Which Video Games Are Worth Money?

People who kept their old video games – like Atari, Nintendo, and PlayStation 1 titles – in their original packaging could be quite wealthy today. Vintage games are now worth a lot of money, especially if they’re still sealed. Back in the 80s and 90s, no one imagined the video game industry would become what it is, with so many rare, limited-edition games, and later versions, remakes, and ports.

Let’s look back at a few games that are now highly valuable. These titles can only be played legitimately with the original game cartridge or disc and the console they were made for. To keep things interesting, we’ve picked one expensive game per system to show just how pricey these older games can be. We’re focusing on standard releases that anyone could have bought originally, and not rare special editions like promotional cartridges.

The following game data were found on PriceCharting.

Cowboy Kid

How The West Was Won

Developer: Pixel
Publisher: Romstar (NA)
Released: January 1992 (NA)
Platform: NES
Game Only: $475.00
Complete In Box: $1,145.76
New: $4,583.00

Man, you wouldn’t believe how much old NES games are going for! Even just the cartridge itself can cost a fortune. Take Cowboy Kid, for example. It’s a pretty rare game – not part of any big series – and it came out in 1992, which was already after the SNES was out! It’s a top-down adventure set in the Wild West where you wander around towns, buy stuff, and explore dungeons. Honestly, it’s still a really fun hidden gem, and the only way to play it legitimately is to track down an original copy.

Metal Warriors

Front Mission

Game Only: $406.98
Complete In Box: $957.78
New: $3,750.00

Similar to games on the original Nintendo, many Super Nintendo games are valuable, especially if they’re still sealed in their original packaging. Metal Warriors, released in 1995 near the end of the SNES’s lifespan, is one such hidden gem. Published by Konami with help from LucasArts, it’s a 2D action game where players control giant robots. You can destroy enemies with powerful weapons, and even exit your robot when the action gets really heated – though you won’t survive for long without one!

The Misadventures Of Tron Bonne

A Spinoff Of A Spinoff

Game Only: $234.95
Complete In Box: $587.09
New: $1,250.00

Released in 2000 for the original PlayStation, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne is a bit of a unique game – it’s a spin-off from another spin-off within the Mega Man series. Mega Man Legends introduced a new hero, Volnutt, and featured the Bonne family as recurring villains. While Tron was the most frequent opponent in Mega Man Legends, this spin-off lets you interact with the entire Bonne family through action-packed adventures and fun mini-games. The game was briefly re-released digitally on the PS3, but with the PS3 now largely outdated, physical copies of The Misadventures of Tron Bonne are quite expensive.

Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Plus

A Co-Op Masterpiece

Game Only: $120.00
Complete In Box: $224.98
New: $959.50

Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Plus is an enhanced version of the original game, released for the GameCube in 2003. It adds more content and is compatible with save data from the original game, meaning players can continue their progress after upgrading.

This action RPG is a spin-off of the classic Phantasy Star series and became very popular, particularly for players who enjoyed cooperative gameplay similar to Diablo, both online and offline. It’s a relatively pricey GameCube game to collect, even more so than many older games on Nintendo’s original cartridges.

Pokemon Emerald

Waiting For Rayquaza

Game Only: $262.78
Complete In Box: $658.45
New: $2,819.38

Typically, the third game released in each new generation of Pokemon is more valuable than the original two. Pokemon Emerald, launched in North America for the Game Boy Advance in 2005, was the definitive version of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. A key feature of Emerald was the ability to catch the legendary Pokemon Rayquaza, which remains popular with fans. Though the main story is similar to the previous games, there were some changes to the gameplay and narrative to integrate Rayquaza’s capture.

Haunting Ground

A Girl And Her Dog

Game Only: $325.83
Complete In Box: $520.00
New: $766.36

Released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005, Haunting Ground was a unique horror game, unlike the long-running Resident Evil series. Players control Fiona, who finds herself trapped in a castle and hunted by various killers. Luckily, she’s aided by a dog named Hewie. What makes Haunting Ground stand out is its lack of combat – you rely entirely on escaping and hiding. Unfortunately, it’s been difficult to play outside of the original PS2. Released late in the console’s lifespan and following the success of Resident Evil 4, the game didn’t sell well and had a limited production run, making copies rare today.

Steel Battalion

Don’t Forget To Eject

Game Only: $373.15
Complete In Box: $499.99
New: $900.00

When Steel Battalion came out for the Xbox in 2002, it was famously expensive due to the need for a special, separate controller. This mech game felt more like a realistic simulator because the controller was designed to mimic a mech’s cockpit, complete with an eject button for when things went wrong – which happened often, as the game was quite difficult. Today, finding even a used copy of the game and controller is rare and costly, as only a limited number were originally produced.

50 Cent: Blood On The Sand

Truly Beyond Comprehension

Game Only: $96.97
Complete In Box: $121.43
New: $238.35

Unlike older consoles, the Xbox 360 doesn’t have many games that are considered extremely rare or valuable. However, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is an interesting case – it used to be available for digital download, but it was removed due to licensing problems.

This third-person shooter, originally released in 2009 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, features a ridiculously over-the-top story. It stars 50 Cent and his crew battling terrorists who’ve stolen from him. While the plot is truly awful, it’s so entertainingly bad that it’s worth owning just to talk about!

Solatorobo: Red The Hunter

Mech Assault

Game Only: $199.99
Complete In Box: $337.58
New: $425.94

Released in limited quantities in North America in 2011, Solatorobo: Red The Hunter is a lesser-known but fantastic DS game. Developed by CyberConnect2 – the studio behind games like .hackand Naruto – it features a fox hero battling sky pirates across a world of floating islands. Players pilot a small mech and fight by grabbing and throwing objects rather than direct attacks. With vibrant visuals and a creative setting, it’s a true hidden gem for the DS.

Yo-Kai Watch 3

Ghost Pokemon

Game Only: $423.57
Complete In Box: $511.62
New: $629.99

Yo-Kai Watch 3 didn’t become widely available in North America until 2019, a full three years after its release in Japan and two years after the Nintendo Switch had already launched. This delayed release makes the game quite rare and difficult to find today, as it wasn’t a major purchase for many by that point in the 3DS’s lifespan. Like other games in the series, Yo-Kai Watch 3 lets players explore towns and forests, battling cute ghosts and demons reminiscent of Pokémon. While the series wasn’t as popular in North America, Yo-Kai Watch was a huge success for its developer, Level-5, in Japan.

2026-04-12 19:07