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What makes a game stand out as either good or bad
RealPlumpBox:
an object is only worth what someone will pay for it. Yeah in a guide it may say "game x is valued at $350.00" But that price means absolutely nothing if people are not willing to pay that.
This goes for pretty much everything from games to baseball cards to cars.
kingjohn3:
I think what I'm trying to figure out is which games are most in demand besides the obvious? What are the hidden gems? I've see racketboy's hidden gem list but surely there are more than that. What do you guys think qualifies a game as being one of "the best"? I think publisher (some are simply better then others), graphics (do they pop), music (does it add to the atmosphere), fun factor. Is there anything I'm missing? I think I'll re-title the post if I can
Linksgard2:
First of all, video games are a horrible long-term investment. So if that's your intent I would look for something else.
But to answer your question, big name titles (mario, zelda, sonic, etc...) will always sell slightly higher than the average simply because of name recognition.
Otherwise there's not any way to really tell when a game will be worth more or not. Limited releases and/or collectors editions will usually be worth a little more, but not always (halo 2 collectors edition for example, only sells for a few dollars more).
One of the biggest factors towards value will be pop culture, earthbound is a perfect example of this. It's not rare, it wasn't a smash hit when released, and for a long time was pretty much worthless, until a few years ago when its name suddenly started circulating around the internet.
Firepower 2000 is another great example, it rose over $20 in value when the AVGN did a video about it, and still hasn't quite stabilized. But thats just about the only thing that could ever make it worth more than a few bucks. Once again, its not rare, wasn't super popular, and didn't cost too much.
Also, hidden gems are usually not worth a lot.
Just go on ebay and look at "completed listings" to see what a game usually goes for right now, thats really the best judgement of something's [online] value.
kingjohn3:
I'm not looking to get rich at all off of my collection just to get the best of whats out there for both systems, in other words trim the fat from what I have and finish it off. I'm looking at SNES games like Mr Nutz, Oscar, Zero, Boogerman, Twisted Tales of Spike McFang, etc. Mostly platformers. Anyone have any thoughts on these?
Ozzy_98:
They're all the same. Any difference between is too small to measure. Price charting can give you a rough idea of what's been on ebay and game gavel, but I'm not sure that's what you want. All rarity guides are guesses and can be way off, or things change. Like look at Wisdom Tree games on nes, used to be different cart colors meant something, then they find a box of OEM labels, they get ebayed. and now people have both blue and black carts out the wazoo.