Final Fantasy Remasters Sell Out In Record Time
Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters sold out as soon as the remastered games became available to purchase.
The long-awaited Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters—remastered versions of Final Fantasy I through VI—sold out immediately after they were made available. Physical editions of this gaming anthology arrived on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on April 19, after which it was sold out in record time without any signs of making a re-stock. With that said, similar to the PlayStation 5 shortages, scalpers are now flipping the anthology for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
According to Kotaku, physical editions of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters are essentially sold out online, and anyone interested in getting their hands on a hard copy of the games can only do so at an exorbitant price on e-commerce websites. This is disheartening news for the fans of the series who weren’t able to purchase these editions, as they’ll no longer be able to pay fair sticker prices for the games either. Adding insult to injury, Square Enix is no longer offering Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters officially on the company’s website.
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters were previously released on Steam—digital-only, obviously—but the console port actually includes physical editions with several additional features and technical improvements, such as the new font. Unfortunately, the release date for Switch and PS4 was revealed in early April, with Square Enix’s website being the only place to order your Standard or Anniversary editions of the games. Well, everything’s sold out, but the Anniversary Edition of the game can still be waitlisted, which makes them available only if someone cancels their pre-order.
However, given the current scalper prices, nobody in their right mind would cancel their pre-order—not when they can at least get a double return on their investment. In fact, scalpers are in heaven right now since physical editions now fetch an absurd price on e-commerce websites. It’s all about supply and demand, and Square Enix did make a limited number of physical editions. Final Fantasy is one of the gaming world’s most famous franchises, so it’s actually quite reasonable that it sold out so fast.
Scalper copies of the standard edition, which would normally cost $75, are currently sold for over $300 on eBay, while the Anniversary Edition on Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters might set gamers back by as much as $1,200. The latter’s usual price is $250, and the whole package includes vinyl, an art book, and a few figures next to all the games. Luckily, players who aren’t interested in collector editions can still access the game digitally, so they’re spared from having to overpay for a flashy collector’s item—unless you really want to; in that case, we salute your decision.
In the end, there are two very loathsome types of people in gaming. The first type is people using aimbots and hacks in multiplayer settings—there’s still redemption for these people. But the same can’t be said for scalpers. Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters isn’t the only thing these nasties have gotten their filthy little hands on.
COVID-19 caused chip shortages, which in turn caused Xbox and PS5 shortages, further resulting in scalpers selling PlayStation 5 consoles for well over $1,000 per unit. Luckily, the PlayStation 5 shortages are now over, and scalpers are now left with an underpriced inventory. Suits them right.
