This edition of Game Spec will cover physical Xbox 360 releases that include Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) games. I will also briefly mention some other Xbox 360 games that could be undervalued and have the potential to rise if the 360 platform receives an influx of collector attention.
Death of the PSN
In what should not have been a surprise to anyone, Sony recently announced the upcoming closure of the online Playstation Network (PSN) for their legacy platforms. Later this year, PSP, PS3, and PS Vita owners will not be able to make new purchases on the PSN. Redownloads of past purchases will still be available, but those won’t last forever.
Given the price spikes of certain PS3 games over the past two weeks, plenty of people seem surprised, or at least driven into buying frenzy mode. The first game everyone flocked to, I presume because it has “Playstation Network” in the title, is “Best of Playstation Network Vol. 1” for PS3. It was only weeks ago I recommended people buy it for $25, but now it is selling on Ebay for over $200. I doubt such high prices are sustainable, as this game isn’t rare, but I don’t think it will ever drop back to $25.
Other games that have no strong relation to the PSN also seem to have sharply risen in light of the news. 3D Dot Game Heroes which was selling for $40 to 60 a few weeks ago, is now selling for $80 to $100+. Again, I doubt this is sustainable, but this behavior is informative about how some people collect.
Enough people to impact short term prices collect based on the news. This kind of behavior is well known and commonly seen with specific franchises when a new entry is announced. However, this instance surrounding the PSN seems much more generalized. It’s almost like Sony’s abandonment of the digital platforms acts as a signal to the procrastinating collectors to start buying. I will watch what happens when Xbox Live support for legacy platforms is removed to see if a pattern emerges.
Xbox 360 Live Arcade
The Xbox 360 Live Arcade was a remarkable platform when it launched. It paved the way for ports, rereleases, and the staggering quantity independent and retro style games being released today. It was also successful at a time when networked consoles were not as commonplace, and for that reason there are many physical collections of XBLA games.
XBLA games were different from “normal” games in that they were made to stricter specifications. They all work as demos when not purchased or the license isn’t on the system, have leaderboards, and only offer 200 achievement points as opposed to the normal 1000. Most importantly, they were cheaper to buy and smaller in data size.
They were designed and sold as budget-friendly games which made them a good fit for compilations. These are all1 the Region 1 discs that have multiple Xbox Live Arcade games:
Microsoft Published
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged
Xbox Live Arcade Compilation Disc/Sega Superstars Tennis [Pack-in with system]
Xbox Live Arcade Game Pack [Pack-in with controller]
Triple Pack
Other Publishers
Bejeweled 3
Capcom Digital Collection
Dreamcast Collection
Hasbro Family Game Night
Konami Classics Vol. 1
Konami Classics Vol. 2
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade
Plants vs. Zombies
PopCap Arcade Vol. 1
PopCap Arcade Vol. 2
Qubed
Serious Sam Collection
Worms Collection
Zuma’s Revenge
My Thoughts on These Collections
In terms of fun, most of these collections have at least one outstanding game that makes it something I would recommend. Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged has the original Geometry Wars, Xbox Live Arcade Compilation Disc has Pac-Man Championship Edition, Xbox Live Arcade Game Pack has Bomberman, the Triple Pack has three outstanding games, Konami Classics Vol. 1 has Symphony of the Night, Konami Classics Vol. 2 has Contra, Qubed has my favorite version of Rez, etc. The Capcom, Namco, Serious Sam, and Worms collections are all great. The more casual Pop Cap games may not be what the typical collector is interested in, but they are decent games for a cheap price. I bought most of these at MSRP and thought they were worth it at those prices.
Unlike Best of PSN Vol. 1 the Microsoft published Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged and Xbox Live Arcade Compilation Disc are very common. Most games stores probably have multiple of these on the shelf and I don’t see these being able to spike very high after a XBLA shutdown announcement because there is so much supply.
Xbox Live Arcade Game Pack is more uncommon. I’m not sure people will ever be so desperate for another Bomberman that they pay crazy money, but I still recommend picking this up if you see it cheap. The Triple Pack is also worth picking up because the games on it are great.
I have recommended Qubed to everyone for years as one of the best deals on Xbox 360. Rez HD, Lumines and Every Extend Extra are all very polished games. Similarly, the Capcom, Namco, Serious Sam and Worms Collections are dense collections of great games. I’m not sure how much these will appeal to future collectors, but I recommend them as fun collections that are reasonably priced.
The Konami Collections will be the ones to watch. Volume 1 with Symphony of the Night is likely to climb fairly high. While I don’t expect it to happen, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Volume 2 also increase in price due to Contra, but I bet most buyers would be mistakenly assuming it’s the NES game.
Other Xbox 360 Game to Watch
The following list is by no means exhaustive, but I wanted to quickly mention some of the more niche games that I think collectors will increasingly seek out.
Akai Katana
Alice Madness Returns
Battle Fantasia
Beautiful Katamari
Bullet Witch
Culdcept Saga
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
Deathsmiles
DoDonPachi Resurrection [European]
Guilty Gear 2 Overture
Lollipop Chainsaw
Magna Carta 2
Operation Darkness
Otomedius Excellent
Pinball Hall of Fame Williams Collection
Raiden Fighters Aces
Raiden IV
Rumble Roses XX
Silent Hill Downpour
Silent Hill Homecoming
Splatterhouse
Tales of Vesperia
Zoids Assault
A lot of these games are already selling for much higher than their lows. However, if you think you will eventually want any of these for your collection, I still think it’s the time to buy before they get even more expensive.
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The Burger King games are XBLA games since they are worth 200 achievement points, however they are single game discs and were also never sold digitally.