Famicom vs NES prices

[Shumi Nagaremono]

Inspired by some comments in the Top 10 NES exclusives topic.  The massive gap in prices between Famicom cassettes and NES carts is really interesting to me.  I thought some discussion could be fun.   

I'm kinda new to the online FC community.  I've been playing/collecting for the better part of a decade, but that's mostly just been low-tech "Oh, this looks fun!" kinda things.  So, sorry if this has been discussed like a million times before. 

A lot of the most expensive (official) NES games can be had on the Famicom for a fraction of the cost.  Bonk's Adventure's like $300 but FC Genjin is like $8.  Little Samson can hit $400, while Seirei Densetsu Rikkuru can be had for $40.  Panic Restaurant will often set you back $300+, while Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World rarely tops $80.  A junked Stadium Events costs more than a nice used car under the best of circumstances, while Running Stadium can be had, CiB, for under $100.  Summer Carnival's not cheap, but it's no NWC.     

There aren't many examples of the inverse, though, are there?  Castlevania/Akumajou Dracula, I guess.  And FC exclusives like Gimmick.

That's all different kinds of awesome, no?  A library of about a thousand titles, and only a few usually cost more than a new release on the Wii U (or even 3DS). 

Am I, perhaps, missing something?  Is there a selection of (regular) Famicom carts that even approach the Dinosaur Peak/Little Samson/Bonk type ultra-premium prices? 

I've joked with a few American friends that for the price some NES/SNES titles cost, they'd be better off just having me send them the Japanese versions and putting their savings towards Rosetta Stone. 

   

[L___E___T]

Maybe it's just there was a bigger market in Japan, so certain games are 't as rare as their NES versions.  Mr. Gimmick NES for example, is an expensive game only released in Scandinavia outside Japan.  Dino Peak NES was a rental exclusive (like Hagane) which makes it very rare indeed.

So I'm guessing its mainly that scarcity combined with what's probably a much bigger demand from a bigger territory like North America.

[Ghegs]

Summer Carnival's not cheap, but it's no NWC.

That's not exactly a fair comparison, though. NWC is a special thing that was never released in stores and has a huge cultural value in US video game history, while Recca got a normal release in Japan just as any other game. A better comparison would be to something like the Star Soldier Time Trial cart, though I have no idea what that goes for. The Rockman 4 gold cart or Hot Scramble Final Version are also more comparable.

Also, CIB Famicom games can get quite expensive. Recca and Battle Formula can each easily go for $600-700 USD or more when CIB. On the flipside,a CIB Super Spy Hunter is only worth ~$120 USD or so.

[Nightstar699]

There aren't many examples of the inverse, though, are there?  Castlevania/Akumajou Dracula, I guess.  And FC exclusives like Gimmick.

Tokkyu Shirei Solbrain is generally a lot more expensive than Shatterhand. Also, Double Dragon II seems a lot pricier on Famicom than NES, at least for a CIB copy. (Which sucks because I really want that game)  Oh, also, Hitler No Fukkatsu is generally more expensive than Bionic Commando, Kage is generally more expensive than Shadow of the Ninja, Jigoku Gokurakumaru is generally more expensive than Kabuki Quantum Fighter, etc. etc. The inverse might be in the minority, but they're certainly out there.

[L___E___T]

Battle Formula is certainly one that is way more expensive than the NES version.  Forgot about that one - Power Blade 2 is also cheaper than Captain Saver, but the difference isn't monumental as with Battle Formula.

[Shumi Nagaremono]

The CiB thing is an interesting point.  There are some CiB Famicom titles that regularly go for more than their NES counterparts.  That, in and of itself is kind of strange, since keeping the packaging intact was far more commonplace in 1980's Japan than in most(?) western countries. 

[XiTaU]

all this talk of battle formula i have never seen a famicom version of the original spy hunter was it not released?

also kung fu is much more expencive on the famicom but thats just because of the small run of the us version packaged in Japanese shells.

[L___E___T]

Not named Super Spy Hunter no.  How much are you paying for Spartan X?  It's always been a cheap game.  There is of course that rare King Fu named variant, but that is a very small reprint - the legitimate Famicom version of Kung Fu on the NES is still Spartan X.

[Shumi Nagaremono]

Spartan X has been creeping up in price in/around Tokyo.  It's usually a 1,000-ish yen game.  Everywhere else, it's between 108 and 350, though.  And a *fantastic* game for that price.0