10 rarest original Xbox games and how much they cost

The original Xbox is a legendary console, serving as Microsoft’s first attempt at conquering the console gaming market. While they weren’t completely successful in that endeavor—with tough competition from the behemoth that was Sony’s PlayStation 2—the Xbox did permanently cement its foothold into the console gaming scene with a lot of valuable games to show for it.

Even though the original Xbox is practically ancient by today’s standards, a lot of its games are still highly sought after. Some of them are genuinely great games while the others might be questionable, with the latter still going for higher prices in the market due to how rare these games have become today.

Have we jogged your curiosity? Below is our list of the 10 rarest original Xbox games available today, listed from least expensive to most.

The 10 rarest and most expensive original Xbox games

Note that all prices for the games have been sourced from the Price Charting website, and these values are accurate at the time of writing.

10) Def Jam: Fight for NY ($283.34)

Even though a lot of older gamers remember the Def Jam franchise very fondly, the franchise has seemingly lost the luster that it once possessed. Fight for NY in particular never got re-released in the future nor did it see any backward compatibility, which was most likely due to the complicated licensing issues the game faced.

All problems kept aside, Def Jam: Fight for NY was highly popular and even went on to gain a Platinum Hits edition, which is what sells for the highest today. If you think about it, who wouldn’t want to make Ludacris and Snoop Dogg throw hands to the rhythm of the beat in a wrestling match?

9) Jet Set Radio Future ($295.01)

With mesmerizing cel-shaded visuals, a head-bopping electronic soundtrack, and oodles of spunk that the gameplay showed off, Jet Set Radio Future was a special third-person title that adequately brought out the potential of the Xbox at the time. 

Not being able to translate its goodness to the general public, however, JSRF saw its print run come to an untimely end, along with a complete stop to the game franchise in general. The combination of the game’s excellence along with the fact that very few copies remain in the public today has helped this game’s price reach new heights.

8) Metal Wolf Chaos ($300)

During its run, the Xbox wasn’t very popular in Japan. Microsoft decided to solve this by releasing a Japanese-exclusive game for the Xbox—Metal Wolf Chaos—to get folks interested.

As expected, one game alone couldn’t get a country to start buying a console to play it, no matter how good the game was. And as you may have guessed it, prices for the game today go around $300 simply because Metal Wolf Chaos is nearly extinct and hard to find.

7) Marvel Vs Capcom 2 ($308)

Marvel Vs Capcom 2 is widely considered one of the best Xbox games ever made. In a winner-takes-all battle, you can pit your favorite Marvel and Capcom characters against each other to see who truly reigns supreme. Honestly, where else can you get the opportunity to have Hulk throw it down against Mega Man?

The most valuable aspect of Marvel Vs Capcom 2 is how incredibly enjoyable it is. There is almost nothing better than beating up your best friends, especially when you can choose from over 50 unique characters to do it with—from two different universes.

Moreover, it’s the first game in the Marvel Vs Capcom series to feature 2.5D graphics, which was a significant achievement during that time. Combine all of this with the uncontested rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and you’ve got a game that is highly sought after by even non-gamers twenty years after its release.

6) Outrun 2006 – Coast to Coast ($311.49)

This updated version of the arcade classic Outrun is another gem from Sega. It follows the well-received sequel to the original game—Outrun 2—sharing its beautifully sunny visuals, gorgeous soundtrack, and refreshingly straightforward car driving mechanics.

Additionally, Outrun 2006 featured online competitive play—being one of the first console racing games to do so. Of course, all good things must come to an end, as those servers are no longer active today.

Since Sega no longer has the expensive Ferrari license, it is highly unlikely we’ll ever see it again, and the price in the market today reflects its demand.

5) Teen Titans ($480)

Based on the animated series rather than its comic book origins, 2006’s Teen Titans for the Xbox allows players to play as Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy in your typical beat ‘em up-style gameplay. You won’t usually see licensed games end up as rare collectibles, but Teen Titans is an exception, especially with the popularity of the more recent additions to the franchise like Teen Titans Go!

The game itself has received mixed reviews from critics and the general playerbase alike, so buy the game at your own risk if you’re expecting a high-quality gaming experience along with your elusive collectible item.

4) Futurama ($922.50)

With a loveable cast of characters and great humor, it was a no-brainer for Matt Groening to greenlight a game adaptation for his sci-fi cartoon brainchild. But does a good show alone warrant a price tag of over $900 today for its video game version?

Of course, the game did possess a once reasonable price tag, but that soon changed when Futurama sold barely any copies of its game, making it an incredibly rare item in the market. Combine the fact that the show still has a diehard fan base around 20 years after its cancellation, and you’ve got a highly inflated price for Futurama’s once-unpopular video game.

3) NBA Ballers [Platinum Hits] ($958)

This 2004 streetball simulation video game was developed and published by Midway, a game dev team that probably had no idea the heights their unassuming sports game would reach. Not only did NBA Ballers become one of the few Xbox Greatest Hits games, but it also went on to become the cult classic that it is today, fetching prices of nearly a thousand dollars for the Platinum Hits edition.

Even though collectors generally detest games that turn into Greatest Hits, they will generally try and collect the full set, especially if they’re incredibly rare—which happens to be the case with NBA Ballers. The game happened to be released at the end of Xbox’s lifespan and therefore had a relatively smaller stock to drive its price up to monumental heights today.

2) Steel Battalion ($1,183.06)

While its position on this list will fluctuate from time to time, Steel Battalion is claiming one of the top thrones for the rarest and most expensive Xbox original games most of the time. There are a few of distinct factors that have pushed it to these heights.

The first and most pronounced factor was the special controller that came along with the game. This elaborate and very expensive monstrosity acted as a giant peripheral that consisted of two joysticks, over 40 buttons, an entire tray of switches and levers, and a triple foot pedal. It even had a dramatic red eject button with a safety cover that needed to be flipped open to use. Talk about immersion.

The second factor was the lack of copies of Steel Battalion initially released. Capcom and Microsoft weren’t sure if people were ready for such an off-the-wall concept since they’d never released a game quite like that before.

And lastly, Steel Battalion was–and still is—really darn good. The game is quite difficult but also highly rewarding once the initial learning curves have been conquered. It proved to be an incredibly immersive, fun experience that game developers have not yet been able to successfully replicate.

1) Shrek Super Party – Watch Bundle ($1,500)

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Shrek Super Party is not a highly-rated game at all. Reviews from both the playerbase as well as critics tout it as one of the worst Shrek video games in existence, and a subpar game in general. And yet, it’s the single most expensive game on this list.

Shrek Super Party isn’t even a rare title or anything, so what makes it go for such ridiculous prices on the market? The answer lies with the game’s special variant: the Watch Bundle.

Shrek Super Party’s Watch Bundle variant contains the super rare Shrek watch advertised right on the front cover of the game. Not a lot of copies of this edition were produced, and getting one of these today will cost you a hole in your wallet as well as a lot of luck in finding a seller.

To be fair, a complete copy of Shrek Super Party without the watch will still set you back around a hundred dollars or so, but that’s nowhere near the outrageous price when the elusive watch is included. If you’re one of those diehard Shrek fans, we wouldn’t blame you for wanting one of these Watch Bundles for yourself. You will undoubtedly have unlimited bragging rights among the Shrek fanatics.