While talk during the release week of a game usually centers on said game’s quality, Ni No Kuni has been completely overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the Wizard Edition of the game. As we reported earlier, many fans who pre-ordered it have received nothing more than a form letter informing them that their game would not ship out. Collectors that we are, we experienced it first hand: two staff members purchased the special edition. One was last summer; he recieved a cancellation today. The other was at 2 AM yesterday morning; he recieved a shipping confirmation. Instead of admitting defeat (or fraud, perhaps), fans are going to great expensive lengths to ensure they get their hands on a copy.

While the Wizard Edition of the game originally cost $99 via clubNAMCO, copies have been selling on eBay for extraordinary prices. After today’s debacle, many auctions for the game are ending in the $300-$400 range, with some going as high as a whopping $475. One eBay scalper seller even managed to secure over two hundred copies, which have inched up in price until reaching their current $399.99 (plus $24.99 shipping) asking price. While we’d normally shake our heads at gamers over-paying for games, it’s sad in this situation. Many of the people buying these are likely big fans who were smart enough to have the game pre-ordered months ago, only for it to be unexpectedly canceled. It’s sad that so many ended up in the hands of flippers in the midst of the debacle.

We do want to remind you that there’s a German variant of the Wizard Edition, which can be had for just 89.99 euros plus shipping. While it’s not as complete as the North American version, it does contain the art book (the most important part) in (we’re told) English. At the very least, it’s an option worth exploring if Namco Bandai/Digital River does indeed not issue any additional copies.