Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

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Should I buy an original copy of Trespasser?

Poll ended at Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:50 am

Yes
4
80%
No
1
20%
 
Total votes: 5

tresmeister
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Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by tresmeister »

Long time lurker here and this is my first post.

I am one of those strange people who loves Trespasser and still occasionally play it even today. I never owned the original version and instead have a re-released "Collector's Edition" copy in a nasty blue case. I never felt like I had the full Trespasser "experience" for a game that I remember so fondly from my youth.

While I do collect games on various platforms, I am slowly building up my vintage PC collection and stumbled across this on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trespasser-J ... SwVOlfB5l4

An original boxed version of Trespasser in good condition as well.

I am honestly surprised at how much these sell for on the second hand market, especially for what was such a flawed and polarising game!

What is the community's thoughts - is it worth buying? I suppose not only would it feel good to own it, it might also go up in value over time, but then not sure if the wife will give me a b*llocking if she finds out I paid $$$ for a second hand game.

Is this a waste or should I pull the trigger?!
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by tatu »

Welcome to TresCom!

I am unsure. While big box prices have increased a lot lately, and Trespasser have become super expensive, I'd say wait. It is bidding and £99.99 as the starting price is really high, and you will very likely find another copy if you are just patience. The seller also have some mistakes in their description.

"The beautiful embossing of the raptor is quite different to other regions that had a "window" box and additional text at the top of the box that interfered with the unmistakable visual."

The window box AFAIK is only the North America release. I believe all other releases are the UK edition but just localized text.

I'd say wait. Worth noticing is that this comes from a collector, which is aware of the value and want a high price for it. If you are patience and lucky, you will probably at some point find just as a good copy and get it for cheaper. :)
Active project: Trespasser: Isla Sorna
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"...there used to be more benches, but InGen's workers removed them during the evacuation in the name of framerate."
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by Draconisaurus »

Welcome to Trespasser Park!

I am going to side with Tatu on this. That is quite a steep price, to be sure. Perhaps consider alternate ways you could bring yourself closer to the game, than to purchase an an additional, expensive version online.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by Hilwo »

Welcome! :)

I get that you'd like to have an original big box copy, but I too think this is kinda pricey. As much as I love Trespasser getting more attention in the past few years due to videos by Klayton, AVGN and others, I think this is also what prompts sellers to ask gold for their copies.

Personally if I hadn't had the game yet, I might have put some thought into getting this copy. Not for long, though - it would have to be in mint condition. That tear on the box at that price would be a hard no for me.

I'm with tatu, I'd keep an eye out for a better price AND better condition. Also be sure to search for 'trespaser' and 'tresspaser', stuff like that. I've gotten lucky due to typos on more than one occasion. Good luck!

edit: Doh I'm the one who voted no, thought it was meant for this specific copy of Tres. So just ignore that 1 'no' and consider it a 'yes'.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by Draconisaurus »

Hilwo, you bring up a good point I had missed - Jurassic's re-arisement in popularity, in the wake of Jurassic World, has definitely tilted the scales of probability towards more people purchasing used copies of Trespasser, perhaps at rates which are still increasing. I am glad I have my own copy available, still.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by Hilwo »

Draconisaurus wrote:Hilwo, you bring up a good point I had missed - Jurassic's re-arisement in popularity, in the wake of Jurassic World, has definitely tilted the scales of probability towards more people purchasing used copies of Trespasser, perhaps at rates which are still increasing. I am glad I have my own copy available, still.
Yeah well to be honest, I wasn't thinking of Jurassic World, but of retro-gaming in general. Trespasser has gained a lot of popularity due to videos by AVGN, Research Indicates, Gaming Beaver and Klayton. But the downside of such videos is price increase. It's not just Trespasser though, it's all retro games. Even very common/generic games seem to be getting more and more expensive.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by TheIdiot »

Draconisaurus wrote:I am glad I have my own copy available, still.
You're one of the lucky ones - my own CD is long destroyed. Not that I even have a CD drive anymore, anyway. I would still like to get a big box copy of the game myself, just for display purposes.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by tatu »

Hilwo wrote:
Draconisaurus wrote:Hilwo, you bring up a good point I had missed - Jurassic's re-arisement in popularity, in the wake of Jurassic World, has definitely tilted the scales of probability towards more people purchasing used copies of Trespasser, perhaps at rates which are still increasing. I am glad I have my own copy available, still.
Yeah well to be honest, I wasn't thinking of Jurassic World, but of retro-gaming in general. Trespasser has gained a lot of popularity due to videos by AVGN, Research Indicates, Gaming Beaver and Klayton. But the downside of such videos is price increase. It's not just Trespasser though, it's all retro games. Even very common/generic games seem to be getting more and more expensive.
You should see the Pokémon market now. Due to the lockdowns and people staying home, the prices of older stuff in the past 3-4 months have SKYROCKET. Something that sells for $1000 today can sell for $5000 next week. :P
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by Draconisaurus »

Some of this perplexes me, some of it just gives me a blank stare.

Retro game popularity increase is interesting. Such a spontaneous trend reminds me to Ian Malcolm in the second Crichton novel, speaking about large populations of creatures suddenly and simultaneously changing their behavior in a new direction. I'm unclear what would cause this one. Possibly it could be to do with a recent subconscious decision that newer games are no longer the more fun/interesting ones to play.

The Pokemon one is strange and/or I don't quite have all the details. Tatu, are you sure and/or are you saying that very-old Pokemon cards are just recently selling for lots more, or is this more about the retro Gameboy games such as Red, Blue, Silver, etc., or something else? I can see being-stuck-at-home leading to greater purchases of old games to play. The cards, though, don't make as much sense to me unless kids are getting together in-person in either regular or increased amounts during the virus. The left-over possibility that kids are buying old Pokemon cards more frequently during the virus even though they are not playing with said newly-purchased cards, seems unlikely and strange to me.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by tatu »

Draconisaurus wrote:The Pokemon one is strange and/or I don't quite have all the details. Tatu, are you sure and/or are you saying that very-old Pokemon cards are just recently selling for lots more, or is this more about the retro Gameboy games such as Red, Blue, Silver, etc., or something else? I can see being-stuck-at-home leading to greater purchases of old games to play. The cards, though, don't make as much sense to me unless kids are getting together in-person in either regular or increased amounts during the virus. The left-over possibility that kids are buying old Pokemon cards more frequently during the virus even though they are not playing with said newly-purchased cards, seems unlikely and strange to me.
Pokémon cards. The games are probably more expensive as well.
Most people who buy Pokémon cards due to to collect them, not to play the game. That is the only reason why Pokémon is as big as it is, at least outside of Japan. The rise of "Poketubers" makes people who grew up with Pokémon start collecting them again.
It is not kids who is brining up the prices, it is adults. People who grew up with them.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by Draconisaurus »

Interesting... And, I still do not see why being in social isolation from a virus would cause people to collect cards more than they did previously.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by tresmeister »

Thanks for the responses and the eBay tips!

I'm undecided on whether to bid, but agree it's a shame the box is not in pristine condition, though I might be willing to accept that considering how few big box versions are still available. Of other copies I have found within an acceptable price range, most have some kind of flaw from crushed boxes to missing booklets.

I have found some ebay sellers in Southern Europe wanting £500+ for their non-English copies, which is laughable really.

While retro gaming is a big thing as other posters have mentioned, I find that is more Nintendo more than any other platform. On PC it is quite unusual, though there are exceptions like Trespasser. Trespasser deserves its legendary status for something that was so ambitious, but so disappointing to so many gamers, and ultimately was flawed. However, it is exactly the kind of game I loved and wanted in a Jurassic Park game, so I could forgive the flaws and really enjoyed it.

Not sure though if i should now overlook paying top dollar for a big box version at £100 starting price, but then I keep thinking where else will I find a copy? Of the ended auctions on eBay, big box versions sell for anything between £70-100 / $88-125, so the slight tear aside, it's not OTT, especially compared to other sellers wanting half a grand!

That is also interesting about Pokemon and how a lot of games we grew up with are now considered "antiques" and sell for vast sums. I suppose it might be a bit like Hollywood, which peaked very turn of the century and then collapsed into banal sequels and sterile, tedious films that were there to maximise profits over anything else. Gaming as another major entertainment industry followed a similar trajectory, so that might be why retro gaming is seeing a resurgence where the industry was more "naive" and subsequently took far higher risks in their creativity and broadness of genre. Today gaming is generic and as Hollywood hit it's final decade of its golden age, there seems to be far more gaming "classics" in the 90s, than the 00s and 10s combined.

I do wonder with the new Jurassic Park film launching next year, that features much of the original cast, if that will reinvigorate interest in retro Jurassic Park memorabilia. Even the toys from the 90s now sell for ridiculous amounts, so that too is getting me interested in picking up a big box version of Trespasser.

I'll keep an eye on any new ebay listings, otherwise I might have to bite the bullet a put a bid in. £100 would be my top limit.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by Draconisaurus »

tresmeister, my thanks out to you for shedding light on more obscure areas of modern culture relating to games and whatnot. These trends I feel are important to grasp as time marches forward. Who knows, maybe one day people will start posting more at TresCom again.
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by TheIdiot »

Yeah, tresmeister couldn't have said it any better. The interesting thing to note about genres of entertainment considered "classics" today is that in fifty years, some of those things will not be classics anymore as there will be nobody who really grew up with these things. Of course there are timeless exceptions to this, the things which are passed down and enjoyed over the generations, which to me are the true examples of "classics".

Ah, I forgot to say, tresmeister - welcome to the forum! :)
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Re: Fully boxed UK edition of Trespasser - should I buy?

Post by tatu »

Not sure though if i should now overlook paying top dollar for a big box version at £100 starting price, but then I keep thinking where else will I find a copy? Of the ended auctions on eBay, big box versions sell for anything between £70-100 / $88-125, so the slight tear aside, it's not OTT, especially compared to other sellers wanting half a grand!
To give you a small insight. Only 5-ish years ago, you could find MINT Trespasser boxes for £30. But I doubt the price will go down much. You could always bid on this one, but decide not to go any higher. :)
Interesting... And, I still do not see why being in social isolation from a virus would cause people to collect cards more than they did previously.
No one can say for sure I guess. People getting more freetime. A lot of people see it as an investment as the value generally don't decline over time, and specially during a time when the economy is taking a huge hit due to the pandemic. And for a lot it is probably a safe space from the childhood in these uncertain times.
Active project: Trespasser: Isla Sorna
Status:
BE-PH1: Released
PH2-IT: Pre-released
PL-SUM: In production

"...there used to be more benches, but InGen's workers removed them during the evacuation in the name of framerate."
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