5 Rarest Original Xbox Games (And How Much They’re Worth)

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the original Xbox, Microsoft’s first foray into the console gaming space. Competing directly with the PlayStation 2 and the GameCube, the Xbox quickly carved its own place in the industry and built up its own dedicated fanbase. There are many original Xbox games that still hold up today, and many of the franchises introduced on the console are still thriving. But some of those physical releases for the Xbox have grown in resale value considerably, regularly selling for hundreds of dollars now.

It’s those games that we’re highlighting today, the ones that have seen their market price skyrocket since their original release. Whether it’s because of licensing or the peripherals associated with their launch, these games each fetch a pretty penny now. If you’re a hardcore collector, these are the titles to keep an eye out for, provided they’re in the right condition. 

Here are the five rarest original Xbox games and how much they’re worth on the resale market.

Steel Battalion

Capcom certainly produced one of the most unique games for the original Xbox with its first-person mecha title “Steel Battalion.” Released in 2002, the game features the most insane game controller ever made for a home console title, coming with a completely functional dashboard. Basically replicating the flight simulator experience with an even more ambitious control scheme, players navigate battlefields in their lumbering mech. With all the buttons and levers, there are 44 possible inputs for the game in all, providing one of the most complex mech games ever.

As you can imagine, acquiring a full “Steel Battalion” set nearly 25 years after its launch isn’t cheap. For the purposes of this list, we’re counting versions of the game that are retailing alongside its accompanying dashboard controller. A loose version of this set can sell for nearly $500 while a complete set in mint condition can sell for over $900. The ultimate mech simulator, “Steel Battalion” strives to place players in the cockpit of a bipedal mech, if they’re willing to pay for it.

Futurama

Tie-in video games have been a mixed bag in terms of quality ever since the dawn of the industry. That extends to the video game tie-in for the hit animated series “Futurama,” with the game released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 in 2003. A single-player title, the game has players control Fry, Leela, Bender, and Zoidberg at different points of its story mode campaign. Fry’s sequences play out like a third-person shooter, Leela handles like a beat’em up, and Bender focuses on platforming action.

Receiving a lukewarm critical response, “Futurama” did not connect with fans of the show the way that its developers hoped. This led to a markedly lower production run which drove up resale prices in the years after the game’s release. Even just a loose copy of the game can still sell for over $200, while mint condition copies can sell for over $700. Outside of mobile titles and guest appearances in other games, “Futurama” hasn’t ventured into the gaming medium since, making its 2003 tie-in an odd bit of its history.

NBA Ballers (Platinum Hits Version)

The 2004 sports game “NBA Ballers” isn’t particularly remarkable in any discernible way, despite its high price. A street basketball title, the game primarily revolves around 1v1 matches between players, though sometimes this can grow into 1v1v1 matches. The game even features its own story mode campaign, following a humble rookie as he makes a name for himself playing against the biggest NBA pros of the era. While the title is unlikely to make any best sports video game lists, it did provide its own streetball charms.

The rare version of “NBA Ballers” isn’t its vanilla version but rather its platinum hits reissue that was produced months later. Because the reissue was made when Microsoft was already prepping its Xbox 360 launch, the reissue received a limited production run. A loose copy of the platinum hits version sells for nearly $400, while a mint condition copy can sell for over $2,000. Comparatively, a mint condition copy of the standard version of “NBA Ballers” sells for less than $30, which is about what the game itself is actually worth.

OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

With titles like “Forza Motorsport” and “Midnight Club,” the Xbox had a decent library of racing games. One title that doesn’t get enough recognition years later is “OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast,” part of Sega’s long-running arcade racing game franchise. The game offers a number of single-player modes, including a story campaign taking players from sea to shining sea as its title suggests. The game is also one of the few original Xbox racing titles to utilize Xbox Live online multiplayer, allowing up to six players to go head-to-head.

With “OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast,” the game’s rarity is another example of a title released late in the Xbox’s lifecycle. The Xbox 360 had been out for months by the time the game arrived on the original Xbox, with the industry already looking ahead to the next generation. Because of this limited production run, loose copies of the game sell for over $150, while mint condition copies sell for over $650. “OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast” definitely feels like the franchise catering towards the “2 Fast 2 Furious” fanbase, carrying a prodigious price tag 20 years later.

Teen Titans (2006)

One last game that’s rare, both due to being a licensed property and being released in the Xbox’s lifecycle, is “Teen Titans.” Released for the console approximately a year after the launch of the Xbox 360, the game is based on the Cartoon Network series of the same name. The game is essentially a DC-branded take on the popular “X-Men Legends” titles that preceded it in 2004. Like those games, this is a four-person beat’em up experience, with each of the five playable characters featuring their own distinct powers and techniques.

Like some of the preceding entries on this list, the game’s late release in the Xbox lifecycle undoubtedly affected its production order. With so few produced, for a licensed property no less, the game is one of the most expensive superhero games for the console. Loose copies of “Teen Titans” can sell for over $100, while mint condition copies can sell for well over $500 each. The gameplay itself in “Teen Titans” is decent, but just remember that a mint condition copy of “X-Men Legends” can comparatively sell for around $40.