First Forum Post! - WTB: Uncharted 2 FOLIO & Uncharted 2 FORTUNE HUNTER Edition

[Justyz123]

Hey all! I'm new to the forum and this is my very first post. So apologies in advance if I don't do this correctly!

WANT TO BUY the following items:

1.) UNCHARTED 2 FOLIO EDITION - (SEALED; preferred) -- (Would love to have a regular xx/200 example as well as a Publisher's Proof. Would also be interested in a copy of the Limited Edition in addition to the folio.)

2.) UNCHARTED 2 FORTUNE HUNTER EDITION - (NEW, COMPLETE)

3.) THE LAST OF US: POST PANDEMIC EDITION - (NEW, SEALED, NICE QUALITY BOX) -- (Figured I would add this to the list as well! Always see them in varying condition on eBay but would much prefer dealing with a forum member and saving on additional fees on both ends)
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Have been trying to add these items to my collection for FOREVER! So fingers crossed someone on here has them.

Was taking a look at some older forum posts and saw some sell ads for these items, but not sure if they're still available. Please shoot me a PM if you have either of these items and are looking to sell them. Thank you so much!!

[Twisted]

there was some "controversy" with the Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition a few years ago..some random seller based in Australia!? on EBAY had around "10 in stock"..and he insisted they were the "real deal" (genuine)..and he got them through his source at the "distribution point".he had solid feedback scores and had a few sold!,..already out of his "allotment", by the time that Ebay link came to CE.ORG forum member's attention..some forum members tried to dismiss them as "knock offs" by a "scammer"..but the detailing and every facet of them were "spot on"..it would be really hard to make "knock offs" since several components had to be sourced from multiple points to put it together....maybe!?.. there is still a very old thread buried!!??..on these forums regarding that incident from a few years back, believe me! a lot of aspirational collectors including myself as a Uncharted Fan were disappointed to see "suddenly more available out of the blue"...basically keep in mind, although they are "marketed" as very rare and as contest prizes..some of the "insider folks"..who were closely affiliated with the conception of the Fortune Hunter edition and/or factory assembly workers or what have you,..apparently were able to take some "extras" with them..so as far as strictly numbers go..there are MORE Fortune Hunter editions floating around out in the wild, than "advertised"..since they were given out for "FREE"..there is no legal standing for them to be concerned about as far as misleading consumers etc about the actual numbers produced...it turned out to be "limited numbers"..were HANDED OUT to contest winners..BUT MORE were manufactured for "friends & families" and "artist proof" type of things etc. then the numbers suggest..it's still difficult to find..because the additional 10 or so ended up in sporadic locations worldwide from that one EBAY seller..just be "informed"..about how many there really are made!?..then the numbers that were publicly released in ads and promos etc.

[Justyz123]

Hey Twisted,

Thank you so much for the heads up! Have heard some similar things thumbing through various forum posts. I personally still find the Fortune Hunter Edition SUPER cool and would still love to add it to my collection. Will just affect the price I'm willing to pay for it a bit.

Wonder if anyone's ever tried to reach out to SONY (or somehow the distributor) directly to try and figure out how many were made including APs, etc. I'm sure even with the added numbers it's still a very low production piece overall.

People on this forum definitely seem to be plugged into all this stuff. You guys are on top of it!

[Twisted]

Your absolutely correct! it is still exceedingly rare! and difficult to obtain..but from the Fortune Hunter editions that are known to be out there in the wild..for some rhyme or reason..there heavily skewed towards the Singapore, Japan, Australia region where they were popping up for sale more frequently on the Secondary market like Ebay etc.. dare i say in "bulk" meaning these sellers had access to more than 1..for instance 1 particular seller in Japan had for sale 3-4 of them..but that Australia seller takes the cake! with 10 up for grabs on Ebay..both sellers were selling them at relatively higher prices so they were trying to "scalp" for sure!!..the hypothesis on this forum when those 2 sellers were discovered was the factory where they were put together was most likely in that hemisphere of the world.

Keep in mind..majority of these big conglomerates like SONY..rarely if ever actually "declare" official numbers produced..they will always refer you to the "contest release promotion advertisements"..they will stick by what the "Legal Department" for their promotional division puts out for public release..later on, some years down the road..some fired, retired, or resigned Sony manager or Naughty Dog producer might "whisper" something about it here and there...the reason why most Big Corporates don't leak out numbers or information..is because these companies have such large footprints and fall under various legal jurisdictions and laws, that if they declare such an elaborate item was handed out to so and so employee then their might be tax liability issues or values must be declared for tax codes etc..or it might be seen as a "bribe" etc...so that's why most companies stick by the "publicly" released information only...think about it..these promotions are produced within a certain "budget"..there's no way!..they would fire up a factory and tell all these different component makers we only want ten in total..it would prohibitively expensive..plus all those people who had a say in it..helped put it together..came up with the promo idea in the first place..would also be entitled to and receive 1 as a gift..since it's "there baby" so to speak.

But it is true..it IS RARE..and VERY difficult to obtain TODAY in 2021...5-6 years back..there were SEVERAL listed all at once on Ebay..by those sellers i alluded to earlier..it still holds value..you can take pride in it..but it's not as rare as officially advertised.but that holds true for most things like how Stadium Events has a mythical following like one of the ultimate Unicorn for NES NTSC collecting or how "EarthBound" for SNES is considered very rare and valuable etc..when in Canada one particular person has 10 SEALED copies of STADIUM EVENTS etc..that he's been holding on to forever etc.he said, he's lived a good life! he does'nt need the money so he will pass them down to his grandkids.but Stadium Events still sells at a high price because his 10 sealed copies are "Off the Market"...but that's just the world we live in and how things work!

[Justyz123]

Once again, I COMPLETELY agree with your analysis Twister. Really appreciate the insight. It's no doubt the most "insider" info I've ever heard about the edition. Do you have any personal leads on either of the items? Also, I wonder if there would be any part of the collection that would be more difficult to replicate. Part of me wonders if this is the reason there's so much disparity in the number of signatures on the inner cover. I wonder if more signatures would help differentiate editions meant for contest winners. Thoughts?

[Spect3r]

Welcome.
There was a forum member trying to sell his a year or so ago... dont know if he ever ended up selling it. I will try to see if i remember who was it and will let you know.

Regarding that Australian guy that Twisted speaks of... At the time i saw it i talked about with some members and the conclusion we reached was that there was a possibility he didnt had all the ones he mentioned, was more a way of bringing attention to his page.
Because lets be honest, whats the real possibility of the guy had got 10? I seriously doubt it.

[Justyz123]

What's up Spect3r!

That would be pretty crazy. I only really started keeping my eyes peeled within the last few months. So I can't speak to how the Australian ad(s) were conducted. I know that each edition differs in quality and signatures so that'd be crazy if he ran a BIN ad with a Qty of 10. But I guess if it were 10 separate listings they would have shown 10 separate copies. Idk. It's so weird!

I know that NYGiantFan was selling his awhile back to raise money for his mom. Not sure if it sold ($5k is above what I'd currently want to pay for it), but I hope he raised what he needed to for his mom!

[Spect3r]

Originally Posted by Justyz123

What's up Spect3r!

That would be pretty crazy. I only really started keeping my eyes peeled within the last few months. So I can't speak to how the Australian ad(s) were conducted. I know that each edition differs in quality and signatures so that'd be crazy if he ran a BIN ad with a Qty of 10. But I guess if it were 10 separate listings they would have shown 10 separate copies. Idk. It's so weird!

Like you say, either way is weird.
Weird if he had 10, weird if he didnt but listed them anyway.

I know that NYGiantFan was selling his awhile back to raise money for his mom. Not sure if it sold ($5k is above what I'd currently want to pay for it), but I hope he raised what he needed to for his mom!

That was it, NYGiantFan.

[Twisted]

It could be very well be that the SIGNED copies were limited to contests but the EBay sellers in Japan and Australia that had a handful all at once were UNSIGNED!? But complete in itself just missing the signatures!? It’s been at least 5 years but it wasn’t just that Australian seller with “more than 10 available” but some person in Japan also on EBay had “4 available” but we can also hypothesize they MAY have made a honest mistake!? in the listing!? And didn’t realize it or bother correcting it!? Hmmm

[Justyz123]

Yeah, it definitely makes you think though! Feel like the signatures could very well be the differentiator.

Reached out to a ND employee at the time (who worked on UC2 and who's signature can be found on a number of copies) and according to him they set those editions up in the commissary (restaurant). The reason for the different signatures in different places was that people started from certain areas of the room and ran out of time signing (eat lunch, sign a few things, go back to work). They were also in the middle of moving to new offices so he said it was hard to remember how they did these specifically. But he did imply that it was his understanding that they were signing them for the contest prizes.

So it's very possible there are indeed 200 of them in existence that have all the necessary components (including the signatures), but this is obviously total speculation.