Regardless of the reason for their rarity, we’re here today to cover ten of the PS3’s most expensive finds — some of which cost eye-watering amounts of money for even the most dedicated collectors. Compared to past generations, however, the average prices are still a fair bit lower — perhaps take that as a warning to snag some of these games up as soon as possible, before prices rise even further.
10. Lost Dimension
Price Range: $100+
This Lancarse-developed turn-based RPG features an intriguing premise. Its main protagonist, Sho Kasugai, is a member of fictional government organization S.E.A.L.E.D., and is tasked with stopping a terrorist known as “The End.” However, upon arriving at the giant pillar that The End has hidden himself within, The End claims that there are traitors among Sho’s party, and throughout the game, the player must correctly deduce who the traitor is and vote them off the team, condemning them to erasure.
Lost Dimension is also designed to encourage multiple playthroughs, as the characters that the game picks as traitors is randomized on each new run — and fulfilling the right conditions on New Game Plus will also reveal the game’s full backstory.
While a very interesting premise on paper, Lost Dimension’s lackluster character writing stopped the game from getting the acclaim and attention it could’ve garnered, and combined with its western release coming over a year and a half after the debut of the PlayStation 4, this game was ultimately forgotten by time. Lost Dimension is available on Steam, but those who want a physical copy will have to shell out up to $100 or more.
9. Saw II: Flesh & Blood
Price Range: $110+
Licensed games — particularly those that act as movie tie-ins — have a reputation for being the bottom of the barrel when it comes to quality, and unfortunately, Saw II: Flesh & Blood is no different. Its predecessor was already criticized for its controls, puzzles, and poor combat system, and Saw II only makes it even worse.
Combat, which was already clunky in the first Saw game, now relies entirely on quick time events — a statement that’ll likely make many veteran gamers shudder. Puzzles and traps, when they’re not being frustrating by instantly killing you, are predictable and oftentimes rote. Beyond the general lack of polish, this unoriginality is perhaps one of Saw II’s greatest sins, given that its source material defined itself with elaborate traps, puzzles, and set pieces for its many victims.
About the only charitable thing most can say about this game is that its story is actually decent, if you’re a fan of the movies. It speaks volumes that there hasn’t been a dedicated Saw game in the decade since Flesh & Blood’s release.
Saw II can go for over $110 for complete-in-box copies, a price that feels all the steeper given the quality (or rather, lack thereof) of the game itself.
8. Splatterhouse
Price Range: $80 – $126+
More than being just another horror game, this Bandai Namco-developed reboot of a 1980s IP was initially conceived to appeal to western audiences, particularly fans of competitors like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil.
Splatterhouse was, for a time, headed by developer BottleRocket with supervision from Namco. Development troubles quickly began, however, when studio founder Jay Beard insisted on following his own vision — rather than the design document that BottleRocket and Namco agreed upon — and went as far as to obfuscate the game that they were really making whenever Namco staff paid a visit. This culminated in Namco pulling the plug on BottleRocket, taking the project back to have an internal studio handle it alongside some members of BottleRocket’s development team.
As is the case with far too many troubled development projects, Splatterhouse released to poor critical and commercial reception, having been laid low by its unpolished (and unremarkable) beat ‘em up combat, poor level design, and technical issues. It certainly wasn’t a pretty way for a franchise to end, either — the Splatterhouse IP has been dormant since this 2010 flop.
Copies of this game can go from anywhere between $80 to over $126. If it’s any consolation, it contains the original three Splatterhouse titles as unlockables, for those who want to experience the full series (minus a Japan-only spinoff for the Famicom).
7. El Chavo Kart
Price Range: $110+
Our next entry on this list is another licensed adaptation — one that’s a bit more well-received than the infamous Saw II, but considerably more obscure. El Chavo Kart is based on the Mexican animated comedy series El Chavo, which itself is based on a live action sitcom called El Chavo del Ocho.
If the sole critic review (and decent user score) is any indication, El Chavo Kart is actually a relatively competent — if derivative — Mario Kart clone. It’s got a few gimmicks of its own to distinguish it, such as dedicated controls for ramming for your opponents, and a challenge mode that offers a variety of unique tasks to overcome. The visuals, meanwhile, are bold and colorful, and do a decent job translating the TV show’s aesthetic into video game form.
One of El Chavo Kart’s biggest shortcomings, at least on PS3 anyway, is its lack of online multiplayer — something that is sure to hurt a kart racer’s longevity in the eyes of some.
The game did receive a re-release with an altered art style for mobile devices, though it seems to have since been delisted. Owing to its relative obscurity, complete-in-box copies of El Chavo Kart can go for over $110 online.
6. Painkiller: Hell & Damnation
Price Range: $130+
2004 saw the release of Painkiller, a well-received first person shooter that tasked protagonist Daniel Garner with battling the legions of hell to earn the right to enter heaven and reunite with his departed wife Catherine. The game received several expansion packs, and gained enough traction to briefly feature in an eSports tournament.
Hell & Damnation, released in 2012 on PC and 2013 on consoles, is a remake of the original game’s levels (along with expansion pack Battle Out Of Hell), complete with a new story that sees Daniel gathering 7,000 souls for Death in order to reunite with his wife.
Though fun on its own merits, Hell & Damnation as a remake disappoints due to its short length and missing many levels from the original Painkiller. Even with the DLC, not all of the original stages make it in — and that’s not even getting into the fact that this is a remake that effectively cut out content that was present in the original release to sell as DLC.
Though the game is available on Steam, complete-in-box copies of Painkiller: Hell & Damnation on PS3. can go for over $130 these days, assuming you’re after the first print run.
5. Armored Core: Verdict Day
Price Range: $110 – $180+
While Armored Core VI made a splash as the series’ best reviewed game, Armored Core has been going on for far longer than that, with over ten mainline entries prior to Fires of Rubicon. Armored Core: Verdict Day in particular is not only a direct sequel to Armored Core V, but is also the last mainline game on the PS3 and the last Armored Core game for a decade before 2023’s entry was released.
Set 100 years after Armored Core V, Verdict Day features a dystopian, post-apocalyptic Earth ravaged by war and pollution. Much like other entries in the series, a new war erupts over limited resources — this time, it’s seven massive towers that hold highly advanced (and ancient) technology within.
Compared to prior entries, Armored Core V took a more tactical slant, emphasizing good positioning and proper use of your environment to survive. Verdict Day followed suit, and introduced some innovations of its own, such as AI-controlled allies that you can pick to join you on each mission.
Like many other games in the series prior to Armored Core VI, Verdict Day released to mixed reviews and generally more positive fan reception. Nowadays, used complete-in-box copies go for over $100.
4. Afrika
Price Range: $158 – $233+
Developed by Rhino Studios and published by Natsume in the west (and Sony in Japan), this PS3 curio can best be described as Pokémon Snap with real animals. Afrika — known by the name Hakuna Matata in Asian countries — tasks the player with photographing and observing animals.
Though it uses a mission-based structure, Afrika offers a bit more freedom than the on-rails Pokémon Snap, allowing you to travel the area by foot, car, or hot air balloon. On the other hand, the real-world setting and realistic gameplay don’t exactly make for as much of a compelling experience, as you’ll often find yourself waiting around for animals to move into position to fulfill your photograph objectives.
It’s a niche game for a niche audience, and perhaps the most obscure entry on this list. It never exactly made a splash, and about the most notable thing about this game is that its composer, Wataru Hokoyama, went on to conduct and compose music for much bigger titles like Resident Evil 5, Monster Hunter Rise, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and, of course, Knack.
Perhaps owing to its obscurity, sealed copies of Afrika have been sold for as much as a whopping $500.
3. Syberia Collection
Price Range: $52 – $285+
While not quite on the same level as Myst, the Syberia series has made a name for itself in the adventure game space. This point and click series has players take the role of American lawyer Kate Walker as her trip to oversee the sale of a company evolves into a fantastical journey that takes her to the titular location. Though the series has had its ups and downs, with the third game in particular being poorly received, Syberia is still going strong, with its last entry in 2022 being well-received, and an animated adaptation in the works.
The Syberia Collection — which bundles the first two games and Amerzone (a predecessor that established the universe Syberia would later take place in) — is in a bit of an odd position for collectors. Copies of the game on eBay can range from $50 to $70, or even go as far as more than $300. This is because the compilation, along with other PS3 games, received a reprint courtesy of distributor VGP.
Reprints can easily be distinguished by the inclusion of a new THQ Nordic logo on the box art. Collectors who aren’t fussed about owning a specific physical variant of this game will find this title to be far more affordable, if still a bit pricey. Those who insist on adding a sealed copy of the first print run to their shelves will find themselves dealing with prices anywhere between $200 to over $300.
2. BlazBlue: Central Fiction
Price Range: $300+
Arc System Works has been going from strength to strength over these past several years, with fantastic fighting game adaptations of various IPs like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Granblue Fantasy Versus, and DNF Duel.
Despite their strong output, it’s actually been quite a while since one of their own flagship franchises — that being BlazBlue — has seen a new mainline entry. While BlazBlue Entropy Effect, a roguelike spinoff, left early access this year (and a crossover game released in 2018), the last main game proper was 2016’s Central Fiction.
The main series has a surprisingly involved story for a fighting game; Central Fiction is the fourth and final game, wrapping up key narrative arcs while leaving some loose ends for potential future entries. This does, as a consequence, make the story impenetrable for those jumping in with this entry, even with a recap feature included.
But what is accessible is its gameplay. Though Central Fiction is, like typical modern fighting games, deep and mechanically complex, the game boasts full tutorials covering basic controls to advanced techniques, and even offers guides for each character’s unique abilities and gimmicks. There’s also a simplified control scheme to automate combos for newcomers.
Though Central Fiction is available on a variety of platforms, including PS4, PC, and Switch, PS3 copies can run you over $300.
1. NBA Elite 11
Price Range: $3,400 – $5,400+
Our final entry on this list is an unusual one. EA’s NBA Elite 11 began life as an iOS game in 2010, and was slated to receive PS3 and Xbox 360 versions that same year. Such a conversion would naturally mean having to retool the basketball sim’s controls to accommodate console players, but at 18 months of development time, EA Canada scarcely had any time to polish the game, let alone follow up on its ambitions.
The game, however, managed to get as far as having a demo — and physical copies of the final product — created before EA, in a rare moment of self-awareness, ultimately canceled it after realizing just how much of a low-quality buggy mess they had on their hands, thanks to the disastrous reception to the demo.
Those aforementioned physical copies did make it out into the wild, however, and can potentially go for thousands of dollars. It’s not every day you see a game get canceled after going gold, after all. Even the most die-hard sports fans will (and should) steer clear of this one, though. Even if it had been a masterpiece instead of a disaster, at that price, this one’s for the richest collectors and preservationists with money to burn.
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