The PlayStation 4 is still a relatively new console, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t games out there that are considered collector’s pieces. Whether you managed to snag a copy of Retro City Rampage during its limited run or you just-so-happened to pick up an improperly-rated Australian version of Saints Row IV, you’re in possession of a piece of PS4 history, meaning that the game sitting on your shelf is worth much more than you originally paid for it. Even if you don’t own any rare PS4 games and are looking at copping one or you’re simply curious as to what these rare games are, this list will introduce you to a world that many people don’t even know exists... because games don’t have to be retro to be rare.
Saturday Morning RPG
Along with the PS Vita title Breach & Clear; Saturday Morning RPG were the first two games released through the online store “Limited Run Games,” which exists to provide customers with physical copies of popular digital indie games. However, as the company’s name suggests, these games are released on a limited scale, making them rare from the get-go. Only 1,980 copies of the PS4 physical edition of Saturday Morning RPG were released, making it one of the rarest PS4 titles out there.
Saturday Morning RPG takes a lot of inspiration from 80’s Saturday morning cartoons and features gameplay akin to a Japanese RPG... while exploring the world, you’ll happen upon random battles which play out in a mix of turn-based and real-time action. Your main weapon is your Trapper Keeper, which gives you extraordinary powers and turns you from average-high-school-student into world-saving-badass.
Saints Row IV: Re-Elected (Australia)
hen Saints Row IV was originally slated for release in Australia, the Aussie government had the developers restrict and remove some of the game’s content in order for it to get an acceptable enough rating to be sold on Australian shelves. The original last-gen version met these requirements, and Australians were able to play SRIV without any problems... however, when the game was re-released for the PS4, the restricted version wasn’t ported, the un-restricted version was. When the mistake was discovered, crisis followed. The distributor, Deep Silver, announced a nationwide recall, urging consumers to “return to their retailer for a full refund,” and adding that “replacement copies with the correct content are on order and will arrive with retailers soon.”
The result? However many of the un-restricted copies were sold in Australia are now collector’s items, similar to the GTA San Andreas discs that still allowed users to access the “Hot Coffee” mod.
Futuridium
As with Saturday Morning RPG, Limited Run Games released a physical copy of Futuridium, though this time they increased their run to 2,000. Futuridium is a cel-shaded shooter reminiscent of older arcade games, with its main inspiration being the old-school Uridium in addition to the classic Star Fox games. It’s a fun title with great reviews, but the key to its rarity is the fact that so few copies were made. Nowadays, Limited Run Games releases titles in upwards of 6,000, so Futuridium and Saturday Morning RPG are still the rarest games that they’ve released.
Retro City Rampage DX
This is the rare PS4 game that started it all. Retro City Rampage DX is a top-down, 8bit, free roam adventure inspired by Grand Theft Auto and developed almost exclusively by one man. The game can be downloaded on PSN, but a limited run of physical copies were created by the dev, who has claimed to do all of that work himself, too. 2,000 copies were sold and 50 were given out at a PlayStation event, but due to the hype surrounding the limited run and the fact that Retro City Rampage is simply such a fun game to play, it remains one of the most highly sought after (and valuable) PlayStation 4 games on the market today.
P.T.
P.T. (which means playable teaser) was a horror game become available on the 12th August 2014 for players to download. This free demo received mass-hype across the gaming industry, yet Konami, the game’s publisher, decided to cancel the making of the game and therefore removed it from the PSN. Users were later unable to re-install the game, creating anger and frustration from fans of the game. Interestingly, this makes P.T. one of the most desired and rarest PS4 games available. The only way to get your hands on this title is to purchase a PS4 from someone who already has the demo installed. As you can imagine, many people have opted to cash in, with people selling their PS4 console
