Garage sales can sometimes be great places to find unexpected gaming treasures, as shown by a Reddit user who discovered a well-preserved copy of a highly collectible entry in the Final Fantasy series. The entry is in itself a remastered collection containing much more than just the remastered games themselves.
The Final Fantasy series is a well-known franchise spanning several genres, notably several classic JRPGs, and both the games and merchandise from the series are highly sought after by collectors. The entry found at the garage sale is not only a limited edition, it is also factory sealed, making it a particularly special find.
The game in question is the Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster Collector's Edition, which is a somewhat self-explanatory limited edition collection of Final Fantasy X from 2001 and Final Fantasy X-2 from 2003. The games were originally released on PS2 and have since been re-released on PS4 as well. The physical PS3 release's collector's edition, however, includes several items besides the game including an artbook, a "visual soundtrack" Blu-Ray CD with iconic scenes and music from the series so far, and five artwork lithographs. It makes sense that collectors would snap up most things Final Fantasy 10-related given the chance, since the entry enjoys an active fanbase to this day.
The user, who goes by _CosmicTraveler_, indicated in replies that they do not intend to open it, instead opting to showcase it in a display case. The game averages less than $20 on eBay when opened, but a sealed copy hovers more around the $50+ range. Final Fantasy 10 was a critically acclaimed entry while Final Fantasy 10-2 is on the lower end of critical reception, but a sealed item is a good find for any collector as most copies of sold games end up opened by the general target market.
Sealed games have a high price disparity in the collector's market as compared to opened, but collector's editions are bound to be at least slightly more common sealed since they are targeted at collectors. The gaming collector's market has skyrocketed recently, with even relatively common games like Super Mario 64 selling for absurd prices at auction. More factors play into the value of a collectible game, of course, but the sharp increase in collector interest is leading to prices rising across the board.
With the likelihood of collectible game prices increasing further, finds like the Final Fantasy 10 | 10-2 HD Remaster Collector's Edition will only become more rare and expensive. Interest in the Final Fantasy 10 sub-series could especially increase, given talk of a hypothetical Final Fantasy 10-3 ramping up again.
Final Fantasy 10 | 10-2 HD Remaster is available now on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Reddit