Any rare PC games?

[Gameguy]

I can sell Civil War 2 disc only for $35-45, and I sold a complete copy sold $65 two years ago (when sales were much better). There's a pack with both Civil War games that goes for good prices too (but that one was reprinted in Europe so it's not as uncommon) - and there's an even rarer pack out there that I stumbled upon earlier this year called The Great Civil War, which includes both those games and "Edward Grabowski's The Blue & The Gray". The DOS/Windows 3.1 version of the game is common, but the Windows 95 version (included in this pack) is not. I managed to sell that one for $60 loose (and that one took a while to sell because nobody knows about it!).

Wow, I didn't think it was worth that much. The copy I bought was the jewel case release, it didn't come with a box and it wasn't bundled with anything else. I've got to go through what I have, I'm not sure if I have anything else that's in demand like that.

[Griking]

I'm not at all familiar with the 'Spellcasting games'. Do they all have that in the title? Nothing shows up on eBay if you search for that in closed auctions.

I don't see anything Zork related that has sold for much, either. Maybe Grand Inquisitor. When did you see an original Zork sell last? How much does it go for?

I'm pretty sure that he means the spellcaster 101, 201 and 301 games. the first was called Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers get all the Girls.

[Griking]

I don't get it. A LOT of the games mentioned here... I've tried selling them and they rarely go for much money. So am I cursed or something? Jeez...

Edit:
Griking, the Zork and Spellcasting games aren't rare, but complete in box copies in good shape are what's worth a lot of money. People just don't take care of boxes, you know?

(Also hi from Tennessee!)

I have a bunch of the games on that list as well and I agree that they really don't sell for all that much.

I've been collecting computer games for years and it's really all about the nostalgia and not the money which is actually pretty cool. Unlike console game collecting most games can be had relatively inexpensively. It really is a collection for those who love the games moreso then the ones only looking to make a buck.

I would agree however that the list above is a good guideline for great games to keep an eye out for if you collect PC games.

[tom]

I'm pretty sure that he means the spellcaster 101, 201 and 301 games. the first was called Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers get all the Girls.

Here you go:

[Diatribal Deity]

The Spellcasting series arrived to bridge the gap between text and graphic adventures like many of the other Legend games. You typed in responses and observed a static picture. The Spellcasting series was sort of a mix of Harry Potter meets Revenge of the Nerds. Actually if you played the games, other than the semi more adult aspects, there are some striking similarities.

Highly recommended for those who enjoyed Zork and the like.

Here is the description of the first installment...see if you see any similarities.

"The text adventure game Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls is the first installment of the Spellcasting series created by Steve Meretzky during his time at Legend Entertainment. All three games in the series tell the story of young Ernie Eaglebeak, a student at the prestigious Sorcerer University, as he progresses through his studies, learning the arcanes of magic, taking part in student life, occasionally saving the world as he knows it - and last but not least, having his way with any beautiful women he can get his hands on.


Story
Ernie Eaglebeak is a teenager just out of high school living in the town of Port Gecko, pining for his sexy neighbour Lola Tigerbelly and struggling in a seriously bad relationship with his stepfather, Joey Rottenwood. A break-through in his miserable life comes when he gets accepted by the Sorcerer University, a prestigious university of magic. After a dashing escape - parts of which involved walking around naked and pushing old ladies - from Rottenwood's custody, Ernie makes his way to SU and enrols as a freshman.

Ernie's life as a first-year SU student is split between learning magic, marvelling at the rapidly deteriorating quality of the student newspaper, exploring the university and getting to know such, ahem, interesting females as the university president's daughter Gretchen Snowbunny or Hillary, the young wife of his ancient advisor Otto Tickingclock. All is well until one day SU gets attacked by mysterious foes who kidnap Tickingclock and take away the Sorcerer's Appliance, a powerful magical device which could become extremely dangerous in inappropriate hands. As usual, it is up to our protagonist to save the day."

[Kitsune Sniper]

I'm hoping the Legend Entertainment titles get released over GOG.com over time.

[phreakindee]

Yeah, warehouse31 has a lot of the classic DOS games, I bought Ducktales: The Quest for Gold for my Tandy off of him for I think under $10, he's got the Amiga version of the same game for like $22 on there now, and there's one other DOS version up there complete for $50 from someone else. Unfortunately the copy I bought didn't come with any of the paperwork, the one up there now does. Really, just scope out the 80s 5 and 1/4 floppy games I say, they're the ones that make a good amount of money and are pretty tough to find. Disney licensed games, Leisure Suit Larry, King's Quest, Sierra is a good company that has a good amount of valuable PC games. Don't deal with stuff from the 90s and up though, 95 percent of those games most likely aren't work jack shit.

I have bought a few off of warehouse31 as well - great selection, usually overpriced loose disks. Wish they had actual photos instead of stock pix.

Oh and 90s games not being worth crap? Not yet anyway, and this is the time to buy them. That's what was said about 80s games too... I'm in it for the nostalgia and the full bookcases, but if you're looking to resell now is the time to buy before they become the coming generation's retro wet dream...

[tom]

Here's a rare Infocom title which I never see on ebay. I never even managed to get a boxed version, but at least I got the instructions:

PS: this is not an adventure game, although the package was quite an adventure in itself for Infocom, and it didn't have a happy ending.

[Jorpho]

I'm hoping the Legend Entertainment titles get released over GOG.com over time.

The ones based on books (Death Gate, Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, etc) were apparently made with a limited license to the source material, such that it would be pretty difficult for anyone to re-release them officially - or so I understand.

Still, that doesn't mean we can't see Superhero League of Hoboken again someday.

[Kitsune Sniper]

This is partly off-topic, but trying to record some of these hard-to-find games we have listed here with DosBox's video recorder, I cannot seem to get the videos to be editable in Adobe Premiere or anything else, even after installing the codec. They only show a black screen with audio. Anyway, just a heads-up to anyone who may be trying this. Perhaps I'm missing something.

I've never been able to record stuff via DOSBox's built-in recorder. It always makes the games slow down to an unplayable crawl.

As for codec issues such as that, I usually transcode the videos using Virtualdub and then use that file in other stuff.

[backguard]

Not sure how rare it is, but Limbo of the Lost is the one PC game to make it into my collection. Such a great story behind the game...

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

[Push Upstairs]

Is "Marathon 2" for PC actually worth much, or is it just a bit high because of the "Halo" connection?

[Nikademus1969]

Here's a rare Infocom title which I never see on ebay. I never even managed to get a boxed version, but at least I got the instructions:

PS: this is not an adventure game, although the package was quite an adventure in itself for Infocom, and it didn't have a happy ending.

I read once where the whole reason Infocom made games was so they could afford to develop Cornerstone.

[NayusDante]

Not sure how rare it is, but Limbo of the Lost is the one PC game to make it into my collection. Such a great story behind the game...

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

Now that might actually be worth something. I remember hearing about it when it got pulled. Is the actual game any good, the parts of it that are original?

[Jorpho]

Now that might actually be worth something. I remember hearing about it when it got pulled. Is the actual game any good, the parts of it that are original?

There are some rather sad Youtube videos. (You'd think after stewing for over a decade that the fundamentals would be down, at least.)

[Kitsune Sniper]

Is "Marathon 2" for PC actually worth much, or is it just a bit high because of the "Halo" connection?

I'm actually surprised the game isn't worth much of anything. Even with the Halo connection.

[Iron Draggon]

I have bought a few off of warehouse31 as well - great selection, usually overpriced loose disks. Wish they had actual photos instead of stock pix.

Oh and 90s games not being worth crap? Not yet anyway, and this is the time to buy them. That's what was said about 80s games too... I'm in it for the nostalgia and the full bookcases, but if you're looking to resell now is the time to buy before they become the coming generation's retro wet dream...

for real... a few 90's PC games are already worth quite a bit, and as time goes by, there's sure to be more that will become valuable... it wasn't that long ago that most people thought console games would never be collector's items, and look what a load of BS that proved to be... today's common titles will be tomorrow's rarities... it's been proven time and time again... and yet there's always the naysayers trying to convince people that it will never happen... sometimes I think those people are secretly hoarding everything, and they're just trying to get everyone else to give their valuables away!

[Aussie2B]

PC games is almost the only given when I shop in thrift stores now. I have sold many PC games(C64 to present) to fund my console collection.

Same here.

But like others have said, it can kind of be a crapshoot if you're not a collector of PC games yourself. I've gotten to the point that I don't buy a game unless I absolutely know it's worth decent money or until I get home and look it up. I'm still sitting on several games that I bought in the past thinking I could get money for them, like a few of the King's Quest games, and I'd be lucky just to get what I paid for them. That's why I'm always glad to see topics like these, since they give me an opportunity to increase my knowledge as there's really no Digital Press rarity guide equivalent for PC.

But I'm happy with how things have turned out so far overall. My proudest purchase was a complete CD version of Secret of Monkey Island that I bought for 3 bucks and then sold for $125. But there are also several others that I bought for around the same price and sold in the 30-50 dollar range (and those were usually disc-only).

[Push Upstairs]

I'm actually surprised the game isn't worth much of anything. Even with the Halo connection.

I figured it might be worth something as it is the only "Marathon" outing on the PC, I guess that doesn't mean squat.

[tom]

What about Neverwinter Nights, the gold box version, I never see that on ebay: