Rarity Update: Ultimate Muscle for the Gamecube

[Charlie]

Cross out Ultimate Muscle on the list of potential future rarities... the title isn't a limited release. The fact is, if it's hard to find it's because the title sold way past the expectations. It looks like more copies have been getting sent out, so if you've wanted it, expect to see it soon.

The suprise showing could be attributed to the popularity of the Anime show.

[buttasuperb]

Nothing for PS2, GC, or Xbox is rare. Limited release or not.

BTW, how is this Ultimate Muscle game? Looks kinda cool.

[Charlie]

"Nothing for PS2, GC, or Xbox is rare."

Wrong... It is confirmed that under 5,000 copies of NCAA Basketball 2K3 for the Gamecube made it out. Cubivore was around 10,000... Steel Battaliion for the X-Box was pretty limited. They might not be as sought after now, but once upon a time neither was Chase the Chuckwagon.

How is the game you say? Not so bad actually. I think the wrestlers have fairly limited movesets, but otherwise I dig it. And Dik Dik Van Dik is possibly the most homo-erotic name in the history of video gaming.

[zmeston]

How is the game you say? Not so bad actually. I think the wrestlers have fairly limited movesets, but otherwise I dig it. And Dik Dik Van Dik is possibly the most homo-erotic name in the history of video gaming.

So it's a game for fans of Tube Slider and MGS3: The Snake Eater?

-- Z.

[nesman85]

i kinda agree with butta. even a small amount like 5000 is still a lot. of course some will be less common than others but still not "rare" when compared to the "rare" games for some other systems. there will definitely be no 9s or 10s for any of these systems except maybe some in-store kiosk stuff.

[digitpress Jim]

I agree with Charlie,these games are rare.Try calling any game store and see if you can find "Cubivore" or "Ncaa College Basketball 2k3" for Gamecube,you probably wont even find one used,I know I dident find any.Also most of the games from the Classic/Neo classic systems (Atari 2600,Nes, Etc.) got rare and most sought after later in time.Try to find "Ncaa College Basketball 2k3"for Gamecube or "Steel Battalion" 10 years from now and see how much luck you have.Plus when you think about it 5,000 copies of "Ncaa College Basketball"released in the USA is not a whole lot,especially since there are so many sports fans.On top of that "Ncaa College Basketball 2k3"for Gamecube has been discontinued and Sega will no longer make the 2k series for the Nintendo Gamecube anymore.I hope im not sounding like a jerk,this is just how I feel about it.

[Mayhem]

//glad he found two copies of Cubivore (one for him, one for QoF) when he was over in the US last month.

We didn't see it anywhere else though apart from that one shop...

[Gunstarhero]

I agree with Butta on this as well. Frankly I'm sick of all this talk about any PS2, XBOX and GC games being rare. What the hell are you talking about? A sports franchise, 5000 copies or not, will never be rare as once 2k4 comes out, 2k3 becomes worth a wopping $1 for the rest of eternity. Soon we'll be seeing posts about the new Rare Madden 2004.

[Nature Boy]

I agree with Butta on this as well. Frankly I'm sick of all this talk about any PS2, XBOX and GC games being rare. What the hell are you talking about? A sports franchise, 5000 copies or not, will never be rare as once 2k4 comes out, 2k3 becomes worth a wopping $1 for the rest of eternity. Soon we'll be seeing posts about the new Rare Madden 2004.

What difference does a 2K4 release make on the print run of a 2K3 game? 5000 copies is 5000 copies, regardless of how many sequels are released.

Plus, I'd like to point out that there is no 1:1 relationship between price and rarity. Supply *and* demand - not just supply - determine pricing. The reason old sports games sell for less is that demand for them drops massively after the season is over.

If you're sick of the PS2/GC/Xbox rarity talk then don't read the posts.

Thanks for the update Charlie.

[buttasuperb]

There might be only 5000 copies of the game out there, but I can find one within a couple days. Which means it's not rare. Yet.

There were only 500 copies of the US version of Metal Slug 3 for the Neo Geo. Yet, I can buy one right now. Is it rare just because the number produced is low? I think not.

[jonjandran]

There might be only 5000 copies of the game out there, but I can find one within a couple days. Which means it's not rare. Yet.

There were only 500 copies of the US version of Metal Slug 3 for the Neo Geo. Yet, I can buy one right now. Is it rare just because the number produced is low? I think not.

You can find a copy of any game anytime if you have enough money x_x I think a better subject might be " What the H$!! makes a game rare ? "

[Nature Boy]

There were only 500 copies of the US version of Metal Slug 3 for the Neo Geo. Yet, I can buy one right now. Is it rare just because the number produced is low? I think not.

I think so.

SNES "Link to the Past" is a dirt common game I'm sure we'd agree. And yet finding it for sale around here can be difficult. Nobody parts with it. If they do, it's still priced well above what you'd expect a Common to go for - because the demand is there.

Plus how much does MS3 go for? I'd never be suprised that a high ticket item is still around - they take longer to sell, rare or not.

[buttasuperb]

You can find a copy of any game anytime if you have enough money

I disagree. Certain games are gonna take you a bit to track down, even if you have the money.

Nature Boy, MS3 still sells for 235 new. I think there's around 40-50 copies still left. True, it's more expensive, so it takes longer to sell. But right now, the game's not rare, even with only 500 copies produced. Once it sells out, I can almost guarantee the price to jump.

But rarity to me isn't about how many numbers were produced, or how much it's worth, but instead how hard a game is to find. And I'm not talking about just looking in your own town to find a game, we know that A Link to the Past can be easily found on the net.

[Nature Boy]

Nature Boy, MS3 still sells for 235 new. I think there's around 40-50 copies still left. True, it's more expensive, so it takes longer to sell. But right now, the game's not rare, even with only 500 copies produced. Once it sells out, I can almost guarantee the price to jump.

But rarity to me isn't about how many numbers were produced, or how much it's worth, but instead how hard a game is to find. And I'm not talking about just looking in your own town to find a game, we know that A Link to the Past can be easily found on the net.

So would you consider MS3 Rare once it sells out? Will it not be incredibly hard to find then? Why are you guaranteeing a price jump? Seems to me the demand is far less than the supply if it's still for sale new. Assuming the demand doesn't increase, why would the price? Why would demand increase after it's sold out? Because it's no longer available? Isn't that rarity?

[zmeston]

I think a better subject might be " What the H$!! makes a game rare ? "

Well, I think the Digital Press Collector's Guide has the best definition of rarity I've ever seen with its ten-point scale. DP defines R10 as:

"Not only is this the centerpiece of a collection, but a ten also means you could be holding a one-of-a-kind (certainly one of no more than a dozen or so) there -- kind of like owning a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, or Issue #1 of DC's Action Comics."

Any game with a production run of 5,000 copies or more, a criteria that virtually every PS1, PS2, Xbox, and GCN game falls under, will NEVER be an R10, and probably not even an R9. (DP's definition of R8, "items you'll never find by chance," applies to a few North American PS1 games.)

There are a bunch of R10 Atari 2600 carts because they were produced in incredibly limited quantities by incredibly tiny companies that were wiped out in the Crash. (At least that's what I deduce from reading the Guide and soaking up the country wisdom of this forum.)

You're always going to see Steel Battalion and Ultimate Muscle and Rez on eBay, at least until all existing copies find their way into the libraries of hardcore collectors with no intention of parting with them, but that seems like it would take many, many years to happen.

-- Z.

[buttasuperb]

So would you consider MS3 Rare once it sells out? Will it not be incredibly hard to find then? Why are you guaranteeing a price jump? Seems to me the demand is far less than the supply if it's still for sale new. Assuming the demand doesn't increase, why would the price? Why would demand increase after it's sold out? Because it's no longer available? Isn't that rarity?

It would be bit rarer and tougher to find once it sells out, since you can't just go to neostore.com and place an order for a new one, instead you'll have to ask around to find the game. I can't really guarantee a price jump, but when the US version of Rage of the Dragons sold out, quite a few people were looking for it, and the price jumped up a little bit. But when the MVS kit dropped to 69.00, and now to 59, the price of the homecart seemed to go back to normal.

[Gunstarhero]

What difference does a 2K4 release make on the print run of a 2K3 game? 5000 copies is 5000 copies, regardless of how many sequels are released.

Considering it's a sports franchise, once the new edition comes out, demand for 2k3 will dwindle to zilch. Do you really need a market study to prove that? 2k3 will be easy to obtain always.

Plus, I'd like to point out that there is no 1:1 relationship between price and rarity. Supply *and* demand - not just supply - determine pricing. The reason old sports games sell for less is that demand for them drops massively after the season is over.

Thanks for agreeing with me So after admitting that old sports games sell for less after the season is over, don't you agree that it's quite absurd to come here and hype the rarity of a sports franchise game? Knowing full well that it will be worthless in less than a year?

If you're sick of the PS2/GC/Xbox rarity talk then don't read the posts.

The whole idea of PS2/Xbox/GC rarity is absurd in the first place, when we can go to the store and buy the games retail. This stuff shouldn't be discussed as rare the same way as classic games are considered rare. What a way to reduce the meaning of Rare. Is this Ebay? No, come on, if someone is saying everything is rare then it's time to speak up. I mean, what the hell is the return on investment anyway? If I buy NCAA 2k3 for $50 now, in 20 years it's worth $1, don't you think its misleading and dishonest to tout these modern games as anything but common? So what that it has a print run of 5000 copies. Once 2k4 comes out, you'll be able to find it anytime you want on ebay for cheap. You guys are fooling yourselves if you think there will be some kind of future profit for these games if you buy them right now at their highest cost. How many Atari 2600 titles are turning a 200% profit to their original owners? Not very many, and of the ones that do, I'm sure that there are less than 5000 of each one in circulation.

Another reason its absurd to hype the rarity of these modern games is that they are on recordable medium. With mod chips enabling the use of 'backupz', that makes it even easier to obtain original titles. Not that this is happening with the 128 bit systems(it may be I haven't kept up), but it will soon enough. Heck the News here at DP headlined that the GC had been hacked already, its just a matter of time.

[jonjandran]

Another reason its absurd to hype the rarity of these modern games is that they are on recordable medium. With mod chips enabling the use of 'backupz', that makes it even easier to obtain original titles. Not that this is happening with the 128 bit systems(it may be I haven't kept up), but it will soon enough. Heck the News here at DP headlined that the GC had been hacked already, its just a matter of time.

Flawed reasoning. Roms for rare cart games are extremely easy to get and that doesn't affect their value. A rom or copy means nothing to a true collector. We want good labels boxes and paperwork.

[jonjandran]

You can find a copy of any game anytime if you have enough money

I disagree. Certain games are gonna take you a bit to track down, even if you have the money.

Nature Boy, MS3 still sells for 235 new. I think there's around 40-50 copies still left. True, it's more expensive, so it takes longer to sell. But right now, the game's not rare, even with only 500 copies produced. Once it sells out, I can almost guarantee the price to jump.

But rarity to me isn't about how many numbers were produced, or how much it's worth, but instead how hard a game is to find. And I'm not talking about just looking in your own town to find a game, we know that A Link to the Past can be easily found on the net.

And I disagree . Put a post on here about wanting a rare game and offer 2-3 times what it has sold for in the past and you'll have it in a couple of days. Guranteed. The person knows he will find it again in a couple of months.

[buttasuperb]

And I disagree . Put a post on here about wanting a rare game and offer 2-3 times what it has sold for in the past and you'll have it in a couple of days. Guranteed. The person knows he will find it again in a couple of months.

Why would I offer 2-3 times what a game is worth?