Do you actually have a game that's worth $$$$?

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Kasey Chang
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Do you actually have a game that's worth $$$$?

Post by Kasey Chang »

Previously, the definitive Wing Commander collection, Kilrathi Saga, were consistently able to fetch high prices on eBay, usually at over $100 or more.

Seems like we have a new "classic" on our hands.

Starfleet Command III, the last game released by Taldren, is now such a rare commodity that copies are being sold for $60-100 on web retail channels, and auctions regularly ends at $40-80.

Got your copy at home?
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Zekester
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Post by Zekester »

Yup, unopened.

How about that GotY Edition of Freespace 2, is it still worth anything?
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Post by Huw the Poo »

I wonder if Hostile Waters would sell for a bit? Not that I'd sell mine, of course.

A friend of mine in work has a boxed Amiga version of the Great Giana Sisters - I think I saw that go for a couple of hundred Euros a few weeks ago.
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Post by Atalante »

I've got a boxed copy of Dune 2. Played to death, so not in any kind of 'mint' condition.

No idea if its worth anything, but I like it. :wink:
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Post by McCrank »

I just sold my King's Quest, Quest for Glory, Space Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry anthologies on ebay, each went for well over $100. Police Quest anthology went for $60.
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Post by warning »

I once sold a copy of Interplay's Ultimate RPG Archives on ebay for over $100.

I paid $10 for it in a KB Toys clearance rack. :shock:
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Post by Atalante »

McCrank wrote:I just sold my King's Quest, Quest for Glory, Space Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry anthologies on ebay, each went for well over $100. Police Quest anthology went for $60.
Woah, I've got Quest for Glory anthology. :shock:

Thats a boat load of money.
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Post by ChrisGwinn »

I have an unopened copy of Daikatana.
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Post by Lord Percy »

Is Baldur's Gate 1 DVD Edition worth anything?
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Post by Giles Habibula »

Sold my extra copy of BattleZone Gold on eBay for $80 a couple years ago.

And another couple years before that I got $135 for the CD rom version of MS Space Simulator and $60 for Apollo 18 (the 1996 version). Unfortunately, I don't think they're worth nearly that now.

And I've got my FreeSpace 2 SciFi Sim of the Year Edition sitting here. I know it used to go for a fortune, but I haven't been keeping up on that stuff anymore since I got a job..

I've probably got a bunch that are worth something, but they tend to be the good games, which I won't part with.
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Post by philosophist »

Like any collectible, these games are only worth what someone is willing to pay. And, of course, a collector is willing to pay a lot more (and expect a lot more) than the average joe who simply likes to play video games. For instance, I recently inquired about trading for an original Planescape: Torment with a gametz trader. He indicated that he wanted $40-$50 in trade value for it. So, instead, I went to half.com and bought a copy for $5 plus shipping.

If computer games ever do become collectible (and, with the constant march of technology, I'm not sure they will), now seems like the perfect time to pick them up.
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Post by Giles Habibula »

Atalante wrote:
McCrank wrote:I just sold my King's Quest, Quest for Glory, Space Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry anthologies on ebay, each went for well over $100. Police Quest anthology went for $60.
Woah, I've got Quest for Glory anthology. :shock:

Thats a boat load of money.
If I remember right, there were several Quest For Glory anthologies, and to get the big bucks you had to have a certain one.

I've got the one with 4 full games and also includes the demo for QFG 5: Dragon Fire. Last time I checked a couple years ago, my version wasn't worth much. Even unopened.
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Post by Kasey Chang »

Darn, guess my Leisure Suit Larry Collection (not including the recent travesty) ain't worth much then. ;D
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Post by Defiant »

I've got:
  • Several Infocom collectables
  • An original 1984 IBM PCjr King's Quest.
  • Darklands (both CD and disk versions)
  • Neverhood
  • The Gene Machine
  • Three Skulls of the Toltecs
  • Touche: Something Something Musketteers
  • Starfleet Command 3
  • Klingon Academy
  • Buzz Aldrin's Race To Space
  • Infocom Masterpieces and Lost Treasures.
  • Lost Adventures of Legend
  • Magnetic Scrolls Collection
  • Private Eye
  • Noir
  • I have no mouth and I must scream
  • Flight of the Amazon Queen
  • Hound of the Shadow
  • Star Trek: First Contact (The text adventure)
  • All the Sierra Anthologies (including the Roberta Williams one) as well as all the non-collected Sierra games (manhunter, Robin Hood, etc)
Not all have their boxes, though (in fact, most don't), and they've all been opened.
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Post by bluefugue »

I have some games in pretty good shape (with box) handed off to me by my brother.

-- Darklands CD version
-- Ultima VII and 8
-- Savage Empire
-- Martian Dreams

They might fetch a penny or two. But I intend to keep them.
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Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

Either of you want to trade me Darklands? I loved that game.
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Post by Jeff V »

I sold a copy of TSR's Divine Right that I paid $5 for at their store in Lake Geneva for $100 about 5-6 years ago.

I've never sold a computer game; AFAIK, they are all worthless.
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Post by Zarathud »

I think I have TWO FreeSpace 2: Space Sim of the Year editions. But I have two user missions published on the disk (The Queen and Shivan Incursion), so I'm not selling.

Ebaying some old games sounds attractive -- I still have Wing Commander Armada somewhere around here. It's a shame that none of my massive collection of C64 games survived mass storage -- the floppy disks turned out to be very unreliable with age.
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Re: Do you actually have a game that's worth $$$$?

Post by Giles Habibula »

Kasey Chang wrote:Previously, the definitive Wing Commander collection, Kilrathi Saga, were consistently able to fetch high prices on eBay, usually at over $100 or more.
Back a few years when I thought I'd actually have a chance to buy one of these "Kilrathi Saga" editions, I checked almost daily for almost a year. The highest I ever saw it go (this was around 2000) was $560 for a mint-in sealed-box copy. The average for a good complete used copy was around $200-250. It's dropped quite a bit in recent years.
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Post by Giles Habibula »

philosophist wrote:Like any collectible, these games are only worth what someone is willing to pay. And, of course, a collector is willing to pay a lot more (and expect a lot more) than the average joe who simply likes to play video games. For instance, I recently inquired about trading for an original Planescape: Torment with a gametz trader. He indicated that he wanted $40-$50 in trade value for it. So, instead, I went to half.com and bought a copy for $5 plus shipping.

If computer games ever do become collectible (and, with the constant march of technology, I'm not sure they will), now seems like the perfect time to pick them up.
The thing is, not every game will be collectible. Some already are, as you can see by some of the posts above.

Whether they become worth anything depends on two things:
If the game becomes legendary over time, so much so that demand far outstrips supply, AND

If the game was released in a small number, possibly because it didn't sell well enough upon release to warrant a second printing. And if technology marches on, it becomes less and less likely that those games will EVER see a second printing, unless by some chance the game still works on newer machines and OS's.

If the game is good (or even has a good reputation over time), and the production numbers are low, you can bet there will be a collector willing to pay top dollar for it.
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Post by Thin_J »

Huw the Poo wrote:I wonder if Hostile Waters would sell for a bit? Not that I'd sell mine, of course.
There's a copy of that on the discount rack at work for $6.99.
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Post by Huw the Poo »

Oh, really? I haven't seen it on sale in the UK for years. Ah well, I'd never sell it anyway because it's bloody fantastic! :)
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Post by Kasey Chang »

Ah, I got both the UK version and the NA version of that game. It is a fantastic game (and yes, I have written an FAQ for it).
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Post by Enough »

I have some difficult to find pc pinball games that I'm sure pinball freaks would want just to complete a collection. I've got the GOTY of Freespace but it's not worth anything anymore. And I have my Vic 20 with some games of various sorts. For valuable games that's probably about it. But down the road all these PC games we all have collected probably will be worth money much like baseball cards.
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Post by Thunderspark »

Do these have to be in their boxes in mint condition to be worth money? I have a couple of the games mentioned, but only the version I used to play them. If they need to be in the box, etc, then I don't have any games worth anything :doh:
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Post by godhugh »

I have original boxed copies of Final Fantasy 2 and Chronotrigger, both with manuals. They used to be worth quite a bit but since the remakes came out for the PS I'm not sure if they have value anymore.

I also have the Interplay Ultimate RPG Collection, didn't know it was worth anything until now though.
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Post by noun »

As a former card and comic dealer, I advise anyone with a valuable game to cash in on it right away. Collectibles and their collectors are fickle things, and you never know when the market's going to go south on you.
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Post by The Meal »

Nade wrote:I've got:
  • Neverhood
That's the extent of games that I have that are listed in this thread. I have no idea if other games of mine hold collector-value for others however.

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Post by morlac »

The only game of known value I had was Fianl Fantasy Tactics for the PS1. I sold it for $80 dollars to a used game store. Apparantly the owner hadn't heard that the were REreleasing it as a greatest hits for only $19.99 in the near future. I had no idea it was worth that much untill I heard about the rerelease. It was a good day.
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Post by Boudreaux »

I sold my original boxed copies of Ultima V and Ultima VI (complete with cloth maps and metal trinkets) last year for around $80 total. I still have boxed copies of some pretty old stuff but those were the only ones I think were "collectible", or at least that anyone was willing to pay so much for.
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Post by philosophist »

Giles Habibula wrote:The thing is, not every game will be collectible. Some already are, as you can see by some of the posts above.

Whether they become worth anything depends on two things:
If the game becomes legendary over time, so much so that demand far outstrips supply, AND

If the game was released in a small number, possibly because it didn't sell well enough upon release to warrant a second printing. And if technology marches on, it becomes less and less likely that those games will EVER see a second printing, unless by some chance the game still works on newer machines and OS's.

If the game is good (or even has a good reputation over time), and the production numbers are low, you can bet there will be a collector willing to pay top dollar for it.
I suspect the re-release of Planescape:Torment (in jewel case format) immediately lowered the value of the orginal boxed edition. Most people probably don't care much about and probably prefer w/o the box.
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