"Rare" Wii games

[Cirrus]

I couldn't search for the thread (which I'm sure exists) which already discusses this, as "Wii" is under the 4-character lower limit for search terms. :(

What games are going to be scarce in the future, in the opinion of DPers?

I'm thinking Zack & Wiki won't be too easy to find in about 5 years. Any others?

[Dangerboy]

Zack and Wiki is too wide of a release for rare game - it'll be one of the "in demand games".

No...some of those budget titles will be the freaking obscure rare ones. Hell, I can't even keep track of them anymore.

[PsychoCandy]

I'm sure that as the above poster said, more then a few budget titles will become hard to find in a few years...I'm even holding out hope that maybe one or two of them will be a surprise cult hit or at least playable.

[theoakwoody]

What is the minimum amount of copies a company would even consider releasing? Is 25,000 considered rare, what an R6?

[PDorr3]

Counter Force is one budget title that seems appealing to me, looks like an on rails dreamcast game. Anyone play that and think its worth $20? also I think later on Endless Ocean will become atleast uncommon.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Off the top of my head I'd have to say Ninja Breadman is the only Wii game I've seen once and only one copy. May just be regional. Then there are the gamestop exclusive Wii titles. With all the speculators nowadays, maybe store exclusives won't pan out as well as they have in the past.

[snes_collector]

What is the minimum amount of copies a company would even consider releasing? Is 25,000 considered rare, what an R6?

I *believe* the game companys themself set a minium for the console.

As for rare games, there is so much budget crap out there being put out so fast right now, it's insane.

Is anybody even trying for a complete collection at this point?

[PsychoCandy]

If I had the cash, I think I'd go for a complete set...but I just really don't have money to blow on shitty 20 dollar games when theres still a few good games I want to buy to play.

[tonyvortex]

Counter Force is one budget title that seems appealing to me, looks like an on rails dreamcast game. Anyone play that and think its worth $20? also I think later on Endless Ocean will become atleast uncommon.

it plays sort of like a bad virtual on game.

[SkiDragon]

As mainstream as it is, I wonder if we will see anything like "send in 5 proofs of purchase for Keebler Elves Adventure: The Game", or something equally as hard to come by. I am of course reminded of all of those crazy promotional games for the Atari.

[sirhansirhan]

I started a thread a little under a month ago about how there's reason to believe at this point that Kororinpa: Marble Mania will be a future rarity.

[Graham Mitchell]

I started a thread a little under a month ago about how there's reason to believe at this point that Kororinpa: Marble Mania will be a future rarity.

I've already had trouble finding it, which is too bad because it's a quality title with lots of fan service to Hudson loyalists.

[Rob2600]

Counter Force is one budget title that seems appealing to me, looks like an on rails dreamcast game. Anyone play that and think its worth $20?

Overall, Counter Force has received a 2 out of 10:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109135



Off the top of my head I'd have to say Ninja Breadman is the only Wii game I've seen once and only one copy. May just be regional.

I've seen many copies of Ninjabread Man at the Toys R Us Express around here. In fact, that store has every garbage game that's out right now.

[PsychoCandy]

My local Best Buy still has a bunch of Kororinpa: Marble Mania I plan to pick one up when I get my next paycheck.

[Dr. Conspiracy]

Legend has it that Kid Ice has njiska ensconced in his basement dungeon, whom he regularly subjects to cock punches. The Doctor has only seen vague polaroids of an abnormally small Canadian penis surrounded by bruises- but deems the evidence is conclusive enough.

Unbeknownst to the public at large, Mr. Santulli has a trap door in the back room of his store which leads to his true calling: sexy mannequin collecting. He configures them to resemble various forum members in erotic poses.

[evil_genius]

lmfao...

cock punches!

hilarious!

can i somehow subscribe to everything the doctor posts?

[Snapple]

I believe I know a recently released Wii game that will probably be a future (or current) rarity. Ultimate Duck Hunting. Not only have I not seen it around stores anywhere, but it's not common at all on ebay either. Buy it now, and thank me later.

[Kyle15]

Necro Nesia, AKA Escape From Bug Island, is definately already hard to find. Wal-Marts have sent their copies back, and most Gamestops do not even have it. Another is the Hajime no Ippo game, Victorious Boxers Revolution. I have never even seen one!

[chrisbid]

i believe geometry wars galaxies will be a future rarity. people that normally want to play that game are looking for a cheaper price. the same thing happened to ikaruga on gamecube.

[Rob2600]

Victorious Boxers Revolution. I have never even seen one!

The Best Buy I go to has plenty of copies.

[Bojay1997]

I think for a Wii game to be rare, it can't really have any brick and mortar retailer distribution. Anytime you see a game at Best Buy, you know they have ordered a minimum of several thousand copies. I really doubt there will be any "rare" games for the Wii at this point. Maybe down the road as shelf space becomes tighter and tighter, but almost every game I know of is being picked up by most brick and mortar retailers at this point, even the games that the buyer must have known would be terrible (Anubis II, Ninjabread Man, etc...).

[Mobius]

Rare in terms of total print run, or just valuable because of a combination of high demand and relatively low number of copies? I'm sure some of the crappy budget games will be somewhat rare, but I doubt they'll be worth much of anything because nobody will want them.

Kororinpa seems to have a nice following in that its eBay prices are slightly above retail price ($40-$50 for a sealed copy of a $40 game), but I doubt the number of copies in circulation is really that low, it's just a good game. I could see the same happening with Zack and Wiki, and maybe Mercury Meltdown Revolution.

What about Dewy's Adventure? I don't remember seeing that in any stores.


Edit: I'm tempted to get Ninjabread Man just for the great box art.

[MegaDrive20XX]

What about Carnival?

[slapdash]

I believe I know a recently released Wii game that will probably be a future (or current) rarity. Ultimate Duck Hunting.

Who makes that one? If Cabela, I'd be surprised if it were THAT rare, but I admit, I haven't seen that one.


What about Dewy's Adventure? I don't remember seeing that in any stores.

Just saw it at Toys R Us today.


Edit: I'm tempted to get Ninjabread Man just for the great box art.

I'm tempted to get it just for the NAME!


Necro Nesia, AKA Escape From Bug Island, is definately already hard to find.

Just got this one at Circuit City for $15, so check your local.

[Snapple]

Who makes that one? If Cabela, I'd be surprised if it were THAT rare, but I admit, I haven't seen that one.

I'm just going by what I've seen. Not just on store shelves, of which I haven't seen any there, but also online. I was on ebay looking at games. I'd see like 50 copies of a fishing game nobody wants, 30 copies of bowling, 20-something copies of (insert random puzzle game), and there was exactly 1 auction for Ultimate Duck Hunting.

Are you sure it's by Cabela? I've seen Cabela's Big Game Hunter on ebay and elsewhere, and it's much, much more common than UDH.

I'm not saying the Duck Hunting qualifies as rare NOW, but the circulation doesn't seem to be very big. So that is my prediction for a future rarity.

[slapdash]

No, I didn't claim that it was by Cabela, I was ASKING who made it. If Amazon is any indication, it's Disney Interactive (Detn8):

http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Interactive-Ultimate-Duck-Hunting/dp/B000QWZK7A

[Bojay1997]

What about Carnival?

No, it got a reprint and is now widely available again at most brick and mortar retailers.

[Rob2600]

No, I didn't claim that it was by Cabela, I was ASKING who made it. If Amazon is any indication, it's Disney Interactive (Detn8)

That's weird. It appears Disney Interactive and Detn8 Games aren't related at all. More info:

Ultimate Duck Hunting (Wii)
published by: Detn8 Games
developed by: Mid Carolina Media

"Detn8 Games Ltd. is a division of Mandarin Entertainment Corp., which was incorporated in Glenview, Illinois, in 2006. Started by industry veterans Ellen Fuog and Jeff Hill, the company publishes video games for console and handheld hardware. Detn8 Games has all-platform licensee status with Nintendo and SCEA. Detn8’s two principals have a combined 51 years in the video game industry.

Ms. Fuog has a total of 28 years experience in the video game industry. Most recently, she founded and served as president of UK-based Ignition Entertainment’s US operation from its inception in 2002 until 2006. Prior to Ignition, Ms. Fuog was president (and founder) of AIA USA, vice president of sales and marketing for Jaleco USA, and vice president of sales and marketing for Kaneko Entertainment – all video game publishers. Before that, she was vice president of sales and marketing for WICO, a joystick and peripheral manufacturer. In the 1980’s, Ms. Fuog ran her own sales rep company, Ellen Fuog Associates.

Mr. Hill, who started in the video game business in 1984 as a tester for Mindscape, has operated his own company, Black Sheep, Inc., since 1994. Black Sheep is involved in software testing, consulting, and customer support. Before starting his own company, Mr. Hill served as product development director for Kaneko Entertainment and Jaleco USA. Mr. Hill has a total of 23 years experience in the video game industry."

web site: www.detn8games.com
general email: detn8info@detn8games.com
Jeff Hill's email: jeff@detn8games.com


Other games published by Detn8 Games:
Elf Bowling: Collector's Edition (Wii) (release date: TBA 2008)


Other games developed by Mid Carolina Media:
Ultimate Duck Hunting (PC)

[slapdash]

Interesting... Sounds like a rarity just based on "Detn8". Hmm, they're local though...

EDIT: Hmm, now that I think of it, I don't think I've see the Wii version of Elf Bowling!

[Rob2600]

I don't think I've seen the Wii version of Elf Bowling!

That's because it hasn't been released yet. Sorry, I should've clarified in my previous post.

[Snapple]

They're making ANOTHER Elf Bowling game? Good lord, make it stop.

Oh, and apparently Ultimate Duck Hunting isn't too good, because the guy who reviewed it at GameTrailers "killed himself" upon playing it:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/11580.html

[DJ Daishi]

metal slug collection?

[Rob2600]

I'm thinking Zack & Wiki won't be too easy to find in about 5 years.

The price is now $29.99. I just bought a copy today. Now's your chance:

Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8560826&st=zack+wiki&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1188561459815

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Zack-Wiki-Quest-Barbaros%252019-Treasure/dp/B000P297ES/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1201146618&sr=8-1

The price must've just been lowered today because yesterday it was $39.99 on both web sites.

[digitalpress]

Legend has it that Kid Ice has njiska ensconced in his basement dungeon, whom he regularly subjects to cock punches. The Doctor has only seen vague polaroids of an abnormally small Canadian penis surrounded by bruises- but deems the evidence is conclusive enough.

Unbeknownst to the public at large, Mr. Santulli has a trap door in the back room of his store which leads to his true calling: sexy mannequin collecting. He configures them to resemble various forum members in erotic poses.

Such potential... such a great idea. If only this poster was a little bit funny. I mean c'mon, you have a world of material at your fingertips.

"Sexy mannequin collecting?" Bleh. If you knew about my collection of human teenage slaves you'd see just how watered-down your posts seem to the rest of us, especially on the INSIDE where you should have better information about.

[koster]

Kororinpa seems to have a nice following in that its eBay prices are slightly above retail price ($40-$50 for a sealed copy of a $40 game), but I doubt the number of copies in circulation is really that low, it's just a good game. I could see the same happening with Zack and Wiki, and maybe Mercury Meltdown Revolution.
Konami.com currently has Kororinpa (and Elebits) on sale for $19.99 each; shipping is steep ($8.99), but price-wise it's still better than Ebay...

[Rob2600]

Dewy's Adventure is now $20 at Amazon.com and Best Buy, too. Elebits is $22 on Amazon.com. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is $30 everywhere.

[Snapple]

Zack and Wiki, Dewy's Adventure, and Elebits are as common as dirt right now. I think they'll only go further down in price from here, if you really want those games, if not at the stores then at least on ebay. I've gotten a couple of Wii games on the Bay for about ten bucks each, so there's always room for the price to drop.

[hellfire]

about 2 weeks before the wii was released I saw demo copys of marvel ultimate alliance for sale at target, I really wish I would have bought one

[Kid Ice]

Such potential... such a great idea. If only this poster was a little bit funny. I mean c'mon, you have a world of material at your fingertips.

Oh wait...it's 2009 now?

Aw, never mind.

[LiiZENZ]

I think that Wii demo discs are rare :P
Like the Zelda Twilight Princess demo or the Boom Blox demo.

[mr obscure]

Rare in the future? hmm

I would say : manhunt 2! Its impossible/hard to get in some european country's because its banned .
It was banned in England and some other European country's.
No problem here in Holland its in the shops from the beginning(every thing goes here)

Rumor has it a Dutch developer(gorilla) is making a real hardcore 18+ wii game.
Its a pimp game featuring :beating up hockers with the wii remote and jurking off wii remote action.
Modern panesian???

[josekortez]

Manhunt 2 is definitely not rare in the U.S. Maybe I need to set up an operation importing copies of NTSC copies of Manhunt 2 into Europe.

I'm wondering if Ultimate Shooting Collection will be rare.

[calistarwind]

I would have to say Opoona is pretty hard to find in most circles now.

[Pezcore343]

Are you sure it's by Cabela? I've seen Cabela's Big Game Hunter on ebay and elsewhere, and it's much, much more common than UDH.


The publisher of Ultimate Duck Hunting is Detn8 Games.

[Bojay1997]

I would have to say Opoona is pretty hard to find in most circles now.

It's $20 brand new on Gamestop.com and in-store. It's also still available at most Best Buy locations. Not rare unfortunately.

[RJ]

I havent seen Mini Copter Adventure Flight in more than a couple places, used for $25.

[Gameguy]

What about Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal"? I don't think I've seen it in stores, only on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Spy-Fox-Dry-Cereal-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B0018YDKAO

It's a port of a kids adventure game that originally came out in '97. I don't see this being a big seller(though the game was good when I tried it out on the PC back in '97).

[Bojay1997]

What about Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal"? I don't think I've seen it in stores, only on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Spy-Fox-Dry-Cereal-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B0018YDKAO

It's a port of a kids adventure game that originally came out in '97. I don't see this being a big seller(though the game was good when I tried it out on the PC back in '97).

It's available down here at Best Buy in most stores.

[11killer11]

Here are my guesses:

Spy Fox in Dry Cereal
Pajama Sam in Don't be Afraid of the Dark (or something like that)
Freddie Fish

They were all released at $29.99, by the same company. I have Spy Fox myself and all in all it's just a direct port with a poorly designed title screen.

I don't think many of you have heard of this one: Defendin De Penguin

I was looking on Amazon yesterday and saw this. It's supposedly a strategy game to reel in young ones where you throw snowballs at animals trying to get into the penguin colony.

Metal Slug Anthology, Opoona, King all of Clubs and Ten Pin Alley 2

[roushimsx]

What the shit? They're releasing Humongous games on the Wii? So fucking boughten. They've churned out some of the best kids' games (especially adventure games) in the last decade+. Gotta show some $$ love.

[Bojay1997]

Here are my guesses:

Spy Fox in Dry Cereal
Pajama Sam in Don't be Afraid of the Dark (or something like that)
Freddie Fish

They were all released at $29.99, by the same company. I have Spy Fox myself and all in all it's just a direct port with a poorly designed title screen.

I don't think many of you have heard of this one: Defendin De Penguin

I was looking on Amazon yesterday and saw this. It's supposedly a strategy game to reel in young ones where you throw snowballs at animals trying to get into the penguin colony.

Metal Slug Anthology, Opoona, King all of Clubs and Ten Pin Alley 2

Everything on this list is available at pretty much every Best Buy location in the United States. I believe Walmart b&m locations also have most of them in stock still. Metal Slug Anthology is becoming a little harder to find, but still pretty available. I don't think games released and available at the two largest b&m electronics resellers in the United States for the most popular console in this generation by a wide margin are going to become rare.

[CDiablo]

I'm wondering if Ultimate Shooting Collection will be rare.

I think it may not be due to the fact that Castle of Shikigami Wii is extremely common.

[Bojay1997]

I think it may not be due to the fact that Castle of Shikigami Wii is extremely common.

I would concede that this game has very limited brick and mortar distribution with none of the major chains carrying it. Having said that, like Castle of Shikigami, once the price drops to $20 at retail, I suspect you will see stores like Best Buy carrying it possibly as part of their holiday 2009 selection.

[TonyTheTiger]

What's the smallest print run that any publisher would bother with? Even these super budget titles like Octomania (which launched at a whopping $10) has to have a decent number of copies out there. And most of these titles that would have print runs on the lower end are either uninteresting or shit so you know nobody is going to be after them hence there probably won't be many "money" games in this category.

[Bojay1997]

What's the smallest print run that any publisher would bother with? Even these super budget titles like Octomania (which launched at a whopping $10) has to have a decent number of copies out there. And most of these titles that would have print runs on the lower end are either uninteresting or shit so you know nobody is going to be after them hence there probably won't be many "money" games in this category.

I agree strongly. Although Octomania actually launched at $20 and dropped to half of that a month or two later. I suspect that there will be very few if any "rare" games in this generation simply because retailers in this economy are looking to avoid risks, so distributors are carrying less risky product which means in turn that publishers are canning projects long before they even get too far into development. According to one distributor I spoke to recently, even the crap Wii titles have minimum print runs of 25,000 or more units not because Nintendo is demanding it, but because selling crap titles requires getting them into lots of retailers in the hopes that they will sell at least half the print run at full price and then they just keep crediting retailers until the price drops to a level where the other half sells. I also like your use of the word "money" to describe what people are hoping for in this thread since as the last few generations have shown, rarity seems to have little to do with resale value as it seems like really good games that might not have had the full distribution that other titles in the same generation had or really common, but great games are what maintain value. There are of course exceptions, but the fact that a black label copy of FFVII sells for the same or more than a copy of the original release of Dragonball Z for the Playstation is good evidence that just being numerically "rare" is no indication that something is worth picking up.

[TonyTheTiger]

To be fair, the only reason Dragonball GT: Final Bout plummeted in price is because Atari rereleased the game when the PSX was on it's death bed. People finally had the opportunity to play the game and when they realized how abysmal it was lost interest immediately.

But your point is valid. Just look at the Gamecube. The games that seem to retain their value are the "big" first party titles and a few other popular ones. Clearly nobody is having trouble finding Super Smash Bros. Melee but it still fetches a decent price.

I firmly believe the days when the late gen RPG or quirky Japanese game are the "rare + money" games are over. Maybe a handful will sneak in since the PS2 has been steadily seeing oddball releases that may or may not be both decent and in short supply but, for the most part, we aren't going to see another Panzer Dragoon Saga. Print runs are too big and quality games get too much attention these days. These days it seems that rare games will be made by accident like what happened with NCAA College Basketball 2k3 on the GCN. So while everybody will be looking at the newest Atlus release as a potential rarity they might be looking in the wrong direction.

What I can see happening on the Wii is a situation where a genuinely good game gets lost in the sea of shovelware and is only rediscovered by the masses much later on when copies are harder to come by. Something similar happened to Eternal Darkness on the GCN. At one point it was selling brand new for $12 before people figured out how awesome it was. A situation like this won't make a game rare but it will increase its value. I think Blast Works is a possible contender for that. I would have skipped it if I weren't tipped off by a friend. At first glance it looks no different than the rest of the generic software it sits next to on the shelf.

[Iron Draggon]

Off the top of my head I'd have to say Ninja Breadman is the only Wii game I've seen once and only one copy. May just be regional. Then there are the gamestop exclusive Wii titles. With all the speculators nowadays, maybe store exclusives won't pan out as well as they have in the past.

Gamestop exclusives for the Wii? which ones are those? nothing I want, I hope... I vowed never to buy another game from their sorry asses again!


i believe geometry wars galaxies will be a future rarity. people that normally want to play that game are looking for a cheaper price. the same thing happened to ikaruga on gamecube.

I have to agree on this one... it's only been out for a year now, and I've not seen a new copy of it for sale in any stores yet... so it can't be very common

[Rob2600]

(Geometry Wars) I have to agree on this one... it's only been out for a year now, and I've not seen a new copy of it for sale in any stores yet... so it can't be very common

Amazon has new copies for $20:

Amazon - Geometry Wars: Galaxies (Wii, $20 new) (http://www.amazon.com/Geometry-Wars-Galaxies-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B000RWV17M/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1234895468&sr=8-1)

[Icarus Moonsight]

@ Iron Dragon: As far as I've seen they were all crap. No worries. Exclusive shovelware WTF!? Apparently so. LOL

Those "Gamestop exclusive!" Wii displays I saw then have since come down though.

[Bojay1997]

@ Iron Dragon: As far as I've seen they were all crap. No worries. Exclusive shovelware WTF!? Apparently so. LOL

Those "Gamestop exclusive!" Wii displays I saw then have since come down though.

As far as I know, those games are no longer Gamestop exclusives. I know I have seen all of them at the local indy game shops I buy from and they are on the distributor sales lists for the wholesalers that stock a lot of the stores here in Southern California.

[Deadman]

Today I some driving game for the Wii that was like "Chrysler Racing" or something with Chrysler in the title. It looked like the terrible Volvo: Drive for Life back on the Xbox - maybe something you get with a test drive or something? The dork in gamestop said that it was a store exclusive for another store - and he guessed Target which I'm pretty sure is incorrect since I'm in Target 5 times a week.

Anyone know anything about this one?

[Bojay1997]

Today I some driving game for the Wii that was like "Chrysler Racing" or something with Chrysler in the title. It looked like the terrible Volvo: Drive for Life back on the Xbox - maybe something you get with a test drive or something? The dork in gamestop said that it was a store exclusive for another store - and he guessed Target which I'm pretty sure is incorrect since I'm in Target 5 times a week.

Anyone know anything about this one?

It's pretty widely available via internet retailers. Even Toys R Us and Walmart are stocking in on-line. I have only seen it in person at indy game retailers like Gamedude here in Los Angeles. It got horrible reviews by the way and it's published by Zoo which also published Order Up.

[Iron Draggon]

Amazon has new copies for $20:

Amazon - Geometry Wars: Galaxies (Wii, $20 new) (http://www.amazon.com/Geometry-Wars-Galaxies-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B000RWV17M/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1234895468&sr=8-1)

I know, but try to find a new copy of it in a brick & mortar store... good luck!

I bet Legend of the Monkey King will be the same way... it just screams obscurity... even more so than Geometry Wars... I thought I'd see it alot

this kinda makes me wonder if Ocean Commander will be hard to find when it comes out too... the PC version is apparently digital download only, but since it is downloadable on PC, I wonder how many disc copies will sell for the Wii?

I just hope they give us alot more Wii SHMUPS to collect on discs... between those and all the ones you can download for it, the Wii is the new SHMUP lover's dream system, from what I've seen... and I do love my SHMUPS!

[Bojay1997]

I know, but try to find a new copy of it in a brick & mortar store... good luck!

I bet Legend of the Monkey King will be the same way... it just screams obscurity... even more so than Geometry Wars... I thought I'd see it alot

this kinda makes me wonder if Ocean Commander will be hard to find when it comes out too... the PC version is apparently digital download only, but since it is downloadable on PC, I wonder how many disc copies will sell for the Wii?

I just hope they give us alot more Wii SHMUPS to collect on discs... between those and all the ones you can download for it, the Wii is the new SHMUP lover's dream system, from what I've seen... and I do love my SHMUPS!

Ocean Commander (and Off-Shore Tycoon) has been out since early December, although I have only seen it at Best Buy and some indy game shops, as well as on-line. I really have no idea why Amazon and a few other retailers aren't getting it until the end of March. I would say the 360 is the SHMUP system of choice since Raiden Fighters is coming out here, a number of hardcore Japanese SHMUPS are either out or on the way to being released on the 360 and several top Dreamcast shmups have been released exclusively on Xbox Live in the US. Most of the shmups coming out for the Wii are bad clones or badly dated games available on other consoles in better versions with the exception of the recently released Ultimate Shooting Collection.

[Garry Silljo]

I know, but try to find a new copy of it in a brick & mortar store... good luck!

I bet Legend of the Monkey King will be the same way... it just screams obscurity... even more so than Geometry Wars... I thought I'd see it alot


If you just have to have a new one, I'll get you one and ship it to you for exact cost. There was a bunch at the Toys R Us near me just last saturday. I also can't walk without tripping over Legend of the Monkey King. It's everywhere here.

[Rob2600]

Amazon has new copies for $20:

Amazon - Geometry Wars: Galaxies (Wii, $20 new) (http://www.amazon.com/Geometry-Wars-Galaxies-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B000RWV17M/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1234895468&sr=8-1)


I know, but try to find a new copy of it in a brick & mortar store... good luck!

What difference does it make whether you buy it online or in a brick-and-mortar store? Just order it from Amazon.

[PapaStu]

What difference does it make whether you buy it online or in a brick-and-mortar store? Just order it from Amazon.

Rob took the words right out of my mouth.

The Gamestop exclusive titles were Super Fruitfall and Impossible Mission. They also did those exclusives for the DS.

[alxbly]

Rare in the future? hmm

I would say : manhunt 2! Its impossible/hard to get in some european country's because its banned .
It was banned in England and some other European country's.
No problem here in Holland its in the shops from the beginning(every thing goes here)

Manhunt 2 was has been out in the UK for about four or five months months and isn't rare at all. What countries actually banned it?

[Bewbs]

Doesn't look like The Sky Crawlers will get a release outside of Japan which cold have a bearing on its future value. Btw, has anyone played this yet? I've watched a couple of vids on youtube and it looks quite interesting, although it's impossible to gauge by watching a few short clips.

[Bojay1997]

Rob took the words right out of my mouth.

The Gamestop exclusive titles were Super Fruitfall and Impossible Mission. They also did those exclusives for the DS.

Incorrect. They only had the exclusives for the DS. Super Fruitfall and Impossible Mission for the Wii were available at launch at Best Buy in the "front row" games section, as well as from indy retailers. They later got liquidated as part of the holiday two game bundle packs at Costco in late 2008. The Gamestop exclusives for the Wii were a bunch of low end racing games that are now more widely available. I'm pretty sure they were all from Bold Games and I know one of them was Rig Racer. I have the old ad here somewhere, I'll have to look for it.

[darkslime]

Ultamite Duck Hunting goes for a good amount on ebay. Not really rare, per se, but worth money.

[PapaStu]

Incorrect. They only had the exclusives for the DS. Super Fruitfall and Impossible Mission for the Wii were available at launch at Best Buy in the "front row" games section, as well as from indy retailers. They later got liquidated as part of the holiday two game bundle packs at Costco in late 2008. The Gamestop exclusives for the Wii were a bunch of low end racing games that are now more widely available. I'm pretty sure they were all from Bold Games and I know one of them was Rig Racer. I have the old ad here somewhere, I'll have to look for it.

Oh good to know. Too bad none of the GS exclusives are even worth owning.

[Sonicwolf]

When one considers the size of the video game industry in the present day, the age of rare and limited game releases is most likely coming to a close. The fact that there is so much shovelware garbage released for the Wii may add some rare titles that few bought over time but what is rarity without some quality to it? You think anyone is going to pay top dollar for Luxor II in the future? Doubtful. Thats my 5 cents worth.

[whoisKeel]

I too had a hell of a time finding Geometry Wars in a store (and I tried). Not saying it is very rare, but I see the demand for this one steadily increasing over the years. It's such an awesome game.

[Bojay1997]

I too had a hell of a time finding Geometry Wars in a store (and I tried). Not saying it is very rare, but I see the demand for this one steadily increasing over the years. It's such an awesome game.

Well, that's partly because both Circuit City and Toys R Us clearanced their copies well before last Christmas. I think the game could be had for $16.96 at CC and as low as $9.98 at TRU at one point. It's still pretty available through Internet retailers, so I think we don't really need to worry about rarity right now. Also, the fact that it is available, albeit in a different form, on other consoles makes it even less likely to be a sleeper rarity IMHO.

[psychopat]

I think the Club Nintendo Exclusives will be quite rare... not the first ones but those that will release once everybody will have spent their points on the first games and crappy goodies...

[Bojay1997]

I think the Club Nintendo Exclusives will be quite rare... not the first ones but those that will release once everybody will have spent their points on the first games and crappy goodies...

This is a topic on the Wii. Are there Wii games released as part of Club Nintendo?

[NayusDante]

I want to say that Baroque will be somewhat rare in a little while, given the poor reviews and rather niche qualities it has. I had to drive a half hour to find a copy when it came out, since every Gamestop within 10 miles had none. Since, I've seen it used on occasion, but not so much in recent months.

[DOAsaturn]

I believe the Gamestop exclusives were three British games repackaged for a stateside release, they would be Rig Racer 2, London Taxi Rush Hour and Classic British Motor Racing. That's an educated guess by my research (as you can buy them used on Amazon, but not new through amazon) and ebay searches generally bring up UK releases. They can be found on Gamestop used for $10 apiece.

F1 2009 seems to be talked about as a rarity, it's a recent Gamestop exclusive in which stores only got a couple copies I guess. I picked up one as I collect sports/racing releases, and almost wish I got two and saved one unopened.

[DOAsaturn]

After doing a little more digging on F1 2009, I'm fairly convinced this could be our first true "rare" game for Wii. The title is selling for $10-20 more on ebay new ($50-60). It was in very limited supply as a Gamestop exclusive to begin with as you can't even order a new copy off of their website.

[Bojay1997]

After doing a little more digging on F1 2009, I'm fairly convinced this could be our first true "rare" game for Wii. The title is selling for $10-20 more on ebay new ($50-60). It was in very limited supply as a Gamestop exclusive to begin with as you can't even order a new copy off of their website.

I don't know how long that demand will last, however. A lot of F1 fans only bought it because it was PSP and Wii exclusive in the US and there were no other options to get your F1 fix otherwise. It looks like F1 2010 is coming out and is planned to be multiplatform.

[speedgtr]

one piece unlimited adventure is rare, good fun and as a good value

[DOAsaturn]

I don't know how long that demand will last, however. A lot of F1 fans only bought it because it was PSP and Wii exclusive in the US and there were no other options to get your F1 fix otherwise. It looks like F1 2010 is coming out and is planned to be multiplatform.

Good point on the demand. It will still be rare in quantity, but if F1 2010 gets a Wii release then fans may not care anyway.

I noticed that One Piece game just sold on ebay for $70 new. Amazon has two copies for $200 and some on ebay for similarly atrocious prices. Still the big deal with a vast majority of these games is that they have to be NEW. They just aren't rare/old enough to demand high dollar for an opened copy and there probably aren't as many collectors out there (maybe just the shrewd ones) looking for these games in an unopened state just yet to actually sell for those high prices. I've noticed on some of those oddball budget titles (like those British themed ones I mentioned), getting them new is practically impossible. But will anyone want them new?

[Icarus Moonsight]

You'll notice that even with well confirmed HTF titles like Kororinpa that sealed copies sell very high, opened copies do sell just for a lot less. Pricing for Wii stuff at this point is nearly all speculation driven at this point. I'd guess that most will be inflated before the dust settles, and some will be found to have been undervalued. Both will correct, in the end.

[TonyTheTiger]

Yeah, I agree. There's just too much of a gold rush happening right now to make any good predictions. With Kotaku reporting every single Ebay auction, CNN jumping on the bandwagon, and record prices being set, we've possibly walked into the perfect storm. This might be speculation at it's peak.

[Only16bits]

Wing Island maybe?

[DOAsaturn]

OK after quite a bit more research guys, and using vgchartz as a helper, I think I found just one truly rare game for Wii and four others that can probably qualify as scarce as well.

BTW, The least selling game is easily Arctic Tale, which released all the way back in Oct. 07 and has only sold 5,800 copies here. Yet, on ebay you can grab a copy for dirt cheap and there are plenty being offered. It's hardly rare, just unwanted.

A lot of games by ZOO are very low sellers, but that doesn't necessarily put them on this list either.

A couple low-sellers that stood out to me as possible scarcities in the future were: Ocean Commander, Rebel Raiders, Kawasaki Jet Ski, Glacier 2, Pacific Liberator and Speed Zone. Some of these may still be readily available new for MSRP or lower, but they are hardly selling.

Anyway. As mentioned before, the BOLD Games (Destineer) releases that include Rig Racer 2, Classic British Motor Racing, London Taxi: Rush Hour and Monster Trux Offroad are honestly quite a bit scarce. Classic British Motor Racing and Rig Racer 2 seem the rarest of the bunch - as even a used copy is a bit difficult to find, let alone a new one.

Anyway, the game that really stands out is a relatively recent release called Fritz Chess. The Wii (and DS) copies seemed to have either very little distribution or were pulled before they were widely circulated. Either way, an NTSC version of the game is out there and is extremely difficult to track down. This seems to fit the bill as a truly rare Wii game.

[Flashback2012]

I've seen two different versions of the Ultimate Duck Hunting game, the one from Detn8 Games and the Zoo Games release. I imagine since Zoo is the IP holder now, the Detn8 will be much harder to find, only used at this point and near impossible new.

I have to think that a small number of shovelware titles will be scarce in the future. I'm not too worried about it personally as I would only try for a complete set if I won the lottery and then had nothing else I wanted to buy first. ;)

I'm more interested in going after the "sought after" titles more so than the "rare" titles. My gut feeling is that games like Castle Shikigami III and Ultimate Shooting Collection will command a pretty penny in the future among others.

[Bojay1997]

OK after quite a bit more research guys, and using vgchartz as a helper, I think I found just one truly rare game for Wii and four others that can probably qualify as scarce as well.

BTW, The least selling game is easily Arctic Tale, which released all the way back in Oct. 07 and has only sold 5,800 copies here. Yet, on ebay you can grab a copy for dirt cheap and there are plenty being offered. It's hardly rare, just unwanted.

A lot of games by ZOO are very low sellers, but that doesn't necessarily put them on this list either.

A couple low-sellers that stood out to me as possible scarcities in the future were: Ocean Commander, Rebel Raiders, Kawasaki Jet Ski, Glacier 2, Pacific Liberator and Speed Zone. Some of these may still be readily available new for MSRP or lower, but they are hardly selling.

Anyway. As mentioned before, the BOLD Games (Destineer) releases that include Rig Racer 2, Classic British Motor Racing, London Taxi: Rush Hour and Monster Trux Offroad are honestly quite a bit scarce. Classic British Motor Racing and Rig Racer 2 seem the rarest of the bunch - as even a used copy is a bit difficult to find, let alone a new one.

Anyway, the game that really stands out is a relatively recent release called Fritz Chess. The Wii (and DS) copies seemed to have either very little distribution or were pulled before they were widely circulated. Either way, an NTSC version of the game is out there and is extremely difficult to track down. This seems to fit the bill as a truly rare Wii game.

Check your local Toys R Us. They had tons of copies of Fritz Chess for the Wii and the ones around here in Los Angeles still do. None of the games you have listed are "rare" i.e. both in demand and hard to find.

[crazyjackcsa]

Check your local Toys R Us. They had tons of copies of Fritz Chess for the Wii and the ones around here in Los Angeles still do. None of the games you have listed are "rare" i.e. both in demand and hard to find.


OK after quite a bit more research guys, and using vgchartz as a helper, I think I found just one truly rare game for Wii and four others that can probably qualify as scarce as well.

BTW, The least selling game is easily Arctic Tale, which released all the way back in Oct. 07 and has only sold 5,800 copies here. Yet, on ebay you can grab a copy for dirt cheap and there are plenty being offered. It's hardly rare, just unwanted.

A lot of games by ZOO are very low sellers, but that doesn't necessarily put them on this list either.

A couple low-sellers that stood out to me as possible scarcities in the future were: Ocean Commander, Rebel Raiders, Kawasaki Jet Ski, Glacier 2, Pacific Liberator and Speed Zone. Some of these may still be readily available new for MSRP or lower, but they are hardly selling.

Anyway. As mentioned before, the BOLD Games (Destineer) releases that include Rig Racer 2, Classic British Motor Racing, London Taxi: Rush Hour and Monster Trux Offroad are honestly quite a bit scarce. Classic British Motor Racing and Rig Racer 2 seem the rarest of the bunch - as even a used copy is a bit difficult to find, let alone a new one.

Anyway, the game that really stands out is a relatively recent release called Fritz Chess. The Wii (and DS) copies seemed to have either very little distribution or were pulled before they were widely circulated. Either way, an NTSC version of the game is out there and is extremely difficult to track down. This seems to fit the bill as a truly rare Wii game.

Most of those games you mentioned I see all the time in the WalMart Bargin Bin. As Walmart doesn't report sales, they aren't included in the vgchartz ranking. (Extrapolated perhaps, but not directly measured)

I've been thinking that perhaps A Boy and His Blob could become a rarity. It isn't right now, but fairly low sales coupled with good-to-great reviews and a little bit of a pedigree could make it a little bit of a rarity.

Another one may be Tornado Outbreak. Decent reviews, zero sales.

[Mayhem]

I'm more interested in going after the "sought after" titles more so than the "rare" titles. My gut feeling is that games like Castle Shikigami III and Ultimate Shooting Collection will command a pretty penny in the future among others.
I wasn't able to get a US copy of USC from any of my usual US mail order websites, I had to get it from Play Asia in the end! :p

[DOAsaturn]

Check your local Toys R Us. They had tons of copies of Fritz Chess for the Wii and the ones around here in Los Angeles still do. None of the games you have listed are "rare" i.e. both in demand and hard to find.


Most of those games you mentioned I see all the time in the WalMart Bargin Bin. As Walmart doesn't report sales, they aren't included in the vgchartz ranking. (Extrapolated perhaps, but not directly measured)

I've been thinking that perhaps A Boy and His Blob could become a rarity. It isn't right now, but fairly low sales coupled with good-to-great reviews and a little bit of a pedigree could make it a little bit of a rarity.

Another one may be Tornado Outbreak. Decent reviews, zero sales.

I agree on all points guys, that rarity and demand go hand in hand. I didn't know Wal-mart did not report sales and I imagine that may bloat some sales on those lesser sellers.

That said, I stand firm on the scarcity of Fritz Chess (and to a somewhat lesser extent, those BOLD games releases I mentioned)

The lipmus test for me on scarcity is to simply find the titles for purchase on the internet. Even out of production titles can be found en masse on ebay and through amazon sellers. If a title can be found through those circles, it likely isn't really rare. A sealed copy could probably be considered rare for a few mass distributed titles out of production now (One Piece: Unlimited Adventure I think can arguably fit that bill, for example).

The thing about Fritz Chess is how - to the average eye - it almost doesn't exist as a game anymore, and it was only released early last summer. Wal-mart doesn't stock it online (and uses the European box graphic). I can google old listings on Target, Buy.com and Toys 'r Us but they either say out of stock or the page comes up blank. Gamestop's old listing (also can only be googled) does bring up the used game listing and actually does work, and after testing a few zipcodes in L.A. and other major markets (NY, Chicago, DC) I was able to find two Gamestop's in LA with it and one in DC (though well outside of DC, in Annapolis). Even weirder to me is how hardly anyone on ebay or amazon lists the game. Almost any Wii game (and every Wii game I've seen outside of maybe Rig Racer 2) has a bevy of listings for the eager collector. Even budget games that seem obscure to some have multiple listings. One listing for Fritz Chess for $125 new. Amazon has seven total listings (very small for a recently released Wii game) and none cheaper than $36 used (and $90 new). Only YesAsia.com appears to have the game in stock new, but for $40. You could rent it and keep it at Gamefly, but then your just getting the disc, aren't you? (I've never tried to keep a game with them).

With Fritz Chess I wouldn't discount the possibility of a very limited distribution zone (not a full national release) and/or a very short production, with online retailers selling their initial run of copies and not receiving any more. I challenge anyone else to find such a limited set of online resources to purchase a particular Wii game right now. It just seems very odd to me.

[Bojay1997]

I agree on all points guys, that rarity and demand go hand in hand. I didn't know Wal-mart did not report sales and I imagine that may bloat some sales on those lesser sellers.

That said, I stand firm on the scarcity of Fritz Chess (and to a somewhat lesser extent, those BOLD games releases I mentioned)

The lipmus test for me on scarcity is to simply find the titles for purchase on the internet. Even out of production titles can be found en masse on ebay and through amazon sellers. If a title can be found through those circles, it likely isn't really rare. A sealed copy could probably be considered rare for a few mass distributed titles out of production now (One Piece: Unlimited Adventure I think can arguably fit that bill, for example).

The thing about Fritz Chess is how - to the average eye - it almost doesn't exist as a game anymore, and it was only released early last summer. Wal-mart doesn't stock it online (and uses the European box graphic). I can google old listings on Target, Buy.com and Toys 'r Us but they either say out of stock or the page comes up blank. Gamestop's old listing (also can only be googled) does bring up the used game listing and actually does work, and after testing a few zipcodes in L.A. and other major markets (NY, Chicago, DC) I was able to find two Gamestop's in LA with it and one in DC (though well outside of DC, in Annapolis). Even weirder to me is how hardly anyone on ebay or amazon lists the game. Almost any Wii game (and every Wii game I've seen outside of maybe Rig Racer 2) has a bevy of listings for the eager collector. Even budget games that seem obscure to some have multiple listings. One listing for Fritz Chess for $125 new. Amazon has seven total listings (very small for a recently released Wii game) and none cheaper than $36 used (and $90 new). Only YesAsia.com appears to have the game in stock new, but for $40. You could rent it and keep it at Gamefly, but then your just getting the disc, aren't you? (I've never tried to keep a game with them).

With Fritz Chess I wouldn't discount the possibility of a very limited distribution zone (not a full national release) and/or a very short production, with online retailers selling their initial run of copies and not receiving any more. I challenge anyone else to find such a limited set of online resources to purchase a particular Wii game right now. It just seems very odd to me.

You can't just limit your search to online, however, especially if you're a collector. Most consumers and particularly ones buying shovelware games are buying games in store. Toys R Us is one of the biggest chains in the US and I was there last night and still saw Fritz Chess Wii in the under $20 display. I have never known Toys R Us to sell particular games in only one region of the country. I have also seen Fritz Chess at several independent game retailers in the LA area. People will always try to get ridiculous prices for things on Ebay and Amazon and may actually sucker an unsophisticated collector into paying the price. That doesn't make the game worth that amount, it just means that some poor sucker might pay that much for it and will never be able to recoup their investment.

[TonyTheTiger]

How few copies does there need to be for a game to qualify as "rare"? Because I can't imagine there being fewer than 20,000-30,000 copies of any Wii game sold at retail. It's just not worth it to print fewer copies than that. We might be able to talk about what games will be comparatively rarer when stacked up against the rest of the Wii's library but genuinely rare games are probably going to be pretty much nonexistent.

[Bojay1997]

How few copies does there need to be for a game to qualify as "rare"? Because I can't imagine there being fewer than 20,000-30,000 copies of any Wii game sold at retail. It's just not worth it to print fewer copies than that. We might be able to talk about what games will be comparatively rarer when stacked up against the rest of the Wii's library but genuinely rare games are probably going to be pretty much nonexistent.

I can't speak to what other publishers require, but I can speak to discussions I had with one well known Wii shovelware publisher about a budget European Wii title a client was looking to release over here and they wouldn't even consider it if they didn't think they could get 25K units into retail and they really wanted titles they thought could move 40K or more because that's when the real replication and printing breaks come in from the replication facilities.

[DOAsaturn]

You can't just limit your search to online, however, especially if you're a collector. Most consumers and particularly ones buying shovelware games are buying games in store. Toys R Us is one of the biggest chains in the US and I was there last night and still saw Fritz Chess Wii in the under $20 display. I have never known Toys R Us to sell particular games in only one region of the country. I have also seen Fritz Chess at several independent game retailers in the LA area. People will always try to get ridiculous prices for things on Ebay and Amazon and may actually sucker an unsophisticated collector into paying the price. That doesn't make the game worth that amount, it just means that some poor sucker might pay that much for it and will never be able to recoup their investment.

I absolutely agree with the ebay/amazon price inflation and what not. All I was really saying to that point is that almost any game can be found multiple times (including shovelware titles) on resources like ebay or amazon, regardless of price. Fritz Chess just seems relatively non-existant on those venues. It does seem odd that the game would distribute new for a very, very short period of time though. It's obviously not in high demand if their are bargain copies at your TRU. The question is where else can it be found. I'm personally curious if anyone has seen it outside of a metro area. I'm in Billings, MT (largest city in the state but only 100,000 people) and no one has ever seen or heard of the game. There is an indy game store in town as well.

As for print runs. Remember Tecmo Super Bowl II when Tecmo announced only a 10,000 (or was it 15,000, I can't remember) run of copies when the game was released. I tried to get it at Target that day and they had sold all five of their copies. No other store in town had received any. So I imagine you can go ahead and do a run in test markets if you wanted to and print 10,000 copies. Though in TSBII's case, the price hasn't inflated much as you can nab it for $50-60 and maybe cheaper. Let's just say Fritz Tennis had 10,000 printed and sent them to stores in large metro areas (like L.A.). It would look like any other shovelware title for most people and could easily end up not selling. Deep Silver then halts further production and the stock is quickly liquidated.

I could be way off, I'm not as experienced as some of you guys who have been collecting for years (I've been gaming for 20+ years, but never really collecting). I guess what's caught my eye with the Wii is all these funny budget titles that bring back memories of games for the NES. Anyone who is going for a complete collection may not have much rarity but they will still have to have quite a budget to get them all.

[Bojay1997]

I absolutely agree with the ebay/amazon price inflation and what not. All I was really saying to that point is that almost any game can be found multiple times (including shovelware titles) on resources like ebay or amazon, regardless of price. Fritz Chess just seems relatively non-existant on those venues. It does seem odd that the game would distribute new for a very, very short period of time though. It's obviously not in high demand if their are bargain copies at your TRU. The question is where else can it be found. I'm personally curious if anyone has seen it outside of a metro area. I'm in Billings, MT (largest city in the state but only 100,000 people) and no one has ever seen or heard of the game. There is an indy game store in town as well.

As for print runs. Remember Tecmo Super Bowl II when Tecmo announced only a 10,000 (or was it 15,000, I can't remember) run of copies when the game was released. I tried to get it at Target that day and they had sold all five of their copies. No other store in town had received any. So I imagine you can go ahead and do a run in test markets if you wanted to and print 10,000 copies. Though in TSBII's case, the price hasn't inflated much as you can nab it for $50-60 and maybe cheaper. Let's just say Fritz Tennis had 10,000 printed and sent them to stores in large metro areas (like L.A.). It would look like any other shovelware title for most people and could easily end up not selling. Deep Silver then halts further production and the stock is quickly liquidated.

I could be way off, I'm not as experienced as some of you guys who have been collecting for years (I've been gaming for 20+ years, but never really collecting). I guess what's caught my eye with the Wii is all these funny budget titles that bring back memories of games for the NES. Anyone who is going for a complete collection may not have much rarity but they will still have to have quite a budget to get them all.

I think your error is in thinking about rarity in terms of cartridge production and the fact that you live in a fairly small metropolitan area. If a publisher overproduced carts, they had big problems and expenses in disposing of those extras. As such, they really focused on tailoring the run to the retailer demand. In the era of mass disc replication and cheap digital printing, as well as all sorts of third parties getting into distribution (visit your local Big Lots which is now carrying some of the formerly Gamestop exclusive Bold games Wii shovelware) if a shovelware publisher overproduces 10K-20K in copies, they just can liquidate them at pennies on the dollar and still at least break even or maybe take a very small loss. The economics have changed and therefore, so is the rarity equation.

[DOAsaturn]

I think your error is in thinking about rarity in terms of cartridge production and the fact that you live in a fairly small metropolitan area. If a publisher overproduced carts, they had big problems and expenses in disposing of those extras. As such, they really focused on tailoring the run to the retailer demand. In the era of mass disc replication and cheap digital printing, as well as all sorts of third parties getting into distribution (visit your local Big Lots which is now carrying some of the formerly Gamestop exclusive Bold games Wii shovelware) if a shovelware publisher overproduces 10K-20K in copies, they just can liquidate them at pennies on the dollar and still at least break even or maybe take a very small loss. The economics have changed and therefore, so is the rarity equation.

Well you got me fairly convinced that most of the shovelware stuff is not truly rare and will likely not ever be something that people will grovel over. There are those oddball NES releases that keep sticking out in my head that really weren't great but still command high dollar for completists, but if the game isn't rare to begin with, it won't be rare 10-20 years from now either.

However, there are just too many weird variables with Fritz Chess to convince me that this one may be a unique case. Despite the existence of the game in Los Angeles, I am fairly confident this one was released in miniscule numbers. On top of that Deep Silver has been feeling the economic troubles as Deep Silver Vienna (developers of Cursed Mountain) was recently shut down. I'm not sure how or if that axed Fritz Chess as I can't find quite as much info on that. I'm hoping to get a good answer on it though, as I e-mailed the VP of sales for Deep Silver asking directly why the game is so difficult to find and what the release numbers were (I run a gaming site so it's not like I'm approaching them as a random gamer). Cross my fingers they will be forthright. I'll let you guys know what I come up with.

P.S. It's interesting how a Deep Silver press event last year showcased the Fritz Chess release for DS (still relatively widely available) and ignored the Wii release http://diehardgamefan.com/2009/08/14/deep-silver-nyc-press-event/ . According to another website, the event showcased the release for the PS3 and Wii as well, but the PS3 release seemed to get canned (at least in the states). Makes me wonder if the Wii production was halted early and liquidated. Anyway, enough speculation on my part, I'm anxious to see if I get an official answer.

[DOAsaturn]

Hey guys, this is straight from the horse's mouth at Deep Silver (i.e. John Schutts, Senior Producer)

Fritz Chess was released last summer on the Nintendo DS and Wii. It is difficult to find in retail now and if I had a copy in the office, I'd send you one (unfortunately I don't). I see Amazon lists it through other vendors, but they are asking $39.99. The game originally retailed for only $19.99.

Best regards,

Jon

He didn't respond directly to my inquiry about the title being limited distribution or what the exact numbers were. Not sure if he was dodging that for particular reasons or what not. One can speculate about poor initial sales numbers or just the general down economy that affected Deep Silver last fall. Who knows.

[Bojay1997]

Hey guys, this is straight from the horse's mouth at Deep Silver (i.e. John Schutts, Senior Producer)

Fritz Chess was released last summer on the Nintendo DS and Wii. It is difficult to find in retail now and if I had a copy in the office, I'd send you one (unfortunately I don't). I see Amazon lists it through other vendors, but they are asking $39.99. The game originally retailed for only $19.99.

Best regards,

Jon

He didn't respond directly to my inquiry about the title being limited distribution or what the exact numbers were. Not sure if he was dodging that for particular reasons or what not. One can speculate about poor initial sales numbers or just the general down economy that affected Deep Silver last fall. Who knows.

He probably doesn't know. Very rarely will anyone on the development side have any interaction with the publishing/distribution side of things.

[jonebone]

Is this a thread about "Rares" only or "Sleepers" that may gain value?

I don't think anything will be known about the true "Rares", but "Sleepers" could potentially be discussed. Anything that got high reviews (8.5+) with fairly unique gameplay and was underappreciated should fit that bill.

[Beefy Hits]

Target Terror.

I had to order from Amazon. I've never seen a copy in the wild.

[Bojay1997]

Target Terror.

I had to order from Amazon. I've never seen a copy in the wild.

Both Target and Toys R Us carried the game when it came out. It's a couple years old now which is why you couldn't find it.

[theclaw]

I don't see Spray much, but then again Gamestop liquidated their new copies by dropping them all the way down to $5.

[FoxNtd]

Target Terror.

An acquaintance has this game and I got to play it as well. He told me he bought it for himself and his wife from a local Gamestop store. Based on that I'd figure it can't be that difficult to find...

[Leo_A]

Target Terror was widely carried at the GameStop's around here when I bought my copy 12-18 months ago. It's no rarity in my opinion if it was so easily available here in the North Country in upstate NY.

[DOAsaturn]

I thought this was worth unearthing as the Wii winds down a bit with its release calendar.

One game that's currently starting to get a little notice as actually being rare is (drumroll) My Horse & Me: Riding for Gold. Yes, it's shovelware (but maybe not - people into this type of game seemed to praise it), but its worth noting that it's terribly difficult to locate online, in fact not many retailers even know this game exists. The first title in the series is extremely easy to find.

I did notice that when more and more people spread the news about Fritz Chess being rare (including myself), that more copies came out of the woodwork on ebay and Amazon. It's still "rare" in the sense that you won't find it for cheap and you won't have much luck finding it used anywhere (a Gamestop national used search came up with two copies according to someone on another board). I suppose I could see a similar thing happening with MH&M:RfG, the difference being that the few that were actively looking for this title when it was released (I traced a couple topics on the Atari message board for the game) were having an awful time finding a copy for themselves.

The crazy thing is, it has 14 Amazon.com reviews... so people were buying this it seems

[Bojay1997]

Looks like you definitely found a rarity. I found just one recent Ebay auction and it closed at $200.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/My-Horse-Me-Riding-Gold-Nintendo-Wii-Brand-New-Extremely-Hard-Find-/230740437561


I thought this was worth unearthing as the Wii winds down a bit with its release calendar.

One game that's currently starting to get a little notice as actually being rare is (drumroll) My Horse & Me: Riding for Gold. Yes, it's shovelware (but maybe not - people into this type of game seemed to praise it), but its worth noting that it's terribly difficult to locate online, in fact not many retailers even know this game exists. The first title in the series is extremely easy to find.

I did notice that when more and more people spread the news about Fritz Chess being rare (including myself), that more copies came out of the woodwork on ebay and Amazon. It's still "rare" in the sense that you won't find it for cheap and you won't have much luck finding it used anywhere (a Gamestop national used search came up with two copies according to someone on another board). I suppose I could see a similar thing happening with MH&M:RfG, the difference being that the few that were actively looking for this title when it was released (I traced a couple topics on the Atari message board for the game) were having an awful time finding a copy for themselves.

The crazy thing is, it has 14 Amazon.com reviews... so people were buying this it seems

[SEGA_Queen]

I've got one: One Piece Unlimited Adventure. I've only ever seen one copy in the wild, which is the copy I bought. It's currently going for an average of $60.00 online.

[DOAsaturn]

Looks like you definitely found a rarity. I found just one recent Ebay auction and it closed at $200.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/My-Horse-Me-Riding-Gold-Nintendo-Wii-Brand-New-Extremely-Hard-Find-/230740437561

I had another auction saved to my ebay searches and was able to get a used copy over the weekend for $34, granted your find is for a new copy. The only other used copy even near that price range is $45 on Amazon. Other than that you got a $170 used and a $300 new listed on ebay.

I kind of consider One Piece as the Wii's first rarity. It still fluctuates a bit but generally a used copy should get you at least as much as what a brand new copy cost when it came out, if not a little more. You can find them at Gamestops here and there for $40 used. I bought a sealed copy for $70 a couple years ago...

[The 1 2 P]

One game that's currently starting to get a little notice as actually being rare is (drumroll) My Horse & Me: Riding for Gold.

I've never seen this game but I will keep an eye out for it. I'm also awarding it for having one of the creepiest Wii titles of all time.

[Tupin]

The Wii is going to be a pain to collect for years down the line. Pretty much only first-party games were advertised, and many games only had one print run.

It's also going to be like the 2600, in that the rarest games for it are mediocre or downright terrible.

[M.Buster2184]

I'm surprised nobody has mention the Metroid Prime Trilogy. My friend and I looked all over and we've only found two places nearby that had it. My friend got it from a Gamestop and paid $60 used, another shop in Seattle has it for around $80 used, I believe.

[Carnby]

I'm surprised nobody has mention the Metroid Prime Trilogy. My friend and I looked all over and we've only found two places nearby that had it. My friend got it from a Gamestop and paid $60 used, another shop in Seattle has it for around $80 used, I believe.

I just purchased a sealed copy of Metroid Prime Trilogy for $125. It is in flawless condition. I will eventually send it to VGA for grading. Judge for yourself. (http://www.ebay.com/itm/120889270873?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_2952wt_1270)

[theclaw]

One Piece Unlimited Cruise Double Pack appears it'll become rare, as far as PAL goes. Supposedly an exclusive release to Germany IIRC.

[kupomogli]

Good Wii games. Those are rare. Not rare as in hard to find, but rare as in there's barely any.

http://static.fjcdn.com/comments/badum-tish.com+_5e1f7bf07da81488652e6a362cefafad.jpg

[M.Buster2184]

Hmm....for the record I was disappointed with it, but is Mario All-Stars for Wii rare or uncommon? I got it for my gf but had trouble locating a copy.

[DOAsaturn]

Hmm....for the record I was disappointed with it, but is Mario All-Stars for Wii rare or uncommon? I got it for my gf but had trouble locating a copy.

I too bought a copy for my sister for Christmas, kinda wish I got one for myself as well. A re-release tempered values a bit but it's back up a little.

The Wii is going to be a pain to collect for - but I have a feeling that so many people grew up with one (just like the NES and Atari) that it'll come back as a collecting system later when all those kids grow older and get those same nostalgic desires as many of us do. For now, I'm just chasing down the rarest ones. I got a couple copies of Fritz Chess (one opened, one sealed), One Piece sealed, F1 2009 opened (which I actually bought the day it came out) and now My Horse & Me: Riding for Gold.

As for Metroid Prime Trilogy - that game is really sought after and will always be. Someone on another website claimed that there was a much rarer regular white box version but I cannot confirm that at all. I'll keep my eye open for it but it seems unlikely...

One new release to really look out for later this month is a Mexican produced NTSC release called "El Chavo". It has all the makings of a future rare (like Super Copa for SNES).

[Spidey80]

Data East Arcade Classics struck me as rare...when it originally came out I actually had to leave town to find it.

[Gamevet]

I was at a Half-Price Books today, and noticed that they had Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 priced at $75. I thought the title might be somewhat highly priced on the internet, but it isn't. Could this title start to become rare in the future?

[DOAsaturn]

I was at a Half-Price Books today, and noticed that they had Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 priced at $75. I thought the title might be somewhat highly priced on the internet, but it isn't. Could this title start to become rare in the future?

It's really not "rare" in terms of quantity as much as it's always in demand. You can't find a copy for cheap anywhere it seems, but you can generally find a copy if you want it.

[Gamevet]

It's really not "rare" in terms of quantity as much as it's always in demand. You can't find a copy for cheap anywhere it seems, but you can generally find a copy if you want it.

I looked up pricing on it, through Amazon and Ebay, it's still pretty reasonable. You could probably still get it for under $20, with a little effort. I just found it kind of odd that someone at HPB thought it would sell for $75.

[Ryudo]

I have one Piece Unlimited Adventure CIB. Got it free from a friend.

These are not rare per say but believe will become harder to find.
Mario 25th
Xenoblade PAL/US
The Last Story Limited Edition
Pandoras Tower Limited Edition

[drthielegood]

Xseed games has already indicated that they already have a fixed run in mind for The Last Story. I would imagine that Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower (if we get a US release) will be short runs.

As the Wii enters its final days/weeks/months I'll be looking for a few late-in-life titles that are well received but may not be fully embraced at this stage of the consoles life span. Games like Rhythm Fever or Fortune Street come to mind. These titles and the Operation Rainfall games are, I think, going to be worth a bit down the road.

[markusman64ds]

Xseed games has already indicated that they already have a fixed run in mind for The Last Story. I would imagine that Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower (if we get a US release) will be short runs.

This makes me wonder whether or not they will be re-released for the Wii U, with updated graphics and stuff. A short print run for these games doesn't exactly make sense. I mean, they had the whole Operation Rainfall thing, and apparently the games are good, so why have a short run if you aren't going to re-release the game for the next gen? There is definitely money to be made.

[Bojay1997]

Xseed almost always just does one run of their games and I am not aware of any that are rare or even sold out after months or even years of release. I agree that this one might be slightly different given that it's a pretty great game and has a lot of attention right now, but I suspect it will result in a larger run and higher sales than the typical Xseed release. I think the games that are really going to have value over MSRP are going to be the sleepers that others have mentioned that had very limited runs and nobody cared about at the time of release or which totally slipped under the radar. The three late release JRPGs are definitely not under the radar and I know several collectors that don't even own Wiis that are picking up copies of each.


Xseed games has already indicated that they already have a fixed run in mind for The Last Story. I would imagine that Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower (if we get a US release) will be short runs.

As the Wii enters its final days/weeks/months I'll be looking for a few late-in-life titles that are well received but may not be fully embraced at this stage of the consoles life span. Games like Rhythm Fever or Fortune Street come to mind. These titles and the Operation Rainfall games are, I think, going to be worth a bit down the road.

[DOAsaturn]

Xseed almost always just does one run of their games and I am not aware of any that are rare or even sold out after months or even years of release. I agree that this one might be slightly different given that it's a pretty great game and has a lot of attention right now, but I suspect it will result in a larger run and higher sales than the typical Xseed release. I think the games that are really going to have value over MSRP are going to be the sleepers that others have mentioned that had very limited runs and nobody cared about at the time of release or which totally slipped under the radar. The three late release JRPGs are definitely not under the radar and I know several collectors that don't even own Wiis that are picking up copies of each.

It's funny - this is similar to Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love on PS2 a couple years ago. Everyone and their mom was buying sealed copies (including me) to save for future profit since it was the last RPG on the console. You'd be pretty lucky to break even on that, since most are selling around the $20-30 range and, hell, you can still buy it for 19.99 new at Gamestop (most stores still have copies). Maybe that'll change 5-10 years or so from now, but doesn't look too promising.

Who knows though, it's hard to tell on these but usually if people are prepared for a rare release, it ends up not being rare, since so many people bought it to sell it and have taken themselves out of the demand quotient. Still, I couldn't pass up Xenoblade - but the jury will be out for awhile on it...

[Genjackson]

The Fatal Frame game for Wii is kinda up there. I don't know if I would call it rare or just in high demand though.

Also, games are only worth what you can get out of them. The last copy of Fritz Chess sold on ebay was sold for 14 bucks.

[theclaw]

The Fatal Frame game for Wii is kinda up there. I don't know if I would call it rare or just in high demand though.

Also, games are only worth what you can get out of them. The last copy of Fritz Chess sold on ebay was sold for 14 bucks.

That's how game obscurity works. The SERIOUS rare titles are woefully undervalued. Most people do not:
own them
search for them
know/care they exist
sell their copies in the unlikely event of ownership, because they won't get a worthy price

[Ryudo]

@Bojay
Ys Seven Premium Edition is hard to find under 60$. Same with Ys Chronicles PE.

I got mine just before the demand went high up.

[Bojay1997]

Both took a really long time to sell out though and frankly there are tons available for sale at any given time. Moreover, Ys7 Premium was $50 on launch, so it's not like it's really become valuable. Similarly, Ys Chronicles PE was $30 at launch and can still be readily found NIB for under $50. I also know lots of people that have sealed copies and don't even own PSPs anymore. I still stick by the position that rare games aren't things that people are buying assuming they will be rare, at least not on super popular systems like the Wii where there are plenty of people collecting the RPGs and other niche titles even if they don't own or use the system. The rare stuff is going to be low print run or availability that nobody thinks to collect at the time.


@Bojay
Ys Seven Premium Edition is hard to find under 60$. Same with Ys Chronicles PE.

I got mine just before the demand went high up.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I'm bumping this for you collector type folks.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2011/12/15/chavo-del-ocho-coming-to-wii-near/
http://videojuegos.univision.com/wii/noticias/article/2011-10-07/el-chavo-videojuego-wii (Spanish)
http://en.kaxangames.com/games/el-chavo/

Slang will release the Kaxan Games developed "El Chavo" game on April 27. Apparently this was announced late last year but it just popped up on the Latino news again, so I figured I'd mention it here. I suppose most of the copies of this game will go down to Latin America so it -may- be scarce in Americaland for now.

Fun fact: This same developer created a game called "Taco Master" for iDevices.

[TonyTheTiger]

I almost had a spit take at first glance:
http://gameplanet.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=EL%20CHAVO

[Kitsune Sniper]

I almost had a spit take at first glance:
http://gameplanet.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=EL%20CHAVO

That's in Mexican Pesos. It's roughly $55-$60 USD (tax is already included in the price.) That's a pretty decent price for a brand new game, brand new AAA games sell for $1000 ($82-$84)

[TonyTheTiger]

So is this a Mexican exclusive? Seems ridiculously niche to be anything but. I suppose Amazon would carry it at least for the rest of North America.

Also:
""El Chavo del Ocho" for Wii cost $3 million to develop and is the first video game to be made in Mexico."

I can't imagine that's true.

[Hidden_Darkness]

one piece: unlimited adventure is very hard to find. just finding a complete copy for less then $60 and up is a challenge, it's weird because around 2008 and 2009 I used to see it at places like best buy and wal mart for $40 then it just suddenly became hard to find.

[eskobar]

So is this a Mexican exclusive? Seems ridiculously niche to be anything but. I suppose Amazon would carry it at least for the rest of North America.

Also:
""El Chavo del Ocho" for Wii cost $3 million to develop and is the first video game to be made in Mexico."

I can't imagine that's true.

The advantage with "El chavo del ocho" is that is extremely popular not only in México ... its quite popular in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and even was dubbed in Russian and Japanese. Its quite strange that any IP of that magnitude is found in our country and even stranger that an IP that old is still a huge hit.


There is another Mexican or Latin american exclusive for the Wii : Atrévete a Soñar

http://motordejuegos.net/profiles/blogs/atrevete-a-sonar-para-wii-ya?xg_source=activity


I don't Know if this game has any value on your country, but it wasn't very popular here and there are quite a few on sale :)