LogFAQs > #977205666

Yesmar_ posted...

There's a big demand for retro survival horror games for some reason. Does anyone know why? Silent Hill 1 CIB costs almost as much as Suikoden II at this point! The former was a Greatest Hits release, so it's not exactly hard to find. If you look at the PS1 and PS2 charts on PriceCharting, besides the obvious stuff like FF and MGS the top of the charts are dominated by survival horror games.

@Yesmar_

I sure do! Survival horror games are my expertise and the main thing I collect. The most obvious reasoning - survival horror is just really a pretty niche genre, ESPECIALLY in the United States. Looking at the chart there, games like Koudelka, the Clock Tower series, Echo Night, they weren't exactly flying off the shelves here. They are obtuse, clunky, and have weird, taboo themes that don't make them appealing to American audiences. However, they were decently popular in Japan which is why they still got sequels, and why Japanese versions are significantly cheaper. The downside for an American collector who doesn't speak or read Japanese being obvious.

Combine this low American demand with a nevertheless rabid fanbase who fiends for these games (like myself) and you suddenly have the market that's out there for survival horror games now. I would especially wager Youtube video essays on these games also drive the demand up quite a bit.

So, the thing about Greatest Hits versions of survival horror releases being rarer are because they were produced in smaller quantities and were already by default on the lower demand of things. They were scarce upon release in other words.

MartinFF7 posted...

Silent Hill 2 being worth a bunch is news to me, why is that when it's part of various collections & remake's on its way?

SH2 is actually only part of 1 collection, the port is NOTORIOUSLY terrible, and having a remake coming out (which is still very up in the air of how good it's going to be) only drives up the demand to check out the original more if you ask me.