Saturn Bomberman (HUGE PRICE INCREASE)

[notshane]

I checked up on this game last year and hesitated on buying it, assuming it would still be eighty bucks when I got it later.

How much is it now? Oh, you know, FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS.

What the hell happened? Did people finally notice this was an actual good game and decided to be jerks and skyrocket the price? Man, I know the menus are easier to navigate for most in English, but if it were not for my somewhat knowledge of basic Japanese, I would be having some heavy difficulties navigating the menus in this game. So, I sprung out and just imported instead, as I probably get a truer version of the game that way anyway. Though, it is strange that it is not called "Bomberman" on the cover, as I believe he has a different name in Japan.

But, how did the price shoot up so much? I truly do not understand this.

[barryburton]

Nov 22, 2015 3:35:34 GMT notshane said:

I checked up on this game last year and hesitated on buying it, assuming it would still be eighty bucks when I got it later.

How much is it now? Oh, you know, FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS.

What the hell happened? Did people finally notice this was an actual good game and decided to be jerks and skyrocket the price? Man, I know the menus are easier to navigate for most in English, but if it were not for my somewhat knowledge of basic Japanese, I would be having some heavy difficulties navigating the menus in this game. So, I sprung out and just imported instead, as I probably get a truer version of the game that way anyway. Though, it is strange that it is not called "Bomberman" on the cover, as I believe he has a different name in Japan.

But, how did the price shoot up so much? I truly do not understand this.

I can't see any US versions on EBay to corroborate, but perhaps go for a PAL copy which sell for about £40-50 GBP.

[Yart]

Is the PAL version PAL optimized? Will the videos run fine on an NTSC system?

[martiniii]

Nov 22, 2015 9:39:02 GMT barryburton said:

Nov 22, 2015 3:35:34 GMT notshane said:

I checked up on this game last year and hesitated on buying it, assuming it would still be eighty bucks when I got it later.

How much is it now? Oh, you know, FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS.

What the hell happened? Did people finally notice this was an actual good game and decided to be jerks and skyrocket the price? Man, I know the menus are easier to navigate for most in English, but if it were not for my somewhat knowledge of basic Japanese, I would be having some heavy difficulties navigating the menus in this game. So, I sprung out and just imported instead, as I probably get a truer version of the game that way anyway. Though, it is strange that it is not called "Bomberman" on the cover, as I believe he has a different name in Japan.

But, how did the price shoot up so much? I truly do not understand this.

I can't see any US versions on EBay to corroborate, but perhaps go for a PAL copy which sell for about £40-50 GBP.

Looking at the completed listings on Ebay, I see that this month a complete-in-box US version starting at $179 repeatedly failed to attract any bids, though last month two complete-in-box copies sold for between $195 and $200. The general going rate for a complete-in-box US version seems to be in the range of $150-200, though I'm sure you can get it for cheaper if you're patient and keep your eyes out. Or alternatively, settle for an incomplete copy; if you're willing to settle for the Japanese version then perfectionist collecting is clearly not your objective anyway.

[jmart082]

The JP version is totally playable, imho. Just requires a little bit of trial and error. As good as Saturn bomberman might be, it's not the sort of game that justifies a price tag of any more than $100, and even that's a stretch.

[sych]

Nov 22, 2015 14:19:37 GMT Yart said:

Is the PAL version PAL optimized? Will the videos run fine on an NTSC system?

Pal Bomberman isn't optimized if my memory serves me correctly.

just had a look at some of the US Bombermans knocking about on ebay. $300 dollars! WOW! There should still be a few Pal copies knocking around for £30-£50.

[savaroth]

Nov 22, 2015 16:53:51 GMT jmart082 said:

The JP version is totally playable, imho. Just requires a little bit of trial and error. As good as Saturn bomberman might be, it's not the sort of game that justifies a price tag of any more than $100, and even that's a stretch.

I agree with the japanese version part. You only need an English version if you want to understand the storyline mode, but imo it adds very little to the experience. Bought myself a JP version of bomberman a year or two ago, for $15,- ( and 5 dollars worth of shipping ) .

However, from a collectors point of view I expect Bomberman ( even the JP version ) to go up in price. With Hudson gone for some time now and bomberman getting older and the Saturn version being pretty damn good it will get harder to get a hold of a copy. 400 dollars is a bloated price, but i do think we'll see more ebay offers upwards of 100 dollars.

[saturnfan31]

I agree with Savaroth, I also have the JP version of Saturn Bomberman I recently purchased. I paid round same price.

[xDerekRx]

Saturn Bomberman US has indeed skyrocketed the last couple years. Nice complete copies are $200 now. About the going rate. But when copies get scarce you can see people fighting for them or see them selling for even higher. If you are a collector too, the US coverart to me is Top 5 coverart on the entire system across any region. Great color and hand drawn background.

Its one of the half dozen games that reallly shot up since 2010.

I bought my copy, 100% mint btw, for $40 in 2008. I wanted it to play over Netlink (which I did and I have videos on my youtube channel for those interested in seeing what that looked like).

At the time I remember trying to get it for $35 and being slightly upset to pay $40...

Why the price hike? Is it worth it? Heres the thing about Saturn Bman. Its probably the best looking game in the entire long running series. It has a beautiful singleplayer that is probably too short. I hate to rag on a game for being too short since its so good.

But the 10 player mode is legit and totally worth the reputation this version gets. I actually consider it an 8 player game. If you do 10 players there is only one map and everyone is tiny. If you do 8 players all of the maps are still in play and look great.

Ive said it before on this board but Saturn Bomberman is the one time I can bring out my Saturn among casual and non gamer friends and have them fall in love with the game. I remember bringing the game to a party once. Mostly girls at this party mind you, most who had never heard of a saturn. Some started winning games... even 5-6 years after that party they still ask about it!

So to keep it short some people dont feel SB is deep enough to get the title as best Bomberman game and that it hangs onto its reputation as an amazing multiplayer game too much. But games like Mario Party and Smash Brothers (mostly MP) are considered all time great titles despite being nearly 100% mplayer dependent. I say Saturn Bomberman is one of the all time great party games to this day. Anyone can get into it easily and its multiplayer mode alone is worth the $.

[tempest]

Nov 22, 2015 16:53:51 GMT jmart082 said:

The JP version is totally playable, imho. Just requires a little bit of trial and error. As good as Saturn bomberman might be, it's not the sort of game that justifies a price tag of any more than $100, and even that's a stretch.

I agree. It's a great multiplayer game if you can find enough friends, but on the whole, I find it overrated and the prices mentioned here seem absurd.

[StealthRUSH]

Nov 22, 2015 3:35:34 GMT notshane said:

I checked up on this game last year and hesitated on buying it, assuming it would still be eighty bucks when I got it later.

How much is it now? Oh, you know, FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS.

What the hell happened? Did people finally notice this was an actual good game and decided to be jerks and skyrocket the price? Man, I know the menus are easier to navigate for most in English, but if it were not for my somewhat knowledge of basic Japanese, I would be having some heavy difficulties navigating the menus in this game. So, I sprung out and just imported instead, as I probably get a truer version of the game that way anyway. Though, it is strange that it is not called "Bomberman" on the cover, as I believe he has a different name in Japan.

But, how did the price shoot up so much? I truly do not understand this.

I can relate. I decided to delved into collecting exclusively for JP Sega Saturn the last few years noting highest prices $100-200 MAX. I figured JP Saturn games have reached their peak in value- boy was I wrong! Looking at some of the "rare" title prices today... sigh.

[notshane]

Truthfully, my entire collection is of imports; with the exception of one American game I got last Christmas.

I wanted to get the American version of Saturn Bomberman for three reasons:

- Because it felt weird that the title did not say "Bomberman" on the front. I know, this is actually a dumb reason.
- So that my friends could navigate the menus easily whenever they wanted to get in a few rounds well I am busy.
- I felt like the vast size of the American game cases was only worthy for a game like Saturn Bomberman, which houses really good netplay from what I read and is TEN-PLAYER. Oh, and that netplay lasts forever, so there is that.

I know some Japanese myself, but my friends don't. So, I mostly payed extra for it in favor of them so that they would have an easier time navigating the menus or setting up games for situations like me having to use the restroom, finishing up a project and other such things.

And, before you bring it up, yes I did wind up paying a whopping three hundred for it. Apparently, the game surged in popularity the past few months, following Christmas time; and it seems like its demand is very high. But, given most people tend to treat their Saturn games poorly, I can see Saturn Bomberman shooting up in price within the next year or two.

The game is very well known for what it did, both locally and online; and the Bomberman franchise as a whole is very well known. So much so that they even localized it at all, especially so late in the system's American lifespan and with all those bonus Japanese characters intact, rather than replacing them with several recolors of Bomberman. So, at this rate, I feared the game would be worth more and just took the plunge.

Oh, by the way, concerning those Japanese bonus characters: I heard that they were intended to be recolors, but they spent too much extra development time already reincorporating the Netlink feature of the game, which delayed it by a year; and so they focused their development time solely on optimizing that and simply aimed to only translate the Japanese characters' names, but not replace them with recolors of Bomberman. I mean, we do know Bonk, I suppose.

[xDerekRx]

Notshane what part of the world do you live? I assume US?

A few things you pointed out, Yes the game is super pricey and you paid more than Ive seen it go for. However you are correct, the difficult nature of keeping US cases mint always drives prices for mint copies up. Almost all of my collection luckily is mint and gorgeous looking but it took alot of years of searching and work to maintain it. Its the good and the bad with US Saturn cases unfortunately.

I also say that Saturn Bombermans US coverart is one of the, if not the best artwork in the Saturns library regardless of region. Just great colors, nicely drawn background. So you are fair to enjoy this release for that reason.

The Netlink mode is great. The only reason I luckily got a copy for $40 back in 2008 is because I was playing Netlink with fellow Saturn owners. So it was natural for me to get all the NetLink games.

I post a video of one of my matches from many years ago on Youtube. One of the coolest gaming experiences I have had. And the great thing is yes it still works today.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=99BMVSgtX2s

It has a 10 player mode but it shrinks everything and you can only use one bland map. 8 players or less the sprites are full size and all maps are in play. Get a bunch of friends together and its one of the best classic party games still to this day.

[notshane]

Nov 28, 2015 1:07:34 GMT xDerekRx said:

Notshane what part of the world do you live? I assume US?

Yeah.

Nov 28, 2015 1:07:34 GMT xDerekRx said:

A few things you pointed out, Yes the game is super pricey and you paid more than Ive seen it go for. However you are correct, the difficult nature of keeping US cases mint always drives prices for mint copies up. Almost all of my collection luckily is mint and gorgeous looking but it took alot of years of searching and work to maintain it. Its the good and the bad with US Saturn cases unfortunately.

Yeah, I know. Even the one I got, well looking very good, had some light scratches on it. The disc was so hard to pry off the holder that I got scared and so I just leave it in my console now; only storing it back in its original case when I know I won't be playing for a while. Or, put it in the other game's case when I switch games XD

Nov 28, 2015 1:07:34 GMT xDerekRx said:

I also say that Saturn Bombermans US coverart is one of the, if not the best artwork in the Saturns library regardless of region. Just great colors, nicely drawn background. So you are fair to enjoy this release for that reason.

It is honestly very good looking, and the main reason, as I said, was because I felt a Bomberman game should just have "Bomberman" on the front and not what they call it in Japan. That I am aware of, the white and black Bombermen are two different people, with different names; well here, they are called White Bomberman and Black Bomberman, respectively.

Nov 28, 2015 1:07:34 GMT xDerekRx said:

The Netlink mode is great. The only reason I luckily got a copy for $40 back in 2008 is because I was playing Netlink with fellow Saturn owners. So it was natural for me to get all the NetLink games.

I post a video of one of my matches from many years ago on Youtube. One of the coolest gaming experiences I have had. And the great thing is yes it still works today.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=99BMVSgtX2s

If you still have that, I might want to challenge you to an online battle sometime. I am interested in a Netlink and have a USB adapter that lets me hook up a dial-up cable to my computer for online play. Actually, speaking of, I have a question about that. Does the American Netlink only work on American Saturns?

Also, I saw that video myself a while ago and it is interesting to be talking to the person that uploaded it on here of all places.

Nov 28, 2015 1:07:34 GMT xDerekRx said:

It has a 10 player mode but it shrinks everything and you can only use one bland map. 8 players or less the sprites are full size and all maps are in play. Get a bunch of friends together and its one of the best classic party games still to this day.

If I had to pick one thing that bugs me about the ten-player, it is the lack of having an option to choose multiple Bombermen like one of my favorite entries, Bomberman '93, let me do. Speaking of, wish the Wii U had that on its Virtual Console already. Being able to use the Pro Controller and Gamepad as additional controllers would help a lot.[/quote]

[bultje112]

Nov 28, 2015 1:07:34 GMT xDerekRx said:

Notshane what part of the world do you live? I assume US?

A few things you pointed out, Yes the game is super pricey and you paid more than Ive seen it go for. However you are correct, the difficult nature of keeping US cases mint always drives prices for mint copies up. Almost all of my collection luckily is mint and gorgeous looking but it took alot of years of searching and work to maintain it. Its the good and the bad with US Saturn cases unfortunately.

I also say that Saturn Bombermans US coverart is one of the, if not the best artwork in the Saturns library regardless of region. Just great colors, nicely drawn background. So you are fair to enjoy this release for that reason.

The Netlink mode is great. The only reason I luckily got a copy for $40 back in 2008 is because I was playing Netlink with fellow Saturn owners. So it was natural for me to get all the NetLink games.

I post a video of one of my matches from many years ago on Youtube. One of the coolest gaming experiences I have had. And the great thing is yes it still works today.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=99BMVSgtX2s

It has a 10 player mode but it shrinks everything and you can only use one bland map. 8 players or less the sprites are full size and all maps are in play. Get a bunch of friends together and its one of the best classic party games still to this day.

there seriously don't exist replacement boxes for american saturn games? I always buy dreamcast replacement boxes for pal games. I can get them at any convention pretty much. the usa saturn boxes are even more breakable so this shocks me.