UPDATED: Saw a strange Genesis cart at Gamestop today....

[jerkov]

I was in Gamestop today picking up a battered copy of Princess Tomato for the NES (it looks like it was submerged underwater for a long period of time and then buried in someone's backyard, but it works fine surprisingly) and saw a very strange Genesis cart. It had a light green label with something like N0176 on the top of the label (those aren't the exact numbers, it just looked something like that). I pulled it out of the rack and it says "Game Factory" at the bottom and in the middle of the label there is a black box with the words "Place Label Here". Someone wrote "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" in black marker in the box instead of placing a label there. What exactly is this game? I thought I may have stumbled onto something with potential value, but since I've never heard of these "Game Factory" games and don't have any idea what it is, I figured it was too risky to spend $7 on. It's being sold as a Sonic 3 cart. Is it worthless, or is it some kind of oddity that's worth some money?

[tholly]

if you really did see a genesis game factory cart for $7, go back and buy it now

[jerkov]

Okay, but can you first explain to me what it is and what it's worth?

[Bratwurst]

There are listings for the Blockbuster Game Factory carts in Digital Press' online rarity guide.

[jerkov]

Ah, so it was put out by Blockbuster to load and re-load games on. I saw the green label cart, which the online guide lists as an R4 worth about $20. Seems like an OK find, but I don't know if I'll bother to go back and pick it up as it's not really that local of a Gamestop for me. Does anyone know if these games can fetch a good deal more than $20? Is that value accurate?

[v1rich]

DP Prices do not seem to be very accurate at all to me. Ideally it would be cool to be able to buy almost any SNES game for $5 like the guide lists, but in reality it is not going to happen. Just the same for that game cart, two were recently on Ebay and both went with a BIN within 2 days for $25 each (bought by collectors). Obviously must usually go for more than that. That price was before shipping.

[portnoyd]

That'd be interesting to find if it actually had a game on it. Pick it up now, and plug it in and see Sonic 3 is on there. I think that'd be the second case of one of these actually having the game, and give some validity towards the programmer being out there, somewhere.

Good find either way. These carts don't get much money yet, but they are a rare find.

dave

[Arcade Antics]

DP Prices do not seem to be very accurate at all to me.

What do you consider inaccurate? Letting us know will help us out.

Ideally it would be cool to be able to buy almost any SNES game for $5 like the guide lists, but in reality it is not going to happen.

Untrue. I've bought a bazillion SNES games for less than $5 and seen a bazillion more of 'em go for that same price.

Just the same for that game cart, two were recently on Ebay and both went with a BIN within 2 days for $25 each (bought by collectors).

It's been said a million times before, but it bears repeating: Ebay is not a fair indicator of value.

Obviously must usually go for more than that. That price was before shipping.

That's a pretty big leap in logic - what makes it so obvious that they'd go for more than $25? Also, $25 doesn't seem too far off from $20 to me.

The Guide prices are "collector prices" ie, the lowest price you would expect to pay for a game. If you waltz into GameStop expecting to find a particular title for the exact DP Guide price, you probably won't. You'll either pay lots more or lots less, typically because a) GameStop isn't the most knowledeable place for old games and b) they price them based on demand moreso than rarity.

[atari_overlord]

I can see maybe $7 dollars being a little too risky for a game that you dont see often. Or maybe it is for a system that you dont collect for so you dont know much about what is rare and what is not. BUT WHERE ARE THE BALLS! Dont eat out for one day and there is your seven bucks. If you are a collector or you hang out on these boards for any period of time you know that is how awesome finds are found. Dont know what this is but I will get it. Worst case you are out seven dollars and you own a game that you have never seen or heard of before (I mean the Cart not sonic 3). To me it is the excitement. But I guess if you are buying a copy of princess tomato that looks like it has been submerged in water, collecting is not high on the priority. Just my opinion.

[rbudrick]

Jerkov,

Go back and buy and I will buy it off you for $15 shipped. They're kinda rare. I"ve got that green one, but my label is shitty.

They were blank carts that Blockbuster used to load games onto. After a lawsuite with Sega, they stopped making them. My understanding is that they never offcicially got to use them, but I guess they did, since some are blank and some have games on em.

-Rob

[jerkov]

To keep everyone updated, I am going to go back out to try and buy the game, but I probably won't get out there until the weekend. The only reason I stopped at this Gamestop in the first place was because I had a class that was about 20 minutes or so away and I had some spare time to drop by (and because the Gamestop website said that they had a copy of Princess Tomato in stock, which I've been searching for). Assuming the game is still there in a day or two, I'll post pictures and let everyone know if a game is on the cart or not.

atari_overlord, I would consider myself somewhere between a "player" and a "collector". Normally, I would ignore a cart in such bad shape, but I've been looking for Princess Tomato for years and I don't feel like paying eBay prices. Mostly because I actually want to play the game. I will be on the lookout for a cheap copy in better shape, but for now I can play the game. I was presented with a similar situation last year: I found a Flintstones: Surprise At Dinosaur Peak at a local Gamestop where the top of the label was messed up and peeling off (probably due to a sticker that someone ripped off). Here's a game that can fetch up to $70-80 loose on eBay - even though this one isn't in mint condition, I got it for $5. How could I leave it sitting at the store when it was only $5? You're right though, I should've just bought the damn Game Factory cart while I was there. I thought about it, but even though I have a Genesis, I don't heavily collect for it. I'm mostly an NES collector, I only have a small Genesis collection (about 50-60 games) comprised of games that I really like to play. When I was at the store, I figured that if these Game Factory carts are really rare and valuable, chances are I would've seen them discussed more frequently on this board.

[atari_overlord]

When I go out looking for games I pretty much stick to two ideals
$5 to $10 a game is not bad (NES, Complete SMS, SNES, Complete Genesis)
If I come home with a big bag of games I always try to keep the average game price to about $5
and
I also buy with the "It is better to regret something you did than something you did not do" Philosophy. when in doubt.....buy.
I ahve been burned a few times but thems the breaks. As far as games in bad shape that is sort of how I control spending. I want so many games that if I bought every game I saw that I did not have I would be more broke than I already am. So if I hold out for a good copy it keeps me from buying it twice. But I understand, I had to play blazing lazers even if it meant buying it without the book or the case. I am also coming to grips with the fact that I am way more of a collector than a gamer. I think it is a hard realization to cope with. I think if you own games that you have never played, not even once , you are a collector by default. I did not mean to be hard on you or judge you but if I were you I would saddle up and head to that gamestop and then send me that game!

[charitycasegreg]

On common games ill spend a buck. If the guide says $5 ill spend maybe 2. If its worth like 15 ill spend about 6 at most. Depends on game and rarity. I would never spen 5 bucks on common complete games....unless they would go for a lot more on ebay.

[digitalpress]

Whether you agree that our prices are "accurate" or not, here's the listing for the green Game Factory cart:

http://66.92.250.36:8080/DP/cmf/game.cmf?gameid=126834

Clearly in our opinion, $7 would be a STEAL for that cart.

Now then, I'm off to grab some more $5 SNES carts! Byeeee

[atari_overlord]

On common games ill spend a buck. If the guide says $5 ill spend maybe 2. If its worth like 15 ill spend about 6 at most. Depends on game and rarity. I would never spen 5 bucks on common complete games....unless they would go for a lot more on ebay.

I just dont find many dollar games anymore. even my thrifts on half price days only bring the games down to $2. I am just saying if I buy 5 games for a dollar and my 6th game is one I really want (for Example Super Metroid Complete) amd I can get it for about 25 than I dont feel like i have done too bad. About $5 a game. Obviously the less money I have to spend the better but an average of $5 a game I can live with.

[Darth Vader]

DP Prices do not seem to be very accurate at all to me.

What do you consider inaccurate? Letting us know will help us out.

Ideally it would be cool to be able to buy almost any SNES game for $5 like the guide lists, but in reality it is not going to happen.

Untrue. I've bought a bazillion SNES games for less than $5 and seen a bazillion more of 'em go for that same price.

Just the same for that game cart, two were recently on Ebay and both went with a BIN within 2 days for $25 each (bought by collectors).

It's been said a million times before, but it bears repeating: Ebay is not a fair indicator of value.

Obviously must usually go for more than that. That price was before shipping.

That's a pretty big leap in logic - what makes it so obvious that they'd go for more than $25? Also, $25 doesn't seem too far off from $20 to me.

The Guide prices are "collector prices" ie, the lowest price you would expect to pay for a game. If you waltz into GameStop expecting to find a particular title for the exact DP Guide price, you probably won't. You'll either pay lots more or lots less, typically because a) GameStop isn't the most knowledeable place for old games and b) they price them based on demand moreso than rarity.

I agree with Dave on this. The only thing I would add is that ebay CAN be used a general (high) ballpark figure on what the game MAY fetch, but it is not the bible. Ebay is so volitile on items. One day a certain game could hit $50, then the next day or week it may only hit $15. Alot of it determines on who is interested in it, the casual ebayer or a hard core collector. On certain extremely rare titles ebay can be the only source, and can give a more general idea. Just remember v1rich there are other sources for finding these titles, like small swap meets that Joe and Sean have.

I rely on ebay for filling in the holes of my collection, when I can't get the help here on DP or locally. Living near Green Bay kinda limits my options, but that's OK!

Danny

[dave2236]

I bought one of those for $25.

I bought it because I didn't have one, but mainly because the sticker was mint on the cart. I figured I would never see one in the wild and that I was going to spend $15-20 later for one, so one not buy this one now.


...they are kinda useless though.

[MarioAllStar2600]

Oh man. I find those things so cool, another tidbit in video game history. Joe talked about those in Tips N Tricks.
As for the Collectors guide- I don't find it perfectly accurate, but it is great to get a feel for pricing with. I love my book. Keep in mind nobody can really release a book everytime a few games go up or down in prices. Which they have been doing alot lately.

[jerkov]

OK, I know that there are some people interested in this, so here's the update.

I swung by the Gamestop a little while ago to pick up the game (thankfully, it was still there). Brought it home and plugged it into my Genesis and to my surprise, Sonic 3 actually booted up. It seems pretty rare that these cartridges have actual games on them, so I guess this is a pretty interesting find. Here are some pics of the cart itself as well as a couple snapshots I took of the game in action:

http://www.geocities.com/cryingblood...ameS3_0315.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/cryingblood...ameS3_0313.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/cryingblood...ameS3_0312.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/cryingblood...ameS3_0311.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/cryingblood...ameS3_0310.JPG

With that last pic, I tried getting a shot where you could clearly see the Genesis power light on, but it really didn't come out in the shot. I've already had a few people contact me about purchasing the game before I even had it, but for the time being I think I'm going to hold on to the cart. One reason being that it seems like a pretty rare find - another big reason is that I didn't have a copy of Sonic 3 until now. Does anyone know of any other Game Factory carts that were known to have games on them?

[jerkov]

Actually, to view those images, you're going to have to copy and paste the URL into your address bar. I don't know why the actual links aren't working, but rest assured the pics are there.