As we're all painfully aware, retro gaming is an expensive hobby. Not only does the value of hardware appreciate as the years roll by and components start to fail, making working systems a rare commodity, but some of the most iconic and collectable games are now selling for several times more than they cost brand-new, with seemingly little logic applied to how these prices are concocted.
Given their level of fame, titles in the Zelda series tend to retain their value quite well, but we get the impression that some retailers are simply picking a figure out of the air and bumping it upwards to arrive at their selling price.
As spotted by Modern Vintage Gamer, North American used book retailer Half Price Books is selling a copy of Zelda: Minish Cap on the GBA for the eye-watering price of $400:
For reference, a copy is currently on eBay today for £160 / $200 – half what this particular copy is being sold for.
And, as several of the replies to that tweet have noted, the horrible price sticker has been applied directly to the box – so removing it could end up causing damage and reducing the value of the game.
Do you think there's a science behind the prices Half Price Books comes up with? Or do you think it's just one particular staff member here taking a punt and hoping for the best? Let us know with a comment.