The Business of Reprints

By Spencer . January 16, 2006 . 8:02am

Ever wondered how brand new copies of Rez, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Gitaroo Man, Persona 2 and Resident Evil 3 for Gamecube just popped up out of nowhere? The story starts with a company called Game Quest Direct. Originally, Game Quest Direct had a chain of video game stores nationwide, but they consolidated their retail locations just in Southern California. Instead of just being another video game store and try to compete with the likes of Best Buy, Gamestop and Walmart Game Quest Direct decided to restructure their company. Aim for the hardcore gamer and use the internet as way to reach them. Their online inventory began with the usual offerings, new copies of Grand Theft Auto and the latest releases at slim discounts.

Obviously this wasn’t distinguishing GQD from any other retailer or the hordes of eBay sellers. They had to carve a niche for themselves. While they unloaded some of their inventory over eBay they noticed that eBay prices for hard to find games skyrocketed way over retail value. Resident Evil 2 and 3 for Gamecube were printed in limited quantity, which made the games sought after by collectors. Game Quest Direct decided to capitalize on the opportunity. They directly contacted Capcom and arranged a deal to reprint the games, but Game Quest Direct would have to front all of the money. They paid a lofty sum and took a heavy risk. Each reprint costs Game Quest Direct nearly $100,000 to do. But instead of getting a low profit margin that retail stores struggle with, Game Quest Direct would get 50% of the profits on each sale. The gamble paid off and GQD made a sizeable profit.

The Business of Reprints Quickly after Capcom agreed to do reprints Game Quest Direct was hot on the next set of titles to release and what better place to look than Atlus USA. Atlus titles are known to be “rare” in the world of game collectors. Typically they’re printed in low numbers and don’t have the same store exposure as Super Mario Sunshine. You’re just not going to find a copy of Persona 2 at Wal-Mart. Unlucky gamers who couldn’t score a classic on the first round would be forced to shell out loads of dough to by a used copy on eBay. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness was one of Atlus’ most critically acclaimed titles, but after it was showered with praise it was nowhere to be found. Prices for a used copy could fetch over a hundred dollars for a copy before the reprint. Game Quest Direct reprinted Persona 2, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure and later on Disgaea: Hour of Darkness in 2005. All of these games sold like hotcakes, even the PS1 titles Persona 2 and Rhapsody. It’s not really a huge surprise since Game Quest Direct was selling new copies of the game way below the price of a used copy.

However, hardcore video game collectors were irked. Reprints could not be distinguished from the originals, which brought the value down of their collection. That $85 copy of Persona 2 purchased used, dropped nearly 50% in price. Speculators who snagged up copies of Disgaea couldn’t profit from eBay sales. Especially proud collectors weren’t perturbed by the economics, but more that they lost exclusivity of being the only one on the block with these a rare game. In a way Game Quest Direct angered the audience they were searching for. On the other hand a bunch of gamers were happy with the situation. More gamers got to try out Disgaea and at a reasonable price.

The Business of Reprints In between these titles Game Quest Direct were hashing out the final details for two major reprints: Gitaroo-Man a quirky Japanese music game created by Inix (who also recently did Ouendan for the Nintendo DS) and the psychedelic music shooter Rez from Sega. Unlike the speedy process with Atlus and Capcom these reprints took months to work out. Negotiating prices, filing paperwork and waiting for Sony to officially press these games was a long waiting process. Like the other reprints each of these cost over a hundred thousand for each and Game Quest Direct had to give all of the finical security to bring these niche titles back into the marketplace. When Gitaroo Man appeared and Rez trickled in, eBay prices bottomed out since new copies could be picked up for a mere $50. Once again successful Game Quest Direct profits from the reprint and a new group of gamers gets to play these rarities.

But if Game Quest Direct really is controlling the flow of these imports by acting as a pseudo-publisher how are they appearing at Gamestop? Simple, Game Quest Direct is selling them directly to Gamestop. A representative spokesperson has said that they decided to unload a sizeable amount of inventory to Gamestop at a bulk price. However since Gamestop sells used copies of these games at a higher price they’ve taken the liberty of unsealing and selling the brand new game as a used copy. Game Quest Direct is happy to sell a bulk lot to any distributor or even eBay seller if the price is right. Even though they may be the masterminds behind many reprints gamers shouldn’t be surprised to see copies appear at other video game specialty stores.

The Business of Reprints What’s next in 2006 for the publisher/retailer? Recently they purchased the now defunct Working Designs’ remaining inventory. Copies of Growlanser: Generations Deluxe Edition, and Silhouette Mirage can be picked up. What’s really surprising is a number of extremely rare titles like Sega Ages for the Saturn, Exile, and Cosmic Fantasy 2 for Turbo Graphix 16. They’re currently in talks with Square-Enix, Atari and Konami for more reprints. It’s possible that reprints of Valkyrie Profile, Ikaruga and Suikoden II may pop up eventually. Collectors take note, Game Quest Direct said that they would try to reprint any game that goes on eBay for over $100. On the bright side a second chance to check out gaming glory benefits a large number of gamers out there.

Do you think Game Quest direct is doing a service or a disservice to the gaming community? Leave your thoughts in a comment.

Ttora
Lordofthunder stop using the word “moron” please.
I don’t know you but you look like an elitist trashing the young gamers…
-PS1 is a classic system since how long? 3 years? So you probably haven’t spent that much money on your collection.
-How many PS1 games are that expensive? Except for japanese games, 5 % are really expensive and nobody buy jap games (I mean most common gamers don’t).
Personnally I own many games available on Gamequest that I’ve bought when they were released (Guardian Heroes, Persona 2, Valkirie Profile…) that is to say I’ve brought them 40 $. I don’t really care if they are reprinted.
What is really valuable to me is SFC, FC and SMS games. These are real classic games because they are a lot harder to find. PS1 has just become a classic.
Anyway I’m not crazy about collecting I just don’t sell my old games because they are full of memory and not because they are supposed to cost 100 $.
Dell
Ha ha, that’s why Gamestop is having all of these mint “used” copies of Gitaroo man in their new games section. The bastards! They opened up the reprints and are trickling them out one game at a time to people who think these are the original rare versions when they are reprints. Oh shit, I better sell my Marvel VS. Capcom 2 game before they reprint that one too. Cheapest on Amazon is still around $80 for a ps2 version disk only!!!!!
SaraAB87
I dont have a problem with the reprints, since i never owned any of these games in the first place.
However what i have a problem with is certain used game retailers and their unscrupulous practices to make a few extra bucks. I sincerly hope that gamestop dies a horrible death in a huge lawsuit someday for what they are doing by their used game selling practices. Opening a game and selling it as used is not moral especially when you are selling it to unsuspecting customers who think they are getting an insanely rare game at a fair price.
Even though there was a lawsuit for gamestop/ebgames selling used games as new i know they still do it and i have witnessed several incidents of them still doing this myself recently. The problem stems from the fact that employees of these stores often open up a game to play it themselves or they take it home for a few days to play it.
My biggest beef with Gamestop though is that they sell PIRATED GBA games as the original thing, BUYERS BE WARNED DO NOT BUY USED GBA GAMES FROM GAMESTOP/EB GAMES. They are probably pirated copies, i am not saying all games are but i have witnessed several pirated copies in the used case at several gamestop stores first hand. The thing is they will sell these games to unsuspecting customers, be especially wary if you are female or have children as those are the types of people they try to pull the most crap on. I have also confronted the manager of gamestop about the pirated games and the only response i got was “its ok”. Despite laws in the USA that prohibit stores from selling counterfeit merchandise i was told “its ok”.
The only games you have to worry about this with is the USED GBA GAMES though, since bootlegs/counterfeits are incredibly common. Also do not order a USED GBA game from ebgames.com or gamestop.com as you are likely to recieve a bootleg game. New GBA games should be fine, i would certaintly hope they do not try to pass off bootlegs as new games!
http://treytable.1up.com TreyTable
They are doing a good service to gamers, just like Majesco before them, what’s wrong with a reprint of a game that I didn’t know about of the 2000 or so PS2 games in the last 5 years? But if I read the article correctly, GQD isn’t reprinting games, they are betting the farm on trying to get these games reprinted, and to tell the truth, I’d rather buy a new re-issue of a game than some scratched up crap listed on eBay as (like brand new).
What GameStop is doing, that’s sickening me, but GameStop sickens me in the first place.
GoAwayGameQuestDirect
lordofthunder is the ONLY person here who knows what he is talking about. He should run for President, seriously. As for those of you who do not understand, it is wrong that for the gamers/collectors out there who had to search long and hard for those great games that they have wanted to play and had to pay big sums of money for them at the ORIGINAL time of release. Along with that, it then happens that their games are rare, hard to find, whatever and rake in good deal of monetary value. I see comments that say “This is great and will hurt the EBay Blood suckers who inflate the price of these rare titles”…..what if you are not one of those people such as myself. I have rare and hard to find games that I have gotten first because I really want to play them and second they just happened to be high priced. That means I should be punished? Just because I’m not dumb enough to have waited say years and years later hoping that they would get reprinted instead of using my head and getting it WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT!! It is not our fault that you didn’t want the games before when they were ORIGINALLY RELEASED, instead you want the “Please, please REPRINT IT FOR ME and CHEAPLY because I DESERVE IT”. You don’t deserve anything. You should be forced to either pay the price or don’t experience it at all. There are no give me’s in life. If you can’t afford it, start getting a job and earn the money and pay the prices we all have to to have these rare games.
NerfHerder
While reading these replies, I can only laugh at the ones who say this is a good thing that GQD is doing. For those of you in the States, you might have heard about Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for PS2. There is a huge outcry and controversy about the supposed “Limited Edition” that is being released but *shock* it turns out that it REALLY IS a Limited Edition. Konami stopped preorders weeks ago. Meaning before when you heard that a game was having a limited edition, you would be able to find it easily later, but now as it turns out, Konami actually has decided that the L.E. will be limited meaning get it first or no deal. Now I see lots of people going crazy saying “I didn’t know this, that’s not fair, why don’t they print more copies, don’t they realize they will sell more, how am I going to get my L.E., I can’t believe this!”……well, maybe if you actually listened and preordered right when it became available, you wouldn’t be out of luck. There is also an uproar from the Canadians that Canada won’t even be getting the Limited Edition. Hey I have an idea, why don’t you contact Game Quest Direct, maybe they can get Konami to reprint you MGS3: Sub Limited Edition when it reaches high value, you can cry to them that you weren’t smart enough to get it when it was first announced, instead you are like alot of the people replying here, lazy and want everything handed to them for cheap. Like the person above said, there are no give me’s. As the only saying goes: Early bird catches the worm.
Omega_Black
I just knew this blog would get more interesting when I came back to it! All right, let’s see here.
First off, lordofthunder is completely and totally entitled to his opinion.
He’s WRONG, but still it’s his opinion. Let this idea marinate in your heads: what if, by the grace of the gaming gods, the companies that publish these rare games decided to reprint the games on their own? That means no financial help from GQD. These publishers are solely responsible for “lowering” the value of your precious games.
What then? Would any of you cry foul? Let’s take it one step further and say that the publishers, through some miracle business decision, decide the best way to move product off the shelves is to sell them for budget price. That’s $39.99 and down, people. But here’s the kicker: these budget priced games can not be distinguished AT ALL from the original prints. Would you still complain?
Probably. But you could do nothing about it and you would have even less reason to cry about it because the publishers would be totally within their rights to do this.
Get this through your heads: GQD is a financial backer and sales outlet for these reprints; nothing more and nothing less. If you want to be upset at anyone you should be pissed at the publishers who refuse to spend needless time, money and effort re-labeling, re-registering, and re-designing the packaging, copyrights, and credits of these games. They don’t feel there’s any need to touch these games because ultimately they are in it for the money. And that is exactly what GQD has offered the publishers and developers: money.
This is a businesss, people. It’s an industry just like any other. And if you’re a collector of games you’re gonna get stomped on because reprints can happen at the drop of a hat. One way or another, through popular demand (petitions) and/or company decisions (a need to make profit), reprints can and will happen. And if your feelings and collections get hurt too bad. Neither GQD nor the publisher of these games could care less about your feelings.
Secondly, to GoAwayGQD and Nerfherder, not everybody has the latest consoles upon their launch. People buy these systems at different times, depending on their respective incomes. Taking this fact into account, wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume that not everybody had a fair chance to experience games during their shelf life? Not to mention that shelf life is very fickle for games, some not even lasting two months before being pulled, despite critical acclaim. Again, it all comes back to money.
You say there are no handouts in life and I totally agree. That’s why I recently paid $51.39 for my copy of Rez, ordered from GQD. I saw the game on G4, liked what I saw, earned my money, and paid for it when the opportunity arose itself. I didn’t have a PS2 in 2001 or anytime when Rez was still on shelves. But I wanted the game. Was I going to drop $80+ on eBay for a game like Rez or ANY game for that matter? Heck, no! And if you think I should have, you’ve got more problems than being elitist, short-sighted fools.
You can say I don’t “deserve” my copy of Rez because I didn’t buy it when it first released or buy it for an inflated price. But I can turn right back around and call you both pathetic for even suggesting that people pay outlandish prices for something that can be found for a better deal. I can call you pathetic for expecting people to swallow your crap about them not deserving to experience some of the greatest games created. I can call you pathetic for not realizing that these companies DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU or your belief that you’re being “punished”, specifically to GoAway, who wouldn’t think this unless, at some point in time, wasn’t seriously considering selling their rarer games for inflated prices.
Finally, and to end my little soapbox monologue, they are just games. These collections aren’t going to really amass to anything in regard to actual monetary value unless they are still in factory-sealed, never-been-used condition. And even then, you’re gonna be hard pressed to find anyone who would want to buy these things even five, ten, or even twenty years down the line. Maybe I’m wrong, but maybe I’m not…
If you want to make a change, then respectfully voice your concerns to the companies responsible. That’s the publishers and developers, NOT GQD. The publishers are the ones who are “lowering” the value of your precious collections by not understanding (read: not giving a damn) the trials and tribulations you went through to find a game (please…).
Write them a letter. Better yet, write them ten letters and get your friends who agree with you to write letters, too. Don’t just piss and moan about it on an obscure blog that no corporate leader in their right mind would ever pay attention to.
If you want reprints that can be distinguished from the originals then tell them. But that’s like saying “Hey, could you flush a few 100K down the toilet so I can feel better about my original print copy?” It hardly ever works and will only result in a dry chuckle and a trip to the shredder.
So yeah, maybe pissing and moaning is the best thing for people like you…
http://www.jamesmontagna.com James Montagna
Wow, this really explains A LOT of what’s going on. I recently purchased a copy of Rez, new and sealed, for my girlfriend as a present. It was expensive, though slightly less expensive than I would have expected for this. I was shocked to find it as it was (sealed), as most copies that don’t even include the packaging could fetch around 80 bucks.
After this, my local EB Games has 6 or 7 used copies of Rhapsody for the PSX; a game I have been searching for… (for about 5 or 6 years now?) I was shocked, and all of the copies were brand new — but being sold as used. I, of course, bought a copy of it.
As far as my personal opinion is concerned… I’m really on the fence about this. I’m psyched I was able to get ahold of these games, but I really feel for those collectors who previously paid top dollar to get their hands on a copy of an elusive game, only to have it’s value shattered. This is a really controversial topic, but a very interesting one (seeing as how it has affected me and my purchases so much).
Let’s give these folks a bit more time, and see what else they manage to bring over to the printing press. I’ll decide how I feel about them later.
lordofthunder
Hey everybody it’s me again, did you check my article out? Thanks again to Siliconera. Well I’m still looking for Panzer Dragoon Saga, still waiting for the day when a thousand factory sealed copies all show up on eBay at the same time, what’s taking so long GameQuest? I’m just kidding, as you should know by now I’m 110% against game reprints.
It’s funny when people say, that we collectors just collect games for the monetary value. It’s not the main reason I collect games, it’s because I am a gamer, especially an old-school gamer. What is the main reason GameQuest is re-issuing rare games? Because they want people to play them and experience them? No, because they want your money. GameQuest are the ones who see dollar signs.
Anyone against GameQuest needs to go to their site and email them. I did, and got no response, but I’m sure they got my message. I asked them how they feel about the thousands of people who bought these games before GameQuest re-issued them, and how they feel about bottoming out prices for rare games. They gave no response. You’d think that they would at least have a stance on this issue. They don’t. Their stance is, we’re making money, we could care less about gamers, or collectors.
It’s because of eBay that we’re even seeing re-releases of Valkyrie Profile and Suikoden I&II on PSP. It’s because of the dollar signs that those games bring on eBay, and if they want to re-issue those games on PSP then I guess they have the right to do that. Does this mean that GameQuest is not going to re-issue them on the PS1? Did the publishers get wise to GameQuest? Are they now making their own re-release for PSP, without the involvement of GameQuest? This is interesting. I wonder if we’ll still see a re-issue of them on PS1, like are they going to release them on PSP, and then re-issue them for PS1 through GameQuest 6 months later?
The publishers realized that they should be making money, and not GameQuest. Hopefully we will not see a re-release of Valkyrie Profile and Suikoden II on the actual PS1 itself. How will the PSP re-releases affect sales of the PS1 versions on eBay? Just something interesting to think about. Does this mean that Sega is going to make a Panzer Dragoon Trilogy for PSP? I personally wouldn’t buy it, but then again PSP is not my thing. I guess PSP re-releases of rare games, is better than PS1 re-issues by GameQuest. But what I want to know is, are they going to do a re-issue on the PS1 after the PSP re-issue? Can somebody find this out from Konami and Square-Enix? Or do they want us to know?
FredSeton
(cross-posted in repsonse to lordofthunder’s article.)
I have been both in my time: a collector and a gamer.
I was one of the few that snapped up a Saturn as it dwindled to $20 (packaged with NiGHTS) and several import games that my local Electronics Boutique was selling. In one fell swopp I snagged Radiant Silvergun and D&D Collection.
Those were/are excellent games.
I continued snatching up any import I could find and made a little shrine for them in my entertainment center; something to charge the imagination and jealousy of my friends.
A few years later I went back to college.
New York University is not cheap and although I commuted for 4 years from outside of Philadelphia it still took a hefty toll on my wallet.
Eventually I had to hop on eBay and part with these games. I always held out hope, however, that once college was over and I had a job that I would reclaim my Saturn collection.
Fast forward 4 years and I found a job. It was now time to recapture the past.
I hopped on eBay, entered “Radiant Silvergun” into the engine and…F*** ME.
Same with the the US Guardian Heroes.
Same with D&D Collection.
F*** ME.
I really just wanted to play those games on my ill-fated 2D powerhouse. Whatever special pride I may feel by having those games that countless others did not was eclipsed by the joy of actually playing them.
That said, I decided I’d just steal the little bastards back. But the copy protection on the Saturn is a stunning thing and I refused to “disc swap” or get a mod chip.
Now I hear rumors that GQD may in fact reprint some of these games, with the help of SEGA or whoever, and I rejoice.
Video game collectors are a sorry lot. Not because of their temprament or their penchant to call others “moron.” No. They are a sorry lot because of the items they collect and the industry that spawns them.
Unlike Wizards Of The Coast with their Magic cards or comic book publishers with their, well, comic books, the publishers of video games make no money off the secondary market. Were Wizards to reprint the Black Lotus and Juzam Djinn tomorrow, the backlash would be extraordinary. Card shops that hold Wizards-sanctioned events would stop paying their fees, players that enter tourneys in hopes of winning one of those ultra rare cards would feel no need to submit their $50 entry fee, collectors would go on murderous rampages, etc.
Wizards has an obligation to their collectors because the cards, after all is said and done, are labeled a “COLLECTIBLE Trading Card Game.” Indeed, Wizards and similar companies financial futures depend on not re-issuing.
This is not true of the video game industry.
The industry in general and their publishers in particular depend solely on making money. As retro-gaming becomes more and more popular as a subculture it only stands to reason that these companies will feel a buck can be made. (*NOTE* The video game industry dwarfs the collectible card market in revenue. They couldn’t give a crap what happens to the little eBayers.)
Don’t blame GQD for they are only part of what you feel is “the problem.” Sega is a partner of theirs. Whoever owns the Atlus catalog is a partner of theirs. Sony is a partner of theirs. And why?
To make a buck.
Make no mistake, the joy that have-not gamers and the rage that hard-core collectors feel is purely incidental.
It’s all about the money.
And I for one, happen to think that’s a great thing.
Especially if it means I can play Panzer Dragoon Saga without selling my sister into white slavery.
Ben
GQD are nothing but crooks. It would be very very very easy to have some sort of mark to tell between a 1st print and 2nd print. It seems most people want this and wouldn’t mind. Since this is just to get the game out for people to play then who cares.
You know why they won’t?
BECAUSE THERE WHOLE BUSINESS IS TO TRICK PEOPLE INTO THINKING THEY ARE GETTING A RARE GAME!!! That is how they are making such a profit. Unloading these games to people who think they are getting the original “rare” version. Come to find out a bit later they were nothing but reprints.
It’s a joke. They aren’t honest at all.
Look at Rez on their website:
Limited Time Special my butt. The price has dropped from before. How limited can it be. They are putting that to make you think they only have a small number of copies, thus tricking you into thinking it is still rare. They have tons and so will gamestop and eb soon. IT’s a joke if you think this company is doing it for gamers to play games. They are doing it to make a profit on people who don’t know the truth.
while.heaven.wept
i think GQD is doing an amazing service, and im so glad i found them.
seeing games im interested in (like suikoden I and II) sell for 100+ (i saw one sell for 400!!!) is obsurd, and it pains me to see people taking advantage of the amazing series like that. i seriously hope GQD re-releases these games in their original prints and sells them for no more than 40 per copy, so everyone will be able to experience these wonderful, timeless classics without having to forkover 3 times the price of the console its played on.
Angry
I think this is cool, and not cool at the same time. After searching for Suikoden 2 for two or so years, going to every game shop, every website, etc. etc. I finally gave up in trying to find it for a reasonable price. I will not download ISOs and emulate or buy pirated copies. So, I saved up my money, grabbed my **** and forked over the cash…a lot of it. I am not a collector, although I have tons of rare RPGs for SNES and PS1. I buy games to play. But having just heard about a reprint of Suikoden 2 makes me sort of sick to my stomach… So I don’t really know if this is a good idea or not. If GQD continues this practice with publishers, they really should, as a service to their customers put a 2nd edition label or something. It would be poor ethic not to.
Matthew
lol this is funny.
People are whining about their “rare” games getting reprinted
What about EA they just released Command and Conquer the first Decade.
The gaming community is funny because they think that because they collected and paid daft prices that they have a right to keep the monetary value of a certain game high.
Some games aren’t even that good yet they fetch substantial amounts of money just because they are rare. Makes me laugh because its another over reaction.
I’d rather pay for an official copy than have to resort to piracy and I sure is hell won’t be paying silly prices for a gameplay experience that was originally priced at 39.99 besides the people making money these days are just resellers.
At least now the original developers will make some money from their old works even if it is because they are licencing the reprints
Malcolm X
Well, for one thing, if people don’t know about the reprints (these stores & company are mostly in Southern California), and once the reprints are sold out, I think over time, the games will re-accumulate value. Oh, and I heard that some “reprints” may be sold for just as much as a 1st Edition print, so whether you have a 1st Edition or Reprint, your game would be worth a lot either way, correct? It just would take time, I believe.
But on the side note, I think adding a Reprint label like “2nd Edition” or “Greatest Hits” (as done for some PS1 games) MUST BE necessary. Remember, the games are being reprinting now in 2006 or whenever, not back then in the 90s. It would be a bit deceptive to keep the old years there. If people just want to play the games, they wouldn’t mind having a reprint, so long as the game is legit and it works, right? Other types of media works the same way.
Second, do these reprinted games have Game Quest Direct label on them, since they are really re-”published” by Game Quest, kinda like how Working Designs “Republished” games imported from Japan, but only as English Translations (hence why WD put Working Designs labels on the box, and inside had the names of companies that earn credit for making the games in the 1st place).
Malcolm X
Oh, and one more thing. concerning the Saturn and systems before them, I don’t think many reprints of Saturn, SNES, N64, Genesis, etc. (games for the Saturn and systems before them) would be reprinted. Not many people have those systems, and it would be a little more difficult to find people to purchase many games for systems that current young gamers don’t have. As for PS1 games (and games for the PS1 to the present day systems), games would be reprinted, as the Playstation family has newer systems that are backwards compatible (same goes with Xbox). Don’t know much about the Game Cube though.
gokirokir
yes
Bungiefan
Remember, the games are being reprinting now in 2006 or whenever, not back then in the 90s. It would be a bit deceptive to keep the old years there.
The thing is, the date on the games is the copyright year, the year the content was developed and released publicly. If none of the content of the product changes then you can’t update the copyright date (copyrights only last so long and you can’t artificially extend them just by changing the date by making the exact same product again) if you’re selling the same product in the same packaging at a later date. GQD doesn’t technically publish the games, so they don’t have to put their name on the packaging, they just hire the original publisher to republish the game again and sell them every single copy that is republished.
Notice games with multiple copyright dates? Those different dates are there because different components of the product have different copyright dates, but they won’t specifically tell you which. Look at the PS1 Final Fantasy updates. For 1 and 2, the graphics and music are updated, the basic story is the same but with an updated script, and the FMVs are completely new. For 4, 5, and 6, the music and graphics are the same, and the script, but there are new menus and new FMVs, so those components get the newer copyright, while the old components keep their original copyright date.
The only way GQD could be justified in putting a modern copyright date on the games is if they actually changed or added content that is new and not in the first run, most likely just changing the disc and case art, and they have no reason to do so.
mightyquinn
I just started collecting survival horror games for ps1 and ps2. I buy them on e-bay because i can’t find them anywhere else. I was hoping to possibly profit on my collection in the future. This news bugs me but I am still fond of my collection.
Paula
I will not shed a single tear for eBay price scalpers, and those who use their game collections as ego-boosters. Games are meant to be played, not to be collected to sit on a shelf and wait for prices to go up.
Game classics deserve to be preserved and played by new people. Imagine if classic movies or books would only have one print run, and then the only people who would be able to own them would be rich collectors. Want to read ‘War and Peace’? Too bad, not available. ‘Gone With the Wind’ on DVD? Sure, if you´ll pay 1.200 bucks for a used copy.
Doesn´t make any sense!
Os
This is both refreshing and disappointing. Recently, I found myself searching for a couple of hard to find games and being infuriated by the prices people were asking. I couldn’t understand how games weren’t being reprinted like this.
That got me thinking about investing my own savings into doing exactly what Game Quest has done! I found this article by researching the topic.
On one hand, I’m glad someone is doing these reprints. One the other hand, they beat me to it !
I own a number of rare titles, two of which GQ has apparently already reprinted (Disgaea, Persona 2) and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I might be a little bothered if I’d ever patronized the over-priced resellers but I haven’t and won’t on principle.
America
People don’t seem to understand that by distinguishing the original from the reprints, the ebay prices will still remain sky high for the original and the reprints won’t sell. I like them being indistinguishable. It keeps me from getting ripped off by the elitist collectors on ebay. Now when are they gonna rerelease some old NES and SNES games?
Carmen
Ok, can we make a distinction? Is GQD actually reprinting these, or is it the original American publisher reprinting that GQD is negotitating with? Obviously if GQD was making the games themselves, that would be bollocks, but if the original publisher is making it, even with GQD’s lobbying, I don’t see the issue as long as the quality of the whole set is as good or better then the original…
Silent_Edge
Well… there does appear to be some sort of a difference between the Disgaea Hour of Darkness cover art. One of them has Larharl on the bottom left side corner of the cover, and another has a succubus. Which of these is the original, I don’t know, but a little bit some clarification would help a lot.
Jobb
“or someone who just wants to play games, but these people are not real game players.”
LOL… yeah the real game players are the ones who put their sealed games in a locked box and stare at them. Right
Rich
This happens with EVERY type of collectible at some point, although generally there is something to differentiate the re-issue. When Uni-Five re-released the Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger Jumbos a few years back they used the original box art, but with a UNI-Five logo. I am fine with that. It made a rare toy available to a wider audience, and didn’t diminish the original value very much.
GQD selling these on Ebay without stating that it’s a new pressing is shady as hell.
I’m all for stuff being re-printed, but not in the case where it’s being mis-represented as old store stock or something.
That said, you take a gamble collecting anything. The value can go up or down, and it’s not any company’s responsibility to make sure your copy of Magik Defenders of Evil 2: The Eviling retains it’s secondary market value.
Iori Branford
If the reprints are identical to the originals, technically they’re just continuing the first printing.
Besides, these will go out of stock too at some point. You can go back to charging an arm and a left nut then.

Video game stories from other sites on the web. These links leave Siliconera.

RSS

The Business of Reprints

Popular

Gaming Map

About Siliconera