1990 "rare" WC1 promo release on eBay.

[-danr-]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wing-Commande...temQQptZVideo_Games_Games?hash=item20ade4f38d

Probably won't bid for it as it's across the 'pond, but I wonder what's special about this 'promo' version. The description doesn't seem to elaborate much...

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Nothing rare about it -- the original run all has that sticker (... for some reason.)

 

[-danr-]

Thanks, should have known as much. I can't remember if it was on my Amiga WC1 box, going to go take a look now though

 

[-danr-]

No 'promo' sticker on my Amiga version, can't be bothered to dig out PC box from the attic, but the more I think about it - the more I remember the sticker being there.

 

[Highball]

This seller is the same one who is selling shrink wrapped copies of Special Operations 1 and 2 for $199.00 USD each.

 

[Prometheus]

This seller is the same one who is selling shrink wrapped copies of Special Operations 1 and 2 for $199.00 USD each.

I am not really familiar with the rarity and pricing ot those items, so I'm asking: Could this be considered a reasonable price? AFAIK the Special Operations packages actually weren't sold very often (at least much less often than the main game), making them somewhat rare. And being shrinkwrapped it obviously increases the value significantly...

So let's say someone would put a shrinkwrapped Special Operations 1 or 2 on ebay, not as "Buy Now", but as an actual auction, do you think it would go up to ~200$?

 

[ChrisReid]

Nope. WC2 Deluxe, which was a CD release that included both Special Operations, is a very very common release. I have a CD spindle with like 50 copies at home. Everybody who's dying to have a shrink-wrapped boxed copy of Special Operations already has one, so there's no market for $200 copies.

 

[Highball]

I made these same points to the seller in a message, and they replied back that they sell specifically to collectors who do not want to play the game, but rather to have as a display piece. This sounds specious to me, but there'd be no point in trying to argue it with them. Aside from that, anyone can go to a Kinko's and get something shrink wrapped, or just do it themselves at home.

 

[Prometheus]

Nope. WC2 Deluxe, which was a CD release that included both Special Operations, is a very very common release.

That's not what I meant. Sure WC2 Deluxe is a common release, however the original floppy disk packages are not.

As Highball already stated, the people it seems to be targeted at don't want these games to play them They propably would even consider removing the shrinkwrap near-blashpemy. And they propably would already have the CD release for playing purposes (if they play at all, many video game collectors appear to don't play that much anymore.)

About "just getting it shrinkwrapped yourself" - that would not be authentic anymore; in fact if you then go on to sell it, this would be ripping off people with a fake (as long as you don't explicitly state that you "restored" the shrinkwrap or something like that).


So, let me post my question again, do you think they're worth ~200$ in that respect? What do non-shrinkwrapped versions of the Special Operations packages (the floppy disk versions) go for normally?

 

[ChrisReid]

That's not what I meant. Sure WC2 Deluxe is a common release, however the original floppy disk packages are not.

The question was if an actual auction would reach $200, and the existence of WC2 Deluxe has a significant impact on the answer.

About "just getting it shrinkwrapped yourself" - that would not be authentic anymore; in fact if you then go on to sell it, this would be ripping off people with a fake (as long as you don't explicitly state that you "restored" the shrinkwrap or something like that).

I think the implication might be that it's pretty hard to tell via eBay whether something was factory shrunk wrap.

So, let me post my question again, do you think they're worth ~200$ in that respect? What do non-shrinkwrapped versions of the Special Operations packages (the floppy disk versions) go for normally?

$20-30 maybe. I could believe that there's zero people in the world who would pay more than $50 for it factory shrink wrapped (and that there's almost zero factory shrunk packages left in circulation).

 

[Prometheus]

the existence of WC2 Deluxe has a significant impact on the answer.

Well, I'm not sure about that. The existance of "World Class Track Meet" doesn't seem to have much impact on the collector's value of "Stadium Events". (Talking about the NTSC, not PAL, releases, of course)

 

[AD]

Well, I'm not sure about that. The existance of "World Class Track Meet" doesn't seem to have much impact on the collector's value of "Stadium Events". (Talking about the NTSC, not PAL, releases, of course)

That isn't quite the same thing though, as WC2 deluxe isn't actually different then the boxed diskette version and there are significantly more in existance than Stadium Events.

 

[ChrisReid]

Well, I'm not sure about that. The existance of "World Class Track Meet" doesn't seem to have much impact on the collector's value of "Stadium Events". (Talking about the NTSC, not PAL, releases, of course)

I'm just trying to share what I would expect based on buying hundreds of Wing Commander items on eBay. The original question was if the Special Operations would reach $200 on eBay, not just what a standalone collector's value might be. About eight years ago, Kilrathi Saga was going for hundreds of dollars because that was the primary way to get the original WC games going on modern systems. As soon as DOSBox made all those copies of WC1/2 Deluxe useful again, the price of Kilrathi Saga plummeted. If there was no WC2 Deluxe, people would be paying exorbitant prices for Special Operations, both shrunk or not. As it is, I would say $50 is an upper limit.

 

[Prometheus]

About eight years ago, Kilrathi Saga was going for hundreds of dollars because that was the primary way to get the original WC games going on modern systems.

Really? Wow, that's incredible.

Why wasn't the KS produced in a bigger amount, obviously the demand would have been there...?


BTW, The price collectors items reach on ebay is in my opinion a good way of determining actual collector's value.
People who are more determinded to just "get it going" usually resort to piracy quite easily, I'd think. And if they already owned the original DOS versions, they might even feel "entitled" to do so and have no moral issues with it, even when they normally oppose piracy.

 

[ChrisReid]

Really? Wow, that's incredible.

Why wasn't the KS produced in a bigger amount, obviously the demand would have been there...?

It was. The game was rereleased in 1998. But by 2001 or 2002, operating systems changed, the people who built/support the game are gone, and it's much more complicated than pushing a button and spitting some more copies out of a factory. It's easy for us to tell an endless stream of KS players that they need to engage compatibility mode on the launcher and the actual game executable, but a major company can't sell a game like that.

People who are more determinded to just "get it going" usually resort to piracy quite easily, I'd think.

For most people, it's actually a lot harder to "pirate" something than buy it off eBay. I think the people who live online, post to message boards every day and can find any game online in five minutes forget that the vast majority of people have never heard of bit torrent and wouldn't even know where to start.

 

[Highball]

About eight years ago, Kilrathi Saga was going for hundreds of dollars

Eight years ago? People still try to get over a hundred dollars for it on eBay, and I've seen prices in the several hundred dollar mark on Amazon.com. I ended up thinking to myself that it was a good thing I didn't just throw away or trade in all my Wing Commander games; I guess I just didn't have the heart to toss 'em. Once I found out about DosBox, I then started digging these things out of hibernation. The only one I got rid of was WC3, and I'd sold it to a friend for a decent chunk of 1999 change.

 

[ChrisReid]

Eight years ago? People still try to get over a hundred dollars for it on eBay, and I've seen prices in the several hundred dollar mark on Amazon.com.

That's true, I still see it hit $150, which seems very high, but it's decreased quite a bit since the $350 peak or so. There's some insane $500 postings here and there, but there's also "like new" copies below $80 around.

 

[Mace]

It's easy for us to tell an endless stream of KS players that they need to engage compatibility mode on the launcher and the actual game executable, but a major company can't sell a game like that.

You never bought "Mortyr:Schloss"(one of the most promising 3D shooters of it's era that was sold uncompleted because the company went bankrupt and Mirage bought it and released the Beta version as retail).

Even my "Tie fighter Deluxe" included an instruction sheet for win95 owners. And it was incorrect also.

 

[Prometheus]

Yeah, you've to put up with a lot of crap with commercial games sometimes.

 

[ChrisReid]

Yeah, we can all name a hundred crappy releases, but as a rule, that sucks, and major game companies like EA don't usually do that (WC's closest were the "Gold Classics" rereleases that required a restart in DOS mode from Windows 95).