Hey, it’s Kim. Gameboy has been around for a while now, in a bunch of incarnations. With all of these Gameboys comes a long list of Gameboy games. Is anyone out there familiar with Kid Dracula? I’ll admit that I didn’t know about this game, but I decided to check it out after finding it on a list of hidden gems over at Racketboy.
Technically, it’s a spinoff of Castlevania. Our hero, Kid Dracula, has forgotten all of his magic and must relearn all of his spells as the game progresses. This gem from Konami is an eight level, traditional platformer, side scroller with one of the cutest little vampires you’ll ever see. If you play the game, you’ll pick up on the Castlevania similarities. The characters—villains—are similar, if not the same, only the cartoon version of themselves. You will also recognize the music but with a more upbeat spin on the arrangement. You can buy the Kid Dracula Gameboy game on Amazon and ebay.
If you do take a look at this game, you’re going to see some crazy things happening with the prices. In the last three years, the price on the cart alone have almost doubled. In June 2013, the cart was selling for USD39.95; the price in July 2016 was USD77. Here’s the pricing timeline from the lowest point through the present:
- July 2008 lowest point
- May 2009 jumped to USD27.95
- July 2009 jumped again to USD39.42
- June 2013 bounced up and down before returning to USD39.95
- January 2015 after saying around USD40, increased USD50.00
- July 2016 continued increasing to current USD77.00
These prices represent the trends for sales for loose carts. If you’re looking to get the game CIB you can expect to spend a lot more money. In June 2016, the CIB game sold on ebay for USD800. This is a huge leap from September 2013 when the same item sold for USD180. During 2016, the prices have risen from USD49.99 to 159.39 (as of August 2, 2016). Pricing on Amazon for used games (the game is only available from Amazon sellers) ranges from 39.99 to 276.99. Ebay’s prices also start around 40 and go up from there. Ebay even has a factory sealed Japanese version with a VGA near mint grade of 80 for just under USD2000.
The big question about why people are spending that kind of money may be in the market. The people buying these games are often buying them for the sake of nostalgia. Retro games are becoming harder and harder to come by, the population is growing up, and as we (yes, I’m part of that population) probably have a little more disposable income at this point in our lives. These games were part of our childhood and just might take us back to a simpler time. I have nothing against the games of today, but it gets surreal sometimes when it’s hard to tell if what’s on the screen is game play or live action.
Not all Retro Gaming is Expensive. Check out these Bargain Gems:
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist Steelbook
- Ys SEVEN GAME ARTBOOK from Premium Edition PSP – (no shipping cost); 60 page book beautifully illustrated; official illustrations packed with the special edition PSP version
- The Last Story Wii OST Premium Soundtrack CD – Original Music by Nobuo Uematsu; (free shipping)
- Halo 3 Concept Art Book – with an option to ‘make offer’; I can’t believe how cheap these are considering their rarity
- New Diablo 3 Video Game Soundtrack CD/DVD & Blu-Ray Combo Documentary Lot – Behind the scenes Documentary is still sealed!
- LUNAR SILVER STAR STORY COMPLETE DEMO CD PS1 – Still Sealed! BIN and free shipping; This is the Not For Resale copy or demo disc
- Sony PlayStation EU 20th Anniversary Varsity – Not cheap, but this was too cool not to include; According to seller, this is still brand new (from 2015 or 20 years since the release of the PS1); BIN is USD124.99 with an option to make an offer
- Terra Nova statue Looking Glass technologies
Did you know that we run a comprehensive catalog of classic video games for FREE??! It’s true! We have a newsletter service that sends you the average prices for all of your favorite classics for yesteryear completely free to you. All you have to do is sign up with your email. We’ll email our e-catalog once a day. Not only do you get a list of prices on your favorite video games, but we also send you links to these games. Just click the link, find a listing that best suits your budget, and watch your collection grow! Click here to get our catalog of classic video games for FREE!!
