Eliminate Down is one of the most highly sought-after and expensive Mega Drive games in the world. In news that may cause a bit of grumbling among long-time collectors, it’s about to get a full modern reissue.
First published in 1993, Eliminate Down was a side-scrolling space shooter in the vein of R-Type. Developed by Aprinet and published by Soft Vision, it was never released outside of Japan and South Korea. Like many games of this era that never saw the light of day in the West, the game has traditionally fetched huge sums on the resale market as collectors fight for copies. It isn’t uncommon for South Korean copies to go for as much as $AU14,000 on eBay. Though Japanese copies are more common, boxed copies with manuals still fetch prices in the thousands of dollars.
Those prices might be about to dip
But that may be about to change. As spotted by Time Extension, retro publisher Retro Bit has announced it will launch an officially sanctioned reissue of Eliminate Down. The reissue constitutes a special edition Mega Drive cartridge, manual and case with a reversible art sleeve. Its launch marks the first time the game has ever been made available for sale in the US and Europe. Retro Bit is only doing a single Eliminate Down drop so if you want a copy, you should preorder it now.
Retro Bit is charging full fare for these cartridges, which are pricey at $US54.95 (or around $AU83). Because it has partnered with US and European retailers to sell the thing, you’ll need to be crafty about who you order from if you want it sent to Australia. I would recommend ordering through Limited Run, which was shipping to Aus for about $12. This will, of course, technically be a Genesis cart, but if your old Mega Drive still works and you have a cart converter, you should be fine.
Eliminate Down preorders end January 2, 2024 and cartridges will begin to ship later that year.
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