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5 Rare & Expensive Nintendo DS Games

blog.videogamepricecharts.com — The Nintendo DS has been available for less than 3 years, but there are already five rarities that collector's clamoring for.

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  • derfunkenstein, on 07/23/2008, -2/+82what's totally insane to me is that there's a "yahtzee/monopoly/battleship/boggle" combo game that's rare. You'd think they'd print a billion of them and sell them at wally world for $14.96
    • GlitchEnzo, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Yeah I was really surprised to see that in the list. I bought that game for my sister in a used game shop in Ireland. I think it was about €12.
    • Csma, on 07/24/2008, -4/+5I hate spam like this, those games DO NOT sell for that much, every time I read one of these rare game $$ lists they are always wrong.

      My Tetris DS only sold for $30 a few weeks back ^_^

      (Ive been selling and collecting rare games for 4 years now)
      • NeelxSarkar, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Where do you sell your rare games for above MSRP?
        I could get like 50 unopened monopoly/whatever games.
    • loopyloopy, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2i have these games. monopoly and boggle are very addictive and perfect for the DS, (especially if you grew up with these board games); only problem is they're both very buggy.
    • CommissarVlad, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Yeah I definitely saw a huge stack of those at CVS all for 20 dollars.
      • mikeyeah, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Well, CVS is known for its wide variety of rare DS games.
    • Elranzer, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Even more expensive and rarer than all of these is Game & Watch Collection. It is a brilliant port of three multi-screen G7W devices to the DS (Greenhouse, Oil Panic and Donkey Kong). It was one of those Club Nintendo (Japan-only) exclusives, but you can find it on eBay occasionally. Originally it went for $200, now I think once can acquire it for $60-$80.

      Interestingly, the game is completely in English.
  • N0153T4NK, on 07/23/2008, -1/+19I'm pretty sure that the Zelda DS bundle is worth a pretty penny as well. Too bad I already had a DS.
    • jjgames, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Surprisingly it looks like that bundle only sells for roughly retail price. At least sellers have it listed on Amazon and Ebay for that price.
    • sanosuke001, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1I didn't even know it existed until I saw my 10 year old cousin with one playing some Unicorn game or some *****. I wanted to steal it from her... she didn't appreciate it ;(
      • N0153T4NK, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Oh I know, my store sold our last bundle to some lady that "just wanted a gold DS" and didn't even like Zelda.
  • chaosblade77, on 07/23/2008, -3/+31Electroplankton is the only real gem on there. I can't see why the rest would really generate much interest..
    • HOTM, on 07/23/2008, -0/+28Tetris DS's Wi-Fi mode is insanely good. Same with Clubhouse Games.
      • Eezyville, on 07/23/2008, -1/+6Damn! And I just gave my tetris to my little cousin. Well better coax her with candy to get it back.
      • GlitchEnzo, on 07/23/2008, -0/+17Clubhouse Games is tons of fun and it has so many games in it. Plus most of them can be played online. Playing chess on a touch-screen portable online is awesome.
      • 3amboo, on 07/24/2008, -0/+7***** the wi-fi mode!!! i always get pwned by this guy (and no, not rick astley) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwC544Z37qo
      • TheDarkTipper, on 07/24/2008, -1/+2Tetris DS is one the the Top DS games. The WiFi modes are all top notch and local multiplayer is a blast and so addicting. I suggest anyone with a DS buy the game.
      • smacksaw, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1@3amboo

        Yeah, that guy would be pretty hard to beat, though I think with practise one could replicate what he does. Showing 3 upcoming blocks is pretty damned helpful.
      • Peynis, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1While playing Tetris DS over WiFi is fun, the online mode itself sucks hard.
        The game has like 20 different skins, and you're limited to the same Super Mario Bros. skin all the time when playing online? Come. on. And that's just one of many flaws.
        Nobody can deny it's half-assed...Still fun, though.
    • Diggtatorship, on 07/24/2008, -0/+7Tetris and Clubhouse Games are by far my two most-traveled DS games. Both of them are #1 in their genre by leaps and bounds; untouchable in my opinion.
    • skyshock1, on 07/24/2008, -5/+1Here it is - http://static.btmon.com/Games/Unsorted/NDS_Complet ...

      Go grab 'em. Rare games indeed, lulz
      • chaosblade77, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Filesize is a lot smaller than I expected on the DS games... the cartridges are 256MB now.

        Anyway, as for the other comments, I wasn't really clear. I was thinking more along the lines of the game as an item, and not necessarily as a game. Electroplankton is not only the most unique game on the list (it's hardly a game at all), it's also the rarest if memory serves correctly. I remember reading somewhere that it is the rarest DS game released to date (I could be misinformed though).

        As a game, it would probably be the second to last one I'd take interest in, the last being Nintendogs.
      • skyshock1, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1@chaosblade77

        I have a HUGE collection of NDS roms and the biggest ones I see are resident evil and hotel dusk (128Megs each). The others all vary from around 10-60 Megs.

        Which games are 256?!
    • xonkonog, on 07/24/2008, -0/+3I use to have Electroplankton it gets boring very fast.
      • Synn, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1I can't agree with you more. My brother had the special edition that was released in Japan only. I tried the thing out and was bored with it within 10 minutes. The fact that you can't save any of the creations you make probably was a reason why I didn't get into it.
  • evillawngnome, on 07/23/2008, -0/+58I was AMAZED how much gameplay was contained in the Clubhouse games package. It supports up to 4 players via wifi, with only one person required to have the game. LOTS of boardgames, and other fun minigames. Get it. Play it with your girlfriend.
    • GlitchEnzo, on 07/23/2008, -0/+16Clubhouse Games gets the most playtime in my DS. Sure there are other great games for the DS, but as soon as I beat those, Clubhouse gets put back in.
    • BlueSkyfish, on 07/23/2008, -0/+18And it also has a pictochat-like feature that can be used to send messages to people while in the middle of a game.
      • evillawngnome, on 07/24/2008, -1/+20we ended up mostly drawing penises...
      • razrielle, on 07/24/2008, -0/+14Otherwise known as Dicktochat
    • s0nniez, on 07/24/2008, -0/+13Actually, it varies from 2-8 through wifi, VERY fun game, like bowling and darts, too bad not a lot of people has it, or else wifi would be gold.
    • Jenadae, on 07/24/2008, -0/+3Im always sad when i cant find anyone to play this online with anymore
    • Wildthing, on 07/24/2008, -1/+18I do not have a girlfriend. I guess I will play with myself.
    • loopyloopy, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Clubhouse games is great, especially over WiFi. I initially loved the bowling until i found out it was a cheaters paradise. Cant go past the 9 ball though, perfect for this type of console.
  • caddyalan, on 07/23/2008, -0/+8I'd be surprised if Freshly Picked Tingle isn't already rare. It's fully in English, but exclusive to Europe. Not an earth-shattering game, but rather amusing.
    • jjgames, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4I've never even heard of that game before. Is it any good?
      • jos22, on 07/24/2008, -0/+4it full name is Europe is Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
        see
        http://www.play.com/Games/DS/4-/3431575/Freshly-Pi ...
        for the game with free shipping.

        it decent enough if you like odd games. it got average reviews of bout 70%.

      • aywwts4, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1I would say it is Zelda for the preschool set. No frustrating puzzles, just rupee grinding, you hire a bodyguard to do your fighting for you.

        The main thing about it that bugs me is that I think tingle's graphics are better and more stylized than Zelda's phantom hourglass.
  • Dieris, on 07/23/2008, -12/+5Yeah....no. I worked for Fry's Electronics for a year a bit ago, and most of these games were our 12.99 bin'ers...
    • Lucifugerising, on 07/24/2008, -1/+7Everyone knows that a Fry's employee has far more knowledge of a games market value than a website whose sole purpose is doing that very same thing.
      • smacksaw, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Well while that's a funny comment, it doesn't negate the fact that these games do show up at these prices. Most of the decent games listed on the website at around $20 are games I have seen NIB at Fry's (and other places) for half that.

        I mean, if you really want to be anal about market value, if they aren't selling at full retail and get marked down and binned, it seems that's the market value. What people pay on eBay is only a slice of the market.
  • PATSCRU, on 07/24/2008, -2/+6The thing you have to realize is that for rare game collectors, actual gameplay has little to no affect on how much the game is worth. They are more concerned with rarity/typos/misprints/small runs etc. Most game collectors will never play the games they buy/collect.
  • Tessela, on 07/24/2008, -9/+65HAH, not so rare if you own an R4...
    • Jack8274, on 07/24/2008, -3/+15Who doesn't these days. They are less than 1 game now.
      • Galaxylander, on 07/24/2008, -3/+25I don't. Because I like supporting the game developers so they make good games?
      • JustinPM, on 07/24/2008, -0/+12I like supporting game developers too. But having a backup cart lets you travel with all of your games on a single cart so you don't misplace those tiny little carts. Also, you can backup your save games.
      • SamuelHenderson, on 07/24/2008, -0/+6Also, flashcarts make homebrew that much more accessible.
    • transform100, on 07/24/2008, -3/+8most of the people I know who use flash carts dump their own roms so they don't have to carry 45-50 games around...
  • Wootstapler, on 07/24/2008, -1/+2Etrian Odyssey anyone?? Wow.
  • swrostmore, on 07/24/2008, -1/+6Puzzle Quest?
  • conversekid, on 07/24/2008, -2/+11NDash.eu anyone?

    Even though I own real copies of most of those, seriously, if it's only the GAME you're going for (not the box, etc) then just boot it.
    • vagarach, on 07/24/2008, -1/+4At those prices I agree, no sense in paying double the price for what is nothing but artificial inflation.
  • teraken, on 07/24/2008, -0/+7Pretty sure the DS has been out for more than 3 years.
    • notoneofus, on 07/24/2008, -0/+7Released in late 2004, so you're right.
    • DaHuuuuuudge, on 07/24/2008, -1/+7It's been out less than four, so the most appropriate number is three.
    • DaHuuuuuudge, on 07/24/2008, -0/+4Oh, I just realized the description said "less than three". I kinda missed that. Oh well, people Dugg all of our comments for some reason.
  • gridbread, on 07/24/2008, -8/+3I'm pretty annoyed by this "collectible" price gouging crap, but I really think it should be illegal for commercial businesses to pull anything similar in pricing.
    When they come across any title they should be forced to price it at it's current MSRP, which should only be allowed to devalue overtime, you know what they would give you for trade-in (practically nothing).
    When you're lucky enough to find a "gem" at a game store it should be fair game.
    When I find Windows 3.1 at a junk store I don't pay "XTREME RARE L@@K!!1" prices, I pay 5 bucks, maybe.

    Most of my rage toward this comes from seeing an open box Super Nintendo game (it was a certain rpg) for 80 dollars at Gamestop (or Software etc), ridiculous.
    • melonhedd, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2***** A MARKET
    • Tribis, on 07/24/2008, -1/+9I think what your looking for is called Communism.
    • Akaziel, on 07/24/2008, -0/+4I work at Gamestop....we don't do that OFTEN. But occasionally I'll see something with some sticker shock, like when we got Marvel Vs Capcom for PS2. Put it out on the shelf USED for almost $80. I thought "for a game that semi obscure, and at that price, it's gonna be on our shelves forever!" Wrong. It didn't last an hour.
    • BassJunkie, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1I think the problem here is that these games are no longer produced, hence the only way to get them is second hand. Like most second hand items they only go for as much as someone is willing to pay for them.
      These particular games and packs have proved so popular that people are willing to pay well over the MSRP to have them. It's similar to just about any other product, if something is desirable and in short supply, MSRP goes out the window!
  • notman, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Wow, I guess I should start buying these when I see them in stores. I've seen several of them many times. (the combo gameboard pack and Tetris).
  • FUR10N, on 07/24/2008, -4/+1ok
  • P3NGUIN8, on 07/24/2008, -2/+2ha thats cool but whats that game electroplancton about?
  • mswope, on 07/24/2008, -4/+2You're kidding, right?
  • AwwSchucks, on 07/24/2008, -3/+3shouldn't warioware: touched be up there too?
    • Davoidbot, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Maybe. I can't seem to find it anywhere, and as a fool that has no way to transfer money on the internet, I don't think that I'll get a chance to get it for awhile.
  • seanthebond, on 07/24/2008, -8/+1Wow, how did this get on the front page?

    Buried as spam.
  • BradOFarrell, on 07/24/2008, -2/+2I'm pretty sure I'm the first person in America to legitimately buy the lime green DS, because I got it at the Nintendo World store, which is the only place in the US they sell it, and they didn't know how to open the box. Go me?
    • Davoidbot, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1I think Green is officially the best color that there is and always will be. I am jealous of your DS superiority.
  • badtiki, on 07/24/2008, -0/+9I had an unopened Tetris by Tengen for the NES that I sold for $100 about 15 years ago.
  • CrimsonFlash, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1I have Clubhouse games. It's just sitting on my desk collecting dust. I usually keep it for road trips though...

    Maybe it's time to play it again. :)
  • cofingp, on 07/24/2008, -0/+4Interesting. I wish I would've bought Tetris.
  • gaapgod, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Freeze! Grammar police!

    http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar_quiz/apostrophe ...
    http://www.syntaxis.com/grammar_quiz/grammar_quiz. ...
  • mlvassallo, on 07/24/2008, -1/+10Tetris DS? Really. Target down the street has some copies for all you "collectors" looking for some...
  • gamben0, on 07/24/2008, -0/+9I saw 2 of those for $10 at Wal-mart. I wouldn't call that rare.
  • joshuagor44, on 07/24/2008, -7/+2Flash it and it's free
    • apena89, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1true but you can't collect it then sell it.
  • opzero, on 07/24/2008, -0/+0If you want to get "Clubhouse Games", it was on clearance for about $10 CDN at Toys 'R' Us when I was working there about a year ago...it's probably still there too.
  • Kanten, on 07/24/2008, -1/+11A Nintendogs bundle is not a game.
  • unrealmp3, on 07/24/2008, -0/+5Clubhouse Games is a nice casual game cartridge, support up to four players on local wifi, works online, and hold 42 games. When I bought it (40$), it's approximately less than a dollar for a game. My top favorite game of all time on the Nintendo DS.
    • moush, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1If you like puzzle games, you should check out Mario Picross, it's sorta like crosswords combined with sudoku.
    • tdogg241, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Clubhouse Games is the *****. Even when I didn't have wifi access, I could play Mahjong Solitaire for hours on end.

      And moush, I think you mean Picross DS. That game is also great and hasn't left my DS since I got it ~3 months ago.
  • skyshock1, on 07/24/2008, -10/+5Really? Cause I'm pretty sure you can download all those ROM's in .nds format from The Pirate Bay pretty easily and play them on your DS using an R4, M3, or Edge card.

    *****, in fact, here's TetrisDS - http://www.mininova.org/tor/1500925

    Rare my ass. Whooopee :P
    • Blandyman, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Nice try being witty, but you weren't.

      And also, nice job mentioning pirate bay, then linking to mininova. Your continuity is great.

      Lastly, it doesn't count if you pirate it.
  • ElectroStep, on 07/24/2008, -0/+11I saw a list like this for the N64 once. I had 8 or so of the rare games listed.

    I miss the N64.
  • imcharming, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1I got Clubhouse Games from my brother as a birthday gift. It's pretty awesome, I must say.
  • InorganicMatter, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2I've got 3 of those. Must not be TOO rare...
  • GreatWhiteShaky, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2I'm actually happy now that i didnt sell Tetris to help pay for my 360
  • Black6x, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2I would give a testicle if Mother 1 & 2 (Earthbound 0 and Earthbound) came out for the DS.
    • ELCad, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Please Nintendo take his testicle, i need those games.
  • aspagarino, on 07/24/2008, -5/+0Waste of Money! Buy the new ipod & download similar games for $4.99 or less
  • crashingechelon, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1man freakin Tetris, who would of thought? I know tetris is a classic but come on!
  • doshindude, on 07/24/2008, -0/+6Wait, Tetris DS isn't sold anymore..??? why????
  • exomni, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Less than three years? Err... no. Try almost four.
  • TheNewFlesh, on 07/24/2008, -3/+1Anyone willing to put $80+ into a single DS cart should really invest in an R4 and a MicroSD card.
  • miitch, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Tetris is the best classic original game for the handheld series, just why do they keep remaking it. Original FTW!
  • crashlock, on 07/24/2008, -0/+3Missing:

    Halo DS


  • moush, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1I'm surprised to see the last 2 there, I own them both and they're both great games.
  • andoru, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Just about every Big W store in Sydney is full of copies of Clubhouse Games. Next time there's a sale it might be worthwhile getting some to sell on ebay.
  • finn, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Clubhouse games is/was a tremendous deal and I'm not surprised at its mark-up, it has a huge selection of games, most of which (except for the solitaire games of course) are multiplayable without the need of a 2nd cartridge.

    Tetris DS .. always a classic and i'm surprised its 'not sold anymore'..

    Electroplankton... have it, and although I like it's concept and presentation and all that, i find i hardly ever use it, but i hang on to it anyway just because it's that rare to find.
  • ELCad, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1Electroplankton has the one of the best manuals ever.

    I had no idea that the Tetris DS was rare, I'll have to make sure the family does lose that one either.

  • Mehndog, on 07/25/2008, -0/+0Wow - I actually have one of those games - I should really try to find it now....lol
  • falcons7, on 08/11/2008, -0/+0If you enjoyed this article check out
    www.rarevideogames.net
    It has a whole database of rare games
  •  

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