Avengers Increases DVD Prices 48% for all Avenger Heroes

The Marvel characters who make up the Avengers are Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, and Thor and all of them have their own movies before The Avengers came out this past Friday, May 4th. Resale prices for these DVD's in new condition increased 48% after Avengers came out and unit sales jumped 27% too.

Reason for the Big Increases

More than 17 million people saw The Avengers during its opening weekend and it grossed a record setting $207 million in three days. After seeing the new movie, many of these people decided to buy the DVD's for the individual characters as well, which increased demand.

Supply wasn't able to increase as quickly as demand did so prices increased to compensate - Economics 101.

Methodology:
Price: The price shown is the average price for a brand new DVD sold on eBay. The 'before price' is during the last week of April and the 'after price' is the average from May 4th to May 9th.

Units Sold: This is the average number of units sold per day on eBay and only includes new condition DVD's. The 'before' and 'after' time periods are the same as those used for the price calculations.

The DVD's used in the analysis were Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, The Hulk, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Thor.

Skylander Figure List & Collecting Guide

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure first launched October 12, 2011 in Australia for the PC. It has since spread worldwide and released on the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo 3DS, and Mac OS. It is slated to launch in Japan later this year. This title is the definition of a blockbuster and employs marketing techniques from several different series allowing for unparalleled success.

Activision has stated that they have already earned over $200 million in the US alone and are gearing up for a sequel, Skylanders: Giants. This game is redefining gaming, marketing, and collecting in one fell swoop. How did they do it?

Skylander Gameplay

For starters, it is a great game to play. It is fun, it looks good, and it is available across every major gaming console. The story is written by Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen, both of whom worked on Pixar's original Toy Story film, guaranteeing appeal to children and adults alike.

The controls are easy to pick up and the game is fun and fast-paced but long enough to allow for time investment and sentimental attachment. It has colorful characters and is a stark contrast to today’s video game market oversaturated with bloody, gritty war simulations. The PC version earned a 93.00% aggregate score on GameRanking.com.

Skylander Marketing

Activision has outdone themselves and everyone else in the gaming industry with the marketing behind this project. They worked with Nickelodeon to create a tour as well as heavily invested in their own website and web games.

However, the number one marketing ploy that they have utilized is an incredible media blackout on their shipments for figurines. Release dates are hard to track down and they do not even tell their vendors what they are going to be sending them. Each shop has something different. Some stores do have exclusives and some exclusive are later on revealed to not be exclusives at all. This combination of misinformation and lack of information creates an interesting mix and is the exact same as the marketing employed to sell Beanie Babies.

Skylander Collecting

Just how many figurines are there? This is a hard number to find, but there are 70 know Skylander figurines. That number includes all known variants, items, promos, sidekicks, and levels.

Collecting the figures is not just for completionist purposes, these figures often unlock something in-game. They are tangible DLC (Downloadable content). You actually have to buy them to continue on in the game itself. However, several of these figurines are simply rarer variants that function the exact same in-game as their more common counterparts. Nowhere on the box does it say that, though. All of this is just part of the mystique.

Gamestop has realized the value of these figures and recently started buying and selling used figurines to capitalize on the success of the title. If you want each of these figurines, be prepared to spend several thousands dollars.

Below is a complete list of the 70 known Skylander Figures

List of Skylander Figures

Skylander Characters:
1. Lightning Rod (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
2. Sonic Boom (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
3. Warnado (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
4. Whirlwind (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
5. Bash (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
6. Dino-Rang (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
7. Prism Break (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
8. Terrafin (Pirate Seas Adventure Pack)
9. Eruptor (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
10. Flameslinger (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
11. Ignitor (3DS Starter Pack ,Single Pack, and Triple Pack)
12. Sunburn (Dragon's Peak Adventure Pack)
13. Camo (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
14. Stealth Elf (3DS Starter Pack, Single Pack, and Triple Pack)
15. Stump Smash (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
16. Zook (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
17. Dark Spyro (3DS Starter Pack)
18. Double Trouble (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
19. Spyro (All Starter Kits except 3DS)
20. Voodood (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
21. Wrecking Ball (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
22. Boomer (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
23. Drill Sergeant (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
24. Drobot (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
25. Trigger Happy (All Starter Packs except 3DS)
26. Chop Chop (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
27. Cynder (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
28. Ghost Roaster (Darklight Crypt Adventure Pack)
29. Hex (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
30. Gill Grunt (All Starter Kits except 3DS)
31. Slam Bam (Empire of Ice Adventure Pack)
32. Wham-Shell (Single Pack and Triple Pack)
33. Zap (Single Pack and Triple Pack)

Skylander Legendary Characters:
34. Legendary Bash (Legendary Triple Pack Toys'R'Us Exclusive)
35. Legendary Chop Chop (Legendary Triple Pack Toys'R'Us Exclusive)
36. Legendary Spyro (Legendary Triple Pack Toys'R'Us Exclusive)
37. Legendary Trigger Happy (Legendary Single Pack Toys'R'Us Exclusive)

Skylander Items:
38. Anvil Rain (Empire of Ice Adventure Pack)
39. Sky-Iron Shield (Empire of Ice Adventure Pack)
40. Time Twister Hourglass (Darklight Crypt Adventure Pack)
41. Healing Elixir (Darklight Crypt Adventure Pack)
42. Sparx the Dragonfly (Dragon's Peak Adventure Pack)
43. Winged Boots (Dragon's Peak Adventure Pack)
44. Ghost Pirate Swords (Pirate Seas Adventure Pack)
45. Hidden Treasure (Pirate Seas Adventure Pack)

Skylander Levels:
46.Darklight Crypt (Darklight Crypt Adventure Pack)
47. Empire of Ice (Empire of Ice Adventure Pack)
48. Pirate Ship (Pirate Seas Adventure Pack)
49. Dragon’s Peak (Dragon's Peak Adventure Pack)
50. Volcanic Vault (Best Buy in the US, GAME and Gamestation in the UK Single Pack Exclusive)

Skylander Sidekicks:
51. Whisper Elf (Summer 2012 release)
52. Trigger Snappy (Summer 2012 release)
53. Terrabite (Summer 2012 release)
54. Gill Runt (Summer 2012 release)

Skylander Promo Variants:
55. Flocked Stump Smash (Frito Lay Spring 2012)
56. Metallic Cynder (Toy Fair 2012)
57. Pearl Hex (Toy Fair 2012)
58. Translucent Blue Bash

Skylander Random Collectible Color Variants:
59. Silver Boomer
60. Silver Dino-Rang
61. Silver Eruptor
62. Gold Chop Chop
63. Gold Drill Sergeant
64. Gold Flameslinger
65. Clear Wham-Shell
66. Clear Cynder
67. Clear Stealth Elf
68. Glow-in-the-Dark Warnado
69. Glow-in-the-Dark Wrecking Ball
70. Glow-in-the-Dark Zap

When you purchase any color variant, you must beware. Only buy them sealed in their box. Anyone with a can of spray paint can create a rare color variant. That is why Activision has changed the variants to harder-to-fake versions such as clear or glow-in-the-dark to reduce the likelihood of forgery but you can never be completely safe. Be careful when buying these figurines. You can lose a lot of money with one fake purchase. All of the collectible color variants and promo variants are valued at anywhere from $500 to $900 each. Never pay more than $30 dollars for any individual Skylander figurine unless it is a variant. The Legendary characters are worth more.

It is also important to remember that this is not a stable market at all. Prices vary wildly day-to-day and something that sells for $5 dollars today can sell for $50 tomorrow. This will even out after the hype dies down but right now, this is a seller’s market and buyers should expect to pay a premium price to get what they want to complete their collections.

Cover Art Added for Atari 2600 and PC Games

This morning we added cover art to our site for the vast majority of Atari 2600 and PC Games. With these additions roughly 95% of the pageviews on our site will show the game's cover art.

I think the cover art makes each page look nicer. They can also be helpful at times to identify games if you aren't very familiar with the title.

 If you see any cover images that are incorrect while browsing the site, please let us know so we can correct it.

12 Rare & Valuable Adult Video Games

Today, retailers won't carry a game that receives an ESRB rating of "Adults Only" so video games very rarely receive this rating. Developers will alter the game to get back down to a "Mature" rating and ensure customers can actually buy it.

In the 70's, 80's, and early 90's there was no ESRB, but adult video games were still not very common. Many retailers wouldn't sell them and console manufacterers wouldn't grant licenses to adult games either. A few adult video games were made for consoles though and quite a few of them have become rare and very valuable as collectibles.

Below is a list of the rarest and most valuable adult video games:

Rare Adult Video Games

Peek-A-Boo Poker [NES]

Complete Price: $1,200 | See Current Prices
Peek-A-Boo Poker is a five card draw poker game with different erotic reward scenes for every $1,000 in winnings. Each scene is a picture of a partially clothed woman with a phrase riddled with sexual inuendo like "I know you have a Straight for me".

Peek-A-Boo Poker was published in the United States by a company called Panesian, who also released three other games on this list. The game was only sold via mail order to video rental stores. It was never sold to the general public and only avaialble via rental until rental chains started selling off old games they could no longer rent.

Hot Slots [NES]

Complete Price: $1,200 | See Current Prices
Hot Slots is a slot machine simulator with partially nude images as rewards for different monetary milestones. The more money you earn the less clothing is shown in the reward images. Each image also has a thought bubble, which usually contains a double entendre like "Get ready to score my jackpot."

Hot Slots was also developed by Panesian and like their other two games is available in very limited quantities. Complete version of the game include a one page instruction leaflet that explains how to play the game. That one piece of paper can increase the price of the game by $200-300.

Bubble Bath Babes [NES]

Complete Price: $1,000 | See Current Prices
Bubble Bath Babes is similar to Tetris and Puzzle Bobble. You rotate rising bubbles of different colors so more than four bubbles of the same color are touching and they disappear. Like the other two Panesian games, the nudity occurs after receiving a certain score.

All three Panesian games were unlicensed. Nintendo wouldn't approve publishers making adult video games, but Panesian was able to release them without the license. Being unlicensed limited the distribution channels and production capabilities for the game, which helped make it very rare.

X-Man [Atari 2600]

Complete Price: $400 | See Current Prices
In X-man you must manuver a man through a maze avoiding crabs, scissors, and teeth until he reaches a pink door in the middle. After reaching the door you are rewarded with a simulated sex scene.

X-man was the only game published by Universal Gamex. It sold very poorly because it wasn't covered by the gaming press or sold in many retail stores. It is considered one of the rarest Atari 2600 games of all time.

Bachelor Party [Atari 2600]

Complete Price: $199 | See Current Prices
Bachelor Party is similar to games like Arkanoid but instead of a ball bouncing around the screen it is a man and the blocks are replaced by women in a "sexy" pose. The graphics are so poor that it is hard to even tell the "sexy" pose is even a woman.

The game was developed by Mystique, which sold its games as "Swedish Erotica" even though they were made in the USA. The company went out of business in 1983, along with most other video game developers of the time.

Jungle Fever/Knight on the Town [Atari 2600]

Complete Price: $110 | See Current Prices
Jungle Fever/Knight on the Town is a double sided Atari 2600 game from Playaround. Both sides of the cartridge can play a different adult video game - Jungle Fever on one side and Knight on the Town on the other.

In Jungle Fever you play a nude woman hovering over a burning forest who must lactate out the fire. In Knight on the Town, you must build a bridge to a waiting princess while avoiding gremlins.

Philly Flasher/Cathouse Blues [Atari 2600]

Complete Price: $100 | See Current Prices
Another double sided cartridge from Playaround featuring Philly Flasher and Cathouse Blues. In Philly the Flasher you play as two men who try to catch a woman's breast milk as it falls down the screen.

In Cathouse Blues you try to score with seven different woman but must remember which house they live in without going into the houses with alarms. Along with all other Playaround games, this one sold very badly when initially released and is renowned for its horrible game-play.

Custer's Revenge [Atari 2600]

Complete Price: $66 | See Current Prices
Custer's Revenge was developed by Mystique. General Custer must dodge aerial attacks to make it across the screen and have sex with a naked woman tied to a pole.

Custer's Revenge was the very first video game controversy. The game looks like it depicts Custer raping Native American woman. It was renounced by many women's groups and Native American groups soon after its release. In spite of the controversy and publicity the game sold poorly.

Beat 'em and Eat 'em/Lady in Wading [Atari 2600]

Complete Price: $55 | See Current Prices
After Mystique closed down, they sold their game rights to a company called Playaround, who used the game concepts to make some of their double sided Atari 2600 games. This double cartridge includes Beat Em and Eat Em (originally released by Mystique) and Lady in Wading, which is the same concept as Knight on the Town but with a female lead.

In Beat 'Em and Eat 'Em you play a naked woman who must catch semen before it hits the ground. It is infamously known as one of the worst games ever created.

Bachelorette Party/Burning Desire [Atari 2600]

Complete Price: $50 | See Current Prices
The last of the Playaround double sided games to appear on the list. Bachelorette Party and Burning Desire mimic concepts seen early in this list but with the roles reversed.

Bachelorette Party is similar to Bachelor Party but with a woman bouncing around and hitting naked men. Burning Desire is like Jungle Fever but you are a man who must use his semen to put out the fire instead of using breast milk.

Riana Rouge [PC]

Complete Price: $31 | See Current Prices
Riana Rouge is a full motion video adventure game with full nude death scenes and horrible acting. A woman is pushed out the window after accusing her boss of raping a fellow employee. During the fall she is transported to another world where she becomes a seductive warrior.

Riana Rouge is one of the few video games actually released with the "Adults Only" rating. Because of the AO rating, the game was never widely distributed and sells very rarely in the secondary market.

The Guy Game [Xbox, PS2]

Complete Price: $25 | See Current Prices
The Guy Game is a trivia game with live action footage of women in bikinis after every question. The footage was shot during spring break at South Padre Island. When the game starts the breasts are blurred but as you answer more questions correctly they became uncensored.

The Guy Game was pulled from retailers shelves after a female contestant on the game revealed she was only 17 at the time. Lawsuits insued and a judge granted a restraining order which prevented the publisher from selling or distributing the game anymore.


The list is ranked by the highest average price for the game in complete condition (includes the original game, case, and manual) and then highest average used price in the event of a tie.