Added All PAL PS1 & PAL PS3 Games

We've added all of the PAL (European) Playstation 1 and PAL Playstation 3 games to the site.

We have values and images for more than 90% of these games at this time with more to follow as we see sales data.

You can see prices for rare PAL exclusives like Yattaman, Rapid Reload and Hellnight.

Learn more about PAL exclusives you might want to try out with this video courtesy of MetalJesus



The Playstation 3 has it's share of PAL exclusives too and some of them are pretty valuable as well (like Ra.One). A few are more valuable in PAL then they are in NTSC region (No More Heroes and Legend of Heroes)

Xbox 360 and PS3 Games Are Worth Collecting Now

Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 already have some rare and valuable games (see Xbox 360's | see PS3's). With the launch of Xbox One and PS4, the time for the really rare/collectible games is upon us.

According to our research, rare games are five times more likely to launch in the last two years of a console's life than they are during any other time. As gamers move onto newer consoles the print runs become smaller for new releases. This increases the chance they will become rare.

There are many examples of this including Panzer Dragoon Saga for Saturn, Teen Titans for Xbox, and Flintstones Surprise at Dino Peak for NES. In general, about a third of the "most rare" games for any console were released in the last two years.

Xbox One and Playstation 4 launched less than a month ago (Nov. 22nd and Nov. 15th respectively). It is hard to imagine 360 and PS3 still being relevant in November 2015. So more than likely we are in the last two years of both Xbox 360 and PS3.

Not All Late Generation Games Will Be Rare

Not every game that comes out in the last two years will become rare, but your odds are much better than any other time.

To increase your odds even more focus on RPG or fighting games and limited editions. Data shows RPG's and Fighting games keep their value the best and have the highest chance of increasing in price. The same with limited edition games.

Which Games Will be Rare?

This is very hard to predict. Many of the games that will eventually come out are not announced yet. But I would focus on upcoming, RPG's or Fighting games or limited editions. Or best of all limited editions of an RPG.

Keep the games in brand new condition, do not open them. That helps increase rarity because most games are open in order to play. If you really want to play it buy a second copy.

Some announced games that are good examples:

Xbox 360
Dark Souls II
South Park: Stick of Truth
Fable Anniversary
Dragon Age
Lords of the Fallen
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z

Playstation 3
Tales of Symphonia Chronicles
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemist of Dusk Sky
Dragon Age
Dark Souls II
Persona 5
Ragnarok Odyssey Ace

Can you think of any upcoming 360 and PS3 games that you think will be hard to find in the future? If so let us know in the comments below.

The Ni No Kuni Fiasco & Value of Wizard's Edition

Ni No Kuni is a Japanese role-playing-game developed by Level-5 (makers of Dragon Quest IX and Inazuma 11 games) and published by Bandai-Namco. It has received great reviews with the gaming press. Unfortunately the special edition has turned into a public relations fiasco for Namco, but a collector's dream.

Ni No Kuni's special edition is called the Wizard's Edition and includes the usual special order type items - music CD, guide book, custom character figure, and the game itself. Namco originally started selling the Wizard's Edition in August 2012 on their e-commerce website.

On January 22nd the game released and the regular edition and Wizard's Edition were supposed to ship to customers. Besides small isolated stock issues, the standard edition has been readily available. The game resells for about $8-10 less than original MSRP, which is normal for a game four weeks after releasing. Wizard's Edition is a completely different matter.

On January 25th Bandai-Namco announced they had oversold the Wizard's Edition. Their website partner had continued accepting orders for the limited edition after the release date even though every copy had already been sold.

Namco said they would cancel all orders beyond what they could fulfill and they would offer $20 credits and free player's guides to all those customers.

At this time prices for the Wizard's Edition were $300-350. The $20 credit didn't sound like a very good deal compared to an item worth 15x that amount.

This same problem occurred with Kingdom of Amalur Signature Edition. They inadvertently sold 12 extra copies of this edition. Instead of canceling orders and sending token refunds, they created 12 "Exclusive Signature" editions that were even more rare than the originals.

Many people have asked Namco to do something similar, but at this point they have refused. If Namco ever does make new copies of the Wizard's Edition resale prices will plunge. In the mean time, Ni No Kuni Wizard's Edition is one of the most valuable PS3 games ever made.

Ni No Kuni Trailer and Images

Limited Edition Guide & Values for Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning

In February 2012 EA released Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. With the standard edition of the game they also released four special editions. Two are very rare and one is among the rarest games ever commercially sold.

Each limited edition is the exact same for each platform except for the game included inside. Each customer could choose which game was included inside so the number made for each platform was based upon customer demand. I have spoken with 38studios, the developer of the game, and they will not divulge the number of limited editions actually made per platform.

Assuming customer demand by platform is similar to Skyrim (another RPG released on the same platforms) 360 would be 50% of sales, PS3 32%, and PC 18%. The units available per platform listed below are based upon this assumption.

Use this Amalur Reckonging Limited Edition version guide to learn which version you have or verify you are buying everything included in a potential purchase.

The four limited editions listed below are in order of rarity:

Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning Limited Editions

• Kingdoms Of Amalur Reckoning: Special Edition - Quantity: 2,000
• Kingdoms Of Amalur Reckoning: Collector's Edition - Quantity: 700
• Kingdoms Of Amalur Reckoning: Signature Edition - Quantity: 300
• Kingdoms Of Amalur Reckoning: Exclusive Signature Edition - Quantity: 12

Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning: Special Edition

See Prices & Historic Sales by Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

QUANTITY: 2,000 (360: 1,000 | PS3: 640 | PC: 360)
PRICE RANGE: $90-130
INCLUDES:

• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckonging Game
• Parchment map of Amalur's Faelands
• Amalur themed 7-piece dice set and dice bag (D20, D12, 2x D10s, D8, D6 & D4)
• Set of 40 Destiny Cards
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckonging Soundtrack
• Bonus Downloadable Content - Fate Touched Weapons Pack

Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning: Collector's Edition

See Prices & Historic Sales by Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

QUANTITY: 700 (360: 350 | PS3: 224 | PC: 126)
PRICE RANGE: $250-375
INCLUDES:

• All items in Special Edition
• Limited Edition McFarlane Toys Prismere Troll figure
• Original lithograph signed by Ken Rolston

Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning: Signature Edition

See Prices & Historic Sales by Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

QUANTITY: 300 (360: 150 | PS3: 96 | PC: 54)
PRICE RANGE: $450-750
INCLUDES:

• All items in Collector's Edition
• Troll Figure is Signed
• 1 of 300 individually numbered Todd McFarlane sketch screen-prints (looks like image above)

Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning: Exclusive Signature Edition

See Prices & Historic Sales by Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

QUANTITY: 12 (360: 6 | PS3: 4 | PC: 2)
PRICE RANGE: $1,000-2,900
INCLUDES:

• All items in Special Edition
• Troll Figure is Signed
• 1 of 12 individually numbered Todd McFarlane sketch screen-prints (looks like image above)

MORE INFO: 38 Studios sold these limited editions exclusively on their website. The Signature Edition sold out, but they mistakenly sold 312 instead of 300. Instead of canceling 12 orders or making more of the Signature they created an Exclusive edition with a different sketch print. This edition was given to the first 12 people to respond to this email from 38 Studios:

"Earlier this month, we announced the Reckoning Limited Editions, and the response from our fans was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and supportive. The Reckoning Signature Editions were so immensely popular that all 300 sold out in less than five days. In the process, due to an unexpected issue with our store system, we accidentally oversold our stock for the Reckoning Signature Edition by 12 units. It’s extremely important to us that none of our loyal fans—you—miss out on the items you ordered as a result of our mistake, so we want to assure you that will not be the case."

"So, what are we doing to resolve this? We’re making sure you get what you ordered, and for a handful of fans, a little something more. We’ve put together an extra special Reckoning Limited Edition package for 12 lucky Reckoning: Signature Edition customers. The first 12 customers to respond to this email will be upgraded to the Reckoning: Exclusive Edition bundle."

Rare Playstation 3 Games | Most Expensive PS3 Games

The Playstation 3 has some of the rarest and most valuable games for the current generation of consoles. Below is a list of the PS3's most rare and most expensive titles.

The list is ranked by average sales price per game in new condition.

Click for Prices For All Playstation 3 Games

Most Expensive Playstation 3 Games

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter Edition

New Price: $3,700 Used Price: $1,050
Before the release of Uncharted 2, Sony announced they were giving away 200 copies of an Uncharted 2 special edition. The only way to win the special edition was by playing the demo online during one of the promo weekends in October 2009. Everyone who entered an online match was automatically entered and 200 winners were randomly selected. The Fortune Hunter edition includes the game, a guide book, an art book, and a replica knife.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

NBA Elite 11

New Price: $1,500 Used Price: $1,000
For 2011 Electronic Arts tried to revamp their basketball franchise from NBA Live to NBA Elite. Elite 11 was supposed to be released in time for the 2011 season but it was officially cancelled November 2010 after numerous glitches and delays. EA had sent samples to some retailers but not every copy was returned after cancelation. So far only eight copies have surfaced, which makes it the rarest game on this list but the exact number of copies in existance isn't known.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Fallout 3 Survival Edition

New Price: $355 Used Price: $299
The Survival Edition of Fallout 3 was sold exclusively through Amazon.com. It included the same items as the regular Collector's Edition; Fallout 3 game, Vault-Tec lunch box, Vault Boy Bobblehead, artbook, and making of DVD; but the Survival Edition also included an alarm clock replica of the Pip-Boy 3000. The number of copies produced is unknown.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

SOCOM 4: Full Deployment Edition

New Price: $240 Used Price: $110
SOCOM 4's FUll Deployment Edition includes the game and a sharp shooter gun. The gun includes Playstation Move motion controller, navigation controller, Playstation Eye Camera, and the gun to hold the pieces. All of these pieces sell seperately but the whole package sells for a premium.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm: Limited Edition

New Price: $230 Used Price: $79
This anime fighter had a PS3 exclusive limited edition. It includes a SteelBook case, game, soundtrack CD, numbered Laser Cell with Naruto and Sausuke, and two exclusive trading cards. When originally released this only cost $10 more than the regular version but now sells for almost $200 more.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Demon's Souls Deluxe Edition

New Price: $188 Used Price: $68
Atlus is known for making rare, collectible video games because of their small print runs. But after its amazing success Demon's Souls went on to get additional print runs. The Deluxe Edition was never reprinted though. It was only available to pre-order customers. It includes the game, strategy guide, limited edition case, art book, and soundtrack.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Assassin's Creed II: Master Assassin's Edition

New Price: $180 Used Price: $125
Assassin's Creed II: Master Assassin's Edition includes an 8" Ezio statue, an art book, a behind-the-scenes DVD, a collectible tin, and two exclusive in-game maps. It was only sold at GameStop stores for $79.99.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition

New Price: $170 Used Price: $73
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition includes working night vision goggles. It puts all the limited editions with figurines and art books to shame. The Prestige Edition also includes the usual collector's case, art book, and digital content too. The game and all the goodies sells for $20 more than the original price.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition

New Price: $140 Used Price: $90
MW2 had night-vision goggles in its Presitge Edition. Black Ops tried to top it with a working RC car with surveillance camera. It also includes the game, a medal, artbook, and limited edition case. This edition sold brand new for $149 so it has decreased in value from its initial launch.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition

New Price: $120 Used Price: $69
The Batman video game that comes in a bat shaped collector's box. The limited edition also comes with Batarang, leather bound journal, and code for a downloadable map. The batarang is for display purposes only and cannot knockout enemies or be upgraded like in the game.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Assassin's Creed Limited Edition

New Price: $120 Used Price: $66
The limited edition for the original Assassin's Creed includes the game, special edition tin case, figurine of Altair (the main character), Penny Arcade comics, strategy guide, and a collection of Assassin themed videos and short films. New copies of the Playstation 3 game sell for almost double the original MSRP of $69.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Hyperdimension Neptunia

New Price: $110 Used Price: $69
One of only two commercially released non-limited edition games on the list. Hyperdimension Neptunia is an RPG made exclusively for the PS3 and released by NIS America. The plot of the game plays off the "Console War" between PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360. The world is called Gameindustri and the regions are Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition

New Price: $90 Used Price: $75
GTA IV's Special Edition includes a GTA duffle bag, GTA IV safe deposit box with keys, art book, and soundtrack. The spcial edition almost makes you feel like a mobster. This game hasn't appreciated in value like other ones on the list. It sells for the same price as the original MSRP.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Infamous 2 Hero Edition

New Price: $90 Used Price: $70
Hero Edition of Infamous 2 has dropped in value $10 from its original $99 price. This edition includes a sling pack like the one in the game, a character statue, the game, a mini-comic, a voucher for exclusive in-game items, and a digital soundtrack.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel

New Price: $80 Used Price: $67
The lowest priced game on the list, but definitely the hardest to pronounce. This is the last game in the Ar Tonelico trilogy and the only one released for the PS3. Ar tonelico Qoga is a Japanese RPG with real time battles and was released by NIS America in early 2011. This title is very likely to get a re-release at some point because it is selling for more than retail price only six months after release.

See Most Recent Price & Historic Prices

Rare & Inexpensive Playstation 3 Games

• Where the Wild Things Are - Used Price: $7
• Tornado Outbreak - Used Price: $8
• History Channel Civil War: Secret Missions - Used Price: $15
• Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon - Used Price: $16
• Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War - Used Price: $22
• Afrika - Used Price: $23

Expensive PS3 Game/Controller Bundles

• The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition - Used Price: $148
• Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition - Used Price: $139
• Rock Band 3 Keyboard Bundle - Used Price: $120
• Rock Band 2 Bundle - Used Price: $112
• The Beatles: Rock Band Special Value Edition - Used Price: $100
• Rock Band Special Edition - Used Price: $95
• Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Super Bundle - Used Price: $85

See What Your Games Are Worth

Click for Prices For All Playstation 3 Games
Read about the rarest video games of all time

See Prices For All PS3 Games. PriceCharting.com has daily updated prices for every Playstation 3 game and most PS3 consoles and accessories.

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Is NBA Elite 11 Worth $1,800?

A seller has a sealed copy of NBA Elite 11 listed for $1,800 on eBay.

The most recent sale was for $1,500 on August 2nd 2011 so $1,800 would be a pretty big increase in only a few weeks.

But when the game first appeared in the wild in February 2011 it was selling for $300-375 in brand new condition so maybe the game is continuing the same fast paced appreciation.

How Many Copies Are There

The big question collectors are asking with NBA Elite 11 is "how many copies are actually out there?"

As a reference, Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition also for PS3 has 200 copies in existence and recently sold for $2,000 brand new.

There have been nine auctions for brand new NBA Elite 11 so the game might be super rare and worth much more than Uncharted 2: FHE. BUT the game was never officially released and was never supposed to exist so we have no idea how many actually exist. If EA has hundreds of boxes of this game in a warehouse the game is only worth several hundred dollars at most

As a collector there is tons of upside to NBA Elite 11's price, but a much bigger risk too. If you don't there are only about 10 copies in existence then Buy, Buy, Buy but if you think Electronic Arts will release hundreds of these in some charity auction someday then stay far away.

What do you think? Will NBA Elite 11 be the rarest game this generation or will more copies show-up? Let us know in the comments below.

PS3 Network Outage Causes Resale Prices to Decline

Sony's Playstation Network (PSN) has been down for three weeks after hackers breached the online gaming network. Sony is working to bring the network back online, but in the meantime PS3 owners can't play any of their games online. No online multi-player in Call of Duty Black Ops. No online basketball games in NBA 2K11. And no online missions in Battlefield Bad Company II.

Online multi-player is one of the most popular features in lots of games. With this feature disable on all Playstation 3 games are gamers changing their buying patterns? Do they decide not to buy PS3 games and instead buy the Xbox 360 version?

We analyzed the resale prices for the ten most popular online games on PS3 and Xbox 360. Looking at prices the day the outage started and three weeks later to see if demand has changed for PS3 and Xbox 360 games.

Resale Prices During PS3 Network Outage

The average price of the Playstation 3 games dropped 7.4% during the study, from $24.10 to $22.31. While the average Xbox 360 game increased in price 0.7% at the same time, from $22.49 to $22.66.

It looks like demand for PS3 online games has decreased while demand for Xbox 360 online games has increased because of the Playstation Network outage. Without the online features the Playstation 3 online games are not as valuable.

Data Sources:
The list of most popular online games came from data published April 11th by Major Nelson.
The prices came from VideoGamePriceCharts.com for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 20th and May 11th.

NBA Elite 11 is a Super Rare Video Game

There is a new rare game for Playstation 3 fans to collect - NBA Elite 11.

NBA Elite 11 sells for about $300 used and $350 new and only eight copies have sold so far.

Why is this game so rare and will it be a good collectible in the future?

NBA Elite 11 History

NBA Elite 11 was developed at Electronic Arts as a reinvention of their NBA Live series of basketball games. The game was originally slated to come out in September 2010 to coincide with the start of the new NBA season, but it was delayed due to quality issues.



In November, EA officially canceled the game and said any future NBA games would be handled by a different developer. BUT a few copies were sent to retailers as samples. AND a few of those samples made their way to eBay.

I've contacted two of the sellers who listed copies of this game and both confirmed they were samples from Electronic Arts but apparently it is the complete version of the game.

How Rare is NBA Elite 11?

With games like this it is hard to say how many copies actually exist. When a game is canceled the publisher stops marketing efforts so copies of the game will no longer ship to retailers or reviewers. Anyone who had a copy is generally supposed to send it back to EA so it can be destroyed.

Right now there are eight confirmed copies of the game in the wild, but more copies can come on the market at any time. Other retailers or reviewers might still have copies they can decide to sell, or EA might decide to sell all their copies at some point.

For now, the game is probably the rarest Playstation 3 game - even more rare than Uncharted 2: Fortune Hunter Edition and Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition. which had 200 and 1,000 copies respectively. BUT there is a risk that at some point thousands of copies of the game will flood the market.

Do you think it is worth the risk? Will it stay a super rare game?

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Xbox 360 and PS3) Hands-On

Castlevania has always been a critically acclaimed series. No matter what system it's on (NES, SNES, PS1, PS2, etc.) the games are great. Now, let's just ignore the fact that any 3D version of the series was ever made. Seriously, let's forget it.

2D is where Castlevania is best, we can all agree to that. But with this new entry in the series, a 3D game could be just what the doctor ordered. First of all, Castlevania Lords of Shadow is gorgeous. Everything has a shine in the rain, the stone floor gathers puddles, and the enemies look hairy and ferocious. This game is a visual masterpiece.

Now, let's talk about the gameplay. It's just as good. Imagine a Dante's Inferno mixed with Zelda, mixed with God of War. The game is simple enough to pick up and play, with only two attack buttons, and it never seems to get stale. After a long sitting with hack'n'slash games I start getting bored. That's not the case with Castlevania.

Konami, with the help of Kojima Productions (Metal Gear Solid series), has crafted a well balanced game. At one point you're fighting against a werewolf in a small village, then you're riding a mythical horse while being attacked by Wargs. It does an excellent job of giving you a new gameplay style between all the hacking and slashing.

And to top it off, the cinematics are excellent. But what else would be expect from Kojima? After all, pretty much the entire 2nd half of Metal Gear 4 was a well crafted cutscene.

All in all, Castlevania Lords of Shadow has just moved very high on my list for the 2010 year, and that's a lot considering there are Nintendo 3DS launch games, Donkey Kong, Halo, Call of Duty, Metroid Other M and Little Big Planet 2 this year.

The Grinder Review (Xbox 360 and PS3)

When it comes to Nintendo Wii shooters, there are only a handful of games that warrant your money. So when High Voltage Software released a trailer for The Grinder, found at the bottom, the Nintendo fan world went nuts.

Fast forward to today, The Grinder is now being developed for the Xbox 360 and the PS3, but as a game like Gauntlet with guns. We got our greasy little mitts on the game and we can tell you, despite our disappointment that the Wii FPS version of the game has been put on quasi-hold, we are quite excited for The Grinder on Xbox 360 and PS3.

The game is best played with friends, either on the same console or online (a feature they promised), due to it's co-op nature. This particular demo was heavy on the guns and blood (what good zombie/vampire/werewolf/Frankenstein game isn't?) and it was a serious blast. Pun sadly intended.

The demo allowed all four players, two brute men and two sexy ladies, to cycle through all the currently available weapons at will. There were plenty of blaster guns, flame throwers, grenades, and rockets. Not to mention a baby doll grenade that attracted all vampires (we told you this game was awesome) that made us laugh. Each character also has a melee weapon(s) that allowed for some devastating close combat.

So rest assured, we here at VGPC are quite excited for both the mysteriously missing Wii version and the playable Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. And after talking to the High Voltage guys for almost an hour, we can attest to their commitment. The only issue, we have to wait until October...2011.

Playstation 3 Eyes-On 3D Games

3D is certainly the go-to catch phrase in the video game industry these days. Avatar, (the highest grossing movie ever) was released, Nintendo just announced a Nintendo 3DS, and Sony announced that pretty much every first party game coming out this year would be 3D enabled.

We all know how these games play, as they are all pretty much sequels, so we'll skip the gameplay. The real question is, how do these games look?

I played two of the 3D enabled PS3 games on the show floor today and I can say they are currently shooting 50/50. When I played Motorstorm: Apocalypse, I tried it on 2 occasions, it seemed almost too hectic. I'd like to think I can handle a fast paced game and properly follow the action, but this was just a little too much.

Motorstorm, as a game, just had too much going on in the environments for my head to comprehend what was going on. I literally started feeling a little woozy after only 2 races.

Killzone on the other hand was a beautiful game in 3D. Motorstorm is a fine looking game too, but Killzone really made the 3D effects come to life. I think the game was far less crowded and far more polished. So at least Killzone gives me hope for a positive future for Motorstorm, and other PS3D games.

So all in all, 3D can work on the PS3, and it can work really well. The key is that it has to be done right. If you have the funds to afford a 3D capable TV, 3D glasses, a PS3, and any of the games that allow it that is.

Have any questions, fire 'em off in the comments.

Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition: Most Expensive PS3 Game

Current generation game consoles have a new "Most Expensive Game" and its for the Playstation 3: Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition. It has sold for as much as $1,526.

Back on October 16th 2009, Sony announced they were giving away 200 special edition copies of Uncharted 2. They called it Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition.

The package includes the Uncharted 2 game, a guide book, an art book, and a replica knife.

Sony would give it away to 200 random people who played Uncharted 2 online October 17th and 18th. In late December the winners received their copies of this rare PS3 game and a few listed them on eBay.

The game quickly became the most expensive Playstation 3 game, and more expensive than any Wii or Xbox 360 game too. On average Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter has sold for about $800.

If Sony keeps this a true limited edition with only 200 copies, it should easily keep its collectible value and will remain THE most sought after PS3 game.

Thanks to JUGGALOTUS for letting us know about this game on our most expensive playstation 3 games article.

Resident Evil 5 Collector's Edition

Capcom has released information about the Collector's Edition version of Resident Evil 5. It is NOT one of those collector's editions with just a special cover. Capcom went all out including the bonus disc, limited edition box, Steel Book, Resident Evil figurine, Tricell tote bag, BSAA patch, Kijuju necklace, and the game itself. The Limited Edition version sells for $99 for Xbox 360 and PS3 but $30 extra for all this bonus material doesn't sound too bad.

Plus we've shown that limited edition games are a good deal for gamers in previous blog posts.

And lastly RE5 looks like an incredible game. Resident Evil 4 was one of my favorite games of all time. I'm considering buy the RE5 Collector's Edition just as a thank you to Capcom for number 4.

Guitar Hero World Tour In Short Supply

Guitar Hero World Tour came out a couple of weeks ago and it doesn't look like the economy is hurting sales at all. The full band package with the guitar, drums, and game is selling so well it is hard find at retailers even though it is an almost $200 item.

The Wii and 360 versions are selling for more than MSRP. The Wii Guitar Hero World Tour is selling for $277 on average and the 360 version is selling for about $200 (just slightly over retail price). The Playstation 3 version is the only one where resale prices are below the suggested retail price. It's selling for $163 on average.

If you already own a Guitar and just want to buy the World Tour game or Guitar Bundle you don't have to worry about trying to find the games, they are plentiful and resale prices are below MSRP. Following the trend for most games without supply issues.

The prices appear to be coming down from October to November so Activision must be shipping more of these to stores.

Collecting 101: Review Score Is Important Factor In Video Game Resale Prices

Just like new cars drop in price when you drive them off the lot, the resale prices of video games drop in price the day you buy them. In fact the resale price of video games released in 2007 dropped 0.24% per day. But do well reviewed games drop as much as poorly reviewed ones? We set off to find out.

For our analysis we looked at every game released in 2007 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii. A total of 322 games. We then gathered resale price data from VGPC.com and review scores from metacritic.com for each game. We then charted the review score vs the price change per day for every game to see if there is a trend (Every trendline show below is statistically significant with 99% confidence. See discussion below for more details). The chart below shows all the data points:

Click Chart For Larger Image

There is an obvious trend with the lower the review score the bigger the price drop per day. Based upon the data, a game with a review score of 90 points would be predicted to drop in price 0.19% per day, while a game with a 50 review score would drop 0.24% per day. This might not seem like a huge difference but after a year the great game would sell for $16.70 and the bad game would sell for $7.38. The same basic trend holds true for each console too:

Xbox 360 Games: Review Score vs Resale Price

Click Chart For Larger Image
Xbox 360 games had an average review score of 68.7 and dropped in price 0.24% per day. A game with a 90 metacritic score drops 0.21%/Day and a 50 reviewed game drops 0.27%/Day. Also worth noting, in 2007 the 360 had the highest average review score of the three main consoles.

PS3 Games: Review Score vs Resale Price

Click Chart For Larger Image
PS3 games had an average review score of 61.6 and dropped in price 0.24% per day also. A Playstation 3 game with a 90 metacritic score drops 0.18%/Day and a 50 reviewed game drops 0.27%/Day. The PS3 is statistically the same as the 360 in terms of the price drop per day, which makes sense because many games on the 360 are also available on the Playstation 3.

Wii Games: Review Score vs Resale Price

Click Chart For Larger Image
The average Wii game had a review score of 45.7 and dropped in price 0.22% per day. A Wii game with a 90 metacritic score drops 0.16%/Day and a 50 reviewed game drops 0.22%/Day. The average Wii review score is below 50 so companies are making quite a few bad games for the Wii. But at the same time the Wii has the lowest percentage drop per day. Maybe all those casual gamers keep the resale prices up.

Why does this matter to the average gamer though? The video games you buy are a depreciating asset. If you are the sort who trades your games in to buy new ones or sells them online after you beat them, be sure you don't procrastinate selling your games.

Now developers and publishers take note too. If you make a game with a good review score it will sell at a higher price for longer. We only analyzed resale prices but it makes sense that the bigger the difference is between used prices and new prices, the more people are going to buy the used game. You will have to keep lowering prices to sell the game. Another good reason to STOP MAKING BAD GAMES.

Nerd Discussion Below. Warning! Here is some more info for math/stats people out there who want to know all the details about the regression. For the complete dataset (the top chart) the r-squared is 0.0539, so only about 5.4% of the price variation is predicted by the review score. The trend is statistically significant though with a p-value of 0.000025, way below the .01 needed for a 99% confidence level. Here are the other r-squared and p-value numbers:


With this type of data we wouldn't expect one variable to predict a very large portion of the price changes so we think 5.4% is pretty good. In the future we would like to run an analysis with more variables in hopes of improving the r-squared. We are considering using these variables in future analysis:

• Days since released - price drops usually slow down the longer a game has been available
• Publisher - certain publishers like Atlus tend to publish games that keep their value
• Serial game or not - games that come out every year like sports titles drop in price faster
• Is it the last year of the console's life - games released in the last year of a console's support tend to become rare and don't drop in price

Hopefully with more variables we can increase the r-squared and be able to predict the changes in resale prices with more accuracy.

This is part of our video game collecting 101 series.