I plan to do a more in-depth video later when I have more time. I’m sure most of you have heard about how the PS3 has gone crazy. A lot of my favorite Youtubers from Pete Dorr to SicCooper, from Radical Reggie to Metal Jesus have covered the topic. I did a little searching around eBay and some local game stores. I will continue to monitor my local game stores and update my thoughts.

In a not shell, 3 things happened. (Really 4, but mostly 3.). The first was Covid. This cannot be fully blamed even if some want to. People are at home still, but PS3 didnt spike last year. Nor did it spike during the unemployment checks of last year or the stimulus checks of this year. It may be playing a role now, but it is not to blame.

Secondly, and I think the biggest offender is Sony mentioning closing the PSN for the PS3. Check the dates, I think this was the biggest catalyst. Prices were probably trending up before, because, well that’s it goes in this hobby. But that is what throw the spotlight on the PS3. Pete tries to discount this because why would physical collectors care about digital sales. I think this grossly discounts 2 strong points. 1. It highlighted a lot of “must have” PS3 games. And what was different now about those videos than before, was people were actually looking (because of the Sony news). And 2. The threat of not being able to get patches for those games. Jessica and myself love the PS3 and we owned a lot of what we wanted (Ratchet and Clank, Red Dead, Fallout, Persona, etc), but with the PS3 thrusted into the limelight, we started looking for more out there games.

The third cause for all this is because the day has come where they arent easy to find at Gamestop. We checked our local Gamestop, they had maybe 10 PS3 games left. Sure, they are going to be everywhere if you know where to look. But they are no longer convenient. Theres a funny theory about Earthbound not being rare. It was never rare. It’s just one of those games collectors and the internet decided to turn into a myth. The same could be said for a lot of PS3 games right now. As very few are truly rare. However, when you go out, you arent going to see them anymore. At least, not nearly as much. Dont be surprised if games you were tripping over 2 years ago are considered rare now.

The 4th reason is one weve already talked about. Youtubers and bloggers rushing to tell you not to miss out. FOMO is one of the biggest influencers for people buying useless junk. I believe that is happening. Just 2 weeks ago it wasnt cool to collect for PS3, now I’m about to film a video highlighting my PS3 collection. Its just how things go.

So, that’s how we got here. Is it true PS3 games prices are crazy? Relatively speaking, possibly. But this is nothing compared to Gamecube collecting. I use Gamecube because that’s what I currently collecting for. When Covid hit, that changed everything. 10 dollar games I was putting off suddenly became 60 dollar games. From my personal experience Paper Mario and Chibi Robo are prime examples of how crazy it got. I refused to spend 60 on them just a year and half ago. Both of those games peaked out around 200 bucks. And you were lucky for retro game store to even have sports title. Everything was overpriced even if they were common. PS3 is no where near that. Retro game stores still have healthy sections that havent been raided or jacked up in prices. Maybe things are different here in the South? Ebay is certainly a lawless land. Games are doubling in price. May 3rd Sly 4 could be bought for about 30-40. Yesterday it sold for about 75-80. So avoid ebay at all cost until things quiet down.

So my thoughts are, things are mostly crazy online because theres always a fool online. Not necessarily in stores. If more fools come out easily parted with their cash, prices in person may go up as well. Until than, I dont really feel threatened down here where I am. Hopefully you guys have good hunting spots as well.

This is a topic I am interested in covering more down the road, so be on the look out. Let me know your thoughts down below. Thanks for reading and have a great day.