LaserActive games never opened

[ShinobiMan]

Hey guys, been going through my Dad's collection lately, and I noticed that he had in his possession 10 (what appear to be) sealed LaserActive games. All are in great shape. I say they look like they were never opened because I can't find a place to open them. It's not a regular shrink wrap... more like a protective sleeve. Is this how they came brand new?

Anyways, the DP guide says they are worth roughly 60-70 complete. How much do you guys think a set of 10 would go for? Can anyone give me a little history on these games. I had no idea my Dad owned them.

The Great Pyramid (X2)
Quiz Econosaurus (X2)
Pyramid Patrol (X2)
Vajra (X2)
Manhattan Requiem
I Will: The Story Of London

Thanks for any info!

[APE992]

Hey guys, been going through my Dad's collection lately, and I noticed that he had in his possession 10 (what appear to be) sealed LaserActive games. All are in great shape. I say they look like they were never opened because I can't find a place to open them. It's not a regular shrink wrap... more like a protective sleeve. Is this how they came brand new?

Anyways, the DP guide says they are worth roughly 60-70 complete. How much do you guys think a set of 10 would go for? Can anyone give me a little history on these games. I had no idea my Dad owned them.

The Great Pyramid (X2)
Quiz Econosaurus (X2)
Pyramid Patrol (X2)
Vajra (X2)
Manhattan Requiem
I Will: The Story Of London

Thanks for any info!

I recently purchased a copy of Pyramid Patrol for $3, in superb condition.

The games as a whole are pretty terrible honestly, probably a contributing factor in why they've never been dumped.

http://www.lddb.com
^ Can help you with more information.

Honestly the DP price guide is a load of tripe. What they're "worth" and what they'll sell for are extremely different ideas. If you're willing to list, relist, rerelist maybe they'll sell on eBay for $60 each but if you are hoping to net a tidy $600 you've been misled.

Being sealed is a nice bonus but as of late with the economy the market on collectable video games has dropped like a rock. If I had any real money I'd snatch them off of you but no way would I think $60-70 is a fair sale value.

[Vlcice]

Hmm, good question. Laseractive games are really hard to price since they don't sell that often. Pricing tends to be all over the place, especially for the harder to find games.

Pyramid Patrol is pretty common as LA games go. I actually wouldn't be surprised to see sealed copies not getting any more than opened copies. Vajra is v. desirable though - that's definitely going to be worth something. In general the LD-ROM2 games (NEC module games) are rarer in North America. Quiz Econosaurus is the pack-in game though, so it's the most common LD-ROM2 game.

Great Pyramid has had sealed copies on eBay in the $100-130 range for a long time, but they don't seem to sell often if at all. Several copies of Quiz Econosaurus recently sold in the $40-50 range. Manhattan Requiem is very easy to get cheap in Japan, but sells uncommonly enough I don't know what the English version is worth. Ditto I Will.

As for the "protective sleeve," that's standard for laserdiscs. Many of the didn't come in shrinkwrap, which would have done bad things to the packaging; instead they came in looser plastic that had to be slit to get the disc out. They are probably genuinely factory sealed if they haven't been slit.

Sorry I can't help you more. Like I say, there are genuinely some games where the sealed copy isn't going to get more than an opened copy would, but I can't say if that's true for any of the games you list other than Pyramid Patrol.

Edit: As for history.. well, the system is weird. Pioneer made the CLD-A100 as a modular system with an expansion bay, and licensed from Sega and NEC the rights to release versions of the Genesis and Turbografx as game modules. The game modules are compatible with their respective cart and CD games, and also play special laserdisc games that are only compatible with Laseractive. Most of the games are educational "interactive encyclopedias" or FMV games, and many of them are crappy. Unsurprisingly, the system sold like crap because it cost a fortune and there were so few good games, so every game on the system is at the very least uncommon. Many of them are very genuinely rare.

You can check which module a game is for by checking the square on the upper left hand corner of the obi. "MegaLD" means the game requires the Genesis module, while "LD-ROM2" means it requires the NEC module. Most games are exclusive to one or the other module, but a few were issued in versions for both.

Like I said, most of the games are crappy. However, there are a few gems:

- Hyperion - genuinely good FMV shooter. It's a behind-the-ship game with nice controls and good use of the FMV backgrounds. Very fun game. For MegaLD only.

- Manhattan Requiem - good but very hard adventure game that makes good use of the hardware for high-quality still images and plenty of voice acting. Easy to get for cheap, and bilingual in all regions. For LD-ROM2 only.

...yeah, that's kind of it from my personal collection. I gather there are a few more gems to be found. Don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you Blue Chicago Blues is good though, it's so bad.

[ShinobiMan]

Thanks for the info guys. Really helps to know these are factory sealed. I'm thinking of selling these on ebay as a set. Think that is a smart move?

[Vlcice]

I'm no eBay expert, but that sounds like a bad move to me. I rarely see Laseractive sets sell - there are bundles that get relisted constantly, or get abandoned without being sold. The problem is either a) you'd have to make the set so expensive it's not attractive to anyone, especially since LA collectors will probably own some of those games already; or b) you'd have to accept pennies on the dollar and sell the entire set for what one or two games is worth; or c) sell it as an auction instead of BIN and accept that you may end up getting a crappy deal due to the LA market fluctuation.

One of the big problems is that the LA is so obscure, there aren't many collectors around. The collectors that exist probably already own several games - particularly pack-in games like Quiz Econosaurus and Pyramid Patrol. It's very hard to make a package attractive to that kind of buyer. Also, since LA prices fluctuate so much, putting all your eggs in one basket is risky.

(Plus, if you're looking for a decent price, you'd end up making an expensive package that costs more than most collectors want to spend at once.)

[Kitsune Sniper]

Frankly, no, you'd be better off splitting the rarer games into their own auctions.

[Bojay1997]

I recently purchased a copy of Pyramid Patrol for $3, in superb condition.

The games as a whole are pretty terrible honestly, probably a contributing factor in why they've never been dumped.

http://www.lddb.com
^ Can help you with more information.

Honestly the DP price guide is a load of tripe. What they're "worth" and what they'll sell for are extremely different ideas. If you're willing to list, relist, rerelist maybe they'll sell on eBay for $60 each but if you are hoping to net a tidy $600 you've been misled.

Being sealed is a nice bonus but as of late with the economy the market on collectable video games has dropped like a rock. If I had any real money I'd snatch them off of you but no way would I think $60-70 is a fair sale value.

Are you intentionally trying to provide misinformation to the OP to get him to sell these to you at well below value? If they are so terrible, why would you want them anyway? While he doesn't have the rarest or most desireable titles, Laseractive games are increasingly hard to find, especially sealed. The common ones still go for $20 or more sealed and Vajra is easily a $50+ game any day of the week sealed. There is easily $150 here as a lot and probably more if you split them out. I'm also not sure what collectible market you've been watching, but while some categories of games have decreased in value (Atari 2600 for example), others have skyrocketed including NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, older PC games, etc...In any event, these games do have value, even if it's not quite the $60 the guide indicates.

[ShinobiMan]

I'm no eBay expert, but that sounds like a bad move to me. I rarely see Laseractive sets sell - there are bundles that get relisted constantly, or get abandoned without being sold. The problem is either a) you'd have to make the set so expensive it's not attractive to anyone, especially since LA collectors will probably own some of those games already; or b) you'd have to accept pennies on the dollar and sell the entire set for what one or two games is worth; or c) sell it as an auction instead of BIN and accept that you may end up getting a crappy deal due to the LA market fluctuation.

One of the big problems is that the LA is so obscure, there aren't many collectors around. The collectors that exist probably already own several games - particularly pack-in games like Quiz Econosaurus and Pyramid Patrol. It's very hard to make a package attractive to that kind of buyer. Also, since LA prices fluctuate so much, putting all your eggs in one basket is risky.

(Plus, if you're looking for a decent price, you'd end up making an expensive package that costs more than most collectors want to spend at once.)

Thanks for your thoughts. While I agree that selling them individually would probably net me more, I'd much rather sell them as a set, as I have the shipping box they originally came in that fits them perfectly. I'd also much rather not have to deal with multiple buyers and shipping addresses.

If I sold them as a set... how much do you think I could get? I'm looking to sell the set in the $200 or more range. My hope is that a newcomer to LA collecting will be intrigued.

[Bojay1997]

Thanks for your thoughts. While I agree that selling them individually would probably net me more, I'd much rather sell them as a set, as I have the shipping box they originally came in that fits them perfectly. I'd also much rather not have to deal with multiple buyers and shipping addresses.

If I sold them as a set... how much do you think I could get? I'm looking to sell the set in the $200 or more range. My hope is that a newcomer to LA collecting will be intrigued.

I think you can get at least $150, however, I think doing one lot is a bad idea as most buyers will not want the duplicates of four games out of ten, especially when three of them are common low value titles that will not be worth flipping. Personally, I would do one lot of the six unique titles and then individually list one Vajra and then do one more lot of the remaining three. These are standard laserdisc size, so any 12" record shipping box should be fine.

[ShinobiMan]

I think you can get at least $150, however, I think doing one lot is a bad idea as most buyers will not want the duplicates of four games out of ten, especially when three of them are common low value titles that will not be worth flipping. Personally, I would do one lot of the six unique titles and then individually list one Vajra and then do one more lot of the remaining three. These are standard laserdisc size, so any 12" record shipping box should be fine.

Thanks! Great advice. I appreciate it.

[APE992]

Are you intentionally trying to provide misinformation to the OP to get him to sell these to you at well below value? If they are so terrible, why would you want them anyway? While he doesn't have the rarest or most desireable titles, Laseractive games are increasingly hard to find, especially sealed. The common ones still go for $20 or more sealed and Vajra is easily a $50+ game any day of the week sealed. There is easily $150 here as a lot and probably more if you split them out. I'm also not sure what collectible market you've been watching, but while some categories of games have decreased in value (Atari 2600 for example), others have skyrocketed including NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, older PC games, etc...In any event, these games do have value, even if it's not quite the $60 the guide indicates.

Nope. First off, I'm pretty broke so even if I actually wanted them I can't afford them (and I don't have a Laseractive on hand, I collect to play and preserve). Second, rare does not mean expensive. I have a very rare set of sealed 5.25" floppies behind me from 1994. Wanna trade me a sweet Benjamin for both? Very rare...

The collectors market for some items has sky rocketed yes but that is percieved value, not actual value. The difference is what most people interested in a given item are willing to pay (that supply/demand curve applies) compared to what it would cost given first rate market conditions. Clearly Panzer Dragoon Saga is a great game. Clearly there are a limited number of copies. Clearly there are a large sum of people out there who wish to own it. However, most of them can't afford to put $150 down on the game but everyone will still try to sell it at $150 because they paid $150 for it but find out that they will be sitting on something for months relisting it on ebay over and over.

While a sealed Laseractive game is quite unusual compared to a sealed Genesis game the point stands that the only people who'd be likely to pay good money for them are those who already have Laseractive's ($200-250) and the PCE/MCD paks ($100-200+ individually easy).

Dropping them as a pack on eBay is a great way to get lowballed or never sell them while racking up eBay fees in the process. Splitting them one by one at reasonable starting points will get you something but there is not a snowballs chance in hell they'll go for what the DP guide says.

I'm guilty of a lot of things, but lowballing someone intentionally to score a cheap sale is something I'd never do. That said my information is never to be taken as gospel. Only the market can tell you what something is actually worth.

Addendum:

As for why I'd want them? They're undumped games that need preservation. I have the ability and skill to build what is necessary to rip them into a format that can be implemented into Genesis emulators. I also collect unusual gaming items as well as Laserdiscs in general. A few months ago I dropped $45 on the Definitive Collection of Star Wars. 9 discs, 25 minutes per side, blah blah. Point is Han shoots first and the Sarlaac still looks like the planet has a giant butthole.