Gaming History 101

Now for a game console that’s relatively rare and worth some money itself in this country.  In fact, most of the games on this list are worth less than a complete copy of the console itself.  If you don’t have a heavy collection, have a power base converter, or even own a Game Gear, you may want to consider moving this product to collectors for some extra cash.  That said, if you live in Europe, there is a massive library of available titles for this great system.

Master System Games

• Golden Axe Warrior: I have been told over and over by Jam that I need to play this game.  Fortunately I have a flash cart because unfortunately, at least in the US, Golden Axe Warrior is valued at $113.  That’s a steep price for a cart only Master System game, even one that effectively fuses the Legend of Zelda concept with the Golden Axe series.
• James Buster Douglas Knockout Boxing:  More than $400 dollars for the cart only.  I repeat, $400 for a single cart that only released in the US and on a console almost no one had.  Couple that with the $3 price tag the superior Genesis version offers and you need to get this ultra rare cart on sale if you ever discover it.  Unless you’re a collector, at which point good luck spending four bills on a random sub-par boxing game.
• Sonic the Hedgehog (US Version): The only version of this game I have ever seen, and it’s entirely possible there will only be one, sold for almost $1,000.  Why?  The game is identical to the PAL version, the PAL version was released and sold in America (region free and output is designed by console and not the game), but also because only a handful of first issue carts were ever sold in the US.  How do you tell which version you have?  You need to have a copy with a cart and box (plus you better have the instructions at that point), on that box you need to have the US UPC sticker in the back instead of the bar code on the spine for PAL territories.  Hint: The UPC starts with either a “1” or “0” instead of the “4” from the PAL copy.

Otherwise that’s about it.  Sure, I could mention that the original Phantasy Star sells for about $50 and a handful of other games, like my copy of Alf, that reach into the $30s and $40s, but these games are still worth the same or less than they were when purchased in stores.  This also speaks nothing of the $5-$10 price point of ninety percent of the titles.  Not a bad console, just the perfect one for someone on a budget.  Keep in mind this says nothing to the other markets like PAL territories, Japan, and of course Brazil.