Game Quest Direct - Good source for hard to find games

[Romier S]

I ran across this link over at GAF in a thread discussing new availability of Gitaroo Man, and other hard to find titles:

 

http://www.gamequestdirect.com/index.html

 

These guys deal in reprints and you'll find listings for some rare games like Rez, Cubivore, Disagaea for the PS2, and even Persona 2 on the original Playstation. I highly recommend taking a look at thier site if you're in search of some tough to find games. These are full factory sealed titles also. Not used in any way, and the prices are pretty damn good considering you don't have to deal with Ebay economics. (I ordered up Persona 2, and Disgaea)

[dogbert]

the prices are pretty damn good considering you don't have to deal with Ebay economics.

 

That's because they're printing them themselves

 

[added]

For these hard to find games, they've gone back to the publisher & bought the rights to reprint them for specific runs, paying good cash in the process. There was quite a controversy over their initial prints on the big collectors' sites. If it gets these games into people's hands at a better price than ebay & legally, I'm for it. Wish more companies would reprint their old titles.

 

This is a good article about their business.

[Mark E]

That's because they're printing them themselves

 

As in... pirating? Or something equally shady?

[Romier S]

hat's because they're printing them themselves

Yep, read a good bit about them before posting it here as I wanted to make sure it was legitimate. It's rather excellent if you ask me, and I'm in total agreement that more publishers should do reprints of thier popular titles instead of feeding the ridiculous prices some of these games go for on Ebay. Though GQD seems quite happy to sell of a bulk of thier inventory to Ebay sellers as well. Though if enough copies are circulation it will drop the price down which is always good.

 

As in... pirating? Or something equally shady?

No Mark. Read Brian's added comments.

 

EDIT: Ah, if only Sega would allow them to reprint Panzer Dragoon Saga. That article you posted was nice as well Brian. It notes some of the Working Designs out of print titles in the works, along with the possibility of seeing Suikoden II available at a decent price.

[Mark E]

Ahh, thanks for clarifying, awesome.

 

I may pick a couple items up from them myself. Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne and Persona 2, ironically

[dogbert]

Yep, read a good bit about them before posting it here as I wanted to make sure it was legitimate. It's rather excellent if you ask me, and I'm in total agreement that more publishers should do reprints of thier popular titles instead of feeding the ridiculous prices some of these games go for on Ebay.

 

There was a crazy thread about them on DigitalPress a while back when they printed Rhapsody (a game I've always wanted to play). Definitely above board, but a lot of collectors don't like it because of how it's affected ebay prices & because of the slight differences in the reprints (new PS1 prints, including theirs, don't have the same silver tear strip as the older prints - this is across the board, not just their games). Yes, that's enough to annoy some collectors.

 

Personally, I'm all for it. For PS1 games, there's something like 200 million machines sold that are there capable of playing the games. This industry needs to learn a lesson from the book & music industry - a strong active back catalog is a way of bringing in money. It's not going to generate millions of sales, there are only so many people interested in playing Rez or Rhapsody, but catering to them allows you essentially "free" income - the hard development is done, the approval is done, just reprint the damn thing in limited runs at a value price.

[Big Daddy Bling Bling]

Wow, that's really annoying. I hate that they're randomly devaluing rare games in my collection on a whim. I don't see it as any different than a company deciding to reprint rare baseball cards. It pretty much kills any legitimacy that collecting games might have as a hobby.

[ChrisBardon]

Wow, that's really annoying. I hate that they're randomly devaluing rare games in my collection on a whim. I don't see it as any different than a company deciding to reprint rare baseball cards. It pretty much kills any legitimacy that collecting games might have as a hobby.

 

How is that any different from reprinting comics, either as trades or reprinted singles? There are still collectors out there who want first printings. This is also no different than something like a Greatest Hits line. At one point, Final Fantasy Tactics was selling for a ridiculous amount of money on Ebay, since it had gone out of print. Sony made it a greatest hits title, and all of a sudden the price dropped.

 

Besides, how does collecting games become illegitamate when games become more readily available? Does someone else having access to a great game decrease the enjoyment you get from actually playing it, or is your thrill in collecting to be able to lord the fact that you have something rare over those that don't? I'll admit that I have some cool rarities in my collection, but even if those get reprinted or reoffered, I'll still have those games.

 

About the only way I can see someone having a legitamate beef here is if they'd shelled out a pile of money for a game on ebay, only to find that it's available from these guys at half the price.

[Mark E]

Yep, I'm in Chris' camp on this one. I don't think the point of collecting games is to have them appreciate in value, it's to appreciate them period. I paid $75 US to get my copy of Lunar: Silver Star Story way back when and if it got reprinted by these guys I wouldn't give a tinker's damn because it was fun and worth it to me to play it, and I'd rather other people got to find the same enjoyment from it that I did, period.

[Romier S]

I don't think the point of collecting games is to have them appreciate in value, it's to appreciate them period.

Well said Mark.:tu

[Big Daddy Bling Bling]

This is also no different than something like a Greatest Hits line.

 

Except for the fact that the reprints are almost indistinguishable from the originals. I wouldn't really care as long as the reprints had an ugly strip on them because at least the originals would stay rare.

 

Besides, how does collecting games become illegitamate when games become more readily available?

 

The same way collecting baseball cards would become illegitimate if Topps decided to reprint rare rookie cards and flip them on ebay.

 

Does someone else having access to a great game decrease the enjoyment you get from actually playing it, or is your thrill in collecting to be able to lord the fact that you have something rare over those that don't?

 

Umm, the point of collecting is to have rare shit. Playing games is a separate, but sometimes related activity. I don't have any intention of playing most of my rare PS1 RPGs, I just bought them because they were cool things to have. Also, there is pride in having found near mint copies of most of them for pretty cheap through pawn shop scavenger hunts. The fact that ebay is now flooded with cheap sealed copies of various games makes the whole exercise pointless, especially considering that I know anything I find that isn't a reprint yet is subject to becoming one in the future. Furthermore, the stuff I haven't been able to snag, like Tactics Ogre, can't really be considered for an ebay purchase because there's no telling if GQD will flood the market and cripple its value.

 

On the other hand, there are games like Max Payne that I appreciate playing, but are so common that there isn't much fun to be had in collecting them. Every once in a while there will be games that fall into both groups, like Guardian Heroes and Radiant Silvergun.

 

About the only way I can see someone having a legitamate beef here is if they'd shelled out a pile of money for a game on ebay, only to find that it's available from these guys at half the price.

 

Or if say.....someone was going to ebay their extra copy of a game and found out that the price had dropped from $130 to $27. The whole outfit seems sort of sleazy, as evidenced by this comment:

 

I used to think this was a service, but GQDs perpetual lying and gouging of the consumer pretty easily changed my mind. They price gouge on ebay before people realize what?s going on, and then when people figure it out they pawn off the leftovers to gamestop. I find it hard to believe that they wanted gamers to be able to play Rhapsody when they were selling them at 80-90 bucks a pop before the price bottomed.

 

I can't support GQD allowing buyers to think that they're purchasing a rare and out of print game at a price well above retail when GQD is sitting on piles of sealed reprints. If GQD were to:

 

1. Announce that the copies being sold are reprints

2. Brand them with some marking to distinguish them from the originals

3. Not gouge unsuspecting buyers who are unaware of the reprint by slowly releasing copies at ridiculous prices

 

I'd definately support them. As it is, I think their actions fall into the "legal but unethical" category.

[Tom]

I wouldn't really care as long as the reprints had an ugly strip on them because at least the originals would stay rare.

 

The originals are no less rare just because somebody reprints a copy of the game. True collectors will still pay the price for the original, so you are really only losing the ability to milk the non-collector for more money who just wants to play the game and probably toss the game when they are done with it. I'd rather the non-collector have access to the game for a reasonable price, personally, since I fall into that category.

 

Knock-offs is not a new concept, and at least it appears this company is trying to obtain the rights to do what they are doing, rather than the setups you see in mall kiosks with actual ripped copies of games being repackaged in a 100 in 1 deal with a joystick that plugs into your A/V ports on the TV.

[Big Daddy Bling Bling]

Meh.

 

What you fail to see is that they're also hurting the "non-collectors who want to play a game and toss it" that you describe. Say the market on Suikoden 2 is level and consistent at $130. Someone sees a sealed copy for $110 on ebay and thinks "Hey, that's a good deal, I can buy it, play through it, then maybe even sell it for a bit more than I paid". What this person doesn't know is that the game has been reprinted and will first be released in a trickle, later in a flood. The person plays the game over the next couple months, then when they go to recoup their investment, they find that Suikoden 2 only fetches $35 on ebay because the reprint flood hit.

 

PWN3d!

 

GQD drastically raised the cost of playing through this game by turning what would be a small market fluctuation gain or loss into a massive devaluation. The cost of owning the game if the person wants to keep it is lower than in a sans-GQD economy. However, the opportunity to essentially play through the game for free with a buy>resell is gone since the assurance that a game will hold its value is greatly reduced. The only people I see getting the benefit of this are those who want to collect games but don't care if their collection is rare/valuable. Straight up collectors are hurt by the existence of reprints indistinguishable from the originals in their collections, and people who just want to give the game a playthrough suffer a big financial loss if they're duped into buying at the wrong time.

[Union Carbine]

Big Daddy, compare this to the book market. If I want to read a copy of Twain's Tom Sawyer, I can buy a Penguin Classics copy for about $5. On the other hand, if I want to own a first edition, I'll be spending a lot more money.

 

For the resale oriented gamer, they can still take their chances on eBay as with anything else: buy the game for $25, try to sell it for $35. This situation doesn't really change because of the price drop.

 

What I think is a subtext to this whole thing is the collecting of games whose only virtue is that they're hard to find - in other words, without any other intrinsic value due to the greatness of the game, the cultural or personal memories connected with it, etc. I would expect the prices on these games (whether first edition or no) to go down in this situation.

[Anthony G]

From what I read on CAG, there are subtle differences (the seals), so hard-core collectors will probably still pay premium and the non-collectors benefit.

[Ryan FB]

From what I read on CAG, there are subtle differences (the seals), so hard-core collectors will probably still pay premium and the non-collectors benefit.

So how do you tell them apart if they're opened? BDBB's hypothetical gamer would still be hurt massively if there's no way to tell. The comparison to the book market wouldn't really work there either as, if once they're opened it's extremely difficult to tell them apart, it would be akin to someone printing copies of Tom Sawyer made to look like the first edition and slowly circulating them into the market and devaluing them.

[dogbert]

BDBB's hypothetical gamer would still be hurt massively if there's no way to tell.

 

Hypothetical collector. The gamer doesn't care as the gamer wants to play the game, not keep it as an investment.

[Anthony G]

So how do you tell them apart if they're opened? BDBB's hypothetical gamer would still be hurt massively if there's no way to tell. The comparison to the book market wouldn't really work there either as, if once they're opened it's extremely difficult to tell them apart, it would be akin to someone printing copies of Tom Sawyer made to look like the first edition and slowly circulating them into the market and devaluing them.

 

Very true, point taken. Another thing, and I'm probably wrong, is that there was mention that the reprints have the original print date and the reprint date. If I'm right, that is full proof.

[Ryan FB]

Hypothetical collector[/b']. The gamer doesn't care as the gamer wants to play the game, not keep it as an investment.

No, he also made a post discussing the fact that, if you have the money, buying a used copy of these ultra-rare games would normally not be a risky thing to do for someone who intends to play the game. Even opened copies of rare games can go for an absurd, but fairly consistent amount of cash. The logic is that you can buy the game for $130, play it at your leisure, then sell it back at around $130 once you're done with it. If people are reprinting these games with little to no prior notice and affecting the market, it makes doing this much more risky.

 

Hell, I've bought all sorts of games I wouldn't buy normally in order to specifically avoid the collector market that happens after the game goes out of print. I would have no problem with this if they were clearly indicating that the game was a reprint (print a classy-looking seal that says something like "Game Quest Classics Series" on the packaging and disc), but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[GreenMonkey]

Yep, I'm in Chris' camp on this one. I don't think the point of collecting games is to have them appreciate in value, it's to appreciate them period. I paid $75 US to get my copy of Lunar: Silver Star Story way back when and if it got reprinted by these guys I wouldn't give a tinker's damn because it was fun and worth it to me to play it, and I'd rather other people got to find the same enjoyment from it that I did, period.

 

:tu:

I've read plenty of arguing on cheapassgamer when GQD started posting their deals there. The only thing I didn't like was them not admitting in their posts that they worked there :mad: and not coming clean about how the reprints were occurring.

 

Sorry, but **** the collectors. The only reason collectors hoard the games are because they are rare and have big $ value. Once the reprints hit they drive the prices down to more reasonable ranges. Thus making the games no longer rare any more. I

 

f you really don't care about the value and just want the original and not a reprint, fine, go get a copy. Not hard, since the reprints don't have the label on the top and are discernable from the old copies.

 

I've never understood collecting things just because they were worth money, to be honest. So maybe I'm a bit shortsighted here. I collect rare RPGs because if I don't get them now, I'll be out of luck in the future. I hate that I can't play the $100 and $200 RPGs even if I wanted to. If they drop in value in the future, oh well, I guessed incorrectly.

 

This is the nature of buying video games - their pricing is volatile and can drop or skyrocket at any time.

 

You know what I want to see? A reprint of Panzer Dragoon Saga and some other Saturn titles. I've considered selling my Saturn because I can't afford any of the good titles.

 

I picked up Persona 2 from GQD and I'm happy with the purchase. I was just glad to get my hands on a hard-to-find and overpriced RPG for a more reasonable price. Bring on the Suikoden II and Valkyrie Profile reprints!

[Romier S]

I would have no problem with this if they were clearly indicating that the game was a reprint

I don't have any problem with it because I care nothing about what collector's interests are. Maybe that's a harsh and uncaring opinion to have, but just as some folks have shown dismay for the collector's situation, I can't help but show just as much dismay at a gamer having to shell out 130 dollars to play a fantastic game like Panzer Dragoon Saga. If this company reprints that game and offers it for 40-60 dollars I'll consider it a great thing that more Saturn owners can experience one of the best RPG's on the system.

 

Mind you, this is coming from someone that owns Burning Rangers, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and several other "rare" games that go for a good premium on Ebay. I own them not for thier value, but because I play them regularly. This company obtained the legal right to reprint these games and put them in more gamers hands. More gamers that can play Rez is a damn good thing to me. I'll gladly say what some folks may be thinking but don't want to outright say for fear of offending: I don't care how that affects the collector's market.

[Big Daddy Bling Bling]

If this company reprints that game and offers it for 40-60 dollars I'll consider that a great thing that more Saturn owners can experience one of the best RPG's on the system.

 

Yes, it would be nice if they did that. Instead they do their best to hide what is happening while slowly releasing the games to gouge as many people as they can at the $130 price point. There's a huge element of dishonesty in this that is totally unacceptable. The kind of market manipulation they engage in wouldn't be possible if the counter-party was fully aware of the specifics of the transaction.

 

Were they dealing in securities, an analogous situation would land them in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison. Since we're just dealing with videogames and GQD has no fiduciary duty to their customers or other market participants, the legality of this was never in dispute. However, you can't really argue that owners of the original games and those who buy reprints at inflated prices don't suffer negative externalities as a result of the actions under discussion.

 

So I propose this hypo: If you bought a reprint of Panzer Dragoon Saga from this company for $130 not knowing it was a reprint, would you be pleased when you could only resell it for $40 after you were done with it and the market was saturated?

[Robot Monkey]

Were they dealing in securities, an analogous situation would land them in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

 

If these were securities. They aren't. They're videogames. What am I missing here?

 

Some people decided to invest their money in videogames. Fine, I can understand that very well. But when you invest in things like videogames instead of, say, securities, you assume many risks. The game being reprinted is one of them.

 

As for being gouged only to discover that the game is a reprint, what kind of investor would drop money on anything without due diligence?

[Romier S]

However, you can't really argue that owners of the original games and those who buy reprints at inflated prices don't suffer negative externalities as a result of the actions under discussion.

Well that rightfully depends on whether such negative externalities are actually proven. I see commentary about this company price gouging customers on Ebay, but the source of these comments is spurious at best. I see no real evidence to support such claims, so we're dealing in speculation now aren't we? If someone is willing to provide some real evidence to the contrary, I can certainly understand the trepidation in supporting this companies business practices.

[Big Daddy Bling Bling]

If these were securities. They aren't. They're videogames. What am I missing here?

 

Maybe the very next sentence that you parsed out of the quote?:bok

 

As for being gouged only to discover that the game is a reprint, what kind of investor would drop money on anything without due diligence?

 

Institutional investors? Roughly 0%.

 

Casual investors analogous to the guy who just buys a game to play through it and then resell it? Probably an embarassingly high percentage.