What games have you bought, knowing that they will become rare?

I have a few games that I know, personally. That will become more and more rare over time. I even have a list!

1. The Last Story and Xenoblade

This game, from the 4 hours I have played of it. Is going to get ultra rare if it is not going to be digital for a while. I honestly recommend someone to keep one in the packaging. I recommend that highly. I honestly felt bad for buying this game and opening it... it is that nice of a first launch thing they are doing. This game is coming out right at the end of the wii's life and now there is nothing other than that kirby collection next month. This game, along with launch stuff is going to fetch high prices later on... like... Earthbound levels of high. Also, LOW print run... so yeah... buy now!

This game, is not as rare as the other one mainly for the fact that Nintendo did publish this and did advertise it a bit. However be reminded that this is going to be rare as well one day, not Earthbound rare, but close. It is going to be safely guarded by video gamers due to high quality and expect it to go for a good amount later on. Remember, Wind Waker is going for 40 or higher!

2. Infinite Space.

This game is completely unheard of, but once it gets somehow famous enough due to high quality and great story it has. It is going to be pretty damn hard to buy. Low print run on this one as well. I recommend buying this one. Heck... I think it is 50 for the last copy on Amazon... No wait... 80 for the last two copies... Yeah... try to find them!

3. Tales of games in general

I recommend just buying them if they aren't going to be re-released. Tales of Symphonia can go for 40 bucks now... I so should have bought one for 15 when I had the chance... DAMMIT!!! But yes people. This just shows quality+low print run+no reprint=RARE! So yeah... buy them all if you can. I myself found a copy of Tales of Abyss for the ps2, practically new for 4 bucks... FUCK YEAH!!!

4. Any Japanese or game from another country really.

This is just in general. As long as a game is high quality but didn't sell well enough to make more. Just remember, keep it in good condition. Okay?

Other than that. I think that should do it for how to treat games and stuff. So yeah, obvious stuff! Just look at the trends and buy it! All it takes is for it to be so awesome it sells out! So yeah... that easy!

Never. That's just dumb.

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

None. All games should be available to everyone all the time. The fact that certain games are "rare" is a shame.

COD MW3

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

Eh, if you buy it because you think it's going to be really valuable or you just like owning things and it sits on a shelf collecting dust then yeah I'd agree. I think its ok to buy something you're genuinely interested in playing but are afraid that you won't be able to find if you procrastinate too long.

Mostly collector's editions of games like Rayman, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Demon's Souls.

Never done it, but bringing up Infinite Space is making me want to go play it again. Really a great game.

Games rarely go up in value these days, especially with digital distribution.

Collectors editions are even worse. Hardcore fans will pay a silly amount of money for them around launch, then a few weeks later everyone realises it's nothing but plastic junk and sells them on eBay for $30.

I have a few sealed games I've gotten from random flea markets and other oddities. But the majority of games I buy I usually want to play.

Also I don't understand why you're considering the last story more valuable than Xenoblade. Last Story did just come out but xseed is known for publishing a game long after its release. Xenoblade was a game that was exclusive to GameStop in terms of purchasing. You can buy a copy off them online but I think due to the fact that Xenoblade was only being sold by one retailer. I'd imagine that in the future Xenoblade would be harder of the two to find.

This happened to me a few times, but for the reasons @Hippie_Genocide mentioned, not because I wanted to make a small amount of money off of it in the future. With niche JRPGs (like NIS or GUST games) I found it was a tough choice to make because it's not certain how many were printed but it is certain that there won't be as many as most other games. 
 
I bought Ar Tonelico 3 on launch because I was worried I wouldn't be able to find it for a reasonable price later on and I liked the first one so I figured it be an okay buy. It wasn't. That game is terrible.
 
I also bought Hyperdimension Neptunia when it was reprinted and sold for $30 by NISA. It had been going for something like $80-$100 brand new and sealed when I was looking for it before it was reprinted.
 
Edit: Oh and Atelier Totori.

@ChadMasterFlash said:

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

@zombie2011 said:

@ChadMasterFlash said:

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

@SuperWristBands said:

I also bought Hyperdimension Neptunia when it was reprinted and sold for $30 by NISA.

That game was awful.

Also I find this act for the most part completely pointless. As someone who is decently deep into collecting movies on blu-ray, I learned just how easy a movie could lose any worth. The original release of Salo was going for a couple of hundred dollars at one point because it had been OOP from the legal case the family of the director had going on about the rights. As soon as Criterion announced their Blu-ray and DVD re-released, prices plummeted. As soon as a better verison comes out, the value of a item plummets.

With HD remakes being a common thing today and certain companies printing new copies because of demand, I can't expect any game to go significantly up in value for long. My Hurt Locker steel book though...

I bought Demon's Souls thinking it could be rare. Silly me for thinking that at the time. As a special note, this is my first post from a mobile site so.........awesome.

I bought Demon's Souls thinking it could be rare. Silly me for thinking that at the time. As a special note, this is my first post from a mobile site so.........awesome.

@SuperWristBands said:

I also bought Hyperdimension Neptunia when it was reprinted and sold for $30 by NISA.

That game was awful.

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

Pretty much this. I buy games because I want to play them, not because I know they will be hard to find sometime in the future.

Games nowadays are never going to blow up in value like they did in years gone by. The fact is even the smallest print of games are easy to get hold of. You will never see a sports game have about 100 copies printed before its name gets changed again.

lol I bought a copy of Infinite Space for £5 brand new, suck it amazon guys.

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

Pretty much this. I buy games because I want to play them, not because I know they will be hard to find sometime in the future.

@ZeForgotten said:

@ShadowConqueror said:

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

Pretty much this. I buy games because I want to play them, not because I know they will be hard to find sometime in the future.

What these people have written

What these people have written has nothing to do with this thread. Nobody said anything about buying games simply because they are rare.

I've never bought a game because of its potential rarity or potential value. I buy games because I want to play them.

@SuperWristBands said:

@Vonocourt said:

@SuperWristBands said:

I also bought Hyperdimension Neptunia when it was reprinted and sold for $30 by NISA.

That game was awful.

It certainly wasn't very good but I found enough fun in it to play through it (just barely). Though there were periods where I didn't play it for about a month in between sessions. It wasn't good enough to warrant purchasing the sequel that's for sure.

If you enjoyed the first one at all you should check out MK2. From the little bit I've played of the first so far MK2 is way way better gameplay wise at least.

I've never done this. I'm not a video game collector and no current release game will ever be so rare down the road that it's worth buying as an investment to resell. In fact I'm so opposite a collector, I wish physical media would just go away already to make things easier on me.

I buy games to play them, and hopefully have fun with them. Any other reason sounds like a waste of money to me.

Are there any games that have been released over the last five years or so, that AREN'T obscure Japanese imports, that are worth a significant amount more than when they were new?

@ZeForgotten said:

@ShadowConqueror said:

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

Pretty much this. I buy games because I want to play them, not because I know they will be hard to find sometime in the future.

What these people have written

What these people have written has nothing to do with this thread. Nobody said anything about buying games simply because they are rare.

@SamStrife said:

Games nowadays are never going to blow up in value like they did in years gone by. The fact is even the smallest print of games are easy to get hold of. You will never see a sports game have about 100 copies printed before its name gets changed again.

NBA Elite 11

In terms of the actual question, i brought the only copy of bully for the 360 I've ever seen, but that's more because I wanted to play bully again, not to look nice on a shelf.

@MB said:

I've never done this. I'm not a video game collector and no current release game will ever be so rare down the road that it's worth buying as an investment to resell. In fact I'm so opposite a collector, I wish physical media would just go away already to make things easier on me.

To me geting a game because it'll be rare isn't about the future value; it's about getting it before I won't be able to find it so that I actually get to play it. I spent six years looking for a copy of Ico before the HD version was announced and two years looking for Freedom Fighters. I don't have a credit card so I can't just order one online. I ended up buying Valkyria Chronicles and Persona 4 anticipating that they would be difficult to find in the future. This was before they did a second manufacturing run on Vakyria Chronicles. I would imagine that Child of Eden is/will be difficult to find but to it's incredibly low sales numbers but I don't have disposable income anymore so I haven't gotten it.

Ugh too many.

I actually have a sealed copy of Infinte Space.

Let's see, sealed copies...

Digital Devil Saga
Devil Summoner 2
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
GrimGrimoire
Kingdom Hearts re: Chain of Memories. (the PS2 remake)
Eternal Poison
La Pucelle Tactics
Mana Khemia 2 (some sort of special edition)
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love
Shadow of the Colossus
Some Ys game for the PSP. I think it's Origin? It's the special edition.
Valkyrie Profile: Legend of the Plume (I think that's the name)
Ace Attorney Investigations
UmJammer Lammy
The Legend of Dragoon
Chrono Cross
Final Fantasy 9
F-Zero for the SNES, still sealed.


Yeah, I dunno dude. I don't necessarily like having a bunch of sealed games. Maybe what I'll do is wait 15 years and then sell them, use the money I get to buy used versions and pocket the extra.

Are there any games that have been released over the last five years or so, that AREN'T obscure Japanese imports, that are worth a significant amount more than when they were new?

@ZeForgotten said:

@EVO said:

@ZeForgotten said:

@ShadowConqueror said:

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

Pretty much this. I buy games because I want to play them, not because I know they will be hard to find sometime in the future.

What these people have written

What these people have written has nothing to do with this thread. Nobody said anything about buying games simply because they are rare.

"Knowing that they will become rare"? and "Not because I know they will be hard to find(aka rare) sometime in the future" fits perfectly with that.

Sorry, that was aimed more at @Enigma777. There's nothing dumb about buying a game knowing that it will become rare.

@ZeForgotten said:

@EVO said:

@ZeForgotten said:

@ShadowConqueror said:

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

Pretty much this. I buy games because I want to play them, not because I know they will be hard to find sometime in the future.

What these people have written

What these people have written has nothing to do with this thread. Nobody said anything about buying games simply because they are rare.

"Knowing that they will become rare"? and "Not because I know they will be hard to find(aka rare) sometime in the future" fits perfectly with that.

Sorry, that was aimed more at @Enigma777. There's nothing dumb about buying a game knowing that it will become rare.

I buy 90 percent of my games digitally and the only physical games I buy are blockbuster "AAA" 360 titles that are cheaper on disc than on Games on Demand. So no, I don't invest in games solely because they might become rare. If that's your incentive to buy a game, you're doing something wrong.

The Last Story, I guess, but that was also because of pre-order bonuses and Operation Rainfall.

@moffattron9000 said:

@SamStrife said:

Games nowadays are never going to blow up in value like they did in years gone by. The fact is even the smallest print of games are easy to get hold of. You will never see a sports game have about 100 copies printed before its name gets changed again.

NBA Elite 11

Touche I guess.

Did any copies ever get released though. I understand someone got their hands on an early build but the game itself never got fully printed.

Never bought a game solely for the reason it may be rare in the future, I just buy games I want.

@zombie2011 said:

@ChadMasterFlash said:

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

I did buy the limited numbered Raiho edition of SMTDS2RKvKA. Poor guy has never been released from his prison.

If Atlus ever does a reprint of that, I'll eat my hat.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Limited Edition (2010, PS3), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003, PC), and I probably have some other ones as well.

@NlGHTCRAWLER said:

COD MW3

you and i both

@Enigma777 said:

Never. That's just dumb.

Yeah, stop being dumb Jim

None because I have no way of knowing whether they'll be rare or not. Especially because value just plummets randomly especially when they come out on other formats. Remember when MvC2 was over 100$ on ebay? Now it's worth shit cause of the XBLA/PSN port.

I may like to collect games, but I like to play them too. I unsealed a fresh copy of Seaman last year value be damned.

The only games that might retain value are like sealed NES and SNES games, rare titles from that era, and probably Neo Geo AES carts.

A sealed japanese copy of Metroid 2.

A signed copy of Final Fantasy 8 by Shaquille O'Neil.

Nobody is going to by your games, son.

@Brodehouse said:

@MikkaQ As a collector I would say that value is now at the proper level; old games are for collectors and not just people who want to play them. Earthbound remains a 200 dollar game because collectors want it and there's only so much to go around. Final Fantasy 7 maintains its 50 dollar evaluation because people still want them, especially black label prints. Right now Valkyrie Profile for the PS1 runs over a hundred bucks, even with the rerelease (as VP: Lenneth) on PSP. I can see that dipping if it hit PSN, but I think it doesn't drop below 80. The games you really got to watch out for are previous entries that suddenly spike in demand after a popular sequel. No one gave a shit about Koudelka until Shadow Hearts: Covenant came out and was amazing. Now Koudelka is a crown jewel.

As something of a hybrid collector, the prices for some things are incredibly frustrating. On one hand, it's understandable that rarer prints are valuable as hell now, but I want to play them at the end of the day and I have to make calls about getting things new or used or completely busted up but functional. I tend to not emulate whenever possible.

But I think games coming out these days, even supposedly "limited" games like Atlus games, have been printed in much higher quantities than something like the Sega CD copy of Snatcher (a personal holy grail of mine), so in the future I highly doubt they will be worth all that much. Especially since those games tend to be bought by crowds that preserve and take care of them ensuring they won't get all that much rarer.

Usually the cases where games shoot up in value is exactly like you said, when some obscure earlier entry gets a ton of attention after the fact. But that's less and less likely these days.

The day of rare games are long gone.

Hail the digital age!

This game.