Since when is Little Samson worth 300$?

[jobocan]

I have no idea when/how this started happening. Up until early this year I could still find it easily for 120-150$ (which I find to be too expensive already), but now the latest sale on eBay (a few minutes ago, it was the only copy on there) went up to 380$... And that's with bids, though the seller started it at 299$. What is leading people to think a game is worth so much when it could be found for much cheaper not even a year before?

That particularly pisses me off since this is one of the games I want most on NES and it seems there's no way I'll ever find it for a reasonable price anymore.

*sadface*

[byron]

It's been building up for a couple years now, but prices really started going stupid starting last November. The data gathered by this website is fairly accurate, and consistently shows a massive spike in all collectible / expensive games around November of last year. Why? No idea.

If you really want to feel like this, use the trend of the graphs to predict where prices are going to be a year from now.

[jobocan]

I'm still rather curious. I can see when it happened, but I don't really get why, considering I still frequently found it for 150$ even in the last few months. Something in particular must have happened to make the price go up that much.

Seems my only option is buying the japanese version for a bit cheaper (at least it's under 100$) since I know I'll never find it in the wild here.

[kingrat101]

I think in all honesty why people are willing to pay that much because they dont have enough patience, eventually you will come across a cheaper copy. Im glad I've waited to buy Guardian heroes and Radiant Silvergun, since they've been re-released, actual physical copies have gone down in price

[turf]

There have been some serious pros and cons to video game collecting becoming popular. 

Pro: This website and ones like it.  The community has grown and it's great
Con: Prices have gone through the damn roof and I won't pay what people want for stuff. 

Damn impatient people with more money than good sense are making it hard to find rare stuff.  When you do find something rare, the asshole at the pawn shop says, "That one goes for $300 on Ebay."  I loath Ebay.
I say give it a year or two and a lot of people will lose interest.  It seems like we're sitting on the bubble.  It's going to pop, and I think it will pop pretty soon.  Then I can get my copy of Little Samson and Earthbound for a reasonable price.

[htimreimer]

Con: Prices have gone through the damn roof and I won't pay what people want for stuff.

thats why i love obscure pc games  you can get them for cheep at your local thrift store and sometimes you can get one thats vary good like forestia

It seems like we're sitting on the bubble.  It's going to pop, and I think it will pop pretty soon

you know we are on a lot of bubbles that will pop  social gaming,lets be like apple and this one and i can help to wonder which will hurt the most

[byron]

It seems like we're sitting on the bubble.  It's going to pop, and I think it will pop pretty soon.

POP THE BUBBLE! POP THE BUBBLE!

[jobocan]

I say give it a year or two and a lot of people will lose interest.  It seems like we're sitting on the bubble.  It's going to pop, and I think it will pop pretty soon.  Then I can get my copy of Little Samson and Earthbound for a reasonable price.

I sure hope you're right... games going down to a reasonable price again would be awesome...
I say the bubble was reached the moment people stupidly pledged for an illegitimate and overpriced kickstarter for a 60$ NES game rightly remembered as one of the worst games never released.

That said, I did get my copy of Earthbound for pretty cheap... free, that is

[jcalder8]

@turf, I agree that the bubble will pop soon. I think that there are too many people who are just buying to resell and there just won't be enough collectors to buy it all.

I give it no more than 2 years.

[turf]

I really do think Virtual Console and the like are the answer.  If Earthbound is released on VC, I think in the next few weeks you could watch people scramble to get rid of those copies they paid $200.  The price will plummet and I'll get one for $50-$70.  That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

[soera]

I would love to see more stuff on virtual console like options too. The games that I like are RPGs and they have always been the most expensive games. Magic Knight Rayearth, DW 4, Crusaders of Centy, Final fantasy 3, Earthbound, Golden Axe Warrior, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden II, etc are all among some of the most expensive games of their respective consoles. If there were other options (besides emulation) of getting them people like me could actually play them the way its wanted. As it sits now, some of these games Ill never get to play cause the price is too far beyond my grasp.

[disgaeniac]

I really wonder how much digital releases of games will affect the going rate that the physical games sell for.

I'm curious because, judging by most of the rarer PS1 games that are now available for download from the PSN...they *don't* seem to have significantly lowered the prices that their physical counter-parts are currently going for - and some of them have been available for several years now.

YES, I definitely agree that these digital versions are wonderful for those gamers that simply want the opportunity to play & experience the games themselves...*BUT* (IMHO), I don't really see digital releases lowering the prices of what rare & (now) valuable/sought-after games sell for.

Then again, I could be entirely wrong here, too 

[soera]

I dont think its going to change the price much either ... some people still want physical copies of stuff. My PS1 collection will always be physical copies ... but my SNES collection is now 100% Virtual console. I bought the games I wanted for $6 each on there. Spent $36. I took the physical SNES and games (which didnt even have all the stuff I got on VC) and got about $60 in trade on it. Was a win-win for me.

I just wish they would expand their library. A lot of the games I previously mentioned will almost certainly never see some sort of downloadable copy.

[turf]

Did the price of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III not drop when it was released on Virtual Console?  Those used to be two of the highest priced SNES games.  They were up there with Earthbound.  Now, Chrono Trigger is about $60 and FFIII is less than $40.  That is what I'm basing my theory on.  It's not real hard facts, just a hunch.

[scott]

Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy vi both have handheld rereleases too. Earthbound has yet to see either of those.