Why are Gamecube games worth so much more than PS2 games

Honey Bunny

Member
The PS2 bodied the Gamecube at the time in sales, cultural significance and even software quality. But on the collector's market, the average price for GC stuff is so much higher. Is it simply a Nintendo nostalgia tax? Was the GC actually underrated in its day and this is a corrective? Wtf is going on?
 
Less supply for sure. Possibly more demand too. Can't really say for sure but I suspect there's more nostalgia for anything Nintendo than PS2 games.
 
The PS2 bodied the Gamecube at the time in sales, cultural significance and even software quality. But on the collector's market, the average price for GC stuff is so much higher. Is it simply a Nintendo nostalgia tax? Was the GC actually underrated in its day and this is a corrective? Wtf is going on?
With better marketing the cube could have gone toe-to-toe with the PS2, it was no slouch in terms of horsepower compared to the PS2
 
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selling for a pretty penny
 
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You seem to be misunderstanding how all this works. For collectors - the rarer the game and condition - the more valuable it is. I bet there are some absolute terrible games that are worth a ton because they sold like shit.
For example Mortal Kombat Special Forces on PlayStation going for $200+ for sealed copies.
 
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Are people even actively collecting PS2 consoles and games ? How many people do they represent compared to the total sales of the console ?

Dedicated Nintendo fans tend to keep all their consoles, at least the vast majority of those I know. While the vast majority of PS fans I know just got rid of their consoles and bought the next one.

Especially on a console like the Gamecube or Wii U that didn't sell a ton, you can be sure that a large part of the public was that core audience that keeps everything. Much larger (in percent) than on PS2, DS or Switch where, for a large majority of the public, it was a consumption product and they moved on to something else.
 
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The PS2 bodied the Gamecube at the time in sales, cultural significance and even software quality. But on the collector's market, the average price for GC stuff is so much higher. Is it simply a Nintendo nostalgia tax? Was the GC actually underrated in its day and this is a corrective? Wtf is going on?

Agreed the PS2 was the superior console that had a far larger and better quality library.

However, because the GC was a flop, there are far fewer GC games floating about than PS2 games.

That makes them more rare and therefore more expensive.
 
Has less to do with the amount of copies available or in circulation and more to do with the demand for Nintendo games in the used market. Several GameCube games sold well into the millions and they're still expensive as fuck.
 
The PS2 bodied the Gamecube at the time in sales, cultural significance and even software quality. But on the collector's market, the average price for GC stuff is so much higher. Is it simply a Nintendo nostalgia tax? Was the GC actually underrated in its day and this is a corrective? Wtf is going on?
You don't understand the collector's market 😂

I'm pretty sure 3DO, Jaguar & Sega Saturn games are worth more than PlayStation One games also.
 
160 million PS2s
23 million GameCubes

Do you need further explanation?
160.63, Sony sold 630,000 more PS2s in 2025.
N64 games are also on cartridges.
When it comes to game collecting I don't think the cartridge adds to the value of it, matter of fact I don't like collecting cartridges since a well preserved disc can last forever but a cartridge could easily get corrupted
 
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If you pay attention to the prices it is usually Nintendo games the ones that are incredible over priced, and I think this is because Nintendo fans are just that kind of people that are willing to spent A LOT on a 20+ year game.

You can look for Halo 2 copies and most of them are half the price of a Metroid Prime one, and the Xbox was not as popular as the PlayStation 2 and (in many regions) as the GameCube.
 
With better marketing the cube could have gone toe-to-toe with the PS2, it was no slouch in terms of horsepower compared to the PS2

Dunno about "toe-to-toe" in terms of sales but GC was certainly more capable than PS2 in most technical areas, yes. It could've probably done 35-45 million that gen with better marketing and a less "childish" aesthetic.

Lack of (full) DVD support and its late 2001 launch were always going to hold it back vs. PS2.
 
I haven't looked into it but I suspect there are plenty of more niche PS2 titles that sell at a high price. The mainstream stuff that sold many millions, probably not so much.
 
Are people even actively collecting PS2 consoles and games ? How many people do they represent compared to the total sales of the console ?
PS2's one of the consoles that people will keep using until Sony obsoletes it.
There's no other way to play both PSX and PS2 games on HW with DualShock 1/2 and Memory Cards.
Same thing goes for Nintendo's Wii with GC HW, GC controllers and memory cards.
 
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