Rarest Game Ever?

[Lawrence]

Recently I was contacted by someone claiming to be a researcher for a TV program, and they were interested in my opinion (as a somewhat disreputable seller of pre-abused crap) of the rarest game ever.  Here's my response:


Hi <name deleted>.

While I don't have these games in stock, the rarest games are not really well known, if you ask ten people you'll probably get ten answers.  This is the problem with rare things - not everyone's heard of them, and what's rare is almost by definition unknown.

Then there's the matter of definition; are we counting only commercial releases?  No fan-made games or unreleased softs, but what about promotional titles, like the Gran Turismo promo recently released through Toyota dealers?  Japanese gamers are used to special promotional games, like the special version of Magical Drop 2*, featuring DJs from a Tokyo radio station, that regularly sells for over $600 in Japan.

Rare games are going to be most often tied to rare consoles; anything made for the Halcyon is going to be absurdly rare; nothing released for the SuperNES can even compare.  

What's rare one day can become suddenly common the next; a PC Engine game called Circus Lido was in feverish demand, a friend of mine paid over seven hundred dollars for a new copy, only to find Amazon in Japan had 120 of them in stock for $40.  Someone somewhere found a warehouse shelf of the things and the value, and rarity, was suddenly very different.

I was recently unfortunate enough to be involved in a conversation where the top-10 rarest game consoles were being decided, and things like the Taiwanese Super A'Can was on the list even though an electronics surplus/wholesaler** was dumping them at $2 each at one point.  Presumably the system's more common in Taiwan, but no one involved in the discussion know anyone in Taiwan who could verify.

Edge magazine has recently run a series of retro articles discussing rare games for the MegaDrive, PC Engine and Saturn, but they relied on resellers and collectors, both of which have a vested interest in maintaining high values in their games.  

The only way to get accurate reflections of a game's rarity is to get production numbers from the manufacturer, and they're notoriously reluctant to give that information out.

All that said, since most games receive print runs in the tens of thousands, there's not really any game that can be considered rare, they're just more sought after than others at any particular time.  The rarest game I've had in stock recently was Sapphire for the PC Engine, and it's not really rare, just expensive.  $400 is about the least you can expect to pay.  I've got some Tokyo Game Show promotional cartridges made by Compile to show off an unreleased game, complete with a playable level and show-only title screens, but this wasn't released - does it count?

The kind of answer you're looking for I imagine isn't the one I've got.  Rarity is a subjective matter in the absence of hard facts and, sadly, there are no facts, just opinions and observations.

That said if you need anyone to debunk someone else's opinions I'd be happy to offer my opinions on other peoples' lists.

Thanks for asking,

Lawrence.

* Should have mentioned this is a SNES title.
** Should have mentioned this is a US company.

Also should have mentioned the neo carts like Chibi Maruko Quiz (or whatever it's called).
 

[martianviking]

I agree.  It's just too complex of a question.  If the person really wanted an answer, they'd need to set a lot of very strict conditions.  Two very important ones would probably be (1) what systems to consider and (2) whether or not the games need to have been officially licensed by the system's manufacturer.

The answer they were probably looking for was, "What is widely regarded as the rarest and most sought after game for a video game system that I have actually heard of?"  I doubt they even considered the possibility that there could be unlicensed or homebrew video games out there.

[CAsmithers]

There is an 8-bit NES porn game that was supposed to be the most collectable game. I could find it if I tried but I'm lazy right now. I laughed when I saw it on a rare-game site. Then I actually looked on Ebay and it was up for bid!! It sold for about $700 if I recall correctly. That is some big money.

It was a game that looked like Columns with bubbles, haha. And there was a nekkid chick in the background... well the outline of a chick!

Then people talk about the Tengen Tetris... you can get one of those anytime if you tried. THEN there is the game series that was produced by the early Galoob boys. Any of the early unlicensed games for the NES seem to be pretty valuable.

[MDX]

The other thing is what is 'Rare' is not the same thing as what is 'Desirable'. Take Radiant Silvergun, goes for a fair amount of money, but is it rare? Is it feck. Oregon and Basic, rare yes? Expensive yes? Desirable? Hell no....

Same with the Megadrive, in Edge they had a Megadrive article and they interviewed a shop which strikes me as strange as they are only going to want to shift wares, none of the games they mentioned are that rare, desirable, uncommon and expensive, yes. Rare no. Rare is stuff like Japanese WWF RAW or Maximum Carniage where the numbers produced are tiny and to save money they just recycled the European boxes... just sticking on a new T number and a barcode on the box and making a b&w manual and a Japanese cartridge. The Wondermega MIDI cartridge is probably damn site rarer... ^_^;

Still one day I'll find a copy of Japanese FIFA soccer on Megadrive...
 

[DieHard GameFan]

Basically, "rarity"(aka false rarity) comes down to what part of the world you live in.  Some things may be more available than others in other parts of the world.  Now, I know that the internet has closed the gap, but lets face it there is still a gap.  The gap may not be in availablity, but it is in price.  Just look on ebay.  For instance, an Evangelion game for the DC was on eBay for the price of $52.99, but the same game was going on Yahoo Jp for 510 yen.  

Also, there is a difference between rarity and obscurity.  Like you said in your above post, anything that has to deal with the RDI Halcyon is very very rare, but the system is not obscure at all.  There is all kinds of information about this system on the internet, and a lot of people know about it.   Now, take the Super A'Can.   The system is extremely obscure, not many people have heard about it, type this in google and you will get about three sites that actually has any info on the Super A'Can, but apperantly if it was being sold for $2 it can't be all that rare.  

Another thing, there has to be strict rules as to what can and cannot be accepted.  Clones and variations?  Homebrew games?  Only original items?  I think we can all agree that the HiSaturn Navi and Samsung Saturn are rare, but we can also agree that the Sega Saturn is far from rare.  This is where most of the problems occure.

Last but not least, for something to be truly rare (aka ture rarity), I believe it has to be difficult to find no matter what part of the world you are in.  If something is rare in the US, but common in Japan then can it really be considered rare?  Same goes for any other part of the world.  I can only think of a few Items that are truly rare, items like the RDI Halcyon, the Adventure Vision, and the Pioneer Seed.  All of the Items are extremely hard to locate no matter where you go, and that is what makes them rare.


   

[Lesmot]

You know you could've given an answer, but chose to play semantics instead, wasting time defining the terms. You know what the question meant.

[Lawrence]

To whom are you responding, Lesmot?

[Endymion]

You know you could've given an answer, but chose to play semantics instead, wasting time defining the terms. You know what the question meant.

I would've expected that the question were coming from someone seeking a mandate for their "rare" categorization of something, personally. Lawrence gave a factual answer as the person presented it as a question of fact.

[Guest]

Summer festival '92: Recca, a Star force-style shoot 'em up. It's rare. Veeery rare.

[Lawrence]

Summer festival '92: Recca, a Star force-style shoot 'em up. It's rare. Veeery rare.

Not that rare, I can go buy one in Akihabara tomorrow if you've got the cash.  All the Palcom softs for MSX are rarer than that.

[Guest]

Yes.

[manu_pkp]

Good points NFG, and I agree.

Just for the heck of it, I'll throw in "Taxi 2 Le Jeu" for Dreamcast. At least for the modernish systems. Dreamcasthistory.com claims "Only released in France. Perhaps among the lowest production numbers of any commercially released game."

If anyone knows better, I'd be interested.
 

[D-Lite]

Rare games, huh?  Turns out the rare games are usually the crap games, like Darius Alpha.  People mistake good, high demand games for rare.  I'd love to slap every idiot eBay seller that calls Dracula X for PCE "teh uber rare!!!!".

Truly rare games:
Euro Kizuna Encounter AES for Neo-Geo
Magical Chase US version
Pocket Reversi UK complete for NGPC

How rare?  Basically, it could take you 1 year to find any of those games.  

You want really rare, try the hardware side.  Lawrence knows what I'm talking about.
HiSaturn Navi
PC Engine Duo Monitor

stuff like that (and Lawrence, if you ever find a BOXED Duo Monitor, please, please, PLEASE let me know)

[MegaMan]

The rarest game of all time has to be the World Championship cart for the NES.  There was only 116 of them ever made.  Ive seen 1 on eBay in all my years of collecting and it went for over $2500.  If you had a gold one of these, you get at least double that.  The Panesian games, the ones with nudity that someone described above, dont even come close to the rarity of the WC cart.

[Lawrence]

And your WC cart doesn't come close to the rarity of Kevtris, a Tetris clone for Coleco made by guy in his apartment.  Hey, some PCEngine games that had only 25 produced, they say - they're rarer than WC too.

And a friend of mine has written games and only given copies to friends...  Wouldn't they be rarer also?

My point was it's all moot 'cause you can keep on narrowing the scope of the definition of 'rare' until the games awarded the label are, essentially, completely arbitrary.

[fafling]

Just to add a note about the relativity of rarity : "Taxi 2" for Dreamcast may be rare in other parts of the world, but it can be found easily here in France (for example check this).
Now, is this game desirable? I don't think so because it's pure crap.

[FM-77]

It was a game that looked like Columns with bubbles, haha. And there was a nekkid chick in the background... well the outline of a chick!

That's "Soap Panic" a.k.a. "Bubblebath Babes", a really boring game. Developed by Color Dreams (they've had many names, and they still exist today).

[Blaine]

As has been pointed out - Only real way to quantify 'rarity' is, unfortunately, by price.

Lawerence has the point nailed. At what point in time does a game count? If one copy of a game exists, it's literally unique. You will only find one copy of my magnum opus (eh) "Wheelchair Ninja VS All", because I only ever made one.

The only game I ever made that was rarer is Super Ninja Poker Puzzle Battle, which exists in 0 copies.

Zero is less than one, therefore rarer.

Numbers have to have a quantative value as well as a qualatative value.

Is Doug Flutie the greatest kicker in the history of the NFL? While being notable as a very short CFL/NFL Quarterback, statistically he's one of the most accurate kickers in history. He attempted 1 extra point and converted it for an astounding 100% accuracy.

Is he a better kicker than Mike Vanderjagt (who is 344 of 346 attempts for a monsterous 99.4%)?

Hell no. He has 100% based on a single bullshit, bushleague play.

Still 100% is greater than 99%.

Although the question was broched, we will never be able to decide on a minimum 'attempt' at existance (the same way the NFL would impose a "Most Accurate Kicker with at least 50 attempts, or something" or baseball would declare a "Best batting average with 100 at bats"). We'll never be able to say 'Rarest game with at least 1,000 copies in existence' because that information just isn't-

A) Readily available (we can dig for it on the internet but are those numbers really...)
B) Verifiable

Unfortunately, the closest we'll get to figuring out what game there is the least of is via supply and demand - the price.

It sucks, it's stupid, but that's really it. A copy of Radiant Silvergun might not - in the great grand scheme of things - be worth $150. And it's not really rare because it's readily available. But it's inherent value is greater than a copy of Final Fantasy III (which probably exists in fewer numbers) if only because it's a game that sells for $100.

It's a stuipd way of looking at things but it's the only way that realistically works.

Then you have the whole problem of 'what game is most expensive' because that's based solely on what one is willing to pay... which is whole nother pain in the ass.

[Lawrence]

Perhaps we should base rarity on availability.  If a million of anything were produced but it never, ever comes up for sale, for all intents and porpoises it's very rare.

 

[Vertigo]

Hell, if you live in an island in the middle of the ocean, food is rare. If you live in a big city, it's not.
As Lawrence says, rarity should be based on availability. Loose, obvious example: A copy of a certain Famicom game may run you $100 in a US indepedent or on eBay, but there's all likelihood of finding multiple copies lying about in bargain bins in Akihabara for 2 bucks each.
In my house, Gamecubes are quite rare, as I only have one. Expand the search area to my house plus eBay and suddenly they're quite common.

[James]

Based on what is said, I believe the rarest game, based on actual games made for the public...is Atlantis 2 for the Atari 2600!! Only ten were ever produced and the only way you could get one is through a contest of playing the first Atlantis game.  It is by far, the rarest game you could have gotten, by paying or playing for. Hands down. We aren't looking at demos, that never made it out in the public, we are looking at games that you could have bought new or could have received through a contest..One that anyone could have gotten a hold of and not just a select few.

[Computolio]

JA I AM MADE OF DUR BUTTER AND AM WORTH 1.75M MONIES

The term "Atari Fatty" is rapidly gaining ground within the whole retrogaming lexicon for a very good reason.

[Endymion]

So, what does "Atari Fatty" mean exactly?

[Computolio]

The term was coined by Sardius to describe collectors that engage in reprehensible or embarassing behavior. Things like prototype hoarding, price gouging, or unfunny idiot dickwaving like the eBay stunt pulled above. They don't have to be fat, and they don't even have to focus on Atari crap. They just have to be dumbasses.