As viral Piglet game hits $300 resale amid Silent Hill and Resident Evil comparisons, collectors say it's "the perfect encapsulation of why retro game collection f***ing sucks now"
Oh bother
Did you know that an old Piglet game is going viral and highlighting everything wrong with the retro market? Well, now you do.
You probably remember Piglet, the anxious Winnie the Pooh character, just like I do. A cute pink little piggy who totters after his best friend, the red-shirt-wearing Pooh bear. What you've probably never seen before is Piglet's Big Game, a PS2 title that is eerily reminiscent of Silent Hill. It plays more like a horror game than a beloved children's classic.
Recently, clips of the game have spread on the internet like wildfire, likely helped by the release of the Silent Hill 2 remake back in October. The clips see Piglet exploring dreamy, spooky levels accompanied by creepy music. The story is actually about Piglet overcoming his fears in this hazy world, so it's even more like Silent Hill than it seems on the surface.
Naturally, people want to try the game after seeing all the hype, but some people charge absurd prices for a second-hand copy. A photo was shared on Twitter that claims a copy was sold for $300 (plus $5.64 for shipping) on November 12, and xjennyxcheckx writes, "This is the perfect encapsulation of why retro video game collecting fucking sucks now. this fucking game was a meme for one week and now it's kuon/haunting ground/rule of rose priced."
I understand the rule of supply and demand, so I get why some people would be willing to pay more and some opportunists are charging more, but there's just no need to pay that sort of money for a 21-year-old Disney movie tie-in game. There are also plenty of listings of the game on eBay, and they start at £10 for the PS2 version.
There are also PC and Game Boy Advance versions up for grabs, but the early 2000's was the Wild West and games could be completely different depending on what platform they were on, so make sure you do your research before buying.
While there are a lot of reasonable auction prices on there, some of them are eye-watering. The worst I've seen is £415.68 plus £12.47 for postage – now that's just greedy. It is a sealed GameCube copy, but still, you could buy a PS5 for less than that.
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If you want to step into the twisted mind of Piglet, either wait until prices drop again or just do some digging and find one of the cheaper offers. Until then, have a look at some of the other best retro games you can look for right now.
I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.