So, I've been thinking lately about game rarity. These days, it can be either easy or extremely difficult to judge the rarity of a video game. If the game in question is a limited-run NES promotional cartridge, then sure, that's going to make some serious cash. However, what about a standard-run game? This is where it gets difficult. Exhibit 1: Final Fantasy VII In all honesty, who would've guessed that original-run copies of Final Fantasy VII would be going for upwards of $100 on eBay? Let's face it: FFVII sold millions of copies in North America, and even more around the world. Given the rules of economic supply and demand, FFVII shouldn't be worth so much. However, since the game became such a pivotal force for RPGs, and due to its resurgence in popularity, the value of so-called "black-label" copies rose dramatically. Nowadays, because it's available for legal download on the PlayStation store for PS3 and PSP, the value has gone down. Still, in my opinion, FFVII did not deserve the high second-hand selling points it has received in the past. The game was just too common. Exhibit 2: Pre-2008 Atlus Games Here, I'm talking about games such as Persona 2 and SMT: Nocturne. Yes, they're still rare. Does that mean all Atlus games are rare? No. Since Atlus has only recently become a driving force in the video game market, people are starting to discover the older gems in their library. However, since Atlus had a history of doing limited publishing runs, these games have become very rare. Since P3 FES, though, Atlus realized they had become a name to be reckoned with, and dramatically increased the number of copies per run, as well as the number of total runs. This unfortunately means that games like Persona 4 will not rise very much in value over the next few years, and aren't exactly recommended for those trying to hold on to those first-run, shrink-wrapped copies. I, too, bought second copies of P3 FES and P4 thinking they'd go up in value, but it looks like my original copy of Persona 3 is worth more than the two combined. Exhibit 3: "Dead" Franchises These days, it's not hard to find copies of some games. For example, do a search for "Super Mario Bros" on eBay, and you'll most likely get tons of hits with prices starting below a dollar. However, what about the franchises that died years ago? Say, for instance, the "Breath of Fire" series? This franchise was Capcom's answer to Final Fantasy back in the 16-bit era, and didn't last very long. While there have been re-releases on other platforms (such as the Game Boy Advance), the original SNES games have become desirable. Same goes for other games like that, such as Crash Bandicoot (the original is starting to gain value). Now, how do you possibly judge the rarity of games these days? You can see that doing so is like playing the stock market: buy low, sell high, and hope you don't have something bad happen. However, I do have a few suggestions for games you can still get now and expect the value to go up. I'll also welcome any suggestions. - Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii) - Was recently discontinued, but may still be available. I wouldn't be surprised if its value rises significantly in the next few years. - Chrono Cross (PS1) - It's still in the "bargain bin", so to speak, but it's destined for good value. - Okami (PS2 version) - The Wii version is easy to find nowadays, but the PS2 version is where it's at. Also, those of you who still have the IGN-ripped cover for the Wii version should definitely hold on to that. :P Again, if you have a game or "hidden gem" I should add to the list of commonly-available games that are anticipated to rise in value soon, leave a comment so I can add it!
Yeah, it looks cool. It's an Android phone. And it has a slide-out keyboard as well as a touch screen. But this thing is rather buggy, from what I heard. Alright, looks like I need to tell the full story, so here goes... I had a pre-paid AT&T phone for a few months... but all I had on it was talk and text. Data was extra, and the phone was a piece of junk (it even called 911 by itself once :| ). So, I decided it was time to dive into the world of contracted phones. A friend of mine recommended Sprint to me, since he was with them for four years (his last phone with them was a HTC Hero) before the company he works for bought him an iPhone. I didn't want an iPhone, so I decided to give Sprint a look. I went ahead and got the Samsung Intercept, since I had some reservations about spending an additional $100 on a HTC Evo. First impressions with the sales clerk were good, and he said my old number would be transferred over in about an hour after I left. A day goes by, and no dice. I can't call my old number anymore, and my old phone wouldn't work anymore. So, I went back and had my phone re-programmed (it had a temporary number). Now everything worked for another day until the phone's speaker decided to stop working. :x Back for a third time, I got the phone exchanged for another Intercept. Luckily, this phone is working fine for me so far (knock on wood). However, from stuff I've heard about this phone, it's actually more of an "Android Lite" phone, since some apps don't work on it, and it most likely won't get the Froyo (Android 2.2) upgrade. Now I'm stuck with this phone for two years. Let's hope I don't have any more problems. *crosses fingers* 
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