PS3 print runs?

[Danime]

So I'm gearing up ready for the release of the PS3 Slim (or whatever the next PS incarnication will be) by buying all the good PS3 games that have come out since its launch. I've already picked up Civilization: Revolution for cheap but there are two games that I just can't find anywhere, despite them coming out late 2008 and February 2009 (Valkyria Chronicles and Eternal Sonata respectively). They seem to have had ridiculously tiny print runs, Valkyria Chronicles is still just about able to be got hold of but Eternal Sonata seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

So what I'm wondering is how likely are games to be reprinted in general? I'm completely unfamiliar with game production but these two cases just seem a little silly, so I'm hoping more copies will be printed at some point..

[ADC]

It's not unheard of for games to get reprinted, but it does depend on the publisher, the genre, and the perceived popularity of the game.

In the case of Valkyria Chronicles, it's a game that is a new property (strike 1), is a tactical RPG (strike 2), and didn't sell well (strike 3). So even though it's coming from Sega, I'd suggest that you not rely on a reprint. If you want it, buy it now.

As for Trusty Bell (I call it that because it pisses off the gamers who insist on calling it "Eternal Sonata" just because Namdai renamed it for the States), it's a new property (strike 1), a sort of quirky RPG (strike 2), and is essentially a reprint already as it's an enhanced port of the Xbox 360 version (foul ball). And I don't recall sales data, but I think I saw it sitting on the shelves at Worst Buy even after they did their "buy 1 get 1 free off this list" promotion earlier this year. The likelihood of it getting a reprint is low. So start scouring the used bins and low-traffic retailers.

[Danime]

It's not unheard of for games to get reprinted, but it does depend on the publisher, the genre, and the perceived popularity of the game.

In the case of Valkyria Chronicles, it's a game that is a new property (strike 1), is a tactical RPG (strike 2), and didn't sell well (strike 3). So even though it's coming from Sega, I'd suggest that you not rely on a reprint. If you want it, buy it now.

As for Trusty Bell (I call it that because it pisses off the gamers who insist on calling it "Eternal Sonata" just because Namdai renamed it for the States), it's a new property (strike 1), a sort of quirky RPG (strike 2), and is essentially a reprint already as it's an enhanced port of the Xbox 360 version (foul ball). And I don't recall sales data, but I think I saw it sitting on the shelves at Worst Buy even after they did their "buy 1 get 1 free off this list" promotion earlier this year. The likelihood of it getting a reprint is low. So start scouring the used bins and low-traffic retailers.

That's not the best outlook I've ever heard. Ah well, I'm sure there'll be -some- way I can find Eternal Sonata.

My idea for PS3 games was to wait until they were cut down in price, but the less mainstream ones like what we're talking about never seem to come down in price (at least, in the UK they don't), and PS3 games in general are damn expensive, forking out £40 for one isn't always the easiest thing to do, 3 PS3 games = 1 DSi, O_O

[broodwars]

Huh, I've never had a problem finding a PS3 game when I really wanted it. I still see copies of Valkyria Chronicles and Eternal Sonata on store shelves, even Wal-Mart. In general, the really popular games will get reprinted (in a best-case scenario as a discounted "Player's Choice" version) but especially with the economy as it is I can't see game publishers doing many reprints they aren't sure they'll see a financial return on.

[Nork22]

Huh, I've never had a problem finding a PS3 game when I really wanted it. I still see copies of Valkyria Chronicles and Eternal Sonata on store shelves, even Wal-Mart. In general, the really popular games will get reprinted (in a best-case scenario as a discounted "Player's Choice" version) but especially with the economy as it is I can't see game publishers doing many reprints they aren't sure they'll see a financial return on.

Problem is he's in the UK, and the PAL market is notoriouos for not bothering in restocking RPGs, especially Valkyria and Eternal Sonata. It's as hard trying to find new copies in B&M stores when a new Japanese RPG is release that doesn't have Final Fantasy in the title.

These days I just rely on online stores getting the games I want and auctions site for second hand copy.

[MadL]

With the usual never-say-never disclaimers, I'd agree with ADC; if you'd like Valkyria Chronicles or Eternal Sonata/Trusty Bell/you-know-that-game-with-the-composer ;), I'd get them now, and not count on a reprint. My guess is that waiting much longer will mean having to hunt down a used copy. So far, not many games have gotten the "classics" budget re-issue treatment - here's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sony_Greatest_Hits_games#PlayStation_3) a list of PS3 Greatest Hits re-releases in the US; and here's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platinum_range#PlayStation_3_titles) a list of PS3 Platinum titles for PAL-land.

The Wikipedia article states that US titles must sell at least 500,000 copies to get Greatest Hits status (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sony_Greatest_Hits_games#History); there doesn't seem to be a specific number for a PAL game to get Platinum status.

I can certainly understand the caution towards putting so much money down for one game. Personally, I'd say Valkyria Chronicle's worth it. Only played the demo for Eternal Sonata, so I can't really say about that one.

[itsuka]

The UK-PAL versions, both are still available online (I checked www.play.com), Eternal Sonata says temporarily out of stock, but that usually means it still fills in a reasonable amount of time when I order it at play.com. Valkyrie Chronicles seems to be out of print, but it's available from several individual sellers. Tried that system once, worked fine as well. Of course, the prices aren't exactly low, but don't expect platinum versions of those any time soon...

[Leon_Belmont]

Uncharted is hitting 29.99. Pick it up soon if you despise red labels. Though I will say, the GH labels on PS3 games are infinitely less obtrusive than PS2 ones.

[unknownfatehome]

There was a copy of Valkyria Chronicles for £17.50 on the Amazon marketplace (bought mine for £26.75 last week)

Eternal Sonata was pretty much RRP when I last checked.

[Legion]

I did a bit of snooping and those games don't seem impossible to find on places like eBay. Your chances for success will probably increase if you're willing to buy the U.S. editions, which should play on a PAL PS3.

[Danime]

I did a bit of snooping and those games don't seem impossible to find on places like eBay. Your chances for success will probably increase if you're willing to buy the U.S. editions, which should play on a PAL PS3.

I know it might sound pretty stupid, but I don't want to go down the importing route for games at all, because I know I'll just get addicted and end up buying tons of US only games or just US games in general because they're cheaper.

Do all PS3 games get a universal disc pressing? That's what I'm under the impression of at the moment, when I ask about this people always say the same thing, that it doesn't matter if you're in the PAL region or NTSC region but the game will play exactly the same. I just don't understand this at all, I'm just hoping it really does mean all games are pressed at 60Hz and not converted to 50Hz, I've been told that is the case but I'm just being a pessimist because usually it's not -that- easy to be happy about something without there being some kind of problem.

[red_hamsterx]

I know it might sound pretty stupid, but I don't want to go down the importing route for games at all, because I know I'll just get addicted and end up buying tons of US only games or just US games in general because they're cheaper.
I know this might sound pretty condescending, but, yeah, that does sound pretty stupid. :P

There's no real reason to limit your options or pay more than you have to since region-lockouts don't really apply anymore. You'll just need to exercise restraint to control your splurging; consider reporting each purchase to a friend who's not afraid to slap you if you're going overboard.

Do all PS3 games get a universal disc pressing? That's what I'm under the impression of at the moment, when I ask about this people always say the same thing, that it doesn't matter if you're in the PAL region or NTSC region but the game will play exactly the same. I just don't understand this at all, I'm just hoping it really does mean all games are pressed at 60Hz and not converted to 50Hz, I've been told that is the case but I'm just being a pessimist because usually it's not -that- easy to be happy about something without there being some kind of problem.
It's not really a "pressing" thing... It's more of an HDTV-spec thing.

If you're using an HDTV connected via HDMI, then the transmission standard is universal, so games can be freely shared between PAL and NTSC territories. However, if you're using any other sort of connection , then the game will need to be able to use a video mode appropriate for your region.

I can't personally confirm that it works this way, but it makes sense, and a quick search of various gaming forums lends considerable support.

Here are two random sources, both from GameFAQs: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps3/file/927750/50212 (section 2.7) ; http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps3/qna/927750.html?qid=11300

[Nork22]

I know it might sound pretty stupid, but I don't want to go down the importing route for games at all, because I know I'll just get addicted and end up buying tons of US only games or just US games in general because they're cheaper.
Just repeating what red_hamsterx said, it is really stupid. It's a benefit to you really as exchange rates sometimes will make things cheaper and with the PS3's no regional lockouts, you can import games that never see the light of day in the PAL regions (or ones that are delayed due to silly European standards/rules/languages).

There is one cavaet about importing though, if the game has any DLCs, you can only get the DLCs where the game was originally published from. There's also some games where it will let you connect to the specific servers for online gaming. But that's a minor setback to the bigger benefits the PS3 offers.

[red_hamsterx]

There is one cavaet about importing though, if the game has any DLCs, you can only get the DLCs where the game was originally published from. There's also some games where it will let you connect to the specific servers for online gaming. But that's a minor setback to the bigger benefits the PS3 offers.

There are pretty significant points, and they both totally slipped my mind.

The first one shouldn't be too much of a problem, though, since DLC is likely to be released in North America first and registering a US/Canadian PSN account and linking a UK credit card, or getting a friend in the US to buy PSN point cards, shouldn't be too hard to do. (I still haven't found any way to link my Canadian card with my Japanese PSN account, but I'm assuming that's a Japan-specific issue)

And, of course, the second is relevant if you want to play a certain game with friends. You'll need to make sure, on a title-by-title basis, that it doesn't use region-dedicated servers before making the decision to import.

[Consignia]

The first one shouldn't be too much of a problem, though, since DLC is likely to be released in North America first and registering a US/Canadian PSN account and linking a UK credit card, or getting a friend in the US to buy PSN point cards, shouldn't be too hard to do. (I still haven't found any way to link my Canadian card with my Japanese PSN account, but I'm assuming that's a Japan-specific issue)


You can't use a European credit card on a US PSN account. It checks the address the card is registered at against your account details and if they don't match up, it's denied. I've tried all my credit cards on the US, Japanese and Hong Kong accounts and not one of the as worked. Entropay used to work and let you use a virtual credit card, but I don't believe that works any more. One of the biggest ball-aches you will find is trying to buy content off a foreign store.

[Nork22]

Entropay used to work and let you use a virtual credit card, but I don't believe that works any more. One of the biggest ball-aches you will find is trying to buy content off a foreign store.

My Entropay card still works, but it will be interesting to see if it still is once my card expires.

[Skywise]

There is one cavaet about importing though, if the game has any DLCs, you can only get the DLCs where the game was originally published from.

This is not true. I've used DLC from both the US and EU on the EU edition of Folklore for instance. OTOH I couldn't use the DLC from the Japanese edition, because it was named differently. So it really just depends on the game, with Japanese versions having less of a chance of working with DLC from other regions, due to name changes.

As for online play, servers for Bad Company for instance are selected based on which PSN region your account is in. That again may vary depending on the game. Some may use your IP instead, or even the console region.

[Nork22]

This is not true. I've used DLC from both the US and EU on the EU edition of Folklore for instance. OTOH I couldn't use the DLC from the Japanese edition, because it was named differently. So it really just depends on the game, with Japanese versions having less of a chance of working with DLC from other regions, due to name changes.

Interesting, but as a general rule, it's safer to go with the actual region the game came from to get the DLC. I should give this a go with Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires since it's free.