Hm, I don't believe we have a topic for this yet. I've been interested in the mystique of rare video games on various old consoles lately. The Atari 2600 had a lot of them, mostly because the console manufacturers didn't need to approve a requisite number of copies be made, and anybody could code a game, so that led to a lot of small companies producing extremely small runs of titles (we're talking a hundred or fewer here). After mentioning in the other thread my rare Swordquest: WaterWorld find at a local shop (for $200!), I started getting curious if anyone else has had a run-in with a rare game.



I have one of the rarest North American GameCube titles, which in that region fewer than 4,000 copies sold. That would be:

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Here's my current collection of rare and desirable items:

• GCE Vectrex - This "portable arcade" was released in 1982 and lived a short life dying in 1984 thanks to the game industry crash. This system has developed a cult following due to it's uniqueness and can easily fetch $200+ for a working system. I got lucky with mine and got it for half that price.
• Nintendo Safe Buster Game and Watch - As any Nintendo collector will tell you, Game and Watch systems are a neat thing to collect. These were back before the GameBoy made it big time, and these systems can go for crazy amounts. My particular game here is fairly common and only worth about $40-50, but still pretty cool to have.
• Nintendo 64 Hori Mini controller - These GameCube-like controllers were only released in Japan. While it does take a little getting used to due to its small size, it's a pretty good controller with many claiming it to be the best controller to use on the system. Due to the exclusive release, these controllers can go for $40-80 (without box) depending on condition. Got mine for $30 since it needed a major clearning.
• Complete Mario Party 2 - Cartridge only this is still $20-30, but throwing in the box and manual this jumps up to $70-80. Got it brand new for $20 back when EB Games (now GameStop) was clearing out their Nintendo 64 stock.
• Stunt Racer 64 - This game never had a retail release, it was only given to BlockBuster Video (remember them?) to be a rental exclusive game. The game itself can be found for about $20, though if you have one like mine with an excellent label without a giant BlockBuster label ruining it, it can go up to $40. I actually found the manual for this at a game store a while ago and paid $5 for it. Turned it around for a cool $150 profit!
• Conker's Bad Fur Day - Most of you already know the story behind this one - Desirable game + fairly limited production run = $$$. My excellent cartridge-only copy is worth about $80. Only paid $30 for it off one of my game collecting forums.

• Nintendo Virtual Boy - Do I really need to explain this one?
• Nintendo GameBoy Light - A GameBoy Pocket with back-lit screen. Only sold in Japan.
• Nintendo GameBoy Micro - Really small GameBoy released when the DS was taking over. Sold my complete system with box and everything for $130.
• Intelligent Qube for PS1 - A rare PS1 puzzle game. Bought it from a garage sale about two years ago for $15 (with 5 other games), sold it a few days later for $50.

• Tetris DS - Bought this close to release for $30. Two years after release the price for this sky-rocketed with loose cartridges going for $50-60 alone! Now it's only worth about $10 complete.
• DDR Mario Mix (GameCube) - Got it new for $50 (well my sister got it as a gift then I inherited it). Again two years later the price for this sky-rocketed and complete sets were going for $150! Now it's about $30 for a complete setup.
• Wario Ware Touched (DS) - A few years after release, this wacky mini-game collection was selling for $40 cartridge-only. I got mine around that time for ~$25 cartridge only. Now worth about $10-15 complete.

I'm not really too much into collecting rare games, but I used to own a copy of LoZ: Collector's Edition for GameCube. Currently, the rarest game I own is a copy of Pikmin 2 (GC, not Wii ) that I got from GameStop a couple of years ago for $40.

*roots through my drawer*

Eh, rare video games isn't something I have a lot of. The hardest one for me to obtain has been Xenoblade Chronicles, took a while to hunt down and cost 50 dollars used, but it's not "rare" the same way Eon Tickets and Virtual Boys are.

Man i wish i could borrow an Eon Ticket from you Cat! I have an E-reader to use it to, but not a Ruby/Sapphire game (Just emerald). But i have been hunting down E-reader pokemon cards from the first few sets of when the old Ruby&Sapphire TCG sets that support the e-reader.

Oh and how much is Pokemon coliseum worth.

Yeah, complete means it includes everything that came with the original purchase: box, disc/cartridge, manual, and sometimes also the advertising material. Getting a complete copy of a game in a plastic container (most disc-based games, most Genesis, DS, 3DS, Vita) is quite easy, but doing so with a game that came in a flimsy cardboard box is more challenging. Most people settle for the cartridge and manual with those, and some create their own cases.

Then when i got mine at gamestop, its not going to be worth much then. I jusf got the case and the game. (I dont think i got the book)

Then it's probably worth about $15.

I don't have much in the way of rare games, but I guess my most valuable/uncommon game possession is my Pokemon Crystal cartridge. Not to say the game is impossible to come across, I assume most flea markets probably have some floating around still even to this day. But with that said it did take me roughly 3 years to find and I haven't seen one in a flea market or pawn shop since.

The rarest one that I have that comes to mind right now is actually Digimon Rumble Arena 2 for Gamecube. From what I understand, it's hard to find, and my local shop has it for $55. I think what happened is that it had a really soft release. I don't remember seeing any advertisement about it before it came out. I just saw it in the store one day. I've also got a copy of Super Mario RPG, but that one is a little more common if you ask me.

Oh boy, the original Australian release of Saints Row IV is going to most certainly be extremely rare in the future:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/unc.../1100-6424902/