(This suggestion from Duncan Snowden, who may or may not be related to Edward and/or the mountain which yes, I know is spelt with an “o”)
what game that you own do you think is worth the most? And – since this is the sort of thing that was going through my head last night – what’s the very last one you’d consider selling, regardless of price?
You see the problem here is that I own a lot of games. Over 2500 at the time of writing, and I ain’t going through the lot and checking them against recent Sotheby’s video game auctions (that’s where most games are sold these days, right?) to find out current market values. I’d be here forever. No, instead I’ll go through a few games that I perceive to be worth the most.
Shenmue and Shenmue II (Dreamcast)
They’ve always been quite highly priced, but when Shenmue III was finally announced and became the most successful Kickstarter ever[ref]And I contributed to, at the $250 tier[/ref] (at the time) copies were selling on eBay for several hundred quid each. I even saw some go for over £1000. Even the version of Shenmue II for the Xbox, which is less desirable generally anyway was being snapped up for silly money. I’m not sure what price I’d expect either title to go for now after the initial interest has died down, but come the release of Shenmue III it’s likely to skyrocket again, at least for a short time.
Pokémon (Various)
Apparently there’s some new telephone real-life Pokémon game? I’d no idea. It’s supposedly pretty popular, anyway, and as a result it seems the price of other Pokémon games has gone up as people rediscover them. I don’t think any have risen to the level Shenmue did, but even relatively new titles in the series – Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby – have started commanding £45-£50 second hand even though it’s still £40 or less new because idiots. I don’t have those games, but I do have Blue, Gold, Sapphire (the original GBA one) and various spinoffs. I think Pokémon Stadium on the N64 and Pokémon Pinball for the GBA are particularly sought after right now, so perhaps they’re worth a fair bit.
Dragon Force (Saturn)
There are a few Saturn games I know that over the years have been ludicrously expensive. Well known are Burning Rangers, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Mega Man X3, Dragon Force and Shining Force III. I have both Burning Rangers and Dragon Force, but neither manage the price that the other three do. Of the two, Dragon Force is probably worth more these days, although it was Burning Rangers in the past. How much is worth, though? I’d guess at maybe £100?
Those are my best guesses, I think. I’ve a few others that might be worth something, like Seaman for the Dreamcast, or King Arthur’s World for the SNES, but although they may fetch a decent price it probably isn’t much more than the original RRP.
Of the games listed, I suspect Dragon Force is the one that will hold its price more steadily, with Shenmue and Pokémon both at the mercy of changing fads. Prices may go down as well as up!
For the second part of the question…
what’s the very last one you’d consider selling, regardless of price?
That’s easy. It’d have to be Run Baby Run for the Spectrum. It’s my favourite game ever, my most played game ever, and one virtually nobody has heard of. It’s worth peanuts, but getting hold of a replacement cassette would be difficult, I’d expect.
Heh! I might have guessed it’d be Run Baby Run. 🙂
Dunno if I’m related to Edward. It’s certainly been a whole lot easier to get people to spell my name properly, with an “e”, since he showed up, though. Thanks, Ed!