The Earthbound Inflation Thread

[SpaceHarrier]

My only experience with Earthbound is a scratch-n-sniff-sticker in a game magazine I bought as a teen. It smelled like garbage, stale potpourri and pepperonis. It made me not want the game -- and I threw the magazine away. Amazing to see it soar ever upward in price. So now, as a collector, when you win this on ebay, do you celebrate? Or sulk?

[Oldskool]

Even as a collector I wouldn't want this game. Only reason why I'd ever get this game is to make money on it. Especially if it keeps getting inflated like it has.

[jonebone]

Why is this thread exclusively about Earthbound? Some of the other RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Ogre Battle have also trickled up in price either loose or as a CIB. Ogre Battle is a bit rarer than EB / CT, but I've seen it sell complete at damn near EVO prices, and EVO is much rarer.

The only thing that has gone down has been the sealed copies of CT. Those used to be $2k ungraded and raw, and now a VGA85 has problems selling at $1300-$1500, probably would auction closer to $1200. People are realizing that there's a bunch of guys sitting on multiple copies of that one sealed, and it's definitely not as rare as initially thought.

[exit]

Another Earthbound Inflation Thread

Fix'd

[Icarus Moonsight]

Can I deposit copies of Earthbound into an IRA?

Earthbound, it's a geeks store of value.

[pseudonym]

Forget Gold and Silver, Earthbound is where it's at.

[Dr. Dib]

They don't need anyone's permission to change anything in the game.

Guess I should've explained more. The supposed reasoning behind it is that Nintendo of America does not have Nintendo of Japan's permissions to change anything in the game

[fahlim003]

and PSN. Hopefully without the load times for those that are interested.

Interesting, PSN and VC. Although this hasn't happened yet so it's best to see what develops. Sorry to go OT but even though there are no cinematics and additional features like what is found on PS1 and DS, SNES is still the best version out there and that has meant it will and likely remain steady for a while to come.

[old_skoolin_jim]

Sold a loose copy for $140 about 6 weeks ago, in relatively good condition. Sold another one in less than desirable condition (part of the board at the contacts was chipped) for $125 2 weeks ago. I was the cheapest Buy It Now Price both times for a loose copy.

Seriously? I paid $5 for my loose copy at a flea market in western MA 3 years ago. I played through it again last summer (still an amazing game)... perhaps I should hop on the "eBay EB" train? I've got a baby on the way so it's highly doubtful I'd have spare time to give it another run-through...

[old_skoolin_jim]

My only experience with Earthbound is a scratch-n-sniff-sticker in a game magazine I bought as a teen. It smelled like garbage, stale potpourri and pepperonis. It made me not want the game -- and I threw the magazine away. Amazing to see it soar ever upward in price. So now, as a collector, when you win this on ebay, do you celebrate? Or sulk?

If memory serves me right, this ad goes for crazy money, too, as it only ran once (mine was in an old GamePro). I remember saving the ad because I thought it was cool, but I don't know if I still have it lurking anywhere or if it (very likely) got tossed anytime in the last 16 years.

[fahlim003]

Seriously? I paid $5 for my loose copy at a flea market in western MA 3 years ago. I played through it again last summer (still an amazing game)... perhaps I should hop on the "eBay EB" train? I've got a baby on the way so it's highly doubtful I'd have spare time to give it another run-through...

Or you could pass the buck and sell it privately for a fair and reasonable amount (wink wink). No matter, nobody would blame you for selling at market value when it's ape crazy at present - almost everyone else would do the same.

[Gameguy]

If memory serves me right, this ad goes for crazy money, too, as it only ran once (mine was in an old GamePro). I remember saving the ad because I thought it was cool, but I don't know if I still have it lurking anywhere or if it (very likely) got tossed anytime in the last 16 years.

Seriously? I passed on an Earthbound promo that sounds similar to that in an old gaming magazine I saw in a thrift store. I thought only the stuff that came with the game went for crazy money, not some ad/promo thing in a magazine.

Also still kicking myself for passing on a loose copy for $7.99 around 10 years ago, I didn't have a SNES at the time and never heard of it before.

[tom]

One of the worst RGPs ever too, but as someone here mentioned already, the worst games demand the highest $s, Air Raid and Stadium Events can confirm.

[Vlcice]

... SNES is still the best version out there and that has meant it will and likely remain steady for a while to come.

Makes me wonder actually, has anyone hacked the SNES script into the DS version? I'm kind of attached to Woolsey's script at this point, and I'd love to play the DS version using it.

[SparTonberry]

EB is one of my favorite games, but I am willing to see someone not liking EB, but I have a hard time seeing how anyone can say EB is among "the worst" games ever. Worse than the average LJN or THQ excrement?
Worse than Action 52? Caltron 6-in-1?

Might as well pick on another (so I hear) $100+ game: Family School. Boring, and I seriously doubt it would be any more fun if I could read the questions.
Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta: Hot Scramble: Final Version for Famicom. People detest the side-scrolling segment so much they'd rather pay the cost of 500 normal copies, for a version without it?
Well, at least it's a bigger difference than A TITLE VARIANT.

[portnoyd]

Worst, no. Overrated, absolutely.

[Vlcice]

It's kind of a relief to find out other people think that way. I've seen such praise for the game everywhere I kind of thought I was the only person that didn't like it. (Wasn't horrible, the gameplay just didn't do it for me.)

[dra600n]

It's kind of a relief to find out other people think that way. I've seen such praise for the game everywhere I kind of thought I was the only person that didn't like it. (Wasn't horrible, the gameplay just didn't do it for me.)

I think the problem is, is that so many people praised this game for all it's epic glory, that when those of us who haven't played finally got around to playing it, it wasn't what we were expecting. I also find this game mediocre and can't compare to the Secret of Mana, Breath of Fire, or Final Fantasy.

[crackdealer clawx]

I'm glad I got my copy for $30... I personally think it's a damn fine game but don't really care enough to argue with peoples over it.

Still ain't worth $449 bucks. I don't think any video game is worth that much.

[Kyle15]

It's kind of a relief to find out other people think that way. I've seen such praise for the game everywhere I kind of thought I was the only person that didn't like it. (Wasn't horrible, the gameplay just didn't do it for me.)

That's how I feel about Final Fantasy VII. Strangely enough, I love Earthbound.
Its one of those games I heard was good and decided to try it myself. Only after finishing it did I discover people giving it insane praise.

[Zing]

Why is this thread exclusively about Earthbound? Some of the other RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Ogre Battle have also trickled up in price either loose or as a CIB.

Earthbound CIB has pretty much doubled in price over the past year.

For what it's worth, I have several hundred sitting in Paypal account waiting for a private Earthbound CIB seller. Any takers?

[jonebone]

Earthbound CIB has pretty much doubled in price over the past year.

For what it's worth, I have several hundred sitting in Paypal account waiting for a private Earthbound CIB seller. Any takers?

I got Ogre Battle at $70 for open auction last year, and have seen it break $215 at least twice. That's tripling.

And $300 to $450 isn't quite doubling, that's the same percentage hike from $80 to $120, which is approximately what Chrono Trigger has done.

[megasdkirby]

What would be wickedly awesome? If a huge amount of copies were to be found, dropping the price of the game HARD.

[goatdan]

I don't think I've jumped into an "OMG Earthbound prices!" thread yet, so here's a few cents for everyone...

First of all, even if this was released for the Virtual Console, it wouldn't mean that would necessarily keep the price at bay. I remember three or four years ago, someone at the Midwest Gaming Classic walking up to us and asking me (seriously too) if we would continue the show after all the vendors went out of business because of the Virtual Console and how you could get every game people had for way less money. I laughed and replied that we'd have to see what happened, but I was sure that it wouldn't completely make selling old games impossible. The guy laughed at me and said that I just thought that because I was a delusional vendor.

Four years later, I can't say that much has changed either from getting vendors to the MGC or the price for selling stuff. Yeah, once in a while the price of a game drops, but not too often. The collectible games are the games that fall into one of two categories, either:

1) It's the game that everyone had or rented and loved, and it keeps inflating in value slowly because people who own a SNES could give two craps about Madden 93, but they remmeber how fun Super Mario World was, so practically every SNES-owner who is out there with a console wants to have and keep a copy of Super Mario World.
2) It's a game that everyone talks about, and it keeps inflating because people want to check it out and show to friends. Earthbound definitely fits into this category.

Earthbound prices also benefit from the fact that Nintendo uses Ness in Smash Bros, keeping him top-of-mind, while also refusing to release anything. And, whether you like Earthbound or think it is the worst RPG ever (a claim I find hard for anyone to really make), it has a legend surrounding it that is undeniable.

It is my favorite RPG. I bought a copy about 15 years ago now for $6.99 at a rental shop, with crappy label and crappy box, but I wouldn't trade my copy for a perfect copy of the game. In fact, about 10 years ago a local store used to get them relatively often, and I picked up multiple copies of the game for $7.99 mint and full, and sold them on the GOAT Store for around $60. I can't say I really regret not holding onto them for 10 years, as you never know what the market will do, but I wish I could still find them for $7.99!

Earthbound is relatively unique in the terms of how it plays out as an RPG, and that does make it special for some people, like myself. I have never made it through a Final Fantasy (I've tried multiple times on 1 and 7 and get bored on them), I've made it through one Dragon Warrior, but Earthbound even back in the day had that 'it' factor that got me to finish it -- AS A RENTAL -- by staying up until all hours of the night playing it. I can't say I'd pay $500 for it, but I don't think that a VC release will do anything but continue to drive prices up.

[mobiusclimber]

I've actually seen quite a few game prices drop due to VC releases (amongst other things). Mostly it's been common games, tho still... Suikoden 2 used to sell for $200, not it's going for $100 (or less sometimes). Valkyrie Profile used to sell for $100, now goes for $50~60. Final Fantasy VII used to go for $80~100, now it sells for $40 if that. Castlevania SOTN, Final Fantasy Tactics, Star Ocean 2nd Story... this isn't even talking about really common stuff like the Donkey Kong Country trilogy or really pretty much ANY common game you can think of that people would want.

Part of it is the VC, part of it is the economy and part of it is that game collecting was starting to turn into the next card collecting (or comic collecting) for awhile. People would pay high prices to relive their childhoods and justify it by saying they could always resell for more than what they paid since prices were only going to keep going up.

I've been hearing it's cyclical and that N64 is the next system to jump in price, but beyond a couple of games, I haven't seen it. In fact, a few of the consistent high sellers have dropped in price (Ogre Battle 64, Harvest Moon 64) with really only Conker's going up. I can count on maybe both hands the number of games that have had price spikes or held onto their high prices, while I wouldn't even be able to list all of the ones that have had their prices fall.

As for Earthbound, if it came out on the VC then HELL YES the price for a cart only copy would plummet. I remember when the price was fairly low for one, and I'd imagine it would go back to being that price again. The CIB price likely wouldn't take a hit, or much of one anyway, since it's what you might call a "deluxe package." So if you have a cart only copy sitting around and you're thinking of selling it, do it now while the price is still high. I highly doubt Nintendo will keep Earthbound off the VC forever. It's just not as high a priority for them at the moment since it would require a few changes to be made and that costs money (and time, and time is money). Eventually, tho, they'll run out of games (that don't require changes) to release on the VC and get around to rolling out Earthbound (since they know they'll be able to charge a premium AND the demand is there for it).