Games

[piyo]

There is a boundary which you should be aiming for, a short time period that separates these two states, while stocks have shrunk and the large retailers are trying to get rid of an old title in order to make space for new ones.

You nail it right on the head, but too bad there's no quick quide that tells you such-and-such game got price slashed at a major chain.

This is the game that I, too, play at the playgrounds in Nipponbashi / Osaka Den-den Town and of course Akihabara whenever I get a chance to go. I regularly visit Sofmaps here in Osaka and Kobe when grepping for game deals. I don't visit other major stores (like Yamada denki? Yodobashi camera?), or maybe I'm not aware of them. But gaming's not my only passion these days, so I pass on some games even though they're new but bargain basement.

Actually I don't mind used games, as long as the covers are the originals and cheap or it has an extra (rare or exclusive) goodies (omake) attached. I once bought the Psyvariar Special Sound Box (game plus audio CD) used for about 6400 yen, and I think it was the first time I found it within the months I was looking for it. I should have just bit the bullet when it first came out. I think I'm not as discriminating as Alex when it comes to the "new or used" question. For me, new if cheap, used if extra goodies.

And yeah, I didn't get an Ico until I heard the fever, then I finally succumbed to a used copy with original cover . Good job on the "new" find.

I was hoping for some insight on how to actually figure out if the game is a first run or not. Video games aren't tagged like books as far as print runs go, right?

---
piyo

[icycalm]

This is the game that I, too, play at the playgrounds in Nipponbashi / Osaka Den-den Town and of course Akihabara whenever I get a chance to go. I regularly visit Sofmaps here in Osaka and Kobe when grepping for game deals. I don't visit other major stores (like Yamada denki? Yodobashi camera?), or maybe I'm not aware of them. But gaming's not my only passion these days, so I pass on some games even though they're new but bargain basement.

I am also much more relaxed about buying games these days. The first year or so In Japan I was just stunned at the amount of games available and the huge number of bargains, so I spent all my money there. Now I have enough games to last me a couple of years at least, so I just buy the best stuff, and not simply everything, as before.

Actually I don't mind used games, as long as the covers are the originals and cheap or it has an extra (rare or exclusive) goodies (omake) attached. I once bought the Psyvariar Special Sound Box (game plus audio CD) used for about 6400 yen, and I think it was the first time I found it within the months I was looking for it. I should have just bit the bullet when it first came out. I think I'm not as discriminating as Alex when it comes to the "new or used" question. For me, new if cheap, used if extra goodies.

Yeah, I have a this medical condition that makes me always go for new stuff, if it's available and I can afford it. So far I haven' Good job on the Psyvariar Special Sound Box. I've been looking for one of those for a while now. The music in the first Psyvariar is better than that of the second, I think.

And yeah, I didn't get an Ico until I heard the fever, then I finally succumbed to a used copy with original cover . Good job on the "new" find.

I didn't manage to find a new Ico, I got a used one (the new game I mention in the article is Katamari Damashii). But I am pretty happy with the condition of my Ico, god bless the Japanase kid that had it before me.

I was hoping for some insight on how to actually figure out if the game is a first run or not. Video games aren't tagged like books as far as print runs go, right?

No, I don't believe they are. That's why a bunch of collectors in the US were furious when a company decided to acquire the licences of several extremely rare PS1 and PS2 titles and reprint a whole bunch of copies. They were indistinguishable from the originals, and the collectors' copies lost a whole lot of value overnight.

Can't remember the name of that company right now, but it was widely reported in Siliconera and other places.

[bullethell]

I still remember (after 4 years) my bad luck when a friend of mine grabbed Guardian Hereos SAT JP brand new, sealed and unopened for 1 (yes one!) euro!!We were in an old videogame store where the owner wanted to get rid of some retro stuff.My friend saw it first and got it, because he bought many consoles and retro stuff the owner priced this game one only euro!I wanted to kill him!I managed to get a used saturn Pal model for 15 euros, a mega jet and some dreamcast games and a Green Gobllin arcade stick pretty cheap among with many third parties saturn pads and other console accesories.