Advertiser Disclosure: At Slickdeals, we work hard to find the best deals. Some products in our articles are from partners who may provide us with compensation, but this doesn’t change our opinions. Our editors strive to ensure that the information in this article is accurate as of the date published, but please keep in mind that offers can change. We encourage you to verify all terms and conditions of any product before you apply.
Reading Time: 6 minutesLike many other collectibles and nostalgic media, retro PlayStation games have skyrocketed in price during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the rarest and most expensive titles are from long-forgotten JRPGs and other obscure/foreign franchises with relatively few copies in circulation, but there’s a solid chance that your favorite games of yesteryear have doubled, tripled or quadrupled in price since you last played them. You might regret offloading all of those ratty old PlayStation 2 games, even if it did buy you a sumptuous $3.49 in GameStop store credit.
While they aren’t quite as ludicrously expensive compared to the rarest (but once popular) Nintendo games, you could be sitting on a gold mine without even knowing it. Is your PlayStation collection worth more than you realize? To help you appraise your games, we’ve rounded up a list of the rarest PlayStation games everyone owned.
The Most Common PlayStation Games Worth a Lot of Money
Note: Prices change often due to the peaks and valleys of the vintage video game market. We calculated each game’s current average price using recent sale data and current prices for copies that are new (sealed), complete (used and in good condition) and loose (disc-only). We have omitted listings that seem suspiciously high or low, along with collectibles such as empty boxes, art and manuals.
1. Silent Hill 2
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- List Price: $49.99
- Current Average Price: $179
Some expensive games are coveted due to a limited release with few copies in circulation, while others are part of a larger series valuable to collectors. This is not the case for the original version of Silent Hill 2, which has maintained its high resale price entirely because of how good it is. Silent Hill 2 is consistently ranked as the best title from the Silent Hill series, so it makes sense that new buyers want to experience the horrors within as they are meant to be experienced — as dark, grainy and menacing polygons.
2. Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
- Platform: PlayStation 3
- List Price: $19.99
- Current Average Price: $83
The PS3 isn’t quite old enough to inspire costly nostalgia purchases, but there are a few exceptions. Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon was originally intended to “complete” the Spyro series (until the Reignited Trilogy came out in 2018), which is already a popular collectible franchise among Sony fans. Even if it is one of the cheapest games on the list, Dawn of the Dragon has steadily crept in price over the last few years.
3. Def Jam: Fight for NY
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- List Price: $19.99
- Current Average Price: $270
On top of being a wrestling game with a compelling story mode, Def Jam: Fight for NY doubles as a unique piece of early 2000s hip hop ephemera. During the player character’s journey to the top of the underground fighting world, there are dozens of cameos from real-life rappers and producers such as Snoop Dogg, Lil Kim and Busta Rhymes. Most of the rarest games are primarily sought after by hardcore gamers, but this game is likely expensive due to added competition from fans of the artists in the game.
4. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- List Price: $54.99
- Current Average Price: $302
The Marvel Vs. Capcom series is arguably the greatest crossover event of arcade gaming, so the high price point of its most popular home console game comes as no surprise. It might not be as expensive as its Sega Dreamcast counterpart, but the PlayStation 2 version has retained its high price point due to the enduring popularity of the Marvel Vs. Capcom series and its sizeable competitive circuit.
Great Deals and Bonuses to Check Out from Slickdeals Money:
- New Southwest Credit Card Cardholders: Free Airfare With Major Points Bonus at Sign-Up
- Latest Bank Promotions and Checking Account Bonuses Being Offered This Month
5. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
- Platform: PSP
- List Price: $39.99
- Current Average Price: $267
Every game from the Persona series comes at a significantly inflated price, regardless of age or console. You can get Persona 3 on the PlayStation 2 for a little bit less, but hardcore Persona gamers prefer the PSP version for its data install feature and superior graphics. Unfortunately, Atlus is notorious for “retaining a game’s value” by producing far fewer copies than there are people who want to play the game. Less than two years after Persona 3 Portable was released, fans were already having trouble finding it.
6. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- List Price: $49.99
- Current Average Price: $268
As many embattled Silent Hill fans will tell you, Shattered Memories was the last truly good game in the series. The games that followed were broken, underwhelming or canceled entirely — perhaps everyone has clamored towards this one to remember the good times. It’s also worth noting that Silent Hill: Shattered Memories came out at the very end of the PlayStation 2 lifecycle, which often means that there weren’t many copies to begin with.
7. Revelations: Persona
- Platform: Playstation 1
- List Price: $39.99
- Current Average Price: $626
If you thought the going price for Persona 3 was bad, you’re in for a real shock if you’re shopping for Revelations: Persona, the very first game from this Atlus series. The franchise has skyrocketed in popularity over 20+ years since it began, so there is a lot of competition hoping for a shot at this rare PlayStation gem.
8. Castlevania Chronicles
- Platform: PlayStation 1
- List Price: $26.99
- Current Average Price: $213
The Castlevania series has often been criticized for its “aged” 2D aesthetics and its arcade platformer style of gameplay, which seemed old hat in the era of complex 3D worlds. On top of that, Castlevania Chronicles came out for PlayStation 1 a year after the PlayStation 2 was released. There’s a layer of prescience to its fate — this game is now popular because retro games are popular and lucrative.
9. .Hack//Quarantine
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- List Price: $28.99
- Current Average Price: $331
Compared to earlier entries from the .hack series, Quarantine received middling reviews and made relatively little impact on the franchise’s cultural cache. Even so, .hack//Quarantine is the final installment in the four-part .hack series, and there’s nothing more appealing to collectors than a complete set.
10. Xenosaga 3
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- List Price: $19.99
- Current Average Price: $288
As is often the case, Xenosaga 3 costs nearly $300 because it is handily the most popular game from its three-part series — and the installment with the fewest copies made. Many old-school PlayStation RPG fans feel a lot of sentimental attachment to this seminal title from the genre, which explains why so few of them want to sell their copy of Xenosaga 3.
11. Tales of Destiny 2
- Platform: PlayStation
- List Price: Approximately $52
- Current Average Price: $320
It might be a household name among PlayStation RPG fans today, but the Tales of… series took a while to catch on with western markets. Tales of Destiny 2 enjoyed decent success in Japan, but it did not take off in the United States due to poor reviews, limited availability and its audacity to have pixelated graphics on the shiny new PlayStation 2.
12. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- List Price: Approximately $39.99
- Current Average Price: $353
Capcom developed the original JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure for the PS1 soon after the release of its immensely popular game Street Fighter III. Despite the proven mass appeal of its other games which use a similar formula, Capcom assumed that the North American market wouldn’t care about this game and produced a very limited run. This miscalculation proved to be short-sighted, as evidenced by the massive JoJo fanbase (who will pay top dollar for the original game) that emerged over the following 20 years.
Stay updated on the latest video game price drops and discounts by setting a Deal Alert. You can get right back into the game, we’ll get in touch when we see a deal you might like.
More to consider:
Oliver Pretl-Drummond
Oliver Pretl-Drummond is a copywriter, memoirist and Scorpio living in Baltimore, MD. Primed by years of recreational research spirals, they've helped Slickdeals document hundreds of arcane store policies and hidden coupon tricks for the greater good of deal hunters everywhere. They spend their days seeking and sharing killer deals on budget travel, sound systems, home goods and tech. By night, their free time is reserved for making bass music while consuming exotic caffeinated beverages with their partner and growing family of yucca plants.
