12 replies to this topic

[Ranthulfr]

Okay, I know this isn't a burning issue in the classic gaming world, but today I was looking through the awesome AtariAge Rarity Guide and noticed that A2600 Popeye was rated R2. It doesn't seem that common to me... I would've put it at R3.

[revolutionika]

Randy, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 10:15 AM, said:

Okay, I know this isn't a burning issue in the classic gaming world, but today I was looking through the awesome AtariAge Rarity Guide and noticed that A2600 Popeye was rated R2. It doesn't seem that common to me... I would've put it at R3.

on ebay a popeye just sold for $6.00 recently.does that warrent an r2 or r3 ? I dunno

[Ranthulfr]

revolutionika, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 10:51 AM, said:

on ebay a popeye just sold for $6.00 recently.does that warrent an r2 or r3 ? I dunno

I know that doesn't sound like much but so many things affect the auction price of a game: condition, completeness, popularity...

I just searched eBay for Popeye and 6 other games from the R2 list, games I thought would be reasonable to compare:
Atari 2600 Amidar = 44 results
Atari 2600 Barnstorming = 33 results
Atari 2600 Centipede = 50 results
Atari 2600 Moon Patrol = 23 results
Atari 2600 Reactor = 36 results
Atari 2600 Earthworld = 30 results
and...
Atari 2600 Popeye = 15 results

So maybe it's one of the rarer R2s, at least.

[accousticguitar]

revolutionika, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 10:51 AM, said:

Randy, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 10:15 AM, said:

Okay, I know this isn't a burning issue in the classic gaming world, but today I was looking through the awesome AtariAge Rarity Guide and noticed that A2600 Popeye was rated R2. It doesn't seem that common to me... I would've put it at R3.

on ebay a popeye just sold for $6.00 recently.does that warrent an r2 or r3 ? I dunno

I would put $6 as more of an R3-R4 price range. One sale does not necessarily tell the tale however. Another thing to consider is that the rarity rating should be used as a guide, not as absolute truth. Rarity can change over time, and it is possible that some of the original estimations were a bit off. Overall it's very helpful though.

[homerwannabee]

Randy, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 1:13 PM, said:

revolutionika, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 10:51 AM, said:

on ebay a popeye just sold for $6.00 recently.does that warrent an r2 or r3 ? I dunno

I know that doesn't sound like much but so many things affect the auction price of a game: condition, completeness, popularity...

I just searched eBay for Popeye and 6 other games from the R2 list, games I thought would be reasonable to compare:
Atari 2600 Amidar = 44 results
Atari 2600 Barnstorming = 33 results
Atari 2600 Centipede = 50 results
Atari 2600 Moon Patrol = 23 results
Atari 2600 Reactor = 36 results
Atari 2600 Earthworld = 30 results
and...
Atari 2600 Popeye = 15 results

So maybe it's one of the rarer R2s, at least.

Well you do know this is not even the rarest rarity 2 game. Here is 4 games that should be raised before Popeye is.

Crossbow = 12 results
Hangman = 11 results
Sneak 'N' Peak = 9 results
Super Baseball = 7 results

[StanJr]

also, let's not forget that ePay is not the end all be all barometer of rarity. I have, like, four copies of Popeye sitting here, but I'm not going to waste my time with them on eBay since they are so common, I'm probably better off selling them for $3 ea. at Too Many Games later this month. Plus, I bet I will see an average2 copies per vendor at that show, probably more.

I will agree that Popeye is a bit more rare than some R2's, but not that much more rare. 2 seems like a fair rating. 3 at the highest.

[Ranthulfr]

homerwannabee, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 5:11 PM, said:

Well you do know this is not even the rarest rarity 2 game. Here is 4 games that should be raised before Popeye is.

Crossbow = 12 results
Hangman = 11 results
Sneak 'N' Peak = 9 results
Super Baseball = 7 results

I guess when I consider rarity I also think about availability... For example, Crossbow is (or was) available new from O'Shea. And Sneak n Peek is available new from eStarland. I don't recall ever seeing Popeye in stock new anywhere recently. Sure, its partially subjective, but my first impulse would be to group it with the R3s.

[Ranthulfr]

...and Super Baseball is available new from Best Electronics.

The availability of "new old stock" isn't the same as general rarity I suppose, seeing as some common games are relatively hard to find "new". Adventure comes to mind. But it seems like it should be a factor in the general rarity rating.

Ironically, my only recollection of 2600 Popeye "in the wild" was when I found an empty Popeye box in a thrift store - no cartridge. I guess a person's random luck (good or bad) can influence their perception of a game's rarity. Good thing we have these forums to keep us in check.

[homerwannabee]

Randy, on Wed Apr 7, 2010 10:24 AM, said:

homerwannabee, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 5:11 PM, said:

Well you do know this is not even the rarest rarity 2 game. Here is 4 games that should be raised before Popeye is.

Crossbow = 12 results
Hangman = 11 results
Sneak 'N' Peak = 9 results
Super Baseball = 7 results

I guess when I consider rarity I also think about availability... For example, Crossbow is (or was) available new from O'Shea. And Sneak n Peek is available new from eStarland. I don't recall ever seeing Popeye in stock new anywhere recently. Sure, its partially subjective, but my first impulse would be to group it with the R3s.

I checked estarland. Pretty cool site, but they did not have any sneak n' peaks new. So whatever stock they had it is apparent they ran out.

http://www.estarland...duct.14697.html

[Ranthulfr]

homerwannabee, on Sun Apr 18, 2010 1:43 PM, said:

I checked estarland. Pretty cool site, but they did not have any sneak n' peaks new. So whatever stock they had it is apparent they ran out.

http://www.estarland...duct.14697.html

Aww, now that's a bummer because:
1. It was cool that eStarland had it new, and
2. The timing of them running out of new stock makes me look like the horse's patoot!

I'm certain that they recently had Sneak n Peek NIB though, 'cause I purchased one.

[A.J. Franzman]

homerwannabee, on Sun Apr 4, 2010 5:11 PM, said:

Sneak 'N' Peak = 9 results

Did you check alternate spellings? The correct spelling is "Sneak'n Peek" (which almost nobody gets correct -- "peek" is with two e's, and "sneak'n" is contracted into a single word).

[DickNixonArisen]

In my personal searches I've found more sneek n peeks than anything on that list (6-7), followed by popeye's (3-4). I have not found any crossbow (2600 anyway), hangman or super baseball in the wild.

Background: 15 year collector, southeast connecticut, not an ebay guy.

[A.J. Franzman]

The authors of posts #2, 4 and 6 above seem to think that that there is some fixed correlation between rarity and value. There is not. There may be a general trend for the majority of titles of a particular rarity to have values in a certain range, but there are exceptions (in both directions) at every rarity level. The exceptions seem to be more prevalent and their values further away from the "norm" as one looks higher up the rarity scale (and even more so if one includes PAL titles). But even at low rarity levels there are certain games that command a premium price, for example Adventure and Pitfall!