What's The Best Game You Can Get For A Quid (Or Under) At CEX?

Retro gaming is an increasingly expensive and frankly prohibitive hobby these days. With limited supplies and growing demand, aging hardware and software, it’s perception as a future investment and rampant nostalgia running wild, we’re living in a society where utter, utter, utter keech like Bubsy 2 on the SNES costs £65 unboxed at CEX. Emulation had never been so attractive for its cost-effective reasons.

Thing is though, if you go forward a couple of gaming generations there’s still some properly good deals on second-hand physical games to be had. My eyes came across lots of very cheap PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo games during a jaunt into my nearest CEX during lunch break, and I thought to myself in a lot of instances ‘that’s a lot of game for so little money’.

Here’s a wee question for the forum then: in your opinion, what’s the best game you can get for a quid or under at CEX? And why do you think that?

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My shout is Virtua Tennis 2 on the PlayStation 2. All of the Virtua Tennis games are well underpriced at CEX comparative to their quality, it’s a consistently excellent series where it’s multiplatform sequels and yearly updates cost no more than a few quid each. This arcade-perfect conversion on PS2 is, amazingly, still just 50p. That’s outrageous value for money. I loved it when it was new at the turn of the Millennium, and I still regard it as a superbly playable and addictive tennis classic. It’s a very good and plentiful single player game that’s improved even further in multiplayer, and it’s gameplay is just unmatched. There’re not many sports games in any field that strike the balance between casual accessibility and masterful authenticity quite like Virtua Tennis 2.

Anyhoo, how about youse?

The more I try to get into retro gaming, the more I confirm that I like the idea of it more than the actual activity. I picked up a PS1 a couple of months ago and other than testing to see if it worked, it's gone unplayed. Handheld emulation gets a bit more activity, but even then I'm overwhelmed by the choice. Yet, here I am playing old games on my new console. I'm so confused.

I'm a sucker for popping in CEX though. Virtua Tennis 2 is probably my choice as well, but as I no longer own a PS2, I'm going to go with Project Gotham Racing 3 as it still holds up as a good looking racer with a lengthy career mode. It's bloody hard (or games have got easier) but it still has that wonderful mechanic where it rewards stylish driving.

I just sold my Mega Drive as the value I thought was decent enough to part with it, and I can even see me flogging the Dreamcast as the price of it all ca$h in CEX, which the easiest way to get rid as I'm not listing 250+ items on eBay.

Anyhow, on this looking at all the systems CEX have

3DS, Cube, VITA, PS5, EC, GBA, SNES, NGPC, NES, MD, MCD, 32X, MS, PS1, Sat, GG, Jag, Lynx, GB, GBC, VB, Mini, DC, N64, Switch, WiiU, XSX can't be done or nothing good.

DS SEGA Casino? Umm it's SEGA
Wii Battalion Wars 2, it is a Nintendo first party game.
PSP Everybody's Golf, a fun time.
PS2 Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, not sure what the PS2 versions is like but on OG it was excellent.
PS3 Uncharted 3, it's no Uncharted 2 or 4 but still great.
PS4 Destiny, is the game even active?
Xbox PGR2, what gJones said about PGR3
360 Halo Reach, it's pretty high on my Top 100
ONE Rocket Arena, much like Destiny is still active as I did enjoy this a lot on the ONE

I haven't been in a CEX for two years, but I bet there's cracking Wii stuff I'd recognise. Battalion Wars 2 was a good laugh. It's also the game I took all the way home, realised didn't have a disk, and then had to take back to Insanes to actually get my game.

masofdas wrote:

I just sold my Mega Drive as the value I thought was decent enough to part with it, and I can even see me flogging the Dreamcast as the price of it all ca$h in CEX, which the easiest way to get rid as I'm not listing 250+ items on eBay.

I’d have thought that you could’ve put your Dreamcast collection up on a resale website as a massive collection-only bundle for a decent four-figure sum. I know where you’re coming from though, there’s a couple of consoles where I’m increasingly minded to cash in too. I’m particularly keeping an eye on those rising Xbox 360 hardware and software prices.

Buskalilly wrote:

I haven't been in a CEX for two years, but I bet there's cracking Wii stuff I'd recognise. Battalion Wars 2 was a good laugh. It's also the game I took all the way home, realised didn't have a disk, and then had to take back to Insanes to actually get my game.

I’m not sure why I didn’t stick in with either of the Battalion Wars when I was playing through them. They were a little fiddly to control for sure but I definitely recall enjoying them. Either way, that second one is a good use of a pound, that’s a good shout.

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When I typed up this thread a while ago Ghost Squad on Wii was a quid at CEX, and I left that alone because I thought it would immediately answer this thread. Seeing as the idea as kind of not lived up to it’s potential (at least in my head), I’ll go ahead and say: yes, objectively Ghost Squad on Wii is the best game you can get for a quid in CEX.

The CEX Ca$h value is £2,951.50 and that's as boxed no manual each game (also the console unboxed as my box is very tatty), to get a rough idea before going through every game seeing what's got a manual or not.

Not sure what sites to use, I have seen complete sets on some Facebook groups and guess even on eBay could list as one massive bundle.

Some games might even be mint, like my sealed JSR, but we took in a Mega Drive copy of The Lion King which I feel 9/10 people would say was mint, but the manger who knows the chap who bought the MD games of me, said unfortunately very good condition and not something they do to grade games and as it had a wee crease on the manual it is boxed with manual condition. Hence my pessiamtic valuing of the collection.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

When I typed up this thread a while ago Ghost Squad on Wii was a quid at CEX, and I left that alone because I thought it would immediately answer this thread. Seeing as the idea as kind of not lived up to it’s potential (at least in my head), I’ll go ahead and say: yes, objectively Ghost Squad on Wii is the best game you can get for a quid in CEX.

I'll never not fancy a round of Ghost Squad, as long as I live.

masofdas wrote:

The CEX Ca$h value is £2,951.50 and that's as boxed no manual each game (also the console unboxed as my box is very tatty), to get a rough idea before going through every game seeing what's got a manual or not.

Not sure what sites to use, I have seen complete sets on some Facebook groups and guess even on eBay could list as one massive bundle.

Some games might even be mint, like my sealed JSR, but we took in a Mega Drive copy of The Lion King which I feel 9/10 people would say was mint, but the manger who knows the chap who bought the MD games of me, said unfortunately very good condition and not something they do to grade games and as it had a wee crease on the manual it is boxed with manual condition. Hence my pessiamtic valuing of the collection.

What games do you have left to get? I would have thought a complete collection would be worth more if you're selling it in one lot. £3k for a complete PAL collection feels like less than I'd expect.

Of course that price is CEX ca$h in worse condition, like what they selling it all 6k retail, that like a private buyer maybe get like 4k.

I'm missing:

Aqua GT
Cannon Spike
Evil Twin
JoJo
MoHo
Samba de Amigo
Taxi 2 (French)

I'm not super in need of the money, might even becoming into some. More it's sat there not doing a lot, so leave it there or leave 3k in the bank, not sure what go up quicker.

I was chatting to someone about this last week about their pop culture collectables and how they’d started selling them off. When I mentioned about my retro games and ultimately wanting to do the same, they suggested I take the route they did, which was to an auctioneer. They told me how much money they got for some old figurines as a bundle, and it altogether sounds appealing.

I’m going to send pictures of some of my larger game collections to some national auctioneers for a free valuation – if that goes well for me, maybe that’s an option for you and your Dreamcast stuff too?

Another idea could be Chillout Games. They’re always advertising games for sale and games to sell in Retro Gamer Magazine.

Really a auctioneers that sounds surprising, let us know how it goes.