The Stupidity of Earthbound

[theclaw]

Copies printed is half the story. There needs to be enough people who both know a game exists and would want to purchase it. Hard to find games NO ONE has heard of are worth jack. Say, the US versions of Impossible Mission Wii or Sonic Adventure DX PC.

[Edmond Dantes]

I used to have CIBs of Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana and a cart+box copy of Earthbound.

I sold the whole lot. Got $450 for it, but in retrospect it wasn't worth it because in later years I wound up just trying to get the games back, and when I did I had to settle for cart-only copies.

Earthbound is the only one I don't have. And admittedly price is part of the problem. For a CIB copy I'd gladly pay $500 if I had the money, or for just the cart and player's guide maybe $70-$100, but for the cart alone? Hell no.

I'm trying to save up $500 for CIB Earthbound now, but it looks like that's gonna take awhile... anyone with a CIB they're looking to get rid of willing to hold it for me for about six months?

Admittedly, last time I played Earthbound I wasn't too impressed with it, but RPGs are kind of on-again off-again for me, and I found in the time since that selling them is NOT the answer.

As for Chrono Trigger... yes, the fact that you can see battles is a huge part of the appeal. Sure, you're forced to enter more than half of them anyway, but the thing is at least you're somewhat aware they're coming, unlike most RPGs where you're just trying to make a dash for a treasure chest and may run into a different encounter each step, in Chrono Trigger you can clear out a room then explore at your leisure, which I think psychologically goes a long way towards making it less irksome.

[Famidrive-16]

Isn't Earthbound the only popular SNES game left that is not on another console?

If we can include import titles Earthbound got a GBA port in Japan in the Mother 1 + 2 anthology.

[Jorpho]

I'm just going to continue waiting....again and again...until I get a decent copy that doesn't have marker sticker crap all over it....and at a decent price.

Why the heck should sticker crap have any kind of impact on the game experience?

And no I will not play this game on an emulator. I want to play it the same way I've played every other damn SNES game I own, which is on the actual system.

...Ah, because in playing every other SNES game you own, you've always basked in the glory of your SNES bearing a cartridge with no sticker residue on it, or something?

[Enigmus]

I don't know about you people, but I'm surprised that Garry Shandling hasn't posted in this thread yet.

[Gapporin]

I found my copy at a local mom and pop store.

It was cart only, but I paid two Washingtons for it.

One of the biggest deals I've ever come across.

Just goes to show that you never know what you can find.

I have no idea why I'm writing this way.

--A Boy

[heybtbm]

If you bought an opened game with no intention of ever playing it......I just ......I don't even know what to say.

Let my new $500 do the talking for you.

[Gooch3008]

Its been almost 7 years...... you are part of the problem! More than one person could have gotten alot of enjoyment out of that game in that amount of time.

[zetastrike]

I've always thought that if I ever had a time machine, I'd go back to the 90s and buy new copies of Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, FFIII, Secret of Mana, and all the other stupid SNES RPGs, then return to the present with all the games still mint and sell them all on ebay in one lot for around $5,000. There would be one nintendo fanboy out there who would buy it. Probably more than one.

[Mayhem]

Yeah, the rise in price on Earthbound is one that's had me a little confused. Still, I got my CIB copy for $75 many years back so I'm happy heh...

[Animaniac]

Chrono Trigger under $30? They seem to be going for $50 lately on Ebay.

As for Earthbound, got my cart for about $10-$15 around 1999.

[Einzelherz]

Let me see if I can sum this up

OP: I want to play Earthbound on my SNES but won't pay the going price.
Half of responses: We're sorry?
Other half: He's right! It's only worth $5!

Sound about right?

FWIW I want to play it on my SNES too but don't want to pay the going price. You know what my solution is? Don't play it.

[vintagegamecrazy]

EB is only worth that much because of Ebay insanity and just pure stupidity. Try selling that cart to someone outside of Ebay. You won't get that much on any message boards, let alone in person. Ebay is not an accurate gauge of price at all. Ebay has brainwashed everyone into thinking that the only place you can get these items is from us and you have to pay this price and it's not true.

Earthbound is one of the current video game collecting cash cows that everyone is milking for everything it's worth. It's the same with Suikoden II, Terranigma, EVO: The Search For Eden and a few others. In years past it was FF VII, Silent Hill, Bounty Bob Strikes back, Chase The Chuck Wagon, Crazy Climber, Tengen Tetris, and even Ogre Battle and Chrono Trigger. Every one of those games has been knocked off of their high horse and are at much more respectable prices.

Are some of those mentioned games rare? Yes. Some were even fairly valuable from the get go but the real market value has finally shown its head on those and I guarantee that Earthbound and to a lesser extent games like Suikoden II will come down in price once people realize that they are wasting money on something that's common as dirt even if it takes a few more years.

[Tupin]

I also figure I should mention that I paid $5 for my copy of MOTHER 2 on the Super Famicom, and that seems to be the going price. Japanese gamers must be laughing that we're paying this much.

[Gavica]

download the rom and stop your whinning?

[rkotm]

Ive got a full in the box copy yet opened for ya but im not selling cause you may want to set your own price in your fantasy entitlement land. get over it. Earthbound is the greatest game ever made and youre lucky for finding it for 140$. Yeah yeah nerdrage yada..but still.

[DuckTalesNES]

Well, there is such a thing as price fixing. And if enough people post at rediculous prices for long enough, potential buyers will start asuming it's worth that much and jump all over it afriad that it will just keep increasing. If it's timed appropriately with a surge in the games popularity, then you could get such an unjustified swell in the games price. The game should not be that much, but enough people are speculating that it will keep climbing in price and thus there is currently no forseeable return to normalcy. If the idiots will stop purchasing the game for a respectable amount of time to sour the market the game will eventually fall back to earth, but with the ever increasing legion of so-called collectors entering the fray it's impossible to tell whether or not sanity will return.

An ebay auction is not price fixing, however I do believe there is a fair amount of speculation going on. If people are just buying up copies of Earthbound expecting that they can sell them for more later, perhaps we have an Eartbound "bubble".

[skaar]

This thread is worthwhile.

Like this post I just made.

[Nesmaster]

I bought mine for $29 from Walmart in 1999 or 2000 brand new... still have the box and guide too.

[kupomogli]

An ebay auction is not price fixing, however I do believe there is a fair amount of speculation going on. If people are just buying up copies of Earthbound expecting that they can sell them for more later, perhaps we have an Eartbound "bubble".

You are aware that people can have a friend bump up the price if it's something they don't want to sell the game for. Sure they might lose a dollar or two to Ebay, but then they can relist it and get a higher price. It's not honest, but I'm sure there are people who do it. That could be the reason the listings have reached as high as they are now.

There's no fact to it, but I'd assume this happens with something that is of a potentially high cost that happens to not get many bids.