Phantasy Star prices drop?

[cyberfluxor]

Man, it was just a year or so ago that Phantasy Star 1, 2, 3 and 4 were $15-40 complete around here, now they're not even hitting $10. Ebay is showing it as being cheap as all hell, like rock bottom prices. This of course means it's a great time to get the time if you haven't but what happened? There were Phantasy Star collections released in the past for the Saturn and Dreamcast, I wouldn't believe the GameCube or other new generation systems could have affected it that badly, did it?

I bought mine about 3yrs ago for $1 each boxed w/out manuals but it was expensive at that time so I jumped on the deal.

[jcalder8]

I'm guessing that the same thing happened with them as happened with NES games. The market just fell out on them around this time last year and still hasn't recovered. There was no warning and it seemed to happen across the board so it seems unlikely that it was a compilation that caused the crash. Games that were fetching at least 15 are now going for 5.

[cyberfluxor]

The "unexpected" part is what kills me. Quite a few people have money sunk into hundreds of games and a huge fluxuation like this really kills their investment, however it gives them a chance to buy at low prices. Of course the downside of this is if it'll recover, which to an extent I feel it's going to stay at these prices, like the 8-bit games are now.

[VACRMH]

Good to hear, I can complete my copys now. Just need the manuals for 1 and 4, and the map for 2 :)

The one collection that could have dropped the price as well is the Sega Genesis Collection for PS2 and PSP.

[udisi]

Genesisi stuff in general has dropped off in the past year.

Games like Pirates Gold, the Shinging Forces, Toe Jam and Earl, they're all cheaper now than they were. There's been an across the board drop.

[scorch56]

The "unexpected" part is what kills me. Quite a few people have money sunk into hundreds of games and a huge fluxuation like this really kills their investment..

.. tell me about it. :(

The sad part is I HAVE to sell off my collection right now. I should have a couple years ago.

PS IV can still get a decent price though.. complete.. on a full moon.

Like someone else said.. the entire market has bottomed out. Sure everybody pays good money for the standard popular stuff still (FF's, Suikodens and such).. but there used to be a lot of obscure titles that only collectors knew much about that could command higher than normal prices.

Everytime I have to prove this point.. Metal Warriors on the SNES comes to mind. A complete copy in excellent condition used to fettch upwards of $100 on eBay. While I saw one go for $120 there just a couple of weeks ago; I also remember one of our members having to let one go for $28 about six weeks ago. I felt REALLY bad for him.

Hmmm.. I wonder what a complete copy of E.V.O. is going for these days.. <goes to look>.

[mailman187666]

I want the Saturn market to drop so I can pick up the rare ones I don't have yet so I can complete a collection.

[NE146]

"investing" in videogames? :?

Does my buying Phantasy Star 1 for the SMS at $99 new count as one? :p

[PentiumMMX]

This is actualy good for me. Maybe I'll finally buy Phantasy Star IV...

[cyberfluxor]

"investing" in videogames? :?

Don't know if this is sarcasm or not, but I have a few friends that buy games and sit on them til they're "rare" or demand goes up. It's generally on SNES RPGs they find for $1 or whatnot.

As for Metal Warrior, wow. I bought a loose one a few months ago for like $9. Someone PMed later in the day about buying it, of course since I don't own an extra copy I held onto it and have like it so I still play it from time to time. Interesting though.

[The Plucky Little Ninja]

I bought every one of my 4 Phantasy Stars new, so it's never something I could ever consider an investment. They were just too expensive when they first came out.

[diskoboy]

Yeah - I never understood why Phantasy Star for the SMS was so expensive.

The game is by no means rare. It was probably the SMS's most popular game, if you think about it. I don't run into SMS games, often. But when I do, they seem to be PS and Zaxxon 3-D..

Thank god I bought mine when they originally came out, for $50.

[Blitzwing256]

hee hee, i was fortuante enough to get the "Sega for the 90s" version when they sold them new for 15$

[Griking]

The "unexpected" part is what kills me. Quite a few people have money sunk into hundreds of games and a huge fluxuation like this really kills their investment,

Well that's where they made their mistake. Video games are fun. Video games are a hobby. Video games are collectible. They should NOT be an investment.

[scorch56]

Don't know if this is sarcasm or not, but I have a few friends that buy games and sit on them til they're "rare" or demand goes up. It's generally on SNES RPGs they find for $1 or whatnot.

As for Metal Warrior, wow. I bought a loose one a few months ago for like $9. Someone PMed later in the day about buying it, of course since I don't own an extra copy I held onto it and have like it so I still play it from time to time. Interesting though.


A bare cart of Metal Warriors can go for $50 alone on eBay.. so you got a very good deal.. especially if the cart looks good. There are several "non-RPG" SNES titles that can get a good price if they are complete.. and in good condition. Metal Warriors, Metal Marines, E.V.O. (kind of an RPG), Rock N' Roll Racing, Wild Guns.. hell even my sealed copy of Family Dog comes to mind; but these are titles you don't see a lot of on eB at any given time.. especially complete. Granted.. do a search and you'll find "dealers" with their "stores" asking exhorbanent prices.. but they sit on them forever.

Used to be a time on eB, that ended just about a year ago.. when a guy could throw any of these titles up with no reserve and almost be assured he'd end up with an auction closing around $100.. but not anymore. Like I said.. I've seen any one of these titles go for $30 one week.. and $120 the next (except for maybe EVO). the whole key is to watch and see when there ISN'T any listed.. then list yours.. but that's not foolproof either. About 6 months ago.. I was trying to sell my Turbo Duo.. I'd watced them for weeks on eB and they were topping out at $850 but averaging around $500. So I waited until about 4 days went by and no one even had a single one up on eB for a few days straight. Two days into the auction about 3 people listed one.. by the time my auction ended there were 8 units up! That was a record # of TDs for one week at one time (as far as I've seen.). Mine ended up fetching $350. Obviously many prople were using the same practices and theory I had :(.

Genesis titles are traditionally lower than SNES ones.. but it's STILL very hard to find any of the PS titles 100% complete. PS II & III came with a lot of extra documents and such thrown in the case. When I was collecting mine it took a lot of research and interpolation to deduce what came with what (Try finding a copy of PS II with the hintbook.. which originally came bundled with it.. next to impossible). I ended up "piecing" complete copies together.

I'm a stickler for "completeness" I don't care about reg cards, epilepsy warnings or promos for other games & merchandise.. but I have to have maps, charts, etc. that came with a game.. they needn't be sealed by any means.. just "complete". That's been somewhat my saving grace.. "complete" copies of games are still the ones that catch the highest prices. I would never consider buying a "bare cart no matter what the price.. but that's just my preference due to the amount of time and effort it takes to "complete" them. A bare cart of Chrono Trigger.. to me.. has no more value than a bare cart of Super Mario Kart.

As for "investing in games" that's been my downfall as well. I NEVER thought of myself over the years as doing that. I wanted the games and was buying them for my personal satisfaction and collection. Therefore.. when I bid on a game (98% of my collection was garnered off of eB) I didn't mind winning it at "market value". I've never been your average DP'er that waits and holds out to score a game at the absolute cheapest he can; but now.. that's biting me in the ass as I'm liquidating my collection.. and 80% of what I sell is taken at a loss.

I'm not bitter or anything because like I told my friends over the years.. I am very lousy at putting money in the bank and keeping it there. I instead bought video games.. and the way I looked at it.. the values would ONLY go up.. or level off. One day (as in now).. if I HAD to sell off my collection (as in now) I thought I would at least break even. I thought of it as a "savings account" with no interest. Unfortunately.. that hasn't proven to be true.. my bad; but at least.. I DO have something to fall back on that IS helping to sustain me and my family. Lousy business practices.. I know.. but I'm not a businessman.

[NE146]

Don't know if this is sarcasm or not, but I have a few friends that buy games and sit on them til they're "rare" or demand goes up.

Well yeah.. it was sort of biased sarcasm :)

I guess looking at value in videogames kind of leads to the idea of selling them. And I just have that sick mentality I need to keep everything videogame related I've ever owned since the 70's.

Anyway, selling them in general would be a loss since I bought the majority of them new for what.. $30-50 bucks a pop? Hardly any used vids sell for that much anyway. And what happens is actually, I've never sold a thing in my entire life! LOL My preeeecciouuusss .. yeah I'm sick in the head. My wife tells me that. :p

But then again I don't exactly go for multiples of stuff either like some of you. I guess if I did, I could more easily let go of stuff. As is though, hell no :p

[GillianSeed]

Well that's where they made their mistake. Video games are fun. Video games are a hobby. Video games are collectible. They should NOT be an investment.

Amen. The arrival of speculators is rarely a good thing for a hobby. Look at the comic industry -- it has yet to recover from the crash that happened in the mid-1990s when the speculators jumped ship. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_book_collecting)

[carlcarlson]

nes crashed? when did this happen? I know that some of my normal resells (bubble bobble, tysons, zeldas) dropped a bit in price, but they're back up there now, and a lot of the games seem to have gone up. genesis in general seem to be pretty cheap. there are still a few games that bring decent prices, like toe jam and earl, etc, but most don't bring much. a genesis system can sell for $10 on ebay while an nes can go for $45. snes go for around $45 as well. I guess no one has nostalgia for sega..

[Ed Oscuro]

Well that's where they made their mistake. Video games are fun. Video games are a hobby. Video games are collectible. They should NOT be an investment.
They will be an investment, I'm afraid. Your sentiment is unfortunately as futile as saying that people shouldn't use money as a basis for determining who gets what scarce resources, or that the ocean should not be wet. I don't like collecting for investment it because that means that I have to pay for the the high demand games I get ;) On the other hand, it means that if I need to sell something that I could count on getting something approximately like what I started out with, money-wise.

[cyberfluxor]

For NES games around here very, very few loose games even hit $5. Complete games that fetch more are generally the Mega Mans, Bombermans, Mario Bros. 2/3, Bubble Bobble, ect. Other than that, they're like dead. Back when GS/EB still sold them half were $5 and a bunch hovered towards $10+, of course this was about 5 years ago.

[j_factor]

Prices just fluctuate. It's not all down for Genesis... Daze Before Christmas has shot up in price recently, and Pulseman is more expensive than I remember it being. Both of those are imports, but still.

Personally, while I have invested a lot in games, becoming cheaper is almost always a good thing IMO. No game should cost over $100. I don't like the fact that there are games out there that only rich people who drop hundreds of dollars can play.

[ryborg]

No game should cost over $100. I don't like the fact that there are games out there that only rich people who drop hundreds of dollars can play.

Interesting statement. Does it bother you that there are Italian sports cars out there that only rich people who drop hundreds of thousands of dollars can drive? What about professional sports franchises that cost hundreds of millions? Should society as a whole eliminate the concept of money?
________
Hemp (http://marijuanahemp.com)

[j_factor]

Interesting statement. Does it bother you that there are Italian sports cars out there that only rich people who drop hundreds of thousands of dollars can drive? What about professional sports franchises that cost hundreds of millions? Should society as a whole eliminate the concept of money?

Since a franchise is a business, I have no problem with it costing whatever the market dictates. Cars are different because they're actual objects. What I object to (and not "morally" or anything, it just annoys me) is works of art being unattainable due to cost; ie, people being unable to enjoy a game/movie/book/etc. because it's expensive. Somewhat relatedly, I have a big problem with works of art being completely lost in time because no copy was ever saved. Art exists to be enjoyed; people shouldn't be prevented from doing so.

Society as a whole eliminating the concept of money is an interesting idea, but the real world isn't always like Star Trek. ;)

[GaijinPunch]

Don't know if this is sarcasm or not, but I have a few friends that buy games and sit on them til they're "rare" or demand goes up. It's generally on SNES RPGs they find for $1 or whatnot.

It is not sarcasm... it's a legitimate curiosity. The standard lifecycle of a game is that it comes out, and the price drops. Very few go up. Only a handful more will go up after dropping. Games are a terrible medium to invest in. They should be played... if you make a few bucks along the way, cool.

[Captain Wrong]

I'm still in the camp that videogames are too new a thing to be seriously considered for investing in. Anyone who has even watched the antiques market even a little could tell you pop culture stuff like videogames is an extremely bad idea to consider drop a lot of money in expecting long term investment potential. The fact that the market as it is is still so voilatile is a sign of an immature market.

I could think of a lot of other things I'd be throwing my money into at this point if I was looking for an investement.

[mailman187666]

I think one of the things that could make the game market a worthwhile investment is its entertainment and nostalgic values. With comic books and sports cards, they are one or many pieces of paper that can be looked at and read. Vids have worlds to explore and challenges to be met. They can be fun for more than one person at once. In the future when there is a whole new generation of gamers that only know PS3, 360, wii, They will have games like "castlevania 22: Dracula's Death". That game may create a following which will cause that generation to hunt down the NES versions of the game to see what it used to be like. Most likely there will be more than one of that same person driving the demand up. Good games don't die, they age.

[cyberfluxor]

I generally try to buy games that are considered as must buys for the systems and whenever I find them real cheap I pick them up, sometimes for the right price I'll knab a bunch of games I'm not familiar with just to check them out. Games like Phantasy Star are a bargin to me for $5-10 (not loose) but I've only happened to pick up the 2nd, 3rd, and version 1 & 2 for the Dreamcast. I'll slowly find the rest but I'm in no hurry, nor have I ever. Just insteresting to see these prices and others fall and make things so affordable, especially when many shops around here price at Ebay prices.

[GillianSeed]

In the future when there is a whole new generation of gamers that only know PS3, 360, wii, They will have games like "castlevania 22: Dracula's Death". That game may create a following which will cause that generation to hunt down the NES versions of the game to see what it used to be like. Most likely there will be more than one of that same person driving the demand up. Good games don't die, they age.

Well let's extend that arguement to another hobby, like reading books. How would it be if you were required to spend several hundred dollars to read a copy of Shakespeare's Macbeth or Othello? Or movies, $300 to watch Citizen Kane or Star Wars?

Sure, there are rare books and movies out there if you want to collect them; but the works deemed to be essential are kept in print. Same should go for video games and hopefully digital distribution will help.

Speculators and ebayers obviously won't be too happy about it, but that's their problem. If you want to invest, go play the stock market.

[spanks_4]

i love my video games, but i also have a store and with ebay doing what it is is killing me!!! ebay prices have DROPPED on everything so now when i tell some jack ass to goto ebay to find it cheaper he actually can. the war in iraq is what is killing the prices on everything these days. as soon as bush i gone and we are out of iraq the market will start to pick up.

[cyberfluxor]

Excuse me? I'd hate to break it to you but the economy has been growing and game store owners around here seem to have increased business especially due to other chains dropping the classic game market from their stores. Also, I live near the largest naval base in the world and there's many of service people deployed at the moment from not just the navy but airforce and military as well.

[wberdan]

I'm still in the camp that videogames are too new a thing to be seriously considered for investing in. Anyone who has even watched the antiques market even a little could tell you pop culture stuff like videogames is an extremely bad idea to consider drop a lot of money in expecting long term investment potential. The fact that the market as it is is still so voilatile is a sign of an immature market.

I could think of a lot of other things I'd be throwing my money into at this point if I was looking for an investement.


like a free jazz record label?

hehehe

couldn't resist


willie

[spanks_4]

wow they are deployed! whats your point? uncover your eyes and realize the economy has gone to shit since the start of this war. prices on everything have dropped dramatically that is considered classic or collectible.

[Captain Wrong]

like a free jazz record label?

hehehe

couldn't resist


willie

LOLZ.

Actually, I was thinking more along the line of buying up every black metal colored vinyl pressing out there. ;)

[cyberfluxor]

wow they are deployed! whats your point? uncover your eyes and realize the economy has gone to shit since the start of this war. prices on everything have dropped dramatically that is considered classic or collectible.
My point is that tens of thousands of people from my area aren't around to buy in the local market but apparently it hasn't had nearly the affect you claim. In addition you claim that the economy is lost, take a look back at the stock market and sales across the board. Just seems quite lame you wanted to throw into the argument that war devestates the collectable markets.

[Vroomfunkel]

Depends ... prices are still strong for sealed copies. Regardez:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150074768333

[crusader]

Depends ... prices are still strong for sealed copies. Regardez:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150074768333


You can't judge the value of a game on a “Buy it now” auction. You need the completed listing auction like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Phantasy-Star-III-W-BOX-BOOK-POSTER-Sega-Genesis-RPG_W0QQitemZ140091105753QQcategoryZ62053QQrdZ1QQc mdZViewItem

[GarrettCRW]

In addition you claim that the economy is lost, take a look back at the stock market and sales across the board. Just seems quite lame you wanted to throw into the argument that war devestates the collectable markets.

Unless you're a part of the very small percentage of the population that owns stocks, Wall Street doesn't mean doodly squat when it comes to your economic outlook. The growing poverty rates, the decreasing number of insured Americans, and consumer confidence levels will tell you a lot more about the macroeconomic situation here in the US.

With that said, used game stores are doing so well because the big chains have abandoned older systems with strong fanbases, and in the case of the PS1, software that can be played on current-gen hardware. As a general rule, used game sales are very profitable, so if the big chains are casting aside a portion of the market (even a market affected by greater macroeconomic factors), you better believe that people like Joe are going to thrive.

[Cauterize]

I havent had time to read the whole thread here but it would appear too that the value of the PAL Phantasy Stars has dropped a little too!
Just thought id add this tiny detail to the discussion and hope someone else didnt add it before me ;)

[Vroomfunkel]

It's true - especially Phantasy Star IV. I think there's probably two aspects to this. First, they are all now available on GBA and other platforms, so you don't need to get the MD version in order to play them any more.

Second, I think that people are slowly realising that that a lot of these RPG games aren't actually all that rare. Prime example is Panzer Dragoon Saga, which is actually pretty common, but for years was selling at £80-£90 .. or more. It's now at a much more reasonable £40-£60 for the most part.

It's probably also got something to do with the fact that a lot more people outside the retro gaming scene have realised that there's a market for retro games, so there's been a steady increase in the number of the higher priced games in circulation - which has, finally, brought the prices down.

It's good. I'm almost tempted to grab another copy of PSIV now, to play on my nomad :) Anyone know if the PAL version will work on a Nomad, or should I just grab a NTSC one?

[deejay726]

Genesisi stuff in general has dropped off in the past year.

Games like Pirates Gold, the Shinging Forces, Toe Jam and Earl, they're all cheaper now than they were. There's been an across the board drop.


Yes ive seen this on ebay. im almost embarressed to admit what i paid seeing what its going for today. I saw a copy of keio flying squadron for sega cd go for $70 bucks complete. it used to go for 150 minimum

[16-bit]

Well that's where they made their mistake. Video games are fun. Video games are a hobby. Video games are collectible. They should NOT be an investment.

Whether you treat them as an investment or not. The games themselves are an ASSET. It is possible to buy a classic game on eBay, enjoy the game and then resell it at nearly the same price. Even if you resell it for a slight loss the $$/enjoyment ratio can be an outstanding deal because you don't get to keep that kind of equity when buying current gen systems and games!

I'm sure quite a few members on this forum could liquidated their entire collection, and while not make a huge profit, still have enough for a down payment on a house in most parts of the USA (certainly not Washington DC though).

[cyberfluxor]

Agreed to an extent. I'm very picky about prices and don't drop more than a few bucks on a game unless I know for a fact it's going to get a lot of game time. I have a few games that I spent $50 on and ended up spending over 1000 hours playing them, mainly due to online play and I played for years before completely stopping. There's a few games I've put about 100 hrs into and spent $2 on, really good price for the entertainment, can't get that much time out of many movies for the price. Then there's a couple of games I spent over $30 on to have them boxed and complete and haven't spent more than a minute playing, mainly because I haven't gotten around to playing them but because they aren't common and have had high demand for years (ie. Lunar).

But anyways, these GEN and SMS games really are great for these low prices are well worth a pickup for the time you'll spend on them. I talked to a few local dealers and they believe it's the best time to collect and play Genesis games.

[77punk]

Oh do I LOVE MY GENESIS.. favorite game this week would be the Thunder Force II i got for 1$

[boatofcar]

Video games are a great investment! Just look at everyone who invested in baseball cards in the 80's and comic books in the 90's! They never lost any money!

[mailman187666]

Video games are a great investment! Just look at everyone who invested in baseball cards in the 80's and comic books in the 90's! They never lost any money!

but the difference between sports cards/comics and video games is that with cards and comics, you see a piece of paper with pictures and writing on it and it sits on a shelf. You can't actually use them (except for putting in your bike spokes). Comics are like reading a short book, which you could easily get sick of reading over and over. Videogames have a challenge to them and good replay value. Look at how many people are still addicted to playing NES games just to play them. So being able to play them and have the actual copy of the game, in my opinion, has more value and demand than pieces of paper with pictures and writing on them. So even if the prices drop, the games are still fun to play and should be able to hold some form of value for many years to come.

Another reason why a lot of the values on these games went down also is because we have fully started a new generation of video game systems. Some people are spending less of thier time/money on the classics because they are into the 360/ps3/wii. Then with the new generation of systems comes a new generation of gamers who could find an interest in what games used to be like and creates another collector and drives the demand up. But then again I'm just kinda making an educated guess here. Now is the time to buy. In a year or two, I think will be the time to sell again

[NE146]

As far as I'm concerned the games are worth as much as I paid for them. That's why to me, SMS Phantasy Star is 99 bucks. I wouldn't let it go for below that price.

Now would I buy it for 99 bucks again? Hell no :p

[diskoboy]

Video games are a great investment! Just look at everyone who invested in baseball cards in the 80's and comic books in the 90's! They never lost any money!

Ummm - I have complete Donruss and Topps sets from 1986-1989 I bought when I was in middle school (between 1986-89). Most cards from '87 on up really aren't worth shit. Infact, I can go to Target right now and buy a complete 1988 or 1989 donruss box for $10.

Baseball cards take alot longer to appreciate in value. There are only a few cards released during these years that are worth anything. At least I've still got my M. Mcguire, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds rookies :)

And IMO, comics had their heyday in the late-70's thru mid-80's.

[Cauterize]

It's good. I'm almost tempted to grab another copy of PSIV now, to play on my nomad :) Anyone know if the PAL version will work on a Nomad, or should I just grab a NTSC one?

Im afraid it doesnt, i just checked for you... It comes up with the PAL/SECAM only screen...

Im currently trying to sell a Cart only USA/NTSC Genesis PhanStar4 in my eBay shop, its overpriced but if your interested im sure we can sort out a deal ;) Ill knock a bit off for you Joel/get a trade going ;) PM me!

[boatofcar]

Ummm - I have complete Donruss and Topps sets from 1986-1989 I bought when I was in middle school (between 1986-89). Most cards from '87 on up really aren't worth shit. Infact, I can go to Target right now and buy a complete 1988 or 1989 donruss box for $10.

Baseball cards take alot longer to appreciate in value. There are only a few cards released during these years that are worth anything. At least I've still got my M. Mcguire, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds rookies :)

And IMO, comics had their heyday in the late-70's thru mid-80's.

You might want to check your sarcasm detector...

[diskoboy]

You might want to check your sarcasm detector...

*bangs sarcasm detector*

Okay - it's working now :)

I had a vague feeling you were being sarcastic - I just wasn't sure...