Finds (All Others)

[nintendodork]

A bit dated to be commenting on this, but damn, Shumi. Those are some sick deals you happened upon. It's crazy how inflated N64 games have become in the U.S. A secondhand game store I was in the other day was trying to sell Smash 64 for $50.

[zmaster18]

A bit dated to be commenting on this, but damn, Shumi. Those are some sick deals you happened upon. It's crazy how inflated N64 games have become in the U.S. A secondhand game store I was in the other day was trying to sell Smash 64 for $50.

That's just how the prices are. There is so much demand for North American N64 games, especially people in college or people in there 20's. These games also have great multiplayer value. I think $50 for smash or mario kart 64 is reasonable. Both Zelda games seem to be $30+ as well. But all Zelda, Smash, and Mario Kart games are still valuable. Melee and Double Dash are still expensive games.

@UglyJoe: That Club Nintendo case looks pretty good. I almost wanted to get it, but I got some download codes I already regret getting. I got Dr. Luigi, which is now on 3DS...(dang), Chibi Robo Photo Finder(which sucks unfortunately), and DK Tropical Freeze(which I can't download because it's 11GB and my Wii U doesn't have enough memory. I'm thinking of selling my DK code.

I was kinda mad when I saw that Club Nintendo reduced their prices a few weeks after the new prizes came out.    I also had about 1000 coins worth of codes to redeem, but the website kept crashing in the last week the site was up. Oh well, my fault for doing it at the last minute. I was able to buy myself the Year of Luigi 3DS XL case on ebay for about $25, which is nice. People want $50 for it online! I sold my Mewtwo DLC code for smash bros as well as the soundtrack CD.

[nintendodork]

I'm gonna respectfully disagree since the current versions of both Smash and Mario Kart on the Wii U also cost that much if you buy them online, and they're superior in a lot of ways. For certain quirky or unique games, I get the rising costs, but games that have (better) more current entries shouldn't demand so much money, imo.

[zmaster18]

I'm gonna respectfully disagree since the current versions of both Smash and Mario Kart on the Wii U also cost that much if you buy them online, and they're superior in a lot of ways. For certain quirky or unique games, I get the rising costs, but games that have (better) more current entries shouldn't demand so much money, imo.

I agree that the newer entries have more content and should be worth more, but think of the people who don't want to spend $300 for a Wii U and then new copies of those games. People willing to spend $50 on N64 Smash or Mario Kart would only have to spend less than $100 for the console, and they also buy the game because of nostalgia. I know people who want the N64 Smash or Mario Kart, but also aren't aware of the new Wii U versions. And many people are cashing in on customers like that.  These are the type of customers who don't really research before they buy.

[M-Tee]

The more important thing to realize is that the generation that would have childhood nostalgia for N64 games has reached the age-of-disposable-income.

On top of that, considering that it's a first-party title for a franchise that is still popular, its pre-owned retail cost in the US was $30 at its point of least marketability in 2005/06, and the demand is higher today with a smaller supply, $50-ish bucks sounds completely acceptable--And a quick look at ebay sold listings tends to agree (around $40 each, many in bad shape).

That said, I wouldn't buy it--but I have no childhood nostalgia for the title, so I'm not its market. I just understand why it sells for what it does.

[Shumi Nagaremono]

Book-Off.  Grand total of 2,600 yen.

[zmaster18]

Nice. I wish I had access to a Book/Hard-Off.

[Shumi Nagaremono]

So many of them have started selling stuff at collector prices.  But not this one. 

I legit feel bad about some of my hauls from this place.  Three or four times this year, I've pretty well cleaned them out.  Not sure if that's bad etiquette.

[zmaster18]

Yeah, I heard prices are going up in shops like that in Japan. It's a damn shame. When I go to Japan in a few years, I bet it will be too late to scoop up dirt-cheap deals like that.

[fcgamer]

Yeah, I heard prices are going up in shops like that in Japan. It's a damn shame. When I go to Japan in a few years, I bet it will be too late to scoop up dirt-cheap deals like that.

Yeah, I am heading to Japan in October and I am (somewhat) afraid of what I will find, in terms of the retro gaming market. 

[Shumi Nagaremono]

Yeah, I heard prices are going up in shops like that in Japan. It's a damn shame. When I go to Japan in a few years, I bet it will be too late to scoop up dirt-cheap deals like that.

Yeah, I am heading to Japan in October and I am (somewhat) afraid of what I will find, in terms of the retro gaming market. 

If I recall correctly, you're visiting Osaka and Kyoto, yes?  I can't speak to the quality/availability of retro games around there.  However, it'd be nearly impossible to do any worse than you would in Tokyo.  Shoot-for-the-moon prices that dwarf what you'd pay on eBay, Yahoo Auctions, Amazon, etc.  And with however many thousands of people visiting every day, that stuff actually sells, so there's no reason to think it'll change any time soon. 

I'm right outside Tokyo, and (in general) any store that sells retro games that's within a few blocks of a major train station will have incredibly bad prices and generally terrible selection.  Stuff like 4-Player Mah-Jong for 1,000 yen.  Places that seem to price their cheapest carts at 500 yen, rather than 100. 

If the store's outside of Tokyo, and more easily accessible by walking (or by bus), you'll stand a much better chance finding the kinds of stuff that I post about. 

I wouldn't expect to find any of the top-tier stuff in bargain bins, but it does happen from time to time.  Supposedly some dude found Recca for 108 yen at a Book-Off not too long ago.  I snagged Ninja Turtles 2 and Tournament Fighters (SFC) for 250 each earlier this year

The chain I've been slowly sucking dry as of late is called ZEST.  Their selection is pretty good.  Their software is more than fairly priced.  They sold me boxed, complete Mega Drive and Dreamcast consoles for 4,000 and 3,000 yen, respectively.  Not sure if there are any locations in the area you'll be staying in, but it's worth the trip. 

Now, on to the haul I posted up there. 

The SFC games are mostly fighters I've heard good things about and most were only 100 yen each.  The Dragonball Z game w/ Majin Buu was 200, but it usually commands at least twice that in this area so, why not?  Work towards completing the set. 

Dragonquest III I just picked up because my CiB copy turned out to be missing the instruction booklet.  And, again, for 108 yen...sure. 

The Game Boy games are all 100%+ complete.  All the original paperwork is there (including adverts, and the Wario Stach stickers for Wario Land), plus stuf that WASN't supposed to be there.  Donkey Kong included the original registration pamphlet (w/ serial number) for the first version Game Boy console. 

It'll probably be a LONG time before I stumble into another haul like this one, and I couldn't be happier w/ it.

 

[fcgamer]

^^^When I see people posting the boxed Japanese Game Boy stuff, it really makes me want to collect it as well.  Does anyone know how many Game Boy games (b/w) were released in Japan?

I used to play Game Boy for hours on end, finally graduating from Tiger handheld games after my parents got me a GB for Christmas one year (...really it was late, maybe 1995 or 1996).  

I have a lot of good memories with Game Boy, love the box art style, love the games.  The whole thing just reminds me a lot of the good old NES / Famicom, which I also love dearly.

Nice finds bro!  If I were living and working in Japan, I'd probably be hitting up those shops semi-regularly.  I guess that means maybe I should find a Japanese girlfriend living in Taiwan, marry her, and convince her to move back home.  Hahaha.

[DDCecil]

Found these at the local thrift store!



$12.72 for 6 amazing games!

[UglyJoe]

SoM and FFIII for $2 each?  Wow.  Amazing find

[MaxXimus]

Amazing finds DDCecil! You can't find deals like that wher I live, or they are VERY few and far between.