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List: "That one game that's more common than the system itself" List


RH

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After a comment I threw out on another post, I figured I'd create a fun list we could build together.  I'll update it as discussions move along but for any given system, what are the one or two games that are so common, it feels like there are more copies of that game floating around than actual, working systems themselves?  Not every system has a such a game, but consoles and handhelds where a game was packed in for years probably feels that way.  We're talking about games so common, you should never buy them as one-offs.  You will certainly get them, even in good condition, in lots or with the console when you pick one up, for practically free.

To be clear, I'm not talking about cheap sports titles, or other dirt cheap games people have.  Those types of games aren't necessarily common.  It's just that no one wants them.  I'm talking about the titles that seem to show up in most lots and everyone had when they bought their console. Conversely, some of these might not be the cheapest games for a system.  Just because a game is as common as dirt, doesn't mean it's not an enjoyable game, and some people might want a copy just because they loved it so much as a kid.

I'll kick of the list, but feel free to add extra consoles and titles. Feel free to disagree/debate my choices.  I'd just like a solid list of the super-commons.

Atari 2600: Pac-Man

Atari 7800: Pole Position

Atari Jaguar: Blue Lightning

Nintendo Entertainment System: Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt, Dragon Warrior

Nintendo Game Boy: Tetris

Nintendo Virtual Boy: Mario's Tennis

Nintendo Wii: Wii Sports, Wii Fit

SEGA Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2

SEGA Genesis 32x: Star Wars Arcade, Doom

SEGA Game Gear: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

SEGA Saturn: Daytona USA

SONY PlayStation: Grand Turismo

Turbo Grafx 16: Keith Courage

 

Edited by RH
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13 minutes ago, austin532 said:

I disagree with Super Mario 64. While it's very common it's not as common as other games like lets say Shadows of the Empire. SM 64 surprisingly still fetches a good price. $30 range.

Yeah, I was on the fence about that one.  IMHO, it is one of the better games for the system, which is no doubt why it can go for $30.  Still, everyone had that game.  I've not eBay searched N64 lots for a while, though, so my assumptions of commonality could be wrong.

Any one else who's been heavily collecting N64 lately want to weigh in on that title?

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51 minutes ago, Lincoln said:

Atari 2600 is pac man. Combat is probably up there too.

Definitely.  I almost added that one myself, but I don't have that much experience with collecting for the 2600.  I sure did recall seeing it a BUNCH in my subconsciousness in lots, though.

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Mario Tennis for the Virtual Boy.  1:1 release of that game in the US too, wasn't a Japanese pack-in though.  Given how many systems in all were made, given the failure rate over time especially with the glue on ribbon thing if someone was just dumb and pitched it instead of figuring it out, odds are there are far more working Tennis titles than systems that can use it now.

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On 12/27/2019 at 4:41 PM, RH said:

Yeah, I was on the fence about that one.  IMHO, it is one of the better games for the system, which is no doubt why it can go for $30.  Still, everyone had that game.  I've not eBay searched N64 lots for a while, though, so my assumptions of commonality could be wrong.

Any one else who's been heavily collecting N64 lately want to weigh in on that title?

I can't comment as a collector, but I worked for a retro re-seller store for several years and from my anecdotal experience I can definitely say that SM64 was much harder to come by than the system. For most of my time we had a steady flow of 64 consoles come through our store, but at no point did we ever have a large quantity of SM64 on hand. I don't know why, but many of the small collections lacked that game when they arrived at the store. I would definitely say that probably one of the Maddens better fits this category than SM64. 

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32 minutes ago, DarkTone said:

Is this the same as "the most common game on each console"?

Not quite. The idea is the games that are so common, you tend to find more of the given game than working consoles.  So, it’s only partially the same since these are all likely to be the most common games for a give console, however, not all consoles might have such a game.

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5 hours ago, Nes Freak said:

every sports game ever made.

See my initial comments.

Sports titles are cheap and accessible because no one wants a 10 year old game with an old team roster.  They are basically trash.  That said, there are not more FIFA 2002s than there are PS2s.

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