May 16th, 2008
Ar Tonelico reprint coming; Ar Tonelico 2 possibly coming stateside
Ah, ’tis the year of RPG reprints. One of the last high-valued RPGs on the PS2, Ar Tonelico, is getting a reprint later this month — a preorder page is now available on Rosenqueen, NIS America’s online shop.
Just a few months ago, Atlus reissued the obscenely rare Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga 1. Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne is available from both Play-Asia and Amazon (where it goes in and out of stock).
Until today, original prints of Ar Tonelico had been pushing around $70 on eBay without the box and around $80 with.
If the past is any indication, even the reprints may turn out to be good investments. Atlus reprinted Persona 2 and Rhapsody in 2005 and sent out massive numbers of copies to Gamestops around the country, priced at $29.99 each. Rhapsody’s price has slid to around $20, but Persona 2 has shot back up to $50-$70 on the used market, most likely due to the ongoing popularity of the series.
In other news, Ar Tonelico’s reprint might point to an upcoming US release of Ar Tonelico 2. Thelonepig on Cheapass Gamer emailed NIS’s customer serivce to ask about Ar Tonelico 2 coming stateside, to which they responded, “that they couldn’t make any formal comments, but that ‘you won’t be disappointed.’”
June 13th, 2008
brian j. parker Says :
Unfortunately, that preorder page seems to be gone now…
I’d had no idea the copy of Ar Tonelico I’ve been sitting on was worth so much!
June 13th, 2008
gamehoarders.com Says :
You’re right, I can’t find Ar Tonelico anywhere on the Rosenqueen site now. (Their style sheets aren’t loading either, making the page look funky, but that’s another matter.) For what it’s worth, I got my $19.99 preorder copy, and there are some sealed copies as low as $25.99 on eBay.
June 16th, 2008
brian j. parker Says :
Thanks for responding. I discovered that Play Asia stocks it, so my fear that the reprint was canceled was allayed.
I have the original, but I didn’t get the soundtrack, and I was also considering selling it (while the price was high) in favor of the reissue since I’m not attached to “hoarding” this particular game…
Anyway, thanks again, I really enjoy the blog.
June 25th, 2008
hikaruhoshi Says :
Rosenqueen has it back up for order. I guess they’ve got their supplier issues settled for now.