Highest Priced Saturn Games

It's a collector's market. Or, unfortunately, it seems to be that way for some of the games on the Saturn. Low print runs, critical acclaim, and foreign markets have all caused the prices of some games to rise astronomically. Ever wonder what the most expensive game is? Or what the old copy of Sonic Jam you've got laying around is worth? Here's my very unscientific look at the ebay pricing of expensive Saturn games.

Ok, so here are the rules:

1. Ebay is the tool
2. Only completed auctions
3. Games with cases and instructions only. Few exceptions are because some games were more commonly packaged with hardware than without it, including those that shipped with 4mb cards and Nights with the 3D control pad.
4. Only used games - to keep the fight fair. Anything new, sealed, or unopened is not included.
5. First 300 results for highest bids.
6. Week of July 16. Prices fluctuate, so at Christmas, I'm sure Christmas Nights will be too high to even think about purchasing. Some rarer games may not have been on the market this week, and will not appear in the list.
7. Prices only. Some people bought items at low prices and ignored the $20 shipping charge. This may low-ball some games.

Highest Valued Games:

1. Radiant Silvergun (j) 189.02
2. Panzer Dragoon Saga 168
3. X-men vs. Marvel (w/ card) 127.5
4. Princess Crown (j) 110.58
5. Dungeons and Dragons (j) 87.31
6. Final Fight Revenge (j) 85.00
7. Daytona USA Netlink Edition 75
8. Battle Garegga (j) 72.5
9. Shining Force 3 65.40
10. Batsugen (j) 60

What does this mean? It's good to be and import and it's good to be an RPG if you want to grab some money on ebay. Of course, the imported games are harder to find over here, so they'll draw more money. Panzer Dragoon and Shining Force stick out as domestic titles, but their limited production numbers and fan-base have driven the cost up. Worth noting is that the Panzer Dragoon Azel (import) is substantially cheaper than its American counterpart.

Let's take out the imports:

1. Panzer Dragoon Saga 168
2. Daytona USA Net Link 75
3. Shining Force 3 65.40
4. Burning Rangers 58.50
5. Guardian Heroes 53.30
6. Magic Knight Rayearth 52.66
7. Sonic Jam 52.44
8. Dragon Force 51.49
9. Albert Odyssey 41.26
10. Contra: Legacy of War 41.00 (only one)

With domestic games only, prices drop considerably, sans PDS. The Netlink version of Daytona USA cracks number two on the list, being the rarest version of the game. As usual, the RPGs seem to take the cake. Burning Rangers makes an appearance and surprisingly enough, the compilation Sonic Jam is on the list.

Let's take out the games not produced by Sega (That's what this site's about after all, right?):

1. Panzer Dragoon Saga 168
2. Daytona USA Net Link 75
3. Burning Rangers 58.5
4. Sonic Jam 52.44
5. Dragon Force 51.49
6. Shining the Holy Ark 38.31
7. Christmas Nights 34.25
8. Shining Wisdom 30.84
9. Nights (w/ controller) 30.39
10. Die Hard Arcade 22.73

I'm very surprised that Christmas Nights made the list, especially in that price range. I know it's a highly collected, but this seems quite high, especially in July.

And for some real fun, let's cut out the RPGs:

1. Daytona USA Net Link 75
2. Burning Rangers 58.5
3. Sonic Jam 52.44
4. Christmas Nights 34.25
5. Nights (w/ controller) 30.39
6. Die Hard Arcade 22.73
7. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei 21.97
8. Mr. Bones 16.83
9. Clockwork Knight 2 15.16
10 Panzer Dragon (only one)

Ok, this is where things are really interesting, as we see some of the common games popping up. Nights appears, no doubt because it is a Saturn exclusive and comes packaged with the 3D control pad - that, and Nights fans are crazy. Die Hard Arcade is a surprise, as I enjoyed the game, but never thought it was that popular. PDZ appears, probably driven by the prices and legend of Saga.

Mr. Bones has me puzzled, as it was not really a standout game. Of course, the titles in this category are affected by stopping at the 300 most expensive. 10 people could've bought Mr. Bones at $5 and 2 people at $16 and it would still appear on the list. Clockwork Knight 2 was a Saturn exclusive and regarded as the better of the two CK games. Lastly Panzer Dragoon appears, but only one auction made the list, not nearly enough to be accurate, not that this is scientific in any way.

One surprising omission: The House of the Dead. It looks like this one didn't sell at all that week, but it is currently floating around the $70-$80 mark.