

The prices that any of his/her auctions bring on ebay are the true value, as that is apparently what people will pay. True value is determined SOLELY by what people will pay, and if stuff is selling for less here, then that means sellers here are asking less than the stuff is worth.

If you saw someone selling a brand-new Ferrari Enzo for $50, wouldn't you buy it and then turn around and resell for $700,000? Of course you would, because you share the common motivation for profit. This person isn't doing anything different, you just have an irrational hatred of them because they happen to be making your particular position in life (collector) a more expensive position to be in.

[PapaStu]

I'm pretty sure Dangerboy has one, you could PM him and ask.

[Fighter17]

I have seen it before, I am not 100% sure but I think it is the real case. BTW I have played this and it is FAR from arcade perfect as stated in the auction. Loading times are hell especially in game. Graphics are closer to the arcade however I still perfer the SNES version. Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is probably the best version in my opinion. Even that has some issues.

OMG this is the worst port of MKII (on the same level as the Saturn version). I had the same game before (believe it or not I purchase it for $10 complete without spine), and the port was so bad, that I gave it away!

I've never feel sorry for what I did. :D

[izret101]

Thanks Uri.
I already got plenty of your input on RFGen :roll:

I bought it for my MK collection not for the amazing game play.

Honestly if that was the case i wouldn't buy alot of the MK games...(wow i died alittle on the inside just now.)

I was really happy to pick up the most expensive MK game though and glad i had the money.
(Graduation money for college.... :embarrassed: )