Guys, there are a ton of good prototypes with reasonable prices on eBay right now! Just go on eBay, search prototype, sort by highest price, and scroll past the multi-thousand dollar prototypes! There are things like Beyond Oasis, Crono Trigger, and a bunch more!
I've been tracking prototypes on Ebay for over two years now, I see nothing that is of significant interest. 90% of these prototypes are likely the same as the final binary, which you can usually assume when the seller doesn't bother to post screenshots or videos. Most of the high priced prototypes have excessive BIN prices, and have been listed for months. The most significant prototype I have seen recently was an uncensored version of Wolfenstein 3D for the SNES.
Do post some of the link over here, which you deem are worthy prototype to own. Yes I have seen quite a couple of prototypes on ebay but unsure if its an old ebay listing or new.
Most mainstream Saturn, N64, Playstation, Dreamcast, Xbox, GameCube, etc. games have excessive prices and are listed for months...
Secret of Mana 2: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Not-For-Sal...537?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338ede8fa9 Congo Bongo: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONGO-BONGO...9621?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item1e7f6d5195 Space Invaders: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Ninte...452?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec82689c4 Chrono Trigger: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chrono-Trig...0381?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item5d4b04213d
I'd hardly call the Seiken Densetsu III and Chrono Trigger samples as "prototypes". These were mass produced to a certain extent and even given their own unique serial codes. There are likely hundreds, if not thousands of them. The Space Invaders one is a prototype by the standard collectors definition, but there are still several copies of these, and it is unlikely it is any different from the final version. Worth $50-$70, max.
It's either dumped, overpriced or of interest to a handful of people. I've barely seen any PlayStation prototypes on eBay, though a Silent Hill 1 Trade Demo did sell at the beginning of this year.
Overprice These samples barley worth anything. Big fan of Secret of mana and Secret of mana 2 and I did used to have the sample of Secret of mana 2 known as Seiken Densetsu 3 and I know the price is NOT worth it for that. Well said @Badinsult
We have an eBay thread in the marketplace - try to keep eBay item posts in there, rather than creating a separate topic for it
In real world maybe, but this is ebay we're talking about, where people overpay for anything and everything. I think the only thing you might get a legitimately good deal on are Game Boy prototypes.
When I give a price, I am talking Ebay prices. Like I said, I've been tracking these auctions for over two years. The market for prototypes is actually still very small, though occasionally you will get an ignorant buyer who goes "OMG RAERZORZ", and bid higher than the going rate. Usually these people have immediate regrets and try selling them, at first for much more than what they bought them for, but eventually letting them go for less to cut their losses. This is the general way of things.
