Earthbound comes to the VC - end of ridiculous prices?

[Opa Opa]

For those who think the price will drop significantly, look at Chrono Trigger prices. Ebay completed auction listings show the cart still regularly sells for $70+. And that game has been ported to practically every modern console/handheld and available to some digital distribution services.

Will EB drop in price? Probably a little at first. If anything, the game gets more exposure and prices will increase as competition for a real copy gets more fierce.

[Krejlooc]

Or it could drive interest in the physical cart too.

I admittedly don't watch market prices like a hawk, but is there any precedence for that? I know games sometimes spike in price leading up to a digital re-release (and sometimes for a short while after) but the only ones I've really observed have been games like Radiant Silvergun and Guardian Heroes - both of which dropped quite a bit in price once they were re-released. It's happening to the Dungeons & Dragon's collection right now, too.

Duck Tales tried to spike in price but that sort of failed miserably, and now it looks like prices are holding steady at where they were before.

Can you give any examples of a DD driving up the price of a game for a sustained period of time?

For those who think the price will drop significantly, look at Chrono Trigger prices. Ebay completed auction listings show the cart still regularly sells for $70+. And that game has been ported to practically every modern console/handheld and available to some digital distribution services.

Will EB drop in price? Probably a little at first. If anything, the game gets more exposure and prices will increase as competition for a real copy gets more fierce.

Prior to the DS rerelease, Chrono Trigger used to go for more than that, believe it or not.

[AppleQueso]

For those who think the price will drop significantly, look at Chrono Trigger prices. Ebay completed auction listings show the cart still regularly sells for $70+. And that game has been ported to practically every modern console/handheld and available to some digital distribution services.

Will EB drop in price? Probably a little at first. If anything, the game gets more exposure and prices will increase as competition for a real copy gets more fierce.

Prior to the DS rerelease, Chrono Trigger used to go for more than that, believe it or not.

VideoGamePriceCharts goes all the way back to Jan '07, which shows it sitting at around $50. VGPC isn't perfect by any means though, and the furher back you go the less accurate it is I imagine.

It's spiked way up since just last year, but I think that's just general SNES craziness going on right now. Either way, Chrono Trigger was never at the crazy prices that EB sits at.

[Krejlooc]

For those who think the price will drop significantly, look at Chrono Trigger prices. Ebay completed auction listings show the cart still regularly sells for $70+. And that game has been ported to practically every modern console/handheld and available to some digital distribution services.

Will EB drop in price? Probably a little at first. If anything, the game gets more exposure and prices will increase as competition for a real copy gets more fierce.

Prior to the DS rerelease, Chrono Trigger used to go for more than that, believe it or not.

VideoGamePriceCharts goes all the way back to Jan '07, which shows it sitting at around $50. VGPC isn't perfect by any means though, and the furher back you go the less accurate it is I imagine.

It's spiked way up since just last year, but I think that's just general SNES craziness going on right now. Either way, Chrono Trigger was never at the crazy prices that EB sits at.

Keep in mind that the game launched at $80. I can find evidence of it trying to go for $150 for a loose cart back in 2001. I can also find evidence of people buying it for about $80 from 2007 as well. As in, testimonies from people posting back in 2007 saying they just bought the game at the prices I claim.

EDIT: To bring inflation into all of this, Chrono Trigger launched at $115 in 2013 money. Crazy!

[Opa Opa]

FWIW, I don't ever remember a time where a loose copy in good shape went below $50.

[J T]

Does the term Earthbound mean that you are set on a travel course bound for Earth, or that you are bound to the Earth and unable to leave?

[fastbilly1]

I just hope it causes a quick drop so I can buy the guide for a decent price.

Whatever happens, I doubt you'll see a rapid drop of any kind. No matter how you slice it, this game is a cult classic. You won't ever find it for pennies.

I already have two cart only copies of the game, I just want the guide since I like old RPG guides. So I dont want or expect it for pennies, I want a standalone guide that is in an acceptable range - ie not over $100.

[AppleQueso]

VideoGamePriceCharts goes all the way back to Jan '07, which shows it sitting at around $50. VGPC isn't perfect by any means though, and the furher back you go the less accurate it is I imagine.

It's spiked way up since just last year, but I think that's just general SNES craziness going on right now. Either way, Chrono Trigger was never at the crazy prices that EB sits at.

Keep in mind that the game launched at $80. I can find evidence of it trying to go for $150 for a loose cart back in 2001. I can also find evidence of people buying it for about $80 from 2007 as well. As in, testimonies from people posting back in 2007 saying they just bought the game at the prices I claim.

Being that expensive back in 2001? I can definitely believe it. That was the height of JRPG popularity too. Like I said, I'm not considering VGPC to be the end all here though.

Did CT ever go for $200-250 for a loose cart? I have trouble imagining that EB will continue to rise in price in light of this news, especially in the case of loose carts. As someone else pointed out, at that price point, you can go buy a Wii U and just buy the VC release when that hits and actually spend less money.

[Krejlooc]

I used to have my copy of Chrono Trigger boxed with manual. After Hurrican Rita in houston, almost all of my N64 and SNES box collection turned into liquid goo. It absolutely kills me to look up the prices for some of those games boxed - I still have the carts, but the boxes were worth way more. Stuff like Clayfighters Sculptor's Cut or Super Mario RPG. Ugh. I basically lost several thousands of dollars worth of merch in that flood.

At least Earthbound survived.

EDIT:

Does the term Earthbound mean that you are set on a travel course bound for Earth, or that you are bound to the Earth and unable to leave?

Well, what Earthbound refers to is sort of a spoiler...

VideoGamePriceCharts goes all the way back to Jan '07, which shows it sitting at around $50. VGPC isn't perfect by any means though, and the furher back you go the less accurate it is I imagine.

It's spiked way up since just last year, but I think that's just general SNES craziness going on right now. Either way, Chrono Trigger was never at the crazy prices that EB sits at.

Keep in mind that the game launched at $80. I can find evidence of it trying to go for $150 for a loose cart back in 2001. I can also find evidence of people buying it for about $80 from 2007 as well. As in, testimonies from people posting back in 2007 saying they just bought the game at the prices I claim.

Being that expensive back in 2001? I can definitely believe it. That was the height of JRPG popularity too. Like I said, I'm not considering VGPC to be the end all here though.

Did CT ever go for $200-250 for a loose cart? I have trouble imagining that EB will continue to rise in price in light of this news, especially in the case of loose carts. As someone else pointed out, at that price point, you can go buy a Wii U and just buy the VC release when that hits and actually spend less money.

No, I don't think I ever saw a loose CT get up to $200. back in the day, it seemed like only the genuinely rare got up that high - stuff like NTSC Panzer Dragoon Saga. It seems like a relatively recent phenomenon where anything remotely good and boxed goes for $75+ minimum. Like the other day, I saw Saturn Bomberman going for like $200 boxed. Shocked the hell out of me!

[Opa Opa]

I hope that if this does well we get a Mother 3 3DS VC release.