Author Topic: Games that became popular but weren't popular in their day? (Earthbound)  (Read 3091 times)

Hello everyone :D


Has anyone ever noticed a niche game, that was either not popular or very uncommon during it's height of popularity?  A game where people overlooked it and just didn't give it the time of day but during the boom of retro collecting around the late 2000s it became a fan favorite cultural icon seemingly out of nowhere and it made you say "What's that hype about?" lol.   A game that wasn't selling good around it's release and might have even been considered a flop or a bad game but somehow became extremely popular in the modern era?  :)


One that comes to mind as the main one, is earthbound.   AVGN made a video about earthbound recently and was talking about it too.  It's really strange.   The game sold around 150,000 copies in the US.  Making it not even a top 100 selling game.   It sold less than derby stallion 96  ;D.   

But wow oh boy, did it become a cultural phenomenon like we may have never seen before during the retro boom of the late 2000s.  It's rated among the best games in SNES history,  E shop sales through the roof,  prices sky rocketing due to sheer demand.  and even Ness and Lucas being included in the Smash games as one of the companies greatest icons. :)     Where did that hype stem from?  Was it from the game gods?  It seemed to have come out of nowhere.  It's odd because neither of the other 2 "mother" games ever got the same acclaim.   


It's truly magical to see a game that for the most part, and for lack of a better less offensive term "flopped" come back to be one of the highest rated, most beloved, most recongnizable games for the console.  It's truly crazy to think of.  :) 





It seemed like it spiked in demand, value and popularity in 2011.  It's such a random spike that I think something has to be behind it.  The growth wasn't slow and steady and gradual.  It seems like nobody cared in 2010, and now everyone is swarmed like flies to zapper lol.  I wonder what is causing this?



What other games can you think of that did this?  :)


Here are some I can think of off top of the head.


1. Tomba   (During PS1 not many people played this, it slipped under the radar and didn't sell well.  but it's really a beloved game)

2. Klonoa  (Another game that seems to have a huge cult following but I can't recall any of my friends playing or mentioning it during the PS1 or PS2 eras.  It's not top 100 in PS1 game sales but many love it as it's an iconic masterpiece gem  :)  )



I can't think of many more though but I know some do exist.  I can't wait to see everyone thoughts and which games they have seen sky rocket in popularity but only long after they're moment in time.  :) 


Thanks for sharing.



 



mastodon

Hello everyone :D


Has anyone ever noticed a niche game, that was either not popular or very uncommon during it's height of popularity?  A game where people overlooked it and just didn't give it the time of day but during the boom of retro collecting around the late 2000s it became a fan favorite cultural icon seemingly out of nowhere and it made you say "What's that hype about?" lol.   A game that wasn't selling good around it's release and might have even been considered a flop or a bad game but somehow became extremely popular in the modern era?  :)


One that comes to mind as the main one, is earthbound.   AVGN made a video about earthbound recently and was talking about it too.  It's really strange.   The game sold around 150,000 copies in the US.  Making it not even a top 100 selling game.   It sold less than derby stallion 96  ;D.   

But wow oh boy, did it become a cultural phenomenon like we may have never seen before during the retro boom of the late 2000s.  It's rated among the best games in SNES history,  E shop sales through the roof,  prices sky rocketing due to sheer demand.  and even Ness and Lucas being included in the Smash games as one of the companies greatest icons. :)     Where did that hype stem from?  Was it from the game gods?  It seemed to have come out of nowhere.  It's odd because neither of the other 2 "mother" games ever got the same acclaim.   


It's truly magical to see a game that for the most part, and for lack of a better less offensive term "flopped" come back to be one of the highest rated, most beloved, most recongnizable games for the console.  It's truly crazy to think of.  :) 





It seemed like it spiked in demand, value and popularity in 2011.  It's such a random spike that I think something has to be behind it.  The growth wasn't slow and steady and gradual.  It seems like nobody cared in 2010, and now everyone is swarmed like flies to zapper lol.  I wonder what is causing this?



What other games can you think of that did this?  :)


Here are some I can think of off top of the head.


1. Tomba   (During PS1 not many people played this, it slipped under the radar and didn't sell well.  but it's really a beloved game)

2. Klonoa  (Another game that seems to have a huge cult following but I can't recall any of my friends playing or mentioning it during the PS1 or PS2 eras.  It's not top 100 in PS1 game sales but many love it as it's an iconic masterpiece gem  :)  )



I can't think of many more though but I know some do exist.  I can't wait to see everyone thoughts and which games they have seen sky rocket in popularity but only long after they're moment in time.  :) 


Thanks for sharing.



 
Great question. I had never heard of Earthbound until a few years ago. I grew up on nes and snes too. I'm looking forward to this discussion.


turf

PRO Supporter

Man, oh man.  There's a ton of these.  In fact, most of the high dollar games are like this.  It was games that didn't sell well and were really, really good.

Little Samson is a good example of this. Folks discovered that it was a really good, really rare game and it became the "it" part of people's collections.


What usually happens in these cases is poor marketing, or bad timing.

In the case of Earthbound & Little Samson, marketing was the issue. Earthbound literally told everyone it stunk, right down to the stratch n' sniff ads. As the AVGN pointed out, that of itself wasn't so odd in the 90s, but it did misrepresent the game quite notably. Of all the things one could say to describe Earthbound, "it's like Ren & Stimpy or Boogerman" isn't really one of them. I wouldn't have wanted it back in the day. My brother would have, and then wouldn't have liked it. The inflated price due to including the guide didn't help either. For Little Samson, the problem is obvious- it sounds like a bible game, and most kids didn't want bible games. Considering the Japanese title translates to 'Holy Bell Legend Lickle', this one is entirely on the localization team (probably one bible-thumper who forced the title through).

Klonoa is an example of bad timing. It's an adorable mascot platformer one generation too late. If it had released on the SNES and/or Genesis, I imagine it would have done much better. Same thing with Ristar on the Genesis and Shantae on GBC: good games, but came too late in the system's lifespan to actually get attention.

I was actually aware of Klonoa 2 back in the day- they had a demo at Sears that I loved, but it showed the other big problem for some of these: distribution. Sears had the demo, but not the game- and I never did see it anywhere else. I ended up grabbing it from a flea market of all places. This one's less of an issue now, but in the pre-internet shopping days, limited distribution absolutely killed a game's chances.

Unrelated: I remember years ago trying to think of a Christmas present for a friend, but being utterly stumped, until it occured to me we played very similar videogames. So I started digging through my collection looking for something that would be giftable- and as soon as I hit Klonoa 2, I knew that was the one & popped online immedately. When she opened it, she looked very confused- I said "it's one of my favorites, just trust me." I got a text a couple hours after leaving that said "THIS GAME IS ADORABLE!" It is now one of her favorites too.

Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Demon's Souls
Megaman Legends series (including Tron Bonne)
Little Samson
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Panzer Dragoon Saga

burningdoom

PRO Supporter

SotN was always sought after. It was one of those that was automatically jacked up in every store like Final Fantasy games were then.

SotN was always sought after. It was one of those that was automatically jacked up in every store like Final Fantasy games were then.

I got the greatest hits treatment, but I thought I remember reading it didn't sell that well.

sworddude

SotN was always sought after. It was one of those that was automatically jacked up in every store like Final Fantasy games were then.

I got the greatest hits treatment, but I thought I remember reading it didn't sell that well.

In europe it sold terribly it is one of the more rare ps1 games out there. Also one of the top 5 priciest ps1 games period normal version and especially the collectors edition.
Your Stylish Sword Master!



Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Demon's Souls
Megaman Legends series (including Tron Bonne)
Little Samson
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Panzer Dragoon Saga


I actually got Conker's at launch when I was a kid lol. My dad didn't care about M ratings and I doubt he even read them.  To him they were all the same. And he'd come home with random games sometimes.  To think at one point in my life I held a sealed conkers in my hands and ripped it open and discarded of the box really makes me feel dirty lol. 


I heard a rumor about Conker's getting discontinuted for being violent and hurting Nintendo's child friendly image with led to it having small copy runs.  Not sure if that's true.  But it's interesting how human nature works.  If you ban something, or make something rare, or say it's bad we'll find it and love it even more.  It's like the rebelious nature in all humans.  :D

You guys have made me think of a few more though :)

Rule of Rose  (One of the big ones ive noticed, it's so revered, demanded and beloved now.  But it went under radar.  Mostly cuz of UK being plebs and saying it was so offensive it should be banned lol.  Which really hurt it's image in America as well.  It got ditched quick.  Like I was saying with conker's though.  I think the human nature of seeing something get banned or be considered forsaken by the suit wearing old people makes us want it to succeed and be beloved in the community even more. :)  )

Flintstones Surprise at Dinosaur Peak    (Never heard of it until I started collecting and looking old games up, not sure if it was big or not but it seems like one of those niche blockbuster games that nobody wanted, so it go rare as a result.  and now people love it because it's rare lol )

Parappa the Rapper   (People mention this game like it's crash, but although it was popular, I think it grew in revere over the years. :)  )
« Last Edit: April 27, 2018, 02:46:05 pm by marvelvscapcom2 »



It never stood out to my why churches especially do and ever did protesting over video games and Rock music. This was the reason why certain games didn't make a good sale and probably the same with "Conkers Bad Fur Day"

Earthbound probably got flack from it's name alone. and probably that is why it didn't sell vary well
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aliensstudios

It never stood out to my why churches especially do and ever did protesting over video games and Rock music. This was the reason why certain games didn't make a good sale and probably the same with "Conkers Bad Fur Day"

Earthbound probably got flack from it's name alone. and probably that is why it didn't sell vary well
EarthBound didn't sell well for a plethora of reasons, the name itself was never a factor, in fact, calling it "Mother 2" would confuse us North Americans.
  • Foremost, the ad campaigns were all over the map. None of which would ever make one want to play the game, such as the now famous: "This game stinks" ads that were plastered in every Nintendo Power from mid 1994 until the game's release.
  • Second, it was released exclusively in the big box with the guide with an MSRP of 90 dollars which now has the buying power of almost 150 dollars in 2018. It's hard now to drop 60 bucks on a new game, imagine dropping more than double that on a new IP.
  • Third, look at the graphics. Good on their own yes, but then they were far below the standard pre-rendered artwork that were the rage in the mid nineties
  • The last misconception is that EarthBound is an extremely rare game, hell no it isn't. It's maybe slightly uncommon, but it has hundreds of copies for sale on eBay and other retailers. The demand is what drives the price.
I've never once heard of people protesting Conker's Bad Fur Day. It was a late release on the N64 with kiddy graphics and an M-Rating. That alone would influence lesser sales.
The violence in video game agenda was more overblown than it should have been. It was mainly used by Nintendo to try and bury Sega for having violence in their games with no rating system whilst they tried to give themselves leverage by producing mostly kiddy games. After the ESRB was established, you'll notice that even wholesome Nintendo embraced the violence because it meant more sales to a larger audience.
"I collect vidya games and vidya game accessories, I tell you what."

sworddude

This is not really true I don't believe earthbound is uncommon at the very least rare in the lower end if not a bit higher.

Sought after games that sell fast for a nice value will turn up on the market allot faster, Heck even allot of collectors with buyers remorse etc will sell it again, or when money needs arrive it will be one of the first thing for sale reseller or collector not every buyer can keep it for long.

Same can be said for symphony of the night ps1 european version that is wich I've only seen 8 of over the years only 1 collectors editions  in non collectors hand potential for cheap deals yet collectors always sell it when they are in a need of money, same can be said for suikoden 1 & 2 etc wich are less rare than that game but still very hard to find. with 50 + value items especially when sought after people will feel the need to sell them they rather have the cash than the game.  Many copies of these expensive games have been switching hands many times so naturally you will see many copies on ebay etc. with the less valuable titles switching hands and going up on the market again is allot less common unless someboy quits collecting.

I've seen people buy lots selling titles as suikoden the rare stuff because it has nice value while keeping the mediocre titles since it's cheap no matter how cheap the set was. For allot of people they rather have the money than the game it seems. Especially anything goes collectors that rather collect quanitity over quality will sell those titles in a heart beat even if they never come across one again, they just sell it after playing it some times if not immidiately. It can be emulated and they can spend it on more games to each their own I'd say ::)

Than again for allot of people that 50 - 100 $ + is allot they can do other stuff with it,  so collector or not allot of people can't justify keeping a game that has that much value. Gameplay wise It's a bad thing but I can somewhat imagine why they do so. Tons of people who think that way with retro games unless It's a current gen game or current gen collectors edition than it's okay  :o

Panzer dragoon saga very rare yet always on ebay since again you'll gain nice amounts of money. european version only has 10 to 15K copies but valuable items that sell fast are always nice to put up for sale.

Extremely rare probably not but probably rare in the low end compared to the rest if were talking about earthbound. If it was only uncommon the value would be far less and cib it would not sell for near 1K. if it were just uncommon a lose cart would only be around 70 ish if not far less I'd say including the hype it has today. Many snes games are hyped but I'm not seeing your Dk countries or super mario or contra carts sell for 50 100 etc hype can also get a game so far as far as value goes. If it were just uncommon I Can't even see a cib one go for over 200 to be fair even with the hype.

If the value of earthbound wass less, way less copies would be for sale I'm pretty sure of that. Furthermore look at chrono trigger is that game just uncommon I'm pretty sure it is more rare than that? Goes for way less than earthbound, if eartbound was just lighty uncommon the price doesn't make to much sense it would be way less valuable than chrono trigger maybe slighty higher than super contra etc.

The demand and value is what keeps even collectors selling them games for fast cash and resellers buying them up for a profit wich includes collectors who need fast cash thus ending up on ebay.

Chrono trigger sold almost 300K copies in the USA earthbound 140K to 150K so I guess in those numbers it is rare for the demand it has and that other titles had way larger sales.

Than again if the ds ever gets such a high demand as the snes chrono trigger on ds it might be priceless with less sales so in that aspect I can see where your getting at.

Still though many carts are probably broken and as far as cib goes I'm pretty sure a pretty low % has survived maybe less than 10% if I might guess.

Than again if say retrogaming becomes less popular people get out of the hobby and only 50K people are left It's just an uncommon game with less demand than the prices might be fun with those amount we might see those low prices  ::). but if say a few million people are into retro game collecting than prices will stay high I guess.

the amounts might seem like allot but it really depends how many people are into retro game collecting today.
« Last Edit: April 28, 2018, 03:18:56 pm by sworddude »
Your Stylish Sword Master!



I got Earthbound back in 1996 or 1997. I mentioned before that Best Buy had stacks of them on clearance for $20... I wish I would've known they'd be expensive one day!  :o

Valkyria Chronicles is a good example of this topic. It didn't sell too well when it first came out, but good word of mouth got around and after a year it was considered a classic. Too bad in that time, Sega saw the poor initial sales and relegated the school-themed sequel to PSP. The PSP was already fading away in the US by that point, so Sega decided to not even bother releasing the 3rd one (also sadly on PSP) outside Japan.

It's only now that Valkyria Chronicles 4 is finally coming out on PS4 and Switch that it's finally getting a proper new release.


undertakerprime

PRO Supporter

I don’t know how it was elsewhere, but Conker’s Bad Fur Day was a major shelfwarmer where I lived (Atlanta, GA). I worked in the game section of Toys R Us (RIP) back in 2003-2004, and we had literal stacks of unsold CBFD carts, 2-3 years after its initial release. It’s funny to me that I could have bought up all those copies for pennies on the dollar and made a fortune selling them now :p