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How to find the best PSP eBay bargains this Christmas

The screen may be wide but the selection is narrow

How to find the best PSP eBay bargains this Christmas
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PSP

The dreaded day continues to close apace. Surely it's only a matter of time until Fiona Bruce turns up on the Ten O'Clock News, half-cut, wearing a lopsided Santa hat and grinning even more broadly than usual? At least until she's chased around the studio by Huw Edwards avec mistletoe during the weather break. In the new-look BBC, even its Christmas party is webcast for our viewing pleasure. Still, you'd do well to beware that curled lip, Fiona.

Like us, however, at the least you're probably looking forward to a couple of days off work; all the better to spend with family, friends and various forms of digital entertainment.

In the quest for the latter, we're completing our pre-seasonal analysis of eBay with a quick gander through the pricelist for recently released PSP games. Being sensible punters, you've most likely already checked out our best DS eBay bargains article.

In terms of PSP, the most expensive games are listed in the form of title, publisher, number that were available on eBay during the past month, and average sale price (excluding p&p).

1. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (THQ), 22, £25.65
2. Ratatouille (THQ), 76, £21.11
3. The Sims 2 Castaway (EA), 186, £20.97
4. Transformers (Activision), 61, £20.33
5. Thrillville: Off the Rails (Lucasarts), 20, £20.20
6. WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2008 (THQ), 71, £20.11
7. Sega Rally (Sega), 80, £19.89
8. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (Sony), 33, £19.62
9. The Simpsons Game (EA), 292, £19.24
10. Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics (Atari), 60, £18.94

Frankly, what's most significant about this list is the relatively small number of PSP games that are available. Only The Sims 2 Castaway and The Simpsons Game are available in the sort of numbers that mean the chance of bargains is high. (Interestingly though, WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2008 and FIFA 08 are more numerous in terms of their PSP versions than their DS versions on eBay, which gives you some idea of the split between the games that work best on either console.)

So where are the bargains you cry?

Well, clearly the figures can be used as an upper bidding level if you're after any of these particular games, although always take into account the postage and packaging, which can be anything from £1.50 to £10 depending on where your UMD is being sent from.

Things do improve though when we consider the top 10 most popular PSP games in terms of number that were available during the past month.

1. The Simpsons Game (EA), 292, £19.24
2. FIFA 08 (EA), 228, £18.19
3. The Sims 2 Castaway 186, £20.97
4. Silent Hill Origins (Konami), 173, £11.83
5. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Eidos), 140, £15.85
6. Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (LucasArts), 113, £18.89
7. Crush (Sega), 99, £11.43
8. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix), 91, £17.86
9. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (Square Enix), 82, £16.21
10. Sega Rally (Sega), 80, £19.89

For a start, there are some obvious bargains. The only recently released Silent Hill Origins for an average of £11.83 is great, while one of our favourite games of the year, Crush is cheaper still, at an average of £11.43. The average of £17.86 for the 10/10 Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions looks great, too, until you realise Play.com is still trying to get rid of its enthusiastic overstock at £12.99. And that's delivered to your door.

(Of course, this in itself is a reminder that just because something is on eBay, it doesn't mean it's a bargain. You should always look around and decide on your upper bidding limit before getting involved - it's remarkable how many people pay over the odds for things they can get cheaper and brand new from major online retailers.)

All that said, picking up Konami's hardcore Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for less than £12.84 if you look around seems like a good deal to us.

So that's enough of our pre-Christmas eBay advice, but check back in the new year to see how the glut of unwanted presents - both PSP and DS - has affected the market.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.