What retro games actually sell for in Japan vs. the US — with receipts.
Some retro games cost several times more in the US than the identical game sells for in Japan. Some don't — the gap runs the other way, or vanishes entirely. YenVault tracks both, title by title, with the source and the date printed next to every price.
Data collected November 2026. US prices are based on sold listings (PriceCharting); Japanese prices are mostly shop and marketplace listings. Readhow we collect prices before quoting any of them.
The database
Every title gets separate rows for a loose copy and a complete-in-box copy, because mixing the two is how misleading "Japan is 10× cheaper!" claims are made. Sometimes the gap is in the box. Sometimes it's in the cartridge. Sometimes there is no gap.
Browse the full price database →
Start here
The price-gap guide
Twenty games compared, biggest gaps first — plus the honest section on where the gap disappears.
How to buy from Japan
Marketplaces compared, how proxy services work, and what a ¥1,680 game actually costs landed.
Spotlight: Hagane
The $3,300 SNES game you can buy in Japan for a fraction of the price — if you can spot the fakes.
Three numbers that explain the site
- 31× — Mega Man X3, loose: ¥1,680 in Japan vs. a $350 US cartridge.
- ≈ ¥450,000 — the complete-in-box price gap on Hagane, the largest we have recorded.
- 0.6× — Wild Guns, complete: the Japanese copy costs more than the US one. We publish those too.
What this site is not
Not a shop, not a price oracle, and not investment advice. Prices move — sometimes fast — and every figure here is a snapshot from the date printed beside it. Check current listings before you buy anything.