Frequently Asked Questions

NerdyScore is a video game price and rarity guide built for collectors.

It estimates current Market Value and measures observed Rarity to help collectors understand not only what a game is worth, but how difficult it is to find.

NerdyScore also includes Fun Factor, a rating of how enjoyable a game is to play, along with variant, release, and collection data.

The goal is simple: give collectors useful context that price alone can't provide.

Price is only part of the decision.

Market Value can help you judge whether an asking price is reasonable, while Rarity can tell you how difficult it may be to find another copy.

Two games can have similar Market Values while representing very different collecting opportunities. If one is readily available and the other rarely appears for sale, knowing the difference can change whether you're comfortable passing on the copy in front of you.

NerdyScore doesn't tell you whether to buy a game. It gives you more information to make that decision for yourself.

NerdyScore's Market Value is an estimate of what a game is worth today based on both sold and active marketplace listings.

Sold listings confirm that a listing resulted in a sale, while active listings show what sellers are currently asking. NerdyScore doesn't simply average the two. Asking prices are evaluated in the context of listings confirmed to have sold, their influence can be reduced when they diverge substantially, and stale unsold listings may be disregarded under certain conditions.

Recent market activity also matters more than older activity.

For a deeper explanation of the methodology and a worked example, see How NerdyScore Prices Games.

NerdyScore analyzes video game listings from eBay to estimate Market Value and observe availability.

A listing doesn't automatically become useful data. Listings must be matched to the appropriate game, condition, and, where applicable, variant before they can influence NerdyScore's market data.

Listings are also automatically filtered and classified before they are used for pricing, and ones the system flags as questionable can be manually reviewed, corrected, or excluded. This helps keep mismatched games, incorrect conditions, box-only and manual-only listings, and graded copies from distorting Market Value.

The goal isn't simply to collect as many listings as possible. It's to identify market activity that actually represents the game being measured.

Both NerdyScore and PriceCharting provide video game price information, but the approaches differ.

As of August 2026, PriceCharting's published methodology states that it calculates market prices using sold listing data from eBay and its own Marketplace. NerdyScore analyzes sold listings while also incorporating active listings as evidence of current market conditions.

That additional information can be particularly useful for games that go longer periods between sales.

NerdyScore's goal isn't simply to tell you what a game sold for. It's to estimate what it's worth now.

Sometimes there simply isn't enough reliable market data to estimate a Market Value.

This is particularly common with rare games, unusual variants, limited editions, and releases that haven't appeared for sale recently.

Rather than generate a number from inadequate evidence, NerdyScore may leave the price blank until enough useful information becomes available.

A blank price doesn't mean the game has no value. It means we don't know yet.

NerdyScore Rarity is based on the number of marketplace listings NerdyScore has observed for a game, relative to other games on the same platform. It does not attempt to estimate production numbers or surviving population.

Ratings range from R1 to R10 and are relative to the game's own platform. An R8 NES game and an R8 PlayStation game aren't necessarily equally scarce in absolute terms. Each rating describes how difficult the game is to find compared with other games on the same platform.

At its simplest, Rarity answers one question: how hard is this game to actually find?

For the full methodology and R1 to R10 scale, see How NerdyScore Rates Rarity.

Market Value tells you what a game is worth. Rarity tells you how difficult it may be to find another one.

Those are different pieces of information. Knowing both can be particularly useful when building a set or hunting for harder-to-find titles.

That's information a price alone can't give you.

No. NerdyScore does not estimate how many copies were produced or how many still exist. Reliable production and surviving-population figures simply aren't available for most video games.

Rarity instead measures something NerdyScore can actually observe: how many marketplace listings of the game we have recorded, relative to its platform.

A game may have many surviving copies but rarely appear for sale. Another may have had a smaller production run but appear regularly.

Rarity measures how difficult a game is to find, not how many copies exist.

Not every release cataloged by NerdyScore receives a Rarity rating.

Rarity is generally focused on releases that are part of a platform's main set. Variants, bundles, special editions, and other releases may still be cataloged and priced without receiving their own rarity rating.

NerdyScore would rather leave a rating blank than present a rarity measurement that the available data or methodology doesn't support.

No. Rarity and price are related, but they measure different things. Scarcity alone doesn't determine value; demand matters too.

Some difficult-to-find games remain relatively inexpensive because relatively few collectors are looking for them. Popular games can also command high prices even when copies are readily available.

That's why NerdyScore tracks Market Value and Rarity separately.

Yes. NerdyScore Rarity ratings are based on the marketplace listings NerdyScore has observed and can change as new listing data is collected.

The amount of available data also matters. Platforms with substantial marketplace activity provide more observations to work with, while ratings can be noisier on platforms where games appear for sale less frequently.

Rarity ratings are intended to reflect the market NerdyScore can observe, not serve as permanent claims about how many copies of a game exist.

Fun Factor is NerdyScore's 1 to 100 rating of how enjoyable a game is to play today.

It focuses on the play experience rather than price, rarity, historical importance, or collector value.

Fun Factor gives collectors another way to look at a game beyond what it costs or how difficult it is to find.

Yes. NerdyScore catalogs variants, special editions, collector's editions, bundles, packaging differences, budget releases, and other notable physical releases where appropriate.

These distinctions matter because different versions of the same game can have dramatically different values and availability.

Not every cataloged release receives its own Rarity rating, but NerdyScore can still identify and price these releases separately when sufficient market data is available.

NerdyScore covers 37 classic and modern video game platforms, including the NES, SNES, N64, PS1, PS2, and Genesis.

Coverage can vary by platform and metric as new data is added and reviewed. A platform may have catalog information available while Market Value, Rarity, or other data is still being completed.

See Video Game Platforms for the current list of supported systems and individual platform guides.

Loose generally means the game itself without its original packaging. For cartridge games, this usually means the cartridge alone. For disc-based games, it generally means the disc without its original case and manual.

Complete (CIB) means the game includes the original components expected for a complete copy, typically including the game, original case or box, and manual where applicable.

New or Sealed means an unopened copy that retains its original factory seal or packaging.

Exactly what constitutes a complete copy can vary between games, platforms, and eras.

NerdyScore incorporates new marketplace observations as they become available.

Market Value and Rarity can change as new listings and sales provide additional information about what games are selling for and how frequently they're available.

These measurements are intended to reflect the current market rather than remain fixed indefinitely.

Yes. NerdyScore includes optional collection tools that let you catalog the games you own and view your collection alongside its Market Value, Rarity, and other game data.

You don't need to use the collection features to use NerdyScore. Its price guides, rarity information, rankings, and game data can all be explored independently.

Yes. NerdyScore's video game price guides, rarity information, game data, and collection features are free to use.