Market Report: Gotcha Force - GameCube

Prepare yourself. I am about to make a pitch that a very expensive GameCube game is under-priced and that you should go out and buy a copy...if you can find one.

Gotcha Force is an odd game. It received mixed reviews from critics upon it's release in 2003, and it is easy to see why. It feels Pokemon-derivative. The one-player parts of the game were lacking, making the game easy to forget after picking it up a few times. Online multiplayer was not a thing back in 2003 - at least not on a GameCube. So it is understandable that critics in that era insisted on a robust and effective single player experience on a 2003 GameCube release. Gotcha Force, in most critical estimations, did not have one.

What critics seemed to miss was how much people would enjoy the local multiplayer aspects of the game. If you look at the user reviews, it is clear that players really enjoyed playing the game with and against friends. That kept the game in the conversation long after the GameCube died.

The game has not had any digital release. So the GameCube version is your only option for now. It's also good to remember that the game does play on the omnipresent Wii system, which you may have tripped over recently at your local thrift store or retirement center. So basically any gamer can fire this up pretty easily.

There is one complete in box copy of Gotcha Force on eBay right now. It's listed at $299, which is almost certainly too much. There are a handful of disk only or disk with box listings. But those listings start at an insane $130 and range up to $190.

For comparison's sake, I lost count after finding 10 CIB Cubivore listings on eBay tonight. Cubivore is thought to be more valuable than Gotcha Force. But when it comes to availability, there's no question it that Gotcha Force is much tougher to find.

If you can find a nice copy of Gotcha Force for less than $200, it is worth some thought.