DS Daily: Game hunting

by Candace Savino { Mar 30th 2008 at 10:30AM }

It's always disappointing when you want to play a game, but can't find it anywhere (except maybe eBay for an absurd price). Have there been any DS games that you've had trouble locating? If so, what games are you disappointed that you've missed out on for such reasons? And, have you ever gone to great lengths in order to acquire one of the rarer DS games?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

divinenanny @ Mar 30th 2008 10:59AM

I got my DS at the end of 2006, so relatively late. I started looking for games I liked and found that several were (at that time) hard to find. I went on eBay to find some. Two I remember buying on eBay because they were unfindable were Trace Memory (Another Code) and Zoo Keeper. At that time Mario Kart and Tetris were also pretty much sold out in stores, so I bought them at premium price while normally I wait for sales.

Roto13 @ Mar 30th 2008 10:59AM

Let me be the first to say Phoenix Wright. :P I did manage to find a copy at EBGames eventually.

Xann @ Mar 30th 2008 11:15AM

Well, I've purchased my NDSL earlier this month. I've been kinda addicted to Castlevania series. So I've made up my mind to get PoR, but it seems that play-asia.com indicated that it has been out of stock/out of print. ~Sigh~ Gonna try my luck on my local game stores.

Eleniel @ Mar 30th 2008 1:05PM

METEOS! I've had the demo for a while now and it's just so fun, in a Tetris-like way. And I love Tetris. I want to get it new but I also kind of don't want to spend the whole $30. Aren't there any discounts on this old game a la Phoenix Wright?

anonymous @ Mar 30th 2008 11:39AM

I've had trouble finding Kirby's Canvas Curse, Puzzle Quest and Hotel Dusk.

Actually I'd been wanting Advance Wars Dual Strike which was really hard to find but I found a copy with Box and Manual at Gamestop Yesterday so i Picked that up.

Puddles @ Mar 30th 2008 11:44AM

I was able to get Phoenix Wright and Etrian Odyssey on eBay pretty cheap - it took some patience though. The only game I can't afford is Electroplankton - it goes for at least $60.

On the other hand, I walked into a local record store and saw a stack of Tetris DS games for $35 Canadian. I bought them all and sold them on eBay for a $12 profit on each.

ILPC @ Mar 30th 2008 12:26PM

Tetris DS and Clubhouse Games, I haven't been able to find for a decent non-ebay price gouging price.

I spent a good three weeks looking for the first Phoenix Wright game back in the day, I ended up ordering it on amazon when it was re-released.

Same thing with Puzzle Quest, I ended up having to order that on Amazon too because no stores had any left.

Hame @ Mar 30th 2008 12:23PM

I remember searching high and low for Another Code (Trace Memory), which I suppose is understandable as it's not much of a mainstream title and this was in the earlier days of the DS when the console wasn't as established and huge as it is now.

J.K. @ Mar 30th 2008 12:27PM

I got a DS out of the gate, gf at the time had Zookeeper for hers and I had one for a time too. Stupidly got rid of it she did...I had it around the price drop time but got tired of it and impulsively dumped it for another game. I've wanted it back a year now, but have not found it 'new' for a good and fair price (ie: MSRP.) I'd buy it used but the idiots didn't leave a way to purge the memory so I don't want to be dealing with other peoples baggage. Been stuck using the v2 of the flash release that added quest mode but it doesn't track scores or play quite the same.

DizzyK @ Mar 30th 2008 12:44PM

Let's see. I got Hotel Dusk on eBay for a high price ($30) considering it was second-hand. I searched high and low for castlevania:dawn of sorrow and eventually found it dirt cheap here in South Africa (less than $20 and it was brand new). Woohoo.

Parrotboy_1230 @ Mar 30th 2008 1:15PM

I'm still looking for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice For All. Capcom didn't do a rerun, so it's hard to find, not to mention, it's a year old. I got the first and third Phoenix Wright's a few moths aog when they did a rerun. I picked up Advance Wars: Dual Strike right after it came out, so I didn't have a problem with that. Trace Memory too. (It's a really short game, but fun!) Lost in Blue was pretty hard to find, Konami undershipped it, but I found it at a GameStop. Hotel Dusk and Phoenix Wirght 2 are the two games I'm looking for.

Puddles @ Mar 30th 2008 6:17PM

The Phoenix Wright games are all easy to find on eBay.

angelbabe531 @ Mar 30th 2008 9:46PM

Amazon has Justice for All right now for $15 new. Go get it :P

Gid @ Mar 30th 2008 1:05PM

I decided to hunt down METEOS last week and thought that would be hard to find. I found it used in town yesterday and I paid 18.99.

Now I think I want HOTEL DUSK.

Sam @ Mar 30th 2008 1:06PM

I got my DS fairly recently, so a lot of the games I want are out of stores.

"Kirby Canvas Curse", "Kirby Squeak Squad", Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time" and "WarioWare: Touched!". No store near here has either one.

I have to remember to get Ranger before that gets kicked out of stores, too.

Parrotboy_1230 @ Mar 30th 2008 3:44PM

Whoops, too many spelling errors...>_

Mad Martin Kinderhook @ Mar 30th 2008 2:05PM

I had no idea Tetris DS was that rare. I found my copy clearanced for $7.50 about six months ago at a local department store, and now I'm severely regretting not getting the other three copies they had. Was the game really that low-print?

It seems that the DS games that fetch the highest price for supposedly being "rare" have changed somewhat in the past year. I lurk on ebay quite a bit and knew that, as of this time last year, in order of price, the top five most expensive DS games were Electroplankton (any chance of a reprint due to the Hanenbow stage in Brawl?) [$60+ used], the Monopoly/Boggle/Yahtzee/Battleship 4-in-1 pack [$50+ used], Advance Wars: Dual Strike [$35+ used], Lost in Blue [$35+ used], and Warioware: Touched [$30+ used]. Now there are quite a few in the above retail range, whereas Lost in Blue and Warioware have gone down in value, it seems. I've noticed spikes in the value of Etrian Odyssey, Hotel Dusk, Pokemon Dash, Kirby Canvas Curse, and Super Princess Peach, the last three of which I have, on top of noticing a spike in value, never seen on the shelf at a game retailer. I'm frustrated because I've especially wanted to play Canvas Curse and Super Princess Peach, but I'm just not willing to pay retail for a used copy two to three years after these games have come out. Ebay used to be a place where you could actually get a good deal on games, but now there are mostly price-gouging game cartels operating there in addition to individuals who have every right to want to profit as much as possible but gage what they ask based on what others are asking and not what they realistically think they can and should get out of it. The entire auction system is some freakish reverse-capitalism where competition drives prices up instead of down. But enough of that. I'm just glad I'm not the only one who was noticing how ridiculously expensive some of these games are getting.

Jim @ Mar 30th 2008 2:22PM

Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol. Being a Wal-Mart exclusive didn't help. I went to Wal-mart, and they didn't have any. I asked, and they said they wouldn't get any more. I hunted for a month at GamesStop, no luck. I finally bought it off eBay, but some bugger at the US Post Office stole it. Of course it wasn't insured, and they claimed they couldn't find it... I finally found it at a GameStop and picked it up. I was really upset a week later when the game showed up again at Wal-Mart. Still not showing on walmart.com either... Oh well, at least for a $50 DS game, it's not too bad...

TheCoats @ Mar 30th 2008 2:25PM

i traded diddy kong racing for Elektroplankton.........felt really bad but he really wanted diddy kong racing..........elektroplankton even came with the box and looked brand new.....

pidgeon92 @ Mar 30th 2008 2:29PM

After hunting for a few weeks and trolling overpriced eBay, I was able to find Tetris at my local GameStop. I managed to located Etrian Odyssey at a much farther away GameStop a fw weeks ago and picked that up. Then I picked up ChibiRobo from Wally World and the insert had an ad for DK Jungle Climber. I checked the reviews and they were pretty good, so I went looking for that. The only place I found it was Walmart.com, so I ordered that and it is on the way. I have been lamenting the fact that some games disappear almost immediately after release on a discussion forum on Amazon. I've pretty much decided that I will pick up a game immediately after release and checking reviews if it is something that interests me. You never know what is going to go poof.

kevin @ Mar 30th 2008 3:45PM

I've had a hell of a time finding Tetris DS. I don't understand how what seems to be such a staple of Nintendo's handheld can be in such limited quantities - they should be printing them as fast as they can. It seems like every time I go in to a store to look for a copy, I end up wading through about 50 iterations of the Imagine series of shovelware and end up with nothing.

Jacksons @ Mar 30th 2008 3:52PM

Tetris DS is insane. I've got mine, but I know a few that are always checking around for it. They really ought to re-release it at $19.99.

jgoreham @ Mar 30th 2008 5:15PM

Naw, I haven't gone to great lengths to find anything in my collection, I've been quite lucky :) I own, and bought for a reasonable price, a few of the games listed in the comments: Electroplankton, Tetris DS, Trace Memory, Phoenix Wright. Who knew I was a 'proper' collector with hard to find games, lol! Some day I'd like to own Meteos, but haven't really actively looked for it or anything, and I'm hoping to find Chibi Robo somewhere when I move back to North America in the summer. I look forward to the thrill of those hunts :)

chispito @ Mar 30th 2008 5:43PM

Since my buddy brought back my copy of Electroplankton from Japan, I haven't stressed over any rare games (for those wondering, it is 100% usable without knowing Japanese). Sure, I'd like Meteos, but I can live without it, especially in light of the caliber of games being released the first half of this year.

The Theory @ Mar 30th 2008 6:53PM

I'd love to acquire Tetris DS sometime... but refuse to pay exhorborant ebay prices.

Some RPGs ala Etrian Oddysey and such would be fun to get, but wouldn't really pay what they're worth.

Mike @ Mar 31st 2008 12:39AM

The part I always enjoy is when I'm oblivious that I have a rare game laying around collecting dust and then find out how much it's really worth. I have Tetris DS which I never play and before reading this post, had no idea it was worth $30-40. I'll probably post it on ebay this week. The same thing happened to me with DDR Mario Mix, which had been sitting on a shelf for months when I found out it was "rare" and sold it for around $100 to pay for Guitar Hero 3.

divinenanny @ Mar 31st 2008 2:57AM

How rare will (or is) Professor Layton be? I am in Europe, so I'd have to import, but I am going to the US next year (spring 2009). What do you say, wait or import? (Price isn't really different between importing or buying in the US).

jgoreham @ Mar 31st 2008 6:19AM

Oh man you guys all this talk of Tetris DS made me pop it in last night after not really playing it for a few months. I blasted my high score out of the water, I cleared about 510 lines (beating my own personal record of 240 or so!!). I forgot that I freaking love tetris :)

mahmud @ Mar 31st 2008 9:40AM

If I can't find a game, I'll R4 it. Not trying to be the pirating jerk of the discussion, but I'm not gonna waste time and effort looking for a single game when I'm too busy to even play it often when I finally find it.

RainbowBlight @ Mar 31st 2008 10:37AM

Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Wario Ware Touched
Tetris DS

im going to cry if i dont get one of these soon =/

mike @ Mar 31st 2008 12:08PM

i'll sell you my Tetris DS for $60 :D

Candace Savino @ Mar 31st 2008 12:09PM

Not sure if you were talking to me or someone else? But I already have Tetris, just put it as the example picture because I know it's been hard to find for people who don't. Also, I don't think I'd buy any DS game for $60 :).

antithesis @ Mar 31st 2008 11:50AM

I live in Canada, and can get my hands on many of the games listed above. It seems we get more than we can handle sometimes. I sell some of the titles above on eBay, but the reason most sellers (including myself) do not sell them for cheaper is because another seller will just come along and buy them up from us, and turn around and sell them for a larger profit. I try to offer my games at the lowest price possible without allowing someone to buy my games and turn them over again, because I want them to end up in the hands of the end consumers.

monkeypox @ Mar 31st 2008 12:04PM

I consider myself extremely lucky in having picked up zoo keeper, clubhouse games, and electroplankton ages ago when they were released. I've also got tetris ds, trace memory, & hotel dusk fromwhen they were on clearance at target & toys r us.

I'm still searching for a reasonably priced copy of advance wars: dual strike and lost in blue, though.

neaux @ Mar 31st 2008 12:22PM

I was trying to get the New York Times Crossword Puzzles without having to buy it online.

Attempt was futile. Turn out that Gamestop now has their "OWN" exclusive crossword puzzle game with USATODAY and therefore have outright banned the NYTimes Crossword Puzzles from their store (it seems).

Talk about discrimination.

LordFu @ Mar 31st 2008 2:06PM

I didn't decide to pick up Etrian Odyssey until this month. I thankfully found it at the 6th store I checked.

thesandworm @ Mar 31st 2008 7:10PM

I had problems initially finding Trauma Center and the first Phoenix Wright before Capcom reprinted them. Also if anyone is looking for Izuna or Etrian Odyssey I keep running into random copies at Fred Meyer because they almost never get rid of their unsold stock.

Cameron DS @ Apr 1st 2008 10:48AM

I had to do a little bit of hunting to find my copy of Trauma Center.
I'm surprised Tetris is rare, I remember seeing piles of them in Costco for months.

alxfbn @ Apr 5th 2008 12:22AM

at some point i was determined to buy tetris ds, but instead i wet with metroid prime hunters (which i don't regret purchasing). However, i never got to purchase tetris ds for whaever reason and for some tie i've been wanting to purchase it, even before this post surfaced, but i'm confident i'll find it somewhere eventually wthout having to buy it from the "secret game cartels"...err..the ebayer's who sell at high prices right.

Although i did manage to purchase a copy of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival Edition for the GBA with box and manuals and insert slips included for $23 in total with S&H incl. Not a bad deal i think.

alxfbn @ Apr 5th 2008 12:24AM

Has anybody by the way been itching for a GBA game that you could've missed at time of release?

Matt @ Apr 5th 2008 9:43AM

I didn't get remotely interested in Advance Wars Dual Strike until last fall when I started talking a lot with my brother's roommate. I ended up going on a miniature hunt for it. I ended up finding two copies of the game before I was done. One copy was used - I found that one in a Gamestop. The other was new on ebay, and I actually lucked out, getting it for the original MSRP. I kept one copy, and my best friend got the other as a birthday present (he had the GBA titles).

Just recently, I went back on ebay and hunted down a copy of Etrian Odyssey. Now I KNEW that was going to disappear off the shelves months after its release so I went straight to the website. I ended up winning a used copy in great condition for $28 and change. I think that's a good deal, considering the condition the game AND case AND manual are in.

I really think they should reprint certain DS games because sometimes, it takes time for others to recognize the gems they'd unknowingly missed in the past. Tetris DS, AWDS, Puzzle Quest, Meteos (a game that I bought while it was still kinda new, thank God)....these are games that really should see the sight of shelves again in full force.