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Thread: Why is Color A Dinosaur considered rare?

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    Default Why is Color A Dinosaur considered rare?

    This game is on Amazon and Ebay selling for $50. I don't have it yet, and I was thinkin about buying it, but the gamer in me told me to save my money for games I'll play for more then 5 minutes just for the novelty of it.

    But I keep hearing from hardcore NES collectors that this is one of the super rare titles, up there with Action 52, Cheetahmen, and Little Samson. But I see it selling for less than $100. So whats the story with this game?

    I personally love collecting NES games, and these weird, pointless titles are a big reason why. Games like Where's Waldo, Taboo, and Space Shuttle Project, are just awesome for their uniqueness, their weirdness, and all that.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arkanoid_Katamari View Post
    This game is on Amazon and Ebay selling for $50. I don't have it yet, and I was thinkin about buying it, but the gamer in me told me to save my money for games I'll play for more then 5 minutes just for the novelty of it.

    But I keep hearing from hardcore NES collectors that this is one of the super rare titles, up there with Action 52, Cheetahmen, and Little Samson. But I see it selling for less than $100. So whats the story with this game?

    I personally love collecting NES games, and these weird, pointless titles are a big reason why. Games like Where's Waldo, Taboo, and Space Shuttle Project, are just awesome for their uniqueness, their weirdness, and all that.
    Color a Dinosaur is a rare nes game. Its rarer than Little Samson, thats for sure. Finding a boxed or complete copy is much much harder than finding a loose cart.
    Its not super expensive because its not a game you would want to play at all. Unless you are going for a complete set there is not much point paying alot online for a copy.
    Waldo, Taboo, Space Shuttle are not rare games by any means.
    More expensive does not = rarer.
    Last edited by bb_hood; 03-19-2014 at 12:10 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bb_hood View Post
    Color a Dinosaur is a rare nes game. Its rarer than Little Samson, thats for sure. Finding a boxed or complete copy is much much harder than finding a loose cart.
    Its not super expensive because its not a game you would want to play at all. Unless you are going for a complete set there is not much point paying alot online for a copy.
    Waldo, Taboo, Space Shuttle are not rare games by any means.
    More expensive does not = rarer.
    Yea no, those aren't rare at all, I was just saying I enjoy the NES cuz of the unusual games like those. I mean, I saw a boxed and complete Color a Dinosaur on Ebay for maybe $200. And Action 52 is like a $1000 game and that's not exactly a desirable game to play either. Strange. Maybe I'll hafta pick it up then, it could rise in value. I don't particularly care about having all my NES games boxed either.

    It just confuses me that shitstorms like Action 52 and Cheetahmen sell for hundreds and hundreds of dollars, yet Color A Dinosaur is less then $100.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arkanoid_Katamari View Post
    Yea no, those aren't rare at all, I was just saying I enjoy the NES cuz of the unusual games like those. I mean, I saw a boxed and complete Color a Dinosaur on Ebay for maybe $200. And Action 52 is like a $1000 game and that's not exactly a desirable game to play either. Strange. Maybe I'll hafta pick it up then, it could rise in value. I don't particularly care about having all my NES games boxed either.

    It just confuses me that shitstorms like Action 52 and Cheetahmen sell for hundreds and hundreds of dollars, yet Color A Dinosaur is less then $100.
    I think it partly has to do with the AVGN after he reviewed it, the game is sought out. i remember there was a Sealed Genesis for 49.99 on Ebay BIN. I was about to buy it but didnt cause I wanted the NES version. Stupid me, that one goes for God knows how much now. A lot of reason why these retro games are high in price is cause of Youtubers. Especially with their game hunting and comparison of what they bought it for to what it goes for. Then they complain of high prices. Go figure.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arkanoid_Katamari View Post
    Yea no, those aren't rare at all, I was just saying I enjoy the NES cuz of the unusual games like those. I mean, I saw a boxed and complete Color a Dinosaur on Ebay for maybe $200. And Action 52 is like a $1000 game and that's not exactly a desirable game to play either. Strange. Maybe I'll hafta pick it up then, it could rise in value. I don't particularly care about having all my NES games boxed either.

    It just confuses me that shitstorms like Action 52 and Cheetahmen sell for hundreds and hundreds of dollars, yet Color A Dinosaur is less then $100.
    I also love the unusual nes titles, I know what you were getting at I just had to mention that those titles are nothing special.
    Color a Dinosaur could rise in value, and if it only sells for about 50$ now I wouldnt be surprised if it did go up (eventually).
    There are other really rare nes titles that are not super expensive yet. Chip and Dale 2 is one of the rarest US liscenced NES games and it seems to sell less than snow bros and about the same amount as duck tales 2. Race America is also really rare and thats less than 50$ via bin on ebay.


    Quote Originally Posted by PizzaKat View Post
    I think it partly has to do with the AVGN after he reviewed it, the game is sought out.
    Yes I think that has alot to do with it. Whenever he reviews something for good or bad, the sheep flock to ebay and pay whatever... then games sell for high BIN prices then those prices become the norm. When he reviewed guardian legend that common nes game went from 4-5 to 20-30 overnight. Demons Crest and Wild Guns shot up the same way, but even more.

    Action 52 and cheethamen are both quite rare, cheetha being much more so. With a retail price of 199$ I dont think many people bought action 52.
    Last edited by bb_hood; 03-19-2014 at 01:08 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PizzaKat View Post
    I think it partly has to do with the AVGN after he reviewed it, the game is sought out. i remember there was a Sealed Genesis for 49.99 on Ebay BIN. I was about to buy it but didnt cause I wanted the NES version. Stupid me, that one goes for God knows how much now. A lot of reason why these retro games are high in price is cause of Youtubers. Especially with their game hunting and comparison of what they bought it for to what it goes for. Then they complain of high prices. Go figure.
    My roommate rented Action 52 back in the early 90s. He said it was godawful even then. But that is true, AVGN did cover those 2 games. U don't see games like Top Gun or Simon's Quest going up though. They're still $3 games. Of course, those aren't rare. I guess I should hope he doesn't do Color A Dinosaur then, so I can get it for a reasonable price and so I can actually own a rare game. Which would be cool. I wasn't even gonna get this game cuz it was rare, I was interested in it cuz I like weird NES games like this. It being rare didn't even occur to me.

    But yea I do like the videos of what people find sometimes, I do think it's a little unclassy to say how much they paid for it tho. AVGN was at least decent enough not to mention prices.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arkanoid_Katamari View Post
    My roommate rented Action 52 back in the early 90s. He said it was godawful even then. But that is true, AVGN did cover those 2 games. U don't see games like Top Gun or Simon's Quest going up though. They're still $3 games. Of course, those aren't rare. I guess I should hope he doesn't do Color A Dinosaur then, so I can get it for a reasonable price and so I can actually own a rare game. Which would be cool. I wasn't even gonna get this game cuz it was rare, I was interested in it cuz I like weird NES games like this. It being rare didn't even occur to me.

    But yea I do like the videos of what people find sometimes, I do think it's a little unclassy to say how much they paid for it tho. AVGN was at least decent enough not to mention prices.
    Well the thing about AVGN is that he got a lot of his games for free as donations. So he doesn't even have prices to mention.
    [quote name='Shidou Mariya' date='Nov 17 2010, 10:05 PM' post='4889940']
    I'm a collector, but only to a certain extent.
    Not as extreme as Rickstilwell though.[/quote]


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    Quote Originally Posted by Rickstilwell1 View Post
    Well the thing about AVGN is that he got a lot of his games for free as donations. So he doesn't even have prices to mention.
    Even then, it's rare, if ever, that he mentions prices on anything unless its really rare.

    That seems to be the story for the NES though, a lot of the super-rare, uber-sought after games are horrendous in quality. There's a reason why there weren't so many of them out there. When I was just getting into retro gaming and buying large lots of games, I had a loose cart of color-a-dinosaur. I played it for 5 minutes and sold it off on craigslist. Someone offered me $15 for it and I didnt do research beforehand to see why this shitty game was going for that much, so I sold it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ggallegos1 View Post
    Even then, it's rare, if ever, that he mentions prices on anything unless its really rare.

    That seems to be the story for the NES though, a lot of the super-rare, uber-sought after games are horrendous in quality. There's a reason why there weren't so many of them out there.
    Yeah, Waynes World comes to mind. That game is so bad.
    To be fair though Color a Dinosaur is more like software for little kids.

    Color a Dinosaur Speedrun:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4feIpb7RE90

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    When I was on my Nes kick in 2010 I played a lot of rare/uncommon games that I thought were pretty good. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt, The Jungle Book, Swordmaster, Wacky Races, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Tiny Toon Adventures 2. I can't think of that many rare and good titles that I've played on the other consoles.

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    I remember Pat the Punk's Flintstones 2 review.
    He shows off a small cart holder filled with games. "I got a thousand dollars worth of games right here. And most of them suck."
    His analysis. "Is Surprise at Dinosaur Peak a game worth playing? Yes. But is it worth owning (at market value)? No!" (and we see what is probably the only time he will condone emulating a game. Obviously nobody would think it would have, estimated value at the time of his video, $500 worth of gameplay. Going on to mention he has spoken to at least one scalper.)

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    I don't get why Action 52 shot up in price so much, it used to be a $40 game. Even boxed it was hard to sell for more than that amount. The thing is, I came across at least 4 copies in the wild over the years(just NES) and was told by others that I missed out on copies locally which sold before I got there, and I've owned 2 copies personally. Sold them before the massive price spike. I currently own a Genesis version which I got locally as well, and this plays a bit better than the NES version. It's uncommon but it's really not a rare game, not as rare as people make it out to be.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gameguy View Post
    I don't get why Action 52 shot up in price so much, it used to be a $40 game. Even boxed it was hard to sell for more than that amount. The thing is, I came across at least 4 copies in the wild over the years(just NES) and was told by others that I missed out on copies locally which sold before I got there, and I've owned 2 copies personally. Sold them before the massive price spike. I currently own a Genesis version which I got locally as well, and this plays a bit better than the NES version. It's uncommon but it's really not a rare game, not as rare as people make it out to be.
    The fact that it's a clear game cart could also contribute to its appeal for people, making the price higher. I'll jump on Color A Dinosaur though. Who knows? I was planning on getting it before I knew how rare it was, cuz I love weird NES games, so even if the price never rises, who cares? I own another weird NES games I can make my friends say "wft?" to. Even as a kids game it looks shitty. If I was 3, and I prolly was around that age when it was released, I woulda hated it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bb_hood View Post
    I also love the unusual nes titles, I know what you were getting at I just had to mention that those titles are nothing special.
    Color a Dinosaur could rise in value, and if it only sells for about 50$ now I wouldnt be surprised if it did go up (eventually).
    There are other really rare nes titles that are not super expensive yet. Chip and Dale 2 is one of the rarest US liscenced NES games and it seems to sell less than snow bros and about the same amount as duck tales 2. Race America is also really rare and thats less than 50$ via bin on ebay.



    Yes I think that has alot to do with it. Whenever he reviews something for good or bad, the sheep flock to ebay and pay whatever... then games sell for high BIN prices then those prices become the norm. When he reviewed guardian legend that common nes game went from 4-5 to 20-30 overnight. Demons Crest and Wild Guns shot up the same way, but even more.

    Action 52 and cheethamen are both quite rare, cheetha being much more so. With a retail price of 199$ I dont think many people bought action 52.
    They couldn't have sold well. I also think that since they're unlicensed games they prolly had low production runs, as well.

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    With Action 52, there was that whole Cheetahmen II Kickstarter fiasco starring Greg Pabich. It was fairly sought after before that, and even before the AVGN reviewed it. I remember there were rumors that Pabich or someone associated with him was buying up as many copies as possible. Its another rare one that people want.

    It was pretty rare to begin with, but wasnt a trailer full of sealed copies found sometime ago? Or was that something else

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arkanoid_Katamari View Post
    They couldn't have sold well. I also think that since they're unlicensed games they prolly had low production runs, as well.
    They were sold mostly to rental stores, it wouldn't surprise me if some stores bought multiple copies before they knew how terrible it was. It was $200 originally but it was discounted later in it's life, I think it was dropped to $50 at one point. It sold well enough to have several label and circuit board variants. Again, there are plenty of rental exclusive games that aren't as valuable as this game.

    Just something of interest, the Genesis version of Action 52 was developed by the same people who made Color a Dinosaur. And they're still making games today.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FarSight_Studios


    EDIT: I found an ad which lists the price of Action 52 at $79.99. It shows that the price was dropped several times while still being produced.
    http://i60.tinypic.com/i513kz.jpg
    Last edited by Gameguy; 03-20-2014 at 02:56 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rickstilwell1 View Post
    Well the thing about AVGN is that he got a lot of his games for free as donations. So he doesn't even have prices to mention.
    This is true, but I find it unlikely that someone would donate their Cheetahmen II to some guy so he can make a 20 mn video on it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gameguy View Post
    They were sold mostly to rental stores, it wouldn't surprise me if some stores bought multiple copies before they knew how terrible it was. It was $200 originally but it was discounted later in it's life, I think it was dropped to $50 at one point. It sold well enough to have several label and circuit board variants. Again, there are plenty of rental exclusive games that aren't as valuable as this game.

    Just something of interest, the Genesis version of Action 52 was developed by the same people who made Color a Dinosaur. And they're still making games today.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FarSight_Studios


    EDIT: I found an ad which lists the price of Action 52 at $79.99. It shows that the price was dropped several times while still being produced.
    http://i60.tinypic.com/i513kz.jpg
    Thats so strange! According to that they made Game Party for the Wii, which was awesome. Other then that it's all sports titles.

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    http://www.neshq.com/lists/updatedrare60.txt

    This is a cool little reference guide for rarity levels of every NES game. Not sure how accurate it is, but from my experience in game hunting, it seems somewhat accurate. Apparently nothing in my 120 NES games is rare at all. The rarest game I have is Arkanoid, which they gave a "B+". Great game, not valuable, more rare then I thought it was, tho.

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    http://nescollector.zamaman.com/?p=174

    A little thing here says never to pay more then $20 for Color A Dinosaur, not sure if I should wait on this, the rock bottom price I can find for this game is $46 including shipping. I don't mind paying 46 for it, but if it's wiser to wait...? It seems like a game that'll only rise in value over time, if it the value does change.

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