It's not often you stumble across brand new stock of games released in the '90s when browsing your favourite game store, but here we are with one of the most intriguing retail listings you're likely to see all year.
German retailer Galeria Kaufhof has today added a brand new listing for Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, known simply as Lufia in Europe, which was originally released back in 1997. The listing notes that it comes with its original packaging and manual and is only available in select branches.
What makes the listing even more impressive is that it's actually for the game's 'Big Box' version which comes with a strategy guide included. A quick look on eBay suggests that this edition now sells for considerably more than its original RRP, yet Galeria Kaufhof is selling it for a relatively modest €79.99.
Perhaps shedding a little more light on the situation, game enthusiasts have been discussing the listing over on NeoGAF. One user explains, "Out of nowhere there were rumours a couple of months ago that somewhere in an old warehouse a few sealed boxes were found with dozens of SNES games back from the 90s. Since there were no pictures, I did not think or investigate any further. Now out of nowhere today at 6 in the morning LUFIA was posted on their website."
Of course, it was only a couple of months ago that another retailer stumbled upon 500 'new' copies of F-Zero on the SNES – we're not sure what's going on here, but we're liking the trend.
If those rumours were true, does this mean that stock for other titles could soon appear on the store, too? The rumour includes mention of "several boxes sealed by Nintendo", which is a very exciting prospect indeed. Either way, this game alone is a pretty great find!
Thanks to Rubén for the tip!
Comments 44
TheRelaxingEnd is frothing at the mouth hearing this.
Get ready for some insane auction prices.
That price is ridiculous, how dare people sell rare things for such prices.
Sod them, I'm emulating!
Who the heck cares?!?
Sad times, another game that will never be used in the way the developers made it for. It will probably just sit on someones shelf.
@Heavyarms55 They are not for auction and is not selling them at greedy prices as you can see in the article.
Another gem left to rot in some collectors basment.
It's a shame
Also I hate school
Selling new old stock I don't have a problem with, but I would be wary if they're actually what they claim to be.
They could just be convincing reproductions, and if you dare not open the package for reasons like those grading cases, they've served their purpose perfectly.
Complete in box for original retail price? GOOD! Keep this trend up. Force sellers to lower their prices.
Would people want to buy a PAL version of such a game? Does it have extra languages that makes it slightly worth it?
@Bomberman64 Not to me. People do collect PAL though.
I remember looking for a copy of BATMAN for the Genesis. Finally just called Sunsoft directly and they had a couple cases in the back. Charged me $30 and mailed it to me. I am sure there are cases of games still floating around in warehouses.
This to me is exactly why the whole "sealed games are rare therefore are worth tens of thousands if not a million dollars" is total nonsense. I feel like it is every year we read about old-new stock being found for NES, SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive and N64 that was just found in a warehouse. It is awesome these games get a second shot to find a home, but it makes you wonder just how rare some of these games really are? As a lot of the time, there are a bunch of "rare games" in these finds like Lufia, Earthbound and others.
Either way take this with a grain of annoyance I have with the sealed collecting scene... sorry I mean SEALLLEDDD in my best Pat the NES Punk impression.
@WhiteTrashGuy I bet there is. I remember a commenter on NintendoAge years ago talking about how a few years ago he got a bunch of sealed NES games because he was just checking out an old Retail Store warehouse that the owner just wanted gone.
EDIT. I think even in 2016 Tim Atwood was talking about how he had crates full of sealed NES games.
@DoesWhatSegaint To me stuff like that is fine. I mean it's pricy, but not artificially inflated as Pokemon is insanely popular and copies exchange hands often in that community. It's why I don't tend to have a stink when popular NES games are selling for $60 loose as those games are popular and exchange hands often like Contra, Castlevania etc. But even then stuff like Super Mario Bros. should never cost someone more than $15-20 loose. I'm mostly talking about how people act like sealed games are "rare" when in reality they really not worth that kind of asking price as they are not all that uncommon and finds of old-new stock is almost a yearly event. If copies of Heart Gold and Soul Silver were going for $1000s of dollars for just a loose cart then I'm calling BS on that.
Probably not legit.
Oh i am too late
@Bomberman64 maybe but it also runs all around slower, even the music is slower in 16 bit pal games
@CharlieGirl - Uhhh, charging retail price won't keep resellers from raising theirs. In fact, it's leverage to buy them outright to have more stock at their own price.
They should tear the seal as soon as you buy one like they're doing with pokemon cards and gundam models in Japan to combat reselling.
@Bomberman64 If their country used PAL encoding probably, right? Also, whilst the frame rate is slightly less than NTSC, the picture quality and resolution can be better on PAL.
@Shellcore True, and the frame rate is what I would presume would make people stay away from the PAL versions. Personally I would stay away from it, unless there is a European language translation I'm interested in.
Lufia II is one of the best SNES games.
I'd actually buy this if I could.
Despite that I have a loose US cart and a complete JP copy.
This is the rare case that the PAL version is better.
...Er, maybe not. Taking a closer look, this is the German version, isn't it?
It boggles my mind that these things are just lying around somewhere for years and are then suddenly discovered.
I actually bought [a French version of] F-Zero brand new and in perfect condition due to this exact thing--nostalgia hit.
@Ventilator Doesn't mean they won't end up on auction later. Lol
Good for those collectors who never wanted to open the thing.
In the world of collectibles, as in most worlds, price is whatever one person will sell for and another will pay. It's really that simple. Getting irritated because a sealed copy of a 30+ year old game sells for a ton of money... Why? Obviously you're not the target market and people are allowed to collect or sell the things they love. Especially in today's world of awesome, feature packed emulators it just feels unnecessary to fret about sealed games being locked away.
Retro games new in box at a fair price.
Yeah they should have NEVER use the filth called ebay, people are going to buy it and re-sell for much more, because that's ebay in a nutshell.
Man now I want a Reuben sandwich
@WhiteTrashGuy That's incredible! Makes me wonder how many of these companies have a bunch of dead stock in the back? I'm thinking about calling up Konami right now to see if I can track down a copy of Metal Warriors for the SNES. I've been itching to introduce my friends to the wonderful multiplayer component, but sadly the prices on eBay are out of my range. I'd be tickled if I could just call up the original publisher and snag a copy on the cheap...
@ggnorekthx What bothers me and a lot of other people more has to do with the scamming and manipulation of the market. The fact that companies like WATA do not produce lists of amounts of games they've graded and at what quality, the fact that one of the founders of WATA has direct ties to Heritage Auctions, the fact that the owner of Heritage Action was barred from coin grading because he was proven to have been manipulating the market scamming families out of money.
People are not upset with the fact 30+-year-old games are being sold at crazy prices. That happens in a lot of collectables markets. It's the fact that the market is clearly being manipulated and it is harming the collecting scene for everyone involved and will pop a bubble. And when you read up on how much new-old-stock has been found within even the past year you realize sealed video games are not all that uncommon. In fact, in most collectables markets it is one of a kind or near limited items that tend to go in the millions like an Action Comics #1 (original print run), or Mike Tyson's gloves used in a specific fight, or even surviving original film reels of Citizen Kane used in theatres. Not a game that was a mass-market item that sold in the millions and if even .5% of them are sealed that leaves thousands in the wild, not 10-50.
This video explains things in more detail: https://youtu.be/rvLFEh7V18A
Hello from Germany, i am one of the lucky souls, who was able to place a order. I will let you know, if galeria will delivery and take a photo to take a look if it is legit.
It reminds me of the time I read someone came across a box of Sealed NTSC Stadium Events’ ..
It should be sold for Retail Price!
I remember back in like 2013, Amazon sold a bunch of new copies of Mega Man 64 for Nintendo 64 for around 15 bucks new. I'm so glad I jumped on that opportunity when I did because just complete in box copies are worth a whole lot more now.
It's extremely refreshing to see these kinds of listings in today's price-gouged world of retro game collecting. The market manipulation that has been going on has made collecting these days extremely tedious and unfun. I've visited many small business-owned gaming shops the past month that have many insane prices for their games for systems (namely N64, Gamecube, Dreamcast, etc.) that used to cost a fraction just 10 years ago.
As much as I like the idea of many of my prized games being considered "rare", I hate to say this, but I'd rather pine for a crash similar to the comic book crash of the 90's than see prices continue like this for the majority of games that have inflated. ESPECIALLY if the market manipulation going on the behind the scenes is really happening.
Do some companies not do a physical inventory count every so often? I thought you needed to to confirm or adjust what is on your books.
Can't wait for this craze of spending stupid amounts of money on huge bulky "collectors items" to end. As a gamer I'm more than happy to actually PLAY games than stick them in a shelf to say I own it. Remember beanie babies? This retro thing will go the same route especially since you can do absolutely nothing with a sealed copy.
"out of nowhere there were rumors" I doubt this is out of nowhere. I love the fantasy of a perfectly preserved retro treasure trove too but this suspiciously surfacing when there's a craze over game collecting. It's not just money mongering richies circling the waters, there's no doubt scammers scheming how to use repros to trick unwary collectors and get in on this. The local resale shops here have had a huge influx of people trying to sell reproduction GBA Pokemon and Zelda games lately, and some are so convincing they succeed.
@Heavyarms55 Doubtful, Its a German text version.
@Spider-Kev It is
Today i recieve my shipping notification
https://abload.de/img/snesy3jfa.png
Here we go
https://static.mydealz.de/comments/raw/pQZQz/33274107_1/fs/1090x545/qt/80/33274107_1.jpg
https://static.mydealz.de/comments/raw/qEf4i/33274107_1/fs/1090x545/qt/80/33274107_1.jpg
https://static.mydealz.de/comments/raw/EvAFq/33274107_1/fs/1090x545/qt/80/33274107_1.jpg
So mine arrived too. Perfect condition a piece of gaming history
Wow 80 bucks is a snap for a brandnew mint PAL Lufia.
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