What’s up with the Saturn market? Prices seem all over the place.

[attakid101 | 267]

I’ve only recently gotten into Saturn collecting. But in that short time I’ve seen prices bounce around like crazy. The whole scene appears to be very volatile.

I remember passing on House of the Dead for ~$150 and now it’s over $300

I picked up Magic Knight Rayearth for ~$300 then it shot up to over $400 then back down to $300 then over $600(!)

I paid less than $600 for Panzer Dragoon Saga and shortly after that I saw it shoot up to $800-$900–so is that the new asking price? Of course not. I fully expect it to drop back down to $600 at some point.

Got Albert Odyssey for $120 and now it’s trending over $250

These are just a few examples. I can list loads more.

Now I know there are pricing factors to consider—like condition, variants, hype, etc. But these fluctuations seem extreme even with those variables in mind. 

Has the Saturn market always been like this or is this just an anomalous trend? Will things eventually stabilize? Do any of you Nintendo fanboys even give a shit? 

Haha seriously though, where are my Sega nerds?

 

[Tabonga | 2,313]

One thing to keep in mind with many of the best games on the Sega CD,  the Saturn and the Dreamcast was that they were put out at the very end of each platform's life.  Once it became known each  platform was going to die fewer copies were made of the last game releases.  For example  Panzer Dragoon Saga*, Magic Knight Rayearth and Burning Rangers were hard to find in stores even when new.  (There were only 12 new US Saturn game releases in 1998.)

With limited numbers it is not surprising that there can be major fluctuations since an even minor change in demand will impact a very limited supply.

*Panzer Dragoon Saga had a US release run of slightly under 20,000 copies - which explains why it is such a bitch kitty to find.

[ginoscope | 14]

Market is probably hot right now because people are home and stimulus money.  I love the Saturn but I hardly own any of the US games.  My main Saturn has a Rhea in it.  I did pick up a few Saturn games recently from a friend and I was surprised at the going rate for some of these games.  Like Tabonga mentioned some of these games have always been expensive.  When I got into Saturn in 2002 games like Panzer Dragoon Saga was a $200 game even then.  I remember people would say buy the game play it and pass it on.  Basically a $200 rental at the time ha ha.

[Tabonga | 2,313]

20 minutes ago, ginoscope said:

Market is probably hot right now because people are home and stimulus money.  I love the Saturn but I hardly own any of the US games.  My main Saturn has a Rhea in it.  I did pick up a few Saturn games recently from a friend and I was surprised at the going rate for some of these games.  Like Tabonga mentioned some of these games have always been expensive.  When I got into Saturn in 2002 games like Panzer Dragoon Saga was a $200 game even then.  I remember people would say buy the game play it and pass it on.  Basically a $200 rental at the time ha ha.

I have a lot of Saturn games (including many of the biggies*) - but only because I got them either new or used when they were still available new,  Being an old geezer has some hidden advantages.

*Including all 4 of the dragon force discs.

[Silent Hill | 276]

I think it's such a niche system from a big player at the time that games are legit scarce and that causes heavier swings along with demand. 

[tbone3969 | 304]

I love the Saturn and it is a great system to collect for.  Anyone know why Mega Man 8 is worth so much on it compared to the PSX version?

[profholt82 | 60]

I highly recommend importing Japanese games, for the non-RPG/text heavy games anyway. While the Saturn floundered in the US, it was a massive hit in Japan, so the games are much more plentiful (over 1000 games released) and inexpensive there. And you can play foreign releases on a North American Saturn with any save or ram expansion cart like an Action Replay for instance, they bypass the region lock. 

If you're mostly into the collecting aspect or whatever though, yeah, the rarer US Saturn games have always been expensive. And the fluctuations on the heavy hitters are just part of the fun. Hahaha

[GPX | 1,369]

I get the feeling prices of general retro games are volatile due to a chain reaction from the media hype and public recognition of the price jumps in the rare NES games, WATA grading hysteria, Heritage Auctions excitement..

Sellers across the board of retro games, are expecting everything to follow suit. Some buyers will agree, some buyers won’t. Hence volatility ensues.

[Tabonga | 2,313]

1 hour ago, profholt82 said:

I highly recommend importing Japanese games, for the non-RPG/text heavy games anyway. 

There were other types of games?????

[RH | 4,895]

I've paid attention to Saturn for a while because I want to unload 90% my collection.  When I started seriously collecting as a hobby in 2016, I went for a full set of GB carts as my main objective.  As as secondary goal I chose to possibly full set Saturn with time, but I wish I had done a bit more research.  I buy games to collect AND play.  I like stuff in near-mint shape, but rarely gem mint condition because I'll then be less inclined to play those games.  Well, I went in heavy on Saturn and knocked out many of the heavy hitters, and other sizable lots with moderate to cheap titles, then when I started playing them and researching the media I learned how cheap and frail the discs are, so I'm sitting on these games looking to move them.

I don't move them much though because of this volatility, which has been consistent for about as long as I've owned these games and has gotten a bit crazier since about Q4 last year.  Anyway, I do plan on moving my stuff, but value is trending upwards so I'm in no rush.  Right now, my games are just shelf candy.

Another point about the volatility of the top-shelf items is that I think a lot of collectors do pay attention to what they are getting.  For instance, I think you'll get a lot better price if you have Albert Odyssey with the registration card.  It wasn't attached, IIRC, and there was also an insert flyer by Working Designs that's a bit hard to find.  If you have those items with your game, it's going to bump up your price.  With MKR, there are three different discs and there are the stickers.  A complete game with all stickers intact and a specific disk might go for a bit more if someone is hunting for a specific disc.  Multi-discs was common with Working Designs, so some variants can go for more.

Speaking of variants, my Albert Odyssey has the Gryzz disc.  I've been told it's just as common as the full cast disc, but every time I check, either one or none of the Gryzz discs are available compared to the 3-5 other copies available.  I'd like to hear from someone who knows about these things and isn't trying to buy this game off of me, is Gryzz more rare and realistically, is it more valuable?

[kell | 102]

I'm actually thinking of selling my small Saturn collection.

Anyone know about the Panzer Dragoon Saga variants?  I've got the white sleeve version.  Is one variant more desirable?

[attakid101 | 267]

1 hour ago, kell said:

I'm actually thinking of selling my small Saturn collection.

Anyone know about the Panzer Dragoon Saga variants?  I've got the white sleeve version.  Is one variant more desirable?

I’ve heard that the white sleeve version is harder to come by. But I don’t know that it effects the price too much.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,011]

It just went insane a couple months ago. I picked up a few games in January and they've all doubled in price. Just wait until next November and they'll all probably be half price again. It's a crazy market. 

[attakid101 | 267]

3 hours ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

It just went insane a couple months ago. I picked up a few games in January and they've all doubled in price. Just wait until next November and they'll all probably be half price again. It's a crazy market. 

I’m with you. As much as I’d like to believe that I got in early enough to avoid the crazy price jumps, I think the more sensible explanation is that these are temporary spikes that’ll level out soon.

[jxmx3 | 11]

If / When anyone is ready to get rid of their Nice copy Panzer Dragoon Saga, im definitely interested, maybe we can work some thing out?

[LutherDestroysTheGond | 690]

On 4/30/2020 at 11:41 AM, tbone3969 said:

I love the Saturn and it is a great system to collect for.  Anyone know why Mega Man 8 is worth so much on it compared to the PSX version?

Much less common and additional content that wasn't on the PSX disc

[phart010 | 1,705]

4 hours ago, LutherDestroysTheGond said:

Much less common and additional content that wasn't on the PSX disc

3 Reasons:

-Rare mega man game

-Wood man
-Cut man

Because of the additional content, I don’t know why this isn’t the definitive version of the game..

[tbone3969 | 304]

On 5/2/2020 at 4:39 AM, phart010 said:

3 Reasons:

-Rare mega man game

-Wood man
-Cut man

Because of the additional content, I don’t know why this isn’t the definitive version of the game..

I see now.  Thanks.  Weird that the Saturn version isn't on any of the Mega Man collections.  Any one looking to sell their Saturn copy?  If so hit me up.