The Final Fantasy VII Official Strategy Guide has been out of stock at Amazon.com and BN.com for weeks, which could mean that it’s now out of print after an amazing 10+ year run.

Bradygames first published the Final Fantasy VII Official Strategy Guide on August 2, 1997, and was still in print as recently as November at Amazon. That would mean that the guide had been in print for 10 years and shifted over 1 million copies by itself, a mind-blowing feat for any game-related product, let alone a simple strategy guide, and really a testament to Final Fantasy VII’s popularity even a decade later.

Final Fantasy VII’s guide still shows up as available on Bradygames’ site, but from personal experience, they’re slow in updating items that go out of stock. Perhaps worth a try if you want a new copy before they’re extinct. Meanwhile, 3rd party prices for a new copy are starting to climb above $20 both on Amazon and eBay.

For what it’s worth, the Final Fantasy VIII guide appears to still be available and in print. Go figure.

As for Final Fantasy VII the game itself, it has been out of print since 2003, when Sony gave it its last “Greatest Hits” run. Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics’ publishing rights were held by Sony, and thus Sony made the call to end the print run — some might argue, prematurely. Later Square titles like Final Fantasy VIII and IX were published under a Square EA joint publishing deal, which explains why you can still buy new copies of Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX from Amazon for the why-don’t-you-own-this-already price of $19.99.

That’s perhaps a good lesson for game makers — don’t license out the publishing rights for your console generation-defining masterpieces. Given that used copies of Final Fantasy VII easily top $50 and $60 on eBay, Square is certainly missing out on potential revenue from a “Greatest Hits” reprint.

Is Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 destined to follow in the footsteps of series predecessors Digital Devil Saga and Nocturne as among the hardest to find PS2 RPGs? Appears so, as new copies of the title are evaporating both online and in stores.

Amazon has been out of stock of Persona 3 since at least early November. Currently, a new copy will set you back at least $81 from a 3rd party seller. Meanwhile, the official Atlus site, which had copies available at the end of November, has now pulled it from their online store.

Alternatively, a new copy of Persona 3 on eBay will run you about $70. Considering DDS and Nocturne’s legacy, that may be a bargain in just a few months.

I ran into this problem myself last month, since Persona 3 is on my Christmas list. My family, apparently unable to find a decently priced copy at Amazon, asked me for a URL where they could pick one up at retail price. I gave them the Atlus store, since they were still in stock shortly after Thanksgiving.

If you’re hunting a new copy at retail price ($49.99), check your local Sears (if you have one). My local Sears still had 2 copies last I checked. Ah, thank God for forgotten game retailers.

Or perhaps you’ll be like some lucky forumers over at CheapAssGamer, who found Persona 3 inexplicably clearanced for $12.49 at K Mart (YMMV!).

I’ve heard the argument many times that video games are not a good investment. Well, for the most part, that statement is true. Most titles lose value over time. Even RPGs lose value about 50% of the time — Video Game Price Charts has the empirical data. What are my bets for the titles you should be looking out for? Here goes:

• Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence — MGS is an eternally popular series with a hardcore fan base. This one looks all set to follow Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance in terms of high demand for a relatively low print title.
• Grandia III — Used copies are already fetching over $30 on eBay. There was no European release for Grandia III, which is pushing a lot of the demand. If you do flip one of these, be prepared to ship to Europe.
• Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth — The original Valkyrie Profile for the PS1 is notorious for being the most valuable title on the console, often tying with Suikoden II. While the Lenneth re-release sold much better, demand seems to be once again on the rise. New copies have gotten as much as $60 on eBay. Valkyrie Profile 2: Simeria doesn’t currently seem to be following in demand (hmm, could it be because it was frustrating as hell?), but it may be worth picking up as an investment since it’s only $16.96 on clearance at Circuit City right now.

The common thread with all 3 titles — if you haven’t guessed it yet — is that all 3 went out of print this year, which means that new copies are disappearing off store shelves and are nowhere to be found online.

This amuses me. As much as I like to make fun of K Mart and fye for having ancient stock (”The Bouncer” for $52.99, anyone? Anyone?), this really takes the cake. Fairyland on Cheapassgamer reports that some KB Toys locations are still kicking around Atari Jaguar stuff… and at a price about as cheap as it gets.

I personally did not find this, but my friend found and bought Zool 2 at his KB in New Jersey, somewhere near Rahway, for only a quarter! He said it was next to the PS2 games that they was liquidating. When he went to check out, the employee thought it was some PC game. It appears this was the same store where my friend just got some 10 year old Sailor Moon dolls as well. It appears that some KB Toys are extremely stuck back in time. Simply amazing.

Amazing indeed. It reminds me of when I picked up a box of new overstock Sega Game Gear games earlier this year at a flea market for $0.25 ea. (Nothing amazing, just Disney’s Aladdin, a tank sim, and some poker games.)

I’ve also heard reports this year of Wal-Mart still carrying late gen PS1 Square titles (Black label “Vagrant Story” for $19.99?? Are you kidding me?) and K Mart carrying N64 Diddy Kart strategy guides.

Have you spotted ancient gaming merchandise at a retail store? Send it in and we’ll post it! Pics are a plus!

I witnessed a rather frustrating occurence over Black Friday weekend at Gamestop, which, thankfully, did not happen to me.

A middle-aged man was buying some used games for his young son. The cashier was a jolly looking older man who earlier described himself as a retired college professor who “loves video games too much.” The cashier asked the customer if he had the Edge card, Gamestop’s 10% off discount card for used games. It costs $15 per annum and also gets you a subscription to the Gamestop-owned magazine Game Informer, which tells you which games you should be buying at Gamestop. No editorial conflict of interest there, no.

The customer presented his card, and after the cashier squinted at it, he responded, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can use your card today. The ink has rubbed off on it. You’ll have to bring in your address label with your account number on it to get your discount.”
(more…)

I recently stumbled across an interesting site, StopGameStop.com, with an even more interesting goal: to divert visitors’ gaming funds away from the GS’stoppo and into local mom ‘n’ pop stores — or any other retailer, for that matter.

It sure is fun to hate on Gamestop lately. After all, there’s a laundry list of legitimate gripes against the mega chain: Selling opened games as new, poor employee wages, harassing customers into preorders, and, the worst crime for some game hoarders — putting *gasp* stickers directly on paper inserts. Hey, we’re OC about these things.

Personally, my biggest problem with the chain is a lack of surprise. I like to be surprised either by price or selection when I shop. If you find a used copy of, say, Ico on the PS2, it’s going to be $19.99 no matter if you found it in Maine or California, regardless of condition.

fye, on the other hand, is my favorite place to rummage for used games. fye is strict on having complete titles in excellent condition. While selection is YMMV, there are often gems to be found — Fatal Frame on PS2 for $14.99, anyone?

The gist behind StopGameStop is to upload a scan of your receipt from any other retailer as a protest against Gamestop.

I want to support this site — really — but the truth is that the process of scanning a receipt is just too laborious. As much as I’d like to stick it to Gamestop once in awhile, dragging out my flatbed scanner to show them how much I spent at Amazon just isn’t going to do that.

So while I admire the site’s goal, I don’t feel as if I can be bothered to participate. (Also, the code is a bit buggy and could probably use a slight makeover.) But if it sounds like your kind of thing, have at it, and best of luck to the site.

Welcome, compulsive video game collectors, to the newly launched GameHoarders.com!

Ever look around your bedroom, living room, den, etc., and realize… you have too many video games? This blog exists to support your habit. I, your humble webmaster, Alex, hope this blog will highlight a number of things — retail gripes, delicious eBay rarities, or enviable thrift store finds — that will be of interest to the Pac-rat. Also, we’ll try to keep tabs on gaming items that are going up in value, and may be good prospect for a collection (or for you resellers. Go ahead, admit it. We’re all guilty).

If you have a link or story that you think would be of interest to GameHoarders, be sure to send it in and we may post it!