Just how rare is R@RE?

[SuperDanX]

A question pertaining mainly to supposedly R@RE! ps1 games, but feel free to broaden out the discussion to include other formats. Just how rare are games like Harmful park, Zanac X Zanac, Captain commando, Dodonapachi etc, etc? I dont consider myself to be skilled in hunting down 'rare' games but i had no trouble finding these games. Maybe i was in the right place at the right time? All hype??

[Klatrymadon]

Aye, I'd say most of those are more expensive or desirable than difficult to find.

[Sabreman]

Yeah, there's a definite distinction between proper rare - the likes of that Ultima computer game and Kizuna Encounter, and things that are simply available but expensive* like Silvergun or PD Saga - those ones you can pretty much get any time you want if you are willing to stump up a bit more for them.

*I say expensive, but a little more expensive than your usual single title. The way console gaming is going I doubt people are going to baulk much at paying ?80+ for a PDS or RS when their new 360 or PS3 games are costing them ?50+

[dvdmike]

maybe we should get a sticky listing formats and the rare games on them

[Mayhem]

Silvergun is an interesting one to note. It isn't common, but it also isn't super rare. Its print run I don't think made 6 figures, so it's in that middle hole I call the uncertain uncommon

What is certain is the price it still commands.

Anything approaching rare to me are games that had four figure (or less) print runs and/or copies sold. Ultra rare is in the two figure existing category or below.

[importaku]

Mayhems scale is a good starting point, needs a few more numbers.

If i was going to do a rare'o'meter

9000 to 10,000 = Borderline rare
5000 to 9000 = Rare
1000 to 5000 = Pretty Rare
100 to 1000 = Very rare
1 to 100 = Extremely rare

Theres so many different kinds of rare.

Theres games that had normal print runs but are rare due to been popular & nobody wants to sell.

Then theres rare because the game was **** & hardly sold so most of the copies were either sent back or destroyed.

Then theres rare due to it been from a promotion or competition.

A list of all rares for each format would be good but it would be hard to do as people have different opinions of whats rare. Cue lots of arguing about whats rare & whats not

[eastyy]

Kizuna tag i actually bought the mvs version for about $35
But for the complete boxed with stuff i have seen people charging upto $750

What i define as rare are stuff like competition promotion stuff or perhaps beta/alpha games that never actually got released.

As for radiant silvergun i would not class that as rare but the problem is EVERYONE is charging alot for it so there is not much you can really do

[erhgiez]

Once a title goes up in price, people will buy it for that price because they know they will be able to sell it for that price, ive seen it happen to a few games, Legend of Dragoon wasnt even fetching a tenner a year ago but now I see it going for ?50, anything below that and a trader will snap it up to sell on at a profit

[wheelaa]

Tbh I think rare can only be ascertained by how easy or hard it it to obtain a given item. After all for most items its very much a guessing game as to how many copies were printed tyo begin with. Similarly I'd draw distinctions between new and used, mint and gamers.

For example, Waltz Heim on the saturn is rumoured to have had as small a print run as 50, yet it can be found pretty easily.

Bubble bobble on the marty must have had a few 1000 copies made at least yet finding a mint copy is extremely hard.

A mint Radiant Silvergun is common as hell, a sealed copy not so.

Darius Alpha had 1000 copies, but is quite easy to find (minus letter which is insane to find). Bazarre de Gozarre had 1000 copies and is much harder to find.

Availability is the key.

[eastyy]

Personally i always find it ridiculous when say for example

Game A mint = ?35
Game A sealed = ?120

But thats just me i am not a collector i just like to play games

[Tirian]

Once a title goes up in price, people will buy it for that price because they know they will be able to sell it for that price, ive seen it happen to a few games, Legend of Dragoon wasnt even fetching a tenner a year ago but now I see it going for ?50, anything below that and a trader will snap it up to sell on at a profit

Are you kidding? That game has been going for ?40+ or so for the last 3 or 4 years. PAL, that is - the NTSC version can be had much cheaper.

[Mayhem]

Availability is only part of it. After all, if there's only 10 copies of a game but people keep selling them on, then how do you judge that? And you can't just look at eBay, though it is one of the pointers I use when determining price and rarity for the sections of the Digital Press guide I look after.

[wheelaa]

Well if there are 10 copies of a game of course it has some basic inherent rarity.

But if those 10 copies are for sale all the time then frankly it isn't that rare. If those 10 copies are never for sale then its fecking rare!

Where the waters muddy slightly would be when the 10 copies say were for sale all the time but at a price that is way above their worth! After all they would be available therefore less rare, but effectively unavailable therefore more rare if they were priced out of the market for all buyers.

Perhaps a mixture of availability and desireability.

(As regards ebay, if that was directed at me of course I realise that. I mean most of my shopping isn't on ebay anyway as it doesn't have what I want in the first place!)

[J0e Musashi]

Kizuna tag i actually bought the mvs version for about $35
But for the complete boxed with stuff i have seen people charging upto $750

No MVS game is rare. Any game can be had if you know where to look. I could get you 5 copies of Neo Mr. Do or Pleasure Goal today.
The AES kizuna is what is being spoken about here. There are reportedly less than 5 Euro versions in existence. I know this to be untrue as Telegames had at least 12 in stock upon it's release. Superfamifreak can back me up on this, as well as a few other Neo fans I know.

[nietzschedancing]

No MVS game is rare. Any game can be had if you know where to look. I could get you 5 copies of Neo Mr. Do or Pleasure Goal today.
The AES kizuna is what is being spoken about here. There are reportedly less than 5 Euro versions in existence. I know this to be untrue as Telegames had at least 12 in stock upon it's release. Superfamifreak can back me up on this, as well as a few other Neo fans I know.

Pardon my interjection, but this is completely true from what I have seen. There's a lot of myth about what's "rare" now days, but it's relative as wheelaa says. It's all about availability; remeber the Circus Lido extravaganza that occured a few years back?